Source: http://i.kinja-img.com

As most people know, many items cannot be bought during certain seasons, Many people like to get specialty drinks, holiday clothes, and even day to day items. Why do many retailers only sell them at specific times, or lower the price only during a few months? I have dug a little more into the topic to figure out what the best items are to purchase during seasons and why. The first article I found on the topic was, The Best Time to Buy Anything During The Year, published on LifeHacker.com. They list many informational sources that go further into depth on specific products and list the best months to buy products. I found out that if I wanted to buy an extra computer monitor, I should get it during January-March or if I were to buy a new set of golf clubs, then I should wait until March. I did some further research on Proquest, and found an article by Robert J. Bruss of the Chicago Tribune, He pretty much explains the same thing as LifeHacker, but his article was more of a Q&A where he answered questions and listed out the explanation. Many others just give a list of items and their seasons to buy them during, but they don't go into the details. Megan Elliot on CheetSheet.com, posted an article and just lists a few items, but she sort of goes into an explanation on what the stores do.

You Have to Walk Before You... Drive?

Source: http://www.scionoforlando.com/research/2014/2014-scion-fr-s-and-subaru-brz.htm

What Prices a New Car?
Before I can find the truth about how used cars are priced I had to first find out why new cars are priced the way that they are because that is one of the biggest factors on what the car will be worth later. However this wasn't an extremely hard task seeing as my dad owns a car dealership. So I asked him what determines the prices for new cars. For the first little bit of time he just listed off a bunch of different parts of the car, the exhaust system, the interior, ect. That was pretty common sense to me but then he said something that caught my attention. He told me that where the car is made is a big factor in what the car was priced at. He told me that a two of the exact same car, one made in the US and one made in China could priced $100s differently.

Example:
Take the Subaru BRZ and the Scion FRS for example. Those two cars were co-engineered by Toyota (Owns Scion) and Subaru. Exactly the the same car. Down ever exact detail those two cars' body frames (The actual frame of the car) are exactly the same. However these two cars cost different amount of money. So if you want the reliability of a Subaru, the price of a Scion, and the look of a sports car the FRS is the perfect car for you.

Music: It Can Physically Change You

Source: http://www.stress-relief-choices.com/

Let’s start by talking about the physical effects of music on the brain. It’s no surprise that changes in your mood are caused by little chemicals in our brains called hormones. But did you know that music can cause you to secrete them? In an article by MARVELOUS, the author points out that upbeat tunes, as well as calm, soothing ones “foster the release of serotonin, a hormone that fosters happiness and a general sense of well-being. It also flushes the body with dopamine, a neurotransmitter that makes you feel good.” Music also paves the way for “the release of norepinephrine, a hormone that brings about euphoria and elation” because soothing songs help release tension in your body. Once your body experiences the physiologic changes, your stress levels including rapid heart rate and cortisol levels tend to decrease.

Blasting your favorite tunes can not only help you immediately, both physiologically and hormonally, but it changes you long-term. Positive music can help alter your perspective in life, especially if you’ve got that one feel-good song stuck in your head all day long. A study conducted at the University of Groningen found that “that people enjoy a ‘happier’ perception when they listen to lively music.” So physically and emotionally, music can help steer you in a more positive, healthy direction altogether.

In my next post, I plan to discuss the emotional effects that music has on us, and how it ties into the physical aspect.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk

As most people know, many items cannot be bought during certain seasons, Many people like to get specialty drinks, holiday clothes, and even day to day items. Why do many retailers only sell them at specific times, or lower the price only during a few months? I have dug a little more into the topic to figure out what the best items are to purchase during seasons and why. The first article I found on the topic was, The Best Time to Buy Anything During The Year, published on LifeHacker.com. They list many informational sources that go further into depth on specific products and list the best months to buy products. I found out that if I wanted to buy an extra computer monitor, I should get it during January-March or if I were to buy a new set of golf clubs, then I should wait until March. I did some further research on Proquest, and found an article by Robert J. Bruss of the Chicago Tribune, He pretty much explains the same thing as LifeHacker, but his article was more of a Q&A where he answered questions and listed out the explanation. Many others just give a list of items and their seasons to buy them during, but they don't go into the details. Megan Elliot on CheetSheet.com, posted an article and just lists a few items, but she sort of goes into an explanation on what the stores do.


