Michael Jordan: King Of The Court :: essays research papers

Michael Jordan: King of the Court   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I began my report I didn’t know much about Michael Jordan, but I did know that he was “undoubtedly the greatest player in the history of the NBA'; (“Michael Air Jordan'; 1). It seemed like every time I heard the word basketball I also heard the name Michael Jordan. There’s just no avoiding him. If you are watching television you might see him playing basketball or golf. If you were reading a magazine there will probably be an advertisement with his picture. If you were walking down the street you might see a kid wearing Air Jordan shoes or a Bulls jersey with “JORDAN'; on the back of it. This man is probably as recognizable as the Pope. When we were asked to start thinking of our topics for our research papers Michael Jordan had just announced his retirement from basketball. There were all of these specials on the sports channels and the news so I had to find out what all the commotion was about. This is why I chose Michael Jordan to be the topic of my research paper. I hoped to find out how he became to be considered the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. I learned about a lot about Michael during the first week of my search since he was getting so much attention from the media at the time. When Michael Jordan was attending Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina nobody thought that he would ever turn out to be the player he is today let alone make it to the NBA. In fact, James Jordan, Michael’s father, actually thought that Michael’s best sport was baseball. His high school didn’t think he was so great at basketball either so they cut him from the varsity team when he was a sophomore. To Michael playing basketball in the NBA “seemed something of a distant dream'; (Halberstam 20), but even after he was cut from the varsity team Michael still practiced every day. Michael’s practice paid off in his junior and senior years when he was the best player on the varsity team. After high school Michael was off to the University of North Carolina where for three years he would have some amazing accomplishments in basketball. Perhaps Michael’s most memorable collegiate moment occurred while he was a freshman. On March 29, 1982 the University of North Carolina basketball team was facing off against the University of Georgetown in the national championship game. Michael Jordan: King Of The Court :: essays research papers Michael Jordan: King of the Court   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When I began my report I didn’t know much about Michael Jordan, but I did know that he was “undoubtedly the greatest player in the history of the NBA'; (“Michael Air Jordan'; 1). It seemed like every time I heard the word basketball I also heard the name Michael Jordan. There’s just no avoiding him. If you are watching television you might see him playing basketball or golf. If you were reading a magazine there will probably be an advertisement with his picture. If you were walking down the street you might see a kid wearing Air Jordan shoes or a Bulls jersey with “JORDAN'; on the back of it. This man is probably as recognizable as the Pope. When we were asked to start thinking of our topics for our research papers Michael Jordan had just announced his retirement from basketball. There were all of these specials on the sports channels and the news so I had to find out what all the commotion was about. This is why I chose Michael Jordan to be the topic of my research paper. I hoped to find out how he became to be considered the greatest basketball player to ever play the game. I learned about a lot about Michael during the first week of my search since he was getting so much attention from the media at the time. When Michael Jordan was attending Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina nobody thought that he would ever turn out to be the player he is today let alone make it to the NBA. In fact, James Jordan, Michael’s father, actually thought that Michael’s best sport was baseball. His high school didn’t think he was so great at basketball either so they cut him from the varsity team when he was a sophomore. To Michael playing basketball in the NBA “seemed something of a distant dream'; (Halberstam 20), but even after he was cut from the varsity team Michael still practiced every day. Michael’s practice paid off in his junior and senior years when he was the best player on the varsity team. After high school Michael was off to the University of North Carolina where for three years he would have some amazing accomplishments in basketball. Perhaps Michael’s most memorable collegiate moment occurred while he was a freshman. On March 29, 1982 the University of North Carolina basketball team was facing off against the University of Georgetown in the national championship game.

