Author: jpb19713

The steroid era of baseball, which lasted 1995 till 2003, saved the league from its own mess that it created. Major League Baseball would be no where near where they are today if it weren’t for players such as Mark Mcgwire, Barry Bonds, and Sammy Sosa. These legends helped save the game of baseball and haven’t been inducted into the hall of fame, the reason why: Steroids. Former and modern day players, managers, executives and writers will say that these legends, along with countless others, ruined the game of baseball by cheating and taking steroids. Though it was legal during the time, it gave a advantage to hitters who took them, as more and more homeruns were getting hit by the year. “In 1994, only 5 players hit 40 home runs, and in the 1996 season 17 hit that many” (Koslosky). Saying that those that took steroids shouldn’t be in the hall of fame as it provides unfair advantage isn’t a strong case as many other players took substances in the league that weren’t steroids, especially hard drugs. There was even a case in the 70’s when multiple players from the Pittsburgh pirates team testified and admitted to buying and doing drugs from dealers, most of which worked in some capacity at the fields. These players deserve to be recognized for what they’ve done for the game, and deserve the same recognition as the other greats

Baseball went on a strike that hurt the league badly in 1994. Not just for who were witnessing a truly historical 1994 season come to an abrupt end when a new contract couldn’t be made between the teams and players. The next season, ticket prices, attendance and viewership of baseball had all started going down hill. Over the next few seasons however, when guys like Sammy Sosa and mark Mcgwire, and Barry bonds were making names for themselves’ did baseball make a comeback. It was almost as if that for every ball they hit out of the park, groups of fans would return with it. Ticket prices nearly doubled, attendance was way up, as well as viewership. Not only was this a great time for the fans, but an even better time for team owners. Team values sky rocketed, and they were able to make more money than they ever had been on merchandise and tickets. Without the steroid era, the mlb would never have been able regain its economic, social, and cultural prowess it once had.

Steroids, although a harmful substance that shouldn’t be abused, is not the worse thing an MLB player has done. Drugs have been a problem in the league for decades, going back decades. Most infamously were the cocaine cases of 1970, in which multiple Pittsburgh pirates players admitted to buying and using cocaine and other drugs from dealers that would often work for the team in some capacity. Even as recently as 2016, a promising young star Jose Fernandez and tragically involved in a boating accident in which him and his friends, all high on cocaine, died. To say cocaine doesn’t provide an advantage is not true, as its proven to greatly increase mental awareness, energy, and hypersensitivity. Also, cocaine is just one of the many substances that has stained baseball throughout history. To say that players who took steroids don’t deserve to be in the hall of fame because they had an unfair advantage is completely hypocritical because is proven to give a clear advantage provided from cocaine.

Barry bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and many other athletes deserve to have their names in Cooperstown. The impact these players made to the league is unquestionable economically and culturally is undeniable. They help made the league relevant and changed how the game was played. America’s favourite past time had been falling of but they a got a breath of fresh air from these players. It’s time for the pettiness to be put aside, and acknowledge these players for the icons they are.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Cocaine.” NIDA, July 2018, www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/cocaine.

Koslosky, John-Erik. “How the Steroid Era Saved Baseball — The Motley Fool.” Google Search, Google, 14 Jan. 2014, 10:34 A.M., www.google.com/amp/s/www.fool.com/amp/investing/general/2014/01. /14/we-cant-ignore-the-steroid-era-it-just-might-have.aspx

 

The gym is a place of hope and perseverance. People of all races, genders, and appearances go to gyms, judgement free and go to better themselves. It’s a place of training the mind and body. People come for numerous reasons, to lose weight, to help blow off steam, or to feel better about themselves.

Towards the end of the year at the gym, there seems to be fewer people there by the week. Wether it is for personal, work or physical reasons, the last few months of the year always to be the time people seem to stop going to the gym. Those who still go and haven’t given up represent what a gym is supposed to be; a place where someone goes to work on their physical and mental toughness, a place of perseverance and hope. People find excuses wether it’s out of self doubt and or the intimidation of the gym. People let their self-doubt get to themselves, and they think that they will never achieve their goals so they find excuses to give up or just quit. But those who stay are saying that they believe in themselves and want to work hard to achieve a goal.

South coast is a very diverse gym, as groups of all races, ages and physiques go to exercise. There’s a group of middle aged woman that come in 4 days a week and they do hour long intense training programs. These woman may not seem at first, but they out of everyone I’ve seen at the gym, they work out the hardest. There’s also the high school and college student groups that come after school, around 2:30. Groups of kids, usually teams from local schools such as bishop Stang and Dartmouth high come and socialize and work off a stressful day of school. There’s the stereotypical groups of people that are at every gym, the buff people that lift absurd amounts of weight, the runners who seem to be able run forever without taking a break, and even a Zumba class that’s offered by the gym. Despite all these differences, the people are kind to each other, some even friends. It’s become habit for many of them to talk to the person who’s working at the front desk or someone they see already there. People will spot for others who are lifting heavy weights or give tips to someone who may need or ask for it. The environment brings out the best in people.

