It Is Possible

Unlike most kids who go to my school I like to listen to sports talk raido when I'm driving instead of music. However, over the last few weeks it has become obvious that with all the drama going on with the Lions that most of the people who call in are complete morons. Seriously, I just cant stand some of these idiots who call in and say some of dumbest stuff ever.

Last week, I was driving down 13 mile road on my way home from school listening to my favorite station, 97.1 The Ticket. They were talking about the Lions. As I was listening to an intelligent conversation when a man called in talking about how the Lions didn't really need a quarterback; when I heard this my I.Q. dropped by at least 40 points. I swear to god I wanted to call in myself and say "Have you ever seen a Lions game you dumb son of a b****?"
Now, with the draft approaching next month the Detroit Lions need to be careful with every single decesion they make. The first thing they need to do is make an effort to try and trade for Jay Cutler. With all the drama taking place in Denver odds are that becasue Cutler wants out of there so badly that they will eventually have to get rid of him. It would be smart for the Lions to do this because if they were able to get him, they could trade the top pick and get an offensive lineman.
Second, if the Lions were not able to get Cutler, the obvious thing to do would be to draft Matt Stafford out of Georgia. He is a better passer than USC's Mark Sanchez. Even though Stafford is not the most accurate person in the world he has a rocket launcher for an arm. For weeks now ESPN analysts Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay have debated about what the Lions will do with the number one pick. I do believe that the Lions should take Stafford because there really isn't anyone else to take. Yes, the Lions have a large amount of holes to fill on the offense and defense but the biggest open gap on the team is at quarterback. The quarterback is the team leader. They call plays and begin them, and without a strong leader at quarterback, it is impossible to win. I believe that with Stafford, or Cutler if possible, can be that leader who turns this team around.

Third, the Lions really need to improve thier offensive line. If they ever want to be a playoff contender they cannot give up sack after sack after sack. For the past several years they have led the league in this category.
The Lions are my team and I hate to see them lose. After going 0-16 last year, this year will be a rebuilding year, however a turn around is possible. Two years ago with the absence of a good quarterback the Miami Dolphins went 1-15, but one year later, Chad Pennington came in a led them to a 11-5 record and he was the runner up for NFL MVP. This year, the Detroit Lions are almost in the exact same situation. They have decent wide recievers, a defense that with support from the offense can keep the team in games, and they have a running back who with an improve offensive line can run past defenders. Don't forget that Miami drafted Chad Henne last year and then got Pennington from the New York Jets. Maybe the Lions can learn from another team and do the same thing. Trade for a veteran quarterback. There a few good ones still on the market. Hopefully the Lions can follow Miami's footsteps and have a turn around season. It is possible.

Public vs. Private

On March 13, 2009, North Farmington High School played in the District Championship basketball game against St. Mary’s High School. The North Farmington Raiders had home court advantage and their student body behind them. The players put their heart and soul into the game, however, they didn’t come out on top; St. Mary’s won the game 50-45. Although the game was close, it is unfair to the student athletes of North Farmington, who work so hard all season long for their diligent public school. They shouldn’t have to play against a private school in the state playoffs. Private schools have better funding, are allowed to recruit, and offer scholarships, unlike public schools, like North Farmington, where sports are not what are constantly on an athlete’s mind like they might be for a student on scholarship.
In private schools across the state of Michigan, such as Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Detroit Country Day, recruiting is allowed in order to make their school the best it can be at any sport. They begin this process while the student is still in seventh or eighth grade. They are allowed to send letters to families talking about how good their school is in academics and athletics, and many families take the opportunity to consider sending their child to these schools. It’s no wonder that schools such as Detroit Country Day and St. Mary’s are ranked in the top 20 for mens’ basketball each year. Their programs are stellar because they are able to pull kids in with scholarships and hire coaches that would be way out of budget for any public school.
These private schools become even more intense when it comes to scholarships. After sending families these letters to get them interested, the will begin to scout the students. If the school thinks that they are good enough, then they may offer the family a scholarship. Students such as Chris Webber, now an NBA star, was on a scholarship at Country Day, and with him, they won three state championships. If this kid is getting a free ride at a school because he is so good, it’s not really fair for him to go and play against a public school. In a public school, like North Farmington, the only kids who can be on the team are kids who attend the school, and they can’t do anything about who those kids are. A private school and a public school are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum. Whenever a public school plays a private school, it is a well known fact that the public school is the underdog, and upsets in these situations are rare.
At North Farmington, sports are not the biggest topic on everybody’s mind. Classes are. However, at a private school, they might be because if you are on scholarship, sports are why you are there. North Farmington it well-known for its student body that is energetic, has good grades, and does their homework every night. Students there do whatever it takes to get an A. Yes, they still love their sports teams. At Brown Out after Brown Out, the students show up with the utmost enthusiasm and support for their teams, however, if they have homework or a big test the next day, you probably wouldn’t see many students in the stands. At private schools, winning is expected. The teams are never timorous of other schools. They practice everyday preparing for games, just like North Farmington; however, the private schools might have better equipment due to the better funding they have.
Private schools have much better funding for everything they do than a public school does. At private schools, many alumni make donations to the schools, and there is a tuition fee to even attend the school. Unlike public schools where all the funding comes from taxes, private schools are able to accept money from many sources to build better training facilities, nicer locker rooms, get higher end equipment, and the list goes on forever. These school are able to excel in athletics because of the better funding they receive.

