EAST HANOVER MIDDLE SCHOOL
” e l d d i M “ e “Stuck in th Volume 11, Issue 2 February, 2016
Warning: Zika Outbreak Going Viral By shayna dooley
There is a new virus outbreak in the Americas: one that has been reported in “23 countries and territories in the region.” The Zika virus, according to Margaret Chan, a World Health Organization (WHO) director-general, was detected last year in the Americas, but was first detected in Uganda in 1947. Now, it is “spreading explosively.” She also said that alarm was “extremely high.” The disease and situation are now very different than when it was first discovered. This disease is mosquito-borne. Signs of its devastation have been birth defects, like “birth of babies with abnormally small heads and with cases of Guillain-Barre syn-
drome”, a rare disorder that, at its worst, is a medical emergency. This syndrome can cause the person to be temporarily paralyzed. The agency is deciding whether or not this should be deemed a medical emergency. Marcos Espinal, an infectious disease expert at WHO’s American regional office, expects “three to four million cases of Zika virus disease”. There is no time frame for this disease, so it is not confirmed how long this will last. This is one of the reasons that the outbreak is so serious. To help fight the disease-carrying mosquitoes, Brazil has gotten workers to fumigate the areas with mosquitoes. Residents near the mosquitoes have also been warned of the dangers
of them, and have DEPARTMENTS been educated about where fe- News 1 male mosquitoes 2 lay their eggs. They Masthead 7 hope that if these Opinion measures are taken, 11 less people will be Feature 16 affected by the dis- Sports ease. 21 With luck, Back Page the Zika virus will not leave lasting damage, In this issue: and hopefully it DON’T EAT THE will pass quickly. SNOW—PG. 2 As of now, it is still spreading, WOMEN RUN THE and there is no SHOW—PG. 4 specific treatment or vaccine WATER, WATER EVERYfor this virus, but WHERE—PG. 6 since work is being done to STAR WARS REVISITfight this, we ED—PG. 11 can still hope. Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
MEET A NEW TEACHER—PG. 13 SUPER BOWL 50—PG. 20
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“STUCK IN THE “MIDDLE”
News The Other Side of Snow By laila hassanien
Almost everyone knows not to eat yellow snow, or snow that looks dirty. But one might want to think twice before biting into a pure white snowball. Snow forms when a cold water droplet crashes into a pollutant. They freeze together and then float into the air until more water droplets collide with them. Once enough droplets combine with each other, the snowflake is finally heavy enough to float down.
So when you take a chunk of snow from the ground, you are actually eating a pollutant covered in water. Eating snow has been linked to heart disease, strokes, and cancer. ABC News did an experiment to see how many air pollutants were in snow after an hour of it being on the ground. These were their results: “Concentrations of the dangerous pollutants started out ‘near the detection limit’ and, by the end of the hour, the level of pollutants had risen enough to conclude that the snow had ab-
sorbed them.” These observations conclude the fact that eating snow can be very dangerous and even deadly. There are millions of snowflakes in a handful of snow. When one eats enough snow, he is potentially setting himself up for stroke, heart attacks, or cancer. So while not eating snow that looks dirty is common sense to most, eating snow that just fell may not be the best idea either.
Masthead Editor in Chief — Ashley Chen News Staff— Shayna Dooley, Laila Hassanien, Maya Martzen, Samantha Rigor, Ashley Chen, Maddy Grieco Feature Staff— Maddy Grieco, Stephanie Macarrio, Maya Martzen, Natalie Paulus
Sports Staff— Ethan Gu, Jeremy Lai, Gianni Marano, Nitish Kasarla
Opinion Staff— Hassanien
Art / Copy Department Staff— Chen
Advisors—Mrs. Barone, Mrs. Treamont, and Mrs. Cacciabeve
Ashley
Marissa Biundo, Laila
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News Blizzard of 2016 By maddy grieco
In January 2016, a huge blizzard named Jonas hit the eastern United States. This blizzard was not like any other ordinary blizzard; rather a massive blizzard, especially after the north had a long period of warm, unseasonable weather. There was up to two feet of snow. Although there were many people who were ecstatic, there were also people who were injured or who died. The snow measured up to twenty four inches or more in some places and many people went out the next day to shovel their driveways, which
took many hours. On the day of the blizzard, the wind blew the snow lying on the ground, making it impossible to see. A state of emergency was declared, and people could not leave their homes. The roads were very dangerous and it was hard to see even inches in front of someone. This blizzard was very tough. Many people would have enjoyed a winter day in their house, but the next day, the weather worsened even more. Eventually, when everything died down from the blizzard, people were already skiing and sledding down slopes.
