TOW #24 - After Penalty, 23 Wins Recorded Only in Memory

The NCAA is a corrupt, hypocritical, selfish, and exploitive organization.  There, I said it.  What many journalists, and especially high-ranking officials with universities, can’t say, I, as an unimportant 11^th grader, can say.  Dan Barry recently wrote an article about the Missouri basketball team and the 2013-14 season in which all of their 23 wins were vacated for breaking NCAA rules.  Barry used listing and quoting as a way to prove his inherent argument that the NCAA is not a fair organization.  He listed the “violations” that led to the vacation of wins:

That a booster had provided “impermissible benefits” to three student-athletes and one prospective student-athlete. These forbidden benefits included the all-too-familiar no-show jobs, housing, a modest amount of cash ($520), iPads, meals and the use of a local gym.

That a second booster provided student-athletes and a few family members with a reduced rate at a hotel — with transportation provided by a student-manager for the team — as well as some meals and a ride on a recreational boat.

And that a former assistant coach provided a donor with the telephone number of the mother of a player looking for housing. Although the family paid the market rate for the housing, the coach’s actions violated N.C.A.A. bylaws.

Clearly Barry lists these with the intent of showing that the “violations” were not suitable for the immense punishments put on the team.  Along with the wins being vacated, the team lost money, scholarships, and many more important components to a successful college basketball team.

Additionally, Barry uses direct quotation to help his inherent argument that the NCAA is corrupt.  He quoted the head coach as saying ““Let’s don’t be naïve about the level,” he told investigators. “Our business is corrupt.”  Barry creates ethos by using this quote because it is the head coach, not the reporter, saying it.  Also, it contributes to his argument that the entire NCAA runs a corrupt and unfair business.  It is overbearing and irresponsible.

TOW #23 - College basketball: Villanova title gives boost to Big East

March Madness is the most spectacular phenomenon in all of sports.  For about 3 weeks each March and early April, the entire country turns its attention to 68 teams competing for one national championship.  While in reality only about 10 teams each year actually have a shot at winning the championship, there is, without fail, always a Cinderella team waltzing its way to the elite eight or final four (or even the championship game, *cough cough* Butler).  This year, it objectively appears that Syracuse was that Cinderella team since they made the final four as a 10 seed.  However, they did not really possess the magic and likeability that most Cinderella teams have.  Instead, I would argue that Villanova, the national champion, was indeed the Cinderella team of the tourney.  Even though they were a 2 seed, has a remarkable regular season, and won the Big East, there is an air of magic around them.  They, unlike Oklahoma, UNC, or even Syracuse, probably don’t have an NBA player on their roster.  Instead, they are a group of blue collar, hard working, passionate individuals guided by the most likeable coach in college basketball, Jay Wright.  Their team passing, tough defense, and clutch shots allowed them to be crowned the King of the Dance.

However, Villanova, and its conference, the Big East, don’t see this as a Cinderella story.  They all knew just how good Nova was.  This year, Seton Hall won the Big East tournament.  Their athletic director said after Nova’s win “Nobody in the league is all that surprised. It's a battle every night."  I have no trouble believing that the Big East rates itself among the Power 5 conferences, and rightly so.  However, the fact of the matter is that the Big East is considered below the Power 5 conferences, justly or not.  In that sense, Nova was not just the Cinderella team, but rather Nova was the representation of the Big East as the Cinderella conference.

This argument was based off the article: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/college-sports/college-basketball/new-look-big-east-survives-and-advances-1.1541598

TOW #22 - "Seeing Double"

When, in the course of watching television, a commercial so powerful, impactful, and/or memorable appears, it is only justifiable to share said commercial with your friends.  In fact, the mark of a truly great commercial is the sharing of it with others.  Companies pay for consumers to watch commercials, so when consumers go out of their way to watch and share a commercial, you know that it is a quality commercial.  This kind of memorable experience is what I had when I first saw Sonic’s commercial titled “Seeing Double.”   In this commercial, two people are eating Sonic’s food with a new deal that gives customers two drinks, two sides, and two meals for $10.  Obviously, because of the theme of things being paired, they are “seeing double.”  Then, the hilarity ensues.   The two guys look to their left and see an almost identical pair of people in an identical car.  The one guy says to the other, “play it cool, see if they want to hang out.”  So the other guy looks out the window and shouts in the least “cool” way possible “hey you guys wanna hang out some time?”  The other pair of guys promptly roll up their window.  This ad is genius for two main reasons: 1) the punch line is completely unexpected; and 2) it is a creative way to sell their promotion.  The entire commercial sets the audience up to believe a regular conversation is about to commence, but instead Sonic throws the kitchen sink at the audience with a completely unexpected joke.  This makes the audience laugh, and is therefore more inclined to consider Sonic’s promotion.  This is where the second part comes in.  Sonic not only gives important information about he promotion itself, but they also relate it to the joke with the theme of “seeing double.”  This ends up linking laughter and Sonic, so the audience will be much more inclined to end up going to Sonic in the future.