Hometown Heroes

This offseason second year player and backup quarterback, Tyrod Taylor, did not forget about his duties as a role model. On April 14th the Baltimore Raven, went back to his hometown of Hampton, Virginia to host his inaugural football camp. The free camp was given to over 200 youth between the ages of 9 and 14. With the help of local coaches and trainers, Taylor led the camp through technique and agility drills. The purpose of the camps is to provide a strong offensive and defense foundation for the kids to build upon as they grow through the game of football.

In a league of players who are often only publicized for negative behavior, it is nice to see that the 2010 ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year is giving back to his community. During lunch with the mentees he talked to them about the importance of education, hard work, and avoiding peer pressure. In a world of glorified athletes, it is good that there are some who try to instill positive core values in the community. He also brought in close friend, fellow Hampton native, and also a former Virginia Tech quarterback, Michael Vick, to reiterate the core values that he wanted to teach to the kids. These two quarterbacks are hometown heroes and should be commended for going back to their areas to uplift the youth.

Golden Boy's Adversity

There were many rumors circulating that the most decorated Olympian in history, Michael Phelps, may be fined or stripped of his medals for a Louis Vuitton ad being released during the Olympic games. Rule 40 states that Olympic participants may not promote any non-Olympic Sponsor brand for an almost month long period surrounding the Olympic games. The ad campaign was set to be released August 16th after the period set forth by the International Olympic Committee.

It is still unknown who released the Louis Vuitton ad pictures, but Phelps' agent, Peter Carlisle, assures that he has no issues with the International Olympic Committee. Phelps would only be facing penalties if he permitted use of the picture. Since the source of the photo leaking is unsure, Phelps and his 22 medals are safe, along with his record. Phelps is pictured below in one of the Louis Vuitton ad campaign pictures with former Russian gymnast, Larisa Latynina, whose record for most medals Phelps broke in the London Olympic games.

Courtesy of Yahoo

Courtside Country Pride



Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images

2011-2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler has helped the USA Olympic Basketball Team strike gold in London after defeating Spain 107-100. Chandler thought winning the gold medal was one of the greatest feelings he has ever felt. He was quoted saying,
"It literally felt like, the only way I can describe it, it was like somebody had a bowl of hot water and they were pouring it from the top of my head to the tip of my feet. You had this warm feeling, you got goose bumps of pride. It brought me to tears and a lot of my teammates as well. It's pride for your country." He was also greatly appreciative that his 3 young children were all there to witness this accomplishment. Though they may not understand it now, this was one of his proudest moments as a parent, and he plans to use it to teach them that they can "accomplish anything that they put out to achieve in life."

Chandler who is pictured above with New York Knick teammate and fellow Olympian Carmelo Anthony hopes that they can bring this success back to the NBA this season. Anthony who is often criticized as a selfish player that does not attempt to play defense, seems to have transformed his game in the 2012 London Olympics. Since the end of the NBA regular season he has reportedly lost at least 12 pounds. Also Melo' broke the U.S single game scoring record with 37 points in a Team USA 156-73 victory over Nigeria, while also shooting 10-12 from 3 point range. Knick coach Mike Woodson flew out to London to check in with his star players, and watch a few games. But he like the rest of the world will have to wait until the season starts to see if the Olympic play will transfer to the NBA court. We have a few months before that happens, so until then Chandler and Anthony can enjoy representing there country as Team USA Basketball gold medalist.

Team USA wins the gold 107-100 in rematch against Spain

It seems that Spain is the only team, in the Olympics, that gives the USA basketball team a challenge. I was a little worried and skeptical that they could pull it off by halftime, but they came through and pulled it off. Kevin Durant led the team with 30 points and it was a solid team effort by all. I must admit that I can't help comparing this 2012 team to the 1992 Dream Team. Maybe I shouldn't compare them because they are two totally different teams. The 1992 USA Dream Team consisted of: Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Carl Malone, and Larry Bird to name a few. They were in complete domination of their opponents averaging 44 point against their opponents. Maybe, times have changed and the United States isn't as dominant because the rest of the world is catching up!

Chad Johnson gets released from jail and Miami Dolphins

It may come as no shock to hear about the domestic dispute between Chad Johnson and his new wife of a little over a month, Evelyn Lozado, this past weekend. I personally was shocked when I saw the two of them discuss cheating on an episode of Basketball Wives. Evelyn seemed to give him permission to cheat as long as he used protection and told her about it. Really?? Then if that is so, why the argument over a receipt for a box of condoms that were found in his car?? Don't get me wrong, I do not ever condone physical violence of any kind against a man or woman.. It's just sad that Chad would jeopardize his career over some side action. I mean why get married??

USA women's soccer win gold

Yesterday the USA women's soccer team won the gold medal match over there rival Japan. This was a very exciting game that topped off an incredible tournament for the USA. The team went into extra time in the semi finals against a strong Canadian team, both teams not scoring for the 30 minutes of extra time. Then in the last 30 seconds of stoppage time Alex Morgan knocked a header in right over the goalie's grasp to put the USA into the gold medal final. My family and I went absolutely nuts but their quest wasn't over. They lost in penalty kicks to the same Japanese team just last year in the world cup. So revenge was on their minds as they went out and got on the Japanese early getting out to a 2 to 0 lead and eventually holding on to win 2 to 1. The game was really exciting to watch and to see the USA team triumph and get redemption over the same team that beat them in the world cup was awesome. The Olympics are such a great time in athletics and we can't take it for granted.

USA gold in women's beach volleyball

After finishing the readings for the lesson regarding Title IX I thought I would take a look at the Olympic news specifically related to women's victories.  One pair of athletes that were of particular interest was Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh-Jennings.  They have won their third straight gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.  So for the past twelve years they have been the reigning Olympic champions in women's beach volleyball.  I think their story is incredible.  The amount of team work and understanding they have for each other is unbelievable.  I would argue that in some ways participating in an event that requires a partner adds another level of complexity and need for dedication.  As an athlete you aren't just responsible for yourself, but also how you interact with your teammate.

Here is an article detailing their win and at the bottom are several links to articles about their personal journey: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18907800

Gabby Douglas's hairstyle is not important

It's a shame that so much attention has been paid to how Gabrielle Douglas wears her hair. It's even worst that it's come from the African American community! Who cares about if her hair is natural or relaxed. We should be celebrating her accomplishments and success she has had in this 2012 Olympic games. We should be proud of her contributions to the 2012 USA Gymnastics Team. I am personally in awe of what this young lady has done and could care less about how she wears her hair. It has been wonderful to see all various Olympians that are representing the DMV! There is Katie Ledecky from Bethesda, Michael Phelps from Baltimore, Kevin Durant from Md, and Gabrielle 'Gabby Douglas'. Shame on the petty and jealous naysayers that find it hard to give credit and props where it is due.

