From Champs to Chumps

The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the best franchises in NBA history.  From the days of Magic and Kareem to Shaq and Kobe, they have dominated and won Championships.  So, why, during their Game 4 loss on Sunday to the Dallas Mavericks to end their season, did they resort to streetball antics.  First came Lamar Odom's ejection after throwing an elbow at Dirk Nowitzki.  Then came Andrew Bynum's completely classless flagrant foul on J.J. Barea in which he threw a forearm at Barea while he was attempting a layup, knocking him hard to the ground, earning Bynum an instant ejection.  Bynum has a reputation for committing dirty fouls, mind you.  He then proceeded to take off his jersey, while still on the court, and exit the game showing no remorse, or any other emotion, for that matter.  He will, undoubtedly, see a multi-game suspension to open the next season, but is that enough?

Phil Jackson is one, if not, the best coaches basketball has seen.  The man has 11, count them, 11 NBA Championships and you're gonna send him out like that.  I know those two do not represent the whole organization, but the actions of a few can ruin everything.  Kobe Bryant was very humble in defeat.  That's what separates superstars and average players.  Kobe knows they'll be back.  He actually wants to be held in the highest standards of the greatest players to play the game and he wants his team to be known as one of the greatest franchises of his era.  It's just a shame his teammates don't see it that way. 

For those who haven't seen the Bynum foul...Enjoy!!

Proposal Arguments (CH. 15 reading)

We here them all the time in politics.  New proposals for different plans out there.  Whether it be health care, taxation, whatever, there are always proposals to make things better.  However, you must first convince someone that there is a problem to begin with.

I can come up with a proposal to knock off of work everyday at 3 p.m., but if people are leaving at noon, then no one is going to back me because they don't see any problems.  Convincing someone that there is a problem is usually the hard part.  Then, you must come up with a valid proposal that will catch the attention of your audience.  People don't like change.  We settle into a routine and don't like to be taken out of it.  Why?  Maybe because we are too lazy.  Who knows? 

Advertisements, catchy posters or billboards may do the trick in promoting your cause.  You see them everyday when you're driving down the freeway. 

In order to write a proposal, you must explore ideas, i.e. problems in the world, community, at work, etc.  You must then target your audience.  Who are you targeting?  How can you get them to care?  Why does your proposal matter?  After that, you need to organize it into some sort of structure.  And after you have it all done, you must think of the questioning and critiquing that is going to come with it. 

People too often throw stuff out there that they really didn't put any thought into.  I deal with this in the military.  Everyone is quit to point things out, but nobody comes up with a proposed solution to make it better. 

America the Beautiful!

With the economy in desperate need of a lift and other problems our great nation faces, the recent killing of America's number 1 most wanted terrorist has brought a resurgence in patriotism.  The man responsible for the tragic events of 9/11 has finally been brought to justice thanks to the  relentlessness of the U.S. military, CIA, and all of our allies who assisted in the hunt. 

Now, that Bin Laden is dead, can we as a nation relax?  The answer is NO.  Al-Qaeda is out there planning their next attack right now.  America has time to rejoice, but not to let the guard down.  We saw how vulnerable we were on 9/11.  I believe our counterterrorism departments learned from that and have developed better plans to prevent another attack, but nothing is certain. 

For now, let's enjoy the day, but never forget, there are people out there who are trying to destroy the American way of life.  I believe there is a sense of patriotism spreading through the country, which has not been felt since 9/11.  My hat is off to the special operators who made the raid a success. 

One last thing, athletes should just shut their mouths and stick to playing their sport.  Some of the dumb comments these people make are ridiculous.  I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan to the death, but the comments Rashard Mendenhall made were just absurd.  See the article on Yahoo sports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Rashard-Mendenhall-isn-t-convinced-bin-Laden-was;_ylt=AqD2.zGULCphriwyjFNEx91DubYF?urn=nfl-wp1769


Here is the video of the President speaking on the death of Bin Laden, for those who haven't heard it.

Donal Trump for President....Not!

Publicity stunts are an everyday part of life nowadays, when it comes to trying to solicit a product, but now they’re even being used in politics.  I’m not a big follower of politics, but I just can’t ignore Donald Trump’s stunt to bash President Obama.  First, he claims that he’s not a U.S. citizen.  He goes on news networks and talk shows and rants about how Obama can’t show his birth certificate, so he must not be a U.S. citizen and we all know that is a requirement for running for President.   So, now, the President produces a certificate of live birth and according to Trump, that’s not good enough.  The man was born in Hawaii, that’s what they give.  Get over it and move on.  Oh, wait, he did.  Now, he wants the President’s academic records.  What point is this proving?  The nation has much more to focus on than report cards.  I know enough about the game to know that that’s what politicians do.  They try and get under their opponent’s skin.  Mr. Trump, we all know you’re one of the richest men alive, but politics is not your game.  Let that up the professionals and you stick to building hotels and golf courses. 

