IT'S SATURDAYYYY!
Which means I just got done with my bowling league that goes on every Saturday morning, and guess what I shot? A 600 series! My games consisted of 212, 198, and 237 so I will definately be in the paper tomorrow morning.
Sorry that doesn't happen very often, so I get kind of excited.
Oh, and guess what?
IT'S SATURDAYYYY!
Which also means I get to watch the Dallas Cowboys KILL the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight on TV. I am getting really excited for this one. The Cowboys are 7-6 and if they win their last 3 games, they will definately go into the playoffs.
This is an important game because let's face it, every Cowboys game is an important game. Please send some luck their way because the way we have been playing, not even Tampa Bay will be an easy win for us..
Let's go Boys! Give us a win!
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Who's on first?
Another blog post where all I have to do is post a video? I could get used to this..
Anyways this video always cheers me up when I need a good laugh, because I always remember there are people out there far stupider than I am :)
Anyways this video always cheers me up when I need a good laugh, because I always remember there are people out there far stupider than I am :)
Season Starter
I can rememebr a time when I was just 5 years old, and my little kindergarden friend was begging me to join a bolwing league with her. Her name was Ashley Novak and we are still friends today. When I finally said yes to her I never realized it would turn out to be one of my favorite things to do, or that I would still be doing it today.
The leauge that I joined was at May City Bowl, on the other side of town, because it was closer to where both of us lived. We got put on a team with some other kids who were only 5 and bowled every Saturday morning at 11:00, with bumpers of course. I remember just learning how to bowl and barely being able to throw a 6 pound ball down the lane. Every Saturday I got a chance to improve and coaches were there to help us and show us how to walk up and swing at the same time and how to move our feet and things like that. When we were that young we just threw at the bumpers and hoped to knock down some pins, not really putting much thought to it. But we sure got excited when we got a strike!
Eventually I turned 7 years old and it was time to move up and go without bumpers. I was really scared at first and when it was time to sign up for that year I begged Tom (the owner of the bowling alley) to let me and Ashley stay on the bumper leauge for one more year. He said I should just try going without and so that was what we did. I'm pretty sure the first day of that league Ashely and I both bowled about a 15. It was okay though because our averages could only go up from there. It got to the point where I looked forward to coming to the alley every Saturday so I could try to bowl better than before, and for me it was something really fun to do.
Every week I had to use a house ball that was different and didnt really fit my fingers right. My parents decided to get me my own bowling ball. It was brand new, had bright purple sparkles, and even had my name engraved in it! I was so proud to show up each week carrying my own ball and it actually helped inproved my game too.
The coaches at Mays continued to help me and they thought I was odd because I throw what is called a backup ball, and basically my ball just curves the opposite way than it is supposed to because my wrist turns the opposite way.
My favorite coach, who also coaches the Jefferson girls bowling team, named Virgil, had me stay after league a couple of times to try and help me and get me to throw a normal curve. Sadly, it never worked.
I still throw that backup ball today, but it actually works well from me. My average score has improved greatly from when I first started. Obviously, because just like with every sport practice makes perfect. I now know how to throw my ball accurately. I stand on the left side of the lane and my ball curves into the left side of the pocket. (More bowling terms, I know... There is a bowling dictionary if you are interested HERE) I know which mark to throw at for each lane condition, but a lot of it takes trial and error at each lane to see what your ball will do.
For me, bowling for school was something I always wanted to do but was hesitant because it kind of is known as the nerdy sport. But I am over it now, because it is something I am good at, and we can have so much fun. We go on road trips to the different alleys, and blast music in the bus the whole way. It is always nice bowling at home though too, because we bowl on the same lane conditions for practice. You definitely have a major advantage when you are the home team.
For anyone that is interested in learning how to bowl, I would say that it is easier to start when you are young. The key is to find someone that knows what they are doing and talk to them. You have to remember though that everyone has their own style, so what is considered to be prefect bowling style is not the same for everyone. The only bad part about starting when you are really little is that you can sometimes learn bad habits. I have a bad habit of pulling my arm more than I need to in my release, which kind of makes my swing different each time. My other really bad habit is walking to the left. Every time I take my 4 steps up to the lane I walk at least 5 boards left. It wouldn't be so bad if i walked the same number left each time, because then I could adjust my mark accordingly. But no, I walk sometimes 2 boards left and sometimes 8 boards left. It ends up being really hard because a board is only an inch thick. So you are talking a difference of 6 inches, which doesn't seem like very much. But in bowling being off one board at the foul line can make you miss your mark and literally throw your ball into the gutter.
Bowling really is a science, and there is so much to know and learn. I am just scraping the surface of things there are to know but each opportunity i have to learn I try and take it all in. I really want to be a bowler all of my life, until I end up being 90 and cant even throw a 6 pound ball anymore.
I would say I learned so much and 10 years later I am glad that my friend Ashley made me join a bowling league with her. You never know, I could go to college and bowl there as well. Wherever it takes me, I am very glad that I started and I am actually proud to say I am a Kennedy bowler!
The leauge that I joined was at May City Bowl, on the other side of town, because it was closer to where both of us lived. We got put on a team with some other kids who were only 5 and bowled every Saturday morning at 11:00, with bumpers of course. I remember just learning how to bowl and barely being able to throw a 6 pound ball down the lane. Every Saturday I got a chance to improve and coaches were there to help us and show us how to walk up and swing at the same time and how to move our feet and things like that. When we were that young we just threw at the bumpers and hoped to knock down some pins, not really putting much thought to it. But we sure got excited when we got a strike!
