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April 2010 - St. Sebastian's School
April 2010 - St. Sebastian's School
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Page 6 The Walrus: School News<br />
April 2010<br />
Confident Bruins<br />
Chase Stanley Cup<br />
BY PETER CIMINI ‘12<br />
Celtics Tussle<br />
With Heat in First<br />
Round of Playoffs<br />
BY M. CUNNINGHAM ‘12<br />
The Celtics season has just about<br />
come to a close and they are certainly<br />
in contention to make a run<br />
in the playoffs. It looks like the Celtics<br />
will finish in fourth place with<br />
the Cavs finishing in first, the Magic<br />
in second, and the Hawks in third.<br />
The Celtics definitely had a successful<br />
season this year. They saw great<br />
production out of their starters,<br />
especially Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo,<br />
and Kendrick Perkins. These three<br />
guys stayed in the lineup day in and<br />
day out all season long and their<br />
production never stopped. Ray Allen<br />
proved to be the major scorer in<br />
the absence of both Paul Pierce and<br />
Kevin Garnett. Rajon Rondo showed<br />
his versatility as a basketball player,<br />
getting double doubles and triple<br />
doubles on what seemed to be a<br />
weekly basis. And Kendrick Perkins<br />
really showed his maturity as an<br />
NBA basketball player, playing great<br />
defense and really stepping up his<br />
offensive game on the low post no<br />
matter who was covering him. The<br />
speculation throughout the season<br />
was that the Celtics were getting<br />
old. With players like Kevin Garnett<br />
and Paul Pierce out constantly due<br />
to injury, they showed the fragility<br />
that usually comes with old age.<br />
Also, the aged Rasheed Wallace<br />
proved to be a major disappointment<br />
in many ways. Not only did<br />
he not bring the energy needed<br />
off the bench, he didn’t pass the<br />
ball. He fired fade-away shots from<br />
the block all day and just didn’t<br />
rebound the way us Celtics fans<br />
expected. He along with the other<br />
geezers on the squad showed their<br />
lack of youthfulness and stamina<br />
by losing leads in the second half<br />
game after game against quality<br />
teams. The player who was an<br />
excellent pickup was Nate Robinson.<br />
He brought excitement and life<br />
off the bench along with a decent<br />
three point shot. Now he is on Eddie<br />
House from beyond the arc, but<br />
he is an exciting scorer who does<br />
With the season over and the<br />
playoffs about to begin, the Boston<br />
Bruins having a completely different<br />
outlook on the playoffs then<br />
they did last year. Last April, the<br />
Bruins had just finished off their 116<br />
pt season at the top of the Eastern<br />
Conference. This year, they finished<br />
well below that mark, and barely<br />
made the playoffs, using a late surge<br />
to climb into the 6th seed. They will<br />
face off against the Buffalo Sabres, a<br />
team that didn’t even make the playoffs<br />
last year, but had a great season<br />
to finish 3rd in the strong Eastern<br />
Conference. While many people in<br />
the Boston area couldn’t name more<br />
than 1 or 2 Sabres players, there is<br />
one player that has become a name<br />
many households know and love,<br />
and that is goalie Ryan Miller. Most<br />
know Miller from his outstanding<br />
performance for Team USA in the<br />
Winter Olympics, and know how<br />
his play can make or break a team’s<br />
performance. With this in mind, the<br />
Bruins, a team that has had trouble<br />
scoring goals all season, have their<br />
work cut out for them against Miller.<br />
As of late though, the<br />
Bruins have been playing their best<br />
hockey of the season. Mid-season<br />
acquisition Miroslav Satan has been<br />
a great boost to the struggling<br />
offense. But, the team has been<br />
plagued with injuries all season, perhaps<br />
why they have failed to back up<br />
their regular season dominance of<br />
last year. Marc Savard suffered a concussion<br />
in a game against Pittsburgh<br />
and is out for the season, defenseman<br />
Andrew Ference has had a<br />
groin problem that has kept him<br />
out for the last 17 games, and Mark<br />
Stuart, infected hand, is also out for<br />
the series. Although shorthanded,<br />
the Bruins have showed throughout<br />
the recent playoff push that the players<br />
they have healthy are more than<br />
able to win games.<br />
Last season, part of the<br />
Bruins success was the play of goaltender<br />
and Vezina trophy winner<br />
