Lion Pride Newspaper
7th Edition Friday, May 17, 2019
On behalf of Lion Pride, we’re sorry we’ve had so many issues this year.
Sports Section
Middle School Track This year’s middle school track team has been having a great year so far, winning all seven of its meets, including their two championship meets. All of the athletes improved greatly over the course of the season, with a little under 50 competitors on the team overall, split into sprinters (400 meters and less), distance runners (800, 1600 and 3200 meters), and throwers (discus and shot-put). We had meets at St. Marks (2), TCA (1), Prince of Peace (1), Parish (1), and Greenhill (2), with a Hockaday meet rained out at the beginning of the year. Raja was one of the standout distance runners, running a 5:08 1600 (mile) and 11:24 3200 (two miles). Temi and Jonathan were each good enough to run with the best of the eighth graders in the 4x100 and 4x200 meter relays. Also, Judah and Bobby were the two seventh grade throwers, each doing great in the discus and shot-put. At the end of the season, the track team split into four teams and played games for points. Some of them were team games like kickball, capture the flag, and ultra-ball, but others were track and field events with a twist. There were two events in each section of the team, but the sprinters couldn’t do the sprinting events, distancers couldn’t do the distance events, and the throwers couldn’t do the throwing events. This gave them an idea of what the other members of the team felt and how hard each others’ events were. It was a great track season, and the seventh grade hopes to anchor the team next year.
NBA Conference Semis Review *Note: This story was written before any of the Conference Finals started. West Conference Semifinals #1 Golden State Warriors vs. #4 Houston Rockets: While the Warriors had a little trouble winning the 1st round when they lost two games to the 8-seeded Clippers, the Rockets had no trouble winning 4-1 against the #5 Jazz. The Warriors won the first 2 games at home against the Rockets, but the first by only four and the second by six. The Rockets came back by winning their 2 home games by margins of 4 and 5, the first going to OT. In these games, Steph Curry dislocated his finger and lost his magical touch while Demarcus Cousins injured his quad and went out for the series. The Warriors won the next game back in Oakland 104-99 but paid a great price in losing KD for the rest of the series. In the sixth and clinching game for the Warriors, Steph Curry scored 0 points in the first half but 33 in the second en route to a 118-113 win. This was an amazing, close series with a combined score of 670-659, Warriors. #2 Denver Nuggets vs. #3 Portland Trail Blazers: Damian “Dame Time” Lillard hit a half-court buzzer-beater against the Thunder in Game 5 to lead the Blazers to a 4-1 victory, while the Nuggets barely edged out the Spurs in a Game 7 victory. The Nuggets rode that victory to a 121-113 Game 1 victory thanks to 37 points from Nikola Jokic. However, the Blazer won the next two games: the first 97-90, and then the second 140-137 in a 4 OT thriller. The Nuggets won the next two games to make it 3-2, but Portland came back with a big home victory to set up Game 7. In Game 7 in Denver, CJ McCollum scored 37 points to lead the Blazers comeback from down 17 to win 100-96.
East Conference Semifinals #1 Milwaukee Bucks vs. #4 Boston Celtics: Both the Celtics and the Bucks swept their way through the first round and met for a highly anticipated matchup. Boston went into Milwaukee and won 112-90 behind a 26-11-7 game from Kyrie Irving. In the next four games, however, it was all going right for Giannis, Khris Middleton, and the Bucks. They won by double digits all but once and proved their number one seeding wasn’t just a fluke by this young, very impressive team. The “Greek Freak” amazed with 142 points in these 5 games, while young shooter Khris Middleton exploded for 28 in game 3. The critics who questioned Boston’s leadership and chemistry turned out to be right as Boston lost four games straight after winning the first. #2 Toronto Raptors vs. #3 Philadelphia 76ers: Each of these teams had a gentleman's sweep (4-1) in the first round, and it set the stage for an exciting matchup. This series delivered, big time. The Raptors won the first game in Toronto pretty big, but the 76ers came back to a Game 2 win. This time in Philly the 76ers won the first game big, but the Raptors won the next. Kawhi Leonard was the complete star of these 4, scoring 142 with an average of over 35 points a game. In the next game in Toronto, they won huge with six players scoring double-digits. The 76ers won the next game with Joel Embiid scoring 17 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler having a 25-6-8 game. This set the stage for a Game 7 in Toronto. It was not a disappointment, and the Raptors found themselves with the ball, tied 90-90 with 4 seconds left. They passed it into Kawhi Leonard, who dribbled around the key, then made a shot that bounced on the rim 4 times. He was the star of the series, finishing it off with 41 points in Game 7.