FUTURE QUESTION: How can people figure out when to buy things? And when is their purchase a smart buy?

Volkswagen - How to Profit

www.zeroto60times.com

Last week Volkswagen stock took one of its biggest hits in company history, dropping more than $160 per share within the past 6 months. Amateur investors would think, "How am I supposed to look at this as an investing opportunity, they are losing money!" That is what today's lesson is about, shorting stocks.

In the rare case like Volkswagen, where a stock continuously drops, investors have the option to short Volkswagen stock. What does shorting a stock mean? Shorting a stock is when someone sells a stock in advance of acquiring them, with the aim of making a profit when the price falls. Here's how shorting works, let's say I had 100 shares of Volkswagen stock for $200 before the price fell. Once Volkswagen's price starts to decline, other investors or traders take my stock in Volkswagen and sell it  before the price goes down. Once it does go down, to $100 for example, the investor that sold my stock rebuys it for $100 dollars per share and gives the stocks he borrowed back to me; but as he gives me back the shares that he borrowed, the investor keeps the $100 in difference he made from buying the stock at a cheaper price.

This ment that Volkswagen was a gold mine, their stock had been dropping for along time in their history, but this was one of the biggest drops it had seen in the companies history. This allowed for investors to continually short Volkswagen stock for massive profits.

Student Athletes Affected by Injury

http://pixshark.com/injured-college-athlete.htm

Have you ever thought about what those athletes for your team are feeling when they are being called out for not playing? According to an article on ncaa.org, “For some student-athletes, the psychological response to injury can trigger or unmask serious mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use or abuse. This article basically says how young athletes brains handle injury, and how they do not just affect the body part injured but how it can have an effect on your overall well-being. I agree that this can happen from being an athlete myself. There is not a worse feeling than having your teammates go out and play without you in whatever sport it is that you are playing. For NCAA student athletes, it is even worse because of what else is at stake. If an athlete gets injured it can put their scholarship at stake which can definitely cause distress.

According to the same article as mentioned above, the emotional responses include, “sadness, isolation, irritation, lack of motivation, anger, frustration, changes in appetite, sleep disturbance, and disengagement.” All of these can be signs of mental illnesses because of injuries that not just affected your performance in the sport you love, but also could have taken away your free education and a chance at the next level. The big thing with these athletes is that they think that it is the end from there and nothing can get better, which again goes back to the emotional responses above. My main thing to athletes to say is that life does go on after you are done with whatever sport you are in, and you should be prepared when it does.

Future Research: How are professional athletes affected by injury?

An Unfair Advantage

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/files/2015/09/steroids.jpg

Throughout the article “Anabolic Steroids and Sports:Winning at any cost” written by the Department of Health of the state of New York, they talk about how the use of steroids affect the overall well being of athletes who use steroids.  Along with all of the effects of steroids it talks about why some athletes choose to take use performance enhancing drugs.  It’s not just professionals that take steroids too, more and more younger athletes are starting to use steroids.

Along with professional athletes trying to get an advantage on the game, people as young as high schoolers are using steroids to get ahead of the game.  According to fox news over five to twelve percent of high schoolers use steroids to get bigger.  These are just the reported case.  High schools are not required to test their students so many are using and not getting caught.

On a more professional level people are using steroids all the time.  In the same fox news article it states that at some point in time over 34% of semi pro baseball players have used steroids.  I can understand why people in the minors would use, however it is stupid because you are going to get caught and it is bad for your health.

https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/1210/

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/11/19/dangerous-trend-kids-and-teens-using-steroids/

It’s More About What You Do At School Than Where You Go

http://www.actionforhappiness.org

After reading the article how-to-measure-a-colleges value by New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, I completely agree with the concept that you only get as much as you put into your college experience.  The college you go to for the most part does not matter as much as the types of experiences you have while you are there.  This is true for not only your experience while at school but also the overall satisfaction with life after graduation.   This made me think, what was it that people are looking for from a higher education other than just money?

