I think that this shows the bond and relationship that they have as a team, that they were able to encourage each other to keep going and keep pushing and not break their fast because as one of the players mentioned earlier he "feels like a warrior" after a long day of fasting and practice, and that energy comes out on the football field as well.

I think that here the author is implying that during this season the players who were fasting sacrificed more than just a meal for energy they sacrificed themselves basically for the sake of their religion and the sake of their team.

I think that this statement is important because it highlights the diversity and community at this high school and showing that no one is more important than the other everyone should be treated equally.

I think that what the author is trying to say here is that even though there have always been tensions between the US and the Middle East the US has still accepted people who have came from the Middle East and have never shut them out completely or shut their beliefs and values out.

I can't put my finger on what moves the author is using here or what point he is trying to get at, but I think that the author is definitely trying to open up a deeper conversation here with this statement.

I think that here the author includes this quote from Cheaib because it shows his dedication both to the game of football and his dedication to his religion and his fasting, and how both of those work together to give him strength and encourage him throughout the day.

I find it interesting how the author refers to playing football and fasting as the "twin rituals," I'm not exactly sure what he means by this, but I have a feeling that the author is attempting to get at something deeper than just what's being said.

I think that this shows contradicting views, but within Ali himself because he wanted to play his best and win the football game, but we also see that religion is a very important factor in his life as well.

I think that here the author is trying to bring emotion and possibly a sense of sympathy into the argument so the reader sympathizes with him and the actions he chooses after that.

Early on in this story the author is using imagery to create a really clear visual image in the readers mind using every single detail he could possibly gather to make the reader feel as if we can truly feel/experience what's happening.

I think that even though he knew it would happen, Len himself didn't know how to handle his emotions, so he felt as if he had to step away from the situation to grasp what was actually going on.

Through many parts of this article the author uses a lot of details, which I think he does to maximize the effect, and emotion that the reader is feeling.

I think the author is being implicit with what his father did however, I think he is using a rhetorical move of appealing to the emotion of the audience to try to draw sympathy for Boogaard and his family.

I think this shows the sense of immunity that teams developed to injuries of enforcers because they probably had some thought in their mind that they were going to go out there and fight regardless, so they weren't as concerned about the health aspect of it.

I think that this shows at that point in time some people around him knew what was going on, or some of the possible struggles he was facing, and knew that it was probably best if he was to be let go, or if not much attention was brought to him.

This idea is brought up more than once in all three articles, the fact that he barely made it into the NHL, but he was there. I think that the thought of that may have came back to haunt Boogaard which could've played a role in his addiction.

This connects to the recent outbreak of the opioid epidemic that is taking over the country and it's tragic, that he more than likely developed a life centered around these drugs that he unfortunately couldn't escape the life he had divulged into.

I think that at this point in time Boogaard had reached a point of dependency on his addiction, and he didn't know how to handle it, so he was kind of just going through the motions and slowly watching his career and his life slip away.

I think that in this specific situation, Boogaard's Dad was basically in shock because you have to wonder what thought's could've been going through his mind as a parent, such as if he could've done anything to prevent this from happening to his son.

I wonder if these statistics and findings have any affect on current players in the NHL, NFL, or even boxers as to if they should continue to do what they do, or if they should stop and consider alternate safer ways to partake in these sports.

This connects back to the thought I had in part two about the idea that people deal with personal and private issues, but are often scared or possibly even ashamed to seek help or talk about it.

I find it interesting how the author compares the handling and examining of the brain to the handling or making of a sandwich.

I think that it is important to have a support system behind you who will encourage you and steer you in the right direction, and I think because Boogaard was really private about his struggles there would've been people to steer him in the right direction however, he didn't seek that help.

I find it interesting that people often downplay the struggles of pro sports players and celebrities because they often think that their money can fix their problems but the truth is that they all go through issues like normal people, which more awareness should be brought to that topic.

I like how a different side is portrayed the side that we don't see all the time, the side that shows the remorse of being an NHL enforcer.

I wonder if enforcers, after leaving the league ever regret what they chose as a career pathway, or if some know the dangers before hand and proceed to partake anyway.

I think this connects to the idea of being two-faced not necessarily in a bad way in this situation but in a sense that he may be scared of what would happened if he showed he was truly struggling.

It's common for boys/men to feel like they have to hide their emotions, so maybe he was also playing along with the part of that.

I think it's possible that Boogaard became caught up in the lifestyle and the image he had or wanted to pertain so that could be a reason why he fought and took the pain, and even handled the pain how he did.

