How to do a Jump stop layup

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The jump stop layup, when used correctly, is extremely effective. The jump stop layup is a simple yet unstoppable move when you master it. This move is used by Dwyane Wade and other NBA athletes.

A jump stop is when you dribble the ball, jump two or three feet in front of you, and pick up your dribble in the air. Make sure both feet hit the ground at the same time so you can pivot with either foot after you land, which is a big deal when a defender is on you.

The jump stop layup can be used in transition or on a fast break and it is very effective either way. How you do a jump stop layup is you do a jump stop on the right or left block in the post and then you shoot a layup. This is one of the simplest moves, yet one of the most dominant moves in basketball.

If your feet don’t land on the ground at the same time you can only pivot with the foot that hit the ground first, which gives the defender an advantage. If you try and pivot with the other foot the referee will call a travel and that will be a turnover.

All you have to focus on as a beginner with this move is making sure both feet hit the ground at the same time. Once you have mastered that, you can work on your pivots and you will be unstoppable.

Responding to Hall of Fame

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Music is not just something you listen to, it’s something you feel. “You can be the greatest, you can be the best, you can be the King Kong banging on your chest”. This is the first line from the song “Hall of Fame” by The Script featuring Will.I.Am. There are plenty of inspiring lines in this song. My favorite lines are, “You can throw your hands up you can beat the clock (yeah) you can move a mountain you break rocks you can be a master don’t wait for luck dedicate yourself and you goin’ find yourself standing in the hall of fame”. They inspire me.

I first heard the song Hall of Fame by the Script when I was watching Sportscenter. It was the song for that week. I really liked it the first time I heard it. Then I started listening to the lyrics and then I really understood the song. The lines, “You can go the distance you can run the mile you can walk straight through hell with a smile” really gives me confidence with what I’m doing when I hear it.

Some songs I think of as a poem, because poetry can be very emotionally moving, and so can music. But not every song is like poetry. Some songs are just annoying. But I like the music that actually means something. Not just non stop cursing and no talent talking or screaming. But the songs that tell a story.

My favorite thing about music, is that some music gives you a certain feeling inside. For example when I hear the song “Hall of Fame” I get really inspired, I usually listen to it while playing basketball or when I’m at the gym. Most modern rap and metal, it’s almost boring to listen to I feel numb at times. In my opinion there is no talent, there is no meaning, and they are just talking about how rich they are or how much there life sucks even though they are living the dream not a lot of people get to live.

And these are the reasons why I recommend the song “Hall of Fame” by The Script. It’s not just cursing every other word (actually not at all), It is an inspiring song, and it tells a story but when it comes to music, the stories the song tell are different for everyone.

SDSU men’s basketball team wins their 17th game in a row

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San Diego State University’s Senior Point Guard Xavier Thames earns 31 points for the Aztecs in an overtime victory against the Utah State Aggies on the road. He went for 10 points in overtime. Number 5 in the nation San Diego State brings their record to 18-1 on the season only behind Wichita state, Florida, Syracuse, and Arizona. Number 1 Arizona beat San Diego state in the second game of the season which is SDSU’s only loss.

San Diego State has had a team field goal percentage between 30% and 37% in their last 4 games, yet they have won 17 games in a row! How? because of their absolutely outstanding defense led by their starting center Skylar Spencer with 48 blocks in 19 games this season.

SDSU is having a phenomenal season. Starting forward Josh Davis is averaging 11 rebounds per game. Point guard Xavier Thames is averaging 18 points per game, 81% from the free throw line, and 46% from three point range. But what has really got SDSU winning is defense. SDSU ranks 1st in field goal percentage allowed out of 350 teams.

San Diego State is the 5th best team in the nation. The highest ranking the Aztecs had before this year was 6th in the nation in 2010. The season we all know as the “sweet season” where we made it to the sweet sixteen and we won our first NCAA tournament game in school history. The San Diego State University Aztecs men’s basketball team is like butter, because they are on a roll.

 

“42” Movie review

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The movie “42” is about a young African-American baseball player who started his pro career in the Negro League and later was picked up by a courageous Branch Rickey, former   general manager/ currently in the baseball Hall of fame, decided to bring an African-American into Major League Baseball. He put Robinson in the minors at first to test his durability against the abuse he would get from whites. When Rickey signed Robinson he told him he wanted a player that “Has the guts not to fight back”(Branch Rickey 42). Jackie was insulted, abused, not just by baseball fans or ordinary white people, but his own teammates! But they started to treat him better when they saw him play on that baseball field.

