"College Athletes Move Concussions Into the Courtroom"

(Derek Owens of Central Arkansas)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/30/sports/ncaafootball/college-players-move-concussions-issue-into-the-courtroom.html?_r=1&hp



     This article, by George Vecsey, explains how Derek Owens was hit after receiving a punt during a game.  He was hit so hard that he received a concussion.  Despite this, he immediately got up and headed to the sidelines.  Vecsey didn't just "get his bell rung" but actually he will unfortunately never be allowed to play a contact sport again.  Before all of Vecsey's concussions he was a three-sport athlete who got A's.  After, his grades fell drastically and he had much trouble with memorization.  The article also discussed a suit filed in the US District Court which represents Owens and a few other players.  Many people, including NFL players claim that the college leagues were negligent in handling brain trauma.  The suit has grown to include concussions in sports other than football.  I hope that the league will do something to eradicate dangerous hits.  I like football a lot and it is always entertaining to see a big hit, yet many athletes are getting hurt and in many cases it is ending their careers.
     The author appealed to the emotions of his readers by discussing Owens and how his football hopes were dashed by these concussions and the league has done little to help.  Like me, I am sure many of the people who read this article felt bad for Owens and the other athletes discussed.  It convinced me that the rules must be amended.  Football can still be violent, which is what fans want, but that doesn't mean people have to get hurt.

U.K. Public Workers Begin Biggest Strike in Decades

http://www.salon.com/2011/11/30/border_staff_teachers_join_one_day_uk_strike/

     This article, by David Stringer, discusses the strike occurring in the U.K.  According to the article, "U.K. border staff joined teachers, hospital workers and weather forecasters Wednesday in Britain's largest strike in decades".  Labor unions claimed that up to 2 million public sector staff joined the strike also making this strike the largest one since the Winter of Discontent in 1979.  The protest was due to the "government demands that public sector staff work longer before receiving a pension and contribute more money each month", sharp public spending cuts, and pay rises will be limited to 1% through 2014.  The protest cause many airline delays and many of the protesters wore t-shirts saying, "Get Angry and Fight Back".  In a way this protest relates to the "Occupy" movement in the Unites States.  They are similar in the fact that they are extremely popular.  In a way though, unlike the "Occupy" movement, the protest in the U.K. appears to have a major amount of people that have a reason for protesting yet many of those in the U.S. protest appear to be protesting without reason.
     Stringer used pathos by appealing to the emotions of his readers.  He made them feel bad for those that are protesting.  He appeared to display his bias by hinting that he wants the protesters to be successful.  He did so by getting direct quotes from protesters that make the reader want to help them.  For example one woman said, "I'm worried about my pension. I'm worried about my son's future".  This causes the reader to feel sympathy for these people.

     

Workers Feeling Squeezed by the NBA Lockout

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/sports/basketball/in-newark-nba-lockout-costing-arena-workers-much-needed-income.html


     This article discussed the problem that many of ticket-takers, security guards, ushers, and concessionaires are struggling with due to the NBA lockout.  Simply, they are out of a job and many of them are having a difficult time making ends meet.  Many of these jobs don't pay particularly well, yet the fact that the workers aren't getting payed at all is most definitely a problem.  The article also provided many examples such as Scott Gold, who works at Prudential Center supervising the ushers.  Gold talked about how his job helped pay bills, especially around the holidays.  The reason that I chose this article is because I was actually thinking the same thing.  I wondered who the NBA lockout would affect, especially those that are affected directly, like all of the workers at the arena.
     The author made me have a lot of sympathy for all the workers out of a job.  I felt bad for all these people and it gives just another reason to hurry up and fix the lockout.  Before reading this article, I couldn't have cared less when the NBA lockout was resolved.  I enjoy a Celtics game once in a while but I am not much of a fan of basketball.  After reading the article, I was convinced that the owners and players must resolve the lockout in order to help these people.

