Why the NBA is the best run sports league

Just hear me out, okay? I personally feel that the NBA is the best run and most beneficial of the four major American sports leagues. And yes, I have reasons. Soccer is the world's most popular sport, but the NBA has also become a global league. The NBA has had two Canadian franchises: the Vancouver Grizzlies (who have since moved to Memphis) and the Toronto Raptors, who unlike some Canadian franchises in American leagues have a strong and passionate fan base as well as a good roster. Players like Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have brought national attention to the league, and NBA games are televised in all corners of the world. If you don't believe me, read this: 70 percent of NBA-related social media traffic comes from outside the United States. Other dominant sports leagues simply do not have the global reach of the NBA: the NFL still remains unpopular in other countries, the MLB statistically receives most of its viewers from the US, Japan and South and Central America, and European Soccer still doesn't have a consistently strong audience in the US (most only watch European Soccer during the world cup). And foreign countries don't just produce viewers. They produce players. Of the past 15 NBA MVP awards, 5 have been given to players who were not born in the US, and foreign players like Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Pau and Marc Gasol (Spain), Yao Ming (China), Ricky Rubio (Spain), Kristaps Porzingis (Latvia), and Steve Nash (Canada) have been some of the most exciting, talented, marketable, and admirable players in both recent and past years. The NBA doesn't have issues with steroid use like the MLB because basketball a game that requires athleticism and also incredible skill, so pure strength doesn't give you too much of an advantage. The NBA has some issues with foot and ankle injuries (especially in 7-footers), but it doesn't have the issues with injuries or violence that the NFL and NHL are criticized for. The last thing that I think sets the NBA apart is that Commissioner Adam Silver and the league are always looking at different ways to make the game better; they fix problems when they come up and they don't cling to tradition. This post is not made to berate the other leagues; I enjoy football myself and even baseball and hockey to an extent. I personally feel that the other leagues, mainly the NFL (Roger Goodell cough cough deflate gate cough cough domestic violence issues cough cough) could learn something from the way the NBA operates.

Kobe

So some people post about sports on here so I guess I'll join the party. One of the biggest stories in sports this year is the recent announcement that this NBA season will be the last for Kobe Bryant. Whether you follow basketball of not or even if you don't follow sports you almost definitely know who Kobe is. To many sports fans (most of them slightly older than me) Kobe is an icon and a childhood hero, similar to how basketball players like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson were before Kobe. I grew up watching Kobe play and as someone who follows basketball closely I find Kobe an extremely interesting person to observe both on and off the court. What intrigues me the most about Kobe Bryant is that in some aspects he is an exceptional and admirable man, and in others he is a great example of how not to live your life. The number one criticism against Kobe is always going to be that he was accused of rape in the summer of 2003. Rape cases involving athletes of other rich and famous people are often called into question because there have been cases of people claiming that rich and famous people have raped them in order to get a large settlement check out of them. Kobe admitted to having sex with the woman, and was married at the time, so either way he comes of the situation looking like a real scumbag. When looking at the facts of the trail, I think that there is decent evidence for both sides, however eventually his accuser refused to testify and the charges were dropped. Kobe's wife stayed with him for another eight years and then divorced him, but then returned to him in 2013 and the two are still married today. Personally, based off of what I know about Kobe as a person I don't think that he's guilty but clearly I am not an expert, I'm just going off my observations and gut feeling. Other lesser knocks on Kobe include him being a poor teammate who drives other star players away and also him being a ball hog who doesn't pass as much as he should. Just as with the rape case, there is a decent argument on both sides. Anyway on to the positive. Kobe has played 20 seasons in the NBA, every single one of them with the Los Angeles Lakers. This loyalty is impressive no matter which way you cut it. Often times Kobe has had opportunities to get paid more of be on better teams, but he has always stuck with the Lakers. This past week Kobe took himself out of the starting lineup so that younger players could get more minutes in. Kobe is also an extremely hard worker and a tough player. Kobe always gives 100% on the floor, even now after 20 years of wear and tear. Kobe is also a very tough player, playing through injuries, controversy and distractions all through his career. Kobe is also an exciting player and an incredible showman, his most memorable performance occurring on January 22nd, 2006 when Kobe put up 81 points. If you aren't familiar with basketball, here are some rough comparisons to 81 points in other sports:

an NFL quarterback throwing 14 touchdowns
a hockey player scoring 10 goals
a baseball player hitting 5 home runs

Anyway love him or hate him (personally I have both feelings toward him) Kobe is an incredible athlete and an icon, and his retirement is a significant event in American sports.

