The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School since 1960Volume 40, Issue 20

The RecordThursday, February 25, 2010

Winter Sports Wrap-Up

Sean Lamb, ’10Content Editor

As another season of Priory hockey comes to an end, it is a time to look both to the past and the future. The Rebels season ended a week earlier than hoped for with tough losses against Oakville in the second round of the Wickenheiser Cup. The Rebels, who fell 2-0 in the first game, came out with hopes of winning both the second game and the mini-game in order to move on. The Rebels put themselves in a h o l e e a r l y i n t h e g a m e w i t h undisciplined play and were down 3-0 halfway through the game. Refusing to go down without a fight, the Rebels scored late in the second period to make the score 3-1 going into the third period. Gaining momentum between periods, the Rebels

Hockey Falls to Oakville in Game 2Superb season ends in Quarterfinals Loss

Drew Link, ’10Sports Writer

District DisappointmentBob Gooch Gym sadly is the end of the road for the Wrestling Rebels in the most successful

and exciting season in recent memory.

Patrick Mulvihill, ’10Editor in Chief

The Kwai Nyu Rebel Ruggers went into the 506th Annual Tin Can Tournament with high hopes. Arriving at the turf pitch early Saturday morning, they warmed up for their first game verses Fox. This team was compiled mostly of Fox players but did include some of the Eureka R.F.C.’s best players as well. The Rebels started off the scoring early in the first of two 10 minute halves with a with making a strong run from 10 yards out to convert the first try of the game. Minutes later, Brendan Kelly collected a punt and flipped it to Patrick Mulvihill, who then darted down the sidelines for 60 yards for another try. In the second half, Craig Boyce made an incredible run through

Kwai Nyu 2nd in Tin Can, SLUH victors

Placekick in final seconds gives SLUH 10-7 win.

And so the spiral into obesity begins. Yes it is the end of the wrestling season. The signs are everywhere; there is food on Tony Hayes’ lunch tray, Eric Anderson is not wearing spandex, and the bruises on Jeff Swaney’s face are starting to disappear. With the end of the season comes the last update (it’s ok to cry, I know I do all the time). After a weekend of mixed results at the ABC tournament, the team was looking forward to doing its best wrestling at districts. Going into districts a few of the Rebel wrestlers were seated favorably to qualify, and the team had high aspirations. The fact that the team now expects wrestlers to qualify for state shows just (Continued on page 7) (Continued on page 7) (Continued on page 7)

Now we all know that the Olympics are all about peace, love, joy, athleticism, and multicultural understanding. In fact, these are what make the Olympics great, as they foster mutual respect among all nations. Not. Now that I have broken the mind of Charlie Peterson, lets get to the good stuff. The Olympics are about blind patriotism, lots of cash, and of course, failures. Lots and lots of hilarious failures. Here are the top five things about these winter games.

1 : T h e S k i i n g Crashes: Let's face, this is the real reason why we watch the Olympics, it is a black comedy goldmine. Yes, it is always heartwarming to see some skier triumph against all odds and achieve glory, but it is even funnier to see them get stopped at the last second. Preferably while being told “Joany loves Chachy (I don't know t h e c o r r e c t spelling)”. It is just the way we are made, we can either laugh or cry, and laughing is usually easier. Not that we are able to cry anyways.

2: Money: The Winter Olympics are supposed to be about human efforts and work. Yet, in this cut-throat age, what has unfortunately become more important is how much cash you blew on your fancy toys. Games are now won by split seconds, and thus it is even more important to have massive budgets. This is completely antithetical to what the games should be about, as it devolves sport into how fast people can throw cash into a bonfire.

3: Ice Dancing: This “event” combines two things men are completely ignorant of: figure skating (isn't that some kind of plastic surgery?) and dancing. It is deliberate in its attempt to appear as ridiculous as possible, and still claim to be a sport. Of course yuppies go along with it as they want to look cool, but what should we care about some effete losers who can't tell the difference between Kraft and Camambert, yet still claim to be “foodies”? There is one, and only one ice dancer that deserves some form of respect, and that was

the French skater with the guts to use Metallica's “One” as his music. That, my friends, is true triumph against adversity.

