Marion Jones

     In the documentary about track phenomenon, Marion Jones, it explains about what she went through after admitting to using Performance Enhancing Drugs. Initally, an interview is shown where she breaks down to the public explaining that the previous accusations about her were true. She was sentenced to six months in prison. Jones ended up sent to solitary confinement when she defended herself against a jail mate who came at her, but she never was given the chance to explain it was self defense. For fifty days she spent twenty three hours alone in a small room. On her time spent alone, she worked out often. After her fifty days, she was happy to go back to a normal routine before getting out and returning to her husband and children. After returning home she had another baby and became ambitious in basketball. Marion Jones' track career came to a halt and she went through a rough time, but she excelled and found happiness in her family and in basketball.  

     Marion Jones was imprisoned unfairly in my opinion. Multiple other athletes have admitted to the use of PED's and none of them ever did jail time. A-Rod, for instance, a player for the New York Yankees, was caught using steroids. He was suspended for a season and he was fined, but he did no jail time. Yes, Marion Jones did lie about it and yes, she did disappoint many, but she should not have received a greater punishment than any others found guilty of the same thing. Many believe this was a race issue and others believe it was just pure jealousy. It is unfair that she had something she loved taken away from her forever and she had everything she earned removed from her. What about the many people who have not been caught for using steroids? What about those who may never get caught? At least she came out and told the truth, it just shows she cared about her reputation, family, and fans enough to not continue lying. She may have had track taken away from her and some awards, but nobody will ever be able t take away what she achieved and how far she came after telling the truth.

FINAL

     The Bellingham Blackhawks defeated the Norton Lancers 9-5, but Norton's girls lacrosse players fought until the end at their last home regular season game on May 22, 2015.

     Norton played an independent schedule, testing the waters to see what they could do against different level teams. Norton's improvement may not have been reflected by the score, but Norton played hard.

     Norton played Bellingham earlier in the season suffering a 20-2 loss. Norton improved their passing, cutting, defense, and overall game by the time the second match up against Bellingham came around, making Bellingham have to step it up a little bit more than the first game. Both teams played much harder, with more agility, and better games in all aspects in the later season match up.

     Lancers' Christi Brennan and Taylor Mulvehill helped step up Norton's offensive game. Brennan was winning some important draws, many leading to Norton's goals, scoring one herself. Effort is to success as winning a draw was to scoring a goal in this game. Mulvehill scored two out of five of the goals Norton scored in this game. Bellingham's defense did a good job marking Norton, but both were challenging their defense by making cuts, critical passes for Norton's offense, and tactical plays.
     Late in the second half with two minutes to go, Norton started playing hard and pressuring Bellingham's defense. Norton answered with two goals scored by Brennan and Norton's only senior, Emily Weber ending the game with only a three goal difference. Both crowds grew vociferous as Norton's offense made it impossible for Bellingham's defense to become inert. Players on both sides of the field's performances were laudable and it was clear these girls were zealous to play to the best of their abilities.

     Should Norton and Bellingham play each other next year, Norton will be determined to win. They've lost both games against them, but improved greatly between match ups. Norton's Taylor Mulvehill says, "I believe that we can beat Bellingham. As a team we really need to work on ground balls and draw controls, once we get those down, we will be more successful in upcoming seasons."

Taylor Mulvehill scores an 8 meter twelve minutes 
into the second half. (10:45+)   

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMtFbTHlSxA                                    
Norton scores two goals in under two minutes.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbJr5XzTQSo

                              DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
        1.Who did Norton play for their final home game?
        2. Was Norton's performance in the first half or second half better?
                                        3. What skills were Norton using to complicate Bellingham's defense?
                                        4. In what ways does Norton need to improve to increase their chance of 
                                            beating Bellingham in the future according to Taylor?
                                        5. Do you think Norton can beat Bellingham in the upcoming season? Do                                                 you think they will be more successful next season? 

BP #10

     Will Grimsley, author of 'It was lightning and thunder,' wrote an article on the fiftieth anniversary continuing to display the controversy between Sonny Liston and Ali's title match. Muhammad Ali's victory over Sonny Liston became a huge debate when Liston claimed he never heard the count after getting knocked within the first minute. Liston got back up thinking the fight was still going on. The referee, Joe Walcott, had to break up the fight because Ali had already won. 

