Is It All Good?

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Is It  All Good?

                       

Did the NFL Make The Right Call?

The regular referees did not attend any games at the beginning of the NFL season. The referees are basically the game judges because they study every pass, every run, and every tackle. Along with every other action that is made in the game, the referees are there to carefully observe and assure that none of the rules are being broken in the act. The NFL browses the nation and attend football games.  They attend college games, high school games, and even arena football games to try and find referees that are believed to have the best judgment . Although it should be a fulltime job, the referees only work part-time with a starting salary of 78,000 .  The referees are very similar to you and me outside of the black and white stripes.  They have good days and bad days; however, they also have problems. One of the referees biggest problem of this year was that the NFL did not want to give them their money.

      This year was the year that the NFL referees became fed up. The NFL referees are not full-time referees, but the NFL wants them to make a full time dedication to the job without raising their salaries. Although the NFL generates around 11.5 billion to 14.7 billion annually, they refused to recognize the referees plea for a raise. I do not understand why the NFL pays its players multi-million dollars, but it refuses to pay the people that keep the games fair. The people that make sure that teams get an equal chance to go out and play without fear of being cheated  are the referees.  Unable to reach an agreement with the referees or persuade the referees to continue as they were; underpaid for a full-time job, the NFL decided to lock the referees out until an agreement was reached. While the referees were still searching for a solution to their problem, the NFL is two steps ahead. The NFL brought in the pre-season referees.

     The pre-season consists of each team playing four games for a warm-up before the regular season.  The regular season has its own staff of referee and the pre-season also has its own staff. The pre-season games last the whole month of August, but in the first week of September the regular season referees get to return. “Not this season refs”, the NFL still not being able to compromise with the regular season referees decided to let the pre-season referees continue into the regular season.  Now that they are able to add a regular season game to their resume, they are not to be called pre-season referees anymore, but they are simply called replacement referees.

  Most of the replacement referees are young and inexperienced to the NFL. The NFL apparently fails to realize that these refs are not familiar with the NFL's fast pace which could cause problems. Like I said earlier, the pre-season is just a warm-up for the NFL teams and there may be little room for error on the part of the refs.  However,  the same does not apply for the regular season. The regular season is when things get serious and teams start competing for their spot in the playoffs with hopes of winning the Super Bowl.

 Although the replacement referees are not as skilled as the regular season referees, they are still expected to perform at a professional level. The performance of the replacement referees was far from professional in some cases. The refs missed calls as well as called unnecessary calls, they unintentionally caused games to exceed the required time spent on a television network and more.

  

  

Finally on September 26, 2012, the NFL realized what a mistake they made and welcomed the regular referees back with open arms. Along with the comeback, the referees got their salaries raised along with pensions. .   So with that being said, “welcome back refs and we hope you overstay your welcome” .

Cheating To Win

        Lately in the news there have been several stories of grades being changed so that college football players could be eligible to play. This issue has become such a problem that the NCAA has had to investigate several schools and even some high schools to check for fraudulent grades. This “cheating” to play is unfair to those athletes who really do work hard in high school and college to make grades and participate in sports.

         So, why do colleges put a greater emphasis on sports than on grades? That is obvious. It is the mighty dollar!!! If colleges have less than stellar athletes and are not successful, fans do not come to games and fans are very important to colleges and universities. If they do not win games, revenue is lost. The ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise sold at college games end. It is money that drives these educational facilities to make sure athletes “make the grade”. Examples of grades being changed can be found on college campuses all over this country. 

 

        Just recently, an Auburn player, Ryan Williams, has been investigated because of 7

changed grades on his high school transcript. While Auburn is not believed to be involved,
Williams’ high school guidance counselor resigned after he admitted that he changed grades on the student’s transcript to make him eligible to sign with Auburn. Not only has this affected the player’s ability to play on the college level, but it has caused much unrest in the town and school he attended in Tennessee. His former principal, Mr. Mixon, has stated that he and the school board is launching a full investigation into the matter. It is also stated that Nick Fairley and another Auburn recruit or player had grades changed to make the players eligible according to NCAA rules.