What matters or doesn’t matter when choosing and utilizing a institution of higher education. “But what do we know, in the end, about the relationship between a student’s college experience and his or her actual satisfaction with it down the road? And what do we know about college as a springboard: fulfillment?” (Bruni).   There is a joint project called the Gallup- Purdue index that has now served up to 60,000 college graduates of all ages. The assessment did not measure success in dollars but instead on well being.  The five areas of, their relationships, their physical health, their community, their economic situation and their sense of purpose define satisfaction. While there were some differences between all graduates, whether top 50 universities or top 50 liberal arts, the most notable results were related to what people did during their college experience.

The study says that these five factors help people succeed in life after they graduate.  If graduates did any of the fallowing during college, developed a relationship with a mentor; engaged in a semester or longer project; participated in a job/ internship that related to the field they were interested in; got very involved with campus organizations, and lastly, sort of “wild card” this is regarding the benefits of being a part of a diverse community, this one seems to be more about the persons perception of the value of the education than rather than overall life satisfaction. It appears that students in any institution, who did at least one of the four things, not only had a better college experience but also were more engaged and satisfied with their jobs.

This makes sense to me because; I would have to say that some of my favorite experiences in high school have been through doing a few of those four things. Whether it is really connecting with a teacher and enjoying a class; or involving myself in a sport, these interactions with people have created the memories that in many ways, in my mind will define Hinsdale Central. This is a good reminder for myself and anyone else who is heading to college in fall.  Make the best of the time you have at the place you are at.

What Factors determine the maximum length and value of an athlete's contract?

David Swank-Determining the Value of Sports Franchises

How we determine an Athlete’s Money Tree

 

                   Main Idea: Factors determining the maximum length and value of an athlete's contract.

When we watch these fantastic Athletes perform, whether it is a prime time NFL football game on Sunday Night, or just an evening MLB baseball game, these players are really something else, expressing their talents to their sport. As Republican Candidates spend millions of dollars expanding their campaign to the public, Sports Franchises spend millions of dollars on their players and coaches in order to build the best possible team they have. In order to fulfill those limits to the best of the Sports Franchise’s capability, many factors go into determining an athlete’s contract length and value.

The article “Wage determination in professional sports” by Sports and Public Policy discusses how an athlete’s value is recognized through what it must cost a team to pay an athlete compared to what the athlete is contributing to the team. This value is know as the product of marginal product and marginal revenue, or “MRP”. MRP represents the athletes value as a whole and is split up between MR and MP. MP, or marginal product, is the measure of how productive a worker is in terms of his or her output. MR, or marginal revenue, is a measure of additional revenue generated by each new unit of output. According to the article “An athlete’s value, or MRP, can be thought of as the number of wins that he or she generates for his team multiplied by the value of each victory”. Many athletes have different strengths and weaknesses that might dictate their chances of making the maximum amount of money they would demand from the team. In a perfectly competitive market where an athlete’s wages, or income through their contract, are equal to their marginal revenue products, there are only two factors that decipher increasing a player’s salary: either in an increase in marginal product or an increase in marginal revenue. A player that is able to improve over the course of a season and has a large contribution has a very good chance of receiving a larger contract worth more money when it comes time to renew his or her contract. Also, the willingness for fans to pay for ticket depending on the team’s success, networks like Fox or NBC to pay for broadcasting rights, and advertising through commercials all determine the team’s net worth and capability to pay players large amounts of money. For example, Josh McCown, who was a backup quarterback for the Chicago Bears from 2011 to 2013, finally got a chance to play in the regular season in 2013, when starting quarterback Jay Cutler went out due to injury. Josh McCown played in 8 games, starting in 5 of them for the Bears. He put up impressive numbers, tallying up 1,829 yards passing, averaging 228.6 yards per game with 13 touchdowns and only 1 interception with a 66.5% completion rating. Along with his flawless performance, he showed great leadership to his teammates and coaches, making him a valuable player in the locker room. At the end of the year, Josh McCown’s contract with the Chicago Bears ended, and the Chicago Bears were interested in re-signing the 13 year veteran as a possible starting quarterback. Unfortunately for the Bears, due to his wonderful success, McCown had 4 other teams looking to sign him for even larger amounts of money and benefits. Josh McCown ended up turning the Chicago Bears down and signed a 2-year, 10 million dollar contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with 6.5 million dollars guaranteed, and more money due to incentives.

