Who Wants To Be A Millionare: Sports Edition

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SPURS WIN!

The greatest team in the NBA beat the Memphis grizzlies this last Wednesday, with the final score at 93-87. The spurs had lost the first game, which made all of us Spurs fans worried. Everyone thought that the Spurs could still win without Manu Ginobili, but that turned out to be not entirely true. The Spurs are obviously capable of beating any team, no matter who's injured, but Manu Ginobili just brings a little extra element to the game that can't be replicated. In an interview on the ESPN website, Ginobili and discussed his game experience. He had not played in ten days, and he still was supposed to take it easy so that his injured elbow could heal, but he still managed to bring a little extra push that helped the spurs to win. The spurs played a much more aggressive game this time around, with Tim Duncan fouling out after 35 minutes of play, of course this was after he managed to pick up 16 points, 10 rebounds, a few blocks, and a steal. Manu Ginobili didn't do that great as far as field goals go, but he still made 5 baskets, and 7 free throws, along with 4 steals, 7 rebound, 4 assists, and even a block. Nice job Ginobili, nice job. The next game for the Spurs is tomorrow in Memphis, and hopefully by then, Manu Ginobili's elbow will be better, and he will have a little more practice in, and the game won't even be a close one like it was this last time. GO SPURS GO!

-Los Spurs

Dodgers for Sale!

Going once! Going twice! Taken, by the MLB! In case you haven't heard, the Dodgers no longer have an owner, and are now under the control of Major League Baseball. Yes, this is the Los Angeles Dodgers were talking about. You know, one of the game's most storied franchises, the team Jackie Robinson played on. Wow. And one of the major reasons for this is: a divorce. Former owner of the Dodgers Frank McCourt was divorced by his wife of 30 years on October 2009, and since then the franchise has been consumed by their fighting, financial problems, and poor play by the team. The Dodgers haven't won the championship title since 1988, the longest period of time that the team hasn't taken the trophy back to LA.Bud Selig, the commissioner of Baseball, appointed a trustee to oversee all aspects of the club on Wednesday, causing outrage and uproar from everyone in the sports world, including McCourt. One of the reasons he chose to make the move at this time was a story from the Los Angeles Times that reported that McCourt had arranged a $30 million dollar loan with Fox, the Dodger's TV partner. This money was reportedly needed to make payroll, a major issue for the team. We have yet to see whether McCourt will sue or not, although it is expected. See the article here, and post comments to voice your opinion.

JRod's 3 Leads

Descriptive: Dressed in dark green Gumby costumes, five young men and women dance their way down Congress Avenue towards the Capitol. Trotting alongside them, dressed in short red shorts and a blue shirt, is Superman, his red cape trailing behind him in the wind. Joining the crowd are Thing 1 and Thing 2, skipping through the crowd with wide grins permanently fixed on their faces, just happy to be part of the spectacle. A hundred feet away, Mario and Luigi are busy racing down the avenue, each of them driving a small cardboard kart.

The race has begun.

Direct Quote: "This was his favorite race." His mother doesn't look sad or mad when she says it. It's become a fact. Another fact: He was 18 when he died. But just because it is a fact doesn't mean it has lost its meaning. His death has given her a purpose. A reason to run the race.

Kathy H. Feature Story Leads

So far I only have two and they're kind of long so... Enjoy

1. Descriptive

PEW PEW PEW DING DING DING CLINK BZZZZ....

The noise of hundreds of different sounds all playing at once, and the flashing, pulsing, blinding lights; only the craziest of people would dare to face this madness. But for the crew at the Pinballz arcade, this is all in a day's work...


2. Compare and Contrast

Main Event. Dave & Busters. Gatti Land. Confusion, noise, tripping over rampant youngsters, dodging masses of teens. Over priced and overcrowded. This is the kind of atmosphere that parents these days present to their children when they want to go out and play.

However, there is hope. There is a safe place where parents can let their children run around without worry. A cool place where teenagers can come and hang out. A place for adults to relive their past. Birthday party. Date night. Girls night out. A place to get out of the office, out of the house, off the couch, off the computer, and into an environment of fun and excitement for all people.

One of a kind. Cool. Hip. Rad. Pinballz is all you could ever want out of an arcade. Inexpensive and user friendly, the Pinballz arcade is a place where you can connect with your inner pinball wizard and hone in on your skill with the flippers. With over 90 different types of pinball machines and almost every other arcade game imaginable, this really is the place to be.




I think that very last paragraph should be a nut graph, but whateves.

Comment por favor!!

Kathy H.

