Barry son Portrayed by the Media!!

D.C. Council member Marion Barry son was issued a warrant for his arrest because he failed to show up in court. He was being charged for possession of five sandwich bags of Marijuana and vial three-quarter full of a liquid later determined to be PCP. hHe fled off on foot after jumping out of his first floor apartment the police said he refused to answer the door. The media portrayed him a s a bad image on his dad part because his father is involved into the state. I think that is was non-sense to make a whole article of somebody because of whom their father is ,this type of is committed every day. The media felt that it was important to show the other side of the father family.

Hated slur toward own race..

When I first saw the Fab 5 on espn 30 for 30 I was so happy to get the chance to watch how good that team was having five good freshmans on your team. They lead Michigan to the NCAA championship two years in a row. They also had alot more advertisement than any other school at that moment. One school that Michigan really hated was Duke University.
Jalen Rose once said that he hated Duke so much he would not help any Duke player out if they were burning in a fire. Jalen once made a terrible comment about Grant Hill. He said that "Duke only accept Unle Tom black players". I never knew that Jalen would say something like that towards another athlete especially another black athlete. I guess that it doesnt matter what type of race you are others are still going to say bad negative things about eachother. Everybody is out the get their own and isnt worried about what would happen to the next.

NBA and NFL lockout effect Black Kids?????

Watching professional basketball next year is going to be really challenging for me, well for right now it look like it will not be NBA basketball next year because of the lockout. I think that since the lockout have alreay happened in football that is going to set alot of african american athletes back. If you take a look at how many black athletes are playing professional sports it will be alot of them. Playing sports is a way for many black athletes to get out of the sitituation that they are in. Now that the lockout is in process its going to be very hard for many african american to find a job.
The kids thats have nothing to enjoy but watching sports and playing it. Now that the lockout is going to occur is many kids are not going to have sports to foward to watching.

What does Latino mean?

The term "latino" is something that has become more and more prevalent these days mostly because of not only what is going on in the political sphere due to the issue of illegal immigration, but because of the tremendous growth in this group's population over the past decade. As a matter of fact "Latinos" have surpassed blacks as the biggest minority group in America, and many politicians are looking to appeal to this group of voters for the upcoming elections. But the thing about "Latino" is that we still have not yet figured out how the classify this new group. Not all "latinos" are the same for one, because they come from a variety of countries which may include Mexico, the Domincan Republic, Panama and a whole list of others. Furthermore given the history of these places, "latino" is not a race although we seem to refer to it as some sort of racial category. In these countries just like in the U.S., there are whites, black, and there are also natives and people with a mixed background. So not only are these people different culturally, they are also a mixed bag racially but we have decided to group them together "as latino" because they come from a Spanish speaking country. The problem with this is that Alex Rodriguez and David Ortiz are clearly not the same race, but the real question then becomes when they have children and grandchildren that are 3rd generation americans, that no longer speak spanish and know nothing of their country of origin, are those kids still latino, or are they now white and black? Are we later on going to start funneling latinos into the white or black groups?

This is the problem in the national discourse, talking about a group that has no real racial identity and juxtaposing that group along side actual racial groups. We seem to have this confusion with racial identification a lot these days in our society notably with bi-racial individuals, who are still considered black, but hey 80% of blacks in the country have white blood anyway (you know, the whole slavery thing), and also when talking about Muslims when we really mean Arabs and vice versa, here we confuse religion and race. Identity and heritage are important aspects of who someone is. They help us figure out who we are and how we fit in the grand scheme of things, but we've gone so far in our social construction of race that we don't even know who and what's what anymore. That is why this influx of latinos might be a good thing, it could force us to take a second look at our stringent racial classifications and help us move past these divisions that we've created, helping us realize that race and culture are not the same thing.... or at the very least we'll finally have a good soccer team. OLE OLE OLE OLE!!!!

Female Sports

Watching the women's world cup and the new season of the WNBA, I can't help but notice the lack of interest that female sports generate. When one looks at the crowd, the first thing that you notice is that lack of people in the stands and i am still trying to figure out why that is. At least for the WNBA the lack of interest is understandable because it is a fairly recent organization, as is most of female athletics, and you also are not likely to see any highlight reel dunks and crazy feats of athleticism. However for soccer, crazy athleticism is not normally what people are seeking. The women seem to be just as skilled as some of the men, there have been just as many goals, everything is real technical although obviously with a little less power in the execution of the moves but that still does not take away from the enjoyment of the game. Given that that is so, why do female sports attract so little attention, even among female viewers. Looking at the world cup, the buzz that was there for the male's tournament is just not there for the women and one wonders why. It still involves professional players participating an in event to represent their nation. In an event that sill pits country against country, you would think that level of interest would always be somewhat up there.

Is there something about women athletics that turn us off? We know the stereotypes associated with female athletes. Most people automatically seem to think that they are "butch lesbians" for some reason. Being physically strong and fit still seems to be something that is viewed as an exclusively male attribute, and women that seek to be that are somehow deemed to be masculine. To even have a shot at attracting male viewers, it seems that the women have to be out there playing in next to nothing or lingerie as they do with the lingerie football league, or better yet beach volleyball. It seems that no matter the level of skill, however good the games might be, people don't care to see women sports whether at the college or professional level. What is responsible for our aversion to female athletics? I still can't put my figure on what it is exactly.

Biracial... What am I?

In class we put on the board the stereotypes for black people/athletes, and the stereotypes for white people/athletes, but I started thinking, what's the stereotype for multi-racial athletes like myself? My mother is white and my father is black, therefore making me biracial. Should I have my own stereotypes for my race or do I automatically inherit the presumptions towards whites and blacks? It is becoming more common to see interacial relationships so I feel like our society will eventually categorize biracial athletes as well. I have had my own personal experience with racial stereotypes in sports. I played AAU basketball for six years. I was fortunate enough to have my mother support me at most of my games. It was interesting to me because after my games my mother would always have stories for me. Most of the time when people saw me walking out with my mother, they asked me if I was adopted. This would drive my mother crazy, but what was it that made people think I was adopted? Was it the fact that on the court I fullfilled more "black" stereotypes or is it that we just differ so much in our appearence? As a society we always speak in terms of white and black but what are we missing by not acknowledging people as biracial? Personally, I have never self-indentified as black or white. I see myself as both and not just one or the other. As our biracial populations grows, I think it's important that we recognize them as a different race, rather than continuing to simply categorize someone as black or white.

