Final assignment Sports Profile and Sports Column

Sports profile:

Bill Belichick sat down at his desk wondering what he was going to do next to make this next season with the New England Patriots the best season yet. First, Bill called in his best friend Tom Brady, already knowing Tom had some ideas hidden up his sleeve. As Tom entered the room, Bill finally realized what he had to do, and he sent Tom out of the room again. Bill realized that he didn't necessarily need to improve his offense, but to improve the defense, and Tom would handle it from there. Bill knew he was a genius, and Darelle Revis will be proof of that this season.

Sports Column:

This year, a new player has arrived on everyone's favorite baseball team, the Red Sox, and that new player is Brock Holt. Holt has recently showed his colors to everyone watching him, and appears to be really showing some true ball playing. Although he is a rookie, Holt is a great player and his future will be bright. Holt is ranging from hitting doubles almost every game, to making outrageous catches in the outfield, and now people are making jokes about how he plays "all of the positions" because he is everywhere on the field.

A League of Their Own questions

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was one of the first professional women's sports. Today, there are not nearly as many professional women's sporting events as there are men's. Can this still be attributed to the beliefs that were held during the 40s or is it for different reasons all together? There have been man professional teams created, but the leagues can rarely be sustained. Professional soccer...professional volleyball..and many others, have all fallen. Only 2 true professional sports remain for women - Basketball and Softball. Are these sports more popular in general? How can these teams survive while others cannot? 

I believe that there are not as many women's professional sporting events as there are men's because of safety reasons, and also women's sports are not as popular as men's sports. I believe that these sports are more popular in general because softball is a lot like baseball and girls often want to play, and the WNBA is still alive, but I have no idea how because nobody seems to care about it. These teams can survive because these sports are more common among girls because many want to play them.  

Feature Lede

The Red Sox game on June 12th was an easy win against the Indians, but what some watchers at home didn't know was that there was torrential downpours. Although there was no rain delay, the conditions were harsh before the game. I would know this because Richie went to this game and he told me all about it. Apparently, many of the fans sitting near him were intoxicated and acting like absolute psychopaths. Also, the person who went with Richie made him pay for all of his food and beverages. Before the game, Richie swore that he saw a homeless man have a heart attack while the introductory "Welcome to Boston" song was playing. That is some of the "Behind the Scenes" facts about what really happened at the game on Thursday, June 12th.

Women playing Men's sports

I don't believe that athletes should play in a competitive league if this league is the opposite sex. Many boys and girls play recreational soccer together as children, but this is not a professional league and barely competitive. I do believe that if a women can equal the standards of men and they should be given a shot to play for what they believe in. An article on ESPN go talks about how a woman could play at the professional level with other men, but they would need to help their team win. I do believe that women could compete at the professional level with other men, as long as they are a supporting factor to the team's victory.

Women playing with men at a professional level doesn't seem as dangerous at first, but if you think of the roughness involved in sports like football and rugby there is space for injury. Although Danica Patrick proved that she could compete with other men in their own sport, this doesn't help my argument due to the nature of the sport. Many women agree that some men have a distinct height and weight advantage over them in many sports. Some women like Nancy Lieberman or "Lady Magic" could possibly compete against some of the men in the NBA today. That is how some women could play at the professional level in some circumstances.

Another big part of having a woman play on a professional sports team would be all of the controversy about the topic. If you are trying to draft to play for a baseball team, for example, many of the fans of this team would be skeptical about the addition to their new team. It would be just like Michael Sam all over again, except a girl. Also, the woman on your professional sports team would also have to be separated from all of the other men because of the bathrooms. That is how the whole process of drafting a woman could also be a controversial topic.

Finally, the one of the biggest issues of all is whether or not the athlete is up for the challenge mentally and physically. I believe that the most important thing about this female athlete playing professionally with men is her mindset in general. She would always need to have a positive attitude and believe that she could compete with the opposite sex. Also, she needs to be physically in shape and able to equal her strength with her competitors. I believe that a woman could play at the professional level with men, and they should definitely be given the chance to.