Middle School Tennis The Middle School Tennis Team finished undefeated. After the season, to celebrate the great season, we all went to Dave and Buster’s, which was a fun team experience. The reason we got to this point in time is because of the hard work of every member of the team. They worked tirelessly day and night practicing for hours on end. This team should be given a shoutout for the dedication this season. Below are three action shots that show correctly how to hit the ball back to your opponent. The person hitting the ball is one of the 7th grade leaders of the team, Arnav Lahoti:
Looking Ahead In Football It’s been three months since football ended, and only four months until it starts back up again, so here’s an early review on the NFL, specifically the draft, and what’s been going on in college football. NFL The NFL Draft was on April 25-27, and had some surprises and team-building pieces. As expected, the first pick in the draft belonging to the Arizona Cardinals, was the great quarterback from Oklahoma, Kyler Murray. He won the Heisman trophy to mark the second time a team has produced back-to-back Heismans, with Baker Mayfield last year from Oklahoma as well, and the first time a team has produced back-to-back Heismans at the same position, quarterback. To add onto that, this is the first time a team has produced back-to-back first overall picks in the NFL draft, which is amazing. A few picks later, Clelin Ferrell was picked earlier than predicted, 4th overall by Oakland. But the biggest shock in the draft was the Giants’ 6th overall pick, picking Duke QB Daniel Jones instead of Dwayne Haskins, who was picked later by the Redskins. Some teams who people generally agree did well this draft: Patriots, Raiders, Cardinals, and Dolphins, while teams that didn’t do so hot: Texans, Bengals, and Saints. Although the draft was the most interesting, there were other exciting offseason moves in the NFL. The Browns are becoming one of the trendiest picks this year with Mayfield & Co. coming back, but this time, with OBJ, which they traded for from the Giants. Kliff Kingsbury, known for his quarterback development and air raid offense at Texas Tech was hired by the Arizona Cardinals, and he really wanted Kyler Murray. Once he got him, he didn’t see a need for two young up-and-coming quarterbacks, so he traded Josh Rosen to the Dolphins for draft picks and stuff. Once again, the Saints, Chiefs, Rams, and Patriots all look like the best bets to win the Super Bowl, but don’t count out the Bears and Cowboys. This is the 100th year of the NFL, so that’s exciting, and only 111 days until the season kicks off between the Bears and Packers.
College Football Obviously, the college football offseason isn’t as exciting as the NFL offseason, but there’s a few interesting things to look at. There are becoming “free agents” in college football because of the transfer portal. With that, there have been some new transfers this year that will shake up the landscape in college football. The backup at Georgia, Justin Fields, went to Ohio State, the backup at Alabama, Jalen Hurts, went to Oklahoma, and the backup at Oklahoma, Austin Kendall, went to West Virginia. Some of the biggest new hires this offseason were Les Miles to Kansas, Mack Brown to North Carolina, Ryan Day taking over at Ohio State, Dana Holgerson to Houston, and Manny Diaz at Miami. The way to build a powerhouse in college football is through recruiting, so that’s one of the biggest aspects in the sport. Once again, the SEC dominated in recruiting, with all 14 of their schools in the top 60, and seven of the top 12. Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma were the top five schools this year. I predict that the conference rankings at the end of the season will be the SEC, Big 12, Big 10, Pac-12, then ACC, with the College Football Playoff teams being Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, and Oregon, shaking things up a bit. Texas, Ohio State, and Georgia will all be close, but will have each suffered a loss to their rival to fail to get in (Oklahoma, Michigan, and Florida). I can’t wait until college football starts back up again on August 24 between Florida and Miami.
