Finally

Before I started this class, I would never read a book on my own, only Sports Illustrated or Espn the Magazine. Reading a book for me just seemed like a waste of my time, and was not entertaining enough for me to stay concentrated on the book, becoming side-tracked within a few minutes of reading. I could barely stand to read the books assigned during a class, because its something that I wouldn't be interested in, so i would end up reading the first 1 or 2 chapters and then become bored, and sparknote the rest. Now though, im reading more books, because I have found some that have interested me, and keep me drawn in. The books I read most now are sports related or books from a movie that I have already seen. I also find myself reading before all of my cross country meets because I find that it helps to get my mind of the race and helps me focus, during many of my classes after I'm done taking a test, on long road trips in the car, or during my assistantship since I don't do anything in there anyway. When I read I prefer to be listening to music and have nobody around to disturb my reading and just let me do what I want. I feel as though I have changed tremendously as a reader, going from rarely reading, to reading whenever I can find time to read in my busy life. Even though the reading is no longer required for this class, I feel that I will continue to read my sports related books and try to expand the types of books that I read.

Currently

Pages this week
 161 pages in the book 21:Bringing down the house by Ben Mezrich

Sentences of the week
1."They try to get you to come with them to a back room, usally in the basement of the casino"
2."Certain notorious card counter find their way onto the Plymouth Facebook"
3."Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you, I'm Robert Kim this weekend"

Close Reading Bingo

1.One of those little English jobs that can do around two hundred miles an hour," destroy any last vestige of formality, further developing the aura of simply telling a story to a friend. http://ascrapofparchment.blogspot.com/ 
2.Therefore, the author uses tone to show the criticism the boy has towards them to a point of no return. http://allison789.blogspot.com/
3. "Towering volumes of marble and glass" is what he saw as the lobby, which creates a clear, yet abstract vision. http://addie-line.blogspot.com/
4. he tells us that "On sunny days like this one, a temporary, steeper escalator of daylight,http://theycallmefreshmoney.blogspot.com/

My favorite is probably http://ascrapofparchment.blogspot.com/ 

Practice Diction Analysis

In the exerpt from Cather in the Rye, J.D. Salinger, utilizes a use of simple, but complex vocabulary. The vocabulary "all that David Copperfield kind of crap" is written in a style, that most of the common people can understand without much difficulty. Throughout this except, the vocabualary is easy to read, allowing the common people to read the book, without having a lot of education

Currently

Pages that I have read,

Dart league king- 145

Mapping sentences

1.Expressive adjectives such as "pinewood," "endless," "gnashing," "bitter," "hobbled," and "oblique" create rich description and depict the dark mood of the passage. (keep it classy)
2.Cormac McCarthy's diction in Blood Meridian creates a common, harmonious sound to the passage. I fell like it could be a poem almost with it slow, music like qualities (to kill a mockingjay)
3.  The connotation is figurative and lyrical while the sound melodious as it flows along, defying many grammatical laws. (intrusion of the soul)

Quarterly

So far this semester, I have really surprised myself because normally I hate reading and never really have finished a book before. Until now, I have finished 4 books this quarter, kind of surprising for me. My reading up to this point was starting to increase each week, until last week, when I decide to get lazy and not read as much, but for the most part I have increase my page totals by each week. Where do i typically read? Normally i will read during my second period assistantship, or while im at a cross country meet, waiting for the time when i can warm up, other than that, i dont typically read. I found out that reading before a race, helps me concentrate more and become more focused on my race. My goal for this semester, I don't really know, I probably would say to make my two response post a week, since I typically only do 1 a week, so I should probably start doing 2 a week.

Sentences of the quarter

1.That which does not kill you can only make you stronger"- Coming Back Stronger
2."We may be down, Shane, but we're not out"- High Heat
3.When you least expect it, the opportunity will present itself. You never know when it's going to come"

My Observation things

Currently

Sentence of the Week

1."We're going to run the organization from the top down. We're controlling player personnel. Thats our job. There's this belief in baseball that a team starts with the manager, but it doesn't

This is my favorite because i believe that this is how a team should be ran, from the top down.

Books read
The Baseball
Moneyball

Pages this week
267
Semester total: 993

Finally finished book #3

This week, i decide to finish reading "The Baseball", and to begin reading "Moneyball", since the movie has came out finally. I like reading the books of movies before i go to see them in the theater. So once i finally finish, i might have to go see Moneyball in theater. Moneyball is a great book for baseball fans to read. Starting out, Billy Beane, a regarded as a top prospect in the 1980's. He was contemplating whether going to Stanford or if he wanted to sign a big league deal and make the big bucks, while also giving up his top of the line college education. After he signed his deal, he became nothing more than a minor leaguer.

The Baseball

Did you know that teams in the MLB hire a person just to rub mud onto a baseball?

