Good Thunder EC

The good thunder talk on April 25, 2013 was with Jeff Herbach and Diana Joseph. In this good thunder they talked a lot about Mad Men the TV show and referred a lot to quotes that they took from the show and related those quotes to how they did their own writing process.  They also talked about how they sit and have coffee for six hours and just bounce ideas off each other for that long and come up with great ideas.  They also referred to how Mad Men brings out the creativety within their own writing and how they relate all of their writing to quotes from the show. My favorite quote is "Just think about it deeply then forget it, then the idea will jump in your face." That quote came directly from the main character Don Draper and made me think of how I write and how ideas that ideas I come up with jump in my face just like he said and that is where i get my best ideas.  Both speakers applied humor to their presentation which gave it more of an impact.

Counter Argument

Given the history between the two organizations the rule for eligibility for youth players deciding between college and provisional should not be modified to any extent because of how flawless and smooth it has worked for hockey and the solid foundation it has built for Canadian youth.  Over eighty percent of Canadian born hockey players in the NHL played provisional junior hockey.  It also works perfectly that the NHL oversees a majority of the QMJHL, OHL, and WHL. (Podnieks)  This flawless system has never been argued by CHL affiliates but only by the NCAA.  The NCAA only cares about what it stands to benefit from such a rule change and is neglecting how badly the NHL and CHL would be thrown off equilibrium if such rules where tampered.  It would be an absurdity to the hockey world that would cause a greater argument then resolution.

Podnieks, Andrew. "A Battle Across the Border in Recruiting." New York Times (2011): 16-20. Print.

Debate Response

To show how absurd debates can be and how there wasnt a clear focus, helped bring awareness to topics for the general population.  Bill O'Reilly used a lot of his stern tone to help get points across while Jon Stewart used his humor to make Bill O'Reillys points look comical and not really affect point of views.  One misstep from each speaker is how the didnt really follow debate etiquette.  Yes the debate was worth while because it had appeal through humor and to gain a grasp on controversial topics. Nothing really gets accomplished from debating people wont change their point if view if they strongly believe in a certain thing.

What do I want from my topic?

I feel like an advocate to better the hockey world.  By arguing my topic i feel like I open the door for many players to have a choice of what they want and still value education as a part of their life.  I eventually want to be someone who can be a strong advocate for the hockey world that people will respond to and respect on certain opinions, this being one of them.  I also want to learn the finer points that can affect the game and how youth players and parents will respond if such rules are changed.

Opposite sides of research

http://unitedstatesofhockey.com/2011/07/29/the-argument-against-chl-players-retaining-ncaa-eligibility/

The writer is Chris Peters a freelance hockey writer and broadcaster that wrote this article mainly stating that college hockey is its own unique thing and that major juniors shouldnt even be considered for NCAA eligibility.  He uses Appeal to Authority using himself as a credible source.  He hops on the bandwagon and uses Appeal to common practice with reforming to NCAA hockey and being so biased against major juniors.

letter reactions

 FIRST LETTER
In this letter there is an argument of logic in that fallacies are stated.  There is clear bias toward the patient, when in the opening paragraph the writer just picks the subject apart.  there is Ad-hominen when the writer attacks character in that the writer talks about beer and cigarette money as if its shameful that one can afford those and not health care.  The writer appeals to belief in that all Medicaid people are lazy.

SECOND LETTER
Second letter is clearly way more detailed, yet leaving some details out makes it seem way more unofficial. The purpose of either letter is altered based on the information given and/or left out.  Once the audience was changed and more detail went into the whole purpose ended up getting altered.

argumentative proposal

The topic i will be using is NCAA eligibility for major junior hockey athletes and how the rules and guidelines affect their life.  I narrowed it down because I know solid background information and it would have been to broad to do NCAA eligibility as a whole.  Certain tools that ive used so far is a couple articles on EBSCO but mostly the CHL, USHL, and NCAA websites. Possible tentative thesis would be: Major junior hockey players are affected by NCAA eligibilities rules and guidelines when it comes to injuries, possible income, and education opportunities. Additional things i could look at would be not really case studies but personal interviews or written papers by players that have been affected by this rule.  Other things would be to look at the multiple court cases that have taken place with people breaking the NCAA eligibiltiy rules and their arguments. Other credible sources that could be available are the OHL, WHL, and QMJHL websites because they post many pages trying to pursue major juniors and not go the NCAA route which could be good to look at as a sort of counter argument.