Call it lame. Call it Nerd Heaven. Call it what you like, but there's a new arcade in town. The Pinballz arcade just opened last November and is becoming increasingly popular to young and old people alike. Little kids at a birthday party, 40 year olds on a nostalgia trip; all are welcome. The arcade has over 90 different kinds of Pinball machines, as well as arcade games of all shapes and sizes. From Tron to Pacman, Skee ball to Wheel of Fortune, the Pinballz arcade has it all. Date night, girls night out, whatever, Pinballz is the place to be. For the so inclined, the arcade has several clinics set up for people who are interested in honing their flipper skills. Tournaments and special events give you a chance to compete with other players and win prizes. Whether you are considering buying, or just looking for a good time, the Pinballz arcade is a great place to check out.

Kathy H.

Cap10K Feature Story

Right now my feature story is going pretty well. Doing the interviews was a lot of fun, since I actually ran the race instead of waiting at the beginning and the end of the race like I had originally planned. It was cool running alongside different participants and interviewing them as they ran the race. If you've never been to the cap 10K, you definitely should try it out. All the costumes, live music, and

funny posters along the way made it a lot easier to run. My interviewees were all pretty interesting people wearing cool costumes, and all in all it was a lot of fun to interview the people.

JRod

My interview experience

I had a pretty successful interviewing experience. I was interview friends that I knew well, and i was able to set up interviews with the first three people I asked. The topic was something they were all very familiar with, so they had no trouble talking about it. I went to talk to the people, and it seemed like they had a different kind of attitude while being interviewed, compared to the one they usually express. They seemed a little bit more serious, and made more attempts to talk formally. This could have been because they had experienced ezine, and they know how important it is to have good quotes. Either way, I was able to get some interesting quotes out of it. However, there were times when I could not get a good answer, and the interviewee would only respond with 1-3 word sentences. I attempted to use different follow up questions, to try and get them to make a decent quote, but at times, it was to no avail. Also, because I knew the interviewees well, every once in a while, they would go a little bit off topic and talk about something else, but I was able to keep the interview on track. Overall, it was a pretty interesting experience.
-Los Spurs

Giving Back

With the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan, we've all heard about celebrities reaching out to help the Japanese people recover. Japanese players in Major league Baseball have asked for moments of silence before games shortly after the quake, and organizations such as the Skiers Helping Japan have been formed by groups of former and current athletes to send Japan encouragement and money. One particularly interesting case is that of pro golfer Ryo Ishikawa

, a 19-year old golf phenom who had family and friends in Japan during the disaster. He announced he was doing something few other athletes would volunteer to do: He will give all his tournament winnings to Japan, as well as $750 per birdie. Last year he made 341 birdies, making the total sum of money he is estimated to donate around $2 million. What Ishikawa is doing right now is simply amazing. Giving away the majority of his total earnings each year (the amount of money does not include sponsorship deals), is an incredible deed that deserves recognition. Wealthy people all over the world are contributing, but relief will need to continue over a longer period of time in order for Japan to recover as much as possible. Keeping swinging Ishikawa. All of Japan is rooting for you.

-JROD

NFL players-From a Florida mall to Uganda

With a possibility of no NFL season next year, the players need to do something with their spare time. According to the article here, the football have some pretty different ideas. 10 players, including Roy Williams, Adrian Peterson, and Santonio Holmes, spent a week in Uganda doing a variety of different tasks. They helped to dig water wells at schools, helped to fit hearing aids, and also passed out "mislabeled" super bowl championship shirts that were made if the Jets had won. I think it is really cool that they are spending their time helping others. I also found it interesting that they actually got to hand out the shirts. I had already know that the shirts were given to poorer countries, but I did not know that on occasion actual players distribute the shirts. Chad Ochocinco is staying in shape by spending his time on the reserve team for a soccer club in Kansas city. He is very excited that he made it on the squad, and he says he will be in great shape, because soccer is a lot longer time period, without the breaks in between. His action is not as great as going to Uganda, but it's always good to stay in shape. Then, with an entirely unproductive story, is Dez Bryant. Now Dez Bryant is one of my favorite players as far as skills go, but as an NFL player, he needs to make sure he behaves well in public, which is the opposite of what he did. In a Florida mall, Dez Bryant and his "posse" had been kicked out after violating the dress code by having his pants too low. He was asked to pull up his pants, but being who he is, he argued with the security, and then was kicked out of the mall.

-Los Spurs

Flying Fish???

While vacationing in Florida with her family on tuesday, Jenny Hausch was attacked by this 200 pound stingray. But Jenny wasn't in the water. Sitting in their tour boat, the stingray jumped out of the water and struck her in the chest. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission team tied a rope around the fish to pull it back into the water. Jenny was apparently unharmed, but another man was stung and got the barb stuck in his chest. Surgeons on Wednsday and Thursday were able to remove it without any further damage. The stingray is protected in Florida waters and is considered to be a non-aggressive species and of little danger to humans. I guess for one stingray, flying under the sea just wasn't good enough.

Link for more information.

Kathy H.

