Ballin' With History

Instant Replay

2012-02-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Instant replay gives the ability to viewers to rewatch an incident that has just occurred. In the winter of 1963, CBS Sports’ Tony Verna found a way to play back video during the live broadcast. The first time it was used was during an Army -Navy football game. The clip was of the Army quarterback running in for a touchdown. Viewers were confused as to that fact they believed there was another touchdown score, and they complained to CBS. Without the ability to rewatch a play, the viewers only saw one view with no slow motion, no zoom in, and no highlights.

TonyVerna was only 29 years old when he figured out instant replay. He has been a producer of multiple Super Bowls and many other athletic events, along with Pope John Paul II’s “Prayer for World Peace.” He remembers being able to eat a sandwich between plays of the big game and the announcer not being able to explain plays in full detail due to the few camera views that would not allow full view of the field. He was a very charitable man who helped raise $37 million to support famine relief in Africa; Sport Aid. He also helped raise famine awareness for Ethiopia with his Live Aid. Along with his amazing career, he has three grown children, Tracy, Jenny, and Eric. He has also been married, divorced, and married again. Mr. Verna will forever be remembered in the hearts of sports fans everywhere.

In 1986, instant replay was first used in the NFL by the Cleveland Browns vs. the Chicago Bears. At this time however, coaches were unable to “challenge” plays like they are able to do today. Instant replay was voted out by the owners in 1992, but in 1999 it returned and coaches were able to challenge two plays per a game. In 2004, coaches were able to throw a third flag, as long as the previous two challenges were successful. Referees are given 60 seconds to review the play and are able to overturn the previous call if found to be incorrect.

For baseball, getting instant replay was a hassle. Owners and officials were unsure about the update but in 2008 they accepted the new technology. Review would be for boundary calls, fly balls that have gone over the fence, and whether if home runs were fair or foul, also with fan interruptions with home run hits. Unlike football, coaches and players are not the people who determine whether if there will be an instant replay, the umpire makes the call. The NHL first got instant replay in 1991 and the NBA in 2002.

Entertainment Weekly later listed instant replay's debut among its 100 greatest television moments. In 2004, Sports Illustrated cited "deja view" as one of sport's "20 great tipping points" of the previous 50 years and wrote of instant replay's impact, "The revolutionary premise was that sports could be improved not by changing the games but by changing the way they were packaged."-An Idea Worth More Than a Second Look Jerry Crowe

Graduation Gap Between Student Athletes

2012-01-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

In 2009, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s “March Madness” held a commercial highlighting the graduation rate increase from student athletes, while in the previous year’s tournament a commercial emphasized on how the student athletes will “go pro in something else.” In the 1999 Division I tournament, the top 16 seeded men's teams had an average graduation rate of 44 percent; in 2009 it increased to 64 percent.

In a news paper article, professor Jessica A. Johnson wrote, “The annual study "Keeping Score When It Counts," published by Dr. Richard Lapchick of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports, shows only a 2 percentage-point increase in overall graduation rates for male basketball players, which now stands at 66 percent. Graduation rates continue to slowly increase for African-American male basketball players, but their general progress remains mediocre, as only 59 percent earn their degrees.”

In an interesting article I found, a section explained the improvements made from the NCAA president, Mark Emmert, "Academic reform is working, students are better prepared when they enter college, and they are staying on track to earn their degrees. Some doubted our efforts, but the resolve of our presidents is strong, and we are reaping the fruit of several years of hard work." Due to the reform, in one year time, the black athlete was able to increase the odds by 5 percent; more than any other ethnic group.

Is the reason for coaches wanting their players to stay in college in order to help benefit the player or to benefit themselves? Jim Calhoun recently blew up on camera, telling a political activist freelance journalist to "shut up" when the journalist goaded him on his $1.6 million salary. When a coach has a better team, the more money the coach will bring in whether it’s from alumni or from advertisements. I believe that in order for a student athlete to leave college early for a professional league, he or she must take some kind of investment class, so when their athletic career ends they will be able to maintain a stable life. It really struck me when I began thinking about how quick an athlete’s career could end; from an injury or having a bad season and let go. In college the athletes are given exclusive treatment in the class rooms, feeling the need to not preform to the best of their abilities in the classroom as they perform on game day. Dr. Tublitz recognizes the probability that not all the athletes will go on to the professionals; only around 3 percent will move on to the big leagues. "They come here and are treatedlike royalty. Until they break a leg or get put on the second string and thenthey get set aside. Many don't earn a degree. They don't have the training orthe skills to be independent after they leave the university. They'relost."

