By: Mallory Marsicek

Emotional Intelligence accurately allows you to control your emotions and respond responsibly.

The first sign is being able to read nonverbal communication, you are attentive to what the speaker is saying with their body along with what they are speaking about.

Second, you are interested in other people’s thoughts and feelings, you listen to understand rather than to respond.

Third, you are emotionally resilient, you are strong enough to persevere through any emotion that arises.

Fourth, you know where to improve, you know what it is you need to work on to get better and you do just that.

Fifth, you are aware of your own feelings and you know how to cope with them. This one is very important, without understanding your own feelings, you can’t accurately understand someone else’s.

Sixth, you avoid negative self-talk, talking down to yourself just makes it okay for other people to do it to you as well. It kills your self-esteem.

Lastly, you pursue success, you know how to deal with the setbacks in life to get real goals and achieve them.

There are so many times when people test our patience or make us angry, but how we respond to these emotions is what makes us emotionally intelligent or not. If you feed off your anger and get even more mad, that’s a sign of a low emotionally intelligent person who can’t control any emotions that arise. A lot of great leaders have a high emotional intelligence, but they almost have to because so many people look up to them and being able to control emotions is very big for leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, etc. There is always going to be someone who annoys you or someone who makes you really sad or happy, but how we control these emotions when they arise determines whether we have a high or low emotional intelligence.

By: Mallory Marsicek

Blood boosters are a common drug in cycling, they increase your blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity above it’s normal capacity. Erythroporetin (EPO), the drug Lance Armstrong used, is a type of blood booster. EPO is a naturally occurring hormone that makes the production of red blood cells possible. Athletes inject the hormone back into their blood stream, allowing their body to create more red blood cells. It increases aerobic capability by allowing more air to the lungs and other muscles. 

Blood Doping is performance enhancing therefore it’s cheating. I had watched a documentary on Lance Armstrong and they state that without doping, he would have never come close to winning the Tour de France. He did it to win at any cost. The specialists had continued to test his blood and found traces of EPO in it. They stripped him of every medal he ever won. 

Cheating is cheating and there should be consequences for it. Armstrong had deliberately lied to everyone’s face about never taking drugs to enhance his performance. Even though these drugs are banned, people still find a way to use them and get away with it. In a few years, I don’t think that will be possible anymore for the old drugs, but then they may come out with new drugs that can’t be detected yet, so it’s a never ending circle.

http://globalsportsdevelopment.org/2014/03/28/doping-methods/

By: Taylor Johnson

Today it is hard to gain attendance for professional sporting events. Now more than ever, the sports industry is faced with an uphill battle of finding ways to entice young people to actually attend games. The rise of technology has made it exponentially easier to view sporting events from the comfort of their own homes.  Not to mention, professional sporting groups such as the NBA and NFL have also made it easier through mobile applications and their own TV stations. With every TV package you are able to login and watch the sporting events online without going to the games.

Technology like Amazon Fire sticks, Roku TV, and any other devices that can television a sporting event. these are only so me of the reasons why most young adults aren’t attending professional sporting events. Not to mention when going to a event you are spending close to maybe $20 or more for a snack and a drink but if you were at home you could make a whole meal while watching a sporting event. It is so much easier to watch sporting events in the comfort of your own home. 

Here are some simple examples some teams could do to try to raise attendance. Teams could host meet and greats with the most popular players, they could travel to elementary schools and up to talk in class rooms, and maybe even host giveaways at the games. 

https://www.sports-management-degrees.com/lists/five-challenges-facing-the-sports-industry/

By: Mallory Marsicek

Cortisone shots are given to almost any athlete that feels some time of pain, but it is prescribed by a doctor. This also means the player can play better. A doctor gives a player a Vitamin B-12 shot for his cold and he feels better and plays later that day. He can play better as a result. And he has used performance-enhanced drugs. So where do we draw the line when it comes to steroid use? 

These are controlled substances that cannot be taken with a medical reason and a doctor’s prescription. Without the okay from a doctor these substances are illegal. Taking drugs to get stronger allows a player to throw further and potentially hit better. But you can also get stronger by eating healthy, working out, and practicing the sport. 

Taking these drugs to become stronger does not make you a better hitter in baseball, the only thing it makes you is stronger. The thing that makes you a better hitter is seeing the ball and connecting with the ball at the right moment at a specific part of the bat. You don’t have to be incredibly strong to do this, depending on how fast the pitcher pitches, you may not have to swing hard at all as long as you meet the ball at the right spot. 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/121713-performance-enhancing-drugs-in-baseball-what-are-they-what-effect

By: Mallory Marsicek

Every year, over 3000 athletes across the globe test positive for banned substances. The benefits of cheating outweigh the penalties. Success and rewards create the incentive to win at all costs which could mean using performance-enhanced drugs. 

These drugs are fine with a normal, appropriate dosage to better your health, they only become cheating when they are used to enhance performance at a higher dosage. Taking these drugs can put yourself at a risk for life-threatening side effects. To some athletes winning is all that matters and no matter the risk they will willingly take these drugs. The stakes are high, millions of dollars in earnings versus the low probability of getting caught using these drugs.

