Why I Love the Final Four!

By Sean Coffey

Well, it’s here. The second most televised event of the year: The Final Four.

Personally, this is one of my favorite times of year, because you have the Final Four, followed by The Masters Golf Tournament and the beginning of Major the League Baseball season concurrently.

Millions of people all around the U.S. savor the head to head battles of the four best college basketball teams in the country. This year, the resurgent Villanova Wildcats have surprised everyone in their march to the Final Four. The team rolled right over UCLA and Duke, while Michigan State, led by Tom Izzo, beat the number one overall seeded Louisville Cardinals. In addition, both UConn and the University of North Carolina are in, both top seeded in their division.

Personally, this year’s tournament and last year’s tournament have somewhat put a damper on my love for college basketball. Since the 11 seeded George Mason Patriots made the final four in 2006, there really have not been any “Cinderella” basketball teams in the championship battles. 

Last year, for the first time ever, all four of the top seeded teams made the final four. I think that the point of the final four is to excite people with the hope of an upset. Unfortunately, that hope seems to be diminishing with each new season.

Nevertheless, the Final Four remains one of the most beloved events of the entire year, one that people, myself included, look forward to all year long.

From a viewer’s standpoint, the passion of every single game, especially in the Final Four when the stakes are the highest, truly symbolizes the love of the game that all of these young men from these four teams share. 

Final Four Are In!

March Madness has come to an end and it’s time for the final four college basketball teams to compete and determine the champion.  The madness began with 64 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) teams; in April, it comes down to the Final Four.

On Saturday, April 4, the Connecticut Huskies will face the Michigan State Spartans to see who will go to the finals. That game begins at 6:07 P.M. Eastern Time.

Thirty minutes after the end of that game, the Villanova Wildcats will play North Carolina Tar Heels on the same court. The two winners will go on to play in a final on Monday, April 6.

The teams will go head to head in Detroit, Michigan, which is almost home turf for the Spartans.

Kid Reporter Sean Coffey has been following the action. He was in Dayton, Ohio, on March 22, for the game between Ohio State and Siena College. Read another of Sean's stories on the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament here.

Get in on the action, and send in your best predictions and favorite moments by clicking on “Comment” at the end of this blog post.

Get In On the Excitement!

by Kid Reporter Sean Coffey

Late on a Friday night in Dayton, Ohio, basketball became the talk of the town. With just over 10 seconds left in this first round NCAA tournament game, Siena College’s Ronald Moore hit a three-pointer to tie the game.

Jubilation turned to agony for the more than 14,000 red-draped Ohio State fans. Moore, a 6-foot twig of a guard for Siena College, had ripped victory from their grasp as he dribbled the ball down the court and around Ohio State’s defense for the throw.

In overtime, the Buckeye faithful stayed on their feet, rooting for their team to hold on to its one-point lead. Then here comes Moore—again.

He blazed through a couple of defenders, stopped and pulled up to hit yet another three-point shot. This one just beat the buzzer to put the Siena College Saints into the next round.

Vastly outnumbered, Siena fans jumped and shouted in ecstasy, even as disappointed Ohio State fans trudged toward the exits.

This is what March Madness and NCAA basketball is all about. Teams like Siena College, with an enrollment of only 3,000, beating a big-time school like Ohio State with an enrollment of 61,000.

Two days later, however, Siena met its match against the No. 1 ranked team in the country, the Louisville Cardinals.

After the game, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was asked what he considers to be the best part of March Madness. Pitino smiled.

“Having nervous breakdowns in games like this with three minutes left," Pitino said.

It is not only the teams and the games that make March Madness so special, but the passion expressed on and off the court by both the fans and players.

Sure, the games are great, but who doesn’t love that win-or-you’re-out intensity of every single game?

Who doesn’t become immediately captivated watching a favorite team fight its way to the ranks of the best teams in the country?

March Madness grabs more viewers than any other sporting event in the country, with one exception: the Super Bowl.

“I think that the ‘one loss and done’ mentality is really what draws the fans,” said Louisville guard Edgar Sosa. “I mean, it’s the survival of the fittest. If you win, you get to live another day.”

One of the other reasons March Madness is so wildly popular is the brackets!

Brackets is the popular term for the chart fans use to pick their winners and losers in every game played over the three-week period.

More than 100,000,000 Americans fill out brackets every year, according to a poll by USA Today. The best part about brackets is anyone can get in on the action, whether it’s the President of the United States, or a 5th grader in rural America.

Another attraction is the Cinderella aspect. Small teams like Siena College are often overlooked throughout the season. March Madness gives them a chance to shine. Every team, no matter how big or how small, gets the opportunity to leave make its mark on history, to rise up, to win.