4: Cross Country + R i f l e : T h i s e v e n t

disappoints me because it has so much potential, but it falls flat in the end. Simply, it is a dual event where skiers race around courses, pausing to shoot at rifle targets for a

t i m e , t h e n s k i i n g a g a i n . Unfortunately, the organizers do not try to blend the two events more. How about letting the skiiers “interfere” with other

peoples shooting? I t s h o u l d b e about survival of

the fittest! This event is based upon ski troops! At least replace the bullets with paint rounds, that should make the event a little more

interesting.

5: Bode Miller: This guy is simply weird. He yoyo's between being awesome and failing miserably. At Turin he partied and got drunk all the time, and thus failed, then at Vancouver he began to succeed wildly. Then he misses a gate during the event he knows best. It is just weird, decided what you want to be Bode! Also, on a side note, if someone asks you what you want to say to your daughter, try to seem sincere. Seriously, it seemed like you did not give a darn.

Arbitrarily Judgementalitastic: The five best things about the Winter Olympics...

Alexandre Todorov, ‘10Weekly Editorial Writer

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

EditorialsThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

The Record StaffEditor in Chief: Patrick R. Mulvihill, ’10

Layout Editor: Chad E. Huber, ’10

Content Editor: Sean J. Lamb, ’10

Editorials Editor: Mike Haueisen, ’10Entertainment Editor: Quinn Underriner, ‘10Opinions Editor: Kevin Hess, ‘11Sports Editor: David Taiclet, ’11

Faculty Moderator: Mrs. Barbara K. Sams

In this issue... Patrick Mulvihill, ’10 Chad Huber, ’10 Sean Lamb, ’10 Mike Haueisen, ’10 Alex Todorov, ’10 Clayton Dahm, ’10 Drew Link, ’10 Dan Ohmes, ’10 David Taiclet, ’11 Krishna Kumar, ’12

The Record is the official student publication of Saint Louis Priory School in St. Louis, Missouri. It is produced by student editors/staff members. Its purpose is threefold: to inform students of events in the community; to encourage discussion of local, national, and international issues; and to serve as a training ground for budding journalists, photographers, and graphic designers. The Record accepts contributions from all members o f the Pr iory community , including students, faculty, and alumni. The Record will not publish content considered legally unprotected speech, including but not limited to: libel, copyright infringement, unwarranted invasion of privacy, or material disruption of the educational process. Student editors apply professional standards to the production of the newspaper and are solely responsible for all content, both explicit and implicit. Letters to the Editors are always appreciated. Feedback not intended for publication is also welcome.

The Record Disclaimer

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

Editorials/The Weekly UpdateThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

Student Council has been working hard in the last few weeks putting together a great show for the Battle of the Bands. It takes place this Saturday evening starting with the pre-show at 6pm. The real deal begins at 7pm and will last

until about 10:30pm. We encourage bands to continue practicing as the p r i z e s h a v e j u s t r e c e n t l y b e e n announced: 1st Place - $500, 2nd Place - $250, 3rd Place - $100 (that’s cash, which everybody could use). Speaking of money, all of the proceeds from the e v e n t w i l l b e d o n a t e d t o UrbanFUTURE, a local Saint Louis charity that mentors urban students. Some of those students will be out at the event helping out the light, sound and backstage crews. It should be an incredible opportunity for them considering we have brought in some really professional equipment for the event. A lighting specialist (whose company regularly does shows at The Pageant) in addition to a professional sound guy who happens to be a Priory alumni (John Peckham). We have also brought in a professional MC that we are really excited about - Malcolm Briggs, former KSDK broadcaster and Chalk Talk host. It should be a crazy night and a lot of fun. It costs $7 to attend (again all proceeds are being donated) and a concession stand will be available. Student Council would also like to thank everyone who attended the Junior School Mixer as we were able to raise $4,100 to donate towards the Wings of Hope Charity.

Fr. Michael is turning 60Special birthday wishes to Priory’s Headmaster Fr. Michael who is turning 60 years old this Sunday. This Sunday is also the feast day of Saint Hilary (a 5th Century Pope) and the Second Sunday of Lent.

