Kielbasa, Potatoes and Everything else in the Stew

2011-04-14T16:48:00.001-04:00

http://www.medeamasc.com/wp-content/themes/twentyten/www.html

2008-06-13T12:00:00.002-04:00

Baseball Hitters: Last Blog

2008-06-06T11:02:00.005-04:00

So I tried to do as much as I could to answer my big question. "Do some players have advantages over others because of where they play?"

I found out a few things I didn’t know about baseball, like that baseball parks are all different, have different size fields and players play in different weather in different cities.

Many different players can play at different fields and be good at where they play, but there’s other fields that have different dimensions in the outfield, which can favor hitters but also can favor pitchers. The parks that players aren’t really used to may effect them differently then people who have played there before and used to what it's like. Some rookies coming into the Majors may start off bad, or may do well where they’re going to play. People may not do well when they first start off but I’m sure after the season progresses they will get used to where they’re playing at.

Big power hitters love to play at fields with shorter lengths at the home run wall. Because they have better chances of making home runs, instead of playing at fields with longer home run walls, because this would favor the pitcher a lot because then hitters will have a harder chance of getting the ball over the wall.

I feel that where players play, it does effect how they play and some of the players do have advantages over others. I thinks it's all about where they play is how its going to effect how there going to play.

Baseball Hitters: What dimensions have to do with it.

2008-05-28T11:47:00.004-04:00

Parks that mostly would favor the pitcher are parks with longer dimensions against the wall, like how far the wall is from home plate.

At Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY. The dimensions are 318ft. in left field, 314ft. in right field and 408ft. in center field. This park is ranked 5th in the hitters parks chart. It seems more that if the outfield walls are shorter then its going to favor the hitter because at Shea Stadium, left and right field are 330ft. and left center is 378ft. This park favors the pitcher because its harder for a hitter to get a homer off the pitcher do to the home run walls being so far.

The new Yankee Stadium is going to favor left handed batters, with the right field foul pole being 295ft. And in right center its going to shoot out to 429ft. The left field pole is going to measure 281ft. And by left center its 460ft.

Yankee Stadium benefits almost both hitters and pitchers because the outfield corners are so short, so it gives pull hitters a big home run advantage. Pitcher, Roger Clemens went 9-5 with a 3.56 ERA at home and going 5-5 on the road with a 6.20 ERA. Any Pettitte was the same way going 10-3 at home with a 3.16 ERA and 5-7 on the road with a 4.97 ERA. But hes the type of pitcher who lets his defense do work to and not try and always strike the batter out, and if he thinks he may end up walking the batter, he'll give him a strike so he can hit iit and the defense can back him up.

"Yankee Stadium." New York Yankees. 5 Jun 2008 http://www.baseball-statistics.com/Ballparks/NYY/.

Lets Sum it All Up- Athlete's Salaries

2008-05-20T11:55:00.010-04:00

Final Reflection

Over the past month or so, I have been trying solve if Professional Athletes salaries are justified? Now that everything is coming to an end, I feel as if I failed. But I still came up with good stuff, and some interesting facts about Athlete's salaries. During research, some of the questions I had have changed, but still worth while. I always tried to find the information but it seemed as if there was none. I could not help if there wasn't any written documents of players whining about money, but I did find alot of other useful information.

Who makes the standards for player salaries? This was a foundation question that I had, but I never really found an answer to it. I really wanted to know who sets it up. I wanted to know who is the mastermind behind the player asking for 23 million to play next year. As for all the moves that happen within an organization, I wondered who was the guy who says, "I will pay 18 million for 'such and such' to play on my team." Does that come from the owner? Do the owners even play a part in the process? I feel as if I definitely failed on this one, but I made up for on other questions.

Another foundational question that always bothers me would be, what makes a difference between two athletes? If you were to take two athletes from different sports and compare the two, you should not see that much of a difference. The players should have drive to compete, they should be in top physical condition and they should understand that they are just players on a team. This way if they know they are just one player on a team, they would understand that a team needs every member to contribute. Nobody wants to be a backup to anybody, but a backup is a very useful guy. He or she is always one event waiting to play. But to really find what makes a difference between two athletes would be impossible, the only viable difference is the sport that he or she plays. There is no real way you can compare Danica Patrick (Female IRL Driver) to Sidney Crosby (NHL-Pittsburgh Penguins Captain/Center), other then to say that they give all they can to there sport.

As for the whole, and to answer the essential question of the search, are Athlete's Salaries justified? I would answer no. True, they do alot of work but it is not like they are saving lives. I do believe that athletes should be paid well, but not to the standards of today's market. A person who can catch a football should not be paid more than someone who finds the cure for a disease or save someones life on the emergency table. These people are everyday heroes that go unnoticed most of the time. What I want to know is why do athletes feel like they should be paid that much? What are they going to do with the money, buy the latest gas guzzler or maybe a house with 23 bedrooms instead of three. I know that I repeat this through all of my posts but I am very opinionated on the subject. Who do the athletes think they are, gods above men?

2008-05-19T11:51:00.005-04:00

On Friday May 16, I took a look at the MLB Park Factors and Coors Field was #2 on the charts with a 1.129, so I looked at the park factors today and as of yesterday (May 18) there #4 on the chart with a 1.183, They had a 3 game series against the Minnesota Twins, they lost the first game 4-2 but won the other two games, but not by much.

I'm not sure where Arizona was on the charts on Friday but today they are #1 with a 1.273. At Chase Field, if your a lefty batter this field will boost up your home run totals because Chase Field gives an 18 percent boost to their home runs and increases runs total from both sides of the plate by 12 percent.

Its said that at Chase Field its one of the more favored hitters parks in the major leagues, its ranked 5th in runs scored, 7th in total hits allowed and 11th in home runs allowed. At home the Diamondbacks are 31-9

Lopuch, Jonathan. "Baseball Effects." NEWS & ANALYSIS MLB 05/05/2006 20 May 2008 http://fanballnews.com/article.php?article_id=5610.