As Oklahoma State’s James Anderson playfully puts it, “Anything can happen in March.”

Witness to the Best of Humanity

By Scholastic Kids Reporter Danielle Azzolina

Yesterday I had the chance to witness the best of humanity.  I saw kindness and tremendous good and met truly amazing people and I was very inspired. I hope when you read this story you will be too.

I attended the 11th Annual Awards ceremony given by The World of Children Organization which was held at UNICEF House located at UN Plaza in New York City.

The awards were the “Nobel Prize for Children” awards and this year there were eight honorees, three received Health Awards, three received Humanitarian Awards and two were Youth Award winners.

World of Children is an amazing organization founded ten years ago by Mr.Harry Leibowitz and Co-Founder Mrs. Kate Leibowitz. The World of Children recognizes and supports ordinary people doing extraordinary work on behalf of children around the world.  WOC wanted to create international acclaim for individuals who are devoting their lives to making the world a better place for children.

Mr. Harry Leibowitz and Mrs. Kate Leibowitz are the Co-Foundes and Mr. Leibowitz is the Chairman.  The Honoray International Chairperson is Muhammad Ali.  The organization has very accomplished individuals on their board.

This year there were eight honorees. They are Rita Conceicao from the Country of Brazil a Humanitarian Award winner, Richard (Ricky) Anywar from the Country of Uganda one of the Humanitarian winners, Dr. Edward Zigler of the US (originally from my state of New Jersey I’m proud to say.) received one of the Humanitarian Awards, Tibebe Macco of Ethiopia was a Health Award winner, Dr. Jumana Odeh from Palestine was also a Health Award winner, Frank Brady from the US was a Health Award winner and the two Youth Award winners are Talia Leman from Iowa and Darius Weems from Athens, Georgia.

Here are their stories and why they so deserve the awards that were given to them today.

Dr. Odeh who wept when accepting her award is an amazing person.  She has spent her lifetime in her native Palestine helping children with disabilities.  Children with disabilities are not valued very much in this Country.  Dr. Odeh is trying to change that one child at a time.  She started the “Palestinian Happy Child Center” in 1994 to help children from the impoverished Ramallah area receive treatment for trauma and neurological disorders and also to help them learn and develop in spite of their disabilities. Hopefully Dr. Odeh is helping the Country see the value of all children.

Tibebe Maco spends her life helping orphans who dwell in the poorest areas of Ethiopia.  She is a children’s rights advocate and fights for these children to receive health care, education, food and shelter.  She is the director of Hiwot Hiv/AIDS Prevention, Care and Support Organization HSPCSO.  She even works with the children inflected with the Aids virus and spends all of her own money on these children, no wonder they call her their angel.

Frank Brady after a serious illness of his own created the Medical Missions for Children MMC in 1999.  His foundation helps children around the world receive adequate medical care they would otherwise not be able to have.  His foundation enables pediatric specialist to remotely examine and diagnose critically ill children from anywhere on the globe. How does he do this? By video conferencing and remote diagnostic equipment.  MMC has helped with the care of children in over 100 countries.  MMC also operates the Medical Broadcasting Channel (MBC) a global TV network which provides medical symposia to hospitals, 750 hospitals in china.

Richard (Ricky) Anywar from Uganda was abducted at 14 years old as many children are in that part of the world.  Along with other children he was forced to fight in the LRA  (Lord Resistance Army).  He experienced terrible things before he was able to escape. He is the founder of Friends of Orphans Organization which helps former LRA children with help of their basic human needs and also with their development and empowerment and counsel to help them overcome their experience and to be positive members of society.  I asked Ricky where he gets the strength to have overcome what has happened to him and how he escaped his situation. Ricky said, “Getting out of the war zone helped me and my personal resilience which I have, helped me out. Because when I was in the bush I was thinking, no I don’t want to be here. And I saw what they were doing to the children it created a great sympathy in my mind for the children, so when I came out I was taken to central Uganda to a very peaceful area.  But still my mind was thinking of the children who were left behind.  I keep thinking about those who were still under abduction and terror, those who could not get sleep like myself because I was sleeping well at least in central Uganda with no fear of abduction.  So when I finished my University I decided to go back and help these children and that’s exactly what I’m doing now.  I’ll tell you a little bit about my experience what we experienced in the bush, personally I fought many, many wars. I went through spray bullets and bombs and it was so scary. They never wanted us to escape. I remained in there, forcefully so when I managed to escape and this is why I’m helping the children.”

Rita Conceicao  grew up in a very bad place.  She grew up in the notorious shantytowns of Brazil. These places are violent and impoverished.  Girls are not treated well there.  Rita is the co-founder of Bahia Street, a place where the girls who live in the shantytowns can go to be safe. Bahia Street is a school serving Brazilian-African girls who have had a very bad life. Bahia Street provides girls with an education, health care, good nutrition and emotional support.  It sounds like an oasis of safety.

