I agree with Nick in saying that the city of Boston is racist. They run everyone out of town that does not conform to their white behaviors. Their “curse” was lifted in big part by Manny and they threw him out of town. It’s a shame a team can act like this and not be punished for it, but it’s obvious how poorly they treat their players.

I am not a huge UFC fan, so I do not know much about Kimbo Slice or his crimes against ultimate fighting. I do follow baseball a good amount though and would go as far as to say it is my favorite sport. I have been watching Manny Ramirez for how many years now in Boston. As far as I can remember back he was constantly producing at the plate. In recent years when the Red Sox won their World Series rings, they most likely would not have done it without him. Of course as an Orioles fan, I could never root for him and I despised him every year, but you have to give the man respect when he comes to the plate, and that is what I did. I was very nervous to see him bat. On the other hand, he is a terrible fielder. The guy is not overly quick and clearly does not have much of a glove. He has never had those abilities, so it is tough to say why Boston would ever think they could change that. I agree with what your blog said in that he is a child trapped in man’s body that just so happens can hit really well. It is a shame that the city of Boston cannot embrace his child-like antics and let him bring a little fun into the game. I also find it unfair to only pick out certain thing that Manny did and call him lazy and not trying his hardest. Look around the league, some of the best players in the league do it, but their city does not run them out of their town.

I think the red sox are the most racist organization in all of sports. The Red Sox were the last team in the majors to sign a black person to their team. They have always been a team with a white majority. Like you said in your blog the Red Sox want somebody who is going to play hard, produce, not ask for too much money and keep their mouth shut. Well you cant always get what you want. Manny was accused of not running out balls in the outfield or hustling on the base paths. What did the Red Sox expect when they pick him up. They signed him to hit the ball and drive in runs. Manny has done just that year in and year out. He is one of the best if not the best hitters of our time. Every year he bats close to .300 with 40 home runs and well over 100 RBIs. This would make any other team happy for as long as he stayed with them, but not the Red Sox. I think Red Sox nation is a bunch of cry babies, all those years hearing about “the curse” was a bunch of crap, the Red Sox just weren’t good enough those 86 years. Manny was one of the biggest reasons this “curse” ended and they turned their backs on him. What ever happened to loyalty.

Race and ethnicity have always affected the way people think about sports. Throughout the history of sports some of the greatest and not so great moments in history have been created. Jackie Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier is one of the greatest moments in American history yet the fact that there was ever a barrier to begin with traces back to one of our darkest. Where I went to high school was an even mix of middle and upper class white kids as well as a mix of some less fortunate black students. Although it was always a joke, many of my black friends would joke about how their basketball skills would have to carry them through life. In the reading this week I came across something very interesting along the same point. In Giardina’s writing, Remember the Titans: Screening “Race” in Disney’s America, she says, “Sports (especially basketball) remains a much hailed fiction of being the only socially accepted avenue of success or possibility for African American youth” (Giardina, 2006). Although I never experienced any prejudiced due to race I have had my own experiences when my ethnicity was attacked.
When I was in kindergarten I had an experience that little did I know would shape my outlook on sports forever. It is funny to look back because I can remember that day so perfectly. It was the day after the Washington Redskins had won Super Bowl XXVI so needless to say I was ecstatic. While waiting for the school bus to come that morning, one of my neighbors (a Buffalo Bills fan) was not too pleased to see me standing on the street corner covered from head-toe in Redskins apparel. Being the simple minded kids that we were and knowing that he could not say anything about the Bills being better then the Redskins he decided to attack me in a different way, a way that until that time I had never been exposed to. He attacked me for being Jewish
I can remember him telling me that there were no Jews in either the NBA or the NFL; I can remember how mad he made me. Being that I was only five years old I did not have the sense or the knowledge to question him. In fact I kept the notion that there were no Jews in professional sports for several years to come. Rather than let myself get down over this experience I used it as fuel. Although I was only five sports became my passion. If I was not in school, chances are I was playing hockey in the street, football in the back, or golfing around the house. From about the ages of Five to Seven I had the dream of being the first Jewish athlete to make it to the professional level. That dream ended when I was educated of a certain man Named Sandy Kofax. In fact after reading passages from a book titled Sports and the American Jew by Steven Riess I learned that there were many famous Jewish boxers from 1890-1950. Riess says, “Despite the sport's ignominy, boxing had a great appeal
for impoverished second-generation Jewish youths, and it was the
first professional sport in which many Jewish Americans participated.” (Riess p. 60) As I continued to grow up I developed a passion for a different sport ever season. In fall it was football, in winter it was hockey and basketball, and in spring it was baseball. During the summer I would always got to some sporting camp whether it was Gary Williams basketball camp, or Darrel Green football fanatics. Sports were literally my life.
By the time that I reached high school my sporting world split. I tried out for both the football and basketball teams but unfortunately only made one. It seemed that if my dream of becoming a professional athlete was to come true I would have to do it playing football. However just because I did not make my high school basketball team does not mean that I would never play the sport again. In fact not making the team was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Because of my unusual open schedule that first winter of high school, I sought out other means competition. One opportunity that I discovered allowed me to play Basketball for a group called AZA (Aleph Zadik Aleph). Coincidently AZA is a Jewish youth group that ended up becoming a big passion in my life for many reasons other than just basketball. While playing basketball in AZA I was able to be a part of a team that pulled off an unprecedented three-peat and all the while being able to associate and relate to fellow Jewish competitors.
Although it seems now that I will never accomplish my dream of being a famous Jewish athlete I am proud of the accomplishments I have made. I have been a part of championship teams both in low level basketball leagues and the Prestigious Maryland 4A football association. I have been a part of some not so great teams but still always had fun just playing the game. I am proud of my heritage and I am proud of the experiences I have had because I am Jewish. If there is anything that has become clear in the past few days in America it is that you can do anything you put your mind to.
Perry Strickman

