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January 28, 2010
Lindsay Huth
Four times a year, jean-clad students seem to disappear for the entire day and then suddenly reappear. No, they are not part of a Houdini-like magic trick; they assemble in the gym to participate in the NCBI, or National Coalition Building Institute, a Prejudice Reduction Workshop.
“It is an all-day program where the kids learn to be more aware of people’s cultural backgrounds and be more effective in getting others making an offensive statement to take a look at why they said it,” adviser Tom Hottinger said.
The day begins with an activity called Up-Downs in which the facilitators name a group of people such as Catholic or Italian and students stand up for the groups of which they are members. After an introductory ice-breaker during which everyone shares something about himself or herself, the real one-on-one diversity training begins.
“We pair off and try to break what we call the ‘internal record’, or the prejudices that each person has,” sophomore team member Ana Horattas said. “We say a group name, the other person responds with the first word that comes to mind and we all share with the group.”
Following this, the participants find different partners to share their appreciation for the groups of which they are a part and the prejudices about them that offend them. After other sharing and diversity-promoting activities, the group reconvenes for Speak Outs, one of the most touching aspects of the event.
“During Speak Outs, people talk about how they’ve experienced prejudice in their own lives,” adviser Katie Haubert said.
All of the people in the group pledge to stand by them as they deal with this problem.
This mentality of sharing and support among the student body is further enforced by the fact that students facilitate the entire program.
“We are there as advisers but the students run the whole thing,” Hottinger said. “This makes it more effective for the participants when they see them because kids are more willing to learn from their peers.”
Team members are chosen by the moderators as exemplary leaders in their classes. They are trained at St. Edward High School along with Gilmour Academy so that the Holy Cross schools can unite on the issue of prejudice.
“It’s important for kids today to realize that there is a different way to fight injustice than in a confrontational way,” Hottinger said. “Realizing that what you say can offend other cultures can benefit you down the road if you approach others with an open mind.”
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January 28, 2010
Evan Luse
Perhaps President Obama should try his hand at fortune telling. Earlier this week the avid basketball fan called the Kentucky men’s basketball team and warned them that being ranked number one was a heavy burden to bear and they should “keep their focus.” They didn’t listen.
The Kentucky Wildcats (19-1) fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks (12-8) on Tuesday night by a final score of 68-62. The somewhat overlooked Gamecocks walked tall against the storm of the nation’s top team as they were led by 5’9” senior Devan Downey. Downey was nearly uncontainable as he scored 30 points, and ultimately had the last laugh over Kentucky youngsters John Wall (19 points) and DeMarcus Cousins (27 points, 12 rebounds). Downey’s partner in crime, Brandis Raley-Ross, finished the game with a season high 17 points and helped to foster a backcourt that generated great defensive pressure that created 15 Wildcat turnovers.
The Wildcats seemed to be in control halfway through the second half leading 47-40 until Downey took over. Downey got an and-one and stoked two free throws to tie the game up. At this point the upset looked possible.
“It’s been my thinking all year,” South Carolina coach Darrin Horn said in an ESPN interview. “If it’s close, we’ve got No. 2 [Downey] and we’ve got a shot.”
Downey stepped up to plate and nailed a clutch three-pointer with four minutes left and from there the Gamecocks were able to scrap for the win. The Wildcats had a shot to salvage their undefeated record when Wall completed a three-point play with 40 seconds left but they couldn’t close. Cousins was certainly upset at the outcome but not completely discouraged.
“No. 1 was all good, but No. 1 is not a championship,” Cousins said. “And we’re playing for a championship.”
Whether it was Obama’s phone call, poor execution, the lack of rebounding, or young talent crumbling under the pressure of being No. 1, the Wildcats loss was nothing less than stunning. Downey insisted he knew it was coming, as America could hear him screaming “I told you so!” as the South Carolina faithful stormed the court.
In college basketball its almost impossible to stay undefeated, but when March rolls around the Wildcats have a great chance to be the last team standing—maybe they should ask the President if he has time to make a call to Kansas and Texas, it couldn’t hurt.
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January 28, 2010
Monday is Pajama Day
Tuesday is Twin Day
Wednesday is Wacky Wednesday
Thursday is Rent a Junior Day, (regular dress code for everyone but the participants)
Friday is Disney Day
Guidelines for Monday’s Pajama Day are as follows:
Be nice and cozy on Monday morning by wearing PJs to school
Students may wear pajama pants or sweatpants and slippers.
Also acceptable: Hoban shirts, or cotton pajama shirt if part of a matching set and is modest.
No shorts, robes, tank-tops or sleeveless shirts or nightgowns.
