The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

As the book progresses, it begins to talk more about the life of Michael Oher, and how his football career began. Oher was a poor, homeless African American boy who is taking in by a wealthy white family. While in high school, a big-time recruiter happen to come by one of Oher's football films. He had no idea who he was, but he saw something that nobody else seemed to see in Michael Oher. This recruiter, Lemmings, went to visit thousands of high school prospects and had thousands more begging him to watch their films or meet with them. So, to say the least, he was busy. However we he saw this tape of Michael Oher he knew that he could not just let this kid slip by him; he was the first one to see that Michael Oher had a chance to play professional football.

The Blind Side by Michael Lewis

This book is very interesting so far. The beginning of the book does not focus on the life of Michael Lewis and his football career. Instead it talks about before him, how the game of football evolved to become what it is today. It specifically talks about Lawrence Taylor and his career as a pro football player, and the impact he had on the rest of football. Lawrence Taylor used to play linebacker and was well-known for being a lunatic that did not seem to care about anything but getting to the quarterback, and hitting him as hard as he possibly could. He would tell anyone that he spoke to that he preferred to attack the quarterbacks "blindside" (the opposite side which the quarterback was looking). His logic for this was that if the QB doesn't see him coming, its only going to hurt more. Teams began to realize that if they couldn't stop Lawrence Taylor, it was very unlikely they could beat the Giants (the team Taylor played on in the 80's). So teams began to put a new type of player on the line of scrimmage, specifically on the side of the quarterback which became known as his blindside. This became known as the left tackle.

Crackback by John Coy

I completed this book last week. This was a terribly written book. It was a book about a football team, specifically one boy named Miles Manning, who knows they have a shot at winning states. In the last game, Miles make a play to win the game for his team by blocking the other teams field goal. Winning this game puts them in the state finals However, since his coach did not tell him to do this, he gets benched for the state finals' game. Not only was this book completely predictable, but it was also very poorly written. It was an easy read and I would not recommend this book to anyone of our age group.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

I am nearing the end of this book. Boobies Miles was never able to heal 100%. He was so angry over this that he decided to quit the team. Being around football for him only made his own struggles worse. Boobie knew he was born to play football, however he also knew that he wouldn't ever get a chance to after his injury.

One of the main motif's throughout the book is racism. This seems to be an issue throughout the entire book. In the small of Odessa, Texas, racism was a large part of peoples every day lives. It almost seemed as if people were used to it and were able to ignore it. For the football team, which consisted of players of all different races and ethnicities, racism was a major struggle. It seems as if as the book goes, the team learns how to deal with these issues. They begin to set an example to the rest of the town, because no matter what race or skin color, in order to win they must all work together, and thats all that matters. The football teams helps to unite the people of this small town in Texas, and see past the racial issues, and see what really matters.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

Boobie and his uncle go to the doctor after his knee injury during his scrimmage. They find out that his injury was more serious than both he and his trainer believed it to be. The doctor tells them that Boobie tore his ACL, and that their really is no way that Boobie will be able to play his senior year of football. Both Boobie and his uncle knew that not playing this year would completely destroy both of their dreams. Boobie's uncle is very emotional about this, he wants Boobie to make it to college as much as Boobie does which is why he is so upset. I think the main reason that Boobie and his uncle want it so bad is because they are living in a time and place were racism is still a very large issue. Being black at this time was very hard, and many times black people did not have many options. Which is why playing football would be a way for Boobie and his uncle to escape from it.

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

It still the pre season and scouts were beginning to look at one kid on the team, Booby Miles. He was an all star the previous season and his dream was to play in college, and one day, in the pros. Which is why Booby fully understood that his chances of playing in the pros depended on this season, his senior year. In the first scrimmage, Booby started out well. But then, on one good run, someone fell on his knee. Booby got up limping. As the doctor was evaluating him, he continuously asked, "how long will I be out for?" The doctor told him it could be 6-8 weeks. Booby knows that he does not have 6-8 weeks to waste if he ever wants to play college ball. So what should he do?

Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger

I just started this book and, so far, have only read the first chapter. The reason I chose this book is because I really enjoyed the book I was reading before this one, and therefore thought it would be a good idea to stick with sports related books. This book mainly focuses on a high school kid named Mike Riley. He is the quarterback of the football team, and, to say the least, is very good at what he does. Riley's life long dream has been to play football in college. And being that he does not come from a particularly wealthy family, playing football might be the only way for him to get to a good school. For Riley's first game, his coach pulled him into his office to tell him that their was going to be scouts at the game, watching him. Riley knew what he had to do, he also knew that his future depended on it.

Raiders Night By Robert Lipsyte

I am getting close to the end of the book, and it still seems to be getting better and better the more I read. Football camp has now ended and the real football season has begun for Matt. The only problem is, its hard for him to focus on football with all the other things going on. His old girlfriend Mandy is still an issue, although Matt does not seem to care much about that situation, he still wishes that he never had to see his father, and he has one other serious problem. Throughout the camp, the other co-captain, Ramp had been picking on the Chris (the new kid). Matt tried his best to look away from it, he wanted to tell Ramp to stop but knew that it would be better not to say anything. However, on the last night of camp Ramp went way out of line. Matt is really bothered by this and is unsure of what he should do, but he knows he has to do something.

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

So far, not much else has happened since the last blog posted on this book. Matt, the main character and a football player at Nearmont High School, went off to football camp for a week. However, before he left, he cheated on his girlfriend Mandy. Unfortunately she found out and he knows he going to have to talk to her when he gets home. As of right now Mandy seems to be Matt's biggest propblem. My prediction is that when Matt gets home, Mandy and him are going to break up. Matt has still been using steroids and other drugs almost everyday. This will probably have some sort of affect on him later on.

Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

Although I'm not very far into this book yet, I can already tell its going to be good, and would recommend it to anybody who likes sports-related books. It is mainly about a high school boy named Matt Rydek, who is co-captain of the Nearmont High football team and the starting quaterback, who plans to play at a division one college. However he has a secret that few people know about. He has an addiction to steroids, and he can't wait to go off to college just so he no longer has to see his evil father. This book has been getting better every page and I can't wait to find out more. So far things are not looking so good for Matt, and he has some serious problems he needs to deal with.

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Alcatraz, a maximum security prison, is home to many notorious criminals. However, it is also home to a young boy named Moose Flanagan. His dad, a guard at the prison, is the reason for him having to live on the island, and he does not like it at all. Living on the island is a lot for Moose to handle considering he is only 12, not to mention his parents put the burden of caring for his disabled sister mainly on him. However this story shows how different his life as a young teen is living on Alcatraz. He does manage to make a couple friends with the few other kids living on Alcatraz, he also manages to get himself in some trouble as the book goes on. I thought this book was a little bit boring and uneventful. It was also a very easy read, so if thats what you looking for, go ahead and give it a try.

A Million Little Pieces By James Frey

From the minute I read the first page I knew this book was going to be interesting. It starts with a man, James Frey, who wakes up on a plane to find his teeth missing, his nose broken and himself a total mess. He has no idea what is going on, nor does the reader, all that he does know is that he has been an alcoholic for the past 10 years and also struggled with a crack addiction for a long 3 years. He knows that if he doesn't start getting his life back on track, it is likely that he will not live much longer. This is why he checks in a rehab facility. This well-written memoir describes his stay at the rehab and shows James's struggle to put his life together. Although this book can be humorous at times, I would recommend it to those who like more serious types of books.