Clippers for Justice; Owners for Power

Last year, the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers, Donald Sterling, was put in the spotlight after a phone call between he and his girlfriend was released by TMZ Sports. He called her and made a few remarks about a recent post she had on Instagram of her with Magic Johnson. He insisted that she not publicize that she associates with black people, as it appeared to make him uncomfortably angry.

His comments were undoubtedly racist and aptly he drew an incredible amount of criticism for the phone call. Sterling was banned from the NBA for life. The way the Clippers’ players and some others around the league reacted relates to the piece we read by Kelly Candaele and Peter Dreier, “Where Are The Jocks For Justice?”.

We Didn’t Come Here to Play Politics

On Sunday five players for the St. Louis Rams came out of the tunnel with their hands held in the a clear “don’t shoot” gesture. The players were saluting the protesters in the nearby Ferguson community. This was a clear political statement by the athletes, and the local police force was quick to respond. They saw the action as completely wrong of the players, calling for a public apology from the team and the league. With their actions causing immediate controversy, it’s easy to imagine why athletes often keep opinions to themselves. Peter Drier’s article “Where Are the Jocks for Justice?” cries out for athletes to step into the political sphere and voice their views; however, is it right for athletes to step into the political arena?

Stories of Perseverance and Being an Underdog: What Andrea Joyce and the “Miracle” Team Have in Common

In our current day and age, stories about underdogs have become almost commonplace as the  media portrays every type of underdog story in the same format: there is a team that starts off the season with a very bad record, they then start to win some games, and they eventually end up impossibly defeating a far super team in a championship matchup.

Movies like “The Mighty Ducks” have made underdog stories seem almost commonplace

Just look at movies like “The Mighty Ducks” or “The Little Giants“ (among many others), and you will see this exact storyline. Granted, I just named two of my favorite movies growing up, which were both extremely successful, but Hollywood has truly made underdog stories seem repetitive and almost boring. That is why it is great when one finally discovers a truly heartwarming and incredible underdog story that would have been impossible to make up. Both the story of Andrea Joyce and the 1980’s United States men’s national hockey team serve as great examples of inconceivable and heartwarming underdog stories.

The violence in Ferguson must end.

This is a picture scripted from the reason.com. The protesters must keep the protest in peaceful environment. 

A few months ago, the story that a cop shot a black teenage boy shocked the world and brought up racial debates into the national discourse. Once it was disclosed to the public, people in Ferguson has gathered and demanded the police a justice. In the street, they shouted, “What do we want? Justice.” Three months later, the swelled crowds confronted an injustice of their own definition. The grand jury has made a decision to exonerate the white police officer Darren Wilson of any charges inflicted on him after his shooting of a black teenager on a street in Ferguson.

Burke and Michigan Football’s Upcoming Head Coaching Search

Les Miles, the head football coach at LSU, is one of the early favorites to be Michigan’s next head coach

For once, it looked like the Michigan of old.  In its last game of the season with a bowl game and Coach Hoke’s job on the line, Michigan took the ball on its own five yard line and executed a masterful 95 yard drive that ended in a touchdown.  14-7 Michigan.   From there, things went downhill, and Michigan lost (again) to Ohio State, 42-28.   Michigan finished the year 5-7, and this all but guarantees that Coach Hoke will be fired.   Michigan will soon be conducting its third coaching search in seven years, and it can’t afford to make another mistake.  This is a pivotal time for Michigan Football, and there are many different opinions on who Michigan should hire as its next head coach. The early favorite is Jim Harbaugh, who is right below God for a lot of Michigan fans.   Other favorites include: Les Miles, David Shaw, and Greg Schiano.  With all of these candidates and the differing coaching genealogies each one has, what would Edmund Burke say?

Mr. Football Is No Burkean

Johnny Manziel, the used-to-be-the-biggest-deal quarterback, encompasses everything that would terrify Edmund Burke and inspire praise from John Stuart Mill.

In an excerpt from the Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke discussed his opposition to the French Revolution, and in doing so Burke illustrated the conservative ideals. Burke highlighted the importance of tradition as the most reliable source for information. Through a seemingly opposite perspective, John Stuart Mill presented his thoughts on the significance of variety, originality, and freedom in “Of Individuality, as One of the Elements of Well-Being” from his work On Liberty. Johnny Manziel, the former Texas A&M and current Cleveland Browns quarterback, has risen to fame largely because he has represented many of the concepts that Mill speaks highly of, therefore putting conservatism out of the picture.

Rivalries, and Customs, Change with the Times

It’s college football rivalry week, and you know what that means: kicking it back with your family, watching Brady Hoke lose his job before your eyes. But the best game has already happened. That’s right, Minnesota beat Nebraska to win the $5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy last weekend.

Inequality in Major League and College Sports

Attendance at at University of Michigan NCAA women’s basketball game

While great strides have been made in terms of granting women equality in our country, we have yet to reach equality in all aspects of our culture. One such aspect which lacks equality to women is the world of sports. While women are able to play college sports such as basketball and softball, the attendance at their games is mediocre. Additionally, attendance at WNBA games is even worse as the average number of attendants per game for the Phoenix Mercury (which led the WNBA in regard to attendance) was a measly 9,155 people in the 2014 season. That may seem to be a relatively large number, but compare that to to the Michigan men’s NCAA basketball team which had an average attendance of 12,138 people per game during the 2013 season, and the difference is clearly evident. It does not make sense that a professional level of basketball should be less popular than a collegiate level game on such a large scale. However basketball is not the only sport in which fans display inequality toward women.

Look at all of those fans!!

What the Puck? Why Hockey Draws More Fans Than Women’s Soccer

University athletics are universally celebrated and have become a huge part of the college experience. A team can forge bonds between fans and crowds can become a united front capable of energizing and compelling a team. Being a part of a crowd is not simply a pursuit of personal enjoyment, it motivates a team and at times teams rely on their support system as expressed in The Playing Fields of Eton, “surely, one might think, it matters for a person’s interest in a pursuit what sort of incentives are associated—and have historically been associated— with it. Social appreciation from admiring spectators is one such incentive.” Spectators drive the players and incentivize them. While school athletics are typically dominated by football, basketball, and hockey, other sports still merit celebration. One would assume that division 1 athletics are cheered on and draw relatively similar crowds. But when division 1 women’s soccer at the university of Illinois Chicago and division one men’s ice hockey at the University of Michigan are compared, they have almost nothing in common. 

Rule Changes Equal Game Change?

After reading Tracy’s article about football, I began to question things that I normally accept as rote. I asked myself what defined a class, a game, and a relationship. It is interesting because we normally accept things like football as a set activity, but fail to recognize the fact that it is really a reflection of all of the gradual changes that have taken place over the years. Just like Tejada-Flores’ Rock Climbing article, the game is really decided by the players.

Refs decide a game with an infamous call

Tracy argues that “the most provocative rule change” is the removal of kick-offs from the pro bowl which effectively says that you do not need kickoffs to play football. I would agree with that statement. As a former football player, I always hated being on the kickoff because it would just tire me out for offense. However, there are always those players whose careers were made on special teams, and by eliminating the kickoff, you basically eliminate their careers. I experienced this firsthand in the sport of lacrosse.