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VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009 Lafayette Elementary School Sports X-treme Who Will Win XLIII?

By: Kevin Holston 5B and Adam Kulawiec 5J

An exciting weekend is ahead for NFL fans. It’s down to the four final teams--which teams do you think will win this weekend? That’s one of three questions asked of 22 students in LAP and on Team 4 earlier this week. Even though most fans consider the to be the underdog, Lafayette is definitely routing for the home team. Thirteen students say that the Ravens will defeat , while only nine think that the Steelers will win. CONTENTS In the Vs. the game, fifteen students predict that the Eagles will beat the Cardinals. Seven think the game will go the other way. Super Bowl...... 1 So the majority of Lafayette students polled foresee a Teixeira...... 2 super bowl match up of Baltimore (13 votes) against Philadelphia (15 votes). At least, that’s what their votes seem to Yankees...... 2 be saying because that’s the obvious outcome if the Ravens and Lafayette Bears the Eagles win this weekend. However when asked the BIG QUESTION--Who’ll win Win Again...... 2 Super Bowl XLIII?-- the outcome was a little different. Only three students think that the Eagles will win the Super Bowl. Rules (Two think that the Cardinals will). And in a big surprise, it was Need Change..3 a tie vote (9 each) between the Ravens and the Steelers as to who will win the whole thing. C ollege B-ball What accounts for this difference? Those 13 students who Upsets...... 4 think the Ravens will win, aren’t so sure about them winning the super bowl. Only nine see them going all the way, The other NFL Playoffs...4 four Ravens fans split their votes between the Cardinals and the Phillies to win. Steelers...... 5-6 On the other hand, the nine students who think the Steelers Jim Zorn...... 6 will defeat Baltimore see their team going all the way. Who do you think will win Super Bowl XLIII?

SPORTS X-TREME PAGE1 VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009 Yankees Get Teixeira By: Ricky Washington 6S and Alex Conte 6S

The New York Yankees started off the free agent season by getting CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett. Now they have gotten Mark Teixeira, too. The Boston Red Sox, the Washington Nationals, and the Baltimore Orioles were all in the hunt for the signing. Teixeira signed an eight-year,180- million-dollar contract with the Yankees. He started off the season playing for the Los Angeles Angels, but was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He plays first base and batted 308 last year. He hit 33 home runs and batted in 121 people, adding yet another power to the Yankees’ line up. The Yankees let Jason Giambi go to make room for Texeira. The Yankees are hoping that he will help Mark Teixeira signs with the Yankees. them acquire another championship. Yankees Get Three Highest Paid Players in Baseball By: Adam Kulawiec 5J

How much does a good baseball team cost? Ask the New York Yankees. Right around winter break, they went into the free agent season and picked out a few good players. They now have the three highest-paid players in baseball history. On Dec.18, the Yankees bought C.C. Sabathia for a seven-year, 161-million-dollar contract. The Yankees needed pitching, and last year, C.C. had 128 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA (earned run average). Although the Yankees already have a strong line-up, they needed one more strong hitter to make it complete. So on Jan. 6, the Yankees acquired Mark Teixeira for an eight-year, 180-million contract. Last year Teixeira had 33 home runs and 177 hits. The highest player paid in baseball is Alex Rodriguez who is still with the Yankees. He has a 200-million dollar contract for three years. Lafayette Boys Defeat Mann, 33-24 By: Adam Kulawiec 5J Yesterday the Lafayette boys team faced off against Horace Mann in the second game of their season. They won 33-24. Mann won the tip off and went quickly ahead by eight. Lennard Long’s free throw made Lafayette’s first score. In the second quarter, the score was quickly tied up at ten on three Lennard Long baskets. With 1:30 left in the second, the Bears were in control 18-12. With ten seconds left in the third, Robert Wright made two free throws to make it 25-24. In the last quarter, Liam Walsh made two free throws to give the Bears a three-point lead. With 1:00 left in the game, the Bears had a decent lead, and as time ran out the Bears had the ball and won. They are now 2-0,having defeated Takoma Park, 60-2.

