By Jack Katzman, Staff Writer
SEC Champion: I choose Alabama because they have simply dominated their schedule so far, the leadership from quarterback John Parker Wilson has been phenomenal and his performance on the field has been equal. Nick Saban is the reason why his team is so good right now because of his outstanding freshman class who were all heavily recruited by most top programs. Freshman wideout Julio Jones has been the secret to the team this year by filling the shoes of All-American D.J. Hall, who left the team last year to go to the NFL. I think they will end up in the BCS National Championship against the Texas Longhorns.
Big 10: I think that Penn State owns the Big 10 this year and it will stay that way throughout the season. Led by junior quarterback Daryll Clark, the Nittany Lions simply have the best run-game in the country right now. I believe that they will end up in the Rose Bowl against USC.
Big XII Champion: Texas will take the Big XII simply because right now, they are the best team in the country and are very experienced in the BCS Bowls. Junior quarterback Colt McCoy has been great all year and all of coach Mac Brown’s expectations have been fulfilled. Senior wide receiver Jordan Shipley has been a huge factor of t he Longhorns’ success in the last few weeks, especially in their Red River Shootout win over previous #1 Oklahoma. They will end up in the BCS National Championship against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Pac 10: The Pac 10 has been a conference of upsets and up and downs all year. I predict that the USC Trojans will win the Pac 10 because they are the most talented team and they have the best coach in the country, Pete Carroll. The Trojans have been upset, but they bounced back in the Oregon game and are on a roll. They will end up in the Rose Bowl vs. Penn State
ACC: The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are the kings of the ACC and Paul Johnson has turned their offense around and is going the right way. They have beaten team after team and are currently ranked #18 and will play in the Sugar Bowl vs. South Florida.
Big East: South Florida will take the Big East and Matt Grothe has been in command of the conference all year long. Despite their losses to Pitt and Louisville, they will go undefeated for the remainder of the season. The Bulls will most likely end up in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia Tech.
Mountain West: Even though they had a stunning loss to TCU, the BYU Cougars will win the Mountain West because of the strong run game with an occasional pass mixed in and the leadership of the senior players. The offense, led by Max Hall have dominated everyone except TCU, but they have regained their top speed and are hopeful for a BCS Bowl, but I don’t think they’ll get their wish. In my point of view, BYU will end up in the Outback bowl against a low-ranked opponent.
Election '08: Undecided States
My Predictions:
Nevada will go to: It’s hard to tell because 2 of the past 4 years it has gone to a republican and the others have gone to a democrat. Also, on its west, Obama supporters surround it, and on its east there are McCain supporters.
Colorado will go to: McCain because 3 out of the 4 past years Colorado has gone to a republican. By Mittie Golding, Contributing Writer
It is also surrounded with mostly McCain supporters, so some people in Colorado who are undecided might feel it is best to do what those around them are doing.
Missouri will go to: It is hard to tell but I am going to say Obama because 2 out of the 4 years it has been republican and the other 2 have been democrat. Those who are undecided might choose to go with what others are doing, and most of the states around it are solid Obama supporters or are leaning toward Obama.
Ohio will go to: It is hard to tell because 2 of the 4 years it has been republican and the other 2 years have been democrat, and around it there are 3 McCain stats and 3 Obama states, so it is hard to predict.
North Carolina will go to: McCain because all of the past 4 years have been republican, and South Carolina is for McCain also, so I’m pretty sure it is going for McCain.
Florida will go to: McCain because 3 of the 4 years it has gone to a republican and all of the states around it are either solid McCain or leaning towards McCain.
Previous Nevada Winners:
Year: Candidate: Margin of Victory:
2004 Bush 2%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 1%
1992 Clinton 2%
Previous Colorado Winners:
2004 Bush 4%
2000 Bush 8%
1996 Dole 1%
1992 Clinton 4%
Previous Missouri Winners:
2004 Bush 7%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 6%
1992 Clinton 10%
Previous Ohio Winners:
2004 Bush 2%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 6%
1992 Clinton 1%
Previous North Carolina Winners:
2004 Bush 12%
2000 Bush 12%
1996 Dole 4%
1992 Bush 1%
Previous Florida Winners:
2004 Bush 5%
2000 Bush 1%
1996 Clinton 5%
1992 Bush 1%
info from cnn.com
Nevada will go to: It’s hard to tell because 2 of the past 4 years it has gone to a republican and the others have gone to a democrat. Also, on its west, Obama supporters surround it, and on its east there are McCain supporters.
