Friday, March 5, 2010

Change

Throughout life, people go through many phases of change.  As everyone grows older they develop new friendships, attitudes, personalities and lifestyles.  Some of these changes can be good and some can lead a person down a new path.  These new paths can affect the way we view other people, how we see life, and how we want to live our lives. 

Be careful about what path you chose because your choices effect the people around you in your life.  They can also effect you just as much as the people in your life because you can believe everything is going all right in your life until one issue starts to the affect the route to the hill while you are running to the top.  You try to help yourself by taking another path, but then that leads to another issue and then another and another and by then you have tried so many routes to the top of the hill that you notice that each route gets you so far up the hill, but you have to put in the effort to make it to the top.  A route will lead you to the top, but it is your persistence that will get you to the top. 

There are times in life when we feel that one route is better ot easier to take because we know that in the end every route gets us to the top of the hill, which is where we want to be at some point in our lives.  Some people may have reached that the top more than once in their lives, but no one stays at the top once they make it.

I tell you this because I, as well as many other people, have felt what it's like to believe that you have everything that you have ever wanted in your life until in one quick moment it can be taken away from you in a heart beat.

Everyone tells me that my time in college will be the best years of my life; however I strongly disagree because college is a time where you decide what you want to do for a job career.  How can a eighteen or nineteen year old not be affraid of these four years that determine what you will do and who you will become?  Everyday I get up and tell myself, "is this really happening?"

On top of that, it is not easy to date someone in college, no matter if you go to the same college or not.  I tried having a long distance relationship with my girlfriend back home and it worked out in the beginning, , but eventually all good things have to come to an end.  I had been dating this girl since my sophomore year of high school and we told each other that we would one day be married and have four kids together.  We thought that things would always still be the same between us, but we were wrong.  Being away from each other made us farther apart when I believed that it would have not effect on our relationship.  She knew it would, but I was to stubborn to see the decision I made to go out-of-state for college would effect the relationship between us. 

When I got to college, I thought that I would have a great roommate and that I would be heading to all the college football and basketball games.  It turns out that my rommate was not the ideal person I wanted to have as a roommate, so I moved into another room by myself.  I also never got into the football and basketball because I missed the college teams back home and I wasn't a big fan of the head basketball coach at the college.  I enjoyed my classes that I took and I made the club soccer team, but I soon realized that I have my own life to worry about and to start.  Mid-way through the first semester I decided that I wanted to transfer either back home or to a better college that has a better program that I want to major in.  So I quit the club soccer team and started hitting the books, which I did only so often in high school. 

At the end of the first semester I recieved two A's, two B's and a C.  I was very proud of myself, but I knew that I needed to pick my grades up a little if I am going to get into the college with the better program I want to major in.

Now I am in the second semester of college and I am still trying to make it up to the top of the hill.  I have lofty goals for myself and I intend to accomplish these goals so I can led myself into the direction of a successful life.  I am taking the route that may led me farther away from the people and activities I love to do in life, but I know that in the end I will have accomplished my goal of getting to the top of the hill only waiting to be knocked back down the hill to restart the journey all over again.  You can' stop change, you can only go with the flow and hope that it will led you to where you want to be in life.         

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Spartans shield off Nittany Lions

The Nittany Lion's almost had spartan for dinner tonight.  In East Lansing, Michigan, Penn State battled to the end, but fell up short against Michigan State. 

Michigan State jumped out to a commanding lead in the first eight minutes of the first half, leading by as much as tweleve points.  Penn State slowly battled back knocking down three after three.  At th end of the first half, Michigan state led 32 to 25.  That lead would not stand for long though.  Penn State came out from the locker room continuing their shooting routine from behind the three-point line.  As the game started to turn, Michigan State began to force passes and shoot unecessary shots from behind the three-point line.  Once the pressure got to the Spartans, they started to pick their game up by making better shot selections and using their speed on offense to control the tempo of the game.  In the end, the game came down to free throws for the Spartans.  Raymar Morgan, senior for Michigan State, was 4 for 4 from the free throw line, making all four of his free throws in the last two minutes of the game.  Morgan gave the Spartans a four point lead after hitting his fourth free throw, but Chris Babb from Penn State refuswed ot go down easily as he hit a three to make it a one point game with less than a minute left.  Michigan State brought the ball up the court and ran the shot half way down before calling a timeout.  After the timeout, Michigan State came back out onto the floor and ran the drawn up play by head coach Tom Izzo.  As Durrell Summers from Michigan State recieved the ball, he forced a pass into two Penn State defenders.  Penn State moved quickly down the court, but the ball was stolen from behind as Kalin Lucas knocked the ball out of Talor Battle's hand.  Lucas was fouled and he knocked down one of two free throws, which gave Penn State one last try for the win, but was folied by the gret defense of Draymond Green.

