Conclusion

I liked blogging in this class, although it was a lot of work. The best part about blogging is that you can just be honest and tell your view on things. Charles Barkley is my favorite sports analyst, because he is funny and so honest. I enjoyed the topics we talked about in class this semester. The issues were new and relevant like Caster Semenya and the gender testing or Serena Williams outburst at the U.S. open. Also the class just made me look at things differently. I never thought about masculinity, femininity, and gender roles that much before. I felt like the last month of class the topics were very serious like racism, homophobia, Aids, and sexuality. I think that you have to be careful anytime you discuss those topics not to get anyone angry. I have to say this class and my practicum are the classes I liked most this semester. I loved the class discussions and wrote most of my blogs around them. I felt like there were a lot of articles to read though. Some of them were interesting, but others were tough for me to understand. The topics were things that everyone could relate to. Also in some classes the professor just lectures the whole time and there is no feedback, but in this class it was nice that feedback was encouraged.

Yao Ming

Yao Ming came over to the United States as a 7'6" twenty one year old center from Asia in 2001. He was the number one pick and a lot was expected of him. So far I think that he has done a great job. He has lived up to the expectations, although he has been injured a lot and only taken Houston past the first round of the playoffs once. He is helping the NBA become a more global game. Every year more and more international players are coming to the NBA. When foreign players come then people from Asia and other places cheer for their player from their home country. In class we were dicussing the Asianization of America in golf on the female women's tour and Yao Ming. The female golf players from Korea are dominating the women's tour. It was unfortunate some of the comments that Jan Stephenson made about Asian players. She was saying that they have taken over the tour. I feel that diversification is a good thing.

Elizabeth Lambert

This is kind of an old story, but the female soccer player Elizabeth Lambert was suspended, because of her actions against BYU soccer players. She hit players in the back, kicked a girl in the face, and even yanked a girl by her ponytail to the ground. Elizabeth has apologized since, but it doesn't seem sincere since she had so many altercations in the game. In class we were arguing if a male did this would people act like this and I say yes. Soccer is a contact sport, but the things Elizabeth did weren't part of the game of soccer. Also a girl in class pointed out that this is the only way that female college soccer can get coverage on ESPN and sadly I agree with her. The only women's soccer coverage that I have ever seen on ESPN was the 1999 U.S. women's team.

Tiger Woods

Tiger Woods is the most marketed athlete in sports. He has contracts with all different types of companies and an excellent image. It was recently found out that Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. I am curious to see how his endorsements and popularity will be affected because of this. I think cheating on your wife is one of the worst things that a person can do. A lot of the women that he slept with probably were only there because of his money and fame. I hope that he deosn't lose too much money and his image remains the same. He made a mistake, but no one is perfect. In twelve years I have never seen Tiger Woods get negative coverage about his personal life until this point.

Aids

I liked our discussion the last class about Magic Johnson and Aids. I am a huge fan of basketball. I didn't start watching basketball until the mid 90's so I didn't ever really see Magic Johnson except for that season he came back in 97 when he was way past his prime. A lot of the things that Mrs. Spencer and the people on the video were saying about Magic being exciting and electrifying were the same things my older brother told me about him. I read Magic Johnson's autobiography and in it he said he slept with many women. He brought awareness about the HIV virus. He encouraged protected sex. The Aids virus had a gay stigma attached before Magic explained that heterosexuals can also get it. I think there is a double standard when it comes to many sexual partners. Men are praised and women are looked down upon. It is amazing that Magic has done so well when people thought that when he contracted the disease it was a death sentence.

