Blogs you should check out!

Interested in viewing other blogs? Check out some of my classmates' and I'm sure you'll find something you like.


http://maddiell.blogspot.com/


Anna's Blog


My Blog

Steroids in Sports: Baseball

By Curtis Stoychoff

One sport comes to mind right away when anyone talks about steroids. That sport is baseball. The point of sports is for evenly matched competitors to compete against each other without having an unfair advantage of any kind. That’s what Major League Baseball had in mind when they started back in 1875. So why, do athletes today think it is okay to seek or even achieve that unfair advantage. How are they doing this? The answer is through steroids.
Are steroids illegal to use in the MLB? Yes. Does this or has this stopped players from using them? Absolutely not. The proof behind this lies clearly in the record books. Mark McGwire set the records for most home runs in a season in 1998 with 70 home runs. http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats1.shtml It later came to be known that he had used steroids for a period of eight years during his career, perhaps even longer. Now people debate whether or not he should even be allowed to be mentioned as someone who held the record. Now when you search McGwire’s name on Google, in the “People also searched for” section, names of athletes like Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, and Roger Clemens all come up. All of which, have been associated with the use of steroids themselves. Is it fair that McGwire is categorized as a “steroids user”? The answer is simple enough:
Should the use of steroids be considered a crime though? If everyone is doing it, why is it still considered an unfair advantage? You’ll get those people who argue that not everyone in the MLB does steroids, which is true of course. (For all that we know.) But clearly, a lot of players do. It seems like a new name comes out every day. Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, David Ortiz, where will it stop? Or will it ever stop? The fact of the matter is that the sport is changing, if it hasn’t already changed completely. Maybe we need to learn to accept it.
Without the use of steroids, we might not have all the amazing home run records that we have. Would this make the game less exciting? Probably. But at least the integrity of the game our forefathers played back in 1875 would still be intact. I’m pretty sure that this guy
Ted Williams
wouldn’t be too proud to share the brotherhood that MLB players have with each other, with this guy.Barry Bonds

Matt Ryan Waits for His Time

By Curtis Stoychoff

Matt Ryan prepares to be interviewed after a game.

The twenty-seven year old from Exton, Pennsylvania walked into his team's locker room with a heart full of discontent and a head full of questions.

Matt Ryan, the quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, made his fourth trip into the playoffs this season, and for the first time, came away with a victory. The Falcons were victories in the divisional round against the Seattle Seahawks where they came away with a thrilling 30-28 win. Before this season, Ryan’s ability to win games when it mattered had been called into question. Everyone said that since he had been to the playoffs three times and had been yet to win a game that he simply didn’t have it in him to do so. He proved those people wrong. He went out and won a game in the playoffs. That isn’t good enough for “Matty Ice” as he is called. He didn’t just want to win one game in the playoffs; he wanted to win them all.

Unfortunately, the playoffs didn’t pan out that way for Ryan. He and the Falcons suffered a heart-breaking 28-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the Conference Championship game after having a 17-0 lead in the first half. As he made his way into the locker room after the loss he must have been full of questions. “Am I good enough?” “Are all those people right?” “Do I really not have what it takes?” These are all plausible examples of questions that Ryan could have been asking himself. Although, just because they are plausible doesn’t mean that he should be asking them. No, he hasn’t won a Super Bowl yet. No, he hasn’t even made it to the Super Bowl as the Falcons Quarterback. But he has accomplished a lot. Just take a look at his stats from his first five seasons. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/11237/matt-ryan

Not too shabby, huh? Ryan has done nothing but win in the regular season since he arrived in Atalnta in 2008. Only a few teams like Tom Brady and the Patriots rival his record in that time period. So then why is he not considered to be an elite quarterback in the NFL along with Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers? If it were only about stats he certainly would be. In 2012, Ryan was fifth in passer rating, touchdown passes, and passing yards. He was fourth in total QBR, which is a new way of determining the performance of quarterbacks in all phases of the game. Ryan finished third in total completions and he beat everyone with the best completion percentage out of all other quarterbacks. With these kinds of numbers, why is he not talked about with the rest of the best?

The answer is because it is not all about the numbers. What you do with those numbers is also taken into consideration. Ryan is yet to win a Super Bowl in his five seasons. And what do Brady, Manning, Brees, and Rodgers have in common? Rings. Super Bowl rings.

With the kind of stats Ryan has it is only a matter of time before he breaks through and gets that first super bowl win. In the time being, lurking in the shadows of Brady and the others will have to do. All Ryan needs to do is stay patient, determined, and true to himself and when his time comes, it’ll be all the more satisfying.

Ryan celebrates during a game.

The Lady Lions Strive for Victory

By Curtis Stoychoff

The West Boylston High School Lady Lions basketball team is about to wrap up another successful season, but will it end the way they want it to?

The Lady Lions stand at an impressive 11-5 record with four games left to play. Games against rival Tahanto High School and perennial power Fitchburg will be tough, both away from home. The last two games of the season will be played in the Lori Bourn Memorial Tournament at West Boylston, of which the Lady Lions were the victors last season. The tournament is in memory of Lori Bourn, the mother of senior guard Lexi Bourn, who passed away after a lengthy fight with cancer in 2011. It can be sure that the team will really want to win these two games.

“It means the world me to,” said Bourn. “There is no better way to honor my mother than playing with my team. I love them and wouldn’t want to play with anyone else.”

When asked what the tournament means to the team as a whole Bourn responded, “I know form all the support these past two years it means just as much to my teammates that it does to me and I’m thankful for that.”

Districts are looming and the Lady Lions have enjoyed success in the past. Two years ago they lost in the semifinals and last year they made it to the quarterfinals.

Senior forward Amy Peterson has led the team in scoring all season and has high hopes for the playoffs. “If we all work together and prove that we want it on the court [we can go far],” said Peterson.

The Lady Lions are known around the league for their hard work and determination. Hopefully it’ll all pay off in a few weeks’ time when they take the court in districts.