Mass, AJ. "Arizona Diamondbacks fantasy team preview." ESPN Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit 27/02/2008 21 May 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/baseball/flb/story?page=mlbdk2k8aripreview.

drfting school

2008-05-14T12:11:00.006-04:00

When I was doing serch i found a place in california where they show you how to drift. What you do is go to ther web site driftday.com then preregister, pay 250.00 and you get to drift all day. If you dont have a car to drift in you can rent one for 400.00. But if you do have your own car you have to get it inspected by the people that run it. I thought that was cool that make sure that your car is safe for you and the other drivers. I think that it would be a cool thing to try, you dont have to worry about the cops or hitting a wall. You could even get general certificate so you could try to get some type of job doing it. I found a fourm on it and a lot of people go to it, so it must be good.

drift day." drift day. 22 May 2008 .

What Really Makes a Team Play Well?

2008-05-13T12:14:00.017-04:00

Athlete Salary: Week 4

I have determined that player salaries are not justified. I now want to see if alot of money really makes a team good? People always say if we had this player or that player, we would be great or even unstoppable. Big money player are suppose to play good no matter where they are but if they don't have the right supporting cast nothing will happen. But that is not always the case, if there is only one good player then every team will just bear down on him/her. This has happened countless number of times throughout sports history. A team is considered good when everyone is clicking.

Look at Wayne Gretzky, my favorite hockey player ever, plays amazing with Edmonton. He was basically unstoppable, but when he went to the Kings, Blues, or Rangers things changed a little. He was still amazing but teams started to double team him to no end. Gretzky, with the Oilers, won 4 Stanley Cups, 6 Art Ross trophies (Scoring Champion), and 8 Hart Memorial trophies (MVP) ("Wayne Gretzky Achievements"). But when his supporting cast changed, when he was traded, so did his fortunes. When on the Oiler, he was surrounded by great players like Jari Kurri and Mark Messier, definitely great players. Then on the Kings, he was surrounded by Luc Robitaille and Bernie Nicholls, not as great but still good I guess. He only won the Hart Memorial once, and the Art Ross he won 4 more times, which means he was MVP

Now people believe money is what a team always needs. That isn't the case. As I said before my favorite team is the Yankees, and money isn't solving there problems. They can't seem to get over .500, what a terrible shame. With such talent they should be have a perfect record and so much more. Maybe like batting titles and shut outs, maybe perfect games. No, at this exact moment, they are last in there division and have a 20-22 record. Take a look at other teams and there salaries, Tampa Bay has one of the best records. But with a team total of $43,820,598 for salary, they are ranked 29th out of 30 teams. ("MLB Salaries") Go figure, the only team with less is the Floida Marlins. The Marlins also have a great record, and lead there division. Isn't that just perfect irony.

Over the years, I always wondered what makes up a good team? What really gives them that power to keep going, maybe the drive to know when the games on the line and try that much harder. But then again I came upon my favorite baseball team, and then it hit me, the days of young Jeter and his drive may have dried up. He was always the reason why the team did so well, he was the guy the rest of team fell onto for support and guidance, and hell, he was not making that much money.

So what can said about money makes a team? That is clearly a bunch of bologna, a good team is made of good players who work together. They have a drive to be the best, while making the team around an individual so much better. In football terms, a quarterback would be nothing without his Offense-line. This means if the line protects the QB, then he should have enough time to make passes. Which would lead to touchdowns, as well as winning the game. What makes a team is good team chemistry, which means there is a sense of camaraderie, almost like family atmosphere.

_______________________________________________________
"List of Career Achievements by Wayne Gretzky." Wikipedia 05 02 2008 05 06 2008
"MLB Standings." ESPN 05 06 08 05 19 2008
"MLB Salaries." CBSSports 2008 05 20 2008

interview

2008-05-13T11:43:00.003-04:00

I thought that i would interview my friend since he has been drifting for 6 years now so i went over to his house and these were the questions i asked had.

Q; What makes a good drifter good?
A; is not being scared

Q; What type of cars do you prefer?
A; Front engine rear wheel drive

Q: What kind of cars do you like?
A: It does not matter as long as its Front engine rear wheel drive its good to go

Q:What type of part do you think are necessary for drifting?
A; definitely got to have a tight suspension and good l.s.d.

Q: What type of technique do you like?
A; The clutch kick

Q:Can you drift with a front wheel drive car?
A:Sort of

Q: Have you ever?
A:In the winter time (he paused and laughed and went on about a story saying theres a front wheel drive honda civic an that guy goes out there with all the rear wheel dive cars and he pulls his e-brake and freaking floors it but its just not the same.)

Q:Have you heard of drift day?
A: Yea

Q:Have you ever gone out there?
A; In California? no thats expensive

Q. Do you think its good?
A. the drifting organization has been going around for a long time the guys been getting it out their for a long time.

Q. Where around here do you go drifting? Legally?
A. Theres no places around here legally, the closest one is in Beaver Run and its about 40 minutes west of Pittsburg.

Q. How do you actually win drift competitions?
A. Smoke em' all day and dont make mistakes.

Today's Athletes Are Getting Paid Too Much

2008-05-08T11:48:00.016-04:00

Athlete Salary: Week 3

I want to look at how salaries have changed over the years. From the 1900s to the present, what happened? Who called for the inflation? I was watching a television with some of the family. Of course were watching something to do with sports, go figure. As I was watching, a very interesting program came on, something of a NFL nature, where it featured past and present players. Players from the 40's through 70's meeting there present day counterpart. The interview that got me the most was the one between Otto Graham and Tim Couch of the Cleavland Browns. Otto Graham was Browns quarterback from 1946 to 1955, and Tim Couch at the time was the present quarterback of the orginization. What really made it interesting was to hear them talk about money. Graham said his whole salary was equivalent to one of Couch's quarter pay. This means that what Graham made in a season, Tim makes in one quarter of a game. Graham busted his ass day in and day out, this way he could be held up as one of the best quarterbacks of all time. Couch on the other hand was and is just a mediocre quarterback.

I understand that times are changing but if you were to compare the two, it would be unreasonable. Graham is one of the best players, and he did not need to be paid millions of dollars just to play the game that he loves. No one from those days ever came out and just half fasted it, everyone played every down. There is a well known story about the Green Bay Packers, would be that a players knee popped out of place, and instead of whining about it and taking himself out of the game, he just pooped it back into place and went back out for more. Now-a-days if you get injured you don't even hobble of the field, they bring out the ambulance. If someone is trying to compare a modern day player to this, I would feel great pity for them.

