Grounded

I knew it could not last... My dad had been too good of a person to keep being nice and loving for three weeks straight. One little incident and he turns back into the old man he was. What had happened was, I had a run-in with the cop. It was nothing big like a ticket or anything. Just a little sliding on ice is all. When my dad had heard about this he had freaked. I hadn;t seen him this angry for about a month. His reasons for punishment was that everyone had been watching me and I could not mess up in public. Now I am grounded for a week without being able to drive. I will never be able to relax with a father like this.

Bad Luck Braxton

When I had created this blog, my intentions were to write about how life was difficult being a principal and coach's son. So much of my life I had never expressed my feelings or problems in my life to anyone else. What I am doing with this blog, is venting my feelings out towards others. Things in life never seem to go my way. This is quite the example, when I want to write about how life is difficult with my dad, it isn't really that difficult or frustrating. When I want my father to be angry and mean, he isn't. My topic would have worked quite well for the first quarter, but like I said, I am as unlucky as "Bad Luck Brian". I know my dad cannot be this way forever, so next week is a totally new experience.

Basketball Saved Me

Normally the worst part about basketball is my coach. My coach is my dad... People may think that when your dad is your coach, you will get special treatment and what not. However, this has never been the case with my dad, I had to earn everything he gave me, and he would never take a break from yelling. This year is different, Mr. Nesheim is mainly my coach and I love it. Though my dad is still there, helping with drills, and strategizing with coaches. I do not have to take critisism from him, just Mr. Neshiem. I don't know what is in his coffee, but this basketball season, he is in a good mood and is always trying to look for new ways for our team to succeed. At this time in my life, basketball has really saved my life, there is no pressure from my dad, and I can do what I love.

Locked Up

Nowadays all my life is, is going to school, open gym, workout, get home, and homework. When my mother is around I can go out to eat with my friends and hang out at with them. On the other hand, my father will not let me leave the house. When he is in charge, I am restricted to the area of the house, my x-box, and homework. This weekend, I have more privileges, so all is not that bad. I am able to hang out, and was allowed to go to Watertown. The side-affect is traveling endless miles to Britton, for a basketball tournament. Originally a basketball tournament is not that bad, but this is a girls basketball tournament. Normally there is nothing worse than a girl's basketball tournament, except...... little girls basketball. On occasions like this, I would almost rather have death come upon me. To me there is nothing worse than little girl's basketball. This feeling is all due to the demands of my father...

All is Good

So far, my father is a good man. I don't know how it happened, but so far this week he has been respectable and well behaved. The reasoning for this accusation is plentiful. He had to be in a good mood all week because at Buffalo Wild Wings, he had bought my friends and I $200 worth of food. I had gotten $40 for driving him to and from a meeting. His record this week had been spotless, other than one little blemish.... I had to thoroughly clean my house. Normally this is an unspeakable task, but I had to achieve this goal in two hours. Such a long time of labor for such little reward. But for him being so nice this week, there had to be some sort of downfall. Thankfully it was attainable.

This Past Week

Most people who know my father on a personal level know that he is far away from perfect, but he believes that his children should be.(especially the best child, which is me) Most of my life I have been trying to impress this man, but every simple mistake just pushes some sort of button in him, that no person has ever understood. An example from this past week was when I had not turned in my faith statement, when half the class hadn't even turned theirs in. It just happened that we are close to the secretary and she has no problem contacting us repeatidly. Also, when there had been a missing computer paper (that was put in the wrong tray) I had a 20 minute speech about my grades. Two B's and I am the devil, yes I should've had all A's, but there is so much pressure with being his son. From these blogs, you may think that my life is terrible, but that is only half the time. When my dad is in the right mood, he is a saint! When it is this time of the week, life couldn't be any better, he will spend money for me and actually be nice. For an example, when it had just been my father and I on our way to the district volleyball game, we had a nice talk there and back, he had been in a good mood, so there had been no pressure for me to impress him. On days like these I realize how much I love my dad and how much he I should appreciate him..... But who knows what will happen next week....

Father and I...

My dad, 49 years old, and getting grumpier by the second. Some people may think that having your fater as the principle would be the life, well it isn't. This reality is not like any movies, showing the principal's kids doing whatever they want and having a ball. This is actually the opposite and any one of my friends could point that out. So many times has my life been affected because of my dad's position, but I am not here to talk about the past, I am here to talk about the present. From week to week I will be writing about what it is like being son of the "Principal". But first I must tell you about my father, and also about me. My dad had been quite a succesful athlete, but he had been an average student. He has been a principal and been coaching for many years now. In our family, he is mainly the lazy, commanding father. There are problems between us in the household, because I am the Alpha Male. I am the responsible, smart, studly, and hard-working man of the house. So as we go throughout this quater, many problems will arise, and you will see how terrifying my life is.

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning is a 4-time MVP, and first round draft pick to the Indianapolis Colts, has had a well decorated footbal career including a Super Bowl. But his football career hasn't always been glamorous. Many people would think that since he has the second most games played consecutively that he has had no run-ins with injuries or problems. But he has actually had surgery on the vertebrae in his neck the past 3 of 4 years. His most recent neck injury had sidelined him for all of last season. Without him, the team that had made it to the playoffs the last 10 years had not been as successful. This shows how important Peyton was to his team. But he has now worked his way back and is now playing for the Denver Broncos. Peyton has been one of my idols throughout my life, and it is important that he had worked his way back into playing shape. He is also taking a huge risk in playing once again, if he has one more injury he would be done with football and possibly paralyzed.

