Season Preview for the New England Patriots

After an all around positive 2013 season that ended in disappointment when the team lost to the Denver Broncos and Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship, the Patriots are one of few AFC teams who have legitimate Super Bowl hopes for 2014. The biggest road block seems like it will be the Broncos once more, but only time can tell. The Patriots will have a slightly revamped offense and a very, and I mean very, improved defense. Tom Brady made something out of nothing on offense for the Pats last year, so the opinion of some that he is slowing down is irrelevant to me. One of the biggest reasons why the team could not beat the Broncos twice last season was due to injuries to big name players, next season will be different.

On offense, there is a lot of question marks as of right now. Is Rob Gronkowski, the league's best tight end, going to be available come the first game? Are Stevan Ridley's fumble problems corrected? Can you expect Danny Amendola to stay healthy and produce consistenly? Will the offensive line be better than last year and stay healthy? Can the second year wide receivers make legitimate contributions in the passing game? All these questions are a mystery right now and we'll have a much better idea of what is happening come training camp. For now however, I'll make my predictions. I do not know when Gronkowski will be ready to play, but if he misses say, the first three games... big deal. The Dolphins, Vikings, and Raiders have subpar defenses and we'd all rather see a durable Gronk at full health instead of a more fragile 75% Gronk. I'm expecting a huge season from Gronkowski after he gets back to full health, he'll really be able to help Tom Brady in the pass game, and he's an outstanding blocker. As of right now, Stevan Ridley looks like he will be the starting running back, and it looks like he is better than ever. He has been working hard to correct the problems he had last year that had him sitting on the bench, fumbles. He said when asked about what he needs to do, "I just have to hold it high and tight." Ridley has shown great agility, elusiveness, and trucking ability when on the field and he is the best option for the Patriots right now. This year, with Gronkowski on the field, I do not expect Julian Edelman to reach the 1,000 yard mark receiving like he did last year. However, he will still put up big numbers and be the Pats best receiver yet again. From Amendola, I do not think he can stay healthy. Don't get me wrong, he played very well in his career when healthy, but he has never played a full season. If he can stay healthy all year, he has the ability to produce just like Edelman but unfortunately, I do not see him staying healthy and I think this might be his last season in New England. Recently, it was said that Aaron Dobson does not look much improved from last season, but I see his potential. He will be a reliable third or fourth option this season. The offensive line was almost literally decimated by injuries and some linemen are still not back to full health. If, by the time the season starts, the linemen are healthy, the team will have, in my opinion, one of the best offensive lines in football. Offensively, a lot is uncertain, but with Tom Brady at quarterback, a top 5-10 offense is almost a lock.

On defense, the patriots were a middle of the pack unit. They didn't do anything special but also had huge injuries, particularly to the front 7. Two of their best defensive players, Vince Wilfork and Jerod Mayo were lost early on in the season to major injuries. Wilfork tore his Achilles tendon and still isn't back to full strength, and Mayo tore his pectoral muscle, but seems to be fine now. With the run stopping Wilfork back and the tackling machine, Jerod Mayo back, the front 7 of the defense should be solid. Chandler Jones is an improving third year defensive end, and Rob Ninkovich is talented as well.  veterans Jerod Mayo, James Anderson will hold down the inside linebacker position and second year linebacker Jamie Collins will man the outside linebacker position with third year man Dont'a Hightower. In the off-season, the Patriots lost their best cornerback of 2013, Aqib Talib, to the Denver Broncos. They managed to pick up one of the league's best, Darrelle Revis, to replace him. He is the shutdown corner the Pats needed desperately, and they also signed former Seahawks cornerback Brandon Browner. These two additions will help out Alfonzo Dennard and second year cornerback Logan Ryan who is trying to prove himself. He has the talent. And Bill Belichick  believes in him. Safety is just about the only question mark, but due to Browner's physical play, he might be able to play alongside Devin McCourty rather than his normal cornerback position. This season has a very positive outlook. I predict a 12-4 record accompanied by a trip to the super bowl for the New England Patriots.

