Let go —YY forever

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• The odd couple of Olympic sports— women’s softball and men’s baseball—will be dropped after the Summer Games held in Beijing in this August. They also suffer because both sports are perceived as regional sports and dominated by the United States which is not exactly the most popular nation on the globe at this moment. Now there are a number of people, including some prestigious athletes of other sports, trying hard to reinstate them to the 2016Olympic Games. Juan Antonio Samaranch, the former president of  IOC, also lent his name to back softball.
• For many athletes and fans of both sports, this may be a really unpleasant news for them. However, who suffer more are the sofeball players. Because the softball and baseball constituencies are vastly different. For the women, the Olympic gold medal is as big as it gets. While for the baseball players, they have the World Baseball Classic, a better event than the Olympic baseball tournament will ever be. This is where the unfair part lies. This is also one of the reasons why the former IOC president Samaranch who has a visionary about women in the Olympics was on the right track in bringing women’s sports into the Games.
• What will be the future destiny of baseball and softball in Olympics? will they be voted back to the 2016 Games? Will they bring people another shock and exitement? Maybe what we can do now is to wait and see.
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• Kris Jenkins, a new defensive tackle of the American football team—Jets, is helping the mentoring group Life Pieces to Masterpieces. Life pieces to Masterpieces is a non-profit, arts-based, comprehensive youth development organization. It severs boys and young men aging 3 to 21 who live in low-income and public housing at east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. It aims at providing opportunities to discover and activate the innate and creative abilities of the members to change life challenges into possibilities.
• Kris Jenkins was the first professional athlete who promised to visit ,donate and raise awareness to the Life pieces to Masterpieces and who made it come true. He now became the spokeman of the organization. Jenkins talked about his life experience and shared his own stories with the members. And he made most of it to encourge and urge them to believe in themselves to challenge the world and make the world a better place for themselves. He talked about his adversities and his glories in the past. He expressed his own understanding of the members’ present situation because he also encountered that when he was a child. In the studio, Jenkins was not the one who played football with great ambition and aggression. He just liked a plain man stressing his life story calmly and peaceful. He showed his concerns to the future life of these members. Because there are still many problems such as violence and race discrimination existing in the society. However, he was sure that there were also beautiful things in life and he would persue them and be a part of it. 
• After I read this article, I have to say that Jenkins is a pretty larruping and brilliant athlete. Not everyone owns the ability and the courage to do the charity from his bottom heart. But Jenkins does. Not everyone knows exactly what he wants and what he is doing. But Jenkins does. I think, if there are more such kind of athletes like Jenkins, the sports will be promoted not just the literal meaning of sports but more than it. And our society will be benefit from this and become a better place for every member of the society.   
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• Seventy-eight people were injured and eighteen were with stab wounds during a stadium brawl which took place in the Colombian city of Cali on March 8, 2008.The police managed to make the chaos under control by firing the tear gas and using force. It was said that the tension was caused by the referee’s decision not to call a penalty kick against Cali. The last straw was the American coach Diego Edison Umana elbowing the Cali coach Daniel Carreno,which led Umana to be”directly responsible” for the violence. Afterwards, Umana expressed his anger towards the refereeing but at the same time he had self-reflection. He said if he had to quit his career because of this he would accept it. The result of the match was 1-0, won by Cali.
• Soccer violence again. What a terrible tragedy again! It seems that soccerand violence are the twins. Wherever soccergoes, violence caused by soccerwill put on performance. Maybe some people especially the soccerfans disagree what I say and think that I am exaggerating the facts. Am I ? I don’t think so. Since soccer became popular all over the world, soccer violence has had its own position in the soccer world. The newspapers have reported countless clashes since then. Of course, I admit that there are some really peaceful and enjoyable soccer match. But according to the statistics, soccer matches cause the most clashes among all kinds of sports. Sometimes I just can not understand why such a small ball has the magic to make people so crazy and uncontrollable. Sometimes I just wonder if these people who participated in the clash would meditate their behaviour and introspect themselves.
• One important goal of sport is to provide a stage for people to enhance the communication one another and promote a harmonious world. Many athletes and people are striving hard for that goal, yet some are doing a great disservice against it. These people should really question themselves. Through the hard work of all the people, including the althetes and the fans,I hope that there will be less such kind of violence in the future
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•      This is another piece of news which is related to the divergence of opinions between China and Sudan towards Beijing Olympic Games. Hollywood director Steven Spielberg quitted the Beijing Olympic Games over Darfur because he thought what China did in Darfur is a far cry to press for peace. This quitting resulted in a tense international relationships between China and Sudan.The People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s official paper, published articles to express its anger and blame. It also corrected people’s understanding of China’s role in Sudan and the real goal of holding Olympic Games. It is not like what Spielberg said and thought. China’s officials will solve this problem with the leaders of Sudan properly and peacefully.
       
