School Lunch, or Lack There of

     Many people are able to make it through the day without eating lunch, however I am not one of those people. I must have lunch or I am not able to focus one bit. Sitting in class with my stomach growling and mind wondering is one of the most annoying things in the world. Not only am I hungry, but I am missing out on important and valuable information.
     This year the cafeteria food has gone drastically downhill, which is saying a lot considering it wasn't that great to begin with. Not only are we limited on calories, and have no desserts most of the time, but we are paying more for less! This year we very seldom get dessert and portions are smaller, yet I pay an average of 25 cents more per meal. It is as if the government is now controlling what I eat, and in no way do I agree with these new policies.
     We are expected to take a fruit and vegetable which is ok unless all we are going to do is throw it away because it is fake and disgusting. Then I'm not only wasting money, but wasting food. It is as if the government thinks of all of us school children as unhealthy, immature, couch potatoes. Well you know what, we aren't. I understand the push for healthy lunches but for goodness sake, some of us need some more calories in our bodies. Athletes simply cannot function if all they are allowed is 700 calories for lunch. That's like my after school snack nowadays, and it is beginning to really irritate me that I often have to buy two lunches just to satisfy my hunger. It's not good for me or the bank account, and something needs to change.
     The majority of us young adults are not obese and need to eat more than we are allowed just to keep going. Is health more important than education? If it is why don't you start feeding real food, and if it isn't then feed me enough food so I can focus the rest of the day. I'm not the only one who is upset; parents, and other students also are crying out. I would appreciate if my diet was not regulated by government and school policies and I could get portions that actually fill me up. We are not all unhealthy, I wish someone would realize that. I want real food, and so does everyone else. (WC 413)

A New Season

     Today's starts a new season, the Big Ten season starts now. The games we played before today don't mean anything now. It is all about our Big Ten record that will get us into some of the bigger bowls. Heck if we win the Big Ten we go to the Rose Bowl regardless of our overall record.
Today Iowa plays the Minnesota Gophers, a team with a tough defense, good offense, and a team that has beaten Iowa the past three years. There is fire in the hearts if many Iowa players after last weeks last second loss to Central Michigan University. After a game like that, the team, the university, and the fans are lost. Game plans ruined, expectations lashed, and hope beginning to crumble, Iowa needs a win today.
     With running back Jordan Canzeri back in the back field as well as Iowa's go to man, mark Weismann I would hope that Iowa's offense coordinator Greg Davis would use that to Iowa's advantage and pull out some trickery with with this offense. Weisman has carried the team on his back the past few weeks. After running back Damon Bullock went down and has yet to return to game action, Iowa turned to Weisman. Weisman has rushed for 338 yards with 6 touchdowns on the season.
     The Hawkeye receivers have made a huge improvement since week one, but there is still some to go. They have improved upon dropped passes. They amount of dropped passes in week one was ridiculous and very very frustrating. Week two was an improvement, and last week they looked like a new corps. I expect to see the receivers get down field and beat the gopher defenders by a step or two downfield.
     If Iowa holds the Gopher offense to 14 points and is able to win the turn over battle there is a good chance Iowa will win. However it's not that easy. Hawkeye quarterback James Vandenburg must be on his A game today. He must be on target to his wide receivers, and he must bring leadership to the offense. Although are running game is now dominant, we need to establish the passing game. If we do that, then Iowa can look to open up the play action, which is I my opinion, one of Iowa's greatest go to plays. My prediction for this game is Iowa 24 Minnesota 10. (WC 398)

We're Back!!