Profile lede on Tony Gwynn

With 2,999 hits under his belt, Tony Gwynn stepped up to bat against the Montreal Expos, who are now the Washington Nationals. Everybody knows he's going to get the hit, it was just a matter of where. His two favorite spots were the hole in between shortstop and third, and just over the second baseman's head. Right when the pitch left the pitcher's hand, Tony knew where he was sending the ball. It went over the second baseman's head and in to center field.

Tony would go on to hit 141 more hits after the monumental 3,000th. Over his twenty year career, Tony Gwynn had a .338 batting average, an astonishingly high average to maintain over a 20 year period. He won the batting title 8 times, yes 8, a remarkable feat for anybody to win just once. Although he never really hit for power, Gwynn was arguably the greatest contact hitter of all time. He would hit lasers in front of the outfielders or drive the ball into gaps to get doubles, he had 543 of those. Also, in 10,432 career plate appearances, Gwynn struck out only 434 times and only recorded one 3 strike out game. That feat is truly amazing considering he played in 2,440 games. When asked how he never struck Gwynn out in 107 chances, hall of fame pitcher Greg Maddux said, “You just can’t do it, sometimes hitters can pick up differences in spin. They can identify pitchers if there are different release points or if a curveball starts with an upward hump as it leaves the pitcher’s hand. But if a pitcher can change speeds, every hitter is helpless, limited by human vision. Except that (expletive) Tony Gwynn." The ultimate sign of respect is admitting somebody was better than you, and Tony Gwynn was better than every pitcher he ever faced. 

Tony Gwynn died yesterday, June 16th, at the age of 54 due to complications in his cancer treatments. The San Diego Padres, the team he played all of his 20 seasons for, released this statement, "You were a better person than you were a hitter, and you were the best hitter this generation has seen. San Diego will miss you dearly, Mr. Padre. Thank you for the memories." His son and current Philadelphia Phillies added this statement on Twitter, "Today I lost my dad, my best friend and my mentor. I'm gonna miss u so much pops. I'm gonna do everything in my power to continue to make u proud!". Tony Gwynn will be greatly missed.

Women's Sports Response

The survival of any professional sports team is not attributed to the views held during the 40's at all. Nowadays, the survival of any sports team is attributed to its popularity and how much profit is made. Softball is one of the most played sports by girls in the U.S. Its popularity rising is a great reason why this sport has been thriving at the professional level. This is also, in no small part, attributable to the Women's College World Series and its popularity. The WNBA, or Women's National Basketball Association, has had its problems but has survived because it makes a profit and the area's its teams are located in have shown good amounts of fan support. The only reason other sports for women have failed have been due to a lack of popularity and not enough profit. The survival of these two leagues is largely attributable to the fact that these two sports are extremely popular and wide spread as well.

Getting Ahead in the NFL Draft

Requirements-
1) Do some research! You will have to include properly cited outside materials in your article.
2) It should be organized in a way that makes sense.
3) You should address the counter -argument in a meaningful way.
4) It should be proofread.
5) The top 3 articles, will be sent to the Page for publication in next weeks paper.

Michael Sam is the first openly gay player to ever be selected in the NFL Draft, and he might deserve the selection. But the question still remains, did Michael Sam use his sexuality to get ahead, or gain more attention in order to get picked? Some people could argue, "Yes, of course the announcement created more buzz around his name and brought more scouts and evaluators his way." While others could argue "Sure it brought more attention to him, but it also made teams aware that he could be a huge locker room distraction and that hurt his draft stock." Regardless of your opinion as to whether it helped him or not, everybody can agree that it brought him more attention. Seeing as how the NFL is a business and every aspect of a player affects their draft stock, I think his announcement did not help him get ahead. However, I still understand how people could feel the extra evaluation made a team more confident in selecting him with one of their picks.