No Spandex or other form-fitting clothing.
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January 28, 2010
Danielle Hale
Five-year old Macy Mammone and three-year old James Mammone IV were brutally killed by their father, James Mammone III, on June 8, 2009, when he stabbed to death his only children, and then shot and killed his former mother-in-law, Margaret Eakin, in Canton.
Police searched for Mammone for three hours, and then found his car parked in the parking lot of the apartment building where he lived. The children were in the back seat with stab marks on their throat, dead.
Earlier that day, he had picked the children up for visitation rights. By Monday morning at 6 a.m. the police were called to the scene when reports of shots fired were reported at the mother-in-law’s home.
“He was actually very cooperative with us at the time we took him into custody,” Canton Chief of Police Dean McKimm said. “He didn’t give us any real resistance.”
Mammone was then taken to Stark County jail with a bond of $15 million.
Mammone faced three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated burglary, three firearm specifications and single counts of violating a protection order and attempted arson. He was found guilty on all charges.
Mammone gave two reasons for his actions: to get back at his ex-wife and to save them from a broken home. Mammone had grown up with divorced parents and didn’t want them to experience it.
On Jan. 22, Judge John G. Haas set the execution date for Mammone to be June 5, 2010- one year after the killings. When the decision was made public, ex-wife Marcia Eakin had a smirk. She informed her ex-husband that he didn’t destroy her life.
“I’m strong. I inspire people. I’ll charge forward. I will smile again. I’m in love again,” Marcia Eakin said. “You may have destroyed a part of my life. But you did not destroy me. Soon, the world will be rid of you.”
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January 28, 2010
Amy Yakubowski
On Tuesday, former Cleveland Indian Jim Thome signed a one-year contract with defending Central Division Champs the Minnesota Twins.
Thome spent the first 12 seasons of his career in Cleveland, three seasons in Philadelphia and the past four seasons with the Chicago White Sox.
Signing the one-year contract gives Thome $1.5 million and includes $750,000 in incentives.
The Twins have wanted to improve their lineup since last season and signing the 39 year-old is just what they were looking for.
“We just signed a guy that’s going to be in the Hall of Fame and it doesn’t get much better than that,” Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said during a conference call to announce the deal on Tuesday night.
The slugger, with a total of 564 career home runs, will join the team on the bench as a designated hitter or pinch-hitter
“We play ‘em all and everybody is going to get at-bats,” Gardenhire said at the conference. “A guy like Jim, he’s not going to just come off the bench. He’s going to get his time playing and mix in at DH. … That’s the way you keep the guys going and keep everybody a part of it. We’ll get plenty of at-bats for him.”
Thome is excited to play with the Twins saying how he’s ready to help out the team and ready to help the team win. The future all-star is also excited to work with new teammates, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
“Those guys, they are what the game is all about right now,” Thome told reporters. “To be their teammate is an honor.”
Thome and the Twins will take on his former team and team’s rival, the Cleveland Indians, April 20-22 at Target Stadium.
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January 25, 2010
Nikki Bowser
“You, miss, are sickeningly unAmerican. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
This is one of my favorite quotes from hobanvisor.com. It is not from a column or a news story; it is a comment posted anonymously in response to a recent column I wrote for the Visor.
Anonymous, I’m confused. Should I be ashamed of myself for disagreeing with the President’s views and policies, or should I be ashamed of myself for publicly voicing them? Which of these actions makes me un-American: having a mind enough of my own to think for myself, or utilizing my First Amendment rights?
My answer is neither. I stand by everything I said and I would write the column again, verbatim.
There was also some concern that I did not provide enough support to call President Obama a hypocritical liar, so I will offer some at this time. President Obama repeatedly pledged to have the most transparent administration in the country’s history. He made several public promises to put the Congress-negotiations regarding his proposed healthcare reform on C-Span, and stream them over the Internet. Incidentally, the debates have been conducted behind closed doors, with voting taking place at midnight.
Not good enough? Here’s more. During his campaign President Obama promised to pull troops out of Afghanistan and bring them home. Recently Nobel Peace Prize-winning Obama sent 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total to at least 68,000, far more than were ever in Afghanistan during the Bush Administration (troops totaled about 26,000 in Afghanistan in 2007).
This sure sounds like hypocrisy to me, but I suppose you could just write it off as merely lying.
The nation has undeniably been divided by political parties, with Americans choosing sides like a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight. I hadn’t realized how much so until after the publication of the last Visor, when several Hoban alum immediately abandoned all rational thought and resorted to name calling and whining, all in the name of political preference.