     As many of you have heard by now, these replacement referees in the NFL are turning many people away from the NFL. They are not only making horrible calls, but taking wins away from teams that deserve to win. I know I blogged about this not too long ago but after watching the Monday night game this week, it is once again a hot topic.
     In the game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks the refs were calling supposed penalty, after penalty, after questionable penalty. It was becoming ridiculous. Now granted some of those penalties were deserved, but a lot were very unnecessary. In the situation in the Packer game, there were about 250 yards in penalties and countless horrible calls. One including a game deciding call that may go down as the most controversial call in NFL history. As the Seahawks quarterback threw a last second hail marry to the end zone a Packer defender as well as a Seattle wide receiver made an attempt to catch the ball. One referee called a touchdown and one called an interception. They reviewed it, and called it a touchdown which gave the Seahawks the win. As this play was played over and over it becomes clear that the wrong call was made. It was clearly a Packer interception and the Packers should have won the game.
     This outraged many NFL fans and and certainly made it clear that they regular officials need to return! On Wednesday night, a deal was made. The referee lockout is over. And tonight (Thursday) the normal refs took over. It is a great relief to finally watch a game where the refs have more authority, know the rules better, and ultimately make the game run smoother. With a lot less penalties and no huge controversial calls, it was great to see the NFL back to normal again.
     It is incredible to think that a deal was made last night and tonight the refs were back on the field. The replacement refs are now dismissed, and there will be more authority in the league. Granted there will still be some poor calls, but without a doubt, games will run more smoothly. Coaches will no longer try to bend the rules nearly as much, and players will hopefully stop the unnecessary roughness that followed many of the plays with the replacement referees. Once again, it is refreshing to know the NFL we all know, is finally back! (WC 413)

My Future in Teaching

     As some of you might know, I'm not the most patient guy in the world. I get very irritated very easily and can't stand people who make stupid comments or keep kicking the dead horse during discussion. Yet I may not always show my frustration, and many times appear as a very nice, kind, patient type of person. Which I am, don't get me wrong, but often times kids really irritate me.
     I bring this up because in the past week and a half not one, not two, but THREE people have told me a should think about becoming a teacher. Never once has becoming a teacher been on the top of my career choices, matter of fact it is probably one of my last choices. There is no way I could contain any sanity spending 180 days with us yahoos. All off the irritable students and mad parents, come along with being a teacher do not appeal to me at all. I feel like I'd be the teacher that seems really nice at the beginning of the year but once kids start not paying attention, talking, and giving me a poor effort I'd become the most hated teacher in the state. I'd be the guy to assign a project a week on top of daily assignments. I just thinks kids would really irritate me.
     Now the reasons people tell me I should be a teacher differ. One lady told me I should because I have fantastic problem solving skills, and always think of a plan so that everyone gets along and stays happy. Another person thought I should become a teacher because of my leadership abilities. I am a "natural leader" and he thought I would make a great addition in the school system. Another individual asked me if I had thought about teaching because I avoided a possible situation that would have disrupted class. I find it funny that people think I should become a teacher because even though I may have some great qualities that would prove valuable as a teacher, I have absolutely no desire to relive my schooling days on the other side of things.
(WC 360)

Rough Around the Edges for Replacement Referees

As the NFL season wrapped up week two on Monday, there is a huge amount of controversy swirling around the league about the replacement referees being used. The regular NFL referees have been locked out because of failure to come to contract agreements with Commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the NFL. As replacement refs take over, one sees just how much the regular refs are missed.

                Touchdown or no touchdown? Penalty, but was it really?! Extra time outs awarded and calls regarding the rules being missed. Those are all just a few of the huge mistakes these replacement refs are making. The replacement refs consist of a select few of college referees that have been reading up and studying the NFL rule book since June in preparation of a lockout. As the refs take on the huge challenge of officiating an NFL game, their weakness and poor effort is really starting to irritate coaches, players, and countless fans.

                Some of these calls that the refs are missing have the potential of being game changing. Many times the calls are irritating, but we can let them go. However some, such as one in the Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cleveland Brown game could have possibly changed the outcome of the game. In this particular situation, an incomplete pass by the Bengals should have stopped the clock; however the refs allowed an additional 29 seconds to run off. The Browns then ended that half on the Cincinnati 29 yard line. Perhaps that extra 29 seconds would have allowed the Browns to score and end up winning the game.

