JV Lacrosse Gets a Disappointing Loss Against Stone Bridge

by Alex Tudor 

Monday, April 30 South Lakes JV girls’ lacrosse went to Stone Bridge. Although the Lady Seahawks were missing more than 10 of their players they still managed to score a point and play a great game.

Nathalie Kendall scored the 1 goal that was made throughout the game. Within the last 4 minutes of the game, Nathalie slipped and fell onto her ankle. During basketball season
Kendall hurt her ankle so the fall during Monday’s day didn’t do any good.

 

With more than half of the team missing girls that had never really gotten any game time, were forced to play the entire game. With a score of 1-6, another loss and as the season is coming to a close end, the girls are hoping to win the last two games against Madison and
Chantilly.

Aston Martin DBR9

by Talha Fayyaz 

The Aston Martin DBR9 is a new racing car by Aston Martin, first built in 2005.The name DBR9 is derived from the original Le Mans-winning DBR1 car, which not only won the 24 Hour race in 1959, but the World Sport car title too. Aston Martin Racing will build 12 individually numbered DBR9 Works cars, which will be run by three Works teams in the major international GT series. A limited number of cars will also be built and made available for private individuals to race or keep in collections. Based on the Aston Martin DB9 road car, the DBR9 retains the Chassis, and the cylinder block and heads of the road car’s V 12 engine. The rest of the car is re-engineered for high performance competition use. The DBR9’s bodywork is a blend of optimum aerodynamic performance and the styling of the DB9 road car. To complete the aerodynamic body, the bottom of the car is flat all the way from the front to the rear diffusers. To optimize rear down force, a carbon fiber wing has been added. The car goes from 0-60 in less than 4 seconds. The DBR9 was styled by Aston Martin Racing’s own design team who made extensive use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to optimize the aerodynamics before producing the final body surface. The panels are hand made from carbon-fiber composite, helping the car to meet its 1,100 kg minimum weight and giving it a power to weight ratio of 550hp per tone – more than double that of the road car. The DBR9 GT racing car is based on the latest Aston Martin production sports car – the DB9 – but is significantly modified for competition use. The DB9’s bonded-aluminum body architecture is shared with the DBR9 and provides both with a lightweight rigid chassis. The race engine uses the same aluminum cylinder block and head as the DB9’s 450hp 6-litre V12 unit, but with racing customization, it is expected to produce in the region of 600hp. The interiors of Aston Martins have always been very special places to be. Never overfilled with gadgets and toys but beautifully tailored with the finest of materials. The DBR9 follows this theme of Weir leather, aluminum and wood. The use of wood in the interior is different from previous
Austin, with a choice of walnut, mahogany and bamboo; its finish is described as oiled, rather than polished and appears structural. Perhaps my favorite piece in the cabin is the starter button made of glass, sand etched with the Aston Martin wings logo. The Dbr9’s interior is surrounded by metal cage to protect the racer in case of a crash. Carbon fiber disk brakes are also place in the wheels for better control when going speeds higher than 200mph. If you were of the 12 lucky selected to own one of these super cars, you’d have to spend just over a million dollars. That’s not bad for a car like this. The aerodynamic body of the car helps the driver control the car better. For instance the front bumper and the side cuts help the car glide through the air. The 6 feet aluminum wing Spoiler) also helps the car stay on the ground. The astonishing 2741.001 mm tires maintain the grip of the car. The more rubber you have on the ground the more grip you will have.

Washington Wizards Fall in Game Four

by Karim Benelmouffok 

For the fourth straight game, the Wizards gave it their all, but in the end it wasn’t enough as Washington fell to the Cavs 90-97 in game four of their best-of-seven series. With the loss
Washington has been eliminated from the Playoffs.

 The Wizards suffered a huge loss when they lost Gilbert Arenas to a tear in his left knee and also lost Caron Butler to a right hand injury. Both of these players are all stars and key players to the team.

 The wizards needed someone to step up but only Antawan Jamison was able to step up and averaged over 30 points per game. Although some small players such as Darius Songaila and Jarvis Hayes showed some contribution to the wizards score anyhow, it was not enough.

The Wizards could just not take the power of Lebron James and the shooting accuracy of Larry Hughes.

Don’t worry, next year Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas will be back. Also they will be picking Oleksiy Pecherov a 6’ll’ forward from Ukraine and Vladinmir Veremeenko a 21 year old 6”10 forward from
Belarus.