Back to the money portion of the post, true inflation has been present in every decade ever, except for the 1930 (Decade Inflation Chart), but who called for the athletes to get paid millions? Alright if inflation goes up, then so should pay. But where do you draw the line and say enough is enough. If you would cut some of the athletes pay, I would guarntee that we could cut starvion numbers down by more than half. But if you think about it then the players go on strike. As a nation we are torn between exciting sports and supporting the commonwealth, and we are losing badly. It is not like you can say money gaurntees you anything, only great team chemistry can do that.

____________________________________________________
"Average Annual Inflation by Decade." InfaltionData 2008 05 06 2008

Baseball Hitters: Pursuing the search

2008-05-02T11:51:00.008-04:00

So after being stumped on this topic, Mr. Malley came across a site that would help me in my search. We were looking at MLB Park Factors and this shows what advantages some parks have to the pitcher and what advantages some parks have on the batter.

It gives the rates of the stats of players playing at home, versus the rate of stats on the road. It gives the rates that if the rate is over a 1.000 then the park favors the hitter. If it is below 1.000 then the park favors the pitcher.

If you take a look at the rates of the stats, it shows Coors Field in Denver,Coloradao is number two on the charts with a 1.290, this would mean this park may favor the batter more then it does the pitcher. I would think this because in Colorado its higher up in elevation an the air is much thinner, which may affect the away team because since the Rockies are used to being around that type of air, they know how to work with it and play ball better then an away team.

Since at Coors Field the game is played at higher altitude it gives the baseball that is pitched a much different speed when it crosses the plate from when its released from the pitchers hand. If the pitcher pitchers 95mhp the ball will cross the plate at around 85mhp reducing the speed by 10 percent.

Coors Field, in the last two seasons has had the most runs in the majors. This stadium is proven to be homer friendly, no matter how far the center field wall is(419ft) or how far the left center wall is(390ft) hitters seem to make it over the wall with the cause of the mountain airthat aids to the fly balls.

Nathan, Alan. "Baseball at High Altitude." The Physics of Baseball 30/10/2007 http://webusers.npl.uiuc.edu/~a-nathan/pob/Denver.html.

"Park Factors." ESPN MLB. 18/05/2008. 19 May 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor.

Lopuch, Jonathan. "Baseball Effects." NEWS & ANALYSIS MLB 05/05/2006 20 May 2008 http://fanballnews.com/article.php?article_id=5610.

Type of cars

2008-05-02T08:47:00.007-04:00

When I resumed my search on drifting i wanted to know what types of car were the best to do it in. I could not find out what the best one was because people have differt opinions. So i turned to what was the most cars people use in driftin. I found a website that was just for peolpe that drift and on that website i found a forum. There was so many cars to pick from like a Nissan Silvia S12, S13, S14, S15, a new GTO, a 240sx, a Corolla, and more.
It seemed that every one had a differing opinion. Some people liked a car because how it handled or its speed. One guy liked the GTO because of how much torque it had. The other guy liked the Corolla, he said it was a good car to learn in. Every one is different and there cant be a number one car, but there can be a number one for you

"In Your Opinion Whats The Best Drift Car." Drifting.com 08 07 2004 08 05 2008 .

DAN! HERE'S THAT BLOG POST FROM FREAKONOMICS! DELETE THIS POST EVENTUALLY!

2008-05-02T01:45:00.000-04:00

Would a Salary Cap Improve Baseball?

By Freakonomics

Earlier this week, Dubner wondered what kinds of changes might make Major League Baseball more interesting to the modern T.V. viewer.

A number of you suggested instituting salary caps. This chart comparing team performance with total player salaries over the 2008 season, by data visualization guru Ben Fry, does seem to suggest a link between higher pay and sluggish performance.

But does it?

Check out Fry’s charts for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 seasons as well.

How Do Athlete Get Paid Compared to the Rest of the World

2008-04-25T11:49:00.009-04:00

Athlete Salary: Week 2

When I left off, Riccio was getting in the way, but that was last week. This week was a lot different, there wasn't that many distractions. And of course I was still completely engrossed in my music. Today I actually wanted to find why a professional athlete makes more than a doctor?

From the days of ESPN, I have moved on to new things. I want to find out how baseball salaries really hold up against the rest of the World's pay. A doctor's pay is higher then the rest of America's workers, but it still does not hold up against Professional athletes' salaries. The average staff physician makes $145,000 and a heart surgeon, the most paid doctor, makes $312,300 ("Doctor Salaries").

Now what sense does that make? A life saving doctor isn't even in the same pay league as a disgruntled third baseman or a mad wide receiver. True, the athletes work hard but if they make a mistake no one will die. On the other hand if a heart surgeon makes one mistake, his patient will not be leaving the hospital on his own feet. If I was a doctor, let alone a heart surgeon, I would be going on strike immediately. What type of man would put a price on a someone's life, especially if it comes down to: Do you want live or rather catch a football, or even be able to throw a baseball from center field to home base.

That was a doctors pay, how do construction workers hold up? Now their work may not be saving lives, but they are pretty important considering that we trust them to put the roof above our heads. The also put up the buildings we work in, go to school in, or even play recreational sports in. They have a hard living working from 6 a.m. or earlier till the jobs done, or the sun goes down. At least with another profession closing time means quitting time. An average consturction worker makes $11.90 an hour ("Constructio Worker's Earn"), which is $476 a week and $24, 752 a year. So a constructon worker who builds the athlete's house only makes $25K compared to his athlete counterpart, which would be in the millions.

______________________________________
"DOCTOR SALARIES OUTPACE PAY OF MOST AMERICAN WORKERS." Albany Times Union (Albany, NY) (Feb 12, 1995): B7. Custom Newspapers.. Gale. McKinley High School. 1 May 2008

"How much money does a construction worker earn?." WikiAnswer 05 06 2008

technique

2008-04-22T12:07:00.010-04:00

When I stared looking up stuff about drifting i wanted to know what i could to do to be a good drifter. So i went to wikipedia and they had a lot of info on the sport. They had stuff from the top cars from the the top drivers to Techniques. One technique that i knew already was were you push in the clutch and pull the e-brake. But one that i not know of was downshifting.Its for very tight corners, allowing the driver to approach the corner at a slower speed and lower revs, while allowing quick acceleration when exiting the corner. But this technique can be very damaging to the engine. One way that i would have never thought of is pushing in and out your clutch to send a shock through the powertrain, upsetting the car's balance making the back wheels to slip. The 1st way seems easy but the 2nd and 3rd way seems very had to try.

