The premier league was pretty dramatic this season. For Liverpool, things got very rough in the early season losing their key defender Virgil Van Djik due to an injury. The injury list extends during the season almost forcing Klopp to run out of substitutions. Luckily, under the hands of Klopp, surprisingly Liverpool was able to reach as far as they could and still qualify for The Champions League. It was a roller coaster for Chelsea this season. Lots of action was taken for the club as they tried to reform in the middle of the season. Signing Timo Werner did not give the club hopes of winning, especially with scoring goals because he missed and has a tendency to miss the easiest goals that anyone can score at a high rate of chance scoring. Chelsea had to find a replacement for their former main goalkeeper Kepa, as he would let the ball slip out from his gloves and give a goal to the other team. Chelsea signed Edou Mendy during the middle of the season. It was one of the best and most underrated signings this year. Mendy was able to get more than 10 clean sheets, meaning good on target blocks towards the goal. Chelsea also had to get rid of their manager Frank Lampard, former Chelsea legend. Thomas Tuchel was the replacement. Tuchel and the Chelsea squad developed more aggressive tactics and a better mindset of playing. Through the obstacles the club had to face, they were placed 4th. Manchester City are the 2020-21 premier league champions as they were able to make a huge difference in the point system so no one could overtake their place. Bayern Munich were crowned Bundesliga champions for the 9th time this season. It was pretty much expected that they would win. Great season for Robert Lewondoski as he is now the record holder for as top sorcerer of the season scoring 41 goals. Borussia Dortmund was very entertaining this season producing lots of top young talent. Erlling Haaland became a goal machine for Dortmund scoring 41 goals in 43 matches at the age of 20. Haaland received offers from the top teams. He is set for a 170 million euro contract. It is very questionable if he will leave this summer and which team he will play for. Jude Bellingham is another Dortmund player who was very impressive during the middle of the season. Bellingham became the youngest player, at age 17, to score a champions league goal against Manchester City. Bellingham plays in such high demand and leads the team with a bit of aggression as if he is the captain of the team. He showed great leadership at a very young age. Photo of Bellingham celebrating his 1st champions league goal against Manchester City April 14, 2021 Juventus had a very disappointing season. From being the dark horse of Italy to place in the 4th spot of the table. They just barely qualified for the European Championship. There are questions about whether Ronaldo should leave the club. Overall, not a good performance from the “old lady”. Ac Millian were the odds of winning as Zlatan Ibraimovic resigned his former club, Ac Millian. The team had a good run at the start until they collapsed pretty badly. The rival club, Inter Millian took the fall as an opportunity. Great performance and dedication for Inter and their star Lukaku making such a great effort to win the title. Lukaku had an amazing season with all of his hard work and dedication put into ending the season with 24 goals and 11 assists. La Liga: The signing of Suarez to Atletico Madrid was very questionable. Many thought he would not perform well at the club. After the 8-2 loss from Barcelona against Bayern Munich in the 2019-2020 Champions League season semi-finals, the club was in such debt and decided wrongfully to get rid of one of their most important players in their history. Barcelona only sold Suarez for 5 million Euros. Very shameful to sell an amazing forward at that price. The journey with Atletico Madrid along with Luis Suarez was amazing to watch. Suarez continues to prove why he is one of the best forwards in the world performing 20 goals. Suarez became one of the top scorers in the league. Furthermore, he accomplished 500 goals throughout his career! Towards the end of the season the top four clubs; Atletico Madrid in 1st, Real Madrid and Barcelona tied for 2nd, and Sevilla in 4th, had the exact same points with 6 games left to finish. Whoever stays in first at the end of the season will be the La Liga Champions. This was the title race where anything could have happened with just 1 loss. Sevilla entered the race, but dropped out pretty early. Barcelona started to slack off towards the end with some big upsets from smaller clubs. Shocking! It was just left between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid. Both were able to win their games for the remaining season. As it turns out, Atletico Madrid were the ones who still kept their heads up and stay focused to secure the #1 spot in the table and win the La Liga trophy! Well deserved for Suarez and the underdogs!