Fast Times in the WNBA

I just read the "Fast times in the WNBA" article. The WNBA player salaries are a lot lower than NBA salaries. So are the ratings, attendance, and almost eveything else. I am not a huge WNBA fan, but I watch it sometimes. The WNBA game is like men's college basketball. They play extremely hard. You see people setting screens, ball movement, defense, and a lot of effort. The NBA is a lot different. In the NBA the offense revolves around two or three people and the players don't play as hard, because they are so athletic and the game comes easy to them. I love college basketball especially march madness, because kids play for the love of the game. They aren't playing for money or fame. I feel the same way with the WNBA game. A girl who is in the WNBA went to the same high school as me and she only makes 30,000 dollars a year in the league compared to the NBA which players make at least 385,000. I can't really say it's unfair because the NBA is just more popular. It is built more on indivuals on less on a team concept. Players typically go to wherever the most money is offered to them. The WNBA can't really have higher player salaries, because they don't make the type of revenue that the NBA players make.

Homosexuality

The last class was about homosexuality in sports. Personally I believe in the bible so i think that being gay is wrong, but I don't think that they should be discriminated against or treated differently. Many athletes are scared to admit that they are gay with the result being no professional athlete coming out publicly. A few have came out after retiring like former NBA player John Amaechi. I am strongly opposed to same sex couple adoptions. I think that God made it so a man and woman would be together and have a family. Only men and women can make children. Two men or two females adopting would have a negative impact on the child in my opinion. We learned earlier in the semester how much parents can influence gender. A male child might be messed up from being around two lesbians his whole childhood and think it's right. Even though I disagree with homosexuality and the same sex adopting it still is wrong to discriminate. The only thing that i think people should be judged by is their character. If I had a gay teammate I would accept him as a person.

Sex Sells

Yesterday in class we were talking about female athletes using sex appeal to gain popularity. A great example is Anna Kournikova. She has been one of the most popular female women tennis players in the last ten years despite not winning many tournaments. I don't have a problem with athletes using sex appeal to market themselves. It is a great way to make money and gain fame. At the end of the day sports is a business. Fans are the ones who pay to see athletes. Even the soccer player David Boeckham models. He has a large female fan base that probably wouldn't watch soccer if it were not for him. In marketing class I learned that to be successful in marketing you have to satisfy a consumer need or want. A lot of people want sex appeal in athletes so, if that's what sells I just think the athletes are smart when they model. Why not make millions just for photo shoots?

Racism in Sports Prt. 2

Yesterday in class we had an interesting debate about what happened to the Williams sisters at Indian Wells and if it was racism and if people thought they were right for boycotting the event. I think it was racism and like the other Scott said they stood up for what they believed in. I was surprised that some classmates said it wasn't a big deal and the Williams sisters should play there. For over 200 years my ancestors were enslaved. They were called inferior and whites considered themselves superior. Even after slavery ended blacks were still considered inferior to whites. There was segregation and blacks didn't get the same opportunites as white people. In the last 50 to 60 years things have come a long way. There is no longer segregation and it is against the law to discriminate based on race. So when I see Tiger Woods dominating in golf or even a black general manager it makes me happy, because I know society has come a long way. I cried when Obama got elected, because if you would have asked anyone seventy or eighty years ago if a black man could be president people would have said no, because their not smart enough.

So when you fast forward to Indian Wells and racial slurs are being thrown at Serena it made me sad. The girl in class that said it isn't a big deal and people said people talked about her fathers job can't compare that to how the Williams family was treated. People in class don't realize that for 300 years African Americans were looked down upon and thought less of than whites just because of the color of their skin. They were forced to work for free, beaten, raped, and thought of as property. So when someone that is not black says the N word it is very disrespectful and I am ready to fight them on the spot. When any black person is attacked I feel like they are attacking me too.

Racism in Sports

I just read the Indian Wells article about Venus and Serena Williams. Venus and her father were treated badly in 2001 after Venus withdrew in the semifinals before her match with her sister Serena. The crowd booed the Williams family and made racial remarks towards them. It was so bad that the Williams sisters refuse to play at the Indian Wells tournament today.

One sports figure that I have always looked up to is Jackie Robinson. I am not a baseball fan, so it isn't because of his talent. He went through so many things when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even his own teammates, fans, and coaches were negative towards him. Jackie ignored everyone and just played baseball and was one of the best players in the league. He paved the way for future African Amercians in every sport.