(2008,04,23). Drifting (motorsport). Retrieved April 24, 2008, Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drifting_(motorsport)

Baseball Hitters: The beginning of the Search.

2008-04-22T11:52:00.007-04:00

Starting my search off with this question "Do some players have advantages over others because of where they play?"
But to get to this question I have to start off with little questions to answer this question.
So the first question i'm going to ask is "What players have better batting averages?". It seems that the players with the better batting averages are in the National League.(Baseball-almanac.com) Which means that most of the teams are from the West Coast. The players along the West Coast area seem to have a better chance of playing better because weather around there is nicer then the weather along the East Coast. The season starts in the beginning of April, and in the East Coast the weather is still much colder then in the West.

I took a look at Gary Sheffields stats from across the years that he has played, an before he played for Detroit and the Yankees. He played in teams that were in the National League, such as the LA Dodgers, Atlanta Braves and the Flordia Marlins. Noticing his batting average was much better then what it is now in the American League. His batting average then was around .316 and now that he is playing in the American League, his batting average is in the low .200 high .190

"Gary Sheffield." 23 04 2008.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/sheffga01.shtml.

cnn wikipedia

2008-04-22T08:39:00.001-04:00

Shmueli, Sandra . "'Flash mob' craze spreads." CNN 08 08 15 04 2008 http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/.

"Global warming." Wikipedia 17 04 2008 17 04 2008
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming.

Fight For Your Team

2008-04-17T11:56:00.007-04:00

Athlete Salary: Week 1

What can you do when you're faced with a decision, do you play tetris or do your work like your suppose to? And for once I went against my gut and decided to do my work. So to start my search, I went to ESPN to find out a few different players salaries. The only problem with a topic like mine, would be that there are always people with opinions against my own. For example, when looking up a little information about the Yankees, my favorite team, a Mr. Riccio wanted to throw out his opinion. While submerged in music and ESPN, I hear you like the Yankees, and of course I must reply, "Why you don't?" From this point Riccio is looking down at me, I had to switch the tables on him. Riccio is a average fellow (height and body type: normal), while I'm a little bigger (with a box frame for a body type), so I stood up and started looking down at him. Being the cool guy he is, he keep to his guns but he definitely seemed a little frazzled by my size. From here we started to exchange verbal blows about each other's teams. He said that the Yankees just go and buy there players, I had to reply, "Oh yea that's right Boston doesn't do that." (Sarcasm of course.)

Even though I had this little distraction, I was able to get the information I wanted from ESPN. So it was a good search I was able to find A-Rod salary ("New York Yankees"), along with other players salary, such as Dice-K makes $8,333,333 a year ("Boston Red Sox"). As for the whole day, I was able to walk away with some good information about a lot of different topics, such as how much does a NLL player make, which is an average of $13,000 a season and rookies average around $6,500. This way I can make comparisons between the two. Of course Mr. Riccio thought it was alright that Boston just went to Japan and bought Dicey. I keep my mouth shut I had to get some work done. But hey what can I say the inquiry is going well, hopefully everyday will be as fruitful as today was. And then i should have no problem writing a real good paper.

______________________________________________________
"New York Yankees Roster." ESPN 4 16 08 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/roster?team=nyy
"Boston Red Sox Roster." ESPN 4 16 08 http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/roster?team=box
"Baseball Salaries Still at Top Notch." New York Times 2 25 1917

Week 1

2008-04-15T12:06:00.004-04:00

Kielbasa's Citations

2008-04-15T12:03:00.002-04:00

CNN Article
Shmueli, Sandra. "'Flash mob' craze spreads." CNN 08 08 03 15 04 08 .

Wikipedia site
"Global warming." Wikipedia 15 04 08 15 04 08 .

Baseball Hitters: Advantages Over Others 1st ph

2008-04-11T11:40:00.007-04:00

As a baseball player, I have played many games at many different fields. Its been on my mind if playing at a different field,besides the one someones plays on regularly, effects them and how there playing there game. The major issue would be if there are advantages to hitters who play at different places. I kind of think there are because some players come into the league playing for a team that may have different weather conditions more likely then other teams that have the same weather conditions more thru the season. I like this topic because if you take for example Barry Bonds he played for San Fransisco. California has better weather then you would say New York. Because New York has more rainy weather during the season. And temperature in the the beginning of the season is different because New York is still going to be cold, an in the West Coast its alot warmer.
I was watching the Yankees game last nite, against Boston, in Boston. The weather was very cold, I think in the mid 30's and A-Rod went 0 for 4. The announcers were saying that the weather may have affected his batting. It may have been slowing down his reaction time to swinging the bat and making contact with the ball.

drifting

2008-04-11T08:40:00.004-04:00

I always thought that drfting was boring until my friend got me involed in drifting by taking me to hang out with his friends. the whole time going to the place they were raceing and drifting. I was getting pumped to see real life drifting. We got to the place we got to talk to them. Then his one friend took me for a ride, It was so fun but at the same time so scary. Every time we turned he made i felt like we were going to go in to a pole or a tree. But now after being with them every turn i wanna pull my e-break to try to do it. But i have a lot of questions about it, it seems so cool but at the same time it looks kind of hard to do with out smashing your car up

Athlete Salary: Before the Search

2008-04-10T12:02:00.008-04:00

Growing up in the Emilianowicz house few things were expected. You work hard in school, get your share of house work done and watch every sport possible. And if you watch a sport, then you normally have a favorite team, and the house dictates that you like the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres and the New York Yankees. Being younger, I was just following what my brothers were doing, but as I got older I started to really like these teams. Of course I don't like when they lose, but that comes with the territory.