Eventually I turned 7 years old and it was time to move up and go without bumpers. I was really scared at first and when it was time to sign up for that year I begged Tom (the owner of the bowling alley) to let me and Ashley stay on the bumper leauge for one more year. He said I should just try going without and so that was what we did. I'm pretty sure the first day of that league Ashely and I both bowled about a 15. It was okay though because our averages could only go up from there. It got to the point where I looked forward to coming to the alley every Saturday so I could try to bowl better than before, and for me it was something really fun to do.
Every week I had to use a house ball that was different and didnt really fit my fingers right. My parents decided to get me my own bowling ball. It was brand new, had bright purple sparkles, and even had my name engraved in it! I was so proud to show up each week carrying my own ball and it actually helped inproved my game too.
The coaches at Mays continued to help me and they thought I was odd because I throw what is called a backup ball, and basically my ball just curves the opposite way than it is supposed to because my wrist turns the opposite way.
My favorite coach, who also coaches the Jefferson girls bowling team, named Virgil, had me stay after league a couple of times to try and help me and get me to throw a normal curve. Sadly, it never worked.
I still throw that backup ball today, but it actually works well from me. My average score has improved greatly from when I first started. Obviously, because just like with every sport practice makes perfect. I now know how to throw my ball accurately. I stand on the left side of the lane and my ball curves into the left side of the pocket. (More bowling terms, I know... There is a bowling dictionary if you are interested HERE) I know which mark to throw at for each lane condition, but a lot of it takes trial and error at each lane to see what your ball will do.
For me, bowling for school was something I always wanted to do but was hesitant because it kind of is known as the nerdy sport. But I am over it now, because it is something I am good at, and we can have so much fun. We go on road trips to the different alleys, and blast music in the bus the whole way. It is always nice bowling at home though too, because we bowl on the same lane conditions for practice. You definitely have a major advantage when you are the home team.
For anyone that is interested in learning how to bowl, I would say that it is easier to start when you are young. The key is to find someone that knows what they are doing and talk to them. You have to remember though that everyone has their own style, so what is considered to be prefect bowling style is not the same for everyone. The only bad part about starting when you are really little is that you can sometimes learn bad habits. I have a bad habit of pulling my arm more than I need to in my release, which kind of makes my swing different each time. My other really bad habit is walking to the left. Every time I take my 4 steps up to the lane I walk at least 5 boards left. It wouldn't be so bad if i walked the same number left each time, because then I could adjust my mark accordingly. But no, I walk sometimes 2 boards left and sometimes 8 boards left. It ends up being really hard because a board is only an inch thick. So you are talking a difference of 6 inches, which doesn't seem like very much. But in bowling being off one board at the foul line can make you miss your mark and literally throw your ball into the gutter.
Bowling really is a science, and there is so much to know and learn. I am just scraping the surface of things there are to know but each opportunity i have to learn I try and take it all in. I really want to be a bowler all of my life, until I end up being 90 and cant even throw a 6 pound ball anymore.
I would say I learned so much and 10 years later I am glad that my friend Ashley made me join a bowling league with her. You never know, I could go to college and bowl there as well. Wherever it takes me, I am very glad that I started and I am actually proud to say I am a Kennedy bowler!
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Ballin'
So I am done with my word count for this week after like 20 words of this post.. Phew.
Anyways, I just wanted to show you guys some really awesome trick basketball shots, here they are!
Legit, right?!?
They won that game, think how awesome that would be?
I wonder how many times these shots were attempted...
Anyways, I just wanted to show you guys some really awesome trick basketball shots, here they are!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Student Section Crowds
Here we go, Kennedy Cougars are now into basketball season. Do you know what this means? Its winter. Its cold outside, and nobody really wants to leave their house anymore.
Basketball season gives the students of Kennedy a reason to go out, and all cuddle up together in a nice, warm, loud, indoor student section.
Standing and cheering is what people do at basketball games, and a lot of times it gets pretty crazy. Personally, I love a good basketball game that is really close at the end, because then the other team goes home disappointed and the Cougars are on top of the world.
Another great thing about basketball games is that the student sections of opposing teams can see each other really well, and are actually pretty close. That calls for some intense yelling across the court.. face gestures, and maybe even some unsportsmanlike middle fingers.
In fact, I found that there is a big debate going around about student sections. Many people are wondering if they can actually change games, so you can read more about it here.
I have the opinion that student sections can totally change the outcome of the game, from watching other people play, and personal experience myself.
If you think about it, every sports team would like to have "home field advantage," Am I right? And what are the main reasons for this? Could it be that football players want to play on their own turf? Bowlers know the oil patterns? Golfers know the course? and basketball players like the sound of their announcer better?
Well for logical purposes, yeah I suppose it could be any of that stuff.. But just go with me for a minute and say that NO the athletes don't want any of that stuff, they just want their school cheering them on!!
I am making a very broad statement, but I would think any sports team would like the sound of people they know cheering for them and pushing them to win even harder. I know when I hear people yelling at me to GOOOO! I run to first base a little harder than if everyone was dead silent. Now maybe it is just a psychological thing, but I totally believe in it. When I hear people cheering for me, I do better by far. That is why I think student sections can change games.
If I can run harder with one person yelling at me, think of the adrenaline that NFL football players get with thousands of people yelling at them. In most stadiums, when an away team is on offense the team can barely hear the snap count because the crowd is that loud. If you can't hear a snap count, the game is changed for sure.
