The Final Inning

Well folks, this is it, my last post. While there currently are and will continue to be many significant issues in the sports world, unfortunately, I will no longer be contributing my opinions on those issues. But I will definitely walk away from this experience a better writer and a more enthusiastic sports fanatic.

I started out at the beginning of the year not having the slightest clue on the proper writing etiquette for a blog. I began simply by compiling all of my research and the information I found on the topic that I was talking about into what I thought was an adequate post. Little did I know, there is more to blogging than this. My readers didn’t want to hear the bare bone facts behind the latest scandal; they wanted to know my opinion on that event so that they could formulate their own opinion. And as the year went on, it became easier for me to include my opinion even though it was a substantial struggle that I had to overcome.

The skills that I gained from my blog helped me become a better writer in other areas of writing, in addition to the writing necessary for my blog. The struggle of inserting my opinion throughout the background information I provided in my blog helped me in my literary and argumentative writing in my AP Language & Composition class.

To Be or Not to Be... The Best Tennis Player of All Times (Sept. 14)

This entry that I posted in the early part of the school year, when I was still learning about the necessary writing for my blog, I decided to blog about a topic that I feel strongly about. I figured that since it meant a lot to me that would be sufficient in the amount of personal opinion I included in the post. However, I was wrong. While I include my feelings on the playing abilities of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, I mainly include the opinions of other sports commentators. This post is basically an overview of a significant debate that is already out there in the sports world, and that is not what I wanted my blog to become.

My First Professional Hockey Experience

We Say Goodbye to Chicago Cubs Legend

These two entries would have to be among my favorite throughout my blog. I feel that since they aren’t about an event in which I had to supply a lot of background information, I was able to keep the post primarily about my own experiences and feelings. That hockey game was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life and I feel as though you could really gather that in the writing I produced for this post. I was extremely upset when I found out about the death of Ron Santo and I think this, too, is evident in my writing as I tried to convey it to my audience.

I really enjoyed writing for my blog and I think it was an extremely beneficial writing experience. The style of writing necessary for a blog is different from most other writing that we get to practice in high school. And for this I am grateful that I was given the opportunity to write to you, my audience, about the thing that has been my greatest hobby since I was just a little kid. Thank you.

Derrick Rose Could Be Running Into Issues

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6399553

With the way he has been playing in the playoffs, the Chicago Bulls can't afford to lose Derrick Rose at this stage in the game. To start out the playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Rose contributed 39 points, six rebounds, and six assists on Monday to help the Bulls to a 1-0 lead. With the NBA community's eyes on him after that performance, Rose had 36 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the second game on Thursday in Indiana, again contributing to the Bulls win. In Game 3 of the series, Rose helped achieve yet another Bulls victory with 23 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Today, however, it is a slightly different story; with 9:44 left in the fourth quarter, the Bulls are struggling 62-74. In today's Game 4, the Bulls have not taken the lead once; the best they have done is tied at five a piece in the first quarter. Today, Rose has only made 10 points, four rebounds, and eight assists.

It is quite obvious that something is affecting Rose's playing today, but there are different theories to what may be causing the trouble. Rose left today's game with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter with a left ankle sprain, to return early in the second quarter. According to ESPNChicago.com, "Rose went up for a shot and turned his ankle when landing. He didn't appear to make contact with any other player."

Rose could easily have gone back in the game to be a team player even though his ankle was not in prime playing condition. This would be my guess as to why he is not producing like he had been in the previous games three games. But perhaps the pressure was too much for Rose to handle. While this reasoning seems less likely, Rose's performance has dropped in each game of the series. Fans and critics expected so much out of him after his first few outstanding games, maybe he just couldn't live up to that. Regardless of this being said, I would find it more believable that Rose is tired, he has committed his all to helping the Bulls win in the last three games and naturally, his body and mind are tired. This, along with his minor injury today, are probably paying their toll and thus causing Rose to have an average game.

Is Chicago the City of Fixed World Series?

Recently in the sports world, speculation has come about over the 1918 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. Eddie Cicotte of the 1919 Chicago White Sox stated that the infamous Black Sox got the idea to throw the 1919 World Series from the Cubs who had supposedly done so the year prior in a 4-2 loss to the Red Sox.