It does not all rely on what a player does on game day to determine the millions of dollars he or she makes. It seems as though some aspects of marginal revenue are difficult to picture having an impact on a player’s contract, a team’s success within their franchise depend the sources it attains as well as the athletes it has. The Chicago Cubs have been able to have had a very successful season, not just because of the roster of talent they have, but also revenue the cubs have, being one of Chicago’s most popular teams and advertising the team all throughout the nation through WGN News. With the author discussing the extent value of an athlete’s contract, it seems there is more than what meets the eye when determining and evaluation a player to play on a team for the next couple of years.

Future Research: Are Some Franchises Worth More than others due to size, popularity, and location?

Image Source

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/gaNVaRl8LDABpqnzJ1fSWUH0TtEqgn-giVLRj54CPe98fYwKJ-oUOA73Nqy_hQjlTxZZIfKSCSlUISAyOi-bdtVz0jjrOjjMRoRB9ZZlFZ0i4UDBkFKEKrPh2hDmKshj=s1600

Information source

http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/wage-determination-in-professional-sports

    

The Effects of TV on Sports

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nbas-new-tv-deal-blow-up-the-salary-cap/

Source: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/

When it comes to sports you see all the great talent these professional athletes have, and you also see how much of a profit these athletes make now.  When you compare athletes from other sports you see a wide range of contracts between the superstars of these sports.  Hockey superstars make around eight million dollars a year, where an all-star basketball player will make 20-25 million dollars a year.  Both athletes dominate their respective sports, but why is there such a pay differential.  After a little research I learned all about the roles of TV contracts and have concluded that TV contracts play a big  role in determining the salary cap and the player contracts.

The NBA is coming up on the end of their old TV contracts and this will result in a big pay day.  When the old TV contract was signed the NBA wasn’t as popular, but now it’s one of the most popular sports in the world. The New York Times reported, “Disney (ESPN/ABC) and Turner (TNT/TBS) will pay the NBA nearly $2.7 billion per year, on average, over nine years to retain exclusive broadcasting national broadcast rights” http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nbas-new-tv-deal-blow-up-the-salary-cap/. This will be huge for the NBA because it will bring in more revenue and it will increase the salary cap.  Analyst project, “If the new TV deal kicks in for the 2016-17 season just shy of $2 billion, the cap could exceed that same $14 million leap, all the way to around $80-plus million.”  This means that the salary cap will go up and players will make more money.  Recently, over the summer big name players like Anthony Davis and Jimmy Butler signed contracts worth more than 20 million dollars a year due to the anticipation of the new TV contract negotiations.  More players will follow with big contracts and it will all be because of the new TV deal.  Many players are signing short term contacts as a result of the upcoming negotiations.  LeBron James only signed a two year deal so he can jump back into the free agent market once the TV deal is done so he can make more money.  This move is smart, but LeBron is rolling the dice because if he gets hurt he will lose a lot of money. The NBA players are becoming rich, but other athletes, like hockey players, aren’t making as much.

The NHL isn’t as popular as basketball in America, but in Canada people live hockey and the same goes in Sweden, Russia, Finland and many more countries.  A couple of years ago the NHL signed a record deal with Rogers Communication and NBC to televise the NHL deals.  The NBC deal wasn’t worth as much, 200 million a year,  but Roger Communications deal was worth five billion dollars over 12 years.  That is in no way even close to what the NBA TV contract will be in 2016-2017.  The salary caps in each sport are about the same, but hockey has 20 players where basketball has 11 players that are on the payroll.  The NHL is more popular now, but they have to wait 10 years for a new contract that will be worth double what it is now.  When that time comes the all-star players will make up to around 4 million dollars more per year, but until that time comes the NHL players will always make less than the NBA players. The salaries are limiting the pay, and that brings up the discussion of whether or not there should be a salary cap.