SPORTS X-TREME PAGE2 VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009 Opinion: Change NFL Overtime Rules

By: Sam Meroney 5J

Overtime in the (NFL) has affected the outcome of many games. Most recently, it decided a playoff game when the Indianapolis Colts lost to the San Diego Chargers in sudden-death overtime.

The rules in overtime in the NFL are as follows:

Whoever wins a coin toss gets to chose if they want the ball first.

There is one 15-minute period played with sudden death rules. Whoever scores first wins.

If nobody scores at the end of the period the game ends as a draw.

I think that the NFL overtime rules should be changed to resemble the overtime rules (listed below). In the NFL, most overtime games are determined by who wins the coin toss since the team who scores first wins the game. For example, upon winning the coin toss in the NFL, you can just drive the football down the field, kick a field goal, and win the game.

In this example, the defending team does not receive an opportunity to score. In college football overtimes, each team gets an opportunity to start on offense and try to score points. , the MVP The teams continue to take turns on offense, until one of the of Super Bowl XLI, and his competing teams scores, and the other fails to respond with an Indianapolis Colts lost a equivalent score. coin toss and the playoff game to the Chargers. The college football overtime rules are as follows:

Each team will get the ball one time per overtime with no time limits. Each time one of the teams gets the ball, they start from their opponent's 25-yard line. As many overtimes as needed will be played. Do you agree that the NFL overtime rules should be changed? Write and tell us what you think by Jan. 23 and we’ll put it in the next Sports X-TREME.

SPORTS X-TREME PAGE3 VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009

Upsets In College B-Ball 8. Syracuse 16-1 1,232 9. UCLA 13-2 1,222 By: Robert Wright 6S 10. Clemson 16-0 1,153 There have been many great upsets 11. Texas 12-3 1,009 in NCAA Mens basketball. First, the #9 12. Notre Dame 12-3 1,008 Georgetown Hoyas and Coach John 13. Georgetown 11-3 908 Thompson the third beat the former #2 team 14. Marquette 15-2 752 UCONN Huskies 74- 63. Also, high up in the 15. Xavier 13-2 710 best upsets, the Boston College Eagles 16. Arizona State 14-2 573 beat the #1 North Carolina Tarheels and last 17. Butler 14-1 521 year’s MVP Tyler Hansbrough, 85-78. Now, 18. Minnesota 15-1 508 also for the first time in Pittsburgh Panther 19. Purdue 12-4 490 history, they became ranked number 1 when 20. Louisville 11-3 433 they beat Georgetown following 21. Baylor 13-2 364 Georgetown’s big win over UCONN. 22. California 15-2 299 Here are the top 25 teams as of 23. Villanova 13-3 229 January 13th according to ESPN.com. 24. Tennessee 10-4 198 1. Pittsburgh (70) 15-0 1,798 25. Michigan 13-3 153 2. Wake Forest (2) 14-0 1,686 3. Duke 14-1 1,678 4. Connecticut 14-1 1,549 5. North Carolina 14-2 1,461 6. Oklahoma 15-1 1,440 7. Michigan State 13-2 1,356 NFL Playoffs 2009

By: Ricky Washington 6S Alex Conte 6S and Benjamin Hartheimer 6FM

In the second round the number two seed lost to the number four seed The NFL playoffs have started off with Arizona Cardinals. The score was 33-13. The Panthers threw five impressive and spectacular games. For and lost a . The beat example, the Baltimore Ravens crushed the the San Diego Chargers 35-24. The New York in Miami. The final score was Giants lost to the number six seeded 27 to 9. Meanwhile the Arizona Cardinals beat Philadelphia Eagles. The score was 23-11. the Atlanta Falcons 30 to 24. Later in the day, Also, the mighty Baltimore Ravens beat the Philadelphia Eagles destroyed the the number one seeded Tennessee Titans. The Minnesota Vikings 26 to 14. Also, the San Steelers will see their rival, the Ravens for the Diego Chargers beat the Indianapolis Colts in AFC Champion spot. Also, the Cardinals will play overtime by a score of 23 to 17. the Eagles for the NFC champion spot.

