Straight-Lede

​On Tuesday, Westwood beat Norton girl’s tennis first doubles team 6-3 and 6-2. Nicole Kiley and Rachel Anderson fell short for Norton. Although they had hard serves, and precise placement of the ball they did not come out ahead. Westwood had fabulous net skills to gain many points in the match. It was a long battle as it was the last game of the match to finish and a lot of good rallying took place.

​In the first set, Westwood won the first three games to get ahead 3-0 before Norton tightened the gap to only 3-2. Westwood won two more games before Norton won another but eventually Westwood won at 6-3. Leading into the next set, Westwood won the first four games making it 4-0. Norton started to comeback and used their serves and placement to make it 2-4. Westwood then won two more games to finish the set and match at 6-2. Both teams fought long and hard and Westwood’s first doubles came out on top after their 6-3 and 6-2 win against Norton High School.

Prefontaine Questions

1. Prefontaine is portrayed as cocky as a person and athlete but he always pushed himself to do better.
2. Even though Pre steals the spotlight and is cocky everyone still likes him and he has a lot of fans so I would say he is likeable. 
3. Right after his teammate got a record in throwing, Pre walked out and everyone payed attention to him instead and he constantly does this while his teammate is throwing. 
4.  Pre teaches a nine-year-old boy that he never loses and if you believe in yourself you can always win.
5. The current controversy introduced in the movie is whether or not student athletes should be getting paid.
6. One of Pre's goals in High School as a runner was to be the greatest distance runner of all time.
7. The Olympic Village conditions in Munich were extremely poor and even scary which is very similar to the conditions at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
8. During to Munich Olympics, the Munich Massacre occurred in which members of the Israeli Olympic team were killed by terrorists.

What is a Sport?

                A “sport” is an activity that is physical, a competition, and requires skill. Many activities are not sports even if they have one of those factors. Going to the gym involves physical activity, but in no way is it a sport. One must use physical activity and be fit for the activity to be considered a sport. Even though it is a competition and requires skill, if there is no physical activity it is not a sport. The physical activity does not have to be strenuous, but it must be a factor. A ball is not required for something to be a sport, but if there is a ball it is a sport. Any activity I can think of that involves a ball is a competition with skill and is physical.

                A sport has to be a competition in some way. There has to be a way to score the activity ad decide a winner. A sport can end in a tie, but there must be a way to win. Yoga requires physical activity and skill, but is not a competition and therefore, is not a sport. There do not have to be teams, it can be individuals, but it must be a competition of the individuals. Athletes need to compete in a sporting event to win. People must want to win a sporting event, and must have talent and skill to do so.

                Most hobbies and activities do require skill, so it is not a surprise that sports must also require skill. A sport is something that not everyone can do. If everyone could be good at a sport, it wouldn’t be special and there wouldn’t be professionals. One must be talented and have extreme skill to be a professional at the sport they are playing. Most competitions also require skill as there has to be a winner so if an activity is a competition and has physical activity, it almost always also involves a skill. Those who are skillful in the sport will excel in the competition component. Thus, if something involves physical activity, is a competition, and requires skill, it is a sport.

NHL Playoffs

The NHL Playoffs are starting this week and everyone is anticipating who will win. The Boston Bruins are a favorite to win their second Stanley Cup in 4 years(and my personal favorite). They will take place over about 2 months and there are already some very good match-ups.  The first round match-ups are Boston Bruins v. Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins v. Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning v. Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers v. Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota Wild v. Colorado Avalanche, Chicago Blackhawks v. St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars v. Anaheim Ducks, and Los Angeles Kings v. San Jose Sharks. I personally believe the Bruins have a very good chance of winning the Stanley Cup this year as they've had an outstanding season especially recently. It would also be nice after a disappointing end of a season last year. I think other teams with chances of winning are the Penguins, Blackhawks, Ducks, and Blues. I ultimately think the Bruins will win as they have a very well-rounded team. I also think Tuukka Rask is the best goalie in the NHL and he won't be beat. The playoffs will be very fun and entertaining to watch. 