For years now I have wondered why some of my favorite players on my favorite teams would leave. Then maturity set in, and now I understand that money makes the world go 'round. Every time I read the sports page I see stories about athletes making more and more money. Consistently, there is always someone who is complaining about how much they are getting paid. Athletes are getting paid to play to the best of their ability for a set number of games, but how many actually give you there very best every time they play. When I actually look at certain teams, such as my favorite team, the Yankees, they just go out and buy people.

Why does Alex Rodriguez make $27,000,000 a year and $252 million over his contract? Who makes the decision of how a player should actually make? What makes two pro athletes different from each other? If your at top notch form with peak performance, what makes a lacrosse player different than a baseball player? (About $2,542,476.) True, if your playing at a top-notch level, then you should get paid well. But then again, if you're playing terribly, shouldn't you get paid terribly? Basically, in my search I want to figure out if the salaries of major league athletes are justified.

Essential Question
Are the salaries of Athletes justified?
Foundation Questions
Who makes the standards for player salaries?
What makes a difference between two athletes, that turns out to be millions?
Who actually puts worth on a man's (woman's) talent?
If big sports are paying there players exorbitantly, how do alternate sports get paid?

2008-03-13T12:40:00.001-04:00

to much work

2008-02-26T09:01:00.007-05:00

harry potter and the goblet of fire
by j.k. rowling
pg. 1-145

The quidditch world cup is like the super bowl, stanly cup, world seres, and the olympics all rolled in to one and it is the first time its bin hosted in britain in 30 years. (so yea its a big deal). Its so big that it had to be outside the wizzerd world. The wizzerds had to put up spells months ahead so humans did not find it.

Why didnt they make them selves smaller so it could fit in the wizzerd world. Then they would'nt have to put spells up months ahead and not have to hide it from the humans?

Have you ever just been completely wrong about someone?

2008-02-21T10:14:00.005-05:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: p. 113- 216 (end)

Oh my goodness, was I wrong or what, it turns out that the "lame-O" president is actually a big part of the story. In the beginning of the book it explained how and why he almost powerless, but that has changed considering Zaphod has high-jacked the "Heart of Gold" spaceship. Maybe it is just me but people get a little mad when you start stealing very expensive ships. President or not, that is a big no no. The reason he actually comes back into the story is to save Arthur and Ford, because they were thrown off the Vogon ship. Once aboard the story takes a little turn, (oh that Douglas Adams) the funny thing during the introductions of the two groups, two cousins are reunited and two acquaintances meet for the second time. It seems that if your president you can go to other planets and attends specific functions, maybe even a party or two. Arthur and Zaphod Beeblebrox actually met at a party, but Zaphod wasn't using his real name (Go figure). Back on the ship it seems that no one takes the last Earthling serious and they definitely don't value his opinions. They would take the mice side over his. But something can be said about Zaphod behavior, he is definitely out there. He, himself, has admitted to doing things with out knowledge about any of them. He claims that without any knowledge of anything he was a perfect candidate for the Presidency, also that he passed all the mental screening procedures with flying colors. This way, supposedly, he could never think about doing something stealing the "Heart of Gold," boy were they wrong. All he wanted to do was steal the ship to find the plant of Magrathea, that way he would be rewarded with all the riches of the universe. Since there is no thought behind his thought, maybe he is subconsciously trying to achieve a goal from a friend.

If faced with such a predicament of being odd man out, what do you do? Would you try to become the guy who makes a fool of himself or the guy who tries to prove himself to everyone?

Initial Impressions- A bit late

2008-02-14T12:04:00.002-05:00

The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Starting off this book I was a bit confused because there were about two introduction chapters that I didnt realize were there I thought it was the book starting off. So I think that those to intros should'nt be in the book because it cought me off guard and then I had to start getting in to the book after reading forty something pages of useless information. But the book itself is quite confusing I think just the sentences and the words in the sentences screw around with me and its hard for me to understand whats going on in the book. One thing I dont really like in the book, is that after some certain sentences, the author would put in perenthesis what he just ment about what he just said in that sentence. And I really didnt think that was neseccary.

Does anyone really want to be thrown out of a moving spaceship?

2008-02-14T10:25:00.003-05:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: p. 47-113

Again what an amazing turn of events, the for some odd reason Adams likes to flip the script alot. Seconds before the Earth explodes, Ford shows his true self and gets a lift from a Vogon spaceship. To me the events are truely impossible and would never happen. But if you believe then anything is possible. (I don't believe in such a thing, I spend my time working on all sorts of different projects.) The way that Arthur and Ford actually get a lift is through some type of blinding light emiting from Ford's thumb, much like a hitchhiker on the side of the road trying to flag down some driver. What an amazing thing to do, seconds before KABOOM, and the two get out alive. Now, I know that Adams likes to flip the story around but I sort of seen that one coming. You cannot kill your main character, the idea is just ludricis. Well maybe you can but not before the last chapther, in a climatic finish. Otherwise the book would lose all meaning, who would the book follow. They actually get picked up by a Vogon spaceship, but the only problem is they were not let on by the Vogons. The Vogon cooks let them on, just for the reason to make the Vogons angry. It is not Ford's fault but being picked by anyone else would probably better. The first reaction of ship's captian is to find the intruders and throw them off his ship. Now the only problem is they are no longer on planet Earth both will die either from the vaccuum effect of being thrown out of a ship, or the lack of oxygen in outer space. In the end the whole idea of being thrown out a spaceship is not real, but to connect it to real life it is very possible to be thrown out of a moving car, by choice or under force from someone else.

If your faced with the predicement of being thrown off a spaceship, what could you to actually keep yourself on the ship? (I suggest becoming the cook, but the only problem is I don't know what aliens like to eat.)

nice twist

2008-02-12T08:41:00.005-05:00

harry potter and the goblet of fire
by j.k. rowling
pg 1-287

The goblet of fire is suppost to only pick 3 studnets 1 from each school. No one under the age of 17 can put there name in the goblet. Two of the characters under the age tryed to put there name in it by making a aging sell. But the goblet put a spell on them, it put a breered on them. So then it was time for the goblet to pick its names it pick 4 names not 3. the 4th name it picked was harry potter who is under the age of 17 and whos school already had a kids name pick. The rules were that if your name was picked you had to competet. So they make if competet even tho he did not put his name in it to be picked.

