BP #8-"The Short Game" Summary and Analysis

Summary: The general argument made by directer Josh Greenbaum in his documentary, The Short Game, is that the best 7 year olds in the world have given up their childhood for the love of the game of golf. He proves that they don't have ordinary lives and spend as much time as possible on the green before and after school every single day when the children are interviewed about their daily routines. All of their hard work comes down to one weekend each year at the Junior Golf World Championships. Greenbaum suggests that the intensity of this sport is too much for a 7 year old when the game gets tough and the kids can't control their emotions and actions. In conclusion, Greenbaum's belief is that it is okay for a child to peruse their passions, but there must be a limit.

Analysis: In my view, Greenbaum is wrong because the children choose golf as more than a sport, but a lifestyle. They are obsessed with the game itself and the thrill of winning. More specifically, I believe that the 8 specific children followed for this documentary have the option of stopping if they don't want to compete anymore. Their parents support everything they do as long as they are not putting themselves in danger. They all have coaches and train in a safe manner. For example, Allen has a personal trainer and trains with him everyday, but he loves training and has a blast working up a sweat. This pushes him to be the best he can, and it paid off when he won the World Championship Tournament. Although Greenbaum might object that the children may not feel the choice to stop playing, I maintain that when the camera captures the laughter and fun that the kids have while on the course. Therefore, I conclude that the best junior golfers in the world play golf at such a high intensity because they want to prove to themselves that they can accomplish anything and because they absolutely love the game of golf.


Rhetorical Precis: In Josh Greenbaum's documentary "The Short Game"(2012) he shows the road to success of the best young golfers in the world. The directer first opens by showing each of the eight players personally, then captures the viewers with naive interviews, and to conclude he shows the outcome of the biggest tournament of the year, the world championship. He seems to have a public or general audience in mind because of the cultural diversity and laid back feel of the dialogue.

BP #7-Rhetorical Precis: Schooled--The Price of College Sports

     In Trevor Martin's documentary "Schooled-The Price of College Sports"(2013), he expresses that the NCAA brings in billions of dollars yearly because of the athletes' performances, but the specific athletes never receive a dime. The director first begins with a captivating introduction; he then lures in viewers with many sad and unfortunate stories, and to conclude he relates to viewers with pathos by showing troubled athletes due to money problems. His purpose is to expose the inappropriate nature of the NCAA rules in order to make the most money. He seems to have a public audience in mind because of the variety of examples and the vastness of the industry.

BP #5-Summary and Analysis of an Article: Bruins Lose to Flames in Shootout

     On Friday morning, the Boston Herald released an article summary of the Bruins game verses Calgary Flames that was played the night before. Author Steve Conroy, expressed his view on the hard fought loss for the B's. He quoted head coach, Claude Julien, many times. On Julien's thoughts of shootouts to determine the outcome of a game and his thought of how well his team played. Conroy also spoke of the white-knuckled shootout. Both teams missed the first six shots of the shootout. Then on the seventh, "...Patrice Bergeron put the B’s in the driver’s seat with the first goal of the shootout.." Right after that, "..the Flames got goals from Josh Jooris and waiver wire pick-up David Schlemko, sandwiched around a Milan Lucic miss, and the B’s had to settle for one point." The game was overall a hard fought win and the Boston Bruins will be playing tomorrow night at the TD Garden against the Philadelphia Flyers. They look to improve the imperfections and pull off a win for the night to set their record for the season at 32-22-10.

BP #4-Sports News Article: Bruins vs. Coyotes

 The Boston Bruins won 4-1 against the Arizona Coyotes at the TD Garden on Saturday. Chara, Bergeron, Lucic, and Marchand all scored, and Rask secured the lead by stopping all but one of the 32 shots taken on goal throughout the course of the game.   

Without playmaker David Krejci, out for 4-6 weeks with an injury, the team had to step up their offensive attack. With this being said, the team did just that. The Arizona Coyotes came into the game with an 8 game losing streak. Head Coach Claude Julien exclaimed that they were not focused on the Coyotes. The team was too busy focusing on what they needed to do to pull off their second straight home win. The team certainly did just what they came to the game to do. Brad Marchand had a remarkable game. He has been on a scoring spree and was the first of the 4 bruins players to hit the back of the net.

“I said to the guys before the game, ‘It’s not who we play but how we play right now until the end,’ ” coach Julien said. “That’s the approach we have to take. We can’t afford to be unprepared for games like this, just because of their record right now and what they’ve been going through. I think it’s important if we want to be in one of the playoff spots, that we have to be a team that’s ready to play on a nightly basis. There are a lot of reasons not to take these situations lightly and I think our guys responded well.” With a pep talk like this, who wouldn't want to go out and play their hardest? 