Today racism isn't as bad as back then, but it still exist. Terrelle Pryor has gotten criticized brutally this year. I can't think of any other Ohio State quarterback that has had this much pressure on him. When Donovan McNabb got injured a couple years ago and Jeff Garcia took over fans were very happy. They even started booing McNabb. It didn't make sense, because he got the Eagles to 4 NFC Championships and a superbowl since 2000. Also the only team that has won more games since he has been the quarterback of Philadelphia is New England. Finally some of the things that I have heard people say about Michael Vick have been appauling. I notice it's more with black quarterbacks. Other than that I don't think it is really racism today. Finally Barry Bonds is treated like a criminal for steroids when a lot of players have tested positive including Alex Rodriguez.

Firm but shapely, fit but sexy, strong but thin

I just got done reading the "Firm but shapely," article for class. Pirkko Markula says, "If only slim and toned women are attractive, most women with normal figures are classified as unattractive" (p425). Markula adds, "Consequently, to look attractive in this society, the majority of us (women) have to engage in activities- like dressing, applying makeup, dieting, exercising" (p425). I agree with Markula that a lot of women think like that. I have had female friends, girlfriends, and family that have thought that way. The majority of females that I have known have been insecure. I use to not understand it because, it would be smart, attractive, nice girls and they would say negative things about themselves. For example I had a girlfriend that said she was fat and she had a flat stomach! I think society has created a false image of what is a beautiful female. Almost every woman on television is thin and has on tons of make up. Women should be comfortable with themselves no matter what size they are. I think personality is the most important trait. It was nice to hear that aerobics helped improve the ladies self esteem in the article.

Homecoming

Last Friday I went to two of the homecoming symposium speeches. I went to the one where Nate from the Cleveland Indians spoke in Eppler and I went to the speech in the Student Union Theatre where there was a discussion panel. Nate's speech was about being sucessful. I liked hearing about the things he did to get to his position in Public Relations. He said that he had 3 internships and was working low paying jobs and had non challenging work when he first started for the Indians. He also talked about that there are two sides of pro organizations, the business side and the team operations side. If I worked in the pro's I would work for an NBA team and would want to work in the basketball operations side. I would love to be a scout, coach, or anything working directly with the team.

The discussion panel had seven people who worked in the sport industry. Some of the professionals said that if they could have done college all over again that they would have been more involved by volunteering in the Athletic Office or getting experience in other ways. However I think it's tough to volunteer for positions in college, because it is so expensive and a lot of college students also don't have time like that, because a lot just try to work full or part time to live a simple life. One of the professionals said that it is very important to be professional. Most of the panel touched on how much influence references have in hiring. If they know someone mutual that you know and they ask them about you then they will take the mutual persons recommendation very seriously. Bob Mathakaw said that when he looks at resumes he wants to see other things just besides a degree. Another guy said he doesn't understand when a student doesn't have volunteer work and intenships on his resume, because he said it's easy when your in college. I kind of disagree with him, because he made it like it was so easy to volunteer and intern. I think if you have money then it is, but if you don't then it can be difficult.

Hall of Fame Speech

Last week in class we discussed Michael Jordan's hall of fame speech. It was considered controversial and writers claimed that he put down others. The speech inspired me in a different way. Micahel was talking about people in his life that motivated him. He talked about getting cut from the basketball team in high school and wanting to prove to the coach that he made the wrong decision. Michael even talked about getting inspiration from being the only starter on North Carolina's basketball team not to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was a freshman. He said that he wanted to prove everyone wrong that said that he was only a scorer and never could win an NBA championship. Michael said that he just wanted to prove that he belonged with Bird and Magic. I think it is a great example for anyone about how to think. It is not just for basketball, but anything in life. Michael wanted to be the best and he used everything he could to motivate him to play at the highest level. I loved when he talked about how Bryon Russell trash talked to him when he was retired and how he got his revenge in 1998 in game 6 when the Bulls won the NBA title. I disagree with the media that he is bitter and was petty during his speech. He was just being honest about the way that he thought. In my opinion 95% of basketball is mental and I don't think that Jordan's will, determination, or competitiveness will ever be matched. When you combine that with his athleticism he is the greatest player of all time.