NCAA Basketball & Football will be the ONLY hot topics this year!!

With this NBA lockout starting June 30th, 2011 puts two of Americas major, most watched sports in danger of not being played this year. The lockouts are all over money, everything revolves around it! The rookies of both sports are not getting paid and the owners are trying to get paid more than they already have. This causes A major problem because people are at different levels and have different opinions on this. College sports will probably be the most watched this year if these lockouts continue. Baseball and Soccer are popular but Football is Americas sport. We will see the turnout of things in a few months with the lockouts but as of now everyone get ready for some COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!

First NFL... now NBA Lockout??

Why have the lockouts in the first place? I believe the whole look situation is very overrated and do not think that it is a very good idea at all. The whole thing is in place to make rich people richer. For the simple fact the National Football League and National Basketball Association, both of their broadcasting contracts are all coming to an end. Which they are trying to hold out to see how much they will be able to get from the different stations that will be trying to takeover broadcasting for both of them. Which they have even said that Comcast is looking to being a high bidder in all this. But for the simple fact that they are both in a lock out and are holding money away from player and even stop them from practicing I believe this is all ridiculous. Which the fans are even worried if they are even going to have a season this year so they could watch their team. I'm wondering how this is really coming to effect the economy and television productions with all this going on.

Sosa's Skin

One thing that really stuck out to me in one of our class discussions was the picture of Sammy Sosa and his "bleached" skin. This really interested me and I decided to try to find more research on why Sosa would want to change or in his words "lighten" his skin color. I read a bunch of articles about Sosa's case, but none of them ever got to the actual reasoning behind the skin change, except that Sosa was using a skin cream that he claimed to "lighten" his skin. In an article by ESPN Sosa says the cream may have bleached his skin as well, but none of the articles indicated why or what were Sosa's intentions. I tried to find reasoning that maybe, baseball, had some affect on Sosa's decision, but compared to other sports I feel like baseball is the one sport that is immune to the racial stereotypes in sports. In baseball there does not seem to be an assumption that one race is more dominant than any other at any position. It makes you wonder why Sosa would want to "lighten" his skin color. Sosa has established himself as a great baseball player, he's wealthy, what would possess him to make such a drastic alteration? Looking at Sosa alot people make the assumption that he is black, but Sosa is in fact Hispanic. He is from the Dominican Republic. The fact that Sosa is Hispanic, makes his transformation even more puzzling. In sports and even socially there is this perception of blacks verses whites. When it comes to athletics there are certain stereotypes that project "blacks" or African-Americans as more dominant. In society there are stereotypes that project whites as more dominant from and economic or educational standpoints. It is not certain exactly when Sosa started using the cream, but it started appearing after his retirement from baseball. Could that have some affect on his decision? He was known as a dominant athlete with obviously other ethnicity than white. Is it a coincidence that Sosa's skin changed after his athletic days were over? I feel like Sosa's case is an example of how the message that whites are better not only affects blacks but all races, but as a society we forget about the other races. There is a reason Sosa decided to alter his skin though, a reason we may never know.

Sportsmanship at Maryland

A recent article in the Washington Post described the hostile environment that's become too prevalent in American sports, with fans yelling obscenities and threatening fans of opposing teams, or even taking it a step further and resorting to violence -- I remember the Maryland v. Villanova basketball game last year at the Verizon Center when a Villanova fan threw a glass beer bottle on the court and was ejected from the stadium. I'm all for passionate fans -- trust me, I yell and scream with the best of them and bleed red, white, black and yellow. But this tradition of aggression that has been adopted at Maryland is beginning to really hurt our sports programs. For example, no family wants to bring their young children to a stadium chanting "asshole" at the unfortunate guy wearing a Duke shirt. Those families in turn will be less likely to buy season tickets to games, discouraging alumni relations and possible athletic sponsors. While I admittedly have yelled my share of curses at visiting teams, I think our athletics department needs an overhaul to pull Maryland away from the negative image its projecting and focus more on sportsmanship and begin supporting our teams in a positive manner.

USA... Win World Cup??

I know everyone has been tuned into watching the Women's World Cup these pass few days on television. Everyone is looking forward to see how our women's team is going to do in the battle for the cup. Personally I think that our women's team is going to walk away with it this year just for the amount of determination that is built up in our team. I believe everyone would agree with me on that one. For the past few years we have always came up short by losing in the semifinals, which I know that has been heart breaking for not winning another World Cup since 1999. Which in every interview or commercial we see how much they really want to win. I think they will pull it out this year and we will have the best Women's Soccer Team. I am looking forward to watching the rest of todays game against North Korea and to see how well we do in the rest of the tournament.

100 PLUS DAYS OF THE NFL LOCKOUT !

This NFL lockout has been going on for a while now as people know. This lockout process is giving all of the players drafted in the 2011 draft problems as far as getting paid, learning their teams playbook, and just working out in general. It is also giving current players issues but not as much as newly drafted players. I have no idea how the US would react to no NFL, there would be alot of money lost, and alot of people with no jobs. Also no entertainment for the die hard fans of the game! Me being a huge football cannot wait for this to end, as the NFL tries to resolve the problems with this lockout the NBA lockout is coming into play. Many people do not know about this. Its all about the money these day with everything that is done in the world! What would the world be without sports?

should celebration be allowed in the NFL

Celebration brings the excitement to the game. it gives the fans something to enjoy after they see a touchdown. i think celebrations was the most excitement part of the game besides the touchdown. i feel as though the players that score should be able to express their happiness after they score an touchdown. when this new commissioner took over, he took the celebration away causing the game to become boring. When celebration was in full effect the game was alot funnier to watch because a celebration was always expected. For the players like Chad Johnson, who celebrated a whole lot, stated that now the game is not as fun since he cant do his celebrations to entertain the fans.
I think celebration should be like it was a few years ago, where they can do anything they want. as long as no one is being hurt i feel like the celebration rule should be back in affect. what do you think? I loved that aspect of the game !

