Laurel Colemire – The Hilltop Monitor

The 2018 NBA All-Star Game Adds to the King’s Legacy

Laurel Colemire — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 14:00:23 +0000

The 2018 NBA All-Star Game was the 67th time the best of the best basketball players showed what they’re made of. But this game had a twist that has never been done in All-Star history. There was competition.

Each player on the losing team earned only $25,000 while the players on the winning team walked home with $100,000. The winning team also got to donate $350,000 to the captain’s charity of choice, and the losing team got to donate $150,000. LeBron James’ charity of choice was After School All-Stars Los Angeles, and Stephen Curry chose Brotherhood Crusade.

The game started off with a hilarious announcement of the starting line-ups by Kevin Hart, with the Canadian National Anthem sung by the Barenaked Ladies. But the most notable part of the pregame show was the National Anthem sung by Fergie. She gave it a twist with a jazzy feel and it could have sounded good; but the fact that it was Fergie, and the fact that it was live in front of millions of people, made it the laughing stock of the All-Star Game.

For the first time, there was a sense of competition during the All-Star Game. It didn’t seem like a dunk contest and it played like an actual game. It was no longer the Eastern Conference vs. the Western Conference. It was like school yard ball with captains choosing teams. Many players who haven’t gotten to play together were able to play on the same team, which also helped add to the competition. It was the first time that a player hasn’t scored more than 30 points in an All-Star Game. Team Steph lead for most of the game and we all thought that his team was going to take home the $100,000 per player. But in the last six minutes, both teams were trying their hardest to prove that they were the team that deserved to win. Team LeBron was the one to prove that they were the best, and James was there to prove that he’s still the best in the NBA at age 33.

Photo courtesy of The Ringer

The World Series Champions have been crowned

Laurel Colemire — Fri, 03 Nov 2017 13:00:05 +0000

GAME ONE

Game one was a big one for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The first pitch from Astros pitcher Dallas Keuchel turned into a leadoff home run by Chris Taylor and a 1-0 lead for the Dodgers. Clayton Kershaw was the key to the Dodgers win. He pitched seven innings that only allowed one run off of three hits. Fifty-seven of Kershaw’s 83 pitches were strikes. But, in the top of the fourth inning, Kershaw allowed a solo home run by Alex Bregman to even the score 1-1. Justin Turner then stepped up to the plate in the sixth inning to hit a two-run home run and give the Dodgers the lead. The first game wrapped up in two hours and 28 minutes, making it the shortest World Series game since 1992.

The Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1, giving the Dodgers a 1-0 lead in the Series.

GAME TWO

In the second inning of the second game, the Astros were the first to strike. Multiple singles eventually led to Bregman driving in Josh Reddick to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. The lead lasted until the fifth inning, when Joc Pederson hit a solo homerun to tie the game. Then, in the very next inning, Corey Seager hit a two-run home run to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. With a two run lead, it looked like the Dodgers were going to take game two.

But in the eighth inning, the Astros cut the lead by one when Carlos Correa singled to bring Bregman home. The Astros didn’t stop there.

In the top of the ninth, they kept fighting to eventually tied the game 3-3 when Marwin Gonzalez hit a solo home run.

Extra innings began. In the top of the 10th, Jose Altuve hit a solo home run to give the Astros the lead 4-3. Right after this, Correa stepped up to the plate and launched another home run to stretch the lead 5-3.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, it was do or die for the Dodgers and they refused to die in this inning. Yasiel Puig hit a solo home run, just one run behind the Astros. Then, Hernandez hit a single to the right to bring in Forsythe. In the bottom of the tenth, the Astros and Dodgers were tied 5-5.

In the top of the eleventh inning, to no one’s surprise, yet another home run was hit. George Springer of the Astros hit a two-run home run to give the Astros another lead. With the game now 7-5 going into the bottom of the 11th, the Dodgers came close with a home run by Charlie Culberson. They eventually fell to the Astros.

The Astros beat the Dodgers 7-6, and the series was tied 1-1.

GAME THREE

Yu Darvish for the Dodgers and Lance McCullers for the Astros faced off in game three. Darvish was traded from the Rangers right before the trade deadline this year, giving the Dodgers a push into the post season. Astros are in the same division as the Rangers, so they are very familiar with Darvish. They jumped on him early in the second inning by scoring four runs, including a Yuri Gurriel solo home run and two RBI singles by Brian McCann and Gonzalez.

