A Bear Market

What a day at Ole Miss Thursday! Former President Bill Clinton spoke on campus, and we now have an official new mascot--the Black Bear. As far as mascots go, it was probably the best of the three remaining choices, but I hope we avoid a cartoonish bear like Baylor has for some of its games. Baylor actually has live bears on campus, which would be great ... and make tailgaiting in the Grove infinitely more interesting.

Four things to pass along today ...

1) The new AEJMC sport interest group is looking for qualified reviewers to look at submitted research papers. If you would like to help out, contact Dr. Mary Lou Sheffer at Southern Miss (sheffer6@yahoo.com) or Bob Trumpbour at Penn State-Altoona (rct4@psu.edu).

2) On the subject of AEJMC, Peggy Beck of Kent State-Stark is trying to put together a panel for St. Louis in 2011. It will deal with the escalating problems of working in media relations in the era of blogs and online coverage. In her interviews with PR people in baseball, the issue surrounds credentialing and how to credential those who do not represent "standard and recognized" media. If you're interested in taking part, you can reach her at: commprofbeck@sbcglobal.net.

3) A CFP for the North American Society for Sport Management Conference next June in London, Ontario. The deadline is fast approaching, so if you want to submit a paper or proposal there is more information here.

4) And finally, the Journal of Language and Social Psychology has recently published a special issue dealing with sport communication. You can access that issue at this link.

Bear down, and have a great weekend.