Colorado will go to: McCain because 3 out of the 4 past years Colorado has gone to a republican. By Mittie Golding, Contributing Writer
It is also surrounded with mostly McCain supporters, so some people in Colorado who are undecided might feel it is best to do what those around them are doing.
Missouri will go to: It is hard to tell but I am going to say Obama because 2 out of the 4 years it has been republican and the other 2 have been democrat. Those who are undecided might choose to go with what others are doing, and most of the states around it are solid Obama supporters or are leaning toward Obama.
Ohio will go to: It is hard to tell because 2 of the 4 years it has been republican and the other 2 years have been democrat, and around it there are 3 McCain stats and 3 Obama states, so it is hard to predict.
North Carolina will go to: McCain because all of the past 4 years have been republican, and South Carolina is for McCain also, so I’m pretty sure it is going for McCain.
Florida will go to: McCain because 3 of the 4 years it has gone to a republican and all of the states around it are either solid McCain or leaning towards McCain.
Previous Nevada Winners:
Year: Candidate: Margin of Victory:
2004 Bush 2%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 1%
1992 Clinton 2%
Previous Colorado Winners:
2004 Bush 4%
2000 Bush 8%
1996 Dole 1%
1992 Clinton 4%
Previous Missouri Winners:
2004 Bush 7%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 6%
1992 Clinton 10%
Previous Ohio Winners:
2004 Bush 2%
2000 Bush 3%
1996 Clinton 6%
1992 Clinton 1%
Previous North Carolina Winners:
2004 Bush 12%
2000 Bush 12%
1996 Dole 4%
1992 Bush 1%
Previous Florida Winners:
2004 Bush 5%
2000 Bush 1%
1996 Clinton 5%
1992 Bush 1%
info from cnn.com
Football Interview Q&A with Mitch Cavender
By Colin Johnson and Michael Diekroeger
1.) Q& A-How do you feel about being a coach with the Menlo middle school’s Athletic Department?
“It really helps rejuvenate my love for sports in general, seeing the kids at the stage in their lives where athletics are still seen as fun, and not a job as they tend to become in high school, college, and obviously the professional levels. All in all it’s a phenomenal experience.
2.) Q& A -How do you feel about having an undefeated season with the Menlo School 7th grade football team?
The most important thing going into the season was bringing the players together as a cohesive unit working for the common good of the program, stressing the team concept that becomes so important in the high school arena. That, and teaching them the fundamentals of football. We quickly accomplished both of these goals, which made me extremely happy. The undefeated season was a byproduct of the hard work that they put in everyday at practice, and putting the team before themselves every time they took the field.”
2.) Q&A-Did you enjoy coaching with King Christian?
“I had such an amazing time coaching with King. We had very complimentary coaching styles, which allowed us to create a balanced coaching staff that caused the players to excel on and off the field.”
3.) Q&A-Was it hard playing high school football and then coaching middle school flag football?
“Initially it was difficult, primarily during the first week. But, after adjusting to the different sets of rules and levels of physicality, it really became second nature. I also had a great group of player-coaches to help me through it, and obviously an amazing assistant in King.”
1.) Q& A-How do you feel about being a coach with the Menlo middle school’s Athletic Department?
“It really helps rejuvenate my love for sports in general, seeing the kids at the stage in their lives where athletics are still seen as fun, and not a job as they tend to become in high school, college, and obviously the professional levels. All in all it’s a phenomenal experience.
2.) Q& A -How do you feel about having an undefeated season with the Menlo School 7th grade football team?
The most important thing going into the season was bringing the players together as a cohesive unit working for the common good of the program, stressing the team concept that becomes so important in the high school arena. That, and teaching them the fundamentals of football. We quickly accomplished both of these goals, which made me extremely happy. The undefeated season was a byproduct of the hard work that they put in everyday at practice, and putting the team before themselves every time they took the field.”
2.) Q&A-Did you enjoy coaching with King Christian?
“I had such an amazing time coaching with King. We had very complimentary coaching styles, which allowed us to create a balanced coaching staff that caused the players to excel on and off the field.”
3.) Q&A-Was it hard playing high school football and then coaching middle school flag football?
“Initially it was difficult, primarily during the first week. But, after adjusting to the different sets of rules and levels of physicality, it really became second nature. I also had a great group of player-coaches to help me through it, and obviously an amazing assistant in King.”