Click here to learn more

Warriors Outplay Most Dominant Team in NBA

by Gareth Bossard   

The NBA playoffs have gotten off to an unusual start due to the Golden State Warriors three to two lead over the dominant Dallas Mavericks. Dallas finished with the best record in the NBA this season – 67 wins and 15 loses – whileGolden
State barely made it over .500. The Mavericks are desperately looking for answers in order to avoid being looked at as the duds of the NBA.

Baron Davis, standout guard for the Warriors, has been making his opponents look foolish. Dribble penetration into the lane is coming at will and if Davis is stopped, which usually does not happen, the rest of the team is wide open and has been knocking down shot after shot.

 

In game four, Baron seemed to be looking to demoralize the entire Maverick team with his hard nose play. At half time, he knocked down a half court shot to tie the game and gave the Warriors the momentum leading into the second half. If that was not enough, to end the third quarter,
Davis picked off a pass and dribbled the length of the court for a two handed slam.

 

This series is not all about Baron Davis however. He is looking for his teammates and they have played a crucial role in their success as well. The Dallas Mavericks have helped the Warriors with their soft and lackadaisical play. Failure to box out has lead to numerous second chance points, and lack of defense has hurt too.

 

As the series heads back to Dallas, the Mavericks are hoping to take advantage of their home arena. Home court advantage will help, but the Mavericks will need a 180 degree turn if they want to overcome the scrappy, and now, confident Golden State Warriors.

Check out pictures from the series here

Cardinals Say Farewell

by Ashley Armitage 

On Sunday, the Cardinals lost another player, Josh Hancock.  Hancock died when his car hit the back of a flat bed truck. Earlier in the year, the Cardinals lost a player due to a heart attack. The game between the Cubs and the Cardinals is postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date. On Thursday, the team will fly out to
Tupelo, Mississippi for the funeral.

The manager of the Cardinals said he remembered the phone call he received saying that Hancock was dead. He said that people should pray for his family and the teammates, and pray they make it through okay.

The accident:

The Ford explorer driven by Mr. Hancock plowed into the back of the flatbed tow truck, Hancock was killed instantly and the truck driver (whose name was not yet released) did not receive any injuries. The autopsy was performed, and no sign of alcohol or any type of drug was found. Some say he could have been tired others say he was sad and depressed, but the team said he had no reason to be depressed and that he seemed happy. Who knows why he crashed, but the team is very distraught.

 

To learn more, click here

Girls JV Soccer loses 3-0 to McLean

by Katie Busch

Last Friday South Lakes girls JV soccer lost to McLean by three goals. Anyone who has been following our JV soccer team knows that we haven’t had much of a season. Having only won one game against Stuart, (which wasn’t even a district game) it appears that the   girls JV soccer is out of luck.

At the game last Friday, the girls were without subs due to issues with attendance at practices. For most of the first half the girls were able to play competitively against McLean, considering their disadvantage. It wasn’t until the end of the first half when McLean was able to make their first goal.

At the beginning of the second half, McLean was able to get two quick goals, both of which should have been called off-sides. The defense having played the entire game was fatigued towards the end of the second half causing McLean to easily overpower them with their constant substitutions. McLean’s inaccurate shooting prevented them from making any more goals during the second half.

 

Considering that many of the other girls JV soccer team’s defeats have had more points on the scoreboard, this was a good game for our JV team.

The NBA Playoffs Round 1

By Vernon Williams 

This year, the NBA playoffs are going to be one of the most exciting in a long time.  Some of the world’s most famous players are playing, such as Allen Iverson and Carmello Anthony of the Denver nuggets, Lebron James of the Cavaliers, Dwayne Wade and Shaquile O’neal of the Miami Heat, and Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns.

With teams that had a poor record in the past such as the Orlando magic, the Toronto raptors, the Utah Jazz and the Golden State warriors in the playoffs, this should make this year one to remember.  Some of the “cant miss match ups” are Suns vs. Lakers, Denver vs. San Antonio, Chicago vs. Miami and Cleveland vs.Washington. The leaders of round one are the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the east and the Houston Rockets and the Phoenix Suns in the west. So far the first two games have been upsets for the wizards and the heat, who lost both of their playoff games.

