Everett - Another Positive Sports Story

Kevin Everett was severely injured in a football game on Sunday. He received the injury while making a tackle on a Denver Bronco. The injury was classified as a "life-threatening spinal-cord injury". An orthopedic surgeon said that a full recovery would be the best case scenario but it was not likely.

Ok, so you are asking "What is so positive about this story?". Well, on Tuesday Everett voluntarily moved his arms and legs! This was two days after this horrific accident and the grim prognosis! The doctors are pretty sure he will walk again. This should prove to anybody what human will can accomplish. My thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin and his family. Good luck Kevin and may you walk again!

Indonesian Earthquake

Living in the midwest all my life I can't imagine what an earthquake would feel like. I don't think we get a true picture of the terror these natural disasters release in the videos and pictures we see on TV. It is kind of surreal, or movie like. As we all know from the news stories these catastrophes are real and can create mass destruction. The latest of these earthquakes happened this morning.

This earthquake happened near Indonesia. It was an 8.4 magnitude earthquake and a Tsunami warning was issued. It killed nine people and shook buildings hundreds of miles away! I know that we have our own share of natural disasters around here, floods and tornadoes, but to me earthquakes of this size seem to be on a different level. I don't know, maybe it just seems that way since I (we) have not experienced an earthquake of this magnitude.

A Day to Remember

I heard on CNN this morning that some schools and institutions, and even New York City, are trying to "move on" and "get over" what happened September 11, 2001. I think this is a mistake. We should always remember and always put time aside on this day to reflect on how our country changed in just that one day. In my opinion, there is not one place in the United States that was not changed after the events of 9/11.

They feeling of being safe and free in our country is something of a good memory. Think about it. Transportation safety before 9/11...transportation safety after 9/11. The freedom of going somewhere on a plane by just buying a ticket and getting on a plane is over. The feeling that our government and country can't be touched is over. I think that most people have that feeling that they have to keep looking over their shoulder to make sure everything is going to be o.k.

Keep this day in your mind and hearts. Understand that we are not indestructible!

Sleep=Academic Success

Just as I suspected! The amount of sleep does make a difference in academic success. I have always been a lover of sleep and I think that it made a difference in how I did in school. I still go to bed fairly early and I think it makes a difference in my attitude and how I function during the day.

They mention that one of the biggest problems is trying to get back to a routine schedule after summer break. It still takes me about a week to get back in the groove but I can tell that kids sometimes take two to three weeks to get back on track. The article also says that sleep affects the positive attitude of students. How many of you think you get enough sleep? I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT ALL STUDENTS READ THIS ARTICLE.

Here is another good article I found about the amount of sleep teens need. Wake Up, Sleepy Teens!

Big Blue Who?

Ann Arbor Michigan was the sight of one of the most stunning upsets in college sports history. Appalachian State (a former Division I-AA school) beat the Michigan Wolverines 34-32 on the opening Saturday of college football. As I understand it, smaller schools are getting money for playing larger teams. Appalachian State received $400,000 for playing Michigan! They also have received much more than that, not monetary, since Saturday. It wasn't like Appalachian State was some horrible team. They were two-time defending champions in Division I-AA, but we are talking about competing with one of the most prominent college football teams in the history of college football, in the University of Michigan. This is why I watch sports. You never know when something like this is going to happen!

If you didn't know (and I bet you didn't), Appalachian State is located in Boone, NC (population 15,000). Could you imagine playing Michigan and walking into that stadium? There were 110, 000 people in the stadium to watch the game! That is over seven times the population of the town that the college is located in! This proves that the "little guy" always" has a chance.

Two things bothered me about the after-game interviews. First, the talk of Lloyd Carr (Michigan's coach) being fired. Stuff like this happens (even to Michigan!). If the team does not recover from this, and regain it's dominance this season, then yes, maybe a new coach should be looked at, but not after the first game. Give Appalachian State some credit! It wasn't just poor play on Michigan's part. The play of Appalachian State also had much to do with their win. Second, the talk of the Appalachian State players. They talked as if they had won another national championship. Yes, it was great, and yes, it will go down as one of the biggest upsets in college football history, but I did not hear one player mention anything about "we have to focus on next weeks game now" or "it was great, but we still have a lot of games to play this year". I even heard one player say something to the effect "This win makes the season". No it doesn't! You can enjoy the win Appalachian State but you better get focused on next week or you will be the next victim of a big loss.