Blog Post 12: Marion Jones

The general argument made by the author John Singleton in his documentary on Marion Jones is to convey how Marion Jones made s comeback from the use of PED's and how her hard work and determination put her back in the professional level. Mr. Singleton uses so many different strategies to portray how hard it was for Marion to make it back to the top. He depicts her struggle and the incident that happened by pictures of the trials, past videos of her while preforming, interview with many different people, and also showing pictures and videos of her with her family. In conclusion, Singleton's belief is to show how Marion Jones came back from the lowest part of her life and her journey.
In my view Singleton is right because i think it is great how he showed the viewers how Marion came back to being her self again. I agree how he showed the in-depth details of her and her family and how she felt through the journey of climbing the mountain to the top again. More specially, I believe that the author did a very good job by portraying how others felt about this incident. Therefore, i conclude that the author did a very good job with the documentary covering all the points and showing how hard it was for Marion Jones to rise to the top again.

Player Profile: Elliott Johnson and Kyle Pereira

Norton, Massachusetts a small town not known for much, besides being neighbors to the powerful and dominant towns like Mansfield, Attleboro, Taunton, and many other towns. When the wrestling mats unfold onto the gym floor under the early morning dawn, the audience is dead silent and everyone await a show of their lives. The wrestling program started at Norton High in 2006. Norton High School has won two State titles, five Sectional titles, six Tri-Valley League titles, and they have been three time Sectional runners up. The Norton boys are known for the smash-mouth killers on the mat slaughtering all of there competition in line. Like Kenny Kerrigan head coach of Xaverian Wrestling said " I have no clue what those boys eat down there (The Norton Wrestlers), but when match time comes there are a bunch of ax-murderers." One of the biggest contributors to the Lancers was Elliott "The Hannibal" Johnson.
     Coming from a rough childhood Elliott has took on the role of being a true man, being mentally strong, physically strong, always offering a helping hand to others, and a great wrestler. Coming into his freshman year Johnson broke the varsity line-up at the weight of 160 pounds. The four year starter capable of anything Coach Coleman asked for, nothing ever stopped this young man. The Hannibal went 23-7 in  his freshman year, he did not make an impact on the state tournament but used this as motivation for the years.
    One of this young man's goals was to join the Century club after his career as a Norton Wrestler. Entering his Sophomore year he has the spot locked up at 160. To make it in to the Century Club you have to win 100 matches, and now he only has to win 77 more matches. He went on to win 27 in his second year on the squad just in the regular season. Entering post season in the late cold January weather the Norton Lancers enter the Sectional Tournament where he placed third at picking up 5 more wins here. He placed third in the South Section for Division 3 Johnson awaits, what the team calls "hell week" to prepare for the state tournament. Through a long week of practice the boys are ready to compete, Elloitt one of the few to stay after practice in the late hours of the afternoon to run over his moves and perfect them. After an extensive period of time of cutting weight this is what his season came down to the state title. Going into the the tournament he was nervous and was expected to get booted out in the first round. But Elloitt the strong and powerful animal took down his opponent and moved on. Picking up two wins in the tournament left him disappointed and left a burning fire in his chest amped for the years to follow.
       People awaited all year to see how Elliot would come back this year. Johnson would hit the weights everyday and always work on his moves through the whole off-season bringing a long a freshman wrestler Kyle Pereira. Coach Coleman was asked "What do you expect from Elliot in his junior year? Do you think him taking this freshman Kyle under his wing will transform him?, Coleman replied "Elloitt will come back even stronger, he has never let me down and his year he has big shoes to fill. He puts in a lot of work and he deserves the sectional title, but he has to earn it and beat the section and take the title. Him taking Kyle under his wing shows his character he is a true leader and in a couple of years he will be in charge of his team. I believe Pereira is something special, he's like this hidden weapon you hit your enemies with when they aren't expecting it."
       Entering 2013 the Lancers had to fill big shoes being the defending state and sectional champions. Elloitt cleaned up well on the mat at 182 pounds winning 29 matches and only losing 7. A year with no injuries only hard work, Elloitt excels throughout the whole sectional tournament entering the finals for the first time in his career. He fights off a hard match with a wrestler from Cohasset, but pulls out the win in a blood battle for the sectional title. Running off the mat with a leap of joy in to Coach Coleman's arms where he was congratulated by his team. "This was one of the best feeling I think I have ever experienced there is nothing like it. It felt amazing just to say I did it, I have won I am a champion. I wish everyone can feel the way I did, because there is not a word in the book that could tell you how it felt inside." Coleman responds "I'm proud of Elloitt I knew he could do it but he can't let it get to his head he has a lot of work to do.  He now is awaiting the state tournament where he placed third. He picked up 6 wins and finished his junior year with 32 wins.
Entering his senior year with 92 wins no doubt about it he will reach the century club. He notices that he will reach 100 hundred wins but it doesn't matter to him. Preparing for his last and final year as a wrestler he trys to accomplish more than he did his junior year. " I have to admit my best year as a high school wrestler was in my junior year. I was quick, smart, strong, blew through people, and I won the sections and placed third at state. I could have done better but I felt great that year. I have to step it up this year and I want to do it all again!"