20 Years Later: Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding

Weeks before the 1994 Winter Olympic Games, U.S. figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by a man with a metal baton after a practice. It was later found out that fellow skater, Tonya Harding, and Tonya's ex-husband and bodyguard hired a man to break Kerrigan's legs making her unable to perform in the Olympic Games. Fortunately for Kerrigan, the man only bruised her right leg and she recovered in time for the games and placed above Harding. After this cruel attack, Harding was not even sentenced to jail time. After she plead guilty, she received three years of probation, 500 hours of community service, and a fine of $160,000. Harding was even allowed to compete in the Olympic Games after paying someone to attack her teammate. 

Was Tonya's punishment so mild because of her athletic status? If she was not an Olympic athlete would she have received jail time? I personally think Tonya Harding should have absolutely received a more severe punishment after hiring someone to break the bones of another person. I also do not understand why she was allowed to compete at the Olympics; she hurt her teammate! Why did Harding not go to jail, but everyone else involved did? I believe if Tonya was not an Olympic athlete she would have received jail time, as she should have. 

Now, 20 years after the incident, Nancy Kerrigan has finally come out and talked about it. She admits that at first, she thought it was a random attack. It never crossed Kerrigan's mind that Tonya Harding was involved and she was shocked to find out that she planned the whole thing. Kerrigan instantly thought "Why me?" but never thought it was intentional. 20 years later, we can look back and know that Harding may not have received the punishment she deserved, but Nancy Kerrigan still came out ahead when she won the silver medal and Tonya Harding came in eighth place. 


Works Cited
http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20778965_20789297,00.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Harding#Attack_on_Nancy_Kerrigan
http://live.wsj.com/video/infamous-kerrigan-harding-scandal-gets-another-look/3FAD2221-15C9-4D4F-863B-DE90F5269FB2.html#!3FAD2221-15C9-4D4F-863B-DE90F5269FB2

Dottie Sandusky

Dottie Sandusky, wife of Jerry Sandusky convicted of sexually abusing 10 boys, has recently come out in support of her husband. Dottie believes that her husband is innocent and people said things for financial compensation. I believe that Dottie really does not know that these things happened in her home but also that now she is in denial about it because there is evidence against her husband. I think that Jerry certainly did molest some boys, but that maybe some of them did lie in order to get money. 

In many cases professional athletes and coaches do seem to be above the law, which I do think in some cases is true, but I think normal people are also wrongly convicted or acquitted of charges and it just isn't publicized as cases involving professional athletes are. I think any highly-publicized case is subject to impartiality whether it be in favor of the defendant or not. When cases are on the news, people, including the jury, know a lot about the case and things they are seeing on the news may not be admissible in court. In the case of OJ Simpson I do believe the verdict was innocent because he was famous, but I also believe it can be a disadvantage to some.

Question

How far do you think the Boston Bruins will make it this season? Do you think this is a possible Stanley Cup winning year for the team?

Sports Interview

I was recently able to interview Norton High School's own, tennis superstar Olivia Christy. Olivia has been an athlete all her life and started playing and watching when she was only five-years-old. Olivia has played tennis, basketball, and volleyball and participated in gymnastics and dance, as well. Tennis has always been her top sport and she has been playing for 12 years. When she isn't playing tennis, she can be found watching football usually either the New England Patriots or Denver Broncos. Olivia loves watching and playing sports in her free-time and always has an opinion on what's going on.

I asked Olivia what the best sporting moment she has been a part of and she stated "when I went to sectionals for tennis my junior year and made it to the second round" which is a great accomplishment. Christy has not suffered any sports-related injuries in her life. When asked about coaches and teammates Olivia said she thinks coaches must be knowledgeable and teammates are needed for support and encouragement. Olivia has a strong opinion on steroid use and said "I don't like them they're gross and pathetic" and thinks they should not be tolerated under any circumstances. Olivia is looking forward to the upcoming tennis season as captain and hopes she will once again qualify for sectionals. 

