I have really enjoyed blogging about the topics that we discussed in class. Like I said in my presentation I did not like to talk in class so this game me a chance to express my opinions. It was nice just listening to other peoples arguments and just sitting there thinking about the topic in class. From just listening I could hear both sides of the argument. Then if I did not know a lot about the topic I could then go home and look up more information. I also like receiving feedback on my blog, so everyone that wrote a comment thanks.
I really enjoyed the articles that dealt with topics that I might come across in my future career. Someday I hope to be a Athletic Director at either a high school or small university. Reading these articles and watching the videos helped me look at how different people handled these situations. The main ones that we talked about is Title IX, males playing women's sport and also women playing men's sports. I never really saw where a women wanted to play a men's sport or a men wanted to play a women's sport in my high school. Everyone just followed to regular gender roles of men play men's sports and women playing women's sports.
I am planning on continuing to blog after this class is over. I enjoy giving my opinion on different sports topics. It is hard to find people to talk to about sports, so this way I can put my opinions on the Internet and have other people read them. Also after I get a job in the sports field, I plan on blogging about my experiences for students in this field can read. I figured this could help students learn more about the field. It is hard for students to attend different events when speakers come to talk about their field. This way they can read the blog whenever and then also ask questions.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Cutting of Male Sports
When we talked about Title IX, we talked about how some schools are cutting male sports to get in compliance with Title IX and also to manage their budget. Hopefully someday I want to be an athletic director and this is something that I will have to deal with. The sports that are getting cut are the non-revenue sports like wrestling and men's track.
I do not believe that universities should be allowed to cut men's sports to come in compliance with Title IX and also to manage the budget. There has to be some other way for a school to fix the problem than just cutting sports. One way to fix the problem is to cut some of the expenses from the revenue sports. When you have to cut sports and the football team is getting new equipment every year that is not right. A good example that we used to show that universities do not need to cut male sports is the example of Maryland. The athletic director came to that university and they were having all kinds of financial problems. She fixed all of those and did not have to cut and sports.
One other thing I do not agree with is that university football teams do not need to give out the number of scholarships that they do. The argument that they do need that many is because players get hurt and you can not just sign a player like you can in the NFL. I understand that but still you do not need that many. How many of the players that have scholarship actually see the field during their four years at college.
Finally, I think it would suck if I was a member of a team that got cut. To work hard at the sport that you are playing then the university cuts the program. I think this is the main reason for not cutting sports is because of how the athletes will feel after losing their sport.
I do not believe that universities should be allowed to cut men's sports to come in compliance with Title IX and also to manage the budget. There has to be some other way for a school to fix the problem than just cutting sports. One way to fix the problem is to cut some of the expenses from the revenue sports. When you have to cut sports and the football team is getting new equipment every year that is not right. A good example that we used to show that universities do not need to cut male sports is the example of Maryland. The athletic director came to that university and they were having all kinds of financial problems. She fixed all of those and did not have to cut and sports.
One other thing I do not agree with is that university football teams do not need to give out the number of scholarships that they do. The argument that they do need that many is because players get hurt and you can not just sign a player like you can in the NFL. I understand that but still you do not need that many. How many of the players that have scholarship actually see the field during their four years at college.
Finally, I think it would suck if I was a member of a team that got cut. To work hard at the sport that you are playing then the university cuts the program. I think this is the main reason for not cutting sports is because of how the athletes will feel after losing their sport.
Roles of Athletes
We talked one day on whether or not athletes should have to take a stand on political issues. The two athletes that we talked about was Micheal Jordan and LeBron James. Most people thought that the should not have to be involved in political issues. At first, I thought that athletes should express there opinions on issues, but the more I think about it I do not know if should have to or not.
The reason I say that they should is because they know when they become a professional athlete they should know what comes with it. When LeBron was drafted he knew that he was going to be more than just a player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. I just think that you know you are going to be asked the questions, you might as well give your opinion. Athletes are looked up to by a lot of people. I am not saying that they should agree with the issues that people want them to support. This is the way our society is people look up to the athletes and it might help more people understand an issue if someone like that said something. I think LeBron did a good thing when asked about an issue, he said he did not know anything about it and that he would look at more information about the topic.
The reason that I think that they should not respond to the issues is because that is not their job. All the athletes want to do is go out there and play their sport. I know it has to be hard to have to deal with questions like that. It takes away from an athletes accomplishments in their sports when they do not respect the media. Micheal Jordan was a very dominate athlete but after not taking a stand on an issue he was criticized by the media.