Starting with the way I feel on the matter, I think this, among other things, hurt his draft stock mightily. Another thing that did this was an experiment in a senior bowl game at the end of his college career in which he attempted to play at linebacker, rather than his usual defensive end position. He looked noticeably slower and much less agile than when he played defensive end, and that put him much lower on team's draft boards than before. But I believe his announcement also put him even further down on most teams big boards. Being the first openly gay NFL player would certainly warrant a ton of media attention in and around team facilities. Almost every coach would prefer a distraction free environment where his players can focus on getting better and winning. With a ton of cameras and reporters randomly covering the team's practices more aggressively, the players wouldn't be able to do that as well as they could in a distraction free environment. Also, in a much less common and likely case, other players could be homophobic or uncomfortable with being in a locker room with a gay man. This could prove to be the ultimate distraction and risk for a coach to take and they wouldn't be likely to take it. With these factors, among others, his draft stock was, in my opinion, negatively affected. Because of this, I do not think the announcement of his sexuality helped him get ahead in the draft.

Many people will disagree with my opinion, and I understand why they would because there are also factors that could support  the argument that it helped him get ahead. First of all, the biggest and most prevalent factor, would be all the attention he received from his announcement. Many people from the start saw it as a strategical move for Sam to make his announcement when he did. By doing it weeks in advance before the draft, it brought unlimited attention to him from NFL scouts. Albeit good and bad, attention is exposure and around draft time exposure is vital. The more a team sees of you, the more they consider taking you in the draft, which makes people think his announcement is one of the bigger reasons he was drafted. Also, it helped other draft prospects at Missouri University get extra attention from scouts. Because of this, it is also a common belief that his teammates and coaches gave Michael Sam an additional outpouring of support to make his sexuality public when he did. Since these arguments could also be legitimate, you could try and say his declaration helped him get ahead of other prospects, but i do not think it helped him as much as it hurt him. 

Regardless of what you think of this, Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th overall pick in round 7. His selection was the first time in NFL history an openly homosexual player was picked in the draft. It is unknown if he will be the first to play in an NFL game because he has yet to make the Ram's 53 man roster and we are not very close to knowing if he will. At the defensive end/ pass rusher position, the Rams are loaded, so even if he makes the roster he probably won't be much of a factor on defense. Many NFL analysts from networks like ESPN and CBS Sports say he will most likely be a special teams player if he makes the team, which is not a guarantee. If Sam makes the team and plays in a game, he will be the first openly gay player in NFL history and he would obviously be proud of that. But that isn't how he wants to be known, " I just wish you guys would see me as Michael Sam the football player," he said, " not Michael Sam the gay football player."

Transgender athlete

1) How should the authorities in the MMA handle a fighter like Fallon Fox?
2) Do transgender athletes have a distinct advantage in sports? Why or Why not?
3) Put yourself in the position of her opponents (or any opponents of transgender athletes). How would you feel competing against transgender athletes? Would it motivate you to work harder or discourage you from competing?
4) How should this be handled in the future?

1) If it were 15-20 years ago, there is no way the authorities in the MMA would have let this transgender woman, Fallon Fox, compete against other women. Today however, they wouldn't really have much choice other than to allow her to fight them. 
2) Whether or not the ahtlete has an advantage depends on the sport the transgender athlete is playing. Say it is this example, the former man is fighting other women, which i would constitute as an advantage.
3) I would want to work extremely hard to beat them. I am very competitive, so if they are my same skill level, bring it on. But if I were to say, beat the transgender opponent easily/ destroy them, I would not want people saying they had a disadvantage because it would be their choice to oppose me.
4) The only way they can handle it is to allow the person to compete in the sport they desire, but allow potential opponents to choose if they will go against them or not

Prefontaine questions

1) How is Pre portrayed as a person and as an athlete?
2) Does he appear to be a likable character?
3) What arrogant thing does Pre do to one of his teammates?
4) What lesson does Pre teach a 9 year old boy?
5) What current controversy with college athletics is introduced in this movie?
6) What was one of Pre's goals in High School as a runner?
7) What are the living conditions in the Olympic Village? What do these conditions remind us of?
8) What Olympic scandal took place during the Munich Olympics?

