Beginning this school year, West-side High School will issue out netbooks to its freshmen and sophomores. The ef-fort to modernize the educati onal system was enabled by the state department of educati on, which gave the school $1.7 million as part of a “Blended Learning Grant” in order to begin the switch to the digital age of educati on. The mini-laptops will be given out free of charge to all ninth and tenth grad-ers, and will take the place of textbooks and, largely, the use of paper and pencils. The netbooks will allow students to be in a more media-based learning community which will hopefully bring about higher interest levels for the students and thus a bett er understanding of the content. The school will set up Wiki pag-es and online discussion boards so that

students can go over the lessons and ask their teachers questi ons when they are outside of the classroom. While this system is believed to allow students more opportuniti es to learn, it will also get students ready for their future careers. For nearly every job in today’s society, it is crucial to be able to type well and have general computer

knowledge. As Westside’s principal, Lau-ra Perkins, said, “The reality is that kids communicate now using technology and schools can either ignore that and fi ght it every day or we can embrace it and fi g-ure out a way to make it work for us.” The students are not the only ones who will have to become accus-tomed to this new method of learning. Westside teachers att ended workshops throughout the summer instructi ng them on how to manage a virtual learning en-vironment and how to make full use of the capabiliti es of the new system. Though the state grant currently will only cover netbooks for underclass-men, Westside hopes to fi nd a way to equip the enti re school with the net-books.

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“I was barely late to class,” commented

Latti more while serv-ing her ti me in ISS. “It was not

fair. I was sent to Mrs. Carr’s offi ce without a warning, and given ISS without realizing what I had really done.” The new tardy policy at Cen-tral has created a cacophonic re-sponse from the student body, who already believes that they are “constantly rushing in the morn-ings to get to class and barely have enough socializing ti me.” Dayna Daniely, Latti more’s third block teacher, was “just following procedures,” referring to the chart on her door that covers the doors of many other teachers. Daniely had no idea what consequence would be administered to Latti -more. Enacted this school year, the new rules seem to notch up the con-sequences for being tardy. Unlike before, the consequences of tardi-

ness are di-v i d e d up into t w o

c a t e g o -ries: under

fi ve minutes and over fi ve minutes.

For the former of the two, sim-ple parent contact is established aft er the third off ense. However, the dreaded Plasco card, upon which all tardy informati on and resultant consequences is imprint-ed, is issued aft er the fourth tardy. Harsher repercussions are given if a student is over fi ve minutes tardy. Plasco cards are given on the fi rst tardy of over fi ve minutes, and depending on the ti me, any-where from parent call to OSS. “Many students have to depend on transportati on so I don’t think that the tardy policy is enti rely fair,” said senior Amber Nicole.”It takes away learning ti me from the student when they have to go to ISS and such.” Many others failed to dissent from this general view. Raymond Partolan, aware of Latti more’s sit-uati on, was confounded. “Being late 20 minutes does not justi fy losing another hour and ten min-utes of instructi onal ti me.”

Conti nued on Page 4

Better Late Than Never By Arjun Patel and Sulaiman Somani

News Editor, Editor-in-Chief

Tell that to the administration

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Computer Mania! Principal Perkins showcases the new net-books that all freshmen and sophomores received this year.

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10:50. Ashley Latti more leaves her second block to go to her locker and exchange materials for her next class.10:54. Warning bell rings, but Latti more reaches her locker.10:55. At her locker, Lat-ti more is fumbling with her essenti als when the late bell rings.11:15. Latti more arrives at her third block and is sent to the offi ce of Kay Carr, who is in charge of the tardy policy conse-quences. Latti more is is-sued a Plasco card and given in- school-suspen-sion for the following day.

VIEWPOINTS

Page 2 • August 31, 2010 • thecentralpost

Mission

The Central Post exists to update and inform the students, faculty, parents and community of Central High School through well-researched articles writ-ten by a dedicated staff.

