The First & Last Time I Cheered for the Yankees
By James Harnum
By James Harnum
The Return of Jarvis Football
By Ryno Sheriff
By Ryno Sheriff
Sports are Back - But are there too Many?
By Lloyd Coke
By Lloyd Coke
The First & Last Time I Cheered for the Yankees
By James Harnum
By James Harnum
The World Series has come and gone for another year. As a Torontonian, I admit I have felt a slight lethargy towards it for the past few years.
The Blue Jays have seemed considerably tired in their pursuit of a championship for most of the rational part of my life.
Yet the World Series has always had some appeal. I can watch it and think back to a time when Toronto had a team that didn't consistently screw up in one way or another.
But the World Series has never really been able to grip me since Toronto's brush with greatness in 1992 and 1993. That is, until this year.
The New York Yankees versus the Arizona Diamondbacks. At face value it seemed a strange, almost uneven, match up. The New York Yankees had appeared in, and won, four of the last five World Series'.
The Diamondbacks entered the league around the time that New York won the first of their four championships.
Face value, unfortunately meant nothing in this series. The New York Yankees had squeaked into the series after a decidedly off season. They just managed to defeat the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics in the division and league series'. The Yankees were, arguably, weaker than they had been in six years.
The Diamondbacks breezed through their league championship and brought with them the best one-two pitching combination in thirty years. Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson were literally the two most dominant pitchers in the National League. It almost seems like cheating to have them on the same team.
If hockey fans are having trouble following, picture the 1967 Maple Leaf goaltending twosome of Terry Sawchuck and Johnny Bower. They also had without contest the edge in power hitting with Luis Gonzalez, Matt Williams and others.
The contest seemed biased in favour of the Diamondbacks, at least in the numbers and on the field. If this were any other year, the off-field sentiment would likely also be biased in favour of them.
The Yankees are the team that everyone loves to hate. Their owner, George Steinbrenner, is a detested man.
They have 'bought' their team through free agency, (although, Derek Jeter, their MVP, is home grown). They have such deep pockets that they can simply outbid any smaller market teams competing with them for talent.
On top of all that, they always !@$#! win! I, along with most people I know, have spent every other year cheering for whichever team had the bad luck of facing them.
This was not, however, some other year. This was 2001, the year of the September 11th attacks. New York had suffered an incredible loss.
It seemed only right to throw my support towards them. My head told me that the New York Yankees deserved to win the World Series because the city had suffered so much.
This was a sentiment that I was not alone in having. I saw the effects of it everywhere. There was even a reference on Saturday Night Live to the peculiar phenomenon of those who hate the Yankees coming round to their side.
The Diamondbacks lso should have had a great deal of sentimental support. They had a number of aging veterans (Mark Grace,. Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Matt Williams) who had never won a World Series.
And, as mentioned earlier, the Diamondbacks were playing a team that everyone used to hate.
In the end, the series seemed to stack up like this: The Diamondbacks had the advantage in terms of talent and ability, the New York Yankees had the support of a hundred million people who used to hate them.
Talent and ability won in the end. The Yankees made some amazing comebacks and contributed greatly to making the 2001 World Series one of the greatest in history, but the sentimental favourite lost.
The series had some amazing moments. The Yankees came within one out of losing two of the earlier games in the series. They managed to hit a homerun off the Arizona closer, in successive games.
The Yankees couldn't get through the Arizona starting pitchers, so they waited for the relief ones. The Yankees won both these games and that brought the series to a sixth game which Arizona won.
The seventh and deciding game was won when Luis Gonzalez hit a single off Mariano Rivera. Rivera was the Yankees' closer and had a virtually perfect playoff record until that inning.
When the series was over, I was surprisingly un-upset by the Arizona victory. It was as if I had done my duty by supporting the Yankees, and could now take pleasure in the fact that someone had knocked them off their pedestal.
The 2001 World Series was one of the most exciting and provocative sporting events to have occurred in my life. It changed alliances and brought real world sentiment into a world whose rules are usually defined by where you live, (that is, if you live anywhere but New York, you hate the Yankees). Looking back, I am left with one piece of self knowledge, after this year, I will never again cheer for the !@$# Yankees!