Davey Johson new Nationals Manager

Davey Johnson is the new Nationals coach, after a comeback victory in the 9^th inning against Seattle Mariners former Manager Jim Rigglemen. He resigned from the team citing that the organization did not see him as the future manger. GM Rizzo believes that Johnson is the perfect fit for the team, which gave him a three-year contract. Johnson is most known for winning the 1986 World Series with the New York Mets. He has taken three different teams to the playoffs and the Nationals organization wants him to be the fourth. With the Nationals on a hot streak of winning, this companionship should fit and keep the team in the race for the wild card. Their next series is with the Los Angeles Angels in California.

Media and Its Role in the Perception of Black Athletes

It has been interesting to watch this LeBron James situation unfold throughout this NBA season and see the amount of vitriol that has been thrown his way for his "decision". However distasteful it was, i don't think it merited half of the amount of hate it garnered. Its almost like hating on LeBron is just like getting skinny jeans now, it's just what the "cool" kids do. While James is getting tarred and feathered like a criminal, Ben "Strong Arm Love" Roethlisburger, who for the 2nd time has been accused of forcing himself upon an unsuspecting and obviously unwilling young woman, barely got any heat, and the media remained quite as a church mouse on his situation. And if holding a franchise hostage was the charge put on James that made him so hated, than no one is more guilty of that than Brett Favre who for the last 4 NFL seasons couldn't decide if he was coming or going only to skip training camp and show up in the locker room two minutes before the first game.

This all goes along with the overly negative news coverage that black athletes get and now in this new age of twitter and facebook and 24/7 news cycle, where people have more of a forum to hang themselves, this will only be exacerbated where any little public mishap or even bad words said between the lines will not fail to make it to Youtube. If LeBron when to the bathroom, the media felt it was necessary we know for how long and if he went number 1 or number 2. You see for most, blacks and thuggery go together like white on rice and the media to an extent fans those flames. Is it a coincidence that with the "decision" ratings for the nba where up 30%? Its the old "car crash" mentality. It's always amazing to see how scared people get when a fight breaks out in the NBA, when for the most part no punches are ever thrown, and all that ever happens is too dudes starring at each other looking to see who can "mean-mug" the hardest. A "Malice in the Palace" incident with Ron Artest going in the stands to retaliate against a fan who threw beer at him happens about as often as Glen Beck has a good idea.

Ironically the Sport with the most thuggish behavior is hockey a predominantly white sport, where the players are actually allowed to fight and constantly look like over grown 7 year olds because they are always missing their front teeth. Not only do the players fight, but those crowds at those venues cheer them on, encouraging them and enjoying the proceedings. Interestingly enough though, people still don't watch hockey. I am in no way saying that black athletes do not do anything wrong, but they also don't always do wrong. The media has a purpose and its in how they frame the argument. they would rather say 1/5 black athletes have a criminal record than tell you that 4/5 don't. This not only creates perception but helps foster it and unfortunately perception is reality....even when it isn't.

WNBA 15th Anniversary last night

Last night was the 15^th anniversary of the first WNBA game held at Staples Center arena between the Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty. It is a remarkable accomplishment that the league has stayed in existence for 15^th season. When the league first started there were many critics thinking the league would only last 2 or 3 years. Great players like Rebecca Lobo and Lisa Leslie came back to be honored at halftime. They were two of many pioneers that started in the first game. The WNBA game is showcasing better quality with better players playing in the league. The attendance level has risen every year since the beginning. The league will only move further with this success of 15 years. In the game, LA Sparks did defeat the New York Liberty 96 to 91 with Candice Parker and Milton-Jones putting with a combined 48 points.

COLLEGE ATHELETES RECIEVING EXTRA BENEFITS !

I know everyone has heard about the buzz going around about Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor and him supposedly signing gear and selling bowl rings for money. This is a hot topic being talked about right now with sports in general and there are many things going on with the sports world that are affecting many people and their lifestyles. This is a very opinionated topic about him getting paid over $40,000 in one year because I am a college athlete I understand where he is coming from but I also know that it is illegal to perform this act. I would not take any money from anyone because it’s not worth my whole career. I do agree that the NCAA should pay college athletes an allowance because times are hard for some people and this forces them to go the illegal route with things when they are in need. I do not know what it would take for this to happen and for us to get some type of legal money but it would stop the issues that are going on about athletes receiving extra benefits.

USA vs. Jamaica Soccer game

I went to watch the USA vs. Jamaica soccer game on Sunday, June 19th at the RFK stadium. The game was the first of the double header, followed by the match between El Salvador and Panama. It was no surprise to see Salvadorian fans show up a little early and watch the U.S. vs. Jamaica game. The stadium was pretty much packed, with probably about 70% Salvadorian fans. During the U.S. Jamaica game I was shocked to hear the Salvadorian fans cheering for the U.S. One of my friends commented that the Salvadorians hate Jamaicans. I don't know the reason behind this, but there is obviously racial issues involved in this. Besides that, the game was very entertaining. The U.S. ended up beating Jamaica 2-0 and we saw 3 of former Terrapins playing for the U.S. National Team.

Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova??

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are both two talented females that conguer the tennis world and partial the modeling. One thing that I never knew was that Sharapova been doing modeling for a long time. Whenever you google Serena name you might think that you are going to get tennis picture but to a suprise you get alot of Half Naked pictures of her with a tennis racket in her hand. Maria on the other hand appears to be shown limited naked picture on the internet site.
The media trys to make serena look like a bad person because of her many naked pictures. Sharapova is shown to be a goddess in the tennis and model world because all of her picture is shown to be pure and fully clothe. The difference between Sharapova and Serena is that when you type in one name you get bad images but the other name you get nice images. The media makes it look like african americans cant help but show negative and a progative image.

Is Michael Vick Band Wagon Back Full

Is Vick dog fighting incident forgotten about because of the way he bounced back? Why haven't we heard anything about the dog fighting that Vick dead lately?

