Persuasive Article

Donald Sterling's private comments have leaked out to the entire world thanks to his girlfriend. While what he said is horrible, and is the disgusting truth, he did say it in private. This is not the first time that this has happened either (Mel Gibson comes to mind, among others). However the real unfortunate thing is that people only care about Sterling's blatant racist ways now. Sterling has a history of prejudice against minorities, including refusing to rent out apartments to them (something that he was fined over 2.7 million dollars for). The most shocking, and disappointing thing about Sterling is that he was given an award for lifetime body of work by the NAACP. Despite his documented accounts for racism, the NAACP gave him a lifetime award, mainly because he made a large donation to the organization. It is astonishing to see how long Donald Sterling had before people got upset about his ways.

While we can clearly surmise that Donald Sterling is a racist, and in no way should be allowed to own a professional sports team, does that make it okay to force him out based on conversations that he had in private?  Not that it really matters because he is going to have to give up the team, but should personal beliefs have an effect on your job? Apparently the NBA, and the vast majority of people think that it should because the public's response to the recording seems to be unanimously against Sterling. NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, imposed a $2.5 million dollar fine, a lifetime banishment from all NBA events, as well as his intention to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. To Donald Sterling, $2.5 million dollars is nothing, but being forced to sell your professional sports team is significant, especially when you have been the owner for so long. The NBA constitution will allow the league to dispose of Sterling, as long as the vast majority of owners vote in accordance, but it seems that there may be loopholes that Sterling is waiting to use.

While it may seem unfair that words he said in private will cost him an NBA franchise, the words that he used leave the public, and the NBA no choice but to try and remove him. We have all said things that might possibly put your job on the line, but when you own a team in a professional sports league, there is no room for racism. This is especially true when the majority of players in that league are African-American. Also, Doc Rivers, an African-American, is the Head Coach for the Clippers. For these reasons alone, Sterling should be banished. It is sad that it took his conniving mistress to do so, but Donald Sterling's racist views have finally been revealed to the world, and based on what he said, he should be stopped from owning a professional sports team because the, "it was how I was raised" approach simply will not cut it. 

Sports Profile: Tom Brady

After leading the New England Patriots to their third straight AFC championship game, Tom Brady has been the NFL's model of consistent greatness for most of his career. Despite some peoples thought that he is no longer a top 5 QB, he proves them wrong every week, "I'm not a person who defends myself very often. I kind of let my actions speak for me." The most important thing a QB can do in the NFL is win. Winning is everything in the world of the NFL, and it just so happens that he is the winning-est QB in the league since 2001, "I'm a pretty good winner. I'm a terrible loser. And I rub it in pretty good when I win." Brady knows that winning is the only thing that matters, "To me, football is so much about mental toughness, it's digging deep, it's doing whatever you need to do to help a team win and that comes in a lot of shapes  and forms." 

Brady is a three time super bowl champion, but out of five appearances. Even with the best NFL team of all time,(2007) New England could not pull off a win. Tom Brady wants nothing more than to return to the super bowl because he understands how important that is. All the accolades that Brady has acquired over the years really don't matter to him, and that shows that his head, and his actions are in the right space. Brady's relentless winning spirit helped lead a mediocre offense to a very strong record of 12-4. His winning spirit can also be seen in last years comeback games: New Orleans at Foxboro, Cleveland at Foxboro, and especially Denver at Foxboro, when they were down 24-0 in the first have and came back to win the game in overtime. Winning is so important to Brady, "the true competitors though, are the ones that always play to win." Brady's mental toughness, and mindset are the reason that he is not only the best in the league right now, but is the greatest QB in the history of the National Football league.

New England Patriots 2014 Season Preview

Last season, the New England Patriots had reached the AFC championship for the third year straight, and it does not seem like that is going to change next season. With the wide receiving core, headed by Julian Edelman, comes only room to improve next season. Brandon LaFell was a free agent WR for the Carolina Panthers, and will bring good size and and another veteran leader to the team. Also, despite his injury, Rob Gronkowski is still the best Tight End in football, and is healing ahead of schedule. Last years rookie WR's Aaron Dobson, Kembrell Thompkins, and Josh Boyce will all compete for jobs with veterans: Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and the newly acquired Brandon Lafell. Not to mention the Patriots got a steal in the 7th round of the draft when they selected Jeremy Gallons, a receiver from Michigan.