I also spoke with Talia Leman one of the Youth Award winners.  Talia is only 13 years old but has accomplished so much already.  Her organization “RandomKid” has raised over ten million dollars to help kids in more than 48 states in the US and 19 countries to develop solutions to real world problems. One project helped by RandomKid was a school that was built in Cambodia for 300 children.  The organization also helped fund and refurbish a school for 200 kids in Slidell, Louisiana.  They also provided interactive play centers which serve over 500 hospitals for kids in Iowa.  In far away places like Africa they provide funds to buy water pumps.  An amazing accomplishment at any age!  I asked Talia what advice she would offer to other kids who like to help kids in need.  She said, “Well, I’d say the first thing would be to find an adult and tell them your idea.  Because they’re really the people who can help and from there I think it can just really take off.” I asked her if she ever dreamed when she started that she would be so successful and would be able to do all that the foundation has.  “No, I really didn’t. I did a project called TLC which meant Trick or Treat for the Levy Catastrophe. Where kids would trick or treat for coins along with getting candy.  My goal was to raise one million dollars.  That seemed really high but when you reach a goal you always wind up reaching higher and we actually raised ten million dollars.” The money RandomKid raised provided help to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Dr. Edward Zigler helped to found Project Head Start which has helped children in America and thousands across the world. Project Head Start, by early childhood intervention helps educate children in their early learning years.  He was also part of the development of the Parents as Teachers National Center PATNC, which is a program that helps more than two million children in all 50 states in America and also in nine other countries.  This program emphasizes equality of opportunity in the early years of kids regardless of where they live or how much money they have or anything else, it helps just because they’re kids who need it.  Dr. Zigler himself has provided health, education and social and emotional well being of children in America and thousands of kids worldwide over five decades! I really enjoyed speaking with him.  I was curious to know how the idea for Head Start began and how he began working with other countries, so I asked Dr. Zigler and he said, “We had some programs in this Country before Head Start.  Head Start expanded earlier programs that were just about education. So the idea was to give children a heads start before they entered school. So that they could do well in school along with other children who weren’t poor. So with project Head Start we provided, in addition to preschool education, physical and mental help and social services. The idea was to help support poor children before they entered school.”

When I spoke with Darius Weems I couldn’t help but notice he always had a smile.  Even though he has a terrible disease that is fatal and he has many difficulties, he is very positive.  I know he was very moved by the award.  His words broke up and he bowed his head and a few tears of joy ran down his face as he accepted the medal he deserves.  He said, “Wow, this is amazing, thank you, thank you. Even though we are doing different things the main goal we all share is to help children and it’s my pleasure to help children. From people helping me it gave me motivation to help other people. It’s crazy to be able to receive an award for something that’s my pleasure, helping children. This award will help carry on my story.  This day right here, it has made me very proud.  I hope my courage will help other people want to keep on going in life. The World of Children it helps change people lives, thank you, thank you.” Darius is 19 years old and he has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).  DMD is a horrible genetic disease that takes the life of people who have it usually before they turn thirty.  Even though Darius’s muscles have almost fully deteriorated he found the strength and courage with the help of 11 friends to travel across the country to spread awareness of this disease.  While traveling across the country Darius and his friends made a movie about it called, “Darius Goes West:The Roll of His Life”.  Darius uses a wheelchair.  His film has won 25 awards worldwide and 20 of them are Audience Choice Awards.  He has raised more than one million dollars for DMD research.  The grant funds Darius was awards from World of Children as a “Nobel Prize for Children” youth winner was donated by him to the Charley’s Fund an organization dedicated to finding a cure.  Darius also draws strength from the memory of his brother, Mario, who passed away six years ago of the same disease.  I asked Darius where he gets the strength to do what he does and he replied, “Watching what my brother went through and seeing what he went through gave me the motivation to try to help others so hopefully they wont have to go through the same things” Darius also said that having other people helping and supporting him has given him the courage and desire to help others. His strength also comes from his love of his family and friends.

The last person I spoke with was the beginning of it all, Mr. Harry Leibowitz I really wanted to know how he got the concept for the foundation and how it all started out, I asked him that question and he answered, “Well it started in 1996 when I had cancer.  I was very sick and I was on a lot of medications and chemotherapy and I had had surgery due to the cancer. So I was sitting at home all by myself, I was alone, I wasn’t married at the time and I watching TV and they were giving out Pulitzer Prizes, which are prizes for art and litature.  It just struck me that there were prizes for art and lititure, science and economics but no prizes for children. That’s what got me started. You know children are so important we should have prizes for children if we’re going to have prizes for everything else. That’s how it started.”  I told him I agree children are very important!

