Sports profile and Red Sox Straight Lede

Yulia lipnitskaia is a sixteen year old Russian Figure Skating Phenomenon. She hit the start of her skating peak this season when attending the 2014 Sochi olympics when she was only fifteen. With extreme flexibility and agility, she basically floats over ice when she's skating. She won the gold in the team ladies short program, and gold in the team ladies free skating program. The talent and grace she has inside of her little 5"2 body is impeccable. With minor mistakes, she has an amazing start to her first olympic season, and many more to go. Yulia has an impressive history of winning championships and competitions previous to the olympics. She started training at the age of four, after her mother convinced Elena Levkovets to accept her as a student. Yulia can mesmerize like no else. She is a true talent and belongs on the ice.

 On May 22nd The Blue Jays Beat the sox at 2-7. Edwin Encarnacion is in the midst of a torrid stretch and the Boston Red Sox are finding themselves on the wrong end of it. The Toronto Blue Jays hope Encarnacion's power surge continues as they try to wrap up their third series sweep at Fenway Park since the start of 2012 on Thursday. Encarnacion has homered seven times in his last six games and twice in each of first two of this series after connecting for his 12th and 13th home runs in Wednesday's 6-4 victory. He's the first player to record four two-homer games in a month since Troy Tulowitzki in September 2010. The third baseman hit two homers in his first 32 contests but has 11 and 21 RBIs in his past 15. He's also driven in 14 runs in his last 13 matchups with Boston, with 10 extra-base hits. "He's a dangerous hitter with tremendous power," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "You make mistakes, he makes you pay."

The Blue Jays (25-22) may not need another big game from Encarnacion with Mark Buehrle(7-1, 2.11 ERA) on the mound, though Boston is responsible for his lone loss this season. The left-hander will take aim at a major league-leading eighth win -- Los Angeles' Zack Greinke will also go for his eighth victory Thursday -- a mark Buehrle didn't reach last year until Aug. 10 in his 24th start. Buehrle has been especially dominant away from home, going 4-0 in five outings. He yielded two runs over 6 2/3 innings in a 4-2 win at Texas on Saturday, not getting the decision. Boston, however, reached him for a season-worst six earned runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings of an 8-1 win April 25. Buehrle has gone 8-10 with a 4.53 ERA in 24 career starts against Boston. The Red Sox (20-25) have scored 14 runs during a six-game slide -- their longest since dropping eight in a row to end the 2013 season. A loss Thursday would leave them with their first winless homestand of at least six games since going 0-6 from June 10-15, 1994.

Boston's starting pitchers have also played a major role in the losing streak, failing to complete more than six innings in any game. Lester (4-5, 2.67) supplied the best performance in that stretch, allowing a run and four hits over five innings of a 1-0 loss to Detroit on Friday. The Red Sox managed three hits. The right-hander was limited to a season-low 94 pitches, largely due to a 47-minute rain delay in the fourth inning. Lester yielded four runs over seven innings of a 7-1 loss at Toronto on April 27. He was 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA in six starts against the Blue Jays last season. Jose Bautista is 11 for 57 (.193) with 12 strikeouts against Lester, though four of those hits were homers. Dustin Pedroia is 14 for 36 (.389) against Buehrle.

       

Prefontaine questions

1) Pre was a very laid-back person who will do whatever it takes to win. Pre is full of himself which makes him a great match for competitions.
2)Pre was a likable person, very laid back as a friend. personally I would not like to compete against him, knowing how cocky and over-confident he is.
3)Pre shows off his victory and rubs it in everybodies faces by taking a lap after the event he had just won.
4) You must have a winning mentality to win.
5)The controversy is whether athletes should make money or not. it shows pre begging for food stamps.
6)Pre wanted to make it to Munich and win gold in the mile
7)The living conditions were horrid, but nothing much has changed. Athletes have always had low budgets for their living space while competing.
8)Israel had athletes at the games that were taken and killed during the night by an arab terrorist group

A League of their Own

The AAGPBL did not succeed, along with many other women's sports because they were not popular enough. Just because this league was in the 40's does not have anything to do with the downfall of the league. Many Professional  teams are created throughout the country and world, and few succeed. the AAGPBL failed most likely because of a loss of fans over time, not because of the time period. Basketball and Soft-ball are more well-favored and therefore that is why their still around now a days. These teams are able to survive because they have the fan-base, and profits coming in to do so.