Title IX: University of Maryland

Recently at the University of Maryland they had to cut teams because the finical situation for UMD is not going in the right direction. If Maryland wanted to keep the sports teams then they had to cut some teams. Immediately everyone started freaking out but then also I knew that Title IX was going to go into affect once they announced they were going to cut the teams. Title IX is when women get chances to play sports.

While the whole deciding of who was going to be the teams that were going to be cut they had to make sure that they had to pair a guys sport with a females sport. By doing so it would make the numbers even for female and male sports.

Being on the Track and Field team, here at the University of Maryland, many other sports teams do not realize that Men's and Women's Track and Field are ONE team. No matter where we go to compete we compete as one and that is one reason I chose to come to the University of Maryland. Once they announced that Men's Track and Field team was one of the teams being cut we could not believe it. The main reason why Women's Track and Field was saved was because of Title IX but Title IX also Detrimental to the guys side. Finically Men's Track and field was fine but they had to pair up a girls sport and a guys sport.

Title IX is a great thing to have but sometimes it hurts people too. We raised enough money to safe are team for one more season but we still need to meet more deadlines if we want to continue to keep our team.

Lithuanian man arrested for racist gesture/remark

During a basketball match between Lithuania and Nigeria, a Lithuanian fan reportedly was fined 2,500 pounds ($3,885) because he was making Nazi salutes and monkey chants.  Petras Lescinskas was arrested during the basketball game, which Lithuania won.
Other fans quickly came to Leschinskas defense.  They claimed that the gesture and chanting was completely misunderstood by the undercover police officers.  They announced that Lithuanian supporters condemn all forms of racism and discrimination.  Leschinska, himself, released a statement saying, "These are our chants, raised up hands... We've been using the same chants for many years and no one ever told us anything before. They said we were doing some monkey sounds. But when a referee makes mistakes, then we chant fu-fu-fu."
Racism, in any form, is wrong and should not be tolerated.  However, in this situation, it seems that the main problem is a cultural barrier.  As was explained by fans and Leschinska, Lithuanian react to sports in different ways than people in the U.S. do.  It is very likely that the police officers were being overly sensitive and made a big deal out of nothing.  But their effort to punishing any form of racism is commendable.

article link

Michael Phelps Retires

Michael Phelps on Saturday August 4th won his final gold medal raising his total to 18 with 22 total medals. He is now going to retire with the most medals by anyone in Olympic history. His accomplishments speak for themselves, but the question is now what will he do? Some are speculating that he will come out of retirement like his favorite athlete Michael Jordan and participate in the Olympics in Rio. Michael Phelps is not sure what he is going to do.

He mentioned traveling the world, but he is not sure. The idea of not having practice and workouts to go to is completely new to him. It might take some time before he figures out how to use all that free time. Who knows maybe the free time will lead to him making a suprising return in 4 years. Either way 22 medals has put him in the record books and puts his stamp on the Olympics.

Farah and Rupp have a 1-2 finish in the 10K

Watching the finish of the men's 10K was very interesting to me.  Coming in first was Great Britain's Mohamed Farah and in second was the U.S. runner Galen Rupp.  He is the first American to medal in the event since 1964.  I thought the results and subsequent commentary were interesting in light of the last few lessons of Unit 3 regarding the dominance of black athletes.  Both Rupp and Farah trained together in Oregon under coaching legend Alberto Salazar.  Their methods were meticulous and long-term in goal setting.  They show that training and dedication can create historic results.

Article covering finish: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1285345-us-olympic-track-and-field-why-galen-rupps-silver-in-10k-is-good-as-gold

15 year-old Katie Ledecky

Friday August 3rd I was watching the Olympics and was amazed when I watched 15 year-old Katie Ledecky win gold in the 800m freestyle. I then read an article today about her victory to learn more about her. She is the youngest athlete in London and narrowly missed a world record in the race. She pulled away at the finish winning with confidence.

I was very impressed by her accomplishment. I am a college athlete and know how hard it is to bring it everyday and the amount of time it takes to become the best you can at what you are doing. Her ability to get to the top at the age of 15 is absolutely incredible. She has so much upside and will continue to improve throughout her career. She will be a factor for many years and will continue to contend for medals in the Olympics.

John Auslander

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-33747_162-57486521/15-year-old-katie-ledecky-of-u.s-wins-gold-in-800-freestyle/

Oscar Pistorius

I recently read an article on Oscar Pistorius and was very intrigued by it. Pistorius is from South Africa and is a sprinter. What makes him so special though is that he is competing in the Olympics while having no legs. He is the first double amputee to compete in an Olympic event, but what is even more amazing is his enthusiasm for competing. He loves what he is doing and it would be hard to find anyone as happy as him after a race. He lights up a room with his smile and is always positive even with all the hardship he has been through.

His legs were amputated when he was 11 months old and he wasn't ever suppose to even stand. However, his mother did not allow him to accept this and pushed him to want more. This has led to him now 25 years later competing in the Olympics. There is still a lot of debate over his running though. Many ask the question does his prosthetic legs actually give him an advantage? Many wonder even though he is not a threat for a medal if the issue is bringing in competition between science and sports into play.

It is sad that some people are worried about whether he has an advantage or not rather than just celebrating his accomplishment. His ability to make the Olympic qualifying time while not having any legs is remarkable. On top of this his positive attitude is inspiring and Oscar Pistorius deserves any recognition he recieves.

John Auslander

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/ct-spt-0805-olympics-plaschke-pistorius-track--20120805,0,4666781.story

Micheal Phelps, U.S. win medley relay

After a long Olympic career, the phenomenal Micheal Phelps is going into retirement.  Micheal Phelps 18 gold medals in his amazing career, but overall he has 22.  Phelps is retiring with twice as many golds as any other Olympian.  Phelps has gone down in history as the best swimmer in history.  He is most known for his performances in Beijing last year where he won an outstanding 8 gold medals.  Never have you heard or seen anything like Micheal Phelps displayed.  He will forever be remembered for what he has done for the sport of swimming.  He has inspired so many and will forever be remembered and loved. 

Paul "Bear" Bryant

While doing some research on Paul "Bear" Bryant for one of my final papers, I found some interesting information pertaining to the University of Maryland.  Bryant was actually the head football coach here in 1945.  The story (via Wikipedia) goes like this:

In 1945, 32-year-old Bryant met Washington Redskins owner George Marshall at a cocktail party hosted by the Chicago Tribune, and said he had turned down offers for assistant coaching positions at Alabama and Georgia Tech. Bryant told Marshall that he was intent on becoming a head coach. Marshall put him in contact with Harry Clifton "Curley" Byrd, the president and former football coach of the University of Maryland.

After meeting with Byrd the next day, Bryant received the job as head coach of the Maryland Terrapins. In his only season at Maryland, Bryant led the team to a 6–2–1 record. However, Bryant and Byrd came into conflict. In the most prominent incident, while Bryant was on vacation, Byrd reinstated a player who had been suspended by Bryant for a violation of team rules. After the 1945 season, Bryant left Maryland to take over as head coach at the University of Kentucky.