Internet is a critical part of our lives

  SOURCE: http://cdn.phys.org/newman/gfx/news/hires/2015/responsibled.jpg

                 Internet is the one of the  Essential part of our life. There’s no denying the world is a very different place since the introduction of the Internet. The Internet changed our world, and it changed it will fast. Some people may look on this as a sad thing and feel that the Internet has impacted our world negatively, but the Internet has also made our world significantly better in a lot of ways.

                
WE ARE THE PEOPLE OF INTERNET

SOURCE:https://youtu.be/pM9zzI0uoM8

  Internet is the thing that made things easy for you if even you drive car,cooking,study,entertainment or social communicating etc,it's the thing that keep up in touch together. in beloved video shows the future of internet or future of our critical part of life.

FUTURE QUESTION:  How internet will devlpoed by human for positive purpose

McDonald's lost relevancy to the millenials

Factors affecting MacDonald's profitability



(Add lead sentence)
     Throughout the article "McDonald's Profit down 30% on Sales Slump" posted on Forbes Lauren Gensler, senior economic adviser for Forbes discusses what is causing the dramatic loss in profit by the most popular fast food restaurant in the world.

        In the article the author gives many examples as to why McDonald's  profits dropped 30% in just one quarter. McDonald's is the most popular fast food restaurant in the World. With over a billion stores and counting, minor changes to the business model results in changes of thousands of dollars. There are many factors that determine how the franchise will stand in the constantly changing business world. Since 2005 McDonald's has seen an increase in nearly 10 million dollars annually.  Part of this growth is accredited to the healthier menu options. In a survey by the Washington post a simple survey showed people would rather pay more for healthier food than less for cheap food. As of 2010 McDonald's began recording all nutritional facts on food items sold. After the implemented the nutritional code the corporation saw their largest jump in annual revenue since 1996. In an article by the Market Realist McDonald' "business model is built around growing comparable sales to realize margin leverage". McDonald's credits itself with comparing their model with other fast food chains and making changes accordingly. In conclusion, there are many factors in the operations of McDonald's and by minimizing costs they are able to maximize on profitability. 

       I cannot remember the last time I ate at McDonald's, Even when I'm eating out on a tight budget I never consider McDonald's because the food oozes with grease and fat and the environment within the restaurant is unattractive. I would rather pay a few dollars more to eat better, healthier food. With all the new information about what saturated fat does to your body I think the many people feel the same was as me in that they would pay more for healthier food. The author discusses how many millennial young adults are much more aware to what they eat than 10 years ago. With the loss of a huge market it is hard for McDonald's to keep up with restaurants like Chipotle. 

How far reaching are the effects of sleep deprivation?

Source: yahoo.com/health

Sleep.  It’s something everyone needs but few of us seem to get enough of.  According to Your Body After a Night of Not-Enough Sleep by Rachel Grumman Bender, “Sleep deprivation is so common and pervasive these days that it’s now considered a public health epidemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).”  This probably isn’t too shocking to the average reader.  With the pressures of work and school sleep has never been harder to have time for.  It is well known that lack of sleep can have negative affects on our life, but I believe that lack of sleep can also negatively affect a person's’ consumer behaviors.

According to Rachel Grumman Bender, “When you don’t get enough, the mental effects are immediate. They range from having a harder time concentrating and making decisions to having headaches and struggling to remember things,”  It is easy to realize based on this that a person who isn’t sleep as much as he should would be in a abnormal mind state when they’re shopping. At the time being I still need to learn how this altered mindset would actually affect the consumer in his decision making.  However it is safe to say this can’t be good for the consumer.  Maybe he struggles to remember that he has a coupon for a cheaper price.  Without being able to concentrate, he may not be able to compare two goods to each other to decide which is the best for him.

She goes on to mention that “‘Your ability to regulate and control your emotions, as well as [cope] with change, are affected,’ she says. That’s a nice way of saying that you’re more likely to be grouchy and irritable when you’re short on sleep. Research shows that getting less than five hours of sleep at night can make you feel more stressed, sad, and angry.”  It could be that the consumer because he is less able to cope with change, that he continues to buy the same products without fair assessment of competitor products.  This would put the creators of his typical product unnaturally demanded thus hurts competition.  All together, I have yet to find exact research as to how sleep deprived people compare to their sleeping counterparts as consumers.  

Future Question: How do sleep deprived people act as consumers?

