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.