When it comes to the issue of Kimbo Slice and Manny Ramirez I only see one side being racial. As far as Kimbo is concerned I do not see that he is any different than any other UFC fighter out there. He built up a large amount of street credibility through the medium of YouTube and in a matter of seconds he gets knocked out in his last bought. Tough loss, and if it was thrown it was a choice. I don’t feel that Kimbo was treated unfairly. He lost. I went to bed. I didn’t see any racial undertones at all. It is natural for commentators to have something to say after such events takes place. They don’t necessarily have any real basis for Kimbo since he wasn’t a trained fighter. He got a lucky break, and then very ungracefully bowed out. The story is over. Where is the racial undertone? Unless we are referring to the fact that he was fighting against a white guy in a caged environment where he had no real experience. Maybe that comes off a little twisted, but like I stated before, he agreed to the fight, so the perceptions are what they are. As an African American myself, I wasn’t moved racially. As for Manny, he was treated unfairly. Considering that he was part of the Boston Red Sox organization it is no question that there are racial undertones. Baseball is a white sport in my opinion. It does not matter that most of the athletes are of Latin decent. These players almost serve as workhorses. They are paid well, but not necessarily glamorized or respected. They are there to get the job done, but there is no special treatment. If Manny were valued he would have never left for the West Coast. Boston had no room to question his effort. If he wasn’t good enough for the team, he should have never been a part of it. They wanted the talent, not the person. They got ALL of Manny and couldn’t handle their personal differences. L.A. lucked up and it’s Boston’s loss.

Race and sports have always conflicted in some way. Stereotypes were formed early and often and sadly enough it appears these stereotypes have stuck in society. Take Kimbo Slice, Kevin Ferguson, a prime example of a sporting race stereotype. After his youtube video sensations of him pummeling men into the ground in backyard fights elite xc signed Slice to their mix martial arts roster. This move was criticized harshly and rightly so, Slice had no training or experience in any of the various disciplines. Elite xc, however quickly branded him as the face of their organization, a mean and menacing man, or animal. You watched because you didn’t know what he would do in the cage next. When the no name fighter beat Slice and Slice then spoke he came off as anything but mean and menacing. He thanked everyone for the opportunity and said he was excited to go to his after party. Slice is not a mean and menacing man, he may have a crazy beard and bulging muscles but the anger and aggression we witnessed was a sham perpetrated by elite xc. Another caricature made of the minority in sports is the less than man image that we all too often see. The buffoon imagery that makes an adult male look like a child, a prime example is Manny Ramirez. Ramirez can always be seen laughing and carrying on, interacting with the fans however people view him as childish for these characteristics. A player I find to be like Manny in many ways is the catcher for the Chicago White sox, A.J Pierzinski. A.J however, is perceived to be a cunning athlete who fools players into reacting to him a certain way and everything he does seems to be a complete act. If Manny is doing the same things it is not an act, it is considered “Manny being Manny”.

“Manny being Manny” was the most over used phrase coming out of Boston. That phrase just gave him more reason to act the way he did in Boston. When every offseason, even before and after winning the World Series, the front office of the Red Sox’s would throw Manny’s name around in trade talks. If I had been jerk around by management like he did I would have done the same thing. He does make millions of dollars so he really does not have any room to complain, but that is a different topic. Manny may have given up on his team but the front office gave up on him a long time ago. Putting up incredible numbers and bringing a championship to a team that did win in almost a hundred years, and then thrown under the bus when they did not want to pay anymore or probably receive the kind of publicity he was bringing to the team. The white dominated public all thought Kimbo Slice was a sure thing in a cage because he was an untamed animal. This image was place on him because he was a large black man, and everyone thought that all he is good for is to beat someone up. But just because he looks like that does not mean he is a great fighter.

“Sports (especially basketball)remains a much hailed fiction of being the only socially accepted avenue of success or possibility for African American youth” (Giardina,2006) For the longest I never thought me being an African American had anything to do with the kind of sports I played , until actually sitting in this class and learning that our ethnic background has everything to do with it. Who would have ever thought people really viewed basketball as a "black sport". Then after sitting down and really looking at my surroundings and thinking back to when I was a child, it dawned on me just how much your race and social class pretty much dictated the sports I was allowed to play. Growing up I never knew what sports like lacrosse and rugby were until I came to Towson. Where I’m from as a child all I knew and ever herd about was basketball, football, and track. Being an African American affected my sporting life because I wasn’t given the opportunity to step outside the norm and experience anything new. I feel like just because your white or black shouldn’t really matter when it comes to sports. What does me being black or your being white have to do with how good we play the game. If I would have been given the opportunity who knows I probably could have been a very good rugby player but because the community I was raised in was ignorant to the idea of African American children playing those sports and actually being successful at them I’ll never know.

Both Kimbo Slice and Manny Ramirez have been charged with “faking” their talent in order to get what they wanted. Slice, posing as a crazy, wild, undefeatable animal, led his fans to believe that he was a great warrior incapable of failure and then turns around and is knocked out by a nobody in 14 seconds. Manny Ramirez played poorly during his time on the Red Sox and then miraculously began playing great when he is traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Should these acts of trickery be punished? Who should punish them? Who is to say they have done anything wrong? It is my belief that these two men have done nothing wrong. I will first discuss Kimbo Slice. His record up to this much-talked about fight was merely 3-0, while Seth Petruzelli’s record was 7-0 with a knockout. His statistics going into the fight did not give him the upper hand. I believe that people believed in his ability because of the way Slice carries himself. He comes off as an intimidating known street brawler who comes out with fire ready to tear down his opponent. He is mean and ruthless, and knows how to put on a show for his audience. I do not believe that he faked his effort by any means. I only believe that his overall personality caused his audience to believe in him, to have faith in his success. Just because everyone expected and wanted him to win does not mean he will win.
Manny Ramirez has been accused of holding back his talent while playing for the Boston Red Sox and then suddenly playing well when he changed teams. Some have concluded that this is because Red Sox fans are traditionally “racist” and did not support Ramirez because of his “loud race”. Ramirez is targeted over other Red Sox players of different ethnicities or races because he was outspoken and was not behaving in the traditional “white way”, as these other players do. Now, I cannot say for sure the real reason that Red Sox fans did not support Manny Ramirez. But I can say for sure that the reason his performance was so poor was because he disliked who he was playing for. For example, when I take a class where I dislike the professor, it is so hard for me to pull it together and perform well in the class. I merely do the minimum in order to get by and pass the class. However, when I have a professor who is knowledgeable and inspiring, I want to perform well for him or her. I do not want to let him down. I would bet that this is the case with Manny Ramirez.