Michigan State has to win on Sunday against their rivals from Ann Arbor to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title.  Sunday will be Senior Night for the Spartans and I expect nothing less than a win against their rivals.  Penn State drops to 3-14 in the Big Ten and are looking ahead to Saturday as the they will play Purdue at home for their Senior Night.  A Purdue and Michigan State win along with an Ohio State loss will post a three-way for first place in the Big Ten, which means that three teams will share the Big Ten title. Ohio State would still get a number one seed in the Big Ten tournament and I would assume that Michigan State would get a two seed and that Purdue would get a three seed.  We will have to see how it plays out this weekend. 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Duke no match for Maryland on Senior Night

Greivis Vasquez and the Terps arn't ready to give up the ACC regular season title yet.  This win over Duke mves the Terps into a first place tie with Duke.

Greivis Vasquez finished with only seven ponts at the end of the first half with his team laeading at half time.  Once the second half started, Duke got hot and took the lead away from the Terps.  Maryland never quit the entire game and their presistence on Senior night gave them the 79-72 victory over Duke.  The fans quickly rushed the court as the buzzer sounded and the floor was covered in a sea of yellow and red.  Watch out for Vasquez and these Terps not only in the ACC tournament, but also in the NCAA tournament. 

Jon Scheyer for Duke finished with 19 points and shooting 4 for 6 from three point land.  Kyle Singler, for Duke finished with 13 points and having no impact in the second half.  On the plus side though, Duke continued their strong offensive rebounding with Brian Zunbek grabbing 6 of his 13 rebounds on the offensive boards.  Junior guard Nolan Smith was the leading scorer for the Blue Devils with 20 points and 3 assists.  If Duke wants to win their conference tournament and make a run in the NCAA tournament they need to keep up the offensive rebounding and knock down their three-point shots.

For Maryland, Vasquez lead the team in scoring.  Freshman Jordan Williams really helped Vasquez and the other seniors get the win on Senior night also.  Williams finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds and Eric Hayes, a senior guard, finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds.   

A #1 seed is on the line

Tonight at College Park we will find out who the real #1 is in the ACC. At 9 p.m. tonight on ESPN, #4 Duke will be squaring off against #23 Maryland in College Park, Maryland. Duke, who is on an eight game winning streak, looks to finish off there ACC regular season by trying to come out of Maryland with a win. If Duke wins tonight, they will clinch a number one seed in the ACC tournament and possibly a number one seed in the NCAA tournament.

Let's not get to far ahead of ourselves though. Maryland is on a five game winning streak of their own and they are looking for revenge against these Duke Blue Devils, but three weeks ago Maryland went into Cammeron Indoor Staduim and lost by twenty-one to the Blue Devils. How will Maryland respond to Duke tonight?

Greivis Vasquez, a senior at Maryland, is a player to watch tonight in this big game. Tonight is Senio Night for the senior and he is looking to come away with a win. On the flip side Jon Scheyer, a senior at Duke, is a player to also watch. Scheyer has lead this Duke team all season and he is not a player that wants to lose. Another player to watch is Kyle Singler, a junior at Duke. Can Singler hit the three tonight and help rebound on the offensive boards? When Singler hits his three-point shots, this Duke team is very difficult to stop.

All eyes are on the Maryland Terps to see if they can de-throne the Blue Devils from their first place ranking in the ACC standings. You don't want to miss this game, so get your work done and tune into to ESPN at 9 p.m.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

#19 Vandy over comes a scare from Florida

Gainsville was no scare for vanderbilt. Even though the Commodores were had a three point lead at the half against Florida, that lead did not last very long. Vanderbilt came out scoring right away at the start of the second half, but again their inconsistency almost gave them another "L" in their loss column. The Gators made a nice run in the second half with the help of Vernon Macklin. Unfortunately, Macklin's 21 points and 8 rebounds was no match for the Commodores three-point shooting. John Jenkins, the freshman guard out of Gallatin, TN, stole the show with hitting a career high six three pointers. Forida was 17-0 when leading after 5:00 minutes left in the game this season, but Jenkins and the Commodores had a different story-book ending for Senior night in Gainsville. Jermaine Beal made two mportant free throws at the end of the game that sealed the deal for Vandy as they sent Dan Werner, a senior, and the Gators back to the locker room on Senior Night. Florida plays Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington as the Gators look to pull-off an upset. Kentucky better not sleep on these Gators because they will be sniping for a win so they can get off the bubble with the NCAA tournament committee come selection sunday.

#19 Vandy at Florida 1st Half

Vandy's inability to be consistent is there greatest downfall. After dominating the first ten minutes of the first half, Vanderbilt was out to a double digit lead against Florida. Winning on the road in college basketball sets you apart from other teams because if you can win on the road and at home, you will most likely be dancing far into March. Unfortunately, Vandy let their double digit lead slip completely as the Gators heated up in the last ten minutes of the half. The spark came from a number of Florida players, but Vernon Macklin was the highlight for Florida in the first half. Finishing the half with 12 points and 3 rebounds, Macklin made the Vandy defense look silly as he grabbed offensive rebounds and threw down two beautiful dunks. Macklin a red-shirt junior and a transfer from Georgertown University, is going to be a key player as the Gators look to take the game from Vandy as they battle back from being down by three at the half.





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