Voltaire, a French Enlightenment writer is quoted as saying “I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” I certainly expected some readers to disagree with things that I wrote, but I did not expect the level of disrespect that followed. I can appreciate factually based debates, but what I cannot appreciate is an adult taking the time to post fifteen comments informing me that what I have written is a small-minded piece of garbage.
Perhaps this is what’s wrong with the country. We are too distracted by which party we associate ourselves with to compromise on important issues. Many Obama-supporting Americans have already ruled out any logical arguments I may have made purely because I do not support their hero.
That being said, I respect each liberal, Democrat or Obama-loving reader who was able to set aside his or her pride long enough to post a comment that was not informing me that I have disappointed our entire country.
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January 22, 2010
Nick Pelini
On Wednesday Dec. 30, the University of Texas Tech made the decision to fire head football coach Mike Leach because he reportedly locked concussed player Adam James in an electrical closet. Leach was fired with cause, which means he may not earn any of the $12.7 million contract he signed in February or the $800,000 bonus he was set to receive the next day on Dec. 31.
Much turmoil has surrounded Texas Tech the past few weeks over contradicting reports concerning sophomore wide receiver Adam James. James claims to have been forced to remain in an electrical closet while suffering from a concussion without being tended to by trainers.
Leach, on the other hand, was quoted as saying that James “was lazy and acted like he was entitled to special treatment.” He also said that James was ejected from practice for a consistent lack of effort and for showing up to practice in street clothes with sunglasses.
Another inconsistency in this saga is the supposed electrical closet. While James has put up a video from his cell phone showing the room, many statements also have been released saying that the shed in question is actually the visiting team’s media room. This media room that every visiting coach uses contains the electrical closet that James could have gone in just to film. Leach also said he did not decide the place to put James, he only said to put him in a “dark place.”
As to why James would want Leach in trouble stems from one of the most common problems coaches face on all sporting levels; James and his father, former NFL running back and current ESPN broadcaster Craig James, felt that he was not earning enough playing time.
In an interview with ESPN, Leach said: “When you call coaches … you call other administrators and come to practices and have constant discussions on your son and their playing time … Craig James required more time than all the other parents combined.”
Former players and coaches have come to the defense of Leach though e-mails they sent to CBS Sports, reinforcing Leach’s assessment of James.
Last season’s quarterback Graham Harrell included an anecdote detailing James’ decision to quit the baseball team due to little playing time. Harrell also said that James carried this attitude into football season by “skipping lifts” in the off-season and not showing up to some of the seven on seven practices. Harrell goes on to say, “The most detrimental part of Adam was his off field attitude … Adam used any opportunity he had to tell other players how he was being treated unfairly, how the coaches did not give him a fair chance.”
“He should be grateful for the opportunity that was given to him here that was not offered at any other Division 1 football program. He has an unbelievable sense of … entitlement because of who his father is; one that hurts himself and people around him,” inside wide receivers coach Lincoln Riley writes.
On top of all the drama lays the belief that Leach was fired so Texas Tech would not have to pay Leach the massive amounts of money from the lucrative deal he signed in February. Former Texas Tech regent Jim Sowell has denied any idea that the firing was pre-conceived. However, emails have appeared between Sowell and Chancellor Kent Hance from late 2008 and early 2009 that talk about possibly firing Leach.
“Those emails certainly strongly suggest some kind of conspiracy and collusion,” Leach said in an interview with News Channel 11 out of Lubbock, Texas. “You know I felt like we signed the contract. We’re on the same team, we’re all working together and now I find out after the fact that they’re working against me to begin with.”
The spectacle proved exceptionally popular to the public as ESPN turned in a 5.6 rating which means the Alamo Bowl drew 5,553,630 households, the most ever by a bowl aired on ESPN. Texas Tech won the Alamo Bowl as interim coach Ruffin McNeill led the Red Raiders to victory over Michigan State 41-31. During the game, Adam James was booed as he walked in for halftime and several shirts supporting Leach were seen in the crowd.
Though the fans of Texas Tech are obviously upset over Leach’s firing, Jan. 9 marked a new chapter in the program’s history because Tommy Tuberville was announced as the head coach. Tuberville resigned from Auburn two years ago after a 5-7 record. His career accomplishments however include a six game winning streak over rival Alabama and a 13-0 perfect season 2004.
With the James and Leach debacle finally coming to a close, the truth behind this scandal may always be questioned; however, the Texas Tech program must move on if it ever wishes to surpass one of the best coaches in their school’s history.
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January 22, 2010
Evan Luse
I went to the fridge the other night, leaned in and looked for a Gatorade. I took that cold first sip and realized something: Tiger Woods’ face was nowhere to be found.