Legal Battle Ignites Over Jesus Statue in Montana

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/us/in-montana-jesus-statue-is-focus-of-legal-battle.html?hpw


     The article discusses a debate over whether a six-foot statue of Jesus Christ should be allowed to remain on Whitefish Mountain Resort, which is federal property.  The statue was erected over 50 years ago "by the local Knights of Columbus chapter in honor of the soldiers from the 10th mountain Division who told of seeing similar shrines in the mountains of Italy during World War II".  The statue is causing much controversy though due to the legality of such a symbol.  An atheist group claims that the statue is in violation of a constitutional principle of separating church and state since it sits on federal property.  I am a Catholic so obviously I have no problem with the statue remaining where it is but I do understand the arguments of the atheists and other religious groups.  For example, I would probably want a Buddha statue to be removed,  although I wouldn't care too much.  The statue represents Jesus Christ obviously, yet i think it represents even more than that.  It represents what WWII (and other war) veterans did for our country and the memories that the are forced to hold for helping their country.  They should decide whether or not the stature should remain.  Nonetheless, the statue is significant so I believe it should stay.
     I think the author did an excellent job in providing both sides of the argument.  He wrote about the atheists who wanted to remove the statue and the Kalispell Chapter of the Knights of Columbus who want the statue to stay.  This strategy of presenting the story to the reader was effective because it allowed the reader to make a decision.  I spoke about my opinion in this blog and provided my argument  but I am sure their are many counter arguments that could be presented.

Hip Procedure Grows Despite Doubt

     
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/health/hip-impingement-grows-popular-but-remains-unproven.html?_r=1&hp


     The article, by author Gina Kolata, discusses hip impingement or bone shaving surgery.  In this type of surgery bumps and irregular shapes in the hip bone are shaved away in an effort to prevent the hip from rubbing against soft tissue in the joint, which would cause tendons to fray and muscles to tear.  According to the article many, many athletes, including Tyson Gay and Alex Rodriguez have done the procedure and it is growing in popularity.  Nonetheless, many people, including surgeons and doctors, believe that the procedure is unnecessary and does nothing to help athletes.  Although many have said that the surgery has helped them, they might just think so.  Actually, it hasn't even proven to be effective even though so many super-star athletes are doing it.  personally, pro athletes have a lot of money, so, even if the procedure doesn't work, it won't effect them.  Although, there could be negative health effects that the doctors and surgeons do not know of yet.
     Kolata did a great job in questioning the procedure and debating if it is a good decision.  This allowed reader to see both points of view yet it was easy to see that Kolata thinks hip shaving surgery is unnecessary and could be a risk to a persons health.  She hinted this throughout the article with rhetorical questions and suggestions of doubt.  This strategy did not fully persuade me yet it gave me new opinions and ideas.

Secret Service Says bullet hit White House

http://www.salon.com/writer/associated_press/

     According to the article, "The Secret Service says a bullet hit an exterior window of the White House and was stopped by ballistic glass".  Also, some rounds of ammunition were found on the White House property along with an AK-47b that was found in the area.  The person suspected for the suspected for the felony is Oscar Ortega-Hernandez and there is a warrant out for his arrest.  Hopefully the government will be able to quickly find this man and lock him up.

     The author of the article was extremely brief in his approach.  This was effective in giving the reader the information very quickly yet I would have liked a bit more information on the incident.  This approach also made the accident appear somewhat menial in the whole scheme of things and it made it seem that the president in his family were in no danger at all.  If this was not true than the only other option was that the author of the article doesn't really care about the event, but I highly doubt that.  

