Isabella Wren '22 After numerous proposals were voted upon, the CBA and union of the MLB have voted by a 30-0 margin in favor of ending the lockdown. This means that the union and MLB officials have compromised on player conditions involving the MLBPA.
The teams are set to play a 162-game season in 2022. The deal according to the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal:
The union does still speculate on the salaries and the benefits of workers even though the lockdown is over. However, there were many changes that they convinced the MLB officials to embrace:
The changes that were set in place may affect the audience's perception of the game. This is as much information that has been released since the lockdown has been lifted recently, and there might be more changes to the CBA agreement. It will be a big adjustment, but hopefully it will help the players in the long run since they are the ones we love to watch on the big screen.
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Faith Breslin '22 I love figure skating! The cold air rushing against your skin, the sound of blades on the ice… that’s the best feeling in the world to me. Now that the Winter Olympics are here, there is nothing else on the television (besides hockey!) Let’s break down figure skating.
Figure skating dates back to about 3,000 BC in Scandinavia where the Finnish used skates made of animal bones to travel throughout the icy area. The steel blades for ice skating were made by Edward Bushnell in 1850 which allowed skaters to move easier. In the 1860s, ballet moves were incorporated into the sport by Jackson Haines creating modern-day figure skating. It was then introduced to the Olympics back in 1908 and is considered the oldest sport in the Winter Games. Ice dancing was then incorporated in 1976 and was added to the Olympic games as well. Figure skating consists of many difficult jumps and spins - as a figure skater myself, I can vouch that they are quite challenging. In fact, go to any rink when people are training, and you will find them wearing pads around their hips and tailbone to prevent them from getting permanent damage. The jumps seen throughout the sport are: axels, lutz, flips, toe-jumps, and the loop. Common spins are: sit spin, camel spin, Bielmann spin, doughnut spin, and layback spin. People spend their entire lives training to be in the Olympic games. Figure skaters train like beasts so they can look like beauties. So here’s the breakdown for figure skating in the 2022 Winter Olympics. Beloved by many, Nathan Chen has won Gold for the United States team! Known famously as the “Quad King”, he landed quad after quad. (Quad meaning he did four, yep - four, rotation in the air before landing his jump!) However, Chen has been facing lots of backlash from the Chinese. Chen, born and raised in Utah, is of Chinese descent. Chen has said, “My mom grew up in Beijing {...} my dad spent a lot of time in Beijing as well.” His parents even met in Beijing. However, on Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo (China’s Twitter), he has been told to “get out of China” and has been called “too white”. Similarly, skier Eileen Gu and women’s skater Zhu Yi were told to “go back to America” because they are “too American.” All I have to say to Chen, Zhu, and Gu is: don’t worry about the haters - you already beat them! Next up is Kamila Valieva! We have seen this Russian 15-year-old’s name in the news more than we thought we would! Valieva has broken Olympic records as she is the first female to land a quad jump at the Olympics! Despite running a near flawless program, she was upset when one jump out of the several she completed was not a quad but a triple. No matter what though, this young Russian has made history - way to go Kamila Valieva! However, like any other celebrity, Valieva was caught in a scandal! Valieva failed a drug test a few months before the Olympic games. The Olympic committee did not prevent her from getting a medal and allowed her to continue competing. However, karma came back for Valieva. She bombed her final skate, under-rotating her quads, falling 2-3 times, and having an overall horrible skate. Valieva’s performance took her from gold all the way to fourth place, not even getting a medal anyway. Isabella Wren ‘22 With opening day coming up soon and fans getting ready to purchase tickets, the MLB lockout is still in effect. The lockout started on Dec. 2 by the commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB owners over a CBA (collective bargaining agreement) that was not officialized yet. This lockout has affected teams from being able to train or practice for the upcoming season.
If you are unfamiliar with CBAs, the main purpose is for the employer and employees of a company to discuss terms of employment, health, pay, salary, safety, and leave. Players must be covered and agree to these conditions before playing, and the pandemic did drain revenue from the MLB because of no seating and risks of the players health. The MLBPA (the union that represents the teams) were not satisfied with the economic implications of the agreement. Players are pressured to take the deal presented because of the freeze of all events. As you know a player’s time in the industry is limited, and without performance there are no paychecks or contracts. The MLBPA works to give players the opportunity to give raises, give recruits more time to sign contracts, establish a minimum salary, and raise the luxury tax threshold to $245 million to increase spending and competition. According to the Associated Press, last April salaries dropped 4.8% in two years and payrolls were reduced by $168 million in the 2019 season. Manfred is being bombarded by fans and news stations on updates about the lockout. He stated via MLB network: “If I hadn't given consideration to what it would mean to miss games, I wouldn’t be doing my job. Obviously I pay attention to that. I see missing games as a disastrous outcome for this industry. We’re committed to making an agreement in effort to avoid that.” MLB fans are staying optimistic about the situation and hope they can return to the stadium with their friends and family to enjoy the great American sport. Hopefully the lockout does not last as long as it did in 1994, which lasted 232 days. Shannon Rose ‘24 The weekend of February 5th was the NHL’s All Star Weekend, which took place in Las Vegas T-Mobile Arena. Players from every NHL team were there such as Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils), Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Trevor Zegras (Anaheim Ducks), and Alex Ovechkin (Washington Capitals).