When a public school plays a sport against a private school, the outcome is normally a lot to a little. These games are David versus Goliath. While there is the occasional upset or close game, it is the private school that normally comes away with the trophy. It is not fair that this should happen, however it is the way the system works. But it is time for change, time to change the system. It is not fair that North Farmington should have to play St. Mary’s, but its not who wins or loses that matters, its about what is right and what is wrong, and the people who are in charge of the Michigan High School Athletic Association should know that.

Pistons Bust

The deal that brought Allen Iverson to Detroit has obviously turned out to be a bust. Chauncey Billups and Denver are now in playoff contention in the Western Conference while Detroit has lost 9 of their last 11 games and is at a mere .500 record of 29-29. Right now, Iverson is injured and Rodney Stuckey is starting in his place; and during those two games, the Pistons have beat the Magic and the Celtics, a premiere team in the East. That has to tell you something. Iverson is not a good fit for the Pistons. He is used to being that guy that everyone tries to get the ball to. In Philadelphia it was all about him, and in Denver it was just him and Carmelo Anthony, however, in Detroit, there is a team. Everyone in the starting lineup can score double figures on a consistent basis if they really want to. With Iverson out, and Rip Hamilton back in the starting lineup, he has scored and led the team with 31 points in the win over the Magic, and 25 in the win over the Celtics. I don't mean to rant on Iverson, I mean he is one of the best players in the game today, just not with the Pistons. Right now he is averaging career lows with only 18 points a game.

Michael Curry, the Pistons new coach needs to learn a few new things. I know I am not one to tell him how to do his job, but if I am him right now, I have to be thinking, "gee, I am the head coach of a team that is 29-29, but has a roster full of all-star talent, I must be doing something wrong." If I am him, here is what I do. First, I would start by putting Iverson on the bench, he can be my sixth man. He would be a great player to have come off the bench, he would give my team an extra boost of energy when they need it, and he would score a few point. Starting at point guard I would have Stuckey. Stuckey reminds me a lot of Dwayne Wade. The way he passes the ball and can go inside with such fineness is very impressive, all while still being able to hit an outside shot. At shooting guard, I would have Hamilton, no question about it. His 31 and 25 point performances in the last two games have to say something about his talent level, especially if it comes in a game against the NBA's defending champions. Small forward would remain Tayshaun Prince. Averaging 13 points and 6 rebounds a game is a pretty decent performance, and he is the best you got at this position. I would start Antonio McDyess at power forward because of his leadership and veteran presence on the floor, and Rasheed Wallace at center, well because he is one of the best defensive players in the league, and he is a big man who can step out and shoot a three pointer once in a while.Right now, the Pistons are only four losses shy of not reaching the 50 win mark for the first time in 7 seasons, when they went 32-50. I would hate to see this happen because even though they are not my favorite team in the Central Division, they are my hometown team. The AI deal has turned out to be a bust, yes; the Pistons could have been much better with Mr. Big Shot, yes, however, the past is the past, and there is nothing we can do about it. Hopefully Head Coach Curry will do the right thing and make Iverson the sixth man, maybe then the Pistons can pull out some wins in the end of the season and have a decent playoff run.

Teacher of Football

English teacher Parker Salowich made the decision to leave his head coaching position at Salem High School and will be back at North Farmington next season. For three years Salowich was the head football coach at Salem. Year in and year out he worked for the school to make the football program the best it could be, until this year that is. Current head coach, Todd Schultz will still remain at his position, along with all the other coordinators and staff.

It all began in a meeting Salowich had with his Defensive Coordinator at Salem. They were looking at the roster for next season, and Salowich realized that he could no longer coach there. "There were 120 names on the board and I didn’t know 85 of them," he said. "As a head coach that shouldn’t happen, and that was one of the main reasons I decided to leave."

