6 THE MOUNT

Sports Few students have ventured into the weight room over the past month; however, those who have may have noticed a change in its layout. Senior Dean, Tim Struckman recently re-organized most of the machines and free weights on the “upper” level of the weight room. The motivation? To better utilize the limited amount of space in the work-out area, and, hopefully, to encourage more students to lift weights on a regular basis. “The new arrangement of the equipment in the weight room is great! It feels much more open,” said senior Randy Speer. Over the past few years, the Mount Michael weight lifting culture has been sub-par, to say the least. “I’ve been trying to work out every day this year, and so far I’ve seen very few people in the weight room. Maybe once more kids see how different the weight room is now, there will be more students working out,” said senior Hunter Hottovy. “Every time I go into the weight room I see the same two or three guys. I think some kids are intimidated or too lazy to go work out.” said sophomore Mohammed Elradi. The re-organization of our work out area may be the kick that students need to get motivated to exercise. Although many students are busy playing sports in the fall, there is always time for working out. In addition to re-organizing the weight room, Struckman makes it easy for first-time weightlifters to get in better shape: he has multiple workouts posted in the weight room

It’s 9:01 p.m. on a Tuesday night in mid-August in the junior dorms at Mount Michael. The students have just been dismissed from evening study hall. Behind juniors Cameron Engel and Jared Jamrog’s door gathers a group of individuals who sit behind laptops, tediously studying the stats of last year’s NFL football players and their predicted stats of this year. In a few minutes, 10 juniors will be participating in the 2012 Mount Michael League fantasy football draft. Engel, the one who created the league, comes up with a draft rotation and basic rules for the league. Junior Scott Townsend sits quietly in the corner, trying to decide whether drafting a kicker in the third round would benefit him more than a drafting a quarterback. Junior Danny Pavlik does a head to head comparison between Tim Tebow and Mark Sanchez to help him decide who will be taking snaps for his team when the season starts. The stakes are high, and you can feel the tension in the air because bragging rights are on the line. Nothing says “I know my sports better than you” then racking up more points in a fantasy league. The competition has begun.

Fantasy football is a season-long competition in which football fans draft their own team of players. You accumulate points based on how well the players on your team do in real life games. Passing and rushing yardage are the main two stats that determine the success or failure of your team. For this reason, most owners will choose quarterbacks or running backs in the first round. Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Arian Foster were among the first to go in the draft as they had outstanding seasons last year and it seems like nothing will restrain them from repeating their accomplishments this year according to most ESPN fantasy football insiders. A common roster of players on a fantasy league includes two quarterbacks, two running backs, two tight ends, two wide receivers, a kicker and a team defense. Kickers are generally drafted in the final rounds, as they usually are not seen as a

Change in Layout to Re-energize Student Lifting

major ingredient on a winning team; however, some believe that the kicker is more important than people think. “The kicker is severely undervalued in fantasy football these days,” said junior Jacob Eyth. “They have the ability to score more points than many receivers on a weekly basis.” For over 35 years, sports fan have enjoyed the competitive and extremely addictive pastime of competing in fantasy sports. Fantasy sports has grown exponentially in number of players from its humble beginnings back in 1980’s when a fantasy baseball league was created by a sports fanatic, Daniel Okrent, and his friends. His league quickly grew to become a major part of both sports fan culture and of sports journalism. The idea spread to other major sports including football and now fantasy football alone is a 1 billion dollar industry according to the Fantasy Football Index. Fantasy football is particularly appealing to Mount Michael students because they are not able to watch all of the games on TV, and fantasy football, which is managed from the computer, allows students to stay engaged with the NFL and its players. “It’s just a way to do something competitive and fun with our classmates,” said Townsend. Fantasy football is not just enjoyed by teenagers. New head football coach and European History teacher Mr. Borer has proclaimed his love for fantasy football as well. “I love fantasy football,” he said. “The key to success is a drafting a great quarterback. Whoever gets Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees is likely to win the league. With the coming of this football season, fans across the country, including several Mount Michael juniors, will try to compose the perfect fantasy team. Whether you value the running back or the quarterback, Brees or Brady, the competition offered through fantasy football is addictive and has attracted millions of Americans each year to construct their team and compete for a championship of their own.

Fantasy Football Keeps Students EngagedJackson Taylor | Editor

Jimmy Steier | Editor

The uniform is an integral part of a team. This year, Athletic Director Jon Borer has been able to give our sports teams a makeover. “It makes a difference on how we look at ourselves as a team and makes sure we are as united as possible,” said Borer. Past uniforms were classic, but there comes a time when teams need to re-identify themselves. Mount Michael is changing the uniforms for cross country, football, soccer and the track team’s warm-up attire. The cross country team has been running in an Asics black and white tops with all black shorts. This year the team is wearing all black Nike uniforms that say “Mount Michael” on the chest. A lot of the runners seem to like the new jerseys. “These uniforms look great and they fit our team perfectly,” said senior Vinny Harvey.

Mount Michael was known for all black football jerseys. This year, the team has decided to take a different route. The new, red and white uniforms will be a visual reminder of a new tradition according to Borer. “This will show that Mount Michael football is changing and that we are moving in the right direction,” said Borer. The impact of the jerseys is not just looks. “I believe that the uniforms make my team feel proud about what they put on every Friday night and what is on their chest. It doesn’t just represent this year’s team, it represents every player that has played for Mount Michael in the past years,” Borer said. The new soccer and track uniforms have not been decided. Borer is working on finding the perfect uniforms for those teams. In the mean time, soccer and track players will have to wait on the unveiling of their new jerseys.

New UniformsCooper Wilson | Staff Writer

photo courtesy of Debbie Bierman

for every sport and for all different weightlifting abilities. There are also numerous benefits to lifting weights. Besides getting stronger, working out increases self-confidence and improves one’s performance in almost any sport. “I think if more guys worked out regularly, we (as a school) could get better at sports like football and basketball,” said junior Kevin Jewell. So why do so few students lift weights at Mount Michael? “I think it’s hard to find time with sports and school and everything to work out. It takes a lot of commitment,” said sophomore Mick Steier. “The program that (Head football) Coach Borer had us doing this summer where we worked out three times a week was great, but it’s hard to keep working out during the school year,” said Steier. Although we do not have the most updated athletic facilities at Mount Michael, we do have a good quality weight room that has recently been improved upon. We also have an excellent staff of coaches, teachers, and deans that have knowledge about weight lifting. We should utilize the services available to us and start taking pride in the lifting program. If you want to see what the new layout of the weight room looks like, head on down to our workout area and check it out!

photo by Elliot Prusa

The Knight’s offensive line shows off their new away football jerseys against Roncalli.

Inspire Unity

New weight room at Mount Michael.