Advertising

The Central Post welcomes advertisers, provided they do not advertise “R” rated movies, alcohol, drugs or other activities illegal to minors. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to advertising decisions.

The Central Post welcomes submissions in the form of articles, story tips and Letters to the Editor. Sub-missions may be dropped off in newspaper adviser Nancy Jordan’s room (1013), in her box in the front offi ce or e-mailed to najordan.central@bibb.k12.ga.us The editorial board of The Post reserves the right to determine which submissions are published and to edit those submissions for spelling and gram-mar, length and use of inappropriate or vulgar lan-guage.

All unsigned editorials represent the majority opin-ion of the editorial board, and do not necessarily refl ect those of Central High School. Opinions ex-pressed in articles and columns appearing in The Central Post are those of the writer of the article and do not necessarily refl ect those of The Central Post. The editorial board reserves the right to all edi-torial decisions. Editorial cartoons and photographs from students are also encouraged.

The Central Post is the monthly published public fo-rum and student newspaper of Central High School. The newspaper is produced by adviser John Bodo’s Journalism classes and walk-on staff members. Stu-dents are solely responsible for all production tasks, including writing, editing, photography, layout and advertising.

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Letters to the Editor

Editorial Cartoons

Dear Editor, I have recently taken to the idea of going to school year-round. Now, I know school for an enti re year with no summer break may sound bad, but with the enti re story it sounds prett y good. First of all, we would sti ll att end school for the same number of days each year as we do now. The number 180 would not change. However, the number of holidays and days off from school we have will increase substanti ally. Possibly the great-est benefi ciary from a year-round school year would be the fact that we will only have to go to school on Mondays through Thursdays, giving us only a four day week, and three full days for the weekend. I am looking forward to having four days a week of school and hope that this reform occurs while I’m sti ll in high school.

Hudson Brown, Junior

Dear Editor, During my freshman year, I was able to pick my own locker. This worked out very well for me because I knew where my classes were and what locker would be the most convenient for me. However, this system has disappeared. Instead, I was assigned a locker that was closest to my fi rst block on A-day. I do not have the same fi rst block everyday, so really my locker placement is only convenient every other day for one block. Otherwise, I have no use to go down the hall where my locker is located. I have tried every way to get to my locker in a ti mely fashion, but any way that I have tried, I have been marked tardy for class. Especially with the new tardy system, I believe picking out one’s own locker would be most benefi cial for students.

Alex Papadopolous, Junior

Dear Editor, Being a teacher of Central High School for four years now, the biggest problem I have had has been teh tardy policy. In prior years, Dr. Scoggins had initi ated a lock-out schedule where, if students were not in class seated when the bell rung, the teacher had the right to lock the student out and they were to report to the cafeteria for the block. I must admit, I loved this. In more recent years, less control seems to be put in place for handling this issue and students are becoming aware of this and oft en come to class later and later. I must say, though, that I feel that the prob-lem may fi nally be addressed. I love the new policy regarding the less than/greater than fi ve minutes tardy because I have noti ed a tremendous diff erence in the eff orts the students put forth to getti ng to class on ti me. This had been a big complaint of mine and fi nally looks as though it may be resolved.

Tonya Richardson, Teacher

Dear Editor, The new math curriculum, which is based on “discovery” through workbooks, cuts out the necessity of a teacher and disadvan-tages shy students. This “discovery” method consists of students working out of textbooks and workbooks with no prior teaching. The students are expected to be able to follow the questi ons and learn through this. The teachers are supposed to guide the class, correcti ng them when necessary. However, for most of the class, they have nothing to do, and their presence is merely a pointless formality. The curriculum also disadvantages students too shy to ask for help. If the stu-dent doesn’t understand the material, and answers the questi ons incorrectly, the stu-dent ends up learning the wrong thing. The teacher may not catch this unti l it is too late. All in all, the so called “discovery” method is a pointless imitati on of real teaching and can hinder the educati on of students.

