"Biggio tops vote but no one elected to Hall"

From MLB.com

Review by A.J. Scott in SRM 334 (section 1)
My current event is discussing the reason why none of the Major League Baseball players were voted in the Hall of Fame this year. Some of these players who we discussed have been on steroids and have cheated the system for the majority of their careers. One of the most highly debated elections for the Baseball hall of fame ended in January without a single player being inducted. Barry Bonds, Rodger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa are players that are guilty of these actions. 

I personally think it was wrong for them to have used illegal drugs for so long. All these players are icons in baseball, for older fans and the younger ones whom may look up to these players. It looks bad on their part because it seems like their whole career, they have just been cheaters and have been lying to their fan base and to their teammates. Do I think it’s fair that not even a single one of these great players got voted in? No I do not; regardless of them using steroids this so call performance enhancer, I look at the big picture. These players have changed baseball in a tremendous way. Personally, I am not a baseball fan in no way shape or form, but when I do hear about the major leagues, the names that I am familiar with are the players that were supposed to but didn’t get voted in the Hall of Fame. Sammy Sosa is a great baseball player with or without the drug enhancer. Even if he was to not have taken them I still think he would’ve became all the above.

This was an interesting topic for me to talk about because Baseball is not really something I follow but it is always good to learn about different sports and the problems that all athletes face which is the use of steroids. This event affected not only the Hall of Fame, but also marketing, fans, and the entire sport. It shows the impact that one event can have on everything. Athletes need to stop lying about taking drug enhancers; this has become a major issue in society today and has had a major impact on the world of sports.
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Review by Anthony Rose in SRM 334 (section 1)

My current event is discussing the problem with the MLB Hall of Fame ballot. The problem is the fact that no one was voted into the hall of fame this year, and one of the main reasons is because of performance enhancing drugs. A lot of the candidates were accused of using performance enhancing drugs such as Barry Bonds who is the all time leader in home runs, Roger Clemens a pitcher who has 354 wins, Sammy Sosa who is the only baseball player to hit over 60 homers with three different teams. I think that the voters are trying to make a statement for the future saying basically if you are going to cheat your way into the record books then you are going to have to wait longer to get inducted into the hall of fame. Which in them doing that is fair but what isn’t fair is the fact that there are some other great players that didn’t get in this year that played the game the right way and are very deserving of the Hall of Fame. Me personally I have to agree with the steps that they are taking to put a stop to performing enhancing drugs because its just destroying the game of baseball. The fact that there will be no National Baseball hall of fame there will not be the same attendance for the Cooperstown season because that the biggest event during that weekend. In that case there will not be the same amount of funding that they are usually seeing because the big time baseball fans will not be attending.

"Ray Lewis denies using antler spray"

From ESPN.com

Review by Eric Brent in SRM 334 (section 3)

In ESPN’s article “Ray Lewis denies using antler spray,” the author discusses accusations made against Ray Lewis regarding his use of deer antler spray to help repair his tricep injury. The deer antler spray contains the substance IGF-1 which is banned by the NFL. Mitch Ross, the co-owner of Sports With Alternatives to Steroids (SWATS), has openly said that Lewis has used every product the company produces. Lewis denied the reports immediately when they were brought to surface, but the Ravens organization wanted Lewis to issue a stronger denial on Super Bowl media day. Dr. Salvatori, from John Hopkins University, told Baltimore Sun SWAT’s claims can simply not be true. He goes on to explain there is simply no scientific way that the substance IGF-1 can be taken orally, so it is not possible to come from a spray.

In the mist of Super Bowl week, I feel that Mitch Ross made these statements only to gain attention to not only him but the SWAT company as a whole. Ross knew this would be the most opportune time because not only was it Super Bowl week, but the spotlight was also on Ray Lewis due to his retirement announcement earlier in the season. Ray Lewis reacted to the allegations like a true professional, which allowed for him to focus on the real reason he was in New Orleans. The story could have easily become a distraction to the organization, but because Lewis was not selfish and instead thought about the betterment of the team.