World of Children foundation is a great thing.  It’s good to say thank you and to show appreciation to people who are making such an incredible difference in the world by helping it’s future, the children.

After having a chance to interview some of the honorees I reflected back to an interview I did with NBC anchor, Mr. Lester Holt. I had asked him who he enjoyed interviewing the most. He said, “Ordinary people, people with amazing stories to tell…” He said those were the stories that linger with you for a long time.  I understand that now.

I know I felt honored and comfortable at this event, it was so nice to be in a place where everyone valued children and everyone was nice, positive and helpful.  It was also nice to know that people care in so many places of the world. I thought how great it would be if EVERY kid in the world felt just like I did at this event.

Hurricane Ike Updates

By Kid Reporter Brittney Sheena

Hurricane Ike pounded the Texas coastline with devastating wind and rain.

Although many people who were encouraged to seek safer shelter left, not all residents listened to the warnings. On Friday, there were still about 90,000 people who chose to ride out the storm in their homes.

Mayor Bill White of Houston visited a apartment complex where the residents did not have a place to go or transportation. He actually told them to pack some clothes and food and he sent a bus to pick them up and take them to a shelter.

Not all people listened though, so we are still waiting on what has happened to those people.

In Houston, much of the city is without power. We have been calling and texting all morning to find out how our friends and family did overnight.

In Meyerland, my friends watched throughout the night. At first 300,000 people were without power. Then there were 500,000.  At 1 AM, the lights flickered and then finally went out. My friend was blogging about the storm on the Houston Chronicle website, until they finally lost power.

In Bellaire, where we live, the power went out around 6PM.

In the aftermath today, there is a lot of damage. Many trees are down. A famous restaurant, Brennan's of Houston, burned. Two people inside sustained severe burns and are at the hospital. The bayous are flooding and many roads are covered with water.

We are now watching and waiting to see what happens next.

Two Beams of Blue

By Danielle Azzolina

As I drove back home from Manhattan Wednesday, I noticed the two beams of light stretching up into the sky from the site of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. They looked like they stretched right up to heaven. The way the two lights reflected off a cloud in the sky, it looked like two eyes watching over the site. It was an amazing thing to see. I watched it out the back window of our car until I couldn’t see them anymore.

I was going home after hearing President Bill Clinton talk to families of the victims at an event on the evening before the 7th anniversary of 9/11/2001. I thought he was very genuine and nice, and I could tell that he truly cared about the families and victims of 9/11.

Clinton spoke at the Voices of September 11th “Day of Remembrance event, held at the Marriott Hotel in New York City not far from Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers stood. He was there to listen to the families of the victims, to hear their stories, and to find out how they are doing now.

The 41st President talked about how important it is to record the stories and events of that day. He asked the family members to think about how they want their friends and family members to be remembered. He said that their stories should be recorded and that people 100 years from now will be reading about them and the day of 9/11/2001 in America. He said remembering this day is important to America.

He mentioned how on that day the country was united and it seemed that the whole world was with us. I could tell that he wished that that was still true now.

Clinton also said it was important to keep the scholarship fund going for children of the victims. He said he had raised a lot of money for the fund and that he cared about it very much. 

When he was finished speaking a woman pleaded with him to help her and others find remains of the unfound victims—the ones still somewhere at the site or in a landfill on Staten Island. He let her come up to speak with him, and he really listened to what she had to say. I could tell from her voice that she was upset. I felt sorry for her. She has been upset for a long time because it was seven years ago! I hope she gets help and all the other families do too.

I spoke with a fireman who was at the event. I asked him if he was there on that day seven years ago. He told me that he was. He was with a small group and he witnessed a lot. He told me that it was true that some victims have never been found. I thought about that all the way home.

I think it’s important to always remember what happened on 9/11/2001 and to show the families that we haven’t forgotten them. I think President Clinton’s visit with the families, and his speech at the event must have comforted the families and shown them that America will never forget this tragedy.

He said that the attack was not a religious attack but a political one. He mentioned that many different kinds of people died that day and people from many different religions.

I was able to ask President Clinton a question for Scholastic News. I asked him, “What has been the most important thing our government has done since 9/11/2001 to prevent another terrorist attack?”  He said working with other countries and sharing information was a very important thing in stopping terrorist attacks.

"We ought to be about the business of making a world with more partners and fewer terrorists," he said. “There are literally thousands of people, Americans and others, who work on this, and they all work together and share information all around the world. That's the model of what we're going to have to do more of.”

I felt it was an honor to be there and to meet President Clinton. This is another day I will never forget.

