R1. Summer

The best part about the end of the school year is the great weather, and baseball season.  School near the end of the year gets to be really tough on the students.  I mean they are always day dreaming about how they can't wait to get outside and they're thinking about what they are going to do with all their friends later.  And it ruins their concentration in the classroom.  But nevertheless no matter who you are, or how smart you are, everyone gets into this mode, I mean how can't you.  Lately it's been like 80's and beautiful out.  But, more importantly, the best part about the end of the school year is the fact that summer is not too far away.  There is only 13 days left of school here at Alden High School, and the students cannot wait, I know I'm one of them.  And also at the end of the school season, is the spring sports season.  Baseball is probably my most favorite sport of all the different ones that I play.  And it is also the one that I have the most talent in.  I love getting out there in the nice weather, and I don't know what it is but for some reason I just love the sport and everything about it.  Summer may be the best time of the year by far, and even though it is a very busy time for me, the weather is just perfect for me.  I love warm weather and playing out in the sun so much better than the cold and playing outside in the snow.  Even though the snow does have its moments.  I cannot wait for this summer and I am very excited.  I just hope it doesn’t fly by like all the other summers do.  I just want it for once to feel like it lasts forever and I can do everything I want to do during my couple months off of school.  Hopefully its everything it lives up to be.

Q5. The Heat

For my choice blog I am going to write about the NBA playoffs that began about over two weeks ago. The playoffs consist of 3 rounds in your conference and a fourth round that features the two best teams in each conference. This year the Eastern Conference featured the Chicago Bulls who were the number one seed but due to a knee injury to their star point guard Derrick Rose who won the MVP the previous year. The Bulls were knocked out by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. But the Miami Heat led by star forward LeBron James who was the winner of the MVP this season. The Heat are led by their big three, James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. The three all came together last season and the team was filled with high expectations. Last season they lost in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, but this year they already have made it into the second round cruising through the New York Knicks. They now trail the Pacers 2-1 in the second round series. In a series that they lost Bosh due to an injury. In the West, the Thunder are the team to beat. Led by scoring leader Kevin Durant, and guard Russell Westbrook they are the young team and arguably the best team. But, the Thunder have a lot of competition with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, are a team that does have a lot of age but with age comes experience and they have been here before and they have a championship. They are looking for multiple rings and are also looking to take down the Thunder. I think that the playoffs this year will be very entertaining. Hopefully, my team, the Heat, will get their first ring with the big three.

Q4. #2

I have many icons in the world or figures that really inspire me to do my best or take my game to the next level.  Derek Jeter is probably one of my favorites in all sports.  He is a baseball for the New York Yankees, my favorite team in Major League Baseball.  He plays shortstop for them, and has been for the past 16 years.  He started his rookie season when I was born, and the amazing thing is, he's been with the Yankees for every single one of those years.  Last season he achieved a very difficult milestone to achieve that not many people have gotten to before.  Last season in a game at home against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Derek Jeter stepped into the box looking for his 3,000 hit.  He would have to get that off of James Shields the, starting pitcher for the Rays on this day.  And Jeter took a hard fastball he got, and he drove it out of the stands.  An amazing accomplishment that will live in his legacy forever.  I know it will in my memory.  And he also is having his best year of his career yet this season.  He bats leadoff for the Yankees and is batting over .315 with a power surge from him.  He already has more home runs this year than he did at the all-star break last year.  Jeter also helps out in the community, he is as real and as genuine of a person as you can get.  I wish one day I could be like him, and he is the best role model anyone could ever have.  Hopefully he can lead the team to another championship this season.  And another all-star appearance for him.  I wish all professional athletes could be like him and not unprofessional.

