Tim Lincecum: Baseball's Best Pitcher by Peter Kenton

Tim Lincecum: Baseball's Best Pitcher

How good is Tim Lincecum? He is the best pitcher in the national league, if not the best pitcher in baseball. When he is pitching well, which is most of his starts, he has a way of making hitters look silly, like no other pitcher in baseball. The first pitch of the at bat might be a hanging curveball or a 95 mph fastball. His best pitch however, is his changeup. It appears out of his hand to be the same thing as a fastball, but as it approaches the plate, it takes a huge tip, making most batters look very silly when they swing and miss, at it leaves most of them off balance on their front foot.
Many ask, 'How does someone who is 5'10” 170 lbs, make it in the majors as a pitcher.' There aren't many of them. So how can Tim Lincecum throw a 95 mph heater? The answer, his mechanics. He has a stride that is almost seven feet in length, the same distance of Sandy Koufax's stride. There is no other pitcher in the majors who is his size, let alone a starter. So does size matter in pitching? The answer, not really, depending on your mechanics.
Even with this information, what makes Tim Lincecum the games best pitcher? Many sports analysts, such as myself think his size confuses the batter; hitters don't expect someone his size to be able to throw 95 mph gas. Another reason why, is his delivery: he hides the ball for so long but his delivery is very fast, around 1.2 seconds. This unorthodox delivery, and his size baffle most batters. He also has a way of combining pitches like no other pitcher I have ever seen, and his changeup, is the icing on the cake. When he throws his changeup, his delivery is the same as his fastball, but as the ball approaches the plate, it takes a dramatic downturn often leaving batters on their front foot, unable to hit the ball. If a batter does manage to lay off this pitch somehow, as it is mostly thrown with two strikes, the batter will likely get a hit, unfortunately for the batter, this happens very rarely because hitters have to protect with two strikes.
Many people this year think that Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks is the best pitcher in Baseball. If you look at his ERA (earned run average) this statement is true.
However, if you asked an honest spectator who is more fun to watch, they woProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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d most likely say Lincecum because of the way that Lincecum dominates everybody, and his mechanics. Haren does not have the kind of stuff that Lincecum has. Dan Haren is more of a power pitcher, and when facing guys such as Ryan Howard, Pablo Sandoval, and Albert Pujols, power pitching does not work. However, Dan Haren has been able to incorporate a curveball in his line of pitches in the past few years. Dan Haren is certainly the runner up to Lincecum in the N.L., but he is just not on the same level.
Another pitcher that has created controversy is Zack Greinke of the Kansas City Royals. He started out this year 8-1 with a .89 ERA. However lately he has not been the same pitcher. In the past few months, his ERA has risen almost three points and his record has dropped to 10-5 with a 3.01 ERA, hardly the pitcher he was at the beginning of the year. Despite making the AL All Star team, he is not at the same level as Lincecum. He does not have the same dominating stuff that Lincecum has. He also is the ideal size for a pitcher; 6'3” 220 lbs.
The obvious size advantage of all of these pitchers gives them a huge advantage, however, they don't seem to be able to use their size to their advantage. If Dan Haren took a step the size of Lincecum's, he could throw the ball nearly 110 mph. However, they have not worked on a bigger stride, or a deceptive delivery, which is what makes Tim Lincecum the great pitcher that he is. Tim Lincecum will only get better as the years go by, as he learns the weaknesses of different batters. People should watch Lincecum while they can, because a pitcher of his status doesn't come along very often.

Music by Marabet Morales

Over the years a lot has changed and that includes the music we listen now days .For today music isn't just merely something we listen to, its something the youth of today uses to show what they believe in and who they are.

See, music for each individual teenager of today is the door to many possibilities.

Top 50
1. I Got Feeling
2. Best I Ever Had
3. You Belong With Me
4. Knock You Down
5. Fire Burning
6. Boom Boom Pow
7. Love Game
8. I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)
9. Birthday Sex
10. Waking Up in Vegas
11. Use Somebody
12. Good Girls Go Bad
13. Every Girl
14. Don't Trust Me
15. New Divide
16. Halo
17. Please Don't Leave Me
18. The Climb
19. Poker Face
20. Obsessed
21. Second Chance
22. If Today Was Your Last Day
23. He Could Be The One
24. Here We Go Again
25. Battlefield
26. 21 Guns
27. No Surprise
28. People Are Crazy
29. I'm Yours
30. Alright
31. Hotel Service
32. Big Green Tractor
33. You're jerk
34. She Wolf
35. Love Drunk
36. I Run To You
37. You Found Me
38. Her Diamonds
39. Whatever It Is
40. Love Story
41. That's Not My Name
42. Right Round
43. Day 'N' Nite
44. Summer Nights
45. Blame It
46. Ego
47. Wetter
48. Pretty Wings
49. Never Say Never
50. Gives You Hell

*Unfortunately due to the time I could not put the artists name , but I hope you guys can look them up.
Source: www.billboard.com

Chocolate Cake by Tevita Lauti

Chocolate Cake

  Do you love chocolate cake? Then you should know that there are different kinds of chocolate cake. For example the black forest cake, and the devils food cake are some chocolate cakes. These delicious cakes are easy to bake. And it is said that dark chocolate is good for you. Chocolate cake is one of the most popular desserts in America. This stuff is the best.