                According to ESPN.com, Eagles running back LeSean McCoy was told by a ref that the official needs LeSean McCoy to do well for his fantasy team. This is being looked into by the NFL because referees having a fantasy team is NOT permitted by the NFL. Another situation concerning replacement refs is when a ref is a fan of the team they are officiating. A few hours before kickoff of a New Orleans Saint game, the NFL removed side judge Brian Stropolo from the New Orleans-Carolina game because it was noted that he is a Saints fan. Being a fan of the team you are officiating is a huge violation. Officiating with an unbiased opinion is a requirement for referees. These replacement referees have line-ups set through week five in preparation that the lockout continues. As a fan myself, I cannot wait for the regular officials to return. Not only does this give fans a look at how hard it is to officiate an NFL game, but it should open our eyes to realize how hard regular NFL officials work to make the right call. We may not always agree with it, but they certainly do a better job than the replacement referees. (WC 469)

Homecoming "Expectations"

As times change so do school dances. This year Kennedy High School has come up with some guidelines for this year’s homecoming dance. The list of expectations states:

“1. It is expected that all students will wear clothing appropriate for a school event.

2. It is expected that clothing will be worn as intended at all times. Boys are expected to keep their shirts on. Girls are expected to keep their dresses and skirts at the intended length. Pulling skirts/dresses up is unacceptable.

3. It is expected that all students will dance appropriately. Simulating sex acts, dancing with hands on the ground, etc. are inappropriate.”

Personally, I think these are rather pointless. I’m sorry, but I have no intention of showing up naked, and I won’t be dancing with my hands on the ground…just saying. These rules or expectations rather, seem to be directed to those who show up and seem to have left their common sense at home. Homecoming is a school event and I don’t know why you would why you would want to portray yourself poorly by disregarding these rules.

Grinding is something that’s going to happen, there isn’t anything anyone can put in a rule book that will stop it completely. It is just what today’s teenagers do. I’m not trying to make stereotypes, but about 80% of the people dancing are grinding. However, is that disobeying one of the expectations? We are still clothed, the dress is still at normal length, hands aren’t on the ground, and it isn’t technically simulating sex acts…is it?

Now as stupid or obvious these rules sound, it is still an issue that needs to be addressed, I guess. Having gone to both a Kennedy and a Jefferson homecoming I find it fascinating the difference between the two. At Jefferson it could best be described as Grind Fest 2012. Everybody, in one huge mob, for three hours, that’s all that goes on. It makes me wonder, do they have expectations? I’m going to guess not because if they got a nice little piece of paper with rules stated on it, I’m SURE everyone would stop what they were doing and obey them. NOT. I mean c’mon, the majority of everyone at the homecoming dance will be grinding. Better not, because if you do the little piece of paper says “Students who do not follow the expectations will be asked to leave the dance.” I guess the dance will be rather small this year…

(WC 413)

Fantasy Frenzy

One aspect of the NFL is fantasy football. It is pretty much a game within a game. People draft players and get points based on how well that player does on a given week. After every week team "owners" go looking for better players to create the best, highest scoring, roster possible. What makes fantasy football hard, is that you never really know what a player will do each game, and how many or how few points a player will score.

For me fantasy football is a battle I face. I want to cheer for my favorite team, yet for fantasy football I have to cheer for the players on my team. It makes it difficult for me to pick my battles. It is even more difficult when players on my fantasy team are on my favorite team as well and I start cheering for a rushing touchdown rather than a passing one. It is always complicated and I have come to realize that I can't always win, some weeks I just have to accept defeat.

Fantasy football can be very frustrated, especially when players that are projected to score a lot of points do very poorly, or sometimes don't even play! For example, this week Aaron Rodgers was projected to get 31 points, he ended up only earning me 12 points. That creates a huge set back for me because the bulk of my roster is reliant on players, such as Rodgers, doing very well. However, there are also weeks when players that are project to earn rather low points, have breakout games, which is a great surprise! Having players like that can always help balance out the players that don't do so well.

The nice thing about fantasy football is that at any point in time I can pick up another player (free agent) if I choose to drop a player on my current roster. However, trying to find decent players that haven't been picked up by other owners yet is very tricky. I have some less than desirable running backs on my team but there aren't any better ones that are free agents. This leads me to my next point; trading. Teams within the league can trade players if they choose. Not everyone is willing to trade, you have to be willing to give up one of your decent players in order to make a trade with another owner. Although fantasy football can be tough, stressful, and hard to cheer for, it is a lot of fun and very exciting.(WC 421)