Q3. English Reading

Every year since about 6th grade we've read a book in class.  To be honest, I don't remember most of the books that we had to read.  In 8th grade, the only book I really remember is "The Outsiders."  Last year in 9th grade I remember reading "My Darling, My Hamburger" and "The Odyssey" and "Romeo and Juliet."  So far this year in 10th grade we have read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and I know that it is a classic and it is pretty good.  "The Outsiders" is about all the different clicks and groups in high school back in the old days.  The greasers vs. the jocks is the major battle in this story and it is a very inspiring and moving book.  What Pony Boy does is remarkable.  "My Darling, My Hamburger" was probably my favorite of all the books and stories we read during my freshman year.  It's about these teenagers in high school and the trouble that they get it in and the things they do.  It really is a perfect story for high school kids and the things that they shouldn't do.  It gets into depth of the situations that can help you get out of hard times.  It also realizes what the true meaning of friendship is and how you don't need to do something you don't want to be doing or shouldn't be doing.  I recommend this to everyone.  "To Kill a Mockingbird" is the book we are reading in English now and we are about halfway done with it.  I enjoy the book and it is very interesting to what happened racism wise back in the day.  It is a very educational book that I like and I think people of all ages should read it.  I know most kids my age don't really like reading, but I do sometimes, even though I rarely have the time to do it.  That's why I like it when we read in school, and it helps prepare myself for big tests and such.

Q2. Another Busy Summer

This summer is going to be very busy for me, and it is actually going to be the same deal it was with last year.  I will be traveling all over the north eastern part of the states going to all these different baseball tournaments with my summer travel team.  We are going to the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Boston, and either Maryland or New Jersey pending on how our team is, and how we do in the year.  We start right after school baseball and right when school is about to end.  Right around the first week or so in June, is when we have our first tournament, we start locally, the first tournament or so in Batavia, then we go all over.  We have a tournament every weekend from like the first week in June, all the way up until the first week in August.  I really enjoy it and I get to spend a lot of time with my teammates.  Other than this, there's a summer basketball league through the school which I'll be at, and football starts in July and then starts back up again in the middle of August as we get ready for what should be an excellent season.  We have an awesome team and we are looking to make a run towards the State Championship this year.  I'm going to be going to a football camp in July and some baseball camps for colleges.  Somehow someway I am going to make time for all my friends in there too.  I am looking forward to what should be a very busy summer for me and for my family as well.  I hope everything goes smoothly and everything goes as planned, so I can achieve my goals as planned for my life.

Q1. Rain, Rain, Go Away

You know, the weather this entire Spring season has been absolutley atrosious.  I mean honestly, why does it always have to rain every single baseball season, it's awful.  And boring and annoying.  Like I don't get it.  Esoecially since there was literally no snow all Winter for the most part.  AND the fact that for like a week or two period in March, there were days it was pretty much 80 degrees and beautiful out.  All in a row, it's rediculous, and then like always baseball season rolls around and we get in the same situation were always in.  The rain backs us up or whatever and we end up trying to cram games in the end of the season.  Like the season is supposed to end next week and our team still has six games to play, SIX!  That's hoping every game gets played as scheduled.  And I know there isn't anything anyone can do about it but it's dumb.  But, this isn't really why I;m writing this blog.  I'm really writing it because of the disappointment I had on this past Monday.  We were scheduled to host JFK, a team that we had already lost to earlier in the season.  Coach gave me the opportunity to start the game on the mound, and I was seriously so excited for this game and could not wait at all.  But to suprise all of you, the game got cancelled due to rain.  I was very angry at this, even though I know there wasn't anything I could do, I was still really mad about it.  But, it doesn;t matter today I get to start against Lackawanna, hopefully I do good and our team gets a win.

P5. BCS System

And for my final blog of the week, I am going to write about the possibility of a playoff system in division one College Football.  Now a lot of people hate the BCS system and how it works today.  They feel like it isn't fair to some of the teams that only had one loss in the season that year.  And it doesn't give them a chance to prove themselves or how good the team can be.  I mean like, what if a team loses its first game of the season and won the rest of their games, but two other teams were in front of them because they went undefeated.  Like take the Oregon Ducks of last season.  This team was in the championship game the year before but lost to Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers.  But anyways, there were obviously some huge expectations from this team and they were in the top 10 of the preseason poll.  And in their first game of the season they took on the LSU Tigers who also had big expectations, and were also in the preseason top 10 poll.  It was a very intense game, but there could only be one winner.  And so Oregon came out of the game with a loss, and so they started off with a loss of course.  And even though they didn't win the rest of their games, if they did they may not have been in the championship if there were two other teams who went undefeated.  But anyways, it has been reported that college football may be coming out with a 4 team playoff system, and even though that isn't the best, it is much better than how it is.  I really hope they get this a done deal, it would make everyone much more into it.

