42: The Story of Jackie Robinson

A new movie titled 42 has come out recently in theaters based on the true story about Jackie Robinson.  Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play in professional baseball as he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.  As the first African American to play professional baseball, Jackie Robinson faced a lot of adversity.  His team tries to get him kicked off the team by signing a petition, he's booed from the stands and pitchers take pleasure in beaning him.  What's admirable is that Robinson doesn't retaliate but responds to the adversity by just playing baseball and playing it at a whole new level.
I saw 42 this weekend and thought it was an incredible movie.  Jackie Robinson has all of the characteristics of a hero as he faced the challenges of breaking the color line in professional baseball.  He showed restraint to the viciousness directed at him and only focused on playing the game of baseball well.  Jackie Robinson is played by little-known actor Chadwick Boseman who gives a great performance.  Boseman showed Robinson's masked outrage toward the abuse to perfection.  Another actor who gave a remarkable performance was Harrison Ford who played the Dodgers general manager, Branch Rickey.  He has one of the best quotes in the movie when he states he needs a player who doesn't so much have the guts to fight back as the guts not to fight back.

For more about the movie 42, click on this link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/12/showbiz/movies/42-movie-review/index.html?hpt=hp_bn9

Exoneration of Brian Banks

Brian Banks's life has been defined by a lie and one's greed.  He had a bright future playing football where at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, Banks was a middle linebacker with a scholarship offer from the University of Southern California.  Then his life took a turn for the worse when he was accused of rape and kidnapping one of his female classmates.  Banks was determined to prove his innocence but pleaded no contest in 2002.  Banks maintained his innocence throughout nearly six years of imprisonment, subsequent probation and registration as a sex offender.  The case took an unbelievable turn of events when the alleged victim sent Banks a Facebook friend request in 2011.  She wanted to hang out with Banks which to Banks, was overwhelming.  He agreed only with the hope he could get her to admit that he is innocent.  She eventually admitted that Banks did not kidnap or rape her.
This story is unbelievable and saddening.  Since the supposed kidnapping happened on school property, the alleged victim sued the school for lack of security and received $1.5 million.    Therefore, Banks was falsely accused due to greed.  The alleged victim ruined the life of Banks who lost a college scholarship and his football career was affected.  I admire Banks because he is doing his best to start a new life by trying out for a variety of different NFL teams.  Banks is determined to get his life back on track and put this unfortunate event behind him.

For more on this story, click on this link: http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/25/justice/california-rape-exoneration

A Soldier's Courageous Story

The battle that is considered one of the worst ground attacks in the Afghanistan was is the battle for Combat Outpost Keating.  The outpost was isolated and indefensible located in a remote valley of a mountain range in eastern Afghanistan.  On October 3, 2009, the Taliban launched a clearly coordinated attack on the outpost killing more than half of the 53 soldiers at COP Keating.

Clint Romesha showed immense courage as he risked his life to save some of his comrades who were pinned by a Humvee.  He executed his rescue mission wounded and after went back into heavy fire for the bodies of dead soldiers so their families could have closure.  Clint Romesha will receive the Medal of Honor for his bravery making him the fourth living person to receive this medal for actions in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Clint Romesha's act of valor should and will be honored by him receiving the Medal of Honor.  I am disappointed in myself and society that Clint Romesha isn't more well-known.  I bet more people know about Taylor Swift's newest album than Clint Romesha's story.  Clint Romesha is a true hero and we should be immensely thankful for his sacrifice to our country.

For more about Clint Romesha's incredible story, click on this link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/us/uncommon-valor/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship of the National Football League, and is one of the biggest sporting events every year.  This year, the Super Bowl is filled with numerous story lines as the Baltimore Ravens will take on the San Francisco 49ers in New Orleans, Louisiana.  America has spent $12 billion getting ready for this game so one could argue that it is a big game.  Some of the story lines include the Raven's magnificent linebacker Ray Lewis who will retire after this season concludes.  Ray Lewis has had a very successful career in the NFL but his career is controversial with his involvement in crime.  Another story line is the head coaches of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers are brothers.  Imagine how difficult it is for the family to pick which team they are to root for, and of course most of the family members have remained neutral.

