PFK+links

=//**Playing for Keeps**//=

===//**Go to this link to see a recent 2012 article on Michael Jordan's high school basketball coach at Laney High School, the man who really was the one who cut him. [|"Did This Man Really Cut Michael Jordan?"]**//===

[|Go to this link to see the dunk vs. U. of Maryland that Washington Post sportswriter Michael Wilbon called, "The most vicious thing I'd ever seen a college player do."] []


 * Parallels Between Dean Smith's UNC Program and Father Bray's `Iolani Program[[file:LOS PFK Father Bray-Dean Smith parallels.doc]] **

Go to this link to see footage from the 1991 NBA Finals, Jordan's first championship, including the famous acrobatic shot when he switched hands. If you want to skip ahead to the amazing shot, go to the 4:30 mark. [|1991 NBA finals, including The Shot]

=__ **Larger Issues and Themes from** //PFK// __=

The book has implications that go far beyond basketball and sports. Here are just some of the possibilities.


 * Jordan the nature of fame**
 * Jordan the value of hard work (Krause and others, too)**
 * Rodman understanding**
 * Rodman/Jordan/Pippen/Jackson influence of upbringing**
 * Rodman/Pippen equal opportunity**
 * Pippen putting self before group and vice versa**
 * Jackson patience, tolerance, compassion (soft touch vs. harshness)**
 * Krause ego, insecurity, need for credit (understand others' flaws)**
 * Dean Smith equality/fighting racism**
 * Reinsdorf always putting business first**
 * Changes in the NBA what is valued in American culture, what might be decaying in the culture**
 * Many people the benefits of persistence and fortitude**
 * Others?**

= **Analytical Essay Assignment (2015) Relating to //Playing for Keeps//** =

You have a chance now to write something analytical relating to this brilliant work on Michael Jordan and “the world he made.” You will have plenty of time to work on it. :)  Please write an essay on a topic of your choice. **Since your previous essay on //The Ol’ Man// was a personal essay, please write an __analytical essay__.** ** :) **

Please choose something about the book the //really//, //really// interests you. Is there something that baffles you? Something that offends you? Something that fascinates you? Something that disturbs you? Something that amazes you or impresses you? Is there something that you think is tremendously important? Is there something in the text that grabs you about recurring themes, important people, likable people, despicable people, events, trends, patterns, statements, factors in Jordan’s life or other people’s lives, Halberstam’s writing technique, culture, economics, politics, the media, ethical topics, or anything else? :)

 Whatever the case may be, your topic should be something you sincerely want to write about, that you sincerely care about, **something that you think can move you into __a flow state__ when you're working on it.** What in the text really grabs you so that you might say to yourself, "I can't wait to sit down and write about this!"? :)
 * Be sure to state your thesis clearly and early. ** :)  Be sure to support it with details from the text, including among your several details **__at least two appropriate quotations from either narration or dialogue (not just to have them but because they will help you explain your ideas)__**; make smooth transitions; and create a sensible, interesting conclusion. :)

If you are part of the way through your paper and something we read in the coming chapters of the book makes you want to write about something else, please tell me right away and we can make arrangements to accommodate the change by changing deadlines for you. :)


 * __You must read the two __****__short __****__handouts entitled “Important Writing Advice” and “Common Sense Guide to Writing Analytical Essays” before you start your rough draft __**. They are on the wiki under “Writing advice and principles.” (Whether you read them before you do any prewriting and/or an outline is up to you.) Not reading them would be a huge mistake. :)  Write from //your// heart and //your// mind, not someone else’s. :) Write for yourself. :)

 **LENGTH:** 2 pages typed, double-spaced

 **DUE DATES:** Brainstorming -- Wednesday, 12/2 Outline, first rough paragraph — Thursday, 12/3  Additional two paragraphs – Monday, 12/7 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14px;"> Completed rough draft (2+ pages) – Thursday, 12/10 Rough materials <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 14px;">and **Final Draft** -- **Mon., 12/14-Thurs., 12/17**