Eddie Cicotte was a pitcher for the White Sox from 1912-1920. He was banned from the sport when he became the first of the eight players involved in the scandal to step forward and sign a confession and waiver of immunity. After doing so, Cicotte recanted his confession and was later acquitted of all charges at trial by jury. Cicotte's involvement in this allegation began during the 1920 deposition when he stated that the "ball players were talking about somebody trying to fix the National League ball players or something like that," Cicotte said in the deposition. "Well anyway there was some talk about them offering $10,000 or something to throw the Cubs in the Boston Series," he said. "Somebody made a crack about getting money, if we got into the Series, to throw the Series."

Cicotte said in a court deposition two years after the Black Sox scandal that "'the boys on the club' talked about how a Cub or a number of Cubs were offered $10,000 to throw the 1918 World Series..." Regardless of making this accusation, Cicotte failed to mention any specific players involved or any facts that could be used to prove whether or not this actually happened.

The Show Must Go On

Although players and teams are uncertain about the outcome of this lockout, the NFL seems to be making a point by still releasing the upcoming regular-season schedule. In addition to this, many teams are organizing on-field team practices and team workouts even though there is no definite date on when they will actually play against another team.

With the NFL draft about to take place in just a few weeks, teams are preparing to go out their business just like any other season, there is only one problem; there might not even be a season. Those young men that get drafted may not even get the chance to play in the year to come. But the show must go on and indeed it will.

Attendance Woes Throughout Sports

NASCAR, baseball, NCAA sports, and other sports, are all noticing sharp declines in their attendance in 2011. Is this a coincidence? I think not. But could this decline be a permanate change? And if so, what caused it?


Randy White, of the White Hutchinson Leisure and Learning Group, blogged in February about the decline in attendance at NASCAR races but how this is just an example of the decline in attendance at all sporting events in general. While some people attribute the 22% decline of annual attendance at races to “the declining popularity to an aging fan base and to the improved safety… i.e. racing has become less appealing as it is now perceived as less dangerous and less edgy,” the bigger issue is the fact that people are less willing to go to out-of-town games with more and more families becoming lower income households. From 1997 to 2008, the percentage of adults that went to at least one sporting event during the prior year declined by nearly 25%, showing that this issue is broader than just NASCAR racing.

According to AOL Sports, USA Today reported of the attendance woes throughout Major League Baseball. The report showed “that six teams have already had the worst single-game attendance in their stadiums’ history. It was 13,000 in Atlanta, 12,000 in Seattle, fewer than 9,000 in Pittsburgh. The Yankees and Cubs have had uncharacteristically huge expanses of empty seats. And in Cleveland, where the team has been surprisingly hot and hopeful, six games have already drawn fewer than 10,000 fans.”

Citi Field

Some seem to think that the drop in baseball attendance is due to something that relates specifically to baseball since the NBA and NFL aren’t seeing as drastic declines in attendance. Perhaps it can be tied to the fact that baseball starts when the temperature is still a little chilly to be sitting through a three hour game. But more so, could it be that the fact that the MLB season is a relatively long season compared to other sports? With 165 games to be played before anything really exciting happens (the postseason), perhaps people are waiting for the excitement to begin. With the economy being the way it has been, families have had to limit excessive spending and follow a stricter budget. So possibly, people are waiting to go to their one baseball game when the weather is nicer and the race for the divisional title is more prevalent.


These are just two examples of the attendance dilemma on our hands in the world of sports, both professional and collegiate. Some claim the decline is related to the economy, while others say it is due to the set up of the sport, and some even believe it has to do with the increase in social networks, internet and electronic communications, and time being spent on video games. It is hard to say which is the real cause of the problem, but it is an unfortunate problem that I hope will disappear over time.

Barry Bonds Wrap-Up

After countless weeks, large sums of money, and a slew of emotions being tossed around, the Barry Bonds trial has come to a dramatic end. Although the outcome does not state for a fact that Bonds used steroids, he is still now considered a convicted felon.