The Patriots also did a good job in bolstering the offensive line in the the 2014 NFL draft. Newly acquired Center, Bryan Stork will bring depth, and possibly compete to start day one. Tackle Cameron Fleming will also bring depth as veteran tackle Sebastian Vollmer recovers from his torn ACL. Jon Halapio was also picked up for depth at the guard spot. Also the Patriots have truly upgraded the defense, which now bolsters a top-5 secondary with new acquisitions: Darrelle Revis, and Brandon Browner. Browner (6'4, 235lbs) is one of the biggest and most physical corners in the game of football. With new rookies Dominique Easley and Zach Moore, and the return of Vince Wilfork (Achilles), and Jerod Mayo, the new Patriots defense is stacking up to be one of the best in the league. This is especially true when they coped well with the loss of key players last season. DE Chandler Jones is quickly turning into a premier defensive end, and second year player Jamie Collins is likely to step up big in the upcoming season. 

Finally, it would be blasphemous to not mention the best duo in NFL history: Bill Bellichick, and Tom Brady. People say that Brady is on a downhill turn, but that could not be further from the truth. Brady managed to get the Patriots to the AFC Championship game for the third year in a row, with a decimated offensive line, and very little help from his receiving core.The Pats receiving core was less than mediocre last season, but despite this, he had no problem scoring with the football. He also played the majority of the season without the assistance of the best Tight End in football. Gronkowski's value is often underestimated because of his setbacks, but he can cause match up problems getting other receivers open, as well as the fact that he is the best blocking TE in the league. Led by the best coach in football, the New England Patriots look like they will have their best season in years, and they are very likely to hoist the Lombardi trophy for the fourth time since 2001.

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was one of the very first professional sports leagues created for women in the United States. While it is unfortunate the women don't have as many true professional sports leagues as men do, this does not show any signs of changing in the near future. Basketball, and soccer are the two main women professional sports, while other athletes such as volleyball players, will have to strive for the Olympics to get national recognition. Even these two main sports leagues are nowhere near the popularity of their male counterpart leagues. The only way to keep a league going is through a fan base, and that is why basketball, and soccer have stayed afloat. other sports simply are not popular enough to survive and that's why there is only two main leagues today. The reason for the male-female difference in sports is most likely linked to the fact that on average, men watch sports more than women in the United States. Not that there aren't any female sports fans, its just that there are far more men, and men are more likely to watch men play as oppose to women. Basketball, and soccer are very popular, and that is why they have remained successful throughout the years. Hopefully, female sports leagues can take off in the future, but unfortunately that doesn't seem likely any time soon.

1) As long as she follows the rules, and regulations set in the MMA, the MMA should not treat her any differently.
2)They do have an advantage, but if they have undergone surgery and hormone treatment, the advantage isn't as extreme as people believe, especially if they are small.
3)I think that they should be told before the fight, and it would probably scare me because the stereotype that men are significantly more powerful than women.
4)I think that as long as they follow the rules of the MMA, and tell opponents beforehand, things should continue on as normal.

Matt Whittington

5/1/14

Sports R + W

            The definition of a sport is often a subject of controversy. This is especially true for cheerleading, where “real” sports players say that it is not a real sport. Cheerleaders obviously defend their activity saying that it is, but this is a heated debate.

            To find out if say, cheerleading is indeed a sport we should know what a “sport” is. Google defines a sport as: “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Going by this definition the cheerleading performed at other sporting events is not a sport, as they do not compete against anyone. However competitive cheerleading is absolutely a sport, as they compete against other teams.

This shows that as long as it is a physical activity, and also involves competition, it is indeed a sport.