   With only one meet under his belt in his senior year where he picked up three wins a major setback occurred. In gym class captain Elloitt Johnson and captain Alek Donovan, were fooling around and Elliot dislocated his elbow badly, one of the worst dislocations anyone has seen. Coach Coleman sat in angush and did not know what to do. In an interview I asked, "what were you feeling when the principal called you for Elliott?", he replied " I was confused almost lost I could not believe it. I was scared on what was going to happen next. I was in shock I was scared to see how bad it was I was scared to sit in the room watching one of my best wrestlers being prepared to go into surgery. It was a feeling that just sent my heart to the bottom of my stomach.".  While everyone was in school Kyle Pereira received a phone call while he was at lunch, Coleman was on the other side of the line and he told Kyle " you have some big shoes you have to fill we will talk later. " Kyle was weighing in at 192 pounds coming off a shoulder injury when Coleman told him he had to wrestle at 170 in Elliott's spot. "I knew Pereira would step up, he is the type of guy if you ask him to do it he will do it no matter what. I knew he was ready for the varsity line up he is an outstanding wrestler with gifted talent and he was not going to let anything I his way. Kyle had always been the one wrestler in the room who can keep up with Elloitt and not get put to his back. He has always proved to me that he wanted to be in the varsity line up but he has always been behind superstars, this is his time." Coleman said. With a week before the big Marshfield tournament Kyle had a lot of work to do. Only five days before the tournament Pereira was weighing in at 189.2, with only three practices to go. Everyday in the cold winter weather Kyle was in all kinds of sweatshirts and sweatpants just to cut more weight and get down on weight. By Wednesday Pereira was weighing in at 179 but the last 9 pounds would be the hardest. "Losing 20 pounds in a week for anyone it is hard, it was so difficult because soon as I hit 180 I had no fat to burn anymore, it was terrible all I could do was run and run that's all I could do now. I spent my Christmas for 5 hours running around town in 2 sauna with about four sweatshirts on. There came a point where I could no longer do it and just wanted to quit." Said Kyle. With only one day left before the tournament Kyle was weighing in at 172, this was a scary night for Coleman. Russell Hanson a senior captain took Pereira to the YMCA to motivate him to run. Kyle says " there is nothing left in my tank, I have not  had anything to drink or eat all day this is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy no one should be doing this it kills you mentally all you want to do is die, you can even sleep because all you want is food."
     Leaving the YMCA Pereira weighed in at 169.1, all he wanted to do was to weigh in. Marshfield, a tournament filled with elite wrestlers, was a tournament where Kyle was expected to get kicked out in the first round. But he proved everyone wrong, in his first match he pinned his first opponent in the first period. Sleeping off the pain and hunger he then awakes to prepare for his second match against the Brockton Captain, he here beats the boy 3-2 in double over time. Everyone was shocked, a sophomore killing the competition of great wrestlers no one would of have guessed this. "I would never expect this from Kyle he came in on the bus throwing up and looking morbid, but it doesn't surprise me because he is a great wrestler," Says Francis the assistant  coach. Entering his third match he lost and picked up 6th out of 94 wrestlers at this tournament. A great showing for Kyle Pereira's varsity debut as a Lancer.He was expected to get beat in the first round.He proves everyone wrong. He finished off his season 17-4 losing 4 matches to outstanding wrestlers. He was now in a spot where no one would want to be, Elloitt is back ready to roll and it is now a week before post season. Kyle has to make the decision of staying the starter or giving back the position. Kyle stated, " I feel obligated to give it back to my senior captain, he has worked his butt off for this all his career and I can't take that away from him. I just can't do it he deserves it. It hurts on the inside to just give it all away but I have to." Elloitt enters the post season and takes the sectional title for two consecutive years ending his senior year with 104 wins and two sectional titles. Elloitt Johnson and Kyle Pereira have shown the cerisma, will-power, determination, and strength of the Norton High School wrestling team. Kyle closes with " we are a band of brothers I am willing to do anything for these guys no matter what. This experience has taught me a lot of things but most importantly it has brought me and Elloitt close. We are brothers now and we share something that a lot of people don't. I'm proud to say that I am a Norton wrestler."