On Wednesday, after many days of deliberation, the jury found Bonds guilty of obstruction of justice. They said that in his trial nearly 7 years ago, when being questioned, he failed to answer the question about receiving drugs in a 'yes' or 'no' manner. As for the charges suggesting that Bonds made false statements to the grand jury in his Dec. 2003 case, Judge Susan Illston declared a mistrial. Bonds will not be able to be charged with making false statements about receiving steroids and human growth hormones under oath with double jeopardy playing a role in the trial.

According to ESPN,

Amber, a 19-year-old blonde woman who was the youngest juror, said the final votes were 8-4 to acquit Bonds of lying about steroids and 9-3 to acquit him on lying about HGH use. The panel voted 11-1 to convict him of getting an injection from someone other than his doctor, with one woman holding out, she said.
Jurors decided to convict Bonds on the obstruction count on Tuesday; on Wednesday they decided they could not come to unanimous decisions on the rest.

In my opinion, this whole fiasco sends the message to athletes and fans alike, that people with the appropriate amount of money, an endless supply of resources, and the fame that is associated with their name can make any big problem seem like nothing more than a misdemeanor. Bonds broke the most basic MLB rule there is, any use of steroids is against the leagues policies. Yet with all the evidence that was provided to show that he had used them knowingly, he got off with lying under oath. He is receiving absolutely no punishment for the actual usage of steroids; and why is this? Merely because he is the current record holder for the most homeruns; it is absurd.

Are We Safe at Sporting Events?

After Thursday's season opener between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Giants, a Giants fan was beaten in the parking lot of the Dodgers' stadium. Upon being taken to the hospital, the man was put into a medically induced coma. When something like this happens, we have to consider what can be done to prevent reactions like this at sporting events (being that this was not the first time that something like this happened)? Will this man ever be able to go to or enjoy a baseball game again? Should rivalries like this one have warning labels with them?

When addressing the first question, I just want to clarify that I don't think that fans should be told not to show their support at rivalry team's stadiums like some sports analysts are saying. When I go to another stadium to watch a Cubs game, I want to show my support even more than I do at home just because there are fewer Cubs fans in attendance. While I understand where the analysts are coming from, in a means of protection, I don't think warning fans not to wear their jerseys and caps to away games will fix this problem. Sports have always been a big part of peoples lives and when their team loses, they react irrationally. I am definitely not justifying what happened on Saturday but I am saying that it is a difficult thing to avoid, besides the addition of security.

If, and hopefully when, this man comes out of his coma, is he going to feel comfortable going to a baseball game again? If he does go to another game, he is going to be looking over his shoulder every second, thinking that someone is trying to approach him. If it had been me, I would have been sticking up for my team, thinking that I was among other sports fans and not among attackers.

The Easier Way Out

It was announced Friday that Manny Ramirez tested positive for using performance-enhancing drugs during spring training. This is the second time the slugger has been caught using the drugs and instead of facing the 100-game suspension, he has chosen to retire.

According to ESPN, Ramirez made the decision to retire instead of accepting the suspension as a means to avoid having Major League baseball "formally announce that he'd violated the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. Instead, MLB issued a release stating only that it had informed Ramirez of 'an issue' under that program..." Had Ramirez taken the suspension, he would have been the only player ever to receive two suspensions for a violation under the program that started in 2005.

Some sports analysts and fans are already talking about whether or not Ramirez is a Hall of Fame candidate. Although he did have 555 home runs at the time of his resignation, Ramirez broke the rules of MLB and when he received his consequences, he chose to take the easy way out to avoid stipulation. You have to remember that Ramirez had to have known this was coming when he made the conscious decision to use those performance enhancing drugs. And now when the big guys find out and want to punish him (for his second offense), he decides that he would rather run away from it all and avoid having them say he actually did it at all, by retiring. If using steroids and breaking the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program isn't reason enough to disqualify somebody for a Hall of Fame bid, I certainly think that retiring to avoid punishment is.

The Never Ending Lockout

With the NFL lockout seeming never ending at this point, the players and the owners still don't seem to be able to come to any agreements. However, in the midst of the trial to argue the legality of the lockout, the judge, Susan Richard Nelson, feels as though it is time to arrange for a "new collective bargaining agreement".

