Government Obtains Wide AP Phone Records In Probe

In my opinion the government does have the right to search through phone records if there is a legitimate reason. If there is a threat to national security, especially dealing with terrorism and the awful acts that have been committed by extremist groups in the past 15 years or so, then I believe that the government needs to go to whatever extent to make sure the country and the citizens are safe. Security is the most important thing to the United States. If the government commits these searches with reasonable cause five times but only finds one example of terrorism, than I believe that it is completely worth it and the people need to respect that the government is trying to keep us safe. 

Boston Dominance

Growing up in the late 90s into the 2000s, in Boston, may have been the best time to grow up a sports fan. Throughout this time we have seen more legends, and more championships than any other time in Boston history. This dominance has been touching upon every sports, including football, basketball, baseball, and hockey. The Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox, have given it there all and have repaid the fans with championships and tremendous seasons. In the passed two years we have not seen a championship in the Boston area. This may be a selfish question from a spoiled sports fan, but is the dominance and reign of Boston Sports, on hold, or even worse, over!?

The Patriots have won three Super Bowls, in '02 '04 and '05 and have also lost in two Super Bowls in '07 and '11. This team has been a favorite in the AFC for years and continues to show why. The Patriots have had future Hall of Famers in Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Wes Welker, yet throughout Moss' and Welker's tenure with the team, there was no Super Bowl championships for New England. Tom Brady is climbing into his mid-late thirty's and does not have much time left to win another ring. If Brady doesn't get the job done, there may be a long drought until we see the Lombardi trophy back in Foxboro.

The Red Sox ended an 86 year World Series Championship drought in 2004 and continued to win another championship in 2007. This team, with the exception of the awful display of baseball last year, has been a constant favorite in the AL. Since 2007 the Red Sox have really had no chance of winning the World Series. The team which was once the likeable band of idiots, had become an unlike band of idiots, who couldn't get the job done. The team needs to seize the opportunity to win now, the future in the farm system looks bleak for the Red Sox.

The Bruins also ended a long drought of a Stanley Cup Championship of 39 years in 2011. The team has been absolutely unbelievable the past three seasons, which is a huge turn around from the past 30 years. The physicality, the agility, the scoring, and the goaltending has been there which is what has made the team so great. However, with the skill players rising in age, the window for another Stanley Cup victory is slowly closing and they need to act upon it.

The Celtics ended a 22 year drought in 2008 when they edged out the Los Angelos Lakers to win the NBA Championship. The Celtic team throughout these past few years have thrived defensively, with small signs of offensive potential. With Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett at the end of their careers, there needs to be young talent willing to step up and lead the team. I am unsure if Rajon Rondo is willing to take the task at hand. The Celtics, to me, appear to be the furthest Boston based team from a championship. The league has become too fast paced for the aging Celtics.

In the end, we look back at the past 13 years or so and realize how great it has been to be this relevant in sports news constantly. Its sad to think that the production of Championships has slowed down in Boston, but there is always the future to look for. New young players that can captivate the city and possibly bring the city another championship. Hopefully, it doesn't take us 22, 39, or 86 years to have this same dominance in sports.

Boston Bombings (condensed).

      On April 15th 2013, two bombs killed three and injured 264 people. After hours and hours of waiting, those involved had been brought to justice. One of the suspects had been killed in a gunfight with the police, and the other suspect was captured by the authorities. This moment in time has made a huge realization for me. I have realized how proud I am to be an American and a Bostonian. I have realized through this tragic event and the coming together of the country, that the United States is the greatest country on Earth. U.S.A.

Boston Bombings

       April 15^th 2013, a new date that will live forever, in infamy. This was the date of the 116^th Boston Marathon. The marathon was underway and many people were crossing the finish line as a huge explosion blasted through the air. No more than fifteen seconds later, another huge explosion occurred and people began running for their lives. The fear had been imposed on the entire crowd as they watched some of their fellow competitors and viewers on the ground in pain and shock. On the day of the blast at least 175 people were injured and three of the bystanders were killed, the youngest being an eight year old boy. The FBI and state police immediately shut down the town of Boston to do a full-blown investigation.

