Faith of My Fathers

I read a book written by John McCain and Mark Salter called Faith of My Fathers. This book is about how John learned about life. He was told stories from his Grandfather and his father. They told him great stories of the wars they participated in. He was the son of a top commander in the U.S. army. During Vietnam John was naval pilot when his plane was shot down over a town called Hanoi in 1967. He was taken by the Vietnamese and imprisoned. The Vietnamese officers found that he was the son of a top military officer and they then offered to let him go. He refused because he learned from his father that pride in yourself and country were some of the greatest things a man can attain. John refused this because he didn’t want to embarrass the U.S. He was then imprisoned for 5 and a half years. This book was really good because it told the story of a man who is willing to do anything for his country. I think this book that he wrote really helps his campaign for president because Americans will see he has an insurmountable amount of pride in this country. John is in the upcoming election and this book sets him apart from obama because it is a story of struggle and belief in your country.

349 pages
By John McCain
with Mark Salters

Coaching Heroes

Joe Paterno
I chose JoePa because he is a coach who shows loyalty and a desire to create a legacy of greatness. He is the all time winningest coach in college football history. He has been coaching since 1950 all at the same school, Penn State. He has the most bowl game wins with 10, and the most undefeated seasons with 5. Joe Paterno attended brown university where he played football and basketball. He isn't just a man of football he also is credited with making his athletes into students that priortized academics rather than sports. Joe is now 81 years old but he is still going strong espically after his big win over ohio state in columbus. His nittany lions are perfect right now at 8-0 and they are looking strong with national title aspirations that will add to JoePa's already impressive resume. I learned from the studying of Joe Paterno that to be successful doing other things than just the things you are good at will make you successful. Joe P. Made academics a priority above football for his players. I also learned that staying loyal to a thing will create good outcomes. Joe P. shows this because he has been at Penn state for 58 years.

John Wooden
i chose John because he showed an example of coaches that is followed today by almost every coach. He was the coach of the UCLA mens basketball team and he won an amazing 10 championships in 12 years while coaching. He was the first person to ever be inducted into the basketball hall of fame as a player and as a coach. John attended the university of purdue and had a good career playing basketball. He started coaching at indiana state from 1946-1948 he then coached at UCLA from 1948-1975. He amassed a total of 664 wins. John had a record of winning 7 national championships in a row. His time at UCLA was an amazing stretch that exemplifies what UCLA basketball should be. He had the Men's basketball arena named after him. He is now 98 and his life is slowly ending, but his legacy will live on well past his life time. I learned from john wooden that you should present yourself as you want to be perceived. John was a very classy man who always went about his business. He still was able to stay humble while he was winning championship after championship.




Bobby cox
I chose bobby because he has an amazing career as a baseball god.he is the manager for the Atlanta Braves. he has the longest tenure with a club, it has lasted for 17 years. He started by being a 3rd base coach for the braves from 197-1981 a manager for the blue jays from 1982-1985, and a manager for the braves from 1990-present day. he is 4th all time in managerial wins, and he has the record for the most ejections. He has only won one world series in 1995, but he has amassed many wins and has an aura that spreads through baseball. Bobby is known for his passion for the game and his hot headed mindset. This combonation that he has made him into one of the best baseball managers of all time. Bobby cox taught me that a man who's actions are loud may not mean he is a loud person. Boby cox has the record for most ejections, but he is a very quiet man who plays by the rules.

Conclusion
These great leaders have showed themselves in seperate ways but they all had renowned success. Joe P. showed and created the saying that academics are more important than sports. This principal is told by every coach to their players. John W. was a wuiet humble man who went about his business. He always was professional even in the bad times. He exemplified what a coach of any sport should look like. Bobby cox was a very un-orthodox manager because he used his actions to speak instead of other things. Bobby has the record for the most ejections which shows that he is hot headed and cocky. Bobby actually is a southern valued quiet man that loves his job. These 3 coaches all present themselves in different ways. They all had amazing careers that created legacies at the places they started at. These coaches had certain qualities that define their careers. They all attained success throught their own ways. I think the ways they did it define them and that is how they attained greatness. They all gained legacies through their work and that is why they are known as the best coaches of all time. These coaches are the definiton of greatness.

Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton had high hopes for his future coming out of high school being a first round draft pick by the Tampa bay devil rays, he also had a 4 million dollar signing bonus. He was playing in the minors and then he had a streak of partying and then became addicted to Crack. After he was banished from baseball in 2004 he was downing a bottle of crown royal a day along with a couple hundred dollars in crack. He was kicked out of his home by his wife Katie. He moved to his grandmothers house and became sober. He found the lord and that is what he said has helped pulled him through these times. This past season Josh was traded to the Texas Rangers and had a stellar season by hitting .304 with 32 homeruns and 130 RBI. These are some pretty amazing numbers for a man who was a crack addict and alcoholic for almost 2 years. Josh Hamilton is a very humble person who knows that he is blessed because he was able to come back from drugs and all of that to being one of the league’s best players.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/albert_chen/05/27/hamilton0602/index.html
3 pages

Is Sarah Palin the right choice?

