Filling a Void

The Chattanooga basketball landscape is missing something. Unlike many other large metro areas, Chattanooga does not have any sort of showcase for high school basketball talent. High school basketball players have to travel to Atlanta or Birmingham in order to play in front of college coaches. However, Covenant College Senior Jake DeLaney plans to fill this missing gap through his Senior Integration Project. 

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A Tradition Like No Other

Every year in the first full week of April, right around the time when winter begins to thaw out around the country, the sports world focuses on a small town in Georgia as it holds the greatest golf tournament in the world. Radiant azaleas bloom, the grass greens up, and the best golfers from around the world drive up Magnolia Lane at Augusta National to compete in the Masters Tournament. The grounds of the course are filled with the lucky few fans who won tickets through the age-old lottery, and with those willing to pay over $1000 dollars a day to see one of the most beautiful courses in the world.

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Making Sense of the Madness

This past weekend we experienced what I like to refer to as “the best two days of the year.” No, with all due respect to CAB, I am not referencing Spring Formal and the surrounding hoopla. I’m of course talking about the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament (okay, technically it’s the second round, but everybody knows it’s really the first round).

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Working to Lose?

Nerlens Noel dunking against the Toronto Raptors, photo credit: www.phillyvoice.com

Nerlens Noel dunking against the Toronto Raptors, photo credit: www.phillyvoice.com

The summer of 2012 was an important one for the 76ers. They had just had a successful playoff run in which they knocked off the Derrick Rose-less Bulls, and made the second round, as an 8th seed in the Eastern Conference, and were looking to build off that success and make the next step toward being a title contender. Involving themselves in the Dwight Howard deal served as the perfect avenue to grab a franchise player, in the talented 7 footer Andrew Bynum. Bynum was an All-Star with the Lakers, and helped lead them to two NBA Championships in his short time with Los Angeles. The 76ers felt as if they had finally found their first superstar since the Allen Iverson days and rid themselves of their perpetual frustration with trying to mold Iguodala into that guy. Surely with a solid core of Jrue Holiday, Nick Young, Jason Richardson, Spencer Hawes, Evan Turner, Thaddeus Young and their new star, Bynum, the 76ers would leave the murky waters of borderline playoffdom, and become a juggernaut in the league. However, this plan fell flat on its face when Bynum began to deal with injuries, weight issues, and overall insanity. He never played a single game with the 76ers, and their promising team floundered to a 34-48 record, never really threatening to make the playoffs.

The next summer, the 76ers scratched their plan, did not resign Bynum, and entered into full-on rebuilding mode. Once victims of injuries and bad fortune, they began to become self-victims. They drafted a lanky point guard, Michael-Carter Williams, and traded their all-star, Holiday, for another injured player, the rookie Nerlens Noel. The organization launched the impressively optimistic marketing campaign, “Together We Build,” in an attempt to lure season-ticket holders to reinvest in the team. As advertised, the Sixers were terrible, finishing with a 19-63 record and very little hope in sight, except for their rookie of the year, Carter-Williams, and the injured Noel. However, it became clear in the previous offseason and during the 2013-2014 season, that the Sixers were accomplishing their goal, they had no desire to be good for the foreseeable future.

Perhaps more than any other league in America, players in the NBA care about playing in a big media market and joining previously constructed contenders. Rarely do you find big name superstars join a horrible team in free-agency that fails to promise enormous endorsements or championships. Cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami offer greater media attention--and therefore more lucrative endorsements to give to potential stars--than places like Milwaukee, Memphis, Sacramento, and Indianapolis. However, players also like to win in the NBA. Teams like the Lakers, Celtics, and Heat have proven that superstars are drawn to other superstars and want to win NBA rings, and if a team can possibly give that ring, such a Cleveland’s situation this summer, a star will go there. Unfortunately, for the 76ers, they offer neither of those situations to free agents, or disgruntled stars looking for trades. Who would really want to join that mess? So the 76ers’ front office is employing the strategy of “tanking.” They have attempted to be as bad as possible, so that they can win as many ping pong balls as possible and possibly get lucky in the Draft Lottery.

Year two of tanking has been a mixed bag for the Sixers. They scored the extremely promising Joel Embiid in the 2014 draft, and have shown some promise on the court, but decided to take a few steps back in order to get better for the future. They traded away reigning Rookie of the Year winner, Carter-Williams, and their diamond-in-the-rough second round draft-pick, K.J. McDaniels, to gain another 1st and 2nd round draft pick.

So when does this vicious cycle end? When will General Manager Sam Hinkie find the superstar he has been searching for by the draft or by pooling together his assets and trading for a star to put alongside Embiid or Noel? Will it be this summer, summer of 2016, or perhaps 2017? The problem with this strategy is that there is no end in sight. When will the Philadelphia fans finally get fed up with a franchise clearly not intending to win now, and go follow another team? These are the critical questions circling the national and Philadelphia media right now.

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say that Embiid returns from his plethora of injuries and a possible weight gain issue, and this summer’s draft pick proves to be a star, and the Sixers look like they finally have their guys of the future. How long will it take for these guys to learn how to win, where the franchise decides to not try to make them lose? How will Noel and Embiid work together as they both seem to play the same position?

