Wednesday, June 1, 2016

NHS athletes commit

Matt Fest and Matt Kolen
Staff Writers

This school year was a very successful one athletically. Many NHS seniors will be seen on some sort of field or court next year playing for their college. The first athletes to sign this year were Cameron Costello and Maggie Dougherty, playing field hockey and lacrosse, respectively. Costello signed to play for Lafayette College, where she will be receiving an amazing education while playing a sport she loves. Maggie Dougherty signed with Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she can play her favorite sport and surf in her free time.
  Brandon Smith followed the trend, signing with Philadelphia University to play baseball. Brandon’s teammate, Nate Wilson, signed with Cairn University to play baseball as well. Dan Maxian, who is receiving a four-year full tuition ROTC scholarship, will be continuing his swimming career at the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
  Senior volleyball player Dana Bloomfield signed with Penn State Abington to continue her career. Hannah Mui has made the decision to continue her fencing career at Brandeis University.  
 Toni Suler signed to play college basketball at Ursinus College. On April 28, Jake Harraka signed his letter of intent to run track at the University of La Verne in California. Franco Mannino and Russell Abernethy will be continuing their football careers alongside each other at The College Of New Jersey. Tommy Capriotti will be playing college rugby with Penn State University Park. Jake Dupont will be running cross country at Franklin & Marshall College; he signed on May 5.
  Many seniors will be continuing their athletic careers in college. Congratulations to all the men and women this year!

Goodbye Peyton: Bidding Farewell to Manning

Russell Abernethy, Matt Smith, and Nic Patino
Staff Writers

After a long and successful 18-year career, Peyton Manning decided to hang up the cleats for the final time. He made this decision after winning Super Bowl 50, which was his second Super Bowl in his career.
  Peyton has a father who played in the NFL and a younger brother who plays for the New York Giants. Peyton’s father Archie Manning played for the New Orleans Saints for 11 years from 1971-1982. Eli Manning who is Peyton’s kid brother is a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP. It is safe to say that the Mannings are a football family.
  39-year-old Manning went to college and played for the University of Tennessee for 3 years before entering the NFL draft in 1997. Manning was the #1 ranked quarterback in college prior to entering the NFL draft. Manning was selected by the Indianapolis Colts first pick of the 1998 draft. From day one, Manning was a leader on and off the field.
  From 1998 to 2010, Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to eight division championships, two AFC championships, four league MVPs and a Super Bowl championship (XLI) where he also won the Super Bowl MVP. Manning also made it to the Pro Bowl every season except one.
  Following the end of the 2010 season, Peyton Manning’s career hit a snag. Manning was unable to play the 2011 season due to a neck injury that required surgery. The Colts did not trust the surgery and released the potential Hall Of Fame quarterback. John Elway and the Denver Broncos thought that the quarterback still had some to give.
  Spending the four years in Denver were worth it for Manning. He won his fifth and final league MVP and his second and final Super Bowl. He also broke many records: NFL career passing touchdown record, 539; most passing yards, high 71,940; single season touchdown record, 55 in 2013; most passing yards, 5,477 in 2013; most wins, 200 (including playoffs); most games throwing for 300+ yards, 93; most passing touchdowns in a single game, 7 in 2013, and many more listed at: http://tinyurl.com/jlb29e9.
  It is safe to say that Peyton Manning has had one of the best careers in the history of the NFL and his records are going to be very hard to break and could last forever. Manning is a sure Hall of Famer and many believe he will get in as soon as he is eligible.

Kobe Bryant retires in heroic fashion

Jonah Slominski
Staff Writer

The great career of Laker legend Kobe Bryant has ended. Bryant played his final game on April 13, against the Utah Jazz. He scored 60 points on 50 shots, dished 4 assists, and grabbed 4 rebounds in 42 minutes of playing time. Staples Center was sold out, with fans coming together one final time to witness a once in a generation talent play basketball. It was a meaningless game, in the sense that both the Lakers and Jazz were eliminated from playoff contention, but it was meaningful for everyone involved, especially Bryant himself. Before the game, the Lakers brought many all-time greats and former teammates of Bryant to congratulate him on a monumental career, from Magic Johnson to James Worthy and Shaquille O’Neal. Emotions were running high before the game, the Lakers also played two tribute videos about Bryant before the game, and another at halftime.

Bryant was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets with the 13th overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft, and was later traded on draft night to the Los Angeles Lakers. 20 years later, his career has come to a close. Bryant’s 20-year tenure with the Lakers set an NBA record this year, passing John Stockton’s previous record of 19 years with the Utah Jazz.

