Bumpy Start for Carolina

Matt Krombach
Sports Editor 

With the lockout finally over, the Carolina Hurricanes are back in action, but the first games outcomes haven’t necessarily been in their favor.  In the Hurricanes’ first two games they were blown out by a wide margin of 5-1 against the Florida Panthers and 4-1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Although with the new additions to the roster and a short training camp, they still have a lot of season left with room for improvement.  Sloppy play and a lack of good chemistry were a big factor in the first few games.      

After getting blown out in their first game and their home opener, the odds were in the Canes’ favor to win and they did just that.  The Hurricanes faced the Buffalo Sabres in back-to-back nights and received two points out of both games.  At the PNC arena on Thursday night the Canes emerged victorious as Captain Eric Staal tallied his 13th career hat trick, which is the league best since the 05-06 season.  Jeff Skinner also recorded two goals on the night.

The following night, January 25, in Buffalo, new addition from the Washington Capitals, Alexander Semin scored his first goal as a Hurricane with an incredible wrist shot.  With the score knotted up with five minutes left in the third, defenseman Jay Harrison finesses the puck past Ryan Miller with a simple wrist shot with bodies screening the net. 

However, their streak would end at two as they faced the Boston Bruins this past Monday on January 28.  The game was tied 3-3 up until two minutes left.  David Krejci slipped the puck past a very tired and sluggish Cam Ward and Canes defense.  Then with only 30 seconds left, Tyler Seguin scored the put away goal in an empty net. 

Although the improvements are evident after the first two games, there’s still a long way to go to get to the playoffs.

Super Bowl Preview

Jonathan Crighton 
Staff Writer

It all comes down to this.

On Sunday, February 3, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers will meet in Super Bowl XLVII (6:00 PM ET, CBS) at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

The game will mark the first time in any of the four major professional sports (NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL) that brothers – Baltimore’s John and San Francisco’s Jim Harbaugh – will match up against one another as head coaches in a postseason game.

Both the Ravens and 49ers are undefeated in the Super Bowl. San Francisco won Super Bowls XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV and XXIX and are making their first Super Bowl appearance since the 1994 season. The Ravens’ lone Super Bowl appearance came in the 2000 season.

Super Bowl XLVII will be the second Super Bowl in which each team lost its conference championship game the previous year. In 2011, the 49ers lost to the New York Giants in the NFC title game and the Ravens were defeated by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

During Championship Game Weekend, the Ravens and 49ers became the first set of road teams to win the Conference Championships since 1997 (Denver and Green Bay). In the second halves of their games, the Ravens (21-0) and 49ers (14-0) outscored their opponents 35-0. The AFC (47.7 million viewers) and NFC (42.0 million viewers) Championship Games ranked as TV’s most-watched programs since Super Bowl XLVI.

Movie releases for 2013

COURTNEY HAMILTON
Staff Writer

Movie releases for 2013 will have superheroes, some will have spaceships, and one will have Bilbo Baggins.

One much-anticipated movie to be released in 2013 is Superman: Man of Steel. This reboot is being directed by Christopher Nolan, with Immortals star Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane. It is expected to have amazing visuals and action, and will be the first Superman movie to be based on the comics, not Richard Donner’s vision.

Another movie that is getting a lot of hype is Iron Man 3. To be released on May 3, 2013, this sequel is about Tony Stark dealing with a virus that spreads through nanotechnology, with borrowed elements from the ‘Extremis’ graphic novel. Rebecca Hall plays a scientist who develops the nanotechnology that accidentally lands in the hands of terrorists. Guy Pearce has the role of Aldich Killan, the geneticist who creates the virus.

J.R.R. Tolkien fans will most anticipate the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, out on December 13, 2013. After crossing the Misty Mountains, Thorin and company must seek aid before entering Mirkwood Forest. If they reach Lake-town, Bilbo must fulfill his contract with the dwarves. This will be the second of three Hobbit movies.

Upcoming Concerts

Sarah Kebea
Staff Writer

January 

Justin Bieber kicked off his 20 country 2012-2013 tour on the September 29 of last year. Carly Rae Jepsen (“Call Me Maybe”), Cody Simpson (“Wish You Were Here”), and The Wanted have all appeared as opening acts for the Believe Tour so far. For all the Beliebers, Justin will perform at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex on January 19 and in Charlotte at the Time Warner Cable Arena on January 22.