The aftermath of the blizzard was fun for children, but strenuous and hard for parents. The blizzard also caused serious troubles to many families. Since many people died from shoveling and car accidents, the snow was quite a burden on people in different ways. There was a reported case of forty-eight people who died from shoveling the snow from the Associated Press. Post blizzard incidents caused the most injuries and deaths from a storm that came out of nowhere. In conclusion, Jonas was not the best way to start out the new year. It caused many ups and downs for the beginning of January. Sledding and playing in the snow was great, however, there were many tragedies and deaths in families from shoveling the heavy snow. Let’s hope there won’t be another snowstorm for a while, or at least until next winter!
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“STUCK IN THE “MIDDLE”
News Who Runs the World? By ashley chen
Women have been gaining strides to obliterate gender discrimination, especially in politics. At the start of 2005, females started securing world leader positions and this has been increasing throughout the years. On January 16th, Taiwan’s first female president was elected. Tsai Ing-wen won by a landslide of 56.1% votes. She had no political background and became the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is a liberal political party that focuses on human rights and Taiwanese independence. With this strong view, the relationship
between China and Taiwan will probably worsen and China will be posing more threats to Taiwan. As a result, United States and Japan announced themselves as allies of Taiwan again. With China continuing to stir up trouble, Tsai Ing-wen will face many threats and difficult decisions in the not so distant future. Moving on, in the United States' elections, U.S. may be getting its first female president, Hillary Clinton. As the elections drag on, Clinton will
need to work hard to reach out to America’s heart and the nation’s young voters. Her win will add to the women’s strive for equality. A cco rdi n g to h t t p : / / www.jjmccullough.co m/charts_rest_femaleleaders.php there are a current total of twentytwo women who have world leader positions — either from being elected or designated by the government or heritage. As one can see, women are on
the rise in gaining political positions that formerly were held by only men. In South Korea, a female president named Park Geun-hye was elected in February 23, 2013.
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News Park was the chairman of Grand National Party before running for the presidency. She broke the historical records because she was the first female president in South Korea. She was also marked as the eleventh most powerful woman and most powerful in East Asia. This is a big improvement compared to the past for female politicians. Furthermore, the German Prime Minister, Angela Merkel, is a powerful female and the first female chancellor. Merkel rose in ranks over the past years. First she joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party and then was appointed to Helmut Kohl’s cabinet as a Prime Minister
of Women and Youth, and soon afterwards she served as a minister of environment and nuclear safety. She received the name of Secretary General of Christian Democratic Union in 1988. Then in 2000 she was chosen to become the party leader. Through several defeats, she finally was able to become the first female chancellor and first former German Democratic Republic to lead the reunited Germany. She
was then elected for another two terms. This is one step closer in gaining equality for both genders, including jobs, status, and gender boundaries. Women have progressed further into the political world and have torn down walls that would previously have stopped them from having the same rights as men. As time passes, the stereotypes of women who could only stay home will begin to bend as room is being made for women to form a social uprising. Works Cited http://www.nytimes.com/201 6/01/17/world/asia/taiwanelections.html http://www.biography.com/ people/park-geun-hye21145475
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“STUCK IN THE “MIDDLE”
News State of Emergency in Michigan By samantha rigor
Many of us take water for granted. One can simply turn on the shower or the faucet, and there will be water to use. However, in Flint, Michigan, that is not the case. In fact, the tap water in the city is toxic. It all began in April 2014, when Michigan needed a cost-efficient way of supplying water to Flint while a new supply line to Lake Huron was being built. The state decided to temporarily switch the town’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. After the switch, residents began to notice how the water was cloudy and smelled and tasted bad.