This is true, because when a baseball is brand new, the leather doesn't have enough grip for pitchers to hold on to. So these people rub a mixture of mud and a liquid, nobody knows exactly what the liquid is because its a secret part of the recipe, so that the pitchers can have just enough grip on the ball. In the 60's and 70's, they used to just rub either dirt or mud on the ball, until they the batter's complained because they counld not see the ball therefore they had trouble hitting it. The MLB tried as many things to get grip as they could, but everything they tried either had too much grip, or was too dark for the batter to see. Then someone came up with the mixture of mud and the special liquid as the perfect thing to rub on the baseballs to get grip and not be to dark so that the players can see them.

The Baseball

This week, I started to read 102 Minutes, a book about 9/11. However, I realized that students were reading this in a class, so I had to stop reading that book. Instead I found a book called “The Baseball” by Zack Hample. This book as the title suggest is about a baseball, but not just any baseball. This goes into the way that a baseball is made from inside out. It also gives some tips on how to walk out of a ballpark with your own souvenir, a baseball, from the game. Zack Hample is what people like to call a Ball Hawk. Ball Hawks are people that go to games not to watch them, but in order to walk out of the ballpark with as many souvenirs as possible. This book also goes into detail about the history of a baseball. Did you know that if you caught a foul ball in the early years of baseball, you had to throw it back onto the field of play? In the early years, if you were caught keeping a foul ball or a home run, you could be arrested and fine up to a 100 dollars (that was a lot back then). However, fans these days keep the balls as souvenirs, unless the away team hits a foul ball or home run, in this case, fans throw the ball onto the field of play as a sign of disrespect.

Sentences of the month

1.."That which does not kill you can only make you stronger"- Coming Back Stronger
2."We may be down, Shane, but we're not out"- High Heat
3."Were gonna pound the ball! We're gonna hit'em in the mouth"-Coming Back Stronger
4.When you least expect it, the opportunity will present itself. You never know when it's going to come"

#1 is my favorite because it is entirely true. The quote is showcased at every point in life.

The book I read this week was "The Baseball" by Zack Hample

Pages of the week: 209
Semester: 726

Currently

Pages this week: 168
Semester total: 517

Coming Back Stronger

Coming Back stronger is probably the best book that I have read in all my life. It gives an in depth look at the players life. It also gives me and other readers a look at a different side of the players. Normally all we get is the negative look that the media tends to over exaggerate. I knew most of the stuff that had happened to him past 2006, and this made me remember everything that had happened to him. I enjoyed this book, because I look at Drew Brees as a role model for me. Seeing all the adversity that he had to go to just to get back to a starter in the National Football League, made me look at him with such respect. He had to go through so much adversity of tearing his labrum in his shoulder.

Coming Back Stronger, part 2

This week, I’m continuing to read “Coming Back Stronger”, by Drew Brees. This book gives an in-depth look at the life of Drew Brees. The part that I’m reading now is his life from the 2005 seasons when the he was still with the San Diego Chargers. That year, the Chargers were predicted to go the Super Bowl, representing the AFC. However, during that season, Drew hurt his shoulder, and the Chargers had a record of 9-7, finishing behind two teams in there division, not making the playoffs. After the last game of the season, he flew down to Alabama, to visit the top orthopedic surgeon in the nation, Dr. James Andrews. When he got down there, he found out that he had a torn labrum in his right shoulder. After the Chargers found out about his injury, they decided that they didn’t want to give him a long term contract, if he couldn’t perform at his best. The Chargers had just drafted Philip Rivers 2 years before, and the organization felt that it was time to move on. So during the off season, and during his rehab, Drew had to begin finding teams that were interested in him. He found only two teams that wanted him to be the starter, and was willing to give him a long term contract. Those two teams were the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints. Both teams planned visits for him and his wife to visit their facilities during the offseason. On his visit to New Orleans, the organization gave him and his wife a tour of the city, which had been destroyed by hurricane Katrina a year before. When Drew saw the devastation he was drawn in, and saw it a possible place to help and rebuild the community from the ground up. While on the visit, the Saints never made him take or pass a physical. However, when he went to visit the Dolphins, they did everything the Saints did, and added a physical, which put the thought that they didn’t believe he was physically able to be a starter again in the NFL. So with all this, he finally decided on the Saints.

Friday

Books i've read:
Coming Back Stronger- Drew Bree's
Quiet Strength-Tony Dungy
High Heat- Carl Deuker
Pages This week:191
This semester:349

Sentences of the week
1."Were gonna pound the ball! We're gonna hit'em in the mouth"-Coming Back Stronger
2."That which does not kill you can only make you stronger"- Coming Back Stronger
3."When you least expect it, the opportunity will present itself. You never know when it's going to come"

These are my favorite sentences because its just a good way to live life by. These are also pretty famous quotes and they help to pick you back up when you may be down.

