Final Exam: What Qualifies Something to be a Sport

All across America there are countless sports that people participate in, and then there are other activities that people may not call a sport due to lack of qualifications under ones conscious. People argue all the time when it comes to defining a sport. As if the most common sports such as baseball, football, basketball all require athletic ability and competition, they also require a form of defense where they try to prevent the other team from accomplishing their goal. For something to be referenced a sport, it should not be held on a judge’s basis like as in gymnastics, or diving. This argument has been around a very long time as people can’t accept some activities as sports. Although most activities that people argue have physical involvement, they do not meet the standards of some individuals. But those individuals also have different standards in determining a sport.

One of the most controversial sports that is argued to be a sport is cheer-leading. With cheer-leading there are two different types of it with competitive cheer-leading, and just your normal cheer-leading for your local teams. With your recreational cheer-leading, it should not be considered as a sport but more of an activity. With competitive cheer-leading though this is another story. As all across the nation competitive cheer-leading is taken very seriously and they hold competitions nationally. I would personally consider competitive cheer-leading to be a sport and that’s it with cheer-leading. We will never come to a full conclusion as if cheer-leading is a sport or not, but think of qualifications in your mind and determine that for yourself.

One of the qualifications is if there is another team or someone trying to prevent the other individuals from meeting their goals, whether it be scoring or reaching another position which is defense. If the sport has defense then it must have competition. These are some qualifications people would look at in determining a sport. Most people would also argue if the sport requires physical movement or involvement. Most activities require some form of movement but they lack the definition of defense. Some more qualifications are having endurance, strength, athletic ability, and strategy. These qualifications could almost fall into a lot of sports categories in determining it an actual sport, but they would have to meet all qualifications including defense.

If an activity doesn’t fall under the categories of being called a sport, then it could fall into other categories. These categories are athletic competitions, or athletic events. When activities have judges, the judges are not equivalent to referees or umpires. Having rules and regulations is another huge thing, but most organized activities or sports have those. In conclusion you must look at regulations or make your own and determine if certain activities could be accounted for a sport. If they can meet most of these regulations stated, then determine it a sport. One of the main key regulations though is defense. Having another individual trying to not allow you to reach your goal reflects a form of competition. Having competition could determine a sport. Arguments on basing something a sport will continue forever as people look at different views and regulations. 

Red Sox Hold on for Win

As the Red Sox stepped up to the plate last night in their win over the Athletics, their youngest top guns came to shine. The young players that stepped up that have yet to turn 25 are Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Blake Swihart, and Matt Barnes. John Farrell the Red Sox GM had faith in his lineup and they needed confidence. Confidence was key as Betts, Bogaerts, and Swihart each notched up two hits on the night. Betts drove in two runs as Bogaerts scored once and Swihart with a great night scored twice along with being the tying run in the 7th inning to lead the team to extras. The 24 year old reliever Matt Barnes, did not have much recognition stepping into this game as each time he has the Sox resulted in a loss. As Barnes came in he only walked his first batter and was untouchable from there on out. Recorded three consecutive outs in the 10th, then followed pitching a perfect 11th inning. These young guns came to play in this game and shined to give the Red Sox their competitiveness within as Pablo Sandoval shot a home run in the 11th to obtain the win.

Baltimore Orioles Play Quiet Game

In Baltimore, protesters are rioting and effecting not only theirselves but also their home teams. The Baltimore Orioles yesterday took their home field to an empty stadium. The city put bans out and curfews trying to refute the protesters and have them go to their homes. It must've nice having a quiet empty stadium while playing their game. This is the first time ever that there has been no fans allowed in an MLB stadium during an official game. Although protests are still occurring, I'm sure the Orioles aren't so happy with their fans, and would love to have them in the stadium cheering them
on. The people of Baltimore will stop at nothing until they get their justice, as these suspicious activities involved with the police are getting more and more crucial. They have postponed games already for the Baltimore Orioles, and I'm sure they will hold the fans out until tensions start to settle.

Celtics Season Results in Playoff Birth

The Boston Celtics all season have been fighting and trying to push to the playoffs. At the beginning of the season they projected to be a bit unpredictable, coming off the off-season with a new coach, and players that became key assets to our team. We came into the season not looking like a contender at all. As the team played on in their season, they started to build a chemistry between them and games started turning into wins. While the team added depth to their roster, the Celtics started looking good. While not being in the playoff picture during the early season, they managed to pull out wins and made moves near the trade deadline. They acquired Isiah Thomas, who is a fanominal 6th man and came into the Celtics organization hot. Thomas led the team to victories, while managing to drop down buckets, and rack up assists. You could say the trade was a great pick up as the Celtics managed to make it into the playoffs. They not only were contending for the 8th seed, but they were able to clinch the 7th seed spot with last nights victory over the Raptors 95-93. Another great player Jae Crowder, hit the final shot to give the Celtics the lead in the final seconds of the game. Marcus Smart, who is a rookie, showed his spot on the team this year. Smart is a great scorer and defense-man. The Celtics now move to the first round of the playoffs, playing the Cleveland Cavaliers. They will have a tough battle against the star powered team, and I wish the best of luck to the team and hope they can fight their way through the playoffs.

Sox Home Opener Strong

Red Sox come out strong in their home opener against the Nationals, with a final score of 9-4. The opener began with introductions of Tom Brady and Bill Bellichick. Tom threw the ceremony first pitch in the start of the game, but couldn't show his talents on the mound. The Sox came out into this game strong, with great plays on the field, and making good contact with the ball. Mookie Betts was showing his great heads up plays on the field, while homering in the ball game, and stealing a base which lead to another steal. The Nationals looked confused as no one was at 3rd base when he stole. Another fanominal play by Mookie was his robbery of a home run on Bryce Harper. Porcello pitched among average in his win, and gave up only one homer. The Red Sox now move to 5-2 on the season and 1-0 at home. Fenway Park is in for a ride this year with the teams great offseason pick ups. Keep your eyes out for this team on their journey.