Blog Post 11: Florida Reaches Championship

On Sunday May 31, 2015 the Florida Lady Gators faced off Auburn in the College Women World Softball Championship semi-finals, this game ended up going into nine innings. The players and coaches were ecstatic of there extra innings win as portrayed in the article. The quthors purpose is to capture how the Lady Gators beat Auburn in the semi-finals to get one step closer to the National Title. The author uses great quotes from the players and coaches that participated in the down-to-the-wire game. He also captures the key plays during the game that helped pulled the win out for the Gators, like "Nicole DeWitt's single in the bottom of the ninth scored Justine McLean for the game winner, Florida's eighth walk-off victory of the year. McLean had advanced to second on a wild pitch before DeWitt's hit off Auburn reliever Marcy Harper.". The message of this article is to show the top contenders in the woman collegiate softball championship. The audience that the author had in mind is fans and people who are interested with the woman softball tournament. The author uses many different types of styles to enhance his writing. 

Blog Post #11: Ali-Liston

In Grimsly's informative article "It was Lightning and Thunder" he celebrates the 50th anniversary of the quickest knock out in boxing history, Muhammad Ali against Sonny Liston. His main purpose is to display the controversy between Sonny Liston and Ali's heavyweight title match on May 25, 1965. He argues with many quotes and information that the heavyweight title match could have been fixed. Grimsly also does a good job of being unbiased towards anyone and stays neutral during his article on the title fight. He is pulling in citizens who are interested in the Ali-Liston controversy, throughout this article Grimsly does a great job by utilizing many different tips to catch the attention of the audience.    

Blog post #10: Deflate Gate

The past year in the NFL there was an issue with footballs, this issue was called the Deflate Gate. The Deflate Gate was when the New Englamd Patriots deflated the footballs below the legalized PSI level. They do this because it is easy to catch balls, throw the balls, and for the players to not fumble on compact. This gave the Patriots an advantage for the time being, no one knows how long the franchise did this or if it was a mistake, but players are facing major consequences. So far, Tom Brady has a four game suspension, the team has a fine of a million dollars and they lost two draft picks. The Deflate gate is a big issue in the NFL Right now and everyone is being questioned I a, portraying the Brady is guilty, that Tom Brady is facing the right punishments, and that there should be rule changes going further.

I believe that quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots is guilty. There is no doubt in my mind that he was the one to bring this idea up. The footballs are how the quarter back liked them, just like when the scandal of the Green Bay Packers where they over flayed their balls because that's how the quarterback Aaron Rogers liked them. The balls had to be approved by the head man, Tom Brady. The quarterback makes all the calls and I believe that Tom Brady liked his footballs less deflated to make a more precise and better throw. My intention is that Brady didn't mean to violate the league rules and cause an uproar but just to make it more comfortable and easier on him.

The punishment for Tom Brady I think is perfect, because it is not to much but it is not to little. I believe that it is right for him to be the only one to get a suspension because the footballs are up to him. In any state of football the quarterback always will have the last say on the balls the game is played with no matter what. Tom Brady felt most comfortable with his footballs with a little less air the league rules, and sadly this cost him a four game suspension. During these four games the Patriots will struggle immensely without their biggest weapon.

A way the NFL can revise this from happening again is to check balls as the teams are coming on to the field under the lights. If a league official does this and checked the balls right before the game there will be no more problems, there is no way for teams to get around this and de flare their balls. This will solve all of their problems related to the footballs so that everyone in the league is playing fair. Who knows how long the Patriots have been doing this or if this contributed to all of their success in the past couple of years. I agree with the punishment that the New England Patriots faced for next season, I think this is the right path and the league needs to come up with a solution so nothing like this happens again.

Blog Post #9: Teaching Geopolitics SOAPSTone and Rhetorical Precis and summary

S: Someone who believes that Fantasy Football and other sports phenomenons are influencing our culture and education immensely
O: Teacher Eric Nelson figures out a new way he can use the idea of Fantasy Football to educate his students Geopolitics
A: Teachers, School Administration, parents, and students
P: To show a new perspective on Fantasy Football by using world countries
S: Toppo inserted many quotes and statistics to show how effective Nelson's teaching style was
T: Informative, Exciting,the author is excited about this idea and thinks that sports can continue to impact our culture and education
o
n
e

Rhetorical Precis

In Greg Toppo news article "Teaching Geopolitics: Fantasy Football as a Learning Game"  his purpose is to show a new perspective on Fantasy Football by using the world countries to educate his students. The author first displays this by showing how strategically Nelson chooses his players in his own real Fantasy Football league, he then shows how you have to go deep into detail to choose the countries to get the most points, and to conclude he portrays that the students learn more from this activity and are more likely to participate in a fun manner. His purpose is to show how you can you use a system linked to sports in order to teach children at all levels. He seems to have a persuasive and informative audience in mind because he shows how he turned fantasy football into a teaching activity.


Summary and Analyze:

The general argument made by the author of fantasy football helping teach geopolitics in his work
"Teaching Geopolitics: Fantasy Football as a Learning Game", is that students can still learn but have fun at the same time. He writes that using specific strategy of choosing your countries and doing research just like you would when choosing players will help you win the most points. In this article, Greg Toppo suggest that if you can incorporate something that the children are intrigued by learning will be more fun and easy for the children. All of the children in Mr. Nelson's class would teach the class almost with all of their individual research that they found. In conclusion, Toppo's belief is that Nelson uses a great strategy to teach his high school students about Geopolitics.