Caroline Marti n, Freshman

Enzo Harris/The Central Post

blah blah...

blah blah...blah blah...

Enzo Harris/The Central Post

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thecentralpost • August 31, 2010 • Page 3

HealthHealthLine

By Sulaiman SomaniEditor-in-Chief

I have witness far too many ti mes the following sce-nario in the gym: pompous windbag-of-a-jock, Billy “Badboy” Smith, struts to the bench press and, aft er a two minute huffi ng and puffi ng session, completes six improper repeti ti ons and arrogantly proceeds to re-peat the procedure multi ple ti mes. Oh, and did I men-ti on, his seat coincidentally is next to a beauti ful lady? On the other hand, the more quiescent character, Bill Johnson, arrives, gets on the cardio fl oor for two minutes, and proceeds to execute a myriad of stretch-ing techniques. Smith jeers at Johnson for his choice of exercise. What the former fails to realize is that John-son is getti ng a much bett er workout than Smith. The reason: warming up.

Benefi ts of Warming Up The most underrated aspect of any good workout, a warm-up is rarely ever conducted these days. Some stretch for one minute and proceed to exercise; others simply walk around and regard it as suffi cient; and the boldest people dare to skip the idea of it altogether, just like our buddy Smith did.

What most acti ve people do not understand is the bio-logical aspect of stretching. A fi ve to ten minute warm- up helps to get the blood fl owing in your body. When you do aerobic exercise or lift weights, the transport of blood helps in getti ng the vital oxygen to your cells and thus allows you to push just a tad harder. But that’s not all a good warm-up will do. By enhanc-ing blood fl ow, it allows for the waste products, pri-marily lacti c acid, to leave the muscles more effi ciently. Lacti c acid is a byproduct of muscular acti vity that gives you cramps and fati gue. By ridding it and thus prevent-ing buildup, warm-ups help in making workouts longer and more eff ecti ve. And if that’s not enough reason to stop impetuous acti vity in the gym, then this should be the deal-break-er. Warming up prevents tears in muscle fi bers that lead to injury; so unless you’re dead set on making the probability of having a break from the gym for a few weeks, warming up would be all too benefi cent.

A Proper Warm-up The reader may now be wondering, “What consti -tutes a good warm-up?” This is dependent on the type of acti vity you are doing. For example, running would not require as intense of a warm-up as a weight lift ing workout consisti ng of 12 supersets. The essence is sim-ple: increase heart rate and stretch, especially acti vity-specifi c stretching if you are resistance training. Remember, fi ve to ten minutes is essenti al, possibly more, if you are new to the fi tness regime. A three min-ute jog, followed by three minutes of stretching (vice versa if doing aerobic exercise) would allow the blood to fl ow well throughout the body, and the stretching will help loosen those ti ght muscles and prevent com-mon injuries. By performing this essenti al practi ce in your daily workouts, you are getti ng one step closer to that perfect body. Come on now, who wouldn’t want to be a step closer to those washboard abs?

