Penn State Aftermath

~Anthony Constantino

It is no secret that Penn State has had the worst scandal in the history of college sports take place on its campus. This scandal has engulfed a legendary head coach, a college campus, and the surrounding community. The monster that is Jerry Sandusky will rightfully spend his remaining years in a jail cell for the crimes he committed at the college. In the wake of Sandusky's sex abuse scandal, there are many questions to ask, and many answers we may not want to hear.

What perplexes me about this story is that most news outlets are reporting on what this scandal will do to Penn State football, or what ripples will be felt by the rest of college football. There is almost no discussion about the victims of these horrendous crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky. There are no sanctions that can heal the victims and help them deal with the emotional damage done to them by Sandusky. While I was waiting to see just what the NCAA would do to Penn State, I couldn't help but think that the sanctions were somewhat of an appraisal. The NCAA was ruling on the value of the innocence of children. That is really what Sandusky took from these vitctims. In my eyes no price was too steep for Penn State to pay.

The first domino fell as the NCAA brought the hammer down on Penn State. The public didn't need to wonder very long about what punishment was in store for the Nittany Lions. Penn State was fined 60 million dollars as well as banned from postseason play for the next four seasons. They also face a significant reduction in scholarships with 10 initial scholarships lost and 20 total scholarships each season for the next four years. To make matters worse, all current players enrolled at Penn State are allowed to transfer immediately without penalty. However, what may hurt Nittany Lions fans and alumni the most is that their beloved coach Joe Paterno, will have all his wins from 1998-2011 vacated. This means the most winningest college football coach is no longer Joe Paterno. His win total dropped from 409 to 298. This scandal tarnished his legacy at Penn State, and now NCAA sanctions will drastically reduce his legacy.

Although he reported Jerry Sandusky to his Athletic Director, Tim Curley, Paterno did not do enough. In fact after Sandusky was investigated, Paterno still allowed Sandusky access to the Penn State athletic facilities. This would be an avenue for Sandusky to continue molesting children. Simply put, that cannot be allowed. I have to conclude that Paterno was an enabler to child sex abuse. If Paterno cared so much for his former assistant, he should have tried to get him help. Instead the people sitting in the highest chairs at Penn State, those who are given the responsibility to protect the college from issues such as this, chose to cover up the crimes and protect their public image. To make matters worse, they continued to let innocent children become victims of Jerry Sandusky under their reign.

Joe Paterno accomplished many great things while always pushing academics alongside athletics at Penn State. His "great experiment" was an initiative to recruit great athletes that also made the grades in the classroom. Paterno wanted his players to become better players, people, and upstanding citizens in society. After their time at Penn State "JoePa" hoped each and every player would leave with a college degree. Penn State was praised for how great it was academically and athletically for decades. Unfortunately, the higher a program is built up, the further they must fall when tragic missteps occur. In this case Joe Paterno was an enabler to Sandusky sexually assaulting children.

Enabling child abuse in any form is almost as bad as committing the crime itself. One of our primary goals in society is to protect our children and preserve their innocence. Joe Paterno was a man of value who had to know this. Simply saying, "Joe Paterno should have done better, shame on you Penn State." is not enough. The term institutional control comes to my mind. Penn State grossly fell short in this department. The death of Joe Paterno and the firing/resigning of every person in power at Penn State does not suffice as punishment.

Penn State University must deal with some hard times after such a disgusting scandal took place on their campus. In my opinion Penn State received a punishment worse than the "death penalty", and rightfully so. These sanctions are more accurately described as a "slow death penalty". As severe as the punishments are that were levied against Penn State, they will most certainly change the culture at that university, and the university needs that change desperately.

Stop Caring So Much About What People Think

~Mike Wolcott

      Several weeks ago I attended the Allentown Art Festival with my former girlfriend, Lindsay. I am not a connoisseur of art by any stretch of the imagination, but I did enjoy walking around, observing people, and looking at some paintings. One of the stands at the festival was selling really cool looking walking sticks. These things were badass; they had antlers on the top and faces carved into the front. I wanted to buy one but realized it didn’t make any practical sense. For a moment I wished I had a torn ACL.