American Rock Band Styx is coming to the Crown Center in Fayetteville on January 19. Hits include “Lady”, “Babe” and “Mr. Roboto”. 

The Zac Brown Band will perform at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex on January 26.Hits include “Chicken Fried”, “Knee Deep”, and “Colder Weather”. 

February

Rascal Flatts will perform with the Band Perry (“If I Die Young”) and Kristen Kelly (“Ex Old Man”) on February 15 at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex.                

Upcoming movies

Rebekah Gould
Staff Writer

From action-packed films in January to chick flicks in February, there is sure to be something here that will entertain you.

January 11

Zero Dark Thirty: Starring Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, and Chris Pratt

What’s the real story of Osama Bin Laden? Starting from the first whisper of his name, to the September 11 attacks, and ending with the raid that took his life. This film brings to light what happened behind the decade long manhunt. Rated R

Gangster Squad: Starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, and Sean Penn

In the 1940-1950s, Los Angeles is peaceful with a great police force. When the East Coast Mafia threatens the peace, the LAPD attempts to stop them before everything gets out of hand. Rated R

$ellebrity: Starring Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lopez, and Sarah Jessica Parker

This documentary takes you behind the scenes of the paparazzi and demonstrates how obsessive people can be over other people’s lives. It offers never before seen interviews with some of today’s most popular celebrities. Currently not rated

Lockamy recognized by Panthers

Lockamy confers with Coach Thomas.

Jake Pedersen
Chief Photographer

Junior Jason Lockamy was one of ten students from the Southeast who received the Community Captain award for his excellence in football, school, and his community and was recognized by the Carolina Panthers on December 23, 2012. The qualifications of the award are to have a 3.0 GPA or higher, to play football, be active in your community, and be recommended by a coach.

Lockamy was nominated by former offensive lineman Coach Isaac Bristol. “[Jason is] a very intelligent young man, as well as [an intelligent] player, which is every [coach’s] dream. You don’t have to worry about Jason and his grades; you don’t have to worry about him getting in trouble…he’s just one of those kids you never have to worry about,” said Bristol.

NFL elite eight prepare for division week

Greg Calarco
Staff Writer

Wild-card weekend is over and only eight teams have their Lombardi dreams still alive. From the AFC, it is the same final four from last year: the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens. The Atlanta Falcons are the no. 1 seed in the NFC and have to contend with the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, and Seattle Seahawks. With just seven games left in the 2012 season, every team has a reasonable chance of reaching New Orleans on February 3. 

Divisional weekend kicks off on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. when the Ravens travel to Denver to play the 13-3 Broncos. Baltimore is coming off an emotional victory over the Indianapolis Colts where legend and future Hall-of-Famer Ray Lewis played his final home game. Lewis saw his first action since Week Six when he tore his right triceps, but came back strong and led the team in tackles. Meanwhile, Denver had an extra week to prepare for this contest. Peyton Manning, who has the second most playoff losses of all time, will look to improve his 9-10 record. The key here will be if the Ravens defense can put pressure on Manning and get him slightly out of his comfort zone.  

The showdown between the 49ers and Packers on Saturday night may be the most exciting of the four matchups. It pits Green Bay’s fifth ranked offense against San Francisco’s second ranked defense. The 49ers look to complete unfinished business from last season when they were a couple of fumbled punts away from the Super Bowl. The 49ers had an NFL-best nine pro bowlers this season, a category they also led the league in last year. Coming off their 24-10 blasting of the Vikings, the Packers are trying to recapture the magic of 2010 where they won it all. This game will come down to the wire, with a few key plays being the difference makers. 

The fiscal cliff simplified

John Santos 
News Editor

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the phrase “fiscal cliff” uttered in the news in the past couple of months. The phrase refers to automatic government spending cuts that would take place if Congress couldn’t make a budget deal for 2013. On Wednesday, January 2, President Barack Obama signed a deal that would ward off the automatic cuts, at least temporarily.


The deal marks the first time in 20 years that Republicans voted to increase tax rates. Tax rates went up for Americans who make more than $400,000, which means 98 percent of Americans saw no tax hike. The deal is good news for the housing market. Mortgage interest deduction and long-term tax relief on mortgage debt were extended, which should help housing sales.

