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6 Page 6 The Falconaire Sports November 2011 by Isaiah Searight 15 Super Contributor Selections The Super Bowl is easily the biggest game in sports today, a game most people watch, even those who may not follow any other sport. This year the NFL is already shaping up to have a very intense season. I asked a wide variety of people around our school to vote who they thought was going to the big game. 10 people total 3 from each class and four people in the senior class. The most popular answer was the Philadelphia Eagles with four votes, because of Michael Vick. Next were the New England Patriots with three, New York Jets with two, and Detroit Lions with one vote. This preseason many sports illustrators dubbed the Eagles the Dream Team, the next best thing. Rightfully so, the Eagles acquired Nnamdi Asomugha, Ronnie Brown, Steve Smith, Vince Young, Casey Mathews, Dominique Rogers-Cromarties, and a few others. All these players added to the Eagles strong foundation of Michael Vick, Desean Jackson, LeSean Mccoy, etc. Player wise the Philadelphia Eagles have the very best the league has to offer, but good players is not what a Super Bowl winning team makes as the Eagles are showing starting off the season at a pitiful 3-4. They lack a togetherness and team chemistry. To win you must win as a unit not individually. The Patriots continue their pattern of having an okay defense that gets carried by Tom Brady (their Quarterback) and the offense. The Patriots have one of the lowest ranked defensive teams in the league, so their game really relies on their offense. The Jets have made to back to back AFC title games but have come up short in their appearances, maybe this year they can make a difference. If the Jet s 3rd year quarterback can hold his own then they have a pretty good chance to go somewhere this year. The big shock this season is the Detroit Lions kicking off the season at a stunning 5 and 2. This season is a good season for the Lions because last year they lost nearly every game by one point, so now it s their time. This is a team that last year did not even manage to make it to the playoffs suddenly proving to skeptics what they are really about. I am really excited on seeing where the NFL takes us this season, hopefully a place where every game is a tight one. A Nail Biting Series, World Series 2011 by Eoin Wenger 13 Staff Writer On October 19, 2011, the 2011 World Series began between the Texas Rangers and the St. Louis Cardinals. This was the Ranger s second time ever in a World Series while it was the Cardinal s eighteenth. However it was a great feat for the Ranger since they made it to the series last year as well. The Cardinals hadn t been in a series since they won in 2006 but that could be just enough reasoning to try harder for the World Series title. The series started out in St. Louis with the Cardinals having home field advantage. Sure enough, they took the first game 3-2. In game two, however, Texas won with another close game of 2-1 runs. Game three took place in the Rangers home field where the Cardinals crushed Texas in a 16-7 game. Also during game three, Albert Pujols of the Cardinals tied with Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson for the single game Fall Classic record hitting three home runs. Texas went on to win game four with the Cardinals having no runs that night. The Rangers won 4-0 and won again the next game with 4-2. It was at this point that everyone thought the Rangers were to be the 2011 World Series Champions, however in Game 6 the Cardinals refused to let that happen. St. Louis quickly caught up leading to the 9th and 10th innings and ended up winning 10-9, tying the series. This forced a tie-breaking game seven. In the first inning, both the Rangers and the Cardinals hit 2 runs, tying the game really early. This was enough to leave everyone on the edge of their seats. However, the Rangers were done as the Cardinals jumped ahead winning the game 6-2. The St. Louis Cardinals won the 2011 World Series and kept our hearts pounding through out it all. No Balls, Only Players Is Band a Sport? by Matt Yee 13 Staff Writer What is it that makes a sport recognizable? Is it how much a player runs, lifts, or scores? Well according to Webster s Dictionary a sport is an individual or group activity pursued for exercise or pleasure, often involving the testing of physical capabilities and taking the form of a competitive game. According to players in marching band, they are participating in a sport. They are a group that participates for pleasure, has physical capabilities, and competes after rigorous practices. But how does this particular club compare to sports? Principal Andrew Teeple says, [The band and sports both] need direction by coach or director, both need to make commitment, and be part of something that s bigger than themselves. But the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) disagrees. Athletic Director, Tony DeOrio, says a physical is required for all sports, and must meet NJSIAA guidelines to be a sport. Cheerleading, though not considered a sport by the NJSIAA, is considered a sport by MRHS because they are required to have physicals. DeOrio also says he believes that parents wouldn t want their children to get a physical for marching band because they play an instrument. Since the season started, five band members suffered injuries such as passing out, seizures, and panic attacks. Two people who dealt with these incidents are Bryan Maldonado says he passed out and Ebony Saxton who says she suffered a seizure. Why? Because of how stressful and demanding practices are. Another reason, DeOrio says, band isn t considered a sport, You are not competing against other athletes from other school districts, you are competing against other band members from other schools. But is that a difference? Band member against band member is like an athlete against an athlete. At competitions, marching bands are competing for best performance, best music, best figures (also know as drill which are the shapes the band makes on the field), best soloist, and other things. In fact last year, the MRHS Jazz Band won best overall performance, best soloist, and featured performer at the Jackson Jazz Band Festival. But in this past season alone, at the Jackson Memorial High School Marching Band Competition, the MRHS Marching Band won second place in their division, best drumline, best color guard, and sixth out of fourteen out of all the bands. At Jackson Liberty, the band won second place in their division and at Manchester the band won first place in their division. Marching band students, just like sports, receive varsity letters, varsity jackets, and school funding. Jerry Romano, the school s Marching Band Director, Theresa Hauge, one of two drum majors, and Principal Andrew Teeple all agree that if marching band were a sport, they may get more money for school funding or it may get cut. But how much more school funding? Head of Student Activities, Scott Larkin, says not much. He also doesn t want the band to be a sport because its the best program under my wing, and if it is a sport than he will not have control over that. At the same time, DeOrio says he doesn t want band considered a sport because he has to buy the equipment, schedule practices and competitions, and he doesn t know anything about marching band. Point Pleasant Boro High School now considers band a sport enough and allows it to meet requirements for gym. Hope Roselle, marching band student at Point Pleasant Boro, says, All I know is that the higher-ups finally realized how physically demanding something like band can be. Band members march and play music, which takes a lot of energy and time, just like other sports. It makes something as simple as walking and turns it into something very critical and physically demanding. Overall, marching band should be considered sport-worthy. They get varsity jackets, have long hours of practice, work on physical skills like marching, and require different strengths. Band is a sport. Theresa Hauge, drum major for the Monmouth Regional High School Golden Falcon Marching Band, says, When people realize how much commitment we have at being a sport then it will be a step in the right direction.

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