DID YOU SEE THE CRICKET CUP??



Last week India defeated Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup. The game is though to have been the most widely viewed sports event ever, with 1 billion people around the world watching. India's victory sparked wild celebrations and governments bestowed lavish rewards on the players, who are treated like "national treasures" even when they are not winners. The Board of Control for Cricket in India gave each player $225,000 and other governments also gave their players tens of thousands of dollars. Other rewards included land, medals, and honorary doctorates. Kingfisher offered each member of India's Cricket Team free air travel for life and several auto companies offered free cars.

First of all we are talking about cricket here, not the chirpey little animal that sets off awkward silences, but the sport. I have heard of it before but how could this sport that is relatively unheard of in America inspire 1 billion viewers to go nuts? Think of cricket as a more refined version of baseball but with no catcher. The team batting seeks to hit the ball and run around the bases to score, while the other team wants to get 3 outs to end their "innings" or opportunity to bat. In a way cricket is the world's baseball. While the rest of the world watches cricket, the U.S. has to be different, we watch baseball and instead of futbol we watch football. This may explain why when everyone else was watching the cricket game, I was probably watching Grey's Anatomy. It is crazy to me the benefits these cricket players receive! Free air travel for life, money, land and medals? Maybe cricket should be my new hobby...I could even get a free car out of it!

Arizona's Fat Tax



Phoenix received publicity this past week in "The Week" magazine concerning Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. Brewer has undergone a shower of criticism for her cut of transplant coverage last year. Due to this, 98 Medicaid recipients were denied lifesaving kidney transplants and other operations. In order to raise $500 million for much needed organ transplants, Brewer has proposed a new plan that her critics have dubbed the "fat tax". This is a tax that charges $50 a year to Medicaid patients who are obese and fail to follow a doctor prescribed weight loss plan, as well as patients who continue to smoke and diabetics who fail to get their condition under control.

This is an interesting proposition proposed by Brewer. I cannot say I am a fan of Governor Brewer because she seems to have a flair for negative attention and controversy. Her antics with SB 1070 have put Arizona on the map as a center of racial discrimination and this law has focused even more criticism on the Valley. I do not agree with her decision to cut organ transplants because that is a question of life and death. I do not understand budgeting in the government and to me it is very flawed but her proposition to impose this "fat tax" is interesting to me. If transplants must be cut, this tax does not seem like a horrible idea to me. Those who are being taxed are facing preventable conditions. I realize there are obstacles in all of these cases, like money and circumstance but again these conditions are preventable. Those who do not want to pay $50 a year will be forced to get their disease or addiction under control. If this tax is passed it will no doubt bring more attention and controversy to Arizona but maybe in this case it will actually be worth it.

Teenage Drug Abuse Skyrockets



In the past 3 years, ecstacy use in teenagers has risen 67%, 1 in 10 teenagers now use it. Marijuana use has also risen 22% with 4 in 10 teenagers using it. Teens say that smoking pot is not out of the norm "smoking cigarettes is looked down upon more than smoking pot" says senior Samantha Gerson. As for alcohol, 71% of teens have a drink before they leave high school. The average age teens start drinking is 14 and some even start as young as 12. After a steady decline in substance and alcohol abuse in the last decade, many campaigns to speak out against these issues have stopped airing in efforts to cut the government budget. Now the statistics are up to a dangerous number, with many teenagers partying, drinking, taking drugs and overdosing.

Teenagers by nature are curious and experimental. This unfortunately leads them to drugs and alchol. Part of the problem is that drug use and drinking are idealized in the media today. Songs, music videos, and movies advertise that doing drugs and getting wasted are a mark of fame and will make you cool. These vices can also be an outlet for teenagers who are stressed, depressed, or bored. Drug use and alcohol abuse are especially dangerous for teenagers because their brains are not fully developed. Statistics also show that kids who drink are much more likely to grow up with an addiction to alcohol. Another appeal to drinking and drug use is the fact that it is illegal, and sometimes people get a high from breaking the rules. With all of this said, campaigns should be restored to discourage the use of drugs and alcohol but the parents and the kids ultimately hold the real power. Parents can be loving, encouraging and supportive of their children so that they do not want to fill a void in their life with drugs or alcohol. Curious teenagers can use self control, say no and mean it. Despite what anyone says, teenagers ARE capable of making their own choices even if they sometimes don't like to admit it.

Seriously Kidding

On April 8th, Massachusetts resident Robert Wood was at the bank depositing money when a robber pointed a gun in his face demanding cash. Wood apparently thought the whole scenario was a practical joke and defied the robber simply saying "no". The robber threw a bag at Wood telling him to put his money inside threatening to shoot him. Wood threw the bag back at the robber shocking everyone in the bank, including the robber. Wood says, "I think if he had his glasses off he would have had fear in his eyes." The armed man then turned his attention to bank tellers allowing Wood to get a good look at him. Police officers were able to arrest the suspect, Mark Lepage, and charge him with armed robbery. Wood came out of the whole ordeal just fine, though he did get a strong scolding from his worried wife who told him, "You never take anything seriously." He replied with, "That's my nature!"

This story was interesting because how many people really defy the demands of an armed gunman? We all like to think we would have the courage to say no, but when it is life and death, survival instincts come into play and that's the end of it. Maybe Robert Wood's survival instincts are a little slow or maybe he really does have an extremely lax personality. What else can explain how Wood looked at the man pointing a gun in his face and thought he was joking? This was an ironic situation because the robber thought he had power over Wood but in actuality, Wood saw right through the scared gunman. It makes me wonder if many other people had the courage or in this case, the sense of humor, to defy criminals, would the criminals be capable of going through with the act? They are usually faced with little opposition, which makes the crime easier to commit, but when it comes down to pulling the trigger some lack the audacity. This is an experiment I would not be willing to take part in but apparently Wood is. All I can say is Wood is very lucky that the man pointing a gun in his face had the courage of the cowardly lion.

