When Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Carson Wentz tore his ACL, it looked like Philly was done for. Now, they are anything but. When Wentz was healthy, they were a force to be reckoned with. They had both the defense and the offense. When they were to play the Minnesota Vikings, most people, (including me) thought there was just no way. Critics of Nick Foles—the Eagles’ backup QB—said that there was no way an inexperienced playoff QB could beat a team as good as the Vikings. The final score was 38-7. Eagles. The Philly police put Crisco on the street poles to prevent the fans from climbing them, but that didn’t stop them. The fans climbed on the poles and celebrated for hours. The Patriots also had a tough path to get to Super Bowl LII. First, they played the Tennessee Titans. It did not go well for the Titans. The Titans lost, 35-14. Then, the Jacksonville Jaguars. Many people were surprised that the Steelers lost to the Jags. The Jags then trolled the Steelers for looking ahead to the Patriots. The Jaguars’ main offensive weapon is rookie running back Leonard Fournette. Their defense is amazing. Their secondary, dubbed the “Jackson 5” has Barry Church, Tashaun Gipson, Aaron Colvin, A.J. Bouye, AND Jalen Ramsey. Their D-line has Malik Jackson, Calais Campbell, and Yannick Ngakoue. They also have Paul Posluszny, Myles Jack, and Telvin Smith as linebackers. In all, that defense is fast, young, and lethal. The Jaguars were a tough opponent t0 beat. The Pats were down 14-10 at the half and faced a double digit deficit. A touchdown catch by Danny Amendola, a key swat by Stephon Gilmore, and a game-sealing run by Dion Lewis gave the Patriots the W. Next, I will break down the offense, defense and special teams into categories and give one team an advantage for each category. The Offense: Rushing: Both teams have decent rushing attacks, though neither has a workhorse running back (like Todd Gurley II). I would give just a teeny edge to the Eagles with Jay Ajayi and LeGarrette Blount on that one. Passing: The Patriots have Tom Brady. The Eagles have an injured Carson Wentz. And a healthy Nick Foles. With Carson Wentz, (the healthy kind) I would say Brady by a little. Now, Brady wins by a lot. The Defense: D-line: Fletcher Cox and Brandon Graham are hard to beat, and Tre Flowers, Alan Branch, and Deatrich Wise just don’t do it for me. I’d give this one to Philly. Linebackers: With the addition of ex-Steeler James Harrison, and Dont’a Hightower, New England gets this one. The Eagles do have a strong linebacker team with Jordan Hicks and Danell Ellerbe, though. Secondary: Though the Patriots have Stephon Gilmore and Malcolm Butler, I’m going to give Jalen Mills, Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod the nod for this one. Special Teams: Kickers and Punters: Jake Elliot (Eagles) and Stephen Gostkowski (Patriots) are basically tied, but adding in Donnie Jones (Eagles) and Ryan Allen (Patriots) give the Eagles the advantage here. Returners: Amendola and Dion Lewis (Patriots) are both better-than-average returners. The Eagles just don’t have anyone like that. Advantage: Patriots. While the Eagles look like they have more advantages, for me there is only one factor: The Eagles containing Tom Brady. The Eagles have more individual categories, but Tom Brady on a great night will erase all of that. If they contain Brady, they have a better-than-average chance.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Saturday Newsletter: January 27, 2018
“So, Marion, tell us. Does your father work in a grocery store or is it a Chinese laundry?” Illustrator Leslie Osmont, 12, for Speaking Up by Rachel Weary, 10. Published November/December 2004. A note from William Rubel This newsletter is going to be a very short one. I mentioned last week that today i am in San Francisco cooking a restaurant dinner for 40 or so people, and it’s rather taken over my week! I hope you’ll get by with a few updates and a couple of stories this week, with the promise of normal service being resumed next. Science writing contest A couple of weeks ago I issued a challenge to readers to think about science fiction writing. This is a reminder that we want you to enter our science fiction writing contest! Think about ways that you could explore science through your writing. Are there particular scientific concepts that you could incorporate into a work of fiction? Is there a way you could play with an objective fact to make it into something creative and new? Is there something you have learned or imagined about science that you think you could make into a story? We want to read your ideas about science and the world in your fiction. Get thinking and writing, and submit your science (fiction) story to us before 1st April. Until next week! Wiliam Books, books and more books! The first book reviews by Stone Soup readers who volunteered to help us with our book pile at the end of last year have started to come in. Thank you, reviewers! We will be publishing all of them on our blog, in a special new books section, starting next week, so do look out for their comments and recommendations on some of the best new books coming out right now. We are working with some of the big publishers to develop a Book Club for Stone Soup readers, and to get more review copies of books out to those of you who are keen reviewers (first on the list some of those we didn’t have enough books for in the last round). More details on that will come through the newsletter in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, if you think you’d like to get involved with reviewing books, get in touch with Jane or Sarah by replying to this newsletter. Bloggers Have you been keeping up with our young bloggers on the website? We know that lots of you have, because you’ve been leaving some really great comments. If you haven’t had a chance to have a look yet, do check in on the blog page to read the latest from this fantastic group of Stone soup writers, and tell them (and us) what you