Paige Woodard Google Hangout

Last week my Web 2.0 class had a google hang out with a high school senior named Paige Woodhard. Paige is a high school senior that makes YouTube video about her thoughts about being responsible on the internet. She told us that anybody could see what we post on the internet and how it never goes away. She also told us some tips about social media. She said we should have two twitters. One for personal use and one for profession use. She encouraged us to connect to people in your field of work online. She showed us many ways to be digital citizens. I learned a lot from Paige and I hope to spread what she said to my friends so they can learn too.

2014 FIFA World Cup

The World Cup started today in Brazil. The first game played was Brazil against Croatia. Host Brazil beat Croatia in the opening game of the World Cup, 3-1, but surprisingly had to come from behind to do it. Brazil defender Marcelo rocketed in an embarrassing own goal, putting Croatia in the lead just 11 minutes in. It fell to Brazil's star Neymar to bring them back, and he did so, scoring in the 28th minute and adding a penalty in the 71st after Fred went down in the box. Oscar finished things off with the third goal in added time. Brazil profited from a few close calls. Many saw the penalty as soft, and a goal by Croatia was disallowed after contact with Brazil's keeper, Julio Cesar. But few in Sao Paulo or elsewhere in Brazil will care, as the tournament favorites got the win they expected and Neymar announced himself with a strong World Cup debut. Here is the bracket for the World Cup. 

Donald Sterling

A couple weeks ago TMZ realesed a tape record of Donald Sterling the owner of the Clippers and V. Stiviano having a conversation. The conversation was about Sterling telling Stiviano not to take pictures with with people or take them to the game. He was referring to the picture she took with Magic Johnson and them posted it on Instagram. When I was realesed Sterling became silent but the African American and basketball community didn't. The Clippers wore there shirts inside out as protest and many celebrities voiced their opinion about it. Fans were boycotting games and companies stopped sponsering the team. Finally the commissioner of the NBA banned Sterling from ever entering a basketnall game again and made him pay a 2.5 million dollar fine. Sterling has said that he is not a racist and he is not selling the team or paying the fine. Oprah and magic Johnson have both talked about buy the Clippers. In a interview with Sterling, Sterling said that he was baiting and then after the tape was realesed Johnson called him and told him to wait and not do anything becuase he would handle it. Magic Johnsom has been bad mouthing Sterling ever since the tape came out. In my opinion I think the punishment was too harsh because he is an 80 year old man and  if the thing he said about Magic Johnson is true than he didn't have a fair chance to explain himself. 

Citation- http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/15/us/donald-sterling-nba/

Red Sox Yankees rival series

This week the Boston Red Sox played their rivals the New York Yankees. With unexpected injuries and lucky hits by the Yankees the Sox lost the game and the series to the Yankees. The sox won one game out of four games in the series and lost 7 out of their 10 games this season. In the last game in the series Red Sox manager John Farrell got angry on Sunday night after a replay call was challenged and overturned, leading to the Yankees scoring what ended up being the deciding run in the series finale. Farrell was ejected becuase managers have been instructed not to argue plays under review.mThe play happened in the bottom of the fourth inning, when Cervelli hit a grounder to third, with the Red Sox trying to do a double play. MCervelli, who was injured on the play, was originally ruled out at first. But Yankees manager Joe Girardi challenged it, and the call was overturned. After it was overturned, McCann's run that wouldn't have counted if the inning had ended on the double play counted. That was the deciding factor I'm the Red Sox lossing the game, 3-2. Farrell said "We felt that it was clear that the replay was inconclusive, Any angle that we looked at, you couldn't tell if the foot was on the bag behind Mike Napol's leg." Some of Farrell's frustration was from Saturday, when he challenged a call at second base on a double by .Dean Anna thee call stayed, after the game, Major League Baseball said that it should have been overturned. Both teams had key players injured. The Red Sox had Dustin Pedroia in their original lineup, but he was taken out with pain in his left wrist. The Yankees did not have Derek Jeter for the second game in a row because of a tight right quadriceps. Beltran went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs for the Yankees. Jacoby Ellsbury was 1 for 4 and finished the series 5 for 14 against his former team. He ended the game with a sliding catch to take at least a double away from Sizemore. 