He established himself once again as one of of the biggest forces in the NFL. He helped the Philadelphia Eagles reach the playoffs after taking over for Donavon Mcnabb. It seems as though after Michael had this great season after his horrible dog fighting and jail experience his fan support seems to be becoming back in the light. Everyone seem to hate Michael Vick because of his dog fighting incident, thinking he was one of the worse athletes in the world, but in my eyes everyone has forgotten about the whole incident just because he came back into the NFL and show that he is still the most electrifying athletes in the league. It seems as though Michael Vick's fan base is becoming better then it has been before. Vick took on the challenge to become a better man and player after getting out of jail, which helped him gain lots of respect.

I think it is all because of how he performed this past season. After this season the fans and reporters did a 360 on the way that they portrayed. After Vick's best season in his career the his band wagon is back full, while he was once hated by everyone.

Rory McIlory winning first Major

Rory McIlory won the 2011 U.S. Open Championship at Congressional yesterday. It was his first major win and by the experts will not be his last. After four months ago at the Masters McIlory, whom had a huge lead in that event choked when the spotlight was on him in that moment. But this time he relished the spotlight and soared to a convincing win where he won by 8 shots. It is been back to back wins for players from Northern Ireland with Graeme McDowell winning in 2010. At 22, he is the second youngest behind of course Tiger Woods to win a Major. Now that he has won a major that debate goes on if he will be next great to win multiple majors and vast in the glory? Only time will tell if Rory will be the next great but at 22 he has time to cement his legacy in golf. But with that unmemorable loss at the Master’s behind him now he can focus on winning more.

Are we wrong to assume?

When I was listening to my classmates who did their presentation on track and field, it really started to sink in on how our society really perceives black athletes. When we watched the video of the men running the 100m dash in the olympics and every single runner was black it sparked a question. Are we wrong for having these assumptions that the majority of black athletes are more athletic then white athletes. This is the fastest men in the world and every single one of them is black. In one of my papers I wrote about how the media and commentators effect how we protray black athletes as more athletetic, but when I watch the race it appeared as a fact. So does the media really effect our outlook on race and athletes, or is it actual events (for example watch the link below) that effect our preception as well. Either way, with commentators or no commentators, it still didn't change the fact the every runner in that race was black.

http://youtu.be/MIEEA93Yp2I

The track presentation stood out to me the most when it came to race in sports, but it was still apparent in all the other presentations. In Adrian's and my group presentation it was also apparent how race plays a factor in teams sports and in the various positions that people play. Most recievers in football are black and the linemen are white. I don't believe it is a fact that blacks are more athletic then whites, or that whites are smarter then blacks, I'm just saying that there are instances that would explain why people think the way they do when it comes to race in sports. Maybe its not the media but what we see with our own eyes that leads us to assume.

Media Make out about the finals against the Mavs and Heat!!!

Everybody thought that the Miami Heat was going to be the world champions. Unfortunatelly the Mavs came back and won the finals at the Heats home court. The big 3 had the most talent on one team that many did not have but they did not use it to their advantage because they thought that the championship was suppose to be handed to them without putting in the hard work. The Heat had so much going on off the court that caused them to look like the villians but otherwise the Mavs was just focused on winning the championship.

The big 3, who happen to be black, already put the spot light on themselves when LeBron had a hour long episode on where he should take his talents. I think he should have kept them in Cleveland. Then the Miami Heat had a after party on the stage after the decision, that shows how arrogant and cocky they were. The Mavs took a lot of critism from the Miami Heat during the finals. For example, The big 3 making jokes on how sick Dirk was acting after they won they believed he wasnt sick he was just faking it. The Mavs just sucked it up and made everybody into a believer by winning the finals. I think they deserved to win because they acted like a championship callabore team. The media portrayed the big 3 in a negative way which reinforced that black athletes sometimes arent educated and put together. At the same time they showed the Mavs especially Dirk the blue collar athletes that Americans seem to love. How does this make blacks look as athletes? How does this makes white looks?

Bruins' Team Effort Trumps Canuck's Star Power in 4-0 Victory

Last night, the underdog Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in a sweeping 4-0 victory at Rogers Arena. The winning Game 7 secured the Bruin's first Stanley Cup Championship in 39 years, bringing the glory home to an elated Boston. The team started the season and entered the playoffs with low expectations: there weren't too many big-name superstars or Olympic athletes on the team; their previous records weren't promising; Game 7 was played in an extremely hostile Canucks environment. But the relentless Bruins charged into the playoffs with unwavering focus and flawless teamwork, unnerving the Canuck's star Robert Luongo and upsetting the heavily-favored Canuks to bring home the Cup.

This playoff series illustrated the importance of stressing teamwork in a championship series. Relying too much on a single star player either leaves gaping holes in other areas of the team's efforts, or places so much stress on that individual that they can't handle the pressure and carry their team to a championship. Instead, maintaining a sense of team unity challenges and strengthens each and every team member, encouraging continued focus and effort, an ideology exemplified by the Bruins. As Coach Claude Julien said, "We never, never quit, and that's what I'm proud of. They're so deserving of what has happened here. It's not a fluke. It's something they earned."

We can see the same trend in other sports: as unstoppable as Brian Urlacher may be, without a decent offense, the Bears will never win a Super Bowl; LeBron might be "King James", but ultimately, he and Wade couldn't trump the Mavericks. So congratulations to the Bruins for playing as a team, overcoming the odds, and winning the Stanley Cup!

At What Point Will 2011 NFL lockout Ruin The Season

"Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times recently wrote about the lockout and predicted there's currently a 70 percent chance games are missed because of the lockout. Most are predicting that the June 3 court case will favor the owners which will keep the lockout in place until the two sides get a deal done. Losing at least one game would likely mean the lockout goes into at least late August."( ttp://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/5/31/2198735/nfl-lockout-2011-season-games).


This NFL lockout is going way to far. At some point, it will be to late and it will effect this NFL season. Maybe a loss of preseason games or maybe a loss of regular season games, is something that the owners and commissioners should look into. If football is missed then a big part of America will be missing. Football may be the most important sport in America. All the players want to do is play. The money is becoming to big of a factor in the situation when the players are the reasons why millions of dollars are coming in. I feel as though the players deserve most of the income anyway because without players there is no FOOTBALL.

