Abstract This paper presents arguments for and against the use of illegal substances by athletes in the sports arena. The writer takes the stand that the world is currently filled with enhancers of all sorts and that athletes should not be condemned for dragging this practice onto the sports field.
From the Paper "Although there are rules against illegal substance use in sports you cannot criticize the guilty athletes too harshly. They may not have made the right choice but everyone makes mistakes. Before you turn your nose up at a guilty athlete and tattoo him as a 'cheater' maybe you should think about the last time you colored your hair, whitened your teeth, or popped that stimulant your doctor prescribed you to help you focus. Yes, there are big differences, but the bottom line is you cannot condemn an athlete for using something to improve his performance on the field when we are guilty of the same off the field. Athletes should not be criticized so harshly for using artificial substances to improve their performance when other people are guilty of the same."
Abstract The paper determines whether a team can meet the time and budget constraints necessary to enter the Whitbread World Sailboat race. It discusses the key processes necessary to build a boat and train a team.
From the Paper "The team headed by Bjorn Ericksen has identified key processes
necessary to build a boat and train a crew to enter next year's Whitbread World Sailboat Race. The question that remains is whether they ..."
An analysis of the baseball labor market, including the question of whether baseball athlete's salaries are too high, in respect to revenues earned by team owners.
750 words (approx. 3 pages), 2 sources, 2001, $ 26.95
Abstract This paper analyses baseball's labor market with reference to the economic phenomenon of a monopsony. The question of whether baseball athletes salaries are too high is raised, in respect to revenues earned by team owners. Several economic issues are brought up, including: competitive markets, monopolies, supply and demand, etc.
Tags: monopsony, economics, competitive markets sport
Abstract A paper about sports history, a comparison between ancient sports and modern sports of today. The author looks at aspects such as the sports played, how they were played, their technological differences and how their symbolic and societal meanings differ.
From the Paper "Sports in the ancient world had their similarities to modern sports, but there are a few differences as well. In modern sports, there is more attention to detail when preparing fields for play, but nonetheless there are numerous amounts of workers who prepare the fields that athletes play on. In modern sports, nearly every sport has their schedules devised much before the season even begins. Although not all sports had officials at that time, there were people who kept order. In ancient sports, there were no records that were kept of ongoing statistics. Without role players, teams could not play to their optimum levels at all times."
Tags: baseball, games, greek, history, players, pythian, roman
Abstract This paper is an argumentative essay about the need for salary caps in Major league Baseball. The paper argues that salary caps are necessary in order survive as a profitable sport.
From the Paper "There is obviously a problem in Major league Baseball and it needs to be fixed before the league goes belly up. While this sounds preposterous it is quite possible. In my mind the best solution would be a salary cap and revenue sharing. As a Padres fan I grow tired of seeing them place last or second to in the NL West. While I will still support them I won?t be attending as many games (especially while in Iowa). Because of this they will lose money in ticket sales, with the effects of that trickling all the way down to revenue for broadcasting, leaving them in a financially precarious position. This is in danger of happening to many teams. Fans are going are growing tired and vexed at seeing their teams go nowhere in the post-season. Three competitive teams are not enough to keep a profitable fan base and more importantly profitable revenue."
Abstract This is a persuasive paper that tackles the idea that sports has become simply a marketing agent and a business game rather than a sport that promotes competition, values and respect. The author argues that sport has recently been transformed to a commercial mechanism whereby the media promotes ideals of heroes and contribute to the ideals of falsity and corruption. Sports has become a commodity and a marketing tool and a money orientated idea. Includes an analysis of the statement by Tyler Cowen ?we run the danger that commercially successful heroes induce dangerous forms of mimesis and fail to help citizens coordinate around noble ideas.?
From the Paper "Thesis: The marketing of sports has become a business where players make more money marketing the products than playing the game. Sports heroes are then, no longer promoting the ideals of competition and values, rather through the commercialization of the team and player they are contributing falsity to a society already chaotic. "
Tags: sport, monet, comodity, conumer, marketing, business, hero, social
Abstract The following paper discusses why steroids have garnered a lot of media attention over the years. The writer looks at the true story behind these controversial substances, though the main focus of this paper is the sport's arena. It is of the writer's opinion that the world of sports will never be based on true competition until these supplements are eradicated for good.
From the Paper "In today's society, there is undoubtedly a strong emphasis on physical fitness and athletic strength. The media-driven quest for the "perfect body" has caused everything from low self-esteem to anorexia nervosa to suicide in our society. For professional athletes, the demands for physical perfection are particularly intense, in large part due to the use and abuse of steroids."
Abstract This paper examines the issue of performance enhancing drugs in the form of over the counter nutritional supplements. In particular it talks about ephedra, androstenedione (andro) and creatine within the context of the sports world today. It discusses the pharmacology of all three, their health risks and why the NCAA have chosen to legalize or illegalize these three drugs. They are all legal to purchase without a prescription, but ephedra and androstenedione have been banned by a majority of sports governing bodies and creatine has caused more problems than any nutritional aid has ever caused a sport governing body.
