USA Men's Soccer World Cup Preview

The United States men’s soccer team is heading into one of its most exciting, yet challenging months of all time. US soccer has never been up to the fan caliber that it is in Europe and South America, but every day we are getting closer to those top nations. As the squad heads into Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, hopes are high. The US made is out of the group stages in 2010 and plan on doing the same in Brazil. Despite less than encouraging comments made by Jurgen Klinsman, the US head coach, the whole team, along with the entire country, expects great things.  The problem is, there are three other top nations standing in their way.

The USA squad, captained by world class striker Clint Dempsey, is the strongest to show in many years. They are anchored by Everton keeper Tim Howard, along with Attleboro, MA native Geoff Cameron at the center defensive position.  Michael Bradley, a cheeky midfielder, will cause problems to any defense. Also, Julian Greene, the 18 year old Bayern Munich up comer should provide some creative play. But, the real story is that Landon Donovan, the USA all time goals leader, has been left off the 23-man roster. Many believe that his experience and finishing ability will be just what the US will be missing in Brazil. Hopefully this young squad can push through!

The 8 groups in the World Cup final stage are chosen randomly by the FIFA council. In every major tournament, the best group is pronounced “The Group of Death” by the entire world. Unfortunately, The United States happened to be drawn into this year’s Group of Death. On June 16, the boys will open their tournament against the African nation of Ghana. Although we are actually ranked higher according to FIFA, Ghana is no team to sleep on considering they have knocked us out of both of the past two World Cup Finals. Next, the US is taking on Ballon De Ore winner Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal squad. Matching up against the best player in football will not be easy. But, to make it even harder on the stars and stripes, their third game will be against #2 overall Germany. The Germans have been a powerhouse for years, and they are hungry for a championship. If the USA wants to get out of their group, they will have to be in nothing less than top form.

The World Cup is a magical sporting even that links every nation on the planet as one. It is something that comes around only every 4 years, and it would be a shame if the United States put in a poor performance on a stage this prestigious. With heats full of hope, and mouths filled with the chant of “I believe that we will win”, the US squad will kick off against Ghana in a short few days. With the eyes of the whole nation on them, hopefully they can pull out some magic.

Player Personality Profile: Mario Balotelli

It is late at night on the weekend, and Mario Balotelli is attracting attention. Well, it's hard not to when you're a 6'2 black-Italian wearing diamond earrings bigger than your eyeballs. Oh, and you happen to be the best young upcoming goal-scorer in all of Italy. It is already easy to see why Balo is one of the most talked about footballers in the world, but there is far more to his story. Even though he has only played professionally for about 5 years, he has already made his mark in the world stage on and off the pitch.

Because of his massive size and strength, partnered with his dribbling and finishing attributes, Mario is among the most feared players anywhere. He first made his name known on Manchester City in the premier league at the age of 20. He scored on his debut in a Europa league match and never looked back. Balotelli ended up winning The Golden Boy Award for the most impressive young player in Europe for 2011. Then, in the 2011-2012 Premier League season, Mario's 13 goals helped league City to the title, which was their first since the 1967-1968 season. Also, most recently, he scored in the 2014 Brazil World Cup against England to win the match 2-1 for Italy. He had certainly proved himself as a threat to any club or country that he may face. Another thing that Balo proved, which he does not take pride in, is that at times he can be the most reckless and undisciplined player in the world.

On the field, Balotelli has been sent off for aggressive fouls and swearing at the referee multiple times. He will get frustrated when he performs badly, and turns that frustration against his opponents. He has also been criticized for questionable celebrations. In October, 2011 Mario scored against Manchester United and revealed an undershirt reading "Why always me?", taking a stab at referees and the media for portraying him wrongly. Off the filed criticism is even worse. There have been pictured of Balo with mafia members, he has been caught speeding with over $100,000 cash in his trunk, and he even went into a women's prison without permission "just to look around".  There have been speculations that he is "crazy" and "uncoachable", mostly made by his former manager, Roberto Mancini. He he's a rough player to work with.

Mario's actions have been extremely controversial in the past, but this does not change the concept that he represents something amazing in Europe. He was abandoned by his family in Ghana, and adopted by his new Italian parents. Balo is the first black player to ever put on an Italian national football jersey and take the field. With the immigrant population growing in Italy and surrounding countries, racism is still a factor. Balotelli's story and African backgrounds make him a perfect candidate to be the face of this new European movement. Because of this, Mario was named into Time Magazine's top 100 most influential people.

Mario Balotelli is more than a footballer. He is an unpredictable man who loves to show off his money and partake in odd activities. He is a man with discipline issues and a big head. But, he is also a major figure in fighting Italian and European racism. Football is such a huge part in European society, and Mario is a big enough name to get people listening. There are not many people in professional sports more intriguing than Mario Balotelli.

Why Can't Women's Sports Survive?

It the business that is professional sports, attention and ratings are brought from the entertainment in the game. The fact that the players tat we watch on TV are the absolute best in the world a what they d is what makes it so exciting. We get the witness amazing plays n games that NOBODY else in the world can do. The thing with women's sports is that this is not the case.

