changing the game of football

If you’ve watch ESPN recently, you’ve probably heard about the helmet-to-helmet hits and the consequences. Several players in the NFL were charged with fines up to $75,000 for helmet-to-helmet hits against their opponents. Most of these hits required medical attention and resulted in concussions, causing the NFL to consider some serious consequences to prevent future injuries.
Cleveland’s Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi both suffered concussions from Pittsburgh’s James Harrison. No flags were thrown. Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson suffered a concussion from Atlanta’s Danta Robinson. No flag was thrown. Baltimore’s Todd Heap suffered a concussion from New England’s Brandon Meriweather. No flag was thrown. The NFL has taken the initiative to prevent these helmet-to-helmet hits, by threatening suspensions and fines to players who cause these helmet-to-helmet hits. Ray Anderson, NFL executive VP of football operations, said “We can’t and won’t tolerate what we saw Sunday. We’ve got to get the message to players that these devastating hits and head shots will be met with a very necessary higher standard of accountability.” (ESPN)
Brandon Meriweather, a New England Patriot, said that the helmet-to-helmet hit on Todd Heap was unintentional and told reporters that the punishments won’t influence his playing. He said “I won’t change my game, period. I’m sorry it happened. Heap is actually a real good friend of mine. I talked to him yesterday and let him know it wasn’t intentional and he told me he understood.” (ESPN) Meriweather said he ran that play a thousand times at practice, but wasn’t trying for head-to-head contact. He went on to say that these hits can be avoidable but aren’t preventable. Meriweather wasn’t the only player to disapprove of the punishments for the helmet-to-helmet hits.
Josh Cribbs, a Cleveland Brown, returned to practice on Friday, after suffering a concussion from James Harrison. When he talked to Harrison, he said “Let refs ref. Let the NFL administration, let everyone do their jobs. I you get fined, just try to tailor yourself, but play the game. Don’t try to change who you are.” (ESPN) Cribbs has recovered from the concussion and believes that he’s prepared for the upcoming game against the New Orleans Saints.
These helmet-to-helmet hits have caused devastation throughout the league, but why are these hits become more and more common? A suggestion to this question are the formations that the offense and defense play. There aren’t many experts that aren’t able to distinguish and don’t understand zone or man defense. This causes them to run man routes into a zone defense.
Another reason why these helmet-to-helmet hits have captured the attention of people, is because the ability to watch replays and slow-motion has made these hits more dramatic. When a defensive player is trained to hit, they are taught to drive their helmet into a players chest and drive up towards their helmet. The helmets of the two players are bound to hit, but the league has brought the attention to these his and overreacting to these hits. Jessica Edwards, a Mayo High School student, said that “hitting is a part of the game” and believes players shouldn’t be suspended or fined for these hits. This is a good point and several ESPN analysts and former players view this rule in a similar way.
The league has overreacted to these recent helmet-to-helmet hits. These types of hits aren’t new, they’ve happened since the beginning of football. Though more players have had concussions, hitting is a fundamental of football and most players don’t want the rule in effect. Posted by Jake Babcock at 12:46 PM

Harry Potter and the Death Hallow - Part 1

Another incredible instalment of the famous Harry Potter series. Unlike the other movies, this movie will be available in 3D and IMAX which creates he feeling of actually being inside the movie. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a two part movie which is to be released 2010/2011. Production of such a big movie may take a long time, but will make a great ending in the Harry Potter trilogy.

The production of this movie is in two separate parts. Because of the original idea to split the Goblet of Fire, which debuted in 2005. Rowling declined because of how long production would take to create two parts. Splitting the book into two separate movies “allows for an extra hour and a half to celebrate what this franchise has been and do justice to all the words and ideas in the amazing story,” according to Warner Bros. executive Alan F. Horn. An extra part of the movie also calls for lengthy filming. In a recent interview with Senior Cadence Sawyer, when asked “What are your thoughts about the movie having two parts?” She said, “I think its stupid. The gap between the time the two movies are released is long and it might be hard to follow what happened from the last one. I think Warner Bros. just wants to make money.”