If you or someone you knew were the victi m of a rape and got pregnant, what would you do? Would you want to keep that child, or would you see it as a con-stant reminder of how you were wronged? Perhaps you would keep it and love it for the rest of its life, but that does not mean that every person would do the same. The important thing is, you had the choice tomake your own decision. One of the most controversial topics in today’s soci-ety is aborti on. As it stands right now, aborti on is le-gally practi ced throughout the country. However, there are those who would like nothing bett er than to see it outlawed. These people make up the pro-life move-ment, which views aborti on, for any reason, as morally wrong. What these pro-lifers oft en fail to acknowledge is that “pro-choice” does not mean “pro-death”. I highly doubt that there are many people who can legiti mate-ly say that they are pro-kill babies. Even if there were such people it is highly unlikely that the general publicwould listen to them in any capacity other than to re-fute their opinions. In fact, many pro-choice supporters, like myself, would prefer it if people chose not to abort their ba-bies. Pro-choicers acknowledge, though, that womenhave a right to choose whether or not to carry a baby to term, as well as the fact that a group of congress-men should not be allowed to take away that right.Many aborti ons are not just frivolous or selfi sh deci-sions on the mother’s part; there are almost always ex-tenuati ng circumstances and these cannot be ignored. Were the government to pass legislati on that would cause aborti on to be illegal, they would be disregard-ing the suff ering of any rape victi ms and impoverishedwomen that cannot aff ord to support a child. There-fore, the government would be indirectly responsible for any negligence that child may experience. Quite frankly, if a woman wants to have an abor-ti on badly enough then she will fi nd a way to get one. Women would be, once again, forced to use back-alley aborti on clinics. This method would be, as it has been in the past, both unsafe and unregulated, some clin-ics even used coat hangers to perform the procedure. In fact, before Roe v. Wade legalized aborti on in 1973,many of the women who had these illegal aborti ons suff ered serious injuries or infecti ons from them andoft en died. Some pro-lifers may say that the women

wouldn’t have suff ered these injuries if they didn’t get an illegal aborti on in the fi rst place. But who are they, who is anyone, to tell a woman who may die due to her pregnancy, or was a victi m of rape or incest, that she must keep that child. The pro-life movement does not off er a resoluti on for situati ons like this, or any other situati on that would lead a woman to get an aborti on. It simply cries immo-rality at the mere menti on of the topic. Pro-lifers should be pleased enough with the fact that they have the ability to choose not to get an abor-ti on. In the same way, they shouldn’t interfere with an-other’s choice to do so. For they and the governmentshould never be allowed to take away a woman’s rightto her own choice.

opposopposinging viewviewpointspointspro-choice pro-life

Aborti on is a touchy subject. Even so, it’s important that peo-

ple understand what aborti on is and why it’s wrong.

The fi rst and most important point is that, legal or not, aborti on

is murder. Just because the baby is unborn doesn’t mean it’s not

alive. In that sense, aborti on is legal-

ized murder. So why is it that it’s legal to kill babies and illegal to kill adults? Well, it shouldn’t be. Some may argue that my point is not valid but there is exist-ing scienti fi c evidence that proves that life begins at concepti on. Some might also say that pro-choice is the women’s right to choose whether or not to have an aborti on. Given that “pro-choice” is a choice, there are other opti ons besides aborti on. Just because aborti on is an opti on, doesn’t mean it’s the only opti on. The bett er opti on would be to carry the child to term and give it

up for adopti on. “But what if the child is the result of an unwanted pregnancy or rape?” Well, in the case of unwanted pregnancy, there are soluti ons. The most obvious is birth control in the form of “the pill” or condoms, but there’s even a simpler soluti on, absti nence. In the case of rape, it’s extremely rare that a child is conceived. True, it’s sad that things like this sti ll happen, but is it fair for the unborn baby to die because of the stupidity of someone else? There are a few out here who claim to be pro-choice but not pro-aborti on and that is an impossibility. Say-ing that you support or believe in something but do not condone it is hypocriti cal. It is impossible to believe in something unless you support it, otherwise you don’t really believe in it at all. Another argument for pro-choice is that it is the woman’s choice to have her child aborted and not the man’s. This is completely untrue. Unless the child is the product of rape, the father should always have a choice in determining the future of his unborn child. If neither parent can reach a decision, then maybe they shouldn’t have gott en married in the fi rst place, and should probably seek help. Some may be wondering, “if the child is unwanted, wouldn’t it be abused if the mother carried it to term? Why not abort the child and save it from the abuse?” Well, that may seems like it makes logical sense but, fi rst off , there is no such thing as an “unwanted” child. Again I refer to putti ng the child up for adopti on, some-one out there will want a child. Second, to abort the child would be the ulti mate form of child abuse. If that wasn’t enough to convince you, take into ac-count the mothers of aborted children. Many women who have had their children aborted are now pro-life. Women who have their children aborted will oft en fall into depression. Trust me, depression is something you don’t want in your family. I have had personal experi-ence with someone who is depressed. It’s not prett y. I know it seem that I have overloaded you with in-formati on and situati ons but there is a reason for that. I wanted to show some of the top reasons for sup-porti ng pro-choice and off ering a rebutt al and other opti ons. Aborti on may be protected by law but that doesn’t make it right.