Interesting to see how small of a world even the sports world is.  I did not expect to see that information when looking up Paul Bryant.  Also interesting to see the "most prominent incident" was Harry Byrd reinstating a suspended player while Coach Bryant was on vacation. I do not think that type of thing would work in today's sports world.

Racial trends in college football

In looking at the news surrounding college football and the potential of players for the upcoming season I saw some interesting trends in the discussion of athletes and the positions they play.  One article discussed the 25 fastest players in college ball.  The survey was based on confirmed 40yd running times.  Every single player was African American.  The players held a variety of positions: RB, WR, TE etc. and the article included a slideshow with player pictures and statistics for their previous season.   In another article I found a discussion of promising college quarterbacks.  In this article the majority of players were white.  In addition the article discussed not only their statistics, but their mentality about playing the game.  Obviously a large part of the QB's function is to think about the game, but I would argue that there is a good deal of game analysis involved in positions such as TE and WR.  To me it seems that these articles displayed some of the tendencies discussed in Units 1 and 2.  Namely, to characterize African American athletes based on their physical attributes and white athletes based on their intellectual attributes.  Thus, African American athletes are still relegated to realms of physicality and limited to specific positions which capitalize on what are perceived as their most important qualities as players.

article link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1271500-fast-25-the-25-speediest-guys-in-college-football

US Men's Gymnastics and Swimming

With the Olympics in full-swing right now, I can't help but to think about the different story lines and issues that revolve around the time. While watching the US Men's Gymnastics and Swimming teams, I couldn't help but to notice that both teams have a man of color or minority on them. It was great to see especially since I'm a black man and I love to swim, but swimming isn't typically a sport that gets connected to my race on a historic level. But this made me wonder whether the presence of these Olympians would begin to get minorities from across the nation interested in pursuing sports outside of what is deemed as "typical" for them to get involved in or whether it would still be a matter of decades before we started seeing a majority of our swimming and gymnastics teams made up of people of color.

Swiss Soccer Player Ejected From Olympics for Racist "Tweet"

Michael Morganella, a soccer player for the Switerland Olympic team was ejected the other day due to his post on twitter, threatening and posting racial comments  about South Koreans.  The tweets and comments were posted a few hours after they had lost to South Korea Olympic team.  The Olympic Committee takes these situations seriously, which ended in Morganella getting ejected from the games.  Morganella is the second athlete ejected from the London Olympic games due to offensive twitter comments.  You get what you earn, and I completely agree with the Olympic committees decision to eject him and the other players that have been kicked off so far. This is a lesson for them to learn, it is just sad it has to happen this way.

Dream team vs. 2012 USA mens basketball team

The argument on who would win if the 1992 "Dream Team" and the current USA mens basketball team played is something I find very interesting. My first reaction was could the '92 team keep up with this years team athletically? I will give it to this years team they are very young, talented and athletic but that doesn't always win games. The 1992 dream team was full of established "winners" Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan all dominated their time period and won several championships each. Michael Jordan was 29 years old and in his prime, this makes it very hard to not pick the 92 team. Other reasons include their dominant big men in Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone and Charles Barkley to name a few. This years team has no dominant big men and to try and put Tyson Chandler in the same sentence as the three previous athletes is a joke. I believe that because of their winning pedigree and the depth of the talent on the '92 Dream Team they would beat this years younger more athletic USA team.

USA Olympic Team

I think it is interesting to look at Team USA's roster and see the racial breakdown. Over the past 40 years, it is clear that the white basketball player has been virtually phased out of the NBA.  That being said, this roster clearly represents that notion with only one white player, Kevin Love.  When I was watching their first game on Sunday vs. France, the racial aspect was very clear to me.  Just twenty years ago in 1992, the Dream Team had four white players - Christian Laettner, Larry Bird, Chris Mullin and John Stockton. 

15	Carmelo Anthony	F	6-8	230	5/29/84	New York Knicks / Syracuse
10	Kobe Bryant	G	6-6	205	8/23/78	Los Angeles Lakers / Lower Merion H.S. (PA)
4	Tyson Chandler	C	7-1	240	10/02/82	New York Knicks / Dominguez H.S. (CA)
14	Anthony Davis	F	6-10	220	03/11/93	New Orleans Hornets / Kentucky
5	Kevin Durant	G	6-9	235	9/29/88	Oklahoma City Thunder / Texas
12	James Harden	G	6-5	220	8/26/89	Oklahoma City Thunder / Arizona State
9	Andre Iguodala	G/F	6-6	207	1/28/84	Philadelphia 76ers / Arizona
6	LeBron James	F	6-8	250	12/30/84	Miami Heat / St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S. (OH)
11	Kevin Love	F	6-10	260	9/07/88	Minnesota Timberwolves / UCLA
13	Chris Paul	G	6-0	183	5/06/85	Los Angeles Clippers / Wake Forest
7	Russell Westbrook	G	6-3	187	11/12/88	Oklahoma City Thunder / UCLA
8	Deron Williams

Switzerland player expelled from Olympics-->Twitter

Switzerland's Olympic soccer player (Michel Morganella) has been expelled for posting a racist message on Twitter.  The news comes just days before Switzerland's final group match against Mexico.  On his account, he posted an offensive and threatening message aimed at the people of South Korea after his team lost 2-1 to South Korea on Sunday. Morganella's twitter account has since been deleted.

With the trend of Olympic athletes getting expelled recently due to racist tweets, it would certainly benefit the athletes to focus more on the Olympics and less on social networking site to let off steam.

First Day Successes for Americans


The opening day at the Olympics was much anticipated as being a strong start for American athletes with men's swimming starting early Saturday morning...much was expected. No one denies the talents of the U.S. men's swimmers, Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, yet some surprises were in store. Ryan Lochte claimed the first gold medal for the U.S. in the 400-meter individual race and to much surprise and disappointment, star swimmer who gained multiple Olympic medals in Beijing came up short in the event. As a fan who has watched Phelps swim for awhile now, I am astonished that Phelps did not medal in his first event. I think many including myself just expected another medal because he had made it look so easy in Beijing, but his first attempt has been a fail. Although I am hopeful that this is just some first race jitters and that he can get his rhythm back into play so he can have another amazing Olympics. Anyone else completely astonished that he didn't medal? But on a good note just in the first day alone, the U.S. has medaled five times: one gold, two silver, and two bronze. GO USA!!!

Olympic Opening Night 2012

My favorite part about the Olympics is the opening night...Beijing's was spectacular last year and I thought London was going to have a hard time competing with such a breathtaking performance. Yet, to my surprise, I thought that the opening night was very well done and extremely entertaining... I wish I could have been there live. Although, there was one thing that stood out to me that really had me bothered: the U.S. Olympic athletes' outfits. I'm sorry but out of so many options that could have been chosen why would they choose ones that look like they represent France? I mean really the hats? How is that American whatsoever because that is the first time I have seen any American where that type of hat before. Anyone else feel like the outfits could have been a little better represented of America especially the hats?

