The tennis season has come to an end, but the Spartans are proud of the adversity they overcame. photo by Kevin Fleming

The end of Regionals for the Lady Spartan Tennis Team marks the end for the 2009 season. The Tennis team competed valiantly, but came up short in the end.

Even though the girls’ tennis team season ended short, the hopes for the future are easy to come by. With this year’s team consisting of mostly underclassmen, with the exceptions of only two seniors, Kaily Blackburn and Khalae Adams, the team has next year ahead of them to grow as individuals and as a team. Some old faces coming back include Jamie Gray and Freddi Gidan who are expected to lead the team into the future.

Blackburn hopes to keep competing, this time at the next level. She was very upset that her run had to end so early, due to an unexpected sinus infection that prevented her from competing in the regional tournament. She has high hopes for the future team, and knows that most of the team will return next season.  Due to their decent league record, 5-4, the hype for the girls’ tennis team has began to grow.

The Lady Spartans hope to grow significantly with the numerous amount of new prospects for the team. Even though the season ended in defeat, you can’t defeat the passion and excitement that many Thomas Jefferson High School tennis players are now showing.

With the start of the 2009/2010 Major League Baseball season, more than a few spots on the Colorado Rockies lineup were open and up for grabs. With the first two weeks of the season in the bag, one spot has been filled for good, and that belongs to rookie center fielder and lead-off hitter, Dexter Fowler.

Fowler started the season on the bench as the backup center fielder. This all changed after Fowler got a couple starts under his belt, showing the Rockies fans that he’s ready to be a starter.

So far in the season Fowler is hitting .310 with an on-base percentage of nearly four hundred. The 6-4 180-pound sensation has been considered one the best prospects in the entire League. He has explosive speed that makes him a huge threat on the base paths. On April 27, 2008 Fowler tied a rookie record, stealing five bases in one game. Fowler stole second and third in consecutive at bats making him one of the premier base stealers in the league. His ability to read pitchers and get great jumps makes catchers tremble.

During one of his recent base stealing attempts, the Padres’ catcher Nick Hundley attempted to throw out Ryan Spilborghs at second instead of even attempting to throw out Fowler who was stealing third. Hundley decided to make a longer harder throw to second instead of a shorter throw to third, because he knew – along with the majority of the catchers in the league – that Dexter Fowler is almost impossible to throw out.
With Fowler at the top of the lineup it adds more than just a threat on the bases; with him on base pitchers will have to be faster to the plate along with constantly checking on him. With pitchers diverting their attention from the batter to Fowler, they will be more likely to make mistakes, giving the Rockies that much more of an advantage.

The skills of Dexter Fowler go far beyond just stealing bases. His way-above-average speed goes along great with his above-average arm. A common misunderstanding for speed guys like Fowler is that their speed makes up for their lack of arm strength. Not in this case; Dexter has a bonafide cannon, giving him all the skills needed to be a superb defensive outfielder.

The simple fact is that Dexter Fowler is a star on the rise; he’s a great lead-off hitter who causes havoc on the base paths, so far stealing 18 bases in 20 attempts. He has two homers right now, so he does have some power, and that power will continue to get better as he gets bigger and stronger.

The future for this young star has all kinds of promise. Watching him play is a real treat to see, and people all around the country are starting to recognize his skills. So watch out Major League Baseball, Dexter Fowler is here to stay.

Now that the baseball season is upon us, predictions for who will win their divisions are easily found. With that in mind, isn’t it about time that I join this game and throw in my two cents on the matter?

Starting in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the Division last year and nothing has changed. The Dodgers are the superior team in the division: they have better hitting, pitching, and defense than most teams in baseball and especially the other teams within their division. The Rockies and Diamondbacks could give the Dodgers a run for their money, but sadly they will come up short.

The NL Central is going to be a far closer race than in the West, but the St. Louis Cardinals come out on top, hitting their way to the peak of the Central. The Cardinals have always had a heavy hitting team that managed to play great defense. Anchored by the stellar play from last year’s MVP Albert Pujols, the Cardinals won’t have any problems scoring runs, but now that Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter are healthy, St. Louis will finally have the pitching to make a run for the title like they did in 2004 and 2006.