1) As a person, Pre is a very laid back and determined person who likes to get what he wants. As an athlete, he did whatever it took to win. He was the ultimate competitor, but was also very confident and cocky which was just what he needed.
2) If you like people who can be laid back yet still passionate and can show a cocky side, then yes, Pre was a likable character. But to some of his teammates, Pre just seemed like a talented showoff which was not something they liked.
3) Takes a lap and steals the attention after he had just won a discus event.
4) All I remember is him slowing the kid down and saying something like you won't have the speed to beat me yet or something.
5) The player's union issue was introduced in this film. Pre was filmed saying he was begging the ATU for food stamps just to get some food.
6) To make it to Munich and win gold in the mile, although he got there, it was for the 3 mile and he didn't win.
7) The living conditions in the village are really poor and terrible. It was as if they were not ready for anybody to be there, which reminded me of Sochi, Russia this past winter.
8) Israel had athletes at the games taken hostage and killed during the night in the Olympic Village by an Arab terrorist group.

Bruins and Their Playoff Hopes

After beating the Buffalo Sabres a few days ago, the Boston Bruins clinched the Presidents Trophy, an award given to the team who had the best regular season record. This is the first time in 25 years they have had the best record and their Stanley Cup hopes are higher than ever. Their first round match-up is no push over in the Detroit Red Wings, but the Bruins are the best overall team in the NHL by what I think is a pretty wide margin. I think the Bruins will handle the Red Wings in five games and their next opponent would either be the Tampa Bay Lightning or their biggest rival the Montreal Canadiens. Again, the Bruins are better than both of these teams so I think they would beat either team in no more than six games. In the Eastern Conference Championship, I think the Bruins will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in a rematch of last year's series. Although they will not sweep the Penguins, the Bruins will beat them in five or six games. In the Stanley Cup Final, I think the Bruins will face the Chicago Blackhawks, in another rematch of last year's Stanley Cup Final. On this point I agree with Barry Melrose, the hockey guru, but disagree with who he has winning. He is taking the Blackhawks in seven games, but I have the Bruins winning in five. I hope and believe that the Bruins will have their revenge for last year's defeat.

Lance Armstrong: The Cheater

7 times. That would be the amount of Tour de France victories that Lance Armstrong had in a row. But those are all void now. He cheated the race by using PED's for all of his 7 wins. He robbed the second place winner each time, who was truly better than him. Sure, you still have to train with PED's, but what about that person who trained ten times harder, still could be suspected of doping as well, but still absolutely should have beaten you and become internationally famous? How can this one man be so selfish, so ignorant, and so careless that he took so much pride away from others only because of cheating? Taking money away from others through cheating... Does he not have a conscience?

Here is a list of the second place finishers that should've won each of Lance Armstrong's wins...

1999: Alex Zülle (confessed to EPO use)

2000: Jan Ullrich (suspended from 2006 Tour; banned this year and stripped of all results from 2005 on)

2001: Jan Ullrich

2002: Joseba Beloki (kept out of 2006 Tour while under doping investigation, later cleared)

2003: Jan Ullrich

2004: Andreas Klöden (accused of illegal blood transfusion in the 2006 Tour)

2005: Ivan Basso (confessed to attempted doping, suspended)         \

Found on: http://deadspin.com/5937591/all-seven-of-lance-armstrongs-tour-de-france-wins-would-now-go-to-cyclists-with-doping-scandals-of-their-own

All of these people who came in second committed violations as well... but after these races. Cycling is far more than just tainted by drugs and PED's, but these 2nd place finishers were cleared of no wrong doing at the time of each race. And while these people came in second fair and square, the person who beat them out for the top spot was cheating and only admitted to it once he was found absolutely guilty. Even after being accused of cheating, Armstrong made poor excuses for his failed drug tests.

