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?

Sports Interviews

       Emily Quintanilha, a senior at Norton High School has her fair share in sports; she has had a lot of experience and her own opinions regarding different things in the sports industry. Since Emily was about four years old she has participated in 4 different sports; gymnastics, dance, soccer, and tennis. She has had some of her best moments but at the same time some of her worst. Emily participated in gymnastics since she was four years old and stopped when she was 13. The best sporting moment she has ever had was during those 9 years. In Emily's last gymnastics meet ever in 8th grade, she placed first. However, her worst sporting moment she has ever been a part of was during soccer in the 8th grade as well. During an indoor soccer game, a game that I was also playing in, Emily had an anxiety attack in the middle of the game where she could not breathe and had to go to the emergency room. This was very scary for her, and me as well. Luckily, Emily has never had any injuries in a sport. Her favorite sport to watch is different than her favorite sport to play. She enjoys watching hockey the best because it is very fast pace and physical, and her favorite team is the Bruins. (She is hoping to be a nurse for them as well). On the other hand, her favorite sport to play is tennis because she is by herself. Emily also feels very strongly about some things. For instance, she thinks that steroids in any sport should not be allowed and are very unfair, and I could not agree more with this.
       Olivia Christy, also a senior at Norton High school, has participated in many different sports allowing her to express her opinions and share her own experiences. She has played tennis, volleyball, dance, gymnastics and basketball. Olivia's worst sporting moment that she has ever been a part of was during tennis. During her sophomore year in high school she made it to sectionals for tennis but didn't go. She didn't end up going because her coach thought that she should wait until she had more experience. This made Olivia feel like her coach didn't have any hope in her and doubted her. But, in her junior year she made it again and ended up going, and she made it to the second round. This was the best sporting moment she has ever been a part of, it made her feel very confident and accomplished of her goals. Fortunately, she also has never had any injuries from a sport. Just like Emily, her favorite sport to watch is different than what she likes to play. She really enjoys watching football because she finally understands it and finds it very interesting. She also likes to watch the whole tackling aspect. Personally, football is my least favorite sport to watch. Her favorite sport she has ever played is tennis because that is what she grew up playing, and as everyone knows she is very good. Her opinion on steroid abuse is that they're very unfair, gross, and pathetic. Like most people, I agree with this and think that the rules should be a lot more strict.

NHL Trade Rumors

This year is said to be one of the busiest and biggest trade deadlines for the NHL. There are a lot more big names in the discussion this season than they're used to. Another high-profile name was added to the mix on Wednesday night in Vancouver Canucks center, Ryan Kesler. It was said if Kesler becomes available then it could change the entire dynamic of the trade deadline. Of course that did not stop him though, Kesler was the second big name that week that has asked for a trade, along with Martin St. Louis. The big controversy is that he said himself that he never asked for a trade, but who really knows what to believe. Though people are saying he never requested it, it is still underway and is very likely to happen. This situation may seem very complicated, though, considering that Kesler is currently injured and dealing with a hand issue. Apparently he always seems to be injured but just plays through it. He is one of the best centermen in the league. It seems to be that the Canucks would rather have a younger center, someone who could take Kesler's place in the future. This in fact makes the situation very difficult. But, who would want to give up Kesler, someone who leads the Canucks in goals this season with 20 in 60 games and holding 18 assists. He also plays more minutes than any other forward in Vancouver. Gillis, the Canucks manager, is troubled with the task of trying to find someone just as good as Kesler, if he even has to. Who knows if Kesler will move to the Blackhawks or stay with Vancouver.

Norton Girls' Varisty Soccer Recap

       The Norton High School girls’ Varsity soccer team came walking into something totally different and unexpected this past fall season. In this past 2013 soccer season, the girls had no idea what to expect considering they had a new coach, whom most had known nothing about.  Everyone seemed excited, but at the same time nervous because they wanted to beat their record last year of not even making it into the tournament. As very excited as they were to make it to tournament this past season, they were devastated when they didn't go as far as they hoped.

       Most people would say that the seniors definitely had the worst luck when it came to coaches. Mostly every single one of them had a new coach each year they played. Most of the girls started out on junior varsity and made it onto varsity as sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This meant that they had one coach on their JV team and as they worked their way up, every coach had left them. That can be very difficult to cope with because not every coach teaches or thinks the same way, so you may never really know what to expect. This did not seem to stop them in 2011, though. Moving on from that, they had hoped to make it to tournament in 2012, but they sadly ended up with a very unpleasing coach. Starting off the 2013 season seemed to be very difficult for most of the girls trying to get to know the new coach and understand his way of coaching. But, the two new captain’s senior Kaitlin Murrin and junior Kassidy Campbell kept them all together.