       After an hour or so of walking around, Lindsay and I ordered two chicken gyros. We sat down on a curb to enjoy them (I know how to treat a lady!), and began to observe people as they walked by. Lindsay started chuckling at an old man walking by with a smile on his face, a goofy looking hat, high socks, and a hoodie tied around his waist. Lindsay found him amusing and made fun of him, but I immediately felt a sense of respect for this man. He seemed relaxed and was having a good time. He clearly did not give a fuck about what people thought about him.

       I observed many more people as they walked by that day. There was no shortage of "Jersey Shore" looking guys with tattoos and slick hair walking around with a contrived strut. There was also no shortage of chicks with fake tans and makeup laden faces wearing $80 jeans. These guys and gals obviously cared immensely about how they were perceived by others and had chosen to conform to mainstream society. As I observed these folks I kept thinking about the happy man with the hoodie wrapped around his waist and the goofy hat. This guy had it right; he simply didn’t give a fuck.

       Why do we care so much about what people think? My father always taught me that trying to impress others is futile. Most people are more concerned with the pimples on their own face than they are with anything concerning anyone else. I can’t remember the last time I said, "Wow that guy drives a really nice car, I’m so impressed, I wish I was his friend," or "Wow that guy shot an 82 at Elma Meadows golf course, I really wish I could be more like him!" The truth is that most people are so wrapped up in themselves that they couldn't really care less about you. Stop trying to impress them and stop concerning yourself with what they think.

       Caring less about what people think of you is incredibly liberating. For example, when I first started going to the gym I was embarrassed to do certain workouts because of how weak I would look. Eventually I realized that it was time to stop concerning myself with others. Nowadays, all my focus goes into getting the best workout possible for myself. I couldn't care less about what the the 5’8 200lb guy next to me with no neck thinks. He’s probably not going to remember me two minutes later and if he did, so what?

        With all this said, at the end of the day we are only human, and it’s natural to seek some level validation from others. Many of us don’t have the benefit of being able to dress like the old man from the Art Festival (if we want to attract the opposite sex). I understand all this, but a major problem arises when we allow other people to dictate our actions or define who we are. Why should we let the fear of what other people think determine who we date, where we work, what music we listen to, and what clothes we wear? Stop conforming, and stop trying to impress other people. Instead, define yourself, and take pride in being a person that YOU are happy with. Stop caring so much about what people think.

Teaching Odyssey

Written by Guest Contributor:  Justin Moretta

      

      

       I am an unemployed teacher. I graduated in May of 2011 with a master’s degree in education. Acquiring said master’s degree cost my wife and me approximately $30,000. This monetary sum is significant. However, the true cost of my pursuit of a teaching job is the hours I’ve spent preparing and the emotional rollercoaster I have been on for the past year.

       My preparation to become an educator included hours of studying educational theories from Horace Mann to Spencer Kagan. I learned about differentiation, scaffolding, AYP, formative assessment, Bloom’s taxonomy, benchmarks, rubrics, and countless other educational buzzwords that would allow me to speak the language of teachers and administrators. Experienced teachers taught me important lessons about things like backward planning and classroom management. I was made aware of terrifying statistics about child abuse, drug abuse, and teenage (and pre-teen) pregnancy. The classes were often boring, repetitive, and lacking in pragmatism. The classes that were useful and/or interesting were just frequent enough to keep me engaged.

       Those few gems, some interesting and kind classmates, and my monetary commitment kept me enrolled and engaged long enough to reach my next challenge, student teaching. The first level of student teaching is mostly observation. Like most people, I hadn’t been in a high school class since I was a high school student. I immediately began to identify with the students and it took some time and effort to look at the classroom with the perspective of a teacher. With that new perspective I saw how difficult it was to engage 30 teenagers in a lesson. Thanks to a wonderful cooperating teacher, I also saw that it was possible, and I knew that it was a challenge I wanted to tackle.

       The night before I had to teach my first lesson I kept imagining all the nightmare scenarios that might play out. I was sure the kids would recognize me as a fraud. That they either would just ignore me completely, or worse, that they would attack me and make me look like an ass. The first 20 minutes or so were a blur. Then, my heartbeat slowed a bit and I realized things were actually going according to plan. The kids were listening and participating. I had somehow managed to keep the panic out of my voice and limited the amount of sweat on my brow. I wasn’t any Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, but the kids enjoyed the lesson. What’s more, I enjoyed the lesson and I knew that I wanted to do it again.