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This was no ordinary high school basket ball game, two nationally ranked teams played against each other during a regular conference season. This was not an ordinary high school basketball game because all the tickets were sold out. I was lucky to get a free ticket since I am a DeMatha student. Another reason why this was not an ordinary basketball game is because of the number of students that attended and the excitement they showed. Most high school basketball games have some excitement and school pride. At DeMatha and other WCAC schools, the student section actually makes a lot of effort to represent their school. The enthusiastic students caused distractions for the opposing team for this game. DeMatha students had full size faces of Coach Mike Jones and Coach Morgan Wotton. They waved them for free throws. They also chanted and did a great job of showing their spirit. DeMatha has a great Pep Band and I find it really cool. It is not only DeMatha that shows their school spirit. Other WCAC schools do the same as well. I guarantee if you go to a WCAC school like Gonzaga, St. Johns, Paul VI, or Good Counsel, you will see really creative spirit.
WCAC You might wonder what is the WCAC? The Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) is a league for Catholic high schools around the D.C, Maryland, Virginia area. Just recently on Max Preps, they announced that the WCAC is the 2nd most competitive league in the nation for football. The WCAC is super competitive in every sport. There are some WCAC schools that are nationally ranked. DeMatha DeMatha Catholic High School is highly known for its athletics. Over the years, DeMatha has won tons of titles. This includes football, soccer, and basketball. Baskteball is probably the most popular sport at DeMatha. It makes sense because of their legendary coach, Morgan Wootten, who won over 1000 games back then when he coached for DeMatha. Until today, the DeMatha basketball program continues its legacy to be one of the top high school basketball programs in the nation with its current coach, Mike Jones. Paul VI Paul VI (PVI) located in Fairfax, Virginia has a strong basketball program. They are nationally ranked No.11 in the 2019-2020-season. They beat Sierra Canyon at the Spaulding Hoop Hall. This is huge because Sierra Canyon is the high school team where LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, and Dwyane Wade’s son, Zaire Wade, play. Whenever people talk about PVI basketball they talk about 2 people: Jeremy Roach (A Duke commit) and Doug Williams. These 2 guys are a power house together. Game Highlights When it comes to nationally ranked teams playing each other, it is going to be a close game. At the start of the 1st quarter Michigan commit, 7’2 Hunter Dickinson, scored the first basket of the game with a 3-pointer. What is special about Hunter, is not only that he’s so tall, but he shoots as well for a tall person. DeMatha were able to add more 3-pointers scored, by Jordan Hawkins. Doug Williams made the first basket for PVI. After Dickinson scored, Jeremey Roach scored a 3-pointer for PVI. DeMatha had a turnover. Jeremey Roach had the ball and gave an assist to Williams who was able to score another 3-pointer! Hunter came back really strong against a hard dunk in the paint. After he scored the point, Dickinson blocked (#20 PVI) DeMatha sophomore, Tyrell Ward knocked down a 3-pointer. Doug Williams (PVI) gave an assist to #0 (PVI) and he scored a 3-pointer. DeMatha’s #3 did a great job with a step over to the paint and a lay up. Jeremey Roach (PVI) scored another 3-pointer, however. DeMatha responded with a 3-pointer. DeMatha shot the ball, but it went in and out. All of a sudden, DeMatha’s Will Renolds came out of no where, got the rebound in mid air, and dunked it! End of 1st quarter 18-15 2nd Quarter DeMatha led the game by 3 points. Will Renolds’ dunk was just the beginning. He stole the ball from PVI and he made another dunk! 6:29 remaining in the 1st half, DeMatha led by 12 points. PVI called a time out. Once the game resumed, they came back and were down by 3 points again! Jeremy Roach was back on the floor and mad a beautiful lay up. DeMatha had the ball and Tyrell Ward gave a beautiful assist to Jordan who dunked. Two minutes before the quarter ended, Hunter Dickson scored another 3-pointer. Less than a minute in the half, Jeremy Roach and Doug Williams were back on the floor and and they came back once again. They were down by 5-points. End of 2nd quarter #0 (PVI) finally found a way how to score a lay up while Hunter Dickenson guarded him. Jordan however, scored another 3-pointer! Whenever PVI scored, DeMatha came back with Jordan scoring 3-pointers. DeMatha had miscommunication on their offense. Jeremey Roach forced the turn over and scored a layup. DeMatha point guard, Earl Timberlake, missed a layup, but he was able to rebound it and fight for the basket and scored, but Williams scored over Timberlake. Hunter came back on the floor and he posted-up PVI tallest player. A bad call was made however because, the player flopped and the ref gave the foul on Dickenson who got really upset. DeMatha was distracted. They had 5 turnovers