I thought that was interesting. Becuase i thought that it was unpredictable. I liked it because its going to start getting good becaue hes name should have not got picked, because he is under age, his school got picked already, and he did not put his name in it. Hes always getting in trouble and almost dieing Because of some one else

Do you think he should be able to be in it?

Blog Post #3

2008-02-08T11:50:00.000-05:00

The Princess Bride, William Goldman.
Pages 66-190

Is it written in the first person, third person, or perhaps the second person, or perhaps a combination? Is the story told from one point of view or many?

This book I believe to say would be a combination from first person to second person through out the book. Goldman doesnt really us person, atleast I havent noticed, very much in the book. Its more, her telling about the characters and then the characters talking not about themselve but in general about other characters. And the characters have like there own attitude towards the other characters in the book, and thats what I think makes this book the way it is and how its told in first and second person.
This book seems to be told in many points of view I think. Because the author for one has her ways of telling the story and then the characters have a way of making the story the way it is.

Do you think you have an idea of how the book is and how the author uses first person and second person?

What's the President actually got to do with it?

2008-01-31T11:53:00.006-05:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: p. 23-47

The craziness of this book continues, he open with an amazing flip, and then continues on a path with several differnet stops along the way. Adams introduces a character who is the President of the Galaxy, and his name is Zaphod Beeblebrox. (He's clearly not from around here.) Zaphod holds the title of the President, but there is one little problem with this, the President is absolutely powerless. Every now and then he makes a quote that is important, but otherwise he is just like a business man among working class. But then again with his few statements or quotes he has the people waiting on baited breath for what he is about to say to them. At the moment, Zaphod plays actually no role in the book besides an announcement but maybe that could change. Otherwise it's like he a man you pass on the street do remember him if he has jeans and a coat on, no. If he wearing giant sunglasses, a sombero, or maybe even boa like Hulk Hogan, then I would like to say yes. With the destruction of the Earth, Zaphod really isn't that bothered, in fact he could care less. He is the type of guy who can see a murder and think only of the mud on his shoes. I really believe that he might be a mental patient, or just a plain old headcase. But, as I said before, maybe he will become more important. I would say probably not, what would Adams want with a dumb dumb as his main character.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams- p. 1-23

2008-01-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

What an amazing book, the start is much like a horrible essay I, personally, have written. I mean that I have tried this technique and it never works out well for me. The beginning starts in a peaceful way with a character with high hopes and big dreams. And then "wham bam thank you mam," the story is flipped. The beginning reminds me of a "Simpsons" episode. (Has anyone ever noticed that they start on one plot and end on completely different story line?) Some of characters are very life like such as Arthur Dent, the houseowner, Mr. L. Prosser, the blue collar worker, and then there is Ford Perfect. He is a little far fetched but then again he could easily be confused with a foreigner who is trying to learn our customs, tradition and lifestyles. He still has a problem, even though he has been living among us for fifteen years, he can't detect sarcaism very well. Which can be funny at times but alittle distubing at other times. A perfect example of this would be when Arthur's house is about to be demolished, and Ford asks him if he is busy. Arthur replies No, I'm just lying in a ditch nothing. Almost every human being would pick up the inkling of "yes I am, now get out of here." But for the story so far, it seems to an interesting little tale that will unfold into an epic. I only hope that it sticks to its original charcters now, I'm sort of attach to Ford he makes me laugh with his drinking habits and quarkie personality make me chuckle (not laugh, just chuckle).

Group Response: Fantasy Blog

2008-01-14T11:55:00.000-05:00

My blogmates and I have chosen the fantasy genre because it is simply the best genre around. But it was not just for fun, the fight between good and evil is great. The jubilation of good focused against the dark forces of evil, what can be better than a twenty minute stare off followed by a heated exchange of furious magical attacks. Nothing. And that is just between the three of us, other people feel exactly the same, or more. (I once saw someone get into a fantasy so much, they lost touch with reality, and required that we call him Ogliath the ruler of 7th street.) This actual genre provides humanity a route to a world where things are pure and good and do not have the normal everyday hustle and bustle of rush hour traffic. The world of fantasy lets pejust have.

Assessment - Indy Reading Project - December

2008-01-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

Dan - 5/5 Responses

Well brother, you've got about a 10/90 ration going in some of these responses. I'll stick to the last one since I haven't commented on it yet. I see a bunch of plot, and I see three sentences of commentary mixed in:

Everyone is unique in there own way but some characters are just different.
Being locked away from the world your morals start to go to hell, its almost like living with a bunch of pirates.
Now I don't condone this type of behavior but I understand it.

Problem is, none of these comments are developed. I'd rather you spare me some plot and instead build from something you have to say.

Shawn - 4/5 Responses
Shawn, does the setting have any larger significance. If you're going to write about setting, explore it a bit more. Does it create mood? Represent something larger than itself?

Robert - 3/5 Respones
Do better. You've got to do all your work Robert.

The Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk: pages 251- 411

2007-12-19T12:10:00.000-05:00

What an amazing turn events, I'll just say never get attached to a character. Everyone is unique in there own way but some characters are just different. With every event that happened in the story, it was always followed by the sound of coughing or sneezing, thanks to Miss Sneezy. But All she wanted to do is stay long enough to get a share of the money, while being able to tell one of the greatest stories of all time. (Spoiler) In the end Mr. Whitter, who is not dead, comes back to the group after three months, and opens the door. He says that the time is up, and that they can leave now. As he starts to leave with Miss Sneezy, who is in desperate need of medication, he is confronted with hostility from the group. They don't want to be let go, they want to be rescued that way there story will not be just fools put together in the same room. Being locked away from the world your morals start to go to hell, its almost like living with a bunch of pirates. Trying to stop Miss Sneezy from leaving, a character named Mother Nature, slips a knife into her back, and she died within a couple minutes. Now I don't condone this type of behavior but I understand it.

The Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk: pages 198- 250

2007-12-19T11:45:00.001-05:00

Young Chuck a man of many talents and interest. He never shys away from a subject to talk about, everything is free game, open season. The way he leads the reader through plot changes and the evolution of the characters is truly amazing. Instead of normal conflict between two parties, people commit suicide, not so much as to the extent of killing yourself on purpose but rather through other activities. I wouldn't say the cutting off of your own ear falls under this category but definitely death by over exercising or over eating dried out foods would. With such events, I personally would be almost traumatized seeing any of the above, i don't see death that often and I want to it stay that way. With these events the characters all take the same approach and that is to be greedy. Now some people are affected, but most are just thinking of there own fortune and what they can get of this debacle. The earnings for the possible stories written, movies made and everything else from this will be off the charts, so everyone is just thinking about lining their own pockets. Maybe it's just human nature, but it seems we, as a whole race, bask in other peoples misfortune.

Summer Ball Blog #4 28-50

2007-12-18T12:04:00.000-05:00

Where does it take place? Do the location and environment of the book color the telling of the story or are they merely a backdrop? Does the location change during the book or stay the same? If it changes, does this have any effect on the central characters?

The books main setting is on the basketball court, or in Danny's backyard. And then it gets into more detail like as they take the ride to Right Way basketball camp, then the setting starts to change more to a camping area, like cabins that are named after big arena's and stadiums such as Madison Square garden, Boston Garden, Staples Center, pauley Pavilion, and Gampel Pavilion. And then the rest of the cabins are named after college arenas. Around the cabins are all basketball courts in different sizes like full courts and half courts. I dont think the players changed at all they still are around the basketball surrounding.

The Outsiders, pages 1-81

2007-12-18T11:51:00.000-05:00

Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?

In my book the characters seem very real and believable. the one kid ponyboy lives with his two older brothers who has to look out for him because there mom and dad died. i myself can not relate to his predicament with me having both of my parents and being a only child. It reminds me of my cousin she had to look over the little brothers at the age of 14

Blog #3

2007-12-18T11:49:00.000-05:00

How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?

In my book Summer Ball, the characters seem to change as the book goes on because they seem to live with themselves the way they are and not what they want to be. Danny realizes that hes going to have to live with his height and dont worry about it when it comes to basketball he just needs to play the game. I think this is a good lesson for kids because many kids want to be something there not and just being themselves is whats the best. And if you want to be someone else work harder and become better then that person.

The Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, pages: 45-198

2007-12-18T11:47:00.000-05:00

Ah the book has taken an interesting turn. No longer are cast of characters inside a bus, but rather inside an old abandoned theater house. The only problem would be claustrophobia, which would take effect on me in all most no time if i knew i was not getting out of that confined space for at least 3 months. But then again with certain events, such as cutting the furnace wires, the food rations destroyed and the only man who knows where the key is just died. For some of the characters the phobia has set in and taken its toll on them. One character in particular, Lady Baglady, actually cut off her own ear as an attempt to be taken out of there. But even though she did this, Mr. Whitter did not comply and she died in plain sight of everyone. On the whole of the story, setting has played a big part. I don't think that it takes away from the story, but it enhances it. When faced with adversity, in living space, one most overcome and push through if he or she wants to be recognized as the most level headed of the group. A person who everyone can look to if something goes awry.

Technology Personal Essay

2007-12-14T11:54:00.000-05:00

Starting around the age of 13, I've starting to get more into the technology era and notice everything that had came out that I wanted. I got my first cell phone at the age of 14, made my first myspace at 15, and recently got Xbox Live to play games with different people and friends in different countries and states. Since i started to get into all this new technology, it pretty much took over who I am today. It seems like everything i do evolves around technology and i cant do anything unless I'm using it. To get a hold of my friends I use my cell phone, I can either call them or text message them. I use Myspace or Facebook to meet new friends or even find friends that I haven't seen since middle school. If it wasn't for these websites i probably wouldn't have the friends I have today or at least wouldn't be as close to them as I am now that everyone has one.

I feel that today everything involves a little more technology then 1 to 2 years ago. Many people need technology to do half the stuff they do and even make a living off using technology. It kind of gets me mad because were getting surrounded by all of these new ideas and everyone has to have everything now-a-days. It seems everywhere i go there is a new product out that everyone is going to want and have, and in our generation everyone seems to want name brand clothing, or that new iPod Touch, or the touch screen phone. I mean I'm not going to lie if i could have that stuff id like to have it but its ridiculous the price someones has to pay to have something better then some body else.

I wish that my generation was a lot different. Every where we go something has to deal with technology and i don't really like it much, I mean I'm updated with everything I know how to work most of the new equipment. But its just the fact that every things isn't like what it used to be, it went from Big Screen TVs to Wide, Flat Screen TVs that you can mount on your walls, from using maps to getting GPS on your cell phones and having navigation systems in your cars. And also something new is in cars just saying what you want to listen to and it can hear what you say and play it on the radio.

Technology has changed me so much since i was younger and i think it changed everyone it a different way, i think that it may be a good thing because we have ways to get places easier ways to find our friends easier and can do things much more easier. I'm glad in a way but not to much because everything involves technology in a different way. But over all what can you do, its to hard to get away from it but we cant live without it.

The Allure of the West

2007-12-13T19:56:00.001-05:00

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer, pgs 144-207 (end)

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller, pgs 1-97

So, I finished Into the Wild and started rereading a book that I'm studying with my AP Literature class. As I read the first act of the play I was struck by the similarity between Chris McCandless and many of the characters from Death of a Salesman. The main character of this story, Willy Loman frets over a missed opportunity to accompany his older brother to Alaska to make money. Instead he is 60 and stuck in a dead end sales job. Interestingly enough, Willy's father abandoned him as a child to also seek fortune in Alaska. In a weird twist, Willy is disappointed in his son Biff because he is constantly seeking work outside of the norm of the day. He's worked on cattle farms and other jobs that Willy does not respect. Biff explains that he likes these jobs because he's not stuck inside at a desk and can be out in the open air.

In American culture the west has always been symbolic of the open frontier, a vast unexplored wilderness where a man could make his living outside of the realm of laws and societal constraints. It's interesting that these two books, written 50 years apart, have such similar themes.

Does anyone else know of any characters who seek a life outside of society? Anyone have a friend or family member who constantly wants to go out on the open road? What do you think drives a person to feel like this?

__________________________________________________

Dear Blogger: This is not a spam post. I am mailing to publish this on all of my student's blogs in order to provide a sample and to engage in discussions. Please call off the spambots.

The Outsiders, pages 1-61

2007-12-07T11:45:00.000-05:00

How realistic was the characterization?