Female professional sports are not unpopular because of prejudice or sexism. People are watching Men's games over the Women's simply because their athletic performance is more impressive, not because that are simply women. The point of admiring these sports figures is because they have super hero- like abilities, no other humans can meet their standards. As people, if we have the opportunity to watch better competition, we will take it every time, whether it is males or females participating. Professional male athletes are more electric and exciting than female's, and that is why society down grades Professional Women's Sports.

Should PED Users Be Recognized As All-Time Greats?

The MLB has long been turned into the major professional league that is notorious for steroid use. During the 90s and 2000s has been known as the Steroid Era in professional baseball. 129 players were accused of breaking the steroid acts, only 16 admitted and the rest were revealed either by tests or their peers. 37 of these players were given formal suspensions by the MLB (Bones). Some may think that these athletes are now nothing but cheaters, while others have sympathy. There are many angles to take on this argument. Does the use of steroids sway the integrity of the game, or was it just a part of the player culture and training during the time period?

From the first moment a person is born, they are taught to follow the rules. They are told it is wrong to cheat, and that lying only makes the matter worse. In this way, using PEDs is clearly something that should not be tolerated in the league. If it is in the rule book, actions and suspensions should take place. Some would argue that  the punishment should extent all the way to bans from the Hall of Fame, and possibly even all of Major League Baseball.

This is the straight forward argument, but there are also other stances. During The Steroid Era, a large number of players, possibly even the majority of players, took PEDs at one point in their respective careers. Out of the 129 players that were caught by the MLB , the vast majority are complete no-names. Players took steroids, and were still no good in the league (Berg). Only those that were stars were the ones that were brodcasted on the news and talked about around the country. Also, this means that the stars who were taking PEDs were competing against other players taking PEDs! The greats in the league who were caught would still have been the greats if steroids never existed.

Steroid use is not right and should have no place in the MLB. They are against the rules of the league,  and they should enforce a suspension if they are caught. With that being said, being caught with an illegal drug, if the player was in the Steroid Era, should not have a punishment of being ineligable for The Hall of Fame. It should be treated with suspensions, and fines. If one player violates the rule on multiple occasions, than expulsions from the league and Cooperstown should be considered. Steroid use is wrong for many reason, but it was a part of the league.

Transgender Athletes Questions

1. A situation like Fallon Fox's is very rare and confusing. I think that the MMA should follow the previously written guidelines to decide whether or no she can participate in the sport. If she passes all requirements, than she should be allowed to fight.

2. Transgender athletes do, in my opinion, have an advantage in sporting activities. Even thought they are technically and physically  females, some body parts may still be physically man-like. Their body shape and instinctive aggressive qualities may give transgender athletes an advantage.

3. If I was a girl and I was fighting a person who used to be a man, I would actually be scared. I would think that they are bigger and stronger than I. I do not think it would motivate me, t would just make me confused.

4. In reality, there is not much that can be done to make this issue ore fair. Transgender people have the right to participate in athletics, but some of these competitions may be unfair if they are involved. The only way to solve it would be to add a third "transgender" category in addition to "male" and "female". There would not be enough athletes to install that at this point in time, but maybe one day this can happen.

Prefontaine Questions

1. Pre is portrayed as a confident person and competitor. He rarely takes advice and believes in his own abilities
2. Pre is likeable and he means well, but he may be too up front and over-confident.
3. ?
4. He teaches him that you have to have a winning mentality.
5. The controversy is whether or not they should be able to make money.
6. His goal was to be the best distance runner of all time.
7. ?
8. The Munich Massacre took place during the Munich Olympics.

18-Year-Old Debut Shines for Struggling Manchester United

Manchester United, the most successful club in the English Premier League in recent memory and possibly of all time, has had a dreadful year thus far. After winning the title in 2013, United have fallen to 7th place this season, and have already been knocked out of Champions League contention for next year (top 4 finishers). It has partly been due to their legendary long-time manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, retiring and leaving the club after last season. Former Everton Head Coach David Moyes has taken over, but has since been fired after the team's worst season in 2 decades. At the moment, player-coach, and long-time leader of the club Ryan Giggs is taking position as temporary manager. At possibly his last match at Old Trafford, both Giggs and a young striker stole the show.

Because United technically had nothing to play for this season, their second to last game of the year against Hull City showed a glimpse of future talent to come. Giggs decided to sit stars Roney, Van Persie and Mata to make room for others to start, including 18 year old James Wilson. Wilson is an English native who had scored for United's u18 u19 and u21 squads this season. In a spectacular fashion against Hull City, Wilson surprisingly dropped 2 goals on the team in the second half before being subbed out. The inexperienced forwards will never forget that day. After all, the last time a United player scored in his debut game it was Wayne Rooney, and he has turned out alright...

A second twist to this game is what made it truly magical. A few minutes into the second half, Giggs began to run around and warm up in his track suit. The legend was going to sub himself into the game! In the 70th minute, Giggs revealed a full united kit under his first layer, and stepped onto the familiar pitch for maybe the last time.  Then, 15 minutes later, Giggs put in a beautiful left-footed cross that Persie finished into the bottom corner, and the building went crazy.

The Hull City-United game showed a symbolic passing of the torch. The legend, Giggs, makes his last mark in the place he calls home. While, Wilson, the upcoming star, scored two goals to hopefully kick start a long and memorable career.