A Slap in the Face that will leave you Speechless!

Well... upon requesting a moment of silence for their fallen comrades, Israel was denied and asked to terminate any further questions. Before they knew it IOC was receiving requests from our own President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as leaders from Canada, Australia, Israel, Germany and many others. Yet all were denied their repeated requests to honor the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches who were killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Instead of honoring the request of many, "the IOC... tried to forget the horror of Munich" stating that it is "almost unheard of" for any nation to change the Olympic opening. USA Today stated "the IOC used this as an excuse to deny a moment of silence for the Israelis."... BUT in what has been called "The WORST moment of any Olympic opening" a moment of silence was taken for British athletes and families who had lost their lives. 

TALK ABOUT A SLAP IN THE FACE! 

It is understandable for a country to want to devote a moment of silence to the people who dedicated their lives to honor and represent their country... But the IOC should have taken the request of both Countries and allowed a moment of silence for Israel as well.

Very sad. I wonder what is going to happen to members of the IOC. Thoughts on this?

Penn St Recruiting Frenzy

After the recent sanctions were put into place with the Penn St football program a recruiting frenzy has started. Multiple unnamed coaches have been recruiting players that are still currently on the Penn St football roster. Many players are considering leaving, namely the star running back Silas Redd. I'm just curious to see how things play out with the program. I wonder how many kids exactly will leave the program because in my opinion I see no reason for anyone to stay at the school. I also wonder how the kids at Penn St will find new schools with preseason camps starting so soon. I just find the entire story interesting

link

Olympic Park in Brazil

Even though the Olympic Games of 2012 that are being held in London, England have not begun yet, I want to talk about the next Olympic Games that will be held in Rio, Brazil in 2016.  The President of Brazil announced the master plan of the city’s Olympic Park.  Brazil is trying to create a park where all the events will be able to be held while there is other space for future developments can be built.  Construction of the Olympic Park will be built around existing facilities such as the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre, the Olympic Velodrome and the Olympic Arena.  Brazil held a national competition of sixty entries from eighteen countries of who can come up with the best design for the Olympic Park.  Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the President of Brazil want this park to create a long-term legacy to leave for Rio.  President Nuzman says, “The Olympic Park legacy for Brazilian sports will be a training centre modelled after the successful experiences of the world’s greatest sporting powers”.  The Olympic Games to come are trying to top the incredible and most memorable Olympics that China held in 2008.  I am really looking forward to watch the talent that our country offers to the rest of the world.

http://www.olympic.org/news/rio-2016-unveils-olympic-park-masterplan/138160

Watch what you Tweet!

Our world is changing, now we see acts of racism more and more through our facebook, blogger, and twitter accounts; but would people really be able to make all these "harmful jokes" face to face? Doubtful. People have come to hide behind their usernames and pictures... thinking what they say on the internet won't affect anyone who's reading it.

Unfortunately this immature act of "tweeting" got Voula Papachristou kicked off the Greece Olympic Track Team. Papachristou, a female triple jumper for Greece, was sent home after posting a tweet about African Americans, which she believed to be a "joke"... pretty funny how karma swings back around huh? I doubt she's laughing now. Her tweet stated:

“With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!”

After the tweet was posted "all hell broke lose" and Voula was bombarded with hate mail and complaints... forcing the OIC to remove her from Greece's track roster and send her home. It's a shame people do not understand that there is no difference between saying something racist and writing something racist... both are acts discriminating against someone who is different... and you would think, people competing in what I believe to be the most prestigious competition in the world, would have a better sense of maturity about themselves.


I guess we all make mistakes.... but from now on maybe it's a good idea for EVERYONE to watch what they tweet.

Is slavery and race the same thing?

Lesson 4 made me think about how much race and slavery have a lot in common. Slavery is more of owning African Americans and doing slave work. Race is what people are and how people judge others. Thinking about Slavery, Race, and sports I know that all three of those topics combine in some way or another.

Sports for many is a way to let out frustration or may be a hobby for others, but sometimes sports is a way to get out of a bad situation. Some may not be as lucky as others and have as many opportunities to achieve their goals, so those people play sports. Athletics can help a student that is not very well in school use their talents on the field, track, or court to achieve their goals. Sports not only help people get a good education but it can help them financially.

During the 1810, slavery was a big deal and African Americans did whatever they could to get their freedom. Slaves used sports for their main outlet to get out of slavery and do the same thing whites do. Like the slaves, the kids in the film "Chiefs" were also determined to show the world that they deserve respect too. To do that, the children played basketball to show that it does not matter what race you are, you can achieve freedom and your goals. It was definitely harder back in 1810 but today it is hard for some races to achieve their goals because of where they live or how they may be treated in some places.

Is Golf's Search For Next Great Player Linked to Woods' Race?

Hey everyone. This past weekend, I spent time with my dad watching the British Open. It was quite the exciting match seeing Ernie Els use his veteran wit to will himself all the way back into the game and end up leaving with the trophy. Tiger Woods came up just a little bit short from winning his second major in a row, and that started to make me think whether or not this is what the American people are starting to want. Tiger Woods already faced all sorts of criticism for being on the golf course simply because of his skin color. So when he faced the enormous sex scandal a few years ago, it only hurt his name even more. This made me wonder whether or not the a good amount of the white fan base wanted a new superstar player to come about and take his place as the most famous player on the planet. It isn't something that is going to be outright broadcast on major television, but it may very well be said behind closed doors that it is time for a new age in golf, which is one without its most famous participant being of black descent.

Greek Athlete Expelled from Olympics for Racist Tweets

I just read an article on Yahoo.com about the Greece triple jump champion making racial remarks about her competition. There is no place for this anywhere in the world but we see that it exists not only in America but all over the world. Here is the link to the article:

link

Tyson Gay Lead Up to The Olympics

Tyson Gay is considered the fastest American sprinter in many circles when he is healthy.  In the upcoming Olympic Games he will be competing against sprinters such as Asafa Powell, Yohan Blake, and Usain Bolt.  The Jamiacans have dominaed the sprinting scene in recent years on both the women's and men's side.  All of these athletes have run at least 9.7 seconds during the course of their careers.  At the Olympic Trials Tyson Gay was not 100 percent healthy and was defeated by another formidable runner in Justin Gatlin.  However, he should be fully healthy and ready to make a strong push for the gold medal by the time the Olympic Games come around.

Penn State players commitment to football program

Penn State players gather to plead the allergenic to Penn State nation. The players express their feeling toward the program by stating that “This program was not built by one man, and this program is sure as hell not going to get torn down by one man," Mauti said. "This program was built on every alumni, every single player that came before us ... built on their backs." It clear that Jerry Sandusky  hurt Penn State and the state of Pennsylvania with his sexual abuse allegations. The players want to more forward and help the program achieve more than they ever have. All players of Penn State were not present when some of the player went public. This either means that some players are debating about transferring or they had something more important to do. You form your own opinion  

Krzyzewski says London is his last Olympics

Krzyzewski wont be the men’s basketball head coach in the next Olympic game. He reports that the 2012 Olympic game will be his last.  Krzyzewski won the gold medal in the 2008 Olympic game with super stars on his team like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe Bryant. If the U.S. men do win, Krzyzewski would become the first U.S. men's basketball coach to win back-to-back Olympic gold’s since Hank Iba in 1964 and 1968.