Researchers at Virginia Tech found that the water was highly corrosive and eroded the iron water mains, which caused it to turn brown. Besides this, the lead in half the town’s pipes seeped into residents’ water due to the corrosiveness and also resulted in extreme amounts of lead found in children’s blood. This caused the city to switch back to the Lake Huron water supply in October 2015. Even so, it was too late, as Mayor Karen Weaver, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and President Barack Obama have declared a state of emergency in the city regarding the high lead levels found in the tap water. Now, there must be a solution to this crisis. Of course there is, but it is certainly no ‘easy fix.’ People will need to treat the rising health issues, clean the water from the Flint River, and upgrade the contaminated pipes.
Though actions are being taken by the government, a class-action lawsuit against Governor Snyder and the state Department of Environmental Quality has been filed by Michigan residents. They claim that the officials there had known that there were issues in the water and ignored the dangers until they began to worsen and make the water supply unsafe. Besides residents, there have been statements made and actions taken by presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton as well as celebrities like Cher. Through the criticism, Snyder defended himself on Twitter, saying, “Political statements and finger pointing from political candidates only distract from solving the Flint water crisis.” Nevertheless, the rest of the nation must take action to assist those in Flint, Michigan during this crisis.
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Opinion Mass Shootings By marissa biundo
Last year, there were over 300 mass shootings in the United States. San Bernardino, Colorado Springs, Roseburg, Chattanooga, and Charleston were just some of the places that were affected by this travesty. How can we stop this? Stricter gun control? Better mental health facilities? I investigated these shootings, their causes, and the solutions offered, and the answer is simple: Better gun control. This issue pops up constantly. Many people are tired of hearing about it, and others are highly offended by it. But the truth is unavoidable, and there needs to be a better solution. Even
though the Second Amendment states that a person has the right to bear arms, it was written during a time when people believed that droughts were caused by witches and demons, and not by a lack of water. It was written when women were forced to stay home, and men were made to go to war. Additionally, many conservatives argue that people need guns to protect themselves. Against what, though? Burglars? What if it was not a burglar, and was just someone’s mother,
daughter, or son? What if someone, with the intention of protecting their family with guns ended up destroying it? This a fairly common occurrence. If a person were to search “man thought burglar was in home and accidentally shoots� on Google, they would get 689,000 results. Also, although mentally ill people can still own guns, it is arguably a bad choice as many ill people do not think rationally before acting.. Arguably, gun control is the only solution to mass shootings. Hopefully, the government will finally realize this blatant fact is staring them in the face and take actions to control the selling and distribution of firearms.
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Opinion The World’s Biggest Cyberbully By ashley chen
Behind a screen, you log into Facebook and look up the latest posts from your friends. Then the green light flashes next to the name Hina C. showing that she is online. You groan a bit, as you wait to see the drama being played out again for the hundredth time. However, you feel safe because you are protected by an invisible wall that separates you from the rest. Cyber bullying is very common. In the past years, it began on social media sites because it was so easy to start bullying someone without seeing them in person.. One simply needed to hide behind a screen and begin posting threats or mean criticism about others. Now, there are literally no restrictions on the web and bullying is viral beyond belief. Like a bully in
school, many countries, politicians, and other high ranking people may use this as a place to express their thoughts. One example would be China, which has the biggest population and dictatorship. Many times, China has threatened countries, especially southeastern Asia, that they would attack. These comments cannot be easily overlooked because China wants to dominate. In order to achieve this, the government must try to bring out other countries’ fears and use it to their advantage. As one threat that was used against Taiwan’s election of 2016 stated, “If Tsai Ing-Wen won the election, the earth will shake and the mountain will move”. However, did that happen when the female president, Tsai Ing-Wen, got elected? Absolutely not. China tries to intimidate other countries by speaking out against foreign policies of other