 

       This type of illegal grade changing does not just lie within the SEC schools, NCAA

officials are also investigating allegations that an Ohio State player, Bobain Savovich, had
grades changed in college classes. At least two professors admitted to changing failing grades for Savovich and he also had an incomplete grade changed to a “C”. While it is true the player has not been at OSU since 2002, this is proof that this type of activity has gone on for many years in colleges across the country. This story also shows that grade changing does not just occur in football programs. Savovich was a star basketball player at OSU.

 

       The article , “10 Greatest Cheating Scandals in College History”, provides an excellent source for readers to see just how prominent cheating is in colleges and not just for athletic gains. If someone reads the article, they will see that small to large and prominent colleges have been accused of serious grade fixing scandals. Many students have been removed from school and teams and many teachers and professors have lost their jobs because of acts like this.Grade changing is a serious problem in high schools and colleges just to make a player eligible for a college sport. It also These people who deliberately cheat to make grades appear better are doing the student, college, and fans of sports a terrible injustice.

    

       I do not just believe that colleges or high schools should be the only ones punished for changing grades. I also believe that the athletes who know that grades are changed are just as guilty as the administrators who change the grades. Students know that if they make an “F” in a class that they are not eligible to play. These students are frauds, just like those who fix the grades. These students should be punished as well. The NCAA is beginning to suspend these players and they should continue to let the players know that they have to keep grades up in order to participate in college sports. Failure is not acceptable and these athletes should not be allowed to put their education on the back burner.
       

       Many students work very hard to honestly make good grades and be eligible to play college sports. Also, many teachers and professors struggle with pressure from universities to make players eligible. These hard workers are being cheated by those who do not follow the rules. If the NCAA does not impose harsh, immediate punishments on the fraudulent athletes and those teachers who deliberately change failing grades, they will have a monster on their hands.

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Replacements are Never as good as the Pros!

Most people might have heard about the NFL referee lockout of 2012 and the dim roars started up about the blown calls made by them. But in week 3, most of the noise began to pick up after the blown TD call in the final seconds of the Green Bay and Seattle game on Monday Night Football. That blown call ended up losing the game for the Packers. The play started with the final seconds ticking off the clock, Seattle hikes the ball as a last effort, Russell Wilson throws up a hail mary to the end zone that was intercepted by the Green Bay defense, which would've won the game for the Packer's, but the referees blew the call and gave the touchdown to the Seahawks, even after the refs went back to review the play they still couldn't make the right call.

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In big time NFL games it takes big time players and big time referees. In the article The ref wasn't ready for the big time, Jim Corbett stated, "Working as the sidge judge Monday night, the longtime Southern California high school and junior college official signaled the winning catch by receiver Golden Tate in the Seattle Seahawks’ last-play, 14-12 win against the Green Bay Packers — a call the world believes he blew by turning an obvious interception into a touchdown." This is one  example out of many to suggest that the replacements are not adequate enough to fill the shoes of the missing professional referees. When all the drama was reaching it's peak and would without a doubt escalate into something no sports fans of any denominations would want to see. The lockout ended and football God granted the wish of millions of sports fans.
            The viewers of football thought all was well with the world when the refs came back, but the adoration was short lived. As David Whitley states in the article The Referees Are Back "How did the officials miss Darren Sproles’ fumble in Green Bay? It was almost as bad as last Monday night’s Armageddon call in Seattle, if only it didn’t cost the Packers the game." Was everything what we thought it would be? Packers Guard T.J. Lang said "“I was pretty close to having a little case of déjà vu... But we ended up pulling it out in the end.” But in the end the right call was made and all was made right in the football world. 

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             In conclusion no one can call a perfect game, they can try but ultimately perfection is not a actually goal, just a theoretical one. As the season goes on all the refs will eventually hone their skill once again and make football a little less exciting... for the better. The Green Bay and Seattle game will be a game that will live in our hearts because of this blown call. We can all appreciate the refs for what they do for the game of football. It makes everyone more happy not that the football world is in proper order. 
 

Pay for Play by Roderick, Devante, Channing

Should college football players get paid for their talent? Well, students, regardless their situation, should all get treated the same but there are those who feel as if collegiate athletes should get paid for their talents. After all, they do put people in the seats during the games however that should not determine the reason for any student to get paid unless they have a part time job. Tuition, room, board and books were compensation enough. All that should be free with their scholarship nothing more, nothing less. No other financial benefits should be included nor should be tolerated with any student athlete by any means.

