Monthly Archives: September 2011

Giant Shock

The New York Giant are one of the more liked teams in the NFL. They are also one of the richer teams. They have the money to get great players. For that reason they are expected to do good. Well this year was supposed to be the exception. The Giants have been bombarded with injuries and most of the injured players will be out for the season.

With having to play so many backups there comes a lack of experience. That showed in a week one loss to the Redskins. The next week the giants played the Rams. The Giants regrouped in that game with a 18 to 16 win but they lost two of their starting receivers, Hixon, and Manningham.

This week the Giants had to play the Eagles who have one of the best defenses in the NFL.   With out their two receivers the Giants did not seem to stand a chance.
But 24 year old victor Cruz stepped up, recording two touch downs. The Giants won 29 to 16.

The Giants should not be underestimated. Plus they have a few of there starters coming back very soon. Next week the Giants play the Cardinals. If they win they can prove that the last two weeks have not been just lucky and even with so many injuries they are still one of the top teams in the NFL.  They are currently tied for first place and can pull ahead farther next week with a win. Like I said before the Giants were not supposed to be good but they are doing great. To some people this is a giant shock. The future may be looking bright for the Giants this season.

~Stephen Friedler

“Take It Seriously”

Over the last few weeks the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox have been slumping dramatically. The Red Sox have slumped the worst because they have been playing low quality teams like the Baltimore Orioles and losing. The problem with the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves is that  they are not playing like this game is a life or death situation, and at this rate it looks like it might even be one. The Red Sox and Braves were at the top of their games and they were suggested as high postseason contenders, and now there is a chance they might not be in the playoffs. In Boston, Massachusetts the Boston Herald released an article by John Tomase that highlights Bostons huge slump.

 I was once like the Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox last year. I had no self confidence and everything kept repetitively going wrong, but I figured out how to cool down. What I did was I told myself expectations are what you make of them. This means expectations are completed when you make them realistic and work hard. I was going for the grade grand slam without thinking my work and chores through. I was trying to make my work look so well I forgot that quantity is never used over quality There should always be a balance in work. That is what the Red Sox and Braves are doing wrong they are thinking with big  goals of a World Series victory but aren’t mastering the easy guaranteed things. That is how I feel about the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red sox slumps.

~ Eric Penner

Beware Aliens…We’re Coming.

We can all probably admit that we as humans don’t take very good care of our planet.  It’s quite depressing actually, how wasteful we are.  I mean, yeah it’s enjoyable once in a while to purchase a bunch of junk that we don’t really need.  We all would agree that cars, computers, phones, iPods, etc.. make our life better for sure, but they also guzzle tons of energy that is destroying our planet. Not to mention how lazy we’ve gotten with putting trash in actual trash cans and recycling bins.  Having said that, I believe we do try to reverse, if not at least try to stop this process with recycling being easier than ever.  Organizations dedicated their time to physically cleaning up this Earth, solar powered items are available, and there is new smarter technology to conserve as much energy as possible.  But has anyone ever thought that maybe we’re too late? That the damage is done?  Earth will eventually perish and where are those future generations supposed to go to?

Fortunately, scientists have discovered a new planet that seems to be the most Earth-like yet!  It’s got an incredibly snazzy new name- HD85512b.  Gotta love those scientists’ creativity.  Research shows that it’s about 36 light years away and 3.6 times the mass of Earth.  It was spotted when a star’s light twinkled slightly, suggesting the gravitational pull of a nearby planet.  However, the best news for us is that it is the perfect distance from its parent star (its sun) to have liquid water exist on its surface.  More good news suggests that since it is less than 10 times the size of Earth’s mass, it is likely to have an atmosphere similar to it.  This planet also has a circular orbit, meaning that it will have a stable climate like Earth’s.  Now, I don’t know about you, but I think that sounds super promising and I’m really excited for more research to be done.  However, there was an identical discovery like this in 2010 that implies that the planet found then was simply a data glitch, and indeed ceased to ever exist.  Hopefully, our technology has improved in the last year because if this really turns out to be an error, the human race is kind of screwed if we don’t clean up our act.  After all, where are the 2012 survivors going to go? Just kidding…but still.  Can’t wait until some new data arrives! Keep you posted!

~Esha Bhandari

October or Bust!

It’s that time of year again! The American League playoff race. Once again, its very tight in the American League East division.  Well, not at the top. The New York Yankees have not only clinched the AL East, but they have also clinched best record in the American League, which means they have home-field advantage until the World Series, (if they make it that far). The other teams to clinch in the AL are the West division champions and reigning American League champions, the Texas Rangers and the Central Division champions, the Detroit Tigers. I was surprised by the Tigers making the postseason, I thought the Minnesota Twins would win the AL central like last year. Not a major surprise to me with the Rangers clinching, as the Al West was very weak this year. All three teams are looking for success this postseason which is looking like it will be another exciting one! Now onto the extremely tight AL wild card race!