School in other countries

This doesn't pertain directly to our material, but it's a subject that interests me so I'll write about it anyway. Today at the after school program where I work, I had a conversation with a couple second graders about their school life and what school is like in other countries. This got me thinking, so I decided to do some research. One country whose school systems I learned about is Indonesia. Indonesia is a relatively small country in land area, but has the third largest population in the world. Because of this there is a very high population density and many schools start as early as 6 o'clock in the morning to account for high amounts of traffic. The schools in Indonesia didn't seem that different from ours, they still require 12 years of education as in the United States. One thing that interests me is that their high school curriculum has almost no flexibility. All high school students must take classes in English, science, math, history, computer science and other areas. according to a few articles I read English Education in Indonesia is pretty poor and most high school graduates can't really speak English. My only personal insight into foreign education is my uncle, who lived in Korea for a couple years. He married a Korean woman who taught Middle School English in Korea, which astounds me because she speaks very little English. I'm sure that other countries, especially European ones have superior English education, but with what I've heard learning English is very difficult for non English speakers because it is structured very differently.

Feminism in Males

Since we are discussing feminism this week and I am a man, I thought I might discuss one part of feminism (and all forms of social activism really) that intrigues me. I like most people, would agree that when somebody says or does something that is sexist, racist, homophobic or discriminatory in nature that you should always speak up, even if you don't fit under the umbrella of people that the person is attacking. You don't have to be forceful or aggressive in your reproach,; I think that it is very possible to let someone know that what they are saying or doing is not okay in a relatively passive and non hostile manner. In some cases they may not even be aware that what they are saying is wrong and even if that isn't the case then you should still try to be polite so as to not stoop to their level. The question that intrigues me is: is a person obligated to feel offended when someone says something prejudicial, even when they are not part of the group being judged? If somebody says something misogynistic around me, the right thing to do is to say something, but am I obligated to feel offended even though I am male? If someone says something anti-semitic, do I have to feel deeply wounded even though I'm Catholic? Personally I feel offended when people say things offensive towards people of other genders' races, religions, etc, but only when what is said is blatant and harsh. On more subtle forms of prejudice I find that even when I notice what is done wrong I don't feel any sense of ire of the matter.

Animal Psycology

I'm doing my blog post this week on animal psychology because animals are better than people. If you're a person reading this, sorry. If you're an animal reading this, that's awesome. I read an article about an Indian monkey that attacked a man when the man flipped him off. Darwin claimed that the emotions of humans have been there in all stages of evolution, and intelligent species like monkeys, dogs, and cats share emotional characteristics with modern humans. For all species, not just humans there is a lot of common ground in body language and its emotional meaning. Baring your teeth sends a signal of anger. Quick movements indicate hostility. Intense eye contact (as seen in the video) indicates threat. This common ground shows that humans maybe aren't as far ahead in sophistication and emotion as we believe ourselves to be. This makes me wonder what other psychological attributes we share with our scaly, slimy and furry companions. Do animals use defense mechanisms or have anxiety? Can animals experience depression or motivation?

Why Wash Williams isn't that bad

Okay, hear me out on this one. In Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg Ohio one character in particular stands out as a grotesque and deplorable figure. Wash Williams is a filthy and extremely misogynistic man. It's hard to envision him as a relatable character who one can be sympathetic to. However, when the books main character, George Willard sits down with Wash to hear the story that explains the man's misogyny, I personally found myself feeling very sympathetic to the old man. Now don't get me wrong: I do not condone Wash's views or the despicable things that he says. you know that one ex friend or significant other that you don't actually hate but you force hatred of as a way of coping with their absence in your life? As anyone reading this who's been in our English class knows this mental defense mechanism is known as projection. Wash Williams's misogyny is a textbook example of projection. He treated his wife with respect and affection for years, but was still cuckolded by his spouse's lover. He even gives her a second chance afterward. This shows that he was at one time a man with compassion and respect for women, or at least one woman. I personally do not interpret his misogyny as sincere, rather I view it as Wash's way of coping with the pain that his wife and her mother wrought on him. His actions and views are wrong, but I hold a certain level of sympathy for the old man.