In my view Toppo's is right because I agree that if you incorporate something the children are interested in and can link to the activity it will make it easier for them to have the motivation to carry on. More specifically, I believe that using this system was a great idea because it keeps the students in the game the more they learn making them want to learn more. I maintain that Nelson used a great strategy to teach the students about history and geography through such an intense game, which made the students strive to learn the most. Therefore, I conclude that using Fantasy football as a learning system could influence many children to stay active in the class room and participate more than usual now that they are linked to something they like.

Blog Post #8: Summary / Analysis

The general argument made by the author is that children can play sports at a very high level of competition in his work, "The Short Game" the young golfers have to compete in a nationwide tournament that all their work leads up to. He displays how the children are willing to work out everyday to perform at a better level every time they step on the course, when he selected such a widespread choice of children it shows that not only one area of the world have kids who are determined to do something great and willing to give up their childhood. In the sports documentary Josh Greendaum, suggest that children have to give up a lot and risk to not have a normal childhood to be great at golfing. In conclusion, Greendaum's beliefs that children can play at a high level of competition and still remain kids.
In my view Greendaum is right because he shows how well the children perform, but also he inserts montages of the children running around and playing with the children like normal kids. More specifically I think the author shows that the kids can have negative effects from playing golf, for example one of the children has to go to a psychiatrist for her attitude problems because golf makes her so stressed out. Therefore, I strongly agree with Josh Greendaum's belief that is displayed throughout his works.

Blogpost #8: Rhetorical Precis

                  In Josh Greendaum's sport documentary, "The Short Game" (2012) he proposes that young children can still preform at a high level and still remain as young children.  The author first displays this by choosing a wide selection of children from all different nations around the world; he then shows clips of the children playing and running around and having a good time together, and to conclude he shows that the children can have detrimental effects in the future. For example Alexa has to go to a sport psychiatrist for her attitude problems. His purpose is to show the young children can perform at a high level of competition and still be a kid. He seems to have a neutral audience in mind because he exposes the audience to the good and bad of children playing at a high level of competition.

Blog Post #8: Opipiniate Analysis

         The sports documentary "The Short Game" is a film based on young children performing at a high level of gold. I think this documentary displays how young children can compete at a high level of competition and still remain kids. I think that the producer shows this well by how he shows clips of the kids outside of the tournament, how they are running around on the courses and just being kids. Also, he shows clips when the children are out to dinner and you can see that the children joking around and playing with there food, they are being children. But in a sense I do not agree with the produce because the children are losing their childhood over golf. Their whole life is centered around golf and they do not get exposed to a normal childhood like normal seven and eight year olds. On the other hand the children in the movie are learning great life lessons they have better life skills than the normal young kids. Ultimately I agree with the producer and his works, of how he displays children playing at such a high level and still remain children.

Blogpost #7: Summary of "Schooled-- The Price of College Sports"

In the documentary "Schooled -- The Price of College Sports" author Trevor Martin portrays how student athletes of the NCAA get exploited and not credited for their outstanding work. The colleges set up a lot of rules for the athletes in their contracts but they never really state the rules and clarify them to the athletes. As soon as your break a rule or law of the NCAA you get suspended or have your scholarship on hold to play the sport. After Taylor Branch spoke about how college athletes are amateur people. In reaction to Branch's speech former Navy Athletic Director Jack Lengyel approached branch and said "The student does not have consent. You can't have the animals run the zoo." What Jack is saying that you can't give freedom to the student because he thinks they will take advantage and overrule the school. They usually never give you a second chance after your break a rule, also you work so hard for the association and get no credit besides a pat on the back. I agree with the author and I think that the student athletes should be getting paid for their efforts in college sports with the addition of classes. Arian foster admitted he took money that he was offered when he was playing at Tennessee, "I'm a firm believer that an athlete should get paid for his work, And 100 percent I see student athletes as employees. Hiding from it is just cowardly." Within minutes Arain Foster was the headlines of the newspapers. This film opens the eyes of future college athletes, NCAA officials, and anyone who worked with athletes. College athletes ahold get treated better than they are now the athles should have a say in the rules. In conclusions Martin belief is that athletes should get treated better in the NCAA and should be credited.