Although most collegiate athletes get paid under the table it is illegal and unfair to other collegiate athletes who are treated as normal students without any extra incentives such as the production or merchandising of their jerseys and other items worn by them in their athletic events. Most only say to pay people who actually make the school money such as the big star athlete but that would leave a lot of players angry and jealous stirring up a lot of unwanted attention to the program.Most college football programs award their football players for making it to postseason play such as bowl games they usually award them with xbox’s six hundred dollars a plasma screen television and more not to mention if you win the game you still get rewarded with a ring that is at least worth three hundred to four hundred dollars each the travel is free and most of the publicity that they get helps their chances more to get drafted where they can get paid a large amount of money not to mention the extra money you get from a scholarship comes to you in your refund check so that should be their only paycheck.

Hard Work and Money Go Hand in Hand

Throughout history, it is evident that sports have captivated the lives of many individuals.  From a simple bicycle, to the complex game of football, sports have evolved and defied the way athletes push their own physical bodies to the brink. Along with the tremendous amount of determination that athletes show, it is obvious to say that the salaries each competitor makes differs tremendously.  Many athletes use their talents as a way to earn a living and provide for both themselves and their families. Sports have evolved over time and the income of any one athlete has changed as a result of the supply and demand of the number of athletes involved within the game itself.  While there are apparent differences between who decides who the highest paid athlete is, it is very clear that throughout sources there can only be one winner in this game, and his name is Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Mayweather is an american professional boxer, who is also a five-division world champion.  In 2012, Floyd Mayweather became the number one highest paid athlete in the world. From 2001-2011 Tiger Woods was the highest paid athlete in the world, however, since the scandal with his wife, Tiger has lost a lot of endorsements and has thus fell in the rankings of highest paid athletes.When Tiger was on top he was making about 75 million dollars a year but now compared to his old wages he has gotten a ridiculous pay cut, down to about 54 million a year. Floyd Mayweather on the other hand gets paid accordingly to who he is fighting for the match and how big it is compared to other ones going on at the same time. On a normal basis Floyd gets paid about 85 million a year. In making the $85 million Floyd only had to box two separate times, making about $40 million dollars off the Miguel Cotto fight, and about the same amount in the Victor Ortiz fight.

Another professional athlete that Mayweather has surpassed in recent memory is Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers.  Bryant is one of the most outstanding NBA basketball player of our generation. Bryant’s personal achievements include a two time NBA Finals MVP, a fourteen time NBA All-Star, and the title of a five time NBA Champion, just to name a few.  Kobe Bryant has brought a new face and playing style to the game of professional basketball in the past decade that many coaches and critics have never seen before.  The Los Angeles Lakers have been a dominating force in the game of basketball the instant Bryant’s sneakers touched the hardwood.  Kobe Bryant’s estimated salary along with all of his endorsement contracts in the year 2012 is around $28 million dollars.  This large sum of money still is not enough to dethrone the heavyweight Mayweather.
In addition to Bryant, another multi million dollar athlete that could manage to stay in the ring with the highest paid sports star of our era would be another famous boxer Manny Pacquiao.  Pacquiao is also a world renowned boxer much like Mayweather.  Pacquiao began his astonishing boxing career at age fourteen.  With an abundance of hard work and dedication Manny climbed his way up to greatness.  His accomplishments include Fighter of the Decade, Former WBO Welterweight Champion of the World, and both a pair of lightweight and super weight world championship titles.  Manny has many high class endorsements and along with the fights he takes home quite a large amount of money.  In Forbes Magazine, Manny Pacquiao has a salary of around “$62 million dollars in the year 2012.”  Thus, making him the second highest-paid professional athlete in history.
The sports world has both entertained millions of people for centuries and also made the successful athletes very wealthy.  Athletes do not just go out each and every time they perform unprepared.  They train themselves week in and week out to be the strongest and best performer possible.  Floyd Mayweather has the title of highest paid athlete, not because of chance but because of his demanding regimen of trying to push himself and be the best.  There is no hesitation of why Floyd Mayweather should not be named the most highest paid  athlete of our time.
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The Shock At Penn State Blog Post # 3

Penn State has the entire nation in shock.The recent scandal involving Assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky has been the prime discussion in the NCAA. Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 of the 48 counts of sexual assault against children. Who would imagine the founder of “The Second Mile” childrens charity would commit such a heinous crime.  According to “NBC News’ Michael Isikoff, Sandusky faces a minimum sentence of 60 years under Pennsylvania sentencing guidelines — at his age, effectively a life sentence”.  It has been announced that Graham Spanier, Tim Curley ,Gary Schultz, and the late coach Joe Paterno all had a general idea of what was occurring to these boys, but all of them kept it amongst themselves.Personally, I believe that each individual involved in this act should be held accountable for their actions. All of these men are supposed to be examples for the youth in their community but instead were otherwise.