Mavs Defeat the Heat!!!... Shocker or no?

I'm sure everyone was tuned into game six to the NBA Finals with the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat last night. Which Dallas won game six of the series as they were able to beat the Heat at home 105-95 with the record of four wins and two losses. Personally, I wanted to see a game seven from these two great teams and wanted the Heat to win it all but just as the Mavs did in the previous games before and that was they shot the lights of like always. What do you think about Jason Terry getting the NBA trophy tattooed on himself? Look Here: http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=6605599 I think it shows you how bad he really wanted it and it also showed by the way he played by averaging 20 plus points coming off the bench. I think he played his role well as being the sixth man off the bench and I would want him on my team. Do you think Lebron and Wade jinxed themselves by making fun of Dirks illness? Here is the video: Wade, LeBron Mock Dirk I thought it was funny by what they were doing I don't think they were trying to down grade him as a player but just trying to talk some trash as two teams would do in the finals. By how Dirk took it he didn't talk so much trash about it he felt as if it was immature and didn't like it but that is just how the game is people are going to talk trash as long as you can back it up and Lebron and Wade couldn't.

Wrestlers Are Indeed Remembered

So I'm sure everyone heard about Randy "Macho Man" Savage passing away. I remember seeing him occasionally in my younger days. Generally, as we age, at least in my case, I watched wrestling less and less and eventually stopped paying attention to wrestlers and their careers, with the exception of those who went into acting like The Rock (by the way, Fast Five was a great movie).

Despite the fact that I'm not into wrestling anymore, Macho Man's passing is quite the sad occasion. The amount of condolence that I have seen for him on social networks such as blogs and Twitter shows that while many people may view wrestling as fake and easily forgettable nowadays, many people do actually realize that wrestling goes beyond WWF and is a real sport.

R.I.P. Macho Man.

Shut Your Mouth Jorge Posada

Early Saturday evening, Joe Girardi's Yankee lineup had Jorge Posada hitting ninth in the order and DHing.

About an hour later, it was reported Posada had asked out of the lineup for non-injury reasons, and that he was going to speak to reporters after the game. Posada was unhappy that he was hitting last in the order, and felt disrespected by the organization that he has been a part of since 1990.

The sentiment that Yankees "owe" him something is disturbing. Posada, 39, is being paid over $13 million this season, and currently ranks last among qualified hitters, with a .175 batting average. Posada should bat wherever, and play wherever his manager asks him to.

Meanwhile Sunday night, the aging Jason Varitek was behind the plate for the Red Sox. The Sox' captain has been with the organization since 1994, and has accepted his limited role with the team over the last three years, taking pay cuts and diminished playing time to remain at Fenway Park.

The discrepancy in attitude between the two aging catchers is staggering. As Varitek was playing a role in the Sox' 7-5 victory, Posada was off sulking in the clubhouse of the Yankees' billion dollar palace.

The Red Sox "owe" just as much to Varitek as the Yankees to do Posada: none. While both organizations are gracious for the contributions that the players have made over the last decade plus, as long as they are cashing the paychecks, the players best do their jobs.

Wrestlers or Superstars?

http://www.prowrestling.com/article/news/18253

What does the WWE want to do with its company and what direction it wants to move in.

“As detailed in WWE’s press release two weeks ago explaining the re-branding of the company,”

This re-branding includes a new set of terms and on-stage presence to be brought to the company. Recently, an email was released to personnel in the company that specified the list of new words to refer to the WWE wrestlers. The WWE has even sent out memos to companies that do international voiceovers;

“WWE has an information sheet titled "The Language of WWE" that they send out to people that do international voice-overs for their TV shows in other countries. The sheet includes a list of "Incorrect Terminology" and a list of "Correct Terminology."”

Words such as wrestling, sports, wrestlers, athletes, and fight are no long allowed. Instead, the wrestlers are now to be referred to as “WWE Superstars.” The email also includes key terms to be utilized,

“WWE is pure entertainment, WWE is an action soap opera, WWE Superstars are entertainers with tremendous athletic prowess”

I don’t really understand what Vince McMahon intends to achieve by having this new philosophy

Mario's blog

The Heat took a tough game 1 lost to the Bulls. Should the heat be worried after the first game. I believe that they should worry because they did not have a chance against the bulls. The bulls outplayed them in every aspect of the game. If the Heat do not get it together i feels that they will only win one game if that.

Mario's blog

Should Rashard Mendenhall be punished for his comments about Osama bin Ladens's death? He has lost a lot of fans and popularity because of his comments on twitter. I feel as if it he should not be punished because we are entitled to a freedom of speech which means he should be able to freely express himself. The country has really gave him a negative vibe because of his comments he even lost his endorsement with Champion.

Warren Moon Believes Cam Newton Criticism Based on Race

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/14879833/moon-angry-over-perceived-racial-bias-toward-newton

During his playing career, Warren Moon undoubtedly faced racism as a black quarterback in the NFL. He also believed that criticism heaped upon Cam Newton in the weeks leading up to the draft was racially motivated. But if you take a deeper look, Moon's comments have little support.

Moon said, "I don't see other quarterbacks in the draft being criticized by the media or fans about their smile or called a phony. He's being held to different standards from white quarterbacks." Moon is right in that Newton has been heavily criticized for his personality and leadership but to suggest that he is the only one and that it is only happening because he is black is way off base. Just last year Jimmy Clausen, who is white, was expected to be one of the top QB prospects in the draft but was heavily criticized for his leadership skills and ended up falling to the second round.

Moon also wondered why Newton's history in a spread system was being used to question his transition into a professional style offense. Again, Moon claimed that no white QB's were subject to this same criticism and so he concluded that it must be due to the color of Newton's skin. This is a ridiculous suggestion considering the fact that QB's that come from spread offenses are always heavily criticized. In fact, just last year Tim Tebow, a white QB who plays a similar style to Newton, fell to the bottom of the first round amid concerns of his ability to transition from the spread offense.

Moon shouldn't be so quick to pull the race card. If he had done a little research before making his own comments, he would have seen that there were white QB's from just last year that faced similar criticism to Newton and it could be argued that the criticism on the white QB's was more harsh considering they were drafted much lower than Newton who went 1st overall.

