What do you tell a bunch of elementary school students that are about to transition to middle school?
Would you sugar-coat it and act as if everything will be OK?
Would you tell them nothing but horror stories as if nothing will be OK?
Or would you just say nothing and let them figure it out themselves?
The reason I am asking these questions is because 20 years ago, I was one of those students transitioning from elementary to middle school.
Time to tell it like it is.
1) Elementary School
The first half of 1992, I was completing my final year in elementary school as a 5th grader at Lanakila Elementary School.
It was my favorite year at that school!
Unlike earlier school years, I didn't have much problems with my classmates.
Even though there was still cliques amongst us, there was still a sense of brotherhood among us.
The guys who used to pick on me were now guys who I got along with.
And still remember when I was sitting in the back of my homeroom, next to Oscar and Jeff. Me and Oscar used to tease Jeff the previous year, but in 5th grade, we were all friends. We had fun times talking to each other, one of the funnest times in my life!
I also remember winning the school's Geography Bee (though another student came a close 2nd).
I also remembered the cop from as the DARE program, and the field trip to Camp Pupukea. Fun times.
While the teachers were usually impressed with my academic side, they were irritated by the ridiculous things I would occasionally say in class.
2) My brother's warnings
I would occasionally tell my older brother some of the silly stuff I would say in school.
My brother warned me straight up, that this would also get me in trouble as I get older.
He told me that the way I acted was "more likely to get people laughing AT me, INSTEAD of laughing with me."
My brother also warned me that I better learn how to fight, because the other students will rather watch a fight instead of stop the fight.
I brushed it off with a "whatevers attitude"
Little did I know how right my brother was.
3) Entering middle school
The second half of 1992, I entered Kawananakoa Middle School!
[side note: middle schools were called "intermediate schools" back then. Around 1997, those schools officially became "middle schools"]
Once you enter middle school, you are in a whole new world.
Sure you might make a few friends (some I still talk to this very day).
But you WILL get some new enemies as well.
I know that from experience.
The stuff that my brother warned me about......... was WAY MORE TRUE than I could ever imagine.
For one thing, I started middle school with same crazy sense of humor, saying inappropriate things as I did back in elementary school. WRONG MOVE!
Little did I understand the same humor that worked in elementary school did NOT work in middle school. All it did was earn a few enemies.
I might've gotten away with my earlier silliness if I was one of the tough guys.
I wasn't!
After a while, I just learned to shut up in class, especially if you don't have any friends in that class.
Ironically, that got people who just me asking "why are you so quiet?"
But as the quote goes -- "It's better to be quiet and be thought as a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."
----
Another reason why I think my brother was right, was that going from elementary to middle school, was that the new students you meet are not used to the way you are.
I mean, back in 5th grade at Lanakila, pretty much everyone was already "used to" the way I was.
But the new ones in middle school weren't.
And going from one school to another, kids usually tried to test each other, either through physical or verbal intimidation.
Well, I rarely passed their tests!
It was only after I was done with 8th grade and ready to go on to high school, that I got so tired of being "tested" by others, that I finally started to take aikido classes and started weight training.
Well, though it hasn't made me into an MMA champ, those things did build some confidence that I became less intimidated by others. And got "tested" less.
Too bad I didn't take those lessons from my brother to heart much earlier.
----
It is this "testing" that cause some kids to either join a gang, become a "lone wolf" who goes all crazy, or become suicidal.
There was the gangsta element in my community. But I wasn't into this drinking or weed smoking stuff. And I was too much of an academic to really fit in that crowd.
But I do look back and I'm still amazed that I didn't become that "lone wolf gone crazy". I guess my optimistic side of me saved my life!
I do put a "brave face" out there, and I don't really like to talk about my personal problems in social settings. While that makes me a much more enjoyable person to be around, it does give others a mistaken impression that "nothing bad happens to that guy"
Some people are different, they want to talk about their personal dramas in conversations. Too much of that drives me crazy.
But yeah, I do understand where those folks are coming from.
You can only hold things in for so long.
Which was why I wrote the controversial blog post "Exposed to the Light" http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/03/exposed-to-light.html
There's more stories to tell from my battlefield in middle school (and other phases of life as well)
But this is all I feel like saying now. Stay tuned for future stories.
----------
PS: to answer the earlier questions, yes tell the kids transitioning from elementary to middle school THE TRUTH! Share my blog post with them, that might wake a few of them up before it's too late!
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Thursday, September 06, 2012
an apology from one exposed to the light
Earlier this year, I wrote the blog post titled "Exposed to the Light".
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/03/exposed-to-light.html
Controversial stuff!
-------
One of those people I had criticized on "Exposed to the Light" saw my blog post. That would be Anolani Kaio (aka Anolani Hanohano). She wrote this to me
.. and I replied by saying
While it's good to see an apology, don't you think it's awkward to apologize for something you don't remember?
"I honestly don't remember" sounds like a lie! Probably is!
But then again, memories do get impaired by things like concussions, medications and other stuff. Not sure if Anolani experienced any of these!
Anyways she knew I exposed a negative side of her that she had to admit existed! She was embarrassed by what I exposed, and she knew it was best to make amends!
--------------
(note: originally this posted blasted a former friend. I'm done with having public rivalries with him, so I deleted the paragraphs from this post)
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/03/exposed-to-light.html
Controversial stuff!
-------
One of those people I had criticized on "Exposed to the Light" saw my blog post. That would be Anolani Kaio (aka Anolani Hanohano). She wrote this to me
Hi Pablo,
I came across your blog and wanted to say that I am sorry for teasing you. I honestly don't remember, but I am sorry.
'Ano
.. and I replied by saying
Thanks for reading my blog, I'm glad it's making a positive impact.
For further reference, if you say "I honestly don't remember", nobody is going to believe you.
While it's good to see an apology, don't you think it's awkward to apologize for something you don't remember?
"I honestly don't remember" sounds like a lie! Probably is!
But then again, memories do get impaired by things like concussions, medications and other stuff. Not sure if Anolani experienced any of these!
Anyways she knew I exposed a negative side of her that she had to admit existed! She was embarrassed by what I exposed, and she knew it was best to make amends!
--------------
(note: originally this posted blasted a former friend. I'm done with having public rivalries with him, so I deleted the paragraphs from this post)
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Let the college athletes get paid
It's that time of year again.
Many universities have started their new school year.
And it's time for a new generation of student-athletes to begin their college sports career.
The college football season is about to begin. Other college sports (ie. women's volleyball, soccer) have already started.
And it's time to take about the challenges faced by college athletes ---- about their compensation and their academic program.
-------------------
Those who recieve an athletic scholarship get free tuition, textbooks and a dorm room. That's it!
Because the NCAA wants all their college athletes to retain "amateur status", college athletes CANNOT recieve anything else, besides gifts from family members.
That means NOBODY ELSE is allowed to give ANY college athletes ANY money or any other gifts.
Otherwise, that athlete and the university WILL face sanctions.
You might think I'm exaggarating. NOT AT ALL!
From Salon's Josh Eidelson http://www.salon.com/2012/03/11/madness_of_march_ncaa_gets_paid_players_dont/
That's right, student-athletes can't even accept a bag full of groceries from a non-family member.
We're NOT talking about accepting free cars.
We're NOT talking about accepting a bag of marijuana.
We're NOT talking about accepting free access to strip clubs.
We're talking about a bag of groceries!
Any other college student can accept a donated bag of groceries without consequences. Except student-athletes!
More examples of this madness from the same article.
.
And this from Joe Nocera's article
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
---------------
At major universities, college sports is BIG BUSINESS! Millions of dollars are flowing in, but the student-athletes get nothing more than the scholarship. Because the "amateur" status is soooooooooooo sacred!
While that might not mean much to student-athletes coming from upper-class families, the student-athletes from lower-income families are screwed.
Of course, the player-haters, with all their jealousy, will throw hissy fits like "college athletes should be grateful, they already have a scholarship, I don't have one".
But those students with a music or a theatre scholarship face absolutely ZERO legal limitations from getting paid on the side, while continuing to perform for their college's band,orchestra or theatre productions.
You can play the violin for your college's orchestra, and you can still perform at wedding while getting paid for that. However, if a college basketball player gets paid even chump-change at a community-park tournament, it becomes a scandal!
You can act at your college theatre's musical production, and still take a paid-acting gig for a television ad. No scandal! But if a college quarterback gets paid to do a television ad .......... scandal!
You can be a business major and start your own side-business while still taking college courses. You can be a science major and take a paid internship in your field. But god forbid a college athlete tries something like that ....... it becomes a "scandal".
This kind of nonsense goes on all to appease the jealous losers still upset that they're not popular like the athletes. This kind of nonsense goes on all to appease the jealous losers still upset about people who are good at something they suck at!
---------
Meanwhile, college athletes with lower-income backgrounds can't even eat out with their team-mates, can't even accept free groceries, can't even buy new clothes.
And yet, their university getting millions of dollars from TV contracts.
They see people wearing the jerseys with their number on it, and that same student-athlete doesn't receive an extra-penny for it!
For example
from Salon's Josh Eidelson
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/11/madness_of_march_ncaa_gets_paid_players_dont/
From NY Times - Joe Nocera
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
How would you feel if that was your situation? How would you feel if someone else is making money off your work and you're not allowed to profit off that? Wouldn't you feel like you're being pimped?
Of course you would!
And while they're getting pimped, (and watching their non-athlete classmates be allowed to get paid on the side), who can blame them if they leave school early for the NFL or the NBA, even if they have no guarantees of getting drafted.
That was the case with Davone Bess, who used to play for the UH Warriors! He came from a single-parent home in East Oakland, one of the most dangerous ghettoes in the USA! He could have played for UH one more year. There was no guarantee that he would get drafted. But with his desperate situation, who could blame him for leaving a year early for the NFL?
Compare that to another former UH Warrior Colt Brennan. Brennan came from a rich family from Orange County. He didn't have to worry about his expenses during his time at UH, so even though there was a possibility of getting drafted after his junior year, Brennan decided to stick around for one more year.
However, Brennan was still pimped by the system. During his senior season, I would see TONS of people wearing his #15 jersey! But none of that money trickled down to him.