How to Invest Prosperously

Amateur Investors Often Have the Advantage Over Professionals

 

Source: http://www.valuewalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Chris-Camillo.jpg

Have you ever experienced success through the stock market? Chris Camillo has and his story is shared through the article, “How One Amateur Investor Spots Stocks Before Wall Street”. Chris Camillo was just another marketing executive in Dallas in 2007. That all changed in 2007 when he invested $20,000 in the stock market. Over the next three years (which included part of the recession) that money grew into $2 million. Now Camillo is considered one of the most successful amateur investors and has been critically acclaimed for writing his book, Laughing at Wall Street: How I Beat the Pros at Investing (by Reading Tabloids, Shopping at the Mall, and Connecting on Facebook) and How You Can Too. Camillo’s story is a prime example of how anyone can be prosperous by investing.

Camillo used being an amateur as an advantage over the professionals by using his “more diversified set of friends and colleagues throughout the country that know more things than those on Wall Street”. He used people close to him to provide him with useful information about companies. For example, when his wife informed him that Target was going to do the Missoni line, he immediately went to Target to try and judge whether it was going to be successful or not. Once he realized it was a hit, he immediately invested. Within 48 hours, he had already tripled his investment.

Camillo said himself, when asked if he’s experienced failure by saying, “Yes, I still have difficulty today trading on my own information because it's hard to believe that an ordinary person can see something in their regular life that all of Wall Street hasn't picked up on yet. So some of my biggest regrets in the past have been not aggressively following my own instinct.”

Although investing may be a scary and risky process, Camillo has proved that by following the due diligence process, and a little bit of luck, anyone can invest prosperously.  

BLOG POST #2  

CATCHY TITLE: Money in Our Dreams

http://dreamatico.com/

BLOG POST BODY PARAGRAPHS:  (Broken into easy to read paragraphs, formatting font to make it easier to follow main ideas, etc.)

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/27/business/27richer.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Article: Gilded Paychecks Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices

In this article, the New York Times reveals how certain doctors truly determine what they do based on the opportunity to gain immense wealth.

“Hoping to achieve breakthroughs in curing cancer, his specialty, he plunged into research, even dreaming of a Nobel Prize, until Wall Street reordered his life.”

“There were doctors at the reunion — very, very smart people,” Dr. Glassman recalled in a recent interview. “They went to the top programs, they remained true to their ethics and really had very pure goals. And then they went to the 20th-year reunion and saw that somebody else who was 10 times less smart was making much more money.”

“The opportunity to become abundantly rich is a recent phenomenon not only in medicine, but in a growing number of other professions and occupations. In each case, the great majority still earn fairly uniform six-figure incomes, usually less than $400,000 a year, government data show. But starting in the 1990s, a significant number began to earn much more, creating a two-tier income stratum within such occupations.”

“Others have moved to different, higher-paying fields — from academia to Wall Street, for example — and a growing number of entrepreneurs have seen windfalls tied largely to expanding financial markets, which draw on capital from around the world. The latter phenomenon has allowed, say, the owner of a small mail-order business to sell his enterprise for tens of millions instead of the hundreds of thousands that such a sale might have brought 15 years ago.”

I once thought that it was passion and the love of what one does in their work that drives their ambitions to do what they do, but this article by the New York Times proves differently. It seems that these doctors specifically choose that they would rather go to specialties that pay the most. For example, Dr. Glassman once dreamed of winning the Nobel Prize for cancer research but after a reunion, he learned that his colleagues who were not as smart as he was earned a much larger salary than him. For me, I would rather choose an occupation that I am happy with and can live with doing for the rest of my life than choose a job where I don't enjoy it but get a fat paycheck in.

For my next blog post I will look into how a child's upbringing by their parents affect the child's future career choice. For example, both my parents were doctors in China and right now, my brother is in medical school, studying to become a doctor. 

Are ACL Injuries the Worst Type of Injury in Sports?

Image Source:https://www.google.com/search?q=ACL+Injury+tear&espv

Source:http://grantland.com/features/derrick-rose-rob-gronkowski-rise-acl-tears/

Main Idea: What Makes an ACL Injury a Dangerous Injury?

