Prefontaine Questions

1. Throughout the movie Pre is mostly portrayed as a very confident and determined person. Pre believes in himself and is very independent when it comes down to being an athlete.
2. I think that Pre seems to be a likable character, but others may view him as conceited.
3. Whenever Pre's teammate throws, Pre walks out and draws everyone's attention on him.
4. Pre teaches a 9 year old boy that you can win if you believe in yourself, it is all mental.
5. The current controversy with college athletics that is introduced in this movie  is whether or not they should be getting payed.
6. One of Pre's goals in high school was to be the best distance runner.
7. The living conditions in the Olympic village are very poor. These are very similar to the poor and unsanitary conditions the Olympians faced in Russia this past winter.
8. The Jews and Israels were being killed by an Arab terrorist group.

Unionization Questions

      1)  I do not think that college athletes should be allowed to unionize. I don’t think that they’re that important that they deserve to have their own rights. They are students who play a sport for a school, giving them the right to unionize would exaggerate their importance. College athletes are not that important and I don’t think unionizing them and giving them their own rights would help anything.

  

2)  I do not think that student athletes should become employees of the college they attend and receive a salary. I do not think that they should because they’re going to that school to learn as well, they are still students. They are not working for anybody, they are players on a college level team. They shouldn’t get paid because it is not a professional sport, you are playing for a school that you are attending, in no way are you an employee.

3)  I do not think that they should be making money in the first place, but if they are, then I think they should still be allowed to earn a degree. They’re at a college so they are still in school so it wouldn’t be right for them to take away their opportunity to earn a degree just because they’re earning a salary. I do not think that they should be making money anyways, though. 

What is a Sport?

A sport is an activity that requires an athletic ability, competitiveness, and contains a lot of physical activity. I think that it should also require strength, endurance, strategy, competition and defense. A sport is much different than a hobby. A hobby is something you like to do just for fun but doesn’t really require much practice or skill, while a sport is more of a lifestyle and is very intense and competitive. I also think that a sport requires a lot of time and practice. Also, I don’t think something can be considered a sport if it doesn’t involve any strategy, because then you’re just playing to play which seems to me, as more of a hobby. I think if something requires defense then it is also considered a sport because it gives you some sort of challenge.

I personally do not think that cheerleading is a sport, unless it is more of the competitive type. Cheerleading that just consists of standing there and chanting is not a sport, but I think it can qualify as a sport if it contains a lot of acrobats and stunts. Many people think that golf is just a hobby, but in my opinion it is considered a sport. Golf requires you to have an athletic ability, strength, endurance, strategy, competition and defense. Though the defense may not be another team of person, it is a mental block where the player tries to not let their head get to them. I think that football is definitely a sport because you need to be very in shape, it requires a lot of physical activity, and you need to have certain skills. Not just anybody can play football. I do not think that yoga is a sport because there aren’t many skills that are required and anybody can just do it for fun and on their own time. It doesn’t require much physical activity, either. There is no strategy, competition, or athletic ability required to do yoga.  I also don’t think that ping pong or curling is a sport. Just because they are in the Olympics, they are more of hobbies because neither of them really require you to be in shape. Sure, they require strategy and practice and they can be competitive, but you don’t need much strength or athletic ability. If anyone wanted to, I think they could participate in either of these. Though baseball and softball don’t require much physical activity, I still think of them as being a sport because you need to be very skilled and it is very competitive and popular around the world.

A ball is not required for something to be considered a sport. I think that if it has a ball then it is definitely a sport, but it is not required. It may seem like games that involve a ball may be more competitive, intense, and popular, but that doesn’t disqualify every other sport where a ball isn’t a necessity. For instance, soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, and tennis all involve a ball and those are very popular and competitive around the world, but so isn’t dance and gymnastics. I think that a sport that involves a ball always seems more competitive because there are teams in which are preventing you from achieving your goal. Also, it seems like more people are interested in watching the sports that have a ball because they’re always so intense. Though dance and gymnastics don’t involve a ball whatsoever, I still think they can be considered a sport because you have to be very athletic, have a lot of strength and endurance, and they can be very competitive. You don’t see just anyone participating in dance and gymnastics, they require a lot of skill.

