Christian Ponder: Stud or Dud?

I decided to comment on a Bleacher Report article written about Minnesota Vikings' rookie quarterback, Christian Ponder. The comment went as followed:

Yeah I'm with everyone else on the whole Adrian Peterson isn't better than Darren McFadden. That's just absurd. McFadden is having a great year and has definitely turned people's heads, but AP is still the more dominant running back.

As for Christian Ponder, I think he is not in the right system. He is a guy who needs to throw the ball 35-45 times per game and since you have Peterson in the offense who needs 20-25 touches per game that could be hard to do. He also doesn't hurl the ball down the field that often. He looks for the short, quick options. I don't think the Minnesota wide outs are particularly that good except for maybe Percy Harvin. Overall, I think Ponder is going to struggle through the rest of the season and until the Vikings can bring in a possession receiver, this franchise will be at the bottom of the ranks.

Brophy Broncos vs. St. Mary's Knights

I was back in Phoenix for the weekend and decided to go check out my high school, Brophy College Prep, as they took on our long time rival, St. Mary's, in football Friday night. It was great being back and experiencing Friday Night Lights again. The atmosphere was so exciting at Brophy games and thousands always turnout for this epic rivalry.

7:03 PM - St. Mary's kick off to Brophy, ball rolls out of bounds at the 20-yard line. Penalty on the play, Broncos choose for Knights to re-kick.

7:04 PM - St. Mary's re-kicks to Brophy, Devon Allen returns kick to 50-yard line.

7:08 PM - D'Amani Grayer takes the handoff and rushes 39 yards for a touchdown. PAT is good. 7-0 Brophy.

7:16 PM - Grayer catches a screen pass from quarterback Tyler Bruggman and runs in from 17 yards out for his second TD of the game. PAT is good. 14-0 Brophy.

7:24 PM - Allen catches a 27-yard TD pass from Bruggman. PAT is good. 21-0 Brophy.

7:28 PM - Fred Gammage picks off the St. Mary's quarterback for a 30-yard interception return TD. PAT is good. 28-0 Brophy.

7:35 PM - End of the 1st quarter. Brophy 28, St. Mary's 0.

7:43 PM - Andrew Curtis catches a 13-yard pass from Bruggman. PAT is good. 35-0 Brophy.

7:55 PM - Allen hauls in a 20-yard pass from Bruggman and shakes off four Knights' defenders to run in for the score. PAT is good. 42-0 Brophy.

8:11 PM - Andrew Simon rushes for a 5-yard touchdown. PAT is good. 49-0 Brophy.

8:19 PM - St. Mary's quarterback rushes up the middle and fumbles, Broncos recover.

8:24 PM - Matt Hale, 3-yard run for TD. PAT is good. 56-0 Brophy.

8:29 PM - Halftime. Brophy 56, St. Mary's 0.

8:48 PM - Simon rushes 6 yards for the TD. PAT is good. 63-0 Brophy.

9:15 PM - End of 3rd quarter. Brophy 63, St. Mary's 0.

9:49 PM - Final: Brophy 63, St. Mary's 0.

Review of a review: Moneyball

The film I reviewed is Moneyball and the review came from a website I found on Rotten Tomatoes. Author Neil Pond does a great job of reviewing the film and gives you a solid summary without telling you too much. It definitely makes you want to go out and see the film. It is easy to know that the reviewer liked the film and loves the underlying message that Moneyball portrays. Pond states that it helps being a baseball fan, but if not, you still will "cheer" for the film. He has great balance between summary and point of view and doesn't lean heavily on one side. Also, he definitely has authority and makes you want to see the film. He gives good quotes and positive praise towards the performance of both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. There is also no snark in this review.

Following the Photographer

The article, "The Day I Trailed A Paparazzo," is about a journalist who follows around a paparazzi guy named Wagner. It was an interesting article, and I definitely learned way more than I already knew about paparazzi, but nonetheless, I still find them kind of "stalkerish" and overstepping the line. I understand that people want to know what's going on with celebrities and celebrity gossip, but they have lives too. Some celebrities love to show off for the cameras and love for paparazzi to get the lowdown about their lives, but others just want to live normally. Unfortunately this cannot be the case and the paparazzi have to try and make a living as well. Overall, it was a solid article and somewhat changed my perspective on the respect I had for the paparazzi.

How To Make Money From Your Blog

Hundreds and thousands of people try to hit it big with a blog they have started only to find out that it is really difficult and rarely do you strike gold. A good way to start, according to ProBlogger, is to "spread (your) interests across multiple revenue streams so as not to put all (your) eggs in one basket."

There are many methods that bloggers use and there is no correct way. Advertising programs is a very common use by many bloggers and Adsense is the most common ad program. RSS advertising is an up and coming way, but it hasn't quite made any bloggers big cash.

Some other ways are sponsorship, affiliate programs like Linkshare or Clickbank, digital assets, blog network opportunities, business blog writing opportunities, donations, and merchandising.

Like I said before, there is no right or wrong answer and new ways are being created and used all the time.

Top Five Sports Blogs

1. Bleacher Report - Bleacher Report is a website that cover various topics in almost every sport. Also, anyone can write for them; all you have to do is apply. I write for this site and you can find my articles by searching my name.

2. AZ Snake Pit - The AZ Snake Pit is an unofficial blog for the Arizona Diamondbacks. I like it because it gives me a fans' take and analysis.

3. MLB Rumors - MLB Rumors pertains to projected trades mostly. Anything that is heard through the grape vine is mentioned in this blog. I love this blog because baseball is my favorite sport and I keep up with it all season long.

4. Outta Town Clowns - OTC is a blog that covers the opinions on sports by Patrick McWeeny. I also wrote for this blog and it was started by one of my friends. It is now kept up by his buddy from Marquette University and provides great information on soccer and football.

5. True Hoop - True Hoop is an affiliate blog with ESPN. It covers the NBA and keeps you up to date with what is going on in basketball. I have played basketball and followed the NBA for my entire life, so this is a great blog if you are interested.