Initially, probably due to lawyer consent, Lance Armstrong said that the source of his failed tests came from under cooked steak. Are you kidding me? Did you really try and say all the drugs in your system came from a bad piece of meat. That is a ridiculous excuse, and nobody bought it. Nike decided to cut all ties from Armstrong with endorsements. His world famous campaign through Nike, Livestrong, which was made due to his insane comeback from cancer became tainted. Everything about Armstrong, including his comeback from testicular cancer was tainted. It's good that he is alive and well, but everything about this man is terrible and he deserves almost no respect. 

Seabiscuit Reflection

Seabiscuit was more than just a horse to the Americans at this time in history. He was more than a moneymaker and great racing horse. He was an icon that in more than one way represented hope and optimism for the people in America during the Great Depression. The public related to this horse because it was a small, lowly regarded animal that had not yet had any success. After tons of hard work however, Seabiscuit was gaining popularity and rising in stature. The gain in popularity, fortune, and overall happiness of the horse and its team enlightened the public and made their spirits and their hope for things improving much better. Although this horse was once so popular, I do think it would have the same poularity today as it did then. These are much different times, but Seabiscuit was an inspiration to so many people. He gave the lower class hope that things would get better if you worked hard and today it could have a similar effect.

Lessons that can be drawn from Seabiscuit's successes are how the values of hard work, perseverance, and patience can help you through tough times. Seabiscuit was all but given up on before Howard came into play. Once Howard's horse trainer showed patience and brought the horse back to nature, it regained its peace and normal horse's aggression. After true hard work and perseverance, Seabiscuit trained and trained and became a race winning horse despite its size. People who are low on the social ladder should be following these same concepts. Nothing in this world is free and nothing is just handed to you, you have to earn everything and Seabiscuit exemplified this better than most during his time.

Reaction to Sandusky Article

I think that there is no chance that Jerry Sandusky is innocent. Sure, he might have been a good husband and family man to his wife and others, but he did terrible things behind the scenes. One case of him sexually abusing a little kid, is enough to know he did this more than once, along with all the other evidence piled stacked up against him. I do think money was a contributing factor in the families, and now grown men, stepping forward and admitting to what happened, but that does not mean their claims are fake. I think Mrs. Sandusky may just be so in denial that her husband would do such bad things, that she refuses to believe any of it. Professional athletes and coaches are above the law in a way; they could care less about any fines because they have the money to pay for them. They are so much less cautious a lot of the time and make awful decisions because they have the security of the best, and most expensive... lawyers in the country. When it all comes down to it, there are many noteworthy exceptions to this, but the ones who commit the worst crimes, end up in jail.

Top Eastern Conference Teams Reeling

With the Pacers on a 4 game losing streak, the heat on a three game losing streak, and both teams star players struggling, does any Eastern Conference team have a chance to win the NBA Championship? Paul George scored only two points in a game against the Bobcats; Lebron scored 61 points against them. Lebron has been held under 25 points every game since, and under 20 twice. Along with the top East teams struggling, the top at the West are looking stronger than ever. The Houston Rockets in particular are 25-6 in their last 31 games, and James Harden has been on fire. Do any Eastern Conference teams have a chance?

An Interview on Sports With Andrew Steele

I also interviewed Andrew Steele about sports in class on Thursday. Andrew likes to play basketball, and also watches and follows basketball and football. Although Andrew plays basketball, his favorite sport to watch is football. His favorite team is the Seahawks because his dad used to work for the team. He told me that there is not a moment where he ever stops praising the team. I also asked him what his greatest sporting achievement was while playing in a game, but he could not think of one. So I then asked what Seahawk's accomplishment he was most proud of, and of course he said their victory in this past season's Superbowl.