Before I came to this class I would have said that race had nothing to do with the sports I have played. Then after being in the class for a while I realized that in actuality it had a big effect on what I played. I mean I am a guy who is over 6 feet tall but me playing basketball never really was an option because you know I am a white guy and “crackers can’t play no basketball” was not uncommon for me to hear. But at the same time I played two sports that most people would not associate with African Americans, Soccer and Lacrosse. I mean both sports at my school at least it was a joke if they played lacrosse instead of track or soccer instead of football. Both sports were considered wimp sports because soccer is a non contact sport and lacrosse isn’t as physical as football or basketball. This always made me laugh because every time we had guys who played football play lacrosse they always would say that there was more contact in lacrosse than football. And in my experience there is no such thing as no contact in soccer, that’s a joke. Overall I think had my family been a different race I probably would play a different sport.

The three main sports I grew up playing were soccer, baseball and basketball. I don't think anyone can argue that soccer and baseball are considered "white" sports while basketball is considered a "black" sport. Why shouldn't it be? The percentage of white or caucasians in the NBA has to be below 10%. The same regards go towards baseball and soccer. In recent years players like Jimmy Rollins and Carl Crawford have made big strides towards trying to get more African Americans to play baseball by raising money and contributing that towards inner city kids playing basketball. I am white and went to a high school with a graduating class of 450 students, and 6, yes only 6, were black. My basketball team would go to places like Camden and Atlantic City and it was obvious the color difference in the teams. I really can not say that my ethnic/racial background had an effect on my sporting life. It wasn't like I wasn't allowed or looked down upon for playing a "black" sport in basketball. In regards to the Manny Ramirez ordeal, I can see how both sides of the story thought. Manny was upset that his option wasn't going to get picked up (oh darn, imagine Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras his agent on the open free agent market). So what did he do? He basically quit on his teammates, manager and fans because of money. Theres no denying his natural talent as it was displayed ever since he landed in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was Manny's heaven, a Latino-oriented area that fell in love with him. He was comfortable, loved playing there, and the fans surely loved watching him hit home run after home run. Boston fans can complain about the way he acted, but lets be serious. How many prima donas need to be made happy that you see in professional sports ; see: Terrell Owens? I wish there were ways for anyone to have opportunities to play/view whatever sport you want, but that simply isn't the case. Until sports get cheaper or more accessible to lower class families, basketball will continue to dominate these areas and this is what kids will have to rely on to receieve better opportunities.

In response to Yankee, I agree with what was said about the Manny situation. Maybe he's a little biased since Manny had been hurting his team for years, but he's right. Professional athletes, especially one of Mannys magnitude, are held to a higher standard. The millions of dollars he is getting paid, he needs to act in a more professional way. It really is a shame that the best hitter of my lifetime (yes this includes Bonds, Pujols, etc) was forced out of a town because of money and not wanting to play. Shut up, get paid, act professionally and don't start any more drama.

The three main sports I grew up playing were soccer, baseball and basketball. I don't think anyone can argue that soccer and baseball are considered "white" sports while basketball is considered a "black" sport. Why shouldn't it be? The percentage of white or caucasians in the NBA has to be below 10%. The same regards go towards baseball and soccer. In recent years players like Jimmy Rollins and Carl Crawford have made big strides towards trying to get more African Americans to play baseball by raising money and contributing that towards inner city kids playing basketball. I am white and went to a high school with a graduating class of 450 students, and 6, yes only 6, were black. My basketball team would go to places like Camden and Atlantic City and it was obvious the color difference in the teams. I really can not say that my ethnic/racial background had an effect on my sporting life. It wasn't like I wasn't allowed or looked down upon for playing a "black" sport in basketball. In regards to the Manny Ramirez ordeal, I can see how both sides of the story thought. Manny was upset that his option wasn't going to get picked up (oh darn, imagine Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras his agent on the open free agent market). So what did he do? He basically quit on his teammates, manager and fans because of money. Theres no denying his natural talent as it was displayed ever since he landed in Los Angeles. Los Angeles was Manny's heaven, a Latino-oriented area that fell in love with him. He was comfortable, loved playing there, and the fans surely loved watching him hit home run after home run. Boston fans can complain about the way he acted, but lets be serious. How many prima donas need to be made happy that you see in professional sports ; see: Terrell Owens? I wish there were ways for anyone to have opportunities to play/view whatever sport you want, but that simply isn't the case. Until sports get cheaper or more accessible to lower class families, basketball will continue to dominate these areas and this is what kids will have to rely on to receieve better opportunities.

In response to alauenstein, I do agree with the comments on Manny and share similar experiences with them from highschool. The media and organization may make him out to be such a "bad guy" with all this talent, but his lack of effort made his playing ability falter. When an athletes effort then causes his play to drop, there really can't be an argument made in his favor for anything.

The same was also true with my sporting experiences in high school. In lacrosse we generally played all white teams and no one really made judgements before the game about who would win. In football when we would play an all black or majority black team, players seemed to think they needed to play harder and better because it was going to be a tougher game. This judgement stemming initially from the color of the opposing athletes.

In regard to my sporting life in correlation with my ethnicity, I have not faced a whole lot of trouble in my life. I am white - or should i say caucasian? and I went to a predominantly white school. I believe when I graduated, the population was 90% white. I grew up in Montgomery County, which was quite diverse throughout. I played football and lacrosse and it was usually the case that in playing other lacrosse teams, almost all players were white. However, with football, some teams were equally mixed, some were mostly white, and some would be mostly black. On the football team, we only had a handful of black students that played, but looking back, it was generally believed they were going to be some of the better athletes on the team. Everyone exepcted the black students to be the stars and standout from the white kids athletically. When a black student wasn't as athletically gifted as white people thought he should have been, people made a much bigger deal than if a white kid wasn't a great football player. I do not recall, however, coaches taking it any harder or easier on any particular player when attitude was involved. If you had a bad attitude, you didn't practice or play, end of story.

With the Kimbo Slice fight, I never thought it would be anything monumental. Granted, I expected the outcome to be the opposite of what it was, but I never assumed it to be some ground breaking, history making fight. All the media did was hype up this rough-looking, monster of a man and when he didnt perform, everyone couldnt believe it. He has never been a quality name in the sport, but the media then treated his loss like it was Chuck Liddell loosing. Then, unfortunately, majority of the audience reacts the way the media wants it to; condemning Slice and looking on to the next bigger and better fighter. The media also played a hand in how Ramirez was portrayed. Sure hes a great athlete, but when they focus more on his behavior, that is how people will perceive him, especially the Sox fans. It is also the case when they portray Padroia as they do. Yes the sport organizations are to blame, but the media ties in very closely to these views on athletes.

i agree with bryan trotter when he talked about how terrible it is that the media focus's on players who commit crimes while playing professional sports (vick, a. jones, r. williams) instead of focusing on players who just go out and play their hearts out for there team. Professional athletes are role models for kids and they should be focusing on the players who are are great athletes and try their hardest and the players who overcame something to get where they are today. Not players who continue their criminal behaviors after they have everything. The media really should be talking about guys like Bart scott (ravens) and tony romo, both were undrafted free agents from colleges in illinois who are now both starters and both played in Pro bowls.