As ESPN reports, the primary purpose of the hearing is to "plea to the judge that the lockout be immediately lifted on the grounds that their careers are being irreparably harmed". Currently, the lawyer for the league is saying that he wants the players to continue playing so that the league can continue to produce games and that is what it is going to have to be before anymore steps are taken forward. While on the other hand, the lawyer for the players says that he will listen closely to what the judge recommends.

ESPN's NFL Insider, Adam Schefter, says, however, that regardless of the judges final ruling, whomever loses is going to automatically appeal so the end of this battle does not appear to be in the near future.

Personally, I feel as though the issues for this matter need to be resolved as quickly as possible, regardless of what the outcome is, otherwise the league is going to have to deal with the issue of numerous angry NFL fans in addition to the numerous NFL players who are out of work at the moment. Obviously, what the players and the league have been doing in attempts to create agreements has not been working. Therefore, maybe the league should listen to what the judge has to say in the hopes that it will get the players happy and playing and the league putting out games.

Freak Accident Poses a Harsh Warning

On March 6th, the face of the University of Georgia's baseball team suffered an injury that paralyzed him from the waist down, along with loss of feeling in his fingers. Johnathan Taylor, outfielder and leader of the Bulldogs team, collided with another outfielder injuring his C-5 and C-6 vertebrae. Upon being taken to the hospital, Taylor was taken into surgery where they found that he had not severed his spinal cord, meaning there is a larger chance for recovery.

Outfield collisions have become quite common in baseball; however, most players are lucky enough to avoid breaking their neck. Unfortunately, Taylor is among the unlucky few. Positively thinking though, initially Taylor was put on a ventilator and an electric wheelchair. Now he is able to push himself in a wheelchair and can breath on his own. He is also undergoing physical training to strengthen his muscles. As the video shows (http://espn.go.com/), the athlete in Taylor still wants to train regardless of his situation.

When something like this happens, it raises the question of whether or not players should be warned of freak accidents like this before becoming committed to the sport. With sports such as football and hockey, injuries are more common than not with the level of contact that is required, however, with baseball, player collisions and injuries are not the basis of the game. I am sure some athletes don't realize the horrid accidents that have happened in the past with certain sports and they should be aware of those risks. If it was me, though, those risks wouldn't be a huge factor. These athletes obvious love the sports they play enough to continue through college and thus a warning label won't stop them from playing. But injuries like these do make you open your eyes to the possibilities.

A Cinderella Story to Remember

Being that March is now behind us, does that mean the madness that goes along with it is too? As yesterday's unexpected Final Four games concluded we now look forward to the championship game wondering why and how Butler and UConn are the two teams left standing.

As the games began yesterday, I found myself wondering who I would be rooting for since Duke was out. And much like a lot of the basketball community, I couldn't help but cheer on VCU because of the fact that they were such an underdog and what a Cinderella story it would be. The Rams had an amazing run beating the number one ranked team, Kansas, in the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, they just couldn't keep the momentum going when they played number eight ranked Butler yesterday, coming up just short at 62-70.


In the 2009 College Basketball Encyclopedia, Pat Forde contributed a story about Cinderella stories. Now, in his blog, he explains how he wants to change his article on the issue by adding the VCU story as one of the best Cinderella stories ever. Here, he makes his case on the amazing season they had:

Their path to the Final Four: a 13-point victory over No. 11 USC; an 18-point victory over No. 6 Georgetown; an 18-point victory over No. 3 Purdue; a one-point victory over No. 10 Florida State; a 10-point victory over No. 1 Kansas.
Average margin of victory: 12.
Average seeding of defeated teams: 6.2.
Margin of victory is a clear indicator that VCU has had the most impressive run of the four. It has had just one life-and-death struggle to win, whereas the other three all had at least two games decided by five points or less.
By seed, the Rams played the weakest competition -- but they also played one more game than any of the rest, thanks to the advent of the First Four. Given an additional chance to lose, most lower-seeded teams would have.


In part because of VCU, this is the first time in history that the Final Four was without a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. VCU definitely surprised the basketball community and even though they didn't make it to the finals, they are the team that everyone will be talking about this year.