     In the informative and debating article, Will Grimsley addresses the idea that this match was a big controversy and many fans of boxing were disappointed and felt that it was rigged. Grimsley's audience seems to be a boxing fan base and people interested in the debate. He included multiple quotes from many different people involved in the dispute. He also asked questions throughout the article to really involve the reader.

___________________________________

     In "Pedroia power not enough for Sox," by Al Schoch, the May 27th game against the Twins is highlighted. He explains that although Dustin Pedroia played an outstanding game, giving the Sox a two run lead to start, Boston fell to Minnesota 6-4. The author gave quotes from players and coaches to give readers different aspects of the game. Schoch also provides statistics between The Sox and the Twins' previous games. Overall, he provided readers with a very detailed overlook of he game between the two teams.   

 

BP #9

     The New England Patriots are being accused of cheating in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots defeated the Colts 45-7, but their glory was short-lived when they were soon being investigated about tampering the game balls. Accusations say they allegedly deflated the majority of the game balls to give themselves an advantage in the game. Many football fans are just blowing it off saying they don't even care about the situation and they just want to stop hearing about it. Others find it preposterous that they're being accused of this and some don't find it surprising at all. Deflate gate is being blown way out of proportion by the media.

     The Patriots are a team and a decision this big wouldn't have been made only by their QB, Tom Brady. Others would've been aware of what was going on and would've at least had an idea about it. The Wells Report has inaccurate facts and there are also multiple scenarios as of to why you cannot blame just one person for this. Initially, the referees should've checked the footballs if they believed there was an foul play going on and they didn't. Additionally, anybody planning on cheating would have to literally have a plan.. you don't CHEAT on accident. More than one person wouldn't been plotting on the event this was on purpose. Subsequently, there was also a big toss up as to whether or not the deflation could have been due to the air pressure from the cold air. On numerous occasions, while deflate gate has been going on, speculators have been jumping to conclusions without actually knowing what happened to the eleven game balls. 

     The punishment the Patriots suffer is losing two draft picks, being fined one million dollars, and losing their star QB, Tom Brady, for the first four games of the season. Brady will be on the bench for the first quarter of the season, unpaid. The punishment, towards Brady, is highly excessive. Tom Brady, if guilty, clearly did not do this on his own, therefore he should not be singled out as one the way he was. They are a team and they should go down as a team, the QB who holds the team shouldn't have to sit suspended when he was not the only one who partook in this. Strategically, Tom Brady is key in the Patriots line up and who knows how New England may suffer without him. It isn't utterly surprising that Tom Brady was who they targeted and suspended for four games without any outstanding evidence. 

     The number one solution for Deflate Gate at this point is to just drop it. What's done is done and whether or not they actually deflated the footballs, everybody will have their own opinions. The Patriots should just suffer the consequences with their heads held high and give this season their all and prove that they can still be extremely hard to beat in any fair game. Even if New England was found innocent, people would still assume they did it..no matter what you can't change one's opinion. 

     

BP8

     The general argument made by Josh Greenbaum in The Short Game, is that it is okay to enroll these kids into this level of competition of sports if the parents are supportive of them and stick with it for them. The kids train hard every single day and the parents are there for it all. There were nine seven to eight year olds highlighted in the film, all of which play golf at a very competitive level.  Most viewers would probably see this as a disgrace and feel bad for the kids because they think they're childhood is more so like an adulthood already.  Huge amounts of money and time are put in for the kids to practice and participate in tournaments. The documentary allows both opinions to be seen. The kids are seen happy when they do a fair job in a golf tournament and they were also shown highly distraught at some simple mistakes too. For instance, Allan Kournikova is an average boy besides the fact he comes from a very rich family. He still hangs out with friends and spends time with his family, but at the same time a huge majority of his time is being dedicated to hard training for golf. Any child's main concern should be to just enjoy what is going on, they shouldn't be worried about how many reps they can do, how many hours per week they spent on a course, or how many trophies they have brought home.

     In my view, Greenbaum is wrong because these kids are being pushed way too far and being expected of too much. I, personally, believe they are being tossed too much at once. Their entire life is revolving around golf and nothing else. I think this level of competition shouldn't be reached until around ten years of age or older because at that point kids know of it is really what they want to commit all of their time to. Although Greenbaum shows the parents supporting these children, I just don't believe they are mentally or physically ready to take this on yet. Kids should be able to go out and play with their friends or go home and watch TV with their family.. these select kids are having to put their childhood aside and act like they are in the pros and basically spend every other waking moment on the course. I strongly oppose the stress these children are having to undergo at such a young age.