Femininity and Masculinity

Last week in class we talked about Barbie being a role model for girls and femininity. This week I read the WWE article and the Masculinity as Hegemonic article about male's and views on masculinity. In the article, "Wrestling with Masculinity: Messages about Manhood in the WWE," Souliliere says, "Real men are aggressive and violent, men settle things physically, a man confronts his adversaries and problems, and men are winners (p8). I have heard all of those things before and also have heard that men are suppose to be logical, independent, and dominant. In the "Masculinity as Hegemonic Oppression" article Anderson was saying that if men don't live up to the masculine traits or if they possess feminine traits then they are looked at as gay. I think it is unfair to label someone like that, because they don't follow the social norms.

The traits that I have heard in my life before about women are emotional, passive, illogical, dependent, and submissive. I also disagree with those traits. I wouldn't want to have a girlfriend that was dependent and weak. I would want her to be strong, ambitious, independent and maybe even competitive and like sports. I think there are a lot of women who have masculine traits and they are not considered lady like. People should just accept others for who they are instead of trying to categorize them.

Gender

We had an interesting discussion today in class about Caster Semenya. The issue was that people were saying that she was a male, but she says she is a female. Marcus said in class that people were singling her out and I agree with him. I think it's wrong to just give her a gender test and not give the rest of the track runners a test. Another topic in class we talked about was how to divide athletes. We divide them now by male and female, but with transgender and people being born with both private parts I think it's harder to divide them today.

I think that females should be able to compete with males, but males should not be able to compete with females. Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Candace Parker are all examples of females that I think could play at the men's level. The reason that I think males shouldn't be able to play at the women's level is because we have an unfair advantage. Genetically men and womens bodies are made up differently. Male's are usually taller, faster, stronger, and have twice as less fat as women. Plus women's bodies are specially made to carry babies.

The average NBA player is 6'7" and 218lbs. I don't know too many females that are 6'7" and have 30 inch verticals. There are only two women that have dunked in the WNBA ever, Lisa Leslie and Candace Parker. In the NBA everyone can dunk easily. Even I can dunk and I'm only 5'11"! So it would be unfair if an NBA player played in the WNBA. Basketball is just one example, but other sports are like that as well. The way some guys are built is crazy. Guys can lift 225lbs. 25 or 30 times in some sports like football. I don't really see too many females who are that strong. Don't get me wrong there are always exceptions. That's why I think the exceptions like Caster Semenaya should be able to compete in the Men's division if they choose, but Usain Bolt should not be able to race in the Women's division.

Michael Jordan

In class we talked about what we saw in the above picture politically, socially, and culturally. Students said they saw confidence, advertising, rising economy, etc. Michael Jordan was and still is a big influence. A girl in class made a good comment when she said that Michael Jordan brought some playground flashiness to the game. When Jordan came into the league he kind of changed the image of the NBA. He wore Air Jordan shoes, gold chains, and baggy shorts (compared to the other players back then). Michael Jordan would perform gravity defying dunks, and help sell out arenas. Jordan had such a great image. One thing that was great about Jordan was that he was humble and himself. Today a lot of players are arrogant like Kobe Bryant and Lebron James. Jordan would always smile and stick his tongue out and I loved his competitiveness.

Economically no one is close to Jordan. The Air Jordan is one of the most popular brands of shoes. Each pair costs at least 115$. Jordan was easily marketable. I think it is tough to be a great athlete and be well liked, but Jordan was. Jordan won six NBA titles, 10 scoring titles, and 5 MVP awards. The closest athlete today to Michael Jordan is Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods is head and shoulders above everyone in golf and he is the number one athlete today in advertising. Woods has a good image like Jordan. I don't think their will ever be anyone as popular as Mike in basketball again. Kobe is great, but the rape case really hurt him and Lebron is great, but his arrogance makes a lot of people not like him including me. What was different about Jordan was he knew he was the best, but let other people praise him instead of a lot of athletes today who are on themselves.

