Hailey Loftin Features Editor One of the conversations that occurs throughout the NFL season involves the Honors Awards at the end of the year. The constant buzz around who will be MVP leads to debates among fans, but this year there seemed to be no contest. Right from the start of the season, Cam Newton was the frontrunner for the award. Not all of the recipients are this clear though; many of the awards take more thought. Some of the awards that are given are pretty self-explanatory, like Rookie of the Year or Most Valuable Player. The purpose of some other awards is not so evident. The Salute to Service Award is presented by the USAA and honors a player who supports and honors current and former U.S. service members and their families. The Art Rooney Award goes to a player who displays excellent sportsmanship on the field. The Deacon Jones Award is given to the player who leads the league in sacks that year. Henry McKeand Editor-in-Chief and A&E Editor Sports fans always have a lot to look forward to in February, especially since it is home to the biggest sports event of the year. No, not the Super Bowl-- it is the Apex High Staffsketball game taking place on Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. The game will pit two teams made up of teachers and faculty against each other, and the draft is already incredibly heated. The round one picks were announced on Cougar TV this Wednesday, and there were plenty of surprises. The rest will be announced next Wednesday in homeroom, allowing viewers to see if English Teacher Scott Ferguson will finally be drafted. Apex Student Council helped organize and plan the event along with social studies teachers Carly Brown and Delaney Titus. In addition, Apex basketball players, such as senior Ian Boyd, are helping to coach the teams. Substitute-and-former-high-school-teacher Terry Fuhrman, who is also English teacher Tori McGee’s father, will be refereeing the game. Brown says that the whole event has “…really been a student-staff effort on all sides.” McKenzie Feldman Staff Writer Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos are the Super Bowl 50 champions after pulling out an unstoppable defensive performance to take down Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers. Super Bowl 50 was filled with a lot of different emotions. Whether you look forward to the game, commercials, or the halftime show, there were many aspects that made Super Bowl 50 one to remember. Here is what to take away from Super Bowl 50: Cameron Goz Sports Editor Another NFL season concluded Sunday night as the Denver Broncos triumphed over the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in the fiftieth annual super bowl. The heavily-favored Panthers were sluggish out the gate while recently named MVP Cam Newton faltered throughout the contest. Peyton Manning did not outperform him by any means, but he did enough to win and presumably “ride off into the sunset”, perhaps ending an illustrious career. While Manning has not said anything publicly regarding his retirement decision, it is assumed around the league that his playing days are over. Despite the game being maybe Manning’s last, he was hardly the reason Denver conquered some playoff demons to win their third Super Bowl championship. Without the help of an elite defense, Manning would have been watching this game from home; the Broncos sacked Newton seven times, tying the record for one team in a super bowl. Even the record does not tell the whole story; Denver’s defense was harassing the league’s MVP all game long, with eventual game MVP Von Miller stripping him twice, first for a touchdown, and the next starting the back-breaking drive that won Manning his second ring. "It feels great," said Miller, who on top of his two forced fumbles, had six tackles, 2 1-2 sacks, two hurries, and a pass defended. "Peyton and DeMarcus and Coach Phillips and all the guys that have been deserving their whole, whole career. I did this for them. I put my neck on the line for those guys." As was the case two years ago, the better defense won the big game; only Denver is on the winning side this go-around. Hailey Loftin Features Editor The end of the last NBA season ended as everyone expected it to: the Warriors won the championship, led by the dynamic duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. The pair, nicknamed the “Splash Brothers,” is known for their ability to sink three-pointers from just about anywhere on the court. The Warriors were ranked number one preseason, and they have not disappointed. Ashton Baysden Staff Writer From watching linebacker Terry Tate tackling businessmen to seeing a Budweiser Clydesdale finding its way back home, one of the public’s favorite features of the Super Bowl is the commercials, and this year is no exception. With a Super Bowl as big as Super Bowl 50, a corporate race has ensued to put out the most memorable commercials possible. According to Bradley Johnson of Advertising Age, “Ad spending for commercials during the game on Feb. 7's Super Bowl 50 broadcast on CBS will total a record $377 million, according to Ad Age Datacenter's estimate.” Johnson says that this year’s ad spending is more than what was spent on the Super Bowl during the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s combined, so expectations for this year’s ads are high. Cameron Goz Sports Editor The culmination of a thrilling season comes to a head on Feb. 7 when the Denver Broncos bring the league’s top defense to battle the Panthers of Carolina, who own one of the top offenses in the league. Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, holds the honor to host this year’s festivities. Storylines lie abound: Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning attempts to ride off into the sunset after a historic career while MVP-frontrunner Cam Newton tries to lead his Panthers to an astounding 18-1 record on the year, something unprecedented before the season, especially after losing top wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in training camp. Nonetheless, these are the last two teams remaining, and it would be difficult to challenge they aren’t the best two teams this season. Hailey Loftin Features Editor The 2016 playoffs have been very exciting for fans that have teams still in the running. The wild card round took place the weekend of Jan. 8. There were two games that were especially upsetting or exciting, depending on which fan base a person is a part of. The first was between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The score was 16-15 Bengals with a minute and thirty seconds left in the game when a big play by the Steelers took them back into Bengals territory. Two personal fouls later, the Steelers were in field goal range and won the game 18-16. The game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Minnesota Vikings was a similar story. The Seahawks were up 10-9 at the end of the fourth quarter, but Minnesota had the ball and was gearing up to kick a field goal. Vikings kicker Blair Walsh kicked it wide left, and the Seahawks moved on. Andrew Bulieris Staff Writer Jan. 4, 2016 spells a very sad day for all Giants fans across the country as beloved coach Tom Coughlin has resigned leaving his legacy and two Lombardi Trophies behind. Almost every football fan could see this coming from the beginning of the season; changes were coming in the Giants organization. The team constantly melted down in the fourth quarter every other week due to terrible coaching calls, and the defense was all over the place all season, finishing in dead last in total defense. The offense could not produce points late in games either. The Giants as a whole completely shut down and blew the season away, throwing first place in the NFC East down the drain. As much as Giants fans were naïve to the fact that this was coming, they all hoped they could see that old man walk up and down the sidelines for one more season. But not everything works out the way it should, and that is the true reality of this situation. Andrew Bulieris Staff Writer Domestic violence has been a huge issue not only in sports, but in life in general we have seen many popular cases of domestic violence in past years relating to African American domestic violence cases with the police. This is a problem that all sports must crack down on. Examples of domestic violence in the NFL this year have been Greg Hardy’s debatable four-game suspension after photos surfaced of his ex-girlfriend badly bruised and beaten. There should be no place in the sport for any kind of domestic violence especially when a female is the victim. Another example of a terrible case of this was when video was released of Ray Rice, ex running back for the Baltimore Ravens, striking his fiancé in an elevator and knocking her unconscious. Rice was only suspended for two games and was reinstated after it but no team has yet to pick him up. |
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