Zydrunas Ilgauskas Reunited With Cavaliers

Did you really think that he would go anywhere else? The franchise leader in games played for the Cavaliers returns to the only team he has known. After being traded to the Washington Wizards, Zydrunas (Also known as "Big Z") was released by the Wizards and remained a free agent for a while until he was eligible to be resigned by the Cavaliers. Although Big Z's stats don't exactly pop out at you, the Cavaliers could use his size (He's 7'3) to match up against other centers in the post season. Big Z could also be used to give Shaq O'neal, the starting center for the Cavs (And a NBA legend) a breather off the bench.  

Shaq's Thumb Showing Improvement

With the playoffs drawing ever closer, there has been an update on Shaq's thumb injury, which has kept him out of the action since February 25th since injuring his thumb in a game against the Boston Celtics. Previously, I wrote an artical about the initial injury to Shaq's thumb, shortly after it was injured. (Click here to read it.) Shaquille is now finished with his surgery and working on strengthening his thumb. He is still not traveling or playing with the team, but the Cavaliers expect him to be back on the court in time for the playoffs.

Interview With Mr. Hannigan, Track Coach

With the 2010 track season within arm's reach, I interviewed Michael Hannigan, one of the coaches of the track team, to see what his thought on this season were.

Lockman: Will Henkle have a good track team this year? Why?

Hannigan: "There are four track teams to Henkle, 7th grade boys, 7th grade girls, 8th grade boys, and 8th grade girls. How each team does depends on the team. I think that the 8th grade girls will be very good this year, and whether or not the 8th grade boys have a good team depends on how many kids sign up for track.
I think that the 7th grade boys have speed, not size. That could hurt them in throwing events but help them in running. 
As for the e7th grade girls, I'm sure yet, it all depends on the turnout." 

Lockman: What is the most important quality of a track team? 

Hannigan:  "A drive to improve one's self. Even though track is technically a team sport, it is most important that every kid on the track team puts forth the effort to improve."

Lockman: What is the overall best part of track?

Hannigan: "The suffereing you take as a group. That may sound wierd but it is a good feeling knowing that you and your fellow teammates have endured a challenge as a group."

Lockman: Any other comments? 

Hannigan: "I hope that we have good weather this year. Last year had the worst track weather I've seen in a long time. There were days that we were just standing for hours in horizontal rain."

If you want attend Henkle Middle School and want to sign up for track, you can just ask Mrs. Owens for the sign-up sheet during P.E.

To finish this article, I would like to thank Mr. Hannigan for taking the time to let me interview him.

Henkle Middle School Book Fair

Henkle Middle School is having a "Buy One, Get One Free" book fair in the library, and there are lots of great deals.  There are many different types of books, posters, computer games, and other merchandise. The last day of the book fair is Wednesday March 10th, so hurry in!

HMS Track Season

Track season starts the first day after returning from spring break, and I'm starting to get excited! Coaches this year will be Steve Larson and Michael Hannigan. Steve Larson was also coaches of the 8th grade boys basketball team, and Michael Hannigan coaches the girls seventh grade basketball team. Like in basketball, expect reviews for all of the track meets this year.

Teryaki And Pepperoni Sticks; 1 For A Dollar!

Teryaki and pepperoni sticks are being sold by, me, Ryan Lockman, at the price of 1 dollar each. The money goes to the local boy scout troop who provide the teryaki sticks. The money that each scout makes will be put toward his summer camp fees. My first pack of 24 teryaki sticks were sold to other HMS students within three hours. If you are a Henkle student who would like to buy one, please find me in school and ask. There is also a possibility that I will soon be selling large candy bars for $2.00. As of right now, I am waiting for my next order to be arrived so I can bring the food to school, and there is already a list of long list of people who have reserved teryaki sticks.

Does Lebron's Number Change Give Us A Clue To His Free Agency Plans?

There is much speculation as to what team's jersey Lebron James will be wearing in 2011, (Due to free agency) but there is almost no speculation about what number he will be wearing. After spending the last few months contemplating his decision, Lebron James has filed his paper work for a number switch from 23 to 6. 

Lebron says that he is switching numbers out of respect for NBA legend Michael Jordan. Lebron has been wearing number 23 since his sophomore year of high school, with the exception of wearing number 6 when playing for the olympic basketball teams. There are three reasons why Lebron says he choose number 6 to switch to: 

1. His second favorite player, Julius Erving wore number. 
2. His first child was born on October 6th.
3. His second child was born in June, which is the 6th month of the year.

Although the NBA has the right to veto Lebron's number change request, it is unlikely that they will. Number changes often spike jersey sales to NBA fans, which the NBA would benefit from. 

Lebron James believes number 23 should be retired by the NBA in the way that Jackie Robinson's 42 is retired by MLB and Wayne Gretzki's number 42 is retired by the NHL. Right now, there are 12 other players in the NBA wearing number 23, with the most notable of which being Jason Richardon, Kevin Martin, and Marcus Camby, and Lebron is hoping that he can start a movement in which all 12 players switch numbers. Lebron says that he will be starting a petition for the retirement of Michael Jordan's 23.

 If you read between the lines about Lebron switching numbers, I think he may have unintentionally given us a hint about his plans for this summer.. NBA rules say that in order to switch numbers during the regular season, you have to file the request with the league office. However, when you switch teams, (Such as through free agency.) players are free to switch numbers with filing a request. Do you think if Lebron was planning to move to another team this summer he would really change his number now, with two months left in the season, rather then when he switches teams? I might be wrong, but this might mean that Lebron is planning to stay in Cleveland for next year with his new number 6 jersey.

Top 10 Injury Ruined Careers

So we all know that Tracy Mcgrady's amazing career has been ruined by an injury, but he is definietly not the first player to have a great career stolen from him. Some for injuries, some for other reasons. Here are the 10 best players to be ruined by injuries, or in some cases, even worse dilemmas.