countries. Recently, Japan has been targeted as well. “Japan experienced more than 25 billion cyberattacks in 2014, with 40 percent of them traced back to China” (Gady Franz-Stefan. “Japan hit by Cyberattacks at an Unprecedented Level”. February 20, 2015. Web. 2016. http:// t h e d i p l o mat.com/2015/02/japan -hit-by-cyberattacks-at-anunprecedented -level/ With the high levels of cyberbullying, Japan needs to counter the cyberattacks by forming alliances and new ties with Europe. This will benefit their battle. Japan sees cooperation with Europe on cybersecurity in particular as more important than ever. One reason is the increasing threat posed by authoritarian regimes such as China to the multi-stakeholders model of internet governance (e.g., hindering the free
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Opinion flow of information and as a consequence undermining human rights online.), which runs counter to Japan’s idea of a free and open Internet” (Gady FranzStefan. “Japan hit by Cyberattacks at an Unprecedented Level”. February 20, 2015. Web. 2016. <http:// t h e d i p l o mat.com/2015/02/ j a p a n - h i t -b y cyberattacks-at-anunprecedented-level/>) China’s cyberbullying has affected other countries as well, as they use the internet to their advantage. This includes 16 year-old pop singer Taiwanese Tzuyu, who had to apologize to her whole fan group on January 15, 2016. The Chinese government and fans singled her out for holding up a Taiwanese flag. Where was the freedom of speech or simply the right to hold a flag? Tzuyu is from the Korean pop group Twice
and was criticized for supposedly promoting Taiwan’s independence by holding the flag of her country on a broadcasting station called “My Lit-
tle Television”. Then her record company, JYP Entertainment ,forced her to apologize to her “fans” with a speech of her love for China and how she had stepped out of line. This was peer pressure and humiliation on a young adolescent. In her video, she spoke about how great China was and her love for it. “There was only one China. I feel proud to be Chinese” (Chou, Tzuyu. “Twice- 160115 Tzuyu Official Apologies [Eng]”. 15 January, 2015. https:// www.youtube.com/
w a t c h ? v=rp71XVww5kU). These underhanded actions are cruel because they have a negative impact on the victim. This is something the Chinese government does well, as they despise the idea of Taiwan gaining independence. Though Tzuyu was humiliated by the public, she earned more support from the public and several spokesmen began to direct this issue as unjust and gave their support towards Taiwan. As for the bystanders online, which are the people who own an account, they have the future of the victim in their hands. Therefore watch the earth shake and the mountains move, as we gather our forces together and fight against cyberbullying, no matter if it is in the classroom or across country divides.
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Opinion The Racism in Our Lives By ashley chen
February
7,
2016
marked the 50th anniversary of the Super Bowl, however on that same day, it was also the 50th anniversary for another group, the Black Panthers. A Black Panther is “a member of a militant political organization set up in the US in 1966 to fight for African American rights” https://www.google.com/w eb h p ? s o ur c e id= c h r o m e i n stant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UT F 8#q=what%20are%20black %20panthers During the halftime show, Beyonce’s performance hinted, through her gestures and motions, towards the Black Panther ideology. In the performance the background dancers were clothed in black and Beyonce wore a black uniform with a golden “x” across her chest. She also hinted at the Panthers with her song title, “Formation” indicated to honor them. How could Super
Bowl officials allow this to be presented in such a manner? Each artist and performance was chosen by “a panel headed by the NFL's director of entertainment and TV programming teams up with the league's production company and the show's producer and director to select the performers of the Super Bowl's halftime show. Once an artist is selected, the team consults with the network broadcaster and the game's sponsors to determine complete halftime festivities” http://www.ask.com/sportsactive-lifestyle/halftimeperformers-chosen-superbowl-7934b871b67ace34 Therefore the song and performance would have been reviewed and checked to be appropriate for the halftime show. The only conclusion was that director of the NFL and other TV programming wanted to promote Beyonce’s cause. She is a famous popstar who can influence many minors to hold a grudge towards the Caucasian race. Also this was a perfect time to publicize a new idea and era. The song title was “Formation”
which may have pointed to the re-creation of this org a n i z a t i o n . This showed how manipulative people can be in order to send a message. They want to influence the younger generations and hope that the hatred continues. Though as the generations go by, the children are more tolerant of every race, but the everyday comments about someone’s race is still common in our w o r l d t o d a y . The way we express our thoughts and feelings can be dangerous and words can be used like weapons. Americans must be more accepting of others and break racial boundaries. Each race has its trials. The older generations started the lines that defined what prejudice is. However we adolescents must choose whether to accept or break the stereotypes that have been set . In our lives, we need to make changes and get rid of all racial boundaries that may restrict us. Ignoring celebrity endorsements like those of Beyonce’s is just one step closer to achieving this goal.