Fallon Fox questions

1) How should the authorities in the MMA handle a fighter like Fallon Fox?
2) Do transgender athletes have a distinct advantage in sports? Why or Why not?
3) Put yourself in the position of her opponents (or any opponents of transgender athletes). How would you feel competing against transgender athletes? Would it motivate you to work harder or discourage you from competing?
4) How should this be handled in the future?

1.) A good way the authorities should handle an athlete like Fallon Fox is to do a full background check on some one before they allow them into their league.
2.) Yes they do, because men are built to be stronger than women, with a different muscle and bone structure.
3.) Depending on the sport, I suspect that I would feel at an extreme disadvantage, and I wouldn't want to face a transgender athlete, and I would just work harder to beat them and I would not be discouraged about it.
4.) This should be handled in the future by not letting them compete in the gender class that they changed to, and keep them in the class that they were in before the sex change. 

Prefontaine questions

1.) Pre is portrayed as a cocky athlete who is good at what he does, but thinks extremely highly of himself. Pre is portrayed as a person that only thinks about himself and his own needs.
2.) No, he doesn't appear to be a likable character.
3.) An arrogant thing he does to one of his teammates is he tells one of them that he will beat his best running time.
4.) Pre teaches a lesson to a 9 year old boy that you shouldn't get the winning mindset into your mind unless you can actually win.
5.) The current controversy with college athletes is that they are not getting as good of an education as they should be.
6.) One of Pre's goals in highschool was you break a lot of records that the school held.
7.) The living conditions for the Olympic village were very poor, and this reminded us of the Sochi Olympic conditions which occurred this year.
8.) The Olympic scandal that took place during these Olympics was the terrorism and the helicopter exploding with all of the hostages on the inside.

What is a Sport?

The question that everyone is always asking each other when talking about sports is always, what makes a sport a sport? In my opinion, a sport is anything that takes skill, practice, and determination, which excludes chess. Now the textbook definition for a sport is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment", and this means that sports like baseball, football, track, soccer, basketball, and tennis qualify for this definition, but these are mostly mainstream sports anyways. Now, another argument is that a sport needs to include a ball, but this is not true with many sports, and the sports that do not use a ball still require the same amount of skill and determination as those with a ball. The world of sports is vast and eccentric, but there needs to be a fine line drawn between what is a sport, and what is a hobby.

Cheerleading, in my opinion, takes skill and physical exertion, but I do not think of it as a sport. Many people will put up a decent argument for the sake of cheerleading, but cheerleading shouldn't be thought of as the girls on the sidelines at the football game. Cheerleaders should have their own competitive league competing against other cheer teams, and they should create some sort of point system if they would ever want to be thought of as a sport. I imagine cheerleading is a very difficult thing to do, and they should get more respect for what they do, and not just be thought of as girls on the sidelines. The Olympics is a televised event that happens every 4 years, and has winter and summer events, and in the Olympics, Ping Pong, curling, and many others were allowed into the Olympics. Although the Olympics admitted these to be events in their games, I see ping pong as a hobby and Curling as big joke. Those are some of my opinions on non-sports.

Now I can't name all of the sports in the world, but mostly anything involving a ball is a sport, and even swimming competitively is considered as a sport. Swimming can also be seen as a hobby, but it takes a large amount of skill to competitively swim against others. Another crossover hobby/sport is golf, which takes incredible skill to play professionally, but also can be played at your local golf course with some of your pals in the summer. Chess is more of a hobby that takes a lot of mental knowledge and patience, but it does not have any physical exertion. According to the internet Croquet is a sport, but I do not believe that because I think it is more a hobby that you play at a party with friends, and you mostly just hit the balls as hard as you can, and then quit. The world of sports is vast and eccentric, but there needs to be a fine line drawn between what is a sport, and what is a hobby.

