UND Changes Name

The Fighting Souix nickname has been a struggle for most of Grand Forks and other Souix fans. It's time to say goodbye to the nickname Fighting Souix. The Univeristy of North Dakota has a year to remove any logos or images that includes Fighting Souix. There were alot of good memorable times for Souix fans and is sad to see the Souix name go away. After coming off a record breaking fundraising year of 47 million dollars, largely on the back of its successful athletic team, the loss of the school's mascot some from coming into the alumini association. Leigh Jeanott, director of Indian student services at the university said, "we do expect we'll come through and out the other side together and in a very strong fashion." Some people might move away from UND just because of the nickname change. After figuring out which nickname is a good nickname to change, the people came up with the Flickertails. This nickname change had distracted many studnets and professors at the university. In 2005, the NCAA barred UND from hosting post season tournaments or using the nickname if its teams played in tournaments. The UND spokesman Peter Johnson says there's still a chance the nickname will stay. It's unclear how a nickname change would affect the 100 million dollar Engelstad Arena, where the UND hockey team plays.
I think the UND nickname change is still a big deal, because its a logo that has been with us for a long time. Seeing the univeristy and having to change all the equipment and logos seems to be a very rough time. I just can't believe UND is changing their name to possibly the Flickertails. Hopefully everything will work out for the UND, and the Fighting Souix will always be with us.

Avatar Strikes Again

Everyone has heard of the new hit movie Avatar. Avatar came out on DVD Thursday, and everyone went crazy. All my friends and family member were talking about buying it and seeing it right when they got their hands on it. Even though its two and a half hours long, people still like the graphics and the background of the movie. Avatar came out in theaters in 2009 and James Cameron was the director. He also was the director for Titantic, but Avatar beat Titanic. Avatar came out in IMAX-3D and eveyone enjoyed watching it, no one got tired, because there is so much detailed in this movie. Avatar is one of the most entertainment movies ever concieved. For the people who have not seen Avatar, it's pretty much about these people go into this worl called Pandora, and they become these blue creatures. They are all trying to save Pandora, but there is trouble that comes along during this movie. During the making of this movie, the actresses and actors were about 90% behind a greenscreen. This movie was mostly made on the computer. Cameron made Avatar for an estimated 237 million blue ray editions, and it needed to make double that in order to show profit. This film had taken 2 billion blue ray's worldwide. There were some viewers who were disappointed with the film. Why were they disappointed? The disappointed viewers said that Titanic had themes relating to Romeo and Juliet, and they said Avatar had themes like Pocahontas. All the viewers had one thing in common, they all loved the graphic pictures. We have not seen anything like this movie before. For example, the blue creatures and how detailing they looked was amazing. When I saw this movie I was amazed of how much detailing was shown and the graphics were phenomenal. Although it was a long movie, I stuck through the pain, because it was worth going to.

John Mayer Concert

We all have heard John Mayer was performing on Thursday at the Fargodome in Fargo, North Dakota, and I went and enjoyed myself very much. With the opening act being Micheal Fronti and Spearhead, they got the crowd pumped up for John Mayer, while making his way through the crowd. The last song that got the audience moving was "I Love You." Mayer opened the stage with his new song "Hearbreak Warfare." Towards the third song Mayer was about to sing, a couple of drunk people sitting behind me and my friend spilt beer all over us. I was not very happy at the time, but then I thought I don't care it's John Mayer let's all just have a good time and enjoy ourselves. My first look at Mayer was speechless, but I noticed on his left arm is filled with tatoos. Mayer is a very humble singer and is very good at what he does. While Mayer was singing, he came down to the crowd and kissed an audience member. I wasn't expecting that one at all, since he is a famous singer and well known for his songs. After that, he stuck with his guitar and mostly struck the female crowd with his high notes in the song "Comfortable." He did some scatting, guitar soloist during "Neon", and his drummer also did a solo, which was very good. I enjoyed all of those very much. Mayer has been writting songs since he was a young boy. It was Mayer's first time coming to North Dakota and was happy he came. The audience welcomed Mayer with their loud screams and heart warming smiles. Personally, I like Mayer's songs and him himself. By looking at the reviews of Thursday, I noticed he's better known for his sex life more than his songs. During the concert, Mayer noticed some signs that led him to say, "So many 'sexual napalm signs'." Referring to what he said in the interview for Playboy when he talked about his ex Jessica Simpson in bed. Mayer loves saying things people have to google. I think while being at the concert, seemed like it was a full house. People, including myself, were enjoying themselves and were excited when the opening act came and also very excited when John Mayer came out. I was pretty disappointed to the fact he didn't sing "Daughters" or "Say." Overall, it was a very good concert.

