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