The Return of Jarvis Football
By Ryno Sheriff
By Ryno Sheriff
The volleyball team has begun bumping, passing and spiking; the members of the cross-country team have laced up their running shoes and begun training; the boys' soccer teams are practicing hard; and the girls' basketball team has been busy overpowering their competition.
While having all of these activities back after a brief non-existence, what makes this school year different is that after a long four-year absence, Jarvis has brought back football to the students.
For some Jarvisites the arrival of football has been long overdue. Ricky Ma, a member of the football team has been looking forward to playing on the team for a long time. "There hasn't been a football team here the entire time I've been at Jarvis. It's nice to finally have one," he said.
Practice for the team began near the end of last school year. Light drills were performed to get players into the football mind-frame. More vigorous practices started this year in order to physically and mentally prepare the players for their first game, which was played at the beginning of October against Newtonbrook. Unfortunately, the team suffered a loss in the season opener.
Almost everyday after school, rain or shine, the football team was hard at work. The commitment from the team members was stellar.
Warming up with laps stretching, hurdling pylons, side-stepping through obstacles, the real work begins with drills according to position.
Some players practice blocking and tackling, while others polish their offensive plays. Regardless of the position, hard work is always required.
Along with the football players, Mr. Kreiner and the coaches worked hard on the season. Jarvis also put together a group of cheerleaders who offered their support to the team at their games.
Unfortunately for the team, none of the home games are played at Jarvis. As a result of this, fewer people attended. Next year, Jarvis looks forward to putting together another team and aiming to win.
"I think with a little more practice and organization, our team will be tough to beat," stated Nathan Narumi, a grade 12 student who plays for the team. It was a good first season, and hopes are high for next year.
While having all of these activities back after a brief non-existence, what makes this school year different is that after a long four-year absence, Jarvis has brought back football to the students.
For some Jarvisites the arrival of football has been long overdue. Ricky Ma, a member of the football team has been looking forward to playing on the team for a long time. "There hasn't been a football team here the entire time I've been at Jarvis. It's nice to finally have one," he said.
Practice for the team began near the end of last school year. Light drills were performed to get players into the football mind-frame. More vigorous practices started this year in order to physically and mentally prepare the players for their first game, which was played at the beginning of October against Newtonbrook. Unfortunately, the team suffered a loss in the season opener.
Almost everyday after school, rain or shine, the football team was hard at work. The commitment from the team members was stellar.
Warming up with laps stretching, hurdling pylons, side-stepping through obstacles, the real work begins with drills according to position.
Some players practice blocking and tackling, while others polish their offensive plays. Regardless of the position, hard work is always required.
Along with the football players, Mr. Kreiner and the coaches worked hard on the season. Jarvis also put together a group of cheerleaders who offered their support to the team at their games.
Unfortunately for the team, none of the home games are played at Jarvis. As a result of this, fewer people attended. Next year, Jarvis looks forward to putting together another team and aiming to win.
"I think with a little more practice and organization, our team will be tough to beat," stated Nathan Narumi, a grade 12 student who plays for the team. It was a good first season, and hopes are high for next year.
Sports are Back - But are there too Many?
By Lloyd Coke
By Lloyd Coke
Sports are a very important part of many students' high school education. With sports back for the 2001/2002 school year, Jarvis is "vibing" with athletes who want to get back to competing.
There is one important question, however: Is Jarvis Collegiate offering too many sports teams all at the same time? I think so.
An example of sports overcrowding occurring at Jarvis is the fall line-up for the boys' athletic department, which included Junior and Senior Volleyball, Junior and Senior Soccer, Varsity Football, Golf and Cross-country running. These sports have about 119 combined participants.
In an interview with Mr. Kreiner and Mr. Persaud, both teachers in the Boys' PhysicalEducation Department, I was looking to hear their thoughts on the sports budget and sports in general.
Mr. Kreiner said that for all the sports Jarvis is providing, there is not enough money to run each sport at full potential. I think that Mr. Kreiner is absolutely correct about there not being enough money for the sports to be done properly.
I agree with him because I'm a student athlete and have been in situations where my basketball shorts were too tight for my fellow players and me to run up and down the court, hampering our play and not looking like a team from the nineties, but more like a team from the sixties.
