Spetalnick, Matt "Obama: Gaddafi Death is Warning to Iron Fist Rulers" (Online Article)

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Summary:
     President Obama reacted to Mummar Gaddafi's death in Libya today by warning authorities in the Middle East that the "Iron-Fist-Ruler"  must inevitably comes to an end.  Obama offered for the United states to partner with Libya's interim government and will help with a quick transition into democracy.  John Mcain pointed out that Gaddafi's death represents an end to the first phase of the Libyan revolution. Senator Carllerin said it was a blow to dictatorship everywhere. The strongest reactions to Gaddafi's death were probably from the families who were affected by the 1988 terrorist attack on a Pam-Am flight over Scotland, where Gaddafi's government was responsible. For the people of Libya and all those affected by his tyrannic dictatorship, they can now feel a sigh of relief as justice has been served.

Reactions: 
     Not knowing much about what happened today, this article was a good reference on how the United States was handling things.  However, I think this article would have been made better with the story and background information on how Gaddafi was killed.  I also Feel that this article lacked organization of the topics discussed.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/20/us-libya-gaddafi-whitehouse-idUSTRE79J6WJ20111020

Nelson, Amy K. "Searching for Meaning in the Mistake" (Online Article)

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(You need to see the video too!)
Summary:  This Article is about the life of MLB umpire Jim Joyce after the fateful night in the summer of 2010.  Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was on the verge of throwing a perfect game. It was the ninth inning and center fielder Austin Jackson had already made an incredible catch to save Armando's perfect game with 2 outs.  The next batter hit a slow roller and Armando Fielded the the ball at first.  The runner was out by a good foot, but Jim Joyce called him safe, ruining his perfect game.
     After the game, Joyce saw the replay and instantly knew he was safe. This article is about all of the hate that Joyce received, but also about all of the encouragement that people gave to him, even though he ruined the spirit of all Detroit, and of baseball.  Right after the game Joyce requested an audience with Armando, where the two hugged and made up.  This shows the character of Galarraga, being able to forgive after his only chance at baseball history was taken away from him with a single call. "We are all human"

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Amy Nelson did an excellent job describing how hard it is for Jim Joyce after that game, and how his life will never be the same. When I saw this game last year, I was so devastated for Galarraga that I hated Jim Joyce for a long time. After reading this article, it reminded me that we are all human. If I were to have made that call, I would not want my family and I to be hated for the rest of our lives. If Armando Galarraga can find it in his heart to forgive an unforgivable call, then so should Detroit fans.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/otl/news/story?id=5993137

Schafer, Aaron "Fuzzy Math: Why the BCS Doesn't Work" (Online Article)

Summary:  This article is about Aaron Schafers opinion on how and why the Bowl Championship Series is flawed.  He was listening to the radio and Doug Gottlieb was talking about how the transitive property applies to college basketball.  Underdogs Boston College defeated No. 1 North Carolina, and then a few days latter, Harvard played Boston College and won. Since "a=b", "b=c", then "a" must ="c".  According to this Statement, Harvard is the best team in the country. The point he was making is that it doesn't work! If the Transitive property doesn't apply to sports, why does the BSC use it?  The BCS has a large formula that it uses to determine the two champions that play in the final game at the end of the year. It basically  takes a certain match-up, take the victor and assign them points for how strong their opponent was.  In Sports, any team has the ability to beat any other team on any given day, and no matter how good the team was before that game, they should not necessarily give extra big point totals for the occasional upset.  Football is not based on the transitive property


Reactions:  I completely agree with Schafers argument that there should be a playoff system in college football. He gave very convincing evidence on why the BCS doesn't work. The best example from last year was when the big ten "Champion" was selected to go to the rose bowl.  Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin were tied at first place, all with one loss.  Logic tells us that since Ohio state lost to Wisconsin, Wisconsin Lost to Michigan State, and Michigan State lost to a 3 loss team Iowa, That Michigan State should be the overall Champion and play in the Rose Bowl, since they won the Head-to Head against Wisconsin. However, Michigan State lost late in the year, where Ohio State and Wisconsin lost earlier, so they had time to make up ground in the BCS rankings.  The computer behind the BCS does not take into account the head to head games, only what kind of schedule your team played. Because Wisconsin was ahead in the BCS rankings, they went to the Rose Bowl (and then lost to TCU).  A simple playoff system would settle any ranking dispute, and leave no doubt in anyone's mind who the best team is.

http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/therundown/2009/01/fuzzy_math_why_the_bcs_doesnt_add_up.php