10. Sam Bowie: Lets review the 1984 draft: 1st pick= Hakeem Olajuwan; 2nd pick= Sam Bowie; 3rd pick=Michael Jordan....(later picks) Charles Barkley...John Stockton. What is Sam Bowie doing on this list of all time greats? The Portland Blazers decided to satisfy their need for a big man instead of drafting Jordan, Barkley, or Stockton. How did Sam Bowie turn out? He was injured just about every single season, and he averaged 10.9 points throughout his career.

9. Shawn Kemp: So maybe his career wasn't ruined by injuries, but it was still ruined. When Shawn played for the Seattle Sonics, his leaping ability and creative dunks would send other players fleeing the scene in order to avoid ending up on a poster. After 7 great years in Seattle, he was traded to the Cavaliers. Upon joining the Cavs, it became blatant that Shawn was lacking effort. Weight also became an issue.  Even so, Shawn did all right in Cleveland, but when he was traded yet again, this time to the Portland Trailblazers, his career went down the drain, as his first season on the Blazers was cut short as he entered drug rehabilitation for his addiction to coccain. After that, he never was able to send defenders running like his days in Seattle.    

8. Bill Walton: We all know that Bill Walton is in the NBA Hall Of Fame, but that doesn't mean that his career was not limited by injuries. Numerous ankle injuries forced him to retire much earlier then he should have. After his basketball career, Bill Walton had both of his ankles fused.

7. Jamal Mashburn: Jamal was the fourth youngest player ever to score 50 points in a game. Everyone had high hopes for the "Monster-Mash", but when knee injuries hit, he was was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Miami Heat, where he more or less faded into obscurity.

6. Shaun Livingston: Every thing was going fine for Shaun Livingston. He was a fourth overall draft pick and was the Western conference's rookie of the month. Then, after coming down from a layup, he bent his knee in a way know body part should ever be bent. If you look up the video clip, you can see the video of Shaun coming down after a layup and landing sideways so his momentum forced his body sideways over his knee. (Search "Shaun Livingston knee injury" on Youtube.) Shaun has tried many times to come back into the NBA, but he just can't play at all anymore. His knee really killed his career. Some doctors have recommended having it ammputated. He is still technically an NBA player, but he no team is willing to sign him and he is therefore a free agent.

5. Len Bias: Remember how I said earlier that some the players had their careers ruined for other reasons, well Len Bias had a career ruined by "another reason." Shortly after being drafted second overall by the , the two time all American died of cardiac arrhythmia due to coccaine overdoese. Len never got to play a game in the NBA.

4. Reggie Lewis: Like Len Bias, Reggie was not injured. (Such as breaking a bone.) but Reggie Lewis definietly died a different and much more respectable way then Len Bias. In the opening game of a playoff series against the Hornets, the team captain of the Boston Celtics was running up the court when he suddenly collapsed on the floor. After being rushed to the hospital, Reggie was told that he had a heart condition that would prevent him from playing in the NBA. Reggie wanted to get a second opinion on the topic so he went to another hospital and was told that he had a minor and very common heart disorder, and that he would be able the keep on playing in the NBA. With that, Reggie had a choice; risk his life to continue prestigious basketball career or retire from the NBA and play it safe. Reggie choose option one, continue his career. Unfortunately for Reggie, his decision turned deadly, as he died 27 years old during an off season workout. There were rumors that Reggie's death was related to drug abuse, but doctors found his heart problems to be inconsistent with the affects of abusive drugs.

3. Penny Hardaway: Isn't it ironic that when Penny Hardaway was a kid, his grandma tried to steer him toward basketball instead of football because she didn't want Penny getting hurt? Penny Hardaway was once touted with unlimited potential, but after four surgeries, each taking away more and more of Penny's trademark quickness and jumping ability, Penny was never the same again. No longer did he have unlimited potential, instead, his career crash landed. Even though Penny retired in 2007, he had never had a season of significance since 1998, when he was voted into the NBA all star  game for the fourth and last time.

2. Tracy Mcgrady: There was a time when T-Mac was easily the best player in the NBA, much better then Kobe. There was also time when he could pull a team back from playoff defeat by scoring 13 points 35 seconds. (That's not and exageration, he really did against the San Antonio Spurs.) There was even a time when he won two scoring titles in a row. Yet even though Tracy Mcgrady is so great, he has been injured so much that never in his 11 year career has he been able to play all 82 games of the NBA season. Tracy was once known for having the explosiveness and leaping ability to dunk over players much bigger then him, but now he has to settle for soft layups and drawn fouls.

1. Grant Hill: When asked the question as to who would take Michael Jordan's place as the NBA's brightest star, everyone had just one answer: Grant Hill. At first, he was living up to all the hype. In his first 6 years, Grant Hill had points, assists, and rebounding totals that where only overshadowed by Larry Bird and Oscar Robertson in their first years. Then, his NBA career was derailed in a big way by five surgeries, plus hernia and groin issues. One of the operations almost killed Grant when he acquired a staph infection during an operation. Grant Hill may never reach his full potential, but Grant Hill has definietly showed his determination by coming back to play in the NBA after all of the surgeries he has had to go through.

Toughest to Omit: Greg Oden: Even though the Trailblazers could have drafted Kevin Durant, who was the quickest player to 40,000 points, the Blazers decided they would rather have another injury plauged center then a team changing superstar. Greg Oden could still turn his career around, but it is unlikely that he ever will and even more unlikely that he will ever catch Kevin Durant. Does anyone see the resemblance to the 1984 draft choice of Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan?

Easiest To Omit (That Could Be On This List): Even though Yao Ming could probably be on this list, I decided to disclude the 7'6 footer for one main reason. Even though he has never played a full 82 game season, he probably plays more games per year then any other player in the NBA. Why? Because his contract with China says that during the offseasons, Yao must return to his homeland to play in a Chinese league. So basically, China's biggest export (Pun intended.) never gets a break for all of the sores and aches he gets to heal. Many players would probably have the same injury problems if they played all year long. 

