Hello everybody,
My name is Brendan and welcome to my blog! I am from Cincinnati, Ohio and currently studying Pre-Physical Therapy at the University of Dayton. I graduated high school from St. Xavier, a college-prep school in Cincinnati, where I was a member of the baseball team. With that being said, I love sports, and am a die-hard Cincinnati sports fan! My posts will rang from sports to school and everything in-between, so I hope you can find something of interest. Enjoy!
In two short days, classes will be over and Thanksgiving break will officially begin. This break is well overdue and comes at a good time; the semester is winding down and finals are approaching. I am really looking forward to my break, and everything that is going to come with it.
Following my 9:30 class, on Tuesday, my sister is picking up and taking me home! I haven’t been home in over a month, os I am really looking forward to sleeping in my bed and just relaxing. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I plan to hang out with my family and get some errands done. On Thursday, however, I cant wait to celebrate Thanksgiving. We are going to my aunt and uncle’s house and enjoying the holiday with my mom’s side of the family. I cannot wait eat the food, as well. As good as our food is, at UD, I am ready to take a break, and eat something different.
Although I am looking forward to just about everything during break, I am most excited for setting up Christmas decorations. Christmas is my favorite holiday and I love decorating our house, inside and out. From Friday through Sunday, I plan to get our Christmas tree set up, and all of our exterior lights up. Once all of that is finished, it will finally be time to start preparing for Christmas!
As much as I love the University of Dayton, I am ready for a break. There will be no worries, and I will simply be able to enjoy my time at home!
As Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, Christmas is right around the corner, and with that comes the joys of Christmas music. When asked “what is your favorite Christmas song?” most people will say songs like, “Jingle Bells,” or other popular Christmas songs. However, my favorite song is “Christmas Shoes,” by NewSong, which isn’t typically know by the majority of people.
The thing I like the most about this song is the story it tells. The story is told from the perspective of a man who is finishing up his Christmas shopping for the year. In front of him is a little boy who is trying to buy new shoes for his ailing mother. When the boy gets to the register, he doesn’t have enough money and he begins to panic, because all he wants is to do this for is mother before she passes away: “I want ‘er to look beautiful if mama meets Jesus tonight.” The man sets the money down to cover the charge, and the boy quickly runs out and heads to the hospital. Once the boy leaves, the man begins to reflect and realizes that the boy reminded him of what the Christmas season is all about.
As Christmas season gets closer and closer, listening to this song reminds me of what Christmas Season is all about. I enjoy being put into the Christmas mood with this song. I enjoy listening to all Christmas music, but in particular, “Christmas Shoes” because they get me excited for the approaching Christmas season.
After being dismantled by the AFC North leading Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals currently sit 0-9, heading into week eleven. The Bengals’ abysmal start is leading fans to wonder if they will win a game this year. Although going 0-16 will be an embarrassment to the city, many fans wouldn’t mind it, due to the fact that the Bengals would get the first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft. With this pick many fans would expect the team to draft a quarterback, such as LSU’s Joe Burrow.
Despite all of the talks, I do not believe the Bengals will finish this season winless. Although we have yet to win a game, I still think there is potential with this team. Of their remaining seven games, the Bengals have four winnable games, the first of which comes on December 1st. This game will be against the 2-7 Jets, who haven’t showed that they are much better than us. In addition to the Jets, the Bengals can definitely win their week sixteen game against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins are just as bad, if not worse than the Bengals: their only win came against the New York Jets. Finally, the final two winnable games come versus the Cleveland Browns. The Browns were predicted to be this great team, due to all of their “talent,” however have shown no improvements from last year. Saying that, I see no reason why the Bengals cannot come out of at least one of those games with a win.
Although some fans may want to see an 0-16 season, so we can get the number one pick, I do not think it will happen. I see the team finishing 2-14, which would still put them in position for a top three pick. If the Bengals win a few of their remaining games, they will same Cincinnati from further embarrassment and still get a good draft pick.
With the conclusion of the World Series, this past week, Cincinnati Reds fans, like myself, wonder what it would take for our team to be contenders. The Washington Nationals were underdogs throughout the entire coarse of the playoffs; they just got hot and started playing really good ball at the right time. Since a wild card team like the Nationals can win a championship, why can’t the Reds? In order for all of this to be possible, the Cincinnati front office needs to get busy this offseason and acquire some new pieces.