Mike Singletary takes over as 49ers Coach
By Henry Walker, Contributing Writer
Mike Singeltary was named the 49ers head coach on October 20 when the former head coach Mike Nolan was recently fired. Singletary is in his fourth year with the 49ers, entering the 2008 season initially as the assistant head coach/defense. Singletary was elevated to the post after serving one season as the assistant head coach/linebackers, a position he was named to on January 21, 2005. Singletary teamed with 49ers Head Coach Mike Nolan as the Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker’s coach for two seasons. Players have flourished under his coaching style, including Ray Lewis, who earned 2003 NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Under Singletary, the inside linebackers at Baltimore finished first and second in tackles in each of his seasons coaching the position. Vernon Davis (49ers TE) was sent to the locker room on Sunday after Davis caught a 7-yard pass on a 1st and 10 play near the end of the third quarter his fourth catch of the game, when the trouble began. The tight end began walking back to the huddle after the reception, but on the way he took offense to something said by safety Brian Russell, and then preceded to tap the Seattle defender under his chin. Mike Singletary might have been able to swallow had it not been for the tight end’s reaction when he returned to the sidelines. “He said, “What,” revealed Singletary. The lack of owning up for hurting his team rubbed Singletary the wrong way." "I told him he'd do a better job for us right now taking a shower and coming back and watching the game than going out on the field, simple as that," said Singletary. Singletary said he would have to "think about" whether or not Davis would be the starter following the bye. It's something I told players at the beginning of the week," said Singletary. "I will not tolerate players who think it is about them and not the team. We can't make decisions that cost the team, and then come off the sidelines and it's nonchalant. I'd rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we have to do something else, rather than play with 11, when I know that right now, that person is not sold to be part of the team. It's more about them, than it is the team. You cannot play with them. You cannot win with them. You cannot coach with them, can't do it. I want winners. I want people who want to win.”
He also said that Davis attempted to talk to him after the game, but that he told his tight end, "You don't want to talk to me right now." Davis said that “I don’t think I did anything wrong. If the coach thinks I did something wrong, then I have to listen to him. He’s the boss.” In all, Davis thought that it was a smart choice to sit out the rest of the game. I think that Singeltary made the right move benching Davis, the 49ers need discipline and for the past couple of years they have not been a strong close team. A new coach can do wonders to a team; these next couple of games will be very exciting.
Mike Singeltary was named the 49ers head coach on October 20 when the former head coach Mike Nolan was recently fired. Singletary is in his fourth year with the 49ers, entering the 2008 season initially as the assistant head coach/defense. Singletary was elevated to the post after serving one season as the assistant head coach/linebackers, a position he was named to on January 21, 2005. Singletary teamed with 49ers Head Coach Mike Nolan as the Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker’s coach for two seasons. Players have flourished under his coaching style, including Ray Lewis, who earned 2003 NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Under Singletary, the inside linebackers at Baltimore finished first and second in tackles in each of his seasons coaching the position. Vernon Davis (49ers TE) was sent to the locker room on Sunday after Davis caught a 7-yard pass on a 1st and 10 play near the end of the third quarter his fourth catch of the game, when the trouble began. The tight end began walking back to the huddle after the reception, but on the way he took offense to something said by safety Brian Russell, and then preceded to tap the Seattle defender under his chin. Mike Singletary might have been able to swallow had it not been for the tight end’s reaction when he returned to the sidelines. “He said, “What,” revealed Singletary. The lack of owning up for hurting his team rubbed Singletary the wrong way." "I told him he'd do a better job for us right now taking a shower and coming back and watching the game than going out on the field, simple as that," said Singletary. Singletary said he would have to "think about" whether or not Davis would be the starter following the bye. It's something I told players at the beginning of the week," said Singletary. "I will not tolerate players who think it is about them and not the team. We can't make decisions that cost the team, and then come off the sidelines and it's nonchalant. I'd rather play with 10 people and just get penalized all the way until we have to do something else, rather than play with 11, when I know that right now, that person is not sold to be part of the team. It's more about them, than it is the team. You cannot play with them. You cannot win with them. You cannot coach with them, can't do it. I want winners. I want people who want to win.”
He also said that Davis attempted to talk to him after the game, but that he told his tight end, "You don't want to talk to me right now." Davis said that “I don’t think I did anything wrong. If the coach thinks I did something wrong, then I have to listen to him. He’s the boss.” In all, Davis thought that it was a smart choice to sit out the rest of the game. I think that Singeltary made the right move benching Davis, the 49ers need discipline and for the past couple of years they have not been a strong close team. A new coach can do wonders to a team; these next couple of games will be very exciting.
NBA Stars to Europe?