Spud Webb

There aren't many short professional basketball players out there, but there was one that most people do know and remember Spud Webb. Spud was only five foot seven and 133 pounds. Not only was he shorter than the rest of the competition, he was also very scrawny. Drafted 87th overall in 1985, his career had been quite successful compared to where he was in the draft. He had a career average of 9.9 points per game, 5.6 assists per game, and 1.1 steals per game. These numbers are exceptional considering the disadvantages he had throughout his life. The most memorable thing about his career was his dunk contest win in 1986. A dunk contest has never been one before this by a player under six feet, and this would only happen one more time in NBA history by Nate Robinson. People must remember that no matter what disadvantages you have physically, you can always accomplish what you want.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady went to the college of Michigan, and now is a quarterback for the New England Patriots. He has won three Superbowls, has one MVP, and has two Superbowl MVP's. People thought that in 2008 his carreer had ended. It was the first game, when Kansas City's defender Marcus Pollard had hit Brady in the knee, that had kept him out for the game.(Springer, Shira) They did not know it then when Brady had been on the ground, but he had just torn his ACL. Matt Cassel had finished the year for Brady, leading them to an 11-5 record. Brady would return next season, and the seasons after that, not missing a step. His story relates to mine, with the acl tear, and the one from a week before. But like me, Brady was able to recover, and continue playing his sport.

Marcus Dupree

Marcus Dupree, was a runningback for the university of Oklahoma, and a heisman trophy winner. I had found out about him and his story on one of ESPN's 30 for 30's, and his had related to mine. His dream was to be a star in the NFL, and with his successful career, it was looking better and better for him. Until before he had entered the draft, he had torn his ACL. He had been away from football for five years. He had been rehabing it for this long, but it had never felt right. After the five years, he had been signed by the Los Angelas Rams. Though he had never reached his full potential, he had achieved one of his goals, and that was to play in the NFL. His NFL career had only lasted two years, and he was an average player, but that was good enough for him. This story relates to me, because I had torn my ACL, and worked back so I could play again. Fortunately for me there have been advances in medical science, so it is easier for me to reach my best, unlike it was for him.

Maurice Jones-Drew

Maurice Jones-Drew had not had a father growing up, so this is why his grandfather had been so important to him. His grandfather had never missed a game of Maurice's. At this particular game against Rice his Junior year of college, had changed his life forever. Maurice Jones-Drew had been putting on a highlight reel all game, but in the third quarter after his 42 yard run, his grandfather had gone into cardiac arrest. Soon after Maurice Jones-Drew had been standing over his lifeless grandfather, mourning. Before this date Marice Jones-Drew had been known as Maurice Drew, and soon after had changed his name to Maurice Jones-Drew in memory of Maurice Jones, his grandfather. From then on has played every game for his grandfather. He is now an all-pro runningback for the Jacksonville Jaguars. I can relate to this, becuase I, along with everyone else have lost people I care about. But unlike Maurice Jones-Drew I have never lost anyone that I was super close to, and couldn't imagine something like that to happen to me.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3713854

Thomas Robinson

Thomas Robinson was a standout at the University of Kansas, and now is  a first round pick to the Sacramento Kings has had his troubles and challenges in life. It had all started his sophmore year of college. The beginning of the year he  had trouble getting over both of his grandparent's death. Only to follow 25 days later had been the heart-attack of his middle-aged mother. Two days after he had returned to play in a rivalry game against Kansas State. he had been struggling early throughout the game, but he had overcame it and scored 17 points and 9 rebounds. With the help and coming together of his team-mates through this troubled time, he had still been a successful student and a successful athelete.

To learn more about his basketball carreer and his life story go to:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1219798-2012-nba-draft-a-closer-look-at-kansas-thomas-robinson

Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson had a very decorated career, but it would all change November 7. 1991. This was when he had made a public announcement of his fight against HIV, it was also the time he had retired from the game of basketball. With the HIV virus, the odds were against him. This year he had still been voted into the all-star game, and would win MVP. Johnson had always been a very social person, but when he had HIV, his friends had seemed to ignore him, and he did not know how to handle it. Johnson had became a spokesperson for AIDS research, with Magic's help the AIDS foundation had gained much support and funding for research. He had felt healthy enough to do anything, so in 1994 he had played one more game saying, "I want to go out on my own terms." He had always wanted to compete, but he had not wanted to be a  distraction. One NBA player who had argued this was one of his good friends Karl Malone. Magic Johnson would not return to the game of basketball. His story would not have a bad ending, he still lives today with the HIV virus, though many doctors think he is HIV free, he still takes medicine and treatments. I had chosen Magic Johnson for this blog, because he was such a big icon, and AIDS is one of the toughest illnesses to overcome. I had asked my mom about the time she had heard about his announcement in 1991, she said she had cried. This shows you how important he was and how many people he had touched.

Much of the research and information had came from an ESPN documentary "The Announcement"
And to get a better understanding of his life and a biography go to, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Johnson