Because of the concussions he receive his senior year, plus the hip injuries during his short time in the NFL, Breenan didn't last long in the pros.
For many college athletes like Brennan, their college career was their entire 15 minutes of fame! But they weren't even allowed to be compensated for their fame, especially since so many people were wearing his #15 jersey!
There are millions upon millions of dollars rolling around college sports. TV contracts, coaches salaries, stadiums, fitness facilities all paid for!
Major universities like Notre Dame, Texas, Florida, Oregon ------ make huge profits off of fans watching their student-athletes. They can EASILY AFFORD to pay their student-athletes extra money ABOVE their usual "tuition, books, room and board"
However, smaller colleges are losing money on their sports programs. They won't have extra money to compensate their student-athletes further.
This brings up a concern of "if they pay student athletes, it will give an unfair advantage to the mega-power schools when it comes to recruiting"
Some like Joe Nocera, advocating paying only the football and men's basketball players, since that's where most of the profits in college sports come from.
But that runs into Title IX violations, since we can't have gender double standards.
--------
And of course, there's all this stuff about "let's keep college sports amateur ................ paying the players will ruin what's great about college sports"
What to do, what to do?
------------------
For one thing, this concept of amateurism is OVER-RATED!
Look, the Olympics used to be "amateur-only" but the whole thing was a joke!
Some nations, like the former Soviet Union, basically defied this amateur nonsense, by secretly paying their athletes.
But more importantly, training at the Olympic level is basically a full-time job! It was unfair to demand full-time training, but not allow those players to make any monetary compensation for that time! Those athletes got to pay the bills, you know!
So it's a great thing that the Olympics got rid of this "amateurs only" nonsense back in 1992, when the Dream Team dominated the basketball scene.
And the Olympics got better because now, we really get to see the best athletes of the world compete!
--------------
Similar things are true about college sports.
Training is a full-time job! There's practices. There's weight-lifting sessions so they dont' get over-powered by their opponents. There's video-studying time to study their practice/game errors, as well as study their opponents. And don't forget they have to remain academically eligible! That means taking college-level courses, and study hall!
All that, without extra money in their bank account!
----------
It's time to put this "amateur status only" crap in the rubbish can!
Colleges shall be allowed to compensate their student-athletes whatever they can afford.
No, it shouldn't be mandatory that the student-athletes to get paid big money, but we shouldn't stop colleges from doing so either.
But even more importantly, let the student-athletes receive free gifts from fans, boosters, and anyone else making legal money!
Let the student-athletes receive donated groceries. Let them receive a free burger from a fan! Let them receive a new car! Let them receive a new stereo system!
Let the student-athletes directly receive corporate sponsorships!
Let the student-athletes get paid to do some advertisements!
Let the student-athletes get paid to do autograph sessions.
Let the student-athletes get paid for every jersey with their # getting sold!
There could be some limitations. For examples, religious colleges could still ban their student-athletes from appearing ads that goes against their religion. So BYU could still ban their student-athletes from appearing in beer ads, for example!
Most likely, before the NCAA will even allow for student-athletes to get additional monetary compensation, they will probably make other rules stricter.
For example, the NCAA would most likely be stricter on academic dishonesty (cheating on tests), drug abuse, and on violent behaviors.
Student-Athletes will probably have to face stricter penalties for violating felonies. That will mean those arrested for things like DUIs, domestic violence, rape and other things will most likely will be expelled instead of just getting a "slap on the wrist" (ie. suspended from games involving weak opponents).
And you know what? That's the type of rules that are needed!
Student-Athletes are role models. They represent their school and the surrounding community. They ought to be held to a higher standard when it comes to behavior.
As for academics, as I mentioned earlier, student-athletes still have to take and pass college-level courses.
However, it can be a struggle to do so during their season, when they have to attend practice, weight-lifting sessions, video-study, and off course their games.
Usually, student-athletes take easy course during their season, harder classes during the off-season.
However, for basketball players, their season run from Fall semester to Spring semester. So they'll have to take at least one hard class each semester.
The NCAA has a timetable saying "by this senior year, you should be 80 % done with your major requirements."
Sounds great, but there's a problem with that as I mentioned in an earlier blog post
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/college-reform.html
Another point to back me up
from NY Times - Joe Nocera
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
And another great point on student-athletes and academics
from Midweek's Steve Murray
http://www.midweek.com/sterns-rant-is-cranky-but-correct/
In other words, if high school basketball players rather go to the minor league route instead of playing college basketball, LET THEM!
After all, if that player can't even do college work, don't force him/her to waste time -- just let them go to the minor leagues, just like how some baseball and hockey players do.
Let's save college sports for those ready for the college life.
And allow college players to receive benefits. This "amateur only" is outdated and over-rated!
Many universities have started their new school year.
And it's time for a new generation of student-athletes to begin their college sports career.
The college football season is about to begin. Other college sports (ie. women's volleyball, soccer) have already started.
And it's time to take about the challenges faced by college athletes ---- about their compensation and their academic program.
-------------------
1) College Athletes Getting Pimped
Currently, most college athletes recieve a scholarship, while the rest are walk-ons who either rely on their parents or other financial aid for tuition.Those who recieve an athletic scholarship get free tuition, textbooks and a dorm room. That's it!
Because the NCAA wants all their college athletes to retain "amateur status", college athletes CANNOT recieve anything else, besides gifts from family members.
That means NOBODY ELSE is allowed to give ANY college athletes ANY money or any other gifts.
Otherwise, that athlete and the university WILL face sanctions.
You might think I'm exaggarating. NOT AT ALL!
From Salon's Josh Eidelson http://www.salon.com/2012/03/11/madness_of_march_ncaa_gets_paid_players_dont/
His teammate, All-American linebacker Donnie Edwards, mentioned in a radio interview that he was having trouble supporting himself on his scholarship. In response, an anonymous donor sent a bag of groceries to Edwards’ door. That year the university was making money selling jerseys with Edwards’ number. But the NCAA suspended Edwards for accepting the groceries.
That's right, student-athletes can't even accept a bag full of groceries from a non-family member.
We're NOT talking about accepting free cars.
We're NOT talking about accepting a bag of marijuana.
We're NOT talking about accepting free access to strip clubs.
We're talking about a bag of groceries!
This actually got a college player suspended
Any other college student can accept a donated bag of groceries without consequences. Except student-athletes!
More examples of this madness from the same article.
Former UCLA power forward James Keefe, who played in the Final Four in 2007 and 2008, says that while it was “a great opportunity … at the same time, it’s just amazing how much money’s being made, and how little of that has trickled down to what I think the athletes need.” Keefe recalls “players that were having a lot of trouble making ends meet,” and athletes disciplined for infractions as small as accepting a free sandwich from a fan
Any college student can accept this for free,
except for student-athletes
.
And this from Joe Nocera's article
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
And what does the labor force that makes it possible for coaches to earn millions, and causes marketers to spend billions, get? Nothing. The workers are supposed to be content with a scholarship that does not even cover the full cost of attending college. Any student athlete who accepts an unapproved, free hamburger from a coach, or even a fan, is in violation of N.C.A.A. rules.
---------------
At major universities, college sports is BIG BUSINESS! Millions of dollars are flowing in, but the student-athletes get nothing more than the scholarship. Because the "amateur" status is soooooooooooo sacred!
While that might not mean much to student-athletes coming from upper-class families, the student-athletes from lower-income families are screwed.
Of course, the player-haters, with all their jealousy, will throw hissy fits like "college athletes should be grateful, they already have a scholarship, I don't have one".
But those students with a music or a theatre scholarship face absolutely ZERO legal limitations from getting paid on the side, while continuing to perform for their college's band,orchestra or theatre productions.
You can play the violin for your college's orchestra, and you can still perform at wedding while getting paid for that. However, if a college basketball player gets paid even chump-change at a community-park tournament, it becomes a scandal!
You can act at your college theatre's musical production, and still take a paid-acting gig for a television ad. No scandal! But if a college quarterback gets paid to do a television ad .......... scandal!
You can be a business major and start your own side-business while still taking college courses. You can be a science major and take a paid internship in your field. But god forbid a college athlete tries something like that ....... it becomes a "scandal".
This kind of nonsense goes on all to appease the jealous losers still upset that they're not popular like the athletes. This kind of nonsense goes on all to appease the jealous losers still upset about people who are good at something they suck at!
---------
Meanwhile, college athletes with lower-income backgrounds can't even eat out with their team-mates, can't even accept free groceries, can't even buy new clothes.
And yet, their university getting millions of dollars from TV contracts.
They see people wearing the jerseys with their number on it, and that same student-athlete doesn't receive an extra-penny for it!
For example
from Salon's Josh Eidelson
http://www.salon.com/2012/03/11/madness_of_march_ncaa_gets_paid_players_dont/
Mosely describes athletes anxiously waiting for federal financial aid checks to help close the gap between their stipends and their expenses. “You become really dependent on, ‘Is it going to come on this Tuesday or this Tuesday?’” says Mosely, because that federal assistance could determine “whether you can get insurance” or “whether you can pay rent.” While Mosely stressed over his expenses, his university sold apparel with his number. “It might not be my name on the back of the jersey, but if it’s a Number 14 Kentucky jersey, they obviously are wearing that jersey for me … ” says Mosely. “That is a little bit of exploitation. You can buy a jersey with my number on it … the school can potentially profit off of it, and the student athlete doesn’t.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
Players aren’t stupid. They look around and see jerseys with their names on them being sold in the bookstores. They see 100,000 people in the stands on a Saturday afternoon. During the season, they can end up putting in 50-hour weeks at their sports, and they learn early on not to take any course that might require real effort or interfere with the primary reason they are on campus: to play football or basketball. The N.C.A.A. can piously define them as students first, but the players know better. They know they are making money for the athletic department. The N.C.A.A.’s often-stated contention that it is protecting the players from “excessive commercialism” is ludicrous; the only thing it’s protecting is everyone else’s revenue stream
How would you feel if that was your situation? How would you feel if someone else is making money off your work and you're not allowed to profit off that? Wouldn't you feel like you're being pimped?
Of course you would!