So what does this all mean? Well, for Shawn Kemp and Len Bias, it means that they could have had great careers if they had had just kept their heads on straight. For Reggie Lewis, it means that he made the choice to risk his life in order to play basketball, and it proved fatal. Lastly, it means the Blazers need to stop drafting injury prone centers instead of superstar swingmen. (Such as Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan and the Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.)

Shaq O'Neal Possibly Done For The Season

In a recent game against the Boston Celtics, Shaquille O'Neal injured his right thumb when it was hit by Glen Davis of the Celtics who was attempting to block his shot. Shaq has previously injured the same thumb in 1995, when he was playing for the Orlando Magic. The injury had kept him off the roster for 22 days.

In case you have not already heard, Shaq is quite possibly the most dominant player in recent history. The seven footer has an very long list of accolades such as  four NBA Championships, 3 Finals MVP awards, a regular season MVP award, a Rookie Of The Year award, 15 all star appearances, and two scoring titles. The Cavaliers acquired him recently to contest with other star post players such as Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, and Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol, both of the Los Angelos Lakers. Both of those two teams seemed like the biggest obstacles bewteen the Cavaliers and an NBA Championship. (Orlando defeated the Cavaliers in the playoffs last year; and the Lakers were NBA Champions last year.)

Even though Shaq is 37, and is starting to show the effects of his 18 years in the NBA. (His season averages are no where near what they used to be.) Nonetheless, he has  proved his worth to the Cavaliers by being a key factor in the 5 games the Cavs have played against the Lakers or Magic this year, 4 of which the Cavaliers have won. With recent addition Antawn Jamison, another quality post scorer, the Cavaliers should be fine until the playoffs without Shaq, but they might have trouble against the Magic or Lakers without him.

Although the Cavs are not sure when Shaquille will recover for from the injury and resulting surgery, but there are only seven weeks left until the playoffs start, and surgeries like this typically take from six to eight weeks to recover from. If the Cavs don't end up winning it all this year, the face of the franchise, (And maybe even the NBA!) will see another reason to test the waters of free agency this summer. Yep, that's right, if the Cavs don't win a championship, don't expect Lebron James to stick around.

Miscellaneous Piece Of Information About Shaq: In addition to being a legendary basketball player, Shaq is also a rapper, actor, reserve police officer and U.S. Deputy Marshal.

Chile Earthquake

Chile has been hit with a magnitude 8.8 earthquake. There are 708 deaths confirmed. For more information, look for the World News portion of the website near the top of this page.

Henkle Middle School vs. Stevenson

As the minutes ticked down much too quickly on our season, you couldn't help but have a little bit of hope that Henkle's 7th graders, who have not won a game this year, could beat Stevenson's undefeated 7th graders, and make for a story book ending to the 7th grader's less then stellar season. But as the 7th graders walked off the court after their 17-37 loss, there was no story book ending here. In the small gym at just about the same time the 7th graders finished their game, the blended team finished just one point short as they lost 24-25. For the final game of the night, the eighth graders were beaten 39-52 as the crowd at Henkle was almost silent. So now that basketball season is over, all I can do is start counting off the days next season starts, a season that can only be better.

Henkle Vs. Jemtegaard

This was the game everybody had their hopes high for, the game when Henkle Middle School's 7th grade team would finally win their first game. The outcome of the seventh grade game? Henkle 21 Jemtegaard 24. Yes, a three point loss, same as last time against Jemtegaard. It was a close game all the way, but, Jemtegaard managed to steal another game from Henkle. Unless Henkle's seventh grade team manages to beat Stevenson at home, whom they previously lost to by 30 points, the seventh graders could end up never winning a game. As for the eighth graders from Henkle, they got blown out. Henkle's blended team was beaten aswell, but not badly.

Nate Robinson Now A Celtic

This year's dunk contest champion, the 5'9 Point Guard Nate Robinson has been recently traded from the New York Knicks to the Boston Celtics. Boston sends Eddie House, (A feared three point shooter) J.R. Giddens (Scrub) and Bill Walker (Scrub) to the New York Knicks in return for the high octane, high flying, high intensity, Nate Robinson, who became the only NBA player ever to win the dunk contest three times after he won the contest this year. Nate has been criticized in the past for being too much of a scorer to be a solid point guard, but I think that he has now figured out the correct balance between scoring and setting up teammates. Even though Nate is obviously a very skilled point guard, don't expect him to start over Rajon Rondo, a 2010  all star and the current Celtics starting point guard. If Robinson can fit into his role as an energy player off the bench, which compliments his high flying style, expect him to be a valueable asset to the Celtics.

Tracy Mcgrady Headed To New York

Tracy Mcgrady, the injury prone superstar is now playing for the New York Knicks. Personally, I am a big Tracy Mcgrady fan. (Click here to see the article I made about him) For Tracy, this means more playing time, which he has had trouble finding so far this year. See below for trade details. I will rate each player in the trade on a scale of 1-10, with a player like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant considered a 10. (In case you haven't heard of these players) Look for the rating after the player's name.

Houston Rockets Recieve: Kevin Martin (7) and Hilton Armstrong (1) from the Sacremento Kings; and Jared Jeffries (5) and Jordan Hill (3) from the New York Knicks, as well as the rights to the Knicks first round draft pick in 2012.

Analysis: The key here is that the Rockets have gotten rid of Tracy Mcgrady's massive contract, (The highest in the NBA on a year to year basis) and get the all star quality Kevin Martin and the defensive stopper Jared Jeffries.

New York Knicks Recieve: Tracy Mcgrady, (9, when not injured) from the Rockets and Sergio Rodrigeuz, (4) from the Kings.