       The next step in the process was full-time student teaching. I would be in charge of several classes for a longer period of time. My time would be split between a high school and a middle school, approximately 6 weeks at each. The high school assignment was first, and I was sent to a misery factory. Everyone in the place was depressed. The teachers, the administrators, and especially the students entered the building everyday as if it was the first day of a life sentence. I was assigned two 11 th grade classes and one 10th. They were all a struggle to work with, but one 11th grade class was nearly impossible. The cooperating teacher informed me that it was the worst behaved class she had experienced in 25 years of teaching. She told me that I would be allowed to observe her teaching the class for a week and then take over on the following Monday. After two days she literally threw her hands up and informed me that I would be taking over the next day. On my first day with this class, in response to some request for quiet or attention, a student told asked me, "Who the fuck are you? You aren’t my teacher. Why would I listen to you?" My response was something about the fact that I would be his teacher for the next few weeks and that he had better pay attention or his grade would suffer. He laughed and walked out. After the class I asked the cooperating teacher if I should have written him up and/or sent him to the office. She informed me that the administration frowned on issues like that being brought to their attention and that it was better handled inside the classroom. She did not offer any suggestions on how to handle the situation in the classroom.

       Eventually things settled down a bit. I was able to get the students to listen and participate in lessons and started to make some progress. That’s not to say that there weren’t still issues. During a reading of "Coming of Age in Mississippi", just as the narrator is telling of the beatings she received at the hands of segregationists, a student stood up in class, declared, "I have to fart" and then let go an emphatic fart for all the world to hear.

       Just as I had learned how to deal with these distractions and get the classes back on task it was time to leave and move on to my second student teaching experience. This time I was placed in a small, affluent middle school. I was given two 7th and two 8th grade classes to work with. Upon entering the classroom for the first time I was horrified to see the students hovering around the teacher’s desk and in many cases literally clinging to her. The students loved her and she ate it up. She was far too permissive and creepily involved in their social lives. She knew who everyone was "dating" and she readily dispensed relationship advice. She also did altruistic things for the kids. For instance, she brought in a nutritious lunch everyday for one student whose parents were either unable or unwilling to provide it. Anyway, this all added up to a great love affair between the students and the teacher. I was there to replace the teacher, at least for six weeks. It did not go well. I battled the best I could for six weeks and, with generous scoring, may have earned a draw.

       During this time I was applying for jobs all over the place. I was living on Long Island and applying there. I was also applying for positions around Boston and Buffalo. The only real interview I was able to land was at a suburban Buffalo school. I went in brimming with confidence, and considering it was my first teaching interview I thought it went very well. The principal went so far as to tell me he had a number of candidates to interview, but I had set the bar very high. I left feeling certain that I would be brought back for the second round of interviews. I was not brought back. The principal informed me that I had given a great interview, but others had given equally good interviews and also brought years of experience to the table.

       Those words would become a haunting refrain throughout my search to land a teaching job. I have lost out on jobs in three other school districts because I lack classroom experience. One assistant principal went so far as to tell me she wanted to hire me, but the principal felt compelled to go with someone who had experience at the grade level.

       Each of those disappointments has been a bitter pill to swallow, but the job that I allowed to slip through my fingers is the one that truly plagues my mind. The initial interview was a joy. I connected with the department chair, and we clearly had a rapport. I was sure I would be asked back, and this time I was correct. The second round of interviews consisted of delivering two mini lessons to a group of students and staff who would act as the "class". Without going into details about why, my lessons flopped. I had worked hard on the plans; I was excited and confident heading into the classroom, and I almost immediately realized that things weren’t going well. The students weren’t responding the way I hoped. The teachers in the room looked bored and/or disappointed. I did my best to add energy and enthusiasm to the room, but nothing seemed to work. By this time I had taught hundreds of class sessions, (in the fall I was hired as a long-term substitute and had my own class for 4 months) and I had never felt so lost in front of a class.

