The Athletic Trap

The Athletic Trap

Author: Howard L. Nixon II

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2014-03-15

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1421411962

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The commercial model of college sports entangles presidents, boards, and their institutions in a complex web of dysfunctional commitments. The unrivaled amount of cash poured into the college athletic system has made sports programs breeding grounds for corruption while diverting crucial resources from the academic mission of universities. Like money in Washington politics, the influence bought by a complex set of self-interested actors seriously undermines movement toward reform while trapping universities in a cycle of escalating competition. Longtime sport sociologist Howard L. Nixon II approaches the issue from the perspective of college presidents—how they are seduced by prestige or pressured by economics into building programs that move schools toward a commercial model of athletics. Nixon situates his analysis in the context of what he calls “the intercollegiate golden triangle,” a powerful social network of athletic, media, and private corporate commercial interests. This network lures presidents and other university leaders into an athletic arms race with promises of institutional enhancements, increased enrollments, better student morale, improved alumni loyalty, more financial contributions, and higher prestige. These promises can cloud the judgment of college presidents and governing boards, entangling them in an athletic trap that restricts their influence. Unable to control spending, inequalities, and deviance within commercialized athletic programs, universities are ensnared in financial, political, and social obligations that are difficult to sustain—or escape. Nixon clarifies the structure of this trap, describes how higher education institutions fall into it, and explores what it means for institutions and presidents caught in it. This timely analysis also has relevance to the debates about the role of the NCAA and ongoing reform efforts in college sports. The Athletic Trap will be of interest to university presidents, board members, and administrators, sport sociologists concerned with the balance of power between academics and athletics, and anyone else with a serious interest in college sports and its future.


Book Synopsis The Athletic Trap by : Howard L. Nixon II

Download or read book The Athletic Trap written by Howard L. Nixon II and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2014-03-15 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The commercial model of college sports entangles presidents, boards, and their institutions in a complex web of dysfunctional commitments. The unrivaled amount of cash poured into the college athletic system has made sports programs breeding grounds for corruption while diverting crucial resources from the academic mission of universities. Like money in Washington politics, the influence bought by a complex set of self-interested actors seriously undermines movement toward reform while trapping universities in a cycle of escalating competition. Longtime sport sociologist Howard L. Nixon II approaches the issue from the perspective of college presidents—how they are seduced by prestige or pressured by economics into building programs that move schools toward a commercial model of athletics. Nixon situates his analysis in the context of what he calls “the intercollegiate golden triangle,” a powerful social network of athletic, media, and private corporate commercial interests. This network lures presidents and other university leaders into an athletic arms race with promises of institutional enhancements, increased enrollments, better student morale, improved alumni loyalty, more financial contributions, and higher prestige. These promises can cloud the judgment of college presidents and governing boards, entangling them in an athletic trap that restricts their influence. Unable to control spending, inequalities, and deviance within commercialized athletic programs, universities are ensnared in financial, political, and social obligations that are difficult to sustain—or escape. Nixon clarifies the structure of this trap, describes how higher education institutions fall into it, and explores what it means for institutions and presidents caught in it. This timely analysis also has relevance to the debates about the role of the NCAA and ongoing reform efforts in college sports. The Athletic Trap will be of interest to university presidents, board members, and administrators, sport sociologists concerned with the balance of power between academics and athletics, and anyone else with a serious interest in college sports and its future.

The Fly Trap

The Fly Trap

Author: Fredrik Sjöberg

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2015-06-02

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1101870168

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A Nature Book of the Year (The Times (UK)) “The hoverflies are only props. No, not only, but to some extent. Here and there, my story is about something else.” A mesmerizing memoir of extraordinary brilliance by an entomologist, The Fly Trap chronicles Fredrik Sjöberg’s life collecting hoverflies on a remote island in Sweden. Warm and humorous, self-deprecating and contemplative, and a major best seller in its native country, The Fly Trap is a meditation on the unexpected beauty of small things and an exploration of the history of entomology itself. What drives the obsessive curiosity of collectors to catalog their finds? What is the importance of the hoverfly? As confounded by his unusual vocation as anyone, Sjöberg reflects on a range of ideas—the passage of time, art, lost loves—drawing on sources as disparate as D. H. Lawrence and the fascinating and nearly forgotten naturalist René Edmond Malaise. From the wilderness of Kamchatka to the loneliness of the Swedish isle he calls home, Sjöberg revels in the wonder of the natural world and leaves behind a trail of memorable images and stories.


