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.