NBA Playoff Picture

The 2014 NBA playoffs are almost upon us, and it is time for everyone to make their predictions. The Miami Heat, led by LeBron James are the obvious favorite for the NBA's bandwagon fans, but their chances may not be quite as good as in previous years. Dwayne Wade's health may be the deciding factor in their bout, as they will desperately need him to advance to the NBA finals. It also does not help that they fell 93-114 to the Washington Wizards, causing them to relinquish the number 1 seed in the east to the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers are my favorite for the east because of the disintegrating health of the Miami Heat. The west is more competitive this year with the Clippers on the rise. Also the Spurs have clinched the number one seed in the west, with Oklahoma City coming in second. I see the Thunder coming out of the west to challenge the Pacers in the 2014 NBA Finals. With a good Finals ending in 7 games, I believe that the Thunder led by Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook will beat the Pacer to become the 2014 NBA champions.

Harding's Not So Hard Punishment

Everyone knows the background to the this story. Tonya Harding was notorious among the skating world after her then-husband, and bodyguard hired Shane Stant to break the right leg of Harding's opponent, Nancy Kerrigan. She claimed to have no part of the deals, or conspiracy, but that is a blatant fallacy. Harding clearly had some part in the vicious attack because no one else had any real incentive to taking out Kerrigan, and the copious amounts of evidence, and simple common sense. The sick attack on Kerrigan forced her to withdraw from the competition, allowing Harding to secure the gold medal at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

The worst part of the entire ordeal, is the lack thereof a justifiable punishment forced onto Tonya Harding. Everyone involved in the attack had to serve some form of time in prison, except Harding of course. She got off extremely lightly after agreeing to plead guilty to conspiring to hinder the persecution of attackers. All she had to do was some community service, and pay a fine. She still got to skate in the Olympics too, during a time when she should be in prison for conspiring assault on an innocent woman. It's simple really, Tonya Harding saw Nancy Kerrigan as a threat so she took care of the threat, and got away with it.

Jerry Sandusky is serving a 30 to 60 year sentence for being convicted of sexually abusing 10 different boys. His wife, Dottie, still believes that he is an innocent man despite the number of alleged victims who have come forth. She keeps believing that these victims were manipulated into coming forth by lawyers that promised them financial gain. Even if this were the case, Sandusky has finally been brought to justice. Either his wife knew something, and lied, or she was completely oblivious to her husbands 'extra-curricular' activities. 26 alleged victims have come forth, and while he probably did not abuse everyone single one of them, he is by no means an innocent man and his wife seems to simply be in denial. Even if showering with boys was 'just a part of his generation', raping them was not, and it is good to see that he will not be able to do it again for the rest of his life.

32 year old Patriots Defensive Tackle Vince Wilfork is coming off a torn Achilles suffered earlier in the season. Wilfork is projected to make $7.5 million next season, and the Patriots have approached him about altering his contract. Doing so would help lessen the burden of an $11.6 million salary cap hit. If agreements cannot be made, do you believe that the Patriots would consider cutting him?

Ben Skotny Interview

           Ben Skotny is a student in his junior year at Norton High School. Ben plays sports, and is also an avid sports fan. Ben played Basketball and he is now on the Cross Country, Winter Track, and the Spring Track teams for Norton High School. When asked what the most memorable sports moment that he has been a part of, Ben responded, "winning the TVL championship in Winter Track".

           Apart from playing sports, Ben is also a huge sports fan. When asked what his favorite moment from a sporting event that he had watched was, he stated, "when David Ortiz hit a Grand Slam in the 2013 playoffs". Ben has stated that his favorite sport to watch live, or on television is basketball. His favorite team to watch is the Duke basketball team. Ben enjoys both playing, and watching sports as a fan.

Justin Cavanaugh Interview

              Justin Cavanaugh is a student at Norton High school. He has played sports, and he also enjoys watching them. Playing baseball is one of the best sports that he has been a part of, and it was his favorite, and most memorable of his career. In the past, Justin could be seen playing sports such as: baseball, basketball, and also soccer. His favorite sport to play was basketball because he enjoys the nature of the game that makes it fun for people who play it.