Greg Reid Charges

Recently, there has been a rash of college football players getting into trouble off the field.  Athletes such as Isaiah Crowell and Greg Reid are the most high profile of these athletes.  Greg Reid plays cornerback for Florida State University, he was charged with possession of marijuana and driving with a suspended license.  I am a college athlete and there many instances and ways to get in trouble off the field.  Because, of the culture of most college campuses use of alcohol and marijuana when partying is common; however as an athlete you have to be a little more focused and deliberate in the things that partake in.  You must also be conscious of things that will cause you to lose the opportunity to further your education on a full scholarship.  I think some of the athletes that have been  getting in trouble have lost site of the most valuable part of college which is gaining your degree not football or partying.

Penn State Sanctions

The Jerry Sandusky sex scandal has greatly affected the Penn State football program and the entire institution.  The NCAA has imposed severe sanctions on the football program that include a 60 million dollar fine, a 4 year bowl ban, reduced scholarships, and vacating 111 wins between 1998-2011.  These sanctions are unprecedented and very harsh; however considering the accusations charged to Joe Paterno and other Penn State administrators were involved in they are necessary.  The cover up that occurred is sickening in my opinion.  I cannot fathom knowing of sexual assault and not report it to law enforcement.  These penalties are the first step into changing the priorities of some universities from football first to greater moral and education based institutions.

New York City Pickup Basketball

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/12/sports/basketball/a-new-arrival-explores-new-york-through-pickup-basketball.html?pagewanted=1&ref=sports

 This article written in the New York Times by Isaac Eger looks to explore a city (New York) through pickup basketball games.  In many cities, but especially New York City, pickup basketball is a way of life.  Eger moved from granola Portland, Oregon to Brooklyn New York in search of finding the best basketball the city can offer.  

His main conclusions that touches on race is when he explains the difference between city players and suburban players, more specifically, black players versus white players.  Eger says, "The city's busy, congested courts have influenced the style of play that takes place on them.  For instance, I haven't run across many pure shooters, but I have encountered a lot of athletes with wicked ball-handling skills....that is why so many shooters are cornfed boys from the Midwest and prep schoolers from the suburbs...they have nothing to do but practice fundamentals by their lonesome."

The stereotype -

Athletic, drivers = Urban black players

Fundamental, shooters = Suburban white players

Penn State Hit Hard with Penalties

A huge scandal in sports this year, shocking the nation, was Penn State assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky sexual child abuse scandal. NCAA just released the penalties towards Penn State’s football program. The penalties include: $60 million fine on Penn State University, banning of the team’s participation from post season for four years,

players can transfer without penalty, all wins from 1998-2011 will not count, and scholarships will drop from 25 to 15 each year. Also, the Big Ten is giving $13 million from the conference bowl to charitable organizations focusing on child abuse prevention. Yes, the actions made by Jerry Sandusky are in no way acceptable and should be punished, but stripping Paterno’s wins from the record is quite excessive. Paterno did withhold evidence as well as the A.D. but the football program should not be punished for this. The fact that they are reducing scholarships and allowing players to transfer without penalty is going to kill the program that has been built up for years. I feel like these penalties are outrageous and should be reduced especially the scholarships and record erase because the program will hurt immensely from this and may never come back to its once famous name.

http://tracking.si.com/2012/07/23/ncaa-penn-state-penalties/?xid=cnnbin

A Day of Mourning

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Israel wrestling teams assassination during the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, Germany.
The Israeli government has requested that at every Olympic Opening Ceremony there should be a moment of silence dedicated to their athletes that lost their lives at the hands of a group of Palestinian Terrorists. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) have denied this request, stating that the opening ceremony is a moment of great jubilance, and that they do not want to add a somber tie to the moment.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with the IOCs decision to deny request for mourning over the athletes who lost their lives?

Every time I turn on ESPN some high profile college football player is getting kicked off

Why is that every time I turn on ESPN some high profile college football player is getting kicked off? This off season i haven seen the most high profile players make some of the dumbest mistakes to no longer be able to participate on there team. Its like they have worked so hard there whole life for this opportunity to play college football and have that chance to make it to the NFL and right when its seems like its about to pay off they do something that causes them to not have that opportunity any more. Me being a college athlete myself i do not get this. Only 4 years of hard work and dedication for some it may be shorter to be set for life whether its playing ball on the professional level or earning that college degree.

What is going on with Dez Bryant

Dez Bryant is one of the most naturally gifted WRs in the NFL but all the talent he brings with him he also brings just as much baggage. Wide receiver was arrested Monday after being accused of attacking his mother during an argument, hitting her arms and face. He faces a charge of family violence, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine. A mother should never be struck by her children she is the one who brought you into this world  Dez should have never put his hands on his mother if that is in fact true and is totally unacceptable no matter the situation  but before we pick a side we should wait to hear the entire story becuase we all know there is two sides to every story.

Penn St. punishment

Penn State received a punishment i considered to be very harsh considering most people who were involved with the program knew nothing about. Penn State will be fined $60 million, unable to participate in the post season for four years, and will be allowed 20 less scholarships below the normal limit for four years as well as been put on probation for five years. Vacating 112 Penn State victories from 1998-2011, the sanctions cost Paterno 111 wins. I feel as though you can not just erase someone from a program as though he was never there, Paterno was the most highly admired coaches in all of college football. All Players that are there now had absolutely nothing to do with what took place then. They are being unfairly punished and could ultimately ruin there college career as both a student and a athlete.

John Terry Racism Trial

Captain of the Chelsea professional soccer team, John Terry was accused of saying resist remarks to opponent Anton Ferdinand during a game last year.  Because of this, Ferdinand went to the police, and two weeks ago after the European Championship,  a trial took place about the incident.  Terry became known as the first top soccer player of England convicted of racial abuse during a game.  Terry was accused of calling Ferdinand a "(expletive) black (expletive)" but Terry mentioned in an interview that is was just about "sarcastic exclamation" toward the player.  Personally, bringing racism into a sport game is pretty insulting.  Terry lost his right of being a captain, for the second time.  The first time he lost his captain spot was in 2010 when he was caught cheating with his teammates (now ex) girlfriend.  It's these little things that come out of peoples mouths that I really wish they regret doing.  Just saying a few harsh words about someones race can put your career in jeopardy.  Issues like this can't be handled lightly, and Terry was forced to pay a fine for the verbal damage he had caused.  