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 11

Jade-wait a minutel† Mark said. Jade, of course, didn't wait even a second. But shelost time undoing the bolts on the front door, and Mary-Lynnette could hear the quick tap, tap, tap of somebody running away. Jade threw the door open, darted out onto theporch-and screamed. Mary-Lynnette crowded forward and saw that Jade had put her foot into oneof the holes where the porch was missing a board. Everybody who didn't know the place did that. Butthat wasn't what had made her scream. It was the goat. â€Å"Oh, God,† Mark said. â€Å"Oh, God-who would dothat?† Mary-Lynnette took one look and felt a burning inher chest and arms-a painful, bad feeling. Her lungs seemed to contract and her breath was forced out. Her vision blurred. â€Å"Let's get it inside,† Rowan said. â€Å"Jade, are youall right?† Jade was taking In ragged, whooping breaths. Shesounded the way Mary-Lynnette felt. Mark leaned over to help pull her out of the hole. Rowan and Kestrel were lifting the goat by its legs.Mary-Lynnette was backing into the house, teeth clamped on her already-bitten lip. The taste of copperwas like a blood dot in her mouth. They put the goat on an old-fashioned patternedrug in the entrance to the living room. Jade's whooping breaths turned into gasping sobs. â€Å"That's Ethyl,† Mary-Lynnette said. She felt like sobbing too. She knelt beside Ethyl. The goat was pure white, with a sweet face and a broad forehead. Mary Lynnette reached out to touch one hoof gently. She'dhelped Mrs. B. trim that hoof with pruning shears. â€Å"She's dead,† Kestrel said. â€Å"You can't hurt her.†Mary-Lynnette looked up quickly. Kestrel's face was composed and distant. Shock rippled under MaryLynnette's skin. â€Å"Let's take them out,† Rowan said. â€Å"The hide's ruined already,† Kestrel said. â€Å"Kestrel, please-â€Å" Mary-Lynnette stood. â€Å"Kestrel, shut up!† There was a pause. To Mary-Lynnette's astonishment, the pause went on. Kestrel stayed shut up. Mary-Lynnette and Rowan began to pull the little wooden stakes out of the goat's body. Some were as small as toothpicks. Others were longer than Mary-Lynnette's finger and thicker than a shish kebab skewer, with a dull point at one end.Somebody strong did this, Mary-Lynnette thought. Strong enough to punch splinters of wood throughgoat hide. Over and over again. Ethyl was pierced everywhere. Hundreds of times. She looked like a porcupine. â€Å"There wasn't much bleeding,† Rowan said softly.†That means she was dead when it was done. Andlook here.† She gently touched Ethyl's neck. Thewhite coat was crimson there-just like the deer, Mary-Lynnette thought. â€Å"Somebody either cut her throat or bit it,† Rowansaid. â€Å"So it was probably quick for her and she bledout. Not like †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?† Mary-Lynnette said. Rowan hesitated. She looked up at Jade. Jade sniffled and wiped her nose on Mark's shoulder. Rowan looked back at Mary-Lynnette. â€Å"Not like Uncle Hodge.† She looked back down and carefully loosened another stake, adding it to the pile theywere accumulating. â€Å"You see, they killed Unde Hodge this way, the Elders did. Only he was alivewhen they did it.† For a moment Mary-Lynnette couldn't speak. Thenshe said, â€Å"Why?† Rowan pulled out two more stakes, her face controlled and intent. â€Å"For telling a human about theNight World.† Mary-Lynnette sat back on her heels and lookedat Mark. Mark sat down on the floor, bringing Jade withhim. â€Å"That's why Aunt Opal left the island,† Rowansaid. â€Å"And now somebody's staked Aunt Opal,† Kestrel said. â€Å"And somebody's killed a goat in the same wayUnde Hodge was killed.† â€Å"Butwho?† Mary-Lynnette said. Rowan shook her head. â€Å"Somebody who knowsabout vampires.† Mark's blue eyes looked darker than usual and alittle glazed. â€Å"You were talkingbefore about a vam pire hunter. â€Å"That gets my vote,† Kestrel said. â€Å"Okay, so who around here is a vampire hunter?What's a vampire hunter?† â€Å"That's the problem,† Rowan said. â€Å"I don't knowhow you could tell who is one. I'm not even sure Ibelieve in vampire hunters.† â€Å"They're supposed to be humans who've found out about the Night World,† Jade said, pushing tears outof her eyes with her palms. â€Å"And they can't get otherpeople to believe them-or maybe they don't want other people to know. So they hunt us. You know, trying to kill us one by one. They're supposed toknow as much about the Night World as Night People do.† â€Å"You mean, like knowing how your uncle was executed† Mary-Lynnette said. â€Å"Yes, but that's not much of a secret,† Rowan said.