Jameis Winston and... Crab Legs

           Recently on ESPN's Draft Academy, Jameis Winston explained to Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh why he took crab legs from a Publix store in Florida. Apparently about a week before the event occurred, Winston and one of his friends went into Publix to pick up a cake for another friend's birthday. They met an employee while they were there who recognized Jameis and told him that he was covered any time he came in there. So when Jameis came back a week later the same guy gave him crab legs, but as he walked out another employee reported that the crab legs had not been paid for. This is how Jameis told the story to Jim Harbaugh, yet both Publix and Florida State's investigations into the incident yielded no such information.

         Normally a situation like this would not be worthy of news headlines, but we're talking about Jameis Winston- Heisman trophy winner, BCS champion, and potential first round pick in the NFL draft. No one questions his ability on the football field. It's his maturity level off the field that has NFL teams worried. Teams looking into drafting Winston want a franchise player that can be a leader of their team. They want to know if they can put their trust into Winston to do that. That's why a situation like stealing crab legs, as small as it may seem, really has a huge impact on Winston's future NFL career. The guy has got to grow up, and once he shows NFL scouts he has done so, he'll become the best prospect of the draft. Until then though, as good as he is at football, there will remain a question mark by his name as to whether or not he has really matured enough to be the face of an NFL franchise.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2439155-jameis-winston-discusses-crab-leg-incident-with-jim-harbaugh-on-espn?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cnn-sports-bin

Fixing a pipe led to this?

          A recent story has come out about the quest an Italian man set out on to complete nearly 15 years ago: the fixing of a leaking pipe. Luciano Fagianno had just moved in with his family to a new house in Lecce, Italy with the hopes of opening a new trattoria. The only problem was that the sewage kept backing up, so Fagianno got his two sons to help him dig up the pipe. The job was only predicted to take a week, but this was before Fagianno discovered a false floor, and then below this a room of medieval stone. They dug even deeper finding a tomb of the Messapians, who lived during the time of Jesus. And if this wasn't enough, yet another set of chambers was discovered. One was the basement of a Franciscan nuns' convent, and the other was a Roman grain house. The excavation beneath the house went on for several more years before city officials were notified of it, and they responded by sending several archaeologists out to examine the findings. The excavation still remained under Fagianno's control, and it kind of became an obsession for him. More recently, Fagianno has been able to turn the hous into his own museum, while also fufilling his dream of opening his own trattoria.

          I was fascinated reading this article simply because as a guy living in Nebraska, I don't really walk over 2,500 years of architectural history daily. While this discovery may seem like a very rare occurrence to us living in such a young country, there are people digging up ancient history all over Italy. I will admit that the way Fagianno discovered the ruins beneath his house, and the manner in which he excavated it, was quite amusing. Nevermind the fact that the guy was lowering his 12 year old son in a bucket down into who knows what. He didn't even tell his wife what he was doing. She only discovered his secret after growing suspicious of all the dirty clothes around the house. More than anything, I want to know how Fagianno managed to hide his discovery from his wife. Even in all of the excitement, Fagianno still never lost sight of his original goal and after several years of digging he finally discovered the pipe that had alluded him so long. That's what I call perseverance.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/world/europe/centuries-of-italian-history-are-unearthed-in-quest-to-fix-toilet.html?_r=0

I Hate Grayson Allen

          After the recent men's national championship game, in which Duke square off against Wisconsin, Duke-haters were given a new figure to focus their rage on: Grayson Allen. Grayson was part of the usual highly talented freshman class that Duke recruited this year. However, he never became a starter, averaging only four points per game on the season. His performance against Wisconsin did not reflect this, as he put up 16 points during crucial moments in the game to ultimately turn the tide in Duke's favor for the win. Allen has the potential to develop into a very good player over the next few years. He can shoot the ball well and also put it on the floor and drive. Many of these things combined with his confident attitude (including Duke's patented floor slap) have quickly turned him into a figure that all but the Duke fans will hate. He nay never take Christian Laettner's place as Duke's most hated player, but over the next several years he is sure going to try.


          No one but Duke likes Duke. That is just how it has been, and always will be. Chalk it up to their constant success, or image as a bunch of privileged boys coming from wealthy families. Grayson Allen, like many others coming before him, seems to fit the stereotypical image that Duke-haters view Duke in. It was different before last Monday night because he had never had any real success and struggled for playing time, but now things have changed. When Allen put up 16 points coming off the bench against a team that had just beaten undefeated Kentucky, he gained something that he had lacked all year: confidence. You could see that confidence manifesting itself throughout the game as Allen slapped the floor on defense and screamed and flexed his nonexistent muscles after an and-one. Everyone but the Duke fans were grinding their teeth as they watched this because they realized the potential for Allen to turn into a Laettner-like player. The similarities developing between the two are frightening. After Monday's game, Justice Winslow told reporters that Coach K often called Allen an "a*****e" in practice. If that doesn't sum up what Duke-haters are beginning to think of him as, then I don't know what does.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2422861-grayson-allens-title-game-shows-hell-be-next-most-loved-and-hated-duke-star

Teen girls across the country overwhelmed by grief

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/26/world/one-direction-zayn-malik/index.html

          Zayn Malik has recently quit the popular band One Direction. This has come as a shock to all of One Direction's fan-girls who have the walls of their rooms covered with posters of Malik. Many are deeming it as the worst thing to ever happen to them. Some are going further, starting the twitter trend #Cut4Zayn, posting pictures of his name slashed into their arms. This response has led many parents to be confounded, not knowing what to do. A few are trying to turn it into a life lesson moment over losing someone "close" to you. Perhaps the most direct way parents have dealt with consoling their young daughters is "Get over it." Be that as it may, it doesn't look like Zayn is coming back, and is simply looking forward to enjoying a normal 22 year old's life.