Blog Post #7: The Rhetorical Precis "Schooled -- The Price of College Sports"

In Trevor Martin's documentary "Schooled -- The Price of College Sports" (2013), he purposed that the mistreatment of college athletes in the NCAA. The author first argues his point by using vibrant visuals showing the overuse of advertisement of sporting brands to catch the audiences attention; then he asserts it by interviewing all sides of his argument, and to conclude he included the emotional appeal of individual athletes. His purpose is to expose the wrongdoings of the NCAA in order to help athletes gain a say in the NCAA and to get paid in the future. He seems to have a serious and accusatory audience in mind because he wants athletes to have a say in the rules that the NCAA propose. I agree with Mr. Martin I think it is awful that the NCAA exploited their "money-makers" like they do. The main reason for all of the money the association gets is from the student-athletes and all of the games the play, the players deserve to get paid a little because they put so much into the sports it's a job and not fair for the players. The athletes in the NCAA a should be able to have some say in the rules they are controlled by.

Blog Post #7: About Me

Kyle Pereira
Growing up I played basketball, baseball, football, and soccer as a child. I played basketball and soccer on travel teams all the way up to my freshman year of high school, where I dropped basketball for wrestling and soccer for football. My high school career has included me playing football, baseball, and wrestling. After my freshman year I dropped baseball so I can join a travel wrestling team that will lead me to my goal of winning a state championship. I am a middle line backer second string getting limited plays on Friday nights for the Norton Lancers. On the mat, I started at 170 pounds after Elliott Johnson dislocated his elbow. I went 20-6 this season with placing 6th at Marshfeild Holiday tournament, shocker to the coaches. With never seeing the varsity level before and placed at the hardest tournament in the district. My favorite sport is wrestling, but my favorite athlete to ever play is number 52 on the Ravens Ray Lewis.
A couple of my favorite sports quotes:

• "When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe then you will be successful."
• "When I step on the field, it's on. I know it's time to go to work."
  

In the image about on the left #67 Kyle Pereira and on the right #58 Micheal Sheehan preparing to go into the Thanksgiving Bowl

Blog Post #6:

         Former college athlete JJ Nelson a University of Alabama at Brimington receiver who entered the 2015 NFL Combine this fall looking to make a rookie debut in the professionals next year. In this article sports annalist are advocating for athletes over organizations at the NFL Combine. They are explaining how athletes should get treated with more respect from organizations they promote. In this article JJ Nelson represented Adidas with their new model of cleats, first time he has wore Adidas when he rather wear his own Nikes. But the deal Adidas brought to the table was to eye-catching "When Nelson went to the player suite where he had a choice to run in the latest models form Nike, Under Armour, and Adidas, he said he chose Adidas not only because the shoes were comfortable but because he was aware of the $100,000 prize." Nelson only was really focused on the money he would be rewarded for running the fastest on the 40-yard dash. The article is trying to catch the eyes of ordinary people but also NFL prospects. But most important JJ Nelson and other athletes. The purpose of this article is to explain how JJ Nelson needed to sign the endorsement deal prior to the 40-yard dash. 
          In my view I think JJ Nelson should have been eligible to receive the $100,000 dollar reward, because Adidas never made it clear that he had to sign off on the deal prior to the dash. The article states Nelson saying "I signed some waiver at some point, but I was never given a chance to sign an endorsement deal" They really never gave him a chance to sign the deal off or even brought it up, almost like they didn't want to reward him for his great efforts. The tone of this passage is being sympathetic to the athlete JJ Nelson who participated in the 2015 NFL Combine. The writer is trying to pursue the readers that Adidas is wrong and they support JJ Nelson's side.                                                                                                

Blog Post #5: News Post

         The Norton High School wrestling team took on the Hopkinton Hillers in a down-to-the-wire meet on February 4th. The match came down to the last bout where Andrew Murphy clinched the TVL championship for the Lancers, the sixth title in the last eight years.
     
         The Lancers were finally with all four of their captains back in the line, first time in six weeks. Captain Elliott Johnson a circuital wrestler came back from an elbow injury as well as captain Russell Hansen, while the Hillers were minus Kevin Wyatt. There was a very stressful ambiance in the gym of Hopkinton.
       
        The next meeting these wrestlers will see each other will be at the Massachusetts All-States tournament. Norton had won three back-to-back match ups that help them gain the lead. After a win by Cardone at the 160 pound bout, Johnson at the 170 bout, and Burgess at the 182 bout gave the Lancers a three-point lead. Norton now leads 30-27 after two heart-breaking loses by Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan to two very great opponents.

           Here in the last bout the title was on the line for both talented teams. The meet came down to Andrew Murphy of Norton against Ryan Mastroianni from Hopkinton. At the end of the first period the Mastroianni has taken the lead 2-0 over Norton's Andrew Murphy. With the second period on the way Murphy chooses the bottom positions. Here he stands up rapidly and now the match score is 2-1. going in  the the third Hopkinton chooses bottom where, where Murphy works on Ryan and turns him for a near-fall and picks up three points making the score 4-2. Now with a minute left Mastroianni stands up cutting the lead to one point, 4-3. Murphy says "it's like hanging off a cliff with the last couple of fingers in that last minute where you just play defense and hope for a win." As the whistle blows and the crowd of the Hillers go quite the Lancer wrestlers leap in joy and have a team hug celebrating their sixth TVL championship.