The NL East will be the most competitive division in the National League with the Florida Marlins coming out on top in a close race with the New York Mets. Florida set an unprecedented record last year with every member of their infield hitting more than 20 home runs, with future MVP Hanley Ramirez in the middle of it. The Marlins will do what the Rays did last year; they have a young explosive team that finally has some pitching to make them a complete team.  The starting rotation for the Marlins has greatly increased in talent this year and it is easy to say they have three studs at the top of their rotation. The Marlins have waited long and hard to reach the post season again and trust me they know this.

The NL Wild Card goes to the New York Mets. The Mets have always been a contender with superb starting pitching, great defense, and explosive hitting. They have also always lacked a bullpen, but with the signing of Francisco Rodriguez (the all time single season save holder) and JJ Putz the Mets finally have a complete enough team to make the playoffs.

Moving onto the American League West the Los Angeles Angles win the division easy. No other team can match up with the completeness of the Angles. Every other team in the AL East can either hit and can’t pitch or pitch and can’t hit. The Rangers are going to be nipping at their heals all year, but because of the lack of pitching the Angles will win fairly easily.

The AL Central is by far the weakest division in the American League and any one could come out and win. The Minnesota Twins are the most consistent team and that’s why they win the Central, but will lose in the first round of the playoffs. The Central’s lack of talent is the exact opposite of the AL East, which is full of extremely talented teams.

The AL East will turn out the same way it turned out last year. The Tampa Bay Rays win a close three-way race over Boston and New York. The Rays have uncanny defense, a highly powerful offense, and solid pitching. The Rays are a really complete team that plays way above their age. The Rays will out last the Red Sox who will come in second, winning the AL Wild Card, leaving the Yankees out of the playoffs, again.

The AL Wild Card goes to the Boston Red Sox, because it’s easy to see that they have the best starting rotation in all of baseball, but with the aging Big Papi, David Ortiz and Mike Lowell they going to have to deal with old men, and old man bodies, something the Rays won’t have to worry about for years to come.

The Playoff situation is leading to an all Florida World Series. The Rays will have the best record in the AL and will play Boston in the first round. The Rays come out on top, yes just like last year. The Angels beat the Twins in three games, easy. This leads to Tampa Bay and the Angels in the American League Championship with the Rays winning it all and heading back to the world series.

On the National League side, the Marlins will have the best record in baseball and will face off with the Wild Card winning Mets. The Marlins have too much firepower to lose, beating the Mets in a well-played divisional playoff. The Dodgers will put up a good fight against the Cardinals, but the Cardinals win going to the Division Championship against the Marlins. The Marlins win the National League to go face off with the Rays in an all-Florida World Series. The Rays win it all, capturing their first World Series in the history of the organization. They have more hitting and pitching than the Marlins, plus they have the experience from last year which gives them the edge over Florida.

Freddi Gidan will be a vital component for the rest the tennis season. photo by Kevin Fleming

The Thomas Jefferson Lady Spartans Tennis team battled adversity this past week, playing South with a diminished team. When the Spartans went to South in search of a big league win, they went with half a varsity squad.

Nonetheless, the team had high hopes and aspirations and nearly came away with the win, but ended up  losing 4-3. Leader, and four-time varsity starter Kaily Blackburn won her personal match, but was more proud of her fellow teammates and how they persevered through the tough week. Blackburn said, “I was so proud of how the girls played; half of them played their first varsity match that day, and they really gave it their all.”

That same weekend the tennis team went to the Lincoln Invitational and came away tied for third out of all the teams in the Denver Prep League. The highlight of the day was given to Blackburn; she went up against some really hard opponents and came out on top winning the entire match. She came away holding the first place trophy high above her head. With most of the season still in front of the Lady Spartans they have high hopes for the rest of this season. The Ladies gave it their best against the Patriots from George Washington last night, but came up short, losing 5-2. The inexperience of the Spartans showed last night playing a heavily senior dominated Patriots team. The season still has hope in the matches to come so watch out DPL because the Spartans are on the comeback.

Now that Jay Cutler is going to the Chicago Bears for two first round draft picks (one this year one next year), a third round draft pick and quarterback Kyle Orton, the possibilities for the upcoming season seem endless.

Now, first and foremost, Kyle Orton is not the quarterback of the future for the Denver Broncos (merely a stand-in till the Broncos make the necessary moves to bring back a successful defense in Denver).