The Bonds Trial: Part Two

Leading Lawyers:
Susan Illston- U.S. District Court Judge
Cris Arguedas- Leading defense attorney along with Allen Ruby
Allen Ruby- Lead defense attorney who is one of the most successful lawyers in northern California
Jeff Nedrow- Assistant U.S. attorney
Matthew Parrella- Assistant U.S. attorney
Michael Rains- Criminal defense lawyer who was Bonds' lawyer in the grand jury investigation (could now become a witness)

Major Witnesses:
 

Bell



Kimberly Bell- Bonds' mistress of nine years told the grand jury that Bonds blamed his 1999 elbow injury on steroids usage and in recent years she had been noticing many of the side effects of the steroids. When Bonds became verbally abusive, he repeatedly threatened "to cut my head off and leave me in a ditch" and that "he would cut out my breast implants because he paid for them." He told me he would burn it down." Bonds said of the house he had bought for her.



Anderson



Greg Anderson- Bonds' personal trainer for many years refuses to testify.

Don Catlin- The UCLA doctor who found Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) in Bonds' urine test in the 2003 test when Bonds was negative for steroids. The THG proves that Bond has a steroid known as "the clear" in his system at the time.



Conte



Stan Conte- Former Giants trainer who testified that he suggested to the manager and general manager that Bonds' personal trainer(s) should not be allowed in any Giants facilities. He also noticed that before the 2000 season, observed that Bonds had "bulked up" as well as other common side effects of steroid usage.

 

Giambi



Steve Hoskins- Childhood friend and former business partner who testified saying, he witnessed Bonds and Anderson going into a room in Bonds' spring training home, carrying a syringe with a needle. However, he said that he never actually saw Anderson inject the drugs into Bonds.



Jason Giambi- Colorado Rockies' first baseman told the jury that Anderson did indeed supply Bonds with steroids. He was considered a reliable witness because of his 2003 grand jury hearing in which he told the jury that Anderson had provided him with his shipment of steroids.



Kathy Hoskins- Bonds' former personal shopper was the first and only witness to testify that they actually saw Bonds being injected with a steroid.



My First Professional Hockey Experience



Image 1



While I was on my Spring Break in North Carolina, my family and I decided to experience our first professional hockey game. It was the Carolina Hurricanes, third place in the Southeast Division, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are in second place of the same division. My mom, who is weary of sports that have a lot of physical contact, was definitely hesitant about whether or not she would enjoy the game at all being that hockey is known for the fighting and blood. However, as we left the game, she couldn't stop saying "That was great! That was so much fun!" (Mind you, it happened to be a pretty calm game.)



Image 2

So my parents dropped my brother and I off at the ticket booth to look at ticket prices and availability while they went to park the car. We had decided that if the tickets ended up being more than $30 we would pass on the opportunity. My brother, Ben, and I were standing in a pretty crowded area checking out ticket prices when these two guys walk up to us and were like, "Hey our wives couldn't come to the game so we have two extra tickets. Do you just want to take them and sit by us?" We didn't really know how to react; we were kind of dumbstruck when we answered, "Sureee...?" They then walked away and when we looked at the tickets we saw that they were 3rd row, $105 season tickets.



Image 3

Now, we might not be the biggest hockey fans out there, but regardless, 3rd row tickets, right in front of the rink are awesome! I remind you that they only gave us two so we still had to buy two more tickets. As it turned out, the only tickets available at the booth were $40 each (a little above our price range) But Ben and I decided that we would basically be paying $80 for four tickets, so why not?! Since there were only two season tickets, my mom and I rotated to where I sat down by the rink for the first and third periods and she got the second. My dad didn't mind staying up in the noise-bleed seats for the whole game and Ben got to stay down the whole game, don't ask me why?



Image 4



Hockey might just be my new favorite sport! Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but it was awesome! As we were sitting down there Ben was explaining the rules the best to his knowledge since I knew basically nothing about hockey coming into the game.  By the end of the game we were definitely getting into it and understanding what was happening, when. When the 'canes scored, everyone around us would stand up and give each other high fives. Going to sports games creates such a feeling of community, no matter where you are. There were a few times the refs made calls that were questionable and the fans would all start yelling at them and banging on the glass; very high energy!

