Feature Article

David Maziarz

COMM 337

Athletes Training With Yoga

Athletes are always doing whatever they can to get a competitive edge. Sometimes they do this to an illegal extent by using steroids, but a few area college athletes have turned to a new approach…yoga.

People have been practicing yoga for thousands of years and millions of Americans practice yoga today. All of these people have been reaping the benefits of yoga as it is a proven stress reliever.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National Institutes of Health have associated yoga practice with decreased low back pain and less reported chronic pain from arthritis, headaches, and carpet tunnel syndrome, as well as lower blood pressure, heart, breathing rates, and reduced insomnia.

Mike Maziarz is a former college baseball player who turned to yoga to help with a bulging disc in his lower back. Maziarz played baseball at Lincoln Land Community College, Quincy University, and Millikin University.

“The initial injury happened when I was a junior at Quincy. Even after going through physical therapy the pain wasn’t going away, I thought I was going to have to quit. I talked with a few trainers and a couple of my coaches and we came up with the yoga idea. I never saw myself doing yoga, but I was willing to try anything. The first class was rough, I thought I was a pretty strong guy, but the poses really exposed some weak muscles and my muscles were really tied up. I started going twice a week and the same muscles started getting stronger and really loosening up. After a couple of months all the pressure, stiffness, and pain left my lower back. It really rejuvenated me and I am still doing yoga today even though I am done playing ball,” said Maziarz about his personal yoga experience.

That is an example of how yoga can get an athlete back on the field after an injury. While it is a great rehabilitation tool, yoga can also be used as an exercise method.

Travis Gullett is a junior offensive lineman for the football team at Illinois College in Jacksonville. Gullett doesn’t look like your typical yoga type, at 6’4’’ 300lbs he is a pretty imposing figure.

“My freshman year I just wasn’t as complete of a player as I needed to be,” said Gullett when asked what initially got him into yoga. “I was physically strong enough, but I was still getting beat by defensive ends.”

After trying countless foot speed exercises, Gullett started attending local yoga classes to go along with his weight lifting regimen.

“I didn’t realize how tough it would be,” remarked Gullett. “I thought it would be a lot of laying around, but it turned out to be a really solid workout. My legs felted so much stronger from how stretched out they were. I kept going on a regular basis and overall, the yoga really improved my flexibility and balance.”

As far as this translating to the football field, Gullett became a starter for the Blueboys his sophomore year. “I really believe that going to those yoga classes really helped me be able to handle those defensive ends rushing the passer, I had better body control and was a lot better with staying on my feet.”

Yoga also contributes to better core strength and endurance. Both of these qualities are something that all athletes are looking to improve. Benedictine University at Springfield baseball player, Andrew Verderber, has reaped these benefits.

Verderber attends the weekly yoga and pilates classes held on campus at Benedictine. He has been attending these classes every week for the two years he has been on campus and he definitely notices the benefits.

“The yoga and pilates have made my core strength at least 10 times better than what it was. When you pitch you use muscle groups that you just can’t strengthen in the weight room. The yoga and pilates classes have strengthened these core muscle groups and the velocity on my fastball has increased dramatically since I have started doing yoga and pilates,” said Verderber.

Verderber also noticed the improvements in his endurance. “Practicing the yoga and pilates I think have contributed to my ability to throw more pitches now than I could two years ago. I had issues with wearing myself out when I was pitching. Now I can go much deeper into games because of the breathing techniques that I have learned in class.”

“The muscles that I am using to pitch aren’t wearing out as quickly as they used to. I would say I am able to throw forty to fifty more pitches per game than I used to e able to throw. I have had a lot of improvements in my baseball abilities and I give a lot of that credit to the yoga and pilates classes,” said Verderber.      

The health benefits of yoga are obvious. There are also many different forms of yoga, so there really is something for everybody. Yoga can help develop better breathing techniques, improve flexibility, balance, endurance, and core strength.

If you are serious about your health and you haven’t yet tried doing yoga. You should probably do yourself a favor and at least give it a chance.

Donald Murray and Michael Lewis

David Maziarz

COMM 337

                The two articles that I read for this assignment, Wall Street on the Tundra and California and Bust were both very well put together stories. Michael Lewis did a great job of digging up facts and really just calling them like he sees them. He didn’t make any crazy assumptions or race to any inaccurate conclusions. I’ve never really taken much interest into these financial matters, but Lewis put both of these articles together so well, I couldn’t quit reading them.