With the college draft just around the corner, the Broncos need to focus on acquiring players who will make an impact on the upcoming season on the defensive side of the ball. Last year the Broncos scored 23 points per game. Most teams would be thrilled with that kind of offensive production, and most would assume that a team with that kind of scoring power would win games left and right. The Broncos unfortunately didn’t do so, giving up an average of 28 points per game.

The offense accounted for most of the production because of the cannon wielding Cutler, who could throw passes into slots that most quarterbacks can’t even see.    The loss of Cutler will definitely bring the Denver offense down a peg or two, but the high-octane offensive scheme of Josh McDaniels can get those pegs back, and in a HURRY! The Broncos have great weapons on the offensive side with pro bowler Brandon Marshal, soon to be pro bowler Eddie Royal, superb slot back Brandon Stokley, and two deadly tight ends in Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham. The power in the skill positions for the Broncos is second to none. With an offense that will greatly resemble the offense of the New England Patriots of old, who won three Super Bowls in the past eight years along with four Conference Championships, the Broncos can be a real contender in the years to come.

This upcoming season could be a really good first step for the Broncos on their way to establishing dominance in the NFL once again. The future for the Broncos is unclear, but this much we know: the Broncos need to draft heavy on defense for the next two years, and there are too many holes that need to be filled, especially at middle linebacker, strong safety, and corner back.

In the end, the Broncos will still be in the hunt for another good quarterback, and one answer to this search could be drafting John Parker Wilson with one of our later draft picks; perhaps one of our third round picks, as we have two. Wilson has a bonafide cannon for an arm and has a good mind for the game. He led the Alabama Crimson Tide to a 12-0 record and has the ability to command a heavy passing offense like the Broncos of the future.

Some of these possibilities could just be exactly what they are, just possibilities, and that’s what makes this season so exciting. The Broncos have all kinds of possibilities and that’s more than most teams can say, so hopefully they take advantage of the stranger-than-fiction Cutler debacle and make the rest of the NFL pay for it.

Senior Kaily Blackburn sends a powerful backhand to her opponent in TJ's 7-0 over the West Cowboys on March 19. photo by Kevin Fleming

The girls’ tennis team took to the court prior to spring break in an attempt to win two big league matches. The Lady Spartans took on the East Angels and the West Cowboys in Denver Prep League play and experienced two incredibly different results.

The Spartans went down in defeat to the Angels 7-0, losing all of their matches. They played hard but the very experienced East team clearly out matched them with high speed serves and tenacious backhanded shots.

It was the other way around against West, as the Lady Spartans won across the board devastating the Cowboys in Spartan fashion. TJ won 7-0 and had an enormous confidence boost after the big win. Sophomore Mia Nogueira is impressed by the developing team chemistry. “After every match the squad becomes closer as a unit and are building skills together.  We are getting better and better, giving us a real positive outlook for the rest of the season,” said Nogueira.

The team is going to need this new found confidence as they take on the South Rebels next Tuesday, April 7 at South at 4:15.

These past few weeks punches were thrown between newly hired Broncos coach, Josh McDaniels, and Broncos quarterback, Jay Cutler, due to trade talks involving Cutler. The chaos started after McDaniels went public trying to acquire his old quarterback from New England, Matt Cassel. The decision to go after Matt Cassel caused all variety of uproars with Cutler, who was under the impression that he was the quarterback of the future for the Broncos (some guy named Mike Shanahan told him so).

The fighting continued after a meeting between Cutler and the Broncos’ coaching staff and front office didn’t go as planned adding more fuel to the fire.

Cutler said in an interview after a meeting with McDaniels, “He [McDaniels] admitted he wanted Matt Cassel because he said he has raised him up from the ground as a quarterback. He said he wasn’t sorry about it.” After this statement, Cutler and his agent Brian Cook requested a trade. After that statement, owner Pat Bowlen commented on the whole situation saying, “I’m very disappointed. I’m disappointed in the whole picture, not just disappointed that we might lose our star quarterback.”

After the dust cleared this is what the Broncos are left with: McDaniels made a historically bad mistake even thinking about trading Cutler. The trade would have been a quarterback swap, Cassel for Cutler. This, in the first place, is a horrible trade. Cassel doesn’t match up with Cutler on the field, and that doesn’t even include the comradery that would be lost between Cutler and his young receiving core. Wanting the trade on the grounds of who a player is as a person instead of his skill level wasn’t a smart decision on McDaniels’ part.

