MJ

When people think about phrases such as ‘the best of the best’ and ‘the greatest,’ a few different things pop into their heads. My mother’s cooking, The Social Network, the Beatles, Steve Prefontaine, the MHS teaching staff, Harvard, the New York Yankees (unfortunately). All of these things pop into my mind when I think about the very best. But I forgot one…

Michael Jordan.

A young Mike Jordan was born and raised in North Carolina, went to college at the University of North Carolina, and as a freshmen, was a key player for the NCAA championship basketball team. After completing four years of academics, Jordan was eligible for the draft and was soon drafted by the Chicago Bulls. It was 1984.

Jordan would not only learn to become one of the best players in the league, but to go down in history as the greatest player ever to set foot on a basketball court. He had an attitude towards basketball and competition that no other player had and he lead his Bulls to six NBA titles and the USA to two Olympic gold medals. Will he ever be topped?

No.

This photograph pictures his greatness in an instant as he flies through the air in the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest. He went on to win this contest with a classic dunk from the free throw line, in honor of Dr. J, not Dr. Dre.

Michael Jordan in this photo is soaring through the air, body shining from the flashing cameras in the crowd, while the judges sit and watch this young star throw one down. Michael Jordan took flight that day, and he hasn’t landed since.

Michael Jordan is the best there ever was and there ever will be, but Drew Harris is my hero.

-B

The Old Man and the Bench

In 1931, American people were suffering from the Great Depression. Thousands were laid off, and everyone was struggling to get by. My father was a butcher. He owned his own shop, but he had to let most of his employees go due to the Depression. I worked for free as his apprentice. Every night, at around 6:30, my friend Drew would come get me, and we would play baseball or football or something until the sun went down. Drew was much taller than me, red hair, and freckled. His father worked and owned a bakery around the block from the butcher shop. We had very similar days. He would sweep up and help clean the bakery and be a cashier, and I did the same. We were best friends.

One evening, we were running through the park deciding what we wanted to be when we grew up and we stumbled across a man. He was an old man, with a suit and hat on. He was stiff, but leaned towards us as if he had something to say. He asked us to sit down on the park bench with him. Although anxious, we sat beside him, waiting for what he had to say.

"Lately, I have been come to this bench each night to think. Every night I see you two running past, laughing and enjoying life. Why do you do that?"

"Mister... What do you mean?" I asked him, confused by his question.

"I have worked every day of my life since I was thirteen years old trying to make an honest living, and after working twenty five years for the same company, I was laid off. My wife can't even look at me. My children, a little older than you two, will go off into the world with nothing to show for. I have failed my family. And there is nothing I can do to help them." A tear, small and hidden between the aging in his face, began to slowly drip down the old man's face.

"Mister, everything will be okay. I am sure of it." Drew sounded so sure of himself. I have listened to my father's conversations with my mother and how we had to cut back at home, and how the shop was starting to feel the effects of the Depression. Why did Drew sound so positive?

"Son, you have a lot to learn." the man turned away, and began to weep.

"Mister, just hold on. Everything will work out for the better. Go home and enjoy life with your wife. Think about when you were our age. Things will turn around." Once more I didn't understand why Drew was so sure of himself. Why was he saying all of these things to a stranger?

The man stood up, straightened his coat, and adjusted his hat. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped his eyes and then returned the handkerchief to its resting place. He looked down on us and gave a subtle nod. He walked away, much faster than I would have thought, down to the end of the park, and then ran to his house. Drew and I watched him until he disappeared down the city streets.

The sun was going down, which meant we both had to get going. We said our evening goodbyes and ran our separate ways. The whole run home I thought about what had happened. I never saw that man again, and Drew and I never spoke of it again. It was just an old man on a bench in the park, nothing more it seemed.

Drew Harris was and always will be My Hero.

-B

Fight for Your Right

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-fighter-20101209

I love this writer. He is wrong though.

Peter Travers has been all over the ins and outs of movies in the last decade, and he is (most of the time) spot on. His analysis of The Fighter is just the same. Markie Mark Wahlberg, after training for four years and working hard to get the movie production off the ground, is a stunning “Irish” Micky Ward (not Micky with an ‘e’). And then there’s the Funk Bunch…

Wahlberg is surrounded by actors and actresses with breathtaking performances. Amy Adams. Christian Bale. Melissa Leo. Directed by David O. Russell. After seeing the movie, I instantly envisioned Christian Bale receiving the nomination for an Oscar for best supporting actor, and then winning the Oscar. He was that good. Remember how huge and ripped Bale was in the Batman movies? Well he lost over 30 pounds to play the role of Micky Ward’s crack head half brother, Dickie Eklund. And Bale, being British, mastered the Lowell, Massachusetts semi-Boston accent. No problem. Travers uses the same word I would have… “Phenomenal.”

But Travers, like I said, is wrong about something. Please do not read further if you have not seen the film, because I am about to reveal a very small part of the movie, so don’t read the rest if you haven’t seen the movie…

In the film, Bale’s character is shown being filmed by HBO in what he says is about his comeback as a fighter. Now in my opinion, Eklund knew the whole time that the movie from HBO was an expose on crack addiction, but Travers seems to think that Eklund really thought it was on his comeback and then was “devastated” to see it was on crack addiction. I believe that Travers is dead wrong.

Why would Eklund talk about crack on camera and smoke crack on camera if he thought the piece was on him and boxing? When his girlfriend asked the cameramen what the piece was on, Eklund buried his head in his hands as the cameramen told her it was an expose on crack addiction. Travers. You’re wrong.

When reading his article, this bothered me.

I loved this movie. I recommend it to everyone.

I hope my hero doesn’t read the whole article if he hasn’t seen it……

Drew Harris is My Hero.

-B

I like the Seahawks alright...

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2011/01/02/sports/sports-us-nfl-seattle.html?_r=1&hp



Sunday night is usually filled with students struggling to finish their homework for the next day, parents dreading going back to work, and football fans going wild for their favorite teams. Tonight was no different, except I did no homework whatsoever. Sunday Night Football on NBC tonight showed the matchup of the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams to determine who would fill the last playoff spot. Both teams were 7-8 going into the game and it was played in Seattle.

Last week, Seattle’s starting quarterback, Matt Hasselback, suffered from a hip injury, putting him out of the game tonight. He was actually cleared to play just before the game, but Seattle wanted to start Charlie Whitehurst, and only bring in Hasselback if it were necessary. This would be an interesting decision by Seattle but it ended up working out for them.

In the first drive of the game, Whitehurst threw a beautiful four yard pass to receiver Williams to take an early lead. This would be the only touchdown scored in the game. The rest of it was up to field goals. Two scored by the Rams and three by the Seahawks.

The Seahawk defense shutdown the Rams’ rookie quarterback Sam Bradford, who says he has only bought a new ping pong table with his money from the Rams. As a rookie, he has been a star for the Rams. He never missed a play for the Rams throughout the entire season and broke Peyton Manning’s rookie completion record as a quarterback. Unfortunately, tonight was not his night to shine.

I watched this hard fought game with my 23 year old brother, Dan. We actually watched every football game this weekend together, barely getting out of our chairs for two straight days. This is why I am writing now.

I had a wonderful break, but I did not see one special person who was on my list these past two weeks: Drew Harris. I almost gave him a call the other day (New Year’s Eve), but I was told he was watching a movie with Abby, so I didn’t bother. Even though I haven’t seen him in a while, he is still my hero and we will be running tomorrow after school together.

Drew Harris is my Hero.

-B