The technology to test these drugs is becoming more and more advanced because so many athletes use them to win at any cost. Most athletes don’t use these substances to level the playing field, they use them to win. I think whether you think it’s going to help you win or level the playing field, it’s still cheating. Winning is a great feeling, but I feel like it would mean so much more knowing you won based off your hard work instead of cheating. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roomykhan/2017/12/31/doping-in-sports-cheating-or-leveling-of-the-playing-field/#7fafca5f75ec

By: Mallory Marsicek

With a lot of violence that is happening on and off the field between players or fans there isn’t much punishment for this violence. A study from Georgetown founded that when athletes are charged with crimes, their conviction rate is 38%. But for the rest of the population who are not athletes, there is a 80% conviction rate. 

Why is it that we let athletes off easy when it comes to punishment? Is it because they are famous and we don’t expect them to do anything wrong? These athletes are supposed to be role models for kids and young adults who aspire to be like them. Depending on the offense, some athletes are not convicted because they have a reputation and these crimes are apparently covered up based on the severity of them. I don’t care who you are, whether you are an athlete, celebrity, or a normal person, no matter what crimes you commit you should be punished just the same as everyone else. 

https://www.meadvilletribune.com/archives/violence-off-the-field-is-unsettling-and-so-is-the/article_fff66e77-7a3d-5638-814a-65604bda4a41.html

By: Mallory Marsicek

Coaches should not feel threatened just because they didn’t start someone’s kid. High School parents are confronting coaches or shouting at them in a hostile manner. A knife was pulled on one coach, another has welts on his side from getting hit by an ax handle, and another parent packed a firearm. 

Fortunately, these parents are facing jail time, another will lose his job, some have restraining orders from stepping on campus to watch their kids play. 

Parents have lost sight of what high school sports is all about. Parents just don’t realize that the reason their kids don’t start is because their kids didn’t earn the spot or they may not be good enough to start. Plus how do you think your kids would feel if you were sent to jail for beating up their coach? It’s not a good reputation to have for your child.

http://thesportdigest.com/2011/10/just-a-thought-violence-increasing-off-the-field/

By: Mallory Marsicek

Because of globalization, people from other countries are wearing NFL hats and people from America are wearing soccer jerseys, and the French are wearing NBA hats. Before globalization, sports such as basketball, football, and baseball were only in the US, and futbol was only popular in the Spanish nations. As time passed many of these sports have globalized, for example, cricket expanded from Britain to Australia and India, and basketball has spread to almost every country in the world. Globalization has impacted futbol the most. It has multiple different international leagues and the World Cup is played every four years. America’s Game, or football, has been impacted more than people realize. It hasn’t been globalized as fast as other sports, but it’s taking the steps it needs to, to continue on the right path.

I think globalization has impacted the sport industry by making it better. It allows those from different countries to come together to support their hometowns or maybe their favorite team is somewhere other than their hometown and they can connect with people from other countries. They could have good or bad interactions with people from other countries, depending on who’s winning or how passionate the fan is. Before Globalization was considered a thing, there was no diversification in sports internationally. Globalization is going to continually grow and make sports more international.  We can connect with other people around the world over similar interests in sports and professional teams. I think it might take a while because of the fan violence that is still happening today but finding a common liking, sport, is a good start to understanding other cultures around the world. 

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/288357-how-globalization-is-making-sports-better

By: Mallory Marsicek

Ricardo Portillo used a yellow card during a recreational soccer game in Utah and a 17-year-old punched him in the head. Ricardo was in a coma the following week and died. The 17-year-old is in juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault. 

Portillo had been attacked twice before by players in the eight years that he’s been a referee. He has sustained broken ribs and a broken leg.

What surprised me the most is that this happened at a recreational soccer game. A recreational league is usually just for fun and to get the kids out practicing and getting exercise. These kids are learning these violent ways from somewhere and the only place I can think of is the TV. Television promotes violence and shows kids that they could get away with some of the stuff they do. Even if this was a professional game, this act of violence is still unacceptable.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2013/05/06/utah-soccer-referee-death-example-of-increasing-violence/2139149/

By: Mallory Marsicek

South African fans did not like the fact that their team performed poorly in the futbol match. Hundreds of them rioted violently, they viciously assaulted one security guard on the field, attacked others with chairs, set parts of the stadium on fire, and caused a considerable amount of damage.

The police responded with stun grenades and tear gas trying to disperse the rioters. They had viciously attacked one of the security guards by hitting him with plastic chairs and one man kicked him in the head twice. They only stopped when the police chased them off. 

Futbol fans can be vicious and South African fans have a bad reputation from the past. Fans who riot at the end of matches are people who are poor losers, there is nothing they can do if their team lost, but they seem to think rioting is going to make things better. Rioting is not going to change the fact that their team lost, so why do fans continue to do it? For attention maybe, but I think anyone knows the answer.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2018/04/22/arrests-made-after-violent-soccer-riot-in-south-africa/34138421/