Pre-production began on January 26, 2009, while filming began on February 19, 2009. Filming of the movie was at Leavesden Studios, where the previous six movies were filmed. Filming was shot with many hand held cameras because Director David Yates said, “I want to shake things up every time I go into this world. I like experimenting as we go along.” Even though the shooting schedule was set at 250 days, the filming took 478 days to complete. The movie in its entirety was filmed over a one and a half year period throughout the United Kingdom and finished on June 12, 2010. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all openly wept on the last day, which ended their ten years of work on the films. However, during filming things can go wrong. Very wrong.

In the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Harry’s stunt double in the movie was David Holmes. David's spine was damaged when a controlled explosion went wrong and hurled him to the ground during a flying scene for the movie. The stunt the young actor was performing was called the “jerk back” stunt; the most dangerous stunt in the business. A friend states, “It’s a dangerous stunt and David knew that. Most stuntmen get double their daily pay to carry it out. The stunt went terribly wrong and David was thrown so far that he missed all of the safety mats. He hit the ground very hard.” Doctors have now told him he will remain confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

All of this for the first part of the last instalment of Harry Potter. The development and filming of the movie takes many many days and puts actors in harms way sometimes. All for one movie. Though ten years of filming the David knew it was a dangerous stunt. But his dedication for the release of the movie led him in doing so. This movie took forever to release and some actors literally broke bones for the release. I hope you all will see it, the anticipation for the release is building.

An Unfortunate Event at Such an Unlucky time

A year go, the swine flu pandemic went through the United states in October causing many people to become sick and even causing multiple deaths. Today as Americans and many others in the Western world are recommended to get a flu shot and many other vaccinations, it’s apparent that the health concern is a top priority for many people. In Haiti, however, the money and necessities that are needed to produce and give these resources to the poorest people in the Western hemisphere is very difficult to attain. One such problem that has occurred because of citizens not being able to be vaccinated is a fairly large cholera outbreak that has happened throughout the small nation.
The people of Haiti have been going through a lot of misery from the past earthquake that killed about 230,000 throughout the populous country. Since the quake, which was about half a year ago up to date, the country is slowly begin to transform again into its normal self but it will take a while since the Cholera outbreak has been the toughest issue up to date. The outbreak wasn’t expected at all in the country and the biggest issue is to keep it out of Port of Prince, the nation’s capital so that it doesn’t reach the entire population. “It’s devastating to see this type of event to happen to such a poor and undeveloped country presently and I hope they can rebuild with extra support from other nations of the world,” Sr. Nick Ouellette said. He also commented on the fact that hopefully they will recover over time from this outgoing cholera outbreak that has affected already many people.
The biggest thing today that could possibly help the people of Haiti would be the use of antibiotics for all the affected people. The modern development of medicine today has really helped people across the globe and these people of Haiti probably need it the most right now. Sr. Farzan Fatemi said, “Providing families and kids with enough medicine and antibiotics in Haiti would greatly reduce the chance of people catching the disease.” He also commented that, “If I could do one thing for Haiti right now to help the country with its present situation, I would probably send as much medicine as I could with my own money and hopefully I could actually go to the country and build houses and shelter for those who really need it the most.” Medicine would definitely be one of the important aspects to helping out people in Haiti presently and by providing this, the country could recover faster and slowly start to rebuild itself as a more successful and independent nation.
Even though medical centers have scrambled to get vaccinations to people, there are many people that have been helped out especially in the capital of Port of Prince. As the country slowly starts to rebuild itself from this along with the past earthquake, it will help other countries realize what they can do in this crisis and hopefully Haiti will be able to be more prepared and help its people in this difficult time.

Recovery

Golden Recovery

Marshall Bruce Mathers III better known by Eminem is an inspirational rapper to many people and a person who isn’t afraid to live and to talk about his life. He has had numerous of songs that heavily focus on his life and his daughters, but Recovery his latest album, really speaks out to people about life.