SPORTS X-TREME PAGE4 VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009 Steelers Take "Charge" of San Diego By Tony Fratto 5J On Sunday, Jan. 11, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the San Diego Chargers by a score of 35-24. On the opening drive, the Chargers took an early 7-0 lead on a 43-yard pass. The Steelers and the Chargers failed to score on their next turns with the ball. San Diego was forced to on their second drive. fielded the punt and ran all the way for the game-tying touchdown. No one else scored in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Steelers were about to go for a first down on 4th and 2, when San Diego called a time-out. The Steelers decided to fake a punt and go for it. It backfired on them and San Diego had great field positioning to score. They made a field goal on this drive. The Steelers took back the lead on the next drive when quarterback Ben threw a long to . Ward was tackled short of the touchdown. The Steelers then ran the ball to for the touchdown with 40 seconds left in the half, making the score 14-10, Pittsburgh.

The Steelers came roaring back in the third quarter, scoring on their next drive. It was an eight-minute drive for a touchdown. Ben Steeler’s Santonio Roethlisberger passed to tight-end for the touchdown. Holmes resturns a They kicked off to the Chargers and San Diego thought that there was punt for 67- yards and still some life left in the game and ran a 63-yard kick return. On the gets a touchdown. first play, the Steelers intercepted quarterback Phillip Rivers when Steelers Bret Keisel swatted the ball up in the air and linebacker caught the ball for the . They took the ball to the San Diego one, it was 4th and goal and they failed to score.

San Diego came back and got the first-down right off. Then Steelers linebacker Lamar Woodley sacked Phillip Rivers on the San Diego one. The Chargers threw two incomplete passes and punted. The Steelers threw long on first down and pass interference was called on San Diego. The ball was placed on the San Diego one. The Steelers ran the ball again for a touchdown. Making the score 28-10. The Chargers returned the ball on their own 28. San Diego scored on this drive, making the score 28-17, The Steelers returned the ball on their own 27. Three plays later, the Steelers ran the ball to Willie Parker for a 27 yard gain. Later on this drive, Parker ran the ball again for another touchdown. The Chargers failed to score and punted. The Steelers went long on third down and made an incomplete pass. They then punted to the the Chargers. The Chargers threw a pass and stripped the ball but landed out-of-bounds. The Chargers threw a short pass and then ran the ball to the end zone for a touchdown. The score: 35-24, Pittsburgh. Continued on p.6

SPORTS X-TREME PAGE5 VOLUME 1, NO. 5 JANUARY 16, 2009 Jim Zorn Answers No Questions

By: Colin Trinity 5J In November, I sent a very long letter to Jim Zorn, head coach of the Washington Redskins. I wanted to write an article about his first year with the Skins. I asked him about his coaching and some of his strategies. I waited and waited. I waited nearly two months. I went down to the office every day to check for a reply. (Just ask Ms. Bright)! Finally, his reply came--and what he sent me was an autographed picture of himself!! (See picture) That’s right. After I spent almost 45 minutes on a handwritten letter to him, Coach Zorn decides that I’m some kind of maniac fan, so he sends me an autographed picture of himself! Oh, and also on the autographed picture, there was a bible quote--Proverbs 22:1. I decided to look up this bible verse since that was how he was communicating with me. It says: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” That means having a good reputation is better than being rich. So the moral to this story is if you ever send a long letter to someone famous, don’t ask questions! And if you do, don’t expect to get any answers. Contributors

Alex Conte 6S Tony Fratto 5J Kevin Holston 5B Adam Kulawiec 5J Sam Meroney 5J Collin Trinity 5J Ricky Washington 6S Steelers Vs. San Diego Robert Wright 6S continued from p. 5 Editors-in- The Chargers tried for an onside kick and a flag was Chief called on the Steelers. Then the Chargers tried again and the Benjamin Hartheimer 6FM Steelers fielded the ball. The Steelers let the clock run out to end the game. Liam Walsh 6FM The Steelers will play the Baltimore Ravens for the Conference Championship game. The Advisors Steelers and the Ravens have played each other twice in the Mr. Afsheen Benab regular season; both games were won by the Steelers. Overall, the Steelers had a great offense and defense. They Ms. Kathy Echave were definitely prepared for what they were going up against. Principal The next few games of the season are going to be exciting for all the teams left and their fans. Ms. Lynn Main

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