P4. The New York Yankees

For my first choice blog of the week I am going to do like an update on the New York Yankees 2012 baseball season.  So far they've been like p and down all year.  I mean the first three games were in Tampa Bay to take on the Rays in the opening series of the year and we got swept in a poor effort right off the beginning if you ask me.  But then, we win four in a row and were looking good.  But overall it has been and up and down year through the first month of the season.  The pitching has been a little iffy at times and the hitting has been iffy at times, you never know what you'll get yet.  CC Sabathia is 3 and 0 so far this year so he's looking good.  Hiroki Kuroda who they brought in this year has been on and off.  One day he looks perfect and then the next he's awful.  And the sad thing is he leads the team with an ERA of 3.69.  That isn't very good if you'd ask me or anyone in that clubhouse.  He and the rest of that pitching staff needs to improve.  We lost Michael Pineda for the season which is a bad blow, and Freddy Garcia had to go to the bullpen because he is so bad.  David Phelps, long reliever for the Yankees has looked sharp and will make his first start tonight against the Orioles.  And Andy Pettitte will be coming to the Big leagues once again very soon hopefully.  But anyways were sitting 4th in the AL East, 3.5 games back.  That isn't that good enough but, I know it is still early and I'm looking forward to being in first at the end of the season.

P3. Teaching Problems

I can see how people have different opinions towards this article and I don't really understand this system.  I mean I know why they are doing these ratings, and I know what they are rating, but I don't feel like this is fair at all.  I mean the people don't know the situation at the school, or with the students.  I mean, what if there isn't a whole lot of resources for the teachers to use, maybe their budget at school is a whole lot worse as compared to some of the other schools out here in Western New York.  I don't know I think I just feel bad for those who aren't getting high ratings and may have to suffer some severe consequences.  It isn't fair to them at all, I mean especially to the woman who even though her students’ grades were not that good, most of them passed the exam.  It's pretty sad that academics has come to this in the first place.  I'm sure that the teachers that have low ratings is because the students they have are not putting any effort into it at all.  It really is not fair at all and I feel really bad for all these people.  Hopefully nothing really bad will happen to them like losing their job and everything.  That would be terrible, I hope this all gets sorts out and they change the rating system.  My mom is a teacher and even though she teaches younger kids, I know that if she were to teach older kids that she wouldn't appreciate the system if her students weren't the best.  And I know that it wouldn't be fair to lose a job or take a pay cut due to that.  It is a very important issue that seems to be over looked and I think we need to fix it.

P2. A Success

Approximately seven months ago, I typed a blog that had to do with all of my goals for the 2011-2012 school/athletic season for me.  And you'll be glad to hear that I have accomplished almost every goal that I have set for myself.  Academically, my goal for this year was to continue my success, and keep on the honor roll.  Last year I was able to get on it all eight times, hoping to continue my streak, so far I have been on it the first three out of three times and I will complete this challenge pending the final quarter of the school year which we are currently in now.  In basketball, I was able to become a captain of the JV team, along with Nick Kibler.  We really did have a solid season as well; we went 14 and 4, even though we had some heartbreaking losses.  One in particular, a loss to Cleve-Hill, in which we missed a shot at the buzzer down by two.  A very disappointing loss that made me 0 and 8 against them in basketball in my career.  On the bright side, I was called up to Varsity for the playoffs and I really am looking forward to next season and for that first win against Cleve--Hill.  Now into the Baseball season.  Well I did get onto Varsity right from the beginning, and I am having a decent amount of success.  Although the weather of recent late has been horrible I've been having fun, and have taken advantage of every opportunity I've had, whether it's pitching or fielding.  I'm looking forward to completing all my goals after the school year, and am even more eager for next school year, which will be the biggest school year for academics and athletics of my life.