Lucas Saunders 2012 Highlight Tape Middletown, CT

Alex Bednarek, Berlin High School, Berlin, Connecticut

My Thanks

23 years of life and the list of things I am thankful for is already endless. First and for most, I am thankful for my beautiful family. I am thankful for my father who has instilled in me the ultimate level of optimism. The things he has taught have been some of the most simplest and yet complex things at the same time. I am thankful for my mother who has given me the drive that I live by. She has taught me to have so much confidence in myself that I never thought I would be able to carry. Words can't describe how thankful I am for my younger brother, my best friend. He has shown that age does not bring wisdom, attitude does.
          I am so lucky to have not one, but seven best friends. I am thankful for them no matter how much or little I see them. I am thankful for them for having the conviction of keeping it real with me the entire time I have known them.
         I am thankful for my entire Springfield family. I am thankful for the maturation process we have been able to share and the legacy, yes legacy we left on that school.
         23 years of life and I could go on for what I am thankful for. Thank you for the people in my life who have supplied me with the motivation that fuels me everyday even if you don't know it. Little lessons in life are the things that carry dreams into reality, and I am thankful for everyone who have been able instill that into me.

Running Up The Score

Sportsmanship is something we are taught at a young age in the world of athletics. Good sportsmanship is viewed as special as winning sometimes in the realm of competition. There comes a time when sportsmanship is also tested with character. In today's world when an opponent seems outmatched it is seen as bad sportsmanship to run up to score. But here lies the conflict of character, as children we are taught to always try our best no matter what. We tell kids try their best and give it their all, but we don't take into consideration what "good" sportsmanship ultimately allows for that. If your child is winning and the score seems to be getting out of hand, it seems hypocritical to tell your child to "ease up." The definition of good sportsmanship would totally support that idea, but the character we are built upon does not. I ask myself, why is it my duty to ease up when I have put in the hard work to become the best I can? Why do I need to pull back because I am working hard just to benefit someone else's feelings. As wrong as that may sound, imagine telling your child, "I want you to go out there and try hard, not to hard, but just a little." We live in a society where we want to have it both ways. We cannot punish people for putting in the time and effort to become great and them because someone else feels bad.

Middletown High School Boys Soccer 2012 Season Highlights

Hashtag Knickstape

Tonight is the night so many of us have been waiting for. The NBA season is finally here! As a Knicks fan, this is where we determine how high we want to put our hopes so that when they come crashing down we know how much face we need to try to save. With the new acquisitions to our team our average age may now be older than the original Harlem Globetrotters. However, I have much faith in Mr. Anthony after the showing he had in London. He is the last one in the core of the '03 draft who has not gotten it done, and this year he has to step up. Time to get it done Knicks Nation. 

          

Dreamers vs. Realists

“There are dreamers, and there are realists in this world.

You’d think the dreamers would find the dreamers and the realists would find the realists. But more often than not, the opposite is true.

You see, the dreamers need the realists to keep them from soaring too close to the sun.

And the realists?

Well, without the dreamers…they might never get off the ground.”

                                                                      - Eric Stonestreet

Everything ain't for Everybody!

"Never give up" may be one of the shortest cliches with one of the tallest orders. Its been about two years since I've graduated college and I still find myself figuring out what this degree Springfield gave me really means. I feel this little piece of paper has simply validated that I've simply only scratched the surface of the "real world." I definitely walked into college thinking my degree would be the key that would begin to open doors for me, but boy was I wrong.  The day after graduation has probably been the biggest reality check I've had since realizing money didn't "grown on trees."
           Sports Journalism has been my plan since graduating college and so far it seems after two years I have taken baby steps with that plan. I think the most annoying word a journalist can hear is "freelance." Freelance to me simply means no stability, and if there's one thing a college student is looking for when they graduate with thousand dollars of loans, its stability. I have been doing so many freelance gigs here and there that have offered that instant gratification of cash, but that doesn't mean much when bills come in. Patience is another one of those words us journalist hate to hear, especially when its coming from someone who has what you want. I've learned with patience though, sometimes you gotta pass on good in order to get to great. That life lesson wasn't learned without its fair share of trial and error.
           Many people wont understand the life of a journalist, hell, I barley do. The random hours and random pay will throw off even the greatest of minds. But I mean hey, everything ain't for everybody, certain people can deal with what it throws at you. I think after my many, many, many, MANY times of trial and error throughout the past two years have really confined my mind into how to flow throughout this business to get to where I want to be. Time is that one thing that seems to take forever when you don't want it to, but will fly by you when you are trying to hold on to every little bit. My parents still don't think I have a job because of the way freelance works. Its always hard to have people understand your drive, but there's one answer I've learned when people ask why you do it. "Why Not," is the greatest answer to all positivity. So to my fellow journalist, keep grinding, I mean hey, the older ones have to fall off eventually.