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The first player the Reds need to go after, in free agency, is Anthony Rendon. The World Series champ would be a huge addition to both the infield and the offense. With Rendon, the Reds’ infield would consist of Eugenio Suarez at third base, Rendon at shortstop, either Nick Senzel or Freddy Galvis at second, and Joey Votto at first. An infield with these five would be among the best in the league and would be a huge step to a 2020 playoff run. The only caveat about Anthony Rendon is his high price tag. Coming off one his best years yet and a world title, the all star is not going to come cheap, to who ever acquires him.
In addition to the infield, the Cincinnati Reds need to add an outfielder, especial if Nick Senzel moves to the infield. A target the Reds could go after is J.D. Martinez. The Red Sox’s slugger would add a lot at the plate and to the overall success of the team. The combination of the Martinez with Jessie Winker and rookie phenom, Aristides Aquino, would result in a defensively sound outfield. Similarly to Rendon, Martinez will come with a bit of a hefty price tag.
The Reds have already established that they are increasing payroll so I do not see why acquiring these two pieces would be out of the question. I believe that the addition of Anthony Rendon and J.D. Martinez could really be the difference in a 500 team and a playoff contending team. As long as the pitching staff pitches as expected and key players perform, the Reds will be a fun team to watch in 2020. For now, all we can do is wait and see who the Reds can sign throughout this offseason.
For this year’s First Year Art Immersion, all freshman students were required to go to a showing of the Turangalila symphony. I had never been to a symphony prior to this experience, so I was intrigued. My ticket was for Saturday night, and three friends and I went to the show together. We caught the early bus, at 6 o’clock, giving us plenty of time to get dinner before we entered the theatre. Once we arrived at the theatre, we scanned our tickets, found our seats, and waited for the show to begin. As we were waiting, I couldn’t help but to look around at everything going on in the theatre: students and families were bustling in, the orchestra was warming up, and the conductor was preparing for the show. Finally the conductor addressed the audience and the show was about to being.
Once the show began, I was amazed at the symphony, in particular the harmonization. Throughout the show, I continuously had the thought of “I wonder how long they’ve been practicing for this.” All of the strings, drums, and pianos, combined to create a magical product of Turangalila. I also liked how the music went from being slower, to faster, back to slower again. This change kept the audience anxious of what was to come next. Overall, I enjoyed my experience at the symphony and am glad I got the chance to attend: It opened my eyes to a form of art that I wouldn’t have been able to experience had it not been for Dayton’s First Year Art Immersion.
In a few weeks, the college basketball season will tip off. With college basketball, comes the tournament to culminate the year. For me, the NCAA tournament is the best event in all of sports. The tournament consists of 68 teams, all battling for a shot at the championship. Many sports fans, like me, will be glued to their television from the start of the tournament, with the first four, to its conclusion at the final four.
So what makes the college basketball the greats spectacle in sports? First off, simply the volume of games makes the tournament a very intriguing event. During the first round, there are thirty-two games on in the course of two days: games start at noon and end around one o’clock in the morning. This allows for super fans, like me, to set up multiple TVs, camp out in their basements and simply watch basketball (as seen in featured image).
In addition to the volume of games, the uncertainty of what is going to happen, is the key factor to making the NCAA Tournament the best event in all of sports. Every year top teams get upset by teams that no one has even heard of because every team know that each game could be their last. This brings out the best in each team, which results in some thrilling games.
Each year as the college basketball season approaches, I become really excited because I know what lies ahead. Once the tournament ends one year, I count down the days until next years tournament, because I am anxious for everything that the tournament brings with it.
Following the excitement of high school graduation, everything started to become real for me. Throughout my life, I always looked at the day I would leave for college, as a day that was really far down the road. But now, that day was just a few short months away. Because of this, over the Summer, I relished every moment because once I was off to college, time spent with friends and family would be few and far between. Entering college was defiantly going to be a new experience for me, which brought along a lot of nervousness. This would be the first time my parents would not be there to prepare my meals, take care of me, and do everything else that parents do.
Leaving my friends and family was defiantly an emotional and scary thing to do. I was mainly nervous about finding friends, that I want to be around, and fending for myself. After I had moved in for a couple of days I realized that this was the place for me. I made a bunch of friends and found taking care of myself to be pretty easy. The college selection process was defiantly a time of a lot of anxiety because I didn’t know what I exactly wanted in a college: I kind of chose UD as a gut instinct. However, after these first 2 months I couldn’t be any happier with my decision. I have visited some of my friends at other colleges and I quickly realized that these other schools are nothing compared to the University of Dayton. I am glad I made the decision to call the UD my home, and I look forward to what the next 3 plus years has to offer!
Some of my earliest memories involve going to Great American Ballpark, home of the Cincinnati Reds, with my dad. Nearly every year, the two of us would travel down to the stadium to watch the Reds start their season, on opening day. I would sit in the stands, as a seven or eight year old, just dreaming of what it would be like to play on that field. My father instilled a love for the game, in me, at a early age, and for that I will be forever grateful.