(A short test of the "Tribute in Light" illuminates the sky over the World Trade Center site Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008 in New York. The Tribute in Light will be turned on for the evening of Thursday, Sept. 11, in honor of those who lost their lives seven years ago in the terrorist attacks on the United States. Credit: ©Mark Lennihan/AP Images)

Beijing will be exciting! New Olympic sports to debut in August

From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Joe Wlos

All right, it looks like this is the end of the Olympic Media Summit. I've learned a lot of great things from the athletes, and some of the last were the best. The last athletes were part of BMX Biking. This is one of the newest sports in the Olympics and the athletes are very excited about their rising sport.

"I'm real thrilled that BMX is finally a part of the Olympics. My dream of possibly being a gold medalist can finally become a reality," said Donnie Robinson, the 3rd ranked rider in the world.

BMX is a fast paced sport that can often result in injuries. Another rider, Mike Day, jokingly wondered if he would still be able to walk at the end of his sporting career. But Nike's gear is something that keeps the athletes safe. They all believed that Nike had great products such as a shoe that connects to their bike so that they don't fly off when they crash. Falling off your bike and being run over by riders going 45 mph is definitely something that you don't want to experience.

BMX is a growing sport that hopes to use the Beijing Olympics as a coming out party, just as the Chinese Government does.

Over the course of the Summit, we talked to both indoor and beach volleyball. In beach volleyball, the women have a partner, while indoors volleyball involves a whole team. They also play in extremely different atmospheres. Although sports may seem similar, they can sometimes be vastly different in interesting ways.

Table Tennis is another sport that is drastically different than its sister sport, Tennis. In fact, Jun Gao, a table tennis player, said that she had never even played outdoor tennis before!

Besides summer athletes, I talked to winter speed skaters too. The speed skaters were both very young and they said that  they are currently preparing for the 2010 Olympics. But they came to the summit to learn what meeting the press and communicating with fans indirectly is like. They both had a lot of fun and hope to see the Beijing Olympics on TV.

The Beijing Olympics are sure to be a great showcase for American athletes who wish to prove themselves. It will not only be a coming out party for China, but also for many American rookies. I'm sure they'll perform well!

Disabilities don’t hold these Olympians back

From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Allie Sakowicz

The afternoon session featured athletes from the Paralympics and BMX, the newest sport to be added to the Olympic Games. One thing that I noticed this afternoon is the fact that all of the athletes are so determined to succeed. This was especially true with the athletes from the Paralympics, who are not hindered by their disabilities.

Joshua Olson was very interesting to me because he said that his injury turned out to be “a blessing in disguise.” Without it, he said, he wouldn’t have been able to travel around the world and participate in the Paralympics.  Olson would be the first active-duty soldier to compete in the Paralympics. 

Another trait that I noticed throughout the day was a sense of humor. All of the athletes in the Paralympics were extremely fun to be around and joked with us throughout their interviews.  I found them to be very inspiring, and their advice echoed throughout the room: Just because you have a disability doesn’t mean that you can’t do the things that able-bodied athletes do.

Scott Winkler, an Iraq War veteran and Paralympian, holds the world record for shot put.  He is inspired by other people who have disabilities, and is currently the hospital chairman of the Paralyzed Veterans Association, which helps disabled veterans live a normal life. When we were taking pictures with him, he pulled a shot put out of his backpack and handed it to me like it was a regular ball. It was HEAVY!

All in all, it was a very fun day here at the Olympic Media Summit. I got to meet many Olympic hopefuls, and I can’t wait to watch them compete in Beijing! 

Allie Sakowicz with Iraq War veteran and Paralympian Scott Winkler at the Olympic Media Summit in Chicago, Illinois, April 16, 2008. (Photo by Suzanne Freeman)

Hard work (and broken furniture) leads to Olympic dreams

From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Joe Wlos

Olympic athletes all have someone who inspires them to carry on in their sport. Many say their inspiration comes from their parents. Some of their parents encouraged them to start the sport to get them away from the furniture!

"I used to have a lot of energy when I was a kid, jumping and bouncing around on my mom's furniture and she didn't want me to kill myself, so she got me involved in sports," said gymnast Shawn Golden.

Other parents encouraged their young athletes to stay in the sport no matter how hard it was. These athletes depended on their families for inspiration, and they've decided that they want to be inspirations for other people too.

To pass on their inspiration they  have chosen professions where they can help people like grade school teachers. Many of their students find it very exciting to be taught by Olympians who compete in fencing or track and field events. Their students probably have very exciting lessons!

Today, athletes have also told us how much work it takes to be a participant in the Olympics. Some of them leave their jobs, and begin training every single day for hours at a time. Also, the athletes

Reese Hoffa, who participates in shot put, said that the most difficult part of sports is "probably the travel. When I first started out, I loved seeing all the other countries," he said. "But now that I'm married, I just like to stay home as much as possible."