Book Synopsis The Fly Trap by : Fredrik Sjöberg

Download or read book The Fly Trap written by Fredrik Sjöberg and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2015-06-02 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Nature Book of the Year (The Times (UK)) “The hoverflies are only props. No, not only, but to some extent. Here and there, my story is about something else.” A mesmerizing memoir of extraordinary brilliance by an entomologist, The Fly Trap chronicles Fredrik Sjöberg’s life collecting hoverflies on a remote island in Sweden. Warm and humorous, self-deprecating and contemplative, and a major best seller in its native country, The Fly Trap is a meditation on the unexpected beauty of small things and an exploration of the history of entomology itself. What drives the obsessive curiosity of collectors to catalog their finds? What is the importance of the hoverfly? As confounded by his unusual vocation as anyone, Sjöberg reflects on a range of ideas—the passage of time, art, lost loves—drawing on sources as disparate as D. H. Lawrence and the fascinating and nearly forgotten naturalist René Edmond Malaise. From the wilderness of Kamchatka to the loneliness of the Swedish isle he calls home, Sjöberg revels in the wonder of the natural world and leaves behind a trail of memorable images and stories.

The Pony Trap

The Pony Trap

Author: David Blewett

Publisher:

Published: 2012-07-01

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 9780985988302

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Forget everything you think you know about SMU Football and the infamous Death Penalty. Previous accounts told the story from the perspective of the NCAA or of the news media and hyped the scandal for personal gain. The story as they told it, was one of corruption and of the under resourced NCAA struggling mightily to clean up rampant cheating within the college ranks. In The Pony Trap, former SMU football player and member of the Death Penalty team David Blewett, backs into the motivation to find out what really happened. His daughter innocently asks, "Daddy, did you do anything wrong when you played football for SMU?" Blewett embarks on a journey of remembrance and discovery. Along the way he decides to get back in football playing shape and pushes the NCAA to reinstate his eligibility to play his last year of football at age 45. He reestablishes old friendships and engages with the current athletic department at SMU for the first time. It's a story of football, it's a story of struggle, and it's a story of the numerous traps set for the team and for SMU. What you thought you knew about the biggest scandal in NCAA history is not what happened. The truth is, it was much bigger than SMU, and it involved the corruption of the NCAA itself. The Pony Trap shines a light on the beginnings of college football and the evolution of the NCAA. It examines the preferential treatment of the University of Texas vs. the biased treatment of SMU. It presents a balanced and accurate picture of what the SMU football team was really like. In the end, Blewett answers his daughter and sets the record straight. SMU wasn't handed the Death Penalty, SMU was trapped and forced into the Death Penalty. There was no way out. For hard cover copies, radio interviews, and more information...please see www.ThePonyTrap.com


Book Synopsis The Pony Trap by : David Blewett

Download or read book The Pony Trap written by David Blewett and published by . This book was released on 2012-07-01 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forget everything you think you know about SMU Football and the infamous Death Penalty. Previous accounts told the story from the perspective of the NCAA or of the news media and hyped the scandal for personal gain. The story as they told it, was one of corruption and of the under resourced NCAA struggling mightily to clean up rampant cheating within the college ranks. In The Pony Trap, former SMU football player and member of the Death Penalty team David Blewett, backs into the motivation to find out what really happened. His daughter innocently asks, "Daddy, did you do anything wrong when you played football for SMU?" Blewett embarks on a journey of remembrance and discovery. Along the way he decides to get back in football playing shape and pushes the NCAA to reinstate his eligibility to play his last year of football at age 45. He reestablishes old friendships and engages with the current athletic department at SMU for the first time. It's a story of football, it's a story of struggle, and it's a story of the numerous traps set for the team and for SMU. What you thought you knew about the biggest scandal in NCAA history is not what happened. The truth is, it was much bigger than SMU, and it involved the corruption of the NCAA itself. The Pony Trap shines a light on the beginnings of college football and the evolution of the NCAA. It examines the preferential treatment of the University of Texas vs. the biased treatment of SMU. It presents a balanced and accurate picture of what the SMU football team was really like. In the end, Blewett answers his daughter and sets the record straight. SMU wasn't handed the Death Penalty, SMU was trapped and forced into the Death Penalty. There was no way out. For hard cover copies, radio interviews, and more information...please see www.ThePonyTrap.com

Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc.

Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc.

Author: James T. Bennett

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-11-20

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 1000737012

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Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc. examines the corrupting influence and damaging financial effects of big-time intercollegiate athletics, especially football and to a lesser extent basketball, on American higher education. Including historical and contemporary perspectives, the book traces the growth of intercollegiate sports from largely student-run activities supervised by faculty to the gargantuan, taxpayer-supported spectacles that now dominate many public universities. It investigates the regressive student fees that have helped subsidize big-time sports at public universities and prop up chronically unprofitable athletic departments, as well as the corrosive effects of athletics on the university’s academic enterprise. A review of the alleged salutary effects of massive sports programs, such as spurring alumni donations and student applications, reveals that such benefits are largely illusory, more myth than real. The book also pays special attention to the often prescient, if largely unsuccessful, opponents of these developments, and considers the alternatives to big-time athletics, from abolition to professionalization to club sports. Students, scholars, sports fans, and those interested in learning how big-time football and basketball have cast such an enormous—and often baleful—shadow upon American colleges and universities will profit from this provocative and engagingly written book.