Source

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/04/13/yankees-close-out-series-with-win-over-red-sox/Dvilxx3lhoHvLrPKRqHHdJ/story.html

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2014/04/12/mccann-homers-twice-yankees-power-past-red-sox/Yc5FYqeGxtRtjD8v6RSD7J/story.html

http://www.lohud.com/story/sports/mlb/lohud-yankees/2014/04/13/yankees-win-wild-one-series-final-red-sox/7691395/

College Football Union

          For the last couple of months college football players have been going to court to try to unionize. Last Wednesday the National Labor Relations Board regional director  found that Northwestern football players who receive scholarships are university employees and may unionize. There's two sides to this argument. The players argue that they are employees of the college. They argue that the school makes millions of dollars off their performances and they should get the money they earned. They say are required to spend more time on the field than in classes which helps their case that they are employees of the college more than they are students. People that oppose the players argument to unionize say that players exchange their hours of practices and games for scholarships that go towards there college tuitions. The National Labor Relations Board director ruled that Northwestern’s scholarship football players should be eligible to form a union based on a number of factors, including the time they devote to football (as many as 50 hours some weeks), the control exerted by coaches and their scholarships, and a contract for compensation. The television contract for the new college football playoff system is worth $7.3 billion over 10 years, and the current deal to broadcast the men’s basketball tournament is worth $10.8 billion over 14 years. 

          I personally don't think college athletes should be allowed to unionize becuase the college gives them many privileges that you wouldn't get unless you were an athlete. College athlets have the opportunity to go to some of the most prestigious schools in the country for free just becuase they are athletes. Also most professional league teams scout players at colleges which gives the athletes greater opportunities to play professionally. Professional teams pick their players on how well they did in college. Going to college is a privilege, you have to write a letter asking if you can go to the college your applying to. Colleges can reject or accept you depending on their decision, they should be able to kick you out of school if they chose to. I do believe that the money colleges get from television channels are an enormous amount but I do not believe the players should get any of the profit. 

Links

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10680161/players-union-victory-small-battle-collegiate-landscape

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/27/sports/ncaafootball/national-labor-relations-board-rules-northwestern-players-are-employees-and-can-unionize.html?_r=0

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/2014/02/12/hearing-on-bid-to-form-college-players-union/5417739/

March Madness

          Hello, March Madness has started and I wanted to explain what it is and what my thoughts are on it. The NCAA Men's Division 1 Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament played each spring. There are 68 college basketball teams. The tournament is organized by the NCAA it was created during 1939 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Played mostly during March, it is known as March Madness or the Big Dance it has become one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States. The tournament teams include champions from 32 Division I conferences and 36 teams which are awarded at-large berths. At-large teams are teams chosen by the NCAA committee in a nationally televised event on the Sunday before the First Four play in games. The 68 teams are divided into four regions and organized into a single elimination bracket. Each team is ranked in its region. Each weekend eliminates three quarters of the teams, it goes from 64 teams to thee Sweet Sixteen. for the last weekend of the Tournament a Final Four. The Final Four is four teams that has beat every team they have played. These four teams, one from each region compete in for the national championship.

          This year I am in a league with a couple of my friends. Right now there are four teams left. The Florida Gators, the Connecticut Huskies, the Wisconsin badgers, and the Kentucky Wildcats. To make it to the Final Four Florida beat Dayton, Connecticut beat Michigan State, Wisconsin beat Arizona, and Kentucky beat Michigan. I've had really bad luck in this years bracket, I had Michigan winning it all. Now since it's down to the Final Four I predict the Gators are going to beat the Huskies and then beat the Wild Cats in the Championship Game. 