Analysis: Tracy Mcgrady, once the NBA's brightest star must prove his value to the Knicks. If the Knicks are pleased with what they see in him, the will extend his contract, but his salary will only be a fraction of what it was before. If Tracy shows that the injury's have stolen too much from his skill, then the Knicks will easily release him when his contract expires at the end of the season and use the money to go after another superstar, such as Lebron James or Dwayne Wade.

Sacremento Kings Recieve: Larry Hughes (6.0) from the Knicks, Carl Landry (6.5) and Joey Dorsey (5) from the Rockets.

Analysis: Though it will be hard for the Kings fans to accept the departure of Kevin Martin, who has been the face of their struggling franchise for the past few years, they will eventually come to accept Larry, Joey, and in particular, Carl Landry, a tough competitor in the post that could is still on his path to becoming a star player. If the Kings fans liked Kevin Martin, they'll learn to like the hustle, toughness, and competiveness of Carl Landry.

Cavaliers Acquire Antawn Jamison

As I write this article, the trade deadline is just over 17 hours away, and another blockbuster trade has gone down. In a three team trade involving the Cavaliers, Wizards, and Clippers, the Cavaliers just may have gotten the player they needed to clinch a championship. In the trade, the Clippers recieved Drew Gooden from the Washington DC Wizards. Drew Gooden had just been traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Wizards a few days earlier. Headed to DC are the hard working Al Thornton from the Clippers and the unproven, unheralded rookie Emir Preldzic from the Cavaliers, aswell as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who had played every game of his "good, not great" career for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cleveland Cavaliers, the final team in this trade, gained the most from it. Two time All Star Antawn Jamison aswell as former first round draft pick Sebastian Telfair. Now that the Cavaliers have another All Star in Antawn Jamison and a solid player in Sebastian Telfair, I think that this is the year that the Cavaliers will finally win their first championship, which could make the face of the franchise, (And the best player in the NBA today) Lebron James feel more compelled to stay in Cleveland rather then become a free agent. (His contract expires at the end of this season.)

Portland Trailblazers Recieve Marcus Camby

At the time that I am writing this, the trade deadline is less then a day away, and another big trade has just gone down. The Portland Trailblazers recently traded Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw to the Los Angelos Clippers for the 6'11, former Defensive Player Of The Year. This trade is so vital to the Blazers right now because both of their centers, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla are currently injured fir the season. Up until now, the Blazers had inserted small forward Juwan Howard into the center position and managed to scrape by with that setup. That may work in the regular season, but in a tough playoff series, Juwan will most likely be overwhelmed by the league's larger and more physical centers. Enter "The Cambiman." Marcus seems like the perfect solution to Blazers problems, giving them size, strength, rebounds, and defensive intimidation. Another great thing about Marcus is that he does not have any ego to speak of and doesn't require the ball very often on offense. Lets face it; Marcus is not exactly a potent offensive scorer, but the Blazers don't need him to be. Add to that the fact that the Blazers won't exactly miss Steve Blake or Martell Webster, neither of whom have consistently been in the starting lineup this year. (The starting point guard is Andre Miller, and the starting small forward is Travis Outlaw.) To sum up the trade in one word: Perfect. The Blazers get exactly what they need and give up what they can replace.

Big Midseason Trade

With the trade deadline approaching, teams at this point are trying to make trades that will take their team to title contention level aswell or trying to free up salary cap space for the 2010 legendary free agent class. When the Mavericks acquired Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler, and Deshawn Stevenson from the Wizards, they jumped from a playoff status team to the one of the top teams in the league.The Wizards basically gave those players away, all of whom were once viewed as key pieces to a dynasty along with Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas. Well, it looked like a dynasty on paper anyway; Gilbert Arenas, the superstar and franchise player on the team was plagued by injury's, and was recently suspended for the rest of this season for bringing guns to the Wizard's stadium in DC. After Gilbert was suspended, the Wizards realized that the dynasty was never going to happen and is now just shipping away the pieces. The Wizards acquired Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, James Singleton and Quinton Ross, but even more important to the Wizards, they cleared up cap space so that they could potentially sign a big free agent. In 2011, when Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony becomes a few agent, and the ordeal about "Gilbert's Guns" finally fades, Carmelo could possibly headed for Washington DC. Dallas on the other hand, will benefit from the trade in the near future. The trade gives them three starters and two outside scorers to compliment Dirk Nowitski, the career scoring leader of the franchise. This trade could put the Mavericks right up there with the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets as the top team in the Western conference.

Henkle Middle School Vs. Hockinson (Second Time)

Remember my article from last time Henkle played Hockinson? (If you don't remember it, click here to view it.) About how all three Henkle teams got blown out? Well this game, two of the teams got blown out but the seventh graders lost by four points in a crushing defeat. (Henkle 25-Hockinson 29)  Yes, the eighth graders and blended teams did get blown out, but neither of them were beaten as badly as last time. What does this say for all three Henkle teams? That they have shown massive improvement this year. Still, while the Blended team has won twice, and the eighth graders coming up with a win last game, the second game against Canyon Creek, the seventh graders are the only team yet to win a game. With one game left in the season, the seventh grade team has high hopes for their final game against Jemtegaard, who they only lost to by three points last in their last game against them. Especially considering the improvement that the seventh graders have shown since the last time they played Jemtegaard, I really think that the seventh graders could pull out a victory in their final game of this season.

Tracy Mcgrady's Letter

If you haven't heard of Tracy Mcgrady, it's beause for the past couple of years, he seems to have always been injured. He wasn't always like that though. Tracy Mcgrady was once one of the most explosive scorers in the NBA. This false letter from him is my interpretation of he might want to say to NBA fans just about now, in the letter, when I say "I" or "me," I am refering to Tracy Mcgrady.