Baby Mama Drama

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“ ,,Abortion is legalized murder.

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10% increase in muscular performance aft er warming up through stretching and mild aerobic acti vity

20% greater fl exibility for men and women who implement stretching ex-ercises in their warmups.

90% increase in the recovery of stored energy in tendons aft er a warmup. Ten-dons are crucial for aiding muscles in actually executi ng the movement of the exercise.

Statistics Show A...

Source: Duane V. Knudson

You could earn up to $150,000!!!“No Way!” is what you might be thinking - but its scientifi cally possible!

Talk to your local Central Post representative, or business manager Amber Lamar for details.

IF all 1500 of the recipients of the Central Post buy a good that you advertised per issue for, say, $100, then...

Conti nued from Cover Faculty and staff , however, did not concur with the majority of the student body. Math teacher Sherrie Harper ac-tually likes the tardy policy. “Students require reinforcement in their lives, whether they are aware of it or not.” Partolan did try to fi nd common ground between the faculty and stu-dents. “Aft er-school punishments are more acceptable,” he remarked, “if they do not interfere with the regular opera-ti ons of the school day.” In this manner, the educati on of the student will not be sacrifi ced, and the consequences will be suff ered. Jason Flanders, assistant principal and pundit for the intercom, failed to suc-cumb to the general student view as well. “This tardy policy is enforcing what we have had in the past before. It’s actu-ally less sti ff than the previous policy—the only diff erence is in the administra-ti on of the procedures.”

Code of Conduct Testi ng Along with the tedious list of rules and regulati ons, the student body has also been given a test concerning the Code of Conduct. This test ensures that the students know what is being asked of them and makes sure that they have in-deed read it.

Flanders said, “The Bibb County School District feels it important for students to receive a copy of the book, to be ex-posed to it, and to be able to demon-strate the knowledge.” A test was given the fi rst week of school. The students had three chances to pass the test - each test counti ng as a part of the grade for the class they took it in. “It’s meaningless because as a senior, I’ve been in this system for four years,” remarked senior Trent Dominy. “When I hear about the rules enough, it sort of gets implanted in my brain.” Teachers had a diff erent opinion about this test, however. “Personally, I believe this test is a good thing because it makes each student in-dividually responsible for the content within,” commented English teacher Ashley Feagin. “We hope this will decrease all the discipline referrals from the past year,” commented Flanders. If the student failed to pass the test, he or she was given two more chances to pass it. Another English teacher, Wendell Ra-mage, was more genial toward the gen-eral student populati on. “Many of my students thought it was useless, but it gave them a good grade,

the lowest of which was a 96.” Sti ll, many students felt the test was “unnecessary and a complete waste of ti me,” as freshman Larry Bryant puts it. “We haven’t noti ced any changes as of yet,” summed up Flanders. “Only ti me will tell.”