Now when it comes down to the Kennedy basketball teams, it is not a situation of not being able to hear or anything like that. But the fact of the matter is that when you hear the students go crazy after a big play you just made and shout your name, you are going to want to do that again. If the other team is yelling "you can't do that, you can't do that, you can't do that" after you just foul, you are not going to want to repeat that. As a player it is your job to focus, even with all the yelling and commotion, but sometimes you can get a little adrenaline rush out of the student section when we are doing cheers for you!
I hope that the Kennedy student section can affect the outcome of some of the games this season by cheering our a**es off, and being so loud that we intimidate the other team. Also it is important to have fun and do all the back and forth things that go on between student sections at basketball games. I advise us all to go crazy, and bring out our best cheers to the table. It is definately what we do best.
GOO COUGARS!!
Basketball season gives the students of Kennedy a reason to go out, and all cuddle up together in a nice, warm, loud, indoor student section.
Standing and cheering is what people do at basketball games, and a lot of times it gets pretty crazy. Personally, I love a good basketball game that is really close at the end, because then the other team goes home disappointed and the Cougars are on top of the world.
Another great thing about basketball games is that the student sections of opposing teams can see each other really well, and are actually pretty close. That calls for some intense yelling across the court.. face gestures, and maybe even some unsportsmanlike middle fingers.
In fact, I found that there is a big debate going around about student sections. Many people are wondering if they can actually change games, so you can read more about it here.
I have the opinion that student sections can totally change the outcome of the game, from watching other people play, and personal experience myself.
If you think about it, every sports team would like to have "home field advantage," Am I right? And what are the main reasons for this? Could it be that football players want to play on their own turf? Bowlers know the oil patterns? Golfers know the course? and basketball players like the sound of their announcer better?
Well for logical purposes, yeah I suppose it could be any of that stuff.. But just go with me for a minute and say that NO the athletes don't want any of that stuff, they just want their school cheering them on!!
I am making a very broad statement, but I would think any sports team would like the sound of people they know cheering for them and pushing them to win even harder. I know when I hear people yelling at me to GOOOO! I run to first base a little harder than if everyone was dead silent. Now maybe it is just a psychological thing, but I totally believe in it. When I hear people cheering for me, I do better by far. That is why I think student sections can change games.
If I can run harder with one person yelling at me, think of the adrenaline that NFL football players get with thousands of people yelling at them. In most stadiums, when an away team is on offense the team can barely hear the snap count because the crowd is that loud. If you can't hear a snap count, the game is changed for sure.
Now when it comes down to the Kennedy basketball teams, it is not a situation of not being able to hear or anything like that. But the fact of the matter is that when you hear the students go crazy after a big play you just made and shout your name, you are going to want to do that again. If the other team is yelling "you can't do that, you can't do that, you can't do that" after you just foul, you are not going to want to repeat that. As a player it is your job to focus, even with all the yelling and commotion, but sometimes you can get a little adrenaline rush out of the student section when we are doing cheers for you!
I hope that the Kennedy student section can affect the outcome of some of the games this season by cheering our a**es off, and being so loud that we intimidate the other team. Also it is important to have fun and do all the back and forth things that go on between student sections at basketball games. I advise us all to go crazy, and bring out our best cheers to the table. It is definately what we do best.
GOO COUGARS!!
Monday, December 5, 2011
New term, New goals
This is a brand new term in AP Lang and Comp, and I want to start
to look at this class in a whole different way. For some reason, my blogging
and the entire content of this class started to fall behind other subjects. Don’t
ask me why this happened, because I really don’t know. But I am now going to do
something about it.
First of all, I have to make this blog a priority. I got an
F on the blogging grade this term because I simply put this off too much. Even
from the beginning my posts were made all on Sunday night, rushing to get 1200
words all in three separate posts. I remember staying up until 4am sometimes
trying to get my posts in. It was hard to balance because I never made blogging
time during the week, and didn’t use class time well. I also was working a lot, which i will still be doing and now actually i am in the middle of bowling season. This might actually give me something to blog about!
Its not even the fact of writing this blog that bugs me. I guess the fact that when I look at other peoples blogs, they always have something so creative to say. I sometimes feel like everyone is super interested in something but me. Like of course I am interested in sports, and the guyish side of me wants to talk aboout them ALL THE TIME! But, for whoever isnt interested in talking about sports, teh probably get bored with me. Why can't I be totally interested in foreign cultures, or the next world war, or poems people wrote centuries ago?
It seems to me like I am just being selfish... Selfish. Selfish. And more selfish. I only care about things that are happening to me, and things that I am interested in (which isnt much when I actually think about it), but I need to start caring and start listening to things that other people care about, so maybe I can find some things I am interested in myself.
See, once again I just now went into a rant about something completely off topic, when the bottom line is that I NEED to start caring more.. Not just about my grade in this class, but with things that are going on with my friends and family. A lot of people say I am a good listener, basically because I give good advice and I am really good at pretending like I care. Now for this new term of high school, I am not just going to pretend like I care, I am seriously going to care for once.
I really want to be the person that is so motivated that she just comes home and does all of her homework right away. I want to be disciplined enough to get it all done beofre anything else, and to do that I have to CARE.
That is my new term resloution.. Thanks for reading this drawn out explanation.
Its not even the fact of writing this blog that bugs me. I guess the fact that when I look at other peoples blogs, they always have something so creative to say. I sometimes feel like everyone is super interested in something but me. Like of course I am interested in sports, and the guyish side of me wants to talk aboout them ALL THE TIME! But, for whoever isnt interested in talking about sports, teh probably get bored with me. Why can't I be totally interested in foreign cultures, or the next world war, or poems people wrote centuries ago?