NHL Playoff Predictions

As the NHL Playoffs are approaching, the Boston Bruins seem to be the fan favorites this year. In my opinion, I think any of the teams have a chance but the Bruins are more likely to win considering they have been holding a first place position for almost the whole season. Also, with the Boston Bruins having one of the best goalies in the game I think that gives them a pretty big lead. The Bruins are predicted to win their first match against Detroit, which is also predicted to be the most watched game nationally. I think that if the Bruins win their first match against Detroit, then they have a pretty good chance of making it to the end and potentially winning the Stanley Cup. Though really anything can happen, I think the Bruins are the most consistent team and are more capable of holding a winning streak throughout the playoffs. This is the first time in 57 years that the Bruins will be facing the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Most people think that Detroit might not even have a chance even if they're playing their best and the Bruins are playing their worst. The Boston Bruins are the top contenders this year and it is possible that nobody will be able to beat them. When it all comes down to it, I think that the Bruins have the best chance in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

SMU's Said to be Too Harsh Sanctions?

The "death penalty", which is the most strict rule in the NCAA, is allowed to ban a program or team from participating in a sport for a certain period of time. How can it be fair to go against the rule of paying players for whatever reasons? Some people would say it isn't, while others think it shouldn't be a rule. The Southern Methodist University football program received a harsh punishment after violating the NCAA rules when apparently 13 football players were getting paid. SMU has already been on probation six times since 1956, where most of them came from offers of cash. Of the 13 football players being paid, it was up to about $47,000 during the academic year, while eight student athletes continued to get paid from September to December of about $14,000. What makes it OK for SMU to go against the rules and no one else? Turns out it wasn't, and they made sure they received harsh punishments.

After finding about this long term scandal, they made sure that they were the most punished in NCAA history. SMU ended up being punished from the whole 1987 season, which was the first time they ever banned a team for an entire season. The full death penalty rule can allow a team to be banned for two entire seasons if found guilty twice in five years, but they didn't go to that extent. The NCAA also restricted SMU to seven games in the next year, and limited student scholarships throughout the entire probation, which lasts until September 1, 1990.

Senior defensive back, Mark Vincent states, "We really didn't expect them to do this,", "We thought they'd drop the three non-conference games. There's got to be a fairer way than this." What could possible make someone think that cheating should get limited punishments? Why should it be OK to cheat and get away with it? That is absolutely ridiculous, cheating should require the harshest punishments. If it was another team doing this then the SMU football team would be just against it as everyone else. The fact that the severity of the punishments shocked most of the football team means that the NCAA needs to enforce their rules more powerfully. Some people think that they can get away with cheating and going against the rules, but who's fault really is that? The NCAA could be as much to blame for not making the teams realize what they're doing is wrong and that they can't get away with it for as long as they think.

Sandusky Article

My reaction to the Sandusky article is pure shock and disgust. It baffles me that someone would be able to do such a thing and feel no guilt or anything, and even the fact that they think that they will get away with it. I truthfully do not have an opinion on whether Dottie was aware of this situation or not; because I think if she was aware then why would she want to stay with someone who does these things? Also, what could she have possibly benefited from if she knew this information? I personally just think she is in denial and doesn't want to believe that this is true. I do not think that Sandusky is innocent, but I do believe that the families of the supposed victims did see an opportunity for money and tried to benefit from the situation. I think that he did perform such acts, but the number of victims could easily be exaggerated. I do not think that coaches or athletes are in any means above the law, we are all equal and laws should remain the same for everyone. Though I do believe when players or athletes go against morals it is a bigger deal than if someone who wasn't a star did it because people expect them to be somewhat role models. Also, the public just looks for things to make a big fuss about, so it looks good in the tabloids and news. What I find very unfair is the fact that it is so much easier for big athletes and stars to get away with such things, though I don't know why, it seems to happen a lot.

Question

What 4 teams do you think it will come down to in the March Madness tournament? Why? Who do you think will end up winning the whole thing and is your prediction different or the same as most people?