When I was young, like the typical little boy, I loved playing wiffle ball with the neighborhood kids. Over the summer, my best friend, Jacob, and I would battle the other neighborhood kids almost everyday. Wiffle ball soon transformed into baseball because I finally was old enough to play. Throughout my baseball career, I’ve played on some really good teams and ones that weren’t so great, but no matter what I enjoyed every moment of the game. I was never the best player, but I accepted that and vowed to give the sport everything I had and to enjoy it while it lasted.
My baseball journey came full circle during my senior year of high school. I was lucky enough to play for a large, prominent high school, in Cincinnati, Ohio, so every year we get the opportunity to participate in the main event of the Reds High School Showcase. Many teams are in the showcase, but only a few get the opportunity to play at Great American Ballpark. As a junior, we played at the stadium, but I didn’t get to pitch because our coach gave the seniors the most playing time. Being in the dugout and going through our pregame routine was an experience in and of itself, but actually playing on the field is just a little different. My time finally came when I was a senior. I started the first three innings in the bullpen, but once the fourth inning came, it was my turn. As a youngster, I dreamt about what it would be like to get on that mound and it finally happened. I pitched the entire inning, in what, to this day, is one of the best experiences of my life. Because my dad introduced me to baseball, I was given some of these great opportunities, turning his favorite sport into my favorite sport.
After week 4 of the college football season, my Cincinnati Bearcats are 2-1, coming off of a bye this past week. The bearcats started the season with an impressive 24-14 win over UCLA, but then followed that up by getting blown out by Ohio State, 42-0. Last week they bounced back versus the University of Miami and are 2-1, like I said, with nine more games remaining.
As a huge bearcats fan, I like to be optimistic, so my prediction for the rest of the season is that we will win 8 of our last nine games and finish the season 10-2. In next weeks game at Marshall, I see the bearcats taking care of business and coming home with a win. Coming off of a bye, I believe Coach Fickell will have the team ready, well rested, and ready to compete. Our next game, against UCF, will be our biggest and toughest one of the year. The bearcats are going to want to avenge last year’s lost and prove that they can compete with the best team in the league. In addition, the game is at home and at night, meaning the bearcat faithful will be out in full force. Saying this, I do not see a way the bearcats loose with the amount of energy that will be in the stadium: the game will be close but the cats will win a high scoring game. Follow the UCF game, the bearcats should not be tested until their final two games. The first game is against Temple, at home. Every year, Temple plays us very well and I believe this year will be no different. However, I think the bearcats will once against escape with a narrow victory. The last game of the year, is where I think the bearcats will fall. The game is at Memphis, who is currently 3-0. Memphis always has a solid team and I think that they will be more prepared to play, coming out with the victory.
Although my prediction my be optimistic, it is obtainable. They may loose to UCF and maybe Houston, but barring any more injuries, we will be able to compete in the rest off the games. That is my prediction, for now, Go Bearcats!
Whenever I am asked “What is your favorite movie?” my immediate response is In Time. The response most always causes a puzzled look from the person asking the question, due to their lack of knowledge of the film. I then go on the explain the movie and why it is and probably always will be my favorite.
In Time is about a dystopia society, where time is the only currency. Everyone’s time is displayed on their arm, on their “watch” (See image above). At birth citizens are given a year, however individuals’ “clocks” do not start until they turn twenty five. In addition to their “clocks” starting, aging also stops. As a result the rich can live forever while the poor will die within a year. In the movie, Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), who is poor, is given over a century from a man who had been alive for over a hundred years, but never really lived. Will may be poor, but he lives each day to fullest because most days he has less time on his wrist, than hours in the day. After Salas acquires all of the time, he jumps time zones to where all the rich people live. There he meets Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried), who happens to be the daughter of an entrepreneur who owns all the time banks. Will then convincers her to come back to Dayton, the poor time zone, and see how corrupt her father’s system is. Sylvia realizes the corruption and for the rest of the movie, her and Will go on a journey to take down the system.
What makes this movie so great? I love In Time because it displays a lesson that I believe everyone should abide by. That lesson being not taking life for granted and living each day to the fullest. One of my favorite quotes from the film happens when Sylvia confronts her father and says, “Father, sometimes I wonder if you’ve actually ever lived a day in your life.” Her father has always been wealthy and has never had to struggle, like Will. So, no matter what background we come from, or how wealthy we may be, to really live, we have to take each day for what it is because we will never know when our time will run out.
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