June 9, 2010, the NCAA The University of Southern California with a two year bowl game probation and a loss of twenty football scholarships. This ruling came after allegations surrounding former basketball and football stars: Oj Mayo and Reggie Bush (Klein). Both players supposedly took money from agents and event planners illegally and landed their school in big trouble. This controversy had raised the question: if college athletes were paid by their schools and the NCAA, would this illegal activity still take place and get schools on probation. The fact of the matter is, paying college athletes would not solve this problem; it would ruin the world of college sports, and schools and the NCAA simply do not have the money and funds to pay all of the athletes in college sports.
June 9, 2010, the NCAA penalized The University of Southern California with a two year bowl game probation and a loss of twenty football scholarships. This ruling came after allegations surrounding former basketball and football stars: Oj Mayo and Reggie Bush (Klein). Reggie Bush was caught by taking money and an apartment that his family lived in during his tenure at USC. The school was forced to return their copy of Bush's heisman trophy. While Mayo took money from NBA agents while in high school. This controversy had raised the question: if college athletes were paid by their schools and the NCAA, would this illegal activity still take place and get schools on probation? The fact of the matter is, paying college athletes would not solve this problem; it would ruin the world of college sports, because now the richest schools and teams could pretty much buy championships like the Yankees.
Jason Lewis wrote a fantastic article in the Los Angeles Sentinel entitled “Paying College Athletes is Nothing but Trouble.” I would have to agree with him on this main aspect. He makes many valid points in this article. He first brings up the recent Reggie Bush scandal that took place at USC where he accepted gifts illegally and now USC is suffering a 2 year bowl probation and a loss of 30 scholarships. Many believe that paying student athletes would stop this under the table stuff from taking place, but not Lewis. He then jumps into the situation. If a star running back is paid money, does his backups get paid the same amount, and if he doesn’t could he just transfer to another school where he could play and receive more money. This could present a huge problem if the NCAA would even think about letting schools pay their players. And all schools aren’t going to have an equal budget, so schools like USC and Texas can pay players more money. That means big time universities would just be able to buy out the best players, kinda like the free agent market in baseball. Why would a kid go play football at a school like Colorado State when he can go make more money else where. So schools like Boise State could never compete like they do now since they do not have the funds like schools like Texas, Ohio State, and Florida. Where is all the money coming from. Do the smaller sports also get paid along with the big boys like football and basketball. Not to mention where the money is going to come from when talking about paying division 2 and division 3 athletes. These kids are getting their tuition and meals paid for, is that not enough. And a large percentage of these kids are never going to play professional sports, so they need these scholarships to better themselves for what lies ahead. A lot of players think that they should receive money when they see their jerseys sold on campus, but if they are that good they will see profits from jersey sales in the NFL or NBA. These kids need the college more than the college needs them. Could Bush have signed a huge contract without playing college football I think not.
He constructs it very well, and provides very good points in his argument. I think it is very convincing because it has hard to argue where all the money would come from to pay these kids, so that is definitely one thing I will cite when constructing my paper.Also, saying that big time programs could just buy the best players, which would be terrible for the world of college football and basketball. I will use most of this information, because I agree with him is saying paying these athletes is a bad idea and they receive enough in scholarships and meal plans. Also, kids are still going to accept gifts from agents, so paying players really wouldn’t solve the problem.
Lewis, J.. "Paying college athletes is nothing but trouble. " Sentinel 29 Jul 2010,Black Newspapers, ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. |
Concussions are becoming a major problem in sports today and especially in the National Football League. A concussion is when a blow to the head causes the brain to flood with chemicals and deadening certain receptors linked to learning and memory. Symptoms include headache, confusion, blurred vision, nausea, and unconsciousness. Once a player suffers a concussion, he is four times more likely to sustain a second. A study by University of North Carolina revealed that of 595 retired players who recalled sustaining three or more concussions, 20.2% said they have been found dealing with depression. That is three times the rate of players who have not sustained concussions. Also, Alzheimer’s disease has been diagnosed in former NFL players 19 times the rate of normal men 30-49. In December of 2009, the league announced that it would impose stricter policies with regard to concussions. NFL teams now place posters in each locker room about the permanent dangers concussions can have even if treated properly. Stricter policies must be put it place to ensure the safety of these athletes and make sure they live long healthy lives after their playing days are over.