Sherwood vs George

Who names their kid Sherwood? If you are reading this and your name is Sherwood then I am sorry. I meant know offence. Anyway most people believe that George Willard acts as a sort of avatar of the author within Sherwood Anderson's story, Winesburg Ohio. I was interested in this so I did some research to find similarities between the two. One big similarity that I noticed was that throughout the story George becomes infatuated (at least to an extent) with four women: Louise Trunnion, Kate Swift, Belle Carpenter, and Hellen White. Sherwood Anderson himself was married to four different women in his lifetime. Three of these women he married after the publication of Winesburg Ohio, but I personally thought it was an interesting coincidence. In terms of childhood, Anderson doesn't have much in common with George, Anderson's hometown of Clyde, Ohio bears much resemblance to Winesburg, but other than that and fathers who were frequently in debt the two have little in common in terms of home life. Anderson's father and mother worked low end jobs to make ends meet, and Anderson himself was renowned for working to the bone as a child. I personally feel that George doesn't represent the pre-writing Anderson; not from the outside anyway. Rather I feel like Anderson felt that an expressive, creative, and artistic being was trapped inside him by the financial realities of his life. And just as George left Winesburg to become the man he always wanted to be, Anderson left his wife and kids (in a far less romanticized and admirable fashion) to go pursue his artistic dream.

DO IT

When reading Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio in class, we have encountered many different characters, all with a different story. From the gaunt Mrs Willard to the haunted Wing Biddlebaum, Anderson's cast of characters is a bleak bunch. Personally, my favorite character that we have read about is Joe Welling. Throughout man of ideas Joe is upbeat, optimistic, and won't shut the hell up. Many people might view him as silly or annoying, but I find his personality and quirks amusing. I personally feel that there is more beneath the surface of his character than he is perhaps given credit for. He takes on the responsibility of coaching the Winesburg baseball team with great aplomb. He courts Mr. King's daughter, who is described as rather sad and dull, with enthusiasm and sees the best in her. I believe that beneath his loud babbling exterior Joe Welling is a good man.

Tests

Today in English class we took a test.I did some searching around and found some really interesting facts about the psychology behind multiple choice tests. Now, the test we took today wasn't a multiple choice test, but whatever. What I learned is that in test-taking there are two kinds of memory: recall and recognition. An essay test like the one we took today asks your mind to access it's memories directly. When answering an essay question, your mind thinks back and brings relevant information to the surface of your consciousness. A multiple choice question, however, uses both the recall memory and recognition. multiple choice questions group potential correct answers together as well as often grouping questions from certain chapters or topics together. When choosing from a list of potential answers, the ones that your mind recognizes will stand out to you. This is abnormal or ridiculous answers stick out like a sore thumb on multiple choice questions. Many people find that they struggle with multiple choice tests, often they get caught up choosing between two answers that seem like they can be correct and they work themselves into a state of confusion and distress over it. I myself experience this phenomenon from time to time, but in general I like taking multiple choice tests. Essay questions are easy to answer if you know the material well; you can throw down all the required information on to the test and look like a genius. Multiple choice is easier to succeed on if you didn't study, especially if the test is poorly written. You can also use multiple choice questions to answer other questions that you may be stuck on. Although I think multiple choice tests are easier, in all honesty essay questions are probably a more accurate test of the students knowledge.

I'm super inspired

I am feeling very uninspired and I'm not sure what to write about. However, I don't want to fail this assignment and luckily I, like every good high school student, am quite adept at pulling essays out of my-never mind. I don't know if I'm allowed to swear on here. Anyway since I was lacking inspiration and also since we have been delving into the bowels of Freudian Psychology as of late I figured I would do some research into the science of inspiration and what goes on in the brain when one is inspired or not inspired. First of all, contrary to popular belief, backspace our most inspired moments do not come when we are alert awake and at our most functional. According to a few sources that I consulted many of our most inspired "aha!" moments come when we are supremely relaxed or even groggy. Many studies actually indicate that inspiration tends to be in high supply when we are under the influence of substances. I read about a concept called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is when our mind forms new connections between different items catalogs in our mind. When discussing the development of the brain while in childhood people often talk about association, using the examples of things such as shapes, colors, and people. Unsurprisingly, the brain never stops doing this. and sometimes when our brain make new associations, new ideas are born!

