MARCH MADNESS!

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN! MARCH MADNESS! wHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN THIS YEAR? OHIO STATE? KANSAS? KENTUCKY (OF COURSE). OR WILL JIMMER FREDETTE OF BYU BRING THE COUGARS THEIR FIRST NATIONAL TITLE?

I would like to see your brakets. Here are my brackets.
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/entry?entryID=1751693
http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/en/entry?entryID=1750597
 my wild card upset picks are Utah State, Georgia, and Richmond
Also, here is this year's version of Barack-etology (although i disagree with some of his picks). http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/tournament/2011/news/story?id=6222176

Cheerleading debate

Before all those cheerleaders out there jump to conclusions and savagely bludgeon me to death, I will provide an easily debatable opinion. (Therefore I will value your opinions as long as they aren't rediculous or obscene. Also, please refrain from using logical fallacies to prove recidulous things like basketball or football is not a sport. Thank You) and now i will begin..
Any athlete at our school knew that a man named George Henshaw came and presented us with oppurtunities for athletes in sports to earn scholarships. As soon as the doors were opened, thousands of student-athletes flooded into the auditorium and so did the cheerleaders. After several comments (i would not comment on who said them) about cheerleading and that it isn't a sport, the question arose in my mind. Is cheerleading really a sport?
Here is my take on it..
Although it takes some strength, athleticism and coordination, i deem it not a sport and here is why:

1. I cannot see any strategy when it comes to cheerleading.
1. Although there is a 'routine', i can't call it a sport. Dancing and Ballet have routines and so does gymnastics. dancing and ballet are not sports, but that doesn't mean that they are not strenuous.(gymnastics is a sport by the way). Also, gymnastics has other events like balance beam and several other events that i could see as sports. These olympic events call for dexterity, balance, and sheer strength. Sorry Ladies, cheerleaders could not do what gymnasts do. As in football or basketball, these sports adapted plays in which the team looks for ways to outsmart and outstrategize the other team. In cheerleading, its based on how well your team looks in the routine.
2. Cheerleading has too much basis on how they 'look'
1. of all the major sports, coaches will usually tell you its not how you look but how you perform. In cheerleading, the better you look, the better you score (at least i think so). Also, you would not see Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, or even Jackie Joyner-Kersee (olympic gold medalist) putting on make-up or worrying about how they look before their athletic event.
3. Usually, Cheerleaders stand on the sidelines (except in the case of competitive cheerleading)
1. It is very hard to consider something a sport when you are cheering another sport in the time being. As much as i appreciate support, i would not consider it a full blown sport as difficult as it may seem.
4. The definition of Cheerleader doesn't advocate it being a sport.
1. the definition is a person who leads spectators in traditional or formal cheering, especially at a pep rally or athletic event.
5.  the Quinnipiac ruling
1. In the Quinnipiac case in which cheerleading was brought in to replace the women's volleyball team and was overruled because it broke Title 9 (which states Discrimination based on sex including sexual harassment is illegal under state and federal laws. Discrimination based on sexual orientation is prohibited under state law.). This case was renown for stating that cheerleading was not a sport that could replace the women's volleyball team. This ruling ended up advocating against cheerleading because it was 'underdeveloped' and considered more of a 'performing art'
6. The cheerleading competitions use too much dancing and music.
1. In order to get a clear picture and research thoroughly, i watched a video of several competitions. i came to the conclusion that each one incorporated dancing and some sort of music. Both of these things show off the artsy and visual side of the routine rather than the athleticism or skill.
1. And Finally....
7. I don't see the skills or prowess needed to cheerlead.
1.  football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, track & field, gymnastics, Hockey, Swimming and Diving, etc. all these sports, in order to succeed, you have to have adept skills that are naturally given or attained through grueling work. As well as these skills, you need the strategy to utilize these skills and you have to adapt to your team as well as the other. In the argument of cheerleading being a sport, i see more dancing and less athleticism. I see more flips and visuals and not skills that have to be attained. I hear more music and chants rather than playcalls or startegies.

in Cheerleading's defense....