And while they're getting pimped, (and watching their non-athlete classmates be allowed to get paid on the side), who can blame them if they leave school early for the NFL or the NBA, even if they have no guarantees of getting drafted.
That was the case with Davone Bess, who used to play for the UH Warriors! He came from a single-parent home in East Oakland, one of the most dangerous ghettoes in the USA! He could have played for UH one more year. There was no guarantee that he would get drafted. But with his desperate situation, who could blame him for leaving a year early for the NFL?
Davone Bess
one of the greatest receivers in UH football history
Compare that to another former UH Warrior Colt Brennan. Brennan came from a rich family from Orange County. He didn't have to worry about his expenses during his time at UH, so even though there was a possibility of getting drafted after his junior year, Brennan decided to stick around for one more year.
However, Brennan was still pimped by the system. During his senior season, I would see TONS of people wearing his #15 jersey! But none of that money trickled down to him.
Guess who's not getting paid for wearing that jersey?
Because of the concussions he receive his senior year, plus the hip injuries during his short time in the NFL, Breenan didn't last long in the pros.
For many college athletes like Brennan, their college career was their entire 15 minutes of fame! But they weren't even allowed to be compensated for their fame, especially since so many people were wearing his #15 jersey!
2)How to Compensate the College Athletes
There are millions upon millions of dollars rolling around college sports. TV contracts, coaches salaries, stadiums, fitness facilities all paid for!
Major universities like Notre Dame, Texas, Florida, Oregon ------ make huge profits off of fans watching their student-athletes. They can EASILY AFFORD to pay their student-athletes extra money ABOVE their usual "tuition, books, room and board"
However, smaller colleges are losing money on their sports programs. They won't have extra money to compensate their student-athletes further.
This brings up a concern of "if they pay student athletes, it will give an unfair advantage to the mega-power schools when it comes to recruiting"
Some like Joe Nocera, advocating paying only the football and men's basketball players, since that's where most of the profits in college sports come from.
But that runs into Title IX violations, since we can't have gender double standards.
--------
And of course, there's all this stuff about "let's keep college sports amateur ................ paying the players will ruin what's great about college sports"
What to do, what to do?
------------------
For one thing, this concept of amateurism is OVER-RATED!
Look, the Olympics used to be "amateur-only" but the whole thing was a joke!
Some nations, like the former Soviet Union, basically defied this amateur nonsense, by secretly paying their athletes.
But more importantly, training at the Olympic level is basically a full-time job! It was unfair to demand full-time training, but not allow those players to make any monetary compensation for that time! Those athletes got to pay the bills, you know!
So it's a great thing that the Olympics got rid of this "amateurs only" nonsense back in 1992, when the Dream Team dominated the basketball scene.
And the Olympics got better because now, we really get to see the best athletes of the world compete!
New York Daily News
You mean you won't watch them play
if they get paid?
--------------
Similar things are true about college sports.
Sports Illustrated
You mean you won't watch them play
if they get paid?
Training is a full-time job! There's practices. There's weight-lifting sessions so they dont' get over-powered by their opponents. There's video-studying time to study their practice/game errors, as well as study their opponents. And don't forget they have to remain academically eligible! That means taking college-level courses, and study hall!
All that, without extra money in their bank account!
----------
It's time to put this "amateur status only" crap in the rubbish can!
Colleges shall be allowed to compensate their student-athletes whatever they can afford.
No, it shouldn't be mandatory that the student-athletes to get paid big money, but we shouldn't stop colleges from doing so either.
But even more importantly, let the student-athletes receive free gifts from fans, boosters, and anyone else making legal money!
Let the student-athletes receive donated groceries. Let them receive a free burger from a fan! Let them receive a new car! Let them receive a new stereo system!
Let the student-athletes directly receive corporate sponsorships!
Let the student-athletes get paid to do some advertisements!
Let the student-athletes get paid to do autograph sessions.
Let the student-athletes get paid for every jersey with their # getting sold!
There could be some limitations. For examples, religious colleges could still ban their student-athletes from appearing ads that goes against their religion. So BYU could still ban their student-athletes from appearing in beer ads, for example!
3) Student-Athletes would still have to follow some rules
Just like people at any other job, student-athletes still will have to follow rules, even when they're getting compensation.Most likely, before the NCAA will even allow for student-athletes to get additional monetary compensation, they will probably make other rules stricter.
For example, the NCAA would most likely be stricter on academic dishonesty (cheating on tests), drug abuse, and on violent behaviors.
Student-Athletes will probably have to face stricter penalties for violating felonies. That will mean those arrested for things like DUIs, domestic violence, rape and other things will most likely will be expelled instead of just getting a "slap on the wrist" (ie. suspended from games involving weak opponents).
And you know what? That's the type of rules that are needed!
Student-Athletes are role models. They represent their school and the surrounding community. They ought to be held to a higher standard when it comes to behavior.
4) Student-Athletes and Academics
As for academics, as I mentioned earlier, student-athletes still have to take and pass college-level courses.
However, it can be a struggle to do so during their season, when they have to attend practice, weight-lifting sessions, video-study, and off course their games.
Usually, student-athletes take easy course during their season, harder classes during the off-season.
However, for basketball players, their season run from Fall semester to Spring semester. So they'll have to take at least one hard class each semester.
The NCAA has a timetable saying "by this senior year, you should be 80 % done with your major requirements."
Sounds great, but there's a problem with that as I mentioned in an earlier blog post
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/07/college-reform.html
Why pressure students to "graduate in 2 (or 4) years, if they need more time to fulfill their core requirements as well as balance their school/non-school life!
And the NCAA rules on student-athletes have to have 80% of their degree done by senior year, has also caused problems when student-athletes have to switch out of their original preferred major just to stay eligible to play! The NCAA is still buying this OUTDATED FICTION of a "4-year degree" when some majors are now 5-7 year majors. If I was the NCAA president, I'll be like " just pass your classes, you can still finish your degree when you can"
Another point to back me up
from NY Times - Joe Nocera
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/01/magazine/lets-start-paying-college-athletes.html
It is the unspoken scandal that permeates college sports, and it is corrosive not just for the athletes but also for the entire student body. “Within two or three weeks of coming to a university, players often find out they are woefully underprepared for college work,” Duderstadt says. “Very quickly they give up and major in eligibility. They take the cupcake courses. It is an insidious thing.”
There is another issue: Players who were stars in high school inevitably come to college with big dreams of going pro one day. Yet, as Emmert notes, “we had 5,500 Division I men’s basketball players last year, and only 50 went to the N.B.A.” By the time most players realize that they are not going to make it to the professional ranks, so much time has been lost that they can never catch up academically. In most cases, they also can’t afford to quit football and concentrate on their studies, because that would cost them their athletic scholarships.
The primary purpose of a six-year scholarship is to give athletes whose playing days have ended a chance to get their degrees — and to really have time to focus on classes that can prepare them for a future without football or basketball. It would allow players to take fewer courses during their years of athletic eligibility, giving them a better chance to succeed at the courses they do take. And it would make it possible for those players who do graduate within four years to pursue a graduate degree. The N.C.A.A. would no longer need to obsess over an athlete’s academic performance; as long as he met the same standard the school applied to every other student, he could stay in school and play on the team. The extra two years would place the onus on the athlete to get an education, while also giving him the opportunity. Isn’t that how it should work anyway?
And another great point on student-athletes and academics
from Midweek's Steve Murray
http://www.midweek.com/sterns-rant-is-cranky-but-correct/
But unlike producers who need markets for their goods, the NCAA is not a supplier but a service provider like the NBA. If Emmert wants players to stay on campus, thereby discontinuing the current state of athletics that makes a mockery of academics, the NCAA needs to mandate that anyone who signs of letter of intent must commit to two full academic years on campus. Players who leave early and sign professional sports contracts would be required to refund the cost of tuition.
To make things fair, the NCAA would eliminate the one-year renewable scholarships in favor of guaranteed four-year contracts, and players would have (almost) the same right to movement as coaches. After two years on campus, the player would be free to transfer to another school without impunity.
One of the problems standing in the way of such a brilliant and simple plan is the fear that the top players will simply bypass college and go straight to the NBA Development League or Europe for a season.
Go for it. There are more than 3,600 male athletes playing Division 1 basketball. The effect of losing 10 during any year would be negligible.
In other words, if high school basketball players rather go to the minor league route instead of playing college basketball, LET THEM!
After all, if that player can't even do college work, don't force him/her to waste time -- just let them go to the minor leagues, just like how some baseball and hockey players do.
Let's save college sports for those ready for the college life.
And allow college players to receive benefits. This "amateur only" is outdated and over-rated!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Rape and Pregnancy
Earlier this month, Todd Akin, Republican politician running for Congress, said that if the woman really got raped, her body's chemistry will stop her from getting pregnant.
This wasn't the first time I heard such idiocy.
Back in 2000, while talking with a few politically minded friends, one of them was an anti-abortion activist named Jason Scott Jones. I asked him something like "why should a woman be forced to keep the pregnancy if she was raped". Then Jason Scott Jones said something like "the woman's trauma would release chemicals that would lead to an early miscarriage".
Obviously, real life doesn't always work that way.
from Renee Devesty, someone with REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE on that issue
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/22/i_got_pregnant_from_rape/
From a conservative Jewish writer Dennis Prager
http://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2012/08/21/the_prolife_movement_must_disavow_akin_comment
I want to go over the issue of slaves getting raped by their slave masters. When the European slave owners imported African slaves to the Americas, the European slave owners would occassionally rape the female African slaves. Guess what came out of that? A baby that is darker than the European rapist, lighter than the African slave.
This is why so many "black people" in the US and Latin America are LIGHTER SKINNED than your average African. Many of them are descendants of African slaves raped by European slave-owners.
Remember, after slavery, there was Jim Crow laws that banned inter-racial marriage, so nobody with African blood was allowed to marry a pure-blooded European-American. That went on for almost a century. So most of the race-mixing in the South were Europeans raping Africans on plantation.
And for the Sudan situation, in which Arab descendants have been oppressing native Africans, this really gone to an extreme level in the Darfur section of Sudan. Massive killings, house burning and rapes. This was Arab-on-native African rapes going on. And many of the offsprings of such rapes have been stigmatized for having Arabic features.