I find this interesting because sometimes you will find professional athletes who make a lot of money and can afford really nice things, but they are okay with wearing non-name brand clothing and living in a smaller house because they don't feel the need to flaunt their money, but I think for Boogaard it was important that he flaunt his money because he spent so long being an outlier he finally had the chance to fit in.

I think that this connects back to the thought that Boogaard stayed in the NHL and continued to receive fame from fighting because he probably knew somewhere within himself that he didn't have the skill to actually play in the NHL and by being an enforcer in the NHL that would be the closest he got to achieving that goal.

I'm wondering if this was because of personal issues or because of protocol from the game because I previously recall when there was a fight the players would only be given a five minute penalty.

It's crazy that the fight only lasted a minute, with the language and detail used in the explanation of this fight I was expecting it to have lasted at a minimum 5 minutes.

I find it interesting that the language being used to describe a hockey game is language that in normally used to describe a boxing match.

I think that this connects back to the idea of work and play, because for him this is a job and whether it's a good day, or a bad day, at the end of the day you're still going to get paid, that being said I'm a little taken back by the idea that not winning would eat him, or effect him that hard when that's truly not his job, his job should be playing hockey.

I think it's weird how fighting is so looked down upon in a sport like football, but it seems as if in the hockey world it's glorified which may be a tradition, however I'm wondering what kind of message this is sending to (younger) fans especially.

I find it ironic how the author throws in this joke to make an appeal to a sense of humor in the audience however the irony in this is that he is highlighting the fact that it seems as if at a hockey game there is more focus on the fight than the hockey so It might as well have just been a fight and a hockey game happened to show up in the middle of things.

This makes me wonder, what was the true reason why fighting started in hockey, because if you think of it like any other sport, when there is full contact fighting you don't just get a five minute "time out" and go on your way your usually taken out for the rest of the game and maybe the next few games to, so I'm wondering why it's so different in hockey?

This phrase reminded me of theme we are working with which is work and play which I believe this specific phrase coincides with because he talks about not taking things personally because that's his job, however I feel that at one point or another it would be taken personally because of the damage that could be to done to a person physically, mentally, and even their career by another hockey player.

I find it interesting how in such a short amount of time so much damage can be caused and especially by one person I think that the author does this to show just how forceful and feared Boogaard was in the NHL.

Gentle and Fierce are practically opposites when defined so I find it weird but done purposefully that the author would put these two words together to describe the complex person that Boogaard was.

This relates to the idea that some enforcers in hockey are there because they have no skill or talent to play the actual game, but they are there, and fighting because it's basically paying the bills, and they have the title of being in the NHL

I think that this goes along with the idea of connotations with the fact that Boogaard had a jersey that actually fit his stature which was hard at his size, and also the fact that he found a team which achieved his goal of being in the NHL and possibly a fit in the sense that he could get along with the people there and have a feeling that he belongs there.

I think it's ironic how the connections are made with Boogaard's pain physically and mentally being dealt with, by his drug addiction but I also think that this is an example of another way of dealing with the pain, he just kept going as if nothing would stop him from attaining his goals.

It must've been challenging for him to only be recognized initially for his fighting and now with him loosing fights that recognition probably started to fade as well.

I find it interesting that at this point there isn't even a small amount of attention on his hockey skills, or hockey skills he could have or acquire, everything that is expected of him is expected for him to use his fists too.

I find it weird how there is so much attention put on an enforcer in hockey when the most attention should be on the game itself, not the fights stimulated within the game.

I think it's possible that Boogaard turned to fighting for attention because he wasn't receiving the attention he wanted solely based off of his hockey playing skills.

I noticed earlier in this article that it was a possibility that Boogaard fought because he had a point to be proven and it gave him attention, and I am now convinced that this is another reason of why he fought because he probably had some idea that it would get him where he wanted to be and he couldn't achieve that on skills alone.

I was initially confused by the idea of "delicately" removing helmets before the fight started because I didn't think that, removing helmets would be one of their biggest worries. However, I now find that ironic because if there is already a lot of tension and energy you're not necessarily worried about how you look, you just want your point to be made.

I think it's interesting how the author uses literary devices like similes to add some lightness to the situation, when in actuality it seems like the other team was terrified of Derek

I think here the author is using a rhetorical move of acknowledging or recognizing the other side by showing that all of the penalties weren't necessarily his fault. This now makes me think that maybe a lot of his fighting on the ice was because he was being picked on by other players for his stature or whatever the case may be, and Boogaard felt the need to defend himself.

I think this shows that even from a young age Boogaard had an argumentative attitude, or a defensive attitude which could've played a role in his fighting, or this attitude could've stemmed from the fact that he was always picked on or made fun of as a kid.