       After the lessons the teachers and the students asked me questions about the lesson and how I felt it went. I tried to put a positive spin on it. I pointed out the highlights of the lessons and tried to convey how strong I felt my lesson plans were. What I wanted to do was to explain to them that I wasn’t sure what had just happened, but that I really was a good teacher. That this was a fluke. That every classroom evaluation I had ever been given was overwhelmingly positive, and that if they gave me my own class they would really see what I could do. Of course I couldn’t say those things. I was left knowing that I had blown it.

       For the next two days I waited around for the ax to fall. I knew it had not gone well, but I would allow myself to hope that others had failed as well. Maybe they would see my passion for the job and my skill at planning and decide they had to have me. Maybe my initial interview went well enough that it would carry me through. I would vacillate between these hopes and the certainty that I had failed. It was an agonizing wait.

       Finally, the email came and I was informed that they would not be bringing me back for the final round. All the emotions that had built up over the months of pursuing a position and especially the last two days of waiting exploded in my head and I was lost. I blanked out for a few minutes. My wife and my dog were there trying to comfort me, but it was of no use. I walked away from them and once I was alone I just collapsed. To get so close to something I had worked so hard for and to let it slip through my fingers was too much to bear at that moment. I felt like my brain was on fire and I could not control my emotions. It was the most visceral experience of my life.

       I have not fully recovered. I replay the lesson all the time. I think about all the things I could have done differently. I think about how different my life could be if I had landed that job. In my mind, everything would be perfect if I had just gotten that job.

       I would like to tell you that my resolve has been hardened by these rejections, and that I won’t give up on my dream. However, I don’t know if I can continue down this path. I don’t know if my ego, my wallet, and my sanity can take much more of this. I have written the happy ending to this story in my mind a thousand times. Reality, however, keeps getting in the way.

On LeBron...

~ Anthony Constantino

Two full NBA seasons have passed since LeBron made his infamous "Decision" on national television. Nobody could have known just how much grief, criticism, and hate he would receive for that hour long special on ESPN.

To be fair, there are different "sects" of people who dislike LeBron. There are people who cannot stand him because he left Cleveland, citing that he turned his back on his hometown. Another group is simply fueled by his show on ESPN alone; these people found the special to be an arrogant and selfish move on LeBron's part. A third group has derived their anger from LeBron teaming up with fellow all-stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. The last group of people could not stand the Heat "Pep-rally" in which James famously said, "Not 1...not 2... not 3..." and so on. This declaration was referring to how many championships he thought the Heat were going to bring to Miami. There are also people out there who belong to several of these groups or even all of them in some cases. I think that covers just about every reason to dislike James outside of same division hatred, which is unavoidable.

During his 2 year term in South Beach, LBJ has been to the NBA Finals in both seasons. The Miami Heat have one NBA title to show for their most recent efforts. I find it difficult to root against this man after going through all that he has. He was the crown jewel of the NBA in Cleveland. Fans of all teams seemed to love him and he could do no wrong. Upon his departure, most of his supporters jumped ship and turned their back on him for any assortment of the reasons I provided above. Seemingly overnight LeBron became the villian of the NBA and one of the most hated people in sports without any type of criminal activity or social wrongdoing. This irrational hatred needs to be quelled. I'm looking to help dispel the unchecked hatred I see.

Before you read any further, there are two things you must know: 1) I am by no means a LeBron apologist. I am not making excuases for him, nor am I agreeing with every decision he has made. I am simply presenting the facts and working with those facts. 2) I am not a fan of the Miami Heat, so there is no bias to call me out on here. That being said, I see no reason for such a negative outburst against James given all the facts surrounding his time in South Beach.

First, for those of you who don't know LeBron is from Akron, Ohio. Akron and Cleveland are nearly an hour apart. Simply put, how would you react if I referred to your hometown as Rochester, when you knew your hometown is Buffalo? James did not turn his back on his hometown at all. He played out his contract and gave Cleveland 7 of his best years of basketball. The Cavaliers gave James very little supporting cast to work with during his time in Cleveland. LeBron played with Antawn Jamison, who has arguably never been among the 50 best active players in the NBA during his career. LeBron also had the "pleasure" of working with Shaq, who was nothing more than the "Big Has-Been" by the time he arrived in Cleveland. Was LeBron supposed to carry the Cavs for his entire career? I don't think so. He owed nothing more to that city and quite honestly gave too much to them. Need I remind fans he took less money to play on the Miami Heat?

