Micheal Sam

I agree with Tony Dungy's position on Michael Sam. I can understand how as a coach you wouldn't want the distraction that comes with a single player that could possibly damage a who team. And I personally would do that for any player regardless of their sexual orientation because bottom line its a production business , if you can produce then we need you , if you hinder production then we don't. But I do also agree that Michael Sam does deserve an opportunity in the NFL. He was the SEC's Defensive player of the year and had a great career at Missouri and at the end of the day its about who can play football so if Michael Sam can prove that nothing else should matter .

Senior Year or 1st Pick : Young would've stayed

Many collegiate athletes especially those who carry the burden of being  one of the best in the nation are often faced with a decision of should they finish their college careers or should they go to the pro's. In basketball it is most prevalent where athletes can leave after just one year , while in football you must  have been in school for at least three years. Often after having good seasons many of these athletes particularly black athletes decide to opt out of their senior season to head for the money and hopes of a prosperous pro career . But in a article I read about one of the greatest Quarterback in college football is Vince Young. The former BCS national championship winner and Heisman trophy runner up , said in an interview if he could go back he would've stayed at Texas if he knew he wasn't going to be taken first by his hometown team the Houston Texans. He eventually would be the 3rd overall pick , but he felt his career would've been much better had he been taken first. SO what I began to think about as a college football player my self , what's more important  finishing my senior year and getting degree , or go and chase the millions of dollars that I could have a chance to earn?




http://deadspin.com/vince-young-wishes-he-had-returned-to-texas-for-his-sen-1624603322

Redskins show support of Ferguson

There were so many headlines to come out of Monday night's exhibition match between the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns you would have thought it was a regular season game. The one that caught my eye the most was what the Redskins secondary decided to do as they were introduced, not Johnny flipping the bird or RGIII still not learning how to slide (Seriously! Can somebody teach the guy?).

As the Redskins secondary came out of the tunnel, they all had both arms raised in the air, also known as the international signal of surrendering and being unarmed. This, of course, is in light of the incidents that have been occurring in Ferguson, MO the last two weeks. On August 9th, Michael Brown, an 18 year-old African-American boy was shot dead by a police officer. I'm sure most of you know the story by now but it is an issue that has swept the nation's attention. There has been both positive and negative backlash of the actions of these players. Some people like they are silently protesting while others think that sports and politics should be kept separate. What is your view?

Tony Steward

The Tony Steward situation is one that can be easily associated with race. In this situation a mans temper and competitiveness got the best of him which led to the death of an a person. I feel that Tony Steward got off easy and if he was African American that he would of got banned from the sport and also be facing jail time. An Example of race would be football player Plaxico Burress who served jail time because of a gun charge in which he shot himself. Would he have served time if he wasn't Black?

Mo'ne Davis Throws Like a Girl

NY Times Mo'ne Article

The New York times article on Mo'ne Davis tells the historic performance she has put on in the little league world series.  Never has there been a girl pitcher to win a game at the Little League World Series before Mo'ne stepped on the mound.  Not only has she won two straight games, but she has dominated with two complete game shutouts allowing only a few hits in both games.  For basketball there is the WNBA sister to the NBA.  For other Tennis there is the ATP, and WTA.  For baseball the female equivalent is softball.  Mo'ne is dominating in a sport that is not even an option for girls to play.  There have been record crowds watching her pitch, and as the article's headline states "A Mound Becomes a Summit."  There have been girls that have played in the LLWS before, but for the first time a girl has towered above the competition.  Could we one day see a woman in the MLB?

Tony Stewart

It should come as no surprise to the sports world that Tony Stewart reacted to the race in the way he did. Kevin Ward, Jr. did not deserve to die over what we consider a very competitive sport.  History shows us that Tony has always had  hot headed temper, and  in the past he's gone as far as to throw his helment into someone's race care while passing. Many people myself included believe that if Tony was a football or basketball player that he we not only be banned from the sport, but would face extreme criminal charges. I think it's easy to relate his lack of consequences to race. Look at the Michael Vick case, a black man had dogs that were being trained to fight other dogs, he spent time in jail, lost his endorsements, couldn't play, and had to fight his way back into the NFL... Now we have Tony Stewart who "accidentally"  kills a man that everyone else on the track was able to avoid, not facing criminal charges for vehicular manslaughter. It's a little backwards to me. I think he sould be doing more than sitting out of a few races.