Hey! Remember me? Tracy Mcgrady, "T-Mac?" That's right, now you remember. Perhaps your more familiar with my cousin, Vince Carter? Remember when I was a scoring sensation? When I was dunking over 7 footers? I was once the young guy with unlimited potential, the guy who became a youtube sensation when he scored 13 points in the last 35 seconds to beat the Spurs in a playoff game? Yea, that's me, the guy who has just about every Orlando Magic single game scoring record. Too bad that I was so explosive that my body started to break down. It started in 2006, two years after I was traded from Orlando to the Houston Rockets. Numerous back spasms caused me to miss a couple games, but it was no big deal, I was still scoring a bunch. The 2007 came, and I was still having back spasms, and I could explode anymore. So I went to a doctor, and had "Synergy Release Therapy" to cure my back problems. After that, it seemed like I would be back on track, but geuss what? More injuries. Not my back this time, now my knee and shoulder. In 2009, I had to end my season in order to have microfracture surgery on my knee. Now I've been traded to the New York Knicks. Maybe my career will take off in New York. After this year, my contract expires and I will be a free agent. Alot of teams are going to concentrate in signing, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, Amare Stoudemire, Dirk Nowitski, Paul Pierce, and many more big name players. Is any team going to remember me? Is any team going to remember the two time NBA scoring title winner? If only my explosiveness wasn't too much for my body, I would still be a big name player too. Unfortunately, I haven't played an unhindered season since 2004, and now I am probably going to go down as one of the greatest "what if" case in NBA history.

New Jersey Nets Deficet

Wow! I don't think it's healthy for a team to be this bad. Out of 52 games played this year, the New Jersey Nets have won 4. Nobody expected the Nets to be a good team this year, especially when they trade their franchise player Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic, but nobody expected them to be this bad either. If you look at the roster, the Nets don't even have that bad of a team. They have an All Star point guard in Devin Harris, and  a promising second year center in Brook Lopez, plus a Yi Jianlian, a 7 foot forward from China also in his second year in the NBA. The Nets certainly arn't playoff material, but there definitly not as bad as they have been playing. If the don't improve their record, they are on track to set the record for the least wins in a season, which currenty stands at 9 wins and 73 losses, which is more then double the amount of wins that the Nets have right now. This year features a legendary free agent class, in which Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson, and other superstars will have expired contracts meaning that they can be signed by other teams. By trading Vince Carter and his contract, the Nets had planned to give themselves more money to sign free agents with, but no superstar is going to want to sign with a team this bad. So if the Nets don't get their record straightened out, it could hurt them for years to come.

Nba All Star Game Outcome

Wow! What a game! This year's All Star game featured a two point victory for the East in a game that set a record for the most attended NBA game ever. It's not often that All Star games are decided by so few points. What decided the contest were the four very clutch free throws made by the East late in the game, two by Dwayne Wade, and two by Chris Bosh. The MVP of the game was Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat, (See picture to the right) who lead the game with five steals. Most All Star games give players an oppurtunity to play with a different style then they usually do, and this year was no exception. Deron Williams is not considered to be a highflyer, but he had two stellar dunks in this year's game, both of them two handed power dunks. Dwight Howard (6'11 tall) also showed us another side of his game; primarily a post scorer, Dwight Howard drove the length of floor for a coast to coast dunk and also hit a three. To sum this year's All Star Weekend up, my final thoughts are that even though the other All Star Weekend events were not as exciting as usual, this year's All Star game was the stuff of a legend.

All Star Add-Ons Outcome

Slam Dunk Contest: For the third time, the 5'9 Nate Robinson has won the Slam dunk competition. In doing so, becomes the player to do so in the history of the dunk contest. Previously I said that I predicted the champion would be either Shannon Brown or Nate, (See All-Star Dunk Off.) and was right, partially. Although there were high hopes for Shannon Brown, both of his dunks failed to impress, and he was unable to leave the first round. Gerald Wallace, like Shannon failed to leave the first round, although he did have a nice reverse two-handed dunk. So that leaves Demar DeRozan, who barely made into the dunk contest, and Nate Robinson going into the final round, Demar, aided by the only perfect score in this year's with his second attempt in the first round. In the final round, Nate Robinson came snagged the most of the fans votes to win his third dunk contest. Overall, other then Nate setting a record, this year's dunk contest was a bit unspectacular, especially compared to last year, with Dwight Howard Superman cape and Nate Robinson's "Kryptonnate" jersey, which brough the contest to a whole new level. Even though Nate has won more dunk titles, the dunk contest need Dwight Howard because of the excitement he brings to the dunk contests.

Foot Locker Three Point Shootout: This year's shootout was won by Paul Pierce, who's 20 points beat rookie Stephon Curry's 17. Making it out of the first round was Paul Pierce, Chauncey Billups, and Stephen Curry, with Danillo Gillanari, Channing Frye, and last year's champion Daequan Cook eliminated in the first round. Stephen Curry's dad, Dell Curry competed in the three point shootout when he was in the NBA, but never made it out of the first round, unlike his son.

H.O.R.S.E: Every time that the All Star H.O.R.S.E. competition has been held, it has been won by Kevin Durant. Never mind the fact that the competition was first held just last year. (The actual game has been around for years, but it was added to all star weekend last year.) After Kings rookie Omri Casspi was eliminated by Rajon Rondo, the competition was very close between Rajon and Kevin. Rajon connected on multiple threes to keep himself alive when he was on his last letter, but he finally missed, and Kevin Durant ended up with his second H.O.R.S.E. title.

Skills Challenge: Deron Williams and Steve Nash had both won the Skills Challenge prior to 2010, which is why it isn't surprising that both of them advanced to the final round while Russel Westbrook and Brandon Jenning were both eliminated in the first round. Deron Williams was looking like a winner in the final round until one of his passes missed it's mark and Deron had to retry his pass, greatly effecting his time. Steve Nash proved his greatness as a point guard by beating Deron's time to win another Skills Challenge.

Haier Shooting Stars: The home team of Texas proved themselves superior to this year's Los Angelos team by beating them in the final round. For a second, the half court shot looked like trouble for Texas as they couldn't seem to sink their final shot, but Dirk Nowitzki managed to drain the shot after a few tries. This year's other two teams, Atlanta and Sacramento both failed to pass the first round of the competition.