The next big problem people have with James is that he went on ESPN with a one hour special entitled, "The Decision" in order to announce to the world where he would be playing basketball in 2010. LeBron has admitted that he wishes he would not have announced his decision on national television. However, the money generated by "The Decision" was donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Knowing that information, I do not care what LeBron went on-air to say. Using that stage to donate to charity does not come off as selfish to me. James used his popularity to do something good for communities across the country. If that was the result of his biggest mistake as a professional to date, I would say he is a pretty innocent man and doesn't deserve such harsh criticism for it.

Another issue people have is that LeBron teamed up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to form the most talented trio of superstars in the NBA. I would argue that teams with stars are what drives the NBA. Larry Bird had McHale and Parish. Magic had Kareem and Worthy. Jordan had Pippen. Shaq had Kobe. Duncan had Ginobili and Parker. These are just a few examples. Stars do not win titles on their own, they need some talent around them. If you criticize LeBron for not winning on his own, realize that you are discrediting all the NBA legends that won within the same model. Kareem left Milwaukee for L.A., Shaq joined Bryant, and Parish headed for the Celtics. Some players choose where they are traded, others move via free agency. I would also like to emphasize the presence of the word "free" in free agency. Players have the freedom to go where they want after they play out a given contract. That doesn't make James any worse than the next superstar free agent to leave the first team he played for.

The last issue fans have with LeBron is that he participated in a Heat "Pep-rally" before his first season with the team. In the Pep-rally, the new "Big Three" in Miami attempted to generate some excitement for the upcoming season. Bosh, Wade, and James rose up from beneath the stage with smoke all around them. Bright lights flashed as they ambled across the stage defiantly. The Heat had risen in Miami and were poised to make a deep run into the playoffs for years to come. LeBron spoke confidently that the Heat would win, "Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7... [championships]." He said he truly believed in that. This turned many people away from James as well as the Heat. What so many don't know, is that the Pep-rally stunt was orchestrated by Pat Riley and the higher-ups in the Heat organization. As if signing James and Bosh wouldn't increase ticket sales enough, Heat management decided to stir the pot a little more and have the three stars parade around the stage to create more hype around the Heat. This greatly damaged LeBron's image, which he has still been unable to repair.

I look at many of the reasons people hate LeBron James and shake my head. This article puts many of those reasons to bed. Many people do not like the business side of sports or choose not to come to terms with that reality. With each passing season, sports become more about what happens off the playing surface and less about what happens on it. That does not make it sensible to display unconditional hatred toward an athlete throughout his career. This is something we all need to understand. James might be the most unselfish superstar I've observed in my lifetime. He is the most gifted player since Jordan and is already one of the 10 or 15 best players the NBA has ever seen. Hate him if you want since it is indeed your perrogative as a fan, but now you know the whole story. King James finally has his crown and he deserves it. I hope he wins 10 more before he calls it a career.

NFL Bounties: How Far Does it Go?

Written by Guest Contributor:  James Wolcott


     The surfacing of the NFL bounty scandal has made me seriously contemplate the
brutality of the game. That, accompanied with the emergence of hard science providing
evidence for permanent brain damage caused by routine participation in the game, had
me somewhat soured on the idea of pro football and even more on youth football. I
continued down this path of negative feelings about the game, when considering if the
NFL has a real interest in protecting the players, or, if the league merely had an interest
in maximizing revenue.

     My thoughts on the matter progressed even further, to a realization that; the NFL is
driven solely by money, every move it makes it based entirely on profit seeking. It was
at this point that the idea hit me. We know the NFL does not care about the health of its
players, we know the players will still play the game, we know the NFL will do anything
to earn a little extra cash, so, why not operate under an open bounty system. The
system would involve a section of the scoreboard dedicated to the sole purpose of
displaying the bounty on the head of any given player. The bounty pledged could be
delivered over the Internet and could come from anyone in the world, and eventually,
even from those of us who will be living on Newt Gingrich’s moon base.