A Country Of Two Faces, But One Heartbeat

Not really a big fan of politics because it usually brings out the worst in many, but I just wanted to write a little something after the two conventions. It's amazing how our country prides itself on unity and yet we can find ourselves so distant from each other so often. Now I'm not saying its stupid to have two parties, because its important to have two views on what happens with our country. Different minds is what makes this country the greatest country in the world. I guess the interesting thing is the amount of hate, dislike, and disrespect each party could have for one another. The stubbornness that halts production and evolution of this country is also a problem we seem to face. I always thought it was interesting that the most powerful part of our country, the government, is so distance from each other when it comes to so many things. Take this for an example; what if we had a democratic and a republican army? What if we had members of the army who chose which battles they wanted to fight. I guess my point is that if we can have people commit the ultimate sacrifice, fight together for one cause, whether they are democrats or republicans, why cant the people who send them their act the same way. That may be an extreme example, but i guess just the principal of the unity theme we spread, our leaders need to learn to practice more what they preach. Thats my little political rant for the year.

Too Real!

                                                               Freestyler Kilan Martin

If it aint broke, don't fix it.......well at least not yet

Emmit Smith once said, "all men are created equal, some just work harder in preseason." Well the Patriots' Jermaine Cunningham made sure Michael Vick got all he could ask for last night. Yesterday Michael Vick was a victim to another hit that sent him off the field and out for the game. Thankfully, it was a preseason, but nevertheless, he was forced to leave a game due to injury.
         After Vick was released from jail he had a breakout season with the Eagles and properly earned himself a huge new contract. Everyone was discussing how this was a new Vick that was being displayed, one who had the pass first mentality unlike his past. Vick made a name for himself in the mi 2000's with his electrifying plays that mostly consisted of him running with the ball and abusing the ankles of defensemen. Many have saluted the likes of Andy Reid for conforming Vick into the pocket passer that he is today, but that has only brought concussions, broken ribs, and jammed fingers to their start quarterback. Vick needs to get back to the basics, back to what made the Eagles want to take a chance on him by awarding him a 100 million dollar contract. The contract guaranteed Vick 40 mill, but if they don't let him switch back to his old style, it wont guarantee the Eagles many more years with him. There is a danger in changing too much in the search for perfection.

One Team, One Goal!

Why is the American media attacking its own athletes during the olympics. Isn't this the time of the year where we are suppose to come together as a country. We have media sources over here looking for a story to write so desperately that they will look for anything to write about even if its at the expense of our own country men and women. We have people getting on Michael Phelps for "not trying his best" during these olympics. How quickly we forget the amount of work he put in the last olympics to come away with a record eight gold medals. Then we still have those people who keep comparing this years basketball team to the dream team and continues to criticize of what they lack but fail to recognize what they have. One of the most shocking ones might be about the people who got on gold medal winner Gabby Douglas about how she was wearing her hair. Yes you read that right, we have stooped to the level of criticizing a 16 year old girls hair like a bad MTV reality show. The most recent criticism came towards LoLo Jones and how she was a bad sport after losing to two other fellow Americans. They pretty much described how she deserved it because of all the unearned attention she was receiving throughout the olympics. I mean we give back up quarterbacks in New York their own press conference, but talking about a woman who used to hold the olympic record in her event is "unearned attention," but I wont get into that. All I'm saying is, our athletes don't have to be over there playing for our country, they do that by choice. We should be supporting our athletes instead of trying to find anything to bring them down. Looking for little stupid stories like that is simply lazy journalism, step it up.