In fact, Tiger has seemed to disappear from the face of the Earth all together. The only time I see those pearly white teeth of his is when some news reporter is updating the count of alleged mistresses he has. It struck me that I wasn’t actually surprised about the whole ordeal. I mean hey, what’s the big deal about another professional athlete falling from grace anyways?
As a young kid growing up it seems everyone has a favorite player in some sport or another. Everyone has a poster of an athlete in their room, a jersey with a favorite players name on it or maybe even a dusty box full of old baseball cards. In America, our professional athletes are held high as role models, but that doesn’t mean they actually live up to a higher standard.
Should it surprise you that Mark McGwire recently admitted to MLB network that he used steroids for “health purposes?” Should it surprise you that Michael Phelps was caught bong-handed last year after his record-breaking Olympic performance? Should it surprise you that David Stern has suspended Gilbert Arenas for having a gun in the team locker room?
Maybe it should. It seems the only thing the media is attracted to these days are negative stories that put former icons in a negative light. Where have all the good stories gone? Why wasn’t a big ruckus made when Shaquille O’Neal received the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for November because he became the spokesman for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program? Why didn’t “Shaq-A-Claus” make the front page of the New York Times?
I know why. Its because some Americans are so obsessed with celebrities that I could find out when the last time Kobe Bryant clipped his fingernails. God forbid they be a tad bit too long and I might have to write a letter to Phil Jackson about it. Seriously, I think it would do us all some good if we stepped back and looked for some positives in the media today— especially the good that sports icons have done.
I bet you didn’t know that Mike Holmgren just spent a week in Mexico building homes for the underprivileged. Double or nothing that you didn’t know that since 1996 Derek Jeter’s “Turn 2” foundation has awarded more than $10 million in grants to promote healthy lifestyles for thousands of children. All bets aside, I can guarantee you’ve seen Peyton Manning on some commercial or maybe dancing on Saturday Night Live, but you didn’t know that his foundation “PeyBack” has been operational for over a decade.
See, there are great sports icons all around us and sometimes we flat out refuse to see them. We would rather hear about Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg than we would about the Miami Heat players visiting Holtz Children’s Hospital in Florida over the holidays.
It is true that professional athletes are in the spotlight, but we are the ones who control where that light is shed. In the upcoming year there are sure to be more stories about rich athletes who falter, but even more stories about athletes who do great things for their community. So go ahead, tape that poster back up, throw on that old jersey and dust off those cards— a great year of sports is sure to come. We have many great sports icons to watch, just make sure you actually see them.
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January 22, 2010
Maire Hofer and Nick Pelini
Boys Bowling
Dec. 22 marked a new chapter in the North Coast League and Hoban history. The boys bowling team won the first ever conference tournament with a team score of 3,708 pins, beating second place Holy Name by about 200 pins.
Tournament MVP went to junior JaVonte Carter who bowled a 610 for three games. He also had high game with 251.
“I know we can go far because Hoban has never won a tournament like that,” Carter said.
Sophomore David Scarpitti made first team all-conference, sophomore Erik Calet received second team all-conference and sophomore Corey Sailer earned honorable mention. All three players made significant contributions to propel the Knights to victory.
First-year coach Dennis Holodnak has quickly made his presence known, collecting the NCL Coach of the Year award. He also has guided the Knights to a 7-1 match record so far.
“I’m extremely proud of the team,” Holodnak said. “We bowled as a team and backed each other up.”
A successful season so far leaves the team with a wave of momentum that they hope to carry throughout the rest of the season.
“This win gives us a lot of confidence for sectionals, districts, and states,” Holodnak said.
Girls Bowling
We’re going to be extremely competitive finishing out the season and in tournaments. Six of the eight girls are new to bowling,” head coach Dennis Holodnak said.
Even with a majority of bowlers on the team being inexperienced Holodnak is pleasantly optimistic.
“The girls are coming along well. The first time bowling for most of these girls was open gyms this year so we are as competitive as we can be. This year is good preparation for next year. We will be on a higher more competitive level but this group makes you day no matter what,” Holodnak said smiling.
Senior Jessica Harvey also thinks the team as a whole can be very competitive.
“Depending on who we are bowling against our competition level changes. If it’s St. Vincent- St. Mary or Walsh it’s like an eight because we get competitive but a normal match is around a four, on a scale of one to ten,” Harvey said.
Walsh is the match the girls have the most fun preparing and participating in.
“When we played against Walsh we all wore fake diamonds and pearls and had monopoly money sticking out of our pockets and I wore a fur scarf,” Harvey said.
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