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Feature The Force Awakens By marissa biundo
Ever since I was young, I have loved the Star Wars movies, so when movie makers announced another trilogy, I was extremely happy. And when I found out that a girl was going to be the lead? I sobbed. Going into the movie, which I watched in 3D, I was very excited, and while I may be biased towards the movie, I loved every minute of the new saga. Without spoiling anything, the movie was incredibly good. It was not absolutely amazing, but it was very close. The characters were fleshed out, the plot was intriguing, and I barely even noticed any CGI. (Although, it was probably in every scene) The villain, Kylo Ren, has an interesting backstory, but I will not reveal it since it is a HUGE spoiler. All I can say is that the Jedis need to step up their training game. The only
gripe I have it that I wanted a better lightsaber
fight, but from the looks of it, Episode VIII will have just that. Additionally, the older characters, Luke, Leia, and Han Solo, do appear, but they do not steal the spotlight from the new characters. Being included is a great homage, and it really does feel like a Star Wars movie with them in
it. The newer characters, Rey, Finn, Poe, and the cutest droid ever, BB-8, are already living up to their predecessors. (And on the casting, it is a definite A+ from me). All in all, Star Wars was a fantastic film that deserves all of the (almost) two billion dollars it has earned. With five more movies on the way, two more in the series and three based on characters, it is hard to imagine that they will be with us throughout high school, but here the movies are, and here they are going to stay.
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Feature Debate in the 6th Grade Wing By natalie paulus
Are killer whales heartbroken every time they are left by themselves or when their baby is taken away from them? Or are they happy to see their babies go to a safer environment complete without any predators? This year in M r s . McDonough’s and Mr. Hardin’s ELA classes, we participated in a debate about animals being held in captivity vs. not being in captivity. When we held the debate,
all the classes divided in two groups. When it was the day to present, we had to stand up and argue about whether Sea World was a loving or harmful place.
Of course, the debate got intense at times. Every student fought over the fact of who was right or wrong. We still did not know who won at the
end of the debate, because the teachers were the judges and were left to decide which group convinced them more. When the results were announced, the “con” team, which was against having animals in captivity, won. What are your opinions about this topic? Is Sea World a horrible place or a safe option for animals like killer whales? And if you had to debate it, whose side would you be on?
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Feature Introducing: Miss Xepolitos By maya martzen
Meet Ms. Xepolitos, the new sixth grade science and social studies teacher, who joined East Hanover Middle School this year. Ms. Xepolitos en-
joys teaching because she is doing something that she loves. She also finds teaching hard be-
cause teachers have to reach every student and meet them halfway. Ms. Xepolitos has been teaching for four years. The hardest subject she has taught has been chemistry. Ms. Xepolitos had originally wanted to become a French teacher. She learned some French, but forgot some of the language. Instead, she is now teaching science and social studies in a great sixth grade class! Additionally, Ms. Xepolitis is the advisor for a new sixth grade club called Soaring for Success. Her family includes a brother and sister, and a dog too â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a pug named Sammy, thus making the pug her favorite type of dog. Her favorite color
is pink. Her favorite vacation sport is Mexico and her very favorite holiday is July 4th. Finally, Ms. Xepolitos is looking forward to her wedding which is set for July 1, 2016. We are very luck to have her here at EHMS. She has been a great addition to the 6th grade teaching team, and I hope you get to know Ms. Xepolitos as well as I have!
