Prompt 19

     Tyrann Mathieu recently announced that he will be entering the NFL Draft.  Mathieu was a finalist for the Heisman trophy last season, and had a great season, leading his LSU Tigers to the BCS National Championship game.  But, most people recall Mathieu's actions at the beginning of this season  when they hear his name.  Before the start of the 2012 season, Mathieu was suspended for the season by the LSU football team for a substance abuse issue.  Mathieu thought about transferring to a lower division school so that he did not have to sit this year out, but he decided to stay at LSU, but instead just be a student.  Mathieu's name stayed out of the press for a while and many assumed that he was doing better and that he would be back on the field for LSU or quite possibly an NFL team next year.  About a month ago Matieu's name was again being mentioned by the media.  Mathieu was arrested last month for possession of marijuana.

     There are two questions that must be answered, 1) will an NFL give Mathieu a shot to play for them based on his previous record, and 2) should the NFL suspend Mathieu if he is signed by a team for his inappropriate conduct off the field.  I personally think that an NFL team will give Mathieu a chance to play for them because he has an incredible amount of raw talent and ability, but I think Mathieu will not last long in the NFL and will fall into trouble with the law again, or fail an NFL drug test.  He will be much like a Ricky Williams, someone who could be a great player, but has it ruined by his "addiction" to marijuana.  Getting to the second question, I think the NFL should suspend Mathieu for three or four games at the start of the his first season for being arrested.  LSU did not suspend him for being arrested just for failing a drug test, I feel that he must also face the consequences for getting arrested.

Prompt 18

     What I am currently following is sports is Tampa Bay Rays signing of Evan Longoria through the 2022 season.  The Rays had Longoria signed through the 2016 season, but recently gave him a six year contract extension worth about $100 million over those six years.  To me this is way to much money for the Rays to pay one player. The Rays have the 25th highest payroll in baseball at about sixty five million dollars.  For the Rays to give Longoria about sixteen million a season is ridiculous considering that his salary will take up about twenty five percent of the Rays payroll.  I understand that he is the superstar of this team and that only a large contract like this would keep Longoria in Tampa, but would you rather have one superstar with a huge salary and a bunch of bad players with low salaries, or a bunch of average players with average salaries.  This move by the Rays has shown me that it is more important to keep Longoria there with bad players, then to lose him and find a team of average players.  For example, this move will likely not allow the Rays to resign their ace pitcher David Price.  Price was looking for a deal close to the deal Longoria recently signed, but it will be nearly impossible for the Rays to pay for two contracts this big each year. 

     I believe Longoria got the money he deserved compared to what other players are being paid to play the game of baseball.  But, I think that salaries in Major League Baseball and in all of professional sports are getting out of hand.  When there are teachers who are having trouble putting food on their table and paying their bills, but athletes are living in mansions and driving around in Bentleys something is wrong.  Teachers shape children s' lives and inevitably shape our future, but athletes are merely there for our entertainment.  This tells me that there is something wrong with society today, and I am honestly not sure if this will ever be fixed or if anyone can even fix this problem.

Prompt 17

     One sports memory that I have from Thanksgiving is the annual "Turkey Bowl" that is held in my neighborhood every year on Thanksgiving morning.  Every year the teenagers play the adults in a flag football game and whoever wins gets bragging rights for the entire year and a trophy which is housed in the clubhouse.  The first year that I played in this game stands out in my mind.  I was thirteen years old, and had many friends around the same age as myself who were also going to play in the game with me.  My friends and I were excited and thought that we would easily defeat the "old men."  My friends and I arrived at the field early on Thanksgiving morning to practice plays and to warm up, we were taking this game seriously, it was out Super Bowl.

     The game ended up being a dog fight, coming down to the last play, and it was also extremely violent for a flag football game.  The game was close, my team would score, and then the adults would score, it went back and forth like this until the end of the game.  I was playing wide receiver and had a few key receptions, which was even sweeter because my Dad was the one covering me.  To my team's surprise the adults were pretty good, and they were taking this game more serious than us.  On the final drive of the game, the adults had the ball and needed to score in order to win, but if we held them and did not let them score the teenagers would win.  The adults drove down the field quickly, and everyone on my team quickly began to lose hope.  But, on the final play, about five yards from their end zone, they ran a pass play I intercepted the ball.  We won the game!  It felt great to win the game for my team and to have bragging rights over the adults, especially my dad.

Prompt 16

     My Thanksgiving memory is not a memory from one particular year, but it's a memory I have from Thanksgiving every year.  Every year I wake up fairly early to help my mom clean the house up before my family and friends arrive to celebrate Thanksgiving.  When I walk down the stairs I smell the food that my Mom is cooking, reminding me what day it is.  Every year my Mom makes the same food: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and a few other dishes which are irrelevant because I do not like them.  As we sit down at the dinner table and say what we are thankful for everyone waits in anticipation to begin eating the feast my Mom has prepared.  After taking his first bite, my cousin Jonathan, always says to my Mom, "Aunt Jill you have out done yourself."  This is a somewhat famous line in my family, that people use every time my Mom has done something good.

    Another memory that I have from every Thanksgiving is watching football with my Dad.  Before my family comes over my Dad and I sit on the couch and watch the 12:30 game together, or at least part of it.  This is something my Dad and I do every Sunday, but it seems a bit more special when we get to do it on Thanksgiving.  My mom cooks pigs and a blanket, and puts out chips for us to watch the games.  It is pretty much 12 straight hours of football on a day filled with food, I'm not sure what else an American man would want in a day.  I realize that Thanksgiving is not a day all about football and food, rather about giving thanks for what you have.  But, I believe that people should not be thankful just for one day, people should be thankful everyday for what they have.

