Will you be watching when…?

By: Karim Benelmouffok 

The NBA finals are coming up and only four teams remain the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, and the San Antonio Spurs. So far the Piston have a 2-1 lead over the Cav’s and the Spurs have a 3-1 lead over the Jazz.

 

For the last game on Sunday LeBron James posted 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists in Game 3. Out of all the great players for
Detroit no one seemed to step up.

LeBron James is the leading scorer out of the two teams.

 

San Antonio ended
Utah’s perfect home postseason with a 91-79 triumph win on Monday night. The Spurs now lead the Western Conference Finals three games to one. Manu Ginobili (22), Tony Parker (17), and Tim Duncan (19) all scored in double digits. The
Utah’s Jazz Deron Williams was questioned to play because of stomach flu but he seemed to shake it off and score 27 points leading both teams in scoring.

 

For even more information on The NBA Finals click the link below 

 

 http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/index.html

 

Redskins Season Preview

by James Armstrong, III 

Everyone’s favorite team from the DC Metro area, the Washington Redskins, is addressing needs for this upcoming season.  Training camps have been underway throughout the NFL and the new members of the Redskins have been working hard.

 

The Redskins got some defensive talent by drafting former LSU safety LaRon Landry, and signed free-agents cornerback Fred Smoot, linebacker London Fletcher, cornerback David Macklin, and safety Omar Stoutmire.  The moves are easy on both Smoot and Fletcher as they both have strong connections with the team.

 

Smoot was drafted by the Redskins in 2001 and played extremely well while being mentored by great corners Deion Sanders and Champ Bailey early in his career.  Smoot left Washington for
Minnesota after the 2004 season and hasn’t produced much since.  The move back to D.C. should both strengthen up his career and the fill the gaps in the ‘Skins secondary.

 

Fletcher played with the Buffalo Bills for the last five seasons after being part of the St. Louis Rams’ Super Bowl victory and loss to the Titans and Patriots respectively.  Fletcher lead the Bills’ defense under the coaching and coordinating of Gregg Williams,
Washington’s current defensive coordinator.  His addition is a strong one, as quarterbacks will be forced to throw into coverage due to his rushing abilities.

 

Last season, the defense let huge plays in the secondary open up on a game by game basis, but for this up coming season that shall change.  The Skins’ have strong nickel coverage (which is known as three corner backs and two linebackers), with

Shawn
Springs, Fred Smoot, and Carlos Rogers.  The safeties are a strong curtain with power hitting Sean Taylor back there with Omar Stoutmire, with the occasional help of rookie LaRon Landry.  Next season’s defense will be a force to be reckoned with.

 

By the opening game on September 9 at FedEx Field against the Dolphins, Jason Campbell should be ready to start off where he finished last season and lead the
Washington offense to victory with the stunning combination of Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley, and Santana Moss.  In a short few months, the NFL pre-season will be under way, and you can watch for yourself the Washington Redskins fighting for old’ D.C.

 

 

 

 

 

Life after School Sports

By: Rocio Reyes 

          When you join a school sport you have a set schedule. You go to school, then go to practice. Practice usually lasts for about 2 hours or more. That usually takes up all your time everyday and then you do the same thing over and over and over again everyday expect on weekends. But what do you do when the season is over? What do people do now with this new gained time? That is the problem most athletes are facing. The have “free time” now after school but have nothing to do or wish they could keep playing to stay in shape. One of the best things to do is keep in touch with your team mates. Doesn’t matter what sport you played. You should organize game days between the entire team and just meet and play. You can also go running, go to the gym or better yet stay after school and check out the sports clubs out there.