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Feature Interview: Mr. Accardi By laila hassanien and natalie paulus
In the absence of Ms. Costello, Mr. Robert Accardi has been the interim principal at EHMS. With the months spent in Middle School, he has already set up plans for this school year. He was formerly a principal at Chatham High School, and he began his career as a principal when he gained interest in helping teachers and other support staff do the best job they could. He describes his leadership style as a word commonly used — collaborative. This means that the school can accomplish
more together than as individuals. He loves working with the teachers and staff, and he personally feels like it is a wonderful community. Mr. Accardi thought that the best way to tackle a new principal positon was to come in, be a good listener, and he has done that since the beginning. He is getting more comfortable with our school’s system and is managing the school well with the help of others. For the few months that he will spend here in East
Hanover Middle School, Mr. Accardi states that he “loves the environment of this middle school and students and staff.” He also believes that no school activity should be taken away and that it will be great if this school added an additional day to celebrate a novel that all classes might read. Addit io n ally he thinks that recess should be brought back as a nice reward to students for being respectful and quiet at lunch. Furthermore, he has a very strong opinion on the controversial PARCC exam. He states that he feels that PARCC is very helpful in
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Feature helping us discover where children are in their understanding, but at the same time, is happy to see the state of New Jersey reduce the PARCC testing by 50%. This will allow students and teachers to have less stress and more instructional time with each other. He tells students to look at the test as an opportunity to know where their strengths lie and where they could use more practice. He relies mostly on the expertise of the teachers to ensure every student is growing and learni n g . Mr. Accardi has made many plans for this year and is looking to forward to making them a reality.
An example of his achieved goals was to change the way students came into the school building in the morning, which has made entering the school building less of a hassle. Another future goal will be to have every student to have music, art, and physical education every day instead of having the cycles. Other goals are to have more and more teachers participate in Fitness Friday, which has included line-dancing, volleyball, and yoga. It
is amazing how many teachers have decided to join him on early Friday mornings! Overall, he loves middle school because of the fact that children are young enough to learn new things like friendships and subjects. He summed up, in one sentence his opinion of East Hanover Middle School, “I would like this school to continue what it currently is — which is a very friendly and supportive community.” He will be greatly and genuinely missed when he leaves, but leadership and great sense of humor will remain in the hearts of all at Middle School for a long time to come.
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Sports Mr. Colasurdo’s 2016 Wrestling Season By Jermey Lai
The EHMS wrestling team has had two back to back undefeated seasons. As the new season approaches, Coach Colasurdo hopes to achieve their third back to back undefeated season and make school history. Starting out, the team demonstrated its potential by winning the first few matches. However, the matches that are approaching will be increasingly challenging. With every match they win, it not only marks the continuation of their undefeated streak, it also mark the chance of Coach Colasurdo winning his one hundredth wrestling match! Coach C. has stated that being in the classroom had indeed
helped him to get kids out to participate in wrestling. Many of the young men that have joined the team this year had little to no experience in wrestling prior to joining. However, those students have turned out to be very crucial to the team by winning key matches throughout the season, which will lead up to the one hundredth win. When asked how hard his team has worked this year, Coach C. graded his team efforts as an eight out of ten. In order to continue the success they have been having so far, the Coach says his team must stay “ healthy and stay academically healthy too, meaning they must maintain an above 70% grade”. UPDATE: The wrestling team continued to be successful
and won their match against West Essex. Unfortunately, a few matches later they lost against Frelinghuysen and their undefeated streak ended. The match came down to the wire and although the EHMS wrestling team gave it their best, they lost 48 to 42. The final 2016 record was 11-1 and the squad also took 2nd place in the country tournament for the second year in a row. Throughout the season, wrestlers such as Glenn Torkos, Luca Birnbaum, Brice Summer, and Eddie Luzniak impressed Coach C. with their performance during the meets. ALL the wrestlers worked extremely hard to accomplish what they did, and the team should exit this season with their heads held high.