MLB Recap Most teams have played 40 games in the MLB, so now is the time for teams struggling to live up to expectations to panic a little bit, and teams that have exceeded expectations to be respected a little more. A few weeks into the season, the defending World Series champions Boston Red Sox were struggling, with a record of 11-17, but have recently righted the ship, going on an 11-2 tear to push the record up to 22-19. Donald Trump takes credit for this turnaround on Twitter, saying they have only won since visiting the White House about a week ago. The Yankees and Cubs have also turned things around since the first two weeks, and are at 26-16 and 25-14. While the expected good teams with bad starts have played great recently, the expected not-so-good teams with good starts haven’t, except for the Rays. The Mariners incredible 13-2 start quickly died out, following with a 7-21 slump. Tampa Bay, however, is 25-15 and cruising along, tied with the Yankees for their division lead. There’s no surprise that the Astros hold the best record in the MLB currently, followed closely by the Twins, an upset team like the Rays. In the National League, the Dodgers and Cubs lead the league, and the Bryce Harper-led Phillies are also up there. The young and coming Braves have struggled a little bit, and a team with one of the best farm systems in baseball, the Padres, have played well, making their future look very exciting. The National League divisional races look fun, and with only a fourth of the season played, there’s many more things to happen. The Rangers haven’t lived up to their fast start, falling on a 5-14 stretch since a 12-8 beginning. They got swept by Oakland, Pittsburgh, and Houston, but when they were 12-13 and falling apart, they had maybe the best weekend performance so far this year. They racked up 15 runs on the Mariners, and followed it up with 14 runs, all while only allowing 2 runs the entire weekend. There hasn’t been much to love so far this season with them, but that weekend definitely stands out. Our star reliever from last year, Jose Leclerc, hasn’t played that well, blowing a few saves. Mike Minor and Lance Lynn have been pitching well, while the rest of the starting five are being hold together with gum and flex tape. Elvis Andrus and Shin Soo-Choo are batting well, with high OBPs and batting averages. Nomar Mazara and Rougned Odor are each in slumps, and as
maybe the cornerstones of the rebuild of the Rangers, that’s bad. BUT, a free agent veteran picked up this offseason has been powering the offense along with future star Joey Gallo, named Hunter Pence. Pence is slugging .619 and OPSing .987, while Gallo is slugging .628 and OPSing an amazing 1.029. The Rangers batting lineup is scoring the most runs per game, at 5.59, while allowing the 29th most runs per game, at 5.82. There haven’t been any great standout players this year, but a lot of almost standout players. But one of the most exciting player stories to follow this year is the great Vladimir Guerrero’s son, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The kid is 20 and had an amazing minor league career, blowing away opposing pitchers en route to one of the most anticipated call-ups to the majors ever. He was without a doubt the best prospect a few weeks ago before being called up in early May. He didn’t bat so well, but had a breakthrough night on the 14th, slamming his first major league home run, then doing it again a few innings later to tell people that he would not falter in the majors like some minor league standouts do. Fernando Tatis Jr. was the second best prospect this March, but was called up to his team the Padres, and has batted .300 in his major league rookie season, which is great. With 120 games left for each team in the season, much can and will happen, some great and some bad for the Rangers. This season will be tough as it is laying a foundation for the quick rebuild the Rangers are attempting, and won’t be that fun to watch. Hopefully in two or three years it will have paid off and made us the best team in the MLB, but only time can tell.
NHL Playoffs First Round
Western Conference - Pacific Division The Colorado Avalanche (WC2), led by Nathan MacKinnon, defeated the winners of the Western Conference, the Calgary Flames (1), in 5 games. After losing the first game, they bounced back and won four in a row. They shut down Calgary’s leading scorer in the regular season, Johnny Gaudreau, holding him to just 1 point in the series. The San Jose Sharks (2) defeated the Vegas Golden Knights (3) in seven games. This thrilling series pitted two very good teams against each other. The Sharks overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third period of Game 7, and Barclay Goodrow scored 101 seconds into overtime to win the series. The Golden Knights’ second line of Max Pacioretty, Paul Stastny, and Mark Stone went absolutely off. Pacioretty and Stone were one and two in the playoff scoring with 11 and 12 points respectively. Western Conference - Central Division The Dallas Stars (WC1) eliminated the Nashville Predators (1) in 6 games. Stars rookies Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen really stepped up in the playoffs. Hintz added depth to their top two lines, and Heiskanen added another layer of scoring from the defenseman. Nashville’s power play didn’t do them any favors. It was last in the league in the regular season and didn’t change when going up against the Stars’ lockdown penalty kill. The St. Louis Blues (3), who were on a roll to end the season, knocked out the Winnipeg Jets (2) in 6 games. Jaden Schwartz picked it up in the playoffs after a rough regular season. He scored a natural hat trick in Game 6 to push the Blues over the Jets. Vladimir Tarasenko really picked it up as well, for he was not doing very well in the regular. Probably part of the reason Schwartz picked it up was
because he was on a line with Tarasenko, who seemed dangerous at any point when he had the puck. Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division This was easily the biggest upset of the playoffs. The Columbus Blue Jackets (WC2) swept the Tampa Bay Lightning (1). Tampa Bay won the league with a record-tying 62 wins in the regular season and 128 points, blowing away the second-place Calgary Flames by 21 points. Not once did Tampa Bay lose more than two games in a row, yet Columbus won 4 in a row. The Blue Jackets didn’t allow for the Lightning to get a chance to use their skill game that made them as good as they were in the regular season. The Boston Bruins (2) eliminated the Toronto Maple Leafs (3) in Game 7 of this high-scoring, back-and-forth series.