Is Dance a Sport?

 First off, I would like to start with the defenition of a sport. Sport /spôrt/: (noun) an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. Dance is a form of expression, art, and physical exertion. Dance can push you to the extremes." Dance competition teams practice up to 20+ hours a week in order to perfect and synchronize their movements."(teenlife.blogs.pressdemocrat.com Dance) Competitive dancers are also judged to every last detail in their routines. Dance is not considered a sport to many people but what they don't realize is that there is a competitive dance world, and how extreme it is.

 "No doubt gymnastics is an extremely difficult sport, which is why it is presented along with many other sports in the Olympics. The scores of the competitors are solely determined on the scores that the panel of judges gives them. There is a strict set of guidelines, which the judges follow in order to determine their scores. The same rules apply in the Dance world, so why would one qualify and not the other?" (teenlife.blogs.pressdemocrat.com Dance) "Competitive dance most definitely is a sport. It fits every criterion of the definition of the word. Although you may not see dancers in helmets tackling each other, they are certainly athletes."(teenlife.blogs.pressdemocrat.com Dance)

 Competitive dancers can do anything any other athlete can do and more. I doubt any of you that are considered athletes could throw on a pair of pointe shoes, and balance all of your body weight on a two inch surface for minutes to hours at a time. Dancers train for their whole lives just for that one moment on stage. Dance is harder than most sports because it requires synchronization, flexibility, strength, agility, stamina, passion, and emotion. We have to keep ourselves together and somehow express all of these things at the same time, while a huge crowd of hundreds of people are watching your every move. 

Dance takes not only physical skill and ability, but it takes much more to become a truly amazing dancer. Dance is the only sport that you can lose yourself and find yourself at the same time. Dance requires soul, and passion. When on stage everything must be perfect. You must maintain posture, have pointed feet, perfect hands, straight arms, clean turns, straight legs, turned out legs, and much more and on top of all that you have to execute and remember a dance at the same exact time. Dance is no joke, and people need to realize that. Dance is an extreme sport and very competitive. There is ALWAYS somebody that's going to be there to push you, make you want more and to be better for yourself and that's what sporting should be all about. Dance takes much more than most sports and i wholeheartedly believe that dancing is a sport.

Transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox

The transgender MMA fighter should be treated equally as anybody else should be treated. Yes she does have an advantage, but it is similar to the advantage of being extremely tall and a basketball player. The only part where she wronged was not telling the company about her transgender sooner. She said that that was her personal information, and this is true but if something that big is hidden it is not okay. There should be some type of penalty for her lies. It is not fair to other athletes to not know exactly who they are fighting against. Going into the match with some type of technique, because they know that their opponent is transgender would make it more fair.

     If i was an athlete and a transgender opponent were to be against me it would motivate me more than anything has in my entire life. Obviously with MMA fighting the transgender has an advantage so that would make more women take their jobs seriously, and aspire to be better athletes all around. Transgenders in sports is a very good thing. All it's going to do or ever will do is motivate others do better.

     This should be handled by letting the transgendered people live their lives and not interfering. We are all equal underneath our skin and that's how we should be treated. You put me in the feet of the opponent, but how would you feel if you were that transgendered person being forced out of a sport that they love? it was not their choice to be transgender, Fox even said she tried to hide it but you cannot hide the person you actually are on the inside. As long as the fact that you are a transgender is known you should be able to do as you please.

Sports

      A sport is a sport if there is friendly competition. Sports should always have some type of competition to try and make the athletes try harder every day to improve. Sports should require physical strength. Something that requires almost absolutely no talent should not be considered a sport. Sports should not be easy, but they should make you want to be better. What is used in the sport, such as a ball or bat should not matter. For example: Dance requires strength, passion, and determination. Instead of using a ball and reacting quickly to things that happen we have a planned out dance and sometimes props. Every sport is unique in their own way.

     Anything that is a sport has some type of fan base. What is a sport without the supporting fans? The fans can also push the athletes to become better. They cheer them on and inspire them to become better for themselves. Sports should be competitive. some sports compete with other teams on a daily basis but anything that is a sport should have some type of championship, or Nationals where they can go to compete farther with better teams. this is also a good way to push yourself to get better. Seeing more people and having more experiences can only help.