New year, new students, and new teachers. Central High School has added nine new employees to their payroll. Coming from beauti ful Zephyr Hills, Florida, Bill Corbin is the new Credit Re-covery teacher here at Central. Corbin has been teaching for seven years, but educati on is his second career— previ-ously, he was a supervisor and training instructor in the food industry. Corbin was att racted to the positi on here be-cause of his wife, Lori Corbin, who also works here as a literature teacher. In his spare ti me, he builds and repairs com-puters. If you’ve got a sore throat or a head-ache, Laurie Smith is the woman to see. Our lovely new nurse has been in the medical fi eld for twenty years, work-ing in both the hospital and the school setti ng. Smith was hired through the Program for Excepti onal Children, a pro-gram which places nurses at schools around the country based on the needs of the students. She is married and has three dogs named Sampson, Bonnie and Clyde. Andrew Grodecki, an American Gov-ernment teacher, has been all over the United States in the name of learning. He received his educati on in Illinois, Iowa, and Mississippi, and later taught in Arkansas and Florida before moving to Georgia less than a month ago. When he heard that a social studies positi on was available here, he hurriedly applied. Grodecki enjoys running and collecti ng baseball cards. Robin Vadasz and Mary Stephens are the new teacher and paraprofessional, respecti vely, for the very fi rst Access 2 class. They work with special needs stu-

dents, and have been working together for fi ft een years. The two of them—and their enti re class—were transferred from Northeast to Central this summer. This dynamic duo is a pioneer in special needs educati on at Central. Sergeant Glen Towles likes to travel and see diff erent things, and has been interested in the military lifestyle since he was seventeen years old. He was an army recruiter for ten years, two of which were in the Macon area. For the past ten years, he worked at Northeast, but he saw the recent opening at Cen-tral as a great opportunity. He is replac-ing Sgt. Brown as a JROTC instructor. He describes Central as a “wonderful envi-ronment.” Towles has set his sights on conti nuing to pass the federal inspec-ti ons and winning the drill state cham-pionship. Andrew Layton is a new math teacher at Central. Last year, he substi tuted for various teachers in the county, but this year, it’s his name outside the classroom door. He spent eight years in a research lab at Georgia Tech that dealt with rapid prototyping, and also taught at the uni-versity level for many years. This is Lay-ton’s fi rst year teaching high school, and he felt that he could make a diff erence in the strong math department here. He also has a deep love of roller coasters. Last but not least, we have Mr. Bryan Bailey, a new math teacher. He taught at Paul Bryant High School in Tuscaloosa before moving to Macon with his wife, who grew up here. This is Bailey’s fourth year of teaching.

NEWS

Page 4 • August 31, 2010 • thecentralpost

BRITISH PETROLEUMThe largest oil-spill in American history has subsided aft er repeated att empts to close the underwater well. Briti sh Pa-trolium (BP) was scruti nized due to its failures on assessing the situati on and having a plan ready to combat a situa-ti on such as this one. They now have control of the situati on as the process of “stati c kill” has begun to work on the well. Stati c kill is a procedure that pumps heavy drilling mud into the blow-out preventer. They are drilling relief wells near the leaking well to lower the pressure. This process is working since there is a ti ghter cap around the well. Aft er they have pumped this fl uid into the blowout preventer, the next process is pumping concrete into the well in or-der to seal it permanently.

PAKISTANCelebrati ons were cancelled on the eve of Independence Day as the fl ood situati on in Pakistan was assessed. The fl ooding has aff ected over 20 million people, who now leave their homes to fi nd refuge in a foreign place. One in fi ve Pakistanis has been aff ected by this disaster. Due to the horrendous ef-fects, the fl ood is having on the Paki-stani people, the UN has declared it an emergency and is currently work-ing on a relief package. The northern areas that are aff ected have seen the worst fl ooding since 80 years. When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saw the repercussions of the fl ooding, he stated that it was the worst natural disaster he has seen. Over 1,700 people have per-ished and the number is conti nuing to rise due to disease and other causes.

CHINAA massive mudslide occurred in the Gansu Province of China. Rain has been steady in the area which caused a near-by mountain to parti ally break off , thus aff ecti ng the inhabitants of the region. Over 1,300 people have died from this incident in which the Chinese govern-ment has called for a nati onal mourn-ing.