              Justin not only has played sports, but he also enjoys watching sports as a fan. When asked what the most memorable sporting event that he has watched, Justin answered that each of the New England Patriots Super Bowl victories were equal in his mind. Justin also mentioned that his favorite sport to watch was hockey. His favorite team is the Boston Bruins. Justin Cavanaugh is a sports player, sports fan, and sports lover.

The Bucs New Look

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now the newest team to make uniform adjustments. The new helmet, and logo were unveiled a few weeks ago. The helmet sports a lot of chrome, including the face mask, as well as a significantly larger, revamped logo. Now the team has revealed the uniform it will sport during the 2014 NFL season on Monday. They are much different, and fans have been highly critical of the new look. Some are upset about the size of the logo, and many dislike how the numbers look. Few people seem to enjoy the new look, but the team hopes it will revitalize the franchise.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/24465596/look-buccaneers-unveil-new-uniforms-for-2014

The Lancers Success

The Norton High school football team had a great year finishing with a strong record of 8-3. Also they went 4-0 in the league making them the TVL Small champions. On Thanksgiving, the Norton High team faced off against the Bellingham Blackhawks, coming away with yet another Thanksgiving Day win. The Lancers advanced to the MIAA division 4 playoffs, but fell short to Apponequet Regional at home in a disappointing loss. 

The 2013 football season started out strong for the Lancers. Led by coach Currle, they beat Scituate in one of the most exciting games of the season. Scituate played a good game getting the lead in the 4th quarter. The Lancers needed a touchdown with a minute left to win the game, and on a clutch play, quarterback Mike Ready completed a touchdown pass to Matt Hines winning the game 28-27. Later in the season, the Lancers had a home conference game against TVL foe Dover-Sherborn. This would end up being the Lancers most commanding win of the season as they completed the game 49-20, scoring 20 points in the first quarter alone. Norton continued to dominate the TVL Small, going 3-0 against Dover Sherborn, Bellingham, and Ashland. Then in a home game against Millis/Hopedale, with the TVL Small championship on the line Norton dominated. The Lancers made very few mistakes in the game, and dominated on both side of the ball, scoring 29 points, and holding the Mohawks to only 6. The game sealed in Norton’s undefeated run in the TVL Small. This advanced the Lancers to the division 4 playoffs as TVL Small champions. 

The Lancers won eight games, but they did lose three. Their first loss of the season was to Medway high school, in which they they fell 28 – 13. Norton went on to go undefeated from there, until the first game of the playoffs, where they came up short in a dissapointing loss to Apponequet Regional high school. They also fell short in the next game away in Hanover. However, three losses is not a bad record, and it is a certain improvement from the previous year. The prvious season, the Lancers had a record of 6 wins, 5 losses.

The 2013 football season was a great success for Norton high school, but there is plenty of room to improve. The team would ultimately finish the season with an impressive record of 8-3. Qaurterback Mike Ready was awarded the TVL Small MVP, and linebacker Mike Travers was awarded the TVL Small defensive player of the year. TVL all stars on the team include: Matt Hines, Mike Ready, Tony Giglio, Mike Travers, Brad Wry, and George Reese. The teams senior captains, Mike Ready, Mike Travers, Tony Giglio, and Brad Wry each had a great season, as well as Matt Hines who was a huge playmaker at both wide receiver, and running back. The seniors were great, but now the teams younger players need to step up, and fill the positions that have been emptied. Hard Work in this years offseason will ultimately determine wheter or not the Norton Lancers will have a good season again.

USA Hockey In Defeat

The United States Olympic hockey team started out strong in the games at Sochi, Russia, however that was all changed by a disappointing performance against Canada. With their hopes of gold lost, the hockey team did still have a shot at a medal in the bronze medal game. Unfortunately, Finland wanted it more, and thrashed the United States 5 - 0. According to an article on USA Today,the game changer was when, "Teemu Selanne and Jussi Jokinen scored 11 seconds apart in the second period to give the always-defensive-minded Finns all of the scoring they needed. Both goals occurred with USA's top defensive pair of Ryan Suter and Ryan McDonagh on the ice." These events built up a lot of frustration for the Americans, and seemed to put the game away in Finland's favor. The game was obviously very disappointing for the Americans, and left them without a medal in the games. Perhaps this would count as revenge for Finland, as they lost 6 - 1 to the United States during the semi-finals of the 2010 winter Olympics. Without a medal for men's hockey, the United States finished at Sochi with 28 total medals, 9 of them gold.