I find it amazing how when he was doing this assignment and had decided that he wanted to be in the NHL he talks about having a "scoring punch" which I think is a connotation due to the fact that at the time he was probably talking about the idea of scoring many goals, and in regards to being a good player, however, as time went on that "Scoring punch" could've been referring to the idea of an actual punch since he became widely known for his fighting in the NHL.

I think it's really ironic how his family wanted to provide positive reinforcement for him, but in the end that sport ended up doing exactly the opposite because he still ended up in a really negative situation.

This connects back to the idea of Derek continuing to fight because of the fact that he received attention and appreciation when he acted out which is one of the big reasons I believe Derek continuously fought.

For most of this article I was under the impression that Boogaard began fighting abruptly when he joined the NHL, however now I have a change of thought I feel that maybe this notion of fighting stayed with him from such a young age that when he got to the NHL and had the opportunity to be appreciated and recognized for his fighting he continued to do that because he got the appreciation he never received as a child.

This shows a deeper insight to some of the pain Derek may have went through at a younger age which could've caused his life to end sooner than expected by a drug overdose because issues that were obviously not his issues at such a young age somehow became his issues, and he very well could've been the person that bottled things up inside, and then one day it became too much for him to handle.

I think that this phrase really shows a positive, more open side of Boogaard because this far we have seen him mostly portrayed as a very tough, strong person but this shows that there were positive times in his life and was a fun, loving kid like most kids his age.

I think that this can connect back to the subject of Boogaard's drug use, I think it shows how his drug use could've stimulated from both mental and physical pain, the physical of course being the pain from fighting and the mental, this pain he experienced at such a young age which he could've bottled up inside himself and finally dealt with it by his use of drugs.

This connects back to the idea of opportunity and obligation because there could've been plenty more opportunities for Boogaard to thrive, and share his talent and skills, but he ended up sacrificing that by sacrificing his health because of the money, and fame that he could get by continuing to take the pain and not acknowledging the toll that fighting was taking on his body.

For me this statement implies that Boogaard continued to fight and do what he did because there was possibly a doubt in his mind that he wasn't going to get a successful hockey career due to the fact that his skills may not have been that good, or that there just may have been people who were better than them, so he felt that if he continued to do what he did he would continue to get paid and have a spot on the team.

It's said that the overdose was accidental which it could or couldn't have been, however I think that there may have been some correlation between the pressure/stress he could've been under from fighting/playing which ultimately could've played a role in his death.

I think that this statement connects back to one of the first statements made in this article which was about opportunity and obligation which shows how in this specific instance Boogaard had the opportunity to become a great hockey player for his skill, abilities to play, or even work well with others, whatever the case may be, however he may have felt obligated to continue to be recognized for his fighting capabilities because that's what people expected/wanted from him, and it could've even been the idea of fear coming back as to what people would or wouldn't have thought of him if he didn't continue to fight during hockey games.

I think that this statement is supposed to be a subtle way of showing or implying what's going to happen in the future, however I was thrown off by the statement saying "and no one had to tell him."

I find it weird how this one job that most people would feel is so minimal and has no large impact is so controversial in its description and role being played in hockey.

It's not unusual for people to have fear especially in a situation like this, the language that's used in this small paragraph like "flame of a trick candle" makes me think that the author isn't just trying to refer to the fear that may come back to Boogaard, but he could also be referring to the flame that has been ignited by him engaging in that fight the flame being the more fights he has to follow, the questions he has to answer by doing that, and possibly his own inner feelings, whatever, those may be, of living with what he did whether that be pride, regret, whatever he still has to live with those inner feelings.

I think that these two statements set the tone for this piece, by saying something that relates to the topic of hockey and fighting, but also something that relates to everyday life. I think this because with a lot of decisions people make in life it''s often an inner battle with yourself of do I do what I have the passion to do, or do I do what's the responsible choice. So I think that this shows in this specific moment both of those things collided which would allow him to fight.

This is a strong statement that grasped my attention because of the way that these everlasting friendships between them are portrayed. They are showed in a way such that it makes you think about that friendship on the field and on the job because as it states there were men who had rejected multiple times, men who had retired, and they came back which shows the idea of this everlasting friendship and allegiance to each other, showing that they will always support each other and wouldn't leave anyone going solo.

This shows that even though it's a sad time on their team and the NYCFD, they are still committed to their jobs and Danny specifically preserved to find his brother and bring him home because these are all things that are/were very important to him which makes this situation emotional in a way but also shows his character and strength to keep going and not give up.

This is sh showing that these men are dedicated to what they do and what they love, they may be working hard, and long days, but at the end of the day they are going to continue to play not only for themselves but probably for their comrades because that's what they would have wanted them to do.