Posts by Bjorn:
An Odd But Interesting Week 5
January 25th, 2011By Bjorn Burk
Staff Writer
An unusual week was started off Sunday morning with an unusual game where the 76ers, who only had four players, almost managed an upset over a full squad in the Knicks.
With sophomore Bjorn Burk pulling off 33 points and contributing performances from junior John Bates, and sophomores Tyler Mills and Phil Dominici, the 76er’s were winning almost the entire game until the Knicks surmounted a stealthy comeback in the final 4 minutes to take a 68-62 victory. In the win, seniors Brian Rosinski, Ryan Auger, and Rohan Venkatesh played solid but turned it on in the waning moments to finish the exhausted 76er’s.
In the game between the Pacers and Bulls, sophomore Brett Harrison injured his ankle and unfortunately, had to be taken to the emergency room. Despite Harrison’s absence, the Bulls took a 49-39 victory.
“What happened was that I stole the ball and when I landed, I landed on my ankle the wrong way, and just couldn’t run anymore. I knew something was wrong with it,” said Harrison about his injury.
A mid-week thriller took place Wednesday when the Magic barely defeated the Warriors in a 52-51 battle. Seniors Peter Russo and Chris Mariano tagged up again to bring home their 5th win of the season and leaving them top of the table with the Hawks and handing the Warriors their first loss of the season and in second place behind the Magic.
“It was wire to wire to the end and we played really well and it stayed evenly scored,” commented senior Peter Russo about his team’s win.
This loss for the Warriors came when junior Eric Cajolet uncharacteristically missed a free throw in overtime to end the game. Jason Welch had another impressive performance for the Warriors.
Now tied at the top of the league with the Hawks, who beat the Kings 45-36, the Magic seem the team to beat but face a tough road ahead. The Magic are scheduled to play the Pacers, Bulls, Hawks, and Grizzlies, who all have winning records.
Expect a battle for first place between the Magic and Hawks in the second half of the season.
Full Scoreboard:
| HSB 13 – Magic | 52 |
| HSB 5 – Warriors | 51 |
| HSB 14 – Hawks | 45 |
| HSB 9 – Kings | 36 |
| HSB 1 – Thunder | 80 |
| HSB 19 – Bucks | 48 |
| HSB 12 – Knicks | 68 |
| HSB 11 – 76ers | 62 |
| HSB 18 – Bulls | 49 |
| HSB 2 – Pacers | 39 |
| HSB 21 – Mavericks | 75 |
| HSB 8 – Cavaliers | 52 |
| HSB 23 – Bobcats | 80 |
| HSB 24 – Grizzlies | 77 |
| HSB 3 – Suns | 54 | |
| HSB 17 – Wizards | 45 |
| HSB 6 – Nets | 45 |
| HSB 10 – Jazz | 40 |
| HSB 7 – Rockets | 67 |
| HSB 4 – Clippers | 60 |
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Captain Mike McHugh Gears up for wrestling Season
November 24th, 2010
Wrestling Co-captain Mike McHugh
By Bjorn Burk
Staff Writer
Along with the rest of the wrestling team, senior captain Mike McHugh has been preparing intensely for the up coming season which officially starts off December 11 against Chelmsford and Greater Lowell Tech.
McHugh has shown much motivation during what others might consider an “off season” with his impressive training regiment and also moving up from wrestling in the 112 lb. weight class to the 125 lb. weight class.
“I have been doing off season club wrestling since March, weight lifting, running, boxing, and a couple summer camps,” said McHugh about his training.
As for the rest of the team, Mike described the 2010-2011 squad as improving from last year’s team which won six games.
“It’s looking older, as well as better, stronger, faster, taller, more muscular, more skilled, tougher, smarter, and better dressed,” described McHugh.
With fellow captains Jon Cimini, Joe Barnas, and Cameron Peacock, McHugh believes that experience will be key to the team’s success along with young potential.
“Our strengths are definitely our more experienced wrestlers because we count on them to put up the points every match. But our young talent is where the real potential lies. Some of those kids have a lot of potential to make the difference between a DCL championship team and a 6 – 5 team,” stated McHugh.
Taking no match lightly, McHugh wants to push the less motivated players on the team to work hard. He wants to personally improve his third place finish in the DCL to finishing first in his weight class this season, but Mike’s team goal is simple: “Win more than we lose.”
WA Pride in Action
October 27th, 2010By Staff Writer,
Bjorn Burk
Providing local organizations with student volunteers who attend Westford Academy, WA Pride has now setup up a form on the WA’s homepage for these organizations to request volunteers.
According to Chris Gosselin, the new online volunteer request form is working out well.
The volunteer students most often lend a generous hand at Rodenbush, Crisafulli Elementary School, and the Cameron Senior Center where various projects are done.
At Crisafulli a program called “Ghost and Goblins” is implemented in order to mentor Crisafulli students. From October to May twice a week for half an hour the carefully matched “Ghosts” go to Crisafulli to mentor their “Goblins”.
Crisafulli Assistant Principal Sharon Kennelly is also involved in the program.
Kennelly says, “We have many students who participate for a variety of reasons; some students participate who did not have older siblings. Ghost and Goblins allows them the opportunity to have an ‘older brother or sister.’”
As far as WA Pride in general, the group seems to be picking up steam. Along with the new online registration form, students have shown interest. For those who want to start getting involved, contact or talk to Gosselin.
“A lot have freshman have been getting involved. People have been interested,” said Gosselin.
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Kings of Leon return with another gem
October 22nd, 2010By Bjorn Burk
Staff Writer
After selling 6.5 million copies of their album Only by the Night, the now popular band Kings of Leon put out another solid record this Tuesday with Come Around Sundown.
Since establishing themselves as an up and coming band with well known hits including “Use Somebody” and “Sex on Fire”, Kings of Leon needed another hit to solidify their dominant presence in today’s pop music. They did exactly that with Come Around Sundown.
With songs like “Radioactive” which landed at 3 on Billboard’s top 200 Rock Songs (provided by Billboard.com) and “The End” Kings of Leon have kept that same “catchy” factor they had obtained with Only by the Night, while also refining their style.
Come Around Sundown gives a more refined sound to the band. Before having more edgy rhythms and a more punk sound, Kings of Leon brings quieter but interesting themes in various pieces throughout the new album. “Radioactive” includes a country theme while incorporating that same edgy guitar tone that they had perfected before.
Other notable songs include “The End” which contains essentially the same style as their last album. “Back Down South” has a more country sound, “Pickup Truck” is dominated by vocals from lead singer Caleb Followill, and “Mary” is a love story which brings the band back to its former loud, edgy guitar tones.
With mixed styles and varying tracks, Kings of Leon proved versatility is achievable in today’s popular rock music. Look for Come Around Sundown to be a hit in the near future.
(Background information provided by rollingstone.com.)