     In the documentary, Greenbaum persuades that there is not an issue with young children being involved with extremely competitive sports with supportive parents to a certain extent. He interviews families of different races and different social classes to show the common obstacles and the similar good moments by giving background information on each of the highlighted kids. He shows that throughout their time spent in golf they overcome adversity and build from their mistakes by pinpointing some of their improvements. Ethical appeals he reiterates are that kids should be taught to exercise to stay healthy, not to excel in professional sports and kids should do it to have fun, not for the money or fame of it. His purpose is to expose people to the negative and positive effects of these high levels of competition at such young ages in order to prevent the negative effects. He seems to have a family/parent audience in mind because this is a growing phenomenon in today's culture.

BLOG POST #7

     In Trevor Martin's documentary "Schooled- The Price of College Sports" (2013), he stresses that the NCAA treats its student athletes very unfairly. Martin first provides information to support his argument by using montage with voice overs throughout the movie, he then furthermore supports his claim with strong analogies, and to conclude he organized multiple interviews with people from different aspects of the situation. His purpose is to expose conflicts concerning player compensation in the NCAA in order to spread awareness about players being exploited and hopefully make a change in the players' favor.

     "They are not employees, they're students." This was said many times throughout the movie, and I personally think it has no meaning. Student athletes put everything they have into college sports just to be exploited. They ARE employees, they just are not aware of it. Coaches push them and they are still cashing out. What are the players getting? Nothing. Student athletes always have to be extra careful what they are doing on and off the field because one wrong move and any scholarship they may have can be taken. Colleges don't like being held accountable for any problems these athletes have and that is wrong. NCAA players deserve a profit because they are being cut to the core and they are trying to juggle so much at once to begin with. The amount of money NCAA coaches make is outstanding, and I believe that players should be receiving some of that money, after all, they are the ones playing the game. The NCAA should be frowned upon just after hearing upsets like "everybody has a right except the player" and "a mass murderer has more rights than players." The athletes of the NCAA are in desperate need of a change, and they deserve to be able to play the sports they love without being exploited.
   

SPORTS BIO

     My name is Felicia Ruffing. I play soccer and lacrosse. I started playing soccer when I was eight and played defense. I moved through every position and now my main positions are goalie and offense. I currently do not have a record of my own at NHS for soccer because I suffered a hip injury that began and ended my season for me. This is my first year for lacrosse and I have been making it my main focus. My main interest is to dedicate most of my play time on attack. I have been training hard and doing what I can to improve my skill work. This season is going to be far from easy for us, but I'm ready to rise to the challenge and contribute to the team as much as I can. I also hope to join a club team as soon as possible as well. My two favorite sports to watch are football and hockey. My favorite athlete is Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins. He is widely known as one of the best players in the NHL. He is a great person on and off the ice. I love watching him play because he gives every game his all. Sports are such a big part of my life, I'm not sure what I would do without them. One of my favorite sports quote is "I can accept the failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying again.

A Game Of Ping Pong Played On The Ice?





Patrice Bergeron(37) and Brendan Morrison(8)
fighting for the puck Thursday night in Boston. 

     It wasn't until five minutes into the first period of Thursday night's game that Calgary gained a lead on the Boston Bruins. The Bruins forced the Flames into overtime when Milan Lucic(17) tied the game up at three a piece. The Bruins ended up losing 4-3, in a shootout, on their home ice at the Garden. Calgary broke the fifteen game scoring drought in Boston. The Bruins are having a hard time finishing, and that is really the only concern right now as they are hanging onto the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Calgary ended the game with two power-play goals and a win.

    The Bruins started the game off right when Eriksson(21) had a nice 2 v 1 opportunity and unfortunately missed the net. The game went back and forth all the way into an eight-round shootout. Boston was called for numerous penalties throughout the game giving Calgary quite a few man advantages. Both goaltenders, Rask(Boston) and Ramo(Calgary), were put to the challenge in regulation and the shootout. Boston created quite a few good shot opportunities in the third period, but they could not find the back of the net until about eleven minutes into the third. After an OT that remained tied, the teams went into a shootout and Calgary pulled through on the eighth round. Schlemko(3) faked out Boston'sgoaltender and tapped the puck by him. Bruins lost o home ice 3-4.

    

    
    


    


    

Norton Basketball

     Last Thursday, in the NHS gym, the boys' varsity basketball team came together to clench a win over the Rockland Bulldogs. They sent them home with over a 20 point deficit. This win advanced the Lancers onto the quarterfinal game against Archbishop Williams on Saturday.
    