Defying Gravity

Caitie Andreen a member of the Xavier Track team listens to her iPod before a race: athletes do many things to warm up and get in the zone before they compete

Xavier Hurdlers loosen up before getting into their blocks, the gun that starts the race can be seen to the left

Xavier Hurdlers "take their marks" in anticipation for the start of the race

The same hurdlers get into the "set" position preparing to acclerate off their blocks

Brophy Hurdlers jump over their 4'' obstacles

Coaches encourage their runners to keep going when endurance and stamina are required like in the long distance races 

 Brophy long distance runners run the curve in a race: experienced runners are able to keep a fast pace for a long duration of time in these races

A Brophy pole vaulter on the downfall of his leap

A Xavier pole vaulter defies gravity: great pole vaulters can end up clearing around 11 or 12 feet

Xavier high jumper Mckenna Renfro focuses in on her obstacle

Brophy athletes look on as Renfro clears 5''2'

High jumpers learn to maneuver their bodies to jump over a high target

My First Love Affair with New York City: The History and the Lights

My first view of Times Square

  We got to see Wicked but I plan on seeing all of these shows in the future

The Forever21 in Times Square was 4 stories...I fell in love

Do not attempt surfing on the NYC Subway it doesn't work...at all

Yes I'm scared of heights and yes I went to the top of the Empire State Building...all 80+ stories

The great view made me forget to drop a penny off the side

And now some history: this is the boat many of our ancestors rode for weeks to get to the U.S.

This is the sight the immigrants saw in the distance telling them they could finally be free

Immigrants entered the U.S. through Ellis Island, it is today as it was decades ago, a timeless representation of diversity and freedom

The Statue of Liberty was huge and majestic

A blue lady liberty represents freedom even against a blood red war torn sky

I was amazed by the architecture inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, I couldn't stop looking up

THAT'S A GRAVEYARD and its massive...literally miles long...my last view out of New York  

Life is a Dance

Recently the nation has been swept by the show "Dancing With the Stars" in which celebrities are paired with professional ballroom dancers to perform on national television in front of millions of viewers. Each pair gets one week to learn the complicated ballroom routines. And while Ballroom dance is used by many celebrities as a way to shed off unwanted pounds, there are many life lessons to be learned in this form of dance. Tatianna Keegan is a competitive ballroom dancer who sees the value in learning to ballroom dance, "What the stars are really learning is how to be responsible". Keegan says that both the teacher and the student must take responsibility to learn their own steps and practice them thoroughly. There is no dominance or submission but rather an equal harmonious partnership. This is a valuable lesson in life, learning not to depend on others but also not to control others.

The movie "Take the Lead" starring Antonio Banderas also sees Ballroom dancing as a means to teach life lessons. Banderas plays Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dance teacher who volunteers to take over detention at an inner city New York high school. Instead of banging erasers, the troubled youth in detention are taught ballroom dancing. At first, they HATE it but in time they learn that "Life is a Dance" just as Dulaine says. The movie is based on a true story and teaching ballroom dancing to teenagers in New York public schools became a permanent program. In the movie Dulaine says ballroom dancing teaches young men to touch a girl with respect while it teaches young women to trust men and more importantly to trust herself.

Therefore when all of these elements are brought together, the practice of the moves with the valuable lessons each person learns...the result is magic on the dancefloor, like this scene from "Take the Lead"...

Chris Brown is Back

Chris Brown's fourth studio album F.A.M.E. was released on March 22nd and debuted #1 on the Billboard Charts. The title of Brown's album is an acronym Forgiving All My Enemies. The album cover portrays Brown with a stoic look on his face, with two profiles of himself on his shoulders. These signify the devil and angel within Chris Brown. Many claim their is a resemblance between this album cover and Michael Jackson's album "Michael". This is not surprising since MJ is a huge mentor for Chris Brown, a legend who Brown credits with nurturing his passion for singing.

Cover of "Michael" by Michael Jackson

The album F.A.M.E. features the singles "Deuces", "Yeah 3x" and Brown's current single "Look At Me Now". Brown collaborates with such artists as Tyga, Lil Wayne, Busta Rhymes, Ludacris, and Justin Bieber to spice up his album. The tracks on F.A.M.E. vary from club bangers that make you want to dance to slow jams that speak of lost or potential love. Each song is lined with Brown's powerful and passionate voice. It is currently #1 on the Billboard Hot 200 and has a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 on the iTunes store.

Though Brown has had a shaky personal life marked with scandal, this album could be his big comeback. After the Rihanna situation, Brown was forced to take some time off from recording and look at his career. This scandal could have broken his career but he released the album "Graffitti" in 2009 which gave him some good publicity but it was not enough to put him fully back in the spotlight. Brown released some singles that would be on F.A.M.E. in a mixtape entitled "In My Zone" he began shooting videos and focusing on what he really loves, his music and his fans. To promote his album, Brown has made many appearances such as performing on Dancing With the Stars this past week. Despite setbacks in his life and career, Brown's new album F.A.M.E. is a bright light in this young star's future. If Brown can keep his personal life moderate, his relationships discreet, and his anger under control his music will take him back to where he deserves to be, center stage.