Being an Olympic athlete isn't all about the fun and games. A lot of work goes into to being a success!

Gymnast Sean Golden (center) with Joe Wlos and Allie Sakowicz.(Photo by Suzanne Freeman)

What the athletes have in common: desire to win!

From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Allie Sakowicz

Hello Scholastic Kids!  We are here in Chicago at the Olympic Media Summit for yet another day of exciting athlete interviews. The experience of being in the room with such remarkable athletes has been very exciting.  The men and women that have come through the room so far have a real chance of winning a medal in Beijing. 

All of the athletes that Scholastic interviewed came from unique situations. Lashinda Demus is a mother of twins. Tim Morehouse was a 7th grade teacher for Teach For America. Nicole Davis has a black belt in martial arts. As different as they are, all athletes have one thing in common: the desire to win a medal.

Terrence Trammel, a track athlete, has won two silver medals in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Games. This year, he is going for the gold. "It is an honor just to make it to the podium, but this year I want to stand there with the gold medal around my neck."

Allyson Felix, a track star from California recently graduated from USC with a degree in elementary education. She hopes to be a teacher when her run with athletics is over. She looks forward to being "just a regular schoolteacher." But, until then, she is lighting up the track with her amazing sprinting ability.

Stay tuned to this blog throughout the day, as Scholastic will be conducting more interviews with athletes from the Paralympics and BMX.

Joe Wlos and Allie Sakowicz with track and field star Lashinda Demus, the mother of 10-month-old twin boys. Photo by Suzanne Freeman

Is it the end of baseball in the Olympic Games?

From Scholastic News Kid Reporter Joe Wlos

Bob Watson and Davey Johnson are two of the driving forces behind the Men's Olympic Baseball team. Both of these men started playing baseball as kids and knew as pre-teens that they wanted a successful career in sports. They have certainly realized those youthful dreams.

Johnson coached a World Series winning MLB team and is now coaching the U.S. Olympic team. General Manager Watson hired him for the job because of his great talent and because of his passion for the job.

"The opportunity to wear the letters USA across your jersey is a big thrill for me," Johnson said.

But the 2008 Olympics could be the last time baseball players will get to wear the red, white, and blue in the games. After these games, Men's Baseball and Women's Softball will no longer be a part of the competition.

That hasn’t stopped the fierce competitive spirit on this last team. And America’s dominance in the sport will be tested as they face rivals from every corner of the globe. According to Johnson and Watson, those rivals are growing stronger every year.

"America used to send players to Japan, but now the Japanese send players here and they are big stars. That's how much baseball has grown," Johnson said.

Even though baseball at the Olympics may end, Watson said he thought a true World Series between teams from around the globe could happen as soon as 2016. The world is already on that path. The World Classic played its first competition in March 2006.

But there's still hope for baseball fans in London for the 2012 Olympics. In 2009, the IOC will vote on whether to reinstate baseball to the largest sporting competition in the world. Both Johnson and Watson are very optimistic that the sport will return.

How personalities fit the sports

From Joe Wlos and Michael Geheren

Recently, we interviewed athletes who compete in the pentathlon. The pentathlon consists of swimming, shooting, horse back riding, running, and fencing. Because of the variety of the sport, the athletes have very difficult training sessions. Many times they can only train in a few areas at a time, because there aren't enough hours in a day!

But they don't have to be masters at every event. Two of the pentatheletes we talked to said that they never worry when a performance isn't good enough, because they always have another area to compete in. Pentathlon athletes really show how to be confidant no matter what.

These athletes had very different attitudes toward their sport, based mostly on their own individual personalities. While one said he enjoyted getting out there and feeling the rush of racing, another said he preferred the precision and slow pace of shooting.

Eli Bremer prefers the fast paced sports.

"Shooting is more methodical," he said. "It doesn't fit my personality. I'd rather get out there and run and swim my hardest than stand and shoot."

Dennis Bowsher is just the opposite. He prefers the shooting event. Why? "You get to stand there," he said. "It's a calm sport and I'm a calm person."

Fashion Madness

Tonight the world will learn what the U.S. team uniforms will look like. Nike, which designed and produced the uniforms, is hosting an "apparel presentation." We use quote marks here because the media insist on calling it a "fashion show." Nike doesn't like that. "It's a presentation, not a fashion show," one representative scolded us. "Stop calling it a fashion show." Done!

The players are as interested in the clothing as the rest of us. One of the athletes most interested in the clothing is swimmer Kaitlin Sandeno who said that after she retires as an athlete she wants to design the swim suits for future Olympic games.

