Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Final Assignment – Blog Posts
For your final assignment, you are going to complete 1 new type of article, and one type of article that we have previously worked on in class.
New Article
Sports Profiles
The sports world is full of colorful characters, so it's no surprise that personality profiles are a staple of sportswriting. Whether it's a charismatic coach or a young athlete on the rise, some of the best profiles anywhere are found in sports sections.
Here's an example of the beginning of a profile lede:
Norman Dale surveys the court as his players practice layups. A pained look crosses the face of the coach of the McKinley High School basketball team as one player after another misses the basket.
"Again!" he shouts. "Again! You don't stop! You don't quit! You work 'till you get it right!" And so they continue, until they start to get it right. Coach Dale wouldn't have it any other way.
Previously Completed article – Choose 1
Feature Lede
Straight Lede
Sports Column
Season Wrap-up or Preview


These can be on any topic of your choosing. These are to be posted to your blogs for the final exam date.



SCORE OF 46-50
An essay in this category demonstrates clear and consistent mastery, although it may have a few minor errors. A typical essay effectively and insightfully develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates outstanding critical thinking, using clearly appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position; is well organized and clearly focused, demonstrating clear coherence and smooth progression of ideas; exhibits skillful use of language, using a varied, accurate, and apt vocabulary; demonstrates meaningful variety in sentence structure; is free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
SCORE 41-45
An essay in this category demonstrates reasonably consistent mastery, although it will have occasional errors or lapses in quality. A typical essay effectively develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates strong critical thinking, generally using appropriate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position; is well organized and focused, demonstrating coherence and progression of ideas; exhibits facility in the use of language, using appropriate vocabulary; demonstrates variety in sentence structure; is generally free of most errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
SCORE OF  36-40
An essay in this category demonstrates adequate mastery, although it will have lapses in quality. A typical essay develops a point of view on the issue and demonstrates competent critical thinking, using adequate examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its position; is generally organized and focused, demonstrating some coherence and progression of ideas; exhibits adequate but inconsistent facility in the use of language, using generally appropriate vocabulary; demonstrates some variety in sentence structure; has some errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
SCORE OF 31-35
An essay in this category demonstrates developing mastery, and is marked by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses: develops a point of view on the issue, demonstrating some critical thinking, but may do so inconsistently or use inadequate examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position; is limited in its organization or focus, or may demonstrate some lapses in coherence or progression of ideas; displays developing facility in the use of language, but sometimes uses weak vocabulary or inappropriate word choice; lacks variety or demonstrates problems in sentence structure; contains an accumulation of errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics.
SCORE OF 26-30
An essay in this category demonstrates little mastery, and is flawed by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses: develops a point of view on the issue that is vague or seriously limited, and demonstrates weak critical thinking, providing inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, or other evidence to support its position; is poorly organized and/or focused, or demonstrates serious problems with coherence or progression of ideas; displays very little facility in the use of language, using very limited vocabulary or incorrect word choice; demonstrates frequent problems in sentence structure; contains errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics so serious that meaning is somewhat obscured.
SCORE OF 25 and Under
An essay in this category demonstrates very little or no mastery, and is severely flawed by ONE OR MORE of the following weaknesses: develops no viable point of view on the issue, or provides little or no evidence to support its position; is disorganized or unfocused, resulting in a disjointed or incoherent essay; displays fundamental errors in vocabulary; demonstrates severe flaws in sentence structure; contains pervasive errors in grammar, usage, or mechanics that persistently interfere with meaning

Essays not written on the essay assignment will receive a score of zero.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

A League of their Own

Women's Sports

The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was one of the first professional women's sports. Today, there are not nearly as many professional women's sporting events as there are men's. Can this still be attributed to the beliefs that were held during the 40s or is it for different reasons all together? There have been man professional teams created, but the leagues can rarely be sustained. Professional soccer...professional volleyball..and many others, have all fallen. Only 2 true professional sports remain for women - Basketball and Softball. Are these sports more popular in general? How can these teams survive while others cannot? 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Links for Possible Persuasive Articles

http://theteachingfactor.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/50-persuasive-speech-debate-topics-relevant-today/

http://www.debate.org/opinions/sports

http://www.speech-topics-help.com/sports-persuasive-speech-topics.html


Persuasive Sports Essay

Your next assignment is to write a Persuasive Article on a sports topic of your choice. You can write on any controversial topic that you feel strongly about.

