Category: sports

Worst Person 6-HERE IT IS PEOPLE-JERRY SANDUSKY

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I have been reached by a number of people that have read my blog and have been asked “Hey dude, what about Sandusky (or as some call him, that Penn State pedophile) for your Worst Person in Sports?

Well quiet down. I got ya covered. Jerry Sandusky was the defensive coordinator of the Penn State Nittany Lions and he, my friends, is being convicted for having sexual relations with young boys, around the ages of 10-12, in the showers in the Penn State football locker room.

WHAT?!?!?!?! Now I don’t wanna totally bias my post because I’m a huge fan of free thought. But don’t even think about thinking that this is appropriate. The craziest thing is that these “relations” occurred in 2002. That was the most recent occurrence.

Then how has it not surfaced in 9 years? The answer lies with the other Penn State coaches, including coaching legend Joe Paterno.

JoePa was fired recently after he was questioned by the Penn State Board of Trustees about the scandal. Apparently, Paterno did not come forward with information that he had in order to retain his coach.

What do you guys think of the scandal? Whose guilty? Is Sandusky a pedophile or just wrongly accused? Watch this Bob Costas interview if you need some help with your decision.

Son of Citation Machine

kirbyfullyloaded1 Comment

WARNING: BLOOD AHEAD.  VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED. 

I’ve recently had to cite over 100 sources for two research papers and one oral presentation.

Research papers are the bane of my first semester.  They’re stressful because they simultaneously seem super easy and incredibly complicated.  On the bright side, you can research all the information you need.  On the not-so-bright side, you have to outline, organize and cite every single bit of information.

I think I would have spontaneously combusted without Son of Citation Machine.  Violent implosion is another definite possibility.

For all you high schoolers and college kids, we know citing is a major pain.

I feel bad for the dinosaurs (like my journalism teacher) who had to actually use encyclopedias and card catalogues to create their citations.

MLA:

APA:

MLA and APA are the two academic citation formats.  MLA is used to cite English and humanities related research while APA cites scientific and behavioral investigations.

There is NO WAY I would be able to cite every bit of information by myself.  I’d be dead.  As my best friend Louis says, “not -girl-gets-pimple-before-prom-dead, serious –Manny-Pacquiao-just-punched-me-in-the-face-dead.”

Pacquiao punching Magorito
Pacquiao knocks out Ricky Hatton

See that?  Those guys look the way I feel about citations.

So I used Son of Citation Machine.  SoCM is a citation-generating website.  I like it better than easybib or bibme because it gives you in-text citations and I just find the layout more professional and clean-cut.  It even indents the lines for you.

It’s free and fast and unlike bibme, you don’t need an account.  You can go back and make corrections to your citations and it gives you many options for citing your source such as a book, a web document, an encyclopedia, a newspaper article, an online journal article, a magazine article, a radio program, a television program, a lecture, a government publication and many more.

I am eternally grateful for this website and it makes citing sources 1,000,000,000 times easier.

So next time you have to write a research paper or make a Powerpoint with a works cited slide and in-text citations, skip those other websites and go straight to Son of Citation Machine.


Worst Person #5-Andy Reid

backinphillyLeave a comment

Yup, gunna take a quick shot at my own team in this blog. So, get ready for a barrage of negativity.

I love the Philadelphia Eagles. I will never stop loving this team. But right now, there is nothing in the world that I hate more than their head coach, Andy Reid. Ya, he’s not the only one to blame for the team’s continued woes of poor play. But seriously, you are given players like Jason Babin, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie…AND YOU GO 3-6?!?!?!?! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FLIPPIN’ KIDDING ME!!!! HOW CAN SOMEONE WITH SUCH A GREAT TRACK RECORD OF LEADING TEAMS TO THE PLAYOFFS COACH A TEAM WITH THE BEST PLAYERS MONEY CAN BUY AND LOSE CONSTANTLY?!?!?!

I’m not alone on this. Even Philly wants Reid gone after this atrocious start. I have developed a supreme HATRED of this entire coaching staff this season with the exception of offensive line coach Howard Mudd and defensive line coach Jim Washburn. Mudd simply because he is a living NFL legend and Washburn because his unit is actually WORKING rather than completely failing like the rest of the roster.

