Salary Cap Questions

                All of the major sports in the United States have a salary cap.  A salary cap is the limit that a team can spend on their roster for the given sport.  Some major sports that have a salary cap are the National football League, National Basketball association, and the National Hockey League.  The biggest sport in the U.S to go in the opposite direction and refrain from having a salary cap is Major League Baseball.  While this remains one of the largest revenues in today’s economy, does it have integrity?  Sports are supposed to be the cohesive bond formed by a team that has a common goal in winning a championship.  A fine line is drawn between this, and the current situation in professional baseball.  Teams are able to spend as much money desired in order to win.  Where is the satisfaction in that? Because of this, “athletes” take the most money offered to them and throws every genuine athlete’s dream out the window.

                From a personal standpoint, growing up as a kid there was only one thing on my mind.  That one thing was winning sports games.  To this day there is no desire in any fiber of my being to play the beautiful games such as football basketball or lacrosse for money.  The demeanor and actions of today’s professional athletes are ridiculous and utterly unacceptable.  Their actions pollute the minds of aspiring children looking to make their career out of their God given talents in which they were blessed with. 

Money is an obvious incentive in landing spots for athletes in today’s day and age.  However, the integrity of the game and their motives remain a glaring issue.  A successful team should not be labeled by their respective owner’s checkbook.  It should be labeled and exemplified by executives and players that share a common goal to win games and compete for not only one championship, but multiple ones.  The MLB should enforce a strict salary cap in order to balance the athletes on various different teams in order to make the league more competitive and help to avoid the same teams from winning the championship year in and year out.  They should adopt the strategic salary cap issues from the NFL and NBA in order to make baseball more competitive and ultimately more fun to watch.     

The Big Three

 

                This topic is not so much a controversial topic, however it is an interesting one nonetheless.  The combining of arguably three of the most dynamic, athletic, and well known players in the entire National Basketball Association on one team without a doubt raised eyebrows.  The summer of 2010 was known as the most potent free agency period in the history of the game.  However, in July, it changed and is now known as the summer that put together possibly the greatest NBA team in history.  The Miami Heat were beneficiaries of not only resigning their superstar and finals MVP Dwyane Wade, but also the signing of prolific scorer and athlete LeBron James, as well as signing an all-star power forward from the Toronto Raptors Chris Bosh.  The commissioner of the league David Stern was a bit skeptical at first for the well being of the NBA.  Having these superstars on one roster only is almost pure domination.  However, there was nothing that he could do and the three were signed to contracts and were the newest members of the Miami Heat. 

                A glaring question when rumors began to float around was that how were the Heat going to pay these players?  These players all had one thing in common.  That was the desire to not only win one NBA championship, but to win multiple ones.  As a result, they all decided to take pay cuts in their contracts in order to make these signings possible.  For LeBron James, this decision was not so simple.  While being courted by multiple different teams he never gave any indication as to where he was leaning on choosing.  Unlike any other athlete in sports history, he held a press conference in order to make his decision.  In his previous city, he was not only an athlete.  He brought hope to the entire city of Cleveland as a member of the cavaliers. He was their states only hope in bringing a championship to the city, and also economic boom to the city.  His play was so electrifying that it brought business to the entire city.  Fans would shell out ridiculous amounts of money to see him play.  Jersey sales were through the roof keeping Cleveland afloat during these tough economic times.  James’ decision to leave Cleveland and play in Miami literally brought riots throughout the streets.  There were burnings of his jersey, tearing down of billboards and absolute chaos.  Owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and founder of Fathead Dan Gilbert was furious about his decision.  As a result, he lowered the price of all LeBron James Fatheads to an astounding $17.41 to resemble the birth year of American traitor Benedict Arnold.  This is not a child we are talking about here.  This is a multi-million dollar business man with a multi-million dollar corporation.  Gilbert also made it known to the press that his Cavaliers would win an NBA championship before James was able to win one with his new teammates in South Beach.  However, this was already proven false due to the winning of the 2012 NBA championship by the Miami Heat while Cleveland remains at the bottom of the league mainly due to the departure of James.  The Heat look to be making a prominent run to repeat as champions this year and are currently riding a 27 game win streak which is 6 wins away from the all time record set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1971-1972 season.          