Sandra Bullock's Breakdown

We all have heard of Sandra Bullocks break up with her husband Jesse James in the media and are aware of what happened exaclty. We know Sandra as a beautiful intelligent women and is great at being an actress. She is one of my favorite actresses actually. Because of the breakup, Sandra didn't attend the Teen Choice Awards. The breakup was not acceptable at all. Jesse James cheated on Sandra Bullock and she didn't even know about the other girl just before two days of the breakup. Michelle McGee is the other girl the James has been having an affair with. McGee is a tattoo model and had in the past defriended James as a friend on Myspace. I think James needs to get his head out of the gutter and think for himself and not what he sees. After corresspinding with McGee, James thought that something about her caught his eye. I don't know what it is, but whatever it is, its not acceptable. Jesses James did a horrible thing and I feel bad for Bullock for his impulsive behavior. With a woment like Bullock, someone should feel special that there with her. Unlike James obviously did not feel a connection after doing what he did with McGee. When the split between them happened, police reported to their house as soon as poosible. Bullock won the Oscar Award for "The Blind Side" and alot more winnings as well. Bullock was heartbroken was she found out the true story that Jesse James put upon her. There have been many rumors going around about Bullock after the breakup. One of the worst rumor is Bullock is pregnant. After this rumor was spreaded around the internet, Bullock was not seen anymore on the streets. The last time they saw her was when she was moving her belongings out of the house they were both living in. She said she was not signing any papers to submit the divorce permanently after she figures out what to do. Other then James feelings is being silent and pretending this divorce never happened. This pregnant rumor is not true becuase there are no claims to support it. Besides the point of the breakup and the rumors spreading around the media, I think Bullock should sign the divorce papers and break up for good. Jesse James did the wrong thing to Bullock, and I don't think Bullock deserved any of that. Speaking towards the break up and the rumors going around should not have been going on.

My First Rodeo

In Valley City, North Dakota people around the United States come together to join the 73rd annual Winter Show. There's rodeos, bull riding, barrel tracing, trick riding and lots more. The Winter Show is a good family event to share with all ages. Many events are shared throughout the day. The Winter Show goes from March 2-7. Some activities are chili cook off, rodeos, concerts, and much more. Emerson Drive was the biggest event happening in the winter show this year, but the rodeo was the one I liked the most. The rodeo was a lot of fun, being the fact that it was my first. The one that fascinated me the most was the bull riding. That was a very intense part of the show. When I first stepped foot in the Winter show, I didn't know how many people would actually have been there. I was so lost to find my way around the place, it was that crowded. I saw a vareity of people there. When I sat down in my assigned seats, I knew it was going to be a blast. When the cowgirls did there trick riding, that blew my mind the most. It was amazing to see what they can do on a horse. Going back to the first event was really fun, because I got splatted on with dirt. The rodeo clown was not that funny. He did an act where he set a little house on fire, and when that happened I screamed. I personally don't like loud bangs. Overall, the clown was ok. Barrel racing was alot of fun to watch, because I wanted them to get twelve seconds, and it's pretty tough to do. Having there be good foods there, whenever I see cheese curds I know I have to buy them rather there expensive or not. Same goes for dippin dots, but they didn't have any there. Having it be my first rodeo, I knew I had to be prepared and dress up for this big event. So, I bought cowboy boots and a hat. I bought the hat when I went to the Winter Show, but couldn't find it. As soon as I found it I knew it was the right hat. My frist rodeo was an amazing time spent, and I would go again when it comes to Valley City next year. This time I will know what everything means and where everything is, such as the food court, hat stands, and the bathrooms.