Image 5

You can't go to a hockey game without seeing some kind of fight or confrontation. And quite frankly, I was looking forward to seeing some, as bad as that may sound. The first one was between one player on the Hurricanes and one player on the Lightning. They through a couple punches at each other in between plays so it the other players were skating back to their sides of the rink. Since the teams were teams were heading back to their respective sides, the refs weren't really pay attention to any one; therefore, they didn't see when the fight initially broke out. It wasn't until Eric Staal, the Hurricanes' captain, was banging on the wall of the rink with his stick to get their attention, that they finally saw it. When the refs became aware of the situation, they basically pushed both guys onto the ice to get them to stop punching and let them get up once every one was calm. It was an odd way of handing the situation, but I guess everything is different when you are on ice. The second one was far more exciting. It was only with a minute or so left in the game and the Hurricanes were down 4-2. Next thing I know, two Hurricanes players were teaming up on one of the Lightning players. It was almost as though they were trying to sandwich him among doing other things. Then, as you can see in Image 4, both teams joined the confrontation, whether they were trying to break it up or join in, it was basically a big mosh pit. After that, the Lightning player who had initially been "attacked" just left the rink since there was so little time left in the game. While I find these things exciting, I suppose they are considered pretty normal among avid hockey fans. But it was definitely an experience to remember.

 

The Fab Five

The Fab Five- Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson; the University of Michigan's dream team. The first game that this 1991 recruit team played together as regulars was one to remember, they accounted for all of the points against their opponent, Notre Dame. From then on, the five freshmen started together for every game left in the season but one.

Besides being a part of the uncommon fact the Michigan was starting an all freshmen squad in the 1991 season, these five guys were known throughout the sports community for more than that reason. They were the first group of college basketball players said to bring "hip hop flavor" to the game. They did this by wearing baggy athletic shorts, having shaved heads, and wearing black athletic socks along with their black basketball shoes. Their trash talk and "controversial antics" on the court brought additional attention to the team.

Recently, ESPN aired a documentary called The Fab Five, telling the story of these five stellar college basketball players, bringing many sports fans' attention to their story.

Player	Games	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Blocks	Steals
King	130	1,542	538	354	45	187
Jackson	125	1,262	579	300	42	119
Rose	102	1,788	477	401	29	119
Howard	100	1,526	749	202	56	79
Webber	70	1,218	702	166	174	103

The Bonds Trial

When you look up the name 'Barry Bonds' on Wikipedia, you will find this description:

Bonds' accomplishments during his baseball career place him among the greatest baseball players of all-time He has a record-setting seven Most Valuable Player awards, including a record-setting four consecutive MVPs. He is a 14-time All-Star and 8-time Gold Glove-winner. He holds numerous Major League Baseball records, including the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762 and the single-season Major League record for home runs with 73 (set in 2001), and is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688).

Immediately following that glorification of Bonds, the truth is laid out plain and simple for the reader in this passage:

Bonds has led a controversial career, notably as a central figure in baseball's steroids scandal. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to the grand jury during the government's investigation of BALCO by testifying that he never knowingly took any illegal steroids. The trial began March 21, 2011.

You cannot talk about Barry Bonds or the home run record without associating him and it with ‘roids. With that being said, the perjury trial will begin Monday, March 21st in San Francisco, California. This trial comes in response to his trial in 2003 where he stated, on that stand, that he never knowingly used or consented to steroid usage. Witnesses such as Bonds' ex-mistress, Kimberly Bell, his former friend, Steve Hoskins, the personal trainer (who injected the steroids into Bonds), Greg Anderson, and others will be asked to testify.


Many believe, myself included, that this trial has been put off for too long; everyone is well aware of the crimes that Bonds committed and the lies he told to get them pushed aside and now is his time for punishment. It makes me sad to know that the man who holds one of the most prestigious records in the sport of baseball is one who thinks he can ride above the law and get away with it. In my personal opinion, he shouldn’t even be considered the home run leader and his number of home runs should not be included in the record at all. He chose to give himself an unfair advantage by taking the steroids and therefore should not be recognized for something he did not naturally earn. I hope the jury can see that and that they punish him justly.