Jackie was a second baseman/ short stop, but the Dodgers needed him to play first base. Jackie never played first base in his life! But he did well. However, he wasn’t just worried about the game. He received death threats from baseball fans. So he had to play with the thought in the back of his head, that someone in the stands was going to shoot him on the field. He had an extremely hard baseball career, and hard life.

Because of the strength, and courageousness of Jackie Robinson, baseball allows people of all races in M.L.B. as long  as you had the skills. Today you are not judged by you’re skills not race. The movie 42 is probably one of my all-time favorite movies. I would recommend this movie to people of all ages.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi’s Styles

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Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi were two of the greatest men that ever lived. They both impacted our lives today by giving freedom to every human being. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi’s “I have a dream” and “Non-cooperation” speeches had different audiences but similar imagery and purpose.

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech was given on August 28, 1963. His imagery was exquisite. One example of imagery he used was, “Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood”. What M.L.K. Jr. was saying in this quotation was that it was time to end racism and to begin a time of peace where one is not hated because of the color of one’s skin. When he gave this speech he spoke in front of 250,000 Americans, not including the additional radio listeners. The purpose of the speech was to help give African Americans their freedom in America.

Mahatma Gandhi’s “Non-cooperation” speech was given August 12, 1920 in Madras, India. Gandhi gave this speech to the British government because he wanted freedom for India. Gandhi used imagery similar to Martin Luther King Jr. “On this heart of the Muslims of India has become Lacerated”. This quotation showed that they wanted their freedom from Britain and they wanted it badly.

Gandhi and M.L.K. Jr. had different audiences but similar imagery and purpose in their speeches. The “I have a dream’ speech helped give African-Americans their freedom, and the “Non-cooperation” speech helped give India their independence from Britain. They were two of the most important men in history and they gave two of the most important speeches in history. Without them, history wouldn’t be the same.

Interview a Vietnam Veteran

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1. What was Vietnam Like? It was hot and dry, and hot and wet.

2. What was your reaction when you saw a Vietnamese? “We would just frown at each other”.

3. Were you ever injured during war? “Yes, my thumb while putting in an air conditioner”.

4. Were you ever involved with the Agent Orange? Not Directly

5. What did you think when you heard about the My Lai massacre? “I read about it”.

Watershed

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Know your Watershed Survey…

 

1) Name the major mountain ranges and other important geographic and geological features near your house.

Point Loma Little League field

 

2) Trace the water you get in your kitchen, from precipitation to tap.

precipitation

3) Describe the soil around your house.

Sandy soil

4) What were the primary subsistence techniques of the indigenous cultures that lived in your bioregion before the Europeans arrived?

I don’t know

5) Name five edible plants in your watershed and their seasons of availability.

I don’t know

6) From what direction do the winter storms in your area generally arrive?

south

7) Where does your garbage go after it’s hauled away?

dumpster

8) How long is the growing season in your watershed?

I don’t know

9) On what day of the year are the shadows the shortest where you live?

I don’t know

10) Name five trees in your watershed.  Are any of them native to the bioregion? If you can’t name names, describe them.

I don’t know

11) Name five birds that live in your watershed.

I don’t know

12) Identify whether those birds are resident or migratory, and if the latter, what part of the year do they spend in your watershed?

I don’t know

13) What is the history of human land use in your watershed or bioregion during the past century?

I don’t know

14) What species have recently (last 1000 years) become extinct in your area?

I don’t know

15) What was the primary geological event or process that influenced the land form in your watershed?

I don’t know

16) From where you are reading this, point to north.

^

17) What is the elevation, above sea level, at which you live?

I don’t know

18) What spring wildflower is consistently among the first to bloom in your watershed?

I don’t know

19) And what fall wildflower is consistently among the last to bloom in your watershed?

i don’t know

20) How many days until the moon is full (plus or minus a couple of days)?

7

21) What kind of rocks and minerals are found in your watershed?

I don’t know

22) What are the major plant associations (i.e., do you know which plants are characteristically associated with which sort of terrain—or elevation) in your bioregion?

I don’t know

23) Were the stars out last night?

No

24) Make a list of the last seven days of the week and check off, if you can, the days on which there was precipitation in your watershed.

I don’t know

25) Name five wild animals that live in your watershed.  If you can, describe how each of these animals lives.  (And for a 1000 point bonus, give the name of one fungus among us)

I don’t know

 

26) How much gasoline do you or your family use each week?

I don’t know

27) What other energy costs do you have to meet to run your house?

I don’t know

28) Where do the electricity or gas come from?

The gas station

29)  Are there any energy resources in your watershed (dams, mines, wells, etc.)?

I don’t know

30) Name the largest wilderness area near your watershed.  How large is it? How large is your bioregion?

I don’t know