          Ok so first and foremost, I want you all to know how hard it was to try and write a serious summary of this article, as it was one of the most ridiculous things I have read in a very long time. The fact that someone actually took the time to create an article telling parents how to help their child cope with this "tragic" loss is completely ludicrous. I mean most of these girls freaking out over this have never even seen the guy in person, let alone actually talk to him. They simply think he's just so ca-ute and love his auto-tuned voice. That is the extent of their attachment to him, and quite frankly, it doesn't warrant the response that has been given. Never mind that some are starting the whole "cut4zayn" thing. That is just downright wrong. I don't care if it's just a joke, because you know that there will be a couple girls out there with serious problems that may actually do it. Also, I give props to Zayn for making the decision to step out of the spotlight and choose to live the life he wants, good for him. But the bottom line for all of these sobbing teenage girls is that in the grand scheme of life, Zayn Malik stepping down from One Direction is not that big of a deal. He didn't die. Life will go on. They simply need to get over it, and not feel it is their duty as fan-girls of One Direction to make such a big deal out of such a small thing.

https://s.yimg.com/ea/img/-/141124/zayn_malik_1a74skl-1a74sl1.jpg

Introductions

          Hello there. I am Simon Dempsey and you are now in the world of "Simon's Spiel". Try not to get to excited. I'm here to offer you my brutally honest opinion of all matters in our world today. No need to worry about me holding back. But first, before I get too ahead of myself, I'll tell you a little bit about my completely ordinary and quite boring life, which I'm sure you're all just dying to hear about.

          I was born and raised in Omaha, NE. To give you an idea of what it's like here, think of a mid-sized city with the feel of a small town. Despite being home to upwards of 400,000 people, it seems like everyone knows each other, or knows someone who is related to you or is a friend, and so on. It is probably best known for the College World Series hosted here every summer and its world famous Henry Doorly Zoo, yet these aren't what make Omaha a great place to live. In reality, the people are what make the city amazing, and I challenge you to go find another city the size of Omaha with people as kind, hospitable, and classy as those that reside here.
       
         Growing up I went to St. Columbkille school in Papillion. It is pretty much the average catholic school- older female teachers, white polo uniforms, etc. I did fairly well the 9 years that I was there, consistently getting good grades and for the most part, staying out of trouble. Of course I disliked St. Columbkille most of the time I was there. There was always something about the school that I complained about. I formed a a lot of good friendships there, but many of my friends went to the nearby Gross High school rather than Creighton Prep- my school of choice. But before I jump into my current high school years, I'll tell you a little about my hobbies, likes, dislikes, and all that other stuff that you couldn't care less about.

          Well, to start with since it is the season for the sport, I like to play soccer. I've been go hard at soccer since the ripe age of about 4, when I could scarcely manage to kick the ball. I've played for plenty of club teams since that time and I'm currently playing for Prep. Other than soccer, basketball is probably my next favorite sport. I thoroughly enjoy watching and playing basketball, especially right now with the NCAA tourney going on.

          Moving away from sports, I'm an avid reader with a recent obsession for the Song of Fire and Ice series, more commonly known as Game of Thrones. You will not find a more complex plot than what George Martin has artfully crafted in his series. While I'm on this fantasy tangent, I might as well mention how absolutely amazing the Lord Of the Rings trilogy (talking about the movies), directed by the one and only Peter Jackson, is. If you ever are sitting around on a Sunday without anything to do, crack out those three movies (preferably extended edition) and you have yourself 10 hours of pure awesomeness.

          As I write about all of these things I like, it occurs to me that I haven't mentioned a thing about my family so I should probably hop back and give you a quick rundown of them, especially since there's a chance it might be read by mi madre and padre (based on Mrs. Hake's warning). So my mom is Michelle, my dad is Pat, and I have three other brothers- Will, Luke, and Jack. I would say (and hope) that my family is fairly normal. My brothers and I fight pretty much all the time, but we all share pretty common interests which can be a big plus. I am consistently in some form of trouble with my parents for one thing or another; they have no qualms about dishing out punishments in part because they have high expectations for all four of us. Despite what I may sometimes feel and how much I hate to hear this from them, I know that they only want the best for me.

          That about rounds things out for me (at least for now). I'm currently on sophomore living the good life at Creighton Prep. I really can't complain about most things going on in my life right now. However, don't you worry, because I'm sure some time away from the keyboard coupled with the approaching lunch period will bring a fresh set of opinions to mind, which I will feel compelled to rant about on this blog.

Until next time,
Simon