In high school I played 3 sports, 2 sports were "white" sports and 1 was a "black" sport. The 2 "white" sports were volleyball and lacrosse and the 1 "black" sport i played was basketball. I went to a school that was probably 90% white and all the teams I played on were almost completely white. For lacrosse and volleyball if we showed up to a school or the school came to us and they were Predominately black we all assumed it would be an easy win. Also if the same thing happened for basketball we all assumed we would get our butts kicked. I guess the reason we all thought this was because it usually was true but until i took this class I never thought about why this was true. I never thought about certain sports being marketed to certain people or about local recration councils not having enough money for equipment. I guess I always just thought maybe white people are just better at lacrosse and black people were better at basketball. That sounds so incredibly stupid now but I'm pretty sure thats how a lot of people think.

As for manny and the red sox, I think its terrible how racist the red sox organization is and I think its terrible what they did to manny but manny was not innocent in all of this. I hate when I see athletes not give it there all. I would much rather have someone who gives it 100% all the time and is only an average player than have someone who is amazing but only trys when they feel like it. I do not follow MLB as much as I follow other sports but i remember watching an Orioles vs. red sox game where manny missed two pop up's to left field. If he is such a great player he should have caught them....actually I am pretty sure anyone on the team could have caught them, they were not difficult plays.

I agree with btrott2 when he says that it takes more than just talent to make it in the pros. I think that athletes that are in the same "situations" as other atheletes have alot of influence on each other. If a pro athelte who came from nothing messes up big time, those other athletes like him trying to make it will also suffer because people will think they will do the same.
erin r

I know I am just a little late responding to this blog, but everyone knows how busy we as college students and professors get at this point in the semester. I would like to respond to both questions of how I have experienced race and about Kimbo and Manny.
First off I want to respond to the race in my life question. I went to a western Maryland public high school in which our football program was pretty good, at one point won 4 straight state championships and won 50 straight games. Unfortunately I was only apart of one of those. Any way there was not much diversity among the student there. We were about 97% white with a few black students and a few Asian and Hispanic students. So needless to say our football team was about 99% white. We would play big name private schools in our out of conference schedule and we would always be the "whiteboys" coming to town or the farm boys coming to town. Alot of the schools we played thought less of our ability because of race, which we took great joy in beating these schools. However, this also went the other way, our basketball team was also about 99% white, and we would play teams that were all black or a majority black and it was intimidating to alot of our players because they believed the other team was better simply because of race. Alot of times the other team was indeed better but I'm not sure how much of that was because they were largely black players. Race in the sports culture has gone both ways throughout my high school career, being a majority white middle class school we had a wide variety of sporting options, we had golf teams, lacrosse teams, swim teams, these sports are often seen as white sports, which many lower class or black school might not have the options to play.

Now to the Manny and Kimbo thing. Since the tragic fall of Kimbo in 14 seconds the EliteXC has also fell. The kimbo fight was ridiculous it looked almost as if he didnt even want to fight. This fight went against all the characteristics of race that we saw on the slides in class. It looked as it the white fighter was the aggressive fighter which was capable of physical violence, while Kimbo looked passive in his style. Now for a more positive note, the Dodgers have lost in the NLCS, many played like Manny always does and even though they lost, Manny is still loved in LA. Boston take notes, treat the man like he should be and he will bat at an astronomical average with RISP and hit multiple homeruns. Treat a superstar like a superstar and he will shut up and produce. I wish LA could have pulled it off so I could rub it in the Sox fans face even more.

in response to the Red Sox fans, i think sometimes people just don't fit where they are and it was a good thing for Ramirez to leave a hostile environment. It might have been a racially motivated move but how can it be proven when people are hiding their racist motives. and as long as other clubs allow these actions to occur the problem will never be fixed

Playing a racially diversed sport i don't feel though race played and important factor but it was definetly a factor. i remember when i was around 13, i played on a basketball team that was mostly white, and they would be afraid of the teams we used to play against if the team was all black because they used to asume that the girls were good because they were black, on several occasions that definetly wasn't true. i think, just by hearing some coments made by my former teamates they just automatically assume That Black girls are better at the game because of the athletisim associated with their race. i noticed though at the college level there are jokes but the assumtion about black players being better at the game of basketball is as previlant. i think its because this notion can be easily disproved since people are exposed to many different people with different backgrounds that are just as good if not better then other players.

Hinch47’s blog definitely makes a good point on how the influence of race on sport can shape your life tremendously. In this case, with the friends you have around you. There are clearly sports that you see when you grow up with that are predominantly white, predominantly black, and so on. Growing up, the friends you have and keep are commonly the ones you practice everyday with and share the same interests with, like sports. It is evident how high school may offer a more diverse range of ethnicities among participants rather than country clubs. Sports can have a negative side effect to race and ethnicities, as we continue to create and carry out these stereotypes. However, there is a positive side to it as it is a way for kids to interact with kids of other races and become more comfortable and accepting with it. -Gincel

I grew up in probably one of the most diverse towns on Long Island. Aside from soccer, track and field instantly became my passion from middle school through high school. I was brought up in 8th grade to run for the varsity track team. It has been a growing stereotype to associate white athletes with long distance races and black athletes with shorter distance and sprint races, along with the jumping field events. This may go along with the racial binaries on how the longer distances require more capacity to create strategic moves in the races that whites are capable of, and the sprints require more fast power and muscle as blacks have been associated with. Well here I was, a non-black short girl who was good at sprinting, hurdling, triple jumping—the short distance races and field events. This made it an automatic challenge to be accepted as a non-black athlete being better at the “black athlete’s” events than them. Now this may be because of the immaturity level of high school youth but, it is also the reality of anybody’s life growing up. For some reason it took me awhile to establish myself as a leader, even when I was captain sophomore year. Here I am teaching some girls how to hurdle or improve their sprinting, and most of them could not accept the fact that I was better than them just because I wasn’t their color skin—like it wasn’t right. After receiving All-County athlete awards and continuing to succeed in my events, my credibility as an athlete—period (no color)—was established and I was eventually looked at as a leader. It’s just funny how stereotypes work, even at such a young age. These kids grow up thinking a certain way and that influences and shapes the way others think and work. Kids get ridiculed and isolated because of the color of their skin when every athlete is capable of performing the same way. It’s frustrating when athletes (youth, professional, etc.) get scorned or praised just because of their race or ethnicity when that is irrelevant to what they can bring on the field. -Gincel