Tim Thomas. However, this year has<br />
not treated him well. Shaky play in<br />
the beginning of the year, and the<br />
fantastic play of Tuukka Rask, has left<br />
him without the starting job. Personally,<br />
I think that Thomas, when at the<br />
top of his game, is a better goalie<br />
than Rask and the only way to get<br />
him to his best form is to let him play<br />
more often, but this is not a realistic<br />
possibility because the playoffs are<br />
not a time to try to break a goalie<br />
out of a season long slump.<br />
The matchup with the<br />
Sabres, however, doesn’t seem<br />
like much of a daunting task. The<br />
Bruins, at the top of their game, can<br />
skate with anybody and they look<br />
to match up well with the Sabres.<br />
One key is to get to Ryan Miller early<br />
in the game. The longer the game<br />
goes on, the better Miller gets, but<br />
if they get him rattled early, Miller<br />
doesn’t play as well. Although every<br />
ESPN expert has picked Buffalo to<br />
win, they did say that the team with<br />
the most legitimate shot of an upset<br />
is the Bruins. If you want to see the<br />
Barstool prediction, it will be posted<br />
tomorrow.<br />
Other interesting matchups<br />
include the Capitals and the Canadiens,<br />
which that Capitals will win<br />
easily, and the Penguins – Ottawa<br />
Senators series, the 4-5 matchup<br />
could be very interesting. The Western<br />
Conference’s first round matchups<br />
aren’t as intriguing and it doesn’t<br />
seem like there will be many huge<br />
upsets. Although the Bruins wont<br />
be having any crazy rivalry games<br />
against Montreal, their matchup<br />
seems like it will be one that you<br />
don’t want to miss.<br />
POINT - COUNTERPOINT<br />
Holy Cross OR Boston College??<br />
Holy Cross<br />
BY JOHN DONOVAN ‘12 BY RYAN BACIC ‘11<br />
Are you thinking about going to<br />
Boston College? If so, here are some<br />
more questions that you might want<br />
to ask yourself before you make your<br />
decision. Do you like being a small<br />
fish in a large ocean? Do you like the<br />
small city of Newton, Massachusetts<br />
(known for its famous Fig Newtons)?<br />
Do you like blowing money on higher<br />
tuition? Do you like a low admittance<br />
rate? If you have answered in the affirmative<br />
to these questions, then there<br />
is no doubt that Boston College is the<br />
right place for you. However, I have 7<br />
reasons why the College of the Holy<br />
Cross is a better school for anyone.<br />
1. Classics Day is native to<br />
Holy Cross. For those of you who<br />
haven’t attended one of these “Classics<br />
Days,” imagine a spectacle as<br />
marvelous Niagara Falls or the top<br />
of Mount Everest combined with the<br />
physical and mental challenges of<br />
the Olympics. You don’t see hundreds<br />
of high school and college students<br />
flooding onto the BC campus to vie in<br />
high intensity Latin competition. NO!<br />
Only at one school, Holy Cross, can<br />
you witness the most brilliant young<br />
classical minds contend for prizes<br />
and glory in events such as Certamen<br />
(in English- “competition), Chariot<br />
Racing, and Interpretation of Roman<br />
Culture. Sure BC is okay at football because<br />
of recruiting and scholarships,<br />
but do they have a Latin Team or the<br />
Bean Scholarship (a scholarship given<br />
only to a few aspiring Classics Majors)<br />
2. Tuition- If you choose to<br />
attend BC you will be approximately<br />
be spending $8000 more for Tuition<br />
and Room and Board for four years<br />
of college than at Holy Cross. Never<br />
mind the high expense of living in the<br />
Greater Boston Area. By comparison<br />
Holy Cross is much cheaper school for<br />
a very similar education. Both schools<br />
are ranked equally for Academics on<br />
collegeprowler.com. As the saying<br />
goes, “Why pay more for the same<br />
thing?”<br />
3. Do you like leaving your car<br />
in the middle of nowhere and then<br />
never seeing it again? Do you like losing<br />
your vehicle in a sea of automobiles<br />
in a multitude of massive lots?<br />
If you do, BC is an ideal place for you.<br />
However, at Holy Cross, not only will<br />
you not lose your car, but in fact you<br />
will never have trouble finding a spot.<br />
4. Do you like walking across<br />
an entire 240-acre campus to get<br />
most of his scoring from the outside.<br />
If the Celtics have any intentions of<br />
making a substantial run in the playoffs<br />
this year then they must play the<br />
second half the way they play the<br />