Tanking strategies, in my estimation, have several key flaws. First, they often avoid meaningful veteran leadership to help nurture and grow budding superstars. Oftentimes the only veterans who play for a tanking team are those who were shipped to the team as a contract-filler, meant to dwindle their last few years in the league, chucking shots, wearing suits on the bench, and collecting a big paycheck to fill the needed salary cap space. This destroys the possibility of a young player observing and playing with a veteran who comes into the gym everyday, still on top of his game, and excited to help a team win as many games a possible. Clearly this does not happen on a team like the 76ers. Second, these young players are not allowed the valuable learning experience that comes from winning games and playing in high pressure contests and playoff series, where there are real consequences for losing, like your season being over. The stars of the 76ers will most likely not play a meaningful game until, the powers that be in the front office, decide that they are ready to cash in the chips and attempt to be a championship or even playoff contending roster. So when these players finally do enter this new situation that values winning, will they be ready? Finally, tanking polarises the very fans who pay the paychecks of the players and front office executives. Consistently placing a team out on the court who is nowhere near ready to win games is taxing on true fans. A team runs the risk of losing many of the fans who they worked so hard to gain when they tout a roster of 2nd round picks and NBDL call-ups.

Winning in the NBA is hard. I have sat through many seasons where my beloved Grizzlies have struggled to win 20 games, and it stinks. However, I believe that teams that place the loyalty of their fans on the line for 4 to 5 seasons, in order to make the calculated risk of possibility of striking gold through young players figuring it out, is wrong. I hope the 76ers’ plan fails, and the current experiment happening is never duplicated again.

 

MLB Power Rankings

It’s been a whirlwind of an offseason in the MLB and we’ve only got a few more weeks to wrap our minds around it. Thanks to the transaction-happy owners, we need to sit down and simplify (like, down to 5 words) the consequences of all of these deals. So whether you’re a new fan of the MLB, an old fan trying to figure out what happened over the last few months, or a significant other trying to act like you know what you’re talking about, this article should meet your needs. There’s also a chance that citing any of my opinions on these teams will just make you sound ignorant around your MLB-savvy friends, but that’s a risk I’ve come to terms with.

 

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Scots Schedule: 3/6 - 3/7

Friday, March 6

 

Softball

at Greensboro

1:00 PM

Greensboro, N.C.

 

Softball

at Greensboro

3:00 PM

Greensboro, N.C.

 

Men’s Tennis

at Greensboro

3:00 PM

Greensboro, N.C.

 

Women’s Tennis

at Greensboro

3:00 PM

Greensboro, N.C.

 

Baseball

at LaGrange

7:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.

 

Saturday, March 7

 

Men’s Tennis

at Ferrum

10:00 AM

Ferrum, Va.

 

Women’s Tennis

at Ferrum

10:00 AM

Ferrum, Va.

 

Softball

at Ferrum

1:00 PM

Ferrum, Va.

 

Baseball

at LaGrange

2:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.

 

Softball

at Ferrum

3:00 PM

Ferrum, Va.

 

Women’s Tennis

at Lynchburg

4;00 PM

Lynchburg, Va.

 

Baseball

at LaGrange

5:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.



 

Scots Schedule: 2/27 - 2/28

Friday, February 27

 

Men’s Basketball

vs TBD

TBD

TBD (USA South Conference Tournament Semi-Finals)

 

Varsity Baseball

vs. William Peace

2:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Women’s Tennis

vs. Meredith

4:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Saturday, February 28

 

Men’s Basketball

vs TBD

TBD

TBD (USA South Conference Tournament Finals)

 

Women’s Tennis

at Agnes Scott

11:00 AM

Decatur, Ga.

 

Baseball

vs William Peace

12:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Softball

vs. Mt. Saint Joseph’s

1:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Softball

vs. Mt. Saint Joseph’s

3:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.


 

Men’s Tennis

at Point

3:00 PM

West Point, Ga.

 

Baseball

vs William Peace

3:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.


 

Scots Schedule: 2/20-2/21

Friday, February 20

 

Varsity Baseball

at Piedmont

7:00 PM

Demorest, Ga.

 

Saturday, February 21

 

Varsity Baseball

vs. Methodist

11:00 AM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Softball

at Wesleyan (Ga.)

11:00 AM

Macon, Ga.

 

Men’s Tennis

at Birmingham Southern

12:00 PM

Birmingham, Ala

 

Women’s Tennis

at Birmingham Southern

12:00 PM

Birmingham, Ala..

 

JV Men’s Basketball

at LaGrange

12:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.

 

Softball

at Wesleyan (Ga.)

1:00 PM

Macon, Ga.

 

Men’s Basketball

at LaGrange

2:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.

 

Women’s Basketball

at LaGrange

4:00 PM

LaGrange, Ga.

 

Varsity Baseball

at Piedmont

4:00 PM

Demorest, Ga.

 

Men’s Tennis

vs Millsaps

5:00 PM

Birmingham, Ala

 

Women’s Tennis

vs Millsaps

5:00 PM

Birmingham, Ala..


 

Scots Schedule: 2/13 - 2/14

Friday, February 13

 

Varsity Baseball

vs. Methodist

2:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Women’s Tennis

at Sewanee

8:00 PM

Sewanee, Tenn.

 

Saturday, February 14

 

Varsity Baseball

vs. Methodist

11:00 AM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Men’s Tennis

vs. Gadsen State

1:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Softball

vs. Berry

1:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, GA

 

Men’s Basketball

vs.Berea

2:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, Ga.

 

Varsity Baseball

vs. Methodist

2:00 PM

Lookout, Mountain Ga.

 

Softball

vs. Berry

3:00 PM

Lookout Mountain, GA

 

Covenant Spotlight: Campus Yoga

For anyone looking to spice up their workout routine or try something new, yoga may be the answer for you. Covenant is offering a yoga class every Wednesday from 8:00-9:00 p.m. The class is open to all ages and all levels of experience. To find out more about this opportunity, I talked with Covenant's very own yoga instructor, Andrea Beachley.

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