I was curious how long Andrew had been playing basketball and he told me his whole life. Since he has such a passion for watching football, I asked him if he had ever played and he told me he never has. I also learned that he used to play baseball. I asked if any of the baseball or basketball teams he has played on ever won any championships, and he said one of his elementary school baseball teams won the rec league championship. I then asked him who his biggest professional sports role models is, and he said Kevin Durant because he is "nasty at basketball and seems like a good guy". Kevin is a good choice as a role model because even through all the "too skinny" criticism and constant comparison to Lebron, Kevin Durant still continues to succeed. My final question for Mr.Steele was which teams were his favorite in all of professional sports. He told me the Oklahoma City Thunder, Seattle Mariners, and Seattle Seahawks. I think Andrew really loves Seattle, especially since the Thunder used to be the Seattle Supersonics.

Sports Interview With Richie Donofrio

Today in Sports Reading and Writing class, I interviewed Norton High School sophomore Richie Donofrio. I asked him some questions about sports; sports that he plays, and others that he watches. Richie's main sport to play/ favorite in general is definitely baseball, so most of my questions were centered on baseball. He told me that he plays Baseball for the Norton High JV team, and plans on playing basketball and football next season. Although his favorite sport to play is baseball, Richie told me that he loves watching football because there is always something happening on the gridiron. I also asked him how long he has been playing these sports, and even though he has taken years off from football and basketball, he's been playing those along with baseball ever since he was old enough to sign up. 

Richie was asked, "What is your greatest achievement in any of the sports you have been involved in?". For this, Richie thought back to when he was nine years old on an all star baseball team where in a game he pitched 5 innings giving up no hits. At the plate may have been even better where he hit 3-3 with a triple, double and a single, this was definitely a game to be proud of for him. Richie also told me that he has hit three home runs in games, which is a pretty solid number for a sixteen year old. From a team success stand point, Richie has been a part of four baseball championships and two other sport championships. Richie told me his motivation through sports has always been Michael Jordan because he was the constant model of success. He is the best player ever and exemplified the importance of hard work throughout his exemplary career. The last thing I asked Richie was his favorite sports team, and being from Massachusetts, he said the Boston Red Sox. A great team to love as they just won the world series this past season.

Patriot's Top Free Agent Priorities

At the very top of this list is shutdown, soon to be free agent, cornerback, Aqib Talib. With the Patriots already having other needs in their secondary, Bill Belichick would love to keep Talib and not create a new problem for the defense. Being one of the top corners in the NFL, Talib will be looking for a lucrative contract as he is in the prime of his career. The Patriots need to bring Talib back for 2014, or longer. The top priority on offense is wide receiver Julian Edelman. By far Tom Brady's favorite target without Rob Gronkowski, Edelman raked in over 100 receptions, caught 6 touchdown passes, and had 1,056 yards receiving. Edelman's best traits at wide receiver aren't his speed or size, but his elusiveness, ability to make great catches, and extreme talent at gaining yards after the catch. Much like Talib, if Edelman were to hit free agency, many teams would love to acquire a talented receiver like him. Being younger than Talib, Edelman will probably be searching for a long-term deal. The Patriots have many more defensive needs such as a new starting safety as they released former starter Steve Gregory for cap purposes. Jamie Collins proved last year that he was the athletic linebacker that Belichick loves, and with a healthy Jerod Mayo, the linebacking corps should be greatly improved. As the Patriots beloved Vince Wilfork is aging and had a major injury with a torn achilles last season, extra defensive tackle/ defensive line help is much needed. The Patriots could also use some more help at tight end with no guarantees that Gronkowski will be ready for the upcoming season. In all, the patriots have many needs, with the majority of them being on defense.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/transactions/free-agents

A Successful Season for Norton Football

The Norton Football varsity team won their division title in this past 2013 fall sport season. With three very close games, they finished at the top of the division with those three wins keeping them in first. The team finished 8-3 so if those games had gone just a little bit differently, their record could have been much different. The team this past season was led by senior captains Mike Travers, Brad Wry, Tony Giglio, and the quarterback and safety, Mike Ready. Matt Hines, another senior, was a huge playmaker at wide receiver, running back, and cornerback; the supporting cast this past season was also very productive and helped win many games.