Sports Interview

This week I had the pleasure of interviewing athlete and sports-lover Lauren MacGray. Lauren has been playing sports since she was six-years-old and watching them for just as long. In her lifetime she has played soccer and basketball and participated in gymnastics and dance. Lauren continues to play soccer as she has been for 11 years and is planning to continue playing at Nichols College in 2014. Her favorite sport to watch is hockey and she is a big Boston Bruins fan.  She is an avid sports fan and loves playing when she can.

When asked how she feels about teammates and coaches, MacGray said she feels they definitely make a difference. MacGray has suffered various injuries in her life from sports including 3 broken toes and a sprained ankle both from soccer. The best sporting moment she has been a part of was qualifying for the MIAA Tournament during her senior year of playing soccer. The season ended during the tournament with a tough loss to Dover-Sherborn in the first round. I asked Lauren about her opinion of steroid use and she believes they "give you an unfair advantage" in playing sports. Lauren MacGray will go on in life continuing watching sports from the sideline and taking part on the field, too playing soccer with friends.

NHL Trade Rumors

Tomorrow, March 5, is the NHL's trade deadline and lots of rumors are circulating. Brian Stubits, a CBS hockey writer, recently wrote an article about the trade speculations. Possibly the most wanted player is Ryan Kesler currently of the Vancouver Canucks; he could possibly go to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, or Chicago before the deadline. Other sought after players are Ryan Callahan of the New York Rangers and Thomas Vanek of the New York Islanders. There have been rumors that the Boston Bruins are interested in defense-man Chris Phillips of the Ottawa Senators. There are many rumors about big name players and the deadline is coming. No one yet knows what will happen especially with Ryan Kesler, but it won't take to long to find out with the deadline being only one day away.

(http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/eye-on-hockey/24465980/nhl-trade-rumor-mill-big-names-all-over-deadline-speculation)

Disappointing End of Season for Norton Basketball

Norton had high hopes for the boys' basketball team this year after winning the TVL Championship the past two years. The season was tough but they pushed through with a 10-10 record that qualified them for the MIAA Tournament. With Marc Liberatore as the coach and seniors James Loring and Paul Schleicher as the captains the boys played a tough season. They played a good season but fell short in their first MIAA Tournament game. 

The boys lost the first three games of the season against Medfield, Dover-Sherborn and Hopkinton, but won four games after that against Millis, Holliston, Westwood, and Bellingham. With a record of 9-10 and one game left against the undefeated Ashland, the boys' chances of making tournament didn't look very high. The boys were down 3 with a score of 14-11 after the first quarter and down again at half-time with the score being 21-18. After the third quarter things weren't looking good when the boys were down 35-33 but they kept playing and tied the game up with 1 minute and 57 seconds left in the game. The boys broke the tie with 28 seconds left and went up by 2 points. The Norton boys broke the Ashland winning streak and qualified for tournament with an ending score of 45-42.

It was a stressful few days of a lot of practice for the Norton boys as they prepared for their tournament game against Westport. The game was held on February 25, 2014 at Westport who finished their season 14-4. With a donated fan bus and supportive parents Norton had a lot of fans to cheer them on throughout the game. The boys played tough and stayed ahead throughout most of the game. With Bret Murphy leading in points the played a very close game. After senior captain Paul Schleicher fouled out of the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter things got tough. Westport went ahead and the offense couldn't make up the points lost. Westport came out champions when they won 56-50. It was a disappointing loss for both the team and the fans who came out to support the team.

The Norton boys' basketball team played a good season but ended up a disappointment with a loss in their first tournament game against Westport. Coach Liberatore and his team have won the TVL Championship the past two seasons but didn't do that this year with a 10-10 record. The team will lose a total of nine seniors this year. Current juniors Bret Murphy and Jason O'Neil are expected to be next years star players. Even though the boys failed to win a third consecutive TVL Championship or tournament game, they played a great season.