Its hard to say whether they should respond to issues not dealing with sports. I do not know what it is like to have to deal with that so I really do not have an opinion. I think the hardest part for LeBron and Micheal is that they are also trying to sell products. If they say something that someone does not agree with they might have people that will not buy there product. I do not believe that people should stop buying a product because of a person point of view.
The reason I say that they should is because they know when they become a professional athlete they should know what comes with it. When LeBron was drafted he knew that he was going to be more than just a player for the Cleveland Cavaliers. I just think that you know you are going to be asked the questions, you might as well give your opinion. Athletes are looked up to by a lot of people. I am not saying that they should agree with the issues that people want them to support. This is the way our society is people look up to the athletes and it might help more people understand an issue if someone like that said something. I think LeBron did a good thing when asked about an issue, he said he did not know anything about it and that he would look at more information about the topic.
The reason that I think that they should not respond to the issues is because that is not their job. All the athletes want to do is go out there and play their sport. I know it has to be hard to have to deal with questions like that. It takes away from an athletes accomplishments in their sports when they do not respect the media. Micheal Jordan was a very dominate athlete but after not taking a stand on an issue he was criticized by the media.
Its hard to say whether they should respond to issues not dealing with sports. I do not know what it is like to have to deal with that so I really do not have an opinion. I think the hardest part for LeBron and Micheal is that they are also trying to sell products. If they say something that someone does not agree with they might have people that will not buy there product. I do not believe that people should stop buying a product because of a person point of view.
Media Coverage of NCAA Tournament
One of my favorite topics in the class that I enjoy writing about is the amount of media coverage that males sports receives. One day we talked about the amount of coverage that the men's basketball tournament receives compared to the women's tournament. There is a few reasons that more people watch the men's tournament than the women's.
The first reason is that the men's tournament is broadcast on local stations. That means that anyone can watch the games. The women's tournament is broad casted on cable television. I do not know how much viewing would change if the men's games were on cable and the women's was broadcast on local stations. Also CBS puts all of the games on the Internet for people who are not near a television can watch them. ESPN does the same thing for the women's tournament but not all Internet companies get ESPN 360.
Another reason is the days that the games are broad casted on. The men's tournament is on Thursday through Sunday and the women's tournament is one Saturday through Tuesday. When the women's tournament is on the same days as the men's tournament not many people are going to watch it. Most people fill out brackets for the men's tournament so they are going to be watching those games compared to the women's games.
I think that to fix this maybe they would have to either start the women's tournament earlier or later in the season. Also they might have to try to get the tournament on a station that everyone could view it.
The first reason is that the men's tournament is broadcast on local stations. That means that anyone can watch the games. The women's tournament is broad casted on cable television. I do not know how much viewing would change if the men's games were on cable and the women's was broadcast on local stations. Also CBS puts all of the games on the Internet for people who are not near a television can watch them. ESPN does the same thing for the women's tournament but not all Internet companies get ESPN 360.
Another reason is the days that the games are broad casted on. The men's tournament is on Thursday through Sunday and the women's tournament is one Saturday through Tuesday. When the women's tournament is on the same days as the men's tournament not many people are going to watch it. Most people fill out brackets for the men's tournament so they are going to be watching those games compared to the women's games.
I think that to fix this maybe they would have to either start the women's tournament earlier or later in the season. Also they might have to try to get the tournament on a station that everyone could view it.
Tiger Woods
I am probably not the only one, but I am sick and tired of hearing about this Tiger Woods story. I usually watch Sportscenter all the time, but right now I can not. There is other stuff that could be television other than this.
This story goes along with what we talked about in class on how male sports gets more coverage. I think this story has had more coverage than all the women's sporting events combined on Sportscenter this year. If ESPN would cover actual sports and not stories like this all the time I would watch it more. If this was a women athlete like Candice Parker or another famous women athlete it probably would not get the same coverage. I can not really think of any time that a women had this type of problem and Sportscenter covered it for over two weeks.
The reason that they have to cover it, is because people have to know what is going on. I say leave Tiger alone and let him get the things in his life fixed. I do not know why people are obsessed with celebrities lives. They even brought Tiger's stepmother into it went she was taken to the hospital. I just do not understand why people care about this. Some people need to worry about their own lives sometime and leave other people alone. I know if I was Tiger I would find it very difficult to try to fix the mistakes that he made because every day there is something new that the media finds. I like that Tiger is taking time away from golf to get his life back in order.
That was my rant for the day. I just feel that they do not need to cover every event on television. I understand when he first wrecked his car, this was a big story but everything else is pointless.
This story goes along with what we talked about in class on how male sports gets more coverage. I think this story has had more coverage than all the women's sporting events combined on Sportscenter this year. If ESPN would cover actual sports and not stories like this all the time I would watch it more. If this was a women athlete like Candice Parker or another famous women athlete it probably would not get the same coverage. I can not really think of any time that a women had this type of problem and Sportscenter covered it for over two weeks.