I kind of disagre with Michael about the Red Sox being a racist organization. I am not really sure what the white style of play is and how the Red Sox changed Manny Ramirez? He was one of the best players in the game and wouldnt you have to say the Yankees try to "change" players more than any other organization? They make you cut your hair and shave on a daily basis, etc. Manny did not have to stay in Boston if he did not like it, he stayed there becuase they were a good organization and they were winning. Manny got away with basicaly murder when he was a Sox player because of how good he was.

Growing up in a predominantly black area and playing very competitive sports, I have a lot of respect for anybody who can overcome any kind of obstacle in their life to become a professional athlete. It takes a lot on and off the field to make it to the pros, not just talent alone. You see guys like Michael Vick and “Pacman” Jones who have been in trouble with the law many different times and they ruin every other person who has come from the same type, if not worse, situation then they had. The Manny Ramirez situation is one that makes me angry, not only as a Red Sox fan, but as a fan of baseball. He is arguably one of the best hitters in the game today. He does not play very good defense but his bat alone can change the course of a game at any given point. His final weeks in Boston were a disgrace to Manny and his reputation. As a Sox fan, I have put up with his antics for years and the trade rumors were always circling. However, it seemed to just be an act he put on because once the playoffs started he was as happy as can be and hitting homeruns to win games again. His lack of production and effort in Boston the last couple of weeks, and then his awesome performance once he got to L.A., were both bad for his image, especially in Boston. He is a professional athlete that is getting paid multi-millions of dollars a year, and he should have more respect for himself. Professional athletes like Ramirez , Vick, and Jones make these young athletes trying to make it think that it is okay to act like they do once they are in professional sports. It doesn’t help that the media loves to show and emphasis these types of athletes but this kind of news sells. I think we need to turn our attention to the Peyton Mannings or Tom Bradys of the world who go out and do their job while not complaining because they are professionals!
Bryan Trotter

In response to Jared's blog response I will have to disagree with his statements about Manny Ramirez. I don't understand how Manny Ramirez could have let down an organization or nation by his style of play. All he did was lead them to a couple of championships and has been one of the most consistent hitters in all of baseball. I think if fans had been more tolerant of his style of play we would still see Manny in a Red Sox uniform, and the Red Sox would probably be back in the World Series.

Michael Cole

I do believe that there is some sort of underlying racism within the Red Sox organization. While the organization will never openly admit to any wrong doing I believe McKinney put it best when she said, “Often when people of color are asked to just be “American” they are being required to assimilate to white culture and relinquish their own.” This is similar to what is happening with the Red Sox and specifically Manny Ramirez. It became a situation where minority player with tremendous skill was placed into a situation where he was required to play Red Sox baseball and relinquish their own style of play. As well the whole Red Sox nation which is predominantly white embraces this white style of play. It wasn’t that Manny Ramirez wasn’t trying hard, it was that he was put in a situation that was not what he was used to and when the organization couldn’t embrace his style of play the traded him off for a player, that is white, that specifically fit that style of a Red Sox baseball player. It is my opinion that the Red Sox organization could be considered racist specifically because they try to change players to play the Red Sox way or the white style of play.

Michael Cole

I have been a red sox fans for many of years and i am hurting right now as i watch them exit the playoffs to the Rays. I was a huge manny fan and although there was tons of talk about manny ruining the redsox i was personally a huge fan of manny. Manny had character and was quite unique which is why he was so popular. Manny did have his problems in the clubhouse at the end but the bottom line is that he might be hte greatest right handed hitter of all time. And we are hurting without him right now. I dont believe that the red sox are a racist team. Yes they might not have very many african americans or latinos but manny leaving had nothing to do with race. The moves that boston make are to make them better, and obviously works. They dont try to get all the white players no matter what, they get the best players. The players that can get the job done. And obviously that is working with 2 recent world championships. And are in the ALCS once again. David Ortiz is one of the more beloved players in the club house and will be for a long time. White or not Boston cares about performance and they want Ws and Championships.

After reading Hinch47's post I realized that because I grew up playing in the Baltimore City golf league I had many more interations with black golfers. Forrest park and carroll park golf teams both had predominately black members of the team. Every week I played with someone that was different racially than myself. I think it helped me grow at an early age and did not make me feel uncomfortable as it might if you played golf at a mostly white country club. It made me realize that not only middle class white males played golf. I realized that everyone from every class can play any sport.

I agree with Kpalme4 about kimbo Slice losing. As it was stated in the article he became famous from youtube, which is pretty lucky. UFC fighters were born to fight and their parents probabley encouraged violence at a young age. I mean something has to be a little out of wack for someone to want to be a UFC fighter when they grow up. I also agree with her statement that beating men for money is not a profession. It is not. It's barbaric and classless. If plumbers are blue collar workers what would you even consider UFC fighters?

I can understand how race and ethnicities play an important role in sport but it has not had a significant role on my individual life. It can even be seen in the high school that I attended in regards to sports. The "pep squad" which involved girls using their bodies for rythm maybe had two white girls on the team. Some of my friends tried out for the team freshmen year and the captains apparently made some joke about white girls not having any beat or rythm. It appeared to be an unwritten law though that all the African-American girls who lived to dance would not try out for the dance team but pep squad instead. Other than that club, most sports were majority white girls with maybe two or three African-Americans on the team. This could be because being a private school there is not an equal distribution representing all people, I mean there were not any boys so that is very likely.