Bernard Hopkins Comments Towards Donovan McNabb

http://articles.philly.com/2011-05-11/sports/29532616_1_rich-burg-bernard-hopkins-donovan-mcnabb

Bernard Hopkins has long been a critic of Donovan McNabb. His most recent comments suggest that McNabb isn't "black enough" and that he isn't being true to his black roots.

I believe it's comments like this that prove this country still has a long way to go with respect to race relations. If we want to truly have an equal and just society, we need to stop identifying people as "too black" or "too white". Instead of focusing on how "black" McNabb is or isn't, Hopkins should simply focus on the positive or negative traits he sees in McNabb why or why not he has a problem with them. There is no reason to bring race into the equation. All that does is perpetuate stereotypes that put a strain on race relations. We can't move forward as a society until EVERYONE realizes that there is no "black way" or "white way".

In addition to his racist comments, Hopkins also used an analogy to compare football to slavery. This is such a tired and overstated analogy. Last time I checked, slaves didn't get paid millions of dollars for their craft. And football players don't get tortured and murdered on a whim.

Chad Ochocinco Jack of ALL trades

I'm sure that everyone has heard about Chad and his attempt to pursue a career in professional soccer. He is a phenomenal athlete with extraordinary abilities that most people could only wish to be blessed with. Overall, he has had a good career in the NFL and still has some years left in him. While football is a violent sport, the owners and coaches don't really like to see their players going out and doing things that put them in harms way. This is even prevalent on college campuses across the country. An example is that here at Maryland the football team is no longer allowed have scooters.
With this said, you may understand somewhat how important the health and well being of professional athletes is to their employer. The reason being none other than money, but should the athletes still be able to take risk as they please. It seems that Chad is. This past Saturday he participated in a sport that i feel is much more dangerous than football and possibly one of the most dangerous in the world. He hopped on the back of Deja Blu the rodeo bull and tried to hang on for the full eight seconds. He only made it 1.5 seconds which is actually not bad for someone who doesn't have any prior experience. The event was set up because of a tweet that Chad posted earlier this month. He earned $10,000 just for making it out of the chute but if he could have stayed on for the whole eight seconds he would have earned a new truck and the right to name the bull after Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. Ty Murray, a former world champion rider and a PBR director, coached Ochocinco the last two days at the Gwinnett Arena trying to get him ready to actually ride the bull. "Murray compared the experience to a first-time skier attempting to navigate a run from the top of the French Alps."
When Chad was asked what the Bengals thought about he act he said that he was sure that they didn't like it and he could understand why but he really didn't care. He said that he has never done what the NFL said to do. When chad was asked about the risk that was involved with his act and how it could affect his longevity in a negative way this is what he had to say. "No, every down is a risk to my career," he said. "Every time I wake up in the morning there's a risk to life in general. You never know what's going to happen. One of the things about me is I'm extremely interesting, I'm unpredictable and I am willing to do anything."

Losing to Win

http://losingtowin.wfu.edu/conference-videos/panel-vii/

On April 13 and 14th Wake Forest University hosted a conference called Losing to Win. The conference focused on discussing race and intercollegiate sports. There were a total of eight panels focusing on different aspects of college sports and how they affected the black athlete. Some issues that were discussed include the 2010 Men’s March Madness teams. Of which 45 teams graduated 70% of their white players while only 20 teams graduated 70% of their black players. Another issue is the amount of white coaches in college football. Approximately 95% of BCS head football coaches are white. Approximately 50% of players are African American. One panel also discussed the time D1 basketball players devoted to athletics verses their academics. Division I men’s basketball players devoted an average of 36 hours a week to athletics while devoting 32 hours to academic activities. I watched the video from Panel 7, which was titled Title IX and Gender Equity: Increased Opportunity for Women of Color? Jacquelyn Bridgeman and Alfred Matthewson, two professors of law, were the panelists. They both seemed to be in favor of Title IX because of the great opportunities that it afforded black women. Bridgeman felt that growing up in a small town, the only things to do were to drink alcohol, have sex, or play sports. She felt that sports was a huge outlet and stress reliever for her. She said that Title IX has helped to open opportunities for black female athletes all over the country. She feels that there is stilla strong need for Title IX today. In this aspect, I agree with Bridgeman. I believe that there should be ways in which black women have equal chances at being successful in the world of sports, because there is a tremendous bias. For me however, I feel that there is a greater need to address gender and racial biases and work on changing attitudes of the individual rather than changing the law. I think that the NCAA should establish programs that help student athletes become more tolerant of race.

GQ ranks Maryland Basketball Fans as the 5th Worst in the Country

GQ magazine recently ranked Maryland Terrapins basketball fans as the 5th worst fans in America. As a Maryland basketball fan, I was beaming with pride when the article was first brought to my attention. Do I want to have a reputation as soft fan that is welcoming to our rival guests? Of course not!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to make the game day experience a bad one for families and children coming to the game. There is no place for profane chants in the Comcast center and using the “F” word makes us look very bad. It is nothing to be proud of.

There is no shame, however, in being considered a hostile crowd. We can take pride in the fact that other college basketball fans consider us to be intimidating and antagonistic. Jeff Allen of Virginia Tech has said that he hates playing at Comcast. This is the type of reputation we want to have. We want opposing players to dread coming to College Park. Celebrating a big win doesn’t always have to be a riot. However, there is no harm in large public gatherings of jubilation. It is just a matter of not escalating the situation. Terp fans are extremely passionate about their basketball. We don’t take well to outsiders intruding on our turf.

The GQ story brought our fandom to national attention, and I couldn’t be happier. I would like to move up in the rankings, but I think that would take more winning. Love it or hate it, this is part of our fan culture. We are proud to be feared. Hopefully under new coach Mark Turgeon, our passion will continue to burst from the stands. Maryland fans are great because of their passion.