Help Japan

On a more serious note than most of my other entries, on Friday, March 11th, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit on the coast of Japan. Not even minutes after the earthquake hit, tsunami waves of up to 33 feet struck the island. This earthquake, without a doubt, had the strongest magnitude of any earthquake to ever strike Japan and amongst the top five in the world. The result of this natural disaster was not only emotional trials but physical ones, as well; after the earthquake, Japan's main island, Honshu, had moved 7.9 feet to the east. And even more astonishing was the fact that because of the earthquake, the Earth tilted on its axis almost 3.9 inches. The most recent death toll is 3,676 with nearly 8,000 people missing and 2,000 injured.

I bring this up on a sports blog because I believe everyone, whether you are an adult who doesn't watch the news, a kid who only cares about sports, someone who has been up to date on this event since it first happened, or somewhere in the middle, everyone should know about the crises that are occurring in our world, in our lifetime. If this horrid tragedy had happened to our country, we would want the rest of the world there helping us.

But in addition to that fact, I think it is very moving how sports stars around the U.S., whether from Japan or not, have extended a hand to the families who have lost everything they possess.

Whether their names are big or small, or they play an extremely popular sport or not, players around the world are contributing to the relief effort for Japan. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have already committed to pledging a combined $150,000 donation to the effort. Four Red Sox pitchers, all Japanese, stood at the gates of the ballpark collecting donations for the Red Cross, thanking fans as they contributed. Dirk Hayhurst, or also known as "The Garfoose," used his popularity and Twitter fame to get his 7,000 followers to help raise money for and with the help of Mercy Corps. American skier, Julia Mancuso, pledged half of her race earnings in an effort to launch a fundraising project. Mancuso, Akira Sasaki, Japanese skier, and Kazuko Ikeda, a former Olympian, have reached out to World Cup teams in an effort to gain their support. Didier Cuche, World Cup downhill champion, donated his prize money. And while these and many, many more players contribute to the relief efforts for Japan, some players are going through the hardship of dealing with their hometowns being destroyed and not knowing whether or not their family is okay. For example, Hiroki Kuroda's family lives in Japan and while he faces the challenge of not being there with them in moral support, he knows that he must focus on the job at hand, pitching. He looks at it in the perspective of staying focused on his job, day to day, week to week, doing whatever he can to ignore the thoughts he has about Japan whenever on the mound.
These players have the ability to make a difference, and so far, many of them are. You can help, too. If you want to contribute to helping these players' families who are still struggling in Japan or follow in the footsteps of those athletes who have already donated, visit http://www.worldvision.org/ or any other relief website.
         
      

Bracketology Madness

It's that time of the year again when all sports fans are talking about are NCAA basketball team records and the likely teams to dominate the bracket. But how does one, who doesn't really follow the general college basketball scene, go about filling out a bracket? Not to worry, you can always count on ESPN and the other sports coverage websites and TV channels to inform you on the best teams and the most likely upsets.

Naturally, ESPN's main coverage during this time of the year is the March Madness festivities. ESPN fans around the world are partaking in their Sprint Tournament Challenge. They give you a bracket with all of the second round teams and on your computer; you can pick and choose which teams you think are going to proceed to the next round. They make it so easy that if you want to know a teams' record or facts about them and their star players, all you have to do is click an arrow that compares the two teams that will be playing in that round, therefore making your selection process easier.

As the tournament gets underway, your bracket will be constantly kept up to date without you even having to lift a finger. They show the score of every game that is in process on your bracket, they highlight the games you predicted correctly, cross out and color in red the ones that you predicted incorrectly, and give you the dates and times of when every game will be occurring. Honestly folks, I can't say it any clearer... it doesn't get an easier than this!

In addition to being kept up on everything March Madness simply by entering in this bracket challenge, they keep a score for you; every game that you predicted correctly earns you 10 points, every game you predict incorrectly you don't receive any points, and then they calculate your percentage of correctness, if you will, and your rank, while also giving your score out of the total possible points per round. It is really quite interesting (even if you don't like math).

While other news sights might not be able to focus primarily on March Madness at the moment, they still give you the latest headlines on every game, upset or not. But if you are looking for the full madness experience and you are the competitive type, try out ESPN's Tournament Challenge!

BYU's Honor Code Violated

Brigham Young University has been in the spotlight throughout the season as they have been led by Jimmer Fredette to a regular season ending rank of third. This is unusual being that last year they didn't rank in the top ten and in the years prior, they didn't even make the top 25 poll. But now that the sports community is aware of their abilities and the likeliness of their presence throughout March Madness, they are in the spotlight for another reason; the dismissal of sophomore forward Brandon Davies.