first half and keep their starters fresh<br />
for all the games they play.<br />
The playoff picture looks<br />
like this in the eastern conference<br />
for the first round: #1 Cavs vs # 8<br />
Chicago/ Toronto, #2 Orlando vs #7<br />
Charlotte, # 3 Atlanta vs # 6 Milwaukee<br />
and #4 Boston vs # 5 Miami. In<br />
the first round I foresee the Celtics<br />
winning their series against Miami<br />
handily and then facing the mighty<br />
Cavs in the second round. The Cavs<br />
are much to strong and deep for<br />
the Celtics to handle with guys like<br />
Antawn Jamieson and Anderson<br />
Varejao as their primary big men.<br />
Ultimately I think the Celtics will lose<br />
in six games to the Cavaliers due<br />
to the fact that no one can guard<br />
LeBron and the Celtics just don’t<br />
have the youth or the depth needed<br />
to win a seven game series against<br />
arguably the best team in the NBA.<br />
They simply cannot keep up with a<br />
fast paced team such as the Cavaliers<br />
with great bench players who<br />
bring lots of energy. The Cavs will<br />
subsequently meet the Atlanta<br />
Hawks in the Eastern Conference<br />
finals who will get by the Milwaukee<br />
Bucks in the first round and defeat<br />
the Orlando Magic in seven games<br />
in the second round. I really think<br />
the Hawks will be a major threat this<br />
postseason because of guys like Joe<br />
Johnson, Jamal Crawford and Josh<br />
Smith who just score at will and hard<br />
nosed big men such as Al Horford<br />
and Zaza Pachulia. Joe Johnson has<br />
the capability of guarding LeBron<br />
well enough to hold him to under<br />
twenty five points, which from my<br />
point of view is quite a success. In<br />
the end, the Hawks will defeat the<br />
Cavaliers in six games, moving them<br />
to the NBA finals. I think the Hawks<br />
certainly have the youth and the<br />
depth to defeat the Cavaliers.<br />
The Western Conference<br />
playoff picture is as follows: #1 Lakers<br />
vs #8 Spurs, #2 Mavericks vs #7<br />
Trail Blazers, #3 Jazz vs #6 Thunder,<br />
#4 Suns vs #5 Nuggets. Obviously<br />
the team to beat in the Western<br />
Conference is the Lakers, but there<br />
are many young, and exciting teams<br />
such as the Thunder who could possibly<br />
pose a threat to the defending<br />
champions. In the first round, the<br />
Lakers will get by the Spurs, the Mavericks<br />
will beat the Trail Blazers, the<br />
Thunder will beat the Jazz and the<br />
Nuggets will beat the suns. In the<br />
second round, the Lakers will handle<br />
the Nuggets simply because Carmelo<br />
Anthony just isn’t good enough<br />
to beat the Lakers on his own in let<br />
alone the post season. The Thunder<br />
will handle the Mavericks because<br />
the Thunder have guys like Kevin<br />
Durant, James Harden and Russell<br />
Westbrook who are both dynamic<br />
scorers and great defenders. Now<br />
the conference final is the Lakers vs<br />
Thunder. What both teams do lack<br />
in this conference final are big men.<br />
Andrew Bynum is coming off an<br />
injury and will not be at his best and<br />
all the Thunder have is Jeff Green,<br />
so it will not be a problem for either<br />
team in this match-up. In the end,<br />
from class to class? Perhaps some<br />
will say, “It’s good exercise!” However,<br />
I am a firm believer that having<br />
to sprint around everywhere is<br />
ridiculous. The much more reasonable<br />
174 acres of hilly Holy Cross<br />
is more easily navigated and the<br />
Academic buildings and wings are<br />
closer together. The smaller distant<br />
between buildings gives the student<br />
an opportunity to socialize along the<br />
way, and in doing so advancing his/<br />
her college experience.<br />
5. This school’s very name is<br />
a SHAM! Boston College is in fact<br />
not a real college. It is University<br />
because of the many graduate programs<br />
including: BC college of Arts<br />
and Sciences, BC graduate school<br />
of Arts and Sciences, BC graduate<br />
school of Social Work, BC school of<br />
Theology and Ministry, and BC Law<br />
School. Boston College also not<br />
even in Boston. It’s in Chestnut Hill, a<br />
subdivision of Newton. So if you like<br />
being lied to, then Boston College<br />
(or should I say Newton University) is<br />
the school for you.<br />
6. Purple is the new black. Everyone<br />
is wearing purple now these<br />
days including such celebrities as<br />
Professor Quirrell from the first Harry<br />
Potter, Barney, Hugh Hefner (Purple<br />
Smoking Jacket), all of the Minnesota<br />