in a row that led another comeback for PVI. PVI was down by 1 point. End of 3rd quarter PVI was down by one point. This is where things got spicy! Hunter posted-up PVI tallest player again. This time without a bad call made by the refs, Hunter scored the basket. Earl Timberlake gave an assist to Hunter who then scored another 3-pointer. The crowd went absolutely nuts. Even me. The whole team celebrated and Hunter played air guitar in celebration. After the time-out from PVI, they made a great offensive play that allowed Doug Williams to score a 3-pointer. The score was 59-58. After the Stags scored, Coach Mike Jones made a smart decision to call a much needed time out. Ounce again Jordan scored another 3 pointer! With only 1 minute left of the game. The Stags were up by 2 points. Once PVI got the ball, they tried to score a 3-pointer and lead the game by 1 point, so they could win it all. They made an offensive foul, however. Once PVI got the ball again, they tried the same play. However, Hunter Dickinson blocked the shot, retrieved the ball, threw it in air from half-court, and the buzzer went off. Game ended. Stags win by two points! 62-60! The student section sang goodbye to the Panthers. This is just the beginning for DeMatha and Paul VI. As the season goes on for the WCAC, DeMatha will face them again in Fairfax. I believe, that this is the preview of the 2019-2020 WCAC basketball finals. Over the month of July 2019, I attended DeMatha’s summer band program. I had lots of fun. I play the French horn. I used to play the trumpet. The reason why I switched playing from a trumpet to a French horn is that when I played the horn for the first time, I felt more relaxed than playing the trumpet. To this day, I still play the horn.
I was so happy that I got to play at a high school level of music. Before I had to play with students who were younger and the music was too easy for me. During rehearsal, I would get bored because of how easy these music pieces were for me. When I got to the band program I saw music pieces that had more than 100 measures, I knew I was at the right place. My school is known for its level of academics, arts (a pretty good reputation), and sports (the biggest subject people talk about.) I am going to focus on their band. DeMatha has a great band program. DeMatha’s band is actually a class that I have to take every day as part of my curriculum. I went to one of their classrooms and I saw lots of trophies that DeMatha won. I even saw one trophy they won in New York. The whole summer band program was to learn how to sight-read. Sight-reading is when you play a new piece that you never heard of and play all the way until you finish playing that particular piece. We played a lot of pieces. When I say a lot, I don't mean 3. I'm talking about playing 8 or more. I do remember some of the songs we played. We played Bunker Hill, By the Sword, Black Panther, Aladdin, and Fire and Lighting. I had lots of fun in the program and I am excited to be in the band program for the school year. I did a week of rowing for DeMatha. Honestly, I never thought I would do Crew.
I learned a lot of new things in rowing. In rowing, the right side is called port and the left side is called starboard. Also, the paddle is called an ore. Lastly, the boat is called a shell. I don’t know why it is called a shell, but that term is used in the Olympics. I learned the basics of rowing. When it comes to rowing, you need to get your shell on the water. Those things are heavy. I had to learn how to strap and unstrap. I also had to learn how to carry the shell above my head and on my shoulder. That is just carrying the shell. Next, I had to attach the ores. The shell had ore locks. If you don’t know what ore locks are, well the name is self-explanatory. It is the spot where I had to put the ores and lock it. That is how to assemble the shell. So I was rowing on the Anacostia River. I have to say, that river is so dirty. I was thinking, “How can fish live in that water?” I rowed all the way to the National Arboretum in Washington D.C. I learned 4 steps of rowing. The 4 steps of rowing:
The Brains of this Sport I talked a lot about being a rower. I didn’t talk about this one particular position called the coxswain. The coxswain sits in the first seat of the shell. The coxswain actually steers the shell. Not only that, the coxswain yells at the rowers. There is a reason why. The coxswain is basically the leader of the sport and it is up to the coxswain to make sure that the rowers move fast, together and lead the race and win. I hope I get to be on DeMatha’s rowing team as a coxswain. My aunties told me that I am the right size to be one. I want to be one because of this special perk. I don’t have to carry the shell. I am just joking around, but I am liking this sport and I do agree with my aunties that I would make a great coxswain for the team. I read another book that Ta-Nehisi Coats wrote called “Between the World and Me.” I think this is one of Ta-Nehisi best selling books. I remember watching a video about this book. Many white people bought “Between the World and Me” and actually liked it. It was surprising for him. Ta-Nehisi is a black man who writes about America.
