Lacrosse: St.John's V Syracuse

Back and forth, back and forth, that’s what the lacrosse game St. John’s played against Syracuse was like.

The red storm went on to play a great game against the No.6 ranked Syracuse Lacrosse who has 13 consecutive Big East victories, but came up short, losing 9-8 this Saturday.

The game started off slow, but the tone was set early by Colin Keegan, who scored the first goal head on with several Orange men in his way, a repeat of the previous weeks Siena game.

“It was a tough shot”, Keegan admitted, “but it went in, not sure if it set the tone of the game though”

This was his 5th goal of the season, which he made with only 3 seconds left in the man-up,due to a key turnover which he took advantage of.

Syracuse wouldn’t take this in stride, as Kevin Drew and Derek Maltz answered back, with 1 goal for the former, and 2 by the latter, all scored with less than 4 minutes remaining in the 1st period. Even after a key save and stellar defense by senior Red Stormer Harrison Freid,  the Orange got into a groove.

“Our defense was okay, coulda been better though, a lot of moments were up in the air “said Harrison Freid ,who played the best game of his St.John’s career so far with 4 ground balls.

The mixed crowd of fans erupted in both anger and pride in reaction to Maltz,scoring his 8th and 9th goal of the season.

This wasn’t before Terrence Leach made his first goal less than a minute into the 2nd period. Harry Kutner took a wild shot as Syracuse played tough defense, Leach was able to skillfully recover it,and  chuck it in for the easy point as the Orange goalie dove for the save.

Leach shared a hat trick with team mate Cernuto, who scored his first goal with around 8 minutes left in the 2nd period.

After a fast break down field, Kieran Mcardle jetted to the right of the field before he quickly tossed the ball to Cernuto, coming straight down the middle. The ball didn’t stay in his possession for more than a second before he threw it so hard he lost his balance.

“That was a crazy moment, I was going so fast, it was kind of like an automatic reaction,just shoot” Cernuto said, who was a catalyst in the 2nd half and only missed 1 shot.

Cernuto scored his 7th goal of the season seconds later due to another great assist, by Jordan Rothman who won the  face-off. The 1st half ended with momentum being in the Red Storms’ favor with a 1 point lead, but the 2nd half was an all out battle.

“The second half  was really intense, but I think we did okay under pressure”,said Leach who made 3 of his 7 attempted shots.

Leach would soon get another great assist, before Syracuse exploded.

It began with Tim Desko and DerekMaltz of the Orange burying in several goals within a few minutes, putting them up 8-6,but the Red storm tried their hardest to fight back.

“A lot was going through my mind. It was a really tough game man, really high energy , a lot of  work in the back half”, said Henry Kutner,who was only 20% from the field.

Harry Kutner would answer back with a man up goal, and impressive shot by Cernuto would follow, as he flew from behind the net ,and shot the ball without a clear look in sight right through the goalies legs, to tie the game at 8.

The Orange responded by scoring their winning goal with less than 2 minutes left, after Red storm goalie Jeff Lowman would fumble an easy recovery.

“ I knew coming in that this would be a tough one,’cuse is good, Said Jeff Lowman, who tied his season high of 15 saves, ”but we lost no matter how you bill it”

The  Red Storm is now (0-1) in the big east, and go on to face Stony Brook this Tuesday.

From One Journalist to Another

“Keep writing, stay resilient and stay sharp”, said Michael Pantelidis of the Queens Courier, when asked what advice he would give an aspiring sports reporter. He believed that one should always be writing, and to never be stagnant, you can always improve your craft.

When asked what he enjoyed most, he replied “being able to pass on my passion to whoever is out there reading my sports articles, I really get a kick out of that”. He continued “I hope the readers are enjoying specific sentences or phrases that I use, and I hope they come away from it impassioned and a greater love of sports”.

A passion that he believes he always had, he’d always had a passion for sports, and loved writing, combining the two made what he called a natural fit. When deciding what career path to choose, it seemed like a no brainer to simply combine the two activities he loves most. This natural fit ultimately led to him attending NYU, where he participated in the Washington Square News, the school news paper.

The number one mistake Pantelidis believes aspiring sports journalists in general make, is limiting themselves.”Don’t narrow your choices down to only sports writing”, he adds. Pantelidis recalls when he first started working at the Queens Courier, things were different. He remembered that for the first 3 months he was given general assignments, no specificity.”When I first got here, I did whatever story I was assigned, until I was finally able to do what I wanted”, he remembers.

He soon got some “wiggle room” and talked the paper into letting him do a Mets column which he runs, and was eventually given enough leeway began what he deems  “Soccer Roundup”. A Mets column for the Queens Courier to him seemed logical, as they are the only professional team located in Queens. This is proof that you can go from being a general assignment reporter to having your own column, which Pantelidis proudly calls “The Mets Clubhouse”.

 “Just because a job isn’t what you ultimately want to do, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take it, you know there is more than one way to get where you are going.” And even if you don’t have a job, Pantelidis thinks you should just blog, whether it be about your opinions or just sports, submitting it somewhere could get you a job.

“No matter what you do, never stop writing, you should always express yourself and be ready to share all those ideas with people, someone is bound to hear your voice eventually, you know.”In the end, in choosing a profession that you love, it won’t seem like much of job. When asked if there are any dislikes that come with being a sports writer, he hesitated for awhile, before replying, “I cant say that there are any!”, as he laughed.

Review: A Man For All Seasons

The 1966 version of A Man for All Seasons begins with the Cardinal asking to speak with Thomas More, who is played by Paul Scofield. The cardinal agrees with King Henry VIII’s plea to divorce his wife Katherine of Aragon. The King wants to divorce his wife because he believes that it is her fault that they are unable to conceive a male offspring. Without a male offspring, the King is unable to relinquish power, when that day comes.