Why Baseball Will Never Escape Performance Enhancing Drugs

Barry Bonds is back on trial, this time for perjury and obstruction of justice. A recent article by ESPN is showing us once again how Barry Bonds has become the poster boy for one of the darkest parts of Major League Baseball: Performance Enhancing Drugs, or PED's. Steve Hoskins, a business partner and friend of Bonds, is now testifying that he had seen Bonds and his trainer Greg Anderson walk into a room with syringe and needle in hand at least 2 or 3 times each spring training from 2000-2003. PED's are arguably the most controversial part of Major League Baseball, with the records of todays most famous pros tarnished by accusations and court cases. With so many pros now admitting that they used performance enhancing drugs at one point, the questions about the Hall of Fame remain. Should players who admitted using PED's at one point during their career even be considered for Hall of Fame. I dont think so, considering how they have greatly damaged the face of baseball for a long time to come. When people look back, they'll wonder why great players such as Andy Pettite, or stars such as Alex Rodriguez aren't in the Hall of Fame.The amount of players violating the rules has made it so this era of cheating will never be forgotten. Comment on whether or not you think players who cheated should be allowed in the Hall of Fame, or anything else you want to let us know.
-Jrod

Michael Vick- Winning?

This past weekend Michael Vick went to a prison in the Tampa area and spoke to the prisoners there. The article here says that he talked to them about his experiences, and how he learned from his time in prison. He hoped to "be an example to somebody" and let them know that they could always change. Michael Vick committed his crime, and for a long time he was despised by many different people. When he was finally released from prison, he slowed tried to work his way back up again. He went back to playing football, and had an extremely successful season. After a lot of work, he ended up earning some respect back. He had once again become a beloved football player. There are still people who will never forget what he did, and still despise him from it, but there are also others who think the exact opposite. The question is, does he deserve to be forgiven? Everyone admits that what he did was wrong; however, he has not shown any signs of doing anything similar ever again, and on top of that, people think he's amazing because he is good at football. I personally don't have much of an opinion either way. I don't despise him because he did it, but I don't necessarily think he's an entirely good person and everyone should just forget that it ever happened. I definitely wouldn't make my decision just because he had a good football season, but that could just be because I don't like the Eagles. (GO COWBOYS!)

-Los Spurs

SHARK ATTACK!!!

For the second time in just two weeks, a man on Crowdy Head Beach, Newcastle was attacked by a shark. Dave Pearson, 48, of Coopernook was attacked while surfing at about 6.30 last night. His friend Aaron ‘‘Noddy’’ Wallace was also surfing with him. Aaron reported watching Dave as he paddled back out after catching a wave when the shark hit him from underneath. It launched out of the water and tossed Dave off his board. The shark bit Dave on the forearm, causing him to lose lots of blood. Aaron and some other guys on the beach rushed to bring Dave back to shore and call an ambulance. Intensive care flight paramedic Alan Playford treated Mr Pearson on the beach and said that their quick actions saved Dave's life, and his arm.
There have been a number of shark sightings over the past few weeks. Just last week wakeboarder Lisa Mondy was attacked by a shark off Jimmys Beach. A man commented a reminder that the sea is home to sharks and that we are tresspassing. Another man reminds us that "if you're sensible (and don't surf on dusk in sharky places)sharks aren't a big risk." Besides, you are statistically more likely to be killed by a cat than a shark.

Link for more info.

Kathy H.

All heads are created equal

According to an NBA article, the NBA is working with a neurologist to try and create a league wide policy for how to handle concussions. I was not aware that there was not already a policy in place. Concussions are more rare in the NBA then some other sports; however, just this past Sunday New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul suffered a concussion this past Sunday (picture above). The head is one of the most important parts of the body, and it needs to be protected. The majority of concussions that I have seen in the NBA are always treated with extreme care. However, I was shocked to find out that the Milwaukee Bucks have had four people with concussions or concussion like symptoms, yet only one of them was identified as actually having a concussion. A league wide policy would be a good way to ensure the safety of the players. The NFL and NHL have already established ways to deal with concussions, and the MLB is also looking into creating a policy to handle concussions. The policy created could be something that says how long a player must be examined for before ruling out a concussion. The policy could establish a time period that a player would have to wait before they would be allowed to play again. Some teams may not like this policy, because it could mean losing a star player for an extended period of time. However, the player's safety needs to be ensured, or they could be losing the player for a lot longer.

-Los Spurs

Offseason Injuries? I don't think so.

If you were being paid millions of dollars to play your favorite sport, don't you think you'd be a little more careful during the offseason? ESPN addresses this issue in a recent article about pitcher Zack Greinke. Greinke was completely unconcerned about his health, despite warnings, as he played a game of pickup basketball with his friends in the middle of spring training. As the new pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers, he is projected to be a key player in the Brewers' race for the NL Central Title. Now, with a broken rib, he will be starting out the season on... the Disabled List.