     Sports should have passion. If you don't have passion for something you are doing on a daily basis, why even bother? Passion takes a big factor in dance. Dancing is a sport because it is extremely competitive. There are so many dancers that are amazing in this world that just push you to be better. In sports i feel like you should always have something to push you further. That is why every sport requires a coach to do so.

1972 Olympics U.S. Basketball streak over

Soviet Union Basketball wins over U.S. in 1972 olympics. The US Men’s Basketball team had won every single game between 1936 and the 1972 final. Had it not been for a referee adding three seconds back on the clock, the US would have beaten Russia on this day as well. To date, the US team refuses to accept their Silver Medal from the ‘72 games and gave rise to the creation of US Olympic Basketball “Dream Teams."

The Soviet Union should not have won the gold medal for the 1972 olympics. The rules of basketball, or ANY sport should not be changed at the last minute for any reason. The referee that day added three more seconds back onto the clock, and those three seconds led the Soviets to a falsely claimed victory. This was just a push for the Americans though. This inspired them to do better things like make the US Olympic Basketball "Dream Teams." In a way, the Soviets made them better, since you can only learn from losing. The following year, U.S. Won the gold medal, with the Soviets taking the bronze.

Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan

      On January 6, 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked while training for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The assaulter struck her in the knee with a metal baton, leaving her injured and unable to compete. With Nancy on the sidelines, her biggest rival, Tonya Harding, skated to victory. As both women prepared to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics, rumors began circulating that Tonya was involved in the assault, which caused a media frenzy. Days after Nancy's attack, police arrested Tonya's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, and three of his friends. At a subsequent press conference, Tonya told reporters she had no prior knowledge of the planned assault on Nancy. "I am responsible, however, for failing to report things I learned about the assault," she said. Tonya was obviously involved in the attack, one way or another. She was still allowed to compete in the 1994 olympics. She skated her way to gold without Nancy in the way, which is exactly what she wanted.

       One month after returning from the Winter Olympics, Tonya was convicted of conspiracy to hinder prosecution. She was heavily fined and banned from U.S. figure skating for life. Tonya says it still hurts to think back about that time in her life. To this day, Tonya says she never wanted to prevent Nancy from competing.  Tonya knows what she did but still didn't get tried as hard, and didn't accept the crimes she committed. She is the reason why Nancy was attacked, and should have served jail time for it period.

Sandusky's trial

I feel like it's kind of fishy that so many families would accuse him of the same thing. The odds are against Sandusky right now. He does not have much of a chance to get out of being in prison for the next 30-60 years. With such a high potential sentance, it's very unlikely he will be deemed as innocent. The families may just want money, who wouldn't want a few extra bucks. but it's unlikely that it didn't happen. I feel as if Sandusky is holding back some very true, and crucial details about what really went on with these children. I'm sure Dottie has absolutely no idea what may actually be true, and Her husband may just be lying to her, or making sure she's making him sound good. Especially since Sandusky has a past with showering with children, it shows that he would potentially do something like what he's being accused of. The evidence that even has him admitting that that was true, just does not add up to the rest of what he's saying. Dottie said that that's just "the generation he grew up in." Really? you were raised in a generation that taught you to shower with children that aren't your own? That makes a whole lot of sense.

College Basketball

What are your predictions for the upcoming college basketball season? What teams are you routing for? What teams are you not supporting?

Sports Interviews

     After interviewing Sam Khokhlan, I have learned that he is not much of a sporty person himself, but he has supported teams in the past & used to play. My first question was "What is your favorite sports team that you have played on/supported?" He answered with the Cheer Factor small senior 5 group. He supports this team because one of his friends is on it. Then i asked "What is the best sporting moment you have ever been a part of/supported?" He said that the best sporting moment he has supported was when he went to the superbowl, The Rams vs. The titans. He went with his family when he was younger to support the rams. Next i asked "Have you even gotten any sports related injuries?" He said that yes, he fractured his wrist once. He did so while playing football with his friends.

 

      My next question was concerning what sports teams he has been on and supported, and how many. He said that he has been on a total of five teams. He played pop warner football, and soccer. He said that he has supported a countless number of teams. He likes to watch football, and basketball. Lastly, I asked him "how many years have you been playing sports." He said that he has been playing from around the age of seven until his first year of high school. That makes him have been playing sports for a total of seven years. He is more into going to the gym and working out than sports now a days. He said that was something he was more into as a child.