 It appears that the way the NCAA is dealing with this crime is by penalizing the current football team. Since this crime has been publicly revealed the NCAA has banned Penn State's football team from postseason play for the next four years, they also were issued a 60 million dollar sanction, and all wins dating back to 1998 were removed.

The question many ask is why is it fair to take away funding and scholarships from student athletes who had nothing to do with this.

What is the NCAA thinking, why would they revoke funding from the university and its students who had nothing to do with it, when the ones who need to be punished are the ones with involvement. I agree with Penn State assistant coach receiving the maximum jail sentence. He should receive the fullest charge as with the others who had involvement. Other states have taken a lesson from this vicious scandal and have began implementing new laws to help prevent this from happening again. California's Governor Jerry Brown responds to Penn State's scandal with his new law in addition to the one already in place requiring reporting by teachers, teacher aides, doctors and others who supervise children. His new law states “ California's K-12 schools, and all higher education employees, will be required to report suspected child sexual abuse”. In my opinion ,it should not have to be a law but human nature to help a young child who is being victimized by a much older man. It seems unethical for a standard interview to be one of the only forms of security protecting children against predators.  

  This sequence of unfortunate events should be a “eye opener” for society. Not everyone is who they appear to be , and if one takes on the responsibility of being a coach,teacher,counselor etc .The intentions of that individual should be examined thoroughly ,so an event like this never occurs again. All in all , this scandal should not diminish the universities integrity and facade as long as they progress to a honest better and brighter future.

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            Picture#2
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Picture #3

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Blog Post #3 Replacment Officials v The NFL

Coming into the 2012 season, the replacement officials have been the talk of the NFL.The Seattle Seahawks' 14-12 win over the Green Bay Packers on "Monday Night Football" will forever be remembered for its controversial ending, with the replacement officials blowing several calls down the stretch. Due to financial agreements between the regular officials and the NFL, replacement officials from several levels, including high school and college, have been brought in to fill in the jobs. However, their lack of experience and bad decision making regarding penalties, time management, and managing the game in general, has made the NFL the laughing stock of professional sports and has gotten to the point where players and coaches are fed up with the whole thing.

Since the first game of the season, some teams feel that the replacement officials have jeopardize their chances of winning which could play a factor come December when the playoffs come around the corner. Coaches have even gotten fined for verbal abuse towards the referees. Players, during press conferences, are not shy when it comes to the new officiating crew. After Sunday's Ravens-Eagles game, Baltimore's Ray Lewis criticized the officiating and Joe Flacco ripped the refs for "affecting the integrity of the game.” There were even complaints after other games stating that the officials have been doing a horrible job with managing the game and some say they have no clue what is going on. A vicious and illegal blindside block delivered by Seattle's Golden Tate on Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee (that went uncalled) sparked scrutiny from the media. This has gone to believe that the players health may be endangered due to their lack of experience.

Commissioner Rodger Godell has allegedly notified all coaches and general managers for their blunt actions towards the officials. Although the inexperience has led to the poor decisions and may have cost a few teams a win, the replacement officials as well as the rest of the league may have to adjust to the way the game is. After all, it is only temporary, allegedly speaking. But, some coaches have already been fined for their actions towards the refs The NFL hit Bill Belichick with a $50,000 fine yesterday for grabbing an official’s arm after the team’s loss Sunday night to the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots head coach was not the only coach fined, Denver’s John Fox was fined as well.

For the moment, this is an issue everyone around the league must deal with. However, the way things are going right now, players and coaches might end with with repeated fines for their actions, even suspended. Although inexperience officials have lead with a few miscues, until the bargain agreement between the original referees and the NFL is completed, the replacements will judge the games.