Creekview Baseball

Baseball season has finally begun! After all of the anxiousness of waiting for the teams to be posted, the players finally get their chance to play the game. But with the new season comes new changes. Many people tried out this year to be part of the Creekview Grizzly Baseball team. There was one difference this year, the players would be put into two teams and not three like the years before. So this year the players had to put even more into trying to be the best that they can be. On top of it all, try outs were more difficult. Not only because of the increased competition with the new freshmen trying out, but also because the weather did not allow the players to be on the field for almost a week. However this still did not stop the athletes from giving their all 100% of the time. “The weather affected us a lot during try outs. It rained for almost the whole week which stuck us at the indoor batting cages for a while. It took away a huge amount of our field time, but once we had the slightest chance to take the field we took advantage of it,” says baseball Head Coach Mike Nayman. This small set back gave the players less time to practice for their first game of the season on February 21st, which fell on the February break. The varsity baseball team had to work hard and take advantage of what time they had to prepare themselves. Sadly this was not enough to help the team defeat their opponent, Cherokee High School. After losing 7-2, the players can only work harder to better themselves for the next time they play Cherokee. One loss means nothing though, because the Grizzlies have the rest of the season to prove that they can be invincible. Written by: Amber Herrington

Girls Tennis

Tennis is a sport of extreme skill and technique. You must have the ability of knowing how and when to hit the ball into the perfect spot to win the match. One perfect example of this skill and hard work is the Creekview Grizzlies girl’s tennis team. These girls practice every day, working hard on improving their game so when their next match comes, they will be ready for whatever competition is thrown at them. The girls have played against a lot of competition and whether they lose or win, they improve on certain skills that help them beat the competition next time around. When asked what she expected of this year’s team, third time season player Emily responded, “I expect us to go to region and actually win it because there are a lot of girls with great talent on this year’s team and I believe that with our hard work and dedication, we can reach this goal.” To play tennis does not only consist of showing up to practices and claiming you are part of the team, but it also consists of your ability to work harder by practicing and working out on the side. These girls have to be in shape to be running up and down the court. Some of these girls take the time to run while they do not have practice or anything else going on. Also, some of the players play on recreation tennis teams where they can improve their weak spots and also keep in shape for the season to come. These girls work hard to be the best that they can be and fulfill their goal to win regions. “Our record so far is 1-2. We have beat Cherokee but lost to 5AAAAA power houses Woodstock and Etowah, but we played well against them,” says Coach Hubbard. The girls played their match on March 2 against Pickens which ended in a win of 4-1 and the following day they played against Lambert but lost 5-0 against the number one team in the region. Written by: Amber Herrington

Emily W

Since she was a freshman, Emily W, who is now a junior, has been playing singles one for the Creekview tennis team. With her skills and dedication, it’s no wonder she has held her position these past three years.

Emily W started playing tennis when she was eight, and immediately fell in love with the sport.
“I started young and I just had the passion that drove me,” Emily replied.

Ever since, she has been working hard to become the best she can be, and to do this, it means putting everything else aside.

“For me its tennis then school and then everything else; however, school is still very important to me,” laughed Emily.
Emily plays and practices tennis at Jim Harp Performance Academy, which is in Forsyth County. She also goes to the gym any chance she can get to become stronger and to work on different techniques. In a week, Emily spends about fourteen hours on training, but this doesn’t include weekends. On weekends, you can usually find Emily competing in a variety of tournaments. These tournaments last all day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Junior year is an athlete’s major recruiting year. Emily is hoping to be recruited this summer for college, and then go to the college on a full ride.

“Even though I love tennis, I don’t want to play professionally,” said Emily.

Where would an athlete be if they didn’t have an inspiration? Alyssa H is Emily’s role model. Alyssa is a senior this year, who is home schooled, and she also attends Emily’s Academy. Alyssa received a full ride for tennis/academics to United States Military Academy at West Point.
“Alyssa is dedicated to tennis; she eats, sleeps, and breathes tennis. I hope to be like this too,” Emily replied.

Lucky for the Creekview tennis team, Emily is only a junior and will be playing next year. There will also be two other strong seniors returning next year, Olivia Reed and Kathryn Hunter, making Creekview a very competitive and challenging team to beat.
Written by: Paige Amoss

March Madness

In less than a month, the most talked about event in college basketball is starting, March Madness. March Madness is a National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA, basketball, single elimination tournament that decides the national champion of men’s NCAA Division 1. Since it is a single elimination event, anything can happen. This is what makes March Madness so exciting to watch; anyone has a shot.

“March Madness has to be one of the best times of the year because you’re given the opportunity to watch people who love the game play for an honor as you cheer them on,” Becca D., junior.

