SLA Media

SLAMedia is a publication of the news for the Science Leadership Academy community. Writers come from the student body in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. We work in unison to create a functioning paper with biweekly postings on a variety of events.

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Is it Worth it?- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

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Is it Worth it?- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

by Jesse Shuter

Staff Writer

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Courtesy of http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/11/ jason-babin-dreadlocks-andre-ellington/

 

In sports today, you hear about injuries every day. Whether it is a high ankle sprain, a concussion or even an ACL tear. They are happening more and more often each year. Throughout this article I am going to focus on these types of injuries in the NFL, although what is said here can be applied to almost any professional sport.

 

Players continue to put themselves at risk by trying to get every last yard instead of maybe taking a few less yards, but walking away injury free. Some injuries happen to be more gruesome than others.

 

Sometimes these players get lucky and nothing happens and they don’t realize that they are putting themselves in harms way because they walk away healthy. Other times, they get hurt whether for the rest of the game, a week or even a season, yet they still are willing to risk it all the next time they get a chance.

 

Then there are the unlucky ones. The most common example is Joe Theismann. Theismann was a quarterback for the Washington Redskins and was an extremely talented quarterback with the rest of his career to look forward to. Then tragedy struck.

 

Theismann was playing in a game against the New York Giants and was getting blitzed by the opposing team’s defense. The blitz was working because a few players broke through the offensive line. One of the players happened to be Lawrence Taylor. Lawrence Taylor is a hall of fame player, and is known as possibly the best defensive or even the best overall player of all time.

 

Theismann was not able to avoid the oncoming traffic of players and took the sack for a loss of yards. The sack was not the end of the play, however, because as he was getting sacked, Lawrence Taylor came flying in to finish the job and landed on Theismann’s leg.

 

If you have ever seen this play, you know what happens next. Lawrence Taylor was beginning to celebrate the play when he heard a scream of agony behind him. He spun around to see Theismann laying of the ground with a leg bone split in half. The injury was so horrible that Theismann could never play again and that play ended his career early.

 

There are some other more recent example of gruesome injuries. Two from this year come to mind, and both of these players are on the same team. These players are Andre Ellington and Rashad Johnson of the Arizona Cardinals. Johnson’s injury came earlier this year.

 

Johnson was just making any old play that day when Darren Sproles of the New Orleans Saints was running with the ball and he tackled him, no big deal right? Well it turned out that when Johnson stood up, he was a little bit lighter. The top of his middle finger was gone. How? You might ask, but not even Johnson knows. According to Johnson, his best guess is that the finger snapped off when he hit the turf, not when hitting Sproles.

 

The other situation happened this past Sunday (11/17/13). Andre Ellington running back for the Cardinals was handed the ball and took off. He was met by Jason Babin, a defensive player for the Jaguars who tackled him. However, Babin tackled him in an interesting way. Babin tackled Ellington by the hair. In fact, he tackled so hard that he pulled the dreadlocks right out of his head.

 

Luckily both of these players were able to return to play very soon after their unfortunate and extremely painful injuries.

 

The Take Away:

So here comes the question. Should these players be risking injury to such an extent? I say yes.

 

Now everyone today is concerned about the players health and rightfully so. However I feel that it is getting way out of hand.

 

The NFL continues to try and makes it’s game safer for the players, but at what cost?They are ruining the integrity of the game, all these rules are making too hard for the players to do their best.

 

I do agree, however, with the no head to head hits rule because I feel that concussions are the biggest threat to players because of the affect they can have on the players in the long run, after their football careers are over they should still possess all of their mental faculties.

 

I respect players that give it 110% and risk their health for the benefit of their team. If I were running a team those are the type of guys I would want. It shows dedication and respect to themselves, their team and the game to try as hard as these players do.

 

As I said last week in my column about Pat Tillman here are so few players that are good people and that care for other people more than themselves. This is why I respect players that give it all each and every day.

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Courtesy of http://www.azcardinals.com/news-and-events /article-2/Rashad-Johnson-Fingertip-Loss-Got- 9-more/9fc32981-1f41- 406c-9a5c-b704948351b4

Shuter’s Sleeper of the Week:

Zac Stacy (RB) Rams-

This week the Rams are playing the Bears at home coming off a bye week. These are the same Bears that made former stud Ray Rice who has been struggling all year look like his former self. This is a matchup made in heaven and as far as I am concerned, Stacy is a must start in any and every league.

Senior Exclusive Locker Talk: How many colleges are you applying to?

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Senior Joseph Tartaglia: "I'm applying to five different colleges."
Senior Joseph Tartaglia: “I’m applying to five different colleges.”
Senior Josh Melendez: "As of now, I'm applying to two colleges although I plan on applying to more. So far, I'm applying to Widner University and Juniata College."
Senior Josh Melendez: “As of now, I’m applying to two colleges although I plan on applying to more. So far, I’m applying to Widner University and Juniata College.”

Senior Imani Rothwell: "I'm applying to ten colleges total. My main choices are University of the Arts, Wisconsin University Madison, and West Chester University.
Senior Imani Rothwell: “I’m applying to ten colleges total. My main choices are University of the Arts, Wisconsin University Madison, and West Chester University.”