The team has been the first to score in the past few games but struggle to keep the lead. The team must keep up the drive and intensity right into the playoffs. The B's have 20 games left in the regular season to play before they either go into off season or the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  

Hoop Dreams

   "Hoop Dreams" is a documentary following two young talented basketball stars. The athletes were Arthur Agee and William Gates.  The documentary showed great opportunities, heart breaks, and the true struggle of growing up in Chicago. Both boys were given huge opportunities and promising futures. Unfortunately, the two were faced with major struggles in life. They struggled in school because they could only focus on what they loved, basketball. William also became a father at a very young age. The two athletes lived in hard conditions in small houses surrounded by drugs and violence. Fortunately, they were able to stay clear of them for the most part. This was because they were smart enough to know not to risk losing their goals in the future. Without basketball, one may believe that the two would not have finished high school and at least begin college. 

 One theme that was recognized from early on in the documentary is hope. Hope is shown through the major struggles of the boys' lives. Neither of them wanted to go to school and were struggling academically. Thankfully, there was always a little bit of hope that pushed them to continue perusing their education and play in a collegiate level. Also, hope is shown when one of the boys can no longer afford to go to his private high school. His mother lost her job and the family was not receiving the income that they needed. They had to send Arthur to the public school. They knew he was not getting as good of an education there, but hope showed the family that their son still had a the chance of playing basketball for a career if he applied himself enough. Without hope, the boys would not have done as much in life as they did.

The Impact of Professional Sports

 

 Professional sports impact and influence societies in various ways. Many ways are great and attract people together in a common connection of likes and dislikes. People can find ways to oversee racial tension and discrimination. Although, sports can also have a negative impact on a community of people. Violence can occur with bad calls and poor sportsmanship. Once players and viewers are invested into a specific game, there is no turning back. Whether an individual allows them self to be impacted in a positive or negative way is their own choice. However, once the decision is chosen, it is very hard to change thoughts. It is important to make the right selection in which way one is effected by a sport.

  Sports can be life changing. They can be an outlet of stress, anxiety, and really support athletes and viewers in a time of need. Neighbors and individuals that would not normally ally together can do so over a specific team or athlete. Just one team can have a tremendous influence on thousands of others. For example, right after the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombings, The Boston Red Sox won The World Series with strength and courage. With the city of Boston left in loss after such a tragedy, a championship win would surely lift spirits. The team united with morale,  many people truly reconstructed back into their old happy ways and life was almost effortless again.

  Sports can also be destructive and cause harm. It has occurred that after a team allows a loss, intoxicated and even just angry fans have gone out on to the streets of their beloved town or city and started violence. Cars have been flipped, buildings burned, and people seriously hurt and even killed. Athletes have received threats for not preforming at their best to win. In Superbowl XLIX, The Seattle Seahawks had an opportunity to win the whole game with just one run. Instead, the team attempted a pass and the throw was intercepted. The game ended in triumph and the New England Patriots won. Since then, the coach and players of Seahawks have been mocked, threatened, and even bullied by opposing fans and even their very own.

  Fortunately, I have personally decided to be impacted and influenced by sports in a positive way. I used to use gymnastics as an escape. When tensions would rise in my life and I felt as though everything was crashing down on top of me, I would go to my gym and work on my routines and skills. I was fortunately able to do this whenever needed. One may believe that without gymnastics, I would not be the person I am today. I also to this day use soccer and track in a positive way to impact my life. Track keeps me in shape and motivated to be a better person. I look up to my captains and teammates for advice and encouragement. There has always been a runner better than me. I'm always in second place, but I use this placement to show myself that I have more to improve on and there is always potential. Because I have had to stop competing in gymnastics, I now use soccer as an escape. I can kick around a ball whenever I need. So many less fortunate kids use the same strategies as I do to keep themselves going. The struggles may not be the same, but I can connect to many others with my interests and abilities in sports.

Super Bowl XLIX Reaction

   "Uncharacteristically cool and calm," claims Sports Illustrated journalist Greg Bedard, as he praises Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. During Superbowl XLIX last weekend, The New England Patriots had all odds set against them all through the second half. This was the game where all of the controversial reports and allegations would be set to rest. Thankfully, during the final quarter of the game, the team came together to pull of a victory. Many sports teams have done this before, and it feels great to know all of your hard work has paid off. For example, Norton girls indoor track and field has acquired their best record this year for the season. The team knew they would win every single meet as long as they beat Hopkinton. There was just one problem for the girls, Hopkinton had not lost in over nine years with a record of 144 straight wins. The team was working their hardest, but was unfortunately down a few points. The only way they could win the meet was if they swept high jump. Hopkinton has a very good high jump team, but Norton was knew they had to prove themselves. The girls came together in a time of need and preformed their very best, They did just what was needed to be done to win and the meet ended in triumph. To have a game or match that is so intense and deep that the players and spectators are invested until the very last play is amazing. The girls of Norton track and field certainly did not win the Superbowl, but the rush of a hard fought win is truly inspiring. All teams should strive for victories like these because the feeling of winning will never get old.