     So, lend me your imagination, the Patriots and Giants are set to do battle in the Super
Bowl, the Tuesday before the game would mark the beginning of the period to place a
bounty. The period would end at the terminus of the game. On this particular Tuesday,
Stephen King decides he has seen one too many Giants Super Bowl victories over his
beloved Patriots and places a $50,000 bounty on the head of one Eli Manning. Mayor
of New City, Michael Bloomberg, takes offense to this and wagers $75,000 on his least
favorite Patriot, Logan Mankins. These types of exchanges would continue until the
game was decided, all in plain view of the players and the fans. Also, the bounties
would be cumulative, meaning that if, Joe Sports fan decided that $50,000 was not
nearly enough on Eli Manning’s he could add $50 to the current bounty.
Now, I see the concern, how does the NFL make any money on the deal? Well, the NFL
would build and IPhone and Android application for the purpose of placing these
bounties, that application would cost $5.99 (or 10.99 if you choose to add customized
name and number to the application.) Also, a 10% service fee would be attached to
each bounty, netting some serious revenue for the league. As for the players, they
would have the opportunity to earn hefty bonuses for doing roughly what they had been
doing their entire careers. It seems like a perfect scenario for each side. Theoretically,
half of any bounty earnings could be placed into a fund for retired players needing
medical assistance or could be donated to researchers.

     The idea also makes sense from a marketing standpoint. Opening the NFL to bounties
could serve as a huge surge in popularity. The wagering of money of the lives of men
seems like something that could really tickle the fancy of the hugely wealthy, in both
America and abroad, which would in turn pique the interest of the middle and lower
classes as it would become the chic thing to do. Another scenario to imagine, you are
an exorbitantly wealthy Saudi Prince, normal displays of wealth no longer impress you.
You happen to hear that the NFL is allowing wagers on the well being of humans. All of
a sudden the Prince is hooked and his underlings follow his lead. The NFL would
become a truly global spectacle.
    
     This may be an entirely ridiculous extrapolation of NFL tendencies, but is meant to
provoke some thought about player safety, the further development of the NFL brand
and maybe ourselves a little as humans. However, if it does come to be, you heard it
here first.

A Very Brady Blog Entry

~Mike Wolcott

**This entry is dedicated to Karen Brady, a dedicated A&M blog reader

    
     It was fall of 2001 and I was thirteen years old. My neighbor Ben and I were in my living room watching The Brady Bunch. My father was also in the room, partially watching from his recliner chair. I know what many of you are thinking, "The Brady Bunch? Really Mick? What the hell is this blog coming to?" Well as cheesy as the show was, I loved The Brady Bunch as a kid. The Bradys had a certain charm about them, and every episode seemed to provide a great life lesson. I can honestly say that if wasn’t for The Brady Bunch in my childhood years, I wouldn’t have turned into the fine upstanding man that I am now. Anyway, I can’t remember exactly what episode we were watching that day, but I do remember that the storyline centered on Greg Brady.

     Unlike yours truly, my father is not a fan of The Brady Bunch. As the episode went along, he began to voice his disdain. "I’ve always hated this show, and I hate that fucking Greg Brady" he said angrily during a scene involving Greg, "What a fucking goofball he is." Ben and I found my Dad’s outburst extremely funny, which inspired him to continue his attacks. For the next 20 minutes, my father ripped Greg Brady for his hair, his pants ("bellbottomed fuck!"), and his overall goofy demeanor. Leave it to my father to make a boring fall afternoon funny.

     Later that same day, I was in attendance for a Buffalo Sabres game. My family and I were sitting in the Box Suites, courtesy of my Uncle Paul. While listening to the national anthem, I noticed that the guy singing looked familiar. I couldn’t put my finger on who he was until my cousin spoke. "Is that Greg Brady?!!" he asked. I looked up at the Jumbotron and realized that it was him. Barry Williams, a.k.a. Greg Brady, was singing the national anthem at the Buffalo Sabres game. Apparently he was in town to promote the World’s Largest Disco, an event that was taking place in Buffalo that weekend. I looked over at my father and laughed. It was a strange coincidence.

