Basketball

Norton Basketball Does It Again

 

The boys basketball team finished the 2013-2014 season with a 10-10 record, barely qualifying for the state tournament. Marc Libatore has coached the boys team for 15+ years, and has led the lancers to 7 straight playoff births. The previous year, they went 15-5 and won the TVL for the second year in a row. The lancers failed to do it this year, but had both a fun and exciting experience. A combination of younger talent, good coaching, and great fans have kept the basketball tradition going.

Traditions involving the team have been present for countless years. Mr. Lib has said it himself multiple times; "we are not a talented program, but we work the hardest out of anyone." This has been very noticeable, and has translated to winning seasons each year. Making the tournament is just a given at this point. Day in and day out the team runs countless laps and works hard for hours. I found myself having film at 3:45, and practicing from 4:30-7. The success of the team is derived from practicing for hours, using time wisely. During practice, no one seems to mess around. Taking practice serious and being an efficient team during practice has definitely helped the tradition keep going.  The captains James Loring and Paul Schleicher led the Lancers to many exciting victories. The most memorable one was knocking off Ashland when they were 19-0. We needed this win to acquire a playoff spot at 9-10, and it was very exciting. It was close towards the end, and no one on the team let up. It was amazing to see the seniors who wanted to hold on to their season so badly.

Success on the varsity level starts from the ground up. The freshman teams always seem to have a winning record, and does the same things in practice as the varsity team. It all trickles down from the varsity team, and it gets each kid ready for their point in time. The JV team went 13-5, and this shows that younger talent will be coming up very soon. The team had a great year on all levels, even though they lost in the first round of the Massachusetts State Tournament. The future of the team will still be in tact considering the younger sophomores and juniors coming up in following years.

The seniors of the basketball team wanted the playoffs more than anything else, it seemed. Traditions of the team led them to their goals and their huge victories over 10 teams. The success of the team has been a direct result of hard work, and younger talent. Motivation was also a huge factor of the overall success. Therefore, the boys basketball team had a great season, and will probably have success in the future.




Michael Sam

I believe Michael Sam will be accepted in the National Football League because of the time period we live in. With all gay marriage and pro-gay activists in our society, it would be a large issue if they didn’t accept him. The locker room is a completely different story, though.

Aaron Hernandez

Aaron Hernandez had many contributing factors to his life of crime and animosity. He had a very weird childhood. His dad was a sort of drill sergeant, subjecting him to workouts at the crack of dawn. He grew up in Bristol, Connecticut which is a very nice place to live. His dad past away at 49, and he was devastated. His mom was cheating on him, a year prior to this, and Aaron's heart was broken. His life kind of went downhill from there in the gangster-life prospective. He always carried a gun, and was smoking and selling weed very often. When he had countless bar assaults and misdemeanors, this should have been a red flag to most NFL scouts and coaches. He was not a good person by any means, and this showed in his countless crimes. I believe that his mom is sort of responsible for many of his actions. I believe no one should have stepped in, and Aaron should have just lived his life like he would have without football. He would probably get killed or something in Boston. Athletes seem untouchable because they have so much talent that it surpasses the crime.

Olympics

U.S Olympic Hockey

Men's Olympic hockey has been both an exhilarating, and respected sport for decades. It has been a very honorable event in the Winter Olympics. The rivalry between the United States, and other nations have been very exciting to watch. This year, The U.S has been subjected as one of the most fundamentally sound Olympic teams ever seen. A combination of NHL players provide a sense of reassurance to keep the Olympic run going. The event itself started on February 15, and ended on the 21st. Many factors contribute to the projected success of the team, and success ultimately in the end of the tournament.

The U.S hockey team has a very unique lineup with a bunch of playing styles. The players and corresponding NHL hockey teams are as follows; Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild, Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings, Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks, David Backes, St. Louis Blues, Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks, Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks, Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers, T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues, Jason Pominville, Buffalo Sabres, Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens, Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs, Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets, Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild, Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues, Keith Yandle, Phoenix Coyotes, Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg Jets, Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins, Matt Carle, Tampa Bay Lightning, Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets, Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings, Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres, and Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings. They played a number of close games, and went 3-2. They lost to Finland in the last game for the Bronze medal. This was a blowout, 5-0. Obviously the Olympics were held in Sochi, which was not the best venue for it.

A combination of ineffectiveness between the core forwards, and lackluster goalkeeping was the deciding factor of the U.S team not acquiring a medal. They were unsuccessful in their goal of getting one, and it was rather disappointing to fans when they lost to Finland unexpectedly. All in all, the United States Olympic men's hockey team was a disappointment and was talked up to be a great team.


http://proicehockey.about.com/od/olympichockey/a/2014-usa-projected-olympic-hockey-roster.htm

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1937334-usa-olympic-hockey-team-2014-stock-watch-for-every-player-ahead-of-sochi

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1942762-breaking-down-usa-olympic-hockey-teams-goaltenders-ahead-of-sochi-2014

Super Bowl Leftovers

I was not correct in my predictions because Peyton Manning played poorly throughout the game. I was kind of right, saying that the Seahawks would win. My original prediction was that the Seahawks would win by a small margin. I was wrong because they scored 43 points, and killed the Broncos. I was wrong in the score, the amount of interceptions in the game, total yards of both quarterbacks, and total touchdowns. Richard Sherman underperformed like I knew he would. He was kind of ineffective throughout the game, and got injured towards the end. Peyton Manning also underperformed. He played very badly, and could not complete a long pass. 1 highlight was the end around to Percy Harvin for a score. Another highlight was the multiple hits by Kam Chancellor, who decked most of the Broncos receivers. The last highlight was Malcolm Smith's interception, and return for a touchdown. The halftime show was awesome. Bruno Mars was live, and performed well. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were decent. I liked the Doritoz commercial with the time travel box. It was very funny, but they were few and far between.