Lion Pride Newspaper
5th Edition Friday, March 22, 2019
Sports Section Today’s Nhl Changes to the Goalie Pads Last season (2017-2018), goalies were forced to shrink their leg pads and pants. This year, they have begun to focus on the upper body of the goaltenders. Goalies were forced to shrink down their arm and chest protectors. The NHL wants the goaltenders to make saves by using their athleticism and skill, not by using the advantage of oversized pads. This is part of the updated rule 11.3, concerning goalie pads: “T he chest and arm protector worn by each goalkeeper must be anatomically proportional and size-specific based on the individual physical characteristics of that goalkeeper.” The rest of the rule goes into the specifics of the restrictions: “Elbow floaters have been reduced from 7 inches to 6 across the front. Bicep and forearm pads must taper—5.5 inches to 4.5, then 4.5 to 4. Clavicle floaters cannot extend more than 2 inches above the shoulder at the lateral edge, 1.5 inches at midpoint and 0.5 inches at the medial edge. Shoulder caps cannot project laterally beyond shoulders more than 1.5 inches.” Increase in Scoring There are several reasons for the increase in scoring this season. One of which is the shrinking of the goalies’ arm and chest protectors. Another reason is the creation of more quality scoring chances. Even though the total shots on goal is slightly decreased from seasons past, there are more shots from the slot per game than before. Here is a chart showing the average slot shots (for both teams combined) per game from the past three years:
This season, Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning reached 100 points in just 62 games. The last people to accomplish that feat were Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in the 1995-1996 season. Last year, it took the leading scorer (Connor McDavid) 77 games to reach the 100-point mark. That alone proves the scoring increase this year. This is a chart of the amount of 100-point scorers in the NHL for the past three seasons along with the players on pace for 100 points this season:
Defensive scoring has also increased this year. The current defensive point leader (Brent Burns) has 75 points in 73 games. Last year, the defensive point leader (John Carlson) had 68 points at the end of the season. This year, it only took Brent Burns 62 games to achieve that feat.
March Madness Approaching (Note: this was written before the tournament began and some things wrote in here could be completely wrong) It’s that time of year again. The time when millions of NCAA tournament brackets are filled out in the hopes of picking every game correctly. The time when upset mania sweeps across the nation. The time where legends are made and miracles occur. It’s March Madness. This year’s edition of the tournament, as usual, will be loads of fun. It’s top heavy, with three teams from the same conference snagging a 1-seed in their region: Duke, led by the best player in the country (Zion Williamson), Virginia, and North Carolina. The other 1-seed, Gonzaga, along with some strong 2-seeds in Tennessee, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Michigan, are given a strong shot at making it late in the tournament. Every year ESPN and other sites have a tournament challenge, with prizes if you are able to match most of the games correctly. This year, an astounding 40.6% of brackets filled out have the Duke Blue Devils coming out on top! Zion Williamson, their sensational freshman has had a great year, but had an interesting injury midway through the season that derailed the Blue Devils title hopes. But recently he has come back to the team, making them the overall 1-seed and obvious favorite to win the tournament. In our survey, 46.7 percent of the people said that Duke would win (the full results are below). North Carolina is also a strong pick, becoming a national champion in 14.6% of the brackets on ESPN. But this famous tournament is known for upsets and cinderella stories such as last year’s Loyola Chicago, and there are plenty of teams who could come out of the woodwork this year. Some of the teams people are picking to make some buzz with some upsets are the Belmont Bruins (11-seed), the Murray State Racers (12-seed), and Oregon(12-seed). Belmont is a very steady team with really no glaring weaknesses, and is good enough to make a nice run in the tournament. They begin in the first four against Temple, and if they win they will play an overseeded Maryland team. Murray State is also a good team, but their secret is that they have arguably the
