I was very impressed and borderline shocked when I saw the front page of Yahoo! Sports this afternoon. I thought for sure that Tim Tebow saying he was "sad" his teammates were criticizing him would be front and dominant on Yahoo! but it actually took third place to an MMA story.

I'm not a UFC fan by any means, but I will say I read about it once in awhile and knew who "GSP" was without having to look at the article. Props to Yahoo! for taking a chance like that.

Some of the other big storylines in sports today and over the last few days has been the proposed blockbuster trade involving the Miami Marlins and Toronto Bluejays, so I wasn't surprised to see a blog about that on the front page. Additionally, the NL and AL MVP's are announced tonight, so a story on that was expected as well.

One thing I was a little surprised not to see is some sort of Laker coverage. I know that everyone has an opinion on the firing of Mike Brown and subsequent hiring of Mike D'Antoni, but maybe because it happened a week ago, Yahoo! is sick of talking about it. I sure hope so.

I mentioned to one of my colleagues as we were walking to our polling location that this was really the first time an election was going to be "live blogged," and that I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Needless to say, it was an interesting experience, but not one I'd like to do in this format again.

For #loweclass #sports yesterday, I was assigned to go to the Alumni Memorial Union, where there were three separate "wards" from 3:30-4:45 pm yesterday for the 2012 Presidential Election. After a little investigative work at Centennial Hall, adjacent to the Milwaukee Public Library, I trudged to the Union and saw basically what I expected. Long lines for both registered and non-registered voters alike. I talked to one student who said she was in line for more than two hours.

The atmosphere at the Union was actually pretty good. I think a lot of students (I'd guess at least 95 percent of voters there were students) were excited to vote and get a chance to represent their country. Two students I talked to were voting for the first time and said it was exciting to be part of an election, but were also glad the political mudslinging was finally going to be over.

One of the most important things I learned was a tweet from fellow classmate Pat Leary, who found it was more effective to ask voters why they were voting instead of who they were voting for. Many people are turned off immediately if you ask for something private like their voting preferences, but many people were happy to talk about having the chance to express their views.

Overall, it was a valuable experience being a part of the 2012 Presidential Election. As a voter, I would have had no problem discussing why or who I voted for with reporters, but I know that's not for everyone. Some people are very private and don't have much interest talking about such a sensitive subject. I know that this is a journalist's job in some circles, but it shouldn't be for a sports class.

In Thursday's #loweclass, Sharif Durhams spoke in class. Durhams is the social media editor and a breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Like our previous guest Don Walker, Durhams was well informed in the nuances of new media and how it can increase page views and boost readership for the JS.

While Durhams doesn't write for sports for the JS, he was knowledgeable of what specific writers like and don't like to do. He praised former Green Bay Packers writer Tyler Dunne and Milwaukee Brewers reporter Tom Haudricourt for their work on social media and blogs. He even called Haudricourt the sports desk's "best blogger," something he couldn't see a few years ago.

Durhams also discussed some of the databases and interactive maps the JS has to offer. One of the better parts of this segment was the Packers bar map. The JS took the time to find all of the bars that are dedicated to the Packers and where fans can find a bar to watch the game across the country.

One part of his talk I found interesting was his promotion of Facebook. While Durhams acknowledged Twitter is the premiere social media site for breaking news, he noted that Facebook has four times more users than Twitter and readers who want to read feature and enterprise stories should check out Facebook instead of Twtitter.

Overall, Durhams was insightful and in tune with how important it is to manage how breaking news and features should mesh to produce a quality product in both print and online.

On Wednesday, #loweclass attended a lecture featuring Milwaukee Brewers Assistant General Manager Gord Ash, Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond and Brewers PR Manager John Steinmiller. The lecture was moderated by OnMilwaukee's Jeff Sherman.

One of the first things mentioned by Ash was to "Do what you love, but realize you probably won't be able to do it right away. I thought this was a good barometer of how difficult it is to break through right away in sports. I've always wanted to work in sports and have known how difficult it is to be in the position but you want, so it's good to know not to expect the world when I graduate.

Having these three men in the same room talking about what it takes to make it in sports was a very valuable experience for me. Getting a foot in the door is another important part of getting a job in sports. There are a limited amount of sports reporting internships available, at least for the past few years, but working on the PR side is something I've considered. I like the ability to give my own thoughts in reporting, but being a part of the sports world is important to me nonetheless.

Having a backup plan was another important bit of information the panelists suggested and one I think is crucial to looking for a successful start to your writing career. That's why I took internships with publications that weren't for sports, even though it wasn't my first choice. Having the experience of jobs and resume-builders outside the sports world as well as being the sports editor for the Tribune should benefit me in the long run.Twi

Last Thursday, Don Walker spoke in #loweclass and did a fantastic job. Don didn't reveal his age to us, but he seems like he's 30 with the way he presented information and spoke about social media. It is good to see he has embraced the changes in his craft and that should only help him down the road.

As for the weekend, the big story was the beginning of the MLB Playoffs. To be honest, I don't have nearly as much invested in the playoffs this year as I did last year when the Brewers won the division and beat Arizona in the first round before bowing out to St. Louis in the NLCS.

I'm sure I will watch more of the action during the week when the NFL isn't on, but I don't have any interest in any of the teams still playing, except to see the Cardinals lose. I thought Yahoo! Sports did a pretty good job discussing the playoffs and really took interest into some of the blog posts in particular.