The MLB season predictions

After looking at the statistics of all of the MLB teams so far, and using my knowledge of the teams, I know that many of the teams that are doing well now will not continue to thrive throughout the season. The Brewers have a record of 10-3 which is one of the better records in the league, but their team, in my opinion, doesn't have all of the key players to win them the World Series at the end of the season. The Boston Red Sox have gotten off to a rocky start, but the team has good chemistry and they will no doubt make the playoffs and fight to get to the World Series again, but I don't believe they will make it that far. The Toronto Blue Jays have a decent record in the AL east, but they don't stand out to me as a team that is worthy to win the World Series. The Detroit Tigers have a very talented team and they aren't off to an amazing start, but they need some time to come into their own. The New York Yankees have a very talented squad of players, but I don't believe they will play together as well as the Red Sox do. Seeing that this is Derek Jeter's last season and he is still playing for the Yankees, I believe that they still have the ability to make the playoffs. David Ortiz is much older than he used to be, but he still can play the game of baseball as well as any other newcomer. The Athletics don't stand out to me either, but they have gotten off to a good start and they will definitely make the playoffs. Most of the other teams are trash and will not make the playoffs, and I believe that the Detroit Tigers have a chance to win the World Series.

Orange Juice Simpson

OJ Simpson stood trial for murdering two people and got off innocent, and many will agree with me that this is a complete scandal. OJ Simpson had so many people watching his trial and when the words "not guilty" were spoken he expressed such relief and many people in the world were shocked with the outcome. When this trial occurred, the U.S industry lost an estimated $25 billion dollars from all of the workers who turned away from their jobs to watch this historic trial, and 142 million tuned in on the radio to listen! OJ was a well known football Heisman winner and well known actor, but when he was accused of murder, everyone was curious to see if he actually did it. OJ Simpson was a sick man and he definitely killed those people and he was let off for a crime he committed.

I wish I could go back in time and watch the trial live and prove him to be guilty. Simpson is now dying of cancer, and sitting in a prison in Nevada, but only three months to live and he allegedly admits to Nicole Brown's murder. He is also suffering from a serious case of diabetes and is pleading presidential presidency. I would say that this is karma and he deserves what he is getting, but it is still a bit harsh. OJ Simpson was said to be not guilty on the trial of his double murder case, but now he is serving time till the end of his days.

Reaction to Sandusky article

I am shocked that Jerry Sandusky's wife thinks him to be innocent, and I believe that "Dottie" if that is your real name, is unaware of what was going on in her house. I also believe that not all 26 of those boys were raped, and most of them must have come forward for money. I do believe that athletes are above the law to a certain extent, but I believe that coaches are less important to their teams, therefore can end up like Sandusky. For example, OJ Simpson shouldn't be innocent after killing his wife, and Michael Vick shouldn't be back in the NFL after making dogs fight and kill each other. If I were in the situation that Aaron Hernandez is in right now, but I wasn't an NFL tight end, then I would be in Prison with a life sentence. I believe that Dottie thinks Jerry is innocent, but as time passes she will have her suspicions and realize that her husband is a rapist. In my opinion I believe that Jerry Sandusky was rightfully accused and his wife is just a clueless person.

Rashard Mendenhall

Why is Rashard Mendenhall retiring? Is it because he is not good enough, or is he just a useless running back? Mendenhall, retiring at the young age of 26, is he a wasted talent?

Interview

So today I sat down with Richie D'Onofrio and asked him a few questions about sports, and here were his responses. The first question I asked him was what is best performance as an individual has been in a sporting event, and his response was a game when he was 9 he threw a no hitter in 5 innings and at the plate he went three for three with a single, double, and a triple. It was the highlight of his life. The next question was What is your favorite sports game to watch and why? His response was: My favorite sport to watch is probably football because something exciting is always happening and it makes me feel alive on the inside. The next question was What is your favorite sporting event to attend and why? His response was as follows: My favorite sporting event to attend is football because of the good atmosphere of people and how friendly everyone is with me. The next question was What is your favorite sport to play and why? He responded with: Easily baseball because I love playing the sport, and I would be nothing without it. My final question in our interview was What is the greatest sports game you have ever witnessed? He answered with: By far the 2004 World Series when the Red Sox won and broke the "curse".