Team USA

soccer trailer

Middletown High School 2011 Soccer Season Trailer

The Beauty Of The Game

Cooler than the other side of the pillow is how you can describe the emotions of rising soccer star Alex Morgan. If you missed the game yesterday, in the words of ESPN analyst Ian Darke, you missed a "sure cracker." USA and Canada traded blows like a heavy weight slugfest. Christine Sinclair from Canada made sure it would take a Hollywood ending to beat them. Sinclair, one of the most gifted players in the world, put on a show with a hat trick and it still wasn't enough to break the will of the United States. Megan Rapinoe had two fantastic goals and Abby Wambach had her usual addition of another goal to tie the game, but the star of the game was Alex Morgan. The 23 year old had been on a little scoring drought, but waited for the perfect time quench that thirst in the 120th minute of overtime. Morgan has clearly left her footprint in the soccer world and has made sure the millions who have been watching at home don't forget it. To think, only one year ago Morgan and this team were walking off this field in defeat against the world champions from Japan. Now back for a second chance, the team hopes to regain their rightful thrones as the queens of the soccer world. Theres something about the conviction in the American spirit that makes sports and almost every thing else so precious to our society. I believe the reasons we watch sports are to witness moments like yesterday, ones that make us look around and say "did that really happen," even if we are watching in a room alone. That right there is the beauty of sports.

Alex Morgan after scoring the go ahead goal to be Canada

Flying Into The History Books

Higher, faster, stronger, that has been the motto for this years Olympics. Last night, American, Gabby Douglas had to be just that to win the prestigious crown in the world of gymnastics. Thousands of miles away from Virginia Beach, VA, Douglas was the unlikely favorite, if that makes any sense, in last nights competition. Everyone knew the Russians would bring what they always bring, pure dominance, and that's what they did. When the final scores were in, Douglas found herself in between two Russians. It just so happened that when she was in between them, she was standing above them, right on the pedestal. Douglas now enters the Mount Rushmore of American gymnast with Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, and Nastia Liukin as some of the greatest gymnast this country as seen. More appropriately, Douglas became the first African American women to win the all around individual title. As much as sports has evolved, it is still a magnificent precedent. Keep on flying Gabby.

The G.O.A.T.

Michael Phelps after winning 19th olympic medal

G.O.A.T. That is the term used now-a-days to describe the greatest of all time. Yesterday, Michael Phelps distanced himself from the pack of average and into the realm of legends. Phelps won his 19th record olympic medal, an accomplishment that no other olympic athlete has ever reached. Surprisingly, in the shadows of Michael Phelps, the United Staes women's gymnastic team won all-around gold for the first time since 1996. The win may not be legendary because it has done before previously, but that does not relinquish the the greatness that follows the victory. All of this brings to debate, could this be the greatest team USA we have sent to the olympics? We had our previous years when we dominated in basketball and track but lacked depth in others. This year the United States is drooling with talent in about every olympic sport. Our volleyball teams are dominate, our depth in swimming is bar none, our gymnastics is back world class talent, and our basketball teams have stayed consistent. It has been a while when we flourished in so many sports at one olympic. But hey, this is just my opinion, in the words of the great Jay Crawford, "Embrace Debate!"

USA 

The Competitive Flame

The Olympics are finally underway and the United States have already made their mark in these games. Ryan Lochte beating Michael Phelps may have been the headlines over the first two days. This however, might not have been as surprising as Jordyn Wieber, the all-around female gymnastic champion, not making the cut for the individual finals yesterday. The games have shown how quickly you can be dethroned from your pedestal at a moments notice. As it may be weird for us as Americans to see our Olympic greats fall short, however it is good to see them passing the torch to other fellow Americans and not other countries. This can only be a great thing for team USA because in order for our team to be great, we must continue to push each other as teammates. The best competition occurs when average people put in above average effort, this is what team USA represents.