NBA suspends Stoudemire, Diaw, and Horry

by Karim Benelmouffok

The Phoenix Suns chance of advancing to the western conference semifinals is very slim. They have lost two very important players due to a suspension. The NBA suspended Suns all-star Amare Stoudemire and his teammate Boris Diaw on Tuesday for Wednesday night’s Game 5 of Phoenix’s conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs. Robert Horry has also been suspended for two games because of his harsh foul which sent Steve Nash into the scorers table and also for striking Raja Bell with his forearm  

The suns will suffer without Stoudemire because he leads the team in points and rebounds. Also Raja Bell averages over nine points a game and that will be a big loss to the suns. Overall the suns got the worst out of it even though they were just defending their selves. Many people around the league have called the suns a very dirty team. In the past they have purposely tried to injure players on the opposite team, and if anyone should be punished it should be the spurs. 

Click on the link below to see the harsh foul on Steve Nash by Robert Horry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RDYD0EUBzY 

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Bulls Make Things Interesting

 by Gareth Bossard

 

Playing against the veteran Detroit Pistons is a challenge for any team in the NBA. After a fairly easy first round match up, the Bulls were not so fortunate. The first two games went as predicted when the Pistons dominated and came out with two big wins to open up the series. Last night however, the Bulls showed that they deserve to be in the playoffs and that they can play with this dominant
Detroit team.

The Bulls pulled away in the second half and would not give up the lead. Luol Dang, Bulls forward, dropped an impressive 25 points and grabbed 15 crucial boards. Kirk Hinrich contributed 19 points and was responsible for distributing the ball to his fellow teammates. He finished with 10 assists on the day. The Pistons pulled within 7 points late in the fourth quarter but Ben Gordon knocked down a three pointer to diminish any hopes of a come back. Ben Wallace made three free throws in a row, something that does not happen very often. The Bulls knew they had this game.

           

The series moves back to Detroit for a critical game 5. The Pistons will try to knock off the Bulls and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth straight year while Luol, Kirk, and Ben focus on replicating their strong performance and holding off the Piston’s high hopes.

 

 

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Girls Soccer Loses at First District Game against Langley

by Katie Busch

The girls soccer team lost Monday night 4-0 to Langley. Langley had a clear advantage coming into the game being the second seed as opposed to South Lakes in the seventh seed. However South Lakes played considerably better compared to their first encounter with Langley earlier this season.

In the first half Langley was able to score two goals. Langley was able to set up passes and center the ball well in front of the South Lakes goal. Between the first and second goals the south lake defense seemed a little scattered and allowed more runs and passes down field. A Langley player received a yellow card for pushing as one of the South Lakes defense player made a successful run down the field.

In the second half of the game the South Lakes defense improved letting less runs and passing in their half than the first half of the game. A few runs down the field were also made by South Lakes offensive players. Langley received another yellow card for tripping as a South Lakes offensive player had attempted to bring the ball down to Langley’s side of the field. The free kick from the trip gave several scoring opportunities for South Lakes but Langley was able to clear the ball out of their half.

Langley went on to score two more goals in the second half leaving the game 4-0,
Langley. If south lakes had won this game they would have continued in districts and have a guaranteed spot in regionals.   

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South Lakes JV Lacrosse vs. JV Baseball

by James Armstrong, III 

This school year is coming to a close, which also means that the spring sports season is ending soon.  All remaining games are being played this week, and Varsity teams are gearing up for districts. But let’s face it; some of the Junior Varsity teams didn’t face up to par.  JV Boys Lacrosse and JV Boys Baseball were two teams this year with great spirit off the field that didn’t produce on the field.

“Although we haven’t won so far, our players have gotten loads better over this season, and we’re getting ready for varsity baseball next year,” explained freshman Jordan Hataway, JV pitcher, catcher, and shortstop.  The team has worked together this season, getting better together during practice. The team showed they’ll end strong, with an overtime loss versus Jefferson on Tuesday night and a great effort verses Stone Bridge on Friday.

The JV Lacrosse team however has managed to get one victory over Dominion 6-3 early in the season on March 30^th.  “This was a season of learning and each one of us knows how we can improve our game.  At least we won a game, and that’s more than the [JV] baseball team can say.”  Those were positive words from freshman Evan Cox, JV defender.