Going to the gym helps lift a toll on both the body on mind. Lifting weights, running, yoga, are all forms of exercise that people do at the gym to improve themselves. Though it’s difficult to keep going to the gym due to life’s many unavoidable obstacles, the gym helps people’s mental health greatly. It’s scientifically proven that exercise not only helps people get healthier and prevent disease, but it helps with stress and depression. “Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. About five minutes of aerobic exercise can begin to stimulate anti-anxiety effects” (Otto, Smitts). Some of the people at the gym said reasons they went were to train for college sports, getting in better shape, and for relieving stress from a long work day. The people believe in themselves, and believe they can work hard to improve themselves, which is exactly what the gym is, a place of hope where with perseverance and faith, one can improve themselves to a person they want to be.

 

“Exercise for Stress and Anxiety.” Anxiety and    Depression Association of America,
ADAA, adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-   anxiety/exercise-stress-and- anxiety.

You did a good job summarizing the article, but you didsn’t write a response. On the text wrestling page on the blog, in the details of this essay on the bottom there’s a multiple ways of responding. For me since I did the same article it made me reflect because I had though sports were always good for schools, which I was proved wrong. Lastly I would recommend you read it over carefully and fix a few grammatical mistakes. You need to make a conclusion as well, other than that though your summary was well done.

This memoir is well written and I can really tell how the author cares for the sport.  The author should have given more detail about the first and last game, and at the least the last game.  He gives a good image of the second game, talking about the penalty kicks and the nerves he was feeling.  He mentions that he thought his team better but never provided an example and if he did, I think the author could have provided evidence as to why he believes his team was better Thanatos the other team.  Other than that and a few minor writing mistakes, the author provides a clear picture of a soccer tournament he played in when he was younger and truly shows how important the sport was to him.

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/what-the-hell-happened-to-darius-miles

In this article, former NBA star Darius Miles talks about his crazy life, from the beginning of his rough upbringing in east St. Louis, his time in the nba during which he dealt with death and mental issues, to his downfall and recovery.  The author and his editor tell of times where they were in East St. Louis and the dangers he faced in the streets, both as an adult and child.  He talks about interactions with nba legends like Shawn Kemp, Alonzo Mounrning and more.  In the end he tells of his issues with deooression and addiction and his best friend helped him move to Florida where he is healthy and sober.  The author gives a very real and honest account of his life, talking about his lowest points in life suffering depression and addiction.  Although the author does use vulgar language and slang, the images and overall story of his life were fascinating and that’s why I would give it a star rating of 8.5 out of 10.

In this article, Amanda Ripley delivers a fair and strong argument on why high schools should get rid of sports and the benefits of doing so.  She argues that schools should focus funding on teachers, supplies, and new equipment.  A school district, Singleton, the author states improved their acamdeics greatly once getting rid of sports from their curriculum.  Although a controversial topic, Ripley delivers a fair and strong argument as to why sports should consider getting rid of high school sports.

This article reaches out to people who believe the school system in America is good and fair, not the underfunded and unfair reality of American schools. With America falling in academic scores, getting rid of sports might hurt at first, but work out in the long run. The Ripley says “I can rattle off the many benefits of high-school sports: exercise, lessons in sportsmanship and perseverance, school spirit, and just plain fun,” (Ripley) but throughout the article, she makes an argument that there is “too much emphasis on sports.” (Ripley) She states that in other countries around the world, high schools focus more on academic success, unlike some schools in America, “Sports are embedded in American schools in a way they are not almost anywhere else.”(Ripley) To make an argument, she did her own study with foreign exchange students and found “in cooperation with an international exchange organization called AFS, nine out of 10 foreign students who had lived in the U.S. said that kids here cared more about sports than their peers back home did.”(Ripley). The author also found that more high school students played then took advanced placement exams like the SAT and ACT. The author then goes on to say that they believe one reason for sports becoming a large part of American school culture is that white Anglosaxon males were responsible for it “The ruling elite feared that all this schooling would make Anglo-Saxon boys soft and weak, in contrast to their brawny, newly immigrated peers.” (Ripley)
The author goes on to mention one specific school district in America, Singleton. They cancelled their sports programs and focused on a more academic focused school. The average of students passing classes was 80% greatly improving from the 50% the year prior. Students and some teachers left the school, but those who stayed said it was a lot easier doing a club sport and focusing on school compared to how it was before.

Another reason to cut high school sports Ripley argues is that its to expensive and the money could be put to better use. It costs more for a school to have a sports team then it does for them to have a class. All the budgets and funds going to high school sports is profound, unimaginable even. To maintain a field for the year would most likely cost a school above ten thousand dollars, at the least. Academics should get the most funding in schools but sadly that’s not the case, as  “schools will spend more money on athletics than they will on academics” (Niedospial)  For example the high school I went to made multiple big decisions while I went there.  They turned the old library into a full art room with new equipment and supplies, allowing the art program at the school to continue, rather than expanding the weight room for athletics.  Another decision I agree with them was building new and essential science labs which will help and allow some students for years learn and expirement in school.  When it comes to school academics come first always, and that’s why I agree with Ripley.

Ripley, Amanda. “The Case Against High-School Sports.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 19 Feb. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/
the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/.