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Entertainment Section Reviews Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card This spring in Humanities, we read Ender’s Game, a science fiction novel by Orson Scott Card, set in a future Earth. Aliens dubbed “buggers” have invaded the Earth twice before, and barely lost thanks to some heroics by Earth’s greatest military commander in history, Mazer Rackham. Earth’s search for the great commander of the future leads to Ender Wiggin, a six year old boy. The International Fleet takes him to Battle School where he blows away the other prodigies with his intelligence and skill. All while this is happening, Ender is worrying about being too violent like his older brother, Peter, and struggles with a lot of internal conflict. Can Ender defeat the buggers and save Earth, or will he crumble from the grueling training needed to become the great commander?
Spy School: British Invasion by Stuart Gibbs This book matches the greatness of all the other amazing books in this series, taking off right away from their last book, Spy School Goes South. Ben and his companions take off for Europe trying to take down SPYDER once and for all. This is their most dangerous mission yet, but it could also be their most successful and possibly their last. With the help of former SPYDER agent Murray Hill, they are able to find some massive clues that could lead to the end of SPYDER. Will Ben and his friends be able to take down SPYDER, or will SPYDER get away yet again?
Favorite Games Games have been a good way to unwind ever since our childhoods. These have varied from board games to games on the console, computer, and phone. What were the most popular games of the year for each platform? Here we go:
Platform: Mobile T-3: Fortnite and Clash of Clans
Fortnite, the very well known battle royale game, makes it onto the countdown. However, the game’s progress has slowed down a bit due to controversial updates. Season 9 has come out, and this might boost Fortnite back up, but I doubt it. Clash of Clans. From Supercell, the strategy game created in 2012, this game has gotten a reboost at St Mark’s. 2. Brawl Stars
Brawl Stars. Released in 2018, this third-person strategy game revolves around your brawler, whom you choose, and either teammates or enemies. You can go solo or duo in showdown, similar to battle royale games where the gas forces players in, gem grab where you hold ten gems that spawn from a center location to win, heist, where you have to deal damage to a safe, or bounty where you have two minutes to get stars, which you get from kills. 1. Clash Royale
Clash Royale. A classic game that blew up in 5th grade, this game at St. Mark’s has been one of the longest-lasting games of the 2024 class.
Platform: PC/Console 3. Fifa, 2k19, Super Smash Bros
Fifa is the classic soccer game where you can play online, against a friend, “Journey” with cut scenes, or Ultimate Team. 2K19 is the classic basketball game, where you can play the same modes as Fifa. Super Smash Bros is a 6 player fight on a map where you can fight bots or friends. 2. Fortnite
We don’t need an introduction. 1. Minecraft
Let’s be honest; will Minecraft ever die? This game has been alive since 2011. 8 years and this game still isn’t dead. The longevity of Minecraft is insane.
Hamilton Comes to Dallas The Broadway musical Hamilton came to Dallas, and it was performed at the Music Hall in Fair Park.