†I mean, you wouldn't have to actually know aboutUncle Hodge to think of it-It's the traditionalmethod of execution among the lamia. There aren't many things besides staking and burning that will killa vampire.† Mary-Lynnette thought about this. It didn't getthem very far. Who would want to kill an old ladyand a goat? â€Å"Rowan? Why did your aunt have goats? I mean, I always thought it was for the milk, but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It was for the blood, I'm sure,† Rowan saidcalmly. â€Å"If she looked as old as you said, she probablycouldn't get out into the woods to hunt.† Mary-Lynnette looked at the goat again, trying tofind other dues, trying to be a good observer detached, methodical. When her eyes got to Ethyl's muzzle, she blinked and leaned forward. â€Å"I-there's something in her mouth.† â€Å"Please tell me you're joking,† Mark said. Mary-Lynnette just waved a hand at him. â€Å"Ican't-I need something to†¦hang on a sec.† Sheran into the kitchen and opened a drawer. She snagged a richly decorated sterling silver knife and ran back to the living room. â€Å"Okay,† she grunted as she pried Ethyl's teeth farther open. There wassomething in there-something like a flower, but black. She worked it out with her fingers. â€Å"Silence of the Goats,† Mark muttered. Mary-Lynnette ignored him, turning the disintegrating thing over in her hands. â€Å"It looks like aniris-but it's spray-painted black.† Jade and Rowan exchanged grim glances. â€Å"Wellthis has somethingto do with the Night World,† Rowan said. â€Å"If we weren't sure of that before, weare now. Black flowers are the symbols of the Night World.† Mary-Lynnette put the sodden iris down. â€Å"Symbols, like †¦ ?† â€Å"We wear them to identify ourselves to each other.You know, on rings or pins or clothes or things like that. Each species has its own kind of flower, andthen there are other flowers that mean you belongto a certain dub or family. Witches use black dahlias, werewolves use black foxglove; made vampires use black roses †¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"And there's a chain of dubs called the Black Iris,†Kestrel said, coming to stand by the others. â€Å"I know because Ash belongs to one.† â€Å"Ash†¦ † Jade said, staring at Kestrel with widegreen eyes. Mary-Lynnette sat frozen. Something was tugginginsistently at the corner of her consciousness. Some thing about a black design†¦. â€Å"Oh, God,† she said. â€Å"Oh, God-I know somebody who wears a ring with a black flower on it.† Everyone looked at her. â€Å"Who?† Mark said, at the same time as Rowansaid it. Mary-Lynnette didn't know which of them looked more surprised. Mary-Lynnette struggled with herself for a minute. â€Å"It's Jeremy Lovett,† she said finally. Not toosteadily. Mark made a face. â€Å"That oddball. He lives by himself in a trailer in the woods, and last summer †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Mark's voice died out. His jaw dropped, and when he spoke again, it was more slowly. â€Å"And last sum mer they found a body right out near there.† â€Å"Can you tell?† Mary-Lynnette asked Rowan qui etly. â€Å"If somebody's a Night Person?† â€Å"Well †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Rowan looked dismayed. â€Å"Well-not for sure. If somebody was experienced at shielding their mind †¦Well, we might be able to startle them into revealing something. But otherwise, no. Notfor certain. â€Å" Mark leaned back. â€Å"Oh, terrific. Well, I think Jeremy would make a great Night Person. Actually, so would Vic Kimble and Todd Akers.† â€Å"Todd,† Jade said. â€Å"Now, wait a minute.† Shepicked up one of the toothpicks that had been em bedded in the goat and stared at it. Rowan was looking at Mary-Lynnette. â€Å"No matterwhat, we should go and see your friend Jeremy. He'll probably turn out to be completely innocent-sometimes a human gets hold of one of our rings or pins, and then things get reallyconfusing. Especially if they wander into one of our dubs†¦.† Mary-Lynnette wasn't so sure. She had a terrible, terrible sick feeling. The way Jeremy kept to himself, the way he always seemed to be an outsider atschool–even his untamed good looks and his easy way of moving †¦ No, it all seemed to lead to one conclusion. She had solved the mystery of Jeremy Lovett at last, and it wasnot a happy ending. Kestrel said â€Å"Okay, fine; we can go check this Jeremy guy out. But what about Ash?† â€Å"What about Ash?† Rowan said. The last stake wasout. She gently turned one side of the rug over the body of the goat, like a shroud. â€Å"Well, don't you see? It's his dub flower. Somaybe somebody from his dub did it.