All-Star Dunk Off Results

Previously I said that there would be a dunk off between Demar DeRozan Of the Toronto Raptors and Eric Gordan of the Los Angelos Clippers to see which one of the would be the fourth competitor in this year's dunk contest. Demar won the dunk-off, and will be competing with Nate Robinson, Shannon Brown, and Gerald Wallace for this year's Slam Dunk Title. Personally, I think that the dunk contest is really going to be between Nate Robinson and Shannon Brown, so it really doesn't matter who the other competitors are.

All-Star Add-ons

By far, the biggest event of the all-star break is the all-star game, but there are five other exciting events happening at during all-star weekend.

Sprite Slam Dunk Competition: My personal favorite of the all the all-star competitions is the dunk contest. The cons test was first held in 1984 when it was won by Larry Nance, and since then, it has given players an opportunity to show off their dunking creativity. Players such as Jason Richardson and Nate Robinson earned their high-flyer status through the dunk contest. If you don't already know, a dunk contest is scored in a similar fashion to competitive diving. Players perform dunks that are graded by five judges (Usually renowned NBA stars) on a scale of one to ten. After each round, (Which ends when every player in competition has dunked) the player with the lowest total score is eliminated from the competition. This goes on until a there is only one person left. This year's participants in the dunk contest are Nate Robinson, a two time winner of the dunk contest, Gerald Wallace, and Shannon Brown. The final competitor will be decided in a one round dunk-in between Demar DeRozan and Eric Gordon. The winner will be the fourth contestant in the official dunk contest.

Foot Locker 3 Point Shootout: The 3 point shootout originated just two years after the dunk contest in 1986. It doesn't take a genius to tell that the competition is made to test player's three point shot. In the contest, there are five ball racks positioned on the left and right baselines, the top of the three point arc directly in front of the hoop, and at a 45 degree angle from the hoop on the left and right sides. Each rack has four regular NBA colored balls and a multicolored, "Money Ball" that is worth two points instead of the regular one. The competitors have one minute to shoot all 25 basketballs. The highest score possible is 30. There are six competitors to the shootout each year, consisting of last year's champion and the top five three point shooters in the current season. Unlike the Dunk contest, there are only two rounds. The three players who scored the most points in the first round advance to the final round of the competition, while the others are eliminated. The 2010 competitors are Daequan Cook, (Last year's champion) Chauncey Billups, Stephen Curry, Channing Frye, Danillo Gallinari, and Paul Pierce.

H.O.R.S.E: A more recent addition to the all star weekend is the H.O.R.S.E. challenge, presented by GEICO. H.O.R.S.E. is played by the all-stars in this event the same that it has been played traditionally, except there are no "proving" someone out or in, and there are no dunks allowed. In all star weekend version of the game, the players will be spelling G.E.I.C.O. as opposed to "H.O.R.S.E." Kevin Durant, (Last year's HORSE champion) Rajon Rondo, and Omri Casspi will be competing in this years H.O.R.S.E. competition.

Skills Challenge: Another exciting event of all star weekend is the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. This event tests player's shooting, dribbling, quickness, and passing skill by having them complete a timed obstacle course. Four competitors compete in the skills challenge each year, and the two players with the fastest time out of those four advance to the final round. The player who has the best time out of those two wins the competition. Derrick Rose, last year's skills challenge champion, was set to compete this year but is being replaced by Russel Westbrook due to Derrick's bruised right hip. Steve Nash, who set the record for the fastest time in the skills challenge with 25.4 seconds in 2005, will also be competing this year, along with Deron Williams and Brandon Jennings.

Haier Shooting Stars: The final event is the Haier Shooting Stars Challenge, which pits four teams consisting of a current NBA star, a WNBA star, and retired NBA star, against each other. In the competition, each team must assign their players the letter A,B, and C, and then the players shoot shots from designated positions on the court. There are six positions, starting with an angled 10 foot shot from the right side, (Shot by player A) a 15 foot angled shot from the left side, (Shot by player B) an NBA three point shot from the top of the three point arc. (Shot by player C) Then, player A must make a shot from the right baseline, 18 feet from the basket, followed by an angled three point shot from the left side, shot by player B, then the final shot must be made from halfcourt. For the final shot, the team rotates through the roster, starting with player C, then going to player A, B, C, A... until one of them makes the shot. The players keep shooting from each position until they make each shot, and the next player in order can't start shooting until the shooter before him has made his shot. Once the team has made all of their shots, a referee will blow a whistle and the timer will be stopped. The teams with the best times advance to the final round, and the team with the best time in the final round wins the competition. This year's teams are made up of Dirk Nowitzki, Becky Hammon, and legend Kenny Smith, representing Texas. Representing Atlanta will be Joe Johnson, WNBA player Angel McCoughtry, and NBA legend Steve Smith. Los Angelos will send on to the court Pau Gasol, Marie Ferdinand-Harris, and retired Clippers great Brent Barry. Sacramento, the final team in the competition, will be represented by Tyreke Evans, Nicole Powell, and the recently retired NBA legend Chris Webber.

Review of "Lightning Theif"

Recently, I went to see the movie Lightning Theif in Hood River Cinemas. Before seeing the movie, I had read most of the books in the series. (Which are every bit as good as the Harry Potter books.) Since movies never follow books that well anyway, I wasn't expecting this one to, and although lots of the events from the book were skipped, the movie followed the book enough for me to know what I was watching. Like the book it was based on, "Lightning Theif" had a very good mix of comedy and formality. Even though there were a few very good parts of the book that I had expected to see in the movie, I still thought it was worth seeing and now I'm just waiting for the next book in the series to become a movie.