     My next interview was Nick Cocogenetti. When i asked him what his favorite sports team he has ever been on, he replied with football. He has always enjoyed football, even years previous to high school. The best sporting moment that he has ever been a part of was making it to semi finals with his soccer team. This was a good achievement for him, never making it there before. He said that he also enjoys playing and watching as a whole. Nick has luckily never gotten and sports related injuries.

     When asking him how many sports team he has been on and supported, he replied with that he has been on six. Like Khokhlan, he said that he has supported many and cannot give me an exact number. Some of the teams that he has been on is recreational soccer and football, and the NHS soccer team. He has been playing sports for a good deal of his life. He has been playing since he was four, making that twelve years. most people cannot say that they have been playing sports for that long. Some people cannot even say that they've played sports at all.

   

Bracketology

When everybody loses, somebody has to win. Half of the top ten teams have lost. Four of the next ten lost too. That gives the bracket a new look, although the top line remains the same. The very top of the bracket was fine. Wichita State is now 31-0 after beating Missouri State. Syracuse stayed on the top line despite a loss at Virginia, most likely because Kansas lost also. Creighton, Iowa State, Michigan State, Saint Louis and Texas all lost as well and fell down the list to some degree. There was some turnover at the bottom of the list as well. Minnesota dropped back out after losing to Michigan. Dayton is back in after a win over UMass, which is the Flyers' best of the season.

Norton High School Wrestling

       Norton High School's dominant sport is wrestling. We have one of the best teams in the state, with the help of our awesome coaches Coleman, Francis, and May. Norton had an awesome season this year; winning nearly every meet they had. It's nearly impossible to beat us. A total of 8 have made it all the way to Allstates this year, and one wrestler, one alternate have qualified for New Englands.

     Earlier in the season, The team won sectionals in Cohasset. They ended up being a total of 82.5 points ahead of the 15 team field. It was a great effort in which every one of Norton's 14 wrestlers won matches to contribute to the cause. As a result, 11 Lancers qualified for the upcoming D-3 State tournament, a school record. Leading were Seniors JT Taylor, Myles McAlpine and Mike Travers who, along with junior Elliott Johnson, were undefeated champions of their weight classes. Junior Alek Donovan finished second while seniors Ahrayah Saintius and Brandon Pike, as well as junior Adam Marcon and sophomore Deven Schuko all placed third. Sophomore Aidan Kahn and junior Russel Hansen placed fourth. Junior Robbie Douglas and senior Grant Monast placed sixth. sophomore Zach Scarpetti didn't place, but won two matches by pins. With four pins on the day, JT Taylor was voted the tournaments Outstanding Wrestler, the third 145 pound wrestler to be recognized. (Scott Coleman in '10 and John Royle in '12.) As a result of the performance Coach coleman was named the D-3 South Coach of the Year.

 Last Saturday Norton had the MIAA D-3 State wrestling championship, and did they not only win it, they dominated. They were 41 points ahead of their leading opponent. Senior co-captains Mike Travers got First. Travers became only the third Norton Wrestler to win a state championship. JT Taylor got third and Myles McAlpine got fourth. After two days of spirited competition the Lancers emerged, once again the best of 56 teams. Alek Donovan, Adam Marcon, and Elliot Johnson finished 3rd, 5th, and 5th. Aidan Kahn and Deven Schuko both earned 6th place medals. Even though they didn't place, Ahrayah Saintius, Brandon Pike, and Russell Hansen won matches to add to Norton's total points making this championship a great team effort.

         Onto Allstates, where Mike Reached the semi-finals before falling to eventual runner-up Matt Paris of Springfield Central, The All-State champion team. Mike finished with sixth. McAlpine lost his first match to Chris Ortega of Agawam but still fought back, winning four of five matches losing to only Ian Horkan of Pembroke in overtime. Myles Finished seventh. Both will continue training in preparation for the New Englands which will be held next weekend in Providence, RI. Six other wrestlers qualified though one, Elliott Johnson was unable to compete due to an injury suffered at states. Aidan Kahn lost in the first round, hurt his elbow and couldn't continue. Deven Schuko, Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan along with JT Taylor all wrestled well and won matches for the lancers, though none of them placed high enough to earn medals, So their seasons are over.