Click here to learn more about the NBA Playoffs

Back to April 26, 2007

Cricket

By Talha Fayyaz 

Cricket is a bat and ball sport, played between two teams of eleven players each. A cricket match is played on a grass field (which is usually roughly oval), in the center of which is a flat strip of ground 22 yards long, called a pitch. At each end of the pitch is a set of wooden stumps, called a wicket. A player from the fielding team (the bowler) throws a hard, fist-sized cork-centered leather ball from one wicket towards the other. The ball usually bounces once before reaching a player from the opposing team (the batsman), who defends the wicket from the ball with a wooden cricket bat (the batsman), if he or she does not get out, may then run between the wickets, exchanging ends with the other batsman, who then runs when he sees the chance to score a point, to score runs. The other members of the bowler’s team stand in various positions around the field as fielders.

The match is won by the team that scores more runs. Cricket has been an established team sport for hundreds of years. It originated in its modern form in England and is popular mainly in the present and former members of the Commonwealth. In the countries of South Asia, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, cricket is the most popular sport. It is also a major sport in places such as England and Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bermuda, and the English-speaking countries of the Caribbean.

Cricket is the second most popular sport in the world after soccer. Cricket is really much like baseball but there are minor differences which change the whole game. Before a game the two captains, one from each team do a coin toss. The team who wins the toss gets to choose if they want to bat first or not. After they have made the decision, the game starts. They send two batsmen from the bating to play. They get as much as they can by running and scoring or hitting a 6 or a 4 before getting out by the bowler.

There are three ways the get the bater. One way is to try to hit the knee pad with the ball which is called lbw. The second way is to catch the ball when the bater swings and tries to catch it before it hits the ground. The third way is to hit the three wickets behind the bater which are dogged in the ground. The wickets are the main goal for the bowlers. The bowling team has to get all 11 players out from the opposite before the 50 overs are done. Each over contains 6 balls.

The match can take from 12 to 16 hours. Just like any other sport cricket has its own world cup, but it comes after a 4 year marking period. The finals are the best time of the years for the fans. Since it takes a long time to see the final two team’s battle against each other, the fans do their best to enjoy it.

Back to April 26, 2007

SL Girls LAX vs. TJ

By Alex Tudor 

Monday April 23, 2007 South Lakes JV Girls Lacrosse team went to Thomas Jefferson for the fourth to last game. The JV girl’s lax team has not won any games yet, the team has had two ties though. The girl’s lacrosse season is coming to a quick end with only three games remaining.

The score of the game was 7-1. The one point scored was by Jasmine Le. This is Jasmine Le’s first year playing lacrosse and she has been showing great improvement. One of the main players Jody Jindal had gotten sick during the school day and was unable to play in the game. Jindal, during every game lifts the spirits of the other players and scores most of the goals so her absence was very unfortunate for the team.

 

Back to April 26, 2007

Hokie Sports May Suffer

by Gareth Bossard 

Everyone knows about the terrible tragedy that occurred on April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech. Although gruesome and sinister, the university is looking to keep their spirits high and make sure everyone left back on campus feels as safe as possible.

At any major university like Virginia Tech, sports dominate the scene, but these other universities have never dealt with such a massacre. Can sports continue? How long should classes be suspended? These are all important questions that still need to be finalized to ensure a safe and smooth end of the year.

The athletic department has made a few announcements regarding the schedule changes. The remainder of Tech’s spring football session, including Saturday’s Spring Game, has been canceled. Tech was scheduled to practice Wednesday and Friday before holding the Spring Game on Saturday. In addition to Tuesday’s softball game between Virginia Tech and East Tennessee State, Wednesday’s non-conference baseball game between Tech and William & Mary has also been canceled.  The athletics department has also decided that the three home ACC events, baseball, softball and lacrosse, will go on as scheduled. The baseball team will host the University of Miami on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The lacrosse team hosts Maryland on Saturday at noon and the softball team hosts
Maryland on Saturday and Sunday. The five athletic teams scheduled to compete at various conference championships – golf, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, men’s and women’s tennis – will still compete as scheduled. Finally, all club events scheduled around the Spring Game, as well as the baseball alumni tailgate, have also been canceled.  

As for the school schedule, it is still a toss up. School officials have canceled classes through the weekend so far, but it could go on. As more details come out, there will be more updates.

Back to April 20, 2007