Rookie sensation OBJ to replace Megatron in Pro Bowl

Do they still have Classic Comic Books? They were great for doing book reports on books you didn't read

 

At my school and in my district, we've moved away from book reports at all. Rather, the students are asked to make deeper connections to (for instance) the characters and the way in which the author choose to portray them or how a major event in a piece of literature is related to other events in the "real world."

It's more in line with the way I was taught to approach literature in college. Straight recall of a text isn't as important as being able to pull universal themes from a piece.

 

Oh, so you used Cliffs Notes, so that @red55 would understand your question?

(He works at a college, so he probably would know about Spark Notes.)

 

He knows about sparking that's for sure.

 

And pitching woo

 

BOT:

How did Jerry Reese decide to draft Odell Beckham Jr.?
POSTED BY: ODELL BECKHAM JR inNEWS

I know I say this all the time but every day I'm honored and blessed to be a part of this organization. I couldn't have accomplished anything without the support of my teammates and all you fans. Been learning from some great receivers here and an all-time great in Coach Coughlin. Looking forward to putting in the necessary work this offseason and coming back ready to go next year and take this New York Giants team to the next level.


From Giants.com...

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Jerry Reese said today that Odell Beckham Jr. was “an easy pick” for the Giants in the first round of the NFL Draft but admitted the 2014 rookie sensation was not the team’s highest-graded receiver when the draft began. “We did not have Odell Beckham Jr. ahead of Sammy Watkins,” Reese said in an interview on New York all-sports radio station WFAN.

Obviously, neither did the Buffalo Bills, who traded their 2015 first-round choice to Cleveland so they could take Watkins with the fourth overall selection. Watkins played well, finishing with 65 catches for 982 yards and six touchdowns.

Beckham was taken by the Giants at No. 12 and went on to have the greatest season by a rookie wide receiver in NFL history. In 12 games, he caught 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns and set numerous league and franchise records.

“We really liked him,” Reese said. “We had him ranked up there really high. I can tell you this, we had him ranked inside our top 10 picks. We liked the big receiver that Tampa Bay took (Mike Evans). We liked him as well. We felt like Watkins would be gone. (Zack) Martin was there, the offensive lineman. He was a guy that we liked as well. We took the best player on our board at the time and that was Beckham. We thought he could be a game-changing type player. He has been that for us. He has a chance to really develop and be a dynamic player for a long time.

“We liked (Martin) as well. We had those guys ranked close together. We would have been happy taking him if he was the best player up there available, but anytime, I am speaking for myself, not just for our personnel department and our organization, anytime there is dynamic playmaker and a guard, I am taking the playmaker.”

Good thing he did. After missing the first four games with a hamstring injury, Beckham became the most dynamic and talked-about player in the NFL. He tied an NFL record with nine consecutive 90-yard games. Beckham finished the season with four consecutive games with at least 130 yards. He caught at least 10 passes in a game four times.

“He has a gifted skill set,” Reese said. “I said this in the press conference after the season, he has that ‘dog personality.’ What I mean by that is he has got the physical gifted skill set, a lot of guys have that, but they don’t have that dog mentality. He’s competitive; ‘you can put whoever you want on me out here, I am going to make plays, and I am going to make big plays, and I love the challenge.’ He relishes the challenge of ‘whoever you put on me, whatever I can do for my team.’ Even in practice, you really have to slow him down a little bit in practice, because on some days when we are three-quarter speed, he’s going warp speed.”

Reese said Beckham has another vital attribute for a special wide receiver.

“He’s got big hands,” Reese said. “He and Hakeem Nicks have similar hand size. Hakeem Nicks is a little thicker, bigger type of receiver. They are close to the same height, but Hakeem Nicks is a thicker-type player and they both have big hands. I have been around a long time, and really the hands and the ball skills, I don’t know if I have seen anybody with the ball skills that this kid has.”

Beckham’s signature moment was his incredible one-handed touchdown catch on Nov. 23 vs. Dallas, a grab that set the internet and television highlight shows abuzz for days.

“He makes catches in practice way more spectacular than some of the ones you see on Sunday,” Reese said.

Reese talked about several more players in a 29-minute interview.