Opening Your Mind

Too many times we only speak of what we think or believe about something and fail to listen to others' points of view.  According to the textbook, "arguments are said to be one-sided, multisided, or dialogic." 

I am in the military and, more often than not, "arguments" tend to be one-sided.  Too many times do I hear, "This is a one way conversation."  Regardless of what may or may not have happened, there should always, in my opinion, be two sides to the story. 

Writing is the same way.  When putting together a piece, you should always think of what your audience may be thinking.  Sometimes you have to "agreee to disagree".  You may not necessarily agree on something, but you give in to give the impression of agreement.

In the article "Half-Criminals" or Urban Athletes? A Plea for Fair Treatment of Skateboarders,  it has the view of a skateboarder and his thoughts on the public view of his sport.  He states that, "to the average eye most skateboarders look like misfits or delinquents."  It is a one-sided argument because he specifically points the finger at the public.  Instead, he should think of ways to change the image .

Point being, don't always think you're right.  Life's a two way street. 

The Complexity of an Argument

After reading Chapter 1, I was educated as to what an argument really is.  When someone thinks of an argument, including myself prior to the reading, they think of two or more people, more or less, fighting.  If you were to say, "Oh, Mom and Dad are arguing again.", one would think they are always fighting, but that's far from the truth...usually.  It may come to that point, but an argument is "a creative and productive activity that engages us at high levels of inquiry and critical thinking" (Ramage, Bean, & Johnson 4).  An argument is not meant to produce a winner or a loser, but for two sides to put their point across. 

Arguments come in more than one form.  A billboard, for example, could be an argument because it persuades people to that point of view.  That's one thing I never thought of as I drive down the highway.  All the billboards you see depicting certain things, trying to coax you into using that product or to "go green", or what have you.  The beauty of an argument is, not only do you have to persuade someone to your point of view, but you have to have supporting evidence that you can fall back on.  People will know when you're "blowing smoke", rather than giving them the facts. 

Point is, if you come to argue your point, know that it's not just yelling and screaming.  It's a well-prepared, fact-oriented and truth seeking persuasion that you are trying to get across to other people. 

Performing Enhancing Drugs

In sports today, the topic of discussion seems to always come to performance enhancing drugs.  For some reason, athletes think that the use of these drugs will give them the edge over their competition and, in most cases it does. 

Let's start with Barry Bonds.  He's all over the media nowadays, for his case in using the drugs.  For those baseball fans out there who remember Bonds when he was with the Pirates remember him as being skinny.  The most home runs he hit in a season was 34.  He gets traded to the Giants and he blows up and sets the home run record.  To me impressions are everything.  He went from a skinny, average player in Pittsburgh to a huge, home run hitting monster in San Francisco.  Weight room....I'm sure he hit it every now and again, as I'm sure it was team policy, but what else was he doing.  He claims his bulk was a product of strict diet and weight training regimens, but that remains to be seen.  He never admitted to doing any type of PED, but was involved in the BALCO controversy, in which his trainer was indicted and charged with supplying anabolic steroids to athletes.  He admitted to using a clear substance and a cream that he was told was "natural".  The thing I most dislike about the whole thing is that all his records will stand, with no asterisks by them, because that is the era we're living in.  Bigger, faster, stronger.

Another sport that is getting a reputation for this is MMA.  I am a huge fan but, like any other sport, athletes are trying to get that upper hand.  I knew of some cases that got a lot of publicity, but in an article called MMA Steroid Busts:  The Definitive Timeline on cagepotato.com, I nearly choked at all the cases I never heard about.  More notable ones like Josh Barnett, Sean Sherk, and Tim Slyvia I had heard of.  Sean Sherk was actually stripped of his title after testing positive.  Others like Vitor Belfort, Nate Marquardt, and legend, Royce Gracie were not quite as high profile. 

These are just a few examples that are around.  I grew up playing sports and wanting to be the best at what I did, but I never considered using drugs to accomplish that.  I was taught hard work and determination will get you where you need to be.  I'm still active and in the Navy and wouldn't dare consider doing drugs. 

The point is, if you want something bad enough, work for it.  Don't cheat.  It might feel good at first,but you'll be shamed in the long run.