This brings up an interesting question. What if professional athletes want to play other sports for fun during the offseason? These players are naturally athletic and active, and surely want to enjoy other sports besides what they're getting paid to do. Should teams ban players from playing sports other than their profession? Unlikely, but maybe. Should players be fined, and if so, how much? Another possibility. The fact is that these players are being paid WAY too much to be hurt during the season, especially not from playing a pickup game. Also,post your comments and let us know what you think.

- JRod

WOAH! Check out these stats!!

CRAZY JET SKI STATS

This is totally wicked!! Jet ski accidents are almost three times that of open moterboats and like, 50 times the canoe/kayak. CRAZY!!!

Media Kit

Open publication - Free publishing - More texas

Kathy H. Leads

1.    Descriptive       
       It’s a warm day at the lake. Maybe you’re snoozing on a beach towel or lounging in a chair. Relaxation is the number one priority on your list. All of a sudden a strange buzzing sound fills the air and the smell of gasoline wafts past you. A group of rambunctious people zoom past on their jet skis, disturbing the water and the peace. As this form of personal watercraft is becoming more popular, the issue of environmental and noise pollution is becoming more prevalent.

2.     Startling Statement
        Jet Skis are involved in 35 percent of all accidents with water vessels, and the number of accidents and fatalities due to Jet Ski use has been increasing each year since 1987.

3.    Compare and Contrast       
       Since 1987, the number of people using Jet Skis has grown from about 93,000 people to over 1 million today, and consequently, the number of personal watercraft accidents has multiplied over five times the original amount.

3 Leads

Twist

    In the history of Major League Baseball, only 20 pitchers have thrown a perfect game, a game in which no players of the opposing team are allowed on base. On a warm June night, 29 year old pitcher Armando Gallaraga was one out away from pitching his way into the history books as one of the few who had achieved perfection. However, the final play of the game would come to be remembered as one of the most controversial moments in baseball history.After hitting a slow ground ball towards first baseman Miguel Cabrera, the final batter hustled down the baseline as Gallaraga rushed to cover the bag and make the final out. The play happened in a split second. To the viewer watching on TV, as well as the people watching the instant replay later, it was clearly the last out of an extraordinary game. His face revealing no emotion, first base umpire Jim Joyce had a different opinion. With a swift horizontal motion of both his arms, he called the runner safe, and changed everything.

Anecdote

    Whenever I make a call, it’s always met with a chorus of boos and cheers. That’s part of the game. I’m an umpire, and the league that I work for on my spare Saturdays and Sundays is full of protective parents and rowdy fans. I’ve had to call the police, kick people out of games, and argue with men who I would normally show only respect. Whenever I watch a professional baseball game I always watch the umpires, constantly trying to pick up tips. However, professional baseball umpiring is in danger of submitting to the increasing demands for instant replay during games. I’m here to tell you why that’s the worst mistake Major League Baseball could possibly make.

Direct Address

    Watch a Major League Baseball game, and you might notice just how many close calls there are. Oftentimes, plays occur within a split second, the runner’s foot and the smack of the ball being caught in the glove sounding  simultaneously. Being the umpire, you're faced with an immediate decision. You barely have any time to think before making the motion of your arms that signals out or safe. An entire game can rest on one call. And what happens when umpires make the wrong one? Some argue for instant replay systems. I say no.

Jamie

3 leads

 1.)Startling Statement- Tailgating with access to a restroom, something many people want. In the Super Bowl at cowboys stadium, you could have it, for an extra $440. Parking for the game at a tenth of a mile away from the stadium with tailgating was $550. When both of these numbers are added together, it comes out to almost $1000, just to park at a football game. At one point in time, it was possible to purchase a ticket for only $600, meaning some people payed more for parking then to actually be in the stadium.

             2.)Compare and Contrast- In the very first Super Bowl, a fan could enjoy the game for the low price of $10. In the most recent super bowl, it was possible to pay over 190 thousand dollars for a suite that would fit about 20 people. Even back in 1967, $10 was a very affordable price, and all of the tickets were decent, because there weren't as many seats to chose from. Ticket prices have risen to a ridiculous amount, particularly for the Dallas Cowboys, whose tickets are super expensive even in the regular season. The American sport is becoming harder and harder to attend, even for Americans.

              

             3.)Narrative- Imagine a husband coming home from work excited to tell his wife some news. “Guess what? Were going to the Super bowl!” The wife becomes very excited and can’t wait to tell everyone. She then says “How did you manage to win tickets?” “I didn’t win them, I bought an entire suite, so we can even take some of out friends and family!” “Well that’s great! How much did it cost you?” “That’s the best part! I got them for only four times more money then we make in a year!” he says as his wife suddenly becomes much less excited. 

Matthew