Mandarin Chinese is latest option for Priory StudentsTalk of Mandarin Chinese being an option for Priory Students has been around since Fr. Michael took the helm as Headmaster in 2005. However, i m p l e m e n t i n g a n e w l a n g u a g e , especially one that is as complicated as Mandarin Chinese is no easy task. Not only has it been a ‘front-burner’ task for the Headmaster but also for parents, who have, in recent years voiced their opinions during the annual Headmaster Conversation every January. And just as the saying ‘where there is a will, there is a way,’ the administrators at Priory have figured out how to best ‘slide in’ the language to Priory’s already demanding curriculum. Through an announcement on Priory’s website, Fr. Michael confirmed that Chinese will officially be an option for Priory students this coming year. It will be an option for rising sophomores and juniors for the fall term of next year (2010-2011 school year). However, there are two requirements: they must first drop their current modern language choice and make a two year unbreakable commitment to the language. Mandarin Chinese is a very difficult language and Fr. Michael advises that, “The students who do best in mastering it [Mandarin] are those with good math/science skills (who master the logic of grammar) and those with good visual fine arts skills (who master the reading and writing.)” If you sound like a fit for the program and can meet the requirements then you are able to opt-in for the program next year. The Administration will monitor the program closely over t h e n e x t f e w y e a r s a n d m a k e adjustments as needed. Overall it seems to be a great addition as the school hopes that “Mandarin will enhance the overall education experience at Priory and give some boys valuable exposure to a language they may wish to pursue in college.”

You know what grinds my gears? People who don't say "thanks" when you hold the door for them. It is so rude, it's as if you are expected to hold it for them, so you're just doing what you're supposed to do. I think there's a general area which is that if someone is within approximately 12.5 feet behind you, you hold the door for them. This is about a maximum of 5-6 seconds holding the door which is plenty doable, but still it involves a little effort. The fact that you are doing this for a complete stranger, or even a friend, in today's selfish society, deserves gratitude that you would put a little effort into making someone else's life just a little easier. The same goes for people who don't wave when you let them out or let them change lanes in front of you. The fact is they are delaying your trip, and y o u a r e d o i n g n o t h i n g b u t inconveniencing yourself so that you can convenience them, if they don't wave they aren't showing appreciation and you should zoom forward and cut them off and revoke your offer of letting them out. Now they're stuck in the middle of the intersection and a semi is coming to run them over. That's what they deserve for being so self-centered that they did not wave, they deserve to get run over. Not saying thank you and not waving is such a selfish behavior it just drives me crazy. Say thank you, and wave, lest you get run over by a truck.

Mike Haueisen, ’10Weekly Editorial Writer

Student Council Update:Battle of the Bands ‘10

Grinds My Gears

Abbey Road

In the past few years I have begun to lose faith in a little company based out of Redmond, Washington cal led Microsoft. I have placed the blame on the lack of involvement of Bill Gates who, since 2000 has not been the CEO, and since 2008 has not been working full-time. Windows Xp and the XBOX were both released in 2001 but were already in the pipeline when Steve Ballmer took the helm of CEO. Ballmer’s first major task was Windows Vista - which failed miserably. Just last year during CES he launched Windows Mobile 6.5, an absolute joke of a ‘smartphone’ operating system in today’s standards of iPhones, Blackberry’s, Google Phones, and P a l m d e v i c e s . M y b i g g e s t complaint with Ballmer is that he follows and never leads. The big projects that have come out of Microsoft since he has been the CEO copy other companies. The Zune was in direct response to the iPod. Bing was created because of Google. And now the Windows Phone 7 Series (because of the growing number of phones in which the hardware and software is done under one roof). I’m glad to see that competition arises for these products but the problem is that Microsoft never puts its own spin on the product. It is difficult to tell a team that they need to make an iPod with a Microsoft logo. They are very constricted by the confines of what an iPod can do, what it looks like,

etc. The original Zune is the best example of the copying that Microsoft would do. It added no technological progress to the music player industry whatsoever. Even with all of this said, however, it seems as if Microsoft has finally re-found itself and its groove. Bing, although is a direct response to