------------
So why would Todd Akin and Jason Scott Jones say that rape victims rarely get pregnant.
It's because they are anti-abortion fanatics who are trying to ease their way out of the very powerful arguments of the pro-choice activists who remind us that rape victims DID NOT CHOSE TO HAVE THEIR CHILD and why would we force them to have a child they didn't want to create?
Instead of confronting that issue head-on (or even just promote adoption), they'll act as if true rape victims don't get pregnant.
Then they ease into their earlier scheduled arguments with their stereotypes of "only sluts want abortions"
Debra Saunders explain more here
http://townhall.com/columnists/debrajsaunders/2012/08/21/todd_akin_when_dumb_talk_is_inevitable
The group highlighted in blue, I do respect their objections to abortions, even though I am for legalized abortions. At least you can sense that they have a heart! Those are the people who truly care about saving the unborn.
For the group highlighted in red, they have no heart. Notice that they truly don't care about the unborn! Those people are morality fascists who enjoy bullying others! They enjoy bullying women who for doing imperfect things. They're just like the bad kids who laugh at other kids who got busted! (remember when you got busted by the teacher? the ones laughing at you WERE NOT THE Well Behaved Kids, it was the other bad kids who don't care about morality AT ALL, they just cared about laughing at other's misfortune!)
Well, when those same bad kids grow up, they grow up to become those punks who said "you had sex, you deserved to be punished by being forced to have that child". Notice that those punks RARELY EXPRESS TRUE ANGER at the rapists, the deadbeat dads, the spouse abusers. No, they pick on someone being abused by those people!
That's the mentality expressed by Todd Akin. He denies rape victims endure forced pregnancies, so that he can continue to bully women for having abortions.
This mentality of Todd Akin is just like the neo-Nazis who said "the Holocaust isn't real".
While the worst scum of the earth includes genocidal killers, rapists, and other violent psychopaths, the second worst scum are the ones involved in the cover-up. That includes the Holocaust Deniers, and the punks (like Todd Akin) who claim "true rape victims don't get pregnant"
There's very few things more emotionally painful after a traumatizing experience than to be told "it didn't happen to you, you lying!"
That's why Todd Akin is undeserving of respect!
--------------------
As for the Democrats, don't spend too much time celebrating the misfortune of Todd Akin!
After all, you ever notice Bill Clinton is silent on the issue.
Because Bill Clinton has several rape accusations against him!
No, I'm NOT talking his consensual affairs with interns that everyone kept talking about back in the late 1990's.
I'm talking about Juanita Broadrick and a few others who claimed Bill Clinton raped them decades before he became president.
from Larry Elder's "Todd Akin Was Never Accused of Rape -- Unlike Bill Clinton"
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2012/08/23/todd_akin_was_never_accused_of_rape__unlike_bill_clinton
More allegations against Bill Clinton
http://albertpeia.com/oxfordassault.htm
warning: there are some graphic details among the allegations
By the time such allegations came out, the US public were already tired of hearing about Bill Clinton's consensual affairs with Monica Lewinsky, Geniffer Flowers and other women.
I know I was tired of hearing about it back then. After all, the stuff with Lewinsky was consensual, none of my business.
But then, I did saw the Juanita Broadrick's allegations against Bill Clinton in one of the tabloids. Then I saw more of those allegations online.
Of course, the "statute of limitations" means that it's too late to press charges.
It is highly possible that Clinton got away with it, knowing that those women would be too scared of being publicly ridiculed by his supporters! And that by the time those women could no longer hold it in, it's too late for them to press charges.
Bill Clinton has stayed silent about those accussations.
While he does have the "right to remain silent", that silence sounds like a cover-up!
That's why Bill Clinton is saying nothing about Todd Akin's ridiculous words. Becuase if he did, then Fox News and other like-minded media outlets would feast on Bill Clinton, bringing up more allegations against Bill Clinton!
Remember, some of the currently popular right-wing pundits like Michelle Maglalang Malkin, Glenn Beck, and the like were unknown during Clinton's presidency! Bill Clinton was lucky that was the case, since those 2 pundits are very viscious and would pounce on Clinton's rape allegations when the timing was right.
That's why Bill Clinton is silent on the rape issue!
It's time to Bill Clinton to just tell the truth about what happened, and at least admit he made some serious mistakes.
After all, even former gang leaders who publicly and sincerely regretted their actions have gotten respect from the mainstream society that they once terrified!
This wasn't the first time I heard such idiocy.
Back in 2000, while talking with a few politically minded friends, one of them was an anti-abortion activist named Jason Scott Jones. I asked him something like "why should a woman be forced to keep the pregnancy if she was raped". Then Jason Scott Jones said something like "the woman's trauma would release chemicals that would lead to an early miscarriage".
Obviously, real life doesn't always work that way.
from Renee Devesty, someone with REAL LIFE EXPERIENCE on that issue
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/22/i_got_pregnant_from_rape/
Eight weeks after I was raped, Planned Parenthood gave me the confirmation: I was pregnant. The woman who worked there tried to tell me about my options, but I ran. I threw up in the parking lot. I drove around for hours praying this was all a dream.
Any chance to remotely reclaim who I was disappeared in that moment. My whole worldview was challenged. I’m a Catholic, and I didn’t understand: How could this happen to me? I was innocent. I did nothing wrong. But I was overwhelmed by fear, guilt and shame. Just when I thought I might be able to push the ugliness of this savage act out of my mind, I realized I would never be able to escape. It would not let me go.
I was mentally, emotionally and spiritually broken, and the thought of what had resulted from this vile act took my self-hatred into another dimension. I wanted no memory of that night, would do anything possible to erase it in the hope that it would somehow ease the sick, disgusting feeling I got every time I looked in the mirror. I realized that in order to maintain what little sanity I had left, I had to terminate the pregnancy.
From a conservative Jewish writer Dennis Prager
http://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2012/08/21/the_prolife_movement_must_disavow_akin_comment
I wonder if that is not the case with Rep. Akin's comment. If I were at a dinner party with Akin, and he said what he said in his Missouri television interview, as much as I consider the vast majority of abortions in America to be immoral acts, I would have respectfully asked the congressman whether he was aware of the marauding armies throughout history that raped women. Did he assume that very few of them -- like the German women raped by Soviet soldiers at the end of World War II -- got pregnant? Did he not know how many raped slaves gave birth? Was he not aware of the tragedy of the women of Darfur who, after being raped by Sudanese Arab soldiers, are abandoned by their families for getting pregnant out-of-wedlock?
I want to go over the issue of slaves getting raped by their slave masters. When the European slave owners imported African slaves to the Americas, the European slave owners would occassionally rape the female African slaves. Guess what came out of that? A baby that is darker than the European rapist, lighter than the African slave.
This is why so many "black people" in the US and Latin America are LIGHTER SKINNED than your average African. Many of them are descendants of African slaves raped by European slave-owners.
Remember, after slavery, there was Jim Crow laws that banned inter-racial marriage, so nobody with African blood was allowed to marry a pure-blooded European-American. That went on for almost a century. So most of the race-mixing in the South were Europeans raping Africans on plantation.
And for the Sudan situation, in which Arab descendants have been oppressing native Africans, this really gone to an extreme level in the Darfur section of Sudan. Massive killings, house burning and rapes. This was Arab-on-native African rapes going on. And many of the offsprings of such rapes have been stigmatized for having Arabic features.
------------
So why would Todd Akin and Jason Scott Jones say that rape victims rarely get pregnant.
It's because they are anti-abortion fanatics who are trying to ease their way out of the very powerful arguments of the pro-choice activists who remind us that rape victims DID NOT CHOSE TO HAVE THEIR CHILD and why would we force them to have a child they didn't want to create?
Instead of confronting that issue head-on (or even just promote adoption), they'll act as if true rape victims don't get pregnant.
Then they ease into their earlier scheduled arguments with their stereotypes of "only sluts want abortions"
Debra Saunders explain more here
http://townhall.com/columnists/debrajsaunders/2012/08/21/todd_akin_when_dumb_talk_is_inevitable
There are two sides within the anti-abortion movement. On one side, stand men and women who care deeply about human life and fear that abortion devalues society by creating a caste of disposable people. On the other side, lurk crabbed adults who think women should be punished for having extramarital sex and that pregnancy is fit punishment that (luck of the draw) spares men and falls instead on women and girls
The group highlighted in blue, I do respect their objections to abortions, even though I am for legalized abortions. At least you can sense that they have a heart! Those are the people who truly care about saving the unborn.
For the group highlighted in red, they have no heart. Notice that they truly don't care about the unborn! Those people are morality fascists who enjoy bullying others! They enjoy bullying women who for doing imperfect things. They're just like the bad kids who laugh at other kids who got busted! (remember when you got busted by the teacher? the ones laughing at you WERE NOT THE Well Behaved Kids, it was the other bad kids who don't care about morality AT ALL, they just cared about laughing at other's misfortune!)
Well, when those same bad kids grow up, they grow up to become those punks who said "you had sex, you deserved to be punished by being forced to have that child". Notice that those punks RARELY EXPRESS TRUE ANGER at the rapists, the deadbeat dads, the spouse abusers. No, they pick on someone being abused by those people!
That's the mentality expressed by Todd Akin. He denies rape victims endure forced pregnancies, so that he can continue to bully women for having abortions.
This mentality of Todd Akin is just like the neo-Nazis who said "the Holocaust isn't real".
While the worst scum of the earth includes genocidal killers, rapists, and other violent psychopaths, the second worst scum are the ones involved in the cover-up. That includes the Holocaust Deniers, and the punks (like Todd Akin) who claim "true rape victims don't get pregnant"
There's very few things more emotionally painful after a traumatizing experience than to be told "it didn't happen to you, you lying!"
That's why Todd Akin is undeserving of respect!
--------------------
As for the Democrats, don't spend too much time celebrating the misfortune of Todd Akin!
After all, you ever notice Bill Clinton is silent on the issue.
Because Bill Clinton has several rape accusations against him!
No, I'm NOT talking his consensual affairs with interns that everyone kept talking about back in the late 1990's.
