Conclusion

Now that we have come to the end of the semester, it is time to reflex on my feelings of keeping a blog. I feel a blog is a great way to keep your students involved in the class, even if they don’t like to participate in class. The reason I say that is because all the people in the class are able to read my comments that I make about certain topics we discussed in class. I personally am not a person who speaks up too much in class. I have a lot of opinions on topics, but just don’t let them out. This is the best way for me to get all of my feelings out for people to read. I also feel that blogging helps me keep up with all the sports topics out there, not just the headliners the shows on TV pound into your head. I will be keeping up on my own personal blog. If you would like to follow it you can e-mail me for the link to the site.

Mills pointed out that the best scholars “do not split their work from their lives.” To me this speaks to me, as I want to work in the field of sport, and my life revolves around sports. I watch too many shows on TV that have to do with spots. I watch too many sporting events than I should. Saying this, I don’t see it as a bad thing. I feel that all the things I watch on TV helps give me experience for what I want to do in the field of sport.

To finish this blog I would like to thank everyone who commented or just read my blog. I would like to thank Dr. Nancy Spencer for showing me that doing a blog is a productive way to express your feelings on certain situations going on in the world. Thank you to all and Merry Christmas to all!!

Tiger Woods and his Transgressions

Tiger Woods has been in the news recently for some “transgressions” in his life, nothing to do with golf. Seeing Tiger Woods on TMZ and other publications is pretty sad to see. He did however bring this on himself and in today’s day and age he needs to realize this is what the world wants to see. To me personally I don’t care at all and wish other people felt the same way. A person with his stature is almost like the President of the United States having transgressions so I don’t blame the people on television reporting this. No Tiger Woods should not be looked at like the President of the US, but for some reason he is.

Tiger Woods taking time off from golf will just add to the talk of his transgressions. People think if he can’t play golf right now, he must’ve done something wrong. I also heard on TV that he should just have his own tour. WHY? That doesn’t make any sense. Tiger Woods may be bigger than some of the smaller tournaments, but he is not close to the majors.

To me I would love it if people would just stop talking about this. Why talk about someone’s personal life? Let his personal life work its kinks out and cheer him back on to the golf course. In today’s day and age how can we believe half of the women? Who cares anyway. He is a golfer not a public leader. He just plays a sport.

BCS Failure

The failure of the BCS is killing what college football could become. Everyone think about their favorite sporting events. People would say things like the World Series, Super Bowl, the World Cup, and above all to me March Madness. What do these things all have in common? They all have a playoff of some sort to get to the championship game. This gives the sport a true champion. This is what I love, the best teams playing against each other to decide a true champion. The heads of College Football keep ruining the end of great seasons every year. They say that if we have a College Football playoff it would ruin the regular season, and everyone wouldn’t play as hard. This is just s copout to me. They say look at the regular season in College Basketball, “no one cares who wins and loses; they don’t even play hard all the time.” Someone in the BCS committee said that. I watched the Kentucky vs. Connecticut game and I can tell you they played hard the whole time. I also don’t think UCONN was too happy they lost.

If there were a College Football playoff this year it would be a great spectacle. In my way you would just have the top 8 teams in the BCS playing against each other. So this year you would have: 1. Alabama vs. 8. Ohio State 2.Texas vs. 7. Oregon 3. Cincinnati vs. 6. Boise State and finally 4. TCU vs. 5. Florida.

You’re telling me College Football and the respected Conferences wouldn’t make more money this way? Get out of here with that talk

Male Athletes and Homosexuality

In the history of sport there are few instances where athletes who are gay come out. In male sports there is lots of physical activity. If a male athlete were to come out in a team sport I believe they would be ridiculed by teammates, fans, and the media. I believe there still are people in the world who dislike people who don’t go down the “correct” path. These fans would be ruthless towards a gay athlete. The way fans boo an opposing team’s players could easily be doubled if they had a gay athlete on their team. I don’t believe the media would rip on an athlete for being gay, rather they would talk about the athlete way too much and blow it out of proportion.

While I was playing sports, locker room activity and comments were pretty outlandish. Some of the older kids would do rather cruel things to the freshmen players, which if there were a gay athlete involved these things could have been crazy. The language that is used in a locker room would definitely offend the homosexual community. In my high school there were a few gay males, but none of them played any team sports that I can remember. If there were a gay athlete on my football or baseball team, I feel this guy would have quit before he even got started. The reason I say this is because he would be getting picked on every single day and I don’t know if he would be able to make it.