best player in the country, Ja Morant. Oregon is riding a six game winning streak, and is considered one of the hottest teams in the country. East Region: 1 Duke vs. 16 NCCU/NDSU 2 Michigan St. vs. 15 Bradley 3 LSU vs 14 Yale 4 Virginia Tech vs. 13 Saint Louis 5 Mississippi St. vs 12 Liberty 6 Maryland vs. 11 Belmont/Temple 7 Louisville vs 10 Minnesota 8 VCU vs. 9UCF This is a top-heavy region, with probably the best 1-seed and best 2-seed. We predict Duke to easily breeze through the first two round, although VCU could pull off a monumental upset if they win. The 4 v 13 & 5 v 12 group is fairly unpredictable, but Duke will most likely win against that winner. LSU is the favorite their little group, but don’t be entirely surprised by a big upset from Belmont/Yale to go to the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan State should also fly into the Sweet Sixteen if things go as planned, and also escape into the Elite 8. From there, it should be a really good game, although, once again, the favorite in that potential matchup would be Duke. West Region: 1 Gonzaga vs. 16 FDU/PV 2 Michigan vs. 15 Montana 3 Texas Tech vs 14 N. Kentucky 4 Florida St. vs. 13 UVM5 Marquette. vs 12 Murray St. 6 Buffalo vs. 11 ASU/Temple 7 Nevada vs 10 Florida 8 Syracuse vs. 9 Baylor The West Region is quite unpredictable, led by Gonzaga, followed by Michigan and Texas Tech. As said earlier, Murray St. is a trendy upset pick with Ja Morant at its helm, and could even go as far as to shocking Florida St., although I personally don’t see FSU missing out on the Sweet Sixteen. Gonzaga should make it past the first two round despite a decent 8 and 9 seed to play against and live on to probably play FSU. Buffalo is not a power team, but is having a fabulous season and could make it far in the tournament. One of the “hometown” teams up in Lubbock, Texas Tech also has a solid shot itself. Michigan has been unpredictable,
but made it to the championship game last year and have experience. I think this region’s winner will be...Texas Tech! Led by a great player named Jarrett Culver, and although not a lot of bracketeers have them making the Final Four, they have great potential and could surprise some folks. South Region: 1 Virginia vs. 16 Gardner-Webb 2 Tennessee vs. 15 Colgate 3 Purdue vs 14 OldDominion 4 Kansas St. vs. 13 UC Irvine 5 Marquette. vs 12 Murray St. 6 Villanova vs. 11 St. Mary’s 7 Cincinnati vs 10 Iowa 8 Ole’ Miss vs. 9 Oklahoma In the South Region two of last year’s most famous teams could meet; defending champion Villanova and national shame of last year’s tournament, Virginia. This year, however, Virginia is looking to overcome that and blow Gardner-Webb out of the water. From there they could play a solid Oklahoma team, but then the path gets tricky. Murray State and Ja Morant could make an upset run into the Sweet Sixteen...or the expected favorite could advance, Kansas State. It’s an either/or tournament, but regardless of who they play, Virginia is given a 73% chance of making the Elite 8, courtesy of FiveThirtyEight. On the other side, Tennessee could receive a challenge possibly against Cincinnati, but they are a very good team, and I have them making the Final Four in my bracket. Villanova has been volatile this season, and Purdue is kind of overlooked and overrated. Of course upsets happen, but it will most likely be another 1-2 Elite 8 game here in the second weekend of the tournament. Midwest Region: 1 North Carolina vs. 16 Iona 2 Kentucky vs. 15 Abilene C. 3 Houston vs 14 Georgia St. 4 Kansas vs. 13 Northeastern 5 Auburn. vs 12 New Mexico St. 6 Iowa St. vs. 11 Ohio St. 7 Wofford vs 10 Seton Hall 8 Utah St. vs. 9 Washington The Midwest Region is led by some familiar names: North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas, three perennial powerhouses, although Kansas is having a bit of a down
year. Once again, the 1-seed should breeze into the Sweet Sixteen without much trouble, and will probably play Auburn, one of the hottest teams in the country. But if Kansas can win their first two games, their next two will be played in Kansas City, and no matter how good they are, they are almost unstoppable at or near Lawrence, Kansas. Houston is a good team this year, but I personally think that they will be shut down by a strong Iowa State team in the Sweet Sixteen. Wofford is, like Buffalo, another very strong mid-major team that can make waves in the tournament, with the 2nd best three-point shooter in the history of NCAA college basketball (by made threes). Kentucky should defeat them in the second round, but there could be an upset run lurking down there in the Midwest. North Carolina is a fantastic team, and they can beat any team in the country not named Duke solidly, so I predict that they will come out alive from the midwest.