The Bashing Olympics

This years winter olympics are being held in Vancouver, Canada. It is the XXI annual winter olympics so far. Viewers will be seeing sports such as curling, snowboarding, figure skating, and alot more. In the opening ceremony, the West Coast was unable to view it because of a tape delay. During the opening ceremony, one of the arms of the olympic torch didn't rise, making Catriona LeMay Doan, speedskater, stand awkwardly while her three companions lit the flame. As of today, the United States are in the lead with the most medals earned with 24, and Germany is second with 16. Shaun White is one of the well known snowboarding champs. He won a gold medal while doing a Double McTwist 1260. Some of the olympic sports are unsafe and could result in death. On February 12, a man named of Nodar Kumaritashvili died while practicing before the opening ceremony. He died while going 90mph, because he lost control of his sled, slamming into steel poles down the luge. Being in the olympics takes alot of practice and hard work. Apolo Anton Ohno yawned before his races. Television viewers were amazed as to the yawn that was made by Ohno. The yawn did not make a difference in his performance, because he won with a bronze medal. Bode Miller is a skier winning a super-combined first gold medal. He conquered a tricky course, while thinking of how it reminded him of being a kid going down the slopes. Lindsey Vonn, despite her injury, grabbed gold in the downhill ski and also took a bronze in the Super-G. Vonn injured her right shin, going 65mph down an icy bumby mountain. Evan Lysacek upet Evgeni Plushenko capturing a gold medal during figure skating. He was the first U.S man to win the gold medal in figure skating since Brian Boitano in 1988. All these good athletes are very entertaining to watch, but I think when an athlete gets an injury it should not be played over and over on television.
My thoughts on the winter olympics are interesting, because I don't like to really watch the olympics. I like some sports, for example curling, bobsledding, and figure skating are the most fascinating to me. Others might love to watch the olympics everyday for two weeks. Overall, I appreciate every athlete on what they do and accomplish. It is fascinating to watch them win gold, silver, and/or broze medals.

Saints vs. Colts

In the past, people complained about the Super Bowls being dull or anticlimactic. The last two years have been the best NFL season. This season, the Saints play on the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. This will be the latest Super Bowls that we have seen cold weather in February enter the country, but with the Super Bowl playing in Miami Gardens, Florida will not notice. The Super Bowl XLIV will be the "Battle of the Quarterbacks", because Peyton Manning and Drew Brees are the two best quarterbacks in the league. This will be the Colts second trip to the Super Bowl in four years. The chances are good of both of them winning, because they both have great players and smart coaches, but also have different styles as well. Watching the Indianapolis Colts is like watching a factory play football. They are methodical, predictable, and disciplined. The Colts have a chance to win, because they have good offensive timing and defensive discipline. As for the New Orleans Saints, they are like watching an outdoor cocktail party play football. Their spontaneous and unpredictable. They have the NFL's #1 offensive led by a great quarterback. They seem to play with a more relaxed style and seem to be having fun doing what they do best. It is said that the advertisements in commercials gets more people to watch the Super Bowl. The advertisements played in between the Super Bowl makes millions of dollars just for being on for one minute or more. To win the Super Bowl, some key points to look for is good defense, experience, and not to get distracted to what is around.
I think, as though, this Super Bowl is going to be a good rivalry, because they both are good teams and will bring the best out on the field. I personally don't watch the Super Bowl to care who wins, I mainly watch it because I like the advertisements and who plays halftime. In this season, "The Who" is playing at halftime. The Super Bowl is one of the most intense game of the year, because people get together and bet on who's going to win. Some people take the Super Bowl as just being another game or just because they enjoy watching the advertising commercials, but as for the majority of the people, watch the game for the intense matchup of two great teams going head to head to win the trophy.