A Football Program Ends. A Romance Doesn't.

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/sports/ncaafootball/06vescey.html?em

Author: George Vecsey

Summary: On Nov. 23, Northeastern University in Boston terminated its football team, and its football program all together. A move that saddened both Tom Mitchell and his wife Rosemarie Mitchell, for he was the captain of the team and she was the homecoming queen and the president of the University. Vecsey also expresses his unhappiness because just recently Holfstra University, the school he attended, also abruptly pulled the plug on the football program.

There is no doubt that in the US, football is such a critical role which factors in on a college's identity.

Mitchell, now a business man in Rolling Lands, Ill., knows that financially Northeastern made the "right" call because it would cost millions to maintain the tattered team, but as an ex-player for the team, he can't help but think "you can't put a figure on it" and be a little disappointed.

Although Mitchell is mourning, he realizes the other great things in his life, that he is appreciative for, that Northeastern gave him.

"I got a wife out of it," he says.

What I learned about writing: This article teaches me that in some cases, in certain article opportunities, I may have an edge over other columnists or writers. In the future that is. In these cases, this edge means power - power in writing a better article on the same subject as someone else. The factor is the personal factor.

In Vecsey's piece, in the 8th paragraph, he adds in that he knows of Mitchell's gloominess, because the college which he attended also lost its football team. Football heart and spirit and fans and cheerleaders. Football everything.

I bet you that Vecsey took on this article because he could relate to the tone of the story. That someone in his office probably agreed to write the piece and get it over with. Publish it. Forget about it.

Vecsey said no, I know, this more than you do, I know I can write this article better than you can. I have that power and you don't.

Know... I am just assuming this, but I'd like to think that sometimes I am right about somethings.

I learned that the things that happen to me now, Here, may affect how I write those articles in that office, in that city, on that day, There.

Scrum Again

URL: http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/10/26/091026ta_talk_friend

Author: Tad Friend

Summary: Yes, rugby is back as an Olympic sport. No, it will not be played by the customary 15 men hitting and hugging each other in the mud for 80 minutes, but rather by 7 for 14 minutes. In Rio de Janeiro, in 2016, they will play what they call rugby sevens. The last time rugby was played in the Olympics, was in 1924 when the Americans took home the gold in Paris. In the final, the Americans punished the French by a score of 17-3. The fans didn't seem to take it so well, and those drunk baguette-loving bastards (I mean... the French) threw rocks and empty bottles at the team. This prompted the halt of rugby in Olympic sports. The author says, "Rocks and bottles, of course, should be seen as rugby's natural milieu."

But, with the recent decision of the I.O.C to revive the sport, USA Rugby claims to be working hard to "derowdyize" the game. On the day of the vote, the USA Eagles squad head coach, Al Caravelli, expressed his excitement and said "We may not be paid full-time like players from other nations, but I expect full-time professionalism."

Oh, and as a side note, the celebration was being held in a pub by the name Mr. Dennehy's and sponsored by Guiness.

Yeah... Who really knows how professional the sport is going to be. Some might still just consider it a bunch of muddy, naked dogpile.

What I learned about writing: I am liking the sports related stuff I am finding in the New Yorker. The author in this article is very straight to the point: bam, bam, bam. I mean I read the first paragraph, and I was thinking to myself: "Yeah, I like how this guy goes about things." In reading Friend's article, I am beginning to learn how to be to the point, and exact, and giving the reader what they want to hear in a phrase or so.

Also, Friend does a fantastic job of a vocabulary to give a defined face to rugby. You can't help but to love hearing someone describe a sport like this: "pig roasts, flowing kegs, and a naked, swaying mass of players chanting chanting the lyrics to "Jesus Can't Play Rugby" and "Bestiality's Best."

Lets be real... This is how sports should be written, and you know why, because this is the way it simply is.

I love how frank and bold Friend comes across in this article.

Look at me, I am learning about writing AND sports. :)

Offensive Play

URL: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladwell?currentPage=1

Author: Malcolm Gladwell

Summary: Gladwell speaks with an ex-veteran offensive lineman who played in the NFL. Kyle Turley, who played for the St. Louis Rams as the article indicates, says that an offensive lineman in the NFL calibre can not do his job without "using his head." Turley explains how in his position, there is collision after collision at every snap of the ball, and there is no way to avoid it: thats the job. He explains that at the times the offense put together a long drive of a 15-18 play series, starting from the team's own 5-yard line and fighting all the way to the goal line, he would be seeing spots by the time the drive was over because his head was getting wacked. Turley remembers a game when he was playing the Green Bay Packers, and he got hit in the back of the head by a guy's knee and fell unconscious. He was completely lost, "f*cked up" as your team mates would call you on the sidelines, according to Turley. That thursday, they cleared him for practice even though he felt he shouldn't have been. Turley explains: "Thats football. You're told either that you're hurt or that you're injured. There is no middle ground. If you are hurt, you can play. If you are injured, you can't, and the line is whether you can walk and if you can put on a helmet and pads."