• it is a physically demanding activity
• you can get hurt doing it (but that doesn't mean it is a sport)
• It is arduous and takes alot of effort (but so do alot of other things)
• Not everyone can do it (well at least i would fail at it because i do not have a single flexible muscle in my body)
• It is very coordinated

NOTICE: This is just a blog of my opinions. I do not wish to incite anyone that is an advocate of cheerleading being a sport. I do this for a grade and it was brought up recently. I do not intend to hurt anyone's feelings and i would not appreciate an obscene or distasteful rebuke. Although a thorough explanation on how it is a sport is acceptable and highly recommended.

Here is a link to which video i watched to further prove my thesis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5eg5Ly8EQ0

Home field advantage?

Have you ever heard of the term homefield advantage? Being the die hard kentucky fan that i am, i know what it is like to have a winning atmosphere; especially at rupp arena. But where did it originate? Some might think it might be lambeau field where the green bay packers won super bowl 1 and 2. Or would it be at UCLA where John Wooden won his plethera of national championships?
 Actually home field advantage was created because of professional and collegiate sports betting. Back when sports gambling first planted its roots, analysts theorized that teams playing at home would have a better chance of winning a game because they would be more comfortable and therefore could score and defend slightly better than at either a nuetral or away site. The term 'home field advantage' later came to be coined because of baseball teams winning alot more at home during the playoffs.

UEAS. I'm Going To Disney World!

Have you ever wondered where the phrase "im going to disney world!" came from? Everyone knows after a big sporting event like the Super Bowl, the FBS title game, or the NCAA basketball championship, that the winner always says "I'm going to disney world!" It's expected from them. well the person who coined that phrase is.....
It's Not michael Jordan...
not Magic johnson...
but Phil Simms? whose that?
Phil simms was the Quarterback of the New York Giants during the late 1980's. He said this after his breakout performance during super bowl XXI. Little might you know this but Simms went to Morehead St in Kentucky! Also, he was from Lebanon Kentucky! (which is sorta close to Louisville) Chalk this up as another great contribution Kentucky has made.

Ueas: Super Bowl edition

last night was awesome wasn't it? two heavyweight teams duking it out in the final game of the national football league season. Although the Steelers lost to the packers 25-31, they had done something no other super bowl team has done before. The Steelers were down by 18 points and eventually came back to be down by 4 points. no other superbowl team had been down by that much and came back. Also, no team had ever comitted that many turnovers and lost by that little amount of points. Although i expected more from both teams, i still enjoyed the last game. I do hope that next years super bowl will involve a last minute game winning drive on the final seconds of the game. Now that would be awesome.

This week in sports..

This week displayed an interesting rule in the NFL's system. During the beginning of the 2nd half, Bears QB, Jay Cutler, was a no go due to a knee injury. Back up, Todd Collins, came in for 2 series and was a poor 0 for 4 through the air and threw an interception and inevitably was benched for not being oppurtune. Caleb Hanie eventually came in which sealed the bears' fate. once the 3rd string quarterback enters the 4th quarter, he must finish the game. This rule is widely questioned throughout the league but like a leech, it won't go away.
 After an exciting Championship weekend, the stage is set for a histrionic game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Who will win? only time will tell...
tune in next week.
P.S. sorry for no post last week. i was snowed in

To my readers

if you have any questions or comments that you would like me to discuss, then please comment.

sincerely, Zach

1st edition of UEAS

Due to confusion and my inexperience of the online world, i have posted my blog by randomly clicking buttons until a suitable result was found. As expected, there is always one guy in each english class that all they will ever write about is sports. Unfortunately for my readers, i am that guy. For all those that do enjoy sports, disregard my last statement and welcome to the 1st Edition of The Unusual Events in American Sports (UEAS).
In this weeks discussion, i am going to explain the unusual inclusion of a sub .500 team, the Seattle Seahawks, in the NFL playoffs. This has never happened before so why does it happen now? Well one reason is that the division that the Seattle Seahawks are in is a very weak division in which no team won more than 8 games. Another reason is that Seattle won 4 games in their division to give them the lead in their divison. Finally, Seattle had tied for the most wins in their division but the tiebreaker was they had more division wins which gave them the ticket to play the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Be sure to tune in for next weeks edition of UEAS.

this is zach cox signing off