In this letter, Ta-Nehisi explains his difficult life growing up. If you read the Beautiful Struggle, also written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, you could see his father was so hard on him. We all should know that he grew up in a rough area. If you haven’t read “Beautiful Struggle” By Ta - Nehisi Coates, I recommend that you read it first before you read “Between the World and Me”. Ta-Nehisi also explains about his life in college at Howard University over in D.C. During his time in college, he lost someone in his life. He lost Prince. Prince was a handsome black man who enjoyed life. He always kept things positive. He was killed by a white police officer. The police officer didn’t admit that he was the one who killed the Prince. The officer just came up with an excuse of how Prince died. People believed the officer because he is white. I think Ta - Nehisi was never the same after Prince died. I think Ta - Nehisis saw the truth on how America really is. I can understand. I always thought that America was a beautiful country for many opportunities. That is true, but I always knew that there was something fishy about American history. There was so much hatred for black/colored people. What is worse is that even today this hate is still going on. If a black man crashes into someone’s vehicle, the black man would go straight to jail. Whenever a white man crashes into someone’s vehicle, that man would get a trial and do community service for a month. Same thing, but with a different consequence. Why? It all has to do with race. That is what Ta - Nehisi realized after Prince was killed. He realized the reality of America. People hating on colored people. We have seen it before with Jim crow, segregation, and the Ku Klux Klan. This madness has to stop. “History is not solely in our hands. And still, you are called to struggle, not because it assures you victory but because it assures you an honorable and sane life.” -Ta - Nehisi Coates The city of Baltimore is not a safe place to live. Baltimore has lots of criminal activity every day. In this story, it's all about a father raising an intellectual son who became a huge success while growing up in the streets of Baltimore.
As I was reading the memoir, Ta-Nehisi Coates refers to his father as the “Black Panther” I was wondering why he referred to him as the “Black Panther”? As mentioned above, this story is about how Ta-Nehisi Coate’s father raised him. You might be wondering, “why would Ta-Nehisi Coates write a story about that?” It is hard to live in Baltimore. Even today! Willaim Paul Coates (the Father) had to make sure that Ta-Nehisi would stay on the right track in his life. He had to make sure that Ta-Nehisi would get an education, stay away from gang violence, and make sure that Ta-Nehisi understands that he is a black man and no one should ever treat him poorly just because of his skin. I think the theme of this story is “an obstacle for success.” William had to make sure his son would be safe and that he graduates. It was dangerous for Ta-Nehisi to walk outside. Walking outside in Baltimore carries the risk of being shot or murdered. Ta-Nehisi Coates is a writer who graduated from Howard University. He wrote many books and he is currently writing Marvel’s Black Panther Comics. “He thrashed wildly, kicked his legs. How could this sight, him helpless on the ground, pinned in a one5 sox be poetry? I was a boy like all boys, selfish in my own particular way. What I could not understand was something that seemed elemental to everyone else around me--- that a kid who lost his heart was worthy of nothing” Ta - Nehesi Coates Remember when I read "The City of Falling Angeles" and I claimed that it was the best book I read? Well, I read Maus and now it's the best book I have read so far.
Did you know that Maus is the German word for mouse? That is how the Germans viewed the Jews back then – as mice. This book was based on the Holocaust, a bad time for Jewish people who lived in Europe. There are two volumes and I am going to break down and summarize each one. Part One In part one, it starts with the normal life of a family of Jewish Mice. I know this sounds weird, bear with me. The Nazis are cats in the story. Is this a Tom and Jerry reference? Kind of. Coming back, the family were living their best lives during the Holocaust. However, there was a problem. They are Jewish and the Nazis hated the Jews. If you didn’t know, the Nazis put Jews in concentration camps. Concentration camps were no ordinary camps. The Nazis would not feed the Jews, they would put the Jews in gas chambers and kill them. After that, the Nazis would carry their bodies and put them in burning ovens. Other times they would put the Jews against the wall and shoot them. Most of the Jews in these camps would die of either hunger or disease. At the end of the story, the Jewish family of mice, ends up in the worst concentration camp. The family lived in these small houses called ghettos. The Nazis put a lot of Jewish families in ghettos so it would be easier to transport them to concentration camps and because they knew where the ghettos were located. Part Two In this series it was life or death. That is the theme of the whole story. The theme of the story can also be said to be a survivor's tale. In part one, we already know that the family of mice is in a concentration camp. They are in Auschwitz. Auschwitz was one of the most well-known concentration camps and one of the most dangerous camps. The family of mice had to do everything they could in order to escape without getting killed. Not only that, they also had to find a safe place for them to hide until everything with Hitler (the leader of the Nazi party) was all cleared. The theme of the story is that it is a survivor's tale. The author who wrote this story said this was a story that his father told him. Yes, this might be in a cartoon, comic, or graphic novel strip, but the events happened to his father and the author tells us that there is a special message behind this story. “Ironically, it was at Penn State where I discovered how much academics, not just football, mattered to me.”