         At the meet clinching the win for the Lancers Andrew Murphy made The Boston GLobe for play of the week.
   

Blog post #4: Hoop Dreams

In the film Hoop Dreams it depicts how student basketball players in the city face a lot of adversity. Two ordinary African American boys were chasing the dream of playing professional basketball. This documentary was filmed over a five year period following Author Agee and William Gates. Throughout the film the boys faced the complexities of being a student athlete. As a freshman, William and Author went to St. Joseph's High School. William Gates was the starting point guard, Author had made the freshmen team and started at point guard as well. William played a phenomenal year leading his team to win the sectional title game and then became the runner up in the city. Only as a freshman Will has already started to receive letters from division one colleges. On the other hand, Author lead his freshmen team to be second in their conference.The schools payment went up in the boys sophomore year, though the head coach has seen the amount of potential in William the school gave him a full ride to St. Joseph's, but on the other hand Author had not got any money off of the schools payment. This had put Author in a very depressed stage not letting him stay at a very good school. The school would not transfer all of his credits for the work he has completed to Marshall where he is attending now. In the boys sophomore year William lead his team to another sectional title, where Author did not play. William has received many letters from schools in Division 1, but with a heartbreaking knee injury where he damaged ligaments. His ligaments are fine, but he has to get surgery to fix the cartilage in his knee. Going in to their junior season Author made Marshall's varsity team and William is getting prepared for the season. At home Author is having family problems where is parents get divorced and his mother falls into welfare. His dad has gotten arrested for robbery where he needed money for his drugs. Also William had more to handle when him and his girlfriend have a child together. In the sectional championship game William is at the line in the last seconds to put St. Joseph's ahead and clinch the title, but on the line with two free throws he missed both of them, St. Joseph's had lost the sectional title. Schools like DePaul, Indiana, Marquette, and Michigan are all interested in William Gates. Going into their final year of their High School Career the boys look to have a huge year for their teams. William hurts his knee again at a Nike camp during the offseason that kept him from being on the court for most of the season. But Author started his year off 4-0 where Marshall upsets a big city team pushing them to 5-0. During William's senior season he averaged 16.0 points a game and St. Joseph's season record was 20-3. Going into the offseason people do not expect Marshall to make a lot of noise in the tournament. In the second playoff game William does not start because he showed up late to a team meeting, this is where his senior season ends. St. Joseph's had lost in the second round of playoffs, but not Marshall. Marshall rally through to the city playoffs pushing them to the semifinals. In the semifinals Author goes up against Howard Nathan a great point guard who is compared to Isaiah Thomas. Marshall lost in the last seconds but have picked up third in the city the best Marshall has ever done. William commits to Marquette where he drops out after one season of basketball to spend time with his family and married his girlfriend Christina. A week before graduation Author was    Held at gunpoint. Author has committed to Mineral Area Junior College where he plays and starts in his Junior and senior year. He then goes on with his life and becomes a pastor in the church. Both of the boys did not pursue their dreams of making it to the professionals but they gave it everything they could.

Blog Post #3: Culture of sports

     Sports in America and all over the world impact the culture majorly. No matter what the sport it is brings the population closer. No matter your race, religion, sexual preference every one comes together over sporting events. People rally in good and bad ways over sports, when a team loses main team fans riot and ruin cities. When the team wins people flood the streets with joy and they have large parades through the entire city. Bars are filled with people, houses are lit up with screams of fans, food being cooked every second, and friendships being created that can last a long time. 

       Sports also pull countries together in international sports. The World Cup pulls fans from all over the world together. People bond over the same liking of teams or players. Another event is the NCAA College Wrestling Tournament, it pulls people from all over the place together to bond over the love of the sport. All for the athletes the sport makes them create bonds with teammates and opponents that can not be broken. Athletics has a large impact on society and culture of countries, but it also effects student-athletes in a good way.

        As a high school student-athlete life is very busy and stressful, but in a good way. Sports keeps me busy and helps me stay out of trouble and make better decisions. I am more motivated doing my school work and studying because I have to keep my grades up to stay on my sport teams. All the coaches and games I have played has made me a better person, taught me to have a better attitude, and made me be more mature. Sports has shaped me to the man that I am today. Even though I do not have a lot of free time due to all my sporting events it has only effected my life in a good positive way. Sports are a great way to escape all the pain and fear in life, this is the only way I can be happy and relieve stress. For me sports is an outlet to life where I can just go in my own world and see my self as a king. Sports have had a huge impact on my life and in the culture all around me.