There were many reasons for why Salowich decided to leave. He coached at a school he did not teach at and spent hours away from his family working on the depth chart, watching tape of his team, all while still grading English papers for his job at North.

Salowich has a strong presence on the football field. In 2005, he served as NF’s Varsity football offensive coordinator and assistant head coach to Todd Schultz. Salowich had a high-powered offense led by stand out running back Mark Moundros, who now plays football at the University of Michigan.

"We’ve been friends for a very long time, [Salowich and I]" Schultz said. "I was on his interview committee when he was hired by the district, and before I was the head coach, we served on Rich Burrell’s, a former head coach, staff together."

When Schultz became the Varsity head coach, he brought Salowich up to the top level with him.
The 2005 Raiders, who went 7-3 in the regular season, made it to the State Playoffs only to lose to Walled Lake Central in the first round. When the season was over, Salowich announced he would not be back as a coach next season.

In 2006, although he was still an English teacher at NF, Salowich became the Varsity football head coach at Salem High School in Canton.

"I had always wanted to be a head coach," Salowich said. "The opportunity presented itself, and I took it."

"Coaching there and working here put so much stress on my teaching," Salowich said. "Most coaches look at coaching as a full time job, and during the season it was common for me to spend about 40 hours a week on football."

Over the past three years, while Salowich was coaching at Salem, the NF football program has had three straight loosing seasons. Now, Salowich will bring his intensity and love of the game to the NF sideline, once again and instill it in his players.

"I love North Farmington," said Salowich. "There is a great heritage here and you are part of the fabric for the community. In Salem, they try to have that sense of family, but it’s fake. Here, everyone has a sense of tradition."

Salowich has a plethora of experience under his belt. It is what makes up his personality and style. He played football in high school, coached at NF for four years, and was the head coach at Salem for three.

"It’s his unorthodox personality that makes him so well-known," fellow English teacher and friend Kevin Ozar said. "He possesses a method of teaching and communication with the students that is rarely seen, especially at NF."

"It’s good to be consistent as a coach," he said. "I have great expectations and I put a lot of effort into coaching. I expect the same effort to be returned by the kids on the field."

Coaching has also really influenced Salowich’s teaching style. He once had a parent tell him that he coaches English. His style of teaching football and teaching English are very similar.

"He brings the same intensity to the classroom that he does to the playing field," said Schultz.
Salowich really wants kids to excel, not just in the classroom but also on the football field."

"Salowich is a very honest guy," Ozar said. "It’s his ability to truly dedicate himself to the task at hand that makes him such a good teacher and coach."

Schultz is very glad to have Salowich back on the NF sideline. They have coached together and been friends for a very long time.

"Salowich and I share everything, so I knew of the challenges he was having at Salem," Schultz said. "Salem’s loss is our gain."

"He understands what we are about," Schultz said. "We want to provide our players with a learning experience and Salowich can bring that to the table. It will be great having him aboard again."
Salowich’s new coaching position is still up in the air. Many meetings between he and Schultz’s coaching staff are taking place to define his position.

"I’ve had the opportunity to coach with a lot of people," Schultz said. "Some good, some not so good, but it was because they couldn’t teach the game. Salowich is a man who can do that, and it is what makes him one of the best coaches around."

All Juiced Up

Over the past few weeks, steroids have been printed on newspapers across the country and shown on television stations daily. Covers of the New York Post have read "Cheater," and changed the name "A-Rod" to "A-Roid."

Since the turn of the century, steroids have infected our national past-time. Athletic trainers and vitamin distributors such as Victor Conte of BALCO, have become "drug dealers," and the athletes have become the "junkies" doing anything they can to enhance their game and not get caught.
In 2007, since the Mitchell Report, drawn up by Senator George Mitchell, was released, many players have been accused of using performance enhancing drugs. Players such as Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Ken Griffey Jr., Roger Clemens, and many more. Bonds and Clemens are also both being charged with perjury for lying to congress under oath.
Even before the report, players were accused. As a child playing Little League in NFWB, many of these players I once looked up to. They were my heroes and I wanted to be just like them. However, after the Mitchell Report was released, I could no longer look up to these players.

Today, I find it hard to even find a player who is innocent of not using the drugs. When A-Rod confessed to using the drugs, it was so shocking to many people across the country. Everyone is guilty now. Many players have come out and said that steroids are ruining baseball. These players need to step up and tell the idiots doing it to stop. The players who use performance enhancing drugs have no respect for the game and they don’t deserve to be recognized as the great players of the game.
Records have been re-written by players who have cheated the game. They don’t deserve to have the credit for doing so. For someone like Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron’s homerun record two summers ago, there will always be an asterisk next to him name.