Darvish was pulled in the second inning, making this his shortest outing in his entire MLB career.

The Dodgers had a chance to answer with a big inning in the third but only came out with one run from a Seagar double play. The Astros quickly answered with an RBI single in the fifth inning by Evan Gattis. The Dodgers returned in the sixth inning with an RBI ground out by Puig and a run scored by Turner on a wild pitch. This made it a 5-3 Astros lead going into the seventh. The Astros held on to the lead through the ninth. The Dodgers used six pitchers while the Astros only used two.

The Astros beat the Dodgers 5-3, giving the Astros a 2-1 lead in the series.

GAME FOUR

Compared to the other games, game four was pretty quiet. There was no score until the bottom of the sixth when Springer hit a solo home run, giving the Astros a 1-0 lead. The Dodgers answered in the top of the seventh when Logan Forsythe singled to bring Cody Bellinger home. The Dodgers turned right around and tied the game up. But they weren’t done there.

In the top of the ninth inning, the Dodgers made sure to get ahead plus a little more. Bellinger doubled and Seager scored. Austin Barnes hit a sacrifice fly to bring Culberson home. Pederson hit a three-run home run to give the Dodgers a 6-1 lead in the ninth inning. The Astros tried to come back in the ninth with a solo home run from Bregman, but not much else could be done.

The Dodgers beat the Astros 6-2, and the series was tied at 2-2.

GAME FIVE

The Dodgers came out to play in game five, trying to take a lead in the series over the Astros. In the top of the first inning, Forsythe singled to bring home Taylor and Turner. Forsythe tried to steal second but got caught. When the Astros tried to throw out Enrique Hernandez at home, it was a wild throw. The Dodgers took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.

The Dodgers scored again in the top of the fourth when Barnes singled, causing Forsythe to score. The Dodgers took a big lead in the top of the fourth, but the Astros came back in the bottom of the fourth.

Correa doubled on a line drive to left field, and Springer scored. Then, Gurriel hit a three-run home run to tie the game at 4-4. No runs were given until the seventh inning when both teams tried to take the lead.

In the top of the seventh, Hernandez scored on a Bellinger triple to give the Dodgers the lead again. But in the bottom of the seventh, the Astros answered with four runs including a solo home run by Springer and a two run home run by Correa. The Astros took the lead 11-8.

In the eighth inning, both teams scored. The Dodgers’ Pederson got a run off a double by Seager, and the Astros’ McCann hit a solo home run. The score pushed up to 12-9 with the Astros leading. But the Dodgers weren’t giving up.

They wanted a lead in the series. So in the top of the ninth inning Puig hit a two-run home run to make it a one-run game. With two outs in the ninth inning, Taylor stepped up to the plate and singled to center field to bring Barnes home. The game was all tied up at 12-12 and going to extra innings. In the 10th inning, the Dodgers came up short with no runs and were praying the Astros didn’t end game five for them. But that wasn’t the case. Bregman singled to left field to bring Derek Fisher in. The Astros won game five and took yet another lead in the World Series.

The Astros beat the Dodgers 13-12, giving the Astros a 3-2 lead in the series.

GAME SIX

Though not as exciting as game five, game six was still well fought. The Astros came out in the third inning when Springer hit a solo home run to give the Astros a 1-0 lead. But, the Dodgers came back when Taylor hit a double to drive Barnes in. Then, Seager hit a sacrifice fly to bring Chase Utely home. The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth. With the Dodgers pushing for a game seven, Pederson hit a solo home run to stretch the lead 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh. There were no other runs in the game, so the Dodgers forced game seven.

The Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1, and the series was tied 3-3

GAME SEVEN

With the Series tied up, both teams forced a game seven. The last time the Dodgers won the World Series was 1988, and the Astros wanted their very first World Series win.

In the top of the first inning, the Astros scored two runs by Springer and Bregman. Springer scored when there was a throwing error by first baseman for the Dodgers, Bellinger, and he was able to run in. The very next inning, the Astros continued to show their eagerness to win by scoring three more runs.