The Eagles travel to New York next weekend to face the Giants on the big stage of Sunday Night Football. I will watch it with my parents, brother, sister and Giants fan girlfriend (Should be interesting) who is flying out for the weekend. Without a victory against the Giants, the already minuscule chance of the Eagles making the playoffs will completely evaporate and the season will be over after 10 games. There’s supposed to be 16 games, not 10.

There’s always next year right? Of course there is, but not with Andy Reid. Leave Philadelphia because none of the brothers here have any more love for you.

My first triathlon

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

At 6:45 AM on Sunday, 4 of the members of Tri Ojai and I were at the poolside area of the Ojai Valley School getting ready for a practice triathlon. It was very cold outside; everyone was wearing warm jackets and pants. I couldn’t believe that I had to swim in the outside pool… The athletic director was laughing at me shivering with cold and being afraid of swimming in the pool. MEANIE.

Brief course description: 500 yard swim (outdoor OVS pool), 11 mile bike (into the town of Ojai and back up to campus), and 3 mile run (on Pi, which is our home cross country course, BACKWARDS).

The practice race started at 7 AM. I jumped into the pool. My body was freezing and when I started swimming I couldn’t breathe and was just desperately trying to get some air. But after I swam 50 yards, my body got used to the temperature of the water, and I felt warm again.

I got out of the pool and rushed to the transition area to start biking. My body was shivering and wobbling. I got on the bike and it was all down hill for the first 3 or 4 miles. It was a bumpy road; my hands were hurting the whole time, because I had to squeeze the break in order not to crash. The hill on the way back up was a killer, but I liked it anyways. My 11-mile bike ride was quite a journey, but I had a lot of fun.

I set my bike on the rack and started to run. I couldn’t feel my feet at all, my legs felt all weird. I ran down the hill and the worst part started when I hit the bear gate. I ran uphill for 2 miles until I hit the boy’s dorm. But it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected and I liked the feeling of running down hill afterward.


I completed triathlon in 1 hour 19 minutes and 50 seconds. I loved it so much. I think I will get myself into triathlon! I asked my dad if I could get a road bike for Christmas! I would love to bike all winter just to take a break from running and not to burn myself out.

Anyways, I had fun and it was the best way to start my Sunday!

I would like to thank my triathlon coach for letting me have this opportunity.

Trying Something New

rangerthecatLeave a comment

Stepping out of my comfort zone is not an easy thing for me to do.
Generally, I don’t like to try new things, especially if I have to commit to them for a long time.

To be honest, I’m afraid of being bad at things that I try.

But this year, I promised myself that I would take new and appealing opportunities that came my way.

So, on a whim, I decided to join the soccer team.

It’s funny when I think about it, it really is. I am sort of clumsy, and I am the slowest runner you will ever meet. I also have no stamina what so ever. I knew I would end up making a fool of myself, but then I decided I didn’t care one bit if I did or not. I mean, how bad could I be?

The answer is, not too bad actually. Although I am very slow and have never played a day in my life before, it turns out I don’t suck as much as I thought I would. I was the manager/helper in past years of soccer, so I already know most of the rules and how the games work.

I know it’s not going to be easy by any means, but I’m so excited for this season. And honestly, I just wish I had joined sooner. Our first game is the week we get back from Thanksgiving break, and I can’t wait!

GO SPUDS! 🙂

The End of the Cross Country Season

thehungryrunnergirlLeave a comment

Yesterday, the Ojai Valley School cross country team had the last meet, the league final, at Midland. We drove down for about 2 and a half hours.
Also participating were Thacher, Cate, Midland, Dunn, Besant Hill, Laguna Blanca and Providence Hall.

The birls’ race started at 3 and the boys’ at 3:30. We all ran our best and gave everything. The course is very flat and there were tiny hills but I wouldn’t call them hills. I didn’t really like the course because flat courses just give me constant pain and is not fun compared to hilly course.

Me and my roommate are about to run, listening to the instruction and course overview.