"Unprecedented" Casualties

Death penalty may have not of been the title, but this punishment that Penn State received today will make them feel like as if they were "death penalty" casualties. The NCAA banned the university from bowl games for the next four years, a vacation of all of their wins from 1998 up to 2011, loss of scholarships, and a 60 million dollar fine. Many have been wondering if this punishment is not enough or if it is to strict to an organization. If you ask me, I think the punishment fits perfectly for the crime. Supporters have argued that this punishment may be to hard especially on the kids who had no part of this heinous crime. Let us not forget, when Reggie Bush was charged for taking money from a source while he was playing for USC he was stripped of his Heisman  Trophy and the "University" of Southern California suffered by being banned from bowl games for future years. All of the current players have been given the right to transfer out and keep all of their years of eligibility at other schools. One thing that I thought was pretty harsh was the vacation of the wins from past years which now takes Paterno's records away of the all-time most winningest coach in college football. If the NCAA wanted to make a statement, erasing one of the most historical records in sports is definitely the way to do that. The NCAA in the past has showed their flaws and have rightfully deserved their nickname as the most corrupt organization in the nation, but I think today was just one small step into replenishing their image. 

Jerry Sandusky and Joe Paterno

Gotham City will rise again.....

Pump the brakes Knicks fans, it is not the end of the world yet. Just because Jeremy Lin is gone does not bring doom to Knicks nation. Let me remind you, even with "linsanity," we still ended the season with the seventh seed. Would I like Jeremy Lin on the team, definitely, but will I miss him, absolutely not. Let me also remind you, Jeremy Lin did not go to the celtics, the heat, the nets, the lakers, or the thunder. He went to the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets! As big as a basketball fan I am, I cant even name two people on the Houston Rockets. The Houston Rockets havent been relevant since Nate Robinson dunked on Yao Ming. We probably wont even see more that four Rockets games on national T.V. Gotham City will rise again, even if it does take a 85 year old party rocker in Jason Kidd and an overweight national champion in Raymond Felton. Let us not forget that we still have Melo, Chandler, and Amare who will get better by playing with each other for another year. We also have a dignified bench with Jr Smith and Steve Novak coming in with instant offense. Our problem was never putting the ball in the basket, it was denying other teams from putting up triple digits on us every night in and night out. How dare anyone think that keeping Jeremy Lin would have fixed that problem. I totally get what Lin brought to the Knicks off the court with all the revenue and all the buzz, but last time I checked, thats not what wins you games.

"this guy trying to hold Gotham City hostage, who does he think he is"

Linning Off The Court

While Jason Kidd was off party rocking in the club, Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin was "linning" off the court. Somehow in this whole turn of events, Lin is looking like the veteran and Kidd is looking like, well, the kid. For only starting 25 NBA games in his young career, Jeremy Lin played out his contract the perfect way. He is now on the market and has the potential of earning a contract worth about 30 mil. Now you may think, who is crazy enough to pay someone 30 mil to someone who only played half of an already condensed season. Well the Rockets, who have been reported of trying to trade their entire roster, their mascot, and the hot dog vender for Dwight Howard and, yes you guessed it, the Knicks. If any team comes out with the best result, it has to be Harvard, people will now realize the power of a Harvard education when it comes to beating the system.

Too Much Bieber Fever

So imagine if your job was to perform in front of thousands of fans at the best of your ability and you end up getting sued for doing too good of a job. Sounds crazy right. Well unfortunately this dream lawsuit is becoming a reality for Justin Bieber. TMZ reported that back in July 2010, Bieber performed a concert in Portland, Oregon where a woman named Stacey Betts brought her daughter to. Betts claimed it was already incredibly loud in the arena due to all of his fans and became even louder when Bieber performed a song from a heart shaped gondola. There is no denying that singing to a room full of teenage girls from a heart shaped gondola is the go to move when you are the Biebs. Unfortunate for Stacey Betts, she did not leave the concert with "Bieber fever," and allegedly now suffers from tinnitus. Tinnitus leaves you with a constant pulsing and whooshing sound in the ear which makes it hard to sleep. For that, Betta believes she now has the right to sue Justin Bieber and his record label for 9.23 million dollars. As if there wasn't a more outrageous lawsuit since the McDonald's incident, here we are, I'm the beautiful year of 2012.