McCann scored on a ground out by Lance McCullers, Jr., and Springer hit a two-run home run on the very next play. The Astros were leading 5-0 and hoping to keep it that way. The Dodgers didn’t score until the bottom of the sixth when Andre Ethier singled to bring Pederson in.

All the way through the ninth inning, the Astros did not let the Dodgers score. Alex Wood struck the first two batters out, and Springer came up to the plate hitting a fly ball to center field, which was caught out. With a quick ninth for the Astros, it all came down to the bottom of the ninth to see if the Dodgers could rally and come back for a win.

Charlie Morton, pitching for the Astros, struck out the first batter, Utely. Taylor then ground out to first. With two outs and nobody on base, Seager came up to the plate. On the first pitch, he hit a ground ball to get thrown out at first. The Houston Astros won their first World Series in franchise history, becoming the 2017 World Series Champions.

The Astros beat the Dodgers 5-1, and the Astros won the 2017 World Series.

Kevin Durant finally fires back at the haters

Laurel Colemire — Fri, 22 Sep 2017 13:00:54 +0000

Kevin Durant. When you hear his name, there are many other names surrounding it. Quitter. Snake. Cupcake. Many people have taken to talking down on Kevin Durant after he left his team of nine years, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to go to “superteam” the Golden State Warriors in 2016.

Durant was a superstar on the Thunder. In 2012, he led them all the way to the NBA Finals, only to be beaten by the Miami Heat. In January 2014, Durant averaged 35.9 points per game all while scoring 30 or more points in 12 straight games. This included a career-high 54 points against the Golden State Warriors.

In Durant’s final seasons with the Thunder, he had many career setbacks. He was diagnosed with a Jones fracture, he injured his ankle and he had to undergo foot surgery. But Durant still showed the world that even though he had many reasons to give up, he was the best.

During his final season with the Oklahoma City Thunder he averaged 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and five assists, leading his team to 55 wins and the third seed in the West. Kevin Durant was on Oklahoma City’s very first professional basketball team. He was with the Thunder for nine years and was constantly professional on and off the court.

Even after all his success with his first team, he wanted something else. He wanted a championship. All the greatest players in the NBA have championships. It is one of the only sports where championships play the biggest factor in becoming one of the greats. Durant is easily a top three player in the league, but he wasn’t winning championships. He was tired of losing in the playoffs.

Basketball is a team game. However, the Thunder relied on 1-on-1 basketball instead of team basketball, which is what always hurt them against good team basketball like the Spurs and Warriors. He wanted to play for a team that moved the ball around and played unselfishly, and the Warriors established themselves as one of those teams.

Durant saw how easily they got open shots and how much fun it was. So after nine years with the same team and still no championships, he decided to join a team that fit his style and was what he wanted.

“I understood cognitively that I was facing a crossroads in my evolution as a player and as a man, and that it came with exceptionally difficult choices,” Durant writes in his tell-all article, My Next Chapter.

He released this article July 4, 2016 to tell his fans that he had decided to join the Golden State Warriors.

“I will miss Oklahoma City, and the role I have had in building this remarkable team. I will forever cherish the relationships within the organization — the friends and teammates that I went to war with on the court for nine years, and all the fans and people of the community,” said Durant.

The NBA is a business, and he saw an opportunity in a culture that would better suit his needs on the court. He felt as though he had made the right decision to continue his growth as a player going to a new city and a new team. That’s how any job is. If another job fits you better, you take it. But that’s not how the fans saw it.

Photo courtesy of YouTube

Jerseys were burned, angry tweets were shared and the basketball world went crazy. Kevin Durant’s new teammates were thrilled to have him once the news dropped. Draymond Green tweeted, “Welcome to THE FAMILY @KDTrey5 let’s just do what we are setting out to do!! #Blockoutthenoise”

But a lot of other professional basketball players were skeptical of the move. Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics tweeted, “If u can’t beat em join em,” since many people believe that Durant only joined the Golden State Warriors to get his first ring, considering they beat the Thunder in the Conference Finals of Durant’s final season. But he is tired of getting all this hate for his decision.