• As Beijing Olympic Games are around the corner, some of the opposed people and countries speak against China and Beijing Olympic Games. It seems that they can not wait to see China would make a spectacle of herself in 2008. They are always ill-affected or hold prejudice to China. I know this is inevasible. There are really some problems in China’s policies but all the Chinese are working for better ones. We are trying to improve ourselves. The role China’s plalying in the world affairs nowadays can prove that. China is a developing country and there are many aspects are waiting to be improved and developed. A lot of challenges are ahead of China, especially in Beijing Olympic Games. Some may think that maybe China will give up harfway because she can not afford such pressure. Of course they are wrong. China will persist in what she is working and solve the existing problems one by one. As what the newspaper said, to show they are wrong, the best way and the most powerful counter-attack is to an unprecedented Olympic Games. Then everything will be proved in a muted way.
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  There is a group of American Indians from reservations around the country. It is called Wings of America. This team has won a boys or a girls national title 20 times since first attending a championship meet in 1988. They are well-known all over America. But can you figure out what the premier goal of the team is. It is not to win but to save lives as much as they can. Why? According to the survey, as a result of the high rates of youth suicide, Type 2 diabetes ,deaths attributed to alcoholism, and extreme poverty, many American Indians despaires of life. The officials and the related organizers of Wings of America try to help the native teenagers to get out of dispair and feel hopeful towards life again. Most of them become top runners and win their own glories in their country and in the world through their own effort and the help from the coaches. After they retire, they become teachers, coaches or work at health organisations. They are saved by the team and then they save other people. This forms a nice chain. In a certain way, the team makes its goal come true.        
•          I think that is a really great idea. Though in the article there is something about the superstition which is related to the meaning of running, what is the most important is that they really save people by running. The native Americans have natural ability in running and the organizers help them to make most use of their abilities. I hope Wings of America can continue to develop and help more native Americans. Help them to get rid of dispair and hold hope toward life.  

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There is a girl who is only 16 but has been lived a aquatic life for almost 10 years. She has broken many state records and national records. she is also considered one of the country’s top prep swimmers. She sounds like a miracle. Who is this girl,such an excellent and talented girl? Her name is Megan Romano, a junior at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Northeast High. As a child, Megan showed her talent and uncanny . uncanny competitive spirit. What is more amazing is that she is qualified in 6 swimming events. Behind all the glory, Megan practised extremely hard though she has a lot of natural abilities. She has persisted doing practice every day for years. Her coach as well as the other coaches speak highly for her. Her present goal is to gain the access to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games. she is striving for that target. Although it is a more painstaking process, she and her coach are very confident and have prepared for it. I believe that God will see her great effort and won’t disappoint her. Good luck to her. I hope to see her competing with the other top-flight swimmers in Beijing Olympic Games.  

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 Andy Pettitte, one of the toppest pitchers of New York Yankees , made an apologia to  the congressional committee for using human growth hormone. In the conference, he realized his mistake deeply and felt penitentially. He showed his guilty to his fans especially the ones who considered him as their heroes. In the process, he also pointed out his friend Clemens who was a former teammate with the Yankees and Houston was a cheater too. However, Clemens denied that. Two friends became two strangers for this. In spite of this situation, Pettitte would continue to play for Yankees and devote himself to Yankees’ victory. As one of the most excellent pithers in the team. Pettitte will show his power and do what he can to make up for his mistakes. Just wait and see!!

After reading this piece of news, I think Pettitte is really a good player, at least he is brave to admit his wrongness and make an apologia to the public. There is a saying: To err is human. what we need to do is to have courage to confess it after we make mistakes. Unlike some other players, they held back what they have done. As a result, most of them have been punished. In my opinion, they deserved it.

Drug using in sport is more than before. The officials are thinking new ways to prevent and reduce it. They make some progress. But there is still a long way to go. I think if we can put more effort on the education of the coaches and the athelets, the result will be better. The problem of the athelets’ health is important, but the ethics of them is as important as that. I hope the officials and the committes can put the same effort on these two things. We are waiting for a more clean and pure sporting world.