Links 

http://www.azdesertswarm.com/basketball/2014/3/29/5562604/march-madness-2014-arizona-wisconsin-score

http://www.cleveland.com/marchmadness/index.ssf/2014/03/five_things_about_the_final_fo.html

http://www.oregonlive.com/march-madness/index.ssf/2014/03/march_madness_2014_uconn_stuns.html

Opening Day

          Today is March 31st and it is the Opening Day for the MLB. Opening day is the first baseball game of the season. Spring training has been going on for about two months now. Spring training is where baseball players go, usually to warmer places to train for the regular season. They play real games against other MLB teams but they don't count on their records. Its for players to get loose and warmed up. It's also for fans to check out the players and predict how well they are going to play during the regular season. Fans also use this period to scout players for their fantasy baseball teams. I personally playing in a fantasy baseball league. I didn't use the Spring training stats much as a reference when i picked players because in spring training players usually don't try as hard as they would in a real game. I mostly used stats from last year and professional scouts recommendations as references. I only used Spring training stats to look at rookies and players that were hurt that season.

          Here are a few games that I will be checking out today. The Boston Red Sox are playing the Baltimore Orioles in Camden yards at 3pm. John Lester in pitching for the Red Sox and Chris Tillman is pitching for the Orioles. At 1:05 p.m. the Chicago Cubs are playing the  Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Jeff Samardzija is pitching for the cubs and Francisco Liriano  is pitching for the Pirates. At 1:08 the Kansas City Royals are playing the Detroit Tigers  at Comerica Park. James Shields is pitching for the Royals and Justin Verlander is pitching for the Tigers. At 1:10 the  Washington Nationals are playing the New York Mets at Citi Field. Stephen Strasburg is pitching. The one I am most looking forward too is the Red Sox game.

Links:

 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/opening-day-brings-hope-across-major-league-baseball-landscape?ymd=20140331&content_id=70474844&vkey=news_mlb

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2014/03/31/2014-mlb-opening-day-schedule-starting-pitchers/7087667/

http://mlb.si.com/2014/03/31/opening-day-2014-what-to-watch-for/

Loungo off to Florida

          Last tuesday the Vancouver Canucks traded their goalie, Roberto Luongo to the Florida Panthers. Luongo has not been happy with the Canucks for a while now. Ever since the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals Luongo has been complaining about the Canucks. The last straw was when the Vancouver Coach John Tortorella chose to start backup goalie Eddie Lack instead of Luongo in last weekends Heritage Classic, a game he has been looking forward to all season. Luongo said “This caught me off guard, but I’m excited. I’m going home,” as quoted by the Canucks on Twitter. 

          Luongo will be playing his last 8 years of his contract on the Panthers. The Panthers already have another goalie, former goalie for the Boston Bruins Tim Thomas. Thomas and Luongo have not had a nice relationship in their hockey careers. Thomas beat Loungo in the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals with the Bruins. Thomas only has a one-year contract and there are rumors that he will be traded. The two goaltenders were involved in a famous exchange during the Cup final. Luongo criticized Thomas’s playing style before saying “I’ve been pumping his tires ever since the series started and I haven’t heard one nice thing he had to say about me, so that’s the way it is.” Thomas said later that he didn’t know he was supposed to praise Luongo. 

          Vancouver was shocked when they heard the news of their fan favorite being traded. While in a Canucks uniform he had at least 30 wins in six of his eight seasons, in two of those seasons, he recorded more than 40 wins. This year Loungo has 19 wins and 16 loses with a 2.38 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Players called him the ultimate teammate, and management viewed him as a model player. In September 2008, he was named Vancouver’s 12th captain. Vancouver's last captain was Markus Naslund’s before he left to the New York Rangers as a free agent. Luongo became the first goalie to be a captain of an NHL team since 1947. The last goalie to become captain was Bill Durnan of the Montreal's Canadians. 