After a year of lying low and taking the heat for his move, Durant is tired of being told that he made the wrong decision. He has recently tweeted that he did not like playing for the OKC coach Billy Donovan, and the roster wasn’t good. But the tweets weren’t enough. He is also dropping some new shoes with a special something for his haters. On the soles of the shoes there are some of the names he’s been called in a list. These include: Weak, Quitter, Doesn’t Care About Fans, KowarD, Snake and Traitor. On top of the list, in yellow, are his scores from each game in the finals, “2017 Champs”, and “Finals Most Valuable Player.”

Photo courtesy of SB Nation

People knew how good he was, but they forgot how great he was and is until the NBA finals. He was a four-time scoring champion, an MVP and arguably one of the greatest college basketball players at the University of Texas, even though he played only one season.

In that one season, he averaged 25.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for the Longhorns, and he was recognized as the unanimous national player of the year, winning the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith College Player of the Year Award and all eight other recognized honors and awards. This made Durant the first freshman to win any of the national player of the year awards. He went to the best team in the NBA and became their best player, even better than the previous two-time MVP Steph Curry. He immediately fit right in with the Warriors and lead them to an NBA championship and dominated the finals.

At the end of the day, Durant loves the game of basketball. All he cares about is playing the game he loves. He is sick of all the hate he’s getting from everyone. Who wouldn’t get annoyed of getting attacked constantly by everyone around the world? He just wants to play basketball and prove to everyone that he is a great player that made a smart decision. You can hate him for his decision. It is your right to voice your opinion, but you can’t argue how great of a player he is on the court and off the court.

Jewell Soccer Squads Kick-Off The Season

Laurel Colemire — Fri, 15 Sep 2017 15:00:59 +0000

William Jewell College soccer is starting the 2017 season with many new faces and a new drive to compete. The women’s soccer team has already proven that they are ready to take on anyone by starting out undefeated with a record of 3-0. The men’s team hasn’t had the luck of being undefeated, starting off their season with a record of 0-2. Nevertheless, the first two men’s games of the season were filled with competition.

The women started their season with a non-conference game against Missouri Southern State University (0-2) Sept. 3. The Cardinals came out of preseason fighting, topping the Missouri Southern Lions 1-0 with a goal by first-year elementary education major Alexa Hawkins. Both the women’s and men’s teams had their first conference games over the weekend, playing the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, and then the Lewis University Flyers on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017. The women defeated the Prairie Stars 2-0 with goals by senior psychology and applied critical thought and inquiry major Aspen Hawkins and sophomore nursing major Gracie Schweinfurth. They then kept the ball rolling with a win over the Flyers with a score of 1-0. The single goal came from first-year psychological science major Annalee Arbeitman.

The men’s season started by jumping right into conference games.

“Our conference is pretty competitive so they know from game one it’s going to be intense, it’s going to be a battle,” said Coach Garrett Jahn.

And a battle it was. Both games were filled with nonstop competition for the win. The men started with a loss to the University of Illinois Springfield Prairie Stars with a score of 0-1. Sunday, the men came back with their heads held high to play the Lewis University Flyers. The men lost their second game of the season with a score of 4-1 with the single goal by first-year business administration major Noah Espinosa, his first career goal.

Both teams have changed from what they were last year, with new faces and new positions. For the women, Coach Jefferson Roblee came into the new season with different positions for a lot of the returning players. He said that he likes to “use talents for what it is and what you need.”

Aspen Hawkins has been a key component in helping the players’ transitions to their new positions run smoothly. Hawkins runs the center of the field using her foot skill to pass the ball quickly around the field.

For the men, second year head coach Jahn decided that new players are going to be the key to success for this season. Along with many new players, sophomore Drew Dempsey is one to watch.

“[Dempsey] has a little spark plug. He’s something that we haven’t had in the past,” said Jahn.

Dempsey was a big help in the first two games of the season, playing all over the field. One moment he would be up top charging the offense to try and get a goal, and the next he would be in the back field helping to defend the Cardinals’ goal.

Both Jewell teams play the Truman State University Bulldogs today, with the men playing at 1 p.m. and the women playing at 3:30 p.m. The next home game for the men is a non-conference game against Harding University Sept. 26 at 2 p.m. The women’s next home game is also a non-conference game against Northwest Missouri State University Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.