Sean Bennett
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Oklahoma State football is 9-0 heading into week 11 of college football, after taking care of the number eight team in the country in Texas Christian University. Where is the Cowboys' ceiling you may ask? Well, I firmly believe that Oklahoma State has a very good chance to go undefeated in the 2015 college football season, making the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history.
Head Coach Mike Gundy stated that he was very happy with his team after the home win over TCU this past weekend, but he also pointed out they must look forward to this game against Iowa State. The last time the Cowboys traveled to Aimes with title hopes in sight, Iowa State was the one dancing after the clock hit zero.
If Oklahoma State wants to make a push into the final four this year, that will include wins over TCU, Baylor, and Oklahoma at home; a feat that no team currently in the top four could say they've accomplished. Iowa, currently ranked fifth in the college football playoff rankings, have had the benefit of missing out on the three Big Ten perennials, as the Hawkeyes are in a seperate division than Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State. If they go undefeated, they will certainly have a lot to prove in the Big Ten championship game.
Notre Dame and Stanford are both teams hovering around the top four ahead of the Cowboys. However, they will face off in the last week of the season in a matchup that may be a play in game for the two teams, as they both have one loss and couldn't afford another at this point in the season.
If, and at this point it is an "if," Oklahoma State goes undefeated this year, that will certainly get them into the top four, and give them a perfect argument to even go in as the number one team in the nation, as no other team will have wins over three top 15 teams on their resume.
Will the college football playoff committee look past any bias they seem to have against the Big 12? That will certainly be a question to be answered in the coming weeks, as week after week from here on, the Big 12 will have the spotlight game of the week, all with playoff implications. It started with OK State versus TCU, and will only get better.
Sean Bennett
11-12-15
Has a Rule Change In Tennis Affected Behavior?
By Sean Bennett
Tennis; a sport in that was first played in the year 1859, has always had a reputation of being a game for sophisticated ladies and gentlemen.
Over the last 150 years, the game has evolved with players from all over the world emerging and dazzling fans of the sport. Although many of these players go throughout their entire career with no altercations, there are some players who have had meltdowns on the court.
The ATP and WTA are the governing bodies for men’s and women’s tennis, implementing the rules while also making sure the game is being properly respected. Prior to the 2016 tour season, the ATP board of directors expunged an “outdated rule” that if a player acquired $10,000 in fines over a 12-month period that player would be suspended for eight weeks.
Because of this newfound sense of freedom where players do not have to be cautious of what they say or do, a record amount of fines and suspensions have ensued.
In 2015, the ATP and WTA dished out a combined $890,000 in fines over the course of the 10-month season. In 2016, that number has nearly tripled, surpassing two million dollars with two weeks left in the season.
Fines in tennis can result from on-court violations such as smashing a racket, yelling at an umpire, arguing or cursing at spectators and code violations where a player breaks the rules. Off-court fines happen when a player takes to the media in “an unprofessional manner,” shows up late or skips a media session.
Grand Slams are usually where the heaviest fines are implemented, as those tournaments have over 100 players competing for the trophy. In the 2016 Wimbledon tournament fines totaled $165,000; which was more than the previous two year’s combined.
Is this increase in fines simply because players are more visibile? While social media and television has put an immense pressure on the players, they are still expected to act as professionals for the fans watching them. Many experts have attempted to see why the rise in fines has happened, but no direct correlation has been established.
Some of the most notable fines in the sport have come within the last year, including a $28,500 bill being sent to the bad boy of tennis Nick Kyrgios; a fine that also ended his tour season with a suspension.
Tennis, whether they care to admit it or not, has an image problem. Behaviors that would lead to suspensions due to an accumulation of fines no longer are seen as seriously by the players, giving them free reign to act and say whatever they want. With the number of fines on pace to double that of last year, the ATP governing body needs to examine fully the effect that this rule change has had on the behaviors of its players.
