Dilip's Post

My Lunch with Jeff Savage

      As you may have known I, Dilip, have met Jeff Savage recently eating lunch with him. Jeff Savage is a sports author that inspired me to write. While I was eating with him he was both signing books and answering questions at the same time. He was really funny. Whenever someone asked him what or who inspired him, he would just take money from his wallet and show it to us. Also, when someone asked him if he met a specific athlete, he would just reply,” That’s my job Holmes.” I also asked him some questions. My first question was which sport are you planning on writing about, but different from all other sports you’ve written? He said that he was not sure what it would be but he’s thinking about it. My second question was what skateboard athletes have you met besides Tony Hawk? He ended up meeting a bunch of skaters but didn’t write about them, because they did not follow his three rules which were they had to be an excellent athlete who did right choices and was a role model. My last question was if you had a choice of having a different job, what it would be. He told me he wanted to be a sports athlete himself so he could get paid almost more than his writing job. Jeff Savage was the first famous person I’ve met in my life and was fun and nice to talk to.

Shaan's Post

Super Bowl XLIV

By: Shaan 

The 44th Super Bowl was awesome! It was the Indianapolis Colts vs. the New Orleans Saints in an all out battle for the Super Bowl title. Even though the New Orleans Saints have never won before, they pulled it off this time in a 31 to 17 victory! I was devastated that the Colts lost. I still congratulated the Saints fans who were there with me. Overall, this Super Bowl was remarkable because it was the first time the Saints won and they won by a lot. If you watched the Super Bowl which team were you rooting for and why? If you didn't watch the Super Bowl why didn't you?

Neil's Post

Super Bowl XLIV- All About the Commercials 

By: Neil Rowen

Hello room 19! I am reporting live from the last four minutes of the Super Bowl. I have been seeing all of the commercials, including talking babies to Doritos people throwing Doritos, this game has been quite crazy. Companies desperately try to get a commercial during the Super Bowl. Do you think companies know what they are doing? You you know how much a 30-second commercial costs? A 30-second commercial costs... 3.01 million dollars! I think this is a total waste of money for a very famous company. If the company is new and not recognized by the public yet, that would be the perfect way to be noticed. 

I don't thin†k that the commercials on the Super Bowl make me want me to buy their products. Talking about commercials, did you know that before the game they have millions of merchandise that says "Saints winners of the XLIV Super Bowl" or "Colts win it all!"? Then, when a team loses, they take their merchandise and sell it in a country where they haven't seen the Super Bowl.

If you owned a company would you use 3.01 million dollars for a 30 second commercial? Do Super Bowl commercials make you want to buy a product more?

Anshul's Post

African Cup of Nations 2010

By: Anshul

     Hello, Room 19 and 24. Did you ever here of the African Cup of Nations? It is basically like the World Cup of soccer in Africa. This year, the country Angola is hosting the competition. The country Egypt beat Ghana in the finals 1-0. The "best" players chosen were Essam El-Hadary for goalkeeping, Madjid Bougherra, Wael Gomaa, and Mabina for defense. Ahmed Fathy, Peter Odemwingie, Alexandre Song, and Ahmed Hassan were the best in midfield. Asamoah Gyan, Mohammed Zidan, and Flavio won the award for forwarding. The player of the tournament of Ahmed Hassan. In total, Geddo scored the most goals with five goals. Runners ups in this this tournament are Ghana, second place, and Nigeria, third place. I seriously recommend you watching the soccer tournaments. Are any of you interested in watching any sport tournaments such as the Super Bowl? If so, which one and why?

Sarah's Post

The New and Only iPad

by: Sarah

     Guess what the newest technology in the Apple Store is. It is the iPad!! The iPad is around as big as half a computer screen. It is also a touch screen. Having a lower price than people expected, many people are buying the new technology. It cost $499. Disadvantages also occur on having an iPad such as not having a camera. It has apps just like the iPhone and iPod Touch though. Having many buisness people to buy this new product, the iPad also has an Internet so buisness people can work on their work where ever they are. Would you like an iPad if you could, or would you want an iPhone? Why?