All-Star Dropouts

Recently, it has come to my attention that both Allen Iverson (East) and Kobe Bryant (West) will not be competing in this year's all star game. This will greatly effect the outcome of the all star game. Previously, I stated that it would hard for the Eastern All Stars to beat the West, (See Article Here) but now that I have received this information, I have changed my mind, and I know predict that the East will easily come out on top. Although I'm definietly not a Kobe fan, there is no denying that it will be very hard for any other Western all star to step up bring the offensive prowess that Kobe brought to the West.

Henkle vs. Canyon Creek

Henkle played a good set of games against Canyon Creek, two of the three teams winning their games, and the third team, although losing, improved their previous score against this team.

Starting with the blend team, who came away with their second win, against a team that they had previously lost too. One of the factors in their win was the fact that they came away with a lot of backcourt steals using the full court press.

Moving on to the 8th grade team, who on their fist game of the year. Last time they played Canyon Creek, they lost by 3 points, but they would not be denied this time as the came away with the two point victory.

Finally, the 7th grade team, who made obvious that they have improved as a team this year, even if they didn't win. In their last game against Canyon Creek, the 7th grade team lost by the wide margin of 6-32. This time, they raised their score to 20-36, which is an indicator of the improvements the 7th graders have shown. Although the seventh graders have yet to win a game, hopes are high that they will pick up their first within the next two games.

Leave a comment

Recently, I added a device to the website that allows you to leave a comment on the website. Just click on the bluish link the says leave a comment inside the window. The box will then ask for you name, email, comment, (which will appear on the website with your name and location.) location, and validation code. I tried to get rid all of those so you could just leave a comment, but I couldn't figure it out. None of them have to be real except for comment and validation code. If you don't have an email, any kind of "skhe@adjk.com" will work.

New Poll

I recently added a poll to this website. Just like everything else on this website, it pertains mostly to Henkle Middle School students and staff. The poll asks you what grade you enjoyed the most, and you are given the options 5th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, or 8th grade.

Movie Review: Avatar

With all the hype surrounding the movie "Avatar," I feel that it feel a little short. Most of the things that happened in the movie seemed a little too farfetched to make the movie interesting. For example, the whole idea of a guy in a wheel chair just going to sleep and waking up as a blue giant didn't go over with me very well. I did see the movie in 3-D, and the effects were very good, but I think that "Avatar" defineitly needs a better story line, because if I want to see effects I can watch the X games.

Henkle Middle School Vs. Stevenson

The Henkle Middle School teams had a rough time against Stevenson. All three Henkle teams were beaten by Stevenson. The blended team played the best of the three teams and only lost by a score of 24-30. Miguel Perez says that "the blended team would have won the game if they made more of their free throws." Henkle's 7th grade team was also beaten, but by a wider margin, the score was 10-40. According to Ian Whidden, Henkle played better against Stevenson in the second half when the team went from playing man to man defense to 2-3 zone. Josh Lewis says that the seventh grade team would have done better if they had more intensity and focus. The eighth grade team from Henkle was beaten 29-48.

Henkle Middle School Vs. Jemtegaard

The Henkle teams played some very good games against Jemtegaard. (And yes, that's how they spell their school name.)Jemtegaard has two different blended teams, one of them Henkle beat and the other edged out a win over Henkle with a marginal victory by the score of 27-29. Jumtegaard's eighth grade team also managed to overcome Henkle's eighth graders. The seventh grade game was definietly a nail-biter. After four very competitive quarters, Henkle's team came up three points short, losing 24-27.

All-Star Preview (Awards And Outcome)

This all-star game promises to be exciting, with lots of players making their debut, and lots of olders players making probably their last all-star appearance. Both teams have great line-ups, I think that the West has a slight edge over the East, even though I would really like for the East to win, the West just has a better all around line-up. The biggest reason that I think the west has a more powerfull line-up is not Kobe Bryant, but Carmelo Anthony. The reason for that is Kobe Bryant's play will more or less be pretty much cancelled out by Lebron James points, but unless Lebron puts up at least 40 points in the all-star game, there is no way that he could cancel out Carmelo and Kobe. When you combine those two, and then add two very solid post players in Amar'e Stoudemire and Tim Duncan, the West will be hard to overcome. Add to that two more great players coming of the bench, in Chris Paul, and Dirk Nowitzki, and you have a very spectacular all-star team. On the other hand, there are few ways that the East could pull of the upset.

Dwayne Wade is lots of times forgotten about because he has such a low quality team. Dwayne Wade is one of the greatest players in the NBA no matter how good or bad his team plays, and this was proved when his team won just 14 games (And lost 67) when he was injured for almost the whole 2007-2008 season. With him, this year they have won are one of the top five teams in the Eastern Conference in terms of wins. Why is this so important? Because if the East are to have any chance of winning, then Dwayne Wade will have put up stellar numbers in the all-star game. Even though Dwayne Wade's numbers are down, he has proven himself to play the best whenever the stage is the largest, as evident in his 2007 NBA Championships MVP. Another way that the East could win in the all-star game would be if the Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony's egos get in the way of good basketball. If those two don't gell for that one day, then the West will have a problem.

As for the MVP of the all-star game, that depends on the winning team. If the East can pull of the upset, the Lebron James will most likely be named MVP. On the other hand, if the West wins, Kobe Bryant will most likely be named MVP unless he brings a bad attitude. You would think that if Kobe had a bad attitude, but the West still won, Kobe would be named MVP anyway if he puts up big numbers. But, if Kobe's ego rubs Carmelo the wrong way, and both of them start playing for their stats, and the West still manages to win, the MVP might fall to Steve Nash, the pass-first starting point guard for the West.

Henkle Middle School Vs. Hockinson

These games were probably ones that all three teams from Henkle would want to forget. All three teams lost by double digit margins.

Blended Teams: Henkle 4, Hockinson 30

7th Grade: Henkle 15, Hockinson 38

8th Grade: Henkle 13, Hockinson 77

With that much said, I'm going to end this article. I wish I could do the same to Henkle's bad luck.