Coming Back Stronger than ever

In the memoir written by Saints starting Quarterback, Drew Brees, goes through his life from the time his parents got a divorce, until he was hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy in 2010. While in High School, Drew had always wanted to play baseball in college, and more importantly in the College World Series. Coming from a athletic, and competitive family only could help Drew as he progressed as one of the top quarterback in the NFL. His mother was all state in track, volleyball and basketball while in high school. Drew describes him tearing his ACL as the most important event that has happened in his life. This really made him reconsider playing football at all, or just to focus on baseball. He decided to come back stronger than ever, and continue to play football. Drew ended up being the starting quarterback for the varsity his junior and senior seasons. Although he had been a starter at his high school for 2 seasons, Drew was not heavily recruited out of high school. The three colleges in Drew’s vision were Brown, Kentucky, and Purdue. He ended up choosing Purdue, because he loved Joe Tiller, the coach at the time, and knew that their school of business was one of the best in the nation. Turns out that Purdue was the best choice he ever made. While at Purdue, he meet the love of his life, now his wife, and leading Purdue to its first Rose Bowl, although they lost to the Washington Huskies.

Finally finished my 1st book, High Heat

Part three of High Heat starts off with the summer before Shane’s senior year of High School. Shane’s mother asks him what he is going to do in order to stay busy and out of trouble. Shane says that he will find a job or something; his mom said she could have hooked him up with a job at her place of employment if he really needed it. Instead, during their conversation, Coach Grandison called and offered Shane a job as a referee for some pick up basketball games at the local youth center. Shane, of course said yes since he did not want to work with his mom, or in a restaurant. When Shane gets to work, he notices that Grandison had also call other members of the Whitman baseball team to help referee the games. On Shane’s days off, he would go over to a local park that also had a baseball field, and play pick up games with local baseball players. One of the guys that like to show up was Reese Robertson, the one that he hit in the face during a game in the spring. After the first few days, Reese and Shane caught each other’s eyes and began to have a conversation. During their conversation, Shane had found out the Reese had not batted like he did before getting hit, and Shane made it his job to get Reese back to where he used to be, since it was Shane’s fault for him doing worse, or so he thought. To help Reese get back into form, Shane decide he would begin to throw his fastball slightly harder each time he would face Reese, until he thought Reese would be ready for his fastest fastball, which was clocked at around 91 miles per hour. This is all I will say about the book, not wanting to ruin the rest for you guys.

After reading this book I noticed that the author had a bunch of grammar and spelling mistakes, but overall it is a great book, and would recommend anyone to read it.

Currently

High Heat
By Carl Deuker

Pages this week: 158
This semester: 158

Sentences of the week:
1. "We may be down, Shane, but we're not out"- High Heat
I like this sentence, because its a inspiration type of quote. This fuels me everytime im not feeling my greatest.

2."I live and die on every pitch"- High Heat

3."I couldn't stand the way he took over my room with his eyes"- High Heat

High Heat

 This book is a very interesting novel. It’s about a kid, Shane, who plays baseball at a private college in a suburb of Seattle. The school he goes to, Shorelake, is notoriously know for their great baseball program. Shane is the closer for the team and the team depends on him every game to not fold under pressure. However, in a game against Cedercrest, he faces a bit more pressure than any 16-year-old kid could ever expect. Shane’s dad, a local owner of a car dealership, is suspect by the local police as being part of a money-laundering scam. So during the game against Cedercrest, the police arrive right before Shane is about to go in and pitch to close the game out, and arrest his dad for his part in the scam. Then after about a week of the investigation, after Shane had throw the best game of his life, when he returns home he finds out that his dad had committed suicide. After his father’s death, Shane and his family have to move for financial reason. They move into City housing and from a rich neighborhood into a rundown bad part of town. After a week of living there he meets two kids, Lonnie and Justin. These were not the people your parents would want you hanging out with, however Shane’s mom and no idea. Lonnie and Justin had a negative impact on Shane, influencing him to steal beer from a rundown convenience store. After getting caught by the cops, Shane was forced to help out a man at the Boy’s and Girls Club. After all of his community service, Shane also had probation for a year, and his officer made him pick between going to a psychologist or playing baseball at Whitman. Shane chose baseball, although this meant he went from being on a great team, to one that can barely win a game. Although his team wasn’t as good as Shorelake, Shane and Whitman were winning games, then their coach decided to play Shorelake for exhibition.

I personally like this book, maybe even my favorite all time. It’s a good read for all baseball fans of any age. It incorporates all parts of a baseball: the game, off the diamond, and the difficulties that come as a high school student. Its also motivating, to see a kid that battles back from the lowest of lows and then comes back and is able to make his father proud by playing well after his father’s death. It’s also a good story that includes the constant pressure that students are faced with during high school of beer and drugs. Shane can’t with hold the pressure and decides to start drinking and smoking with Lonnie and Justin, and it shows the consequences of what happens when you get caught.