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

        The Lancers of Norton have six in-league match up that all lead up to the championship meet. We first faced AMSA-Assabet at home who we killed, only lost one match the whole meet. Next we faced Ashland-Keefe Tech another team we had no trouble with, and finally we faced Holliston who we rolled over on the night we appreciate our senior class. That last big meet was the Hopkinton versus Norton TVL matchup, both of these teams are in the run for the championship. In 2014 the Lancers of Norton faced the Hillers of Hopkinton for the TVL title where the Lancers pulled out a huge victory. Now it is all a repeat, Norton had to travel to Hopkinton on a Thursday night due to snow fall and days off of school to face off for the championship. The whole meet was back to back, where one point the lancers fell back by 9 points. The Lancers only got louder and came back with a big boom to take the lead of 27-21, with only four matches left. Lucas Lavallee a junior at 195 pounds won by a minor decision giving the lancers a lead of 30-21. With only three bouts left the 220, Heavyweight, and 106 the lancers faced two of Hopkinton's best wrestlers at 220 pounds and Heavy weight. Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan took two heartbreaking minor decisions losses to give the lancers only a 3 point lead, 30-27. It all comes down to Andy Murphy at 106 pounds against a very tough and physical kid, Murphy has to win this match to clinch the victory. The whole first period the Hillers wrestler was out working Andy and almost turned him multiple times, but then in the second period Murphy took down the Hiller and turned him to take a one point lead 4-3. Coming down to the last period, where Murphy was able to hold his opponent and win. The Lancers crowded the mat and jumped in triumph to defeat the rivals. The Lancers clinched the TVL title with this win where they face the incomplete Bellingham-Medway on February 11 to win the title. The Lancers the prepare for the D-3 Dual Team State Championship on Saturday February 7.
       The atmosphere in the wrestling room where the Lancers practice is filled with joy and excitement over the Hillers of Hopkinton. The Lancers are now focusing on the tournament on Saturday, where they are defending Team State champions. We were disappointed that we came out with third place and no trophy, we had wrestled two very thought matches. In the opening round, a talented Sabis Springfield team took an early 17-4 lead before Justin Lunn's pin got Norton on back track and we won four straight matches to go ahead and stay ahead, finishing the meet with a 37-17 final score.  In the process Anthony Cardone avenged a loss by pin from earlier in the season with an 8-2 decision loss. Other winners included Aidan Kahn, Zach Scarpetti, Jordan Dowdy, Jake Burgess, Lucas Lavallee, Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan. Elliott Johnson lost a hard fought battle to the number one ranked guy in D-3, who beat Kyle Pereira 7-1 in the previous meeting. Next they went to wrestle in the quarterfinals against a very tough battle with Dean Tech. With the mean coming down to the last match, after a very devastating loss of Alek Donovan to Fernades. Andy Murphy was Norton's knight in shining armor getting the victory and being an underdog, leading the Lancers to the semifinals against Sumerset-Berkly. The Norton Lancers are faced with high adversities during this meet wrestling with out key guys such as Alek Donovan, Russell Hansen, Jake Burgess, Anthony Cardone, and Jordan Dowdy who all suffered injuries in the matchup against Dean Tech. Kyle Pereira had to bump up a weigh class and pinned his opponent to give the Lancers 6 more team points. We knew we would not be able to win the meet but we tried our hardest, looking forward to the matchup with Bellingham-Medway on Wednesday night. The Lancers are now 23-4 on the season looking to be D-3 Sout Sectional Champions and D-3 State Chanpions in the following weeks to come!

The most intense game.

         The super bowl is the most intense and emotional game in all of football. Every year all year round every guy works his butt of to help his team get to the super bowl. Super bowl XLIX is between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. Both teams have great skills and abilities to make it to the highest level of football. The Seahawks offense is led by an elite third year Quarterback, Russell Wilson leading the team to the second super bowl in three years. They are up against a strong defense led by Chandler Jones, Deven McCourtry, and Jamie Collins. My prediction before the game was that the Seahawks will come out with a 28-24 victory over the Patriots. The whole game my house was almost as loud as the stadium, with all the amazing plays. As the first quarter with no score I though the patriots were going to win because the Seahawks were playing very bad. Tom Brady threw his first interception and I was hoping for Wilson to take advantage of this but they had another three and out. Both teams were not playing there best game, in the most intense game there is. The Patriots went to take a 14-7 lead with about 30 seconds left in the first half, where the Seahawks drove down eighty yards on the Pats defense and scored a last second touch down to tie the game.
        With the third quarter coming up the emotions were high in the locker room with a lot of mixed emotions by the crowd. With not many Patriots fans in Glendale, Arizona at the game the third quarter was about to start. Seattle chose to kick at the beginning of the game giving them the ball in the start of the second half. With the game tied at 14 the Seahawks started the third quarter with a field goal to extend the lead by three points. The Patriots then had no answer to the field goal and they had a three and out on the following drive. The Seahawks then got a touchdown to take the lead by ten making it 24 to 14. The house got dead silent and everyone was in sudden doubt, the third quarter ended and the Seahawks had a ten point lead. The Patriots then answer with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to take the lead by 4, 28-24. The Seahawks have almost a minute left in the game and then you see Russell Wilson connected to Curse for an insane catch to put them on the four yard line. Everyone thought it was going to be just like the finally of the "helmet catch" game against the Giants. Then the Free Agent Butler intercepted a pass by Russell Wilson to clinch the victory. Everyone in the house erupted with joy and the Patriots have won the Super bowl for the forth time in history. I was disappointed because I wanted the Seattle Seahawks to win because i am not a Patriots fan.

