[danroy]

I'm not sure where you wanted me to post this, but i'll post some samples of my published writings here. All come from the school newspaper, so if you'd like want to give me a prompt and see how I write that'd be fine.

I'm actually going to post them tomorrow, so feel free to move this around.

[danroy]

Here's some stuff

Sports Column about the Lions, a couple games into the season.

In a city deeply rooted with winning sports franchises, the Detroit Lions are a dim spot in a rather bright sports city. The Lions have taken a backseat to the recent success of the Tigers, Red Wings, and Pistons. All of these Detroit teams have won a championship, or appeared in the finals in the past five years. The farthest the Lions have got in the playoffs was the 1991 NFC Championship, were they got stomped 41-10 by the Washington Redskins. Even with perhaps one of the greatest running backs of all time, Barry Sanders, the Lions never got a sip of the post Super Bowl champagne. When Matt Millen, someone who has never had any business experience or football business at that, became the organization’s president in 2001, the Lions had a string of terrible regular season performances followed by high draft picks. With all these high draft picks, the Lions picked busts like Joey Harrington, Mike Williams, and Charles Rogers.
Things are beginning to look upward though, going undefeated in their first two games, despite being crushed in their third game against a 0-2 Philadelphia Eagles team. Although losing by an embarrassing 35 points, a few things must be taken into account. Firstly, the Eagles are not an 0-2 quality team, with McNabb and Westbrook, the Eagles have been among the best in the NFC the last few years. Secondly, the offense was there, but the defense was not. Jon Kitna threw for 446 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Roy Williams also had a career day with nine receptions and 204 yards. Another highlight of a rather embarrassing loss was the return of Kevin Jones. He only had three rushing attempts but one resulted in a touchdown.
With the conductor of the best show on turf in St.Louis running the now electric Lions offense, hope arises. The Lions only real strong point is their offense where their playmakers lay. Dubbed as “Next” by that short guy in the ESPN magazine commercial, rookie Calvin Johnson looks to only improve this threatening offense. Calvin Johnson weighs in at 6-5, 239 pounds, has a 40-yard dash of 4.35 seconds, and can jump up 42.5 inches. Mr. Miner, who we all love and appreciate, could be the Lions quarterback and Calvin Johnson would catch the ball. Never has the NFL seen such an impressive array of height, speed, and jumping ability. This kid will be absolute money in years to come. He’s much like Randy Moss in his physical attributes and abilities, but with better character. If there’s anyone that can help replace the legacy of Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson is that man. Johnson had 70 yards and 1 touchdown in his very first NFL game against the team with the #1 passing defense, Oakland Raiders. Then in his second NFL game Johnson recorded four receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown. If that isn’t enough, Johnson also had his first NFL career rush that would set up the game winning field goal in overtime. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, Johnson got a first down every time he touched the ball. Calvin’s third game however, didn’t have quite the rewards of his prior two games. After making a great catch on a 39 yard pass, Johnson hurt his lower-back and did not play the rest of the game. If Calvin keeps his pace and stays healthy, look for him to take home the rookie of the year award.
Also helping in the Lion’s favor is their weak NFC North division, including the Packers, Vikings and Bears. While the Bears were at the Super Bowl last year, the Vikings and Packers do not look impressive. Even against the NFC champions, I think the Lions may fair at least somewhat of a chance. The Bears offense is less than exciting, with the turnover machine Rex Grossman throwing the ball, and the so far unimpressive Cedric Benson running the ball. As long as the Lions can score two touchdowns, which is a huge feat in itself against the Bears, the Lions defense may be able to hold the Bears. Although I never really hold too much hope for that happening, it’s always possible.
The most important thing to remember is that the Lions have struggled, for a very long time. So it wouldn’t be surprising for them to struggle again this year. However, things can only go up from here, and maybe this year may be the year that things begin to go upwards.

A quick Halo review I had to do on deadline

Halo 3 – A first glance
Have friends been missing lately? Walk around neighborhoods with no one playing outside? End up playing catch all by yourself? It’s not because you smell bad, it’s just that the presumably last installment of the Halo video games just came out Tuesday September 25th.
Being the latest big title game released lately, Halo 3 comes in with massive expectations. With Halo 2 being the most popular game on Xbox Live and the original Halo being titled the “best game on Xbox ever” ever, along with winning the Interactive Achievement’s award for best overall game of the year, Halo 3 has a lot to live up to.
Being on the Xbox 360 helps the game immensely, and Halo 3 takes full advantage of the power and capabilities of the system. The graphics are a great upgrade from the previous releases, and with the new ability to save your replays, you can show your friends just exactly how you killed them. The environment is much more active as objects and your surroundings react to lighting, wind, and being close to bullet fire. Maps vary in size and elements, and each have their own unique identity. The one downfall to this is that it takes a little longer to load than one would expect, however it’s nothing that will ruin one’s experience.
Of course what matters most is the game play. The biggest addition to the campaign mode this year is the four player co-op, either all on one system or over Xbox Live. Levels have less tedious back tracking which helps the flow of the game. Making a comeback is the assault rifle from the original Halo, but that’s not to say there are no good new weapons. The Covenant side sees many new and interesting weapons to add to your arsenal, and perhaps one of the more fun additions are the more non-shooting weapons. If you were a fan of the sword in Halo 2, you’ll love these.
For everyone who has played the other two Halo games, they know that Halo is all about the multi-player. With each new game it gets better and better, and the pattern does not stop here. Players now have more customizable options than ever before. With the ability to tweak and create custom maps, either before or during a match, look for Halo 3 to be even more popular than Halo 2 was, if you can imagine. The current set of maps offer quite a variety, which should keep things interesting for a long time to come.
All together, after playing the game the day it came out, Halo 3 is easily the best game on Xbox 360 as of now. It has even more playability than the last two games, and more features and capabilities. This is the kind of game you will find yourself still playing two years from now. With that in mind, Halo 3 gets a nine out of 10 in my book.
9/10

