Tag Archives: babcock

History of a Public Controversy Ideas

For our public controversy project, my group decided to research the controversy behind the removal of the Joe Paterno statue. This statue once stood outside of the football stadium in recognition of all of Paterno’s contributions to the university. However, after the Penn State child sex abuse scandal there was a widespread debate regarding the removal of this statue. Although many Joe Pa supporters, as well as Penn State fanatics, believed that Joe Pa did not have enough involvement in the scandal for the statue to be removed, many called for the removal of the statue as it was disrespectful to the victims of child abuse and to their families. The statue was eventually removed six months after the death of Joe Paterno.

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In order to discuss the controversy in addition to our views on the controversy, we plan to include many supporting visuals, with voiceovers on top of them. Also, we will include the views of various individuals that have strong feelings about the controversy. We plan to interview students to see how they feel about the removal of the statue and find opinions from various Penn State faculty and leaders.

The Decline of Doubles

Most of you have likely played doubles tennis whether recreationally, or competitively. But even if you haven’t, you should know that doubles is simply when there are two players on both sides of the net, rather than one on each side as in singles. Unfortunately, the truth is that doubles is continuously declining professionally, even if recreational players overwhelmingly choose it over singles. After all, how often do you see great doubles players, such as the Bryan brothers, in promotions and advertisements in comparison to singles players like Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. The top singles players are much more exposed to both the world of tennis and the general public. They are in all of the advertisements, they take up the center courts at tournaments, and they are the only ones televised on major television networks like ESPN or NBC.

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This lack of promotion of professional doubles already discourages tennis players from becoming involved with doubles. Television and advertisement viewers only see singles play, which restricts them from learning vital doubles skills and tactics. And, as we all know, people are very likely to mimic their favorite players that they see on television. Therefore, kids end up only learning skills that are applicable to singles, such as baseline hitting and maintaining longer points.  As a result, they end up only participating in singles.

Another reason for the decline of doubles is the disparity in prize money and match length between singles and doubles. First of all, all four grand slams reduced the length of men’s doubles matches from best-of-five sets to best-of-three sets. Now many tournaments have even replaced the third set of men’s doubles matches to a ten-point tiebreak, which significantly shortens the length of matches. Also, the difference in prize money earned by singles players in comparison to doubles players is enormous. The winning doubles team in a grand slam only earns 460,000 dollars, or 230,000 dollars per person. On the other hand, a grand slam singles champion currently earns 2.6 million dollars, more than 10 times the amount of the doubles champions. In fact, even a losing quarterfinalist in singles makes 350,000 dollars, which is still more than the each player on the winning doubles team.

The decline of interest in doubles which causes these disparities can be largely accredited to the lack of star power within doubles tennis. None of the top doubles players are household names, but how would they become household names if the players are not even televised? The only way to increase interest in doubles is to get top singles players playing doubles, which is not very common. Although they can and occasionally do play doubles, most of the top players like to focus entirely on singles in major tournaments. So, unless we create a ranking system which combines doubles and singles points into one system, it is very unlikely that things will change. The popularity and participation in professional doubles will continue to diminish.

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Are TED Talks an Important New Rhetorical Development?

TED talks are a wonderful way for individuals to spread their ideas and projects to millions of people. With the significant technological developments that continue to take place, TED talks serve as a great way to simplify the ideas behind certain developments and to present them to society. Since most TED talks are typically no longer than twenty minutes, they are able to better maintain the focus and interest of the audience in comparison to long lectures, articles, and even videos and documentaries.

However, in order for TED talks to be effective, they must be rhetorically appealing. The speaker must possess the ability to keep the crowd interested through the use of rhetoric and visual aids. If the presenter is successful, a TED talk can potentially reach millions of viewers. Even though TED talks are initially presented among crowds of like-minded peers, they are easily accessible to anyone with internet access. After all, early every TED talk is now hosted on the TED talk website as well as on YouTube. Since TED talks are short and concise, people are willing to take the time to watch TED talks that appeal to them.

The 2013 Tennis Season Comes to an End

This week brought an end to the ATP World Tour Finals, as well as to the 2013 professional tennis season in general. Although many of you may be aware of the four grand slams of tennis, which include the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, unless are a tennis fanatic you probably have not heard of the World Tour Finals. Still, this tournament is actually considered the fifth largest, or most important, tournament of the year. Unlike the average tennis tournament, however, the World Tour Finals only consists of eight men, the top eight ranked tennis players in the world. Also, the World Tour Finals are not a straightforward knock-out tournament. Instead, the eight players are first divided into two groups and play three round-robin matches against the other three players in their group. From there, the two players with the best records in each group progress to the semifinals, with the winners meeting in the final to determine the champion.

