Midwest Sports Fans
Encyclopedia
Midwest Sports Fans is a weblog, which was launched by Jerod Morris
in August 2008. The site primarily focuses on professional and college teams and athletes relevant to the Midwest.
They receive approximately 600,000 pageviews each month, and is a part of the Yardbarker
network, which links daily pieces to Fox Sports homepage
is the Managing Editor and AJ Kaufman serves as Co-editor. The author list for Midwest Sports Fans has included sports anchors Scott Reister (KNDU-TV in Kennewick, WA) and Candice Crawford
(KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO). Reister wrote a regular column called "The Anchor’s Desk", while Crawford regularly contributed her article, "From the Sideline.". Other writers include "KVB," Kurt Allen, Jon Washburn, Tyler Juranovich, Devon Alexandre and Drew Lange. MSF also has a podcast.
got off to in 2009, his first year with the Philadelphia Phillies
. In the post, Morris argues that because of Major League Baseball
’s sordid recent history with performance-enhancing drug
(PED) use, it is reasonable to speculate and impossible to rule out that Ibáñez’s could be steroid enhanced. In the post, Morris stated that he was withholding judgment on the issue and later clarified that he did not believe Ibanez was using steroids, only that such speculation is warranted for any Major League Baseball Player.
The post on Midwest Sports Fans created a controversy when it was mentioned by John Gonzalez in a "Philadelphia Inquirer" article entitled "A cheap shot at Ibanez". Morris claimed that Gonzalez had mischaracterized the post. Once informed of the Philadelphia Inquirer article by Gonzalez that discussed the post by Morris, Raúl Ibáñez criticized the post saying he considered it "pathetic" and "cowardly" and vowing that he would go to any measure to prove that he is clean.
On the same day that Ibanez’s comments became public, Morris, Gonzalez, and Ken Rosenthal
of Fox Sports
appeared on the ESPN show, "Outside the Lines," hosted by Steve Bunin
.
Jerod Morris
Jerod Morris is a 2004 graduate of Indiana University and the Founder and Managing Editor of the Midwest Sports Fans blog.- Controversy :In June 2009 Morris made national news when he posted a blog about Raúl Ibáñez entitled "The Curious Case of Raúl Ibáñez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, But...
in August 2008. The site primarily focuses on professional and college teams and athletes relevant to the Midwest.
They receive approximately 600,000 pageviews each month, and is a part of the Yardbarker
Yardbarker
Yardbarker is a San Francisco, California based subsidiary of FOX Sports Interactive that primarily runs a network of sports websites known as the Yardbarker Network, and additionally owns and operates a website, Yardbarker.com.-History:...
network, which links daily pieces to Fox Sports homepage
Authors and Content
Jerod MorrisJerod Morris
Jerod Morris is a 2004 graduate of Indiana University and the Founder and Managing Editor of the Midwest Sports Fans blog.- Controversy :In June 2009 Morris made national news when he posted a blog about Raúl Ibáñez entitled "The Curious Case of Raúl Ibáñez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, But...
is the Managing Editor and AJ Kaufman serves as Co-editor. The author list for Midwest Sports Fans has included sports anchors Scott Reister (KNDU-TV in Kennewick, WA) and Candice Crawford
Candice Crawford
Candice Loren Romo is a former reporter for KDAF, the CW-affiliate in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas and a former American beauty queen. She won the Miss Missouri USA competition in 2008...
(KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO). Reister wrote a regular column called "The Anchor’s Desk", while Crawford regularly contributed her article, "From the Sideline.". Other writers include "KVB," Kurt Allen, Jon Washburn, Tyler Juranovich, Devon Alexandre and Drew Lange. MSF also has a podcast.
Controversy
In a post titled, "The Curious Case of Raúl Ibáñez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, but Great Start in 2009 Raising Eyebrows," Morris outlined a variety of possible statistical explanations for the impressive beginning Raúl IbáñezRaúl Ibáñez
Raúl Javier Ibáñez is an American Major League Baseball outfielder.Over his career, Ibáñez, who did not make 500 plate appearances until the age of thirty, has batted .280 with 377 doubles, 252 home runs and 1054 runs batted in over sixteen Major League seasons...
got off to in 2009, his first year with the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
. In the post, Morris argues that because of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
’s sordid recent history with performance-enhancing drug
Performance-enhancing drugs
Performance-enhancing drugs are substances used by athletes to improve their performances in the sports in which they engage.- Types of performance-enhancing drugs :...
(PED) use, it is reasonable to speculate and impossible to rule out that Ibáñez’s could be steroid enhanced. In the post, Morris stated that he was withholding judgment on the issue and later clarified that he did not believe Ibanez was using steroids, only that such speculation is warranted for any Major League Baseball Player.
The post on Midwest Sports Fans created a controversy when it was mentioned by John Gonzalez in a "Philadelphia Inquirer" article entitled "A cheap shot at Ibanez". Morris claimed that Gonzalez had mischaracterized the post. Once informed of the Philadelphia Inquirer article by Gonzalez that discussed the post by Morris, Raúl Ibáñez criticized the post saying he considered it "pathetic" and "cowardly" and vowing that he would go to any measure to prove that he is clean.
On the same day that Ibanez’s comments became public, Morris, Gonzalez, and Ken Rosenthal
Ken Rosenthal
Kenneth H. Rosenthal is an American sportswriter and reporter.Rosenthal has served as lead field reporter for Major League Baseball on Fox since 2005...
of Fox Sports
Fox Sports (USA)
Fox Sports is a division of the Fox Broadcasting Company . It was formed in 1994 with Fox's acquisition of broadcast rights to National Football League games...
appeared on the ESPN show, "Outside the Lines," hosted by Steve Bunin
Steve Bunin
Steve Bunin is an American journalist who has worked for ESPN since August 2003. He anchors a variety of shows, including Outside The Lines and SportsCenter. He has also hosted Baseball Tonight, NFL Live and College Football Live, and often anchors NCAA and pro sports coverage on ESPN and ESPN2...
.