Blogger vs. The World: Chapter 5--A Needed Conversation: Floyd Mayweather

  Blogger vs. The World: Chapter 5--A Needed Conversation: Floyd Mayweather

   It is a safe thing to say that most people can appreciate what sports bring to the table: excitement, friendship, problem solving and many other positive things are a product of sports. With this in mind, it is no surprise that millions of people are absolutely pumped for the epic boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao that is set for May 2.  But should we be excited for this upcoming fight?  Why not? you may ask, after all, this is the biggest boxing match in many years.  Well, it seems as if all of the promoters and ESPN analysts for this fight have overlooked the fact that Mayweather has been convicted of assaults against women five different times.  He has punched his wife in the face with a closed fist, struck other women in public, and even beat his wife in front of his own children.  Not only that, he also threatened to beat his children if they told anyone about the assault against his wife.  It was only because one of the children escaped from his house and told the neighbors that charges were brought against Mayweather.

     The question that needs to be asked here is why do we allow Mayweather to continue his brutal treatment towards women while simultaneously putting him on a pedistool and filling his pockets with millions of dollars?  I find myself scratching my head when ESPN constantly gives updates about Ray Rice, who struck his then fiance one time, but says nothing about Mayweather's constant assaults against women.  In my opinion, we as a society need to raise our standards and realize that Mayweather's actions are unacceptable.  Someone who has such a long history of domestic violence should at least be subject to some scrutiny from the general population.  Along with that, the governing board of boxing should impose harsh penalties for those convicted of assault.

     Sometimes it is difficult to see why society accepts things that are clearly wrong, but it only takes a voice to speak out against injustices to truly change the way we think about potent issues.  So, my friends and gracious supporters of this blog, I encourage you to speak out against domestic violence.  Also, I encourage you to think to yourselves, "do I really want to give money to a millionaire who beat his wife and threatened to beat his children?" before spending money to watch the fight on pay-per-view.  I certainly will not be spending my money to watch this fight.

     Well, until next time, I urge you to stay safe and be well.  This is Kevin Freestone, signing off.

Blogger vs the World--Chapter 4: a Friendly Debate: Florida Doesn't Want Us at Their Sports Events

Blogger vs the World--Chapter 4: a Friendly Debate: Florida Doesn't Want Us at Their Sports Events

     The greatest time of year is now upon us.  Yes, I am of course referring to the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  It is a magical time in which the sixteen best hockey clubs in the world fight for Lord Stanley's sacred Cup.  It is where hockey players's dreams come true and the joy of being a champion is realized.  In the same way, it is the dream of many NHL fans to witness playoff action or even the raising of the Stanley Cup.  One would think that it would be relitively easy to attend one of these NHL playoff games; simply buy a ticket and cheer on your favorite team at the game, Right?  Well, it's no longer that simple.  Some teams, most notably the Tampa Bay Lightning have imposed restrictions on who can purchase tickets.  The Lightning have made it so that only residents of Florida can buy tickets to their home games.  If you are from Georgia or one of the other neighboring states, the sale of the ticket can be withheld without an explanation from the Lightning organization.  Along with that, if it is clear that a potential ticket buyer is a fan of the opposing team, the Lightning will refuse to sell the ticket to that person.  Perhaps the strangest new restriction is that if a fan of the opposing team does manage to get into the stadium, they will be forced to remove their jersey or even relocate to worse seats.

This map roughly shows who will be allowed
to attend Tampa Bay Lightning games.
Only people in the red area are permitted
to buy tickets.

     Many people are scratching their heads at all of theses new restrictions.  It seems as if the Tampa Bay Lightning do not want to sell out their stadium.  Worse yet, it seems as if the Lightning are discriminating against an extremely large demographic of people.  Simply put, the Lightning are discriminating against anyone who could potentially be a fan of the opposing team.  This is wrong and a clear violation of everyone's right of freedom of speech.  as one writer put it, "no matter the content of the speech, or the circumstances, people in all levels of sport must be treated equally, for all are dependent on each other." This demand of equality would certainly extend to fans of the away team.

Pictured is the Case Club, at the Lightning's arena.
Fans of the opposing team are not allowed inside.

     This decision by the Lightning to exclude virtually the entire world from attending their games is clearly a bad one and will definitely have legal consequences.  One only has to look back a few years to see what happened to other teams who tried to shut out the opposing team's fans.  In 2013, the Seattle Seahawks tried to ban people from California from buying tickets, and they were sued by the San Francisco 49er fans for 50 million dollars.
 
I just don't understand why the Lightning are doing this.  Tickets are tickets and people are people.
They should all just embrace people's differences and and sell tickets to anyone who wants to buy them.  In the end, it's just a game after all; shouldn't everyone be able to enjoy it?

Until time, this is Kevin Freestone, signing off.

Blogger vs. the World: Chapter Three--a round table conversation; Sub-Par Officiating

 
Blogger vs. the World: Chapter Three--a round table conversation; Sub-Par Officiating



   I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who firmly believes that college basketball officiating is adequate.  I would think that most of the basketball-watching community actually feels as if the officiating is very poor in the NCAA.  The sad truth is that the officiating in college basketball is bad.  Countless times this past NCAA basketball tournament the referees made atrocious calls, some of which all but determined the outcome of the game.  An example of a crucial blunder by the officials happened in the Final Four match-up between Wisconsin and the then-undefeated Kentucky.  With less than three minutes to go in the game, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes drove to the basket to try to get a game-tying bucket.  His shot was seemingly blocked and the shot clock had hit zero.  Naturally, one would think that since the shot clock had expired, the whistle would be blown and the ball given to Kentucky.  This was not the case, Hayes put up another shot and it went in the basket.  To the surprise of everyone watching the game, Wisconsin fans included, the basket was counted, and the game was tied.  This goof by the officials rattled the Kentucky players, as they never regained their lead and suffered their first loss of the season.
     With the harsh reality that these officials are terrible at their job setting in, one must consider what can be done to keep the  refs from determining the outcome of the game.  For starters, the governing body that sets the rules and standards for basketball should clarify some of the rules so there is no grey area between what is or is not a foul or violation.  Secondly, the number of referees officiating during a game should increase from three to four.  This way, there would be one more set of eyes looking to make the proper calls that would have otherwise been overlooked.  Lastly, the NCAA should develop an impartial video review headquarters in a neutral location.  This headquarters would be equipped with every camera angle available and would be monitoring all of the games being played at any given moment.  This way, if the referees on the court did not know what to do about an important call, they could call up the people in this neutral headquarters to make the correct call for them.  Likewise, the officials in the neutral headquarters could call for a review of play that the on-court officials missed.  To be clear, this idea is not my own.  The NHL has established and uses this technique in order to make the correct call every time.
     It is clear as filtered water that something needs to be done in order to improve the pitiful officiating that goes on in college basketball.  Who knows what the solution will be, but we can all agree that sports are awesome and the officials should not determine the outcome of the game.
   
Until next time, this is Kevin Freestone, signing off.

                                                                                    This picture shows the video review center that
                                                                                    the NHL uses to ensure the correct call is made.

Source used: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/04/refs-kentucky-wisconsin-shot-clock-charge-flagrant-foul