Mission Statement

My mission statement for my youth program is to bring the joy of baseball back to the game while still being a competitive level. The way we can achieve this is by dividing the kids among age groups so the game is played at a fair level. This is a long term benefit to the sport. If at a early age kids learn the game while still having fun, the game will keep growing for time to come. The mission statement is the most important aspect of our league, as a result all coaches must abide and represent the mission statement.

TOP STORY! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

As we all know the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots in the 2015 season. Despite Patriots being one of the best team in the league, the Eagles manage to create the upset in Gillette Stadium. The Eagles achieved the victory due to the returned punt by Darren Sproles. A blocked field goal that was returned for the touchdown. But the Patriots weren't done yet, in the fourth quarter the Patriots scored two touchdowns to bring themselves back in the game. The Patriots didn't have enough time to score one more time to win the game.

How High School Sports Impact the High School Culture

No one can measure the impact of high school sports on the culture of the school. Sports bring "school spirit" to the environment of the school. The excitement of the school only exist because of the sports. Students don't get excited in school because of work they get excited from the sports and them winning. Taking away high school sports would be a huge mistake for the school. t will benefit the school and students more if they keep high school sports. The sports are the heart and spirit of the school.

 

How Athletics Benefit The Student

• Sports give the student motivation to keep up their grades.
• Most schools have a rule that you must qualify to play a sport. Some schools might say that you must keep your grades not failing or a certain GPA. As a result students would want to improve their grades to participate in the sports they desire.  
• Sports benefit the body and mind.
• According to US Department of Health and Human Services 1 out of 6 people between the ages of  6-19 are obese. We all know that staying active is important but, do people realize how important? The leading cause of death is heart disease in America and every 43 seconds someone dies from it. So staying active does decrease the risk of heart disease and obesity. Also studies have shown that breaking a sweat releases a chemical called norepinephrine  this helps the mind relax to stressful situations that might be going on in your life. This could be huge for a student who is trying to prepare for a big exam but is really stressed.

Overall there are a lot of benefits for students if they participate in a sport, it will benefit their grades and also their health and mental state.

"A survey conducted by the Minnesota State High School League in 2007 and reported by the NFHS found that the average GPA of a high school athlete was 2.84, while a student who was not involved in athletics had an average GPA of 2.68. The survey also showed that student athletes missed less school than their non-athlete counterparts, with a total of 7.4 days missed and 8.8 days missed, respectively.

Another study published in the Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise in August, 2007 found that students who were active in sports like soccer, football and even skateboarding performed 10 percent better in core subjects like math, science, social studies and language arts. Because sports offer equal opportunity to all students at the high school level, these academic benefits extend to all area of the student population, including students that might be traditionally underserved." Grace Chen.

What is worse than losing your perfect record?

Someone may, ask whats worse than losing your perfect record?  The New England Patriot fans and team ask themselves that last night when they lost to Denver Broncos. The answer to that question is losing 7 of your starters. Last night the Patriots loss one of their main attributes to their offense. Tight End Rob Gronkowski suffers a knee injury from going up for a pass

Greg Hardy Current Event

Due to the mass media attention that Greg Hardy has brought I had to look at the evidence and tell my opinion. A question that has been floating around is "why is the NFL doing anything about it." The NFL should not be the one to blame instead the state court system. The NFL should not be the one giving out the punishments for the crimes instead the court. There were photographic evidence showing the bruises on Nicole Holder. I believe that there should be a serious case of this crime because there is a women saying out of the blue that she has been as assaulted and there are photos of her bruises. The NFL should stay out of legal issues regarding the players of the game. Instead of the NFL giving Hardy a fine or suspending him they should let the legal system do its work and figure out the case.