Credible sources

1.) http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/NCAA/Eligibility/index.html
-Its a credible source because the website is directly from the NCAA. They write the rules when it come to eligibility so i would consider it almost a direct source. I would honestly use this website because it has every single rule and guideline posted and gives a lot of information on certain bi-laws and what not.

2.) http://www.chl.ca/page/whlinfo
-I question the credibility a little because its site primarily for the CHL and not really to provide insight on NCAA eligibility. I feel like they alter a lot of facts also to make it sound like the CHL is a good choice even though you lose eligibility.  I would consider using this source but i would have to reference other sites on certain information that i think is invalid.

3.) http://www.petersons.com/college-search/sports-college-ncaa-eligibility.aspx
-I feel this source is decently credible due to its association with multiple big name universities on its main page.  I probably wont use this because they are way to broad about giving information.  They hardly get into the topic rather they just do an over view almost.

research breakdown

-Topic?
NCAA eligibility

-Issues or Problems?
Junior hockey eligibility
the sit out rule
academic ineligibility
transfer rules
Canadian Major Junior Legues

-What or Who is involved?
NCAA board members
Hockey players
Coaches
Parents
Programs
-What do i Know?
Eligibility is taken away when players go play in CHL.
Must attend classes while playing juniors if taking a year off.
Current attempt to pass a rule that grants CHL players to have some type of NCAA elig.

-What do I want to know?
Certain rules and guidelines.
Condiotions and terms that CHL players sign.
How NCAA looks at CHL

research ideas

NHL lockout
NCAA eligibility with Canadian Juniors
Steroids in sports
Midget hockey within Minnesota
Age Caps on certain Junior leagues
Coaching within High School hockey
WCHA
BIG TEN hockey
Wearing half shields in NCAA hockey
New rule changes within NHL
Salary caps on NHL teams

TED talks

The main idea she was trying to get across was that gossip isnt just a pointless job that doesnt carry any social expectation but rather that it has so many controversial social issues inside it that relate to everyday sociological arguments.  She uses multiple cases of numerous celebrities making slip ups in the public eye and uses those as a reference to help her argue that gossip and talking shit relates to the rest of the world and affects society.  Toward the end after she has made connections to all of the stories and how they relate to society she concludes by giving all the controversial points she went over and states why her job is considered an actual job and should carry more merrit than  it should.

workshopping first draft

The biggest problem i had with the story is that it ends without a clear confirmation to whether or not the mouse was caught or not.  However throughout the whole story you keep relating how the mouse impacts the way you are and how he affects the way you think about yourself.  One thing I would ask yourself is do all the details relate to a central focus? Very descriptive details about the mouse when chasing throughout the house. Why does this story matter? Establish more of a connection between the mouse and how the relationship with the mouse affects your process of thinking at that point in your life. Were where you in the opening paragraph, explain more about setting.  Try to make your tone more up beat and not so melancholy i wanna say.

tragedy

The summer before my sophmore college i decided ti give up on what many consider the dream. An attempt to play junior hockey is what Im refering to.  From try out to try out i tried making multiple junior teams.  Then i eventually got what i wanted and made a team up in Canada.  however it conflicted with certain goals i had in my life and the fact that i wanted to go to college and get an education.  Pretty much what happened was that I played hockey my whole life and wanted to see some return out of it and i have a passion for the game that is undescribable so i wanted to continue playing competetive hockey.  So i went back at it and busted my ass over the remainder of the summer from which the previous i had taken off and gone to school.  Well when i eventually got what i wanted which was a spot on a junior team I realized that my education was more important and I should just go to school but i completely regret that decision.

Tragedy

In high school my mother was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma breast cancer. it affected my family in many ways.  The initial reaction I had was just mind blowing. I mean you hear about people getting cancer but when it happens to someone so close to you your taken back at first and your mind and the process of how you think is sort of grounded at first.  At that point in life your parents are your most important people in your life and to have such a thing happen I took a double take and thought for a while like why our family. Eventually though you just accept it and try to start helping in anyway you can.  What was difficult about the situation is that my mother is the type of person thats like dont worry ill be fine just do you and ill worry about the task at hand which was hard at first been then i settled in and realized the role I had in the whole situation.  I honestly would joke about it with her and act as a comic relief to the whole situation which i felt at the time really helped and I also made sure I did a standout job at everything i did whether it was sports or academics  and what not.  I can honestly say it didnt have that bad of an impact on the family yet its still one of those things where you sit back and think.....well holy shit what do i do now.  Financially it didnt take a toll which was good yet at first emotionally i felt it took a toll.  My mother was forced to get one of her breast removed which really didnt help her self esteem but now I feel she has come to terms with it and accepts it.