Below is a link to some of Michael Jordan's best dunks in the slam dunk contest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqPRdzrjWpU

The Pros the Pros Would Pay to See

Last week in class I read the article, "The Pros the Pros would pay to see" by Sports Illustrated (2004). Sports Illustrated asked 600 athletes in baseball, basketball, and football which athlete they would pay to see. The top 5 were Tiger Woods, Barry Bonds, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Vick, and Serena Williams. It is amazing to me how much different that list would probably be today. Tiger Woods and Serena would most likely still be in the top 5, but I don't know about the other 3. Barry Bonds broke Hank Aarons home run record, but he is accused of lying to a federal jury and using steroids. Michael Vick served two years in federal prison for dog fighting. He was released by the Falcons and lost over one hundred million dollars. Both of those athletes images are severely hurt right now. Finally I don't think Shaq would be on the list because so many other NBA players have surpassed him like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, and DyWayne Wade. I don't even think he's the best center anymore. I would take Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, or Yao Ming.

There were a couple intersting quotes in the article. In one quote Donovan McNabb talks about Michael Vick. Donovan says, "He's got so much ability; he can throw, he can run, but I don't do it as he does. Everybody talks about stats--passing yards, rushing yards--and how he's an exciting player, but the thing about Mike is, he's a winner. Forget the numbers and just look at his record [23-11-1 career]. He doesn't get enough credit for the fact that he's a winner (McCallum, 2004, p. 3). I think it is interesting because now Vick just recently signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and is Donovan McNabb's backup.

Finally there were a few quotes from athletes about Serena Williams. Gerald Wallace says, "I'll pick Serena Williams, but only if she has on that tight little outfit she usually wears (McCallum, 2004, p. 3). Mike McKenzie says, I wouldn't mind paying too see Serena... if she has the leopard suit on (McCallum, 2004, p.3). I agree with all of the athletes about Serena.

Introduction

My name is Scott Baker and I am a senior at Bowling Green State University. My major is Sport Management with an emphasis in Enterprise and a minor in General Business. I plan on graduating next August after I complete an internship in the summer. I have also been thinking about going to graduate school and getting my masters right after I graduate, but am not sure yet. I want to get my masters eventually unless I get a real great job without it.

When I first started college I had no idea what to major in. I didn't even really want to go to college at first. I was only 18. My parents and brother forced me to go. So I went to Wright State in Dayton for a year and a half and did so bad there that I got kicked out. I use to never study and was doing things that I should not have done. Then I decided that I wanted to major in Sport Management and wanted to go to Bowling Green, but my GPA was so low that I couldn't transfer. So I went to Owens for a year and did a lot better. My GPA was over a 3.0 at Owens. I then went to the University of Toledo for a couple semesters and finally transfered to BG last year. I learned a lot from that experience. Now I know how to study and developed a work ethic. I am now 100% dedicated to school and my future career. I am still only 22 years old. I hope that I can get my masters before I'm 25.

Before I was in college I played basketball, football, track, and tennis. My favorite sport by far though is basketball and I would love to work for an NBA team or college basketball team someday.

If I could see one male athlete today it would have to be Derrick Rose. I love the way that he plays the game. He is big for a point guard at 6'3" 196 lbs., fast, great ballhandler, unselfish, and knows how to run a team. What surprises me the most about Derrick is his maturity at such a young age. He is only 20, but is very humble.

My favorite female athlete is Serena Williams. She is so powerful. It's crazy how hard she hits the ball. I think her and her sister have easily been the most dominant females in any sport in this last decade. The other reason I like her is the way that her body is built. I would love to play her one on one.

My goals for this class are to learn, have fun, and hopefully get an A.