MEXICOIn recent years, dramati c increase of drug cartels operati ng in Mexico raises the issue of relati ve safety in the coun-try. When Felipe Calderon, president of Mexico, came to offi ce, he pledged a crackdown on organized crime. Since his declarati on in 2007, there have been a staggering 28,000 deaths. This number conti nues to rise due to drug cartel re-lated incidents. President Calderon has ordered 45,000 troops to quell the re-gions most aff ected by organized crime. On August 15, Mayor Edelmiro Cavazos, of Santi ago, was kidnapped from his home by suspected members of a drug cartel and his body was recovered three days later. Incidents such as this cause the Mexican government to toughen their stance against organized crime.

By Arjun PatelNews Editor

In case you were living

Under a

Rock

Courtesy of Google Images

Courtesy of Google Images

Calderon

New tardy policy unpopular with student body

Poll: Central Students responded negati vely overall (light-est gray) to the new tardy policy, though some (dark gray) thought it useful.

Students that did not like the tardy policy

Students that like the policy.

Students that are indiff erent about the policy.

Bienvenidos, bonjour, namaste, and hello - welcome to Central, teachers!

By Darby MaxwellStaff Writer

From Top to Bott om Left : Kirby, Towles, Vadasz, Layton, From Top to Bott om Left : Kirby, Towles, Vadasz, Layton, Bailey, and Grodecki.Bailey, and Grodecki.

By Arjun Patel, Sulaiman Somani

News Editor, Editor-in-Chief

Crystal Linsenbigler/The Central Post

Isaiah Williams/The Central Post

FEATURES

thecentralpost • August 31, 2010 • Page 5

Back to school with the newest trends in...

Between new challenging courses, new teachers, and the never ending bell-to-bell schedule, many people don’t have the ti me for the latest styles. That’s where we come in, giving you your monthly dose of fashion dos and don’ts. Back to school is the most important ti me for fashion. Retro is defi nitely the trend this season. Although bright and neon colors are falling off the radar, 80’s Run DMC fashion is back! From cut-off shirts to Adidas, this retro trend is all the rave. Not the retro dresser? You’re in luck because earth tones (brown, green, or-ange) and military trends are rocking the stores and the runway. Getti ng this look is easy as 1-2-3. Find a simple shirt, dress it up with a cute vest and a long dangling necklace to comple-

ment your neckline. Gorgeous! You can get this look from your local Rainbow, GNG, or any other independent retailer for under $30. Boys, we can’t forget about you. V-Necks and Levi’s are your thing this season. It’s so simple, yet very cute. V-necks not your thing? Try a graphic tee. Believe it or not, Wal-Mart sells them for only $12. What a steal! Next up, shoes. They are always the hardest accessory to shop for. Vans, Chucks, Jordans and the classic Nike Shoe are always in style. Don’t overdo it! Grays, blacks, reds and blues are al-ways safe colors. This season is not about being bold but being subtle and cute. It’s ti me to let go of the colored skinnies, beads, and bangles.

If you’re looking for a new, fresh, fun look, try silly bands! These kooky, cute and inexpensive bands are a great com-pliment to a simple outf it. Also, get more for your buck by fi nd-ing sales, applying for store clubs andthe all ti me classic, clipping coupons. Stores are off ering major sales as back-to-school discounts this year, so look for those amazing deals. Be your own per-son, defi ne your own style, and maybe you’ll be the next trend. And if you’re ever in need of any extra assistance, just consult your nearest magazine, blog or fellow trendy student.

If ’ l ki f f h f

STYLESTYLEBy Amber Lamaar and Brittney Scott

Business Manager, Staff Writer

1. Gap Chinos: spiff up that casual atti re.2. Express Rocco Fit Jeans: slim fi t but roomy, a must have for men. 3. Peacoat: what guy can’t pull this off ?4. Henley: not as formal as a polo, but trendy at its fi nest.5. V-Neck Tees: they’re all the hype6. Ralph Lauren Polos: a classic additi on that serves to be the most versati le ar-ti cle in your closet.7. Grey/Black Canvas Shoes: work with almost any outf it. 8. Cardigan: layering at its fi nest9. Banana Republic Chambray shirt: with the temperature as high as it is, this shirt is an essenti al.10. Converses: everyone owns a pair of these shoes -and so should you.