I personally feel that no student-athlete should be allowed to play past college unless they graduate. If their career were to suddenly end, they would be unprepared for a professional job. My father played football his whole life, and when he went to college injuries obstructed his abilities. He graduated with bachelors in liberal art and several of his team mates graduated with the same degree in PE and Dietitian. My father has been coaching ever since he graduated and is finally going to coach college ball.

Muhammad Ali; The Activist

2012-01-15T17:03:00.000-08:00

Many remember Cassius Clay as the best fighter of all time, but how I will remember him is as an activist. From converting to Islam in 1964, Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali. When Muhammad Ali was drafted for the Vietnam War he fought for his right to not go over seas. He claimed his religion has made him a pacifist and that he had no issue with the Vietnamese. Many people did have an issue with Ali calling himself a pacifist if he was fighting as a career. He said he would rather sit in jail for years than to go across the ocean and kill the Viet Cong. He traveled around the country hosting speeches at colleges against the war. Some of his most famous quotes due to the were,

“I ain’t got no quarrel with the Vietcong. No Vietcong ever called me a nigger.”

“No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder, kill, and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slave masters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end.”

“Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?”

April 28, 1967, Ali was suspended from boxing and stripped of his titles and his passport was revoked so he would be unable to box what so ever. His suspension lasted about three and a half years, and had his first fight back in Atlanta, Georgia against Jerry Quarry. It is believed that Ali’s best time would have been the years he sat out. In 1971 the Supreme Court revoked Ali’s convictions due to his religious beliefs.

In 1990 Muhammad Ali went to Iraq to negotiate the release of the 14 US hostages. That same year he lit the flame in the 1990 Olympics. In 2005 he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He is still currently active in civic and humanitarian enterprises. He has so far raised $45 million to help find a cure to Parkinson’s disease which he is currently living with.

Play 60; A Healthy and Active Life

2012-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:00

Fine, fit, and fun late president John F. Kennedy encouraged americans to get in shape and quit being soft! He wrote an article in Sports Illustrated when he was ignogorated into presidency in 1960. His efforts to getting americans in shape was mainly due to our national security. In 2010, retired generals, admirals, and civilian militiary leaders created a mission explaining americas constant decline in health and shape. They believe starting with young americans is the best way to build up a country with a strong military.

America’s current president, Barack Obama, has helped promote the Nation Football League’s (NFL) movement Play 60 for kids to be active for an hour a day to reverse childhood obesity.

"Our players recognize the value of staying healthy and it's important that young fans also understand the benefits of exercise. The NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, NFL PLAY 60 is a significant tool in ensuring children get their necessary, daily physical activity.”-NFL Commissioner, John Goodell

Obama's wife, Michelle Obama has also made an effort to end childhood obesity by showing short clips on how to eat better on Disney Channel. She emphasizes on potion sizes, what to eat, and exercise. She said in USA Today that her busy life in Chicago led to her buy fast food often for dinner and thought her daughters were fine due to the way they appeared. However her doctor told her that her children were fluctuating in weight. Her goal? To end childhood obesity! Around 32% of adolescents are obes; 25 million kids.
Michelle believes its not just the kids who need to be informed of the health risks of eating unhealthy and not exercising, but all of their family. There are over $147 billion weight-related medical bills each year.

1968 Olympics; Cry for Freedom

2011-12-12T17:22:00.000-08:00

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During the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, the tension was in the air in the United States. Martin Luther King Jr. and John Kennedy had been assassinated, and many young Americans were overseas fighting in Vietnam. Only days before the games began, over 300 students at Mexico City University were killed during a riot; the games proceeded on time.