The Natural

     The Natural by Bernard Malamud is an inspiring novel about Roy Hobs, a character who appears heroic up until the end of the novel yet encounters countless problems in his quest to be "the best there ever was in the game".  The book, written in 1952, was made into a movie that I remember watching when I was little.  I don't remember much from the movie except for the iconic Roy Hobbs played by Robert Redford.  In a way I was glad that I didn't remember the movie so that it wouldn't spoil the novel for me.  Although it was Malamud's first book, I felt that it was well written and I am sure that most people would agree as The Natural is one of the most famous baseball-related books of all time.  The book follows Roy Hobbs in his attempt to reach the majors, except for skipping over 15 years, which placed much emphasis on the fact that Roy was very old when he finally made it to the bigs.  The exception of this 15 year period was caused by the largest problem Roy faced, one that affected him all throughout the book, and even in the end.  First off, at the beginning of the novel Roy is a young man who hopes that he will one day (as I mentioned previously) be the best in the game.  He is on his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs and everything is going well until he meets a girl on a train en route to Chicago.  As innocent as this girl, Harriet, appears, she actually is deranged in a way that causes her to purposely shoot Roy for no reason other than to prevent him from being the best there ever was.  About 15 years later Roy shows up to Pop Fisher, coach of the utterly failing New York Knights.  At 34 years old, Roy Hobbs is looked upon with disgust by most people and considered too old...but when Roy finally gets his chance to play he wows everyone with his "natural" skill.  Yet not all is good for Roy as he encounters several relationship problems but all along he loves Memo, the niece of Pop.  Other than this, Roy falls into a slump, gets a women pregnant, eats so much that he has to go to the hospital, and strikes out causing his team to lose the pennant.  In the end Roy almost can't handle the fact that he could have been in the majors since he was 20 had it not been for Harriet.  In the end Roy visits the stingy judge, who is the owner of the Knights and has been paying Roy very little even though he is the best player on the team.  Roy beats up the judge and Gus, a man Roy is jealous of, and calls Memo a whore.  He also sees a newspaper claiming that there was a suspected sellout, meaning that Hobbs had lost the game on purpose to make more money.  This was not true but there is nothing for Hobbs to do but weep.  In fact the last sentence of the book occurs after a newspaper boy asks Roy if the sellout is true: "When Roy looked into the boy's eyes he wanted to say it wasn't but couldn't, and he lifted his hands to his face and wept bitter tears".

     The ending was so tragic since I was imagining so many other endings that could have occurred. For example, I figured Roy would have hit a home run to win the pennant for the Knights.  This would have been the perfect happy ending since the whole book appeared to lead up to this point.  Roy insisted that he go in the game to hit, and I was sure he would hit a home run to win the game, even though he was still injured.  Despite that, "He struck out with a roar".  It was such a disappointment.  When Roy wasn't the hero in the end, I figured that he would at least end up marrying Memo rather than calling her a whore and leaving her for good.  Roy Hobbs ended up with nothing...no women to love, not much time left in his life for baseball, not much money, a scandal that scarred his fame, and so much more.  The line that captured Roy Hobbs and the character he represented was the last line on page 230 and it read:  "He [Roy] thought, I never did learn anything out of my past life, now I have to suffer again."  The Natural, as the author of the introduction puts it, is an antiheroic tale about a baseball player whose ambitions and desires are constantly thwarted".  Roy Hobbs wants to be the best, yet he never will be and he doesn't realize this until the end of the book when everything appears to take a turn for the worse.

     The Natural was such a sad novel as I felt bad for Roy Hobbs since he was such a confident, seemingly nice, ballplayer who, although quite arrogant, loved the game of baseball and wanted his team to win no matter what.  Don't get me wrong, Roy did care about other things, particularly Memo, but it just didn't turn out for him.  I greatly enjoyed the book and I would recommend it to anyone, as it involves baseball, romance, and a gut-wrenching story that both inspires and saddens readers. 