Prompt 15

     Colby's ad is discussing the accusation against Kobe Bryant, which says that he raped a woman in Colorado.  He thinks that atheletes are looked at more of a microsccope because of the media.  The media has the ability to make atheletes victims or heroes.  My argument is that atheletes grow up their whole lives seeing other people being scrutinized by the media, and seeing how the media blows things completely out of proportion.  Atheletes should realize this and want to act in a more proper fashion, that way the media cannot villainize them.  Also, many atheletes have grown up in a time that social media and technology has ruled the world.  Once one person finds out something, the whole world can find out about it in a matter of minutes.  Atheletes should realize this, and it should drive them to not do anything wrong, because they know if they do, the world will find out in a very short amount of time.  Atheletes willingly sign contracts to play for professional sports teams, knowing that every aspect of their life will be under a microscope.  These atheletes willingly do this, and must acknowledge that once they enter the spotlight of professional sports their lives will never again be the same.  Most athtletes make millions of dollars, that should be incentive enough to have good conduct.  Instead of behaving badly, the atheletes should take full advantage of being in the spotlight and use their influence to positively influence the kids who admire them, and think of them as role models.  Instead of acting as though they do not like being in the spotlight and shying away from the spotlight, atheletes instead should embrace it, and use it to positively influence someone's life.

Prompt 14

     One way which I can incorporate politics into my adbuster, is by mentioning how Congress has become involved in the investigation of steroid use in baseball.  Mark McGwire testified in front of Congress about steroid use in baseball.  I do not think Congress or any government body should be involved in the investigation of the problems of a sports league.  A sports league should have their own governing body in order to investigate and settle these disputes.  The government should be investigating and settling disputes of greater importance, than the problems within a certain sport.  Steroids effect the game of baseball and many other sports, but they do not effect the nation as a whole or harm the majority of the population. 

Prompt 13

     Something that I have been following in sports is the Lakers' firing of their head coach Mike Brown after just five games, and their hiring of Mike D'Antoni.  The Lakers' firing of Mike Brown after a 1-4 start, after just five games, is equivalent to an NFL team firing their head coach during the first quarter of their first game of the season.  Nobody thought this firing would or should occur this early in the season.  Especially when the Lakers just added Dwight Howard and Steve Nash to their roster this offseason, and they are both coming off injuries.  Dwight Howard had back surgery in the offseason, and is still recovering from that injury, and Steve Nash is still recovering from a wrist injury.  Personally I think the Lakers should have waited before firing Brown.  It is not fair to gauge his success after just five games, especially when this is the first time many of his players have played together.  It takes time to develop team chemistry.

     Many believed that the Lakers' former coach Phil Jackson would replace Brown.  Late Sunday night  talks between Jackson and the Lakers broke down.  Jackson seemed like the perfect candidate because many of the players already have good relationships with him, and the Lakers know that he will get the job done, and win games.  There were still questions about how Jackson's health would effect him, and how much he would want to travel, but those problems did not seem like they would keep Jackson from taking the job.  Also, many assumed that Jackson would become the highest paid coach in the NBA.  I think that Jackson was the best candidate for the job, but I think D'Antoni will do a good job, but they will not be as good as they would have been with Jackson as their coach.

Prompt 12

These are the images that I will use for my adbuster, Mark McGwire Milk Ad, and Syringe.  I will cut out the syringe and make it so that the syringe is going into McGwire's bicep.  Then I will change the "got milk" slogan at the bottom of the ad, to "got roids."  This addresses the problems of steroids in baseball and makes fun of his actions when he was asked about steroid use during a Congress hearing.

Prompt 11

     My idea for an adbuster is to take Mark McGwire's, "got milk," ad and change the words from "got milk," to "got roids."  This will be the picture that I will use Mark McGwire "Got Milk" Ad.  I will also put a syringe on the ad, going into his arm.  This is very relevant to today's society, and it is also very relevant in baseball.  Today there are many professional athletes who were found to have used performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids and human growth hormones, to increase their performance on the field.  There are still many professional athletes who use them today and are suspended for using them after having a positive drug test.  Mark McGwire was never found to have used steroids, but when he went to testify in Congress on Major League Baseball's behalf, he refused to answer any questions regarding his steroid use.  Many people take his silence in this situation as an admission of guilt.  Anyone who uses or has used steroids are now looked down upon in sports.  For example, the all-time home run leader, Barry Bonds, was found to have used steroids.  If someone became the all-time home run leader without the use of steroids they would easily be inducted into the baseball hall of fame the first year that they could.  But, due to his use of steroids, it is unclear whether Bonds will be inducted into the hall of fame or not, when he is eligible.

     This ad uses McGwire's massive size to promote drinking milk.  I'm sure if milk knew that McGwire used steroids, they would not have used him to promote their product.  This ad is meant to tell people that if you drink milk you can get a body like Mark McGwire, not that if you use steroids and drink milk you can get a body like him.  This ad also tries to make people believe that if they drink milk, they will be able to play baseball like Mark McGwire.  This is evident by the phrase at the top of the ad which says, "going, going, gone," and the fact that Mark is holding a bat in the ad.  At the time this ad came out, Mark McGwire held the single season home run record with seventy home runs in one season.  Again, if milk knew about McGwire's steroid use they probably would not have used him for this ad.