My ethnic/racial background did not have a significant role/affect on my sporting life. The first sport I started playing was basketball and I participated in it for eight years. I also started playing field hockey and lacrosse once I got to fifth grade. I did play AAU basketball for one season, and refused to play it again. I do remember, however, playing basketball, there were more African-American girls playing then in field hockey and lacrosse; I only saw about one or two playing during my high school and college career. When I reached high school I stopped playing basketball; I just didn’t like it anymore, but also I remember the girl’s basketball team at Spalding having a ton of attitude. Now, I was not raised to have attitude, especially while playing a sport, but to be humble and just play the game and win. At Spalding (my high school), there was a wide variety of sports, from football to swimming. Most of the African-Americans were members of the track and field, and basketball teams (girls and boys). There were no African-Americans on the field hockey and lacrosse teams. I just feel as though, many African-Americans were not introduced to field hockey or lacrosse when they were younger, especially since there are no “professional” teams for them (excluding the MLL).

My ethnic background has had a big effect on my sporting life. When I was younger my family joined a private country club which had only a few black members. Until I got to highschool i really didnt have any black friends because i spent most of my time playing golf. I never reaized how much this effected my life. Once I got to highschool I realized how much I had missed. Playing highschool sports I played with a lot of black kids and became friends with all of them. Looking back now i'm glad that I had that experience in school because the kids i met are some of my bestfriends now

Im not saying so much that i want to see knockouts every fingt, but was pointoit the fact that the brawlers used to rule the ring and now we dont see them anymore. i was excited when Kimbo was coming to MMA because he would bring that back, and he did in his fight against tank abbott. Dont get me wrong, a knockout every fight MIGHT get boring, but that is what most people pay to see, so the advertisers should hope the fights get more violent so more people will tune in to see it, thus more people would be seeing their commercials rather than the same amount of people seeing more commercials.....

In this article it is mentioned that Kimbo Slice has been accused of profiting in excess of perceived fighting ability. I see where you are coming from in this aspect but I would like to offer you another way of thinking about this. Pro wrestling has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. The information that we have now tells us that pro wrestling is fake and the matches are decided ahead of time by the bookers. It was not until the early 1980s when Vince McMahon took over the company from his father, that anyone has ever admitted that it was “fake” or fixed. Vince did not use those terms, obviously, but he created the term “Sports Entertainment” and the way to describe the WWE. There always were doubters about whether it was fake or real but no one knew for sure because it was never stated. Before it was found out that wrestling was, in fact, fixed people were supposed to believe that everything that saw was in fact real. If 7 foot tall Andre the Giant can lose to Hulk Hogan let alone any pro wrestler is supposed to be believable then I don’t see how Kimbo losing in 14 seconds is stealing from any person. Maybe Kimbo and Elite XC should be now defined as sports entertainment but I don’t feel like it is stealing from any person. In regards to Manny, I think that most of what he did in Boston to unfair to the fans paying for tickets and the front office paying him his money. I also don’t see how the Red Sox are being racist. I understand the facts that are presented but they are not even the worst team in baseball in regards to this. The Orioles rarely ever have any Latino or Asian players on the team but no one says anything because the orioles are usually around last place.

Well first of all I really don’t think Kimbo Slice should be compared to or even placed in the same category as Manny Ramirez. Slice is a competitor who ties his hardest in every fight he’s in and Ramirez gave up on the Red Sox. He let down his teammates, coach, fans and the community. I don’t think it’s fair to compare Slice to that. Kimbo Slice tried his hardest and lost. There’s no shame in that. The issue was that everyone expected him to win especially since he wasn’t even fighting Ken Shamrock. He was fighting Seth Petruzelli who was almost unknown at the time. Yes Kimbo Slice is a bit over the top and brought a lot of the hype on himself. I’ll admit he isn’t as good a fighter as everyone made his out to be but he’s still a good fighter. I do feel that critics shouldn’t bash him as much as they have been. Just because he lost once everyone is making him out to be a weak fighter. I’ve seen a lot of Slice’s you tube clips and I recommend that anyone who interested in MMA take a look at them too. I could use a lot of words to describe Kimbo Slice but weak isn’t one of them.
I feel like I’m the only one who expected him to lose eventually. Way too much hype was put on him and a lot of that is his own fault but that still doesn’t excuse the fact that after his you tube clips surfaced everyone expected him to be the Michael Jordan of MMA. No one can live up to those expectations. The fact is that there is no Michael Jordan of MMA. It would be almost impossible for someone to win that much. It’s just not the nature of the sport. Besides would you really keep watching if Kimbo Slice were to dominate every single match he was in? I don’t think anyone would. That’s what I like about MMA. When it comes to MMA there should be no strong expectations like there were for Kimbo Slice. Kimbo Slice losing isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. It’s just the way the game goes sometimes. It’s nice to be surprised with the results of the fight instead of just always getting what you expect. Everyone is focusing too much on Kimbo Slice. Seth Petruzelli should get more recognition. After all, he did win the fight. Its fighters like Petruzelli who makes MMA so entertaining. It’s always fun to see the underdog win. Deep down I wanted see the underdog win and Kimbo lose. It was very surprising to see a nobody like Seth Petruzelli take out a fighter who was already deemed the winner before even stepping into the ring.

I have to agree with qbert737. Kimbo was not entirely to be blamed but the sport itself for using Kimbo to make revenue and set up a fight like this. People watch to see guys get brutally beaten, not for some paid ref to stop the fight and make it more dramatic than intended to be.

Over the years sport and race have been correlated in many different ways. Especially when many minorities play the race card and contribute that to the reason why either they arent getting paid as much as others who have been perceived to have the same talent and are white, or that they just say they feel on the outside or treated differently. Nothing frustrates me more than when minorities use the race card-its like their scape goat for anything. The caucasian race, when they perform poorly or something isnt going their way, they dont make excuses like using the race card because they cant, so the reason must just be because they didnt bring their game or have the game to compete with everyone else. Ramirez is a perfect example of this situation. First I want to address Slice. Everyone has seen or most have seen Kimbo's fights on the internet and how he has just absolutely destroyed the other person. Given that, UFC and Slice should be ashamed for defrauding the public just to generate some revenue. Everyone that saw that 14 second fight or whatever that accidental stumble to the ground by Slice was and then get like three times knew that it was so fake and setup. Assuringly now, when attacked by the media for defrauding the public, Slice will just say that he is being discriminated against. Slice is just a street brawler nothing more. Youtube was his claim to fame, not training to be a UFC fighter, so lets keep it that way.