Truth Story

The worst lie I ever had was a time in high school when my parents went to Florida for a week and I ended up having a get together at my house.  I told my parents and they told me that no one will be in the house while they where gone.  So of course i invited a small amount of people over, roughly around thirty to forty.  My senior year was just wrapping up so my buddies and I may have indulged in some beverages and things started getting a little crazy.  Our basement had just got remodeled and someone put a hole in the sheet rock, which honestly wasnt that big of a deal.  The big deal is when my buddy tripped and spilt orange pop, which he was using as a chaser and an entire tin of chewing tobacco on the brand new white carpet.  So after some days went by i had to figure out what id do.  I went to the hardware store and rented a carpet cleaner and that didnt work so i did the only thing i could do and told the most elaborate lie that i still live up to, to this day.  I did what any other person would do..............I blamed it on the dog.  I feel like my parents saw right through it when they asked why it was orange and black.  I told them our dog got sick.  Honestly i dont think they bought it at all but it whatever, because there wasnt a single negative repercussion from the whole thing.

Timmy O'Brian conception of truth

Tim Obrians concept of truth is very straight forward and direct when telling a story.  In his essay he doesnt make anyone sound any better then they actually are and thats strange especially when telling a story about someones death.  Everything he states is factual but within his own language and tone that he established right away in the story.  He states everything with purpose in his essay but he does it so nonchalant. He states in his article a true War Story cannot be believed so he makes his arguement really strong by having that "who cares if they believe, I believe" attitude.  His conception of truth differs from mine because with a story that seemed so fragile I would have made certain individuals sound like they had stronger character.

Teacher Scene

In a warm stuffy computer lab in 7th grade I asked my teacher if i could go to the restroom.  She looked me in the eyes and gave me a solid NO.  The entire class looking at me as i stood there beyond embarrased.  I continued to ask repeatedly and got the same answer every time. Eventually she caved in but told me that if i did go i would be suspended. I called my father and asked him if he was alright with me going but accepting suspension.  He said yeah go ahead i got your back and so that was that. Well later that day i was sitting inside in school suspension.  Later that day my parents had come in to meet with my teacher.  My story and her story didnt match up one bit and yet my parents said they believed her before me.  The next day at school she threw me a packet of about 400 math problems and told me i was in ISS for the rest of the week.

Worst teacher

The worst teacher i ever had was my 7th grade math teacher.  She was a little chunky women with a squirrly type face and a very annoying voice.  She had it out for me since day 1.  There was a time when i got my test back and she had given me an F for not showing work and i brought my exam to the assistant principal and found out i should have got a B.  One time i had to go to the bathroom and i told her i had to she said absolutely not, so i called my father and he said just go who cares about any negative reprocussions. So i just went to the bathroom and when i got back to class she had an in-school suspension packet waiting for me and i had to spend the remainder of the week in ISS.  Not once before i had this teacher did i go to in-school suspension and with this teacher i went on 5 other incidents.  There where times where i would hand in homework and she would misplace it and say i never handed it in.  So one night i did my homework in front of my parents and told them i was gonna hand it in and i did but guess what, i didnt get any credit for it.  So i decided to call her out and then got ISS again.  One time i even heard her refer to me as a little shit and i laughed right at her cause she knew i heard and she thought she was gonna be in deep.  She ended up giving me B's throughout the whole year and on the last day of 7th grade i remember her saying goodbye to everyone in the class with high fives as you walked out the door and it was my turn and i rejected her and said nothing.

This man sits across from me in English class.  His name is Denis Petrovic.  He is six feet tall and weighs two-hundred and five pounds.  He shows a lot of athletic ability and physical coordination, although he lacks any weird talents.  He has short brown hair.  He is from Sioux Falls, South Dakota and is now attending Minnesota State, Mankato.  He apires to be a sports journalist when he grows up.

Partner Interview

The person I interviewed was Dennis Petrovic and he is a twenty year-old from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  He is currently a Sophmore at Minnesota State and his a Business Management major.  He lives off-campus while attending school.  In high school he played sports such as Football, Track and Soccer.  His favorite sports team is the Minnesota Vikings.  The craziest thing to ever happen to him was that he got hit by a car.

What to expect?

What i want from this course is to gain knowledge about writing.  I want to be able to take my writing to the next level with the knowledge i gain from this class.  I feel that this class wont be stressful and that it will come with a sort of ease.  Overall I'm looking forward to it and am very excited to start this semester.