King James

Lebron James had the game of his career Monday night against the Charlotte Bobcats, scoring a career high 61 points and an all time team high for a single player. Lebron said in an interview that,"The man above has given me some unbelievable abilities to play the game of basketball". I think that that is a very stupid thing to say, but he did have a career high with most points scored in a game and most field goals in a game. Lebron James carried the entire team to victory even without Dwayne Wade playing. Lebron's performance on Monday night was a historical moment in his career, and for the team of Miami Heat. 

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20140303_CHA@MIA/lebron-scores-career-best-heat-record-61-points-in-win#commentsAnchor

UNDEFEATED!

The Boys Winter Track season was an intense one, with many school records broken and going undefeated in the regular season, we really showed what we can do. This year in track there seems to be a lot of potential and hope for future seasons, and many newcomers have high hopes for the team too. Another great thing about the new team is everyone is dedicated to the team. In the upcoming years I hope to see more dedicated players who go 100% during practices and track meets. The Boys Winter Track team had an incredible season with no losses, extreme dedication, and good attendance throughout the season.

There are many factors to the Boys Winter Track teams undefeated record, but one main reason is hard work by both players and coaches. During many practices the throwers and runners were pushed to their limits and the high jumpers showing extreme dedication to getting better every day. A big part of the team was the coaches and their extreme dedication to showing up on time everyday and working harder and harder to make our team number one. The final and most important factor to our incredible record is due to the love of what these players are doing, and how happy they are to be there every day. Those are many factors to the boys triumphant season in Winter Track going 9-0.

Extreme dedication was the key to winning all of those track meets this 2013 season, and much of this is supported by the teams captains. The teams captains always showed up on time to every practice and track meet and never skipped anything, and they instructed the team on what to do every practice, and acted as coaches themselves. All of the track meets were often home meets at Wheaton College, and an important part of this was if a track player did not have a ride a captain would always offer them a ride to the meet, no matter what the circumstance. Another great thing about the boys track team was that everyone is friendly with each other, and very motivational during track meets, and always cheering them on. Those are some key factors to the teams dedication to the winter track team, and always being motivated to do better in everything they do.

Good attendance is easily the most important thing about the Winter Track team's success as a team. This is the most important factor because if we didn't have good attendance every practice, many runs or routines wouldn't be able to function properly without specific players, and also if a player misses two practices with unexcused absences then they are off the team. On this team every player has a purpose no matter what event they do, with no exceptions with anyone, and without many players, practices couldn't function properly. Many of the players on the boy's Track team are very important to the team, and if some of them didn't show up to a meet, then we could lose that event that they do and also lose that meet altogether. Those are some of the very important factors on how good attendance is the most important thing to this track team.

Finally, we can concur that this boys Track team has many important factors that keep it running, including an undefeated season, extreme dedication to the team, and good attendance. The fact that the boys Track team went undefeated this season is incredible, and especially because it was the first time that Norton Boys Winter Track has beat Hopkinton ever. The extreme dedication by all the players and coaches is a big part of the team's success. Finally, the teams good attendance is the most important part of this teams success, because without players showing up to practices, there would be no team. The Boys Winter Track team had an incredible season with no losses, extreme dedication, and good attendance throughout the season.

Going for the Gold!

The Olympics came and past with many surprises, and Kazakhstan came in strong winning 1 medal which was bronze for Men's figure skating. Kazakhstan should be thanking Denis Ten for his outstanding performance figure skating to win his bronze medal, but enough jokes about poor little Kazakhstan. The U.S. came in second with the most medals with 28, but Russia beat the U.S. out by 5 medals with a total of 33 medals overall. The United States nabbed 9 gold medals, 7 silver medals, and 12 bronze medals, and athletes such as Ted Ligety and David Wise won events like alpine skiing and men's half pipe. Shaun White was quite a shock in his performance in the Olympics placing fourth in the men's half pipe, and dropping out of the slope style because he thought that the event looked to dangerous for him. The United States also rocked the ice with Meryl Davis and Charlie White winning the gold in the figure skating event performing a mixed dance. They won this event by giving an outstanding performance, but I thought it was kind of weird. Bode Miller screwed up big time in the Alpine skiing event only winning a bronze medal and shocking all who were watching him.