Tim Brown wrote about the Oakland A's chances, which are dwindling and its season could be over today against Detroit. The A's weren't expected to make the playoffs, much less win the rugged AL West. The A's are a great story and Brown does a nice job diagramming their season. I'd compare Brown to ESPN's Jayson Stark in regards to using statistics to back up his statements. Well done.

Being from the area, I've had the privilege to read a lot of Don Walker's work at the Journal Sentinel throughout the years and have always admired his work. I know that he writes more about politics and urban affairs and I have been at political speakers where he has moderated, but his insightful work with sports cannot go unnoticed.

He broke the news of the BMO Harris' acquisition of the naming rights for the Bradley Center. He also tweets about sports, which makes him OK with me.

As for the content of his Business of Sports blog, I can honestly say I've read just about all of his posts because it provides information most people don't see. A lot of sports writing is content people know or can access easily. I believe his post was the first place I saw the infamous Aaron Rodgers "Discount Double Check" ads and he keeps up with new ads that come out like Greg Jennings' Old Spice and Jordy Nelson's Department of Tourism ad (not sure that one will get the fanfare of A-Rod, but I digress).

Mr. Walker's ability to balance political and urban affair coverage with sports is one that I haven't seen much when I look at other newspapers around the country. He speaks during out class tomorrow and I will be interested to see what he thinks the JS and other newspapers have in store for the future.

The Online News Association has been the premiere provider of recognition for digital journalism since 2000. Its awards recognize excellence in digital journalism over a variety of platforms from breaking news to online commentary, which I assume means blogs.

As shown in the screenshot I captured above, I really enjoyed the "Painkiller Misuse Numbs NFL Pain," an Outside the Lines article by John Barr, which was a three-part series on the short and long-term effects of NFL players using pain killers. I found it sad, but not surprising that those who used painkillers (52 percent of the 644 players surveyed), 71 percent of them misused pain pills at some point.

Being from a small town, I decided to take a look at the category for smaller publication and found a great spread by pressconnects.com, a Binghamton, N.Y. publication, which won an award for breaking news on a small site, with its coverage of "Massacre on Front Street." I didn't know much about the massacre and knew nothing about the Press & Sun Bulletin, but just looking at the spread the newspaper/online publication produced, it looked to be an extremely tragic day in Binghamton and one worth winning plenty of awards.

I remember where I was during the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings and the Associated Press' coverage forced me to reminisce about that fatal day. At the time, it was the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history. The interactive map gave plenty of details and made me feel like I was in Blacksburg, Va., that day.

Finally, Sept. 11, 2001 will forever live in infamy in the U.S. Everybody who was alive and competent that day will remember where he or she was when they first heard the news of the terrorist attacks in New York and later in Washington, D.C. and rural Pennsylvania. As one would expect, many of the award winners and finalists in 2002 were dedicated to Sept. 11 coverage. I found the New York Times' coverage to be extremely compelling and thorough, as you would expect from the Times. It was certainly a powerful moment for me when I finished reading all of the coverage the writers, photographers, editors and everyone else involved produced that day.

Overall, I found the ONA to be a useful tool for gauging the impact of influential investigative journalism over the past 12 years. It provided links to enterprising pieces that will be forever remembered for a variety of reasons.

After three weeks of bad calls and broken hearts, the regular NFL officials are back, beginning with tonight's Baltimore-Cleveland game. I think the one who lost the most in this case (other than the fans) was commissioner Roger Goodell. He can deny all he wants, but one of the biggest reasons a deal got done late Wednesday night was because of the end of the Monday night game, which we discussed at length in #loweclass Tuesday.

Picture this: your boss releases a statement saying you made the right decision and he stands by you but then the very next day, he fires you. I just don't know how Goodell gets off like that. If you think the timing of the deal getting done was a coincidence, you need to get yourself checked out. But I digress. It's over and done with. We can go back to yelling at the regular refs now.

As news of an accepted deal was unfolding Wednesday, I thought about what the talks between the league and its officials were like. I'm sure both sides compromised on some things, but they had to make a deal. I think the NFL did the right thing by having regular officials on the Ravens-Browns game because if they didn't, they would be put at a competitive disadvantage.

After not being able to stay objective during class on Tuesday, I've made peace with the fact that the replacement officials did the best they could, but they were wrong and made the wrong call. It happens. I think we can all be thankful

Yahoo! Sports columnist Dan Wetzel, who is one of the most respected writers in all of sports, had a swift and blunt statement to those who keep complaining about the NFL replacement officials: get over it. Wetzel's column appeared Monday morning on Yahoo!'s web site and also recommended commissioner Roger Goodell "do something" about the continued presence of the officials.

I found Wetzel's column to be informative and insightful about a view that hasn't been shared much among those in the media. Just about every sports site I could find had negative things to say about the replacement officials. Not that Wetzel wasn't: He fully believes the regular officials are needed to preserve the integrity of the game.

Wetzel discussed the end of the Baltimore-New England game when Patriots' coach Bill Belichick chased down officials after the winning field goal by Ravens' kicker Justin Tucker barely went through. For the record, the officials got the call right and once the game is over, they don't need to answer to coaches. Belichick deserves a fine and possibly a suspension, especially after a memo sent by the league specifically said players and coaches needed to stop their demonstrative behavior towards judgment calls.

There is no easy solution to this. Both parties want more money, the officials want a bigger pension. When money is involved, it almost always ends bad. There was a lockout in the NHL that cost fans the entire season. The NBA didn't start until December this year. The NFL was almost locked out last year. One thing is certain: the integrity of the game is being compromised with these rep