Former Rams Linebacker Mel Owens A Winner On And Off The Field

 BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

During the next couple of weeks, expect to see more stories come from the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit held from April 25-27.

There are times when you have to hunt for stories and others when they fall into your lap.

I’ve covered the NFL Draft in four different ways.

First, in the early 1980’s, I covered the Miami Dolphins and worked with legendary coach Don Shula. For a young guy that was 19-years old, it was an unforgettable experience.

Second, later in the decade and into the 1990’s, I worked with the Detroit Lions and covered the draft many years under head coaches Wayne Fontes and Bobby Ross. I’ve never seen more press releases, bios, etc…than I did during these years. I can only imagine how many trees were cut down with the amount of paper that I read. The Lions PR Department did an outstanding job keeping us up to date, fed us great and there were plenty of interview opportunities.

Third, I had the opportunity to cover the Jacksonville Jaguars. I met a lot of great media people, the PR Staff was extremely hospitable, no shortage of food and there were good press conferences with key football people. By this time, a lot of the bios and press releases were online and not much paper.

This latest experience was my first time covering the event nationally. 

I’ve covered four Super Bowls and am familiar with the big stage. 

During the week leading up to the event, I participated on Zoom Calls and on my podcasts, utilized all the information that I compiled. It was great covering it in my hometown!

When you’re covering a big event, there are some things that you can’t prepare for and that’s what your strategy is because you don’t know what individuals will be around.

I’ll go back to my favorite movie of all-time, Hoosiers and take a comment that actor Gene Hackman used when assessing his new job, “Let’s see what hand I’ve been dealt.”

During the Super Bowl, if you’re roaming around radio row, the media area or everywhere, there will be no shortage of interviews.

But in this case, I struck early on the first night.

Jeremy Ballreich was covering his first event for the South Florida Tribune. I told him to follow my lead and he’ll have a productive weekend. To ensure my credibility, I had to set a great example.

I wasted no time approaching former Michigan Wolverine and Los Angeles Rams Linebacker Mel Owens. 

On last nights edition of Inside The Pigskin, I found out from my panelist Mel Farr Jr. that he was a teammate of Owens with the Rams. Mel was impressed that I was able to talk to Owens on the first night.

Ballreich, one of my prize pupils was impressed with how I went about my business in a no-nonsense manner. I’m hoping as his time in this business continues, he’ll develop that same tenacity to think on his feet, although he has come a long way in the year we’ve worked together.

As far as Owens is concerned, he has the qualities that I look for in a guest, and he was more than happy to give me whatever time that I needed. We did the one-on-one in an area where there were no distractions.

Mel Owens was born on December 7, 1958. 

Ironically, he shares the same birthday as my late mother and he is just four years older than myself.

How much time did I have to prepare for this interview? 

None.

Owens played for the Michigan Wolverines and had a successful nine year career with the LA Rams.

After his NFL career, he’s a partner and attorney at Law for Namanny, Byrne & Owens, protecting players rights to receive Workers Compensation.

Owens brought a great balance of success on and off the field.

During our interview, we talked about the Michigan Wolverines National Championship, Jim Harbaugh, his playing career, what he’s doing now, etc…

Once you view this interview you’re going to learn about a man that defines the term, (Student Athlete) and has mastered it to perfection. 

When the interview for the Motor City Mad Mouth Show was completed, I gave Mel a signed copy of My Book, “Lessons From The Microphone.”

My goal is to stay in touch with him going forward and hopefully reunite him with Mel as well as have him on other shows.

Vanessa Williams had a song called “Save The Best For Last.”

In this case, I “Saved The Best For First” because what I learned about the NFL Draft is you better get as much done on the first day. As the draft continues, a lot of people come for the first day and leave for the last couple of days.

The National Networks are scattered all over the place so it’s hard to land those individuals where the Super Bowl is a huge candy store.

I’ve always felt that some of my favorite interviews were the ones that had no preparation. 

But the key to any good interview is have a lot of great core questions then make sure your follow up questions are strong. Before you know it, you’ve spent a sufficient amount of time with the individual and provided your fans great content.

When you have an intelligent individual like Owens and a 44-year veteran in Sports Media like myself, I know that’s a strong combination. 

Experience is priceless. You have to know when to capitalize on opportunities when they come your way and move quickly!

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel.

Finally, Scott wrote a book, “Lessons From The Microphone” and you get purchase it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

As The Marlins World Turns

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

The last Miami Marlins game that I attended was on Sunday, April 14, 2024 when the Atlanta Braves scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to earn a 9-7 triumph.