These athletes, who have cheated the game ,have not only ruined their own careers, but also the game of baseball and the careers of high school students who have looked up to them.
Many high school students across the country have experimented with performance enhancing drugs because their favorite athletes have. Kids have died due to overdose and ruined their chances of every playing again due to injury.

In Texas, they now require mandatory random drug testing for all high school athletes. Although, after the last test, they only found two in the whole state using performance enhancing drugs, it was completely worth the money.

Because this era will forever be known as the steroid era, it is worth it to protect student athletes from making the same mistakes professional athletes have. Random drug testing should take place in high school sports.

The game of baseball has changed. Our national past-time is full of lies and cheaters, all juiced up.

On A Roll

The Mens’ Swim team is 24-0 since 2006.

"We all know what we have to do to continue the streak," said senior captain Michael Tetrick. "No one wants to lose it, and it motivates us to do better."

This year, the team is the largest it has ever been, with more than 20 swimmers.

"It’s a good group of guys," Tetrick said. "It’s the first time in a while that we have all worked together as a team, instead of going for the individual accomplishment."

Newcomers to the team, seniors Max Corman and Nate Valade, said the team chemistry is great.
"There are no bad influences on the team," Corman said. "Everyone looks out for each other."

So far this season, the NF swim team has won all their meets. They have competed against the likes of Farmington, Rochester, and Avondale. They also participated in the West Bloomfield Invitational, where they placed first for the first time in four years, after facing Novi, West Bloomfield, Troy Athens, and Livonia Churchill.

"The size of the team has really surprised me this season," said head coach Michael Harfoot. "I don’t know if it was the Olympics that made kids want to join, but it has really helped us out a lot."

Last season, the team had trouble filling all the lanes. This year, it was only the second time in Harfoot’s 11 years coaching here that he had to cut swimmers.

The team is led by captains Michael Tetrick, Phil Robinson, and Michael Sapick.

Junior Mickey McNeece made state cuts after the first meet of the season for the 100 Butterfly.

"I’ve made state cuts before, but doing it in the first meet of the season doesn’t happen often," McNeece said. "It’s really good to know and now I can set my goals higher."

McNecee wants to break the pool record for the 100 Butterfly before he leaves North Farmington.

According to Harfoot, Junior Garrick Givens is also swimming very well.

"It’s amazing to see Givens back in the pool swimming so well," Harfoot said.

Last season, Givens was out with a back injury and had to have major surgery done. He was out for six months.

"All my muscles were weakened, so it has slowed me down a bit," Givens said. "However, at the West Bloomfield meet, I dropped four seconds off my 200 freestyle time."

It was the best time Givens has had since the surgery.

Every other day, the team is practicing in the pool at 5:30 in the morning, and they continue to practice after school each day.

The team does almost everything together. They even hang out outside of the pool.
"After every meet, we go to Wendy’s," Valade said. "And after Saturday practice we go out to Royal Buffet."

The swim team still has more than half a season left to play. Right now, they are 8-0 this season.

"Expectations have been set," Corman said. "We know what we have to do to keep the streak going, and we hope to continue it throughout the rest of the season."

Change You Should Believe In

Did you know that, just last year, the Womens’ Basketball team made it to the state semi-finals? They were District Champions.

Did you know that the Mens’ Swim team is 21-0 over the past three years, with state qualifying swimmers?

It’s time to catch you up. Did you know that the Farmingtion United Gymnastics team won back to back State Championships in 2005 and 2006, along with Regional Championships in 2007 and 2008?

Today, as a senior, I can walk into the gym and see the banners and plaques; but, it is appalling to see that the most recent one says 2006, when, since then, there have been championship teams.
There was no banner raised or ceremony for them. All that transpired was an announcement in the morning; that’s it.

And there are more. All these teams have taken North’s athletics to new heights. Football, soccer, and basketball plaques hang with pride to let the world know that we are the Raiders.

In professional and college athletics, when a team wins a national championship, a bowl game, or a conference championship, there is normally some type of ceremony recognizing the accomplishments of the teams where a banner is raised. Why don’t we do this at North Farmington? We are supposed to be a school where accomplishments are of the highest recognition.

Also, the banners are in a spot where you can’t even see them. At some high schools, the banners are hanging directly above the gym floor, where they are at least noticeable.
Even individual accomplishments should be acknowledged by updating the records in the gym and pool.

Something needs to happen. The pep rally, which involves the athletes, is a good place for these announcements to take place. We could still have all the fun with them, as the teams are introduced. However, if a team for that season won a championship, the banners could be updated, or the plaques could be hung in front of the whole school.