Gambling on Youth Sports

Gambling on youth sports is a huge problem that needs to be ended soon as possible. Betting on a certain player or the outcome on the game for youth sports is not good for the players or teams. If a person gambled on a certain player you would be putting a lot of pressure on that child. There has been some cases where a men would bet that the running back on one of the teams to see how many rushing yards he would get, if the player fulfilled the gamblers bet on the amount of yards he would give the player money. This even worst because now the young athlete would play for the money not for the enjoyment of the game or he/she's team. These children are not obligated to fulfill the gambler's bet. Soon if this problem is not solved then the enjoyment of the game will be lost. And more importantly the sport might be gone.

Crumb Rubber Cancer?

Scientist have never discovered the crumb rubber cancer but, there has been some media attention on the topic. After dozens of soccer players have been diagnosed with cancer, a soccer coach says she has the answer on how they may have developed cancer. The soccer coach thinks that the artificial grass has been the source to the cancer that has appeared among the players. Considering that the rubber that goes into the artificial grass is made from shredded tires its not a crazy observation to make. The tires that are used have been found with arsenic, benzene,and nickel. Many of these chemicals have been linked to cancer. So saying that crumb rubber can cause cancer is not crazy. Considering that hundreds of schools across the nation are installing crumb rubber to their fields is scary. Little to no research has been done to confirm that crumb rubber causes cancer.

Steps That Should be Used for a Good Comment

1. Complement the writer in a specific way.

One of the main reasons one person might write a comment on someones blog is to give them a complement. A good way you can leave a complement is by giving them a specific thing you liked about their blog. This can range from the topic they covered or the information they gave to back their argument up.

2. Make a connection with the writer or topic he/she is talking about.
Making a connection to the writer or the topic he/she is talking about can create a conversation. You can start the comment by giving facts about your experience.

3. Ask a relevant question about the blog.
If you are wondering about something that was in the blog, ask the blogger. The writer will be more than happy to answer a question you might have about the topic or the blog its self.

The effects of creating a comment could mean a lot to the writer and could also put a positive effect on the blog. A comment can help the writer on what they might need to improve.

The Benefits of Pink Products in the NFL

Even though the NFL has been making boatloads of money from the Breast Cancer Awareness Month products a small portion of the money goes to charities. With pink covering the fields, players, and coaches you can say that anyone who is watching are becoming aware that breast cancer is a huge problem. That is what the NFL claims and some people say, the products of pink are supposed to raise awareness. Some players have donated money to breast cancer patients. The effects of the "Pink" in the NFL are bigger than people know because when the NFL wears their pink gear everyone talks about it and it creates a lot of attention which can also be said as awareness.

Is the Pink Really Making a Difference?

All football fans know that in October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and as a result the players, coaches, and fans wear pink football gear. But there has been some research that has been done and only 8% of the sales went to breast cancer treatments for women. Some people say that it is meant to create awareness not money. When you ask an average consumer they will mostly likely tell you that a good portion of the money is going to breast cancer treatments. But what the average consumer doesn't now is that not even ten percent from the product you bought goes to any charity. Also it is found that the pink products are usually more expensive. I agree that the pink products is a scam, until they raise the percentage of the donations then it should be shut down.

Chase Utley's "Dirty Slide"

Many people have been going back and forth about Chase Utley's slide that broke Ruben Tejeda's leg. And in my opinion on the topic is that the slide was dirty. Before everyone starts telling me I am full of it let's look at the rules according to the MLB's official rules 7.09 (f) "If, in the judgment of the umpire, a batter-runner willfully and deliberately interferes with a batted ball or a fielder in the act of fielding a batted ball, with the obvious intent to break up a double play, the ball is dead; the umpire shall call the batter-runner out for interference and shall also call out the runner who had advanced closest to the home plate regardless where the double play might have been possible. In no event shall bases be run because of such interference." In shorter terms this means every player in that play should be automatically out and the inning is retired. The rules clearly state that what he did was illegal.  

Should ESPN/CBS news/sports stations work with/deal with or do business with DFS or is that morally slippery slope?