 

Niedospial, Laurel. “If Schools Want to Succeed, Get Rid of Competitive Sports Programs.” POPSUGAR       Tech, 28 Aug. 2017, www.popsugar.com/moms/Why-High-Schools-Should-Get-Rid-Sports-43894372.

After reading my peer review, I thought back to what was an important moment for me that happens in baseball, and I thought back to the time when I first started to be happy again. I told the story of the time I first felt truly accepted in high school, and revised my conclusion.  I chose this specific game because I feel as if it wasn’t a turnping point for me in high school, a turn into the right direction.  I also tried to show the impact that this sport had on me mentioning how it helped relieve stress and my anger, and make close friends and help with my self confidence.

Sports have always been an escape for me whether it was with troubles with my family or troubles in school I always knew I could do like a basketball or baseball to help alleviate the pain and stress of everyday life. I started watching and playing sports at the same I learned how to walk. I grew up with baseball, it had been a steady in presence in my life, and still is. I still have my old Derek Jeter jersey that I used to wear all the time when I was a kid. My life, like everyone else’s, has had many ups and downs to it, but throughout my life, sports have been there for me at the darkest times. Sports was the one thing that helped me. It helped me escape the pain I had felt. I had felt betrayed, angry and sad. I even wanted to quit baseball in high school. I didn’t really like my time at the school I was attending and wanted to do as little possible there. Thankfully, my mother made me tryout.
When the baseball season had started, I was not even looking forward to it. I was still upset with my family situation, and spent a lot of time getting frustrated and angry rather than dealing with it the right way. When we first started practices, I only knew a couple of kids on the team. We only had spent a week at practice with each other, and I had already felt better. I was becoming friends with my teammates, I was using my frustration to help improve my game and use it as motivation. During the middle of the season, I remember one specific game. I had had a particularly bad time the days leading up to the game, between family stuff and school I was really stressed and I was letting it get to me. I had become short tempered and stressed out. The game things changed for me, we were were losing, and I was up next to hit. I was nervous and was thinking negatively about the situation. My coach, who had helped me out in more ways than just baseball, came over to me and said “Hey man, we believe in you, you got this,” which took me back at first. I had never been an a very good player, in fact I was a substitution in the game, not even a starter. But my coach pulling me to the side and telling me that he believed in gave me confidence and helped release the stress I’d felt of the situation. I went up to the batters box and took a deep breath.  I made eye contact with the pitcher is a big 6 foot tall south paw who threw hard. I looked at first pitch zoom by me, strike one.  Another fastball, strike two.  The pitcher got overconfideent and I could tell, he was smirking and shaking off the catchers signs so he could try to strike me out.  I took a deep breath, choked up on the bat and got set in the batters box.  This time I knew it was coming, the pitcher delivered a fastball to the lower outside of the plate and I manage to get the barrel of the bat on the ball.  The ball shot it’s way to the right field gap and I started sprinting down the baseline.  As I’m running I hear a loud “ugh!” from my bench so I look up and that’s when I saw the right fielder standup up and holding the baseball, showing the umpire that he made the divining play to catch the ball.  Game over.  Onviously I was upset but my coach was already at first and told me that he was proud, and that if the ball was three more inches left it would have been at least a double.  That didn’t make me feel much better but i realize that I did give it my best and that I just got unlucky. Though I got out and my team ended up losing, rather than being ridiculed for coming up short by my teammates, my teammates rather encouraged me and told me not to let it drag me down. It made me feel better about losing that my friends weren’t mad, and made me more comfortable with them. The team had given me a second home. I made many friends on that team that I’m still close to today and without them, I wouldn’t know where I would be today. I know it sounds weird that a sport can have such an impact on ones life but it did. It made me feel like I belonged somewhere, and that I was part of something that I had felt I never been a part of before.
Now, years later and I look back at my childhood playing baseball, I appreciate it so much for all the amazing things it has given me. It has given me some of the greatest mentors in my life including coaches and teammates. It has given me friends and helped me become more sociable. It also helped me become more self accountable and helped improve my work ethic. In short, without baseball, and without my high school team and coaches, I would not have turned into the person I am today, and for that I will forever be thankful to the game.

 

Everyone is going through something

By: Kevin Love

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/en-us/articles/kevin-love-everyone-is-going-through-something

Kevin Love starts of by talking about how he’s an introvert and how that led to him being stressed and eventually having a panic attack. He mentions how he “ had to be a man, because that’s he he was always taught. He talks about how he had a panic attack in the game and how he was so confused and went to the hospital to get checked. He was worried about people finding out, then wondered why was he. He then got help from a therapist but didn’t expect much, but was able to get a lot off his chest from talking about his pain after the loss of his grandmother. He says he wrote the article to bring attention to mental health. Like the title says, and the theme that’s mentioned multiple times throughout the article “everyone is going through something.” Which is true. You never know what could be going on in someone’s life that makes them a certain way. He wants people to feel normal that mental health is a serious thing and that we should seek help if needed.  This article is really 8mprotant especially today because Kevin Love is a major public figure and is bringing attention to a very serious issue which is mental health.