But what does the deal mean for college-bound high school students? Federal aid and research funding to universities were among programs originally planned to face spending cuts if an agreement was not made. The bill signed by Obama will hold these cuts off for the short-term. But no one is in the clear yet.

Congress will face another standoff as early as February when the White House will again ask to raise the debt ceiling. If Congress cannot negotiate a final budget deal by March 1, 2013, there will be across the board spending cuts.

No luck of the Irish

Matt Krombach
Staff Writer

Only one year removed from being national champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide proved themselves more than worthy of another championship. Notre Dame, or “Notre ame”, because the D was absent last night, came into Miami as the undefeated underdog.

Only three minutes into the game, running back Eddie Lacy put the first points up on the scoreboard for the Tide.  Throughout the first quarter Notre Dame wasn’t defensively there, and even Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o missed tackles. The Fighting Irish left men wide open and couldn’t stop the running game. Alabama scored 21 more points in the half as Eddie Lacy had a total of 140 yards.  Notre Dame was only 2-8 on third down conversions, while Alabama was 8-13.  

The second half of the game was just as dominating for Alabama even though Notre Dame managed 14 points.  Alabama’s win made this the seventh straight year an SEC team has won the BCS National Championship, with Alabama taking three out of the last four titles.

Les Miserables movie review

Ciara Healey
Staff Writer

The iconic novel Les Miserables has stimulated and inspired millions since Victor Hugo created the life of Jean Valjean in 1862. In 1985, when the story was accompanied by anthems and melodies, the dramatic musical captured the hearts of the public. The musical is still successful and adored by many, but all previous attempts to transform Les Miserables into a screenplay have fallen short of anything emotionally captivating. On December 25, 2012, Les Miserables debuted as a film once more. This time, however, not to disappoint.

Fulfilling new year's resolutions

Sarah Muzzillo
Features Editor

As the new year approaches, many people make a resolution to change poor habits. Although sticking to a resolution may seem like a daunting task, the following tips will help you successfully fulfill plans for the new year.

Scholar Artist: Sirmina Dremsizova

Courtney McCullers
Sports Editor

GPA: 4.72

Classes next semester: Honors Calculus Three, AP Spanish Language, AP Physics, and Wind Ensemble.

If you could eat one food every day, what would that food be? Nutella sandwiches.  All day, every day.

How long have you been participating in the arts? Since fourth grade.

What is your favorite book? Room by Emma Donoghue. I read it as my choice novel for AP English. I just like the way that it’s written. From [the five year old’s] perspective, it really appealed to me. 

What is your favorite movie? The Notebook.

Who is your favorite artist? Death Cab for Cutie.

What is your favorite subject? Mathematics. To me, it makes a lot of sense. It’s always one definite answer. I like being absolutely and totally certain. I find it fun and fascinating.

What is your favorite social networking site? Twitter is becoming very addictive.

 

What is your favorite quote? “I see now that the circumstances of one’s birth are irrelev

ant; it is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are.” – Mewtwo

Describe yourself in three words: Energetic, compassionate, and supportive.

Conquering the winter blues

Amanda Nash
Chief Videographer

It’s no secret that January and February can seem grim and grey, but how can we defeat the cold and stay optimistic?

Here are a few ideas that may help:


1. Exercise. Spending time at the gym or working out at home releases endorphins which put us in good moods. Additionally, exercise naturally gives us more liveliness, without the use of 5-Hour Energy.

2. Eat healthy foods. Junk food can cause mood swings. A nutritional diet, however, gives us more energy and overall contentment.

3. Spend time with friends. The weather may be less than optimal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun! This doesn’t have to be expensive either; consider having a game or movie night at someone’s house. Social support can be very helpful in the more dreary months of the year.

4. Relax. Pick out a good book or go to bed early. Stress is not in the recipe for a good attitude.

5. Embrace winter. Ice skating and hot chocolate are only seasonal for a few months, so it’s important to enjoy these items as much as possible while we can.

NFL Playoffs

Matt Wotus, Greg Calarco, and Matt Krombach  

Editor-in-Chief and Staff Writers  

Editor-in-Chief Matt Wotus and staff writers Greg Calarco and Matt Krombach fill out their brackets for the upcoming NFL Playoffs.