Sarah Palin was the governor of a small Alaskan town called Wasilla. The population is around 5000 and there are now big political and economical issues. Usually presidential candidates and their vices are very well educated, not Palin she went to two different community colleges and the very prestigious Idaho state. Sarah isn’t “educated” by what are political standards for political officials are but she is posed as a level headed “Hockey mom”. She has a family that only has a net worth just over 1 million. I think that this net worth stat is impressive because it breaks the mold of all of the other political officials because she isn’t a very wealthy person; she knows the average life of an American.

I think Sarah Palin has the mind set of an average American, and that is what I think we need in office. She has reformed Alaska’s industry into an area of the economy that was once corrupt into a profitable thriving industry. She is very religious and that is the only concern I have for her. She was once quoted on wanting to sensor material in a public library. Sarah Palin I believe will be a nice conservative influence to John McCain’s somewhat moderate ideas.


Sarah Palin was the governor of a small Alaskan town called Wasilla. The population is around 5000 and there are now big political and economical issues. Usually presidential candidates and their vices are very well educated, not Palin she went to two different community colleges and the very prestigious Idaho state. Sarah isn’t “educated” by what are political standards for political officials are but she is posed as a level headed “Hockey mom”. She has a family that only has a net worth just over 1 million. I think that this net worth stat is impressive because it breaks the mold of all of the other political officials because she isn’t a very wealthy person; she knows the average life of an American.

I think Sarah Palin has the mind set of an average American, and that is what I think we need in office. She has reformed Alaska’s industry into an area of the economy that was once corrupt into a profitable thriving industry. She is very religious and that is the only concern I have for her. She was once quoted on wanting to sensor material in a public library. Sarah Palin I believe will be a nice conservative influence to John McCain’s somewhat moderate ideas.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin#Personal_life
3 pages

Dead NHL player

This year a prospect from the New York Rangers system died of heart failure. His name was Alexei Cherepanov, he was 19. He was drafted in 2007 in the first round with high hopes for the NHL. During a game he was sitting on the bench and just fell back, he had a heart attack. At the Arena there was no defibrillator and other emergency equipment used in these types of situations. The ambulance that is regularly stationed there had left and had to be called back which lessened his chance by even more. When taken to the hospital they were unable to revive him. Alexei had much promise in his future for playing in the NHL, he broke all of the scoring records in the Russian hockey league. His agent is looking into the arena safety for other NHL teams so that this doesn’t happen again. I decided to do so further research and I found that he passed his entire physical test in the NHL with flying colors; this might have just been a fluke or maybe a missed medical condition.

This article really hit me hard because he had so much promise in his life and a very bright future. He then just lost it all in a flash. This really taught me to respect my life and be glad I am alive.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3641566
2 pages

Barack goes door to door

In the news this week I read an article on presidential candidate Barack Obama going door to door in Ohio to talk about the up coming election. Baracak went to Ohio because he says it is a key state for his victory. He was out there urging Democrats to spread the word and swaying other parties to vote for him. He fielded questions from all of the home owners. The top question that was asked was on the economy. The economy is at an all time low and Barack plans to use his plan of “Obamanomics” to stabilize the economy. This upcoming election is huge right now because of the presidential debates, and the early season polls that have been released.

When I read that Barack was going from door to door I thought that was a good thing that he was trying to convey the message of a man who is friendly and who cares. The election that is coming up is going to be very tight but I believe what Barack did in Ohio will help him sway the voters.

1 page
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20081013/NEWS-US-USA-POLITICS-OBAMA/

Steve Prefontaine

I read a 168 story on on of America's running legends Steve Prefontaine. He was on of the greatest runners in American history. Steve became the first athlete to win four NCAA titles in one event. Every single year he kept on winning and that is why everybody loved him. He grew up in a small town in Oregon and fought for every accolade he obtained. He set state recors in almost every single event he raced in. He went on to the university of Oregon to pursue his dreams of running greatness. Instead of accepting sponsoships from companies he stayed as amatuer and fight for what he felt American amatuer athletes deserved. One night after a party Steve crashed his sports car putting and abrupt end to his five year reign as the best runner in America. Thos five years that he ran he made an everlasting impact on the running community to this day. I learned from this book that you shouldn't take life forgranted because even when life is all good you can lose everything so fast. This story also taught me to never give up and keep going to try and get better every day, because that is what made Steve Prefontaine one of the best runners ever.