By Jack Heneghan, Contributing Writer
A recent trend in the NBA has been players leaving the league for clubs in Europe. These teams lure players with huge, tax free contracts featuring incredible bonuses like cars and apartments. This move has helped less heralded NBA players, giving them more bargaining power when negotiating new contracts. The player leading the charge was Josh Childress, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks. A solid NBA role player, he signed with the Greek team Olympiacos for 3-years and $20 million. Soon a handful of other NBA players followed his lead. Olympiacos has been the most active club in seeking NBA players. Its wealthy owners have reportedly tried to sign superstar Kobe Bryant. Although they may leave in the future, for now, NBA stars seem content to compete for championships in the USA.
A recent trend in the NBA has been players leaving the league for clubs in Europe. These teams lure players with huge, tax free contracts featuring incredible bonuses like cars and apartments. This move has helped less heralded NBA players, giving them more bargaining power when negotiating new contracts. The player leading the charge was Josh Childress, formerly of the Atlanta Hawks. A solid NBA role player, he signed with the Greek team Olympiacos for 3-years and $20 million. Soon a handful of other NBA players followed his lead. Olympiacos has been the most active club in seeking NBA players. Its wealthy owners have reportedly tried to sign superstar Kobe Bryant. Although they may leave in the future, for now, NBA stars seem content to compete for championships in the USA.
Big Upset Weekend
By Jack Katzman, Contributing Writer
In the past weekend, College Football had one of the biggest upset weekends in history. It all started off with #5 Texas taking it to #1 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the 103rd annual Red River Shootout. The Sooners came out flying and went out to a 14-3 lead and ended up only leading by 1 at the half. To make a long story short, Texas wrecked the Sooner Schooner and ended up walking out of the Cotton Bowl with a 45-35 victory. Next, we head over to Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida as we saw the Gators chomp over the LSU Tigers in a 51-21 blowout. Tim Tebow led the Gators with a strong start on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin. After the blowout in Gainesville, we head over to Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, where the #17 Oklahoma State Cowboys knocked off the #3 Mizzou Tigers. It was ahard fought battle by both teams, but the Cowboys walked out of Faurot with a 28-23 victory. The top three games of next week should be #1 Texas vs. #11 Missouri in a Big XII battle, #4 Oklahoma vs. #16 Kansas, and #22 Vanderbilt vs. #10 Georgia.
In the past weekend, College Football had one of the biggest upset weekends in history. It all started off with #5 Texas taking it to #1 Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the 103rd annual Red River Shootout. The Sooners came out flying and went out to a 14-3 lead and ended up only leading by 1 at the half. To make a long story short, Texas wrecked the Sooner Schooner and ended up walking out of the Cotton Bowl with a 45-35 victory. Next, we head over to Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida as we saw the Gators chomp over the LSU Tigers in a 51-21 blowout. Tim Tebow led the Gators with a strong start on a 70-yard touchdown pass to Percy Harvin. After the blowout in Gainesville, we head over to Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri, where the #17 Oklahoma State Cowboys knocked off the #3 Mizzou Tigers. It was ahard fought battle by both teams, but the Cowboys walked out of Faurot with a 28-23 victory. The top three games of next week should be #1 Texas vs. #11 Missouri in a Big XII battle, #4 Oklahoma vs. #16 Kansas, and #22 Vanderbilt vs. #10 Georgia.
SPORE Review
by Paul Roever
Spore a game designed by Maxis, specifically by Will Wright, who is also the creator of the Sims. The idea of Spore is to design a creature, and later a civilization, that can survive in a world filled with other creatures. Many of these creatures are designed, but not played, by other Spore players. The game is divided into five stages that are centered on the main points in mankind’s evolution.
The first stage, the cell stage is the beginning of the game. It starts with a cutscene of a meteor shooting towards earth, in which your cell is contained. As you advance through the cell stage, you can earn DNA points, either by eating other cells, or by eating plants. These points you use to add new parts to your cell. At the end of the cell stage, you can add legs to your creature, and it swims up.
The next stage, the creature stage, is in my opinion, the highlight of the entire game. Your creature starts as a big version of the cell you just added legs to, and as you find new parts, you can add these to your creature. This “Creature Creator” as it is called, is the one thing that makes Spore so unique. When you enter the Creature Creator, you can add new parts, and customize the appearance of your creature. It would be very limited if not for the fact that you can stretch, enlarge, shrink, and rotate all the parts you get. You can place them anywhere on the body, so many creatures will look nothing like a creature you might encounter in real life: the mouth could be located on the bottom of the creature, with the arms on the top. In the creature phase, you explore the world, and meet other types of creatures, often ones that are developed by other players (the players don’t play these creatures though.) When you meet a new tribe, you can either try to impress them, and make them your allies, or you can attack them, and eventually cause them to go extinct. Both actions reward DNA points, to further customize your creature.