Bieber Fever

Beckham-less

There are two weeks until the Olympics are underway and all of London is ready to show off, well all but one. One of the major faces of England, David Beckham, will not be partaking in the games. The legendary soccer player was left off of the three senior players selected for England's soccer team. In the olympics, soccer squads must compete with there under 23 year old team and get to choose three players from their senior squad. Many thought it would be obvious to pick Beckham, he was practically one of the main reasons England got to host the Olympics. England clearly had another mindset, and that was to pick the best squad that would give them a chance to win, not to be commercially attractive. Beckham will forever be a face of England soccer, but times have changed, and England is wearing a different mask to this party and its not the face of H&M.

Redeem The Dream

After watching the Bejing olympics where the "Redeem Team" dominated the world of basketball, you may ask yourself, how can they match that success this year. One of your friends might tell you that it wont be that hard if they've had success like this before in 1992 with the dream team. In the heat of discussion you may just blurt out, "well this team was better than the dream team." Before tempers begin to flare, grab your friend on the shoulder and tell them, "just think about it."

           In 1992, Barcelona hosted the olympics where we saw the greatest team ever assembled in sports. Conversation has come about that maybe the "Redeem Team" from the 2008 olympics could have beaten that team. Now you think to yourself, theres no way thats possible, the dream team had Jordan, Bird, Magic and a plethora of other hall of famers. The one thing many seem to forget is that a couple of those hall of famers were at the end of their careers. Bird and Magic were both on their way out of the league. Now if they were playing the '08 team in their prime, I feel there would be a better discussion. The fact of the matter is that, there is no way they would be able to match up with the '08 boys. I mean you could put Mike on Kobe, but then what, you going to put Scottie on Lebron, or even Bird? The '08 team was just way more athletic than the dream team, maybe not as skilled, but definitely more athletic. I mean I couldn't see Stockton stopping any of the point guards from '08. The match ups would play a big role in the game. This takes nothing away from what the Dream Team accomplished, I just feel that the game has evolved in ways we may have never imagined, 'kids' have gotten stronger and faster at such an early age. But then again, who knows, the conversation is always up for discussion.

Lucas Saunders

lucas saunders
middletown high school, middletown, CT
sophmore year highlight tape

Record Breaker

At the age of 44, worldwide track star Michael Johnson is still breaking records. Johnson has broke the record for saying the absolutely most stupid comment an athlete can say to the public. Yahoo reported that Michael Johnson said, "slavery has benefited superstar athletes like himself because of a 'super athletic gene'." Johnson continued to explain that he accredited all his success from a gene that all African Americans gained from slavery. If thats the case I do not know why I am sitting here and writing this article and not at the Olympic trials competing with everyone else. Im not sure if Im more surprised that he discounted all his hard work and effort or that he tried to use slavery as a pedestal to stand on to dignify all his success. He later brought up why he didn't understand why people never brought it up or talked about it. Here is a word of advice Mr. Johnson, if you got something that you believe is this "obvious" and you wonder why people are not saying anything about it, its usually because its STUPID.

Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Johnson

Big Decisions in the Big Apple

If Jay Z's "Empire State of Mind" didn't set the city of Brooklyn on fire a couple summers ago, his next move just might. Mr. Carter's Brooklyn Nets have already landed some high scale free agents this summer and have managed to re-sign their superstar point guard Deron Williams. The summer wont be seen as a success until they land their major fish, Dwight Howard. Howard has made it clear that he wants to be the new superhero in Gotham City. Howard has also "made it clear" that he wants out of Orlando, likes the idea of LA, will think about Houston, and could even try Dallas. Howard has been holding the NBA captive to his decision throughout the past couple months, but when you have talent like his, it is hard to rush one to a major decision. One team we definitely know for sure that Howard will not be playing for is the United States during this summers Olympics. All we can do is wait until one team pays the ransom and we find out where Howard lands, but until then, Go USA, bring back the gold once more.

Super Man soaring to Gotham City?