Final

      Lacrosse came to Norton High School this year and for a brand new team they exceeded expectations. With a 4-14 record, which might not seem that impressive, it was not a bad finish for a new team with a minimal amount of players to choose from.  Their first win came against Metro Lacrosse on April 13, 2015 under the lights at Adams Field, Norton High School. This win was most likely the biggest of the season considering it was the whole programs first win ever. You would have to think that a new team would get maybe one or two wins which is why four is a great achievement.

        On April 14, 2015 Norton High School got a vital win over Metro with a 9-2 victory. Sophomore Andrew Raneri netted a remarkable 6 goals for Norton. Captains Luke Kane and John-Michael Lee each scored a goal. Also, Freshman Joe Weber got a goal of his own. Out of 13 shots on the Norton goal, sophomore Nick Joyce saved an astounding 11. Jake Palin, also a sophomore, picked up three assists over the course of the game. In reality mostly every stat you would want was in favor of Norton. Saves, assists, face-off wins, shots, it was a rough game overall for metro and a great game for the Lancers.

Norton Lacrosse team after first win

        Joe Weber, a freshman, started on varsity every game of the season for the Lancers. Number 13 was a defender and a long-stick middie who provided solid play all around all season long for the Lancers. Weber mainly contributed by facilitating the offense getting many assists all season long. It seems unbelievable that a player so young did this well going up against much larger and faster players. Based on his performance, it is no question at all that he can compete at this level. He proved this much earlier than most might know. As just a seventh grader, Joe was already playing on varsity lacrosse teams which is impressive for a freshman, let alone a seventh grader. For such a young player he shows a bright future for NHS lacrosse.

        A 4-14 record might not seem like that much, but for a brand new team this shows a bright future for the Lancers. With so many young players playing on varsity, there is so much potential to be found within this team. If these freshman and sophomores stick with it for all four years at a challenging level for them, the room for improvement is endless. They might not have a winning record for a few years, but the future shows great things with the performance from the team this season.  After a few years, the team will eventually gain more experience and support which will ultimately lead to a good season. As of the beginning of the 2014 school year, there were no definite answers if there was going to be a Norton High School lacrosse team. By the time spring sports began, lacrosse was an official program for Norton.  The team was a great idea and hopefully it goes on to be a winning program.

        As for Weber, he has shown leadership traits that will likely lead to him being a captain in the future. Almost acting as a captain this year, it is nearly inevitable that he will be one in the next few years. His great talent and hard work are certain traits all captains possess for the most part. As of now, he may be too inexperienced  in the high school sports environment to lead a team yet. It also might be too early to call him a future MVP for the team this early, but there is great evidence that he could be the team's best player. With experience he will be ready for this team to be his very soon.

        Before this season started, there were a lot of questions on who the coach was, how they would do, and a lot of speculation if the season would even happen. Coach Mark Notz made a strong statement at the team's first meeting before the season began, "This season is not about wins, it's about improving." If this was the team's goal then they accomplished it and then some. Getting better is exactly what they did. Going from a team where half of the players hadn't even picked up a lacrosse stick in their whole life, to a team that was a good match for almost every game they played in is a great leap. One would have to imagine that the 4-14 record this team recorded will only get better year-in and year-out. We can only find out next year when the season actually gets underway.

Marion Jones

        In the 30 for 30 documentary titled "Marion Jones: Press Pause", it is revealed how a seemingly invincible professional track star's career was destroyed by the use of performance enhancing drugs. Author John Singleton seems to display an argument that Marion Jones worked hard and powered through many struggles to regain her superstar status. Marion Jones was an Olympic track runner with 3 gold medals to her name. The documentary shows her interview in front of reporters where she admits to using PEDs and lying to federal agents. She uncovers her 6 month prison sentence. It may sound ironic, but Marion made the most of her time in prison by talking about her workouts she did to stay in shape. She returned to her family and began to shape her basketball skills. Eventually this got her a spot on a WNBA team. The documentary shows that even though Marion Jones struck the hearts of millions, she was determined to bounce back. 

        I think Singleton is correct by implying that Jones returned to being a professional after her collapse. It would be hard to provide a good argument contradicting this mainly because of her returning from prison then landing a spot on a WNBA team. It just was a great reminder that she does not ever give up and might actually be invincible. After shocking the country with horrible news, her great return must have warmed hearts all across America. There is also a lot of speculation about her prison sentence. It might confuse you a bit since no athlete has been jailed for using PEDs. Maybe there is an argument that racism or sexism played a role in the sentence. The punishment seemed a bit excessive for the situation. Ideally, if one athlete goes to jail for it, all of them do, but you do not see Derrick Jeter behind bars right now. Although what she did was wrong and a lot of controversy came with it, Marion Jones will always be an amazing athlete and a legend among Olympians.    