"In Tebow Debate, a Clash of Faith and Football"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sports/football/in-tebow-debate-a-clash-of-faith-and-football.html?pagewanted=1&hp

     The article discusses the debates over whether Tim Tebow is a good quarterback or not and whether his religious views should be openly displayed.  I enjoyed the article because there has been so much hype around Tebow since his college days and I have always wondered if he would be successful in the NFL.  Personally, I figured he wouldn't do too well because college football is a lot different than the pros.  Nonetheless, Tebow has been doing well this season since becoming the starter for Denver.  As a Catholic I think he is doing a good job in being truthful about his faith and I feel that there is no problem with him openly displaying his religious views.

     It was extremely difficult to see which side of the debates that the author of the article took a side on.  This provided the article with a fair discussion of the debates surrounding Tebow and let the reader make a choice based on the information.  Due to this lack of bias I think the reader is able to use the evidence within the article to decide whether Tebow should display his religious views and if Tebow is a good NFL quarterback.  In most articles that I have read in the past there has been clear bias by the author along with countless hints and suggestions displaying his or her opinion, yet with this article I really couldn't find much that proved the perspective of Greg Bishop, the author.  This strategy was useful for the subject being discussed and caused the article to be both long and enjoyable.

"A Champion Who Won Inside the Ring and Out"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/08/sports/joe-frazier-a-champion-who-won-inside-the-ring-and-out.html?hp

     I heard about the death of Joe Frazier, the famous boxer, on TV and I wanted to find out more about him and this article was able to provide me with a good amount of information.  The article discussed the many fights that Frazier was in with Muhammad Ali and the author also briefly spoke about the life of Frazier and where he came from.  I enjoyed the article and I think the author did an excellent job in glorifying Frazier.

     The author of the article, Dave Anderson, praised Joe Frazier and the influence he has had in boxing.  He spoke of Frazier as more than just a boxer, but also a class act who was respectful of all people, even his most dangerous opponent, Ali.  In comparing Ali and Frazier, Anderson even wrote "I've always believed that each at his best, Joe Frazier, who died Monday night at the age of 67, was the better fighter.  And the better man."  He appealed to the emotions of the reader by writing about memories in Joe's life such as when he was a little kid picking vegetables in Beaufort, S.C.  This made the reader sad yet it also made the reader feel that Joe Frazier made a big difference in the world of not only boxing, but also sportsmanship.  

Peyton Manning: Neck Healing Slowly

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7185916/peyton-manning-indianapolis-colts-wants-play-11-feasible

     Although Peyton Manning had neck surgery on September 8 he and Jim Irsay believe that "The Manning Era isn't over in Indianapolis".  Manning believes that he will return to practice late this season.  He may be healing up well yet Manning is old and the Colts have some big decisions to make.  First off, if Indy gets a high draft pick next year than they have to decide what quarterback to draft as Manning's heir in the future.  They definitely a good quarterback if they are willing to contend because as of right now their record is 0-8 with quarterback Curtis Painter under center.  Personally, I would have to say that I would like Manning to come back yet In a way I hope he doesn't because of the rivalry between him and Tom Brady.

     The author of the article does a good job of appealing to the emotions of the reader and making them feel bad for the Colts and Peyton Manning.  Obviously he hopes that Peyton Manning comes back and he may in fact be a Colts fan.  His use of many quotes from Irsay and Manning supported the article and provided evidence in regard of his opinion.

Punishing Poverty

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/01/opinion/punishing-poverty.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=punishing%20poverty&st=cse

     According to the article some states and cities, including New York City, are "inflicting punitive measures on people who seek government help".  The author provided several examples of this including how Rick Perry passed a law for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program which required people to submit a urine sample and pass a drug test.  Also, New York City insists on electronic fingerprints by people applying for food stamps.  This often causes people to not receive food as they are afraid to give their fingerprint.  

     I thought the author did an excellent job in persuading the reader that cities and states must stop making laws and such that deter the needy from receiving benefits such as food stamps.  I don't think there is anything wrong with letting all the poor people in the US to receive such benefits.  Once in a while there might be some jerk who falsely receives benefits by pretending to be poor yet that will be on his conscience and I am sure that wouldn't happen often.