It seems to me like I am just being selfish... Selfish. Selfish. And more selfish. I only care about things that are happening to me, and things that I am interested in (which isnt much when I actually think about it), but I need to start caring and start listening to things that other people care about, so maybe I can find some things I am interested in myself.
See, once again I just now went into a rant about something completely off topic, when the bottom line is that I NEED to start caring more.. Not just about my grade in this class, but with things that are going on with my friends and family. A lot of people say I am a good listener, basically because I give good advice and I am really good at pretending like I care. Now for this new term of high school, I am not just going to pretend like I care, I am seriously going to care for once.
I really want to be the person that is so motivated that she just comes home and does all of her homework right away. I want to be disciplined enough to get it all done beofre anything else, and to do that I have to CARE.
That is my new term resloution.. Thanks for reading this drawn out explanation.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Dan Wheldon
Tragedy struck yesterday, at Las Vegas motor speedway. A lot of things were happening in this race already. First of all, it was the last Indy Car start for Danika Patrick. The only female in the whole field, is now leaving and going on to bigger things. Her dream of starting in a NASCAR race is going to come true. She landed a full ride in NASCAR under the JR Motorsports team. She is excited to get her first start in NASCAR, but is also sad to be leaving the Indy Car Racing series. Patrick ended her Indy career on a very sad day that resulted in the death of one of her close friends, fellow driver Dan Wheldon.
The drivers that race in this sport always know what can happen to them when they get behind the wheel. Unfortunately, that happened to a respected Indy car racer, Dan Wheldon. He is a great racer; in fact he won the Indy 500 race twice. This is not so easy to do. He is considered one of the greatest racers of his time, and this was a very big accomplishment.
The drivers at Las Vegas were complaining before the race about the very intense high speeds. It was unfortunate that nobody listened because this could have totally been prevented. If NASCAR officials would have listened to the drivers, they never would have raced on this track.
The track is a sort of track with a bigger speedway and smaller amounts of turning, which means the cars can get up to high speeds, and going into the turn could easily lose control. Indy car racing is a lot different than NASCAR because the quote “rubbing is racing” does not apply. If you even touch tires in an Indy car race, there is no body of the cars to absorb the hit. Tires touching going at such high speeds can cause cars to lose control quickly. This exact thing happened at Las Vegas that day, and it was horrible. To see the shear velocity at which the cars smashed into each other is very frightening to me.
I have included a video so you can check out the crash.
This had many replays so you can see that Wheldon went airborne and smashes head first into the fencing above the track. He was taken directly to a hospital and pronounced dead when he got there. Thankfully all of the other drivers were okay and not very hurt.
It is very hard for people in the race and people of the public to cope with this tragedy and I'm sure his family will be upset for a very long time. They just have to know that even though NASCAR has had many safety updates throughout the years, it is still a very dangerous sport and accidents do happen. At least he died doing something he loved.
R.I.P Dan Wheldon, you will be missed.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Twitter Account Madness
Okay so I'm going to stray from my sports topic for just one of these blog posts because something is going on that I have a lot to say about. Every day there is a new controversial topic going on at Kennedy, enough that I could probably carry on about 3 separate blogs just devoted to that. Now, I just had to write my thoughts on this topic because it is something I feel really strongly about.
The Twitter Crisis, it's worked its way up through the ranks to be the top topic to be heard in the Kennedy High School Hallways. I don't think that there is a person in this school that knows nothing about it, because news travels fast.
It all started a couple of days ago when some anonymous Twitter accounts were made. They exposed some really awful things about people. Some things I have heard before just as rumors at Kennedy, and others are brand new to me. I don't understand what went on in the peoples minds, and why they needed to do this.
Did something go wrong in their childhood? Are they too insecure about themselves that they have to go put other people down? Did they think they wouldn't get caught?
Everyone was trying to figure out who made the JFK_hoes Twitter account. I think it was actually sick how popular it got. It went from about 20 followers in the morning, to hundreds THAT night. It's ridiculous that people gave it that much attention. If nobody would have followed it and disregarded the tweets, it wouldn't even be a big deal right now. Honestly, I was guilty of it too, and even though I didn't follow it then I still checked periodically to see what they were tweeting. I didn't find it funny though. I found some of the stuff they were saying to just be rude and nasty. Half the stuff probably wasn't even true, and I saw how emotionally hurt some people were after seeing their names posted.
It was weird because even on the flip side some people were disappointed that they weren't the target of these awful posts. I heard a girl say in the hallway "I wish we were cool enough to be mentioned on @CR_Roast, that would probably never happen." And she was sad about it! What kind of person wants to be targeted and called mean things just to gain popularity? That showed that this whole Twitter thing was just a big joke. A not funny one, but a stupid, mean, hateful joke that nobody should have started.
The thing that really touched me was the next morning, when Dr. W. came on announcements to talk about it. She meant business to say that the accounts needed to be shut down now. Even the cop went on announcements to say that the shenanigans needed to stop and the person responsible would be caught and charged. I don't know how she is going to find out who is doing it, but it is worth a shot.
After those announcements, Mrs. Bark, my Spanish 3 teacher asked us what was going on. Apparently many teachers hadn't heard about the awful things happening. We told her, and she was almost in tears because she didn't know how people could be so mean to each other. The conversation she had with us was really touching and made me thing a lot about cyberbullying and bullying in general. There have been kids that have killed themselves because of this type of stuff. It really hurts to see someone going so far and being so hurtful on the fake Twitter accounts. It really sets a bad example and is against all of what Kennedy is about.