Google does not try to out-Google Google. It goes for its own groove which is ‘everything else.’ Airline tickets,

restaurants, etc - it’s the decision engine. It helps with decisions and not information, which is what Google is impeccable at doing. The Zune HD, released this past year is an unbelievable device that completely cut away from the original Zune. It did t h i s b y r e d e s i g n i n g everything from hardware to the software and a b e a u t i f u l n e w u s e r interface . This interface is the same thing now found in the Windows Phone 7

Series. Microsoft brought it an ex-Nike designer to do all of this interface work

and it has certainly paid off. The designer calls it a mono-chromic design which means no shadows, gradients, or other jazz - just clean cut lines and icons. This is a major step away from i P h o n e w h i c h i s k n o w n f o r i t s reflections, drop shadows, etc. And this has certainly worked for Microsoft as the Zune HD received rave reviews and now

its phones are receiving the same. The new interface has different panels in which you scroll around to see all of the content that you can view. This is really simple and also makes for an artsy twist. Taking an old mobile operating system such as Windows Mobile 6.5 and completely scraping it takes a lot of guts. It is clear that Microsoft has learned from its mistakes and that it is adapting to i ts customers needs. This is considerably easier said than done and I would like to give kudos to Microsoft for sticking it out on the mobile side when everyone wanted them to drop that department. As consumers we should be e x t r e m e l y e x c i t e d a s a n o t h e r powerhouse comes back into play and is helping shape up a very unpredictable mobile device market. Look for these phones to be debuted before the holidays of 2010, which is around the same time of XBOX Project Natal.

TechnologyThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

Microsoft hits a turning point with latest release

Chad Huber, ‘10Layout Editor

CEO Steve Ballmer surprises everyone at the annual Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain

A games panel which illustrates how the scrolling interface works

I snatched my notepad, a writing utensil, and trekked towards the Kevin Kline Theater on the night of Thursday, February 11th to take notorious notes and copiously critique the Priory Musical, Brigadoon on opening night. Would the puzzling periwinkle rocks be explained? The bar was set high… All of a sudden I found myself f l o a t i n g i n a f o g , i n t h e h i g h l a n d s o f S c o t l a n d a s mystifying eight part harmony a r o u s e o n a l l s i d e s ! B i z a r r e bystanders fully clad in odd apparel c a m e bellowing out into the town square as I found myself in the midst of market day in the quaint village of Brigadoon. I was just as befuddled as the two Americans; Tommy (played by Charlie Peterson) and Jeff (played by Ben Constantino). There must be some

explanation to the out of the ordinary oddities of the village. Or perhaps something had gone awry? However would the twists in the perplexing plot be elucidated? Thankfully, in the nick of time, Fiona (played by Hannah Slabaugh) took the New Yorkers to see Mr. Lundie (played by Zach Weis), and with a little suspension of disbelief, the interesting idiosyncrasies were resolved. As the plot continued to unravel, I felt the anxious agony of Tommy as he solicitously

pondered (by means of song of course) his shaky sentiments. Ehu! In the end, he voyaged back to his homeland, thus giving

up the love of his life. “However would this be rectified?” I asked myself amidst my

tumultuous tears. Eventually Fiona beckoned him back, and

everything was resolved. I very much so took pleasure in the dynamic duo of Charlie Peterson and Ben Constantino, and although the play lacked the customary barrel rolls and flips, Jack Ciapciak performed some immensely impressive dances. All in all, I was entertained to the utmost degree.

iTunes Top 10

1. Imma Be Me Black Eyed Peas2. Need You Now Lady Antebellum3. Hey, Soul Sister Train4. In My Head Jason Derulo5. TiK ToK Ke$ha6. Baby (ft. Ludacris) Justin Bieber7. BedRock Young Money & Lloyd8. Blah Blah Blah Ke$ha9. We Are the World 25 for Haiti Artists for Haiti10. Bad Romance Lady GaGa

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

Opinions and EntertainmentThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

Clayton Dahm, ’10Entertainment Writer

Brigadoon Review

Daft PunkTop 10

1.One More Time

2.Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

3.Technologic

4. Around the World

5.Digital Love

6.Da Funk

7.Aerodynamic

8.Robot Rock

9.Something About Us

10.Face to Face

- The Editors

Contact the editors if you want to provide a Top 10 Playlist of your own for the band or artist of your choice and it could appear in The Record in the future...