Intense,right?

My coach and I were talking about how I should run that course in the bus on the way to Midland. My strategy is always to stay maybe behind 4 or 5 girls and let them lead the race until the very end. It is then that my body tells me, “Now, sprint! It’s time to out run these girls.” The worst thing to do is to rush so I tell myself not to go in front of anyone!

The entire Ojai Valley School cross country team improved a lot and it’s sad that we can’t practice together anymore…

Good times…

I would just like to thank my coach (thebrownguy) for coaching me I couldn’t have won without him!

AWESOME CROSS COUNTRY SEASON!!!

IS IT TRACK SEASON YET?

Goodbye, Volleyball

rangerthecatLeave a comment

Have you ever had a day in your life that you wish you could do over?

Today was one of these days. Nothing tragic happened, thankfully, nothing life-changing either. But, today was my very last high school volleyball game; my last loss in a high school volleyball game, to be exact.

We lost, and although I wish we had won, that’s not the biggest disappointment.

I just really wish the varsity team had something to show for all of our effort.

We were not the team I know that we could have been. If I could have changed something, it would have been our attitudes, our willingness to try even though we know we might fail.

I will not deny, though, that this season has had its great moments. We have all grown as individuals on and off the court and we have grown together as a team. Even against the toughest public high school varsity teams, we kept fighting until the end. We might have had a losing season, but it was still an amazing one.

There are no words to describe how much I will miss playing volleyball and what an amazing time I have had with the other 7 girls this season. I am so proud of us 🙂

Red Neck Sunday Activities

bedghost1 Comment

Redneck culture has become fascinating over the years.
Redneck
Rednecks over the years have evolved and adapted in these new technological times and have made advances as a culture. They sometimes take the weird and converted to something weirder. It’s an ability that makes their culture so unique and wonderfully funny to watch. seems now they can turn anything into F.U.N time.
(mature language may be heard in the following videos)


Who needs fancy Yachts.

0:52 Looked like it Hurt.

I personally love watching these interesting fellas in their native environment.

Worst person #4-JaMarcus Russell

backinphillyLeave a comment

Ya, that’s right. I’m writing something about one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history. Maybe you’re thinking “Hey backinphilly, what could you possibly have to say about a quarterback that isn’t even signed?” My response is that since he’s not signed, he has plenty of time to say something stupid. And like all other diva players in the NFL, he has in fact said something stupid and has taken the cake this week as being the worst person in sports.

Russell was interviewed in Sports Illustrated this month regarding his failed NFL career and instead of blaming himself for lack of dedication or bad work ethic, he blamed his sleep apnea and his coach.

What? That’s just wrong. You’re a paid professional. You were the top pick in your draft. And you don’t have enough guts to take SOME of the blame? Maybe it’s the team. Maybe Oakland wasn’t the right fit for him. Ya? I play football, and ya the Raiders are kind of a joke. But, I’d kill to play for them simply because it’s freakin’ professional football. He was paid millions of dollars and he screwed it up. Don’t blame Tom Cable and a disease that you may not even have. Take responsibility.
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What is a team?

rangerthecatLeave a comment

As I stood in silence, holding the ball waiting for the whistle to be blown so I could serve the ball, I had a thought. Or , I guess you could say I had a question.

What is a team?

The dictionary definition of “team” is: A group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport.

Of course, I already knew that; but being on a team is much more than just being a group. My idea of a team is being unified, supporting each other, and trying your hardest for the benefit of those around you.

That is what I think of when I think of being a team.

A team captain‘s job – my job – is to make sure than each player is doing just that; making an effort to be unified, support others, and try their hardest.

When these things do not happen, I have no option but to accept the reality, move on, and try to do a better job next time so we act as a real team.

Even though we had a few setbacks within the team aspect of things, I’ve never been more proud to be with that group of girls out there on the court at Orcutt Middle School‘s gymnasium, battling the Orcutt High School Spartans.

Although they had much higher skill levels than us, each true team member put their heart into the game and it was the best we have every played as a team.

Even though we were not victorious, the varsity volleyball girls really learned how to be a team that day, which is all I could have asked for.