MLB Forced to Hold Non-Spectator Game

      For the first time in MLB history, the league is being forced to withold spectators from the White Sox vs. Orioles game in Baltimore. The rioting in Baltimore caused the game to be played in an empty Camden Yards. There was legitimately not a single fan in the entire stadium for apparent safety reasons. This was the first game in baseball history with an official attendance of 0. The only people in the stands were those in the press box, dugouts, and field (apart from 3 scouts who were assigned to watch the game). This game broke the record for lowest ever attendance at a major league game, previously held at a staggering 6. Because of the dangerous situation currently going on in Baltimore, the Orioles home game scheduled against the Tampa Bay Rays will be moved to Tampa Bay, but the O's will still officially be the home team. Although every now and then those few faithful fans who stood outside the gates of Camden Yards could be heard, the game was almost entirely silent. Even as boring people say baseball is nowadays, I think we can expect a bigger turnout than this for most games.

Were Bruins Right to Fire Chiarelli?

    Exactly four days after the Boston Bruins missed the playoffs, their GM seems to have taken the majority of the heat for that disappointment. Their GM Chiarelli was shown the door by the Bruins as they look to move on from last season. As of now, Cam Neely will step into the driver's seat of the franchise but a search for a permanent successor to Chiarelli is eminent. It seems, however, thaf he is the only of many people who is getting the finger pointed at him. It seems as though the entirety of Boston and all its supporters seemed to have immediately forgotten all the positive changes he brought to Boston with him when he first arrived.
   Just starting out in Boston from the Senators in 2006, it seemed he could do no wrong. One of his first actions as GM was to sign free-agent Zdeno Chara, a former Senators defenseman. Chara is clearly a key player for the B's, he gets more ice time than anyone else on the team. He also boasts the record for hardest slapshot in the NHL and you would be crazy to mess with this 6"9' monster. With Chara as his captain, Chiarelli led the team to the Stanley Cup in 2011, as well as reaching the final in 2013. Also, he won the President's Trophy in the 2013-14 campaign. Some other big names he brought in were the likes of David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Tuuka Rask. One move that he caught criticism on, however, was his choice to let Tyler Seguin go to the Dallas Stars, where he became an NHL top 10 scorer. All of his good, though, was forgotten over the course of one poor season.
    It mostly started when the Bruins got into salary cap trouble in the previous summer and were Chiarelli was forced into selling Johnny Boychuk, a Boston fan favorite. He went to the Islanders where he them rise, and his absence was keenly felt on the ice of many games. Krejci, another of the Bruins most important players, was missing for quite a portion of the season due to injury. All of this added up, along with a Bruins side that seemed to not want to skate after the first period led to a poor season for Boston. With a track record like Chiarelli's we can assume he won't be out of a job for very long. Still, the question poised in Bruins' fans' minds remains: Was it the right decision to fire Chiarelli?

Norton High School Soccer: 2015 Season Preview

    The past few seasons for the Norton High Boys' Soccer have seen more success than any other time in the history of the school. The past two seasons have seen the Lancers place third in the TVL for the 2013 season with a record of 12-2-4 (W-L-D) and second in the recent 2014 season with the best record in school history of 15-3-0. The recent successes most have to do with the talent the team has acquired over the past years.
      Leading the Lancers in their push for the TVL title was junior captain Jon Lach, the all-time record holder for most points in a Norton High Soccer career(as a junior). This year he netted 15 goals, earning him the the title this season of leading goal scorer in the TVL. Another key player to Norton's push for the TVL title was senior captain Matt Bukowski, who was only out-scored by his teammate and co-captain Jon Lach this season. As a whole, this season's Lancers had 6 TVL All-Stars: Jon Lach, Matt Bukowski, Danny Pereira, Jordan Lach, Tyler Hughes, and Ryan Blakeley. This is the most all-stars Norton High Soccer has seen on a single team in history. This season's Lancers broke yet another school record of most goals scored in a single season. Adding all this up, the 2014 Lancer squad clearly solidifies itself as the best in the history of Norton High School.
     The Lancers are looking forward to another great season next year as they again seek a TVL and state title. Only graduating 4 seniors, only 3 of which started, Norton is on track to have another great season this upcoming fall. Led by captains Jon Lach, Danny Pereira, and Jared Kahn, the 2015 Norton squad is a great candidate to succeed the record-breaking team of last season. With 8 of their starting 11 returning next season, the Lancers are in a good position to take down the undefeated Medway Mustangs of last season, who graduated some of their most key players. It seems that, just as last season, Norton and Medway will be the two sides contesting for the TVL title, and Norton are confident they can knock down the defending champions to claim it as their own. The question remains: Will Norton step up to succeed the best team that NHS has ever seen, or cripple in its shadow?

Some Things You Just Don't Forget Reflection

        In the article, "Some things you just don't forget-" by Matthew Berry, the author speaks his mind on the topic of debacle in the NFL involving Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. He does this by speaking through his own experiences being bullied as a child. His stories varied from his lunch being stolen to his "friends" ditching him without a ride at a convenience store miles away. All, however, caused even the slightest tug of pity or sadness in our hearts. The images he depicted of himself as a scrawny, nerdy little kid just trying to fit in was enough to touch even the coldest of hearts reading. The constant barrage of harassment he receives can be described as no less than cruel and right before your heart is about to break for this man does he return to his original point. There are many who look at this situation and say Jonathan Martin isn't tough enough to play in the NFL. The truth is, most of those people probably haven't been on the receiving end of bullying. After reading this article, I have decided that doing what Jonathan Martin did took a lot more guts than people are giving him credit for.