There has been a lot of hype over Electronic Art’s new game Dante’s Inferno, which is loosely based, and I stress the word loosely, on the Divine Comedy, the famous poem of Dante Alighieri. You play the role of Dante, except who is not a poet in this game, but a crusader who has returned home to Florence after becoming disenchanted with the war. Upon his return, Dante finds his lover Beatrice slain, and to add insult to injury, Lucifer appears and steals her soul. Now Dante, armed with Death’s Scythe and a holy cross, must traverse the nine circles of hell to reclaim Beatrice’s soul. This game is your typical “hack and slash” style action/adventure game and is remarkable similar to the God of War franchise (they even use souls as a currency for buying upgrades). Typically this game has received lower reviews, but dismissing its

similarities to the God of War series, it really is a stunning game. EA spared no expense in creating the dark, dreary world that perfectly fits the game’s slogan “Go to Hell.” One of the aspects that I was most impressed with was the CGI cinematics that appear throughout the game. The level of detail of the environment and characters was so extensive that I was able to count the individual links in Dante’s chainmail from afar. The unsurprisingly controversial, sacreligious nature of the game even makes its mature rating seem questionable. For instance, in Limbo (the First Circle) the player encounters unbaptized babies…all of whom have swords for hands and try to kill you. However even that is just the tip of the iceberg, there are plenty of other freaky demons throughout the Inferno, many of which I can’t even mention in this article. If you are on an easier difficulty, it shouldn’t take too long to beat, but the harder modes can get very challenging. The most satisfying of these challenges being the final boss Lucifer himself, I would recommend it to any 16+ gamers who won’t be offended.

Dan Ohmes, ’10Entertainment Writer

Dante’s Inferno Review

PuzzlesThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

Crossword PuzzleACROSS1. Pierce5. Pull an all-nighter9. Dismay14. Minute opening15. Hobbling16. Flying machine17. Is endebted to18. A Freudian stage19. Trousers20. Distinguish22. Beginning23. Cheer up24. Strange26. Collection29. Countless33. Location38. A sculpture representing a human39. Ends a prayer40. Delicacy42. Small brook43. Duration45. 3 wheeled vehicle47. Main course48. Expert49. It's shot from a bow52. Oversight

57. City in France60. Insurrection63. Without company64. Sphere65. Lacking hair66. Continuation of a collar67. Colored part of an eye68. A Central American sloth69. Poorly kept70. Sort71. "Encore!"

DOWN1. Fern-to-be2. What you dry yourself with3. Betel palm4. Stupefy5. Tribe6. Hindu princess7. Astound8. Donnybrook9. Assign10. Involving the entire Earth11. Skillets12. Initial wager13. In order that not21. A daring exploit

25. Characteristic of rural life27. Choice word28. Crag30. Auditory31. Quiet time32. Expunge33. Wan34. Portent35. Dispatched36. Deeply rooted37. Mesh41. A southern

constellation 44. In a concise manner46. A prisoner's room50. Path around the sun51. Fatigued53. Vinyl collectible54. Keyboard instrument55. Derived from the sun56. Endow57. Buddies58. Wings59. A strong line61. A radar echo62. Consequencea