Scholastic will have more blogs tonight and tomorrow. We will cover the Apparel presentation on tomorrow's blog posting.

Don’t mix politics and sports say Olympic hopefuls

From Scholastic Kid Reporters Joe Wlos and Michael Geheren

You know that Olympic level athletes are amazing at their sport, but something you might not know is that they feel very strongly either about superstitions or rituals or NOT having superstitions or rituals. One swimmer likes to eat dark chocolate just before she jumps into the pool. But most say they work to relax and "just be in the moment." Many shy away from rituals in case they don't have time to do them before their competition begins.

"If I win or do badly it's because of the way I performed, not because of some ritual or superstition," said one athlete.

The tough job at the media summit is not for the athletes I think—it's for the reporters. The questions are tough to think of and you have a lot of competition from other reporters to get your questions in and to make them good. (Some of the journalists have stolen our questions!)

But the athletes are also having a tough time, especially when ask some of the tougher political questions. We have asked most of the athletes how they feel about the call from some people to boycott the opening ceremonies because of China's human rights violations. We are also asking about how the athletes will deal with the pollution in Beijing.

So far we've interviewed nine athletes—with more coming. Each has a different and fascinating story to tell. Some of the swimmers talked about being, "water-babies" since they have been swimming since they were really young. We found that interesting. A lot of the athletes started with their sports really young.

Other athletes struggled to find their niche as kids, trying out different sports before landing on their specialty. All of them are now world-class athletes who concentrate on their sports.

Despite their dedication to training, they also have a world-wide perspective on current events. Some swimmers, runners, and soccer players expressed concern about conflicts in the world today. They don't think the Olympics should be part of that conflict.

"Sports and politics should be kept separate," said Casey Burgener, who competes in weightlifting. When he's not lifting weights, Casey likes to read, listen to music (including classical), and play his guitar. These athletes are all really smart, well read, and just plain interesting people.

They are all big on teamwork. The USA swimming team has an especially tight bond. They have been working together for years. "We travel and work together and share so much time together, we have really bonded," said swimmer Tara Kirk. At one time, Tara's sister was on the team. Talk about growing up together!

From left: Scholastic Kid Reporter Joe Wlos, weightlifter Casey Burgener, and Scholastic Kid Reporter Michael Geheren. (Photo by Suzanne Freeman)

Even the Olympians want to be Kid Reporters!

From Scholastic Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke

Athletes aren’t the only interesting people at the Olympic Media Summit this week. We met a lot of cool reporters today. One group, from the TV Guide Channel, gave us some tips on how to do a better job. Vanessa McDonald is the reporter. She shared a lot of her experience with interviewing on camera. She said she loves to interview celebrities like Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana).

“I thought she was really cool,” Vanessa said. “She was really nice.”

Her producer Patrick Rampson showed us what he called “high tech” equipment. It was a wooden clothespin, which he called a C-47 (as in clamp number 47). An actual C-47 costs a lot of money, he said. A clothespin costs just a few pennies and works just as well. Patrick uses it to hold gel filters (like plastic wrap for sandwiches) over the lights to dim them.

The director of photography Don Murphy has his own trick, which involves masking tape. The TV guide channel displays a daily guide to TV shows on the screen. Programming runs in the upper right-hand corner, taking up only about a third of the screen. They don’t shrink the picture to fit the space. Don has to be sure that he shoots his footage so that the image is mainly in that corner. He puts tape on the screen to mark where the image has to be.

What a Day!

We interviewed almost 70 athletes today, working from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.! We learned more than we could ever imagine—about the Olympic games, China, sports and reporting.

The afternoon highlight was when two archers came in with their gear. We had to make room for them to get past us. Brady Ellison and Jennifer Nichols showed off their bows, which come with sights and balances. Each one costs about $2,000—not including the arrows!

We also talked to Voice of America cameraman Roger Hsu, whose first language is Chinese. We are currently learning that language at our school, Walt Disney Magnet in Chicago.  We learned how to write his first name in Chinese characters.

After a long hard day of on-camera interviews, we found out something else important: most of the journalists and athletes are jealous of OUR jobs! They all said they wished they could have been kid reporters when they were in school.

More importantly, however, we learned that determination and families working together are all important ingredients to Olympic success. We also learned a lot about reporting on deadline and thinking on our feet!

Gabyliz and Rudy with the gold medal winning Lopez family (top from left): Jean (the coach) and Mark, (bottom from left) Diana and Steven. The Lopez’s are from Nicaragua and have turned tae kwon do into a family business. (Photo by Gary Norcross)

Afternoon Update from the Olympic Media Summit in Chicago, Illinois

From Scholastic Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke

After interviewing Olympic athletes for a few hours, we received our gift bags. We got Nike book bags filled with a lot of awesome gifts. Inside the bag was a bag of dark chocolate Hershey kisses, a camera, two Nike hats, another smaller book bag, a water bottle container, a disposable camera, and some other stuff.