Jose Serrato, a Senior at Mayo High School is a big fan of Eminem and says that Recovery has to be his favorite album from all the others Eminem has had in the past. He would definitely buy the album and his favorite songs from the album are Not afraid, No love and Love the way you lie. His least favorite song is Won’t back down ft. Pink. “The songs talk about pain and life” states Serrato. When asked about the song Not afraid he said that “Some people have gone through a stage that they feel alone and lost hope. But life goes on and you can’t be afraid of life and you must get up and continue.” Two other things he believes is that Eminem made these songs for a reason. He made them so he can talk to people about life and to inspire some of us to do better, and finally he believes that Eminem has had a tough life and that the title says it all. He is recovering from the bruises and cuts life has given him.

Jose Quiñones, an 8^th grader from Willow Creek and also my cousin, is a hardcore fan of Eminem. He has almost every album up to date and has similar views of Recovery as Jose Serrato. He would also buy the album and his favorite songs are: Spacebound, No love and Going through changes. His least favorite song is So bad. His opinion on this album is that, “It really speaks to me and a lot of songs relate to me”. One song in particular that really relates to him is No love because of many reasons. The main reason is because when he was younger he had bullies that bullied him a lot during his time at elementary school and when they tried to apologize to him it was too late just like the meaning of the song. Eminem won’t forgive the people that have hurt him during his life while he was feeling down. Quiñones’ final thoughts on the album are that “Eminem really inspired me to do better at life and as a human being. And I feel sorry for Eminem for his tough life he has gone through and that some of his songs are really self explanatory on what has happened to him in the past.”

Both Joses, well 3 including myself really, love Eminem’s songs and like that he is an artist who talks about life in his songs and not about other stuff like sex, drugs, fame and money like other rappers do. Marshall Bruce Mathers really deserves the rating 4.5/5 on his album Recovery.


image from rockthebureau.com

18-Year-Olds Feel the Emancipation

Adulthood bears its own exclusive opportunities. With a turning of age, 18-year-olds enter a world much different than the one they had grown up in. They had once been dependent on an adult, perhaps a parent, for their needs. They needed parental or guardian permission for school field trips, to excuse an absence at school, or for a registration of any sort. They couldn’t be out past curfew, nor smoke a cigarette, but now, after 6,570 days of hand-held guidance, teens are granted a new freedom: the freedom of choice and independence. What they choose to do with their new freedom is utterly up to them, whether it is sensible or not, and much to the dismay of the adults who advised them for so many years. So now, what will it be? Maybe these young adults would like property to themselves, or a new tattoo to show some personality and taste; the choices are endless now that they are legally deemed an adult.

Though, what privileges do you receive as an adult? Well, you may enlist in the military, or you may choose to invest in the stock market. Added to that list includes getting tattoos, piercings, the right to vote, the ability to rent an apartment or own property, a driver’s license with no restrictions, the authority to sign legal contracts, the ability to serve jury duty, to sue or be sued, to marry without any consent, to open a bank account, or to smoke. This year’s senior class at Mayo High School is beginning the transition into adulthood, and a few seniors have already been granted their freedom as an adult. They write themselves a pass when they are late for school, they sign their own permission slips, in fact, they don’t even have to attend school at all! So, with their new power, a couple members of Mayo’s senior class were asked, “What are your plans for your new adulthood?” Nicole Knutson, who turns 18 on November 8th, had a slow response. “Well, I will go to college, and find a job, and then get married…” she began, “but maybe I will buy a pack of cigarettes, just for the heck of it!” Although not planning to become a smoker, Knutson figured she would use her rights as an adult however she could. Der-Ning Huang, also a senior this year at Mayo High School, will celebrate his birthday on March 2nd, and he had a different response to the question. “I’m going to buy some lottery tickets!” he stated quite surely. “I’ll also buy some victory cigars and celebrate at a casino,” he said, but later commented that the cigar will be for celebrating only, because he knows that he won’t enjoy smoking it.

Though some choices may not be the most responsible, there is a reason why these abilities are made available only to adults. The decisions made as an adult are hoped to be made sensibley are responsibely. So for a new turning of age, upcoming 18-year-olds will be expected to be mature citizens, who use their common sense to make the right decision, but this doesn’t stop some teens from setting their dreams for adulthood.