Ray Lewis

From a football standpoint, Ray Lewis is arguably and most likely the best athlete to play his position in the sport of football.  He changed the game with his play on thefield, as well as his motivational speaking off the field.  He even created a dance which is now called the “Ray Lewis dance” and he performed it before every game of his career in order to mentally prepare himself, as well as provide a spark to his teammates.  His teammates would circle around him and when he was finished would all convene around the team captain.  From a personal standpoint, watching the dance and this man gives me chills.  He has always been an inspiration to me because of the fact that my entire life, I played the same position as him.  His seventeen year professional career is more than I have played in my entire life.  Because of this, I was able to watch him play football on Sundays for the duration of my life.  Ray Lewis is undoubtedly a future hall of famer.  He ended his career with two super bowl titles, super bowl MVP award, as a defensive player, two defensive player of the year awards, thirteen pro bowl selections, seven first team all pro selections, and three all pro second team selections.  He holds the record for the following statistics, most pro bowls by any player for his position, most selections as an all pro in his position, most games started at his position, most interception return yards at the middle linebacker position, and most tackles in a postseason at any position with fifty-one.  He was also the quickest player to reach the twenty sack and twenty interception club as well as the thirty sack and thirty interception club.  He is also the only player in the history of the National Football League to reach the forty sack and thirty interception club.  His final statistics were 2,061 tackles, 41.5 sacks, and 31 interceptions.  His stats speak for themselves.  The man is an absolute menace on the football field and will never be forgotten.  Unfortunately, this is not the only reason he will never be forgotten.

Following his super bowl victory in 2000, Ray was caught up in a bit of a mess.  In Atlanta a fight occurred between him and his friends and another group of people in which two deaths were a result.  Following the incident, Lewis and his two friends Reginald Oakley, and Joseph Sweeting and were later indicted with murder and aggravated assault charges.  That night, it has been said that Lewis was wearing a white suit to an Atlanta night club; however, this suit was never found.  Also, one of the victims blood was found in Lewis’ limousine. In order to get his charges dropped, Lewis’ lawyer was able to write up a plea agreement in which Lewis would testify against his friends Oakley and Sweeting, and plead guilty to a  misdemeanor of obstruction of justice.  Later that year, his two friends were acquitted of charges as well.  While it is hard to actually tell what happened that night, many people believe that Lewis is not sharing all the information he knows about the occurrences that night.  Also, many believe his is guilty.  This remains one of the largest controversies the NFL has had to face up to date. As a result of his affiliation with the case, Lewis as sentenced to 12 months of probation in which during this time of course he was not allowed to consume either alcoholic beverages or drugs.  Lewis was also fined by the league for 250,000 dollars, which remains today to be the largest fine to any player excluding the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs.  Lewis definitely paid for whatever role he played that night and it should be left at that.  This unfortunately is not the case.  People still hold this incident over his head to this day, 13 years later.  An important thing to remember and what it boils down to, is in the United States of America, it is common sense and simply stated that every citizen is innocent until proven guilty.  Since Lewis was never proven guilty, he should be considered an innocent man and his career should not be tarnished.

 

Ray Lewis should be considered an inspiration for athletes everywhere.  His motivational speaking as well as his play on the field exemplifies leadership, and true passion not only to the sport of football, but also to whatever anyone is interested.  Lewis preaches about effort and faith in God and applying that to everything you do.  He spends time speaking to children on these topics, and will always be considered as one of the greatest to put on a pair of shoulder pads, and play the game of football

Athletes and Morals in Today's World.

Everyone has a different opinion in how a person should act.  Some feel that a person should treat others how they would like to be treated.  Some believe it does and matter how they act.  And some people are in between the spectrum of those two views.  However, it is important to remember that more often than not, there is always someone who is looking up to you and will follow right in that persons footsteps.  In my case, my little brothers follow and mimic everything I say and do.  From an athletes perspective, it is not only their little brothers who look up to them, but also any kid with the dream of playing professional or collegiate sports one day.  