Vikings, local celebrity Mike<br />
Nerbonne is known for his purple<br />
button-down shirts, and the list<br />
goes on. How many famous people/<br />
teams sport the maroon and gold?<br />
The Washington Redskins (the fourth<br />
worst ranked team in the NFL) and<br />
Penelope Cruz at the 2010 Oscars.<br />
That’s just about it.<br />
7. Legacy. A great percentage<br />
of the St. Sebastian’s body has a tie<br />
to Holy Cross. Some are listed below<br />
1. Nerbonne Legacy<br />
2. Albertson Legacy<br />
3. Diblasi Legacy<br />
4. C. Lynch Legacy<br />
5. Schell Legacy<br />
6. Cleary Legacy<br />
7. Donovan Legacy<br />
8. Supple Legacy<br />
9. Dudley Legacy<br />
10. Keeley Legacy<br />
11. Pantano Legacy<br />
12. O’Brien Legacy<br />
13. Sullivan Legacy<br />
14. Walker Legacy<br />
Here are 7 fantastic reasons that<br />
Holy Cross is the greatest school. I<br />
hope you make the right decision.<br />
Build your own legacy.<br />
I’m going with Kevin Durant and the<br />
Thunder just because Kevin Durant<br />
has an uncanny ability to score and<br />
his size will overpower Kobe Bryant.<br />
The finals will be the<br />
Atlanta Hawks vs the Oklahoma City<br />
Thunder. The Thunder will win this<br />
series in seven games. They will win<br />
solely because Kevin Durant and<br />
Russell Westbrook are too good of<br />
a scoring tandem and Kevin Durant<br />
is becoming one of those guys who<br />
are un-guardable.<br />
This season for the Celtics<br />
was a success in the respect that<br />
they made the playoffs but in the<br />
future, if they want to go deep into<br />
the playoffs, some changes must<br />
be in order. I do not see them going<br />
past the second round in the<br />
playoffs because of their old age<br />
and overall inability to stay healthy<br />
for long periods of time. The future<br />
looks bright with players like Rondo<br />
and Perkins but other than that, the<br />
roster is filled with thirty something<br />
guys who are injury prone. In conclusion,<br />
the draft and free agency will<br />
determine the success for the Celtics<br />
in the years to come.<br />
Boston College<br />
The horn sounds, and the maroonand-gold-clad<br />
players throw their<br />
gloves into the air in jubilation and<br />
begin to celebrate as the cameras<br />
flash all around them. Another year,<br />
another national championship for<br />
BC’s illustrious men’s ice hockey program,<br />
the team’s second title in the<br />
last three years, an amazing achievement<br />
for sure. However, BC’s success<br />
on the ice is only a tiny part of the<br />
overall, overwhelming case as to why,<br />
in the battle for the crown of Massachusetts’s<br />
premier Catholic college,<br />
Boston College beats Holy Cross in a<br />
landslide.<br />
In all sports other than<br />
hockey, BC is a member of the prestigious<br />
Atlantic Coast Conference,<br />
home to the likes of major programs<br />
like North Carolina, Florida State,<br />
Virginia Tech, Miami, and Duke, this<br />
year’s NCAA tournament champions.<br />
Holy Cross, on the other hand, plays<br />
in the rigorous Patriot League against<br />
powerhouses such as the Lafayette<br />
Leopards and the scrappy Colgate<br />
Toothpaste Raiders. Also, while BC’s<br />
team name is the Eagleswhich is basically<br />
America’s mascot as wellHoly<br />
Cross’s nickname is the Crusaders,<br />
bringing us all back to a bloody and<br />
shameful period in the history of the<br />
Catholic Church that we would all<br />
probably rather try to forget.<br />
Although BC might not be<br />
consistently be ranked in basketball<br />
or make deep runs in March every<br />
season, they nonetheless are competitive<br />
year in and year out. Perhaps<br />
the greatest indicator of BC’s expectations<br />
of success on the hardwood lies<br />
in the recent firing of head coach Al<br />
Skinner after a 15-16 campaign this<br />
past season in which they missed<br />
both the NCAAs and the NIT. Skinner,<br />
the winningest coach in BC history,<br />
had previously made it to the tournament<br />
in seven of his last ten years in<br />
addition to one NIT trip during that<br />
span. After leading his Cornell squad<br />
to the Sweet 16 this past March, new<br />
Eagles coach Steve Donahue looks<br />
like he’ll have the team poised for<br />
success for years to come. His uptempo<br />
motion offense should lead<br />
to big things for the Eagles, especially<br />
for rising junior Reggie Jackson,<br />
whose speed and explosiveness had<br />
been restrained during his first two<br />
years on the Heights because of Al<br />
Skinner’s slower flex style. While this<br />