The article relates to this course due to the fact of how the media took these accusations knowing it would gain a lot of attention. The timing of the accusations caused the media to go into a frenzy because the story would get extra media attention because of the Super Bowl. The announcement of Lewis’s retirement also played a role on how quickly reporters wanted to get the story out given the circumstances.
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Review by Jack Dennehy in SRM (section 3)

The article that we chose to use was “Ray Lewis Denies Using Antler Spray.” We chose this because it is very relevant for our class. Not only is it a current event, it is a very important current event due to the timing of the release and also Ray is one of the best football players in history. The article discusses how a magazine article accused him of using a banned substance for him to have a faster recovery from his torn triceps injury that happened in week seven of the season. Ray ended up missing the last ten games of the regular season. The spray was to enter the body via the mouth. The organization that is credited for making the spray product is SWATS(Sports with Alternatives to Steroids) His response to the articles release was not as serious as people would have thought. He said he was not angry but he was “agitated.” So when he addressed the press he was almost laughing over the matter saying it was ridiculous and uncalled for. He even went to say that “this guy has no credibility.” Coach Harbaugh was very confident in Ray and him telling the truth. Coach Harbaugh is one of the most highly respected coaches in the league. The article did mention that the Owner of the Ravens was not thrilled with the way Ray addressed the issue. He wanted him to be more assertive and aggressive towards the subject. The article talks about something very interesting, A professor at Johns Hopkins University claims that it is impossible for the spray to be affective orally. So once this is thrown out in the public it makes the claims irrelevant. This article is relevant to the course because it is a controversial subject that was entered into the press without much thought. We talk about subjects exactly like this one in class. The time at which it was released, a week before the biggest game of the year, the super bowl, and also it being the last game of Ray Lewis’s career draws a lot of attention. When you accuse someone of cheating or using performance enhancing substances, it can potentially ruin their entire career. It is a very sensitive subject to throw out there when you are not one hundred percent whether it is certain.

"Ray Lewis more focused on 49ers than retirement"

From Fox Sports

Review by Luke Drayer in SRM 334 (section 2)

Now in his 17th season with the Baltimore Ravens, Ray Lewis has finally decided to call it quits. After announcing his retirement on January 2, Lewis told his teammates that this would be his “last ride” as the team’s captain and leader. Regardless of when the season ended, Lewis said he would be hanging up the cleats. However, after beating the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots in post-season play, the Ravens have now found themselves competing in New Orleans for the Super Bowl. Even with one game left in his playing career, Lewis is adamant that he isn’t thinking about his retirement, but instead about taking on the San Francisco 49ers and winning the Super Bowl. Lewis has had a Hall of Fame career, but his impact on the Raven’s over the years has gone beyond his play. Ray is known amongst players and fans of the NFL as being one of the best motivational and inspirational leaders in all of sports. He has a certain presence about him that makes his teammates rally around him and want to play with the same passion that he has. Regardless of whether or not the Ravens take home the Super Bowl trophy, Lewis will be regarded as one of the best, if not the best, defensive players to ever play the game of football. I feel that this article relates to this class because ever since announcing his retirement, there has been nonstop talk on twitter and news networks like SportsCenter about what his legacy will be and whether he will be able to walk away from the game with a Super Bowl trophy or not. It has been a huge story for the past month and I feel it has actually played a part in the Ravens post–season run. I think the Ravens feel they have something to play for, almost like they owe it to Ray to have him leave the game with a Super Bowl win. While I like both teams, I am personally rooting for the Ravens as I think it would be awesome to see Ray Lewis go out with a bang.

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Review by Kolbie Owens in SRM 334 (section 2)

Ray Lewis is a linebacker on the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis has been referring to this postseason run as the “Last Ride” because he is going to retire after this Super Bowl game. Ray Lewis is very wise in his game playing because of his long 17-year career in the NFL. In this article he states how his focus is not on his retirement, it is on this game. He is doing this for him and his team NOT just himself and wants to stay as focused as possible.

Ray Lewis is in the media for many things. One is his age, he is 37 years old and arguable the best defensive player in the NFL. Two, he is a motivational speaker as well as a successful leader. Lewis gives pep talks to his team as well as colleges. He is an inspirational speaker and is known for that because of how motivational he is. This leads to the next thing the media loves about Ray Lewis, he pregame dance. This is very familiar to Ravens fans as well as other football fans.

The dance, his age, and his motivational speeches are all good media on Ray Lewis, now here is the bad. In 2000 he was accused of a murder of his two friends. This caused a lot of drama and press on Lewis. In the end he was not found guilty for the murder, however he was guilty for obstruction of justice. Currently he has a performance enhancing drug allegation with Deer-antler velvet spray, which causes a more recent bad image for him.

This is relevant to this class because it shows how much the media represents the image of an athlete, and Ray Lewis has had many incidents that reflect good and bad behavior. He is under the spotlight for everything he does good and bad and for Lewis that seems to not have any bad effect on him because he is still an extremely talented athlete.