Patriots Receivers Won't Back Down

    This Sunday night at 6:30 the Patriots will be playing the very talented defending champions for the Lombardi Trophy. People are saying that the Patriots will not be able to get enough yards on the superb Seattle defense. The main defensive threats that Josh McDaniels (the offensive coordinator for Patriots) is Richard Sherman, Bryon Maxwell, Kam Chancellor, and Earl Thomas. The Seattle Seahawks defense is the number one ranked defense, but the Patriot receivers are not scared. "We've been making plays all year, just as their receivers and their defense has been making plays all year. So we're not going to worry about not getting the praise. We're doing to do what we've been doing all year." Brandon Lafell speaks for the receivers of New England at the last press conference at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort. In the article "Not Standing Pat" by Mark Farinella, he portrays that Belichick and his team will have a difficult time trying to get yards but its not impossible.
      In my view, Farinella is wrong because I personally think that Seattle's defense can over match the Patriots main receivers and stop them for any gains. Even though Coach Bill Belichick is going to pull all of his tricks out of his sleeve on this game to try and defeat defending championship coach Steve Carol. As we saw the trick play to Edelman for a forty-nine yard touchdown pass to tie the game with the Ravens. This Sunday night at 6:30 it is going to be nothing but a great game, old style football where they fight to the death to win. The Seahwaks with an outstanding defense will face a tough Patriots Offense with and elite quarterback, Tom Brady. If Pete Carol and his defense can lock down Rob Gronkowski and not allow Brady to get to his favorite target they will have an easy game. Although Farinella might object to my opinion to the Patriots losing the SuperBowl, I maintain that the alligator has predicted that Pete Carol and his team will win. Every time an animal has guessed on a sporting event they have never been wrong. Therefore, I conclude that the Seattle Seahawks will stop the Patriots offense and will end up winning back to back SuperBowl.

What is classified as a Sport?

         Everyone has a different view on what is classified as a sport and what is not. The definition of a sport is a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports require movement throughout your whole body and I think running should be incorporated.  I feel that an activity where you stand or sit and have very little movement should not be classified as a sport. If you are playing a sport where you are making a lot of sporadic dynamic movements you should break several sweats and should be out of breath, because you have been working so hard.
         An activity can be competitive but they do not inquire a lot of motion. Chess, eating contests, ping pong, table pool, bowling, darts, and bull riding should not be a sport. All of these things are professional sports and are extremely competitive, but should they be sports? I think all of these should be categorized as activities. These games are more stressful mentally than physically, where in sports the game is more physically stressful than mental. In a sport you are exerting so much energy and power you feel very weak after competing. A sport involves a lot of technique and attributes an athlete should have, where as an activity involves none of that. In activities you do not need to be athletic or fit in order to preform them such as coloring or cooking, but in order to perform in a sport you need to be physically fit and active.
         A sport is something where people compete to a high level of competition and a level of exercising that inquires a lot of energy. A sport helps you stay in shape and also helps you maintain your weight or even lose some fat. An activity is something people do to keep them entertained and occupied, they are playing for fun and not competitively. Football, basketball, hockey, wrestling, track, and lacrosse are all examples of sports. All of these sports have their own set of rules and style of play. All of these sports are extremely competitive and involve a lot of energy and hardwork. Many athletes work on skills of their sports throughout the whole year to compete better the following season. You do not practice an activity all year round, when you are bored one day you pick it up and start playing for a little bit. All sports do not require a ball or puck, many people think this has to be the main part of sports. A couple of examples are wrestling and track,these are both very high pace and intense sports, that do not require a ball or puck. A sport is all about staying active and staying fit while getting better each day.
          Although sports and activities are extremely fun and are performed to entertain one another a sport requires much more perseverance and talent. Being physical, competitive, and active are all attributes to sports. Competition is the most essential key in sports in my words, because all year round you strive to reach the top and see the trophy in the hands of your team. The competition is what makes sports interesting and what startles the tensions of everyone in the arena. Being physical and active is the difference from a sport and activity, because you work so hard and push yourself all the time to perform your best. As in an activity you don't push your self you just sit back and relax and let the game fold out. An athlete must be fit and willing to give it her or his all, to do their best in the sport. Sports require a lot of determination and hardwork to be the best one can be where as in an activity doesn't.