  Chocolate cake is easy to bake. And you can buy chocolate cake at your local grocery store or bakery. And the cake is already made just for you. It's the best. So buy some cake, and take a break. Eat a cake right now. And just relax.   

Truffles by Peter Kenton

Many people think of a truffle as a little chocolate candy thing. Many people don't even know that a truffle is also an edible fungus. These Fungi are extremely hard to come by, and are in many countries such as Italy considered a rare delicacy.

What is a truffle?

A truffle is an oddly shaped fungi that looks like little potatoes. Some truffles are black and some are a tanish color. Truffles cost in excess of 40$ per ounce and possibly close to 500$ for a whole mushroom. This is why only the very rich, or the very lucky can afford. The reason for their high cost is the difficulties of the growing process. Truffles have to be grown in soil that has a high concentration of fertilizer (poo). Also, truffles are very delicate plants. If a one acre field is planted, maybe 20% of the mushrooms planted will be eaten, and only 10% will make it to the market without having died in the process. Another reason why truffles so hard to grow is because of the climate they require. They require a very hot climate to grow in. Any cold weather could prove fatal for the mushrooms, which is why Italy is the ideal place to grow truffles and is also why 90% of all truffles sold in the world are grown in Italy.

Many people such as myself, like the bitterness of truffles, but some find truffles gross. Probably why they are so rare, is because only a certain amount of people even like truffles, and a very small percentage of those people can even afford a truffle. Many people would say, 'Who would spend 40$ on a tiny bite of food that you might not even like.' If you buy a truffle and end up not liking it, you might have felt you just threw away 40$. But for some trying a truffle whether they end up liking it or not, feel is a great privilege to be able to eat such a rare food.

Dance!!!!!!!!! by Devyn Gaines

             Dance can be expressed in many ways such as Hip Hop Dance, Turf, Modern, African Dance, also there is Belly Dancing, and MANY more.. With all of these dances some people are so interested in dance they form groups...Some groups in the bay area area Funk Beyond Control ( FBC ), Future Shock Oakland, Imani's Dream, New Style Motherlode, ect. Although there are a lot of groups in The Bay Area that do the most logical of dancing Hip Hop there are many groups who are  out of state AND out of this continent who do the same, such as. FORMALity, Philippine All-Stars, X-Treme, etc. Some dancer prefer not to dance with a group some dancers just perform by there selfs. Some people battle mostly turfers battle in my opinion.

  

              Enough with hip hop and turf, now it's about modern... Modern dance is basically another way of saying ballet or jazz. Most people think that Ballet is just boring and full of NOTHING but really if you can fuse ballet and hip hop, there's the excitement you need.

Source: Youtube.com

Brain-Freeze by Cody Dam

Green Corn Ice Cream

Have you wondered what green corn ice cream taste like? well, i've heard it taste like a cake, but with a very slight taste of corn in it. It is really really delicious. I thought this ice cream would be the color green, but it's just a creamy yellowish color, like vanilla ice cream. I'm not sure where exactly to find green corn ice cream, but my teacher Ms. Kamara tried it in Salvador, Bahia which is in brazil. Too bad it's not in America.  

Mochi Ice Cream

Have you ever tried mochi ice cream? All I can say is that it is bomb! Mochi ice cream is a delicious japanese confection made from mochi (pulverized sticky rice) with an ice cream filling. It is the size of a golfball, shape and weight: 45g mass and 45mm diameter. Mikawaya was the first to manufacture mochi ice cream in United States. I can get these delicious desserts in many Chinese or Korean supermarkets. 

Sources : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi_ice_cream

Recycling by Vivian Truong

Things You Can Recycle : 1.METALS : aluminum cans, aluminum foil, steel cans, 2.GLASS : bottles, jars, light-bulb, 3.PAPER : junk mail, newspaper, magazines, books, cards, christmas tree, envelopes, 4.PLASTIC : plastic bottles, 5.RUBBER : car tires 6.ELECTRONICS : TVs, VCRs, DVD, CD players, cordless phones, microwaves, batteries, Why Is Recycling Important? 1.Recycling conserves our valuable natural resources. 2.Recycling saves energy. 3.Recycling saves clean air and clean water. 4.Recycling saves landfill space. 5.Recycling can save money and create jobs. Recycling is important because it can help the environment and help the world become a better place. First, recycling conserves valuable natural resourcesProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 If you have paper recycled, then we can stop cutting more trees to make paper. We can reuse the paper that is recycled to make paper again. For every ton of Proxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 per that you recycled, we saves 17 trees! Secondly, recycling conserves energy. For example, recycling one glass bottle is enougProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 20to save energy to light a light bulb fProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 four hours. Recycling can also save clean air and clean water. In the U.S. companies who process minerals contributes toxic into the air, sending 1.5 million tons of pollution into the air and water each year. If you recycle, then these pollution can be reduced. Recycling saves landfill space. Did you know that recycling and composting diverted nearly 70 million tons of material away from landfills in 2000? Thats twice as much as we reduced in 1990. Last but not least, recycling saves money and help create jobs for people. Recycling created 1.1 million U.S. jobs, $236 billion in gross annual sales and $37 billion in annual payrolls. It helps creates four jobs for every one job created in the waste management and disposal industries. Thousands of U.S. companies have saved millions of dollars through their voluntary recycling programs. Even families save money in communities with pay-