I believe that ESPN and CBS sports news should do business with fantasy sports companies such as FanDuel and Draftkings. Since these fantasy sports websites generate a boat load of money and ESPN create a lot of attention this combination will created lots of money. The issues that fantasy sports face have to be dealt with immediately. The faster they're done with these problems they must do business with these big name sports channels." Asked if the company’s advertising has changed, an ESPN spokesman told USA TODAY Sports that "Draft Kings made the decision to pull their advertising for today, which we have obliged." On the other hand fantasy sports are risky especially when you are dealing with a lot of money. All of the controversy dealing with fantasy sports I don't know if these big sports channels should do business with them.

My reaction to the article "FanDuel and Draftkings Have Some Explaining To Do"

My reaction from reading the article FanDuel and Draftkings Have Some Explaining to do   was very shocking. I was not aware that employees use data from their companies to know who to bet on for the other companies. The data leak of many individuals from both of these companies are absurd. I believe that must companies should not allow their workers to access their fan data. The public needs to know that if you are putting your money online you are taking a risk because at any moment and time there can be a security breach.

These big companies must regulate who can play and who can't because if someone has access to data and knows who to play it is pretty much cheating. Employees and creators of the game should not be allowed to play.  

Baseball Controversy

A great baseball controversy that was discussed a lot was Alex Rodriguez on the Yankees when he shouted "I got it" when he was on his way home. The problem was the two outfielders went to got to the fly ball and when they heard A-Rod they let the ball hit the ground thinking that one of them called it. Seen at almost every game at every level you will see a routine fly ball. So if two fielders go to catch it one may say "I got it" so they both don't go for it. Many people say that what he did was just being clever others reply it should not be allowed.

If you look at this at a ethical stand point asking yourself "What-If-Everybody-Did-This" you would see that outfielders would get injured and there would be many thrown games. Due to miss communication in baseball games outfielders collide into one another resulting in injures. Also important playoff games may be blown due to this, which can lead an outfielder to miss a routine fly ball. 

GAMBLING CONTROVERSY/SCANDALS

An infamous gambling scandal that is still being discussed today is Pete Rose and his betting on the Cincinnati Red's games. Major League Baseball Rule 21(d) is very clear,"Any players, umpires, league officials, and coaches may never bet on a game." Most people ask "why does it matter he was only betting on his own team." But those people have it a little correct. According to the investigation he sometimes depending on who is pitching might even not bet. That just shows he doesn't bet because he is confident in his team but he is the opposite. Another reason this is such a big deal is because he can blow a game. If he bets a lot investigators found that he would force his best starters and closers to pitch even if they need rest. The effects of this is that the Reds would lose the next week because they don't have their best pitchers for multiple games. He was only there for the money and the wins he wasn't there for his team. As a result he will never be eligible for the Hall of Fame.
People believe after 25 years of when he set the all time hit streak it is time for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Fantasy Sports

Fantasy football alone is a $3.6 billion industry and growing rapidly. According to Business Insider, gambling industry is $240 billion. Comparing the both numbers you can see the difference between the two, but the growth of fantasy sports can't be compared. But in some states such as Iowa and Michigan the state congress ruled that fantasy sports is a game of luck which means it is another form of gambling. "The average Fantasy player spends about $110 per year on the hobby, equating to roughly $3.6 billion in economic productivity this season."Ryan Somers,SAP.

Introduction

Hi my name is Christian and I was forced to do this by Mr.Campbell.
I picked baseball because it is one of my favorite sport. My favorite team is the Phillies.

Threats to the Sport

The greatest threat to baseball has to be sports enhancing drugs(anabolic steroids). A new era has grown to its peak. Many well name ball players such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, and many others have been getting an unfair advantage. A common reference to taking this drug is otherwise known as "doping" this is anabolic steroids that can either taken by injection or pill form. From taking this you can become very much stronger which gives you an unfair advantage. Players from all sorts of levels do this to help them hit the ball further or even pitch faster. These are just some of the reason why the MLB and other levels of baseball ban the use of this drug.