There are athletes in every sport that seem to be positive role models to kids.  some names that come to mind are Michael Jordan, Dan Marino, and Peyton Manning.  All these athletes prove to be role models by not only their play, but their demeanor off the field or court as well.  These athletes exemplified leadership throughout their careers and continue to do so after.  Michael Jordan is said to be the best to ever play the game.  While Dan Marino shattered record, and Peyton Manning broke those.  Kids are inspired to be like these athletes.  However, there are athletes out their who play a negative role in a child's life as well.  An example of this is NFL wider receiver Donte Stallworth.  After a night of drinking, he decided to get into his car and drive and ultimately hit a pedestrian trying to cross the street resulting in this man's death.  Stallworth was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol.  Any normal man would be in prison for a significant amount of time.  However, Stallworth was only in jail for 24 days after taking a mans life.  This is no role model for any child.  In fact, this only puts the idea into the children of our generation, that as long as you are an exceptional athlete, you can get away with anything.  In my opinion, a professional athlete is a positive role model when their hard work and determination has gotten them to where they are today.  Athletes that exemplify this would be linebacker Ray Lewis for the Baltimore Ravens.  His passion and attitude for the game not only pushed him enough to become a legend, but also made his teammates aware that the fact they get to play football should not be taken for granted.  In turn, this made them play better.  

There is a level of human decency and respect that everyone is born with.  These are the laws of human nature and these laws should always be followed.  There are no exceptions in regards to the respect that is given to another human being made in the same image and likeness as everyone else in this world.  No level of athleticism should change the way a person is born and how they treat others.  While there are different levels and opinions in regards to morals, something that can be agreed upon every man and woman, is to treat others with the respect and common decency that you, yourself, would like to be treated with.  

Sources for Analysis Paper

To get started on my analysis paper of the worlds biggest controversies, there are two sources I am going to use.  The first source will be by ESPN.com.  There are two lists on their website with the top 25 most controversial events in sports history.  These two list have the 25 most controversial events according to the ESPN expert panel, and also a list of the top 25 according to sports nation being everyday viewers.  With this web page, I will compare what the experts think along with what the viewers think as well and choose three events that are arguably the largest controversies in sports history.  

I will also use Sportspundit.com which has their opinion of the top ten most controversies in sports.  I will compare this to the two other lists in order to find common ground on three topics that I will delve deeper into, and provide the most detailed explanation I can conjure.  This two links to these sources are: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/espn25/story?page=listranker/25bigcontroversy and  http://www.sportspundit.com/soccer/articles/6220-top-10-sport-controversies.    

Could the NFL be Staged?

Have you ever found yourself thinking that sports could be fixed?  How is it that the same teams year in and year out are the teams that make it to the playoffs and championships? How is it that the teams at the bottom of the league never seem to ever make it to the top? It is not a known fact but there are rumors floating around that the NFL, one of the world's biggest sports, could be fixed.  There are two incidents that raise some red flags.  These two incidents are the 2007 Superbowl between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, also this year's Superbowl between the Baltimore Ravens, and San Francisco 49ers.  

The reasoning behind the 2007 Superbowl possibly being fixed is that the apparently unbeatable New England Patriots who had been undefeated on the season, suffered their first and only loss of the season on the greatest prize sought after by football players across the globe.  There were a series of plays in the game that were absolutely ridiculous.  It is not possible to take away the monumental achievements made by the New York Giant football team however, they had been previously beat on the last game of the season fairly easily.  How is it that a team that had already lost to the Patriots, could win the Superbowl against the powerhouse of a team a month later? The Patriots have arguably one of the best coaches and quarterbacks in the history of the entire league.  this comes into play because the Superbowl is not like any other game on any other Sunday.  One of the biggest contributors in winning football games is the preparation.  The Superbowl is not played a week after the final round of the playoffs.  Instead, it is played two weeks later giving the teams ample time to heal and prepare for the big game.  So, possibly the best coach in the history of the league along with the best quarterback had two weeks to prepare for the game, and after a perfect season of preparing with shorter time in between games, lost the Superbowl to a monumental underdog?  This screams that the NFL is staged.  During the regular season, the Patriots averaged a record breaking 36.8 points per game and were limited to 14 in the Superbowl.  Coincidence? I think not.    