The 73rd edition of the basketball tournament is going to start on the 15th of March, this is the First Round, and it will last until the 16th. The Second and Third rounds will be held March 17th through the 20th. After that, the teams from the West, Southeast, East, and Southwest regions will compete in the Regionals. Then, the Final Four will take part of April 2nd and 4th.
This year, something new is happening. Instead of having sixty-five schools participating, March Madness will involve sixty-eight schools. This means more teams to cheer on, more games to watch, and even more upsets. Last year, one of the biggest upsets was Northern Iowa, who had a ninth seed, beating Kansas, who had a first seed.

In the championship game last year, it was Butler, the little school of only 4,500 students, taking on Duke, who was almost everyone’s top pick when it comes to college basketball. Butler who had the fifth seed, and Duke who had the first seed. In the end, Duke became the champs, making it their fourth NCAA National Championship title.

Written by: Paige Amoss

Top ten Superbowls

It is February, and that means it is time for the Super Bowl! What better way to celebrate this wonderful time then by looking back at what games are known as the Top Ten Super Bowls.
In number ten, we have the Dallas Cowboys vs. the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII. It took place on January 15th, 1978 in New Orleans. The favored team was the Dallas Cowboys, and they beat the AFC champions Denver Broncos, 27 - 10. This game was important for many reasons like, it was the first Super Bowl to be played inside of a dome and two Most Valuable Players, MVPs, were named, a first in Super Bowl history. They were the Cowboys’ Harvey Martin and Randy White.

The number nine slot goes to the Chicago Bears vs. the New England Patriots. This took place on January 26th, 1986 in New Orleans. This was Super Bowl XX. The Chicago Bears blew New England out, 46 – 10.

The eighth top game is Super Bowl I, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Green Bay Packers. This bowl game took place in Los Angeles on January 15th, 1967. This game was the first NFL championship game ever! The American Football League, AFL, and National Football League, NFL, joined together to form one league with two conferences whose winners would play each other in this National championship game. The Packers ended up beating the Chiefs, 35 – 10.

Super Bowl XVI will get the seventh spot on the list. This game was between the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals. It was held on January 24, 1982, in Pontiac. Every football fan knows Joe Montana; this was Montana’s first MVP and Super Bowl win. San Francisco won, 26 – 21.

The New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams are in the sixth spot in Super Bowl XXVI. This bowl game was held on February 3rd, 2002 in New Orleans. In this Super Bowl, it was the first time in Super Bowl history that a game was won on a final play. Patriots won, 20 – 17.
Number five would be Super Bowl X, Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Dallas Cowboys. This game was on January 18th, 1976 in Miami. This Super Bowl win was the Steelers second in a row, winning 21 – 17.

Super Bowl XXXIV is number four. The St. Louis Rams went up against the Tennessee Titans on January 30th, 2000 in Atlanta. This was the Rams first appearance in the Super Bowl. The Rams had a 16 – 0 lead, but then the Titans tied it. The Rams ended up winning, 23 – 16.
The third greatest Bowl game was Super Bowl XXV; the New York Giants vs. the Buffalo Bills. This game took place on January 27th, 1991 in Tampa. This game was the fourth straight Super Bowl appearance for Buffalo. In a very close game, New York won, 20 – 19.
The second is Super Bowl III. The Baltimore Colts, who had lost just one game all year, competed against the Jets. In a surprising and exciting game, if you were a Jets fan, the Jets came out as the winners, with a score of 16 – 7.

The greatest Super Bowl game of all-time was the Miami Dolphins vs. the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII on January 14th, 1973, in Los Angeles. The MVP in this game was Jake Scott, who became only the second defensive player in the Super Bowl to be awarded the Super Bowl MVP. The Dolphins won this game, 14 – 7. With this, the Dolphins held a perfect season, 17 – 0. No team has ever done this. A few years ago, the Patriots almost took over this title from the Dolphins. The Patriots were playing in the Super Bowl against the Giants, playing for an undefeated season. However, the Giants ended up beating the Patriots.

Written by: Paige Amoss

Grils Basketball

After Creekview’s rise to AAAA this year, prospects of a winning season were questionable given their mediocre season last year with eighteen wins and twelve losses. But so far the Lady Grizzlies have gone above and beyond all expectations with an outstanding thirteen wins accompanied by a measly three losses.

“I’m kind of surprised,” said Nolan. “The girls worked hard this summer and we had a core of seven or eight players coming back from last year, so I knew we were going to be pretty good. How good we will be eventually remains to be seen, but we are off to a good start.”

With Sequoyah the team’s biggest county threat, and Central Forsyth , Creekview’s region rival. It is obvious that still many more wins are needed to secure the team in a spot for the state tournament, but the team continues to be optimistic. “We’re going all the way to the State Championship with our pretty boy swag,” jokes sophomore teammate Emma.

Even after such a great start to this year’s season, the girls still remain remarkably modest about themselves. “None of the players are any better than the others, we all have our strengths and weaknesses but we also can individually rise to the occasion when needed,” remarks varsity player Hannah.