The lunch boxes were super expensive so we went out to go get a quick bite to eat somewhere that we could afford. Instead of $125 for lunch boxes filled with food we couldn’t see, we ate pasta and sandwiches at the corner bakery for less than $50!

We are now about to begin our second half of the Olympic interviews, which includes speaking to softball, judo, wrestling, boxing, and fencing athletes. The athletes are as young as 15, and as old as 39.  Age doesn’t seem to make a difference to the athlete’s motivation level.  The youngest and oldest Olympians are equally excited for this year’s Olympic Games.

We also learned that there is a new scoring system for gymnastics this year. The perfect 10, the ultimate goal for Olympians for decades past, no longer exists. The new scoring system is more complicated.

Most of the gymnasts said they were fine with the new scoring code.

“I don’t like it [the new scoring system] as much,” said gold medalist Paul Hamm, who came in with his brother Morgan. “It’s harder to understand and I think people will be more confused, but it’s OK.”

Athletes don’t seem too worried about the pollution in Beijing.

“Hey, I’m from New York,” said fencer Ivan Lee, with a laugh.

Softball players said that once the spirit of the Olympics hits you, you don’t notice anything but the competition.

“We played there [China] in 2006,” said softball gold medal pitcher Jenny Finch. “It’s fine.”

The athletes all talked about training hard and staying focused. They don’t let anything stand in the way of working and training hard.  Some of the athletes practice 12 hours a day!

Photo: Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke with Crystl Bustos and Jennie Finch, members of the U.S. Softball Team.  Photo courtesy of Suzanne Freeman.

Kid Reporters Interview U.S. Olympic Athletes in Chicago

From Scholastic Kid Reporters Gabyliz Machado and Rudy Marschke

This morning I had the opportunity to interview members of the U.S. swimming, gymnastics, badminton, and volleyball teams. I also met a pentathlete. Know what that is? We will explain it all in a story later this week.

All the athletes have been really friendly and open to the reporters. They joke around a lot. Some talked about their religious faith and the role it plays in their sport.

The athletes are very diverse, especially in size! We shook hands with two members of the men’s volleyball team. Phil Dalhausser is 6’9”. His teammate Todd Rogers is 6’2”. After they left, two members of the men’s gymnastics team walked into the room. Justin Spring was only a little taller than reporter Gabyliz, who is only 4’9”!

My interview with swimmer Michael Phelps was really interesting. He smelled like chlorine! Phelps obviously trains all the time. Since this will be his third Olympic Games, he said he is much more relaxed than he’s ever been.

“When I was in Sydney, I was only 15 [years old],” he said. “I had no idea what was going on.” He says he will probably hang up his swim trunks after the 2012 games in London.

As a Scholastic News Kid Reporter I am competing for time with athletes with 10 other news organizations including TV Guide, ABC, Yahoo! Sports, and USA Today. The room I’m interviewing the athletes in is hot and crowded. The athletes sit on two tall chairs under giant lights, which makes the room so hot.

The electricity went out at one point and an electrician came in and knocked a hole in the wall to run new lines. We have been looking forward to lunch, but Editor Suzanne Freeman just noticed that the box lunches are not free after all. They are on sale for $25 a box!

We are wondering if maybe they’ll take the free gift bags they gave us in exchange!

More later.

Kid Reporters Report From The U.S. Olympic Media Summit

I'm Scholastic News Kid Reporter Michael Geheren reporting live from the 2016 Olympic Media Summit in Chicago, IL.  This is Scholastic's first live coverage of the Olympic Media Summit.

As a member of the media, I've received first-class treatment ever since I've arrived.  I'm one of 450 members of the media at the Summit that will take place over the next four days.  I've felt like a famous athlete since everyone at the Summit recognizes Scholastic News.  After checking in and picking up my media equipment, I got to work to find the news. My first stop was an exclusive private tour of Nike to see its new inventions. I'll be writing an article for Scholastic News Online on what I got to see. Be sure to read it!

The Olympic Media Summit's goal is to promote this year's 2008 Summer Olympics in China and also to promote Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics. After my tour through Nike, I went to an opening reception of the media events that are taking place in the next few days. I was lucky to meet the Chicago 2016 Olympic chairman Pat Ryan.  Then, the media mingled and talked to some of the 130 Olympic and Paralympic athletes who were at the event as Scholastic reporters began their live coverage of the 2008 Olympic Media Summit!

Be sure to check our blog regularly as Scholastic Kid Reporters will be blogging live and writing articles from the Olympic Media Summit over the next few days.