More against the NFL is the 2013 Superbowl.  The Superbowl is an unofficial holiday.  It is a monumental day for revenue and is the most important day in the National Football League.  In this years Superbowl between the 49ers and Ravens, the halftime score was 28-6 in favor of the ravens.  The ravens had performed a dominant first half and had no signs of stopping down.  In the beginning of the second half, the 49ers knew they had to change their play in order to make the game competitive.  They did change their play however, with the help of the NFL.  On their first possession of the second half, a darkness fell over the Superdome in New Orleans Louisiana.  The  power to half the stadium went out causing a 34 minute delay in the biggest game of the year.  With all the amount of time leading up to the Superbowl, One of the largest business in the world could not ensure that the light will stay on for the entirety of the game? This does not seem logical to me.  The following events are what truly instilled in my mind that the game was fixed.  After the delay was finally over, the 49ers came out with a bang.  They scored 17 straight points, bring the game withing 5 points.  Momentum plays a large role in football.  Once a team gets on top it is tough for them to let up.  The Ravens seemed to be in this position after a record breaking longest kickoff return in NFL history.  The delay caused the Ravens to lose this momentum.  More evidence that the game was staged followed.  A fumble by one of the games best running backs came at a convenient time giving the 49ers the opportunity to score another touchdown.  Following this, the referees came into play calling a pivotal penalty giving the 49ers yet another opportunity to change the outcome of the game.  

The Ravens ended up holding on to the lead and ultimately won the Superbowl title.  They did win however, they were almost a victim of the NFL's antics and could have possibly been cheated out of a Superbowl championship.  While it can not be proven, the NFL has been suspect to staging and ultimately fixing.         

Spy Gating Scandal

After the 2007 regular season, the New England Patriots were the first and only team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins to finish the season without a blemish on their record.  They were absolutely demolishing their opponents and seemed unbeatable.  Two teams came close to beating the Patriots toward the end of the season.  These two teams were the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Eagles were not in playoff contention however the Giants locked up a playoff birth.  After the first three rounds of the playoffs, the Giants eventually met the Patriots in the greatest stage of them all. 

Between 2002-2005, the New England Patriots had won three out of four super bowls and were a dynasty in the NFL.  After two years of coming up short in getting to the big dance, the infamous perfect season took place.  After a dominant season, the New England Patriots suffered a loss to the New York Giants on the biggest stage of them all finishing the season with an 18-1 record.  No team in the era of 16 game regular seasons has ever gone undefeated.  Of course upsets have occurred in the history of sports, however how could a team that is so dominant lose to a team less superior that they had beaten earlier in the season?  Prior to this game a scandal had also been unveiled within the New England organization.  They had been fined by the NFL for spy gating.  Spy gating is the illegal act of video taping opposing teams signals from their coaches to their players.  In turn, Patriots representatives would watch the coaches signals during the game, and then tell head coach Bill Bellicheck what the team was going to run as a result to studying the tapes.  The NFL fined the head coach their maximum fine of 500,000 dollar for his role in spy gating, the organization and owner 250,000 dollars, and rescinded the Patriots first round draft selection in the 2008 draft.  

Teams in the NFL video tape their opponents every week.  However, this is not illegal.  The video taping of the teams are not of the coaches but the players.  This is done to find out the tendencies of each player individually, and also the team as a whole.  Teams study this film in order to determine what they have to do in order to exploit their opponents weaknesses.  This is encouraged.  It prepares a team and gives them the best chance of winning.  Spy gating is an injustice to football players everywhere.  Players devote their entire lives preparing their bodies and minds in order to get the chance to play for a Superbowl championship.  The New England Patriots robbed the dreams of three teams they beat in the Superbowl due to their spy gating scandal.  Marshall Faulk, an NFL legend, was on the St. Louis Rams when the Patriots won their first Super Bowl in their dominant reign and "dynasty."  In leading up to this year's Super Bowl, he was asked about the Superbowl game that his team lost against the Patriots in 2002.  Faulk stated "Am I over the loss? Yeah, I'm over the loss. But I'll never be over being cheated out of the Super Bowl" (Faulk). 

Since being caught and reprimanded in 2007, the patriots have appeared in three super bowls and have lost all of them.  While the Patriots are one of the leagues best dynasties, their reputation is tarnished.  As a result, the NFL will be burning the tapes and will be putting all efforts in to masking up the spy gating scandal for their own sake and reputation while three teams were robbed of the most sought after prize in the NFL.              

   Lance Armstrong and Doping

One of the most monumental athletes in recent years, without a doubt has been Lance Armstrong.  The professional bicyclist was born on September 18, 1971 and won the largest bicycle race a record seven consecutive times before being charged with a doping offense in which he would later be stripped of those titles.  In 1996 Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer which had spread to his brain and his lungs.  He underwent surgery on both his brain and testicular tumors and also excruciating chemotherapy.  In the following year of 1997, he was declared cancer free and in the same year he founded the Lance Armstrong foundation for cancer research.  The following year he resumed his cycle training and got back into shape to make the dominant run that he is known for.  However, in recent times he is more known for his doping scandal in which his 7 titles were rescinded.  He finally admitted to doping on an interview with Oprah Winfey on January 15th 2013.  An athlete that took so much pride in the monumental obstacles he surmounted, even forming the "livestrong" campaign, will have his entire career accomplishments taken away from him, and well as his reputation tarnished.