The accounts are off of the site now, but the hurt they caused people I'm sure will live forever.
The Twitter Crisis, it's worked its way up through the ranks to be the top topic to be heard in the Kennedy High School Hallways. I don't think that there is a person in this school that knows nothing about it, because news travels fast.
It all started a couple of days ago when some anonymous Twitter accounts were made. They exposed some really awful things about people. Some things I have heard before just as rumors at Kennedy, and others are brand new to me. I don't understand what went on in the peoples minds, and why they needed to do this.
Did something go wrong in their childhood? Are they too insecure about themselves that they have to go put other people down? Did they think they wouldn't get caught?
Everyone was trying to figure out who made the JFK_hoes Twitter account. I think it was actually sick how popular it got. It went from about 20 followers in the morning, to hundreds THAT night. It's ridiculous that people gave it that much attention. If nobody would have followed it and disregarded the tweets, it wouldn't even be a big deal right now. Honestly, I was guilty of it too, and even though I didn't follow it then I still checked periodically to see what they were tweeting. I didn't find it funny though. I found some of the stuff they were saying to just be rude and nasty. Half the stuff probably wasn't even true, and I saw how emotionally hurt some people were after seeing their names posted.
It was weird because even on the flip side some people were disappointed that they weren't the target of these awful posts. I heard a girl say in the hallway "I wish we were cool enough to be mentioned on @CR_Roast, that would probably never happen." And she was sad about it! What kind of person wants to be targeted and called mean things just to gain popularity? That showed that this whole Twitter thing was just a big joke. A not funny one, but a stupid, mean, hateful joke that nobody should have started.
The thing that really touched me was the next morning, when Dr. W. came on announcements to talk about it. She meant business to say that the accounts needed to be shut down now. Even the cop went on announcements to say that the shenanigans needed to stop and the person responsible would be caught and charged. I don't know how she is going to find out who is doing it, but it is worth a shot.
After those announcements, Mrs. Bark, my Spanish 3 teacher asked us what was going on. Apparently many teachers hadn't heard about the awful things happening. We told her, and she was almost in tears because she didn't know how people could be so mean to each other. The conversation she had with us was really touching and made me thing a lot about cyberbullying and bullying in general. There have been kids that have killed themselves because of this type of stuff. It really hurts to see someone going so far and being so hurtful on the fake Twitter accounts. It really sets a bad example and is against all of what Kennedy is about.
The accounts are off of the site now, but the hurt they caused people I'm sure will live forever.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
2 Teams Stay Undefeated
MY BELOVED COWBOYS GOT BEAT BY THE LIONS TODAY!
So going into NFL week 4 there were only 3 teams in the League that were 3-0. They were the Green Bay Packers (Superbowl champions), the Buffalo Bills, and the Detroit Lions. At first I was a little skeptical of a couple teams on that list, but one proved themselves today, because 2 teams are now still undefeated. Here's how it happened:
The Packers clearly did not have enough after winning the Superbowl last year, because they have came out super strong these first 4 weeks. Today the played the Denver Broncos, which was really no match for Green Bay. The Packers racked up the points to a 49-23 finish. I think that alot of their success has to do with Aaron Rodgers. In the game today, he threw for over 400 yards with 3 touchdowns, and ran the ball in for 2 more touchdowns! Rogers had his career best game today, and it looks like he isn't going to be stopped anytime soon. The Packers play the Atlanta Falcons coming up, so we will see what happens in the future.
When I realized the Bills were 3-0 I was in shock to be honest. In past years they haven't been so great but already this year the had 2 good comebacks against the Raiders and the Patriots. Now today, their good fortune has ran out because they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. They started out with a 17-3 lead, but I guess they are better when coming from behind.
This win is the most bitter of the wins to talk about this week. Going into this game, the Lions were 3-0 but they hadn't really beat the best teams in the league. They won against the 0-3 Chiefs, the 0-3 Vikings, and the Buccaneers, so it wasn't the most glorious. I thought for sure the Cowboys had the game wrapped up, because the Lions were down 17 points at halftime! They had a comeback with 2 defensive scores, because Tony Romo threw 2 picks. Dallas ended up losing by 4 and the Lions are still 4-0. They are the comeback kids of football right now so lets see if they can keep it up.
So going into NFL week 4 there were only 3 teams in the League that were 3-0. They were the Green Bay Packers (Superbowl champions), the Buffalo Bills, and the Detroit Lions. At first I was a little skeptical of a couple teams on that list, but one proved themselves today, because 2 teams are now still undefeated. Here's how it happened:
The Packers clearly did not have enough after winning the Superbowl last year, because they have came out super strong these first 4 weeks. Today the played the Denver Broncos, which was really no match for Green Bay. The Packers racked up the points to a 49-23 finish. I think that alot of their success has to do with Aaron Rodgers. In the game today, he threw for over 400 yards with 3 touchdowns, and ran the ball in for 2 more touchdowns! Rogers had his career best game today, and it looks like he isn't going to be stopped anytime soon. The Packers play the Atlanta Falcons coming up, so we will see what happens in the future.
When I realized the Bills were 3-0 I was in shock to be honest. In past years they haven't been so great but already this year the had 2 good comebacks against the Raiders and the Patriots. Now today, their good fortune has ran out because they lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. They started out with a 17-3 lead, but I guess they are better when coming from behind.