The reason that they have to cover it, is because people have to know what is going on. I say leave Tiger alone and let him get the things in his life fixed. I do not know why people are obsessed with celebrities lives. They even brought Tiger's stepmother into it went she was taken to the hospital. I just do not understand why people care about this. Some people need to worry about their own lives sometime and leave other people alone. I know if I was Tiger I would find it very difficult to try to fix the mistakes that he made because every day there is something new that the media finds. I like that Tiger is taking time away from golf to get his life back in order.
That was my rant for the day. I just feel that they do not need to cover every event on television. I understand when he first wrecked his car, this was a big story but everything else is pointless.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
A Girl Having an Advantage Over A Man
The other day in class when one of the groups was presenting their project, someone show a video clip of a girl that was 6'4 and was not allowed to play on the boys team. The reason that she was not allowed to play on the boys team was because she had an advantage over the boys. I have a lot of problem with this story.
The main problem I had with the story was the reason that they made her go back to the girls team. If she had an advantage over the boys that she was playing with, what kind of competition is she getting with the girls team. I am hoping that people do not take this the wrong way but I have seen 7th and 8th grade girls play basketball before and they usually are not that good at all. Even boys at that age are not that good, but they are better than the girls. If you are going to do anything, they should have found someway to move her to a higher level to play with better competition.
The other problem I have with that story is how does that girl have to feel after being moved back with the girls. She probably feels very confident that she was better than the boys, but she has to be mad that she probably will not get the same competition that she was getting. This is the opposite of the boy who played field hockey on the girls team. The parents of the girls on that team were mad that we was allowed to play on the team. This is probably what happened with this girl. All the parents of the boys did not want to she there kids get beat by a girl.
The one part that I liked about the video was the girls confidence that she was going to play in the NBA one day. For a girl to have that dream that is awesome.
The main problem I had with the story was the reason that they made her go back to the girls team. If she had an advantage over the boys that she was playing with, what kind of competition is she getting with the girls team. I am hoping that people do not take this the wrong way but I have seen 7th and 8th grade girls play basketball before and they usually are not that good at all. Even boys at that age are not that good, but they are better than the girls. If you are going to do anything, they should have found someway to move her to a higher level to play with better competition.
The other problem I have with that story is how does that girl have to feel after being moved back with the girls. She probably feels very confident that she was better than the boys, but she has to be mad that she probably will not get the same competition that she was getting. This is the opposite of the boy who played field hockey on the girls team. The parents of the girls on that team were mad that we was allowed to play on the team. This is probably what happened with this girl. All the parents of the boys did not want to she there kids get beat by a girl.
The one part that I liked about the video was the girls confidence that she was going to play in the NBA one day. For a girl to have that dream that is awesome.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Marion Jones and the WNBA
The other day I was watching Sportscenter and along the bottom line I saw the Marion Jones wants to play in the WNBA. I continued to watch Sportcenter thinking at I would see them talk about this story, but they never did (unless it came at some other time). This goes along with what we talked in class about how woman's sports do not get much media coverage. The other question that I had was will any team sign her.
First I want to talk about the media coverage that this story received. I know Marion Jones is not the big star like she was when she was in the Olympics, but still this should have received some media coverage. I am not saying that storys like this should receive coverage but if this was a male athlete it would have had a lot of media attention. I know these two people were in prison for different reasons but look at the Micheal Vick case. When he was released from prison they had everyone on ESPN talking about who is going to sign if he was allowed back in the NFL.
The other question that I was wondering was would someone even sign her. I do not believe someone should sign her. The main reason I believe this is because she was caught cheating by using steriods. She admitted to using steriods during the Olympics in 2000. If I was a owner or coach at a WNBA team I would not want that type of person on my team. Using steriods to make yourself better when you know its cheating, I do not want someone on my team that does that.
First I want to talk about the media coverage that this story received. I know Marion Jones is not the big star like she was when she was in the Olympics, but still this should have received some media coverage. I am not saying that storys like this should receive coverage but if this was a male athlete it would have had a lot of media attention. I know these two people were in prison for different reasons but look at the Micheal Vick case. When he was released from prison they had everyone on ESPN talking about who is going to sign if he was allowed back in the NFL.
The other question that I was wondering was would someone even sign her. I do not believe someone should sign her. The main reason I believe this is because she was caught cheating by using steriods. She admitted to using steriods during the Olympics in 2000. If I was a owner or coach at a WNBA team I would not want that type of person on my team. Using steriods to make yourself better when you know its cheating, I do not want someone on my team that does that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)