When it comes to professional athletes there are only one male athlete, John Amaechi, who I can think of who was a homosexual. He came out after his career. I feel the only way males will ever come out while playing their respected sport is if there is a Jackie Robinson type player who comes out. This player would need to be one of the better players as well as well-spoken and someone who would want to get the information out about homosexuality.

Sex Sells

In class we looked at a couple pictures of athletes wearing pretty much the bare minimum. The tag line for both was “only the ball should bounce”. The products displayed were a sports bra for women and a sports jock for men. With the tag line “only the ball should bounce” being used for these products, and the pictures of scantily clothed athletes, it is safe to say they are selling these products using sex appeal.
To me the Anna Kournikova’s picture does help sell sports bras, plus it could attract more men to watch women’s tennis due to its sex appeal. Men seeing this ad only see it as sex appeal, and sex sells in this day and age. Being a male myself, I found the other picture of the male humorous, and it seems like a joke of a product. It seems with that picture they are just trying to get a laugh out of its viewers. This is not a bad thing, because humor also sells.

When it comes to sex appeal and sports I feel the women’s sports need it more than the men’s sports. I say this because the majority of sports fanatics are male rather than female. I know there are plenty of women who watch sports but I’m guessing males dominate the percentages. Male sports are very entertaining to males while some female sports like basketball are too slow and don’t have the “wow” factor that men’s sports have.

Racism in sports

In class we discussed the situation with Serena and Venus Williams. In the 2001 Indian Wells tournament Venus Williams had to withdrawal from her semifinals match with her sister Serena Williams. When Venus Williams and her father showed up to Serena’s Championship match they were accompanied with some boos and probably some other negative comments. They just shrugged them off and went on to watch the match. During the match Serena was booed and also cheered when she double faulted.

Indian Wells is close to where Serena and Venus grew up, I believe. Fans who paid for the semifinals match between Serena and Venus probably paid high dollar for the tickets. Some fans were upset and displayed their frustration with boos during the championship match. Since this incident, the Williams’ sisters have decided not to go to Indian Wells anymore.

To me this is ridiculous, as professional athletes they should be able to get past the boos and other negative comments. Yes, I’m sure there were some racist comments which should never happen, but they should get past it. This can happen to any profession athlete anywhere in the world. Part of the job of a professional athlete, is to act like a professional. Which in this case, the Williams’ sisters did not.

Brown Eyes/ Blue Eyes

In the 1960’s they did a study on a 3rd grade class called brown eyes/ blue eyes. It was where Jane Elliot, the teacher, split up the classes based only on the color of their eyes. On one day the blue eyed kids were ridiculed for having blue eyes and had no privileges like playing with toys. The next day the brown eyed kids got the same treatment.

The purpose of the study was to show how young minds can be manipulated into thinking a certain way just by being told something. This study is like a form of racism. It is like growing up being told that another race is inferior to your own race, which leads to ridicule and mistreating of the other race. Young people learn behaviors from what older people tell them and by examples that they witness.

Sport and Disability

Athletes with physical disabilities should be looked at in the same light as other athletes. Just because they have a disability doesn’t mean they aren’t athletes. I’m sure they train as hard, if not harder than most athletes. For example, a disabled athlete who is confined to a wheelchair is required to have outstanding upper body strength.

Males with a physical disability have to deal with two main pressures placed on them by American culture. Men should be strong, aggressive, courageous, independent, and self reliant, which refers to hegemonic masculinity. If an athlete is disabled, these pressures can be extremely difficult to overcome. Another has to do with weakness. People with a disability are looked at as being weak. Disabled athletes must prove they are not weak by showing what they can do and overcoming the obstacles caused by their disabilities. I am impressed by how mentally tough these individuals are.

Women in Contact Sports

In class we discussed if women should be allowed to play football alongside men. There have been a few instances where females have played football. In college I can think of a kicker for Colorado, but she didn’t play that much. When it comes to being a kicker, there is little actual contact involved. Another example is Holly Mangold, who was a lineman in high school. She actually is a professional weightlifter now. Neither one of these women were able to play football at the highest level.