An Interesting Journey

The NFL is usually a rough experience for everyone, but if you are an openly gay defensive lineman, it’s going to be a lot different. Michael Sam of Dallas, Texas is going to have a rough time in the NFL, ranging from other player’s opinions, to judgment from countless fans.

Gangster in the Huddle

Everyone knows what happened to Aaron Hernandez and what hes done, but not every one knows what factors led up to this incident. One contributing factor to the murder of Odin Lloyd was Hernandez's fathers premature death, and from then on Hernandez started to spiral out of control. Before Aaron's father died, life at home was nice with Aaron's father constantly pushing them to the limit in all activities including school work. After Hernandez's father passed away, Aaron's mother married a physically abusive coke dealer, and he often beat Aaron's mother until he was arrested in 2010 for assault and went to prison for 2 years. Hernandez's criminal activity ranged from bar fights to shootouts, and one incident where he was speeding 105 mph on the highway, with no consequences to his actions. Hernandez dropped down so far in the draft for many reasons, but the main reason was just a week before the draft Hernandez got into a shootout at a bar. Many people were responsible for his Aaron's actions, but the main person in my opinion was his brother, who should have acted as a father figure to Hernandez. DJ Hernandez could have kept Aaron out of trouble by keeping him out of the bad parts of town. I think that Aaron's mother should have stepped into all of this violence and crime and set Aaron straight on a path to victory. Athletes appear so untouchable because they're important to the teams they belong to and the people who support them as players, not people.

Olympic Preview

Shaun White:

• Shaun White is a Pro Snowboarder, and he is very talented and balanced.
• Shaun is considered to be one of the greatest snowboarders in the U.S.A.
• Shaun White has won many gold medals.
• This sport will take place on Friday or Saturday.

Super Bowl XLVIII After Math

The Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl, and I couldn't care less about it. My prediction was correct even though I wanted the Broncos to win, I said Seattle was going to win, and I was right, obviously.  Peyton Manning did not play to his full potential, but the overall loss was not his fault, but his offensive line and defensive line. In one play where Seattle scored on a kick return by Percy Harvin, and not one man on the Broncos defense could even get a hold on him as he weaved in and out between players. In another play, a Seattle player escaped multiple tackles by multiple players to score a touchdown which really showed how Denver doesn't know how to play defense. One more thing is when Peyton manning was reaching back to throw and the offensive line couldn't hold the defense back long enough for Manning to throw, therefore Manning fumbled. The halftime show wasn't very creative and the red hot chili peppers were just alright, but they were better than Bruno Mars. Also, the commercials weren't very good and many of them I had seen before on YouTube or before the Super bowl on other channels.

Alex's Super Bowl XLVIII predictions

Super Bowl XLVIII will be an interesting one between Denver and Seattle, with Denver's dominant offense and Seattle's killer defense, anything is possible. With the Seahawks strong safety's and a talented but idiotic Richard Sherman, this defense seems to be unstoppable, but the question is, will they be able to shut down the most aggressive offense in the league? Peyton Manning is looking stronger than ever in his rightful position as quarterback with many options to throw to like Thomas, Welker, Decker, and Julius Thomas. Denver also has the option to run the ball to Knowshon Moreno who may not be as good as Marshawn Lynch, but definitely has the potential to be a key player in this ballgame. On the other hand, Seattle has Marshawn Lynch and Golden Tate, two key players on their path to victory. In my opinion, I would like the Broncos to win because I think Peyton Manning deserves it, and I don't really like Richard Sherman. Peyton Manning is not my favorite quarterback. Peyton Manning is not the greatest quarterback that has ever lived. Even if I want Denver to win, I think Seattle will win the Super Bowl.

Play like adults; read like 5th graders

In the article, Play like adults; read like 5th graders, we discover that many schools around the country have students who cannot read or write at a college level. This seems unfair to me because many students who apply to these schools are rejected, but athletes on the other hand are accepted who may not be able to read or write. This article makes it seem to me that the education system is very flawed because of the lack of background checks, and students who's scores may be average may be rejected which is unfair. This article also made me think that there is not much research into the students they're accepting into their schools. I found this article to be shocking and quite appalling at how little research is done on the students who are accepted into their schools.