Lead Sentences: ACL Injuries are becoming an epidemic in sports.  Over the last ten years, ACL injuries have increased by over 30 percent, and are continuing to be on the rise.
   
     
      The Source I used was an article written by Neal Gabler, and it discusses an analysos on different athletes who have or have had an ACL injury, and how an ACL tear is difficult to recover from. Based on the article, ACL Injury, the Nastiest Injury, I'd have to agree that the tearing of the ACL is the most dangerous injury in sports.  According to the article, "If an athlete tears his/her ACL, the chances of it ever being fully repaired and fully recovered is 60 percent."  This is unlike most injuries where the percentage of full recovery is much higher, almost 100 percent for most body-tear injuries.  This exemplifies the fact that ACL injuries have a drastic impact on an athlete's overall recovery.

     Furthermore, the article also indicates that the tearing of the ACL creates the most vivid reaction with the leg that, according to the article, "is too gruesome to watch."  For instance, Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose tore his ACL in the 2011-2012 season, when he over-extended his legs on a cross-over that the rest of his body, especially his knees, could not catch up to.  Ever since then, it seems as he has never fully recovered from his ACL injury, considering the fact that he has tore it once again when he returned in the 2013-2014 season.  This shows how fragile the ACL is, and how painful it is, where it is so painful that a full-recovery is incredibly difficult.

Future Research: What makes the tearing of the ACL so painful?

What's to Gain from Poaching?

A shot, a yell, a cry in the distance. People have been poaching animals for a very long time-- it has only been in the past few decades that it has become a severe problem. With the advent of new technology such as fast vehicles and accurate guns, poachers have been able to kill at a rate that has never been seen before. This has translated into the endangerment of many species.

Ivory. Source: afrikareporter.com

However, many may wonder: why poaching? What is there to gain from killing these animals? According to an article and infographic from the African Wildlife Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that seeks to stop poaching, "endangered animals are slaughtered so that a single body part- like tusks, pelt, or bones- can be illegally sold for huge sums of money." (Africa's Poaching Crisis). Most hunters seek to get either ivory or rhino horn. Ivory is the tusk of an elephant and an artistic material, used to carve figurines and jewelry for all kinds of purposes. Rhino horn, on the other hand, is believed to have medicinal properties that can cure ailments anywhere from fever to cancer. Studies have shown that it does none of the above; yet, many cultures still want it based on tradition and personal belief. It is difficult to obtain either of the two because of shortage in supply and high demand, so they sell for extremely large amounts, primarily in Asian countries. This drives an illegal and very active market.
As species get closer and closer to extinction, the resources become more valuable which only causes an increase in poaching. There are various groups that seek to fight poaching, like the African Wildlife Foundation, and take measures to protect a variety of animals as well as using strategies to prevent poaching from happening in the first place.

Future research: Where is poaching the biggest problem, and how does it fit into the economy there?

Injured athletes are better than ever

SOURCE: www.rantsports.com

Have you ever wondered what happens to the value of an athlete after they suffer a horrible injury? Through the article “Rate of Return to Pitching and Performance After Tommy John Surgery in Major League Baseball Pitchers”, posted on the American Journal of Sports Medicine, I was able to learn the answer to this question. After reading this article I would argue that after a pitcher gets Tommy John surgery they perform better.

 In the article it listed many good statistics and argued that more than not, a pitcher will come back to the league and be able to perform at a better level than before their injury.  The article stated that “a total of 179 pitchers with UCL tears who underwent reconstruction met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Of these, 148 pitchers (83%) were able to RTP in the MLB, and 174 pitchers were able to RTP in the MLB and minor league combined (97.2%), while only 5 pitchers (2.8%) were never able to RTP in either the MLB or minor league.”  This statistic shows that after surveying a great amount of pitchers who received what should be a career ending injury, nearly all of them returned to the league and played.

The article also talked strongly about the performance level the pitcher played at after suffering a UCL injury.  The article states that “performance declined before surgery and improved after surgery.”  The pitchers performances who unfortunately are diagnosed with this injury go down hill greatly because their arms can not handle all of the pressure and motion they are putting on their arms.  This is why you see guys just shut their arms down, or stop throwing baseball, when feel hurt.  To an MLB team who is paying a pitcher multiple millions of dollars, they want their pitcher to be throwing, so when the pitcher is not throwing his value is basically worthless to the team.  Once the player gets the surgery and comes back throwing better, he becomes just as valuable or more valuable than he was when he was healthy before.