I'm talking about Juanita Broadrick and a few others who claimed Bill Clinton raped them decades before he became president.
from Larry Elder's "Todd Akin Was Never Accused of Rape -- Unlike Bill Clinton"
http://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2012/08/23/todd_akin_was_never_accused_of_rape__unlike_bill_clinton
"Rape is rape," said Obama.
President Bill Clinton plans to speak at the Democratic convention in North Carolina. Clinton, some might vaguely recall, was accused of rape by a woman named Juanita Broaddrick. "Dateline NBC" aired her allegations against the then-Arkansas attorney general and gubernatorial candidate.
Here's what Broaddrick alleged: "I first pushed him away. I just told him 'no.' ... He tries to kiss me again. He starts biting on my lip. ... And then he forced me down on the bed. I just was very frightened. I tried to get away from him. I told him 'no.' ... He wouldn't listen to me." To this day, former ABC reporter Sam Donaldson is the only national reporter to ask Clinton about Broaddrick's allegation.
Then there's Kathleen Willey, who on "60 Minutes" made a credible allegation of sexual assault against Clinton. Willey, a Clinton campaign volunteer, says that Clinton, in the Oval Office, took her hand and place it on his aroused genitalia: "He touched my breasts with his hand ... and then he whispered ... 'I've wanted to do this ever since I laid eyes on you.' ... He took my hand, and he put it ... on his genitals." Willey said she managed to push him away.
Let's not forget Paula "drag a hundred-dollar bill through a trailer park, you never know what you'll find" Jones. Alleging that then-Gov. Clinton propositioned her and exposed himself in a Little Rock, Ark., hotel room, Jones sued him for sexual harassment. Jones alleged that a state trooper escorted her to a room at the Excelsior Hotel to meet Clinton. Clinton dropped his pants and, according to Jones, asked her to "kiss it." Clinton later paid Jones $850,000 to settle the sexual harassment lawsuit that Clinton long claimed lacked merit.
More allegations against Bill Clinton
http://albertpeia.com/oxfordassault.htm
warning: there are some graphic details among the allegations
Eileen Wellstone, 19-year-old English woman who said Clinton sexually assaulted her after she met him at a pub near the Oxford where the future President was a student in 1969. A retired State Department employee, who asked not to be identified, confirmed that he spoke with the family of the girl and filed a report with his superiors. Clinton admitted having sex with the girl, but claimed it was consensual. The victim's family declined to pursue the case;
In 1972, a 22-year-old woman told campus police at Yale University that she was sexually assaulted by Clinton, a law student at the college. No charges were filed, but retired campus policemen contacted by Capitol Hill Blue confirmed the incident. The woman, tracked down by Capitol Hill Blue last week, confirmed the incident, but declined to discuss it further and would not give permission to use her name;
In 1974, a female student at the University of Arkansas complained that then-law school instructor Bill Clinton tried to prevent her from leaving his office during a conference. She said he groped her and forced his hand inside her blouse. She complained to her faculty advisor who confronted Clinton, but Clinton claimed the student ''came on'' to him. The student left the school shortly after the incident. Reached at her home in Texas, the former student confirmed the incident, but declined to go on the record with her account. Several former students at the University have confirmed the incident in confidential interviews and said there were other reports of Clinton attempting to force himself on female students;
Broaddrick, a volunteer in Clinton's gubernatorial campaign, said he raped her in 1978. Mrs. Broaddrick suffered a bruised and torn lip, which she said she suffered when Clinton bit her during the rape;
From 1978-1980, during Clinton's first term as governor of Arkansas, state troopers assigned to protect the governor were aware of at least seven complaints from women who said Clinton forced, or attempted to force, himself on them sexually. One retired state trooper said in an interview that the common joke among those assigned to protect Clinton was "who's next?". One former state trooper said other troopers would often escort women to the governor's hotel room after political events, often more than one an evening;
Carolyn Moffet, a legal secretary in Little Rock in 1979, said she met then-governor Clinton at a political fundraiser and shortly thereafter received an invitation to meet the governor in his hotel room. "I was escorted there by a state trooper. When I went in, he was sitting on a couch, wearing only an undershirt. He pointed at his penis and told me to suck it. I told him I didn't even do that for my boyfriend and he got mad, grabbed my head and shoved it into his lap. I pulled away from him and ran out of the room."
Elizabeth Ward, the Miss Arkansas who won the Miss America crown in 1982, told friends she was forced by Clinton to have sex with him shortly after she won her state crown. Last year, Ward, who is now married with the last name of Gracen (from her first marriage), told an interviewer she did have sex with Clinton but said it was consensual. Close friends of Ward, however, say she still maintains privately that Clinton forced himself on her.
By the time such allegations came out, the US public were already tired of hearing about Bill Clinton's consensual affairs with Monica Lewinsky, Geniffer Flowers and other women.
I know I was tired of hearing about it back then. After all, the stuff with Lewinsky was consensual, none of my business.
But then, I did saw the Juanita Broadrick's allegations against Bill Clinton in one of the tabloids. Then I saw more of those allegations online.
Of course, the "statute of limitations" means that it's too late to press charges.
It is highly possible that Clinton got away with it, knowing that those women would be too scared of being publicly ridiculed by his supporters! And that by the time those women could no longer hold it in, it's too late for them to press charges.
Bill Clinton has stayed silent about those accussations.
While he does have the "right to remain silent", that silence sounds like a cover-up!
That's why Bill Clinton is saying nothing about Todd Akin's ridiculous words. Becuase if he did, then Fox News and other like-minded media outlets would feast on Bill Clinton, bringing up more allegations against Bill Clinton!
Remember, some of the currently popular right-wing pundits like Michelle Maglalang Malkin, Glenn Beck, and the like were unknown during Clinton's presidency! Bill Clinton was lucky that was the case, since those 2 pundits are very viscious and would pounce on Clinton's rape allegations when the timing was right.
That's why Bill Clinton is silent on the rape issue!
It's time to Bill Clinton to just tell the truth about what happened, and at least admit he made some serious mistakes.
After all, even former gang leaders who publicly and sincerely regretted their actions have gotten respect from the mainstream society that they once terrified!
Vili the Warrior retired
Back in the 00's, UH had the coolest mascot in all of college sports.
Whereas other schools had mascots in foam costumes, we got Vili The Warrior!
Vili is the big Tongan guy with the ti leaves and the hardcore face-paint!
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Vili and his boy banged the drums and excited crowds in a way no mascot in a foam costume ever could!
Vili was always ready for battle!
Vili was never afraid to express himself, whether it showing his silly side or his agressive side!
Vili represented Polynesian power to the fullest!
And Vili gave the UH Warriors a tough hard-core image! That plus, the Polynesian war chants (the haka or the ha'a, depending on which island group the chant came from), the black jerseys, the tiki-styled H-symbol and the hard-htting style of play!
photo from Associated Press/ Star Bulletin
UH football players doing the haka
There's no college team that could ever top that level of cool-ness EVER!
-------
Unfortunately, Vili the Warrior has retired from being the UH mascot, just when the new season was about to start :(
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspremium/20120820_Unofficial_UHmascot_Vili_officially_is_not_returning.html?id=166729566
Unfortunately, we won't have a mascot entertaining us before games, half-time or time-outs!
No one to bang the loud drums, nobody representing the coolest face-paint on earth!
Vili and his wife said they wanted to spend more time with their family. Family comes first, and I will respect that.
------
However, there are conspiracy theories that Vili the Warrior was "pushed out" by the UH athletic department and the new coach.
There is no evidence on that, but I understand why such conspiracy theories came out!
For one thing, the new UH football coach started imposing regulations on the player's grooming style.
Under the new rules, the UH football players will no longer be allowed to have long hair, WHICH IS THE MOST STUPIDEST RULE ON EARTH!
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
The long hair was a major part of the UH-Warrior mystique in the previous decade. It made the UH haka/ha'a more real when the Warriors had the wild hair while making their chants!
Northwest Hawaii Times, photo by Steve Kajihiro
Coach Chow claimed it was about "player safety" mentioning the long hair and football helmets interfere with each other.
But then, why did Chow also banned the players having beards or earings, both of which are covered under the helmets and therefore, had ZERO impediment to "player safety"?
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
In other words, Coach Chow wants to change the UH Warriors image. Boooooo!
Some will say "who cares about image, we just want to win".
However, the reality is that marketing is a MAJOR part of college sports!
That's why teams have mascots representing wild animals or warriors (ie Trojans, Spartans, and of course, the UH Warriors.)
They need an agressive image that the fans want to be a part of.
They need an image that the upcoming recruits want to join in!
That's why UH went from Rainbows to Warriors!
That's why we had Vili the Warrior!
That's why the wild hair was so cool! It gave the team a "rock n roll" edge mixed in with the traditional Polynesian warrior image.
The traditional Polynesian warriors didn't have crew cuts!
So there's no reason for Coach Chow to go against that tradition. Coach Chow is bringing the worst aspect of the 1800's missionary mentality with his rules against long, wild hair and beards!
---
Look, I do think Norm Chow does bring some improvement on the team's offense, especially with the use of Tight Ends and Fullbacks that was absent from the UH schemes the last decade.
But if I was the next UH athletic director, I'll tell Coach Chow straight up "You're here to coach the team to victory, not to be the hairstyle police!"
and
"the Warriors were marketable with their wild hair, we're bringing it back!"
Whereas other schools had mascots in foam costumes, we got Vili The Warrior!
Vili is the big Tongan guy with the ti leaves and the hardcore face-paint!
Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
Vili and his boy banged the drums and excited crowds in a way no mascot in a foam costume ever could!
Vili was always ready for battle!
Vili was never afraid to express himself, whether it showing his silly side or his agressive side!
Vili represented Polynesian power to the fullest!
And Vili gave the UH Warriors a tough hard-core image! That plus, the Polynesian war chants (the haka or the ha'a, depending on which island group the chant came from), the black jerseys, the tiki-styled H-symbol and the hard-htting style of play!
photo from Associated Press/ Star Bulletin
UH football players doing the haka
photo from
Vili leading the haka, with the football players wearing the black shirts!
There's no college team that could ever top that level of cool-ness EVER!
