Giant Word

By Joseph Bryant, Sports Editor

High school sports are beginning to come to a close for the season. Varsity has playoffs while the JV teams’ seasons are over, but is this fair? All teams have practiced and played the same amount throughout the season, but only the varsity squad gets the chance to play for different levels of championships. Is that really fair if all teams have worked just as hard?

No, it is not fair for a group of kids who have worked just as hard not to have the chance to play for a prestigious title. It stops the players short of actually representing their school and competing to show who has the best team. I know for myself that I would be upset if I didn’t get the chance to prove my ability other than during the regular season.

The playoffs bring a more intense atmosphere of competitiveness. That is what playing sports is all about. It’s about the competition. If JV players are being stopped short of competing then that is cutting them short of showing off their talent and competitive drive.

My question is, why they don’t have them?

“It’s because of the time constraint and the lack of facilities,” said interim athletic director Mr. Doug Charley.

I believe that JV players should be given the opportunity to have playoffs. Some sort of schedule adjustment that could allow for playoffs must be possible.  I personally think that it could be done by reducing the number of regular season games and adding a playoff so that the season ends at the same time. While it would be a difficult thing to accomplish, I think that the outcome of adding playoffs to the JV season would enhance the competitive aspect and give those athletes a chance to compete outside of the regular season.

Alisha Majors, Reporter

To me sports aren’t just games to play. I wish I could speak firsthand of this experience, but unfortunately I’m just I bystander on the sidelines. That doesn’t mean that I can’t see how deeply sports impacts the players and how important sports are to them.

To the average person sports is something that we have to put up with in gym class or something that shows on ESPN when we’re channel surfing. Sports can be a way of life for some, or just an extracurricular that’s going to look good on a college application for others. To a true athlete though, it’s not all fun and games. It’s personal.

They say you should join a sports team to be more involved but I have never had the energy or made the time or commitment a dedicated athlete has had. In a way it seems like a disappointment that I don’t have that athletic attribute in me, or that I can’t physically excel, but at the end of the day athleticism is a surreal vision that just doesn’t work for me because I lack the aptitude. The societal perception of teen is that we all need physical exercise and I wish that I had more ability but for now I’m just going to watch from the sidelines.

Joseph Bryant, Sports Editor

With the regular season coming to an end, an issue has risen as to who should be the National Basketball Association’s most valuable player or “M.V.P.” Several candidates are up for vote including two-time defending M.V.P.  Lebron James. Also up for the position are Chicago Bulls all-star Derrick Rose, Lakers Star Kobe Bryant, and Magic Center, Dwight Howard. These athletes are some of the main runners for M.V.P. Many arguments have been brought up regarding who should be picked for the honor of the most valuable player in the league. In my own personal opinion, Dwight Howard should be the number one candidate because of his ability to control the paint, the boards, and almost score at will. Another reason he should be M.V.P is his outstanding defensive play that has given him records of most blocks in a single season as well as many other defensive honors that are sure to come. I believe that while the others mentioned are great and extremely valuable to their team, Howard is the main guy for his team. The Orlando Magic struggle without him and they struggle to find another player to help share the load. This is the reason that he should be M.V.P. In my definition of what the M.V.P should be, it should be a guy that the team can always count on and without him they become a much weaker team. Tell us who you think should be the M.V.P.

By: Colleen Detwiler

I enjoy playing baseball, but I’m not eligible to play because I’m a girl. I don’t really think that it’s entirely fair to some of the students who would like to play sports and are not allowed.

It is unfair that women can’t play sports that men play.

I have coaches, teachers, friends, and family saying to try out for softball because it has the same basics as baseball but there are so many things that are different about the sport. The pitch is much different, the size of the bat and the ball are much different, the field in softball is much smaller than in baseball. Boys are allowed to play baseball and softball, but girls are only allowed to play softball. To me this seems sexist, but it is my only opinion.

Most students understand that the school isn’t well funded to get a coach, afford the apparel, and form a team with enough members that are interested, but I still think that trying wouldn’t hurt. Even if teachers asked students if they are interested in something such as hockey, lacrosse, rugby, skiing, snowboarding, etc., and if they are interested then start raising money to be able to afford to play the game and then there shouldn’t be much of a problem. You could ask parents even if they would want to coach, or teachers. They just have to know what they are doing.

We should get more sports teams going, allowing men and women to play equally. I think in my opinion that many people would be much happier with that, just like me.

By Allison Graves, Technology Manager

It’s that time of the year again. March Madness—a time where young basketball connoisseurs can predict the fate of 64 college basketball teams.  Although an amateur myself, I have decided to dive into the thrill of brackets in hopes of winning a pot of money.  With only a $5 admission fee, I felt that the time and price was right.  My lack of experience and knowledge about college basketball is a sure fire way to a one way ticket to “loser-central” but I think the experience will be well worth it.  For all of you who are like me and don’t understand the concept of college brackets, it starts with 64 teams and dwindles down to 1 winner.  It’s a win or go home system; if you win you advance if you lose—theres always next year.   After talking with many March-Madness veterans, I made my choices and hoped for the best.  The only thing to do now is to wait for the tournament games to be played. While filling out my own bracket I realized the significant amount of others participating in the annual activity.  Not a day went by where I didn’t see an individual filling out a bracket in class. Even, in lunch all of the televisions were broadcasting sports networks that were focused on “bracketology” and what picks to make.  This week is just the beginning of the “mad” month of March and I suspect evidence of the tournament to appear more frequently as it continues.

By Joseph Bryant, Sports Editor

Is there a link between sports activities and an athlete’s grades? I believe there is. I would say that it has a critical impact in the student’s school life. A student who participates in athletics may not have enough time for his or her studies, while a student who does not partake in sports may have too much time on his or her hands. In my own experiences, I have had less time for studies but it seemed as though I did better because I had more of a drive and motivation to do better. According to a study conducted by the Red and Blue Foundation of Boston, athletes with a more active schedule were able to have better grades in school. The report showed an alarming eight point difference between athletes and non-athletes. Those eight points alone are enough to bring a student’s grade up an entire letter grade. Tell us what you think about the topic.