What I learned about writing: By reading a sports-related article this week in The New Yorker, instead of Sports Illustrated, I noticed how the author told more of a sports "story" rather than listing of facts and stats in a story. Its more intriguing, personal... enjoyable. I mean, I could turn on the TV and turn to SportsCenter or Sportsnet Connected and find exactly what I'm getting from SI: the big stories in the sports world, for example, the upset of the Kansas City Chiefs over the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New Yorker focused on a specific story of one player's experiences: something that sports networks don't always do. You know what I really liked though, this guy, Kyle Turley... I don't have a damn clue who he is or that he even played in the NFL. Its great because I learned about him, about the guy who you wouldn't see in headline sports news. Lets be real, the majority of the time you're only getting the "big names" in the high-end sports networks, like SI or SportsCenter. You hear the Brett Favres, the Alexander Ovechkins, the Lebron James, but never the "smaller" guys... the Kyle Turleys. I mean, afterall, the offensive lineman are the people who give the chance for a quarterback like Brett Favre to throw that 80-yard TD pass. They are just as much a part of the game, but never get enough credit.

I liked how Gladwell gives the article to Turley in a sense. It is Turley who seems to be writing the article because of how many times he is quoted to bring life to this "different" kind of sports article. I find it awesome that I find a sports story like this in The New Yorker (which clearly does not specify in sports) but if I was to write about SI again this week, you would probably be looking at a blog post about the Denver Broncos' demise. Isn't this cooler anyway? I learned this week that there is the other side of writing to sports. You just need to go looking "behind the scenes."

FIFA suspends Maradona for two months over rant at media

URL: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/soccer/11/15/maradona.suspended.ap/index.html

Author: N/A (Sports Illustrated)

Summary: Argentinean soccer coach, Diego Maradona, was suspended on Sunday after a three-hour long hearing before the FIFA headquarters panel in Zurich, Switzerland. The 17-member panel banned him from any football related activities after his recent aimed rants at journalists following Argentina's qualification for the World Cup in South Africa. He was also fined a total of 25,000 Swiss Francs which works its way out to $24,250 American. Maradona has apologized to the football world.

What I learned: I didn't really get much out of this article to tell you the truth... Maybe I should start reading something other than Sports Illustrated. Maybe next week? I did notice however that the author specifically noted the times which Maradona arrived in Zurich, before the panel, etc. He also mentioned how he arrived in a limousine. Although these small things may seem irrelevant to the reader, I am continuously finding that they prove to be of importance.

Until next Sunday my friends! (Mark I am using this exclamation point as my 1 intentional one that I am allowed to use)

Every fan treasures a golden age

URL: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/john_ondrasik/10/08/magic.years/index.html

Author: John Ondrasik

Summary: This article talks about how "our beloved SportsCenter is more often an episode of COPS." How every sports fan is the same: they love one minute of their favourite sport, then something happens and boom... They hate it. It's a reoccurring cycle. They hate it so much they feel like they are going to stop being die-hard fans, of say... The New York Knicks. However, the one thing that stands true through all the love and hate is that a fan will stay a fan, no matter how much a fan complains, hates on, and discriminate on his/her team. They will continue to turn it to SportsCenter over a nice cold beer. They will still wear their Knicks jersey in the city.

What I learned about writing: This article was extremely captivating for me. Truly, even for a sports article. It flowed so nicely from beginning to end. It makes you feel as if the intensity is rising up as ever superstar name is mentioned. It makes a fan (like me) realize that indeed I couldn't stop being a fan. Its a hobby, and a habit.

I learned that by being as openly opinionated in such a social issue, like sports, you are still able to write an interesting, intriguing story. I feel like by the author making the fan/ reader recognize that he was a fan too (because he so mentions in the article all his favourite sports teams), the reader is able to truly appreciate the author's effort to communicate a respectable article. I really liked this.

Favre hears boos everywhere he turns in first visit back to Lambeau

URL: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/football/nfl/11/01/favre.booed.ap/index.html

Author: Not listed.

Summary: Something Packers fans wished they would've never witnessed - but yes, Favre did return to the historic Lambeau field in Wisconsin, where he was the pride of the state for 16 years, in the colour of Green Bay's most hated rival: Purple. Indeed, that is the Minnesota Vikings. Some die-hard cheesheads even wore t-shirt which read, "True Legends Don't Wear Purple."

Most strictly booed, saying after Brett Favre re-re-came out of retirement to join the Vikings, saying it was like coming to church on Sunday and having the priest tell everybody to go home because Jesus has sided with the devil. Some, though, cheered him on claiming that they still wanted to see him do well. Either way, everyone knows that in the NFL it is a big deal when something like this happens.

The Vikings went on to win it 38 - 26.

What I learned about writing: I noticed how in this piece, the author, whoever that is, saved the quote, which summed everything thing up so nicely, for last. I learned that using a statement like this gives the entire article a great kick at the end.

Rollins Picks Phillies in 5

URL: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/10/27/rollins.prediction.ap/index.html

Author: Not listed.

Summary: Jimmy Rollins', shortstop of the Philadelphia Phillies, new prediction is that the Phillies will take the Fall Classic in 5 games. Yes - he already predicted earlier on in the regular season that his team and the Yankees would meet in the World Series, but just recently he said on The Jay Leno show that Philadelphia will indeed win its back-to-back title... in 5. He claims he rather close it out at home, that the Phillies would be generous to let it go to 6 and back to Yankee Stadium.

What I learned about writing: I learned... I learned... Well, I learned I could get very used to writing about sports everyday. I did not really learn anything to do with grammar by reading this article, but I as I click myself from article to article on sportsillustrated.com, I smile at the idea of imagining myself writing these kinds of stories. Sports: Write it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and then watch it at home on Saturday and Sunday. I think the thing I like best about sports is that there is so many different categories, and in each category, something new happens everyday. Sometimes small things, other times major deals go down. I am beginning to get excited at the possibility of me being the man who you look for to find the latest news in sports.