Sudokus Word SearchWORDBANK

HARD

EASY

afterwards

breezes

briskconservation

culture

dealer

electionfollow

frostgloves

goal

great

honesty

interior

liquorlocal

loommorning

news

nickelpaint

personpits

politician

rioter

rock

sewsshowers

storiestower

unique

usagewarning

world

Cryptogram

- Jack Handy

how far Priory wrestling has come as a whole. And so, the team left for sunny Mexico (MO) on Friday, and onto the formidable Bob Gooch gym. The first night of wrestling was not quite the caliber of wrestling that the team had shown this season, and every wrestler on the squad suffered one loss. There were some highs however, the most memorable being Nikki Sarai’s vice-like body scissors on a helpless opponent who screamed for mercy. The next day of wrestling marked a great improvement for the team. The tournament went on until only three Priory wrestlers were left (Sr) Tony Hayes, and (Sophs) Zach LaVallee and James Merenda who were all in a do-or-die match to qualify for state. Even though all three of them wrestled as best they could, it was not to be, and none of them managed to qualify. However disappointment was soon replaced by feelings of indulgence, and then consequently uncontrolled gastro-intestinal movements as the team got cheap Mexican food at the Sanchez’s family restaurant El Vaquero. It was a nice send off to a team that reversed its dual record from the previous season going from 3-6 to 6-3. While no one may have qualified for state, the team earned more team points at districts than they have for many seasons, and was a huge contrast to 3 seasons prior when they only earned 3 points making them the second lowest scoring team in the whole state (right behind the school of the blind). Great work to the wrestling team for a great season, and for making Priory wrestling something we can all be proud of.

several Fox forwards to convert another try. With only minutes left in the game, Ray Bayer stripped the ball from a Fox back in the Kwai Nyu endzone for the final score of the game, giving the Rebels a 24-0 win. In the second game, the Rebels faced Kirkwood, a team they had played previously in the year. In that outing, the first half had been scoreless but then Kwai Nyu routed them in the second half, winning 27-0. A very much improved, extremely athletic Kirkwood team was determined not to embarrass themselves this time out. Early in the first half, the Rebels marched down the field before being fouled about 30 yards out from the try-zone. Joe Altepeter converted a seemingly trivial placekick, giving the Rebels a 3-0 lead. After failing to score on several more attempts, thought dominating play, the Rebels went into half hanging on to this lead. In the second half, the Rebels fought for a try within 10 yards of the endzone for the majority of the half with no results . Craig Boyce, Quinn Underriner, and Jaime Mexicano all converted tries that were called back, leaving Altepeter’s 3 points as the deciding factor for the game. In the championship game against SLUH, who had trounced the Rebels 24-0 earlier in the year, the Rebels started out slowly, allowing a SLUH try in the opening minutes. The Rebels fought back, adding a try of their own after a number of hard fought rucks, tying the game at seven. The play then went back and forth for the entirety of the second half before the ref awarded SLUH a penalty in the closing seconds 40 yards out, the SLUH fullback/place kicker (also SLUH’s football kicker) nailed the kick through the uprights to win the game outright for the Druids, leaving a stunned and disappointed Rebel squad defeated.

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

SportsThe Record - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

came out flying in the third period and dominated play, scoring a goal early in the period to bring the score to 3-2. That was the end of the scoring, however, as undisciplined play continued to cripple the Rebels’ chances of tying the game. Although the Rebels pulled goalie Liam Ware with about a minute left for an extra attacker they were still unable to tie the score, losing 3-2. As the season comes to a conclusion it is necessary to remember the incredible accomplishments of the team’s six seniors. Defenseman Scott Horan and Patrick Moley stepped up very well this season and made major contributions to the experienced back line. Forward Andrew Halenkamp finished the season with 6 goals and 8 assists and played both center and winger well all season. Senior alternate captains John Notter and Colin Barry finished the season with 8 goals each (5 and 7 ass is ts , respectively) and were consistent contributors in every aspect of the game. Captain Sean Lamb ended the season with 42 points (23 goals, 19 assists) and finished his career with 124 points, fifth all time in Priory hockey history. The end of the season also marks the end of a short but memorable coaching career of John Notter, Sr. Coach Notter, who coached the Rebels to a Wickenheiser Cup final in his first year, put in an incredible amount of time and effort off the ice.Looking forward to next season, the Rebels return many very talented players and will be looking to the younger classmen to fill large shoes. Most important among those players returning are goalie Liam Ware, who was incredibly solid all season, defenseman Sal Revetta and forward Niall Caparon. Along with these three are a number of talented players who will make the Rebels solid again next season. Look forward to good things next season when Rebels hockey returns.

Hockey(Continued from front page)

Rugby(Continued from front page)

Wrestling(Continued from front page)

THE RECORD - The Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School 500 S. Mason Road, Creve Coeur, MO 63141 314.434.3690 ext. 221 therecord@priory.org

Editor in Chief: Patrick R. Mulvihill, ’10 Layout Editor: Chad E. Huber, ’10 Content Editor: Sean J. Lamb, ’10 Moderator: Barbara K. Sams

Overall the basketball team had a tough year. They struggled to consistently find their groove. But there were a few highlights this season. The Rebels finished the season with an overall record of 8-17, but they were 5-1 in tournament play and won the Affton C h r i s t m a s t o u r n a m e n t . J a m e s Kopfensteiner and Matt Keating were named to the All-Tournament teams.