FSU bans players from twitter

Earlier this week it was announced by Florida State head coach that his players were going to be banned from using the social networking site Twitter. I knew one day that it would come to this. College coaches believe that once you sign that dotted line for a scholarship they own you. How much power do these coaches really have? I wonder what are the ramifications for a player on his team that decides to tweet anyway?  I mean it is their 1st amendment right to express themselves in speech or in this case tweet. Does playing college sports mean you sacrifice that right? I don't think so. Jimbo Fisher says he has made this restriction on the players behalf; i believe this ban has been enabled moreso to protect himself than anything. There are better ways of developing responsible young men rather than making restrictions he could educate. Educate his young men on appropriate tweets, let them know that what they tweet can be seen by the world in matter of minutes and once its out its out. However, coaches like Jimbo Fisher rather play boss than invest the time.

Dez Bryant (Don't know why text is blue)

  Dez Bryant is quiet the character. The drama that he produces is something that you would expect to see on TV not reality. Dez Bryant has only played two seasons in the league because of his off field drama and now he is at it again. In all my years of watching sports entertainment i havent heard of an athlete mess up in such a way Dez Bryant has recently. Bryant reportly had an physical altercation with believe it or not his mother. Bryant has talent and potential, but his production falls behind his athletic ability. His carrer as a dallas cowboys is surely fading away. I feel that their is absolutely no circumstance were you should take  it to that level with your mother. Bryant seems to have a problem controlling his emotions as this isn't the first time he has gotten in trouble for them. Dez Bryant needs to make a move quickly because the press he is getting is definitely counterproductive towards his career. Dez Bryant as player could be very good, but if he first does not fix himself as a person he will never reach his true potential.

Joe Paterno Statue

 The power of the media is unbelievable.  The media is a power source like no other. Media outlets have the ability to bring you up and tear you down at the blink of an eye. Joe Paterno not to long ago was one of the most praised coaches in all of college football for his character and ability to win football games. However, for the past three weeks news outlets like fox and sports entertainment like ESPN were relentless on their attack against the legacy of late Joe Paterno.  The media made it their mission to make the NCAA and University of Penn state move on their demands. It was as if Sandusky was not convicted. It was as if Paterno had not been fired and consequently died from the heartbreak. The pressure from the media has finally fell through as Joe Paterno statue was taking down. The University also will suffer from a 60 million dollar fine, four year post season ban, and lost 80 scholarships over four years. In a matter of weeks it is crazy how the people who once held Paterno high in turn crushed his legacy. Paterno's statue was not only taking down but the NCAA also took over 190 wins from his resume removing his place in history as the coach with the most wins in college football history.

Penn St Punishment

So the NCAA finally handed out a punished to the Penn St football program and the punishments came down hard. The School will lose a total of 20 scholarships (entire recruiting class), they can't participate in post season play for 4 years, they were fined $60 million, and they vacated a total of 111 wins from Paterno's all time record. These sanctions will also cause many of the current players to leave and play somewhere else. I do think that Penn State deserved to be punished but I feel that the players are being punished too harshly.These players were still in middle school and elementary school when this scandal took place. I feel that it is unfair that these players are being punished for something they could not affect. Thoughts anyone?

Joe Paterno statue removed

Early Sunday morning, the statue of Joe Paterno was removed from outside Beaver Stadium. The president of Penn State, Rodney Erickson, released his decision about the matter to the public at 7 am on Sunday.  This decision comes 10 days after information was released that Paterno, along with three other top Penn State administrators, had purposely concealed allegations of child sexual abuse made against Jerry Sandusky. Their motive, as concluded by a former FBI director, was to shield the university and its football program from negative publicity.  While the statue was removed, Erickson announced that the Paterno name will remain on the university's library. Some speculate that the reason the statue was removed at this time is because of the sensitivity of time for the university.  The NCAA has initiated an investigation on the trustees and administrators involved in the situation.  It is possible that if the statue had remained, it would have served as a negative symbol in the discussion by the NCAA on a punishment for the football program.  However, the decision to remove the status seems to have divided the university.  One group wanted to keep the statue to remember all the contributions Paterno had to the university, while the other group wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible in order to remove the obstacle in the healing process of the university.  With the removal of the statue, the university is waiting anxiously to hear the results of the NCAA's decision of the punishment for the football program, which will be released on Monday.

Racism In The National Media

Racism against African Americans showed clearly in the national media back in 2007 when nationally famous radio host Don Imus made derogatory remarks towards the Rutgers University basketball team after the team lost the NCAA Championship game against Tennessee.  Imus used remarks like "nappy-headed hos", and was just in general being negative about the eight african american players and the team.  The next day, he was fired.  Eventually he got employed at another radio station, and had the Rutgers head coach at the time appear on the show and apologized to them, but besides the matter that he tried to make things right again doesn't give him reason in the first place for saying what he did in the first place.  This comes to show that the issue of racism is still something that is taken seriously, and people still get very offensive towards negative comments like the one Imus said.

Is Race Relevant on the USA Men's Basketball Team?

It may seem like a stretch, but ever since I got into watching basketball around the age of 5, I was able to recognize the differences in regards to the way the players looked. Learning about how segregation kept black players off of the court during the early days of the NBA taught me why there wasn't a strong presence of them back then. During the time that I've been alive though, all I've known is the majority of players on the court to be minority in color. So that made me wonder when it came to the USA Men's Team whether or not the majority of America felt a negative way towards them due to the whole team practically being African-American, besides the all-star, Kevin Love. Now I know better than to believe that people are going to blatantly come out and say that they have a problem with this in 2012, but I am sure that there are still some murmurings behind closed doors over the fact that professional basketball used to be a sport ruled by white players and now those days are long gone. If the best players that we have to offer are of black descent, then it makes all the sense in the world that we have them represent our nation of course. But I would just be interested in knowing whether that being the fact didn't sit well with a significant number of Americans.

Jeremy Lin & The Knicks

A recent article just released discussing the reasons why Jeremy Lin will not be on the New York Knicks team this year. Article states that Jeremy wanted to be on the Knicks, and the Knicks wanted Jeremy also. But a few altercations kept this connection from not happening. One was that getting a 800 hundred percent raise impacted the Knicks financial status roughly. Being offered one contract by the Knicks, Jeremy was bargained to playing for the Houston Rockets. Leaving the New York Knicks, Jeremy thanked the fans for their support and all the staff members for the Knicks. Jeremy will now be taking his talents to the Houston Rockets and is looking forward to it.

NFL players in trouble.

In the past few weeks there have been quite a few arrest of players for things like Seahawks running back  Marsean Lynch (DUI), Vikings running back  (resisting arrest), Broncos defensive end (assault with a deadly weapon) and Cowboys wide receiver  (assault).  What type of image is the NFL and the players giving to everyone?  Is anything going to be done to prevent this?  According to study since Roger Goodell has been the commissioner arrest have been down 20 percent.  Also with teams leagues like the NBA, MLB, and NHL the NFL has the lowest arrest percentage out of all.  With some of the guys like Dez Bryant and and Marsean Lynch who have been in trouble with the law before should receive fines or suspensions whatever it is going to take to teach these guys a lesson.  By giving some sort of punishment it can help these guys shape their image and also help protect the NFL image that is put onto these guys when they get into the league. for the guys whose first offense it is depending on how serious the offense was should also be penalized because going into the NFL they should know what it means to be an NFL athlete and that all eyes will be on them from adult to being kids role models.  That image needs to be protected as much as possible. Not only should these guys receive punishment from the NFL but also from their teams because they also represent them as well.