What a difference a few weeks makes.

When you keep scoresheets, you never know the last time you’re going to see the player and my latest one will hit a frame and go into my office.

Why is that the case?

It’s simple. 

This was the last time that I saw last year’s National League Batting Champion Luis Arraez in the Miami line-up. During this game, he had one hit in five plate appearances.

This was a game that saw Jake Burger leave the contest with a left oblique injury and starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo was fortunate that despite giving up five runs, he got a no decision.

After this game, the Marlins dropped to 3-13.

The following series saw the San Francisco Giants win it 2-1 from April 15-17. The Marlins hit the road and played four contests on Chicago’s Northside and earned a 2-2 split with the Cubs from April 18-21. The Braves proceeded to sweep Miami (3-0) from April 22-24 in Georgia. 

The Washington Nationals are a team that Miami has fared well against in the past but this didn’t prove to be the case from April 26–29. The team based out of the Nations Capital earned a 4-0 sweep. 

But when you play a team that’s struggling as the Colorado Rockies are, you hope that you can find a few wins and Miami did just that earning a 3-0 sweep in a series that was played from April 30-May 2. The Marlins bats came alive as the Fish earned 7-6, 4-1 and 5-4 wins.

Could the Marlins keep the momentum going in their final series at the Oakland Coliseum vs the A’s? The answer was no as Oakland managed to win the series 2-1. Oakland mustered up a 3-1 and 20-4 wins while the Fish won the finale on Sunday 12-3.

During this series, for which the Marlins left the Bay Area with a 10-26 record, we found out very quickly whether the Marlins were going to be buyers or sellers.

Marlins President Peter Bendix went on record saying the team is unlikely to make the playoffs this year. He wasted  no time moving his best player as he sent Arraez to the San Diego Padres for outfielders Dillon Head (19) , and Jacob Marsee (23), reliever Woo-Suk Go and first baseman Nathan Martorella (23). 

The Marlins are paying Arraez’s contract down to the minimum in the deal, a source told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. Arraez is making $10.6 Million this season and is arbitration-eligible in 2025.

So the question is, why would the Marlins make the trade in May instead of at the trade deadline?  According to Bendix, moving the 27-year old Arraez now instead of later in the campaign enabled him to get a bigger prospect package.

With Arraez hitting .354 last season, along with 43 extra base-hits in 147 games, this propelled the Marlins to get into the playoffs in 2023. He’s off to another productive start at the plate this year hitting .299 with eight doubles, and five RBIs in 137 at bats.

Through the years, the Padres have never been shy when it comes to spending in free agency. This time, they swung for the fences with this trade.

This move has paid early dividends for the Padres as Arraez wasted no time making history as he entered his new team’s record books with a dominant day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He led off as the DH, became the first Padres player to record a four-hit game in his debut with his new team.

He went 4-6 with two runs scored and an RBI as the Padres slithered the snakes 13-1. His average improved to .315 through 34 games. For Arraez, he’s going to benefit by having a lot of protection around him with Fernando Tatis, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth and Manny Machado.

Could this protection lead to a third consecutive batting championship for Arraez? 

I wouldn’t bet against it. 

But the reality of the situation is will an early season move of this magnitude lead to perhaps another one by Bendix? 

I wouldn’t bet against this since if the President isn’t afraid to be a seller in May could be a bigger return, who knows what’s on the horizon?

But the reality is, this is a tough situation for Manager Skip Schumaker, who is in the third year option on his contract was voided by the club. Thus, the rebuild is on and the Miami fans have seen this drill after trips to the post-season. 

It will be interesting to see how these new players pan out and what guys in the organization will step up and become the core of this franchise.

While there will be no shortage of losses, there will be no shortage of intrigue as this season plays out as to what Bendix will do next.

Meanwhile, the Marlins next three series will be at the LA Dodgers, at home vs the Philadelphia Phillies and they’ll travel to Motown to face the Detroit Tigers from May 13-15.

It will be interesting to see what players will be on the next scorecard and see if the Padres can soar in the standings in the National League West, as Marlins fans will be scoreboard watching  to cheer for Arraez, whose time in South Florida was short and sweet. 

The man he was traded for, pitcher Pablo Lopez has found a home in Minnesota with the Twins.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth. To see his broadcasts, there is no cost to subscribe to the South Florida Tribune You Tube Channel. Also, his book, “Lessons From The Microphone” can be purchased on Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Apple and Google.