Cardinal Wosley argues with More, because he is the only entity of the Privy Council who refuses to agree with the divorce. More admits that the pope will not allow it to happen, so Cardinal thinks it is best to coerce him into it.

Upon further visits from the King himself, More refuses to grant the annulment. This then leads to the beginning of an altercation between the two. King Henry even threatens to blackmail  Thomas More or even relieve him of his duties as a member of the Privy Council .King Henry decides to just redesigned the entire Catholic church, and names himself “supreme Head of the Church”, allowing him to do what he wants.

The aspect of this movie that struck me the most was how much it can be compared to today’s more modern government. Deception and hurt play a huge role in government back then, as it does today. Throughout the adventure, More learns that Rich, someone he thought he could trust, is actually being forced by Cromwell to eavesdrop on him.

Even as many around him prove to be fake or untrustworthy, More still holds to his morals and refuses to be led astray.More even finds his daughter with a guy she hopes to marry. However, something that is very evident in even marriages today, the two children are different religions. Thomas More refuses to allow his daughter to marry him, unless he becomes a Catholic.

What also struck me was how chauvinistic King Henry VIII was; he believed that he was above everyone else. This can be seen when he announces himself as “Supreme Head of the Church “forcing the bishops and parliament to denounce themselves.

Once King Henry gets his way and is able to marry Anne Boleyn, he cant even be happy that, he even demands that More attend his wedding. The movie ends with Thomas More being beheaded, and his head is stuck on traitors’ gate, proving that once again, the King has abused his powers.The iconic and intelligent movie raises the age old question,can a man serve two masters?

Are Magazines Doomed?

 In the age of the internet are magazines doomed?

Doomed? Not necessarily, but a decrease in revenue for magazine companies has steadily been increasing over the past few years. I believe that eventually all types of print media will become obsolete, however that time isn’t in the near future. Magazine will only be doomed if newspapers die first. For now, access to magazines has become somewhat of a hybrid, as they are available both in print or online. However, both cost money, so the company won’t lose much profit if they were only available online. Companies would in fact save money because they no longer have to spend money on the products used to physically make the magazine. Advertisers will still be able to advertise, they can provide more advertisement by using pop-ups online which force people to notice the product.

Some magazines offer the same substance both online and off, but making it free to view online. Many may think this is bad for the magazines profits; however they break even, as advertisers are able to increase their exposure. This shows that no matter what happens to the print magazine niche, the companies themselves won’t be affected much.

One of the benefits of online magazines is the fact that content can constantly be updated. If a story is developing, the facts that are currently known can be published without knowing the entire story. As more facts surface, the story can be updated accordingly. This way, magazines aren’t risking the entire “you heard it hear first” effect.

Another great benefit of the internet is interaction. Many, if not all magazines allow its readers to interact with the writers, by posting comments on the story, whether it be positive or just constructive criticism. Websites can also fulfill the aspect of  interaction by having polls, concerning topics that interest the readers. This is in the magazines interest because if people see that the magazine makes efforts to be suit the reader, they keep coming back.

The internet also allows for more forms of communication and the allowance of more space. This allows for videos to be watched, which is often easier to comprehend than print. Also, videos allow for more emotion to shine through, captivating the reader even more. Even simpler  than video, is purely a greater influx of pictures and words. More words allow the reporter to pass more information to the reader. A larger amount of pictures will help fill in all the gaps left by the story.

So, magazines aren’t doomed, YET. But today there is a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and without too much effort one can become informed on just about anything happening in the world. The Internet is leading the way in the civilized world of new information.

Wiz Khalifa Releases New Mixtape

Last week Wiz Khalifa announced the title of his first album,deemed “Rolling Papers",due march 29th. So it came as a surprise when Wiz dropped a mixtape late last night,with no publicity whatsoever titled “Cabin Fever". After listening to the tape once,I loved it and I’ve had it on repeat all day.My favorite track on it would be “Gangbang" with fellow upcoming rapper, Big Sean.Wiz shows that he is truly here for his fans and to release enjoyable music,rather than please the industry.Hopefully this 9-track freebie is just a peek at what he has planned for his debut album Although its nowhere near as good as his acclaimed “Kush and Orange Juice",  its still worth the download. Click the link to download,Enjoy! Cabin Fever

Wiz Khalifa, Bruno Mars and B.o.B Cover VIBE

The new VIBE cover is great. It’s nice to see three artists that were once considered underground now considered “pop”. What’s even cooler is seeing such a diverse group of people be able to come together, all to support music. One of the artists B.o.B, rose to fame after his song “Airplane” and was later signed by T.I’s label, Grand Hustle. Bruno Mars has had hit after hit including “Grenade” and ”Just the way you are”. My personal favorite would be Wiz Khalifa. I’ve been listening to Wiz for a few years now and it’s nice to see him get the credit he deserves. Here are a couple of quotes from each of the artists, enjoy!

WIZ KHALIFA:“Potheads and hippies, we flock. We’re peaceful as hell. You don’t hear about my concerts getting shot up or people getting beat up because they was too high and turned into a weed monster.”

BRUNO MARS:“I’m a fan of young Elvis. And I’m a fan of the story, how he freaked out white America by doing this Black rock’n’roll. He would go onstage shaking his hips, and people were freaking out. They said, “You can’t film him from the waist down.” To me, that’s fucking awesome.”

B.o.B:“My loyalty is not to any corporation; my loyalty is to the music. That doesn’t mean that I don’t work with corporations, it doesn’t mean that I don’t.”