Aaron Hernandez was a kid from Bristol, who excelled at athletics, but also crime. Hernandez' father, Dennis, also had been known for a life of crime, and violence during his upbringing in the seventies, and eighties. After Aaron was born however, he made sure to keep him on a straight path. He had steady work, and no more drugs, or problems with the law. That all changed in Aaron's sophomore year of high school, as his father had died. This meant that the father figure keeping his son from a life of crime, was no longer there, and Aaron turned to recreational drugs, and kept to himself. Before long, he had new "gangster" friends, and even worse, his mother had remarried to an abusive drug dealer. Aaron was deeply hurt by the fact that his mother was being abused by her new husband. Despite all of the trouble he had endured, Hernandez still had a scholarship to the University of Connecticut, however he was persuaded to instead attend Florida, and join the likes of Tim Tebow, en route to a national championship. Tebow would become the teams leading catcher, and became one of the best tight ends in the game. However, his childhood problems had also followed him all the way from Bristol. He had been getting into drugs, and violence, as he took part in a bar altercation in which he shattered a waiters eardrum (he was under-age at the time). Ernest Wallace, a gangster friend,  had also followed him to Florida, as he became Hernandez' muscle. Instances such as these, as well as considerable suspensions, had raised red flags, and caused his first round draft stock to plummet. However these issues were greatly outweighed by his overwhelming amount of talent, ad were not enough to stop the great Bill Bellichick from drafting him. You could blame his collage coaches for not doing enough to stop his life of crime, but the real blame should lie with his childhood friends, who as it seems, have turned Hernandez into a full fledged gangster. He should have received bigger suspensions, and possibly arrests to show him that just because he was a talented athlete, he is not above the law.

Super Bowl XLVIII Predictions

On February 2nd, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Denver Broncos will play for the Lombardi Trophy at MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Seahawks, with the number 1 defense, are playing the number 1 offense of Denver. Led by Peyton Manning, the Broncos will have a total of three touchdowns, and a field goal. I think that Welker will have 1 touchdown, and Eric Decker will have two. Demaryius Thomas will have a mediocre night, as he goes up against Seattle's Richard Sherman. Denver's running backs will probably have over 150 yards because Seattle will be more focused on all the weapons at receiver than the running game.

Seattle will have a total of three touchdowns. I think that Golden Tate will have their only receiving touchdown, and Marshawn Lynch will have 183 rushing yards, and two touchdowns. Two of their touchdowns will be caused by turnovers forced by the defense, including a pick from Richard Sherman, and a fumble recovery by Michael Bennett. Russell Wilson will have 40 rushing yards, and one passing touchdown. Percy Harvin will continue to be uninfluential after he gets injured by Denvers defense. Wes Welker will have a decent night, but on Denver's final drive, he will drop an easy pass on third down, and force Denver to punt. this will be enough for Russell Wilson, and Seattles offense to get to field goal range, allowing Steven Hauschka to get his second field goal of the night, winning the game with 10 seconds left. The final score will be 24-27 Seattle

Illiterate Athletes In The NCAA?

     According to an article by CNN, many student-athletes at universities such as North Carolina, Clemson, and Ohio State, have a reading and writing level equal to that of an elementary student. NCAA sports programs make millions of dollars, so it is understandable that a students athletic ability can earn them a scholarship. However, if someone cannot read or write, than they should not be going to some of the most academically challenging schools in the nation. It will not do the athlete any good for their future, if they go to a college, and their poor level of literacy bars them from actually doing work. To pass their classes, these students more than likely have to resort to cheating on their work, and exams. While it is unfortunate, it is not fair to students who actually deserve to be there.