-------
Unfortunately, Vili the Warrior has retired from being the UH mascot, just when the new season was about to start :(
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sportspremium/20120820_Unofficial_UHmascot_Vili_officially_is_not_returning.html?id=166729566
Unfortunately, we won't have a mascot entertaining us before games, half-time or time-outs!
No one to bang the loud drums, nobody representing the coolest face-paint on earth!
Vili and his wife said they wanted to spend more time with their family. Family comes first, and I will respect that.
------
However, there are conspiracy theories that Vili the Warrior was "pushed out" by the UH athletic department and the new coach.
There is no evidence on that, but I understand why such conspiracy theories came out!
For one thing, the new UH football coach started imposing regulations on the player's grooming style.
Under the new rules, the UH football players will no longer be allowed to have long hair, WHICH IS THE MOST STUPIDEST RULE ON EARTH!
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
The long hair was a major part of the UH-Warrior mystique in the previous decade. It made the UH haka/ha'a more real when the Warriors had the wild hair while making their chants!
Northwest Hawaii Times, photo by Steve Kajihiro
Coach Chow claimed it was about "player safety" mentioning the long hair and football helmets interfere with each other.
But then, why did Chow also banned the players having beards or earings, both of which are covered under the helmets and therefore, had ZERO impediment to "player safety"?
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/sports/sns-mct-free-time-is-over.-chow-time-begins-for-real-today-20120802_1_camp-chow-time-norm-chow
Chow has learned that only part of his duties are on the field. Since being hired in December, he assembled a staff, dealt with such matters as fertilizer purchases for the practice field, and imposed a list of no-nos: No long hair, no beards, no earrings, no tardiness.
In other words, Coach Chow wants to change the UH Warriors image. Boooooo!
Some will say "who cares about image, we just want to win".
However, the reality is that marketing is a MAJOR part of college sports!
That's why teams have mascots representing wild animals or warriors (ie Trojans, Spartans, and of course, the UH Warriors.)
They need an agressive image that the fans want to be a part of.
They need an image that the upcoming recruits want to join in!
That's why UH went from Rainbows to Warriors!
That's why we had Vili the Warrior!
That's why the wild hair was so cool! It gave the team a "rock n roll" edge mixed in with the traditional Polynesian warrior image.
The traditional Polynesian warriors didn't have crew cuts!
So there's no reason for Coach Chow to go against that tradition. Coach Chow is bringing the worst aspect of the 1800's missionary mentality with his rules against long, wild hair and beards!
---
Look, I do think Norm Chow does bring some improvement on the team's offense, especially with the use of Tight Ends and Fullbacks that was absent from the UH schemes the last decade.
But if I was the next UH athletic director, I'll tell Coach Chow straight up "You're here to coach the team to victory, not to be the hairstyle police!"
and
"the Warriors were marketable with their wild hair, we're bringing it back!"
Monday, August 20, 2012
The new UH-West Oahu campus has opened
Today, a new era began for higher education in Hawaii.
The long-desired UH-West Oahu campus in Kapolei has finally opened.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20120817_UH_West_Oahu_set_to_open_after_2_years_of_construction_175M.html
Since then, the Maui community college campus has started offering bachelor's degree programs. So less Maui residents have to worry about uprooting themselves to get a bachelor's degree.
------------------
West Oahu students will now have access to a university near their home. This will make it especially easier for those in Nanakuli/Waianae who think of Manoa as a "foreign land" since most of them don't spend much time in Honolulu. But they sure spend tons of time traveling to Kapolei, and they have a college closeby they can aspire to attending.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20120817_UH_West_Oahu_set_to_open_after_2_years_of_construction_175M.html
And what really got me supporting the building of UH-West Oahu was that it will reduce the demand of rail!
Yep, I rather pay for UH-West Oahu than pay for rail!
So, everyone, please forgive me for expressing doubts about the UH-West Oahu campus!
And I wish the students of UH-West Oahu good luck in furthering their education. :)
The long-desired UH-West Oahu campus in Kapolei has finally opened.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20120817_UH_West_Oahu_set_to_open_after_2_years_of_construction_175M.html
photo from Star Advertiser 8/17/2012
UH West Oahu library
UH West Oahu logo
I am happy for the people of West Oahu to finally have a university campus, and no longer have to take soul-sucking long commutes in heavy traffic to UH-Manoa.
Though I have to admit, a decade ago, I wasn't a fan of building the new UH-West Oahu campus. I'm sure the UH-West Oahu students of today and the future would hate me for that, but I have since changed my mind!
This was what I wrote on my blog back in 2004.
In fact, the state doesn't have enough money to open a public library in Kapolei. Yet, people demand that we build a new university in Kapolei with its own libraries, lecture halls, science labs, computer labs, parking lots, campus eateries, and athletic facilities out of the same state budget. Plus, add to the fact that building a West Oahu campus will drain money out of the Manoa campus.
Since then some of those circumstances have changed! When circumstances change, my opinions are flexible enough to change.
For one thing, the public library in Kapolei has been open for years.
For one thing, the public library in Kapolei has been open for years.
I expressed fears that having a UH-West Oahu campus will drain UH-Manoa of badly needed funds (especially for renovations)
Well, the UH-Manoa has many renovations going on now (including the Campus Center expansion, Gartely Hall, Edmonson Hall, Webster Hall) as well as a new IT buidling being built by Bilger Hall. Also, let's not forget that many UH dorms have completed renovations (including Frear Hall, Johnson Hall, Gateway Hall, and Hale Aloha dorms)
Back in 2004, having those buildings renovated was considered fantasy. It's now 2012 reality! :) :) :)
UH-Manoa is doing fine, even with the competition from UH-West Oahu!
In fact, UH-Manoa would now have more room in its dormitories since less West Oahu residents will be using them. There will be less crowds at UH-Manoa too, and more room for East Oahu students, as well as mainland/foreign students who want easy access to Waikiki!
UH-Manoa is doing fine, even with the competition from UH-West Oahu!
In fact, UH-Manoa would now have more room in its dormitories since less West Oahu residents will be using them. There will be less crowds at UH-Manoa too, and more room for East Oahu students, as well as mainland/foreign students who want easy access to Waikiki!
I also said this back in 2004.
While West Oahu people complain about long commutes to the Manoa campus, people from Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai have to uproot their lives and leave their island just to earn a university degree. In fact, the island of Maui has more land space than Oahu, yet it doesn't have a public university there, just a community college.
Since then, the Maui community college campus has started offering bachelor's degree programs. So less Maui residents have to worry about uprooting themselves to get a bachelor's degree.
------------------
West Oahu students will now have access to a university near their home. This will make it especially easier for those in Nanakuli/Waianae who think of Manoa as a "foreign land" since most of them don't spend much time in Honolulu. But they sure spend tons of time traveling to Kapolei, and they have a college closeby they can aspire to attending.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/newspremium/20120817_UH_West_Oahu_set_to_open_after_2_years_of_construction_175M.html
"For nearly 40 years, government has promised the Second City a four-year educational institution," Har said. "For this today to finally come shows that government is finally living up to its promises to the people of West Oahu."
Har joins others on the Ewa plain who believe UH-West O‘ahu will encourage more Hawaii students to attend a four-year university at home because of its cheaper tuition compared with UH's flagship Manoa campus, which costs $4,332 per semester for a full-time resident student.
At UH-West O‘ahu the same student pays only $2,796 per semester.
And with more faculty, staff and students traveling shorter distances — or altering the flow of cars away from town — Har said H-1 traffic likely will improve for everyone.
"The university clearly has an impact on the traffic flow," Har said. "It even has the ability to reverse that flow of traffic."
And what really got me supporting the building of UH-West Oahu was that it will reduce the demand of rail!
Yep, I rather pay for UH-West Oahu than pay for rail!
So, everyone, please forgive me for expressing doubts about the UH-West Oahu campus!
And I wish the students of UH-West Oahu good luck in furthering their education. :)
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
2012 London Olympics
Another summer Olympics has come to a close, and so many interesting stories abound.
Here is a few of them
1) Medal winner from my middle school
Yep, I was in the same middle school as an Olympic medal winner.
The middle school was Kawananakoa Middle School. And the medal winner is Clarrissa Chun, the bronze medalist in women's wrestling.
I didn't know her well back then. We weren't in the same classes, even though we were in the same grade.
I just knew of her existence from the yearbook. After receiving the yearbook, I pretty much studied every page, even memorizing students I hardly even know.
Anyways, after middle school, most Kawananakoa students either go to McKinley High School or Roosevelt High School. Both schools named after presidents. I went to McKinley, Chun went to Roosevelt. So I never got a chance to interact with her.
In high school, I would check the sports page, to check for middle school classmates who played for different high schools, and I did notice Chun did play judo, wrestling, and other sports.
Fast forward to 2008, Chun did go to the Beijing Olympics, but was 5th place, no medal.
Fast forward to 2012, my former middle school classmates on facebook were excited to see one of their own back in the Olympics, hopefully to get the gold!
Chun didn't get the gold, but she did win the bronze match against the same Ukrainian wrestler who beat her in 2008.
photo from Associated Press
photo from Associated Press
Congratulations Clarissa Chun!
2) Saudi Arabia sport enters the 21st century
Saudi Arabia is an extremely conservative Muslim country that puts restrictive laws on women.
Women are not allowed to drive. They're not even allowed to go out of the house without permission from a male relative!
Saudi Arabia gets away with this because they have tons of oil to sell!
But they were about to be banned from the Olympics unless they start to allow women athletes to enter the Olympics.
Well, the one who is competing in track is not even from Saudi Arabia.
Sarah Attar is from California, but her dad is from Saudi Arabia, so she was eligible for dual citizenship.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20120809_saudi_woman_makes_history.html?id=165559076
After all, now that we found more oil in North America, now that we got fracking technology to access that oil, the US will be less reliant on Middle East oil! That we will be buying less oil from Saudi Arabia will isolate that country more!
If we don't need Saudi oil, then it wouldn't be worth much to invest there if they continue to put BS restrictions on 1/2 the population.
Time for the Saudi society to grow up, enter the 21st century, and end gender apartheid!