Don't let your dreams be dreams

Anyway, we've been discussing dreams and the subconscious and the id and ego and superego and a whole bunch of various mind-blowing stuff. I was very interested in dreams and what they reflect about your subconscious, so I decided to look into it further. Specifically, I was interested in the types of dreams and what differentiates one brand of dream from another. There are false awakening dreams, or dreams within dreams, where you wake up and sometimes go through your whole morning routine before realizing that you are still inside a dream. I've experienced this myself. I also frequently get up in the middle of the night, shower and get ready for school without realizing that it is two in the morning, but as that happens in reality and is not part of a dream, I think I'm just dumb. Another brand of dream is the common daydream, which the average person does about 70 to 120 minutes per day. The state of mind of a person in a daydream is partially conscious. I don't daydream much anymore, possibly because of my improved mental discipline to work and school now that I am older and more mature. I do however remember doing quite a bit of daydreaming in elementary school. Other types of dreams include nightmares (which I frequently have) as well as recurring dreams (which I haven't had in years). I used to remember my dreams all the time, but I never do anymore which makes me sad.

Different Takes on Inception

This week in class we watched the movie Inception, a movie about the alternate realm of dreams. I was interested in what others thought of the film and I did a quick search to see what some of the fun, interesting, and totally not shady or dangerous lovely people of the internet had to say. I encountered an article on moviefone.com that laid out the most popular theories and their bases. One of the main theories was that the entire movie takes place outside of reality- in a dream, that is. It asks a really awesome and interesting question: if characters like Cobb and Arthur have totems, what is we the audience's totem? It also calls in a common principle from the film: asking yourself "How did I get here?". The movie starts in Saito's subconscious and moves on to his party and then shifts again to his apartment before finally shifting to the train on which Cobb and Arthur are attempting to steal secrets from Saito's mind. But since we don't see any sort of transition between the third and fifth scenes can we truly say for sure that the train scene is our first glimpse at reality? I think that these questions are questions that Christopher Nolan wants you to ask; and I think that he wants each viewer to have their own interpretation. Personally I take the movie at face value: the job is completed successfully and Cobb gets to return to his family and true reality. I feel this way because as someone who likes endings with closure and also as someone who sympathizes with Cobb and his plight my mind just might implode if that wasn't the case. If there is a second theory that I embrace, it is that everyone but Cobb returns to reality and Cobb returning to his family at the end is all his dream.

Juxtaposing Character's Plights

In life, it is often said that "we play the cards we're dealt". In our three summer reading books this summer, we read about a wide range of characters, all of whom were dealt a different hand in life. Dick Diver of F Scott Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night was a brilliant and renowned psychologist who married one of his young, beautiful patients, who had a very wealthy family. Fast forward a few years and Dick is in a poor state. He lives a purposeless existence. His wife no longer depends on him for care of her mental health, as a matter of fact the practice-less "doctor" depends on his wife for money. Dick Diver is a great example of a character who is dealt a great hand: successful, married to a beautiful woman, blessed with charisma and looks and brains. He doesn't play all the cards he is dealt however, and the majority of the blame for his decline can be placed on him. Less analyzable are the characters of Dead Wake, who are passengers of the famous ship The Lusitania, which was sunk by a German U-Boat during World War I. Obviously they were put in much more dire circumstances than Dick Diver, but unlike Dick most of them most of them made the most of their hand, doing their best to survive and escape along with their loved ones in the face of difficult odds.

The final character is Sylvia Plath's fictionally biographical portrayal of herself: Esther Greenwood. Esther's lot in life is more interesting to analyze because to an outer perspective, much of her life seems pretty good. He father died when she was young, an obvious and difficult hardship to endure, but her mother was successful and independent and seemed to care for her children. Esther had a scholarship to an all women's college, where she made friends, went on dates with boys, and excelled. She lands an internship at a magazine in New York. These circumstances lead to a variety of situations taking place in Esther's mind, from poor self confidence to trust issues all the way to suicidal tendencies.

So why do all these characters' situations seem so bleak? This is because of the perspectivism that was part of modernist literature such as two of these texts (the other being a nonfictional representation of the time). Different peoples' perspectives skew their problems to seem larger than they are or somebody else's fault (such as in the case of Dick) or they make their problems seem smaller than they are or speak of them very casually and without a hint of real concern (such as in the case of Esther).