Ramirez's situation makes me even more angry. Over the past few years he has made a fool out of himself in left field and just doesnt care-hence Manny being Manny. If anyone saw the fly ball that he dove for in left and missed it, then goes to pick it up and stumbles and rolls over it twice, you could sense that he had no urgency or care to keep that runner from touching them all. Between his jogs to first base and walking in and out of the doorway in left at Fenway, Redsox fans knew that he didnt care much or take the game seriously unless he was hitting bombs. So now that he is hitting ridiculous numbers in Dodgers stadium, and appearing to be actually playing baseball is just a mockery of the RedSox and the game of Baseball we love so much. But once again, when accused of this, he can always pull that race card out of his pocket.

As we have all come to learn, sport and society have a direct correlation. Now the focus of sporting experience is directed toward race. I would have to say that my racial background has definitely had an effect on my sporting life, whether I realize it or not. As discussed in class, we are inclined toward different sporting practiced depending on our “seemingly natural” preferences. Meaning we learn through socialization within our class, racial background, and sex what sporting practices we are more accepted or expected to participate in or watch. As a middle class, white, female I played mainly lacrosse growing up. This is accepted as more of a predominately white game as opposed to football and basketball which is are predominately black sports.
As for Kimbo Slice, he chose to take his route to fame the dirty way. Having videos on youtube of himself in insane, sick monstrous street fights doesn’t nearly qualify him as a professional. It is definitely fair to say that his crime against society is “profiting in excess of PERCIVED fighting ability,” (White). Slice is no more than a brawler made famous just for the purpose of generating revenue. Everyone knows that youtube is a popular entity that anyone can watch, so people know that when you post outrageous videos, people are going to watch, and this can make a person popular. Before Slice was “famous” he was famous, through youtube viewers. The other UFC fighters that are famous are trained professionals that did not get their credibility off youtube. I agree with those who say Kimbo Slice has made a mockery out of the sport. He isn’t an all around great fighter like some of the other UFC professionals, but rather a dirty fighter. People want to watch him fight because they hear about his story, and this generates revenue. So why not just give him his fame while it lasts, because it will not last for too much longer.
Erin Ragan

The first time I saw Kimbo Slice’s video I saw a man that was scary not scary good. He was a big man that could punch. But, when my friends first heard about Kimbo Slice, which was about 3 months after his first fight, all I heard from these youtube junkies was how Kimbo was going to take over the world. While I explained to them that he would never last against real MMA fighters they look at him and never took into account his abilities. All they saw was a big black guy who they never would want to see in an alley. They looked at his race, his size, and his demeanor and assumed he would be a fighter. They didn’t look past the fact that race isn’t something that affects someone’s athletic ability. So when I got a call 16 seconds after the bell rang I knew it was my friend talking about how he turned his ankle jumping off the band wagon. People have begun to realize that just by looking at someone they can’t assume someone’s abilities.

In the case of Manny, I’ve grown up a Red Sox fan and followed the team since I was little. As shocked as I was to see Manny traded for someone that doesn’t have a third of his ability listening to quotes from the rest of the team it made sense. Baseball is the quintessential team sports and when one of the parts isn’t working the whole team is going to hurt. With the mention of race or not the Sox have been a team that have gotten rid of players that affect the team as a whole. In baseball one player isn’t going to win a game but a single player can lose one.

The whole perceived effort thing goes beyond these two individuals and sometimes its not the player participating lackadaisically, it can be the team as a whole or the coach and GM that make that decision. Remember in the NBA a year or two ago then the teams that were defined as "out of the playoff race" started sitting their star players, who you would assume would be one of their main gateways to winning. Beyond that, the stars put the people in the stands.

Manny is Manny, and he will never change. Hes like the kid you would play against in your high school sporting events that was extremely talented but had no motivation, yet he would still wipe the floor with you no matter what the sport. I know i have played hockey with some people that really had a shot to make it to the NHL but once they came across a coach they didnt like or a team they didnt feel comfortable on, they would drag ass and not care about their performance. Its disheartening to see stud atheletes like Manny act the way he does but at the same time, hes still on of the best hitters in MLB so why change something thats working? AND people still spend money to go see him play!! As for Kimbo, i dont think hes anything worth discussing. Yea its a nice "rags to riches" story like you said, but he does not belong in the spotlight. He disappointed millions of viewers the other night, not that it was completely his fault but he did.

In response to qbert737 i think that it would get old too, i agree with kyle6082 in that it would get old after a while to see people just getting dropped to the ground every time. Thats why they moved away from that in the first place. MMA is intense enough, there is no need to add more unnecessary violence to a violent society. It only leads to negetivity

Alright so profiting in excess of perceived effort is the hot topic issue in this debate. First things first, Kimbo Slice isn't a mixed martial artist he simply is a brawler who is used for revenue purposes. Slice, the brawler, even with training from legendary fighters will never be able to be the technical and intellectual fighter that would categorize him as a true mixed martial artist. This could be attributed to his upbringing, background, age, this could be attributed to a number of different variables but Kimbo is form entertainment with athletic ability not an athlete with entertainment qualities. Part of me believes that his he lost on purpose, maybe to make him seem more human or to get more money I have no idea. It seems to me that Ken mysteriously getting injured and Kimbo losing to an unknown is too coincidental. We have to remember "elite sport has been effectively and efficiently reorganized in accordance with corporate logics of economic rationality and profit maximization." I would have to chalk it up to Elite XC defrauding the public because they're the ones calling the shots. Manny on the other hand has defrauded the Red Sox with his lack of play and respect for the game of baseball. Maybe he was tired of the city, the fans, and the front office but that gives him no right to significantly and purposefully decrease his playing ability. Manny is a great baseball player and I’m sure a great teammate but what he did for Boston, or lack thereof, is inexcusable and something should be made out of it. If everyone in the world went around at a lackluster pace moping around all day because they felt like they were owed something or were just generally unhappy then nothing would get accomplished. What Manny did show is how immature he is and how he was just looking out for old number one.


In response to qbert737 I would love to see just a MMA event with all knockouts but I think that would get boring after awhile. Your right this sport has evolved and I think it's for the best. I love to watch a good brawl but the times have changed, athletes have incorporated ground games and different fighting styles into their arsenal of moves. Trust me it would be boring to just watch a UFC card that had 5 fights that lasted 15 seconds. I just thought of this, maybe the institution of the ground n pound and all these technical moves were implemented to prolong the fight for sponsors and advertisers damn I'm good.