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This year, the four players that emerged to the semifinals were Novak Djokovic, Stanlislas Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. Unsurprisingly, Djokovic and Nadal both confidently defeated their opponents and once again advanced to meet in the final. After Nadal’s performance against Djokovic in the US Open final, most people expected Nadal to dominate throughout the rest of the season. However, quite the contrary occurred. Whereas Djokovic came into the ATP World Tour Finals with a 22 match win-streak and three consecutive tournament wins, Nadal had not won a tournament since the US Open in September. This truly showed throughout the entire World Tour Finals final as Djokovic overwhelmed Nadal in every way. Djokovic showed significant improvements in his volley game and serve and he was even able to continuously outlast one of the greatest defensive players of all time from the baseline. This led to a decisive 6-3 6-4 victory for Djokovic, which created a strong conclusion to his 2013 season.

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With this defining end to his season, Djokovic has proven to the world that he truly deserves to be the best player in the world. He has proven that he has the ability to beat anyone on the ATP tour, and not just once, but consecutively. Now, all Djokovic needs to do is take the momentum and confidence he has gathered from his 22 match win streak and apply it to the following season. Also, throughout the 2014 season Djokovic must put more emphasis and on winning grand slams after having lost in three consecutive grand slam finals in 2013. After all, these are the titles that matter the most.

TED Talk

My paradigm shift paper discusses the shift from the teaching of creationism by some supernatural being to the teaching of evolution in American schools. In my TED talk, I plan to talk less about the research and facts behind the shift, and instead discuss how this harsh shift from religion belief to scientific belief affects all of us. I can start off my TED talk by asking the audience how many of them have experienced the ideas of creationism throughout their primary schooling. As long as students did not attend a private, religious based school as a child, I would expect that no one has been taught the ideas of creationism. However, if I were to ask who was taught about evolution and Darwin’s theories of natural selection, everyone should raise their hand. Have any of you actually been introduced to theories of human creation other than the theories of evolution and Darwinism throughout your schooling? I know that I haven’t!

Then, I plan to discuss how drastically different the instruction in schools was just a few decades ago. Our grandparents, and even many of our parents were taught about the creationist theories behind the origins of the Earth, life, and humankind.  During the early and mid 1900s, the ideas of evolution were actually banned from public schools in America. I will note a few major events that caused that caused evolution to again be introduced in schools and what caused the ideas of creationism to be eliminated entirely. However, ideas of creation and evolution were consistently removed and reintroduced in schools up until the late 20th century. Should I simply discuss the few major turning points, such as Darwinism and the Scopes trial which brought about a debate on whether modern science regarding the theory of evolution should be taught in schools? Or, should I chronologically go through a timeline of various important events, but provide less detail about each?

Finally, I plan to conclude my speech by citing the effects that can be seen in our world today from the shift in education. For example, religion and belief in God is becoming much less prominent as scientific progress continues to occur. Would it be too controversial to suggest that I believe that the theories of evolution, rather than the ideas of the Bible should continue to be taught in schools? After all, early creationist theories are merely based off of fabricated stories, whereas the theory of evolution is supported by strong scientific evidence.

I am slightly concerned that I will have difficulty relating a majority of the speech to myself and to the audience as this paradigm shift primarily took place in the past. I also hope to improve upon my body language and speaking abilities throughout this talk.

American Tennis Reaches a New Low

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the quality and popularity of tennis in the United States was greater than ever. Public tennis courts were consistently full, tennis was commonly aired and watched on television, and professional tennis was dominated by American players. Players like John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Jim Courier kept American fans entertained in the game as they were consistently ranked at the top of the game and repeatedly competed for grand slam titles. Once these players left the spotlight, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi stepped in to take their spots. There was always a consistent flow of great American tennis players, which attracted interest to the sport. Just like in any sport, when we see fellow Americans doing well, we are encouraged to follow the sport. Children push themselves to become just like their favorite players and adults begin to appreciate the sport more as well.

Unfortunately, American tennis has suffered a significant decline throughout the past decade. In fact, it’s now been ten years since an American tennis player has won a grand slam and two years since an American man has made it to the quarterfinals of a slam. The year 2013 provided us with even more worrying statistics when American John Isner fell out of the top 20 ranked players this August. After this occurrence, it has become the first time in 40 years that no American player was among the top 20 best players. Not surprisingly, this lack in performance among American tennis players has also resulted in a decrease in interest in the sport. Instead, it appears that many Americans have switched over to golf, where home-grown athletes like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are prospering. So, until the American tennis community is able to produce players of the same caliber as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, the lack of interest in the sport will not cease to continue.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has begun forming new programs and opportunities for youth to become involved with tennis. For example, the USTA has entirely changed the game for juniors under the age of 10 through the creation of 10 and Under Tennis. 10 and Under Tennis aims to make tennis more fun and accessible to children by decreasing the size of tennis courts and racquets used by young children. The pressure of the tennis balls has also been decreased so that the balls do not bounce as high, making it easier for children to return shots and maintain longer points. While this change could definitely increase interest among young kids, I fear that it may become very difficult for the children to transition to the regulation racquets, balls, and courts when they reach the age of 10.

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Still, another major concern with American tennis, along with other global sports in America, is the lack of distinguished coaches. In many other countries, coaches must go through significant training and preparation in order to become a professional coach. Upon visiting France, I learned that coaches in France have to undergo 18 months of school just to become a tennis coach, whereas here in America nearly anybody can become a well-earning coach. Even I have coached tennis at a recognized tennis club as a high school student with little credentials. This proves that there is very little accreditation to be a coach here in America, which is nowhere near the level of other countries. All in all, it is not easy to increase the level of athletes produced in the United States, but it is clear that in order to do this we must make some significant changes that will promote passion in tennis among our youth.