Davies was dismissed from BYU's basketball team on Tuesday, March 1st when he admitted to having premarital sex with his girlfriend. Being that BYU is a Mormon college, the students are required to sign a honor code upon going to the school. Davies broke the code when he disregarded the rule saying that the students must "live a chaste and virtuous life".

With the unbelievable season that the Cougars are having, should the officials have been as strict as they were? Honestly, while this is a major loss for BYU and an unfortunate occurrence for Brandon Davies, I'm going to have to side with the BYU officials and their athletic director. Davies chose to go to a religious school with strict morals and a honor code he was fully aware of, even saying that he thought BYU was the perfect fit for him. He consciously chose to disregard the honor code when he had sex with his girlfriend.

While this will be a considerable loss for the team (as was apparent in their game against New Mexico), they can still move forward and be a force to reckon with in the tournament. This situation has been compared to the loss of Robbie Hummel due to his season-ending injury at Purdue. While they may have lost one of their biggest contributors, I would love to see the Cougars come through in the tournament and show that they still have what it takes.

A Coach's Inappropriate Silence

Yesterday, the football coach at Ohio State, Jim Tressel, was fined and suspended next season. His fine of $250,000 and the two-game suspension came due to the fact that he neglected to notify the NCAA officials about an email he received suggesting that two of his players were involved in illegal activities in April. The email implied that the two players were involved in federal drug trafficking and the sale of memorabilia. Upon receiving the email, Tressel replied saying that he would look into the matter; however, he never said anything to his athletic director or the compliance department for more than nine months.

I am not saying that what Coach Tressel did was right, but I understand where he might have been coming from. When a coach learns of a player’s betrayal to his teammates, it can be hard to face the truth and if nothing else, he might have just wanted to protect the team. This year, my show choir faced a similar challenge. We were on a trip to an out-of-state competition and the day before we were supposed to perform, nine kids were caught under the influence of illegal drugs. Having to perform the next day knowing that 20% of my team chose to put themselves before the whole team was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. What made it worse was that those of us who didn’t break the rules (or the law) were the ones who had to fix their mistakes; we had to deal with their problems.

The OSU football team would have been the ones who had to make up for those two players illegal actions. However, as the head coach of the football team, Tressel is obligated to report all illegal or rule-breaking actions. By letting these actions be swept under the rug, Tressel was breaking the rules himself and not setting a good example for his own team. While I understand why he might have done what he did (if that was even his point of view and mind-set), I think he completely made the wrong decision. NCAA athletes have no more leeway with the law than any other college student, and thus, those players deserve to be punished for their actions.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6195035- ESPN Jim Tressel Video

"The Worldwide Leader in Sports"

Wendy's, McDonald's, Burger King, Hardees; there are endless options for fast food restaurants. CBS, CNN, FOX, MSNBC; there are endless options for news stations. ESPN; the one big name of sports analysis and coverage.

Sure, other stations will broadcast games and give sports recaps in their news highlights. But face it, when you think sports, you think ESPN. They really aren't lying when they saying they are "The Worldwide Leader in Sports". My point in bringing all of this up is that I don't understand how they have created a field where they have zero competitions. There aren't really any other situations that are the similar to theirs.

ESPN and ABC were under the same ownership when Disney bought them so now all three work together to dominate the television circuit. When you think about other television stations, most have a common theme; whether it is cable television shows, food shows, travel shows, nature shows, etc. And each of those "themed" stations, if you will, have competitor stations that show shows of similar themes, all except sports shows or games. When you want to want a particular sports segment or game you turn to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, or ESPN HD. It is amazing how much they cover and how much sports news they relay so quickly!

ESPN is a massive beast that no one wants to fight against (I mean there is even a zone of ESPN-ness). Sure there are stations that show occasional games in addition to their usual TV shows but sports are all ESPN does and that's the way it should be. It is not surprising that ESPN has flourished throughout the world the way they have. For the time being, they don't have to worry about any other big corporation and they can put their focus on sharing the news of sports and significant sports games with the world.