Yulia Lipnitskaia, 15 year old Russian Figure Skating Phenomenon

Yulia is a fifteen year old girl, 5"2. Don't let her age and height fool you, she knows how to draw in the audience and mesmerize while skating. From her flawless jumps, to her even more flawless turns she is truly amazing. The incredible amount of speed and flexibility she has while turning is just astounding. She began training at age four after her mother convinced the experienced skating coach Elena Levkovets to accept her as a student. Some records and achievements she has accomplished are She is the youngest olympic gold medalist in team figure skating, Youngest skater in ladies' singles to win the European title, First Russian ladies' singles skater to win an Olympic gold medal in team trophy, and she is a record holder in ladies' junior level under the ISU Judging System for the highest combined total and free skate scores. She has an impressive history of winning championships and competitions previous to the olympics. Yulia is big competition for others, and dosen't feel threatened by other competitiors, only being fifteen. She competed in the Team ladies short program, Team ladies free skating, Ladies short program and the ladies free skate in the Sochi 2014 olympics, her first olympics.

Exactly how accepting is the NFL?

I am personally very accepting of gays and believe that they should be able to have the same rights as anybody else. I think that the players of the NFL will think differently. Michael Sam has a lot of courage to come out to the NFL knowing that not everybody will be as accepting as he hopes. A lot of the players will keep their opinions to themselves, but some may show discrimination towards him because of his differences.

Hernandez's life of crime may have not totally been his fault. There were certain factors in his childhood that lead him to the wrong path. His Father Died when he was 49. The fact that Hernandez had to grow up without a father may have affected his choices in the future. His Mother also married a violent coke dealer, which was not a good influence on Hernandez or his siblings. The loss of his father, and then the addition of a new violent drug dealer as a father were not helping Hernandez onto the right path.

Super Bowl XLVIII

Super Bowl XLVIII was quite the game. While it wasn't much of a competition, it was full of great moments from Percy Harvin's return touchdown, to the amazing half time show. Usually a pop star takes on the huge task of singing the national anthem, but this year the opera singer Renee Fleming sang it. Her version of it was different and seriously amazing. One of the best moments of the night had to be Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers taking the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show. Bruno even performed the beginning of "Give it Away," introducing RHCP. I have to say that i was shocked it wasn't at all a close game, it was still pretty entertaining. While my predictions were correct and the Seahawks won, I was expecting the Broncos to do better than they did with Peyton Manning's abilities. He as 33 completed passes through the game, a Super Bowl record. The Seahawks still beat them despite Peyton Manning's performance. Manning's dream goes bad in a snap at the beginning of the game leading to the Seahawks gaining two points. The Seahawks were winning 22-0 after the first half, and right when they got the ball in the beginning of the second half, Percy Harvin ran it back for another touchdown, making the score 29-0 in the first twelve seconds of the second half. I've got to say though, the best part of the night was the commercials. From a full house reunion to a Radio shack commercial starring Hulk Hogan.

Seahawks vs. Broncos

The Super Bowl 2014 will be against the Seahawks and the Broncos this year. The Seahawks were initially a favorite but bettors quickly poured in enough money on Denver to quickly swing that side to chalk. Perhaps, those early bettors should have waited before placing down their money as the trends are pointing towards a victory for Seattle. I think the Broncos will put up a fair fight against the Seahawks, but the Seahawks are going to take the win. Don't be fooled by Seattle's status as the underdog in the super bowl, as it's been a common thread amongst  most recent winners.It's looking relatively safe despite the fact that Peyton Manning and his 600-plus point offense will be prominently involved in this game.

Which is more important, Academics or Athletics?

What struck me as significant from this article was that a grown man could not read. Most people learn to read in grade school when their little kids. Some College athletes at UNC- Chapel Hill struggle to read at higher levels and it is unfair when they are accepted into colleges when other people actually work hard to get into them. The NCAA admits that almost 30 athletes in sports were accepted into college in 2012 with low scores of below 700 on the SAT composite. The average score is around 1000. Most schools have between 7% and 18% of revenue sport athletes who are reading at an elementary school level. This is unacceptable on many levels, how are you supposed to take and UNDERSTAND a college-level course when you can read at the same level as a fourth grader?