  

Norton High School Lacrosse (Rough Draft)(Revised)

       Lacrosse came to Norton High School this year and for a brand new team they exceeded expectations. With a 4-14 record, which might not seem that impressive, it was not a bad finish for a new team with a minimal amount of players to choose from.  Their first win came against Metro Lacrosse on April 13, 2015 under the lights at Adams Field, Norton High School. This win was most likely the biggest of the season considering it was the whole programs first win ever. You would have to think that a new team would get maybe one or two wins which is why four is a great achievement.

        On April 14, 2015 Norton High School got a vital win over Metro with a 9-2 victory. Sophomore Andrew Raneri netted a remarkable 6 goals for Norton. Captains Luke Kane and John-Michael Lee each scored a goal. Also, Freshman Joe Weber got a goal of his own. Out of 13 shots on the Norton goal, sophomore Nick Joyce saved an astounding 11. Jake Palin, also a sophomore, picked up three assists over the course of the game. In reality mostly every stat you would want was in favor of Norton. Saves, assists, face-off wins, shots, it was a rough game overall for metro and a great game for the Lancers.

        Joe Weber, a freshman, started on varsity every game of the season for the Lancers. Number 13 was a defender and a long-stick middie who provided solid play all around all season long for the Lancers. Weber mainly contributed by facilitating the offense getting many assists all season long. It seems unbelievable that a player so young did this well going up against much larger and faster players. Based on his performance, it is no question at all that he can compete at this level. He proved this much earlier than most might know. As just a seventh grader, Joe was already playing on varsity lacrosse teams which is impressive for a freshman, let alone a seventh grader. For such a young player he shows a bright future for NHS lacrosse.

        A 4-14 record might not seem like that much, but for a brand new team this shows a bright future for the Lancers. With so many young players playing on varsity, there is so much potential to be found within this team. If these freshman and sophomores stick with it for all four years at a challenging level for them, the room for improvement is endless. They might not have a winning record for a few years, but the future shows great things with the performance from the team this season.  After a few years, the team will eventually gain more experience and support which will ultimately lead to a good season. As of the beginning of the 2014 school year, there were no definite answers if there was going to be a Norton High School lacrosse team. By the time spring sports began, lacrosse was an official program for Norton.  The team was a great idea and hopefully it goes on to be a winning program.

        As for Weber, he has shown leadership traits that will likely lead to him being a captain in the future. Almost acting as a captain this year, it is nearly inevitable that he will be one in the next few years. His great talent and hard work are certain traits all captains possess for the most part. As of now, he may be too inexperienced  in the high school sports environment to lead a team yet. It also might be too early to call him a future MVP for the team this early, but there is great evidence that he could be the team's best player. With experience he will be ready for this team to be his very soon.

        Before this season started, there were a lot of questions on who the coach was, how they would do, and a lot of speculation if the season would even happen. Coach Mark Notz made a strong statement at the team's first meeting before the season began, "This season is not about wins, it's about improving." If this was the team's goal then they accomplished it and then some. Getting better is exactly what they did. Going from a team where half of the players hadn't even picked up a lacrosse stick in their whole life, to a team that was a good match for almost every game they played in is a great leap. One would have to imagine that the 4-14 record this team recorded will only get better year-in and year-out. We can only find out next year when the season actually gets underway.

Blog Post #10 (2nd Paragraph)

   In the article "Sox Hit Rock Bottom" by Stephen Hawkins, the slump that the Red Sox are currently struggling with is analyzed after a Josh Hamilton double that gave the Sox a terrible 4-3 loss last night against the Texas Rangers. A Boston team that was predicted to be a top runner seem to be in a lot of trouble with a mediocre 22-29 record. Luckily, they are not out of playing in October right now because they are only 4 games out of first in the east division in the American League. The audience is most likely for concerned Red Sox fans looking for any hope. Unfortunately there is not much to find within this article. This game was lost by one run which is beginning to become a routine for Boston with so many close, crushing losses. I do not think that the author shows any bias because a good amount of the article is a summary of the game. However, Hawkins hints with the idea that time is coming short for the Red Sox and things need to get turned around quickly if they want to be playing this upcoming fall. Most of the 10 tips for improving scholastic writing are used while the author uses a lot of good writing techniques. There is a ethical appeal that the Red Sox have to change something and the emotion is concerning because the clock is ticking for Boston.
   