Some Things You Just Don't Forget

All across the globe bullying takes effect on individuals every single day. In today's time the NFL has experienced its own scenario of bullying between two athletes. Richie Incognito, and Jonathan Martin are the two included with this case. Richie has been pushing Martin, and the two exchanged text messages to each other and the case just got bigger. But bullying doesn't need to shine in the limelight, its something that should not be around. People do all they can to overcome their effects of bullying, but for some they cant do enough. The bully's take their victims lives away from them. They leave them with a piece of them missing. People could call Martin a baby, but have you ever been a victim and know what its like? As individuals we all must stand up to this and fight it off. We as people must protect one another from these effects. As you try to overcome your experience, there's just some things you just don't forget.  

Revis cuts ties with New England

Salary over legacy is the statement over Revis' signing with the New York Jets, for 5 years and $70M, with $39M guaranteed. You would think a player would re-join his team that took him to his first super bowl, and made him a champion in just one year. The Patriots did not pick up his option as he was offered a substantial amount of money, but was not enough compared to what the Jets were offering him. With this new signing, it makes Revis the highest paid corner in the league. But not signing Revis back could actually be a good thing for us, as we would be in cap room hell. Not to mention the expiring contracts for the next offseason with Nate Solder, Chandler Jones, Dont'a Hightower, and Akeem Ayers. This is only just a few of the expiring contracts, but these players play a tight role in our defense and we won't have a cap penalty next year as bad if we picked up Revis. Some could say this is a bad move by the Patriots, but others could say it is a great one. Not having Revis sign back is a dagger, but will help us in the long run.

The Quarterbacks Hall of Fame

Among this football era, there has been speculation with the quarterbacks’ in the league and with who should be entered into the new Quarterbacks’ Hall of Fame. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rodgers have been viewed as some of the top elite quarterbacks in the league. Over this era there has been records broken, super bowls won, MVP’s granted, among these players. But who could be granted into the hall of fame? Which players among these three have what it takes to take their team to the top? Breaking down the recent years these players have been in the league, most people would say Brady on top of course.

Peyton Manning, with only one super bowl under his belt, still impresses in today’s game. Peyton broke single season records along his way, but would struggle when it came to the AFC Conference Championship. Most of the time facing the New England Patriots would be viewed as the super bowl itself. Manning has been surrounded by fantastic receivers along with some lock down defense they would put out. Manning strives to come into Brady’s limelight but could only show out just once. Along with facing injuries and now speculating if he will return for the 2015 season, it’s questionable to even compare him to Brady.

Aaron Rodgers with only one super bowl win in his career along with Peyton. Aaron, bringing his team the playoffs plenty of times, couldn't show out and get to the big game multiple times. Aaron throughout his playoff pushes, only has an average passer rating of 101. Aaron also has been only (6-5) in his push with 23 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions. Airing the ball out for a completion percentage of 65.37%, Aaron has shown his elite accuracy on the playing field.  With his young receivers developing on the current team, they will push to make another playoff run.

The man, the myth, the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady has shown his success throughout his career taking his team to the top a majority of the time. Ever since Brady’s first start he has taken off, bringing his team 4 Super Bowl victories, and receiving the Super Bowl MVP 3 out of 4 times. Brady has strives in 4^th quarter pushes to put his team on top in the end. With only an average passer rating of 89 in the playoffs, Brady has thrown for over 7300 yards and bringing in 53 touchdowns. Some couldn't even compare the three, seeing how Brady has more super bowl wins than both of the “elite” quarterbacks combined. With Peyton and Brady aging, Brady is not ready to hang up his cleats. He still has about 3 or maybe even 4 years left in him. Peyton on the other hand endured injury at the end of the season. It’s questionable of his return. Brady has put on a show in his playoff campaigns, having the most playoff wins with 21. Tom’s only 21-8 in the playoffs with 62.95% of his passes completed.

Which elite quarterback should be entered into the Hall of Fame? Could you really argue a point in this comparison? Peyton has made single season records possible in his career with a fantastic passing effort in the last season. Aaron took his team to another NFC Championship game, showing they have weapons to make it to the top. Brady has 4 rings, 3 Super Bowl MVP's, and 21 post-season wins under his belt. That’s more super bowls than both of these quarterbacks combined. Is there still a Manning vs. Brady rivalry? That’s no longer in the question as Brady has shown he has what it takes to make it to the top, only being the 199^th overall pick. A young buck out of California has brought the winning success to the eastern coast, driving the New England Patriots into a remarkable decade where anything can happen.    

Americas Favorite Game Deadly?

Many Americans, during the NFL season enjoy watching their favorite teams compete on an up-scale level to claim their victory. Little do the fans know how much pain, and abuse the players endure. The 'machines' on this field obtain such contact where they endure long term injuries along the way. People say the helmets and all the gear and padding protects the players. Players have received traumatizing injuries on the field, where it has left the players with severe injury. The NFL has significantly changed the helmets they use in game. They provide them with the padding and protection to reduce the chance of head injury. Even though there are hits with head to head contact that cause the players to get a little shook up, the NFL has made a rule where there is no more helmet to helmet contact. It has shown that in the NFL you can endure traumatizing injuries, but they have realized the injuries that can happen and have tried their best to creat rules and regulations in the game.