Top 10 Review

Chris Williams
Mr. John Nardone
ENG 225
24 April 2014

Top 10 Review

I read an article about the top 10 NFL Divas. The list started off with number 10 who was Cedric Benson. It talked about how he caused problems in the bears organization with teammates and with the front office as a rookie when he held out of his contract. The next person at number 9 was the always controversial Jay Cutler. It talked about his feud with former coach Josh McDaniels and also about how he is quick to blame others such as his offensive line. Number 8 was one of Jay Cutler's good friends and former and now current teammate, Brandon Marshall. His mostly consisted of off the field issues and issues as a person not necessarily on the field. Number 7 was another wide receiver, Michael Crabtree and it talked about how he also held out of a contract as a rookie. Number 6 was Albert Haynesworth and his consisted of how he got a massive contract and never really put in the effort on the field. Number 5 was Vince Young who has had lots of controversy on and off the field in his career. Number 4 was Dez Bryant who was in the media for slapping his mother as well as blowing up on teammates on the field. Number 3 was Terrell Owens and that's all that really needs to be said. Number 2 was Desean Jackson who is often quick to start confrontations on the field despite him being one of the smallest players. Lastly, Number 1 was Chad Johnson/Ochocinco who was well known for his trash talking, touchdown celebrations, and just being in the media nonstop for his entire career. 

The article was set up as a slideshow. It had a picture of the player and a brief paragraph about him and why he was on the list. As far as the list goes, I think my list would be a little different, but I can see as to why they have each player on the list. It was a good example of a top 10 list. It probably had over a thousand words which isn't very tough because only 100 words is needed for each person. As a whole it did a good job of making the list clear and giving enough information as to why that player was in the spot that they put him. 

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/lists/NFLs_top_10_divas#photo-title=DeSean+Jackson&photo=30047837

Column Review

Chris Williams
Mr. John Nardone
ENG 225
16 April 2014

Column Review

For the column review I decided to read a column from ESPN and it was about whether or not that this could be Michael Vick's last chance in the NFL now that he has signed with the New York Jets. It talked about how Michael Vick is doing all of the right things off the field and when he is interviewed, but his last few times on the field, have not been the best. He struggled as of late towards the end of his Eagle career and never had the chance to regain his starting job after the breakthrough play of Nick Foles. As the offseason rolled around, it was certain that Nick Foles would be the starting quarterback for the upcoming season and the Eagles decided to release the veteran quarterback. It wasn't long that he was on the free agent market and he was quickly signed by the Jets. It discussed whether or not he would be competing for the starting job in New York or if he was just there to bring a young Geno Smith along. No matter what the reason for him being there is, it is certainly one of his last chances in the NFL if not his very last.

The article brought up some information that another journalist found out by visiting Michael Vick. In the beginning it focused on what had happened in the recent months to let the readers know what exactly has been going on in the career of Michael Vick. It then continued to talk about what lies ahead in the future of his career. It gave a little bit of his opinion by what he thinks may happen in the career of Michael Vick. It was a good example of a column because it gave some facts about what they were talking about as well as giving a reasonable and logical opinion as to what may happen in the future. 

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post/_/id/51427/fox-on-michael-vicks-last-chance

Profile Journal

Chris Williams
Mr. John Nardone
Blogger Post
18 March 2014

I read a profile article about the newly crowned UFC welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks. Johny Hendricks is a professional mma fighter. He is a two time NCAA champion in wrestling as well as being an All American in all four of his years that he attended Oklahoma State University. After graduating from Oklahoma State University, Johny wasn't sure what he wanted to do as a career until he received a call from one of his former teammates to come to his mma gym to help with wrestling. After months of training there, Johny decided that he wanted to try mma for himself. He made his pro debut in September of 2007. He compiled a 15-1 record and was giving a title opportunity against the all time great Georges St. Pierre in November of 2013. Hendricks lost a very controversial split decision. After the fight GSP announced that he would be leaving the sport and vacating the title. Hendricks was then matched up against Robbie Lawler for the welterweight championship. This fight took place on Saturday, March 15, 2014. It was the best fight of the short year in which Hendricks picked up the decision win and finally got what he has been working for, for the past six years.

The article was well written. It started off with the lead up to the fight that took place on Saturday night. It then went on to discuss the fight and how Johny picked up the victory to finally win the UFC championship. It then started to talk more about the life and career of Johny Hendricks. It somewhat used the inverted pyramid style. It's main purpose was to announce that he finally won the championship. But it focused mostly on the entire career of Johny. It also mentioned his college accolades. It also mentioned some of his personal life talking about how he recently had a daughter and that he also had two other daughters. It was written like most sports articles that focus on a person who is currently in the media is. It covered as to why this person is relevant now and gave information about his entire life.

Obituary Journal

Chris Williams

Mr. John Nardone

ENG 225

11 February 2014

I chose to read and analyze an obituary about Kurt Cobain. The first paragraph stated who he was and that he was part of Nirvana, which was his claim to fame. It also included information about how he dealt with previous drug and alcohol addictions. The first paragraph concluded with explaining how he died. The first paragraph successfully answered the questions, who, what, where, when, and how. The next paragraph went into detail about how his band Nirvana formed in Aberdeen, Washington. The next few paragraphs discussed his career as a musician and just how much fame he had at the time of his death. The final paragraph had a statement that his mother made as well as a comparison to some other famous rockstars who died at the age of 27 such as Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison. 

The format did follow most obituaries where it gives the most important information first and then continues to go into more detail as it moves along. Due to who he is, they probably covered much more personal stuff than what they would if he was not a rock star. In the first paragraph it stated that he died from a self-inflicted "shotgun blast to the head". If he was of a much lesser notoriety, they would not go into detail like that and would most likely just say it was a suicide. It also discussed his previous addictions which would also be left out of most normal obituaries. The areas where it discusses his rise to fame with Nirvana, that would be where it discusses what a person did or was known for. Due to his notoriety, the media will give out way more information because everyone wants to know the specifics when you are as famous as he was. It didn't state this in the article because it was probably not released yet, but they even let his suicide note become public.

The article was almost exactly what i expected it to be especially since it was written only four days after his death. I am indifferent to the article for many reasons. I understand he was massively famous at the time of his death, so everyone wants to know exactly what happened, but if I were his family I would try to keep as much information private as I can. I personally would have chose different things to cover when he wrote about Nirvana's rise to fame. I liked how he did include that last statement from his mother though. An obituary of a celebrity is going to be very different from that of a normal person so this obituary included what I expected considering the circumstances of who he was.

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/1994/apr/09/obituaries.adamsweeting