Making headlines throughout her sport her entire career, Danica Patrick has showed doubters wrong and earned her place in a sport that has been mainly dominated by males since its inception. She first came onto the IRL IndyCar series in 2005, and became the fourth person to race in the Indy 500. She also became the first female driver to lead that race. Since then she has risen to super stardom, not only on the track but in the media and celebrity world as well.

A person looking at this situation using the feminist theory would probably be pleased to see such success coming from a woman. The amount of attention and publicity she has attained is enormous, especially recently with the announcement of her plans on competing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. However, this attention might upset people viewing it using the Functionalist theory. The disrupt in the status quo has diverted the attention off the competition and onto what some may call a distraction. She claims she wants to be treated as every other driver would, however, the attention she brings from her ads and photo shoots inevitably causes a stir in the racing community.

Either way you look at it, you can't deny that Danica Patrick is a phenomenal driver who will continue to make waves across sports for years to come.

Mom's always right

     The dishes needed to be washed and I still had homework left to do. Yet my mother and I were still having this conversation. I didn't want any part of it and was ready to get up and walk away. But I knew that doing that would lead to more talks and arguments. "You're going to try it, you're going to like it, and you're going to be good." "Mom. It's lame. It's girly. My friends will make fun of me and I just don't like tennis." I finally gave in after realizing that my fate had already been determined. Now that I was in high school, and getting all 120 pounds of me thrown across the field in football, I needed a new sport. Just not tennis. Might as well take baton twirling or color guard. So my mom dragged my to my first lesson. I pouted. I whined. But I kind of liked it. So I went back, and made it a routine. And my mom was right. I was starting to really enjoy it, as well as become decent. Four months after my first lesson, I tried out for the team and made it. One year after that, I was captain. And my senior year, after being named captain again, I led my team to a 11-4 record in one of the toughest and most populated counties in the state. Don't you hate it when mom's are always right?

White Michael Vick

ESPN stirred a lot of controversy recently for running a  story called "What if Michael Vick were white?". Many people argued that he would not have gotten as much time in the slammer for his dog fighting charge. Also, would he be as dynamic on the field? But the real question should be "Why is this an issue?". Nobody loves Michael Vick any more or less for his race. His reputation is why he is labeled as a thug or criminal. Luckily, all you have to do is be good at football to get people to forget all that murder stuff, Mike.

Cramping Nadal's style

As Rafael Nadal finished up a grueling match against David Nalbandian in this week's US Open, Nadal headed to a press conference to discuss his three set victory. The reporters then watched as Nadal squirmed and writhed in pain due to cramps. This video shows that tennis can also be physically demanding, as much so as that of many other sports. It also shows how reporters like to keep flashing their cameras while a player obviously in pain struggles to stay composed.