James was also named an athlete of the week in the STL Post-Dispatch during this time. The Rebels struggled overall in a very tough ABC League. However, they were able to grind out two wins over Lutheran South. The best win of the season was against Hancock in the championship game of the Christmas T o u r n a m e n t . H a n c o c k h a d j u s t manhandled an Affton team that had beat Priory by 10 earlier in the season. To add to the Rebels disadvantages, Matt Jones, Mike Puettmann, David Taiclet, and Mark Mannino were all injured. However James led Priory with 19 points and 8 rebounds.

Throughout the season James was the leading scorer averaging almost 16 points a game. Matt Keating controlled the boards all year long averaging 10 rebounds a game. Matt Jones, Mike Puettmann, and the Taiclet brothers held down the backcourt all season long, while Ragen and Conor Ahlering provided additional scoring support to the team. Andrew Rhodes came up to varsity late in the season but instantly made his presence felt by his hustle, fueled by his brother Matt’s own perseverance. The Rebels look forward to nest year but know that their work cut out for them as they have to fill the holes left by a very good senior class.

As the Preliminary Round of Men’s (and Women’s for whoever follows them) Hockey got underway in Vancouver one week ago, many great games have already been played. As everyone knows, the US beat Canada 5-3 after getting outplayed a lot. The shots tell the story: Canada’s 45 compared to the American’s 23. Or how about the Russia vs. Czech Republic on the same day. Ovie’s hit on Jagr and two assists led the Russians to a 4-2 victory. Here are some of the teams that have a potential to medal at the games in Vancouver this time around:

United States: As mentioned before, the US shocked the whole hockey world with their win over Canada. With a very young but poised team, the Americans look to continue a good run throughout the games. The special thing about this team is that they are a blue-collared hard working team, but still have talent

down their lineup. A talented American team includes players such as Chris Drury, Paul Stastny, Patrick Kane and Ryan Miller this team has the potential to medal. Keep close eye on the two Blues on the US roster: Eric Johnson and David Backes are playing very well so far. The US is 3-0 and has an automatic bye into the quarterfinals. They needs 3 more wins obtain the Gold.

Canada: The Canadians were tipped to win the whole competition coming into the Olympics but have taken a step back thanks to their defeat against the Americans. Goalie Martin Broduer had to be pulled in the loss. Their team stacked high with talent: Sydney Crosby, Chris Pronger, Patrick Marleau, Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, Jonathan Toews, Joe Thornton just to name a few. The Canadians are 2-1 and need 4 more wins to win Gold. The team plays Germany in a qualification match to reach the quarterfinals. An upset by the Germans would bring total devistation onto Canada as this was the competition that they were meant to medal in.

Russia: The Russians are also another favorite to Medal at the games. So far the team is 2-0-1 with the one overtime

loss coming to the Slovakians. The Russians have Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Semin, and Ilya Kovalchuk leading the way. The Russians had a blowout 8-2 win over team Latvia, with Ovechkin picking up 2 goals.

Sweden: The Swedes are also doing fairly well in the games so far being led by a slew of NHL players in Daniel Alfredson, Nickalas Backstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Niklas Lidstrom, and Johan Frazen. The team is 3-0 and has an automatic bye into the quarterfinals with wins over Finland (3-0), Belarus (4-2), and Germany (2-0). The way its looking right now, the Swedes have a good chance of medaling.

Other teams that have an outside chance are the Czech Republic and Finland, both holding 2-1 records. Many will disagree with me and I could very much be wrong, but here are my predictions:

Gold: Russia

Silver: US

Bronze: Canada

The RecordThe Official Student Publication of the Saint Louis Priory School

Thursday, February 25, 2010Volume 40, Issue 20

Krishna Kumar, ’12Staff Writer

Olympic HockeyAn overview of the Vancouver scene...

Basketball Season Wrap-Up

David Taiclet, ’11Sports Editor