I think that the author did a good job with characterization and making them realistic. I like how the main characters have real problems. Like how they are really close with each other and how they hate the "Socs" and the "Socs" hate them. I like how the one part when they where at the movies and they met the two girls they tough that they were really nice. I think that a lot of people can relate to the story. We all have at lest two friends that we are very close with. We all have people that we don't like.

Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk, pages: 1-45

2007-12-06T12:03:00.000-05:00

Hey kids, I'm back for the second time trying out this blogger stuff, and you know that it is pretty interesting.
For the beginning of the book everything is very life like, well to me at least for me it is. In every situation, I do something different there is not one same interaction, besides dealing with the authority or your elders. Everyone knows you must be classy in these types of situations. Such as getting everyone together for the first time on the bus, which is going to the secluded island. When I meet someone for the first time, I have this city attitude about me. I don't know why, but it just there. I don't consider myself to be street thug, but i definitely feel that people and me don't see eye to eye because there noses are to far in the air. Personally, I never considered myself to take first impressions that serious, but i guess i do. The first thing i do when we meet would be to size you up, taking into account your attire, behavior, and how we are interacting. When Chuck started to size people up on the bus, he immediately started giving out nicknames. If I can't remember someone's name, I try to remember something about there dress, so i can tell someone else about them. Chuck gives names based on how they dressed, what they were carrying, or by behavior, like "Saint Gut-Free" eating habits. In one case, he describes one person as a military women, in full attire of a soldier: she became know as "Comrade Snarky." For the first time I met young (Mr.) Malley, I can remember just thinking wow this character is amazing. Just like Kelsey Grammer playing "Frasier Crane," smart but sarcastic. And I view Frasier as the pinnacle of society, on top of his game but still willing to take care of his family first, and in the process learn a lesson or two.

Summer Ball, Mike Lupica. pg 1-87

2007-12-06T11:58:00.000-05:00

Do the characters seem real and believable? Can you relate to their predicaments? To what extent do they remind you of yourself or someone you know?

The characters in this book seem very realistic. I think Lupica likes to put the characters in the book in real situations that may have related to him or situations that he witnessed with his friends. One of his characters are Danny Walker whose a 13 year old boy who loves to play basketball but he makes himself seem that he isn't going to grow any more. He wishes for a growth spurt but doesn't seem to get on any time soon. Hes going to be starting the 9th grade soon and the 9th graders are much more bigger then he is. I like this because many players today and kids now a days are very, very small. Some of the smallest players are the best players. Take Derek Roy for example he's 5'9and 188 pounds. Hes one of the sabres best players I think that the Buffalo Sabres had in a while. But just to think that someone at 5'9 playing in the NHL, that's not common.

Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer Pages: 1-144

2007-12-05T23:53:00.000-05:00

So, the book I'm reading is about this early twenty something kid who
is pretty alienated. It's a nonfiction book, and since I haven't
summed it up yet in a previous response, it's about a kid who is
searching for meaning in life and seeks this meaning by exploring.
At the beginning of the book we find out that he ends up dying in the
middle of Alaska to exposure.

Even though I think I'm supposed to, I'm having a really hard time
identifying with the main character, Chris McCandless. I look at
the cover and there's this picture of Emile Hirsch portraying
McCandless. He's a good looking kid, and he's kind of sitting in this
"top of the world" type dominant pose. The author seems to really
identify with the character, and spends a couple of chapters relating
his own similar experiences. And McCandless is seemingly the rugged,
individualistic antihero that Americans celebrate.

But, I can't get into him, and I think it's because I'm a parent
now. I see the way this kid abandoned his parents, went off into the
middle of nowhere, took chances, didn't write home, and espoused his
theories on the way life works to whomever would listen, and I'm
like, "dude...call your mom, dad and sister. They're worried sick."
The kid is kind of portrayed as this spiritual, deep Thoreau quoting
prophetic figure, but he just strikes me as naive and self centered.
I don't know what I'd do if I was his parent. I would be devastated
if my son took off after graduating college and just disappeared.
It's really rather sad.

(By the way, if you're wondering, this response is to the 7th bullet
under character. The total length of this response is 279 words. I
summed up the book to start because I figured you'd need that
information, but then I really tried to stick to talking about
whether or not I identified with the main character and why.)

2007-12-03T11:52:00.000-05:00

My book is a classy one, the actual name is Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. As of right now, i don't even know if the book is a true story or a collection of thoughts from many different authors, all going to the same secluded island for three months. What I have encountered is there is no topic off the chart, every thing under the great blue sky can be analyzed. As for the beginning it starts with how the characthers, never called by there real names, are introduced to the story as they enter the bus to the island.
Well I have not read that much of book so far, but its possible capablities are amazing. the first short story deals with how chuck meets his co-stars in the book. Which is followed by a completely different story from "Gut-Free" about dangers of using yourself like an amusement park.

2007-12-03T11:50:00.001-05:00

My book that I am reading is Summer Ball by Mike Lupica. Its about a 13 year old boy named Danny Walker and he seems to be the smallest kid on the basketball court for his age. But in this story Lupica makes it seem like size isn't the matter at all its just about showing off your skills and trying to make Danny's dream to make it come true.

One thing I like about this book so far is that it gives a good example of how size doesn't matter. That if your good enough in something that you do,go ahead and try to become something bigger then what you are already.

the outsiders

2007-12-03T11:50:00.000-05:00

I am reading the outsiders by Susan E. Hinton. It is about a kid that lives with his two older brothers.Who is very close to his friends. Who lives in a poor part of town.

One thing I like about the book so far is...How he is close with his friends and how they all look out for each other. I like how there are two types of kids the socs and the gressers. the socs are the rich kids, and the gressers are the poor kids.i like how they dont like each other

Your 1st Post!

2007-12-03T10:45:00.001-05:00

Today in class we will be posting to our blogs. To keep things simple, this
first post will be a kind of introductory thing. Here's what I'd like each
of you to write (make sure it is under your own display name):

1. In 2-3 sentences, give us a taste of the book. What is the title? Who
is the author? What is the "gist"? (It's about a girl who...)
2. In a separate paragraph of 2-3 sentences, finish this sentence: One
thing I like (or don't like) about the book so far is...