From the Paper "Androstenedione is also known as Andro or the Mark McGuire drug. Shortly after breaking the homerun record, "Big Mac" came out and said that he used the supplement to gain a competitive advantage. Andro gives an athlete this "competitive edge" by working in a way similar to anabolic steroids. It is what is called a pro-hormone. It is part of the final product, testosterone. The supplement is supposed to increase the amount of testosterone in men much the same way as anabolics, but with out going to the extremes of pure anabolic steroids. A person could think of it as light steroids, except for the fact that it doesn?t work. It has been proven however to increase the levels of estrogen in the male system. This can cause many steroid like side effects, but without steroid like strength gains (Sports, 2001). "
This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the book "The Natural," by Bernard Malamud, specifically, its importance in American baseball literature.
Abstract The writer learns that "The Natural" was author Bernard Malamud's first book. Written in 1952, the novel recounts the story of Roy Hobbs, an over-the-hill pitcher turned batter who just wants a chance in the major leagues. Many critics have called "The Natural" the best baseball book of all time. Malamud combines his love of baseball with the mythical and dark sides of human nature, showing a seedy side of the game not usually recognized by writers.
From the Paper "As the novel progresses, Roy gets his chance to play baseball with a down-and-out team, the New York Knights, which is another reference in the book to the quest for the Grail. "Over the course of the season Roy gets involved with Pop's lovely niece, Memo, and her friend, the gambler Gus Sands. Eventually his desire for Memo, and his need for sufficient money to keep her in the style she desires, once again leads him astray from his quest" (Editors). He agrees to throw a game, and his miraculous bat, "Wonderboy," that he has carried with him since the beginning of his quest, shatters in his last game, ruining the Knight's chances, and his own to continue playing America's game. He is destroyed, because he has not only failed in his quest, he has failed those that believed in him. "Roy does somehow deserve to be destroyed for not honoring the natural talent he has been blessed with" (Editors).
Abstract This paper reviews the kinds of leading-edge signage found in today's major league sports, the information that signage offers beyond mere branding, and the trends in stadium and home-viewer sports advertising.
From the Paper "In the book, Ballparks (Von Goeben, 2001), there is a black and white photo of the Polo Grounds in New York, taken around 1911, with only two billboards prominently displayed ? the billboards advertised "ESCO Hosiery" and "Adlers Gloves" ? that probably cost less than a hundred dollars each. That was a lot of money back then. But by 1952, in another photo in the Ballparks depicting a World Series game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, signage was taking up most of the interior walls of the stadium. Thirteen billboards at ground level ? approximately 30-40 feet wide each ? were visible from the left field corner to the scoreboard in right center. And one wonders how much those billboards brought in for the teams. Not very much, in today's dollar terms. But whatever the pittance was, it is dwarfed millions of times over by the $10 million a year Reliant Energy pays in 2003 to be the "sponsor" of the NFL's Houston Texans stadium, or the $7.6 million FedEx pays annually to get its logo ? and name ? on the Washington Redskins? football field."
Abstract This paper argues that by glamorizing professional and amateur sports-people and their achievements or abilities, the media directly affects children and encourages performance-enhancing drug use. The paper shows that authorities need to encourage sufficient funding to enable research and provide testing in all regulated sports in order to put fair play back into sports.
From the Paper "According to Tokish, Kocher and Hawkins (2004), there is a "potent marketing influence" on athletes to use performance-enhancing drugs. Whether or not they really work is not important - if there's a possibility that they'll work, that's a good enough reason for many athletes to take them. If by chance they are dangerous to take, and at this point in time the research just does not exist to refute the possibility, that is a chance they will take."
Abstract This paper takes a stand against the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. The paper covers the legal and moral impact of drug use in sports and it also explains the mental and physical health side effects of taking such drugs.
From the Paper "If you turn on any sports show in today's world of media, you are bound to hear something about the illegal drug use in sports. There are many supporters for both sides of this argument. When it comes down to it, which is right? Is the world being too harsh on drug use in sports? Should more be done to help prevent the spreading drug problem in sports? Performance enhancing drugs in sports is not only legally and morally wrong, but it is also very unhealthy."
Abstract As the title implies, this paper evaluates both the history of womens' involvement in sports and the recent developments. The author blames the media for the present imbalance citing many specific examples and causes. She examines sports on the High School level as well as the professional.
From the Paper "I have decided to look into the issue of media coverage and the imaging of female athletes because it is an area of popular culture that I am not only interested in, but have become intensely aware of as a spectator of sports programming. I have also watched and noticed over the years that sports coverage of women is another means by which the media sexualizes women. Mass media, which has long been transmitting negative stereotypes of women, portrays female athletes with these same stereotypes on place."
Abstract This short paper looks at the popularity of athletes in our present day society. The author argues that, through the media, athletes are seen as role models and therefore have a profound influence on impressionable children.
From the Paper "An athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. Since the beginning if the 20th century, athletes have become more and more recognizable in the public eye. They are seen as much more than just a person who plays sports. In fact, in today's world, athletes are among the highest paid professionals. "
Abstract This paper discusses the reasons for the baseball strike of 1994 to 1995 and its economic impact ton the baseball field and related industries.
From the Paper "The reasons for the strike were both complicated and virtually all economic. They all connected to one of two issues: the owners wanted to find an equitable way to distribute some profits to struggling teams in smaller markets, and in the process, they wanted to use some funds that in the past had been the players?. The management's proposed solution (redistribution of some profits) was not a perfect plan as not all smaller teams faced financial difficulties (Staudohar, 1997)."
Tags: revenue, Major, League, teams, fans, salary, arbitration, players, profits
