Super Bowl Champ Sent to Prison

Super Bowl Champ Sent to Prison

By Kelley Bennett

New York Giants Super Bowl champion, Plaxico Burress, has recently been sentenced to 20 months in prison followed by two years of probation after violating the state of New York's gun laws. Burress, a nine-year NFL veteran, accidentally shot himself in the leg while at a New York City nightclub last November. Burress was carrying an unlicensed .40-caliber weapon when the incident occurred. The gun had been licensed at one point in time, however it was licensed in Florida and expired in 2008.

In April of 2009, the Giants, suspended Burress from the team. However, Burress has stated that he hopes to return to the field after his 20 months in Ulster Correctional Facility in New York. Burress plans on using his time in prison productively and even hired a consultant to help him make the most of his time. Burress is confident that he will return to the NFL following his sentence. When he gets out of jail, Burress will only be 33-years-old. Burress is quoted on ESPN saying: "...I'll still have the God-given ability to snag footballs; that's what I love to do. Of course, I want to play again."

When Burress was sentenced to his 20 months in jail, he left behind his pregnant wife, Tiffany and their three-year-old son, Elijah.

In the book Who Moved My Cheese? written by Spencer Johnson, the reader is told a story about four mice that deal with change in different ways. Burress' jail sentence is a prime of example of someone's cheese being moved. He now has to live in a jail for almost two years, while keeping his family safe at home. Burress also has the challenge of trying to play for the NFL post jail sentence, a task that might be difficult for someone who won't have the ability to practice for quite sometime.

Those who have read the book might say that Burress reminds them of the character Haw. Burress has to deal with these challenges on his own and find a way to turn them into something productive, just as Haw had to do with the cheese.

The story of Plaxico Burress is a great learning tool for those who might be dealing with a difficult change but plan on making the most of their new life.

Image courtesy of NYdailynews.com

Diversity in new Gatorade campaign

By Brian Russell

Gatorade has started up a new marketing campaign this year to highlight their new logo, the "G". For many people and athletes alike, Gatorade is a must have when going to the gym or a nice recovery drink after a workout. Looking on almost any sideline in professional sports you can see the impact of Gatorade; from towels, water bottles, and jugs to sweatbands and gym bags.

Their newest campaign introduces the logo along with many professional athletes from the past and even present day sports icons. Older commercials for Gatorade in the past have had athletes sweating out Gatorade to scientists (who were old white males) describing how and why they came up with Gatorade. This newest campaign has caught my eye, along with many other bloggers and youtube fans for the diverse group of athletes and sports icons.

The first thing that caught my attention was the narrator, and no it wasn't Morgan Freeman, but to my surprise it was none other than Grammy award winner Lil Wayne. At first I thought this was a bit random, since he is not a professional athlete or to my knowledge have any previous links to Gatorade. Then it hit me, Lil Wayne (being a famous figure in pop culture) is conveying the message to today's youth that all of these athletes over the years used Gatorade and this made them what they are today.

As a sports fan, I personally think this is a great look at people from all different backgrounds and time periods and hope the campaign continues with individual commercials of these athletes later in the series. By having Lil Wayne and the large array of sports icons, I believe this reaches a very diverse audience from young to old and will be a great campaign for Gatorade in 2009.