It just makes sense to me that women should be allowed to do what they want, and should be allowed to play any contact sport if they decide to. Saying this I don’t see a women breaking through and being able to play at a high level in college and contribute. The reason I say this is males are traditionally bigger, stronger, faster, and more athletic. I just couldn’t see a women running down a top athlete and tackling them. I also couldn’t see a woman catching the ball and get hit over and over by larger men. I feel they should be allowed to compete, I just don’t ever see one being a top player at the high school level let alone college, or the pros. Women’s bodies aren’t built like men’s and just can’t handle the intensity of contact sports with men.

Sport and Gender

With the numerous class discussions about gender in sports and the stories of Caster Semenya all over the media, this is a perfect time to talk about gender in sport. The issue with Caster Semenya is that people feel she has both female and male traits. The issue that arises from this is gender testing. Many people have different opinions on this, as we have experienced in class. Some people say test everyone. The problem with this opinion is the money issue. Some say just test the people that look like they have both male and female traits. The problem with this is you are singling people out by doing this, which is discriminatory.

In my own opinion I feel that all females in competitive sports should be tested. I also feel there is no reason to test men. Some people will probably criticize me for saying this. My reasons for this are pretty simple. The first is the money issue, you can’t test everyone since this would be entirely too costly. The second is, why test males? If they already have shown they can hang with other professional male athletes, then what would be the reason behind testing them? The third reason is all females should be tested because it’s unfair to females if a male is competing against a female, as in most cases males are stronger, faster, and quicker than females. I just feel it is a competitive advantage for a male against a female, but not a female against a male.

The Pros the Pros would pay to see

After reading the 2004 Sports Illustrated article “The Pros the Pros would pay to see” Sports Illustrated asked around 600 professional athletes in baseball, football, and basketball which professional athletes they would pay to see. The top 5 athletes chosen were: Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Shaquille O’Neal, Michael Vick, and Serena Williams. Since this article is 5 years old, the results now would be obviously be a little different, especially with what has been going on and off the field of play lately. Barry Bonds has all the steroid allegations. Michael Vick was sentenced to federal prison for dog fighting. These two athletes would most likely be left off this list, if the list were done this year. Shaquille O’Neal probably wouldn’t be on the list anymore with the emergence of all the talented young stars in the NBA such as: Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade, and the new “superman” Dwight Howard.

If there were a new list this year I believe the competition for the top 5 would be pretty interesting. When it comes to the NFL players like Adrian Peterson, Tom Brady, or Payton Manning would definitely be in the mix. In MLB there is Albert Puljols, who would have to be on the list. Tiger Woods would still be up there along with Serena Williams. Saying all this I will let you know what my own personal top 5 would be.
1. Omar Vizquel- My Childhood Idol. The most fun thing I could do would be either hitting ground balls to Omar or turning a double play with him, both of those are dreams of mine.
2. LeBron James- I have seen him plenty of times in High School. It would be an honor to watch him as a pro.
3. Albert Puljols- Hands down the BEST baseball player on the planet.
4. Kobe Bryant- I would love to watch him as he has more of a killer instinct than anyone in sports in my mind.
5. Tiger Woods- I’m not a huge golf fan, but I can appreciate someone wanting to win as much as Tiger Woods does.

Introduction

My name is Dylan Hefflinger. I am from Defiance, Ohio attended and graduated from Defiance High School in 2004. I decided to attend Ashland University on a baseball scholarship. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out there so I ended up attending Owens Community College. After a couple of years at Owens I decided to transfer to Bowling Green State University. Here at BGSU I am pursuing a degree in Sport Management. I believe sport management is the perfect degree for me, as sports are my passion.

I have been in sports in some way my entire life. My favorite sports include: baseball, football, and basketball, which I’ve played my whole life. The reason I love these particular sports is because of how I was brought up by my parents, especially my father. Mostly everything I know about sports I learned from my father.

The top male and female athletes I would pay to watch would be Omar Vizquel and Dominique Moceanu. As an eleven year old boy I remember watching the Olympics and was amazed by everything Moceanu could do. It also probably didn’t hurt that it was easy on my eyes to watch her. When it comes to a male athlete, I chose Omar Vizquel for many reasons. I played shortstop, and idolized him growing up. He is my favorite player of all time. The last reason is that he played for my favorite team, the Cleveland Indians. To me the greatest thing I could do right now in sports would be something that most people wouldn't even consider. I wouldn't consider anything else, and that is to hit ground balls to Omar for as long as I could. I would love to just watch him field the ball with the ease he has his whole life. I just hope when he retires the Indians call him up and make him our manager. I’m just not a huge fan of Eric Wedge.