     The crowd was hyped up from beginning to end. Cheering began before tip off. The home bleachers were covered in white, everybody was showing their support. Norton's offense was dominating the entire game. Their ball movement was quick, shots were taken, and they were continuously finding the open player. Norton ended the first half with a 13 point lead over Rockland, calling for a very loud and confident fan section.

      Norton's, Keenan Coffey, seemed to be on fire from the opening seconds to the last seconds. He made five of the ten 3-point shots scored by the Lancers. Coffey hit a few key baskets in the first half keeping Norton up. 12 of his 17 points in the game were scored in the first half.

          Liberatore had Norton playing a zone-defense. 'It's something that we feel comfortable doing, we don't have too much size.' Norton did not allow their weaknesses to get the best of them.. instead they used their strengths to help them out in the situation.

         Senior Keenan Coffey, said: 'My teammates helped me out with screens and passing, I felt good when the ball left my hand.' Keenan was a key player and I am sure he was aware, but he did not let the confidence get the best of him. He knew he couldn't have done it without the rest of his team. Bret Murphy set up Coffey for a 3-pointer moving the Lancers up to a 17-10 lead halfway through the second quarter.

          Norton had the heart and the skill to win this game. They worked together as a team, and the hard work paid off. No player was being selfish, and they did a lot of passing to find the right time to take a good shot. The Lancers' crowd also had a lot of heart in hopes of seeing their team move on. Norton moved on with a 65-44 defeat over the Rockland Bulldogs.

    

Hoop Dreams

     Hoop Dreams is about two boys, William and Arthur, who are skilled basketball players whos ambitions are to become NBA players. It starts off with both boys going into high school. They go to St. Joseph's and it is expesive and also a three hour train ride. The boys undergo some difficult situations with fitting in becaue there are a lot of white people. Arthur entered with a fourth or fifth grade school level. William was a starting freshman for varsity. Both boys had scholarships from St. Joseph's for basketball. Arthur's parents got laid off from work and still had to pay 1/2 tuition. Arthur was kicked out because they could no longer afford to pay tuition. Arthur went to a public school, Marshall, but he did not recieve credits for the semester at St. Jospeh's because the parents never repaid the debt. Arthur joined the sophomore team at Marshall. Arthur's dad left the family and was using drugs. Arthur makes varsity junior year, meanwhile William has  lot of colleges interested in him. Arthur begins to struggle with more money problems in his household. William injured his knee and could not ply for 12+ weeks because he needed surgery. In one of Arthur's games he fouled out for charging a player. During everyhing, William has a child. William stopped playing basketball and his grades plummeted. William returns, and he continues to have problems with his knee. In one partcular game, William gets injured and leaves the court. St. Joseph's began to fall behind. His coach left whether he went back in up o him, ad as any player would he went back in. He shot the free throws and missed, so St. Joseph's was defeated. William ends up getting another knee surgery. Neither of the boys' lives go as theyhad once dreamed, and they went through many challenges. William had another child before he graduated. In many situations, the boys were juggling a lot of personal problems, schoolwork, and basketball at once. The may not have become the next Michael Jordans or even made it to the pros, butthey overcame many challenges and became successful in ways they had never expected.
 
     In Hoop Dreams a lot of good morals are shown. One was, no matter your situation or lifestyle if you rise to the challenge and try your hardest you can succeed. Throughout the movie perseverance is portrayed. Even through the money, family, and school issues they went through, they focused on basketball and their future. Another is, regardless of where you are from and who you're friends with, it is your talent that matters. Not only for basketball, but for any sport, it's an escape from the discrimination of social class or position you're in. You don't get judged based on where you're from, but rather by the skill you bring to the team you play for.

How Do Sports Impact Culture?