On September 4th, the Boston Red Sox had an 8 game lead on their division rival, Tampa Bay Rays for the AL Wild Card. Now today, September 26th, the Red Sox have almost completely collapsed and have a narrow 1 game lead! The Red Sox have only won 6 games this month, while Tampa Bay has won 14. It looks like the LA Angels are out of contention, but the Rays, however, are not. Tampa Bay opens a 3 game home series against the New York Yankees, but more like the Trenton Thunder, a minor league team affiliated with the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees will most likely not play their starters in this series as they will rest them for the playoffs. On the other hand, the Red Sox head into Baltimore to play the Orioles, who recently won 3 out of 4 against Boston…in Boston! If Tampa Bay sweeps or wins 2 out of 3 and Boston loses 2 out of 3, Tampa Bay wins the Wild Card. If Boston AND Tampa Bay do the same or if Boston does better (more wins than Tampa) the the Red Sox will win the Wild Card. If both teams are tied after Wednesday’s games (final game of regular season) then there will be a one game playoff held at Tropicana Field where the winner goes to the playoffs and the loser goes home. This is very exciting and very stressful for their fans and believe it or not, Red Sox fans are ROOTING FOR the Yankees to beat up on Tampa Bay so they can get in.  That’s something you don’t see every day! It seems even more weird considering the Red Sox and Yankees just played each other and the Yankees won 2 out of 3 against them. This looks like it will be down to the wire, and I can’t wait to see who comes on top, and then of course, the playoffs will begin!

~Aidan Murray

Movie Madness

Netflix, the company that changed the movie renting business and then made a series of never ending bad ideas. With Netflix, you could rent DVDs through the mail, and watch them on your computer, gaming console,  IPhone, IPad, Ipod, or basically anything that starts with an I. Everyone loved it, including me! You didn’t have to travel to a store to rent a movie, you didn’t have to worry about a late fee, you didn’t even have to worry about if you were renting a movie that you didn’t like because you only paid one price. Well, the number one movie renting company ruined there whole business. Here’s how.

The first reason is there is a huge price increase. It was originally $8, then $10, and now $20. Who would pay $20 dollars a month to rent a few movies? Not this guy! I mean, we only rented at the most three movies a month. The main reason why I liked it was because I could watch it on my IPod. I could watch all the movies I wanted to see, with no extra cost. I could even watch an episode of a T.V. show that I missed. Now, we are canceling Netflix because of the outrageous price increase. Why would you even need to change the price? It was fine the way it was. What kind of genius thought of that idea. They are basically asking to go bankrupt. This is only one of the reasons why I hate Netflix.

Another reason why I hate Netflix is because of there split. They are splitting Netflix into to different company’s. One is staying Netflix which is the online streaming. The other is Quickster which is the DVD renting. I don’t like this for a couple of reasons. The first one is now I have to go to two different sights to watch and rent movies. It just makes peoples busy lives harder. Why not have everything on one website and have it be faster. Another reason is the DVD renting company’s name. Quickster? Who in heavens name came up with that? Did they get a ton of people who didn’t pass high school to think of the best names they could think of and then choose the cheesiest one? I would think think having the name be just DVD Rental would be better than Quickster. I mean you don’t want your customers to be embarrassed for using your site. This is another reason why I hate Netflix.

As you can see, Netflix went from being the best movie renting site ever to digging a never ending hole of bankruptcy. If you wanna save money, stop Netflix. Don’t be lazy, go to Stop and Shop and rent a Red Box movie for a dollar.

~Erich Strunk

When The Leaves Begin To Change

When you hear the word “Autumn” you think of the time of year when the bittercold first comes out of its burrow and the temperature begins to drop.You think its when the leaves begin to change to that muddy brown and dark orange and when they gracefully fall and twirl away from the trees dark and thick limbs. Autumn is when the wind blows heavily and when your cheeks and nose turn that rosy pink.These are all signs of when Autumn is here.  Autumn is the big transfer from those bright summer days to the cold and white winter.

Autumn is a dreaded season because summers gone and that means the arrival of school. Having to huddle under layers of clothing, shivering, and lips turning the color of purple, as you wait for the arrival of your bus. Other reasons why people don’t like Autumn is because of the cold, misty mornings and the frost on every window. Autumn is too dark and gloomy. The newly cut grass turns brown stiff and dead. Families are forced to burn wood all day and all night to keep family members warm. The smell of burning wood is in every house as people struggle to stay warm and toasty. Summer clothes are tucked away in closets lying there all alone in the dimly lit closet. Blankets are removed from storage and are suddenly scattered everywhere in the house. Pieces of clothing are jammed into cracks all around the house not letting the warm air escape from inside the house. All of these things are what happens in Autumn. These are hints of Winter, and its coming soon.