       Surprisingly, the team didn't start off as bad as they thought they would. They had tied their first game against their biggest rival, Medfield, 1-1. This already gave them one point towards the tournament, which requires 18 points. As they approached the halfway point, they were switching off with wins and losses and their record was 4-3-2. This meant that they only needed 8 more points to make it to tournament; they were already more than half way there. By the second half of the season, they started off with three wins against Bellingham, Medway and Medfield. Medway and Medfield are Norton's biggest rivals, so those were both huge accomplishments for them. They had not beaten these two teams for a couple of years and this got them on a winning streak. As Norton approached their away game against Millis, they were hoping to win or at least even tie to get the one more point that they needed. Unfortunately they lost, but they still had four more games to get one more point so that left them with a little bit of hope. As their next game against Holliston comes around, it ends up being the happiest moment for them yet this season. They had beaten them 2-1, with goals from Ashley Cibotti and Kaleigh Schleicher. This game by itself qualified the Norton girls’ varsity team for tournament, holding 19 points. The team could not have been any happier with themselves.

       After the team had already made it to tournament, they still tried to work their hardest to get more points so they could maybe have a home game in the tournament. Sadly, they did not win anymore, they tied two and lost one. This didn't seem all that bad because they still got two more points. This ended the team with a total of 21 points and a record of 4-2-3 for the second half of the season and 8-5-5 all together. They were very happy with themselves because they still got 3 more points than they needed and that was huge for them considering they couldn't even get 18 the season prior. As November 2nd, 2013, comes around, one of their most important days this year, the team was excited but had never been so nervous. This was the day of their first tournament game against Dover-Sherborn, another team in their league who they had already lost once and tied once to earlier in the season. As the team meets at Norton High School, gets on the bus, and rides 44 minutes to Dover-Sherborn, their hearts are beating out of their chests. As the game approaches it is a pretty even match tied at half time 0-0. Within the last 15 minutes, DS had scored which got the Norton girls pretty tense. Unfortunately, the game ended 1-0, leaving the Norton girls devastated.

       The Norton girls’ varsity 2013 soccer season seemed to have a lot of ups and downs but they all held it together pretty well. Though they had a brand new coach, it didn't seem to get in the way of anything. Starting off, the team seemed to be unsure and not very confident, but by the middle of the season I think they all started to cope with fact that they can't change anything and they just have to play their hardest. The team had a very successful season ending with a record of 8-5-5 and holding 21 points. Though they lost their first game into the tournament, they could not have been any happier with themselves, their teammates, and the coaches.

Shaun White Goes Down Hill

Shaun White Goes Down Hill

Shaun White, a US professional snowboarder and a two-time Olympic gold medalist has left many people in shock with his performance this Tuesday, February 12, 2014. This year's Winter Olympics are taking place in Sochi Russia where the Olympians are staying in very unsanitary and incomplete conditions. Aside from that, snowboarding was first included in the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. White was originally supposed to compete in two snowboarding events this year, the slope-style and the half-pipe where he only ended up competing in the half-pipe. White ended up dropping out of the slope-style event the day before it was supposed to take place because it was said to be very dangerous. The slope-style is an event for free-styling where the half-pipe is a smooth surface with curved edges to perform stunts.  Everyone was expecting White to do amazing just like every other year, right? Then what was it that changed everything?

Ayumu Hirano a 15 year old from Japan was called to be Shaun's biggest threat in the half-pipe this year. Ayumu ended up winning the silver. Before White's final run, he seemed to be a little confident while holding the highest score of the day with 95.75. He ended up not doing well on Run 1 in the finals where he fell twice, once almost breaking his board in half in the finals scoring a 35.00 even. As Shaun White gets ready to perform in his second run in the half-pipe event, he is looking a little tense as he has to beat who is currently in first place, Iouri Podladtchikov. Iouri is a Russian snowboarder who was holding the top score of  94.75. As Shaun White goes up for his final run he didn't fall at all, but had a couple bobbles which could have gotten him off track a little. This caused him to end with a score of 90.25 in the finals and land in 4th place. He was hoping to win two gold medals before he dropped out of the slope-style, but this year he sadly left with zero. According to ESPN, Shaun Claims that "Tonight was just one of those nights."

In the live event on Tuesday, February 12, 2014 Shaun White obviously did not perform as well as everyone had been expecting him to. According to USA Today, Danny Davis, another US rider who placed tenth place in the half pipe event said, "I think it's great the American public and the world now knows that there are other snowboarders besides Shaun White." "Shaun's, don't get me wrong, one of the most talented, one of the best riders there are, but there are guys who are just as good if not better and today Iouri was the best rider." This was evidently true, but according to ESPN many people are still left wondering why this happened. There is really no excuse. As White said "Tonight was just one of those nights." What may also be very shocking to viewers is the fact that according to "Business Insider" Cork Gaines, Shaun White is not very well liked among other snowboarders. "Davis said it may be jealousy for some riders. But more importantly, he pointed out what has long been known about White, that he is just not part of the snowboarding social network." Also, everyone thinks that White doesn't snowboard just out of appreciation of the sport, but to win. "But White's exclusion is less about feeling superior and more about just being insanely competitive." Overall, the lesson learned is you can't always be the best in everything you do and that was clear in this year's Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

 

Will Michael Sam be accepted in the NFL?

