The Best and Worst Game

The Best and Worst Game by Jenny Nelson

Everybody who is classy plays golf. Everybody who plays golf is classy. Proper, prestige and wealth are other words that may depict the game of golf and its players. But perhaps not all of them.

Up until November 29^th, 2009 when America’s idol and hero, Tiger Words, was confronted with cheating allegations by his wife, Woods seemed to portray all of these qualities and more. Some might say he was almost god-like, a figure similar to Zeus.

Orin Starn, author The Passion of Tiger Woods, says that is because of his pristine reputation in America that him behaving badly seemed all the more radical. Starn

recalls abruptly ascending through his writer’s block as the scandal of Woods having  over 100 mistresses surfaced through the media. Fans and golfers all over the nation racially reinvented this man whose race was once blindly overlooked.

What does race have to do with Woods having over 100 mistresses? Good question.

Prior to this scandal, Woods’ race was not taken into consideration because his game was that of a God’s. In a sport that was and still is primarily dominated by middle aged white males, one would think a young African-American would have been seen as the outcast.

He wasn’t. Until he made numerous mistakes that showed the nation that he, too, was human. And now currently in rehab for his sex addiction.

The saying,“ to kick a man when he’s down” truly has no better situational meaning than with Woods during this scandal.

As he is plagued with physical abuse, sponsorship ties, divorce, anxiety, and more, people now began deeming this man a “hypersexualized black man”, according to Starn.

Along with other racially insensitive terms that will go unnamed, his race was used to blow up this event even more than other sex scandals, such as Arnold Palmer.

It’s been six years and this God-like figure has since been making numerous attempts to once again ascend above all.

And what was Starn’s response when he was asked if he thinks Tiger is done?

“No! Keep hope alive!” Starn replied.

#DeflateGate

Over the past week, the NFL has been investigating the recent actions taken by the New England Patriots in order to win ball games. Per NFL rules, all game balls are required to be within 12.5-13.5 PSI. However, NFL officials found that 11-12 game balls were under inflated by about 2 pounds per square inch each during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.

It is crystal clear that the New England Patriots were not playing by the rules, but it seems as if the NFL wasn’t either. According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, NFL officials were blatantly warned that the New England Patriots’ balls were underinflated. Was this unfair advantage premeditated? It seems as it was as the NFL waited until halftime to intervene with Tom Brady and the rest of the Pats' plan to win the ball game. As to where this warning came from, the Green Bay Packers are rumored to have warned the Indianapolis Colts prior to the AFC Championship game that the New England Patriots had used underinflated balls during their 26-21 loss on November 30.

Fans are taking to social media to express their thoughts on #DeflateGate.  Ben White states, “SNL can't really lampoon ‪#DeflateGate because the real story and real characters are way funnier.” While NBC’s SNL states, “You can't handle the truth. ‪#Deflategate ‪#SNL”.

How are the New England Patriots reacting to thousands of fans accusing their beloved organization of cheating you may ask? Well, Tom Brady claims, “I didn’t altar the ball in any way” and when asked if he’s ever told an equipment manager to altar the balls before a game he responded with, "Absolutely not," he said. "No, I didn't. And I haven't. And I never will. I think that's obviously how I feel and the kind of person that I am.” And of course, Tom Brady’s posse of thousands of Pats lovers most likely believed him.

The New England Patriot’s head Coach Bill Belichick responded rather oddly. At a New England Patriots’ surprise press conference on Saturday afternoon, Belichick confirmed he is not a scientist, as if we didn’t already know that much. He stated, "I'm not a scientist. I'm not an expert in footballs. I'm not an expert in football measurements.” Apparently not in ball pressure either.

Although nothing has been finalized yet, the NFL is reportedly zeroing in on locker room attendant responsible for #DeflateGate. Ryan Leaf even tweeted a controversial tweet stating, “It’s troubling that the NFL can find the video of a locker room attendant in a week and never see the Rice elevator video”. Troubling, yes, and perhaps even scary. Perhaps Goodell and the rest of the NFL officials are slowly learning, but somebody needs to advise the NFL teams to study the rule books and act accordingly before the NFL drowns below the increasingly rising tide.

Entering NFL Oblivion

Have you ever been in a car accident once a week for 8 years straight? I have. Well not actually, but I can name 1,696 other people that have.

Dating back to the 1930s, leather football helmets were worn to protect these brave players from ear and head injuries, yet lacked a face mask. Finally, some people realized the dangers the game was having on their heads and by the 1950s, plastic helmets were used nationwide with the inclusion of face masks.