Requirements-
1) Do some research! You will have to include properly cited outside materials in your article.
2) It should be organized in a way that makes sense.
3) You should address the counter -argument in a meaningful way.
4) It should be proofread.
5) The top 3 articles, will be sent to the Page for publication in next weeks paper.

Possible topics:
The Designated Hitter in Baseball
Home-schooled High-School Athletes
Females playing Men's Sports and Vice Versa
Should private conversations dictate your standing in the professional sporting world?


You may not write on the same topic you did for your final! : )

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Transgender Athletes

1) How should the authorities in the MMA handle a fighter like Fallon Fox?
2) Do transgender athletes have a distinct advantage in sports? Why or Why not?
3) Put yourself in the position of her opponents (or any opponents of transgender athletes). How would you feel competing against transgender athletes? Would it motivate you to work harder or discourage you from competing?
4) How should this be handled in the future?

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Prefontaine Questions

1) How is Pre portrayed as a person and as an athlete?
2) Does he appear to be a likable character?
3) What arrogant thing does Pre do to one of his teammates?
4) What lesson does Pre teach a 9 year old boy?
5) What current controversy with college athletics is introduced in this movie?
6) What was one of Pre's goals in High School as a runner?
7) What are the living conditions in the Olympic Village? What do these conditions remind us of?
8) What Olympic scandal took place during the Munich Olympics?

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Unionization Question

Mark Emmert rips NCAA unionization
Updated: April 6, 2014, 3:13 PM ET
By Dana O'Neil | ESPN.com
               
Collegiate Sports At A Crossroads
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Change is coming to the NCAA, but it's not necessarily the sort of change athletes would want entirely.
In a wide-ranging press conference at the Final Four, NCAA president Mark Emmert and other college administrators discussed pending change to the governance structure that will likely include cost of attendance and autonomy for the power conferences.

The notion of using a union employee model to address the challenges that do exist in intercollegiate athletics is something that strikes most people as a grossly inappropriate solution to the problems. It would blow up everything about the collegiate model of athletics.
-- NCAA president Mark Emmert

But the group drew a line in the sand at the thought of unionization for athletes.
"To be perfectly frank, the notion of using a union employee model to address the challenges that do exist in intercollegiate athletics is something that strikes most people as a grossly inappropriate solution to the problems," Emmert said Sunday. "It would blow up everything about the collegiate model of athletics."
The National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that it agreed with a filing made by Northwestern football players that they qualify as employees of their schools and can unionize.
It is the first of what many anticipate will be a long, drawn-out process filled with appeals and dialogue from both sides -- but still a decision that has the potential to significantly alter how college athletics have been run essentially forever.
But those who would be on the other side of the bargaining table, so to speak, are clearly prepared to fight such significant change.
"There's some things that need to get fixed," Emmert said. "They're working very aggressively to do that. No one up here believes that the way you fix that is by converting student-athletes into unionized employees."
What Emmert, the attending presidents and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby did agree on is that other changes need to come to the NCAA, and come quickly.
The Division I board of directors is expected to vote in August on major governance changes that could include awarding cost of attendance to athletes and would also allow the so-called power conferences to operate under a model slightly different than everyone else.
That last change has been met with some resistance by smaller schools, worried that it would only create an even deeper chasm between the haves and have-not schools in Division I.
But Emmert and the committee members said that they believe the resistance is not so strong and that they fully expect the proposals to be met.
"I think that most of Division I memberships see that we're standing at a fork in the road," said Kirk Schulz, president of Kansas State University and a member of the Division I steering committee for governance. "What we're going to put out there is not perfect, but I believe the vast majority of members recognize that we need to do it rapidly.

"So I'm very optimistic that we're going to have some no votes. But I think at the end of the day, there's a realization that if you don't do this, that we could be in some real trouble."



1) Should college athletes be allowed to unionize?
2) Should college athletes become employees of the college they attend and receive a salary?
3) If they are making money (earning a salary) should they still be allowed to earn a degree?