past season may have been a relative<br />
disappointment for BC fans, they can<br />
rest assured that they’re fast approaching<br />
the light at the end of the<br />
proverbial tunnel. Holy Cross fans,<br />
meanwhile, might not be so lucky. A<br />
disastrous 9-22 season, in which the<br />
team was picked to win the league,<br />
saw the Crusaders finish second-tolast<br />
in conference.<br />
In terms of football, BC similarly<br />
reigns supreme, having made<br />
eleven straight bowl games, winning<br />
nine. With linebacker Mark Herzlich<br />
back to anchor the defense once<br />
again after beating cancer, the Eagles’<br />
D looks as strong as ever, especially<br />
with breakout star Luke Kuechly in to<br />
complement the All-American Herzlich.<br />
Holy Cross plays D 1-AA ballor<br />
Football Championship Subdivision, if<br />
you want to be politically correctand<br />
lost to eventual champion Villanova<br />
in the first round of the playoffs this<br />
past year. I can’t really get on their<br />
case for football, really, but it’s still<br />
not close to the same level of play<br />
you’re going to see on Saturdays at<br />
Alumni Stadium.<br />
While BC takes the athletics<br />
category easily, it’s far from the only<br />
reason why BC trumps its Worcester<br />
neighbor. For those looking to compare<br />
the two academically, which<br />
is what most kids are going to be<br />
worried about come decision time,<br />
BC definitely has the better national<br />
rep. BC’s name is pretty well-known<br />
throughout the country, while Holy<br />
Cross primarily only carries real clout<br />
throughout the Northeast, where<br />
the school of a little under 3,000 undergrads<br />
is better known. The result?<br />
BC’s list of famous alumni includes<br />
Senator John Kerry, Amy Poehler,<br />
sportswriters Bob Ryan and Mike<br />
Lupica, Fidelity CEO Peter Lynch, and<br />
numerous athletes, among countless<br />
others. Because of the weight the<br />
name of Boston College holds, the<br />
university received nearly 31,000 applications<br />
last year, while Holy Cross,<br />
though admittedly a lot smaller, only<br />
received 7,200. This competitiveness<br />
has led to considerably higher<br />
admissions standards for BC, with<br />
a median SAT score for admitted<br />
students of 1250-1430 out of 1600,<br />
while Holy Cross could only claim an<br />
average score between 1180-1350,<br />
a good deal lower than its counterpart.<br />
In addition, 80% of incoming<br />
BC freshmen graduated in the<br />
top 10% of their high school class,<br />
compared to 61% at Holy Cross. My<br />
brother, Seb’s alum and Class of 2003<br />
salutatorian Will Bacic attended BC<br />
and loved it, finding that it was a<br />
rigorous learning experience that<br />
prepared him enormously well for<br />
life after college. Because of the<br />
great education he received at BC,<br />
he was accepted to Harvard Business<br />
School and is currently finishing up<br />
his first year there, at the same time<br />
discovering that he has been just<br />
as well-prepared as the many Ivy<br />
League alums that he’s come across<br />
there. If that’s not a telling testimony<br />
to the high quality of education that<br />
BC provides, then I truly don’t know<br />
what is.<br />
Wait, I did mention Holy<br />
Cross is in Worcester, right? Boston<br />
College, located in beautiful and<br />
scenic Chestnut Hill, therefore also<br />
trumps Holy Cross in a third department,<br />
location. While BC may not<br />
really be in Boston, there’s tons to do<br />
in and around the campus, with two<br />
malls and many quality restaurants<br />
and things to do nearby. Conveniently<br />
located on the Green Line, BC<br />
students can easily hop on the T for<br />
a short ride into the city if they manage<br />
to get tired of Cleveland Circle.<br />
Though I don’t make regular trips<br />
out to Worcester, the junior class’s<br />
new favorite site, collegeprowler.<br />
com, did my work for me, and the<br />
results aren’t too pretty for Holy<br />
Cross people. For the category of<br />
“Local Atmosphere,” BC was graded a<br />
straight A while Holy Cross received<br />
an unfortunate C+. BC was also rated<br />
higher in terms of “Nightlife,” as the<br />
infamous Mods, though probably<br />
structurally unsafe, are party central<br />
for all rowdy Eagles. In the end,<br />
Boston College sweeps every major<br />
area of comparison between the two<br />
schools: be it academics, reputation,<br />
athletics, or student life, BC wins big.
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