My race has not played a part in my sporting life because I was never a sports person but I have watched it play a part in my brothers' lives. My middle brother was a football star at Edmondson high school. Edmondson high school did not have soccer, lacrosse, or swimming. The only sports Edmondson had at their school were sports that had predominately black players (football, basketball, track). My oldest brother ran track for Edmondson. Unlike my brothers I went to a college prep high school where we had all the sports available to all races since my school was a mixed race school. So I always wondered what if my brother had lacrosse at his high school. They do not offer the same opportunities in sports to a predominately black high school.

As for Kimbo Slice, he must of thought that those people he was fighting on YouTube were of the same calibur as the UFC fighters. I am not surprised he got knocked out because he sucks. He is not a trained professional fighter like the men of the UFC. He is a wannabe street fighter with a lot of mouth. Yes, the UFC is a human cockfight but all these guys are highly trained to do the things that they do in the ring. My ex-boyfriend used to show me all of them crazy fights on YouTube and he thought they were the best thing in the world. I was disgusted by Kimbo's behavior and his entourage. He beat men for money. I do not call that a profession.

Kierra Palmer

I think Kimbo Slice’s path to fame was one that is not to be looked at upon lightly. Even though he may be a better athlete on the screen of a YouTube video, he still has the determination of a UFC fighter. He repeatedly came back into the ring even after multiple fights which ended in losses for Slice. He has gained so much publicity and stardom, like it says in the article, he is a modern day King Kong. People enjoy watching him for the reason that even though he is not good, he is so determined to win, that the one time he does win, will be incredible. It will be a story about a guy coming up from under and proving everybody wrong. Or right?

All leading up to his first fight, people always said he was going to kill the other guy, absolutely slaughter him. But after a few fights, and the controversial win with the blow to the ear, people’s views of Kimbo had changed. Changed from the overpowering “King Kong” who people thought he once was, to a controversial once “primitive monster”. Now every fight is something to look forward to. Each punch is something that the crowd will be observing, and just waiting to judge him more than he has already taken on.

Scott Rappaport

Kimbo Slice and Manny Ramirez are most certainly outlandish characters in the world of sports. As the blog stated both seem to behave in ways that inexorably begs for the spotlight. I agree that their actions crave attention but at the same time I believe comparing Slice and Ramirez is a stretch.

Slice decided to promote himself and his freakish physique through youtube. He worked his way up from a street fighter to competing in the on the rise sport of mixed martial arts. I have watched some of Slice’s training sessions on Showtime and he does seem to put forth a lot of effort. But Slice and his actions are worse than Ramirez’s because he leeched himself on to a rising sport to promote himself. MMA has come a long way through new rules and regulations that make the sport less brutal and more competitive. But now Slice has set the sport back by being a sideshow instead of promoting the sport itself. In the MMA arena Slice doesn’t seem to stand a chance because he cannot compete within the parameters and rules that govern the MMA. You can brawl all you want on the street but if you want to be a true MMA athlete, you have to learn to be methodical and win within the rules.

Ramirez on the other hand is known for his lax playing style and his ability to pummel a baseball. I truly believe that Manny is one of the most talented baseball players ever to step foot on a baseball diamond. But, his lack of effort and carelessness has driven Red Sox’s nation and others to believe that his athletic ability does not outweigh his antics. I somewhat agree with contingents that think Manny should be a little more serious about his job but at the same time there is no single player in baseball I would rather watch. Its nice to see a guy who really enjoys what he does and if you ask any of his teammates they will tell you that behind closed doors Manny works hard. Therefore Manny can be a nuisance but he is an immense talent that wants to have fun and help his team win. Slice on the other hand could probably care less about his representation of MMA and is more focused on self-promotion. Manny is also different from Slice because he plays a team sport. Comparing the two can be done on a certain level, but if you dig deeper you find that Ramirez is the better character.

Bill Reem

Kimbo Slice & Manny

Being a faithful Red Sox fan (but not a hard core one that follows the trades and everything), I have taken noticed over the years recently how they have been almost always a predominately white team. And when they do have a person of another race on the team, they tend to trade them quickly if they start acting against the management and questioning their position and salary on the team. Once I heard that Manny got traded, I was wondering why due to the fact how awesome of a player he is. He helped carry the Red Sox, along with David Ortiz, to the World Series multiple times. I liked how it was brought up in this reading that once Manny was traded to the dodgers, they have fully accepted "manny being manny." As us Red Sox fans referred to him. Now as said in the article, its "manny being AWESOME” Which he has always been. I understand how red sox fans feel betrayed by Manny in the ways he played his last few games with the red sox, but for us all to say he was childish and to hold such a grudge against him doing so well with the dodgers is us red sox fans being very jealous that we have lost such a great player.
To comment about the Kimbo Slice fight, I was dissapointed in seeing he had gotten knocked out in only 14 seconds. There had been a lot of hype for the fight. I had watched his youtube videos frequently and to see him actually allowed to wrestle in an official MMA fight was very exciting, but than to hear how put down he was for the way he had fought and the way he become popular was dissapointing for me. I believe that everyone somehow has the internet help them become the famous person they have become. You look at almost everyone famous right now and they have used the internet to help them to where they are. I believe that everyone now a days who puts down and “smack talks” these famous atheletes and say they are a discrace to the sport they are in, are in my just jealous they haven’t made it as far as these individuals and just want them to fail now that they have finally succeeded and made something of themselves.

Kasi Harris

After watching the Kimbo fight, I have to say i am pretty dissapointed in the show. I'm not dissapointed in Kimbo personnally for not entertaining me this time, but im more dissappointed in the ref that stopped the fight before it got going. As I was watching the fight, i was thinking about how far the sport had come. It started on pay per view as a ruthless new gladiator type fighting league, and evetually moved its way to cable, where it took over the slot that professional wrestling had, to its pinnacle, now, primetime television. If that Kimbo fight would have taken place ten years ago on pay per view, the ref would have been more hesitant to stop the fight. The sport has evolved into the mainstream, but in doing so has taken everything out of the sport that made it appealing in the first place. The UFC used to be looked at as a brawling league where the loser was generally not able to leave on account that he was so injured. Now it is a highly cultivated sport in which those original brawlers dont have a place anymore. the moves have gotten more technical and the fighting has gotten more boring. So in responce, the Kimbo fight from the other night was dissappointing not because i was let down by Kimbo himself, but by the organization and the sport in general and the direction its gone. Bring back the Iron jawed, rock bodied brawlers and let them fight for god sakes.

Andy Grygier