Abstract
The writer learns that "The Natural" was author Bernard Malamud's first book. Written in 1952, the novel recounts the story of Roy Hobbs, an over-the-hill pitcher turned batter who just wants a chance in the major leagues. Many critics have called "The Natural" the best baseball book of all time. Malamud combines his love of baseball with the mythical and dark sides of human nature, showing a seedy side of the game not usually recognized by writers.

From the Paper
"As the novel progresses, Roy gets his chance to play baseball with a down-and-out team, the New York Knights, which is another reference in the book to the quest for the Grail. "Over the course of the season Roy gets involved with Pop's lovely niece, Memo, and her friend, the gambler Gus Sands. Eventually his desire for Memo, and his need for sufficient money to keep her in the style she desires, once again leads him astray from his quest" (Editors). He agrees to throw a game, and his miraculous bat, "Wonderboy," that he has carried with him since the beginning of his quest, shatters in his last game, ruining the Knight's chances, and his own to continue playing America's game. He is destroyed, because he has not only failed in his quest, he has failed those that believed in him. "Roy does somehow deserve to be destroyed for not honoring the natural talent he has been blessed with" (Editors).

Tags:baseball, hero, game, myth, legend

Abstract
This paper is on the topic of baseball and war. World War I and II affected baseball, but baseball played an important role in the lives of Americans during the war.

Abstract
This paper will discuss Randy Roberts' book, "Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes" and seek to understand this boxer in light of the research that Roberts has done him. By understanding the life of a black boxer in the early years of the sport, we can see how this creative work uncover sthe racism and attitude of the boxing world in the era of Papa Jack.

Abstract
This paper tells the story of how soccer grew from very primitive beginnings to being played in front of thousands of fans at a time. It reports the very first recordings of actual games being played and how soccer was almost doomed to extinction. The paper then explains in depth how soccer migrated to the United States and how it grew so rapidly since then. It concludes with predictions on the future of soccer.

From the Paper
"So many ancient cultures played a sport with skills and layout similar to modern day soccer that nobody can agree on exactly by whom or when soccer was created, but it has been traced back to cultures as far as 3000 years ago (Eskenanzi126). One of the earliest forms was from Japan c. 1004 B.C. where a ball was kicked on a rectangular field (Fulton Internet). The Munich Ethnological Museum found text from China around 50 B.C. that mentions a lot of games similar to the modern day game of soccer, and games that were played between China and Japan (Fulton Internet). We know the Chinese kicked a leather ball around, and it is certain that there was a game played in the ancient Japanese capital Kyoto."

Tags:american, ancient, football, futbol, MLS, soccerball, World, Cup, Championship, NASL, Pele

Abstract
This paper discusses the reasons for the baseball strike of 1994 to 1995 and its economic impact ton the baseball field and related industries.

From the Paper
"The reasons for the strike were both complicated and virtually all economic. They all connected to one of two issues: the owners wanted to find an equitable way to distribute some profits to struggling teams in smaller markets, and in the process, they wanted to use some funds that in the past had been the players'. The management's proposed solution (redistribution of some profits) was not a perfect plan as not all smaller teams faced financial difficulties (Staudohar, 1997)."

Tags:revenue, Major, League, teams, fans, salary, arbitration, players, profits

Abstract
A paper about sports history, a comparison between ancient sports and modern sports of today. The author looks at aspects such as the sports played, how they were played, their technological differences and how their symbolic and societal meanings differ.

From the Paper
"Sports in the ancient world had their similarities to modern sports, but there are a few differences as well. In modern sports, there is more attention to detail when preparing fields for play, but nonetheless there are numerous amounts of workers who prepare the fields that athletes play on. In modern sports, nearly every sport has their schedules devised much before the season even begins. Although not all sports had officials at that time, there were people who kept order. In ancient sports, there were no records that were kept of ongoing statistics. Without role players, teams could not play to their optimum levels at all times."

Tags:baseball, games, greek, history, players, pythian, roman

Abstract
This paper discusses one of the central themes of the internal politics of sports, as being the conflict between commercial professional ethos and amateur elite ethos. The paper discusses the growing commercialism in British sports since 1945 and explores and analyzes the different perspectives of amateur elitism and commercial professionalism.

From the Paper
"It is also worth noting that even during the peak of the amateur ideal, professionalism and commercialism were not eradicated, nor always treated with hostility . They were instead, bounded and subordinated for the most part. Arguably, distinctions between the amateur and professional sportsman remained crucial in that they "helped maintain a pre-existing set of social relations" and "often served to preclude or circumscribe class competition in sport" Though by the 1950s with the foundations of Britain's 'New Jerusalem' firmly laid ideas that the gentlemanly amateur should outrank the paid professional became unfashionable. Social change and a "less deferential spirit" provided the impetus for challenging traditional hierarchies of power in sports. Indeed the 1950s is often seen as the decade "when a set of crucial changes were set in train which were set to usher in the 'modern' game" of professionalized sports."

Tags:amateurism, professionalism, sport, commercialism, football, athletics

Abstract
The author traces the evolution of America's favorite pastime, Baseball. The paper discusses some myths surrounding the beginning of baseball and explores the ways in which the game continues to evolve.

From the Paper
"Baseball is probably one of the most oldest and treasured pastimes in America. Its roots can be traced as far back as the pre-Civil War era when boys where playing unorganized versions of "Rounders" in open fields. Now, baseball is a multi-million dollar industry with organized teams in almost every major city in the United States."

Tags:civil, cooperstown, history, league, major, rounders, sports, war

Abstract
The paper begins with a history of stadiums and spectator sports, and compares the current period with ancient Greece and Rome. The paper then cites reasons given for public funding of stadium building and refutes each reason. The paper concludes that public funding of stadiums is a bad idea; Public money should be used for activities and institutions that provide substantial benefit to the public such as education, environmental protection and healthcare.

From the Paper
"While it has become common practice during the last decade for cities to spend vast sums of money to build new stadiums and arenas for sports teams, they should not do so. Public money should be spent only on those activities and institutions that benefit society as a whole, and professional sports must certainly does not qualify for such a characterization because not all people are sports fans. Of course, there are many publicly funded institutions that not everyone uses. You may never need to have firefighters come to your house, or may never need to be transported to a hospital. You may not have children and so may not use the public schools. However, these services are different in that most if not all citizens want to have such services available if they are needed. People do not want to see members of their families die because there is no ambulance service. People do not feel the same way about sports facilities for the very good reason that such facilities do not serve either the needs or potential needs of all citizens."

Tags:stadia, arena, stade, spectacle, taxes, sporting, event, city, subsidizing

Abstract
This paper looks at the history of sport, the ancient olympics and the roles of women in sport, both in organisation and participation. Gender logic is discussed at length and subsequently the subject moves onto the military and partnership models of sports organisations.

From the Paper
"As is common knowledge the Olympic Games motto is 'Citius, Altius, Fortius', which translated into English becomes 'Faster, Higher, Stronger'. The idea behind this is that athletes will surpass the boundaries of performance whilst striving to become Olympic champion. This motto did not actually come about until Baron Pierre De Coubertin borrowed the phrase to attach to his revival of the Olympic Games in the 1890's, but the Ancient Greeks certainly participated in this way also. Serious doubts lingered over whether or not women could hold to this ideal, indeed it was thought that women were simply incapable of going fast, climbing high or being strong, never mind surpassing themselves in these areas."

Tags:coakley, development, feminism, hera, herean, logic, olympics