There are 32 teams in the NFL with 53 players on each team’s roster. It took roughly 2,000 players and the entire National Football League 20 years to realize that they needed better protection for their heads, ears and face. Unbelievable. Or is it?

 Fast forward another 65 years and research is finally surfacing on the effects of these weekly NFL games. A study done by NPR estimated that a typical hit by NFL greats can be compared to a 30 mph car crash without a seat belt on. After years of players enduring these “weekly car accidents”, previous NFL players started experiencing symptoms such as memory loss, anger, violence and other symptoms that caused researchers and doctors to study the brain of deceased NFL players. What they found is astonishing.

In 31 out of 34 deceased NFL players, a brain disease labeled chronic traumatic encephalopathy, CTE for short, was found. CTE is the result of tangled protein clogging brain tissue and causing the destruction of brain cells in these professional football players and other athletes that endure multiple concussions. Why wouldn’t these football players stop playing the game if they knew their brain was essentially deteriorating? Well, they didn’t know. As of February 2015, there is still no way to detect CTE in living patients.

Yesterday was Super Bowl XLIX and as well as a 28-24 New England Patriots victory over the Seattle Seahawks, this game was the most watched show in US television history with 118.5 million viewers. How many of these viewers were worried about the multiple headaches these players would have this morning? Did any of these players endure an undetected concussion last night? Does the NFL care about the safety and well-being of each of these individual players or are the people behind this game going to continue to pretend to be oblivious?

Protecting #6 with 12,000 Calories a Day

Nearly 12,000 calories, 24 hours, 1 body. USC’s most versatile offensive lineman, Max Tuerk, sometimes does not have enough hours in the day to eat all that he needs.

At 17 years old, Tuerk was the first true freshman to start at left tackle in USC history. The young lineman then moved to starting guard for the Trojan’s 2013 season. As a junior, Tuerk’s versatility and athleticism allowed him to emerge as starting center as a junior in 2014.

“I started noticing my weight loss affecting me on the field when I moved to the interior line from tackle and guard because the guys I’m going up against are a lot heavier and when you’re lighter than them it affects your ability to drive opponents off the ball during run plays and anchor down against strong pass rushers,” Tuerk said.

As the NFL Scouting Combine wraps up this evening in Indianapolis, Indiana, the average weight during the Offensive Lineman Weigh-In was 312 pounds, according to SBNation.com. At 6’6 and 280 pounds, Tuerk is challenging himself over the next six months to gain at least another 20 pounds to give himself an advantage against his heavy competition. 

Tuerk and I arrived at Little Galen, a popular on-campus hangout spot for USC athletes. Tuerk ordered his favorite meal- steak, asparagus, and of course, mashed potatoes- and was happily greeted by several cooks and employees who know this frequent customer by name.  

As we sat down to have what I thought to be our 12pm lunch, the 21 year old politely laughed and told me this is his third meal of the day already. In disbelief, he gave me a run-down of his daily schedule… 

5am Wake up                2-4pm Workout
6am Workout                4pm Chipotle or Subway
7:30am Breakfast         6pm Dinner #1
10am Snack                  9pm Dinner #2
12pm Lunch                10pm Bed

The Public Policy and Development student-athlete assured me that he also attends all of his classes, mandatory tutoring sessions and weekly group projects with his fellow classmates.

Tuerk says the pressure of having to gain 20 pounds despite this vigorous schedule is no problem.

“I like it, it’s good. It’s easy for me because I just get to eat everything in sight. I’m always eating whether it’s inside class or relaxing before practice. I eat a lot of meat, nuts, carbs and three 1,500 calorie protein shakes every day,” Tuerk said.

Although he is 20-30 pounds lighter than his competition, Tuerk does not let that get to his head because he “feels faster when he’s lighter”.

According to Tuerk’s USC Football profile, he was named CollegeFootballNews.com and Phil Steele Freshman All-American first teams, All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team in 2012, as well as Sophomore All-American honorable mention and All-Pac-12 honorable mention and Phil Steele All-Pac-12 third team in 2013. Recently, Tuerk was among the conference’s elite as he was named All-Pac-12 First Team for the 2014 season. 

However, this lineman’s competitive drive won’t allow him to stop there. In early December, Tuerk announced that he would be returning for his senior season to play with the Trojans.

 “I want to get my degree and I want to win a National Championship,” Tuerk said.

In the meantime, the towering lineman walks out of Little Galen with a gallon of water in tow and he is off to his 2pm weigh in before his afternoon practice.

And of course, he is already looking forward to his 4pm Chipotle burrito.