Photo credit to fanpop.com

Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in the month of November. Thanksgiving is a time for Americans to give thanks and celebrate for the things and people that they have in their live and it’s also a time to be with your family and friends and eat delicious food.
The history of Thanksgiving all started when a group of 100 pilgrims traveled to the United States on the Mayflower from England and set foot at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts on December 11th 1620. The first year for the pilgrims was a brutal one; they barely survived because of the cold conditions and devastating crop season. In autumn of 1621, their crop was the best they had ever seen and the colonists had a lot to be grateful for. As a way of celebration they had a three day feast with the 91 Indians who helped them survive the cold long winter. At that time there were no potatoes, livestock, pumpkin pie etc. which are foods that are well known to eat during Thanksgiving. The colonists had fish, lobster, dried fruit, berries and anything else that had been harvested that year. At that point Thanksgiving really was about being thankful for surviving through the first year and to celebrate the good harvest. The date of Thanksgiving was known to have been set as the fourth Thursday in November, but many Americans opposed this holiday and in much later years in 1863, when Abraham Lincoln became president he asked all Americans to set aside the fourth Thursday in the month of November to give thanks for everything that they had in their lives and that’s when Thanksgiving was set as an official holiday. There are many traditions that come with the Thanksgiving holiday, included having family over, eating a lot of food including, turkey, ham, potatoes, veggies, and the famous pumpkin pie. “My family from out of town usually comes to my house during Thanksgiving and they all bring a ton of food like turkey, ham, mash potatoes, veggies and my favorite pumpkin pie.” Says Mayo high school senior Nick Carter was asked about his Thanksgiving traditions. The same traditional response was also giving by Mayo high school Junior Mercedes Erpelding, “Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday right after Christmas, it also gives me a good reason to eat all the food I want! It’s also a great chance for family and friends to come together and be thankful for what they have.”
Thanksgiving is a great holiday because it helps remind people what and who they are thankful for. It’s also great time for family and friends to come together. I believe that everyone should be reminded of everything they have in their lives and be thankful for them and Thanksgiving is a great way to do so.

That's What You Call Scary?!

It’s the sequel to the first movie Paranormal Activity, that was demanded everywhere. The first movie ended up being a little disappointing and so did the second. All the scary scenes were at the end, and not to mention, there weren’t many at all. The basic plot in the second movie is; some family apparently related to Katie (Katie Featherston, first starred in Paranormal Activity) moves into a house then all this paranormal activity starts to happen. At first, the family thinks someone broke in so Katie’s brother in law, Dan (Brian Boland), gets a surveillance system. Ali (Molly Ephraim) starts to hear noises from Hunter’s (William Juan Prieto and, Jackson Xenia Prieto) room and begins to believe it may be a ghost, but Dan tells her he doesn’t believe in that stuff. Things get worse and Kristi starts to experience paranormal activity but Dan still does not believe it. More and more paranormal activity follows and this time the “demon” is literally dragging and/or picking up the family members. Most of the really intense activity happens in the latter half of the movie, so all the “plugging my ears” and “covering my eyes” was wasted on a good hour or so where viewers thought something was going to happen.

When asked about the movie Zakaria Ahmed, a senior at Mayo High School, said “I thought it was funny because the whole attempt to try and scare people was not good.” When Ahmed was questioned whether he would tell others to watch Paranormal Activity 2 he replied, “Yes, so they could get a good laugh out of it.”

Michelle Limas, a sophomore at Mayo High School, was also questioned and said, “It wasn’t good but it wasn’t bad, it was in the middle,” And when Limas was questioned whether she would tell others to watch Paranormal Activity 2 she replied,

“Yes, so people get the feel of the paranormal.”
There are many different opinions floating around, but the truth is this movie is not worth the money to be spent on it. If viewers really want to see it, they should just save their money and wait to rent it at redbox for a dollar, than going to see it in theatres for eight bucks. I mean, let’s give the director and writer a little credit, the movie was a little intense but it wasn’t that scary. If only there were more intense scenes with the unknown force pulling Kristi and more paranormal activity happening to the family (maybe Ali) so there could be more scary scenes. The movie is also predictable, that is the main reason why this movie is not scary. If the viewer knows what’s going to happen next, it’s not going to be as terrifying as if they didn’t know. So overall this movie deserved the credits it got, which was 6.4 out of 10.