 

Hallway Fashion- Penelope Deoliveira

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Exactly what are you wearing today, and do you know where each item is from?
The romper dress is from Forever 21 and it was 20$

What exactly does fashion mean to you?
Welllll I kinda just like to look nice. But I guess fashion also describes what type of person you are. Each person has their owns style, which reflects their personality, what they like, etc.
Do you consider yourself fashionable?
Yeah I guess so.
How long does it usually take for you to pick out the outfit that you’re going to wear for the day? What’s your thought process as you pick out these clothes?
10 minutes. I usually decide if it’s appropriate to wear to were I’m going. Also, if it’s too slutty I dont normamlly like to wear uber tight clothes. Also, if the pattern, material or colors clash. It usually takes me about 5 minutes at the most to pick out my clothes. Depends if I’ve done laundry or not.
Who/What do you get your fashion inspiration from?
Audrey Hepburn and sorta Lady gaga. I sorta like how Kim K dresses too, when she dresses professionally.
What are some of your favorite places to shop, or what are your favorite brands? And Why?
Forever 21 and H&M. I love these stores because they’re so cheap but have nice beautiful clothing. I like steve madden for shoes but they’re a little expensive.

Interview By: Kenyatta Bundy Jr

The Pat Tillman Legacy- Sports Talk with the Straight Shuter

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The Pat Tillman Legacy

by Jesse Shuter

Staff Writer

220px-Corporal_Patrick_Tillman

Photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Pat_Tillman

 

This past monday, November 11th was Veterans Day. Veterans Day is a day in which we honor and remember all the men and women that risk and have lost their lives fighting for our country. There are many reasons and stories of people joining the military, but none more touching than the story of Pat Tillman.

 

This Sunday the NFL honored military veterans in many ways. All the staff and players could be seen on the sidelines and on the field wearing the camouflage colors of the army. In addition, veterans and soldiers were honored by taking a break from the armed forces  to spend a day with NFL players. The last way the NFL recognized Veterans Day was to raise money for veterans’ foundations, one of which was the Pat Tillman Foundation.

 

The story of Pat Tillman is one of the most courageous stories I have ever heard. Tillman was a professional football player, who played safety for Arizona Cardinals.

 

In college Tillman was an incredible athlete.  Despite his somewhat smaller stature, he played linebacker at Arizona State University. He led ASU to an undefeated season and was voted Pac-10 defensive player of the year. Not only was Tillman an incredible athlete, but he was also very bright. He graduated college after three and a half years with a 3.85 GPA.

 

In May 2002, after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Tillman was offered a 3 year, 3.6 million dollar contract. Tillman did something that probably no other NFL player, or most other people for that matter, would have done. He turned down the potential fortune of money to join the army and help his struggling country. He did this because of the feeling of obligation towards his country.

 

The tragic part of this story is what happened next. After joining the Army Rangers, he was sent to Afghanistan. Tillman was killed in battle. It was first reported that he was killed by enemy fire and he was awarded with the silver star for valor. The Pentagon later revealed that he was actually killed by friendly fire.

 

This is a man who was on top of the world by today’s standards and gave it all away just because of a sense of responsibility he felt for his country. This man should be a role model for not only all football players but all Americans in today’s society.

 

My reason for writing this article is to spread the word of Pat Tillman’s legacy. Pat Tillman is an American hero, but you don’t hear about him unless you watch the NFL so I wanted to make sure that all the people that read this article understand true devotion and honor.

 

The Take Away:

 

Today in the NFL more players are punished than any other professional sport. Let me explain what I mean by that. Whenever there is reports of DUIs or murders by professional athletes it is most likely the NFL.

 

Ray Lewis allegedly killed someone. Aaron Hernandez allegedly killed someone. Dez Bryant beat his own mother. Justin Blackmon has been suspended twice for drug abuse. Richie Incognito has been fined and cut for abusing and bullying fellow teammates. There are countless examples of criminal and immoral behavior that these professional athletes.

 

It’s not just the lack of criminal activity that makes Tillman such an outstanding character. Today, athletes continually prove that they are only looking out for themselves. They are always searching for the biggest contracts, and the most glory. If they don’t get what they want they stop showing up to practice. It isn’t about the game or even the team anymore. Professional sports are about the players today.

 

This is why a man like Pat Tillman is so rare. It is hard to find an NFL player who is such a good person anymore. Don’t get me wrong, there are so many great people in the NFL and I am not saying that all football players are bad people, but it is so hard to find someone of outstanding character like Tillman.

 

Shuter’s Sleeper of the Week:

Percy Harvin (WR) Seahawks-

This should be Harvin’s first game back, and after a long recovery period I believe he will come ready to play. This speedy and almost electric receiver is going up against the Minnesota Vikings, who have one of the worst defenses in football, at home in Seattle. Seattle is notoriously one of if not the hardest stadium for an away team to play in. This is because of the stadium’s design in which the sound from the stands bounces off the roof and directly onto the field. I expect Harvin to get at least one touchdown assuming he plays, but I also expect Golden Tate to get a healthy helping of points.