Despite the air being actually thinner due to high altitude, men and women shattered records left and right. American Tom Smith not only won the 200 meter race, but he broke the world record at 19.83 seconds. He was followed by Austrialian Pete Norman at 20.06 seconds and fellow American John Carlos at 20.10 seconds.

As the two American runners walked onto the podium to accept their medals, everyone began to notice their attire. Both athletes were shoeless to represent the poverty in the United States and beads to remember those who’ve been lynched, killed, tarred, or hung. Carlos had his track jacket unzipped to respect for the blue collar workers in his country, and Smith wore a black scarf to show black pride. All three runners wore a badge for the Olympic Project for Human Rights. However, the one item most remembered were the black gloves each man wore as they raised their hands in the air, rather than rest their hands over their heart during the national anthem which was the traditional response. As they left the podium, the crowd booed their gesture. Smith said he had raised his right fist to represent black power in America, while Carlos raised his left fist to represent black unity. Together they formed an arch of unity and power. Smith said, "If I win, I am American, not a black American. But if I did something bad, then they would say I am a Negro. We are black and we are proud of being black. Black America will understand what we did tonight."

Because of their actions, Smith and Carlos were banned from the Olympic Village and further suspended from the US team. The duo had only done the fist gesture because Harry Edwards, the founder of the OPHR, urged black athletes to boycott the Olympic Games. Edwards began this protest in hopes to show the world how the civil rights movement has not been strong enough in the US. North Korea and Cuba both withdrew from the summer games claiming the reason being the racial inequalities represented by other countries participating in the games.

In 2005, student Erik Grotz mentioned how his school, San Jose State, has not honored alumni Smith and Carlos for their courage. In remembrance of the heroes, SJS had a 22 foot replica of the two in protest made for their campus.

Later in life Smith became a college track coach and a sociology teacher. He also had a autobiography written by David Steele. Carlos on the other hand became a professional football player for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1970. In 1985 he became a high school track coach and a counselor. Recently in October 2011 he spoke at Occupy Wall Street, letting the world know, "there is still a fight to be won."

Baseball Integration

2011-12-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

Thinking of current baseball I think of steroids and nice butts, but when imagine about baseball in the past, I think of baseball integration. However, when I think of baseball integration I picture Jackie Robinson.

Robinson was "bigger than the game" says Bud Selig in Robinson's fiftieth anniversary of desegregating major league baseball; he was the "great experiment". Starting in Brooklyn, it took over 15 years to be have integrated baseball through out the country.
"For more than a decade before the explosion of sit-ins and freedom rides of the 1960's challenged Jim Crow accommodations int he Deep South, black athletes had desegregated playing facilities, restaurants, and hotels in many areas of the country", Jules Tygiel.
Negro League's became less popular through the integration due to the fact blacks became more welcome to major league ball parks. In 1951, three African American players- Dave pope, Jose Santiago, and Al Smith were signed to the Indianapolis Indians. The Recorder informed readers, "Now at long last, we have an Indianapolis baseball club that represents ALL the people of Indianapolis, and that ALL the local fans can support."

Because of Robinson's cool, calm, and collective response to many racist incidents he more easily was accepted into the sport. Bill Garrett, a basketball all star lead his high school team into the state championship and went on to integrate the Big 9 athletic conference while Robinson was in spring training with the Dodgers. Elizabeth Stanfield integrated tennis in the city parks tennis tournament. Her victory was called a "victory of democracy and fair play."
Through out the integration, traveling became difficult for the African American athletes to be able to eat, sleep, and entertain themselves together. One city that had allowed teams to stay in the same hotel together was Minneapolis. Also in the city, they were able to go to movies together, but not eat together.

The Indianapolis Clowns were the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball! They werent just silly and entertaining because of their skits, they were also a very skilled team to compete with. The Clowns were also the first negro team to use a female player, Marcenia "Tony" Stone. After only one season she was sold to the Monarchs because owners were scared she might not bring out fans to the ball park; which will effect money flow.
Although baseball is not my favorite sport to watch, I have really enjoyed discussing it in history class. Having a teacher who is so intrigued by baseball helps the students become more involved and interested in the subjects at hand.