          Luongo has not always been the fan favorite. In the 2010-11 playoffs, Vancouver almost lost to Chicago in the first round, winning in overtime in the seventh game after having  a 3-0 series lead. In the Stanley Cup final, Luongo helped the Canucks get out to a 2-0 series lead, but allowed eight goals in Game 3, he was pulled in Game 4 and did not play at all. After having a shutout in Game 5, he let in three goals in just over three minutes and didn't play in Game 6. He played in Game 7 but the Canucks lost 4-0 and lost the Stanley Cup to the Bruins. 

Extended Link www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/panthers-welcome-home-roberto-luongo-1.2561577

Jeter's last year

Derek Jeter the captain and shortstop for the Yankees has announced that this year will be his last year playing in the MLB. He will be playing his last year with the New York Yankees as a shortstop. He announced it on Facebook on February 12th. He is 39 years old and wants to live the second half of his life. Jeter has 3,316 hits, first among Yankees and second among shortstops, with Honus Wagner's 3,430. He also is the Yanks' all-time leader in games (2,602), at-bats (10,614) and stolen bases (348); second in doubles (525); third in runs (1,876); fifth in walks (1,047); sixth in RBIs (1,261); seventh in batting average (.312); and ninth in home runs (256). Among shortstops, Jeter is first in runs, third in homers, fourth in doubles and average, sixth in on-base percentage, seventh in RBIs and eighth in walks. "Jeter is praise for his character, leadership and other impeccable intangibles, his tangible accomplishments are what stand out" - mlb.com

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• 1994 The Sporting News & Baseball America Minor league Player of the Year, Tampa Yankees, Florida State League, Albany-Colonie Yankees, Eastern League & Columbus Clippers, International League
• 1994 MVP Florida State League Tampa Yankees
• 1996 AL Rookie of the year 1996 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 13-time AL All-Star (1998-2002, 2004 & 2006-2012)
• 2000 All-Star Game MVP
• 2000 World Series MVP
• 5-time AL Gold Glove Winner (2004-2006, 2009 & 2010)
• 5-time AL Silver Slugger Award Winner (2006-2009 & 2012)
• AL At-Bats Leader (2012)
• AL Runs Scored Leader (1998)
• 2-time AL Hits Leader (1999 & 2012)
• 3-time AL Singles Leader (1997, 1998 & 2012)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1999, 2001 & 2004)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1999)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 13 (1996-2002, 2004-2007, 2009 & 2010)
• 200 Hits Seasons: 8 (1998-2000, 2005-2007, 2009 & 2012)
• Won five World Series with the New York Yankees (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 & 2009)

Canadian Sister Olympic Skiers

      A couple weeks before the olympics started my dad was talking about a guy he works with from Canada, that has three daughters that would be in the olympics in Russia for moguls. They are Maxime, Justine, and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe. Their oldest sister Maxime was in Vancouver for the olympics last time in 2010. This year all three sisters would be competing in the Olympics. I was watching the Olympics a couple days ago and I saw woman's moguls. I started watching it and saw the three sisters. I kept watching it until the finals and it ended with the two youngest sisters placing gold and silver. The oldest sister didn't place but I thought it was fair because she was in the Olympics in Vancouver. 

Jerry Remy returning

      Baseball is starting back up and announcers are getting ready to get back to work. Pitchers and catchers are going back to spring training now. Jerry Remy is a Boston Red Sox announcer and former baseball player. During last season in August his son, Jared Remy was arrested for murdering his girlfriend, Jeniffer Martel. After his son was arrested he took a leave of absence for the rest of the year. No one was sure if he would ever come back. This month Jerry Remy said he would be returning as an announcer this year. He says that at first he was convinced he wasn't going to come back for two reason. One is what the public would think and two is whether he could be himself. He said he had a circle of three friends and his wife, Phoebe, who urged him to reconsider. He finally reconsidered after the new year. He refers back to when he was drafted to the major leagues. He describes how he wanted to quit but his father convinced him to stay and play. He says it was not an easy decision but it was the right decision.