Michael Sam has currently announced that he is gay and is the first openly gay player to enter the NFL draft.  I personally think that he will and should be accepted into the NFL because I don't think that whether you are gay or not should play any role in your position on a sports team. Due to this, I don’t think that anyone will view him any differently, in fact they might actually respect him even more for having the courage to be open about it.

The Gangster in the Huddle

There were many contributing factors that led to Aaron Hernandez's life of crime. Hernandez's family life was not the best, his mother had a major gambling problem and his father had passed away when he was only 16 years old. His mother was also cheating on Hernandez's dad with a crack head and ended up marrying him when Dennis, her ex husband, died. Hernandez Shooting his friend Lloyd was not the only criminal act that he had done. In the past, Hernandez had gotten into fights, abused the drug "angel dust", carried a Glock .45 at all times, hung out with gangsters and was a part of a gang, and most importantly he was charged/linked to the shootings of six people in four different incidents. You would think that these acts of deviance would be a red flag for anyone looking to draft him, right? Apparently not. Aaron Hernandez was originally supposed to be a top pick for the draft, but because he kept failing all of his drug tests and had a criminal history, he dropped so far down. Aside from Hernandez himself, there were other people involved that are to blame. For example, Carlos Ortiz, he was in the back seat when the shooting was happening but either way, he was a witness and there when the crime was committed so he is to blame just as well. Also, Ernest Wallace who was a co-defendant in the murder and is also being charged. I also think that the coaches are to blame because they knew what activities he was into and never did anything about it. The coaches were well aware of Hernandez being involved in illegal activity, yet still allowed him to excel. I think that the cops should have stepped in because they never filed any reports and they could have easily gotten him in a lot of trouble but never did. I think that athletes appear to be so untouchable because sports are such a big market that if a player has a bad reputation that could cause people to become uninterested and cause the sport to have a bad reputation as well.

Broncos defeat

My predictions of the 2014 Superbowl were not correct, as much as I hate saying that. My original prediction was that Denver was going to win and Seattle would have no chance. I thought that Seattle would not get any touchdowns but clearly I was wrong. I don’t watch football much at all so I just guessed that the team I wanted to win would win. Denver did not play well at all including players like Erik Decker and Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning was known for not playing well in cold weather, though I thought he would play through it, it clearly affected him. He kept throwing the ball too far and over the players’ heads making it very difficult for anyone to catch it. I think when Manny Ramirez snapped the ball over Peyton Manning’s head and caused a safety, it led them off to a bad start and affected them the rest of the game. One highlight was for Percy Harvin on the Seahawks when he returned Matt Prater's kick 87 yards for a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the second half. For the Broncos, Peyton Manning threw a 14 yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas, then Wes Welker got the 2-point conversion resulting in them getting only 8 points throughout the whole game. Also, Smith scooped up a fumble in the third quarter, got through the Broncos offensive players for a 69-yard interception return for a touchdown. This resulted in Seattle dominating with a score of 22-0. The final score of the game ended up being 43-8. I was let down in the outcome of the event. I did not watch the whole game, but I did watch some of the half time show when Bruno Mars performed; I was not impressed. I found him to be very boring and his music is not something that interests me. I cannot sit down and watch a whole football game because I find it boring, but the parts that I did watch were alright. My favorite commercial was definitely the Budweiser one with the puppy and the horse. I wish that the Broncos had won, but the Seahawks clearly deserved it and wanted it more.

Victory for the Broncos

For the 2014 Superbowl I hope that Denver wins and my prediction is that they will. I think that overall Denver will outplay Seattle, but I could be totally wrong. Seattle is known most for their defense while Denver is known most for their offense so it could really go either way. I feel as if the Bronco's are the favorites but it is split evenly between who people think will win. Though this could end up being a really close game, I still stand to my prediction that Seattle has no chance. I mostly just watch the Superbowl for the commercials, but I will actually watch some of the game this year because Eric Decker is my favorite player, and he's pretty handsome. I am very disappointed in the fact that Bruno Mars is performing at the half time show. I tend to find him very boring and he might cause people to fall asleep or change the channel. Overall, I am excited to watch the outcome of the 2014 Superbowl.

Brainless Athletes

The research that CNN has gotten involving Division 1 college athletes and their lack of ability to read and write is not only but shocking, but pathetic. It was said that a little over half of the college athletes can't even read above what is considered an eight grade level. That to me was very shocking because if you have the opportunity to get into a school with great sports, you should be able to obtain the academic skills for your grade level. Also, about 8% of those people cannot even read at a fourth grade level. In my opinion, that is pathetic because you're taking up someone else's spot in that school who actually works hard for their grades. Today, people seem as if though sports are the most important thing. Just because you play a sport it should not mean that you don't have to work academically, you shouldn't be excused or treated any better. Overall, this article shocked me because these universities are aware of the extents of cheating these kids do, but still do nothing about it.