Why Baseball is Just THAT Awesome

"The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again." 
-Terrence Mann, Field of Dreams (1989)


Perhaps of all of my favorite movies, Field of Dreams leaves me feeling the most vulnerable (not vulnerable in the "oh please do not let me see a dead rabbit on the street today, I am still very sensitive and upset about a break up and will probably cry over the fuzzy little guy," but vulnerable in the sense that "WOW I just saw field of dreams and think all of my dreams can come true" vulnerable). There are many reasons why, but I want to focus on a select few right now:


Terrence said it best in the quote above. I think it is impossible to try and put that idea in better words than Terrence did. The Great Depression, World Wars I & II, the Civil Rights Movement (we'll get to that later), Vietnam, The Gulf War, Bush, September 11 (I am sure I am missing a few big events in our history but I never said I was a history guy so shut it)...and baseball is still here. In fact, in the last twenty years, even baseball saw a moment in its history where people wondered if the game can ever be the same again with the steroid era. But here we are, not five years past that, and already we just witnessed "the year of the pitcher." There is no parallel to baseball in the way it has stood the test of time. Baseball has never seen an entire season lost due to lockout. Baseball has always been there for when the kids get out of school for the summer, when the weather is perfect for being outside for hours tossing a baseball.


For those of you who have not seen Field of Dreams: 1) shame on you. 2) please contact me immediately and I will schedule a viewing, but for now all I can say is ***SPOILER ALERT***. "Doc" Graham wished for a "Chance to squint at a sky so blue that it hurts your eyes just to look at it. To feel the tingling in your arm as you connect with the ball. To run the bases - stretch a double into a triple, and flop face-first into third, wrap your arms around the bag...That's my wish." For those of you who have never played a game of baseball (softball counts in this context, too), perhaps "Doc's" words will give some sort of description for that unmistakable feeling when you are playing. To trot out to your position, take a grounder from the first baseman, feel the dirt and gravel run through your fingers as you guide the ball into the pocket of your mitt...to bring your glove - ball and all - up to your chest while your fingertips feel for the seams...and to send it right back to the outstretched arm of the first basemen...all in the most routine fashion just to do it again a moment later, and, if you are lucky, have the throw back beat the base runner...there is really no feeling in the world like it.


A few weeks ago, my father found his father's old baseball glove. (To call it a glove would be a gross overstatement, as it was more like one of those foam fingers you cheer with at ball games - except instead of foam it is made of 100 year old leather and has no big finger that you can make look like a middle finger if you are awesome enough. It really looks like this, but black.) I asked my father if we can have a catch with it, and though you have to use two hands instead of one to catch the ball, something hit me...that glove felt as natural in my hand as my own glove does now. How is it, that a difference of 100 years of technology, leather, and use was as second nature to me as is my glove is? The answer, I realized, lies not in the shape of the glove, or the size of it; the answer is that having a catch comes naturally to all American boys. I guarantee that if I gave anyone else that glove to have a catch with, it would not have been any different - they would have been able to use that over sized leather hand. After teaching a baby how to walk on his/her own, what is the next activity done to help improve motor skills and coordination? Tossing a ball to him/her, then having he/she toss it back! "Catch!" We are all brought up being taught how to play catch. It is in our blood. Now, I am not a crier. It is not a Macho Man thing, I just really do not cry anymore. (Ok maybe it is a Macho Man thing) But, at the end of Field of Dreams, this scene always makes my eyes raaiiiinnnn. When Ray turns to his dead father, and asks him to have a catch, just like he was a boy, THAT is the beauty of baseball. It connects generations. It buries grudges and feuds. It can make two people into best friends in the time it takes to round the bases. When you step on that field, you feel as though nothing in the world can stop you. I still go out and pretend that I am Robin Ventura, taking a bare hand from third base and throwing on the run to gun the runner out...even though there is no runner. Baseball allows for dreams like that; in fact, it is encouraged to dream in baseball.   


They say a baseball is the perfect object for a man's hand, that you cannot throw anything faster than a baseball because of its perfect shape and size. If that is not a sign that it is a game rooted in more than just men, but our hearts and souls, I don't know what is. While writing this post did make me tear a little, I do hope it got how I felt across: that baseball is more than a game. Like Ray Kinsella said, when standing on his home-made baseball field..."Maybe this is heaven." I think it is Ray, I think it is.


Ilan Weitzman

Rashard Mendenhall"s Controversial Tweets.

On the night of May 1, 2011, news broadcasts across the world presented information regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden. It is assumed that Bin Laden was the culprit to orchestrating the 9-11 attacks that occurred against the United States in 2001. Following the terrorist attacks the U.S. became engaged in a War on Terror in Afghanistan. After 10 years of war, U.S. forces finally found and killed the mastermind behind the 9-11 attacks. Upon releasing the news of Bin Laden's death, Americans raved, rioted and displayed their nationalism like none other. However as the nation was so proud and thankful for the death of Bin Laden; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall viewed this incident differently than the rest of America. Mendenhall's use of Twitter.com social networking website provided the foundation for the general public to view Mendenhall's thoughts regarding the killing of Bin Laden. A series of Mendenhall's tweets read as follows:

“What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people hate a man they never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side.”

“I’m not convinced he was even behind the attacks. We have really seen no evidence to prove it other than the government telling us.”

“I believe in God. I believe we are all his children. And I believe he is the one and only judge. Those who judge others will also be judged themselves.”

The tweets clearly display the opinion that Mendenhall feels is related to the Bin Laden killing and War on Terror. After publishing these tweets, Steeler's President Art Rooney II issued the statement, that he and the Steeler's organization were very proud of the U.S. military efforts. Rooney also said he would make it a point to sit down and discuss the controversial tweets in which Mendenhall presented on the Twitter website.

Mendenhall's tweets were radical and stirred up an immense amount of controversy not only in the sports world but in the eyes of Americans worldwide. In a time were loads of nationalism were being displayed, Rashard Mendenhall's opinion suggests there is no reason for such a strong sense of American Pride at this time...

As a Steeler's fan and proud American, I feel that Rashard Mendenhall is nothing more than a senseless fool.

Rajon Rondo Deserves Applause

In the time it takes a fan to go to the bathroom and back to their seat, Rajon Rondo had his elbow popped back into place in the locker room, and came back out to the court to lead the Boston Celtics to victory in a crucial Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semis.