Artist Machine Gun Kelly performed during the second intermission. He performed some of his most popular hit songs “My Ex’s Best Friend,” “Papercuts” and “Bloody Valentine.” For the Atlantic Division the head coach was Andrew Brunette (FLA), for the Metropolitan Division the head coach was Rod Brind'Amour (CAR), the Central Division’s head coach was Jared Bednar (COL) and the Pacific Division head coach was Peter DeBoer (VGK). All over social media, fans are upset that Trevor Zegras didn’t win the All Star breakaway challenge. He came out in an Average Joe Dodgeball uniform and scored blindfolded with dodgeballs being thrown at him by team mascots. Josie Lamattina 24’ offered her opinion of the weekend’s events, “I really enjoyed watching it, especially with some of my favorite players in it. I really found Trevor Zegras’s breakaway challenge amazing. I wish he won, but I also found Jack Hughes’s shot amazing. It's definitely a tough choice.” The winners of the All Star Game were the Metropolitan Division who beat the Central Division. Claude Giroux was the All Star game’s MVP. For the Hardest Shot challenge the winner was Victor Hedman. The Breakaway Challenge winner was Alex Pietrangelo. And Accuracy Shooting winner was Sebastain Aho. Joe Pavelski won the 21 in 22. Lily Keane ‘24 On Feb. 13, 2022, 29-year-old speed skater Erin Jackson won gold for the USA in the women's 500m race. She is the first U.S. speed skater to win a medal in Beijing and the first U.S. woman to win a 500m speed skating gold medal since Bonnie Blair in 1994. According to Team USA, this makes Erin the very first Black American woman to earn an individual speed skating gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
“I think I cried immediately,” Jackson said after the 500-meter speed skating race. “Just a big release of emotion. A lot of shock, a lot of relief, and a lot of happiness.” Erin began her skating journey on roller skates at the age of 10 in 2002. She was inspired by inliners before her who had transitioned to ice, and started transitioning to speed skating in February of 2016. After only four months on the ice, Jackson was already qualifying for the 2018 winter Olympics. After placing 24th with a time of 39.20 she proceeded to win four of eight World Cup events in the 500 in 2021. When Jackson won at these races, she became the first Black American woman to win a World Cup speed skating race. Erin's coach Ryan Shimabukuro said, “Even though in the beginning it took a while for her to unlearn technique on wheels, she immersed herself in anything and everything that it took to apply her skating knowledge to ice.” Although Jackson has proved herself to be a great skater, she wasn't guaranteed a spot in Beijing. During the Olympic trials, Erin stumbled, costing her the spot. It was Brittany Bowe, a childhood friend and role model of Erin's whose kindness led Jackson to this moment. Bowe finished first in her trials while also qualifying for other events as well. After Erin slipped during the trials, Bowe relinquished her spot almost immediately for Jackson. In an interview that Team USA shared on Twitter Bowe said, “It’s just the spirit of the Olympics, and being a great teammate. It’s bigger than just me—it’s Team USA. Erin has a shot to bring home a medal—hopefully, a gold medal—and it’s my honor to give her that opportunity.” According to Jackson's biography on Team USA, her main motivation is the desire to keep improving and reaching higher levels, both physically and mentally. Based on her achievements it's safe to say that she is doing exactly that. Erin sheared 2.18 seconds off of her previous time in 2018 with a time of 37.04, with Japan’s Miho Takagi 0.08 seconds behind her. On Feb. 16th Erin posted to her feed a video reel of all of her fans congratulating her with the caption, “How does it feel to make History in my sport? It's an honor. It's something I have strived for.” Jackson added, “If I can impact even just one little girl's dream, then that is even better than gold to me. #Beijing2022 #WinterOlympics #TeamUSA” Lauren Esposito ‘24 The most watched television event is now behind us - the Super Bowl, which means football, halftime shows, and even commercials. This year’s commercials included ones for new cars, Uber Eats, fast food restaurants, cable companies and many more.