This win is the most bitter of the wins to talk about this week. Going into this game, the Lions were 3-0 but they hadn't really beat the best teams in the league. They won against the 0-3 Chiefs, the 0-3 Vikings, and the Buccaneers, so it wasn't the most glorious. I thought for sure the Cowboys had the game wrapped up, because the Lions were down 17 points at halftime! They had a comeback with 2 defensive scores, because Tony Romo threw 2 picks. Dallas ended up losing by 4 and the Lions are still 4-0. They are the comeback kids of football right now so lets see if they can keep it up.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Kennedy Crushed 'Em
Kennedy won tonight vs. Jefferson and the final score was 34 to 0! I think that will boost our team moral going into games in the future. We were definitely expected to with this game, and I am glad we shut them out. With this victory Jefferson moves to 6-0 this year, and still has their losing streak, now up to 21-0.
We played a great game and had a great cheering section for the Cougars. We tried to do stripes of green and gold in the student section, but that idea didn't really work out. Next time we should stick to all one theme.
And I might just say that I'm getting really tired of Jefferson always "hunting for the Cougars" and wearing hunting gear every time they play us. They should try to find something new next time. Oh well, the Cougars got the win.
We played a great game and had a great cheering section for the Cougars. We tried to do stripes of green and gold in the student section, but that idea didn't really work out. Next time we should stick to all one theme.
And I might just say that I'm getting really tired of Jefferson always "hunting for the Cougars" and wearing hunting gear every time they play us. They should try to find something new next time. Oh well, the Cougars got the win.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Iowa Grown Racer
According to my parents, I was born and raised on the racetrack. This was because my grandpa used to race stock cars, so I was always at local tracks like Hawkeye Downs, Vinton, Farley, and Knoxville. I guess his love for racing was passed down to everyone in my family. We don't race or anything, and my grandpa gave it up a long time ago, but we all still love to watch NASCAR and other local races.
It's kind of been exciting because my favorite driver at hawkeye downs, since I was little, was Landon Cassill. Back then he was just a boy with a big dream, but this dream has turned into reality for him. He apparently started racing when he was just 3 years old, just go karts obviously, but it was still racing. He raced dirt bikes, and other cart races up in Newton, Iowa as early as age 10. When I first started liking him was when I saw him drive at hawkeye downs. I remember going to the races there every weekend, when he would race midget cars. I would always look up to him because he was a younger kid, just a few years older than me. The first time I watched him race I was probably just 7 years old. He was the KCRG number 9 car, and he eventually moved up and raced in a class called Late Models. Cassill was a great driver, with mostly clean passes and good intentions. I remember crying whenever somebody would spin him out or if he was out of the race for some reason. He worked his way up to the ASA series and did all this while he was going to high school. Cassill went to Jefferson, (Boooo!) and back then he was a pretty normal kid. I remember hearing that he broke the record for youngest winner in the ASA series and I was so happy. He even made me at one point want to be a race car driver when I grew up.
Landon went to a capitol of race car driving, Charlotte North Carolina to show off his driving talent. He participated in the 2006 GM Racing Development competition. This landed him a deal to be a test driver for Hendrick Motorsports. For the past 5 years, this is what he has been doing. In 2008 he started racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series under the race team JR motorsports (founded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.). He was the number 5 Chevrolet, and this is when I started following him again. In his first year of racing Nationwide cars he ran a limited schedule, only 19 races, and still won rookie of the year! That is a big accomplishment considering only 2 other drivers in history have won that honor when they weren't racing full time. Out of his 19 starts, he put together five top-10 finishes.
It's kind of been exciting because my favorite driver at hawkeye downs, since I was little, was Landon Cassill. Back then he was just a boy with a big dream, but this dream has turned into reality for him. He apparently started racing when he was just 3 years old, just go karts obviously, but it was still racing. He raced dirt bikes, and other cart races up in Newton, Iowa as early as age 10. When I first started liking him was when I saw him drive at hawkeye downs. I remember going to the races there every weekend, when he would race midget cars. I would always look up to him because he was a younger kid, just a few years older than me. The first time I watched him race I was probably just 7 years old. He was the KCRG number 9 car, and he eventually moved up and raced in a class called Late Models. Cassill was a great driver, with mostly clean passes and good intentions. I remember crying whenever somebody would spin him out or if he was out of the race for some reason. He worked his way up to the ASA series and did all this while he was going to high school. Cassill went to Jefferson, (Boooo!) and back then he was a pretty normal kid. I remember hearing that he broke the record for youngest winner in the ASA series and I was so happy. He even made me at one point want to be a race car driver when I grew up.
Landon went to a capitol of race car driving, Charlotte North Carolina to show off his driving talent. He participated in the 2006 GM Racing Development competition. This landed him a deal to be a test driver for Hendrick Motorsports. For the past 5 years, this is what he has been doing. In 2008 he started racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series under the race team JR motorsports (founded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.). He was the number 5 Chevrolet, and this is when I started following him again. In his first year of racing Nationwide cars he ran a limited schedule, only 19 races, and still won rookie of the year! That is a big accomplishment considering only 2 other drivers in history have won that honor when they weren't racing full time. Out of his 19 starts, he put together five top-10 finishes.
Even since then, Cassill has grown as a racer a lot. In 2010 he officially made his NASCAR Sprint Cup debut. At 21 years old he started racing full time for Phoenix racing. He went from just testing cars for Hendrick Motorsports, to driving the number 51 Cheverolet. The top finish of his career was 12th at the beginning of this year at the Michigan race track. As a young driver he has to prove himself, especially now as he looks for his sponsors. His main goal is just for his team to have faith in him, and to learn from every experience he has.
“I want to keep showing improvement to a point that my team has enough faith in me that I can do this and I can be in the car every week."