Philadelphia Eagles a "dynasty"?

     Do the Eagles have what it takes to be a "dynasty" football team.  With the talented players the eagles have drafted, picked up and put into position the Eagles would be the team to have a such dynasty team like in the past the 49ers or Cowboys once had.  After last year quarterback Vince Young stated that the eagles are a "dream team" the eagles suffered a few injuries like Mike Vick their starting quarter back missed 3 to 4 games led to the eagles average 8-8 regular season record.  If the eagles can prevent their starting players especially the ones needed like a quarterback such as Mike Vick the Eagles are very much so a "dynasty" that will be very hard to compete with when having offensive players that can be huge threats such as DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy and Mike Vick.  Could Mike Vick statement hex the team again after being quoted they can be a "dynasty" like some people say Vince Young quote being a "dream team" did.

Officials union says NFL planned lockout, jeopardizing player safety

The NFL lockout has been a popular topic for the media this past year.  Referees from the NFL Referee Association say that the NFL planned to lock out current referees rather than signing a new contract and replacing the experienced refs with less qualified referees.  The president of the NFL Referee Association Scott Green says that the players are unsafe with the new officials coming in.  Greens states; "The players have plenty of things to worry about on the field, they don't need to be worrying about the officials".  The NFL lock out’s effect on the referees seems to be a greater deal than the NFL thought.  These referees in the NFLRA have spent a lot of time and energy into keeping the player’s safe and keeping the game flowing.  It would be pretty unsettling to have referees who hadn’t even worked Division 1 games go and work the NFL. 

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/19608768/officials-union-says-nfl-planned-lockout-jeopardizing-player-safety

Is it wrong to root for Tiger Woods?

Tiger Woods went from the top of the world to one of the most disliked and trash talked athletes in the world in a few days. This was probably a really hard thing for Tiger to go through even though he did bring it upon himself. I think it is a little unfair the way athletes are watched under a microscope and everything they do is analyzed and talked about. Tiger Woods made a big mistake but it was a mistake the USA public shouldn't have even known about, it was in his personal life his and his families business. I feel bad for Tiger's wife and kids but I also unlike most people feel bad for Tiger. He made a mistake and people deserve second chances especially a guy like Tiger who had been in the spotlight since he was about 5 years old and until his slip up he handled it beautifully. Tiger Woods is one of the most dominant athletes in his sport we have ever seen and I think it would be a shame to remember him any differently because of a mistake he made in his personal life.

Should Penn State get the death penalty?

     This is way more then just football.  Recent investigations have come out to prove that Joe Paterno and other high up Penn State officials knew what Jerry Sandusky was doing when it came to the little kids.  The big controversy going around is debating whether or not Penn State should receive the death penalty for the NCAA Division-1 football team.  The death penalty by NCAA definition is a ban from all founding and activity involved with football.  The fact that Joe Paterno and others knew what was happening in still allowed him to have an office on campus and allowed him to come out to practice where kids where still around in insanity.  Its past football, the power that Joe Paterno had at Penn State to allow him to get away with what had been going on should have never been amounted to anyone. with the first incident reported was in 1998.  It has been 14 years since because Joe Paterno and other Penn State officials created a cover up for Sandusky.  The fact that the Penn State football team is such a historical team there will not be a penalty enforced because not only would that be devastating for the school but also for the NCAA.  Also what people aren't taking into account is all the kids that would be affected that are in the program now. Where would they go? Why should they be penalized.  The death penalty would be penalizing football at Penn State but instead of that, they need to be focused on penalizing the people who were involved in the tragic events.

US Men's Basketball Team better than the 1992 Dream team?

No one would ever think that a USA basketball team could ever compare to the 1992 USA basketball team that carried Hall of Famers; Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley.  The current USA basketball team has been made and its roster is stacked with members that is talked to be even better than the 1992 USA basketball team.  A few of the big time members of this years 2012 Olympic Basketball team are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.  Basketball Hall of Famers Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson talk about the team’s strategy for when they arrive in London.  They want to be able to Control the pace of the game by avoiding turnovers, developing structured offense and shooting a respectable percentage.  The current team is not said to be unbeatable but they are going to be one of the toughest teams to beat.  Basketball fans say that if the 1992 team were to play the current US basketball team the basketball Hall of Fame team would be them on post play.  That’s one game our 2012 Olympic team could not win.  I am excited for this years summer Olympics taking place in London, England.  We will see if this years US Men's Basketball team is all its talked up to be.  Go USA!

 http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/ian_thomsen/07/13/team-usa-dream-team-kobe-bryant/index.html#ixzz20jlnQSxA

New Dream Team?

The 2012 USA Men's Basketball Olympic team features players like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Kevin Durant, and many more. Well there has been a lot of arguments stating that this year USA team can beat the dream team of 1992 Men's USA team. Interviewing Kobe Bryant, he clearly stated that he is pretty sure that this year's team could beat the '92 dream team just because of so much versatility on this years team. But as interviewers asked members of the '92 dream team, they clearly felt different. Scottie Pippen, who was a member of the '92 dream team, stated that they could beat this years team by 25 easy. Personally, I feel as though that this years team could beat the dream team of '92. The reason for that is because that guys were not in their prime on that years team. Larry Bird had back problems, and Magic Johnson was dealing with issues also. Therefore I believe that this years 2012 Men's Basketball team can beat the dream team of '92.

Chiefs

Watching the video on chief's I thought that it was long and kind of boring but I knew that the video held a lot of important information. The video seemed like it was held over a two period time because they wanted to show how different kids reacted at different times. Watching the video I compared my life to theirs, even though their life was completely different some things that happened to them also have happened to me.

The readings tied into the video which then made it a lot easier for me to make connections. Making connections not only to the video and the readings but also connections to my life and reality. What intrigued me the most was that race is still an issue today and many people do not like to talk about it but it needs to be addressed.

Racism has a major effect on what type of sports children may want to participate in or even try out for. Some children may love to have to challenge of proving people wrong and telling the world that it does  not matter what race you are you can do whatever sport you desire. Then on the other hand some children do not want to have to confrontation and take the easy route and play what they are meant to play.