As of September 2021, each 30 second commercial for the 2022 Super Bowl was priced at about $6.5 million. This year marked the highest a Super Bowl commercial has ever been. Compared to last year, the commercial price went up by $1 million. Usually the commercials go up by a few thousand dollars each year. For reference, in the first ever superbowl, commercials were priced between $37,000 and $40,000. I asked a few people which Super Bowl commercials were their favorite. Francesca Peralta ‘24 said, “I loved a lot of them, but I think my favorite was the Squarespace commercial with Zendaya. I have loved Zendaya since I was little and she was on Disney channel”. Squarespace is a website that helps you build your own website. I also asked Lily Keane which was her favorite. “I loved the Planet Fitness one with Lindsay Lohan. I love working out, with friends or running on a beach, but I really focus when I am in a gym. I loved how Lindsay Lohan was in a Planet Fitness commercial because I love her too.” I asked a bunch of people which ones were their favorite commercials. The most liked commercial seemed to be the one for Doritos/Flamin’ hot. It was most liked because of the sloth animal in the commercial. The #2 most liked commercial was Toyota with the Joneses, which included Tommy Lee Jones, Leslie Jones, Rashida Jones, and Nick Jonas. Last but not least, number 3 was... Disney+. People loved this one because Disney+ has all the movies and shows from our childhood. Alara Brunell ‘24 Novak Djokovic, one of the top tennis players in the world, was denied entry into Australia because of his unvaccinated status. Once he settled in, he was told he was being deported and unable to play in the Australian Open. The Australian government suggested that he get vaccinated, but he still refused.
He also knew he was unvaccinated when he attended events with little children, yet faced no major consequences. He knew he could have gotten people sick and put them in danger. Djokovic won the past three Australian Opens, and nine overall. Due to this situation, he cannot defend his title. As soon as he arrived at Melbourne, he was questioned and later put into a quarantine hotel. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison commented, “Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules.” It’s still unclear if he will get vaccinated at some point, but for now he is banned from Australia and playing in the Australian Open. Gina Marie Pettignano '21 The New York Knicks, short for the Knickerbockers, is the first original New York professional basketball team. The Knicks are one of the two original NBA teams still located in its original city. An iconic team for a true New Yorker, but not the best winning streak, until the 2021 season came around.
The Knicks started their 2020-21 season off winning three out of four in the preseason: two wins against the Cavaliers, and one out of the two preseason games against the Pistons. Once the season started they had two losses against the Pacers and 76ers, but after that their game picked right up. They haven’t had a 9 game win streak since 2014, but recently, they did accomplish that feat. As of April 26, the Knicks have a 34-26 record. This might not seem like a big deal, but to a NY Knicks fan this is great because the 2019-20 season they had a record of 21-45. In the 2018-19 season they went 17-65. This just shows how much they have come along to be where they are at today. Senior Valerie Rosanelli spoke about the Knicks, “The Knicks are one of my favorite basketball teams. Although they don't have a great winning streak the past couple of years, this season they shocked everyone. I wish I could go to a game and watch them play as they are making history, and making every true Knicks fan proud.” Fontbonne alumna Victoria Schulz said, “I’m not too into basketball but I could always watch a game here and there when I’m with friends. The Knicks is the only basketball team I will watch play, I would have to say when the Brooklyn Nets came to Brooklyn and everyone was obsessed, I was one of those people. I do have to say the win streak has been amazing this year, it’s had everyone on their tippy toes. Hopefully they make it to the playoffs.” We still have the rest of the season ahead of us to gain more wins, and hopefully few losses. The NBA playoffs start Saturday, May 22 2021. We all have faith they will make it into the playoffs for the first time since 2012-13. To all anime and sports fans, have you heard about Haikyuu? It’s an anime that was released on September 18, 2015. There are four seasons to this anime, and part two of the last season has just been released.
This anime is about a boy named Shoyo Hinata, and his high school volleyball team, The Wingless Crows, making their way to nationals. Not only does this show talk about their journey towards getting to national, but it also depicts all of their crazy highschool lives. Soon after the new episodes were released, there was a lot of backlash. One fan said, "The first two episodes looked unappealing and made me not want to watch this show. I have lost all motivation to watch this anime. Every frame in the anime makes me want to cry." After researching about the bad animation, it was said by Funimation, a website for people to watch anime, “Haikyuu was outsourced to Studio 4tune." The original animation team, Product I.G., was struggling to animate Haikyuu because of the approaching release date. That led to a sudden change in production. The animation had some changes to the third episode that left other fans, including me, happy again. If you are interested in watching this anime, it is available to you on Netflix. If you do not have access to Netflix, it is also available on “Crunchyroll” and “Funimation.” |