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Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 is around the corner. Almost everyone and every country has their own expectations, such as the gold medals, the ranking on the medal count, the economic development broght by the games and so on. Some countries have other expectations. They want to use Olympic Games as an instrument to raise the sensitive political issues like the human rights in Beijing,2008. These are censured by Milan Zver, the president of EU. He called on people to treat Olympic Games as a pure grand sports meeting and prevent the sensitive political issues bothering the games. He believes that China has been striving for democracy since it was in Old China. There is no need to boycott Beijing Olympic Games. The boycott won’t work and maybe the diplomacy will be more effectiual than that.
In my opinion, what Milan Zver said is wise and understanding. Nowadays, Olympic Games are the biggest and the most magnificent sports meeting in the world. The spirit of the Olympic Movement is to enhance the culture exchanges , to build the friendships and to promote the peace among different countries all over the world, not to offer an opportunity for some countries to use it as a political stage and talk about the political issues. Although sport has something with the politics, it is more than that. People especially some countries should not mix them up.
In the other hand, the human rights in China is the domestic affairs of China. The Chinese have more rights to talk about that than the foreigners. As China’s economic development is faster and faster, some countries especially the western countries think that China will be a threat to them. They want to attack China in every possible way, such as in economic and in politics. In recent years, they always say that human rights in China is a big problem and the Chinese are abusing the human rights. In fact, these are lack of evidence. China won’t be a threat to any country. The development of China will have positive effect to the world’s peace and promotion.
Why did China win the bid in 2001 ? I do not think that is because China is a perfect country. I think that is because China has its own attraction and actual strength. These are important than its weaknesses. Some countries say that China is not a fit host. It doesnot depend on these countries’ prejudice. The voice of the world is louder and more important, that is, Beijing,China is the host of Olympic Games in 2008.
Do not always focus on the problems. Look into the positive prospects. China will hold a successful and extraordinary Olympic Games. I believe that!

 Kung fu, the national heritage of China, fails to be involved in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in spite of many people’s effort. Though the IOC emphasizes that kung fu has nothing to do with the Olympics, there are many Chinese people fighting for bringing kungfu also known as wushu into it since the last century. They believe that one day kung fu will appear in the Olympic stage as an official competition event.

In my humble opinion, maybe the fact that wushu is not an Olympic official competition sport is not as bad as people think. The authentic values of wushu are to improve people’s health and relax people’s mind and body but not to use its skills to fight with the others. It is not as athletic as the other competitive sports in the Olympics. The Chinese people want wushu to be well-known in the world. But there are many ways to achieve that goal, not just being brought into the Olympics. Wushu is the demonstration sport in the Olympic Games. We can make full use of this opportunity to promote it and raise the world’s awareness of wushu. There are also many people abroad who are doing their best to give publicity to this Chinese traditional sport.

On the other hand, if wushu is adopted in the Olympic Games, it has to be changed a lot in order to match the requirements of the Olympic Games. Then it will not be the authentic wushu. This will not be our original wish. Taekwondo is such an example. When it became an official event, it had been revised many times and it lost the original and vital core of the sport itself. I do not think people are willing to let that happen to wushu.

There are differences between the western athletic sports and Chinese traditional kung fu. Kung fu attaches more importance to the self-cultivating activity and the disciplining temperament than the victory or failure. It is much more of humanity. And it is not necessary to change the rules just to cater for the Olympics painstakingly. We should persist on our own principles instead of belittling our own culture.  

• The former Olympic track gold medalist，Marion Jones， was sentenced to six months in prison on January 13 for lying to investigators about using performance-enhancing drugs and about her role in a check-fraud scam. Furthermore, she has to work 400 hours of the community service in each of the two years after her release. After the sentence, she said she has regreted what she has done and ask the other althetes to learn her lesson.

• I was shocked when I saw this piece of news. Another painful lesson. Over the past years, Jones has been America’s pride and many people’s idol. Now, she tures out to be also a user of     performance-enhancing drugs and a lier which disappiontes and upsets so many people. All her madals were taken back and all of her honors were also taken away from her. Some people may say that is so merciless, but I think she deserves it.
• Nowadays, since the competition in sports are more fierce, more and more athletes are taking the performance-enhancing drugs. Some people especially some coaches and parents think that is not a big deal. They put the winning on the first place and neglect the health of the athletes and ethics principles. Some athletes should be blamed too. They accept the advice and can not control themselves to reject it. I often wonder that whether the medals are still meaningful to them if they win them by taking drugs. I also wonder that whether they would be wrung by the conscience.  In my opinion, if an athlete try his or her best to perform well in the compition, even though he or she doesn’t get the gold medal, he or she is still respected by people and loved by their fans. But if he or she wins the game depending on the drugs, this athlete will be conspued by people. There is surely difference between the gold medal and the silver and the bront ones. But there is even more difference between the honsty and deception.
•  I appreciate some of the words said by the judge. He said, “Athletes in society have an elevated status. They entertain, they inspire and, perhaps most important, they serve as role models. So the use of performance-enhancing drugs sends all the wrong messages to all who follow the athlete’s every move, apparently referring to children.” In some way, the athlets do not just represent themselves. They should also be responsible to the society and their fans especially the next generation since they are the “influential”people in the sport field. They should think one more time before they take the drugs and think what kind of influence will take place if they do so. One is not an island in the society and should not be so selfish, just consider himself and no others.
•  I think people can really learn a lot from Jone’s case,especially the athletes.Hope that there will be fewer and fewer performance-enhancing drugs using cases, even no such thing will  happen in the future. 

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