All year the JV baseball and JV Lacrosse teams have been hyping each other up.  There are rivalries on the line, but for now, JV Lacrosse got the upper hand winning at least one of their games.  Spring sports will have a great run next year Seahawks.

Golden State Warriors

By Gareth Bossard

After the Golden State Warriors shocked the world and upset the Dallas Mavericks, nobody thought they could be stopped. With their quick and crafty guards, they were running up and down on teams night after night. However, the Utah Jazz would not have any part of this fairytale and so far they have shown the Warriors how to really play.

The Jazz took game one by storm and knocked the Warriors out with an early punch. Game two was crucial for the Warriors now, being down 1-0 in the series. During the entire regulation of the game, it was back and forth, nobody pulling ahead by far. In the fourth quarter with 15 seconds left, Baron Davis of the Warriors was at the foul line trying to give his team a three point lead. He knocked down the first, missed the second. Instead of a solid three point lead, the Warriors were left with an uncertain two point advantage. The Jazz were then able to get the ball, go down and court, and score before the time could expire which sent the game into overtime.

The Warriors thought they had the game in their hand but now they were looking at a tough period of overtime to settle this match. From the tip, the Jazz were in control. Williams, Utah Jazz guard, hit a three pointer, followed up by another three pointer from veteran guard Derek Fisher. Game two was over, 127-117.

Check out more information and pictures here:

http://www.nba.com/playoffs2007/series/series_w2s4.html

JV Girls Soccer Loses 1-0 to Thomas Jefferson

by Katie Busch 

The JV girls soccer team lost 1-0 to Thomas Jefferson last Tuesday. Overall it was a good game. Both teams were evenly matched and neither team really dominated the game.

During the first half, neither team had successfully scored a goal but many attempts were made. On the offense, Jefferson would play the ball wide which would usually be intercepted by a South Lakes player. After several clears, Jefferson’s offense was becoming frustrated and became more and more aggressive.

South Lakes’ attempts for a run down the field were usually blocked by Jefferson’s sweeper. Once the Jefferson sweeper got the ball it was usually returned to South Lakes’ half of the field. At the end of the first half it was still zero-zero.

The second half was much like the first but Jefferson had become more and more aggressive. It was clear how blind the referees were to all the illegal pushing Jefferson got away with. Finally a Jefferson player was able to make a goal.

This 1-0 lead didn’t demoralize South Lakes as many more runs and attempts were made. Unfortunately for South Lakes none of her attempts were successful, making another loss for JV girls soccer.    

2007 NBA Draft

by: Karim Benelmouffok 

On June 28^th, 2007 the NBA draft will be held in Madison Square Garden in New York City.

A new eligibility rule has been put in place preventing anyone from entering the NBA draft until they are one year out of High School. Because of this rule many players have gone and are going on to college for one year before they enter the NBA draft the following year.

The NBA draft consists of two rounds with thirty selections per round. The order of the selection is based on many rules. The first fourteen picks of the draft belong to the teams that didn’t enter the playoffs. These fourteen teams participate in the NBA draft lottery to determine the first three picks of the Draft. After these three teams have been determined, the remaining team’s spot is determined by their regular season record with the worst record getting the highest pick remaining. Therefore the team with the best record selects last.

The lottery is usually held during the fourth week of May. This year it will be held on May 22^nd, 2007. Fourteen ping-pong balls are numbered and put into a standard lottery machine.

Although this year Memphis had the worst record they only have a 25% chance of retaining the first pick. Boston had the second to worst record and they will have a 19.9% chance of retaining the first pick. ESPN will have full coverage on both events. You can catch the NBA Draft Lottery on ESPN at 8:30. You can also catch the 2007 NBA draft on ESPN at 7:00 P.M.

For more information check out the NBA’s Web site at:

http://www.nba.com/features/draft2007_consensus.html