Joe Paterno is well into his eighties and still coaching the Penn State Football Team. Many seem to think he is doing a good job but this article thinks its time to step aside. Yes his team won a big ten title in 2005 but that was the only year they finished in the top four in the big ten in ten years. The biggest issue with most folks is Paterno on the recruiting process and the future of the program. Do recruits really want to commit to a program where they know there is not much future for the legendary coach, and Paterno does not even make trips anymore, which doesn’t help out either. Many people think Paterno should step aside and should be forced to leave, but it has harder than it seems. This man has put this University on the map by building a football powerhouse. He as also given so much and even given millions of dollars for a library that is named after him. So this man should be allowed to coach here until he is ready to throw in the towel.
The BCS has caused controversy for many years but the debate has been heated the last couple of years at the expense of teams like TCU and Boise State having undefeated seasons and even beating major BCS schools. Computers shouldn’t be deciding who should be playing for the national championship. The BCS presents a major problem, because even if a team loses one game, their title hopes are pretty much shot and that is complete bullshit. Just because South Carolina beat Alabama, does the mean Alabama still isn’t one of the best teams in the land. Another thing, we will never see a team like Boise or TCU play for the national title. Could you imagine the buzz and tv ratings we would see if a team like that made a run through a playoff system. And that is what the BCS is about, money and ratings. It also hurts the game because fans and players are so distraught after one loss because reality has set in that they have virtually no shot at playing for all the marbles. College football is a fans and players game. GIVE THEM WHAT THEY WANT
Penn State Uniforms
Black shoes, basic blues, no names all game. WE ARE PENN STATE. A common phrase describing the uniforms of the Penn State football team. The plain uniform of Penn State is one of the most recognizable uniforms in all of sports. The all white uniforms are sure a thing of beauty and have been voted in the top five best uniforms in college football multiple times. These new aged nike pro combat uniforms will never replace the uniform that has been the trademark of this program and its legendary coach. Legend after legend has put on the plain no named uniform and have had nothing but success. Five undefeated seasons, and two national championships. Who needs the flash of the new aged uni’s.
Oregon Ducks
That god awful yellow, grey, white green, black. You name the color, Oregon wears it proudly on a football Saturday. Showing off a new variation of their uniforms every week, the Ducks of Oregon represent the flash and swag that they play with. Unlinke Penn State Oregon rocks a new uniform every weeks and come out with a new design almost every year. With the backing and funding of Nike Chairman Phil Knight, the Ducks can continue to surprise the football world with their interesting and colorful uniforms.
Iphone 4G vs. The Droid x
There is no doubt that the battle between the iphone 4 generation and the droid x is probably the greatest technology of our time and maybe ever. Motorola is releasing this phone soon and many believe it is the best Iphone competitor yet. This debate has merit and needs evaluation because of the reputation these phones have and the major breakthroughs in technology they represent. To start, The droid has a much bigger screen than the Iphone, but does that necessarily mean it it better. No it doesn’t because the iphone uses Reitna display technology, which mean it has a higher resolution and is easier to see in the sun and other bright areas than other smart phones including the droid x. Iphone is available on the AT & T network, which is to be believed to be the fastest 3G network, but has iphone 4 traffic and slows down the phone and hurts reception. While the droid is on the Verizon network and is the largest 3G network. The droid also wins the category of storage with 24 GB of storage while the ipohne only has 16 GB. Both run at the same price of $200. The iphone and the droid both have 3G and wireless internet, but it is believed that Iphone software has a faster wireless connection. The iphone clearly wins the battle of cameras because it has a front facing cameras which allows a person to skype directly from their iphone which I think is absolutely ridiculous. The iphone has the most impressive battery life for any smart phone. Apple states the ihphone can get 7 hours of 3g talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, 40 hours of music and 300 hours of standby. Verizon or Motorola has not stated ant specific battery life for the droid, so it is pretty obvious which phones wins the category for battery. The Iphone is the thinnest smart phone in the world while the droid is much bigger in size and who wants to walk around with a big ass phone in their pocket. Both phones have gps systems and many applications for radio and the iphone has an app for xm radio and the droid does not. The iphone has 200,000 applications to the droid x’s 70,000, but the droid is much newer than apple so that number is increasing over time. So the big question is which phone is better for users. The droid is the number one phone in America now, but is that only because Verizon is a much larger network. What if the iphone came to Verizon, would more people switch over to the iphone and forget about using the droid. Apple software is unbelievable and they make new advances every day, even if they fall behind the droid, they will come up with something better. They always seem to.