The Super Bowl is one of my favorite sporting events of the year.  The pageantry of the Super Bowl is what makes the Super Bowl distinct than any other sporting event.  The Super Bowl is known for its commercials as companies compete for the best advertisement since the game attracts such a huge audience.  Also the halftime show is always guaranteed to be entertaining.  Even though I enjoy the Super Bowl, I also think the Super Bowl is too commercialized.  I mean America spent $12 billion in the game!  I believe the Super Bowl should focus more on the fact that it is a football game instead of an opportunity for companies to advertise their product.

For more about this year's Super Bowl, click on this link: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/02/us/super-bowl-five-things/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Oil Spill in Mississippi River

In a recent news story, two tank barges collided into a bridge in the Mississippi River early Sunday morning.  The incident happened near Vicksburg, Mississippi and due to the collision, one of the tank barges started to leak.  It is still unknown how much oil may have been spilled into the river, but the tank contained 80,000 gallons of oil.  Fortunately, a Coast Guard team has stopped the source of the spill and no one was injured in the accident.  Another similar incident happened last year in February when a tanker barge spilled 10,000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi after a collision near New Orleans.

I realize that oil is a valuable resource but oil spills damage the surrounding environment and leave lasting impressions.  Oil spills are too common and oil industries need to take steps to avoid these catastrophes.  Many people can relate to the largest oil spill in U.S. history when a BP well released oil into the Gulf of Mexico.  This oil spill killed wildlife, damaged beaches, hurt local businesses, etc.  Hopefully, oil industries realize the severity of consequences of oil spills and take more caution to prevent these type of catastrophes.  

For more on oil spills, click on these links:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/27/us/mississippi-river-oil-spill/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-04-19/business/35453515_1_oil-spill-peter-roopnarine-transocean

Manti Te'o

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team had a tremendous season this year with a 12 -1 record and a trip to the BCS National Championship game against Alabama.  They were led by Manti Te'o who was their starting linebacker.  Manti Te'o had a magnificent year coming up second in he Heisman race and is said to have a successful future in the NFL.  Recently, a story has surfaced stating that Manti Te'o fell for a "catfish."  A "catfish" is when someone fakes an identity online to decieve his or her way into a fake romantic relationship.  Since this story has been reported, there have been many people questioning whether Manti was a helpless victim or a co-conspirator.

Manti Te'o is a victim in this situation but this situation could have easily been avoided.  It is unbelievable that someone can have a relationship with someone they haven't met personally.  Some of the blame must go on Te'o for being oblivious to the actions of the culprits.

"Catfish" has become a more common term with a TV show on MTV dedicated to uniting two people who have a relationship based solely on communication online.  The results when the "couple" are united vary between the person meeting the actual person they have fallen in love with and meeting the opposite.  What society needs to learn from this story is to be more cautious of how we use the internet to prevent more people from becoming victimized.

For more on this topic, click on this link here: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/17/tech/teo-online-identity/index.html?hpt=hp_bn5

About Me

            I was born on September 18, 1996 in Omaha, Nebraska.  I was given the name Matthew Jacob Hagge and was named after my dad.  Even though my first name is Matthew, to avoid confusion since my dad's name is Matthew, I go by my middle name.  My family has a tradition where every member of the family has the initials M.J.H.  This tradition started with my grandparents whose names both start with the letter "M," and has been carried down to generations.  I am the oldest of four children and I have three siblings who are triplets.  Their names are Jimmy, Joey and Megan and they are in the 8th grade.  I have lived all my life in Gretna, Nebraska and attended elementary and middle school in Gretna Public Schools.  When it came time to transition into high school, I chose to follow in my dad's footsteps and attend Creighton Preparatory School or "Prep" where I am now a sophomore.  At Prep I play football and baseball and hope to participate in a variety of other activities before I graduate.