1st Annual GHS Open House Chair Race

Watch the exciting video of the 1st Annual GHS Open House Chair Race held on 9-21-11.
 

Jimmy Conners Rocked New York.

Twenty years ago, Jimmy Conners put on an electrifying 11 day performance at the US Open at the advanced tennis age of 39. Conners played the New York crowd like Eric Clayton plays guitar. I liked how Conners treated a tennis match like a battle that you spilled your guts to win. Conners was the Brett Favre of tennis, a gunslinger.

Tennis Championship Banners

I was in the Greenville High School gym today. I noticed that the Region 1 Championship and the Tri-County Championship for 2011 had been added to the Greenville Boys' Tennis banners. Looks great. It is a goal for the tennis team to add championships to the banners every year. Congratulations to the players who have made this possible.

Remembering the 2011 Championship Season for Greenville Tennis

The 2011 season for the Greenville Boys' Tennis Team was emotional to say the least. We lost our leader and #1 player, Jimbo Saxion, in an automobile accident at the beginning of the school year. Everyone loved Jimbo. It was hard to think about starting the tennis season. However, as we got closer to the beginning of the tennis season, I heard some of our seniors (like Kenny Surano and Sebastian Estrada) talking about how they couldn't wait to get the tennis season started. This motivated me to see if we couldn't find the strength within us to capture a 4th consecutive championship season. In the end, the team overcame the obstacles and stayed focused to go undefeated (12-0) in Region 1 and to capture our 3rd consecutive Region 1 Championship. Then the team battled to become Tri-County Champions for the third time in four years. Fittingly, we were co-champions of Tri-County with Kennedy Catholic. I will never forget this group of players who completed 4 for Jimbo.

Jimbo

GHS Boys' Tennis 2011

GHS Boys' Tennis 2011

 Jimbo was Garrett Fisher's best friend. Garrett has captured his thoughts on the loss of Jimbo (nearly one year later) and the amazing tennis season on his blog ripjs1.tumblr.com.

http://ripjs1.tumblr.com/post/8136779831/4forjimbo
http://ripjs1.tumblr.com/post/8136976621/this-was-after-zack-and-dans-win-against-their
http://ripjs1.tumblr.com/post/8081290306/remembering-a-legend

Singles Championship at Sharon Open 2011

 

In a sweat drenched two set match, I was able to beat Al Kelly 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win the Men's Intermediate Singles Championship at the 2011 Sharon Open at Buhl Park. This was a special win because it was the first tennis championship that my daughter watched me play.

Before the match, my 5 year old daughter hit a few tennis balls. I hope to win some mixed doubles championships with her some day.

Remember The Fun You Had As A Kid

Remember the fun you had playing board games as a kid? I get to see it through a new set of eyes.

Grand Finale Fireworks

 

Grand Finale Fireworks in Greenville, PA.

Who Does Federer Really Want To Win Wimbledon?

Federer is the all time Grand Slam leader with 16 titles. No current player is even close, except for Nadal with 10. It is clear that Federer will not be collecting Grand Slam titles at the pace he did for 6 glorious years. He may still have one or two left in him as he rapidly approaches the age of 30. Therefore, my thoughts are that Federer may secretly root for Djokovic and others (but not Nadal) to share future Grand Slam titles. No one is likely to catch Federer in Grand Slam titles except Nadal.

Sponge Bob - Rock Star

GHS Tennis Team 2011

GHS Tennis Team 2011

A couple of pictures of the Greenville High School Tennis Team getting ready for the  team photo for 2011.

TitleTown Wins 13th Championship!

The Lombardi Trophy returned to Green Bay as the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 in Super Bowl 45. In addition, the sports world witnessed a great performance by quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers is a superstar quarterback in the lineage of Brett Favre and Bart Starr. Vince Lombardi must be smiling!



Aaron Rodgers



Brett Favre



Bart Starr

Packers Fans in Steelers Country

The rare Packers fans at Greenville High School in Greenville, Pennsylvania. Two days before Super Bowl 45.

Practicing With Ustream

Trying to work out the details with ustream.

Super Bowl 45: A Long Time Coming

I have lived most of my life in Pittsburgh Steelers country. However, I lived in Green Bay Packers country (Racine, Wisconsin) when I was something like 4 and 5 years old. That was where I derived my allegiance to the Green Bay Packers.

Now we are on the verge of seeing Super Bowl 45, a matchup of two of the best franchises in all of sports. I have waited all my life to see a Packers-Steelers Super Bowl.

Repeatedly today, Steeler fans kept saying things like, "we're going to beat you." So the entire Steeler Army is seeking to beat me (a single person). If they must send their entire Army, then I accept their challenge. Go Pack Go!

Happy New Year

My family wishes you all a healthy, successful, and happy new year.

I also want to take the opportunity to remember all the loved ones that passed away in 2010.

Varsity G Club Volleyball Champions

Team JS1

Congratulations to Team JS1 for winning the Varsity G Club Volleyball Tournament on December 23. The team is named after Jimbo Saxion who passed away in an automobile accident in August. Jimbo was a senior at Greenville High School and my #1 tennis player.

Daddy the Hero!

 
 Today I spent about 5 hours fixing the family desktop computer. About 3.5 hours was spent on the phone consulting with computer specialists with Time Warner Cable. But finally, I was able to revive the computer. This made my 5 year old daughter very happy. She thinks I am a hero! That makes me feel better than winning a tennis tournament. Granted, I have never won the US Open!

Libertarian Party Co-Founder Dies

David Nolan, co-founder of the Libertarian Party, died recently in Arizona. Nolan helped create the Libertarian Party in 1971 in response to President Nixon's wage and price controls.



Nolan was also known for the Nolan Chart, which expands the way too simplistic left wing/right wing spectrum into more dimensions.

Showcasing The Work of Kris Chapman

I am using this blog entry to showcase the work of Kris Chapman. Kris has been conducting research with the University of Pittsburgh. Kris is a colleague of mine who teaches biology at Greenville High School in Greenville, PA. Kris is dedicated to quality teaching and the pursuit of learning.



The slideshow can be shown full screen. Also be sure to click on the slide to see the transitions that occur on each slide.

A copy of the Power Point presentation can be obtained by clicking HERE.

Testing Gone Wild

As a math teacher administering the Keystone Literature Exam to 11th grade students instead of teaching my AP Calculus and Trigonometry students, I felt compelled to post the following notice for my students on behalf of the state of Pennsylvania.