Muslim students like Mohammad practice both Islamic traditions and "American" traditions, showing that the two aren't mutually exclusive. Freedman includes details about both traditions to show that they can play American football and stay dedicated to their faith.

Freedman creates a parallel between two different regions with a common word- "middle." Although the culture of the Middle East and Midwestern America are very different, the author uses a common word to show that they are compatible, that the can meet in the "middle".

Freedman juxtaposes the competition in football and the competition in the Lebanese civil war. The connotation of "competition" changes based on its context; it can be a "crashing competition" between two football teams, or it can be "lethal forms of competition" in a war. This passage also contrasts the past of many refugees to their present.

This sentence is set off from the rest of the paragraph, drawing attention to it. It is surprising that his video didn't include any of his fights, since that was his main job as an enforcer. The author specifically highlights this detail to scrutinize why the Wild may have made that decision. Is it because they know, even if they won't admit it, that constant fighting may have been a factor in his decline and death?

This quote summarizes what the author believes the NHL is doing. They put profit above the health and safety of the players. Bettman, an NHL commissioner, claims that many fans would want the fights to continue, implying that getting rid of fighting would probably hurt viewership.

"Mileage" is typically used to describe how used/old a car is. Using this word to describe Boogaard's body gives the impression that he was just treated as a player, a guy there to do his job. The NHL saw him much like they viewed a car- good while it can do the job, but once the mileage gets high and things start breaking down, it is easily replaced with a new car. Boogaard often felt insecure about his position and standing in the team, as it was made clear that he was replaceable.

Branch provides a vivid description of Boogaard's disembodied brain and the processes applied to it. Details from the weight of the brain to the way the doctor cut the brain were included. The language is scientific and surgical, and the style deviates from the "sports writing" style used in the rest of the piece. Furthermore, the author uses slightly disturbing food references, such as comparing the width of the slices of brain to "the width of sandwich bread." He also describes the brain refrigerators as "deli-style." I'm not sure why the author describes it that way.

Branch includes quotes and video interviews of former NHL enforcers in order to create a clearer image of what it's like being an enforcer. I didn't know that being an enforcer could have such a negative impact on the player. Reading about experiences of a variety of past enforcers that have "been in his shoes" adds details to what Boogaard's life was like beyond what he wrote in his notes.

The author compares Boogaard's nose to a "cartoon character," reinforcing the fact that Boogaard became an exaggerated character both on and off ice. A bent nose is also common to caricatures of violent or mean cartoon characters, since broken noses are often results of fighting (which was the case in Boogaard's life). His persona took over him, and he felt he need to look the part, such as buying expensive cars and designer clothes.

Branch juxtaposes the consequences of fighting in football and in hockey. Essentially, he puts this type of unrestricted fighting into the context of football and points out how ridiculous it seems. It is so ingrained into hockey culture that fighting is expected.

This gory description of Boogaard's hand creates a clear visual of just one aspect of the physical trauma Boogaard endured. The rhetorical question at the end of the paragraph highlights the tragedy of Boogaard's life- he didn't live to be old enough to write with his damaged hand.

This small detail in the change of the pronunciation of his family name added to the "Boogeyman" persona. The divide between who he was and what the hockey community wanted him to be was growing larger. He might even have been losing a sense of who he was because he was expected to be someone else.

It is ironic that the enforcers "delicately remove" each other's helmets right before they fight each other. This connects to how the fights are almost "choreographed" between the rival enforcers. This irony links to the dual nature of Derek Boogaard- there is a disconnect between the shy, sensitive kid in school and the beast on the ice.

Jiajia and Allyssa Branch created a fearsome persona out of Derek Boogaard by using specific diction. The nickname "Boogeyman," and adjectives like "barbaric" to describe his intimidating stature on the ice. However, he juxtaposes this persona with the quiet Boogaard at school and in his personal life. He was "shy and without many friends" in school and his favorite part of hockey was seeing his parents and spending time with his dad. Branch reveals that there is a very different personality behind the "Boogeyman" in the rink.

The author juxtaposes Boogaard's intimidating height with his "round, cherub face." Even though he was extremely tall and big for his age, he was still a child. When he started fighting at 16, he was as big as an adult, but he still had the mind of a teenager.

Branch includes a literary allusion to Gulliver's Travels, which likens Ryan's "posse of friends" to the tiny Lilliputians taking on the relatively massive Gulliver.

Branch uses parallel structure in these sentences- they all start with "It meant." The parallel structure creates cohesive image of Boogaard's experience with hockey. The details of the postgame meal and the light of the garage are incredibly personal and creates the atmosphere of warmth that hockey brought to Boogaard at that time.

This is a parallel to the first sentence, which was "talk about a rebuilding year." The author reinforces the main idea of rebuilding after tragedy, which was what America as a whole was trying to do at the time. In this article, Reilly emphasizes how the firefighters' football team pulls through to rebuild their team, even as they are mourning those they have lost. They can never replace their fallen teammates, but they are rebuilding as best as they can in the memory of those teammates.

Again, Reilly repeats that the true loss to the team is not the positions the players could fill but the fun and vibrant men that are missing now.

Reilly describes Billy Johnston's role as a player and also as a man. This develops our knowledge of him as person, which increases the emotional impact on the audience more than if the author just listed his name or position. The loss isn't just in the extra points he could score; it was everything about him, like the funny nickname the team came up with.<br> These two paragraphs also include a parallel sentence structure, where the word "found" takes on two different meanings. The first time they found Johnston, the team discovered a talented kicker. The last time they found Johnston, the team carried out another heartbreaking loss.

This sentence parallels a sentence in the previous paragraph, where Danny and Tommy pulled each other "out of the pile." But even though the author uses the same phrase "out of the pile," it takes on a completely different meaning in this paragraph. Instead of a "pile" in football, this "pile" refers to the rubble left by the horrific destruction of the World Trade Center. The rhetorical parallel in different contexts adds another layer of emotion, since a once brotherly, joyful act is painfully cut short.

Reilly's diction is especially purposeful here- he highlights the difference between replacing a "player" and replacing a "man". The word "men" refers to the people who made up the team with their personalities, which goes far deeper than just a "player" filling a position.