Alicia's Post

Figure Skating

By: Alicia

Did you know that Jan 23, 2010 was the U.S. Figure Skating Championships? Rachel Flatt won first place in this competition with a score of 200.11 points. Mirai Nagasu took the second place who scored 11 points behind Flatt. Third place went to Ashley Wagner. The Olympic silver medalist, Cohen, did not perform well and fell to fourth place. Cohen said "It wasn't the skate that I wanted, but it was how I could appreciate the challenge and obstacles I overcame."

        Among the winners, Ashley Wagner was the only U.S. woman to make the Grand Prix final last month and the bronze medalist at junior worlds. In 2009, she won five competitions, one 2nd place, two 3rd places, and two 4th places.

        The Olympic team was to be named by the selection committee later.  They will consister the results from the U.S. Figure Championships, Grand Prix final, worlds, and junior worlds competitions. Who do you think will make the U.S. Olympic team?

Rohan's Post

Budget Cuts

By: Rohan

      Since taxes have gone down, public schools have been having a hard time earning money. Schools have been earning little, none, or negative amounts of money. They owe more money than they earn. Portal owes a few million dollars. Next year a hundred teachers in CUSD will be fired.
      President Obama made a new law, which is that every parent can put their kid(s) in any school they want. He did this because kids are being sent out of school and can’t come back in, thanks to budget cuts. Because of this, schools that aren’t performing well can have fewer students. They may have to close, sending the remaining students to find another school. Schools that are good (like Portal) will have many students because parents will want to put their kids in, and it will make it harder for them to manage. Due to this, Portal actually has more than five hundred people on the waiting list. Do you think money should come out of education or from somewhere else in order to fix the state budget? Why? Would it be fair ?

Agrima's Post

 Australian Open

By: Agrima

 

  After Maria Sharpova's (seeded 12th place in the tennis ranking for women) defeat in the first round, Svetlana Kuznetsova (third-seeded) became the first tennis player to get into the third round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Anastasia  Povlyuchenkova. This event happened on Wednesday, January 20th. Kuznetsova is a 24 year old tennis player who has done the Grand Slam Single Championships twice. Kuznetsova has a chance to reach the No.1 ranking for women tennis players for the first time if she can win the Australian Open title. Last year she lost to current women tennis champion Selena Williams after being a set-up and a break. She says that she is more confident this time and is very excited. "You have a new goal each time, and that's what makes it exciting" she says. Kuznetsova feels that this time she will probably get the title of the Australian Open. Imagine you're in the Australian Open. What goal would you set up for yourself, and why?

The Tortoise and the Solar Plant

Use the story "The Tortoise and the Solar Plant" on pg. 6 of your TFK to answer this question. Should three solar-powered plants be built in the desert tortoises' habitat? Be specific when explaining your point of view.

Savita's Blog

Earthquake in Haiti 

By: Savita

If you have heard the news, there was an unexpected earthquake in Haiti. Haiti is a country in the Hispaniola Island, which is the second largest island in the Caribbean. The epicenter of the earthquake was 15 miles from PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti. It happened on Jan 12, 2010 4:35 pm local time. It was followed by many small after shocks. The magnitude of the quake was 7.0. It was a powerful hit to the country. Thousands of people have died because of the earthquake. Can you believe they don’t have firefighters in Haiti to help them out? Buildings collapsed and one of hospitals had fallen down. Haiti is a very poor nation and it needs help now. Our country is sending doctors and medicines to help them. There is an organization named Red Cross that is also helping people in Haiti.We can do several things to help them. We can pray for them, donate money or supplies. We need to support them. What is one thing you will do (or could do) to help the people of Haiti? Should the U.S. help out this country? Why or why not?