     Approximately 3 hours later, the game ended. On our way towards the exits of HSBC arena, I heard a couple of drunken guys yelling. "Hey it’s Greg Brady! Hey Greg!!" I looked over to my left, and there he was. The one and only Greg Brady was standing outside the door of his suite. I walked up to him timidly with my Sabres program, "Can I have your autograph Mr. Brady?" I asked in a nervous voice. He looked down at me with a smile and asked me what my name was. When I told him it was Mike, he grabbed my program and said "Well you sure can Mike."

     On the ride home from the game, I sat in the backseat of the car with my signed Sabres program. I thought about earlier that day and how funny it was to listen to my father rant about how much he hated "that fucking" Greg Brady. I never expected that I would be meeting Greg Brady that same day. At one point, my father turned to look at me from the driver’s seat as I was admiring the autograph. "I can't believe you got Greg Brady's autograph" he said, "He seems like a really good guy."

Something Refreshing I've Found

~Anthony Constantino

There are some things in life that have been taught to us, and other things we have to figure out for ourselves. There are many things I have figured out on my own in life. For example (I will stick to sports examples because I am primarily a sports writer), I have learned that Dan Marino is the greatest quarterback without a Super Bowl win to his credit. I know that Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky are the greatest players ever in their respective sports. I can also say I've learned that Tom Brady is not the best quarterback ever, nor is he the best quarterback of his era. Of course these are all topics for other blogs, but you get the idea.

I've learned a lot in my life, but I cannot figure out why the Scripps National Spelling Bee is on ESPN every year.

For as long as I can remember, there has been an annual spelling bee on ESPN. The early rounds are televised in the morning and later that day the finals air. The contestants must be under 16 years old and in 8th grade or lower. Year after year I find myself land on this channel, not knowing that the Spelling Bee is on that day, and I end up watching it. I don't always watch it until the end, but I am good for at least an hour of viewing. What makes this even more bizarre is that these children are spelling words I've never even heard of. However, I still continue to watch.

Even though it doesn't make sense, I am so glad that it has a home on ESPN. From a young age, most of us idolize athletes or actors or musicians. For those of us who idolize athletes, we are taught or we choose to learn certain things about idolizing athletes. The first thing we learn is that intelligence means nothing. If an athlete can't correctly spell "potato" or cannot say the word "ask" the way it is supposed to be said, who cares? That takes a backseat to their athletic ability or knowledge of the sport they play. We idolize the select few that are fortunate enough to play a game and get paid for it. These athletes are often paid gross amounts of money because we watch, day after day.

Some athletes that we idolize just happen to be the right size to play their sport. In a sense, we give praise to someone that just happens to have a physical gift. For example, Hasheem Thabeet plays Center in the NBA. He cannot shoot a basketball to save his life. He cannot defend, he cannot run, he has no real talent. Thabeet was a Top-5 draft pick in the NBA for 3 reasons: he can rebound, he can block the occasional shot, and he is 7 foot 3 inches tall. The last reason is the biggest reason that he was drafted. I guarantee that he is the most popular man in his native country of Tanzania. Thabeet has done nothing more than grow to become an NBA player, and still he is idolized. This is what makes the Scripps National Spelling Bee so refreshing.

In this world we never pay homage to those who are gifted with inteligence or the ability to learn things easily. We look at those who can play a sport at an extremely high level as god-like figures at times. We call them "saviors" or argue about who is the greatest ever. When is the last time you overheard a conversation about the greatest doctor of all time or the greatest bio-engineer ever? We place high value on skating ability over SAT scores, batting titles over bachelors degrees, and jump shots over GPA. These children are gifted and work as hard as any athlete to learn how to spell a word like "appoggiatura" or "smaragdine" or "guetapens" in order to win the National Spelling Bee. It is as grueling a competition as any. There is little physical demand involved in the competition, but the mental challenge is unparalleled.

For me I find the Spelling Bee to be the most refreshing program on ESPN. Praising education and a thirst for knowledge sets the best example possible. I applaud ESPN for televising the Bee and I think that I may have outlined the main purpose for airing it on the channel. This program is an excellent change of pace that gives education the spotlight on a channel that often inadvertantly sways the youth away from the classroom to pursue a career in athletics.