Throughout Bryant’s career, he has done some pretty amazing things on the basketball court. He scored 81 points in a game, the second highest in history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game, he won 5 NBA Championships, 3 in a row from 1999-2001, and back to back again in 2009-2010. He was MVP in 2008, and lead the league in scoring in 2006 and 2007. He was selected to 18 All Star teams, 15 All-NBA teams, and 12 All-Defensive teams. As Bryant’s career has come to a close, he finished 3rd on the all-time career scoring list, scoring 33,643 points, behind only Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The lasting legacy of Kobe will be his amazing ability to score and his unwavering confidence in that ability. He was the Michael Jordan of a younger generation, a generation who only grew up with Bryant on the Lakers for as long as they can remember. He inspired many current players today, as well as up and coming basketball players everywhere. He will be missed but will always be remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game.

NHS Tennis journeys toward Hershey

Oliver Colvin and Blake Doherty
Staff Writers

The tennis season opened up with a very promising start. After claiming wins against Church Farm and Christopher Dock, their rival match against Lower Moreland looked promising. Matches against Lower Moreland have always been heated. Between dishonest line calls and unsportsmanlike conduct, it is never considered a fun match, but it is important because it can show the true talent of both teams.
   After two new coaches spent three weeks rebuilding the structure of the new 2015-2016 squad, it was clear the Tennis team was updated. Varsity Coach Slaweski was clear on his intentions for this year. Coming off of a successful coaching season at Pennridge, Slaweski wants another championship season. In addition to the new coach helping the team, senior Alex Lotier has been leading the team as captain of the varsity squad.
  Although the squad was looking prepared and ready for the big match against Lower Moreland, Lower Moreland came hard and fast. It was a close match, however the team came up short and suffered a 2-5 loss. It was the first loss of the season and was a tough hit, but Coach Slaweski stayed positive.
  “Although we lost, it will provide us with stuff we need to learn from.”
  The players stayed positive too. Junior Tommy Lupo said it was the most excited game he’d ever played.
Coming up this week is an important match against Holy Ghost Prep. Every year they have a good team but this year looks like the year the Lions will be victorious and come out with a big win. In addition to the big match against Holy Ghost Prep, players Alex Lotier and Adrian Roji have states coming up.
  Regardless, the season is still in its opening weeks and many matches are to come.

NHS Baseball dominates

Danny Doherty and Tommy Lupo
Staff Writers

The NHS Lions baseball team is off to a great start for their 2016 season. A 6-1 record overall, and 4-1 BAL start has led them to be a AA powerhouse in the state and a contender for both the District and BAL titles. Led by a defense and pitching staff that has been quite nearly lights out, and a lineup that has overpowered nearly every arm they have faced, not much seems to be able to stop the Lions.
  Senior shortstop Nate Wilson, the anchor of the team’s stout defense said: “I really feel like this year we have a shot. We are all meshed well together, and feed off each other doing well. This year I feel like we really are a team, and continued success will prove good.” Wilson, along with fellow senior starters Brandon Smith (SP), Dylan Waterman (2B), Tim Heffernan (CF), and Brett Edwardson (RF), have not found a championship in the spring during their high school careers, and are not going out without one.
  “Our lineup has been hard to stop. Every guy in the lineup can really hit the ball. If one guy hits a double, everyone gets hyped up, and most likely the next guy will drive him in,” said Tim Heffernan, the consistent 3-hole hitter of the team the past two years. “For us, the only way we are not going to accomplish our goals is if we beat ourselves. We have the best team out here, so no one is going to stop us but ourselves.”
  Can the NHS Lions give the team their first championship in over 6 years? Come out to one of the games to cheer them on and find out!

Warriors are the best single season team in NBA history

Morgan Shadle
Staff Writer

The Golden State Warriors finished the regular 2016 season with a record of 73-9. With the best record ever in the history of the NBA. The Warriors this year averaged 114.8 points per game. The reigning MVP Steph Curry could not believe they accomplished this and his teammates Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were are also really happy they achieved it. The wait is over and now the Warriors can rest their players for the playoffs.
  A lot of people criticized the Warriors for not playing like a real NBA team should be  because they shot a lot of three-pointers. But if they are putting stats like this up every night and beating historic records, they should not be criticized for having a different approach to the game, especially one that works. The Warriors are now officially compared to the Bulls of the late 90’s, which had stars like Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. Many sports writers are even saying the Warriors may be better than the Bulls since they are the best single season team ever.
  The night the Warriors achieved their record was just great for everyone in the basketball community as it was also Kobe Bryant’s last game. I don’t know if there has ever been a more historic night in the sports community, but if you watched the games, you were treated to something special.