Blog Post #10 (1st Paragraph)

        In Mark Farinella's article titled "The Prodigal Son Returns", he supplies details about the signing of former Patriot Brandon Spikes who left as a free agent in 2013 with a rather ugly departure; last week he was back in the blue collar with a new attitude and he made up with coach Bill Belichek. Farinella includes the 10 tips for improving scholastic writing within this article. He shows a bias that is supporting a new start between Spikes and New England. To start off, he gives readers background information of the tension between the linebacker from Florida and the Patriots. This tension and these problems sprouted from Spikes being a loose cannon and one time he was late to a practice during a snowstorm late last season. After this, only more problems developed and continued to his demise as a Patriot. Additionally, he showed evidence that there was a bright future for Spikes with this organization and no more bad blood. "You can clearly see that me and the Hoodie (Bill Belichek) kissed and made up." This statement is good news for Patriot fans, who may have been worried due to possible limitations next season from linebackers Jerod Mayo and Dont'a Hightower who are both undergoing off-season surgeries. Finally, the author makes it known that Spikes is on a short leash and this could be a huge success due to his raw talent, or a big disappointment because of his unpredictable personality.

 

Deflate-gate

        The 2014-15 NFL season did not end without controversy for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. The issue, however, did not sprout up in the actual Super Bowl, it was in the AFC Championship against the Indianapolis Colts. This game was a complete blow-out with a score of  45-7 Patriots. 11 of the 12 footballs that the Patriots used were two pounds per square inch under the league's regulations. This problem quickly became known as Deflate-Gate. The Patriots, mainly Tom Brady, were accused of inflating the balls with a low PSI that greatly exceed the league's minimum. The punishment enforced on New England was a $1M dollar fine, termination of a 2016 first-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick in 2017, and a four game suspension on Tom Brady in the 2015-16 NFL season. There is a huge amount of argument brewing from both sides. 

        I, as a Patriots fan, am a great believer that Tom Brady is not guilty. However there are a lot of reasons and evidence on how he was guilty. Based on my knowledge of the Patriots, I am absolutely aware of the things New England does to get an advantage by bending the rules and pushing them to the limit. To contrast that, I know that Belichik is very educated on the game and always knows the regulations and make sure his team does not exceed them. I also think that these footballs had no implications on the outcome of this game. Sure it was a cold January day and softer footballs are easier to throw, catch, and hold on to, but a lower air pressure is not going to create a 38 point deficit. I think that somebody deflated the footballs, but I do not deem that Brady had a thing to do with it. 

        For being found guilty, Tom was granted a four game suspension for the next season. Even if he did do it, this punishment is outrageous! My question is if this was an average quarterback on an average team, would this punishment be consistent? My guess is most likely it wouldn't be. It is rumored that the league commissioner Roger Goodell dislikes the Patriots. Could this have anything to do with it? It's not a very far fetched theory. Taking draft picks is fair, taking a million is fine, but suspending our star player just baffles me. I would even accept one or two games as fair, but one fourth of the season is a little bit excessive. I do not think the punishment fits the crime and I am glad Brady appealed because I think the league needs to take a second look at this. 

        Nobody wants to see a team cheat the game whether New England did it or not. I expect to see a quick rule change really fast. I think a good idea would be for the refs to inspect the balls after every quarter rather than before the game and then saying let's go. These footballs could be partly the referees' faults. If they become a little more strict then we most likely will not see a dilemma like this again. No matter what happened with these footballs, I think "Deflate-Gate" got blown way out of proportion.               

Blog Post #8

        In Josh Greenbaum's documentary titled "The Short Game"(2013), he displays that children that are so young can be extremely dedicated to a sport. The author first shows dedication by interviewing the kids on their drastic methods to get better; he then shows clips of them actually performing these training tactics to show how hardworking they really are, and to conclude he finishes by showing the end result of the tournament. His purpose was to show how invested kids can be. He most likely has a younger audience in mind and not just athletes, but just to let them know to work hard at their dreams. 

        Children at the age of 8 and younger are being documented on their journey to the World Championship of Golf in the documentary titled "The Short Game". It shows the path these kids take one by one. How they started playing golf, how they got good, and all the sacrifices they made to play the sport they love. It uses interviews from the kids asking about things like what their daily life is and what they do to get better. At first the interviews are just to help you get to know the kids. Their future goals are also included, like what they wanna be, and what they want to achieve in golf. Their names are Allen, Amari, Sky, Jed, Agustin, Alexa, Kuang, and Zama. When the Championship comes, they all meet their expectations for the most part. Zama was the most improved player from last year. Allen placed first for theyboys division. Jed showed up late once due to rain delay and received a 10 stroke penalty who would have won without it. Amari was the winner of the girls' division. The rest played well but nothing special. One plus is that almost all of the kids said they made new friends and had fun.

        Personally, I really enjoyed the film. It is so impressive to see such a great amount of talent that young. However, I do not like how their parents were so hard on them. I mean I understand why they wanted to see their children do well and succeed but sometimes it seemed to be over the top. An example is when Agustin's mother was talking down to him and yelling at him. I would imagine that the competitiveness might get the parents fired up. Another thing is I have never seen so much heart and dedication in children that young. They leave themselves no time for a true childhood. At least that's how I viewed it. When he was asked though Allen disagreed. He said that he was not giving up his childhood, rather this was his childhood. I have such a great respect for that and that heart was shown in all of the children.