“We expect it to be tough, and sometimes we have some good weeks and sometimes we have bad weeks. And you kind of see what makes you run good then you kind of see what you did that helped out and try to repeat it and when you run bad you try not to do it again.”
Cassill knows how hard Sprint Cups rides are to come by, and he is very grateful for all his chances. It was amazing that he grew up in Cedar Rapids, and that I used to go watch him race late models every single week. My family always said he had great potential, and the fact that he made his dream come true shows he has a lot of talent and a lot of heart.
In the end, when we think of famous people that grew up in Cedar Rapids, names that come up are Ashton Kutcher, Kurt Warner, Grant Wood, and Zach Johnson. You don't often think about Landon Cassill as being somebody who is super famous yet. Most people don't even know he started his career here. I think this 22 year old kid still has a lot of potential to make an even bigger name for himself over his years.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Racial Sports Tensions
There is a great controversy dealing with sports and school mascots still going on today. Native Americans have spoken up about mascots that offend them. As white Americans, many of us don't know the Native American history, but for many years they didn't have a voice. Well now they do and they are taking a stand on this issue.
Today, many schools and teams have names and logos that are offensive to Native Americans. We don't realize this as much because for years and years we as kids have "played Indian" and didn't think anything of it. We don't realize that as kids and as adults we all are exposed to the Native American stereotype that they ride horses, do chants, are crazily religious, and wear feathers in their hair. We borrowed names like the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and the Florida State Seminoles all from Native American concepts. The word Indian is not an appropriate name for a Native American and the term Redskin is even worse. On top of that, the mascots and team symbols are also degrading to the people and their heritage.
Many Native American people are pushing for the names, symbols, and mascots of the teams to be changed. They don't think its fair to use Indian and Redskin as a term referring to their race of people. Also, the mascots and symbols are not true to what a Native American looks like. Take Chief Illiniwick for instance, he was the Indian mascot for the University of Illinois that used to dance around at halftime of the football and basketball games. The school said that Chief Illiniwick's dance was an "authentic and traditional Native American dance" when it really wasn't. Many people then stood up against the school because he was said to be mocking the Native American race and their customs. He was stereotyping them as being crazy people that paint their faces, wear big feather headdresses, and dance around. They eventually banned him from doing the show anymore because it was considered hostile and abusive. Below is Chief Illiniwick's last dance at an Illinois basketball game in 2007.
I was really happy to hear some schools are changing their mascots willingly, and not just because they have to. For example Marquette University used to be named the Warriors, but changed their name to the Golden Eagles instead, the president of the school said this: "We live in a different era than when the Warriors nickname was selected in 1954. The perspective of time has shown us that our actions, intended or not, can offend others. We must not knowingly act in a way that others will believe, based on their experience, to be an attack on their dignity as fellow human beings."
I agree with what some schools and teams are doing by making an effort to change, but I think it needs to happen in professional sports as well. The Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Braves, and Cleveland Indians still use the same logos that portray Native Americans in a negative way.
Today, many schools and teams have names and logos that are offensive to Native Americans. We don't realize this as much because for years and years we as kids have "played Indian" and didn't think anything of it. We don't realize that as kids and as adults we all are exposed to the Native American stereotype that they ride horses, do chants, are crazily religious, and wear feathers in their hair. We borrowed names like the Chicago Blackhawks, Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, and the Florida State Seminoles all from Native American concepts. The word Indian is not an appropriate name for a Native American and the term Redskin is even worse. On top of that, the mascots and team symbols are also degrading to the people and their heritage.
Many Native American people are pushing for the names, symbols, and mascots of the teams to be changed. They don't think its fair to use Indian and Redskin as a term referring to their race of people. Also, the mascots and symbols are not true to what a Native American looks like. Take Chief Illiniwick for instance, he was the Indian mascot for the University of Illinois that used to dance around at halftime of the football and basketball games. The school said that Chief Illiniwick's dance was an "authentic and traditional Native American dance" when it really wasn't. Many people then stood up against the school because he was said to be mocking the Native American race and their customs. He was stereotyping them as being crazy people that paint their faces, wear big feather headdresses, and dance around. They eventually banned him from doing the show anymore because it was considered hostile and abusive. Below is Chief Illiniwick's last dance at an Illinois basketball game in 2007.
On the other side, many people are opposing changing the names of the rest of the teams considered offensive. First of all, many people cannot handle change. When fans have been rooting for their team for a very long time, they don't want to mess with tradition. The majority of people would be upset if their team had to change it's name. Others say that the names and symbols are not meant to be abusive to Native Americans, but are meant to pay tribute to their race and all they have been though. Kurt Swanson, vice president of the Washington Redskins, said the name Redskins, "Symbolizes courage, dignity, and the greatness and strength of a grand people." So many of the people that named the teams years ago had good intentions, and today they still think that they are just honoring the Native Americans.
In my opinion, the names and symbols that are considered offensive need to be removed. What would happen if we had a team named the Washington Blackskins? The Cleveland Jews? The Atlanta Whites? It would be a big deal and be really offensive to the races of people living here, right? So why isn't it a big deal to use these names for the Native American race? Yes, they are a minority group in this situation because they want the team names changed, but if it brings offense to them I think as Americans we should just deal with the changing tradition. America is about freedom and not discriminating against anybody, so we need to change the names and logos of the teams to something less demeaning.
I agree with what some schools and teams are doing by making an effort to change, but I think it needs to happen in professional sports as well. The Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Braves, and Cleveland Indians still use the same logos that portray Native Americans in a negative way.