† â€Å"Urn, I know I'm starting to sound like a brokenrecord,† Mark said. â€Å"But I don't know what you're talking about. Who's Ash?† The three sisters looked at him. Mary-Lynnette looked away. After so many missed opportunities, it was going to sound extremely peculiar when she casually mentioned that, oh, yes, she'd met Ash. Twice. But she didn't have a choice anymore. She had to tell. â€Å"He's our brother,† Kestrel was saying. â€Å"He's crazy,† Jade said. â€Å"He's the only one from our family who migh.know that we're here in Briar Creek,† Rowan said. â€Å"He found megiving a letter to Crane Linden to smuggle off the island. But Idon't think he noticedAunt Opal's address on it. He's not much good at noticing things that aren't about him.† â€Å"You can say that again,† Jade said. â€Å"All Ashthinksabout is Ash. He's completely self-centered.† â€Å"All he does is chase girls and party,† Kestrel said,with one of those smiles that made Mary-Lynnette wonder if she really disapproved. â€Å"And hunt.† ‘He doesn't like humans,†Jade said. â€Å"If he didn't like chasing human girls and playing with them, he'd probably be planning towipe out all the humans and take over the world.† â€Å"Sounds like a great guy,† Mark said. â€Å"Well, he's sort of conservative,† Rowan said. ‘Politically, I mean. Personally, he's–â€Å" â€Å"Loose,† Kestrel suggested, eyebrows up. â€Å"To put it mildly,† Jade agreed. â€Å"There's only onething he wants when he goes after human girls besides their cars, I mean.† Mary-Lynnette's heart was pounding. With every second that passed it was getting harder to speak up. And every time she took a breath, somebody else started talking. 0†³So, wait you think he did all this stuff?† Mark asked. â€Å"I wouldn't put it past him,† Kestrel said. Jade nodded vigorously. â€Å"But his own aunt ,†Mark said. â€Å"He'd do it if he thought the honor of the familywas involved,† Kestrel said. â€Å"Yes, well, there's one problem with all that,† Rowan said tightly. â€Å"Ash isn't here. He's in California.† â€Å"No, he's not,† Ash said casually, from the back ofthe living room.

Descriptive Essay - Original Writing - 1345 Words

Later that night, I was behind the wheel of my G-Wagon with Melissa in the passenger seat. She didn’t feel like driving since she was on the road all day and I understood so I didn’t mind when she asked me to. I had been tight-lipped. She kept eyeballing me as if she detected that something was bothering me but I just kept singing to my India Arie as if I was carefree. â€Å"So are you going to tell me what’s going on or no† Melissa said disrupting my own personal concert. I stopped singing and took a quick glance at her and placed my attention back on the road, â€Å"What?† Melissa stared at me, â€Å"I said are you going to tell me what’s going on or no?† Melissa had that authoritative sound in her voice. That toned that made my defenses come down†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"What if I told you that I had suspicions?† â€Å"Suspicions about what?† â€Å"About Paul† Melissa sat up in her seat, I could tell that her concerned demeanor was evolving into a mad black woman who was ready to take on the world just so that I wouldn’t hurt. I loved her for that. â€Å"Gay suspicions? Cheating suspicions?† she inquired. â€Å"No not gay but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Cheating† she blurted out as she finished my sentence, â€Å"I told you that he was no good. I told you but you said that he would never do that to you. You said that he was not your normal man, that he was one that would change the world.† â€Å"Please let’s not go into the I told you so’s, that is not why I told you.† â€Å"Do you have proof?† â€Å"Not hardcore proof no, just my womanly intuition.† â€Å"And you know good and well that the intuition never lies.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"So what do you want to do?† A few minutes went by. I went from the 270 highway onto the 71 North highway. We were headed towards the Polaris area for a night of live music and great company. Melissa stared at me. She was patiently waiting for the answer to her question. It was a question that I had to take time to ponder about it. It was not a question that I was ready to answer out loud to anybody not even myself. Melissa had blinked her eyes several times. Just when I thought that she was bored, she uttered out the same exact question to me, â€Å"What are you going to do?† â€Å"I don’t know.† â€Å"Have you at least thought about it?†