Entertainment Section Reviews To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee This book is really good. There’s a reason it’s a classic throughout the ages. It highlights black inequality. Narrated by Scout Finch, this novel is about a lawyer, Atticus Finch, who is full of good and wants to take on the case of a black man, Tom Robinson. Will Atticus Finch be able to exact justice? Read the novel to find out. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey is a fantastic read about an “unconventional” alien invasion. Despite it sounding very sci-fi, it isn’t and quite deep and interesting. The story follows a teenage girl named Cassie who tries to traverse through post-apocalyptic life with very few humans remaining. The first wave was taking out all electricity. The second, huge tsunami on all coastlines, and the third, a terrible disease only a select few are immune to. The fourth wave is drone killers, and the fifth is right around the corner. You will not be able to trust anyone. I highly recommend this book, and hope y’all check it out.
Fortnite PT. 3
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Did you ever think we’d come back? Well, here we are. Again. We got a couple new skins, per the usual: (From left to right) Peely: The Banana (Best meme skin ever) Sidewinder: Calamity 2.0 Hybrid: Ninja-looking dude that turns into a dragon with the unlockable styles Luxe: 24k of flexing Master Key: Karate master with cool mask Blackheart: Basically Blackbeard, and he can turn into a skeleton with his unlockable styles Ember: Classcraft.exe (Mage) Here’s our list of the top editions this season: The Supressed SMG came back, normal SMGs got vaulted Planes got vaulted Fortnite got balls (Hamster Balls)
New locations: Sunny Steps, Lazy Lagoon, and the long-awaited volcano has finally appeared, removing the cargo/crates area and has displaced the Block The Block is moved to where the motel was We got a pistol that can yeet you the high ground Max materials reduced to 500 instead of 999 to prevent TTV sweats from rekking you CANNONS! You can now fire yourself, other people, and cannon balls out of long metal tubes. A bunch of pirate outposts have been established Boom boxes and fireworks got vaulted (finally) Best part of the new update: We got a free battlepass if you completed the challenges from last season Fortnite Party Assist: You can let your friends help you with your challenges now Hamster Balls: Basically just really hard glass balls that you can ride in and grapple onto things with. There are also rumors of dragons being added, as there are huge eggs in the castle.
Jokes, Riddles, and Comics Section Comics
Jokes and Riddles Jokes Did you hear about the three big holes in the ground? Well, well, well… I asked my French friend if he likes video games. He said, “Wii.” Why can’t you run through a campground? You can only ran, because it is past tents. Sometimes I tuck my knees into my chest and lean forward. That’s just how I roll. My friend always prefers the stairs whereas I prefer the elevator. I guess we were just raised differently. After a long time, I told my hot coworker how I felt. Turns out she felt the same way. So I turned on the air conditioning. I once fell in love with someone who only knew four vowels. She didn’t know I existed. My friend keeps telling me I’m the cheapest person he’s ever met. I’m not buying it. Boss, if he can’t appreciate your fruit jokes… You got to let the mango. Courtesy of Reader’s Digest
Riddles - Poor people have it. Rich people need it. Nobody likes it. What is it? - Nothing. - Tall I am young, short I am old, while with life I glow, wind is my foe. What am I? - A candle. - Rearrange the letters OOUSWTDNEJR to spell just one word. - ‘just one word’ - A bus driver was heading down a street in Colorado. He went right past a stop sign without stopping, he turned left where there was a “no turn left” sign, and he went the wrong way on a one-way street. Then he went on the left side of the road past a cop car. Still - he didn’t break any traffic laws. Why not? - He was walking, not driving. - We are five little objects of an everyday sort. You will find us all in a tennis court. What are we? - Vowels - What English word has three consecutive double letters? - Bookkeeper - A house has 6 stories, each the same height. How many times as long is the ascent to the sixth floor as the ascent to the third? - 5/2 or 2.5 Courtesy of Riddles.com
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Credits We could not have done this without our sponsor, Mr. Mank, and our writers and editors: Ben Adams Hudson Brown William Clarke Henry Hoak Arnav Lahoti Asa McCaleb Nathan Meyer Peyton Militello Tyler Tang Thomas Whitehurst Dawson Yao