        In the days that followed the pictures of two suspects had been released into the media, and these faces immediately went viral through every media outlet imaginable. Within 72 hours of the bombings, the police and FBI were involved in a wild manhunt throughout the cities of Watertown and Cambridge. Throughout this manhunt one officer at M.I.T. was shot and killed, and one suspect was killed in the gunfight. The younger suspect, over the next day, was chased around the town of Watertown and was eventually caught in a boat in the backyard of a citizen’s house, where he had tried to commit suicide.

       The younger suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev tried to get off easy, just like the older suspect, and his brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Dzhokhar is currently being held at a hospital before going to trial where his punishment will be decided. He should not receive the death penalty, because it is not a harsh enough punishment. The nineteen year old has the rest of his life ahead of him, and all of that time should be spent in prison. Before any of that happens, I need some answers as to why he did this, there needs to be some sort of closure to this story other than him being arrested.

      This whole situation has impacted be in an overwhelming way. At the beginning of the attack I felt angry and was very sympathetic to the victims of this tragic event, and as the days went on that anger just move towards more and more patriotism. I have always considered myself to be patriotic, but this made me realize even more that we are one country and we are all united. The amount of support that other states and countries that were not involved, have shown throughout the whole ordeal, has been inspiring.

Interview: Norton Girls Cheerleading

                      Norton Girls Team Competing In Orlando

       The Norton Girls U16 cheerleading team will be competing in Orlando, Florida less than a month from now. The team has been training hard under their head coach, 17 year old Brittany Kenyon. Kenyon told us that her favorite part of coaching the girls is "being able to lead the girls to victory." The things that she is doing with this team is absolutely amazing. She has brought this team from being a small town team to a top competitor in the nation. When asked how hard it was to keep the girls on task, Brittany responded by saying "It is so hard to keep them on task, because the girls love to socialize and gossip during practice." Kenyon was also asked how she though the team would do at the world's competition she responded with confidence, saying, "with the new routines we have been practicing should help us take home first place!" The team no doubt has the confidence to be come the world champions, can not wait to see how they perform.

Patriots Offseason Review

            The Patriots season ended in a disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC championship game. Since the fateful night, the Patriots organization has lost and gained many new pieces. The team will be a completely different team as they near the NFL Draft. Many holes are still left to fill, but these additions look promising and the team is once again projected to go deep in the playoffs. After all these moves, it is time to recap and see what the team has done correctly or incorrectly both offensively and defensively.

            The journey starts on the offensive side of the ball. The Patriots many key players on the offense, these are the players that led the team to the playoffs the last few seasons. The biggest lost appears to stem from Wide Receiver Wes Welker. Welker has constantly been atop the entire league in receptions and receiving yards, since coming to New England. The loss of Welker could be devastating to the receiving game. He had the ability to go underneath, catch the ball, and gain yards as he bounced off of defenders that game his way. The team has also lost another great receiver in Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd was known for running the deep ball and his acrobatic catches, often getting noticed for having the best hands in the game. His ability to stretch the field opened up gaps in the defense for players such as Welker, Gronkowski, and Hernandez. His game will most certainly be missed in New England after his one season with the organization.

The team also lost key players such as Danny Woodhead and Pat Chung. Woodhead allowed the field to be opened up because of his ability to block in the passing game, and his elusiveness after catching the short routes. Pat Chung was a physical specimen at safety. He was often known for making the bone crushing hit, but was not known well for playing the ball in coverage. The loss of Chung may have been a good thing because the team is better defensively when they play the ball and go for the turnover rather than the big hit.

Now the additions, in some opinions, outweighed the losses. The Patriots immediately replaced Wes Welker, with Wide Receiver Danny Amendola, formerly of the St. Louis Rams. Amendola is the closest you get to Welker without having the man himself. He has the elusiveness and quickness to be one of the best slot receivers in the game. To replace Danny Woodhead, the Patriots signed specialist running back Leon Washington. Washington has not really seen a lot of time in the running game; he spends most of the time returning kicks and punts. He is, however, able to run around the defense and does have the physicality to run them over. The team also added two wide receivers in Michael Jenkins, and Donald Jones. Michael Jenkins is an average wide receiver with a lot of experience in the league. Jenkins will most likely be looked for to coach the younger players and show them the tricks of the trade. Donald Jones has not really played much football in the NFL, playing two years with the Buffalo Bills. He does show a little bit of promise, scoring 6 touchdowns on 82 catches.