The blame doesn’t end with McDaniels; Cutler could have handled this situation much better than he did. The young quarterback needs to look at the Broncos as his employer; and right now, under his contract, Cutler is technically property  If the Broncos decide to trade him then it’s their prerogative. Also, the youngster made too big of a deal out of rumors. The idea of the trade was exactly what it sounds like, an idea and nothing more. So a big situation was created out of a petty ordeal. The classic mountain out of a mole hill.

The blame once again doesn’t end there. Owner Pat Bowlen needs to step in and put the situation to rest. As owner he needs to intervene and settle the situation. It’s on Bowlen to reel Cutler back in and get the Broncos focused on the season and not petty feuds.

To recap, new head coach Josh McDaniels made a rookie head coach mistake. The trade idea was idiotic and shouldn’t even have been considered.  Denver Post Sports writer, Dave Krieger, said the following concerning the future of both McDaniels and Cutler, “Which is easier to replace, a 25-year-old Pro Bowl quarterback or a 32-year-old rookie coach? No contest. There are thousands of football coaches out there who have never won an NFL game, hundreds with an NFL assistant’s job on the resume, dozens with a coordinator’s job.” Well said.

I’m not saying either should leave Denver, but they both need to focus on moving past this situation.  They both need to leave the past in the past and move forward toward a great season and hopefully a playoff berth. To make this work they each need to do one thing. First, McDaniels needs to recognize that Cutler is the quarterback of this team publicly. He needs to show Cutler he has faith in him to lead this team in the upcoming season. On Cutler’s part, he needs to wipe his tears away and act like a professional athlete. The majority of the sports columnists in Colorado have come running to the side of Cutler much like Krieger did, and Cutler needs to realize this and use it to patch up his torn self-esteem. The blame is solely falling on McDaniels, but Cutler never helped the situation; he’s an adult and he needs to act like one.

If none of this happens I still say that Cutler needs to stay in Denver. The Broncos went public this week saying that they are going to meet Cutler’s demand and find a suitable trade. Regardless of that, I still believe that Cutler should stay in Denver and overcome his feuding with McDaniels.  And nowhere does it say that a player needs to like his coach in order to play well, just ask any of the players who have played under Bobby Knight, they’ll tell you.

Girls Tennis started off the season storng with a 6-1 victory over Montbello on March10. photo by Kevin Fleming

On March 12the Lady Spartan tennis team took on and handed a loss to fellow Denver Public Schools’ Montebello Warriors.

It was a dominating performance for all the tennis players, winning across the board with the exception of a forfeit by Kaily Blackburn, who was very upset at having to sit out the match. “I was really sad that I had to miss the first match of the season, but I’m really happy with how the rest of the team played, and I hope that I will be okay for next week’s match against East,” said Blackburn

The performance exhibited by these athletes is a sign of what is to come. The girls have a tough season in front of them and they hope to make the best of it. They anticipate doing what no former Lady Spartan tennis team has done before: qualifying for the Regional Tournament and making the State Tournament in May.

Willie Mays was born during a time of hatred and violence. A time when African Americans had little to no rights in their lives and the dream of being equal under the eyes of God was only two years old. He lived in a time that has plagued the history of the United States. Surrounded by acts of violence and intimidation, he still fought his way to the spotlight and proved himself to be that best athlete that ever played baseball.

Willie Howard Mays Jr. was born in Westfield, Alabama on May 6, 1931. From the time that he was a child it was abundantly clear that Mays was destine to play baseball. He watched with great anticipation of the future to come as his father and his industrial league teammates practiced and played while he waited for his turn to shine. From the beginning of his life he had a fascination of the game and all of its qualities. He loved that fact that one person can’t win a game but a team effort was needed above everything else.

He started his career like the rest of the great black players of the time, participating in the Negro Leagues. His career began with the Chattanooga Choo-Choos in Tennessee and later the Birmingham Black Barons. It wasn’t long before the hype of his talent was picked up by the radar of major league scouts. The first team to see Mays was the Boston Braves who inevitably passed on him leaving the door wide open for the New York Giant’s. He was quickly signed and was sent straight to the Giants AA team in Trenton, New Jersey. He only spent one more year in the minor leagues before he made his Major League debut. During his first games for the Giants he had a stunning .000 average going 0 for 12 in his first twelve at bats. It wasn’t until Hall of Famer Warren Spahn faced off with him that his true talent was unveiled. He took Spahn deep to dead center field at the Polo Grounds, which measured over 430 feet; a massive home run by today’s standards, revealing his destiny for greatness.