Hamilton.com Hamilton follows the story of Alexander Hamilton as he joins the revolution and fights against the British. It then shows his life after the war and the political debates between him and Thomas Jefferson. Hamilton shows Alexander’s struggle to maintain balance between his work in the United States government and his time with his wife. Hamilton was a great Broadway musical in 2016 written by Lin Manuel Miranda, and one of the most popular of the last decade or so. The story is about Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father who started the U.S. Treasury and helped write the Declaration of Independence. In the beginning of the musical, Alexander is shown writing has way out of poverty in the Caribbean. He goes to
New York in a pickle; his family is dead and his cousin committed suicide. He is Alexander Hamilton. Before his conflicts, he was a great lawyer who served in the US Treasury, and is credited with coming up with the money system in America. This play describes his story well, mixed in with catchy music and comedy. If you are in New York, I recommend you see it, and it will be coming to Dallas in the summer as well. It also does a great job at shedding light on multiple obscure people from the revolution such as John Laurens, Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan. The play has an outstanding soundtrack as well. Hamilton i s a fantastic experience that is definitely worth your time. Lin-Manuel Miranda got inspiration for Hamilton from a biography written by Ron Chernow. “I knew about as much as anyone did about Alexander Hamilton, before I picked up Ron Chernow’s incredible biography,” he told CNBC. Miranda was fascinated with the story. It took him about seven years to adapt Hamilton’s life into the Broadway musical it is today.
Jokes, Riddles, and Comics Section Comics
Jokes and Riddles Jokes Why was the geologist’s wife unhappy? She felt like he took her for granite. An Englishman, a Frenchman, a Spaniard and a German are all standing watching a street performer do some excellent juggling. The juggler notices that the four gentlemen have a very poor view, so he stands up on a large wooden box and calls out, “Can you all see me now?” “Yes” “Oui” “Si” “Ja” What do you call Santa’s helpers? Subordinate Clauses I bought a ceiling fan the other day. Complete waste of money. He just stands there applauding and saying “Ooh, I love how smooth it is.” Why did the cookie go to the hospital? Because he felt crummy What did the policeman say to his belly button? You're under a vest! What lights up a soccer stadium? A soccer match Why was the baby strawberry crying? Because his mom and dad were in a jam.
What do call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho Cheese What do you call a belt with a watch on it? A waist of time What do you call bears with no ears? B Q: Where do snowmen keep their money? A: In snow banks! Yesterday comes before today and tomorrow everywhere in the world, except this place. Where am I? A dictionary Riddles There are five fish in a bowl, and two of them drown. How many are left? Five, Fish don't drown! Ok sorry about that last one, we’ll give you another fish one: There are five fish in a bowl, and two of them die from food poisoning. How many are left? Five still, they’re dead but they didn’t leave the bowl! What's once in a lifetime, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years? The letter M.
School Section Favorites of 2024 We asked about our class favorites, and you responded. We got a lot of responses and here are the winners. Favorite Moment: 7th grade campout: The 7th grade campout was an experience we will never forget, but we all had such different experiences! For this campout, each advisory set out on its own and we learned to take my leadership and how to prepare for Pecos. This was the first campout where we didn’t practice building our shelters, we did it! Favorite place on campus: Tie! Library and Science Center The library will always contend to win polls like these because it is a place where you can research for a paper, print out your work, or just read a book in a beanbag chair. The science building was very hyped going into the break, and it didn’t disappoint. We are very lucky to be able to use the amazing planetarium, lecture hall, and classrooms for the second half of this 12 year journey(for the 1st graders). Favorite Color: Blue Not much to say except that blue is a cool color, I guess. Most Common Pet: Dog There is nothing like the friendship between a boy and his dog, so it is no wonder that the dog is the most common pet. Either you’ve always had a dog, or you’ve begged for one from your parents.
Photo COntest Winners We got many pictures for the photo contest this time. We thank all of you for the submissions. Here are the placings.
First Place:​ Hudson Brown
Second Place:​ Zach Olyan
Third Place: Griffin Goodno
The 2019 Senior Prank The Class of 2019 Senior Prank this year brought a campsite, an indoor jungle, and a love for the outdoors to campus. Tents covered the both the Quad and the library. Centennial Hall was filled with vines and other jungle vegetation. Hammocks swung from between the trees outdoors. A campfire and a chess board sat in the center of the outdoor camp.
Photos: Alex Hughes
The Senior Prank this year took a lot of effort to put together, and it was really cool in the end. We are all excited to see what next year’s senior class decides to do for their prank.
Credits We could not have done this without our sponsor, Mr. Mank, and our writers and editors: Ben Adams William Clarke Henry Hoak Arnav Lahoti Asa McCaleb Raja Mehendale Nathan Meyer Peyton Militello Alex Nelson Tyler Tang Justin Tong Thomas Whitehurst Dawson Yao A very special thank you to Mr. Carden for putting this on the page all year long!