                When Murray talks about the, “craft” of a writer, he uses one word more than others in that section…love. He talks about how much he loved doing this or that and how he always wanted to be a journalist. Murray’s keys to mastering the “craft of writing” are: write with information, accuracy, first the lede, less is more, verbs and nouns, order, clarity, discovery, and voice. After reading two of Michael Lewis’ pieces, I came to the conclusion that he had mastered all of these. He had more than enough information in both articles; he dug up facts, numbers, etc. Anything he needed to support his point, he researched. He was as accurate as possible, interviewing multiple people for each article. I really liked how Lewis tracked down Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former governor of California to talk about the financial status of California. Both of the lede’s kept me reading and his word usage was simple, yet stylish. He did a good job reporting what he found out, while still injecting his own voice into the articles as well.

                When reading what Murray describes as, “art” I couldn’t help but be confused. When I hear the word art, I think music, poetry, and well of course art (painting, drawing, etc). This was a different way of looking at the word for me. The “art” of journalism is something that I really had to think about before I answered this question, but I believe the art of journalism is a lot like your writing style. Lewis had a very distinct style in these two articles where he made it seem like you, the reader was conducting the interview. He asked all the right questions to all the right people. As far as the difference between art and craft, I believe that if you practice the “craft” enough, the “art” in your writing will come out. Murray talks about the craft of a journalist, and to me that seems like it is passion and practice. All the skills he deems necessary to have can only come with practice. And a writer would only practice enough to master those trades if he was indeed passionate about his career. Murray and Lewis are both clearly passionate and both have put in the hours necessary to become a successful writer. After reading the two articles of Boomerang, I believe that they are clearly art in the sense that Murray describes in the book. Michael Lewis has been at it a long time and he covered all the areas that Murray defined as the craft of a journalist as well.   

                I think the relationship between the craft of reporting and the craft of writing is a very tight one. You cannot have quality writing without quality reporting and vice versa. Lewis put in the man hours to create Boomerang and I do not think his work should go unnoticed. His reporting was very extensive and that led to two well written articles. In Wall Street on the Tundra, he gave the reader a great perception on how things really changed in Iceland. He had all the numbers and quotes he needed to back up his writing. California and Bust was more of the same. He urged people to not look over anything and pay attention to local government. He sat in on town hall meetings to see how some local governments were functioning. He broke California down city by city. He had to do research in all of these cities and find out why they were financially unstable. All of his work was worth it though; I couldn’t imagine any more facts or information thrown into California and Bust.

                What would Murray think of Lewis as a reporter and writer? Well if you read what Murray uses as criteria to evaluate each, I think Donald Murray would think quite highly of Michael Lewis in both regards. As far as reporting goes, Lewis is the perfect example and as far as writing goes, I think Lewis has the passion and has put in the time that makes his writing as good as it is. Lewis is a well seasoned reporter/writer and it definitely shows in his work.

                Reporting is the most important part about Lewis’ writing. If it were not for all the facts he digs up, numbers he studies, or people he interviews his writing would not be the same. He goes the extra mile in preparing for writing his stories and it is evident in his work. We have read countless articles in class, so well put together supported by facts and some of the other stuff we have read seems to be written by crazy people trying to force their opinions on you as a reader. Lewis perfects using the right amount of facts and details to support HIS voice in his writing. As you have said before, if you write fact, fact, fact, fact, the conclusion is obvious.  

Free Writing Assignment

David Maziarz

COMM 337

Free Writing Assignment

                This is my first semester of taking communications courses. I really didn’t know what to expect coming in, but I have liked it so far. I have dove in taking 5 communications classes and I’m trying to catch on as quickly as possible. Growing up, I did at some points want to be a writer so I guess I’m exercising that demon out of me as I have definitely gotten my fill of writing this semester. Another reason I switched majors was because I have a cousin who has been working in advertising since he graduated and in 10 years he has already held down a job in New York City, Chicago, and currently in Los Angeles. After talking with him I decided that I should at least give communications a chance.

                My first dream job in writing would be writing for Rolling Stone Magazine. I have been reading the magazine for years and it is really the only publication that I have paid attention too over the course of a few years consistently. I think it would be a dream job to be able to travel around everywhere, interviewing musicians and celebrities. No matter who the feature article is about, it always seems to be a good read.

                My second dream job in the communications industry would to be some type of sports writer. I have loved watching and playing football and baseball my whole life. Having played and watched as much as I have, I think that I would make a good fit as a sports journalist as well. If I could pick between the two I would definitely work for Rolling Stone, but I do believe I could hold down a job as a sports journalist.