He went on to win the rookie of the year over the likes of the great Mickey Mantle. His career continued to amaze, as Mays got better and better, becoming the first real five-tool athlete. He could hit for a high average, hit for power, run, field, and throw. By the end of his stunning career he played in 21 All- Star Games, winning two All-Star Game MVP awards. He proved himself to be the best player during his era, batting over .300 lifetime with 660 homeruns, and 3,283 hits, making him one of the first members of the 600 homerun and 3000 hit club. He did it in the field as well, winning 12 gold gloves defining his defensive greatness in center field. He only won the World Series once, but that’s more than most can say, to go along with his two Most Valuable Player of the year awards.

In the end, Willie Mays stands at the top of the greatness pyramid making it extremely easy to say that he is the best that ever played. He did it all: hitting, throwing and being one of the scariest guys on the base paths, stealing 338 bases during his 22 year career that was cut short by his tour in Korea because of which he missed over 250 games taking away half of the 1952 season and all of the 1953 season.

Willie Mays was more than a baseball player in his time; he was and icon of what was to come in America. He proved that there was more to life than what color a person’s skin was. He played hard, honoring the game and showing the world that all men are created equal, (except for on the baseball field where no man could match his talent and skills).  Even Ted Williams admired him saying, “They invented the All-Star Game for Willie Mays.” He was and still is a great man who once said in an interview during his Hall of Fame induction speech when a journalist asked him who the best player he had ever seen was Mays answered with a slight grin on his face, “I don’t mean to be bashful, but I was.” And he was absolutely correct. So Willie Howard Mays Jr, I salute you as the best player of your decade, the best player of the century, and the best player the world has ever seen.

photo by Kevin Fleming

This past week Sports Illustrated announced that future hall-of-famer Alex Rodriguez, A-Rod, tested positive for an anabolic steroid and a growth hormone during the 2001 through 2003 Major League Baseball seasons, during which time he played for the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez went public after the fact to say that he was, “…a stupid kid who wanted to prove that his quarter of a billion dollar contract was worth the money.” He went on to say that he has been clean ever since, and from those days went on to have the best seasons of his life, winning three MVP awards.

This release of information contradicted what the all-star said in a 2007 interview with Katie Curic, when we announced to the whole country that he had never taken, ingested, or was even tempted to take steroids throughout his historic carrier. Apparently, he lied.

The question that is circulating through the hearts and minds of baseball fans all across the country is, what will the reproductions be? Should he have an asterisk next to his all-time stats, or just the years when he was juiced? Will he get to continue playing baseball? Will he be in the Hall of Fame? Nobody knows the answers to these questions. As of now the Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig said they cant punish someone for something that they did five years ago. He went on to say, “What Alex did was wrong and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and reputation. While Alex deserves credit for publicly confronting the issue, there is no valid excuse for using such substances, and those who use them have shamed the game.”

The plain truth of the matter is that he cheated and he should be punished accordingly. He dishonored the game and he has to live with that for the rest of his career. He now can stand proud with the other members of the juiced era including Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Rodger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa. The only difference between A Rod and Clemens and Bonds is that he won’t go to prison for it, unlike those guys who lied in front of a Grand Jury, thereby committing perjury.

The actions of Alex Rodriguez will haunt him forever, tainting any future record that he will or won’t break. It doesn’t matter if he was juiced early in his carrier and only did it for a small amount of time, he still cheated and, as Bud Selig said, he shamed the game. He shamed the game taking steroids while the other 99% of MLB players didn’t take any performance enhancing drugs. As a baseball player I know how grueling the game can be and how it wears on the body. This is what separates the high-level athletes from every one else. We put up with sore muscles and we find ways to keep playing. If everyone took steroids, we would all be the same and that’s why it’s cheating. It takes away from the natural hard work that the rest of us put in day in and day out without the help of any illegal performance-enhancing drugs.

In the end, the whole country now knows what the true colors are of A-Rod, regardless of his punishment or lack of punishment. Henceforth the nation knows him as a cheater and he has to live with that, which just might be penalty enough. So long to the days of A- Rod and a not-so-welcome to the days of A- Fraud.