-John Urschel I am excited to write about this book because it covers math and football. Before we go on to who John Urschel is, let us think about how in the world math and football relate to each other. In football, we use math. We use numbers, distance, time, statistics, and the metric system. Even on the football field there are numbers that represent the yards. That is math! Though some people like sports but hate the subject, everything requires math. John Urscehel is a mathematician, a PhD candidate at MIT who graduated from Penn State, and a former offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens. This book is a memoir where John Urschel explains about his life and passions. He also explains how math and football are related. In my words, I think he put this book in his own perspective. I think the theme of this story that it teaches and motivates its readers to be successful. John Urschel has a an intriguing life background that makes the book interesting. The way he connected math and football together was a masterpiece! I would highly recommend to everyone who reads this blog to read and check out this book. Even if you don’t know anything about football. Urschel does a great job of explaining. “Ironically, it was at Penn State where I discovered how much academics, not just football, mattered to me.”-John Urschel This is one of the best books that I have read in my entire life! The book is called “The City of Falling Angeles” by John Berendt. This is a mystery that you have to read to find out what happened.
The setting takes place in Venice, Italy. Venice is one of my favorite places to travel. I hope I will get an opportunity to go there. The way the water flows into the city is beautiful. Speaking about Venice, years ago, there was a sudden fire that destroyed the Venice Opera House. Days later, the author tells the truth about what caused the fire. Let me tell you something about what the author said. It was a little bit confusing, but it will blow your mind. When I read this story, I felt like I was one of the Venitians realizing that the opera house was destroyed. Nobody knew how. It was terrifying for the civilians in Venice. This was real just like the cathedral that was burned in Paris. Imagine one of the landmarks in your city was destroyed, wouldn’t you feel sad and terrified? Before I read the story I asked myself, “is this a mystery I am going to read?” The cover of the book looked rather creepy. On the cover of the book was a picture of a big cathedral that had an arc and a blanket floating. I think the point of the picture was to give me a sense that the story is a mystery. The main character is the author, John Berendt. Whenever he talks about the opera house and tries to figure what caused all of this, it leads him to a path that leads to another, that leads to another, and well, you know where I am getting. It’s a combination! I think the theme of the story is facing the Darkness. Italy is known for its image: by its cars, accesories, structures, wine, clothing, and its food. Seeing one of the most amazing buildings being burned down was sad for everyone living in Venice. John Berendt finds the truth about how the opera house was burned and I thing that signifies the Darkness of Venice. The Reality of Italy! The Civil War was a horrible time in America’s history. In America, there was legal slavery. Slave owners were brutal to African Americans and never paid them. The Civil War started under Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president. The Civil War ended in 1863. Congress passed a law freeing all the slaves, but slave owners in Texas did not tell their slaves that they were free. It took slaves in Texas 10 years to figure out that they had been free the entire time.
The Civil War time period was the setting of the story. Before I read the story, I had heard about Jim Crow, but I didn’t understand who he was. Notice that I said “who he was.” I honestly thought Jim Crow was person. No - it was a law. Congress got the name from a character. Jim Crow was a law that started segregation. Here are some examples: Black people could not go to public restrooms with white people. Black people had to sit in the back of the bus. Black children had to go to separate schools. That was what the Jim Crow era was like when it started. I do not think that this will be a book review. I think this is more of a history report. I just recently learned a little bit about Jim Crow. I never learned anything about Jim Crow in school. I am glad for the opportunity to read and learn about it. |
AuthorMy name is Michael Duarte. I am 15 years old. I am a student. I am a soccer player. I enjoy sports. I love to play and watch different kinds of sports. I am also getting in the habit of reading. CategoriesArchives
June 2021
About this Page
This is a page where I review sports games and books that I read. Hope you enjoy! |