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Sports Warriors: Historical Winning Streak By ethan gu
This year, the Golden State Warriors started the new season with a bang, after their amazing NBA Finals victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. With an outstanding record of 24-0 to start the 2015-2016 NBA basketball season, this Warriors team set a new record for all sports. This team is led by Steve Kerr, a man who took the challenge of putting together a brilliant team. It is full of young stars still on the rise. This stellar team is led by allstars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and the rising star Draymond Green. Even when these players are out, they still have dominant players who can back them up and score. These include Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, Andrew Bogut, and many others. However, before the arrival of Steve Kerr, this team struggled to play as a team. They definitely had the necessary compo-
nents; they simply needed a leader to bring them all together. Steve Kerr has done just that, and has made many bold decisions that have all paid off. Some of these were even made on the biggest stage, the NBA Finals. Steve Kerr realized the Cavaliers were short-handed and needed to play only a few players. He decided to play â&#x20AC;&#x153;smallâ&#x20AC;? making the controversial decision to start Andre Iguodala for the first time this year. This turned out to be an amazing idea, and he shut down the dominant LeBron James. The team had the necessary pieces for the amazing run, and unsurprisingly they did. After a brilliant 20142015 season that shocked many people in the NBA that led to a championship, this Golden State Warriors team wants to repeat with their dominance over the other teams in the NBA. This winning streak definitely was not the easiest. The Warriors needed to beat many other difficult teams such as the New Orleans Pelicans, Los Angeles Clippers, Indianapolis Pacers, and even the Cleveland Cavaliers that they played in NBA Finals. Sadly, like all other streaks, this one
came to an end. They lost to the Milwaukee Bucks on December 12, 2015. This loss came after a hard-fought victory over the Boston the day before, and a long flight from Boston. All these came together to make for a harder than usual game for this team. They struggled with shooting, which usually was their greatest advantage in their games. However, in this game, their shooting was off, and this came back to haunt them. Ironically, the longest winning streak ever to last in the NBA was the Los Angeles Lakers with 33 games, but this streak was cut short by the Milwaukee Bucks as well! The Milwaukee Bucks is usually never the best team in the league, but they definitely have a hunch for breaking winning streaks. However, the past is not what needs to be noticed, but the bright future of the Warriors. This team is destined for another championship. They may not still have a dominant winning streak right now, but they are still one of the best teams in history. If they continue with their winning ways, they are sure to repeat their success of last year.
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“STUCK IN THE “MIDDLE”
Sports Road to Playoffs By Gianni Marano
A wild 2015/16 NFL season brought heart breaking loses, miracle wins, and an almost undefeated team. The AFC was a crazy conference this year as every team had a chance to get to the playoffs, like the Jets. They controlled their own destiny to make the playoffs with only one win needed. For the Steelers they needed a Jet loss and a win to get in. The Steelers needed a little help from a team called the Bills. The Bill dominated the Jets on the scoreboard, not letting Jets take the lead even once in the game. With Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing three interceptions the Steelers, with an easy win over the Browns, made the playoffs and pushed themselves one step closer to the Super Bowl. Another crazy thing that happened in the NFL was with Brock Osweiler. Peyton Manning went down and needed Brock Osweiler to come in and save the Broncos season. He did just that —helping them
to the playoffs and getting the #1 seed. Another normal season for the Patriots, except for the couple of upsetting loses. Another first round bye for them and they were in the divisional game again. The Chiefs went on a nine game winning streak and got themselves a spot in the playoffs as the #5 seed. The Houston Texans played great this year with DeAndre Hopkins leading the way with eleven touchdowns. The Bengals also made the playoffs, but with the injury of Andy Dalton the Bengals blew the first round bye and made the #3 seed. The Panthers were one game away from having a perfect regular season, but a loss to Atlanta ended it. The Cardinals took the #2 seed after only losing three games in the regular season. The Minnesota Vikings and the Green Bay Packers both had crazy seasons with making the last game of the
season one to watch. Whoever won the last game against each other would have the #3 seed and the loser would be in the #5 seed. Packers choked at home and took the #5 seed. The #4 seed was up for grabs in the NFC East with arguably the worst division in the league. The Redskins won their division with Kirk Cousins. He came in for RG3 in the beginning of the season and ended up bringing the Redskins to the playoffs. The Seahawks took the #6 seed made the playoffs easily because no one was even close to taking the seed away from them. The NFC was crazy until the end this year and everything came down to the wire. The most exciting was the Panthers almost went undefeated in the regular season and looked to make it to the Super Bowl and win that one last game too!