This brings me to my last point, the article also talked about the performance of a pitcher after undergoing the surgery.  The article states that “after surgery, pitchers showed significantly improved performance versus before surgery (fewer losses, a lower losing percentage, lower earned run average [ERA], threw fewer walks, and allowed fewer hits, runs, and home runs.”  This is an amazing thing to think about when looking at the value of an athlete after a serious injury.  If the athlete is able to come back and perform at a higher level than before the injury, their value shoots way up.  To sum this argument up, I agree with what the author of this article is pointing out because it shows that an MLB pitchers value goes up after getting arm surgery.

Future Question:  How does an ACL tear effect the value of a football player? Are they able to come back after such an injury?

1920s: The Golden Age of Boxing

At one point, boxing and baseball were the two biggest sports in the United States. This is before the days that Hollywood glamorized boxing too, this was when boxing was truly thriving and prosperous. The best boxers were among the most famous people in the world at the time and the matches were attended by thousands of spectators.

This time period was the 1920s, and in this brief essay I will examine and analyze why boxing's popularity skyrocketed during this era. I will also explain my opinion on the information laid forth. After reading a number of articles on the topic, I believe the reason for the success of boxing during the 1920s is due to the atmosphere of the US at the time in unison with the new marketing techniques and, of course, the intrigue of the somewhat new sport.

Dempsey v. Tunney

In part boxing's popularity in the 1920s was due to fighters like Jack Dempsey, Gene Tunney, Barney Williams, and many others who would rack up hundreds of wins in their careers. However, Scott Levinson contends that there are other influential aspects that lead to the tremendous popularity of boxing in his scholarly journal "1920s Boxing." According to Levinson, "The growing sophistication of motion film cameras helped bring footage to millions, as radios helped spread the good word." This new technology allowed promoters at the time to spread the word of big fights and allowed drew people to the actual fights by giving them a speculation of the action. He then goes on to explain that "one should picture the idea of the roaring twenties—a festive time where money was in lush supply. The United States was coming off a momentous victory in World War I. Boxing was able to attract the entertainment dollar with legendary fighters and great fights." The time period itself was ideal for boxing to make its rise. Given the economic well being in the US during the early '20s, people were willing to spend their money on entertainment as their basic needs were met, and what better thing to spend it on than the raw competition of one man vs. another in a mystical, dramatic battle.

Unfortunately, in the decades following this glorious era for boxing came a time of hardship and suffering.

How is the NFL Protecting Players?

According to a 2014 ESPN study, football (the NFL in particular) is the most popular sport in America. Although it is the most popular sport in America the recent development of concussions and severe brain injuries are jeopardizing the game’s future.

Source: http://www.traumaticbraininjury.net

The NFL, the players, and everyone around the sport of football have realized, due to new research, in recent years that concussions and other head injuries are very dangerous and can even shorten a player’s life. The NFL has been sued multiple times because of the effects concussions have had on player’s during and after their careers which include and early death. The article "New NFL rules designated to limit head injuries" talks about the new rule changes to protect players. The new rules include not allowing players to “launch himself off the ground and using his helmet to strike a player in a defenseless posture in the head or neck” (old rule only pertained to receivers), play is immediately whistled dead when a player loses his helmet, “during field-goal and extra-point attempts, the defense cannot position any player on the line directly across from the snapper, who's considered to be in a defenseless position.” As a football player, I have seen players launch themselves and hit other players in them head and I have seen how players can get seriously injured by this. The NFL also implemented stricter guidelines for a player to return from a concussion. Obviously concussions and head injuries are a main issue in the NFL and I am happy to see the NFL adjusting some rules to better protect the players. On the other hand, these rule changes will not be enough to reduce the amount of concussion and it will become even more difficult for the NFL to continue to adjust rules and keep the game the way it’s meant to be at the same time.

Future Question: What is the NHL doing to protect their players from concussions and head injuries?