At the end of the creature phase, you can form a tribe. This is where the game takes a decline, in my opinion. All of the things that you have added to your creature in the past to make it excel at hunting, or excel at socializing, now serve only as details. In the tribal phase, you control a large number of the creatures you designed, and one is the chieftain. Here you must attack neighboring tribes to gain new technologies and abilities (fire, spears, fishing) and kill animals to have food to survive. The starting with the tribal phase, it has absolutely no effect whether or not you made your creature look a certain way, while in the creature phase, this was extremely important. This can be a bit of a letdown for some players.
This trend continues in the civilization stage, although on the plus side, you can now design buildings, and vehicles for you civilization. In addition, all of the civilizations inhabiting your planet are now the same, with the exception of colors. In the civilization stage, you control your vehicles and drive, sail, or fly around the planet raiding of befriending other nations. Finally, at the end, you can design your spaceship.
You can choose from a variety of parts to add to your spaceship, but no matter what, your ship will always go the same speed. Also, navigation is incredibly boring in space. To move somewhere, you need to click on a star that is in your range, and then click on another star that is now in range. Also, it is difficult to figure out what you are supposed to do (your nation gives you “missions”).
In conclusion, the first two levels of SPORE are very well designed, and the other levels are still lacking a little. I think that if EA releases a patch fixing this in the future, even more people would buy SPORE.
Spore a game designed by Maxis, specifically by Will Wright, who is also the creator of the Sims. The idea of Spore is to design a creature, and later a civilization, that can survive in a world filled with other creatures. Many of these creatures are designed, but not played, by other Spore players. The game is divided into five stages that are centered on the main points in mankind’s evolution.
The first stage, the cell stage is the beginning of the game. It starts with a cutscene of a meteor shooting towards earth, in which your cell is contained. As you advance through the cell stage, you can earn DNA points, either by eating other cells, or by eating plants. These points you use to add new parts to your cell. At the end of the cell stage, you can add legs to your creature, and it swims up.
The next stage, the creature stage, is in my opinion, the highlight of the entire game. Your creature starts as a big version of the cell you just added legs to, and as you find new parts, you can add these to your creature. This “Creature Creator” as it is called, is the one thing that makes Spore so unique. When you enter the Creature Creator, you can add new parts, and customize the appearance of your creature. It would be very limited if not for the fact that you can stretch, enlarge, shrink, and rotate all the parts you get. You can place them anywhere on the body, so many creatures will look nothing like a creature you might encounter in real life: the mouth could be located on the bottom of the creature, with the arms on the top. In the creature phase, you explore the world, and meet other types of creatures, often ones that are developed by other players (the players don’t play these creatures though.) When you meet a new tribe, you can either try to impress them, and make them your allies, or you can attack them, and eventually cause them to go extinct. Both actions reward DNA points, to further customize your creature.
At the end of the creature phase, you can form a tribe. This is where the game takes a decline, in my opinion. All of the things that you have added to your creature in the past to make it excel at hunting, or excel at socializing, now serve only as details. In the tribal phase, you control a large number of the creatures you designed, and one is the chieftain. Here you must attack neighboring tribes to gain new technologies and abilities (fire, spears, fishing) and kill animals to have food to survive. The starting with the tribal phase, it has absolutely no effect whether or not you made your creature look a certain way, while in the creature phase, this was extremely important. This can be a bit of a letdown for some players.
This trend continues in the civilization stage, although on the plus side, you can now design buildings, and vehicles for you civilization. In addition, all of the civilizations inhabiting your planet are now the same, with the exception of colors. In the civilization stage, you control your vehicles and drive, sail, or fly around the planet raiding of befriending other nations. Finally, at the end, you can design your spaceship.
You can choose from a variety of parts to add to your spaceship, but no matter what, your ship will always go the same speed. Also, navigation is incredibly boring in space. To move somewhere, you need to click on a star that is in your range, and then click on another star that is now in range. Also, it is difficult to figure out what you are supposed to do (your nation gives you “missions”).
In conclusion, the first two levels of SPORE are very well designed, and the other levels are still lacking a little. I think that if EA releases a patch fixing this in the future, even more people would buy SPORE.
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