~Christina Withstandley

Wisdom Teeth Drama

Has your dentist  told you that you may need your wisdom teeth pulled?  You may be worried but I’ve been in your shoes. On Friday September 16, 2011 I had my two  bottom wisdom teeth removed. There are 2 conditions in which the teeth need to be pulled, the teeth could be impacted or they grow in and they bother you. My wisdom teeth were growing in horizontal.

On the day of my surgery I was getting the general anesthetic so I had to fast for 6 hours or not eat breakfast. My appointment was at 11:00am and I dressed in comfortable clothes. When I got there it was about 5 minutes before they called me in. They put an I.V. in my arm with medicine that made me fall asleep. When  I woke up I felt loopy. They took me to another room so I could wake up. It took me about 30 minutes to wake up. After that time the nurse helped me to the car, where I fell back asleep.  When I got home I sat down and watched TV. My mouth was very numb. I could only eat after the Novocaine wore off and when I did eat I could only eat very soft foods (Pudding, JELL-O®, Soup) On the day after my surgery for breakfast I ate Apple Cider Donuts dunked in milk. Now that it is one week later I am still in some pain but can eat a normal diet. That experience changed me forever.

~Samantha Simler

Sox’s September Slide

The Boston Red Sox have had a pretty good season after their slow April start. Coming into September they were ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games. That nine game lead has diminished to half a game. Boston is currently (9/25/11 ) in the last game of a three game series with the New York Yankees.  Tampa Bay will play the Yankees next at home for their last three games while the Sox go to Baltimore to finish up the season against the Orioles. This month has been a surprise. Boston was one of the best teams in baseball. With the players on the Red Sox roster they were not expected to be doing this bad.

One of the best lineups in baseball starts out with three MVP candidates.  Jacoby Ellsbury leading it off. He has a .322 batting average, 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, 206 hits and 38 stolen bases, all in the top ten in the American League. I think he should win the MVP. Then Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzales, who leads the majors in hits and is second in  batting average. After them is Kevin Youkalis, David Ortiz, Carl Crawford, Josh Reddick, Jarrod Saltalamachia, and Marco Scutaro. Every player has been productive this year. There lineup I think has been the main part of their success this year.

Their rotation has been questionable with injuries to former all-star pitchers Clay Bucholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Josh Beckett however has been part off the Cy Young award talk. He and Jon Lester have been great this year. John Lackey has been up and down so far. Andrew Miller  who wasn’t expected to pitch has been great. Their bullpen has been amazing with Alfredo Aceves,  Matt Albers, and Daniel Bard shutting everyone down. Jonathon Papelbon has bounced back  from a down year and is once again one of the best closers in baseball. With all these pieces I think the Red Sox are in position to go far in October.

I think their pitching can pull through and their lineup will be as good as earlier in the year. This is too good of a team to not make the playoffs. When you have three MVP candidates, and a Cy Young contender they should be an easy playoff team. Everyone knows they are one of the best in the league. Now they need to start playing like it.   If everyone contributes there should be no problem in the playoffs.

~ Ricky Novia

The Intense Battle of the World Series

Many will ask this one question and debate over its answer. Who will make it to the World Series in the AL (American League)? Many kids and adults ponder over this question narrowing it down to the two biggest rivals:  The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. I’m sure half and half make up each side which causes this debate to intensify. The teams are both great and have some of the best athletes in the MLB on their teams. For as long as anyone could remember these teams have been battling a very close war too who gets the spot of 1st place in the AL.

That brings me to my opinion, I personally think the Boston Red Sox will make it to this years World Series. This is because they are playing very well due to there new athletes like Carl Crawford. They have been playing great on both defense and offense too. I bet right now all you Yankee fans are saying “oh great he’s a Red Sox fan!” Well, I just think the Soxs have more athletic ability and have a lot of heart for the game. Many will think differently while others will agree and be satisfied with my opinion. That is how the debate will start while many of you will have the battle of words to state your opinion. So this is my question for you guys, which of these teams do you think will make it to the World Series this year?

~ RJ Strollo

OMG, Football Started

Football!   Isn’t it one of the most interesting sports to watch? You get to see your favorite team beat the other team or be beaten. My favorite football team is the New England Patriots. Now, just because I’m a New York Yankees Fan doesn’t  mean  I can’t be a Patriots. I mean, I live in Connecticut. I’m in the New England area. So don’t even go there. I hate it when people say that just because I’m a Yankees fan that i can’t like the Patriots.

Anyway, I have a feeling that football will be very interesting this year. I’m probably betting that the Packer’s are going to act all high and mighty because they won the Superbowl last year. Man, that really aggravates me. I mean in my opinion, that was last year. This year is going to be a new year. You never really know what will happen. But I do hope that the Patriots will win instead of the Packers. They really weren’t a good team anyway, am I right? . But if you want to check who’s winning the football game, just go to the ESPN channel on the TV, or you can visit the website. It will give you access to different types of football scores. It will also give you news feed on how certain players are progressing. Or if a player got injured.

~Alex Curiale