     Professional sports have greatly impacted society. One of the most often told stories is the story of the baseball player, Jackie Robinson. He was the first African American to play in the MLB. Before hm, only whites were allowed. That, in itself, shows how people with a different color skin were classified "inferior" to whites. African Americans did not have the privelage to play sports or participate in many other things. Today, those privelages are a lifestlye of most people. African Americans could play just as well as whites, yet they were not given the opportunity to play for a very long time. Anybody of any nationality is allowed to participate in sports, whether it be recreational sports or major league sports. People of different races aren't denied because of their skin color anymore. Kids often grow up having an athlete as a role model. They base their decision of a role model on their stats and how they play, not the color of their skin. Kids are more impressionable and they are learning, on their own at a young age, that everybody is equal just from sports. Racial tolerance has greatly increased. Sports no longer define people by their nationality, but rather their abilities.
     Sports are very influencial on culture today. Sports bring many people together, whether it be the teammates or the fans of a team. No matter their background, they already have one thing in common.. the sport. Sports advertise teamwork, friendship, and sportsmanship, all of which involve coming together and accepting one another. Being on a team promotes supporting others, and so does being a fan. Teams come together to be the best team they can be, and fans come together to support their team. Different races are brought together, families and friends are broght together, and even complete strangers are brought together by sports. Color, language, and culture are often forgotten when it comes to sports and players are judged on how they play the game.
     Everything that has positive effects always comes with negative effects, including sports. Although many professional athletes promote teamwork and love for their teammates, there are also some who promote bad behavior. In many cases, athletes have done some terrible things.. bullying, domestic violence, and even muder. Many of them believe it's "okay" because they are famous and they can buy their way out of the trouble. Unfortunately, some of them have been able to. At the same time, this also can teach a lesson. Don't take what you have for granted. Use it for good, not bad. I do believe a lot of the positive does outweigh some of the negative though. Racial, sexual, and even gender discrimination is lessening, and sports have impacted that greatly. More and more people get acceptance in sports from their team and fans for their talent, and their culture is in the back of everybody's minds. Sports don't preach equality, but equality in sports is significant. Sports bring people from all over the world together.
     Sports have impacted me very positively. I started playing soccer when
I was 8. I have made many new friends from playing soccer. I also learned how to be a team player and to support my teammates. I have learned that sometimes you really do have to "take one for them team", ESPECIALLY as a goalkeeper. I learned not to think of myself, but to think of everybody on my team. I've learned to never give up, and to not dwell on the little mistakes. Practice may not make perfect, but then again what is perfection? Practice makes anybody the best they can be, and to me that is much greater than perfection. Perserverance is key, and that'll apply to everything in life. In sports, to me, giving up is not an option. I have learned, from playing on teams, that me giving up effects everybody on my team negatively. Some of the best friends I have are people I met playing soccer. This year I began playing lacrosse. I'm meeting new people without being judged, but rather given advice. I'm thankful to have sports in my life because they are a good way to keep me social and many aspects of sports can be applied into the real world and growing up.
    
    
    

Whether you follow football or not I am sure you have heard numerous news reports or read articles about the Deflate Gate. The Patriots were accused of deflating 11 out of 12 footballs in the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. I, personally, believe the situation has been blown up by the media in an unnecessary manner. I also find it ridiculous that the Patriots are, once again, being accused of cheating. The Patriots are a good team, and they have worked hard to get where they are. Many people just are not willing to accept it. The Patriots are constantly targeted and many people try to make people frown upon them. First of all, the officials are well trained and are required to double and sometimes even triple check the footballs. Second, the air pressure plummeted due to the weather conditions and that causes a decrease in the ball inflation. Next, the Patriots had enough rushing TDs that they still would have won, and the deflation of a ball wouldn't change that play. The Patriots played an overall better game, resulting in a 45-7 defeat over the Colts in the AFC Championship game.. regardless of ball deflation.

It must come as a slap in the face to the many people accusing the Patriots that they won Super Bowl 49. The Deflate Gate was in the back of many fans' minds this past weekend as the Patriots defeated last years' world champions, the Seattle Seahawks. The game was a nail-biter for Patriot's fans. The Seahawks thought for sure they had it in the bag, but then a big mistake was made. The ball was not passed to Marshawn Lynch. It is said to be one of the biggest mistakes in Super Bowl history, and I agree. The whole game was set on a different path, and Malcolm Butler made the game-saving interception. It was an outstanding play made by him and he saved the game for the Patriots. Tom Brady even gave him his MVP truck. "Now that the New England Patriots are world champions, having put the Seattle Seahawks (and the season) to bed with one of the wildest Super Bowl finishes of all time, it's time to move forward in the football discussion and the offseason."  says Nate Loop in response to the Patriots' win and the Deflate Gate. Richard Sherman went from an early celebration to a completely devastated expression in seconds. The Seahawks made a mistake and it may be what stopped them from getting two in a row. The Patriots constantly have some bad calls against them or their opponent get some lucky plays against them, but they followed through until the end to take home the win.