On the defensive side of the ball the Patriots continued the work on their secondary that has been disrespected for the better part of five years now. The team resigned cornerbacks Kyle Arrington and Aqib Talib. Arrington has been a little inconsistent at times, but on a team with few cornerbacks, there is always room for more. The resigning of Aqib Talib brings a lot to this team. He allows the defensive schemes to be able to blitz while in coverage. This forces quarterbacks to throw more interceptions because they are hurried. The Patriots also signed free safety Adrian Wilson to replace Pat Chung. Wilson is more of a ball hawking safety than Chung and will definitely help in the turnover game.

Overall the Patriots did many things well. The most important signing that they made was the signing of Adrian Wilson and the resigning of Aqib Talib. These defensive pieces may help this team win a Super Bowl in the 2013-2014 season. The one resigning that the team should have made was Brandon Lloyd. Lloyd was able to stretch out the field and it will be tough for the Patriots to make up for all the gaps they no longer have in defenses. The Patriots have received a: B. The Draft is the next big step in the season, as it is less than a month away. This season looks promising for the Patriots, and the team could come away big winners by the end of the year.

Tag to Rich for Pats?

On March 4^th the New England Patriots opted to not use their franchise tag which they had many candidates looking for the contract from the team. These higher priced/role players included: Wide Receiver Wes Welker, Cornerback Aqib Talib and Offensive Tackle Sebastian Vollmer. These were the players that helped lead the Patriots to the playoffs this past year. Owner Robert Kraft is willing to let these players walk away without using the franchise tag. The money might be a big reason why management decided not to tag these key players.

                Wes Welker, the Patriots key offensive weapon, led the team to two Super Bowl appearances. He has consistently led the league in receptions, broke the franchise record for receptions, and has brought success to the Patriots passing game for the past few years. The one thing that the Patriots and Welker have never come to agreement on is a long term deal. The price for Welker to come back and play the one year franchise would set the Patriots back $11.42 million. The Patriots are not willing to give him all that money for just a one year deal and they would hope to give him a little money, over a slightly longer period (1 or 2 years).

                Sebastian Vollmer, with his huge physical size has helped the team on the offensive line. The reason why he is so essential to the team is because is 6’8” and can play both sides of the line with great results. Vollmer, who the Patriots have praised so much for his ability to hold his block during the play action and the shotgun formation, would have set the Patriots back $9.828 million. This franchise tag would have made Vollmer the highest paid offensive lineman on the team. The Patriots have proven in the past with linemen that they would love to give them the long term deals. It may even be that Sebastian Vollmer has had a few injuries in the past few years and they don’t want to pay all of that money for someone who may be out for an extended period of time.

                And then there is Aqib Talib. Talib was a big part of the defense after coming to the Patriots from the Buccaneers during last season. When Talib arrived there was an immediate impact, this was that the defensive got better. They were able to intercept and keep the turnover ratio highly in their favor. In the main reason for this is because Matt Patricia, the defensive coordinator, was given the confidence to start bringing blitz packages. These blitz packages allowed for the opposing quarterbacks to be startled and make bad decisions, which normally resulted in turnovers for the Patriots this season. Paying Aqib Talib, on the franchise tag contract, would cost New England $10.854 million. The Patriots are not willing to pay Talib that much money for just one year; they would be more willing to space out the contract over a few years.

                In my opinion, out of these players, the Patriots need Aqib Talib the most. He has brought so much change to that defense and has made the team that much better. Wes Welker is a priority, do not get me wrong he is a great asset, but they do not NEED him. With wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, Tight Ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, and the improving running game the Patriots do not need to pay that money to Wes Welker. Sebastian Vollmer would be a great grab; hopefully they are able to sign him because he is a great player and is definitely an advantage the Patriots use very well. Over the next week we will find out what the Patriots decide to do with Free Agents both restricted and un-restricted.