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.