                My biggest role model as I mentioned before is my cousin Mark. He has worked for Coca-Cola, Heineken, and Taco Bell’s advertising agencies. He is the one that convinced me to switch my major and so far, so good. I haven’t been scared off yet.   

family shattered after raid, home loss

David Maziarz

COMM 337

            Mary Schmich’s article about the Chicago family that was crudely kicked out of their home was a very good article. “Family shattered after raid, home loss,” was an article in the Chicago Tribune that really opened my eyes to a real world situation. I think the strongest part about this article is the degree of reality that you get from reading the article. It is hard to imagine living in a home for so long and then it suddenly being taken away unexpectedly one day. She dug for facts as she rattled of fact after fact about the Harris family and their situation.

            First of all, I noticed that the article came off as an opinion piece because Schmich comes to a final opinion on the situation at the end of the article saying, “Chicago is better than that.” However the article, “Family shattered after raid, home loss,” is not in the opinion section of the Chicago Tribune’s website.

 The article starts with the “play by play,” of the police raiding the house and eventually the story pans back to give the history of the Harris family’s situation. I think that this is a good way of grabbing the reader’s attention with a good lead. By starting with the most relevant and exciting information, it is easy to find yourself racing through the article to see what happens. I am usually not easily captivated by common news stories, but this one was different for some reason. Schmich’s lead into the story got me interested and as I read the entirety of the article I found myself actually caring about what happened to this family.

               Not all news stories get the reader emotionally invested like this one. Schmich seems to have an agenda and she wrote this story to stir up people’s emotions. She believed that what happened to the Harris’ was wrong and that somebody should do something about it. It is definitely hard to imagine somebody reading this without having some sort of sympathy for the Harris family. She was able to stir up this sympathy by talking about how hard Mr. Harris had to work his whole life in order to buy this house. A man who started by picking cotton; worked his ass off, got married, had kids, and then worked his ass off some more in order for his family to have a home. It is definitely a story that was intended to stir up the emotions of the readers.

            Something else that makes this story good other than its emotional appeal is its straight forward nature. Schmich hits you with fact after fact as she dives into which allegations against the Harris family are true, and which ones are completely false. She dissects every aspect of the case against the Harris family from the drug allegations to the dog fighting allegations, she covers everything. She also covered the background of the story very well by getting the facts about the history of the neighborhood in question. She wasn’t sugarcoating anything in this article and that is one of the qualities, along with the emotional appeal, that made it a strong article.

                  Mary Schmich also made this a great article by actually covering this story. You don’t often see articles siding with the family being raided when it comes to police raids. She could have done what everybody in their neighborhood did and just assume that they were guilty because the police busted down their door and they were evicted because of, “unsafe living conditions.” She definitely took a stand for the Harris family in the most professional way possible.

            While it was an opinion piece, Schmich did not come across as being angry. She did not do any name calling or really anything of that nature. She definitely did a good job at attacking the issue, rather than personalities. She did use some quotes against some people in regards to the neighbors, such as the quote by one neighbor saying, “yo, I know about meth. I bet that they were totally cooking in there.” She used this quote to show the ignorance of some of the neighbors, but she doesn’t come out and say that why she is using this quote. She kept all the neighbors anonymous and attacked the issue rather than personalities.

            From a journalists perspective (I’m not by any means implying that I am a journalist) Schmich kind of goes off the deep end at the end of the article as the conclusion is littered with her opinion on the issue saying that, “Chicago is better than that.” She did a great job throughout the whole article keeping everything bottled up and letting the facts to the talking, but unfortunately she threw her two cents in at the end of the article.

            My opinion on the article was that it was a great story with great facts. She backed up everything with facts. Personally, I liked the ending even though it is kind of frowned upon to throw your own opinion in there as a writer. However the fact is that she didn’t need her own opinion in the conclusion in order to win the reader’s heart. She wrote a great story that probably got most readers on her side even before the conclusion. People don’t need it spelled out for them; they could clearly understand from the article that the Harris family had been mistreated.     

My favorite blogs

we were asked in class to talk about our favorite blogs to visit and i have a couple. i enjoy reading the blogs on rollingstone.com. matt taibbi, peter travers, david fricke, and rob sheffield all blog on rollingstone.com and they are usually very interesting pieces. other blogs that i like to read are the blogs on espn.com. they keep me updated with sports pretty well, i dont want to single out any specific blogger on espn.com because theyre so many bloggers on espn.com. im usually reading blogs more for my own enjoyment rather than information.

Seeing if this Works

im just entering this to see if this thing works