Just a few minutes after hitting the floor and having his elbow bend like a wet noodle, Rondo was back out there. For the rest of the game, he looked to be playing with one arm, drastically favoring his uninjured right hand, but made impact plays as the Celtics pulled away from the Heat to make the series 2-1 in favor of Miami.

It was a truly inspiring, gutsy performance, which is not something that I've come to expect from NBA players in recent years. Watching Rondo run the offense with his left arm hanging limply beside him brought me to my feet in my apartment as I cheered the spunky young point guard.

Despite being on the outside of the "Big 3" for the last three seasons, Rondo has arguably the team's most important player. With the Heat drawing close, one of Rondo's first plays back in the game involved him getting his left (injured) arm in a passing lane, and taking it himself for an easy dunk. On the replay you could see him wince as he batted down the ball, but the adrenaline took over as he glided to the basket.

Rondo put his career on the line, risking further injury, for his team. There's a reason he's become one of the most respected players in the league, and his undeniable toughness evidenced last night makes it even easier to draw comparisons to Jason Kidd, one of the greatest point guards in the history of the league.

Gary Williams Gone, Who's Next?

When the news broke that long time men's basketball coach Gary Williams was retiring after 22 seasons it was significant to more than just Terp students, fans and alumni. Not only did this story receive coverage from the Washington Post, the Diamondback, the Baltimore Sun, and other area broadcasts and publications, but it also received coverage on ESPN.com and SportsCenter. Many questions were raised as to why he was leaving, and what impact this would have on the recently recruited freshmen's decision to stay committed to Maryland. But, more importantly, in my opinion, is the question of who will replace him. The Washington Post speculates that his replacements will either be Jay Wright of Villanova, Jamie Dixon of Pittsburgh, Sean Miller of Arizona, Mike Brey of Notre Dame. All white males. This is important because eventhough the number of black and minority head coaches is increasing steadily the ration of black and minority players to coaches is still staggering. According to NCAA study shows slow progress with women and minority hiring, in all three divisions of men's college basketball in the 2008-2009 season there were 124 black male coaches and 21 minorities at non- Historically Black Colleges compared to 840 white coaches. I wonder if our new athletic director will give a minority candidate the opportunity to coach and succeed at this university.

For more information contained in this article go to http://www.ncaa.org/wps/portal/ncaahome?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/ncaa/NCAA/NCAA+News/NCAA+News+Online/2010/Association-wide/NCAA+study+shows+slow+progress+with+women+and+minority+hiring_05_19_10_NCAA_News

Attack from Social Media

It was interesting to see the country's overall reaction to the announcement of Osama Bin Ladin's recent death. Over the past couple of day's people have shown a bunch of mixed reactions, positive and negative. I would not want to get into the right and wrong's of what Bin Ladin did during his time in power of the Taliban. (Well mainly because there would not be much good to discuss). What I do have a problem with is the amount of animosity there has been towards people that would not consider "death" a good thing. Regardless of the fact that we do know that Bin Ladin has been the most iconic villian in American (and maybe even the world) society since Hitler, death is never something to be rejoicful off. Now I do not want to come across as someone who supports terrorism cause i certainly do not, I actually heard the news of Bin Ladin's death in Las Vegas and you bet I started to celebrate and downed a couple beverages, but the fact remains that when someone dies, people have the right to mourn. What I am leading into here is the amount of hate Steelers Running Back Rashard Mendenhall has receieved over his latest tweets discussing the death of Osama Bin Ladin. Now I do not have a Twitter account so I cant go and see exactly what he said, and the context in which he said, but I did hear from plenty of people about the incident. I am just shocked by the fact that American's have been in such a hurry to hear what other people think (in this case a professional athlete), and when they hear something they dislike, they are quick to judge this person. Where I was raised, I was told not to judge anyone on something they say, especially if you do not know this person at all. A person should be allowed to speak there mind, and say what they feel on a certain issue, as that is the reason Twitter and Facebook have come so far. So why does it feel like anytime a celebrity has something to say, the public is so quick to judge. I do not believe it is fair, as we are holding these individuals to an even higher standard than they already have placed themselves in by being a celebrity in the first place. In the words of Charles Barkely, celebrities have a choice if they are or are "Not a Role Model." So i feel like if someone of higher status comes out with something to say on one of these social networking sites, that American's are using to hear about other people' lives and thoughts, than give them a break if it is something you may not want to hear about. What do you think?

NCAA and their double standards

Back in the day, athletes were told that if they had a problem, and could not talk to their, parents, relatives, friends, or teachers that they always had a true confidant, and athletes knew that they always had their coach. But now the dynamics of the relationship has changed, coaches on various levels can no longer interact with their players, in fear of being charged with impropriates. But with all the money that the NCAA makes from these players, where do they get off with all the ethics on one hand, and allow coaches to commit some of the severe violations that they do. And why you might ask, is that all that really matters is that the school makes as much money as they can from these athletes.

The NCAA has strict rules regarding what school athletic departments can and cannot do, and when they violate them, we have seen the severe penalties. For example the 2007-08 season was completely stripped from the University of Memphis for violations regarding players and SAT scores (but the coach was cleared of any wrong doings), and the USC football team was placed on probation for impropriates during the 2004 season involving Reggie Bush (again coach not punished), and finally Kentucky’s Men’s Basketball Team is currently being investigated for possible violations when rap mogul Jay-Z was in the locker room during the NCAA Tournament.

But what is the significance to this, well last year; football programs like the University of Texas and Ohio State grossed millions from their programs while graduating close to 60%. Now one might see this as a relatively high number, that rate is extremely reduced when we look at minorities. These school need to take the same zealous approach to graduating these money making athletes, as they do in their approach to turning record profits every year. And for those that feel this is an unfair task for a school and that the student needs to have some responsibility, I do agree, but when you look at school like Notre Dame, Duke, Vanderbilt and Stanford, that are graduating over 90% of their team, we see that this can be done. The NCAA has shown time and time again that thou their mission statement might be to educate, promote, preserve and protect the highest standards of business ethics, while setting the highest degree of integrity, the bottom line for most school seems to be the all mighty dollar.