Thanksgiving and Football.

It is something that most of us do on Thanksgiving, but is there a reason that this has become such a huge tradition? Watching football on Thanksgiving is something I can remember as long as I can remember celebrating the holiday. We switch the channel between the usual Dallas Cowboys game and whatever holiday movies and parades are on. So, where did this tradition begin?
Playing football on Thanksgiving began as a high school and college tradition but is now only one that the National Football League participates in. The 2 franchise cities associated with this are Detroit and Dallas, who began their legacy in 1966. The story to kick off this tradition is that of George Richards, a local Detroit radio host, who bought the Portsmouth Spartans when they were facing hard financial times and could not survive in the league. After moving them to the Detroit area, Richards arranged for them to play on Thanksgiving as the beginning of their season in Detroit. This tradition has continued every year since and has made a mark on our American holiday.
What started as a promotional tactic for a struggling team has made its way into the household of nearly every American on Thanksgiving.

History of the WNBA.

In April 1996, the NBA Board of Governors approved the Women's National Basketball Association to start in June 1997. The next decisions made after that were what stations would broadcast the games and when they would play. The WNBA was first picked up by NBC, ESPN, and Lifetime Television, and they decided to play during the summer when the sports schedule was not as busy. More than 50 million people watched the games on the networks during the first season with a variety of different viewers. Lifetime even aired 30-minute segments about the lives of players off of the court. On October 23, 1996, Sheryl Swoopes became the first player signed to a team in the new league. Eight teams were made in the first season and included and Eastern Conference of the Charlotte Sting, Cleveland Rockers, Houston Comets and New York Liberty and a Western Conference including the Los Angeles Sparks, Phoenix Mercury, Sacramento Monarchs and Utah Starzz.
The logo that they currently have was selected over 50 other designs and uniforms were changed multiple times until they arrived at the number of three jerseys and two pairs of shorts for each girl. The WNBA game consists of a 19-foot, 9-inch three-point line, two 20-minute halves, eleven-player rosters and a collegiate-regulation size ball. The WNBA official ball is a Spalding, 28.5 inches in circumference, and one inch smaller than the NBA’s regulation ball.
The WNBA also prides itself on the service that they do in the community to give back for the opportunity that they have been given.

Game Day Recipes.

It is every wife's responsibility to plan an awesome Game Day Party for her husband. While he may say that the guys will be fine with pizza and beer, every woman knows that that is nothing to brag about and it's time to pull out the killer recipes. Here are just a few that you cannot go wrong with choosing for your party.

Sausage Cheese Balls

Berry Beer Punch

Turkey Chili

Colby Pepper Jack Cheese Dip

Below you can find my outline for my Blogging Adoption Assignment...

Sports Girl Kat

By: Sydney Monday

www.sportsgirlkat.com

www.sportsgirlkat.tumblr.com

I.               About the Blogger

A.   Kat manages the communications and technology for student life at a large university in Boston along with being a sports writer for a few publications.

B.    She grew up in Rochester, New York

C.    Sports have always been a passion of hers

D.   Her father used to say that if you can talk sports then people won’t pay attention to whether or not you are rich or poor.

II.             History of the Blog

A.   She started the blog after being influenced by some friends from high school in 2002 and it instantly took on a sports tone

B.    Didn’t start getting very popular until 2008 and she was getting between 500-1000 hits a day, now she gets about 250-300

C.    She doesn’t make money through her blog, but she does through her publications

III.           What Makes the Blog Unique

A.   A female perspective on sports gives it a different voice than a lot of sports blogs

B.    She also writes about sports such as gymnastics and hockey, which aren’t written about as often as others

IV.           Strengths

A.   The variety of different sports topics that she writes about

B.    The quality and personality of the writing

V.             Weaknesses

A.   Only posts about once a month on average

B.    Sometimes her posts are very long

VI.           Advice to New Bloggers

A.   “Don't think your blogging is automatically going to get you a writing career. I started my blog in 2002, and I didn't get my first writing gig until 2008. Make sure your blog shows that you are a strong writer who needs little editing. Have a collection of topics if you can't think of anything to write about.”

VII.         Likes/Dislikes

A.   Sometimes sports writing can be stiff with stats and team standings but her writing is very upbeat and entertaining.

B.    She doesn’t post very often

VIII.       What I Gained

A.   It is just as much about the quality of your writing as it is the content

B.    Regardless of the topic of your blog, the voice behind the writing is what captivates your readers

NBA Plays of the Week.

Just thought that I would get everyone psyched up about the start of the NBA season, my favorite time of the year! Enjoy the Top 10 Plays of the Week as shown by the video below.

Sometimes You Just Need Some Motivation.

Here is a compilations of some of my favorite inspirational speeches from my favorite sports movies. If this doesn't get you pumped up to have a good week, then I don't know what will.

Happy Monday :)

Remembering Joyner.

Florence Griffith Joyner was an American track and field Olympic athlete whose records in the 100 meter and 200 meter still stand. Joyner competed in the 1980 and 1988 Olympics where she dominated in her events. In the 1988 Olympics she set world records in two of her events, but with the immense difference in placement compared to the year before everyone began questioning her training. She is one of the many that have been accused of using steroids to enhance performance. Brazilian gold medalist, Joaqium Cruz, claimed that this is the only way that she could have made such a huge improvement in her time and in her physical appearance. Because of these allegations she was subjected to drug testing and even random drug tests throughout the year, none of which she failed. After her death, from suffocation during a seizure in her sleep, the autopsy found no trace of performance enhancing drugs in her system or any reason that that could've been the cause of her death.

Alexandre De Merode, the Chairman of the International Olympic Committee's Medical Commission, made a comment on the case of drug use in Joyner and said, "We performed all possible and imaginable analyses on her...We never found anything. There should not be the slightest suspicion [on Florence Griffith Joyner]."

It is sad to think that this is what our nation has come to; in the midst of an athlete achieving some of the highest honors in their sport we turn to an excuse. The fact that a woman was able to train and push her body to become faster and stronger was too unbelievable for people. A woman who has marathons dedicated to her, monuments of her at hospitals, and training centers named after her is faced with rumors and allegations that could tarnish her whole reputation. Instead of instantly looking for the bad we should be looking for ways that we can push ourselves to the next level to achieve our dreams.