Flying Tomato Fails

Two-time, half-pipe gold medalist Shaun White did not receive a medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The fan favorite came in fourth in the men's half-pipe and dropped out of the new event, slopestyle. The guy everyone thought would win became one of Sochi's biggest disappointments.

Shaun White went into the Olympics expected to compete in his usual men's half-pipe competition, and the new men's slopestyle competition. Slopestyle is a freestyle competition for snowboarders and skiers where tricks in the air and on rails and boxes are performed (http://snowboarding.about.com). Slopestyle is not timed and judges give points based on style and difficulty of the performance. Half-pipe is a very long U-shaped terrain used also by freestyle snowboarders and skiers to perform tricks and aerial stunts. Shortly after arriving in Sochi, White dropped out of slopestyle due to safety concerns as he believed he had a better chance of getting a medal if he only performed in the half-pipe competition; he was wrong.

White was ultimately beat by a Swiss rider, Iouri "iPod" Podladtchikov, and his "YOLO" trick. White performed unusually sloppy and had a few unsteady landings. Shaun White's leaving Sochi without a medal was one of the biggest disappointments in the 2014 Olympic games.

Michael Sam Coming Out

As Michael Sam comes out as gay, many are questioning the NFL. The question many now have is will this affect him being drafted? I think he will be accepted by the right team, he was accepted in college by teammates and coaches so the NFL should be no different.

Super Bowl Blowout

My predictions for the Super Bowl were unfortunately wrong, the Seattle Seahawks beat the Denver Broncos 43-8. Peyton Manning cracked under pressure and only threw for one touchdown through the whole game. After Seattle's 22-0 halftime lead over Denver no one was surprised by the end result. Manning threw two interceptions and had a total of four turnovers in a very inadequate performance. Kam Chancellor of Seattle played outstandingly well ending the first half with 104 passing yards and two interceptions. Richard Sherman was taken out of the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury and never returned, but he did help in Seattle's 29 point lead before he left. Russell Wilson played much better than Peyton Manning and the ending score showed it. Manning simply could not go up against Seattle's defense.

The halftime show was better than I expected as I was surprisingly entertained by Bruno Mars and I especially liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Both are extremely talented musicians and they performed very well. I was disappointed by most commercials but loved the Budweiser "Puppy Love" commercial and the Budweiser commercial honoring soldiers and veterans. I must admit the commercial with the mixed breed dog with a huge head and tiny body freaked me out a little bit. Overall, the Super Bowl was pretty boring with a blowout game and mediocre commercials. 

Super Bowl Sunday

The much anticipated Super Bowl Sunday is almost here and predictions are being made. I predict that the Denver Broncos will beat the Seattle Seahawks in a close game. I think the Bronco's offense, the NFL's no. 1 ranked offense, will outscore the Seahawks, the NFL's no. 1 ranked defense. Although Peyton Manning is known for having a hard time in the cold weather I think playing this season in Denver, CO has prepared him better for that. I think the top players for Denver's offense will be Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker while on the Seahawks, Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman will play well. As for the halftime show, I am disappointed with the pick of Bruno Mars as he's slightly boring with slower songs than should be expected for the Super Bowl halftime show. The Super Bowl is only a few days away, so get your wings and nachos and get ready for a good game!

Athletic Airheads

I cannot exactly say I am surprised that college athletes are receiving special treatment with how big the NCAA market is in today's society, but I do not think it is right in any way. Many other college students pay extremely high prices to receive their education and work day and night to keep up a high GPA for scholarships while there are some athletes going for free who either cannot read, or read about as good as a 10-year old. What is going on in this scandal is completely wrong and at this point in time there are so many resources for students before they get to college and while in college to keep up with school-work even while playing sports. There is no excuse for the intelligence level some athletes are at and they should be held to the same standard as every other student at the school they are attending. Iowa State allows students who were not admitted on academics alone to start in the summer which is a fair way to admit student athletes who are academically behind. Admitting students to a school simply on their athletic background should simply never be allowed under any circumstance.