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Forgiveness is important. If you don’t forgive others it is hard for others to forgive you. God always forgives our sins. He gives people the chance to repair their image and work on their problems. God says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your father in heaven.” I didn’t know what this meant at first, and then I realized that it meant that you should forgive others because you will be together in heaven as children of God.

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Malik “Taz” Brown

Honesty is very important. Being honest is about following in God’s footsteps, because it is impossible for god to lie. Lying can get people into trouble with the law. More importantly, it’s a sin. Your honesty level is a reflection of your character. Your character dictates what people think of you and it affects your ability to get jobs and go to college. People can lie so much that even when they are telling the truth nobody knows it.

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I’ve gotten in trouble for lying a lot.  I’ve gotten so used to lying that sometimes I don’t even know when I’m doing it.  Sometimes I don’t think that when I lie it’s a big deal, but most of the time it ends up being a big deal.  Once you get in the habit of lying it’s hard to break.  That’s why it would be better not to start lying in the first place.

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Malik “Taz” Brown

In 2007, head coach of the minor league Mississippi Braves had a meltdown about a supposedly bad call from the umpire. I understand that coaches sometimes disagree with calls and feel that they need to debate them but that was a little too much. It reminded me of a toddler having a tantrum. When I saw it on ESPN I couldn’t help laughing. I’ve watched coaches getting ejected before but that was way better than anything that I’ve ever seen. I wonder how the fans that were at the game reacted to his childish actions.

What I found the funniest was when he acted like the rosin bag was a grenade and threw it at the umpire. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw another coach do the same thing in the future. I also wondered why he took the bases with him when he left the field. I guess he thought the umpires would chase after him. That would’ve given him another chance to act like a lunatic. Wow, this guy really needs help.

I had the opportunity to attend a Q & A with Brandon Inge after a W.S.U. baseball camp. Watching him on TV made me think that he wasn’t much of a people person because he always seemed to have a frown on his face, even when he did something good during a game. So when I saw him I didn’t think that he would be that exciting, but as soon as someone asked him a question a light bulb seemed to turn on in his head.

People asked him all types of questions. Some of them seemed to get on his nerves.  For example, someone asked him why his batting average was only .217. Brandon had the funniest look on his face. He pretended to call security to come get the guy who asked him that question. The man that asked the question looked like he was getting really nervous. Then Brandon said that he was kidding and went on to say that he was in a slump and that he planned to work on his hitting. I don’t think that guy should’ve asked a pro baseball player that question. Brandon didn’t make it a big deal. He acted like he didn’t care, but I don’t think he liked it that much.

After the Q & A, everyone lined up for autographs.  Brandon Inge wasn’t the only Tiger’s player there.  Maggs, Cabrera, Guillen, Joyce, and a couple other players were there.  I got them all to sign my glove.  Now most of my glove is covered with autographs. 

Malik “ironhead” Brown

              Curtis Granderson is my favorite baseball player but the funny thing is that when I saw him in person at a Wayne State University baseball camp, I didn’t know who he was. My dad and I were walking to our car as he was walking up. My dad got his attention and we walked up to him. My dad said, “Hey Malik, do you know who this is? I just simply said, “No.” I didn’t even know that he was pro baseball player. I thought that he was just a normal person coming to get his kid or something. My dad told me who he was so I shook his hand and took a picture with him but I still wasn’t sure that I knew who he was.

The next day, my dad and I were watching the game and I realized that the person in the parking lot was the guy that played for the Tigers that I tried to imitate while I was on the field. The only problem was that I didn’t play outfield.  I felt kind of stupid. I’d seen him on TV a lot and I liked how he played the game but he looked different in person. On TV he looked really tall and muscular but he was actually quite average size. Now that this happened my dad always tells people about it because he thinks that it is hilarious. I wouldn’t be surprised if he has it on this website already.

            It seems like every time I’m at a Tigers game I always sit by another Granderson fan. Most of the time, it’s a young teenage girls that only likes him because they think he’s cute. I quiz them all the time on facts about him and they get kinda annoyed because they don’t know anything about him like I do. When I get tired of that I try to watch his every move so that I don’t miss one thing.

Malik “ironhead” Brown 

What’s up with everyone giving A-Rod a hard time about taking steroids? I would understand if he was still taking them but he isn’t so I think the Press should leave the whole thing alone. A-Rod admitted that he took steroids but he really didn’t really have a choice because the drug test proved it. It was kind of obvious that something different was going on in his body because he was smacking the ball like Barry Bonds. Anyway, the whole thing is over so A-Rod should be able to end his career without having people hanging this over his head.

Malik “ironhead” Brown

This weekend I had the opportunity to be the batboy for the EMU baseball team.  I was formally the batboy at Wayne State University until the head coach was hired at EMU.  I was excited when I found out that both of our jobs were changing because EMU is a division 1 school.

The night before my first game, my Dad and I went out to the store to buy all of the equipment that I would need for my job.  We had to buy a lot of stuff.  Normal baseball stuff, nothing major.  After we had made all of our purchases we went home to eat dinner.  I had to go to bed at 9:00pm because I had an early start in the morning.  It was hard for me to fall asleep because I was so excited.

When I woke up the next morning, I got dressed and my Dad and I headed for Oestrike Stadium.  Since I was not able to sleep the night before, I slept all the way to the stadium.  When I woke up we were about 5 minutes away.  When we got there we walked towards the locker room as Coach Jay was walking out.  He and my Dad talked for about 5 minutes.  When my Dad left, Coach Jay took me inside the lockeroom and introduced me to the team.  After that, he gave me a bunch of gear.  I wasn’t expecting all that but I had to remember it was a division 1 school.  He even gave me a jersey with my number on it (42).

After I was dressed, I went over to the field for batting practice.  I had FUN going after the balls.  After batting practice, we did the national anthem and all the boring stuff.  Then the game started.  I enjoyed retreiving the bats and the foul balls but it sure was hard work because I had to run my fastest.

Overall, I like my job as a batboy.  I think I will keep doing this job until it is time for me to play for a bigtime college.

Malik “ironhead” Brown