All-Star Team Preview:EAST

This is the second part of a series of posts regarding the NBA all-star game. In this article, I will be previewing the Eastern all-star team. The all-star game will be taking place in Dallas, Texas on February 14.

EAST

PG-Allen Iverson: This superstar is nearing the end of a spectacular career. Actually, scratch that, his spectacular career was already ended this year. He started the year as Memphis Grizzly, but after playing under five games in one month, he was released into free agency, when he announced his retirement. Shortly after that, he was offered a contract by the team that he first ever played for, the team he established his super stardom with, and, the only team that he seems to be able to excel for. If you haven't guessed the team by now, you must have no idea who Allen Iverson is. (Philadelphia 76ers) Personally, I don't think that his stats exactly scream "all-star," but i think that this all-star game is a fitting good-bye to an amazing player, who is likely to retire after this season.

SG-Dwayne Wade: Although his stats are slightly down this year compared to last year, Dwayne Wade is one of the games brightest stars and is almost a lock for the starting shooting guard every year barring injury.

SF-Lebron James: This has been the year that Lebron has established himself as the best overall player in the NBA. Before this year, there was always the argument that Kobe might have an edge over him, but so far this year, Lebron's Cavaliers have not been defeated by the Kobe led Lakers. Now all we have to do is wait for a Kobe vs. Lebron championship series.

PF-Kevin Garnett: No other player in this year's all-star game has appeared in as many all-star games (13 all-star appearances) as Kevin Garnett. That being said, Kevin is 35 years old and might only get a few more chance after this one to play in the all-star game.

C-Dwight Howard: Sure, his stats aren't eye-popping like they were last year, and he isn't playing with the same aggression as last year, but don't be fooled, Dwight Howard is definitely worthy of being an all-star.

Update On Haiti Earthquake

Quickly, I'd like to update one of my earlier articles about the earthquake in Haiti. Previously I said that the earthquake had killed 111,481 people and was the eleventh deadliest earthquake on record. Now, as more people have been confirmed dead, the death total has reached over 150,000, making it the ninth deadliest earthquake ever recorded. I would also like to restate that if the confirmed death total reaches 200,000, as it is expected to, it will be tied with the seventh deadliest natural disaster. For comparison, the infamous 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami together killed 230,000 people. To put that number into perspective even more, if the death reaches 200,000, then just imagine all of the people in Vancouver,(Population 163,186) White Salmon, (Population 2,411) Hood River, (Population 21,536) and The Dalles (Population 12,156) all dying. That's just about how big the earthquake in Haiti is.

First Boys Basketball Games

The 7th grade basketball team just played their first game this year. Final score: Henkle 6, Canyon Creek 32. Through the first quarter, the game was still close. By half time, Henkle had fallen behind by 10. After that, things just got worse and worse. The blended team lost their game by 7, with a score of 19-26. As for the eighth grade team, the game was close to the end, the Canyon Creek team just managed to take a 2 point victory by the score of 35-37.

Allstar Team Preview: WEST

When you think about NBA all star games, most people think about one thing: Kobe vs. Lebron. Each team is stacked with the best players from the league, yet all we care about is Kobe and Lebron. We have yet to see a Kobe-Lebron playoff series, so we have to settle for all star games. This year though, with Carmelo Anthony putting up outstanding numbers this year, and Tim Duncan playing silent but steady, as always, Lebron and Kobe may have to share the spotlight a little. Before I share with you who I think is going to win the MVP award, and what team will win, let me give you a run down on the starting players for each team.
WEST
PG-Steve Nash: This former two time MVP has been dominating the point guard spot for a long time, he will be very valuable to the Western All Stars because while most All Stars have to shoot to be effective, Steve Nash is an amazing at setting up his teammates.

SG-Kobe Bryant: Widely considered to be the best overall player in the NBA, Kobe will be one of the biggest parts on this All-Star West team.

SF-Carmelo Anthony: This year is probably the best of Anthony's seven year career and it has been spectacular, he currently leads the NBA in points per game, and is cempeting for the MVP award.

PF-Tim Duncan: It's been a long time since this guy wasn't voted into an All Star game. The defense that he brings to the West will tough to counter. He averages nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, which easily makes him all star caliber.

C-Amar'e Stoudemire: This guy isn't normally a center, but he will probably make a smooth adjustment. With the skills he brings to the table.

That's it for this post. Expect a preview of the East starters, the dunk contest participants, and my predicted outcome of the all star game and dunk contest.

Very nice sports news gadget recently added

You may have noticed the new sports news gadget on the website. It shows the top recent news in the sporting world. Be be sure to click on the "More Headlines" tab on the gadget to see some more of top sporting news. If you scroll down on the gadget you can see some more of the information on the main topic. (If you are at "More Headlines" then you'll just see a longer list of headlines.) If you scroll down, you will also see a list of sponsors to the gadget. The list of sponsors came with the gadget and I have tried to get rid of them, but haven't been successful. If I know about any of the headlines shown, I will make a post to tell more about it.

Haiti Earthquake

A lot of people already know about the earthquake in Haiti, but here are some interesting facts you probably didn't know:

-The United States Geological Survey has recorded over 33 aftershocks of the earthquake (Wikipedia).
-At the time this is being posted, there have been 111,481 confirmed deaths due to the earthquake in Haiti (Wikipedia).
-Haiti is the only country effected by the earthquake.
-As of today, the death toll of Haiti's earthquake is the eleventh largest ever for an earthquake. If the death toll reaches 200,000, as it is currently estimated, (But not proved) it will tied for seventh. (Wikipedia).

Works Cited
Wikipedia contributors. "2010 Haiti earthquake." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.
Wikipedia contributors. "List of natural disasters." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Jan. 2010.

First Post

This is the first post of a website made mostly for Henkle Middle School students and teachers. As of right now, the main purpose of this website is to report on newsworthy things in our school aswell as in the world.