Tony Stewart Article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index.ssf/2014/08/nascars_tony_stewart_to_sit_ou.html

Tony Stewart and the Bravado of NASCAR

http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/08/13/driver-who-witnessed-tragedy-tony-stewart-did-everything-in-his-power-to-avoid-kevin-ward-jr/

The link I found above tells dirt track racer Cory Sparks perspective.  His perspective is important to the story because he narrowly avoided hitting Kevin Ward Jr. just before Tony Stewart did.  In his words "Tony did everything he could to turn down away from Kevin."  While this article is a defense of Tony Stewart, most anything else I have read or heard has casted Stewart as a murderer, and attacked the sport of NASCAR.

I have been a fan of NASCAR since I was a little kid.  My dad used to take me to short track NASCAR races such as Dover, Martinsville, and Charlotte motorspeedway to name a few.  Though I haven't been to a Sprint series (highest level of racing) race in over 10 years I still go out to Late Model (think of it as D-league) racing with my dad at least once a year down in the south where racing is very popular.  Unlike what most of the public perceives a NASCAR fan to be, I am not a confederate flag waving, buck tooth, southerner that lives in a camper that travels race track to race track.  Contrary to popular belief, you can like NASCAR, and still be a tennis coach, graduate college, embrace diversity, and have a full set of teeth.

All that being said I have seen Tony Stewart race since he was a rookie with the two yellow stripes on the back of his car to differentiate him from the rest of the veterans.  Tony goes by "smoke" and he embodies the bravado that encapsulates NASCAR's stars.  The biggest star in the sport Dale Earnhardt, who died at Daytona during a race, went by the nickname "the intimidator."  "The King" Richard Petty wears a cowboy hat everyday of his life.  The nicknames speak to the machismo of auto racing.  Imagine James Harrison, Hines Ward, Bruce Bowen, Patrick Beverly, Yasiel Puig, or Brandon Merriweather being the most popular guys in their sport.  There is a large grey area in the sport of NASCAR where payback and bad blood dictate whether or not you put a guy driving 200 MPH into a retaining wall.  The crashes are spectacular and it is part of what draws an audience to the track.

When I was really young one of the first memories I had of racing was when a driver at Martinsville was turned into the wall.  He got out of his car and met the guy who crashed him out in the middle of the track.  He proceeded to reach into the guys car and try to throw some punches at the man behind the wheel.  It was in broad daylight, and no one questioned what was going on.  There was no suspension based on the driver's actions although he put himself and the other driver in harms way.  It was all just part of the sport.  If you cannot leave the bench in a NBA game during a fight without being suspended it would make sense for a driver to at the very least be subject to a penalty for vacating his race car to punch another driver in the face.

What happened with Kevin Ward Jr. on the dirt track was tragic.  The video of Ward dying before our very eyes is disturbing.  There have been deaths, and serious injuries to NASCAR drivers in the past and they all know it's part of the risk when they choose to hop in a race car, but nothing this damming has ever happened to the sport in all its history.  No one knows what was in Tony Stewart's heart before he killed Kevin Ward Jr.  There are no criminal charges, and the video is inconclusive as to whether he was trying to avoid Ward or trying to run over him.  Tony Stewart has a history of having a tempor but that does not immediately classify him of being a murderer when Ward is the one who risked his life by getting out of his car to confront Tony Stewart in the middle of a bunch of speeding cars.  Other drivers stand behind Stewart saying they barely avoided Ward in his black driving suit at nighttime when the race was happening.  The death of Kevin Ward Jr. has put the spotlight on NASCAR, and the response has to be strong.   Rules should be implement to increase the safety of drivers.  Certainly no driver should ever step out of their car to confront another driver ever again.

As for me I stopped following the sport religiously years ago in elementary school when my mom sold my mini diecast NASCAR collection at our yard sale for 25 cents a car.  I still know the familiar drivers names, and when I go to the track with my dad I have a good time.  I will remember cheering for Bill Elliott "Awesome Bill from Dawsonville" in his sweet looking McDonalds #94 car, racing my mini cars down my driveway, and spending father son time at the race track.  Most who are unfamiliar with the sport see it as a bunch of rednecks full of bravado crashing each other out and taking left turns.  The Tony Ward Jr. incident is tragic, but for me it is not the lasting impression of what this sport is.  For those who have not followed anything NASCAR before this only have this horrible accident that they associate with the sport, and that saddens me.

--Eric Horowitz

Bill Elliott's "Mac Tonight" car. AKA coolest car ever!