Book Synopsis Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc. by : James T. Bennett

Download or read book Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc. written by James T. Bennett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-20 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc. examines the corrupting influence and damaging financial effects of big-time intercollegiate athletics, especially football and to a lesser extent basketball, on American higher education. Including historical and contemporary perspectives, the book traces the growth of intercollegiate sports from largely student-run activities supervised by faculty to the gargantuan, taxpayer-supported spectacles that now dominate many public universities. It investigates the regressive student fees that have helped subsidize big-time sports at public universities and prop up chronically unprofitable athletic departments, as well as the corrosive effects of athletics on the university’s academic enterprise. A review of the alleged salutary effects of massive sports programs, such as spurring alumni donations and student applications, reveals that such benefits are largely illusory, more myth than real. The book also pays special attention to the often prescient, if largely unsuccessful, opponents of these developments, and considers the alternatives to big-time athletics, from abolition to professionalization to club sports. Students, scholars, sports fans, and those interested in learning how big-time football and basketball have cast such an enormous—and often baleful—shadow upon American colleges and universities will profit from this provocative and engagingly written book.

Sport in a Changing World

Sport in a Changing World

Author: Howard Nixon II

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-07-24

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 131738377X

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This book shows how the dynamic interplay of a powerful "golden triangle" of sports, media, and business interests with social, cultural, economic, and political forces shapes sport in a changing world. This edition is a condensed and updated version of the first edition, with an emphasis on current social issues in sport. It also has more global content. The golden triangle concept is more developed and applied more extensively. Other key themes of the first edition—power, status, and inequality—are also more developed. New "Stop and Think Questions" have been added to challenge students to think about the meaning of what they have read. The book is now divided into five sections. The new sections highlight sociology and the sociology of sport; inequality and diversity; globalization and social deviance; major social contexts of sport, including the high school, college, and professional levels; and power, political economy, and global sports.


Book Synopsis Sport in a Changing World by : Howard Nixon II

Download or read book Sport in a Changing World written by Howard Nixon II and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-07-24 with total page 463 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book shows how the dynamic interplay of a powerful "golden triangle" of sports, media, and business interests with social, cultural, economic, and political forces shapes sport in a changing world. This edition is a condensed and updated version of the first edition, with an emphasis on current social issues in sport. It also has more global content. The golden triangle concept is more developed and applied more extensively. Other key themes of the first edition—power, status, and inequality—are also more developed. New "Stop and Think Questions" have been added to challenge students to think about the meaning of what they have read. The book is now divided into five sections. The new sections highlight sociology and the sociology of sport; inequality and diversity; globalization and social deviance; major social contexts of sport, including the high school, college, and professional levels; and power, political economy, and global sports.

The Empty Trap

The Empty Trap

Author: John D. MacDonald

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2013-06-11

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 030782716X

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The Empty Trap, one of many classic novels from crime writer John D. MacDonald, the beloved author of Cape Fear and the Travis McGee series, is now available as an eBook. Lloyd Wescott is a big boy, and he understands that big money doesn’t smell like roses. When he’s hired to build and run the Green Oasis resort, he dosn’t know too much about the pedigree of its owner—and he doesn’t want to. He won’t ask any questions. Just as long as the place is legit and he can run it clean as a whistle. But when trouble checks in, skimming from the casino’s tills is the least of Lloyd’s concerns. The quiet elegance of the hotel lobby turns out to be crawling with contract guns. And after one look from a beautiful woman, Lloyd realizes that he’s about to get some hard answers to the questions he never asked. Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz Praise for John D. MacDonald “The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King “My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz “To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut “A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark


Book Synopsis The Empty Trap by : John D. MacDonald

Download or read book The Empty Trap written by John D. MacDonald and published by Random House. This book was released on 2013-06-11 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Empty Trap, one of many classic novels from crime writer John D. MacDonald, the beloved author of Cape Fear and the Travis McGee series, is now available as an eBook. Lloyd Wescott is a big boy, and he understands that big money doesn’t smell like roses. When he’s hired to build and run the Green Oasis resort, he dosn’t know too much about the pedigree of its owner—and he doesn’t want to. He won’t ask any questions. Just as long as the place is legit and he can run it clean as a whistle. But when trouble checks in, skimming from the casino’s tills is the least of Lloyd’s concerns. The quiet elegance of the hotel lobby turns out to be crawling with contract guns. And after one look from a beautiful woman, Lloyd realizes that he’s about to get some hard answers to the questions he never asked. Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz Praise for John D. MacDonald “The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King “My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz “To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut “A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark

Speed Trap

Speed Trap

Author: Charlie Francis

Publisher:

Published: 1991

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 9780246137579

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Book Synopsis Speed Trap by : Charlie Francis

Download or read book Speed Trap written by Charlie Francis and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Katy Employes' Magazine

Katy Employes' Magazine

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 1916

Total Pages: 822

ISBN-13:

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Book Synopsis Katy Employes' Magazine by :

Download or read book Katy Employes' Magazine written by and published by . This book was released on 1916 with total page 822 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

A Trap So Tender

A Trap So Tender

Author: Jennifer Lewis

Publisher: Harlequin

Published: 2013-03-05

Total Pages: 191

ISBN-13: 0373732333

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A Wager Most Wild With businesses to conquer in Singapore and a centuries-old family heirloom to find in Scotland, investor James Drummond is no stranger to a challenge. But making the mysterious Fiona Lam his represents his riskiest power play yet. When he offers her the moon and stars, Fiona counters with a proposal of her own—a bet, to be exact. Winning a high-stakes horse race against James is Fiona's best chance at reclaiming her family's factory…and her father's honor. Seducing James is just a means to that end…until they end up in bed together! Then all bets are off….


Book Synopsis A Trap So Tender by : Jennifer Lewis

Download or read book A Trap So Tender written by Jennifer Lewis and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 191 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Wager Most Wild With businesses to conquer in Singapore and a centuries-old family heirloom to find in Scotland, investor James Drummond is no stranger to a challenge. But making the mysterious Fiona Lam his represents his riskiest power play yet. When he offers her the moon and stars, Fiona counters with a proposal of her own—a bet, to be exact. Winning a high-stakes horse race against James is Fiona's best chance at reclaiming her family's factory…and her father's honor. Seducing James is just a means to that end…until they end up in bed together! Then all bets are off….

The Brave Athlete

The Brave Athlete

Author: Simon Marshall

Publisher: VeloPress

Published: 2017-06-08

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1937716910

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The Brave Athlete solves the 13 most common mental conundrums athletes face in their everyday training and in races. You don’t have one brainyou have three; your ancient Chimp brain that keeps you alive, your modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and your Computer brain that accesses your memories and runs your habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that’s when bad things happen; you get crazy nervous before a race, you choke under pressure, you quit when the going gets tough, you make dumb mistakes, you worry about how you look. What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can. The Brave Athlete from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes. That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. No, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings you don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face. Which of these sound like you? Why do I have thoughts and feelings I don’t want? I wish I felt more like an athlete. I don’t think I can. I don’t achieve my goals. Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me. I feel fat. I don’t cope well with injury. People are worried about how much I exercise. I don’t like leaving my comfort zone. When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind. I need to harden the f*ck up. I keep screwing up. I don’t handle pressure well. With The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, you can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make your brain your most powerful asset.


Book Synopsis The Brave Athlete by : Simon Marshall

Download or read book The Brave Athlete written by Simon Marshall and published by VeloPress. This book was released on 2017-06-08 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Brave Athlete solves the 13 most common mental conundrums athletes face in their everyday training and in races. You don’t have one brainyou have three; your ancient Chimp brain that keeps you alive, your modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and your Computer brain that accesses your memories and runs your habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that’s when bad things happen; you get crazy nervous before a race, you choke under pressure, you quit when the going gets tough, you make dumb mistakes, you worry about how you look. What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don’t want? What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? You can. The Brave Athlete from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson will help you take control of your brain so you can train harder, race faster, and better enjoy your sport. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, they offer this innovative, brain training guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes. That means you won’t find outdated “positive self-talk” or visualization gimmicks here. No, the set of cutting-edge mental skills revealed in The Brave Athlete actually work because they challenge the source of the thoughts and feelings you don’t want. The Brave Athlete is packed with practical, evidence-based solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face. Which of these sound like you? Why do I have thoughts and feelings I don’t want? I wish I felt more like an athlete. I don’t think I can. I don’t achieve my goals. Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me. I feel fat. I don’t cope well with injury. People are worried about how much I exercise. I don’t like leaving my comfort zone. When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind. I need to harden the f*ck up. I keep screwing up. I don’t handle pressure well. With The Brave Athlete: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion, you can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make your brain your most powerful asset.