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| Washington Redskins |
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| Chief Wahoo (Cleveland Indians) |
The First thing I think of when I see theses logos is that the Native American race is being cartooned and pretty much being made fun of. This is not the vision that should pop into a persons head of what a Native American is, but unfortunately for so many Americans that is the case. That is because at the games of these teams, fans dress up to look like the stereotype of being Native American.
The last reason why I think the teams names should be changed is that some of the things we say as fans of teams can be very wrong and derogatory towards the Native American race. As a total Dallas Cowboys fan, i even find myself making comments. The Washington Redskins are a big rivalry for the Cowboys, and at games people, including myself, shout things like "Kill the Redskins!!" Now how do you think that makes a redskin, an offensive term for Native American, feel? You are essentially saying "Kill the Native Americans!!" and to me, that is just not right.
Hobby and a Sport
To many people, when they think of bowling and golf, they think of the word hobby. It is just something you go play on the weekends that takes little to no skill. I play both of theese sports for Kennedy, so I know that both of them take determination and practice, just like any other sport out there. No, they are not the two most physical sports you can play, but both require a lot of accuracy.
In bowling, it isn't just about throwing the ball down the lane anywhere. It is a careful science of hooking the ball into the pocket. You do this by hitting a board, your mark on the lane, just one inch wide. Then, you have to calculate how many boards left or right you need to move your feet to pick up the spare, and hit the same mark again. If you miss your one inch mark you have a good chance of missing the spare.
Golf is all about patience. You drive the ball off the tee and try to hit it far while still being accurate on the spot you want. Golf is good because if you misshit a ball every once in awhile, you can make up for it by making a good recovery shot. It takes time to fine tune your swing, and determine which clubs you need to hit for each different shot.
Both sports are all about practice, so I think they should be taken seriously. I often get laughed at for not play the most popular sports, but both of the sports I play for school do take some serious work.
In bowling, it isn't just about throwing the ball down the lane anywhere. It is a careful science of hooking the ball into the pocket. You do this by hitting a board, your mark on the lane, just one inch wide. Then, you have to calculate how many boards left or right you need to move your feet to pick up the spare, and hit the same mark again. If you miss your one inch mark you have a good chance of missing the spare.
Golf is all about patience. You drive the ball off the tee and try to hit it far while still being accurate on the spot you want. Golf is good because if you misshit a ball every once in awhile, you can make up for it by making a good recovery shot. It takes time to fine tune your swing, and determine which clubs you need to hit for each different shot.
Both sports are all about practice, so I think they should be taken seriously. I often get laughed at for not play the most popular sports, but both of the sports I play for school do take some serious work.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
My First Blog Post. Ever.
Sports. Sports. Sports. There is nothing more interesting to me to talk about. I can argue about how the Dallas Cowboys should have won that game last Sunday night, or about how women should get as equal opportunities as men. I can talk about sporting events going on at Kennedy, because right now cross country, volleyball, women's swimming, men's golf, and football are in the middle of their seasons. I basically just want to "get in the conversation" and provide my opinions on the world of sports.
As for my first post, this is it. It isn't as glamorous as I thought it was going to be. I have so many different topics I can write about but I guess I don't know where to start. First of all, I will say that I am doing this blog for an AP Language class I am taking in high school. I wasn't so sure about the idea at first, but I think it might turn out to be a good thing for me to get some of my ideas out there. The reason I chose sports for a topic is that I am in love with both watching and playing sports. The sports I play are volleyball, bowling, golf, and softball so I guess I am partial to those, but I watch almost every single sport out there. My favorites to watch would have to be football, golf, and NASCAR.
My Favorite Teams or Players:
Football- Dallas Cowboys, Iowa Hawkeyes
Basketball- Boston Celtics, Iowa Hawkeyes
Baseball- Chicago Cubbies
NASCAR Driver- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Golf Player- Rickie Fowler
Bowler- Norm Duke
Hockey- Chicago Blackhawks
So you will probably hear a lot about those teams as I continue with this blog. Also, I really want to make it a point to talk about Kennedy High School sports as well. I find it important to have pride in my school, so I make it a point to attend as many athletic events as I can. Along with that, I will blog about the sports I play for school, which is just bowling and golf now. This blog will probably change over the course of the year because certain sports are play during certain parts of the year. Overall I can't wait to dig in and actually blog about some topics.
As for my first post, this is it. It isn't as glamorous as I thought it was going to be. I have so many different topics I can write about but I guess I don't know where to start. First of all, I will say that I am doing this blog for an AP Language class I am taking in high school. I wasn't so sure about the idea at first, but I think it might turn out to be a good thing for me to get some of my ideas out there. The reason I chose sports for a topic is that I am in love with both watching and playing sports. The sports I play are volleyball, bowling, golf, and softball so I guess I am partial to those, but I watch almost every single sport out there. My favorites to watch would have to be football, golf, and NASCAR.
My Favorite Teams or Players:
Football- Dallas Cowboys, Iowa Hawkeyes
Basketball- Boston Celtics, Iowa Hawkeyes
Baseball- Chicago Cubbies
NASCAR Driver- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Golf Player- Rickie Fowler
Bowler- Norm Duke
Hockey- Chicago Blackhawks
So you will probably hear a lot about those teams as I continue with this blog. Also, I really want to make it a point to talk about Kennedy High School sports as well. I find it important to have pride in my school, so I make it a point to attend as many athletic events as I can. Along with that, I will blog about the sports I play for school, which is just bowling and golf now. This blog will probably change over the course of the year because certain sports are play during certain parts of the year. Overall I can't wait to dig in and actually blog about some topics.
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