In Norton's first game, they traveled down the cape to Scituate and came back with a winning score of 28-27. It was a very close game throughout and it took no small amount of effort to come out with a win. The two key players of this game for the Lancers were Matt Hines and Mike Ready. Ready threw all four of his touchdown passes to Hines with the same passing route each time. The last touchdown pass came with under a minute left and was a tiptoe catch in the endzone by Matt Hines. The Norton sideline was going berserk and the defense made a clutch stop at the end to go home victorious. Just the next week, the team played at home against Middleborough and won that game by just two points at a score of 22-20. This game was much closer than it could have been, as Norton was leading at the end of the first half 22-0. Middleborough came out in the second half like a different team and seemed like they wanted to win the game more than the home team. This game was competitive to the end with Middleborough scoring three second half touchdowns. The Lancers however, needed to stop Middleborough on a two point conversion attempt at the end to seal the game and they did just that. Middleborough was sent home with a disappointing and upsetting loss.

Norton lost their next game vs. Medway and were dominated by their run game. There was, of course, many missed opportunities including dropped touchdown passes and fumbles in the redzone that they just could not overcome. The Lancers bounced back the next two weeks with two dominating wins against Dover-Sherborn and Bellingham, and were set to face Ashland the next week. The boys from Norton traveled to Ashland to play on their beautiful turf field and played in their most exciting game all season. The final score was 27-21 but the game was much closer than the score shows. The two teams were so evenly matched throughout with Matt Hines and Mike Ready scoring touchdowns for the Lancers. They were matched by Ashland's very talented quarterback and outstanding receiving corps. The game was tied at the end of the fourth quarter and ended up being sent to a tug of war kind of overtime to find the victor. Each team started at the ten yard line and had 4 downs to score a touchdown and then attempt to make either a point after or a two point conversion. Norton went first, scored a touchdown, and tried to get the two points. Ashland stopped their efforts to get into the endzone again so it was their turn and they seemed to have all the momentum. They got the ball to the three yard line on a series of runs and it seemed almost definite that they would score a touchdown. The Ashland quarterback stepped back into the shotgun to receive the snap... the center made a mistake and the snap sailed 20 yards over the quarterbacks head which the lancers recovered and they went back to Norton victorious.

The next week, the team dominated Millis/Hopedale 29-6 and finished the regular season 6-1 and won the TVL(Tri-Valley League) Small championship. They were riding into the playoffs with a great amount of momentum on their side. Once they got their though, they were given a very tough opponent in Apponequet Regional High School, at Norton's home field and Norton lost 42-14. After the first quarter, it was 7-7 and seemed like it would be a very close contest. In the second quarter though, Apponequet's "diesel" offense overpowered Norton and scored 21 points while Norton had only 7, so the halftime score was 28-14. In the third, Mike Ready obtained a concussion from a helmet to helmet hit and the team's MVP did not return. Apponequet went on to score 14 more points in the third and shut Norton out the whole second half. All of Norton's players were greatly disappointed and moved to 6-2 for the year. The next week, Norton played Hanover in the losers bracket for the first time ever and without their quarterback/safety, Mike Ready, the team seemed lost. They ended up losing 28-14 and went home again feeling disappointed. Against Bishop Stang the following week, Norton bounced back and destroyed them at home 35-6 with Mike Ready back leading the team. In Norton's last game of the season, they played Bellingham for their annual Thanksgiving day game. Norton won this for the seventh time in a row at a score of 32-14 and awards were given out after the game for each team.