Short review on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

“I watch it because of the hot girl,” said Vic Singh (12). If that alone doesn’t make you want to watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, don’t worry because there’s much more to offer than a hot girl.
In the current age of technology, television has expanded each and every year. With more and more channels offering more specialized programming, it’s not always easy finding just a quality comedy. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a comedy on FX currently in its third season, is the antidote for the rest of the painfully excruciating modern comedies that flood the current TV scene.
Dubbed as “Seinfeld on crack,” by www.imdb.com, It’s Always Sunny has taken the media by storm. In 2006 It’s Always Sunny made history as it became the first FX created comedy that was given a second season. With many episodes dealing with abortion, women’s rights, homelessness and faking cancer so your friends like you, this program fits perfectly in FX’s lineup of shows with an edge (e.g., The Shield, Rescue Me).
Perhaps one of its greatest assets is its perfect cast. A set of five friends, including a pair of siblings, a guy that is believed to be mentally challenged and illiterate, a jerk who only had friends in high school because he sold marijuana, and one short estranged Dad (played by Danny Devito) co-own a bar together in Philadelphia. That by itself is pretty funny, but faced with situations and feuds within their group; it’s the instant oatmeal mix of comedy. Although it is about as politically incorrect as it can get, it’s not tasteless. It has reached that almost impossible level of comedy where being politically incorrect can be amusing.
“How did this all start?” you ask. According to www.avid.com, the company that provides the editing program the show uses, the three main male characters (Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton) had a total of $200 budget and one digital camcorder. With an insanely low budget and technology that can be found in high school film class, the pilot was impressive enough to be awarded one season on FX.
So next time you’re all alone on a Thursday night, endlessly pondering your search for potential entertainment, look no further than FX at 10:00 p.m. Don’t worry about the sudden disappointment that comes with the realization that the show is over, because there lies hope. Hope in the form of a second episode, directly after the first one.

My second column of the year, before the Colts game.

Generally in the world of sports, one can never be sure about anything. However, I can boldly say that I am sure that the New England Patriots will win the Super Bowl. The Pat’s bandwagon has been rolling along comfortably for years now, though they may need a few extra wagons for their success so far this season. The Patriots have not just gone undefeated in their first 6 games; they have outright pounded every team on the way, averaging about 40 points a game. None of their games have even been close; the Cleveland Browns got the closest to winning coming up 17 points behind the Pats. Their offense is in the top five of almost every aspect, including passing, and points for (they’re 7th in the league at rushing). With the key new offensive additions of Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth, Tom Brady is looking better than he ever has. Brady broke a record for most consecutive games with 3 touchdown passes, reaching six against the Dallas Cowboys. Then the week after throwing five touchdowns against the Cowboys, Brady threw a career high six touchdowns against the Dolphins. As good as their offense is, it can be argued that their defense is as good, or better than their offense. Their defense also ranks in the top 5 of the main categories including passing yards against, rushing yards against, and points against. With a solid group of linebackers lead by the highly regarded Adalius Thomas, and Mike “all I do is catch touchdowns” Vrabel, opponents have found it nearly impossible to score against them. Many people attributed their surge of success to their easy opponents, which an argument could be made for that case. However all that was washed away when the Pats beat the undefeated Dallas Cowboys 48-27. Regarded as the best game of the season thus far, the Pats started strong and never let go, doing the exact same thing to the Cowboys that they have done to their previous 5 opponents. Perhaps the X-factor of the whole thing is Coach Bill Belichick, even with the whole video taping scandal with Belichick, the Pats have looked determined to win each and every game, looking to score each and every play. The only team that I can see as competition to the Patriots is the Indianapolis Colts, who are also undefeated. Funny enough, week 9 is going to be the biggest regular season match-up with the Colts and the Patriots. The Colts and the Patriots always host instant classics, and this could be their biggest regular season game to date. Though I just can’t see the Colts coming away with this one, the Colts defense just isn’t enough to stop the potent Patriots passing attack. The Patriots have a real chance of being only the second team in NFL history to go undefeated this year. The only thing that can stop them so far is themselves. Seemingly unstoppable so far, I will never bet against them, and neither should you.

If you want any more let me know.

[MrSandMan]

Nice work. So do you play guitar? What kind of music do you listen to?

[danroy]

Yeah I play, though not religiously or anything, just like to have fun with it.

I like tons of music, classic rock, jam bands, modern rock, folk, some classical, techno, and even some rap.