In February of 2011, pending an investigation on whether or not he was guilty on doping charges, Armstrong  retired from the triathlon competition.  A year later he returned to the sport however to be banned for life due to the result of being charged for the use of illegal performance enhancing drugs by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.  The USADA had actually released a statement saying "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen" (USADA).

  For years Armstrong had been such a phenomenal inspiration to athletes all over the world.  With his admittance on national television that he did in fact dope is an utter disgrace.  As a result of this, he also relinquished his duties as acting chairman of the Armstrong cancer foundation although he still remains on the board of directors.  Although the fact that he won the battle against cancer will always in and of itself be a monumental achievement, his athletic accomplishments will no longer be recognized, and his reputation will forever be tainted.   
         

Manti Te'o Truly a Hoax?

One of the biggest controversies in sports at the moment is the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax.  Manti Te'o is one of the most dynamic athletes in NCAA football.  He was the first defensive player to be considered for the Heisman trophy since Charles Woodson in 1997.  The Heisman trophy is the most valuable player award in college football and is often won by the most explosive offensive player in the country.  Even though Te'o did not win the Heisman trophy, to be considered for the award as a defensive player is truly remarkable.  

The Heisman is a football award however, the character of the young men being considered for this award is taken into consideration. Throughout the year, Te'o used the fact that his grandmother, who he was very close to, and his girlfriend passed away in the same day as motivation to play every game as if it could be his last. Some believe that he used this to win over the sympathy of the people of America and the voters of the Heisman trophy ceremony.  

Over recent weeks, news has broken that Te'o's girlfriend never truly existed.  This did not sit well with sports fans around the world.  Mainly due to the fact that he used this to receive pity from fans.  After further investigation, Te'o stated that he was a victim in this situation.  He informs the press that the relationship between him and his girlfriend had been strictly an online and telephone based relationship and he had not ever seen her.  A question that arises since he is a big time football star with professional aspirations, perhaps his agent paid someone to take the wrap and admit that they were responsible for the hoax in order to keep Te'o's image a positive one.  

It is important as an athlete role model to maintain a positive image not only for themselves but also for fans, and young children that look up to him for inspiration.  Te'o is representing his family and his entire school with everything that he does.  The entire school has been affected negatively by this even if it truly was a hoax.  The University of Notre Dame was affected athletically after this when potential recruits cancelled their visits.  Also, the amount of coverage this has received has been absolutely astounding.  Even if he did lie, is it truly a story to be talked about at this volume?  

Te'o will now forever be known as the guy with a fake girlfriend.  This is not only a disgrace to his family name but everyone affiliated with the university of Notre Dame.  While he is an exceptional football player, his morals and ethics will always be questioned.  

Controversy and Sports

Athletes in professional  and collegiate sports are role models to children and young men and women around the world.  They have been role models in the past and in the present.  The conduct of these athletes are detrimental to the hopes and dreams of countless children around the world.  This is something that should always be in the mind of any athletes around the world.  It is not only important to be successful on the court or field, but also off the field in regards to ethics and morals as well.  Some athletes that portray the right character are Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls.  These athletes have proved that they are not only excellent athletes but excellent men as well.     

There are many stories past in present that are absolutely unacceptable.  Arguably the biggest controversy in sports today is the use of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs.  With the use of these drugs it takes away the integrity of the game.  Also, how is it that athletes have receive special treatment in cases such as murder and drug related chargers? A couple of cases come to mind.  Some cases range from the O.J Simpson murder case, to various other athletes being charged with murder.  Also, in the collegiate aspect of sports, some of the nation's largest powerhouses have been under investigation for NCAA violations regarding recruiting.  Athletes who should be worried about receiving an education are being bribed to select schools.  This is unacceptable.  Education should be the primary concern in a young man or woman's life.

There are plenty of different controversies that I will be evaluating during the course of this semester.  These controversies range from drug related controversies, to controversies concerning murder, athletes that are considered "busts" and miscellaneous controversies evaluating to see if they are truly worth the amount of national attention that they receive.