Regardless of what the records say, the team will still need much more work, determination, and practice to make it to state. “ Stats are like bikinis, they show some things but not all,” finishes Coach Nolan.
Written by: Josh Cooley

College Bowl Games Recap

There is only one way to end 2010 and to welcome in 2011, and that is with college football bowl games. With games beginning on December 18 and lasting until January 10, there was always a game to look forward to. If you missed a game or forgot the score, here is a recap on all the bowl games.

On December 18, there were three games. At 2:00, the New Mexico Bowl took place; the two teams in this bowl game were Brigham Young University, BYU, and the University of Texas El Paso, UTEP. BYU outscored UTEP, 52 - 24. The next bowl game that day was the uDrove Humanitarian Bowl with Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State. Northern Illinois ended up winning, 40 - 17. The last bowl game, R & L Carriers New Orleans Bowl, that day was between Troy and Ohio. Troy won this game, 48 - 21.

The Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl took place on December 21 with Louisville and Southern Mississippi competing against each other. In a close game, Louisville came out on top with a score of 31 over Southern Mississippi’s 28.

Boise State went up against Utah in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas on December 22. Boise State held Utah to just a field goal, and ended up winning, 26 - 3.

On December 23, San Diego State played Navy in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, and beat Navy, 35 - 14.

The Sheraton Hawaii Bowl was held on Christmas Eve. Tulsa played Hawaii; Tulsa won, 62 - 35.

Florida International competed against Toledo on December 26, in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. It was a close game, but Florida International pulled through and won, 34 - 32.

Georgia Tech played in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl against Air Force on December 27. Georgia Tech was not able move the ball down the field, and Air Force ended their season with a win, 14 - 7.

There were two games that took place on the 28th, the Champs Sports Bowl and the Insight Bowl. In the Champs Sports Bowl, North Carolina State beat West Virginia, 23 - 7. The Insight Bowl was another close game with Iowa scoring 27 and Missouri scoring 24. On December 29, three bowl games took place. The Military Bowl was between Maryland and East Carolina, and had Maryland winning, 51 - 20. The next game, the Texas Bowl, was between Illinois and Baylor. Illinois ended up beating Baylor, 38 - 14. To end the day, Oklahoma State played Arizona in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Oklahoma State left the stadium with a win, 36 - 10.

The following day, four bowl games were played. Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl game was a close game between SMU and Army. However, Army ended up taking the win with a score of 16 - 14. The next bowl was the New Era Pinstripe Bowl against Syracuse and Kansas State. This was also a nail biter, but Syracuse won by two points, 36 - 34. After that, there was another close game between North Carolina and Tennessee in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. This game went into two overtimes! North Carolina’s defense finally made a stand and won, 30 - 27. The last game of the day was the Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl between Washington and Nebraska. Washington won this bowl game, 19 - 7.

The Meineke Car Care Bowl, the Hyundai Sun Bowl, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and the Chick-fil-A Bowl were all taken place on New Year’s Eve. South Florida beat Clemson, 31 - 26, in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. In the Hyundai Sun Bowl, Notre Dame played and won against Miami, 33 - 17. Georgia played Central Florida in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. However, Georgia lost, 10 - 6. To end the year, Florida State played South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Florida State ended up beating South Carolina, 26 - 17.

New Years Day was filled with many exciting bowl games. The TicketCity Bowl game had Texas Tech vs. Northwestern. To end their season, Texas Tech won by a touchdown, 45 - 38. The next game was between Florida and Penn State in the Outback Bowl. Florida ended up winning, 37 - 24. In the Capital One Bowl, Alabama crushed Michigan State, 49 - 7. Then came the Progressive Gator Bowl, where Mississippi State took on Michigan. Mississippi State won this game, 52 - 14. The Rose Bowl was a close game between Wisconsin and Texas Christian University, TCU. TCU ended up winning, 21 - 19. The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was the last game of the night. This game was between Connecticut and Oklahoma. The final score was 48 - 20, Oklahoma with the win,

On January 3, Virginia Tech took on Stanford in the Discover Orange Bowl. Stanford ending up beating Virginia Tech, 40 - 12.

Ohio State won against Arkansas, 31 - 26, in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on January 4. The GoDaddy.com Bowl was held on January 6. The two teams who competed against each other were Miami (Ohio) and M. Tennessee State. Miami ended up winning this bowl game, 35 - 21. On January 7, Louisiana State, LSU, and Texas A&M played each other in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic. LSU beat Texas A&M, 41- 24.

Kentucky played Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl on January 8. Pitt was able to beat Kentucky with a score of 27 - 10.

Nevada took on Boston College on January 9 in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Winning by a touchdown, Nevada ending up with a score of 20 - 13.

The game that America was looking forward to finally came, the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game. This was a monumental game for both Auburn and Oregon. Auburn was ranked first in the nation, and Oregon was ranked second. In the end, Auburn ended up defeating Oregon, 22- 19. It was a great day to be a War Eagle fan! Auburn's win marks the first time in over 70 years that two different teams from the same state are crowned national champs in back to back seasons. The SEC improves to 7-0 in BCS title games. They have also won the last five.

Written by: Paige Amoss