think. And if you have an idea for a blog you’d like to write yourself, get in touch and tell us about it. From Stone Soup May/June 2001 Tiger, Tiger By Vera Litvin, 13 Illustrated by Haylee Collins, 13 Toly hid among the tall grasses of the tropical forest. He could feel the cold sweat trickling down his face. The tiger was standing close now, so close Toly could feel its pulsing breath. The vibrant black and orange of the tiger’s coat hurt his eyes. It couldn’t see him; only the tiger’s keen sense of smell told it Toly was there. Toly waited for just the right moment and then in an instant, with one smooth liquid movement, Toly found himself mounted on the beast’s back. The tiger was growing more obedient now; Toly felt its warm fur beneath him. “Run!” Toly told the tiger and it ran. Ran fast over crannies and ditches, carrying Toly further and further away from the city. Toly felt the wind ruffling his hair, violently blowing in his eyes, forcing tears to form. He had done it! He was riding the tiger. He was the conqueror. He was . . . “Toly!” his mother’s voice reached him as though it was coming from somewhere far away. “Wake up! It’s nearly seven o’clock!” The beautiful forest, the mighty tiger, the smell of the moist soil; all disintegrated as if they never were and Toly drowsily opened his eyes. “Aw, go on, Mum, five more minutes,” he pleaded desperately. Anything to win him more time. “No!” his mother retorted firmly, and left the room. Toly’s sheets were cold with sweat, but he knew that he had done it; he had ridden the tiger! Toly detested school; no, he feared it. Most of all he feared Derek, the school’s bully. He feared him with a fear hard to describe, a fear that engulfed him like a giant wave, a fear that made his knees give way and his stomach tense up at the mere mention of Derek’s name. By rights Derek should have been a stupid lug whose fist did most of his bidding. But it wasn’t right, nothing was ever right. Derek was cunning, calculating and strong—he was a tiger. Yet the fear Toly felt for the bully and the tiger were different as could be. The fear of the tiger was invigorating, it caused every vein to thrill and stand to attention. The fear of the tiger was rewarding, it made Toly feel a strange sense of achievement. Made him proud. Yet the fear of Derek made Toly feel none of those things. It made him want to crouch down really small and hide somewhere in a dark hole where no one could find him. Ever…/ more
New Year, New Books
There is a certain joy that comes from a pile of new books waiting to be read, especially going into the new year. Whether they are on the shelf at a library or bookstore or sitting on the shelf at home, a book holds a promise of adventures to come. We are not always only in the mood for one type of book. Reading feeds me in different ways. Sometimes, I want to snuggle up in front of a fire and immerse myself in a novel, while other times I read to learn about a topic (see my previous blog post about this!) It is interesting to look at my bookshelf and see how the books I read when I was younger lead to books that I read now: D’Aulaires Books of Greek Myths leading to the first female translation of The Odyssey, The Collections of Robert Frost leading to A Book of Luminous Things. Here’s what is on my New Year’s booklist: Egg and Spoon by Gregory Maguire There are some novels that I just want to curl up and read the moment I see it. Egg and Spoon, a book about mistaken identities, economic differences, and fairy tales, made me do this with gusto. My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg Since I saw Sonia Sotomayor speak at the Hill Center, I have been interested in the lives of the Supreme Court Justices–especially the female ones. My Own Words is a collection of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s writings from childhood to present day. This RBG book looked like a perfect mixture of two things that interest me now, writing and the supreme court. Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee With all the news surrounding North Korea, Every Falling Star is the perfect way to get a glimpse of what it is like to live there. Sungju Lee writes about his life in North Korea, from his privileged childhood, into poverty, and finally his escape. Into English: Poems, Translations, Commentaries by Martha Collins and Kevin Prufer Have you ever wondered what the thought process is for people who are translating poems? How similar are they to the original text? How much the translated version is its own poem? I found myself wondering these things after I read The Book of Luminous Things and saw that almost every poem had “translated by…” written underneath. This collection gathers different translations of poems and a commentary on the translators’ decisions. The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson This is the first female translation of the Odyssey. After reading an article about her and her translation of the Odyssey, I couldn’t help picking it up from the library. I have always been interested in Greek myths starting with D’Aulaires Book of Greek Myths, and this is the perfect way to grow my interest. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich My history teacher recommended this book for us to discuss together. It is a wonderful memoir that is about Barbara Ehrenreich’s experience living as a minimum wage worker for a year. And the less traditional “books”: New York Times Easiest Crossword Puzzles edited by Will Shortz My grandpa was a genius at crossword puzzles, leaving behind a big legacy to fill. New York Times Easiest Crossword Puzzles was (I have already completed a couple–I couldn’t hold back) the perfect place to start, with “150 very easy puzzles”. They are very cleverly arranged and the perfect level for a beginning crossword puzzler. Poetry Poetry is a beautiful magazine full of modern poetry. It comes out every month and provides a charming collection of poets writings that each have a different perspective on the world.