In 2013 Norton finished with an impressive record of 8-3 and Coach Currle along with all the other coaches and players were proud of their season. Mike Ready won TVL Small MVP which was a great honor for him, Mike Travers won TVL Small defensive player of the year, and Matt Hines, Brad Wry, Mike Ready, Mike Travers, Tony Giglio, and George Reese were all named TVL all stars. Coach and the rest of the team congratulated these players on their great seasons as all but George Reese are graduating this year. Coach Currle said that many younger players will need to step up next year to fill in these large absences. Everybody will need to work throughout the offseason to get stronger, faster, and smarter, and all of the returning players plan to do that.

Shaun White's Disappointment in the Half-Pipe at the Olympics

Shaun White came in fourth at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia and says after the loss, "I'm disappointed". White was seeking to become the first male to ever win gold in the half-pipe in three consecutive Winter Olympic Games. White lost the competition to Iouri Podlatchikov, otherwise known as iPod, while trying to perform iPod's trick better than him. The trick called YOLO includes 1440 degrees in spins, two head-over-heels flips, and two 360 degree turns before the landing. White has good reason to be disappointed as he was the top scoring snowboarder to reach the finals after his quarterfinal runs. Those flawless runs on top of his two other gold medal performances in 2006 and 2010 made him a heavy favorite to win gold in Sochi. Although he was a heavy favorite, he came out of the competition without a medal. The man nicknamed iPod won gold with two Japanese snowboarders finishing second and third with White finishing fourth. With White dropping out of the slopestyle competition, he is leaving these Olympics without a medal.

Michael Sam in the NFL

There will be players who will support Sam in his career in the NFL. There will also be the players who will not be ready for a gay player in locker rooms. Michael Sam's own father said he believes that the NFL isn’t ready for a gay man, although he is very proud of his son, he is a man's man.

Super Bowl 48

This year's Super Bowl has the Seattle Seahawks playing against the Denver Broncos. I think that because of the cold weather, wind, and possible snow or rain, the Seahawks will win. They have the top defense in the league facing off against arguably the best offense ever, the Broncos. For the Seahawks to win, they will need one of the biggest safeties in the league, Kam Chancellor, shut down one of the better tight ends in the league, Julius Thomas. They will also need Richard Sherman to make big plays against Demaryius Thomas, and they need Earl Thomas to be a ball hawk like he always is. For Seattle on offense, Russel Wilson will throw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns, with over 100 of those yards going to Percy Harvin who i think will also contribute with his kick return abilities. I think the Broncos will try to shut Marshawn Lynch down but he will still manage to gain 100 yards and a TD. Peyton Manning on the other hand, the Broncos QB will throw for 300 yards, 3 Touchdowns, and 1 key interception that will be returned for a TD. Knowshon Moreno will not do as well as is expected from him, and Julius and Demaryius Thomas will really have to fight for their yards and receptions as they will have two of the best DB's in the league covering them. I predict the final score of the game to be 31-24. Seattle will get to hold the trophy after Super Bowl 48. (I also think Peyton Manning gets a little bit more attention than he deserves. He is very good, but his receivers gave him over 1,000 yards after the catch this past season. Their offense is predicated on the screen game, flat passes, and picks on crossing routes. This will not be as effective against the top ranked Seattle defense as it was against an injury-filled Patriots defense that the Broncos beat in the AFC Championship.)

NCAA Athlete Education Gap

At some major college universities, people conducted investigations where they found many exceptional college athletes could only read and write at an elementary school level. A specific school that was mentioned was the University of North Carolina. At UNC, Mary Willingham works as a consultant to students who need extra help with their assignments. She acknowledged that the school admitted some players who could not even read or write. She even said she had an athlete come to her and ask her to teach him how to read well enough so he could understand what was being said about him in newspapers. Other colleges that were a part of the investigation stated that some athletes only cared about doing well enough on some exams to remain NCAA eligible. To stay in school, they would often get others to do their work for them. As athletes, the academic expectations are not usually as high compared to regular students. Universities say they are interested in closing the gap, but the process would be very expensive and intensive.