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Sports When Will Blake Griffin Woes End? By nitish kasarla
Blake Griffin is the last player the Los Angeles Clippe rs would want to be out with an injury, but it is what it is. Blake Griffin had already been injured on December 26, 2015, with a torn quadriceps, except it wouldn’t be his last injury of the season. But according to ESPN, on January 23th, Griffin got into a fight with the Clipper’s equipment manager Matias Testi in a restaurant in Toronto. Griffin, a five-time All Star, broke his right hand in the fight. The Clippers later verified that he would be out for four to six weeks. According to CNN, Griffin later posted via Twitter “A situation
among friends escalated and I regret the way I handled myself towards someone I care about,” he stated, “I want to apologize to the Clippers organization, my teammates and the fans for creating a distraction. I am working with the team on a resolution and getting back in the game as soon as possible.” Griffin will be sadly missed by his team, and this is already showing on the court. From December 26th to January 24th, when Griffin was out with a torn quad, the Clippers, trying to sur-
vive without Griffin, won twelve and lost three. This may not sound serious, but the Clippers could have done better with Blake. Griffin has averaged 22 points per game so far in the 2015-2016 season. In the three games that the Clippers lost, there was a ten or less point difference in the game. The Clippers would have most likely won the games, had Griffin been playing. Blake Griffin is one of the most important players on the Clippers offense. He can score, defend, rebound, block, etc. He is a great all around player, but one thing he isn’t good at is staying injury free, so it may be some time before Blake Griffin hits the hardwood.
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“STUCK IN THE “MIDDLE”
Sports Super Bowl Highlights By gianni marano
At Super Bowl 50, the Carolina Panthers and their MVP quarterback Cam Newton had a tough game against the Broncos who had the number one defense in the league. The first quarter was dominated by the Broncos. The first drive of the game resulted in a Brian McManus field goal from 34 yards out. Later that quarter, Von Miller had an easy strip sack on Cam Newton. Malik Jackson, the defensive end for the Broncos, recovered the fumble and scored for an easy six points. Brian McManus’s extra point made it 10 to 0 Broncos in the first. The second quarter was a slow quarter and neither team could really push it down the field far enough to get into field goal range. In the fourth minute of the quarter, Cam handed the ball off to Jonathan Stewart who jumped the pile for a one yard touchdown. The score was 10-7 and getting close. Broncos drove down field, but they were stopped by the Panthers defense who made them settle for a field
goal. At halftime, the score was 13-7 in favor of the Broncos. The first half was okay for running back Jonathan Stewart of the Panthers. He had 25 of his 29 yards rushing in the first half. Again the third quarter was low scoring with a McManus kick as the only scoring play of the half. The final quarter started with the score being 16-7 Broncos. It was a two score game. Graham Gano made it a 1 possession game with a field goal early in the fourth quarter. The score was 16-10 Broncos. In the 3rd minute of the final quarter C.J. Anderson went into the end zone for a two yard rush. The score was 22-10 at this point, and the Broncos beat the two-point conversion to make it a two possession game. The Broncos got the two-point conversion and made the score 24-10. This play pretty much sealed the deal for the Bron-
cos. The Panthers had one last shot but they had to punt it away. The Broncos kept the ball from there on out and won Super Bowl 50. This was Peyton Manning's 200th career win and he holds the most wins among all players. This is also Peyton Manning’s second Super Bowl win and now he and his brother each have two Super Bowl rings. Peyton Manning's legacy was one of the best. Peyton Manning only threw 144 yards and one interception. These were not MVP- caliber numbers so the MVP award went to Von Miller, the linebacker of the Broncos. He had 2.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Cam Newton and Carolina went a long way going 15-1 in the regular season, but could not pull it out in the Super Bowl. In the end, the game came down to defense, and the Broncos had a brilliant defensive game for the Super Bowl. The final score was 2410.
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