PSU hid 'critical facts'

For months we have heard about the Jerry Sandusky scandal.  In the latest article they talk about how this could have all been avoided if Joe Paterno did the right thing, but it is reported that they feared bad publicity.  Joe Paterno was the most powerful man at Penn State and loved by so many so it is hard to talk about a man with such great character.  Paterno, President Graham Spanier, athletic director Tim Curley, and vice president Gary Schultz, falied to protect the children from being harmed by a sexual predator.  In May 1998, Sandusky ws seen showering in the football locker room, and no action was taken to limit his access to the campus.  In 2001, he was seen again with another boy in the shower and his access was limited, but he was not reported to the child welfare authorities. The signs were clear with what was taking place, but no proper steps were taken to stop it.  It is sad to think that the coach that everyone grew to love had let young children be abused in his presence.  Now that Paterno has passed on we will never know every detail, but from the little we do know it does not look good for Paterno's legacy and the program of Penn State.


http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8159195/report-says-penn-state-nittany-lions-senior-officials-disregarded-children-welfare

Welcome to the Blog

The Original Post for this Blog (read it to give you some guidelines as to what to do)

(Orginally posted last spring by me. Sorry its not timely, but its a good example of what you can do, and also discusses--towards the end, what I expect of you on the blog)


As countless Americans take time out of the work day to fill out brackets, to check out the shooting % of Hampton's 3rd string PG hoping that he can play a role in dismantling the Evil Empire and to take money out of their kids' 529 fund to finance their entry fees into the 28 pools they have entered, we are reminded of the American obsession with sports. We listen to "experts," psychics, no-nothing grandmothers and even follow the directions of random animals whose knowledge of sports mirrors Rep. Michelle Bachmann's knowledge of American History. We turn off stories about teenage moms and the 98 potential fathers, actors gone completely insane and of non-stop greed, lust, deceit and partner swapping (I'm referring to Soap Operas, not Jersey Shore) for 2 days to watch the first, excuse me, second round of games played by teams that we couldn't identify if you gave us a web address and GPS coordinates (hint: you cannot see Russia from any of the schools in this year's tournament). We stop to celebrate the accomplishments of 916 Black men--for once--and stare in amazement while many privately root for the 14 white men trying to overcome the odds. March Madness captures the soul and our attention for at least 2.1 seconds (long enough for Christian Laettner to sink a game winning shot or for yet another child to be conceived thus providing Maury with one more shows worth of material).

Sports serves many purposes, for some its a vocation, for others it represents a legal and relatively harmless deviation from the daily stresses of life, liberty and the (endless and futile???) pursuit of happiness. For a nerdy few (if you can't do, study???), sports serves as a laboratory to study society.

This blog will house not only my views (and rants and raves) about the world of sports but also those of 30 students in my AASP 498R class in the summer of 2012--Race and Sports. As the late Linda F. Williams always reminded me, race is the most salient issue in American politics....similarly race has and continues to be a critical element in the ongoings of American society, the sports world included. The goal here is to intelligently opine and analyze issues that arise in the sports world. On an almost daily basis we see the issue of race embedded in the world of sports--in the ongoing labor negotiations in the NFL, in the evolution of the NBA, in the seemingly hourly off the field and court deeds of athletes both professional and collegiate, and even in how we view and characterize our athletic heroes. (try this for fun--listen to how CBS announcers--regarldess of their race describe the young men (and young women--go Terps!) in the mens and women's NCAA tournaments..what do you notice?).

Sports and society......race and sports....race and society......pure madness, 12 months a year.

I hope you enjoy the postings here and support the students (and students support each other). Students, post away and feel free to include links to any articles or random stuff on the internet you see fit. Friends and family, feel free to read, comment, criticize and most importantly, fill out that bracket!

Posted by Jonathan England at 8:16 PM

A point blank field goal missed? The job of a NFL kicker

In Sunday's game vs the New England Patriots the Ravens were projected to fall by 7 points in spreads throughout the nation.  The game seemed to be a quarterback's dual but it always seems the game is based on a teams last mistake.  In a 23-20 score going into the last drive Billy Cundiff (the Ravens kicker), missed a 32 yard field goal which could have sent the game into OT.  The kicker had missed 7 field goals during the regular season and seemed to struggle all year.  The biggest kick of his young career comes though.  As the ball is snapped and the hold is set Cundiff shanks the kick wide left and leaves New England with eleven seconds to kill the clock.  What has Raven fans so mad is because, previous to the kick Lee Evans also drops a touchdown in the end-zone.  In my perspective you cannot blame the game on either of these competitors.  The game could have been a different result if the ravens first three possessions were not punts, or having to settle for field goals off of turnovers.  In all the Ravens played a great game and I dont believe Billy Cundiff's kick was the deciding factor in the AFC Championship game.
Read more at: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/gameflash/2012/01/22/4854/index.html#recap?sct=hp_t2_a3&eref=sihp

Lebron or Kobe?

The debate on who is the best in the NBA is always asked. There are two choices that come to mind, either Kobe or Lebron. These two are two of the most dominating athletes playing a sport today. Both African Americans that have made a great legacy that will be remembered forever. Kobe is known for how smooth he is and how composed he is. Lebron is known for his athleticsism and his power. So who do you choose? My choice has to be with Kobe, he is consistant the entire game and doesnt shut down in the 4th quarter. He has won championships which lebron has not been able to do yet even with his star studded team that he is on. This topic has created its frair share of arguments but my choice has to be with Kobe Bryant.

Skip Bertman and The Lsu legacy

The Lousiana State Baseball coach from 1984-2001.  He lead the team to 5 National Championships and 6 SEC Championships and truely has changed the face of the LSU program.  After 2001 he became the Athletic Coordinator at LSU.  Hiring prolific coaches to the program like Les Miles and Nick Saben and those two names help develope the most dominate college football teams in the nation.  So need less to say Skip Bertman knows what he is talking about just a little.
Read for more information: http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=174043

WTF Are You Thinking!?

Hey Look Guys! I can flip so that automatically means I can sell drugs!

Yes folks, this is the world we live in. Where NFL multimillionaires attempt to sell drugs on the side because 5.15 million over 5 years (in Sam Hurd's case) just wasn't cutting it. Yes, we also live in a world where wall street bankers can defraud an entire nation and end up being the Treasury Secretary: looking at you Geithner. So maybe this shouldn't be too surprising.

Sidenote: Everyone should watch this film and see how the American people got fucked over (excuse language).

Recently Jerome Simpson was indicted for drug charges in his home state of Kentucky.Yea, Yea, I know what your thinking. There isn't anything else to do in Kentucky so how can you blame him? While this line of logic is certainly true, it does not excuse the behavior. My question is: How are you stupid enough to jeopardize your whole professional playing career over a couple pounds of weed?

About a month ago, Sam Hurd of the Chicago Bears was busted by an undercover cop for trying to set up a drug ring in Chicago.

Not necessarily a proud moment

After reading about criminality within sports, these two stories are especially relevant. What causes semi-successful NFL players to do dumb shit? Does society automatically write these guys off so they feel that they must live up to low expectations? They living up to sports medias stereotypes? Is it environmental? There are many questions that this country must answer in order to move forward. Honest dialogue is the most important thing that this country can undertake in order to heal and create a better tomorrow for our kids.

Final thought: WTF were you thinking?!