3) Gabrielle Douglas
Gabrielle (aka Gabby) Douglas has made history as the first African-American gymnast to win the gold medal in the women's individual all-around gymnastics
![]()
This "black-on-black" bullying on hairstyle goes back to the Jim Crow days, when many African-Americans tried to conform to "white society" by making their hair thinner using chemicals. This still goes on, even decades after Jim Crow was over.
Some will view this "black-on-black" bullying on hairstyle as just an annoyance, but as talk-show host Larry Elder mention, this could have some serious, even deadly consequences.
Thank you Larry Elder.
4) Facial expressions aren't everything
I sometimes hear people say nonsense like "facial expressions say it all".
No it doesn't. Sometimes, they say NOTHING at all!
But USA gymnast McKayla Maroney has been getting lots of flack over her "serious looking" facial expressions.
(skipped paragraphs)
Look, I've known people who look "grumpy" or "overly serious" when I first met them, but when you get to know them, they're really nice people. They just have a tendency to frown.
I had the opposite issue. I had people asking me in middle school "why are you smiling so much" when I didn't even know I was smiling! Honest! I don't spend much time paying attention to my facial expression.
For some reason, that happened more often at middle schools more than anywhere else. Even as a sub teacher, I got asked "why are you always smiling" in middle schools more than elementary or high schools.
For example, at Niu Valley Middle School, when 2 boys got of control, and I called security to come and get those boys out of the class. After I made the phone call, I heard a girl say "look, the teacher is still smiling through all this". The reality was that I wasn't even close to feeling happy at that moment! I was really irritated that those 2 boys were still play-fighting and trash talking even after I asked them to re-focus on their class-work. I could yell, but really, I know that yelling would be considered "entertainment" to the class!
But yeah, I was accused of smiling, when I was really frustrated inside.
That tells you that facial expressions TELLS YOU NOTHING and can easily fool those chumps who think "facial expressions say it all"
5) USA vs Japan --- women's soccer.
The USA women's soccer team beat Japan in the gold medal match.
But too some people, it wasn't just another game with a gold medal on the line.
History still seeped in, leading to idiotic Twitter comments.
http://mobile.sbnation.com/london-olympics-2012/2012/8/9/3231700/pearl-harbor-japs-twitter-tweets-usa-vs-japan
USA already had its revenge against Japan by nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945. Japan surrendered!
Sports games are just sports game! Can we just leave it at that already?
6) Sexism under the guise of "protection"
Editorial writer Linda Chavez, who is one of the more well-reasoned pundits when it comes to economics and immigration, went off the deep end by being against women in boxing!
http://townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/2012/08/10/uncivilized_sport/page/full/
She claims she's against women participating in boxing because she wants to "protect them".
Well, these response in the comments section gives Chavez a does of reality
more
7) The Greatest Olympian ever!
Just like 2008, US swimmer Micheal Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt were the mega-stars!
Micheal Phelps has the record for most Olympic medals ever. He has won a total of 22 medals, 18 of them gold.
Even though Phelps won the most medals ever, some have expressed their doubts about whether he should be called THE greatest Olympian.
People point out that swimmers have more events to compete in than the track athletes.
In other words, Phelps have more events to compete in than the Jamaican track star Usain Bolt.
Fair point.
But other critics mention that it's harder to be a track star than a swim star, because you got more competitors.
Olympic-level swimming requires Olympic-sized swimming pools, which is easier to access if you live in a middle/upper class community.
But running is accessible to more people. You don't need a big swimming facility, you can just run on grass, dirt, whatever.
But you know what? It's not Phelps fault that not everyone has access to compete in his sport.
Just like it's not the NFL player's fault that the majority of the world doesn't have access American-style tackle football training or facilities.
At 6foot, 5 inches, Usain Bolt would've likely been an NFL wide receiver if he grew up in the USA!
But that's OK! With track and field, Usain Bolt competes with the world! And he's also in the conversation of the best runners of all time
8) The Medal Count
Again, the USA is #1, with 104 medals (46 gold, 29 silver, 29 bronze).
#2 is China, with 88 medals.
This is the new "cold war" between the 2 world powers.
And this is also a competition of which nation has the better system of producing athletes.
Here is Dave Zirin in a CNN interview about the pros & cons of the Chinese and the US system of training athletes
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169351/dave-zirin-human-cost-olympic-gold
Here is the short summary of the interview.
=======================
The United Kingdom being the home of the Olympics got its highest ranking in the medal count at #3, followed by Russia and South Korea.
----------------------
Rio de Janeiro is next host of the summer Olympics.
Brazil got 17 medals this Olympics, its record so far!
And now that the next Olympics will be in Rio, we shall see a rise in Brazilian athletes in sports other than soccer and volleyball.
As for the rest of Latin America, Cuba is a traditional Olympic power, but the rest of the region has been lacking in Olympic medal counts. Sure, you'll see some medal winners from Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. But the region is falling behind the US, Europe, East Asia and Australia.
Here's an interesting article on the issue. http://www.salon.com/2012/08/10/latin_americas_rough_games_salpart/
It does mention that region is GREAT at soccer, but not much else.
It also mentions that while Brazil is famous for its MMA connection, MMA is still not in the Olympics.
And while Mexico produces some great boxers, many rather go straight to the pros instead of sticking with the amateur rote required for Olympic boxing.
The Olympic boxing might as well as start accepting pros, just like the other Olympic sports. But for that to happens, the pros will have to put pride on the side, and accept wearing the helmets during the Olympics. After all, no smart person will tell an NFL player "you're soft" to his face .
-----------------
The one region that has been traditionally lacking in the Olympic medal counts is South Asia.
India is the 2nd most populated country in the world, but is only ranked #55 in the medal count. But India did win more medals this year than in previous Olympics. They might as allow cricket to become an Olympic sport, since that sport is the one sport India is traditionally great at. Though India's needs a more diversified PE program in its school system, instead of just focusing on cricket.
And India's neighbor Bangladesh still haven't won an Olympic medal, even though it is #8 in world's population. Again, another country that is obsessed with cricket, but has ignored every other sport.
Article on that issue at
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bangladesh-is-the-largest-nation-to-never-win-a-medal--but-it-has-four-athletes-in-london.html
Hopefully, the South Asian nations can get their act together. After all, the East Asian countries do very well at the Olympics.
I would like to see an East Asian vs South Asian Olympic rivalry in the future. As long as it stays on the field or the gym, and not in a real life battle.
Here is a few of them
1) Medal winner from my middle school
Yep, I was in the same middle school as an Olympic medal winner.
The middle school was Kawananakoa Middle School. And the medal winner is Clarrissa Chun, the bronze medalist in women's wrestling.
photo from Associated Press
Clarrissa Chun (on top)
I didn't know her well back then. We weren't in the same classes, even though we were in the same grade.
I just knew of her existence from the yearbook. After receiving the yearbook, I pretty much studied every page, even memorizing students I hardly even know.
Anyways, after middle school, most Kawananakoa students either go to McKinley High School or Roosevelt High School. Both schools named after presidents. I went to McKinley, Chun went to Roosevelt. So I never got a chance to interact with her.
In high school, I would check the sports page, to check for middle school classmates who played for different high schools, and I did notice Chun did play judo, wrestling, and other sports.
Fast forward to 2008, Chun did go to the Beijing Olympics, but was 5th place, no medal.
Fast forward to 2012, my former middle school classmates on facebook were excited to see one of their own back in the Olympics, hopefully to get the gold!
Chun didn't get the gold, but she did win the bronze match against the same Ukrainian wrestler who beat her in 2008.
photo from Associated Press
photo from Associated Press
Congratulations Clarissa Chun!
2) Saudi Arabia sport enters the 21st century
Saudi Arabia is an extremely conservative Muslim country that puts restrictive laws on women.
Women are not allowed to drive. They're not even allowed to go out of the house without permission from a male relative!
Saudi Arabia gets away with this because they have tons of oil to sell!
But they were about to be banned from the Olympics unless they start to allow women athletes to enter the Olympics.
Well, the one who is competing in track is not even from Saudi Arabia.
Sarah Attar is from California, but her dad is from Saudi Arabia, so she was eligible for dual citizenship.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/sports/20120809_saudi_woman_makes_history.html?id=165559076
photo from Associated Press
Sarah Attar
Now, Saudi Arabia will need to take extra steps into the 21st century, by allowing more freedom for its female population and encourage more physical activity from them. And then, they won't have to import Saudi descendants in other lands to fill its women's teams.After all, now that we found more oil in North America, now that we got fracking technology to access that oil, the US will be less reliant on Middle East oil! That we will be buying less oil from Saudi Arabia will isolate that country more!
If we don't need Saudi oil, then it wouldn't be worth much to invest there if they continue to put BS restrictions on 1/2 the population.
Time for the Saudi society to grow up, enter the 21st century, and end gender apartheid!
3) Gabrielle Douglas
Gabrielle (aka Gabby) Douglas has made history as the first African-American gymnast to win the gold medal in the women's individual all-around gymnastics
photo from Reuters
Gabby Douglas
Of course, this brought up comparisons to Dominique Dawes (another African-American gymnast, who won in 1996 Olympics) as well as other African-Americans who competed in "mostly white sports" like Tiger Woods, and the Williams sisters.
But the big issue that really shouldn't be, is her hair.
There was so much negative comments about Douglas' hairstyle and the even more sad thing about it was that it came from other African-Americans. It's "black-on-black" bullying.
This "black-on-black" bullying on hairstyle goes back to the Jim Crow days, when many African-Americans tried to conform to "white society" by making their hair thinner using chemicals. This still goes on, even decades after Jim Crow was over.
Some will view this "black-on-black" bullying on hairstyle as just an annoyance, but as talk-show host Larry Elder mention, this could have some serious, even deadly consequences.
photo from townhall.com
Larry Elder
and Larry Elder ends with this
Many black women wear chemically treated hair, and water makes the hair revert to its natural kinky texture. Since treating the hair again takes time and costs money, many black women simply choose not to go into the water to avoid damage to the chemically treated hair. Why bother learning how to swim?
Couple this with the fact that 70 percent of black kids are born without a father in the home, and this often means there is no one in the home who knows how to swim and can teach it.
Fox's black sports columnist Jason Whitlock said: "We have a health crisis in the African-American community, and it's particularly acute with African-American women, and some of it is related to their hair. They're afraid to exercise because they don't want to sweat and hurt their hair. ... It's a $9 billion industry, straightening out our hair."
