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.