Is it Finally Time for the G.O.A.T. to retire?

Roger Federer is a name that nearly everyone in the world should know whether they’ve ever picked up a tennis racquet or not. By some, Roger Federer is considered the greatest tennis player of all time; by others, he is already considered a legend. But can he really be considered a legend before even retiring from the sport?

Some may already think that Federer has retired due to his lack of success throughout the year. After early losses in nearly every major tournament of 2013, Federer is causing fans to lose belief in his abilities. More importantly, he is destroying the significance of his legacy. In order to establish a legacy, many famous tennis players and athletes in general like to try and go out on top or go out with a “bang”, but it appears that Federer’s approach is different. He’s not carrying on for the money or the glory involved with tennis, as he obviously already has enough of both of these. Instead, it appears that Federer simply stays in the sport because he enjoys it.

Additionally, Federer is no longer the greatest player in the world. He may have been at one point; but not anymore. For this reason, I believe that Federer has stopped worrying so much about major losses, and he simply continues playing due his love of tennis and the competition. After all, this is how we are taught to approach sports in the first place. They should not be played in order to gain money and fame, but to spend your life doing something you love.

Federer has also recently split with his coach, Paul Annacone, which shows that he is no longer looking to make improvements to his game. Federer merely wants to enjoy his tennis as his career comes to an end. As he will not have many ranking points to defend in 2014, this should not be much of a challenge. Federer claims that he is looking forward to next year as all of the pressure has finally been taken off of him. He has finally earned the chance to base his schedule around his family life, and train and play tennis on the side, just for the fun of it.

Nevertheless, we never know what this all-time great is capable of. With his instinctive, natural abilities, he could surprise all of us by winning another Wimbledon title and ending his career the right way. Otherwise, he will slowly fade into retirement whenever he and his family feel is right. Either way, Federer’s “greatest of all time” throne will not be affected.

Paradigm Shift Paper Ideas

  • My primary idea for the paradigm shift paper is to discuss the shift from creation to evolution which took place throughout the 1800s. The main topic of this paper would be how the discoveries of Charles Darwin and other famous scientists of the time led people all over the world to believe less strongly in religion, and instead to shift their beliefs to technology and science. I feel that my love for science and interest in evolution would allow me to write  and speak passionately about this paradigm shift. However, one concern that I have is that this topic is very general, so it may be difficult to limit my paper to 10 pages and my TED talk to under 5 minutes while still remaining descriptive.
  • Another idea is to discuss the paradigm shift taking place within drugs and democracy in Latin and South America. After watching a documentary about drug use and the war on drugs taking place in these areas, I became very interested in this topic. Throughout this paradigm shift paper, I would discuss ways in which the governments approach the drug situation and the effects that the war on drugs is having on countries.

Are Anti-Doping Rules Unfair?

Recently, a major dilemma arose within the tennis world regarding the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) anti-doping rules. One of the top tennis players in the men’s game, Victor Troicki, received an 18-month suspension from the sport when he decided not to give a blood sample at the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament in April of 2013, claiming he was sick. However, he did provide a urine sample and even took the required blood test the next day.

Troicki explained to the ITF that the doping control officer allowed him to take the blood test the next day, although the doping control officer said otherwise. As expected, the ITF took the side of the control officer, rather than that of Troicki, which resulted in his suspension from the ATP tour. As this punishment seems very extreme for simply taking a blood test a day late, sport’s highest court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), has allowed Troicki to appeal against his 18-month ban. On October 9th, Troicki appeared in front of the court and the verdict is expected before early November.

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Hopefully, the court will side with Troicki and dismiss his suspension considering this ban appears to be completely ridiculous. Although anti-doping laws should be strictly upheld, there is no proof in this case that the player has done anything wrong. After all, the results of Troicki’s blood test came back negative and since the blood test was only taken one day late, it is very unlikely that the results would have differed had he taken it a day earlier. Also, there is no evidence of whether the doping control officer actually explained the rules and consequences to Troicki as he neglected to take the blood test immediately. He even states that the control officer had allowed him to return and take the test the next day after explaining to her that he was sick and has always been uncomfortable with needles.

Fellow professional tennis players, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic also support Troicki’s cause. Both Djokovic and Nadal have backed Troicki when speaking with the press, arguing that the whole situation is extremely unfair to Troicki. The players agree that since there is no proof of Troicki’s drug use, the punishment should be lessened. Djokovic even signed a petition demanding reform of the doping rules to provide more clarity for the players. The ITF has indicated that it plans to change the anti-doping rules in 2014 to say that, “where a player refuses to provide a sample, the doping control officer should try to offer the player an opportunity to speak to the event supervisor or referee to confirm the player’s responsibilities under the program.” The Victor Troicki case has clearly highlighted this issue and has brought attention to anti-doping laws within tennis as well as within other sports with strict anti-doping rules.