Mr. Kreiner continued saying that "to have a successful sports program you need four things: a good number of committed athletes, dedicated coaches, support of administration, an adequate sports budget."
In my eyes Jarvis has the first three and only lacks in the fourth criterion, an adequate sports budget.
If there were a lesser variety of sports provided, then the money that was available would allow for a larger budget for the ones that are still offered.
Mr. Persaud had these words for me when asked if sports were a good thing in schools, "Sports are absolutely a good thing in schools and the more sports provided the better, because the more athletes you get to come out and participate. They also get to develop a well-rounded personality."
On the other hand I spoke to some of the students at Jarvis, and the majority of them said Jarvis had too many sports, and would do better to concentrate on the more popular sports.
I offer this solution: Jarvis could solve the problem by a process of elimination, where team attendance and performance is rated in whatever sport. Then judge whether the sport should remain or not.
The last person I spoke to was the principal Mrs. McKenzie and she told me exactly where the sports money used to come from and where it comes from now.
The money for the school is given to the principal of the school by the provincial government; this amount is roughly $ 379,000. Yes, I know what everyone is saying, that's a lot of money and why does the school say that they have no money.
This money is to be used for many things; textbooks, field trips, gym equipment, library books, and repairs. Then there is the money that is given towards education from the school board, an approximate value of three dollars per student for sports.
At Jarvis there are many things that go on to make the situation worse, like when students feel free to vandalise the washrooms and other parts of the school, when they pull fire alarms, when they decide to damage school property as some did a couple of years ago.
Money that should be spent on programs for students has to be allocated to pay these costs. When students vandalise the school, they take away money that could be put to better use.
There is one important question, however: Is Jarvis Collegiate offering too many sports teams all at the same time? I think so.
An example of sports overcrowding occurring at Jarvis is the fall line-up for the boys' athletic department, which included Junior and Senior Volleyball, Junior and Senior Soccer, Varsity Football, Golf and Cross-country running. These sports have about 119 combined participants.
In an interview with Mr. Kreiner and Mr. Persaud, both teachers in the Boys' PhysicalEducation Department, I was looking to hear their thoughts on the sports budget and sports in general.
Mr. Kreiner said that for all the sports Jarvis is providing, there is not enough money to run each sport at full potential. I think that Mr. Kreiner is absolutely correct about there not being enough money for the sports to be done properly.
I agree with him because I'm a student athlete and have been in situations where my basketball shorts were too tight for my fellow players and me to run up and down the court, hampering our play and not looking like a team from the nineties, but more like a team from the sixties.
Mr. Kreiner continued saying that "to have a successful sports program you need four things: a good number of committed athletes, dedicated coaches, support of administration, an adequate sports budget."
In my eyes Jarvis has the first three and only lacks in the fourth criterion, an adequate sports budget.
If there were a lesser variety of sports provided, then the money that was available would allow for a larger budget for the ones that are still offered.
Mr. Persaud had these words for me when asked if sports were a good thing in schools, "Sports are absolutely a good thing in schools and the more sports provided the better, because the more athletes you get to come out and participate. They also get to develop a well-rounded personality."
On the other hand I spoke to some of the students at Jarvis, and the majority of them said Jarvis had too many sports, and would do better to concentrate on the more popular sports.
I offer this solution: Jarvis could solve the problem by a process of elimination, where team attendance and performance is rated in whatever sport. Then judge whether the sport should remain or not.
The last person I spoke to was the principal Mrs. McKenzie and she told me exactly where the sports money used to come from and where it comes from now.
The money for the school is given to the principal of the school by the provincial government; this amount is roughly $ 379,000. Yes, I know what everyone is saying, that's a lot of money and why does the school say that they have no money.
This money is to be used for many things; textbooks, field trips, gym equipment, library books, and repairs. Then there is the money that is given towards education from the school board, an approximate value of three dollars per student for sports.
At Jarvis there are many things that go on to make the situation worse, like when students feel free to vandalise the washrooms and other parts of the school, when they pull fire alarms, when they decide to damage school property as some did a couple of years ago.
Money that should be spent on programs for students has to be allocated to pay these costs. When students vandalise the school, they take away money that could be put to better use.
No comments:
Post a Comment