Dawes said: "It's what we call the 'creamy crack' (straightening out our hair). ... A number of women will not work out, because they don't want to sweat that perm out. They spent so much money. Nowadays, it's about $120-plus to get your hair relaxed. ... They don't want to sweat their hair out, so they're not going to work out, and they're not going to jump in the pool. And it's a shame because it really is costing us African-American women our health."
Now then, Gabby hair haters, think about this. In calling Gabby's hair "ratch," are you dissuading young blacks from protecting themselves by exercising or learning how to swim?
Thank you Larry Elder.
4) Facial expressions aren't everything
I sometimes hear people say nonsense like "facial expressions say it all".
No it doesn't. Sometimes, they say NOTHING at all!
But USA gymnast McKayla Maroney has been getting lots of flack over her "serious looking" facial expressions.
photo from Associated Press/Salon
McKayla Maroney
McKayla Maroney is not going to win any medals for congeniality. As a member of the U.S. gymnastics team’s “Fab Five,” she’s the one Least Likely to Crack a Smile. But if you think that automatically makes her a sore loser, or worse, that it justifies calling a 16-year-old girl a brat or a bitch, please report to the nearest rock and crawl under it.
(skipped paragraphs)
That face, that tough, steely look, has been a wide-open opportunity for would-be comics to poke fun at Maroney’s “Oh, hell no” countenance, and to riff on her “mean girl” persona. She’s had entire galleries devoted to her “bitch face,” which also serves as her unofficial nickname. She’s been a “fool” and a “brat” and a “baby,” a “snobby,” “pissy” “diva.” Well, what do you expect from the same civilization that also brought you the endless ragging on Gabby Douglas’ hair?
Look, I've known people who look "grumpy" or "overly serious" when I first met them, but when you get to know them, they're really nice people. They just have a tendency to frown.
I had the opposite issue. I had people asking me in middle school "why are you smiling so much" when I didn't even know I was smiling! Honest! I don't spend much time paying attention to my facial expression.
For some reason, that happened more often at middle schools more than anywhere else. Even as a sub teacher, I got asked "why are you always smiling" in middle schools more than elementary or high schools.
For example, at Niu Valley Middle School, when 2 boys got of control, and I called security to come and get those boys out of the class. After I made the phone call, I heard a girl say "look, the teacher is still smiling through all this". The reality was that I wasn't even close to feeling happy at that moment! I was really irritated that those 2 boys were still play-fighting and trash talking even after I asked them to re-focus on their class-work. I could yell, but really, I know that yelling would be considered "entertainment" to the class!
But yeah, I was accused of smiling, when I was really frustrated inside.
That tells you that facial expressions TELLS YOU NOTHING and can easily fool those chumps who think "facial expressions say it all"
5) USA vs Japan --- women's soccer.
The USA women's soccer team beat Japan in the gold medal match.
But too some people, it wasn't just another game with a gold medal on the line.
History still seeped in, leading to idiotic Twitter comments.
http://mobile.sbnation.com/london-olympics-2012/2012/8/9/3231700/pearl-harbor-japs-twitter-tweets-usa-vs-japan
It happened during the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup final and, of course, it happened again during the gold medal game of the 2012 Summer Olympics. The U.S. women's national soccer team played Japan and, inevitably, "Pearl Harbor" and "Japs" trended on Twitter. Because people are awful, of course.
That wasn't for Pearl Harbor. It was a damn soccer game. Please, for the love of everything, stop doing this, guys. It doesn't reflect well on any of us. Stop being awful.
USA already had its revenge against Japan by nuking Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in 1945. Japan surrendered!
Sports games are just sports game! Can we just leave it at that already?
6) Sexism under the guise of "protection"
Editorial writer Linda Chavez, who is one of the more well-reasoned pundits when it comes to economics and immigration, went off the deep end by being against women in boxing!
http://townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/2012/08/10/uncivilized_sport/page/full/
She claims she's against women participating in boxing because she wants to "protect them".
Well, these response in the comments section gives Chavez a does of reality
Kali_Fred Wrote: 3 hours ago (5:39 PM)
Look. Lots of things in life are dangerous. Driving a car, putting a new roof on a house, being a cop, fireman, or soldier, flying a hot air balloon or a small aircraft, not to mention sky diving, skiing, hockey.
As long as everyone goes in with their eyes open, what is the problem?
When did we become a nation of scaredy cats? Would the West have ever been settled if our forefather said to themselves, "you know that covered wagon stuff is dangerous. Wild animals. Indians. Water problems. Disease. We'd better stay home on the farm, or in the ghetto." No. Would anyone (white or red) be in America with that attitude. No. The Indians would still be in Asia, and the whites still in Europe, whining about the dangers of sea travel.
more
Derfel Wrote: 4 hours ago (4:52 PM)and
All the instances you sight are of people who knowingly decided that the chance at fame or fortune was worth the risk. Being adults that was and is their prerogative that does not require your input. They neither need nor require your permission. For many in this world living to a ripe old dotage does not fulfill the dream. At what point do we stop people from living their lives when is the injury too great? Do we stop young boys from making paper planes in fear of paper cuts? Get over yourself it is NOT your business
Zev7 Wrote: 9 hours ago (12:03 PM)Thank you guys. I'll even go as far as saying we need to put Mixed-Martial Arts in the Olympics too! For both men and women.
We men can't hover over our women and kids 24/7. When women are alone, they shoud be able to protect themselves like men. If they were, we'd have less rape and domestic violence. But what the heck? A woman can always unrape herself by killing her baby, and the Bible encourages men to beat the bejesus out of their wives. As for repeated head blows, the amateiur (Olympic) sport is remarkably safe The pros can be made safer by getting rid of the Queensberry rules.
7) The Greatest Olympian ever!
Just like 2008, US swimmer Micheal Phelps and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt were the mega-stars!
Micheal Phelps has the record for most Olympic medals ever. He has won a total of 22 medals, 18 of them gold.
photo from michaelphelps.net
Michael Phelps
Even though Phelps won the most medals ever, some have expressed their doubts about whether he should be called THE greatest Olympian.
People point out that swimmers have more events to compete in than the track athletes.
In other words, Phelps have more events to compete in than the Jamaican track star Usain Bolt.
Fair point.
But other critics mention that it's harder to be a track star than a swim star, because you got more competitors.
Olympic-level swimming requires Olympic-sized swimming pools, which is easier to access if you live in a middle/upper class community.
But running is accessible to more people. You don't need a big swimming facility, you can just run on grass, dirt, whatever.
But you know what? It's not Phelps fault that not everyone has access to compete in his sport.
Just like it's not the NFL player's fault that the majority of the world doesn't have access American-style tackle football training or facilities.
At 6foot, 5 inches, Usain Bolt would've likely been an NFL wide receiver if he grew up in the USA!
But that's OK! With track and field, Usain Bolt competes with the world! And he's also in the conversation of the best runners of all time
photo from http://usainbolt.com/bio/
Usain Bolt
As for the home crowd in London, they got their international superstar in Jessica Ennis, who won the gold in the heptathlon, which involves hurdles, high jumps, shot put, javelin and sprints.
photo from wikipedia
Jessica Ennis
8) The Medal Count
Again, the USA is #1, with 104 medals (46 gold, 29 silver, 29 bronze).
#2 is China, with 88 medals.
This is the new "cold war" between the 2 world powers.
And this is also a competition of which nation has the better system of producing athletes.
Here is Dave Zirin in a CNN interview about the pros & cons of the Chinese and the US system of training athletes
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169351/dave-zirin-human-cost-olympic-gold
Here is the short summary of the interview.
The Chinese Olympic program is being criticized as oppressive and stressing excellence over family. The Nation's sports editor Dave Zirin asks if that's any different from the US program, which provides zero support for aspiring athletes. Most American medal winners face enormous economic hardship on the way to the podium, and while that doesn't seem as brutal as the Chinese method, it's equally wrong. Maybe it's time to rethink the importance of medal counts.
—Max Rivlin-Nadler
=======================
The United Kingdom being the home of the Olympics got its highest ranking in the medal count at #3, followed by Russia and South Korea.
----------------------
Rio de Janeiro is next host of the summer Olympics.
Brazil got 17 medals this Olympics, its record so far!
And now that the next Olympics will be in Rio, we shall see a rise in Brazilian athletes in sports other than soccer and volleyball.
As for the rest of Latin America, Cuba is a traditional Olympic power, but the rest of the region has been lacking in Olympic medal counts. Sure, you'll see some medal winners from Mexico, Argentina, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. But the region is falling behind the US, Europe, East Asia and Australia.
Here's an interesting article on the issue. http://www.salon.com/2012/08/10/latin_americas_rough_games_salpart/
It does mention that region is GREAT at soccer, but not much else.
It also mentions that while Brazil is famous for its MMA connection, MMA is still not in the Olympics.
And while Mexico produces some great boxers, many rather go straight to the pros instead of sticking with the amateur rote required for Olympic boxing.
The Olympic boxing might as well as start accepting pros, just like the other Olympic sports. But for that to happens, the pros will have to put pride on the side, and accept wearing the helmets during the Olympics. After all, no smart person will tell an NFL player "you're soft" to his face .
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The one region that has been traditionally lacking in the Olympic medal counts is South Asia.
India is the 2nd most populated country in the world, but is only ranked #55 in the medal count. But India did win more medals this year than in previous Olympics. They might as allow cricket to become an Olympic sport, since that sport is the one sport India is traditionally great at. Though India's needs a more diversified PE program in its school system, instead of just focusing on cricket.
And India's neighbor Bangladesh still haven't won an Olympic medal, even though it is #8 in world's population. Again, another country that is obsessed with cricket, but has ignored every other sport.
Article on that issue at
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/bangladesh-is-the-largest-nation-to-never-win-a-medal--but-it-has-four-athletes-in-london.html
Hopefully, the South Asian nations can get their act together. After all, the East Asian countries do very well at the Olympics.
I would like to see an East Asian vs South Asian Olympic rivalry in the future. As long as it stays on the field or the gym, and not in a real life battle.
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