Men’s 10 Classic Essentials

1. Saggy Pants2. Tube socks3. Suspenders4. Tanktops/wifebeaters5. USPA6. Colored Skinnies7. FILA8. Reebok9. Plasti c Beads10. Extremely ti ght clothing

The Ten Biggest Fashion Fiascos

“Start strong. Work hard. Finish strong.”

Christopher Patterson Kori Green Kenneth “Trent” Dominy“Dont play around because it

will catch up with you!”“Don’t slack off ; apply

yourselves.”

Oluwatobi “Tobi” Olagunju“Be confi dent in your

abiliti es as a freshman.”

Seniors speak up: fresh advice for fellow freshmen

By Yeji ParkStaff Writer

Images courtesy of Crystal Linsenbigler and Tarver Bechtel

From top to bott om right:Surprise! Senior Brook Robinsonposes for the PostI’m Ballin! Candace Driskell casually takes a picture. Fresh with fashion! Fresh-man Thomas Young in his everyday wear.Model Much? Avant garde stylist Betsy Appling at a modelling shoot.Picture Perfect Junior Amore Jones rocks a Ralph Lauren tee in the gym.“What It Do” Freshman Rashard Redding showing off his Big Pony Polo.Images courtesy of Crystal Linsenbi-gler and Exodus Photography.

Images courtesy of Google Images

Ladies and gentlemen, it is fi nally ti me to thank him. Aubrey “Drake” Graham was born October 24, 1986 in Toronto, Canada and received his fame at a young age. Being the son of famous actor Dennis Gra-ham, Drake picked up roles in the starlight early like playing Jimmy on the TV show “Degrassi.” But this is a music review, so lets examine how Drake became every other song on the radio. In 2006, Drake released his fi rst mixtape “Room for Improvement,” and became a hit in Cana-da. In 2007, he decided to branch out to America, in which he dropped “The Comeback Season,” releasing songs with Trey Songz and Lil Wayne. “Replacement Girl” was Drake’s fi rst BET single. Lil Wayne enjoyed working with Drake on his mixtape and wanted to create more songs with him. So Drake was around Lil Wayne’s Young Money crew, but was not signed. Most of Drake’s American fame can be con-tributed to his 2009 mixtape “So Far Gone,” including collaborati ons with Santogold, UGK, Lil Wayne, Peter Bjorn, and Lyyke Li. This mixtape was an album within itself, debuti ng at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Drake can truly be credited with bringing back the mixtape game. Through his success of this album, Young Mon-ey Entertainment signed Drake in late 2009. “The Resistance,” with its “Houstatlantavegas” vibe, reminds fans that drake can sti ll rap about his life and be successful on a personal level, menti oning how his mother and father met, and how his music is separati ng him from his family, but he plans on fi xing it. “Who promised me you would never change?…” rings throughout the chorus of this song, stressing the fact how his success is aff ecti ng his appearance to his peers, but how he doesn’t seem to understand why they feel that way. If you liked “Say What’s Real,” you’ll enjoy this song. “How did I end up right here with you, aft er all the things that I been through…”“Show Me a Good Time,” is a song that defi nitely is an undiscovered single. With its unique house-like intro,

this song then allows the bass to drop and Drake’s fa-mous R&B like chorus to harmonize all of the sounds. This song is one of my favorites due to the ability to shake your bass in the car, get the Drake fl ow going, and sti ll be sensiti ve enough to be considered R&B. Drake has many songs with that type of feel, and many more songs on the album that should be considered, like “Thank Me Now,” personally the best outro I’ve heard in an album with its Orchestra beat combined with powerful kickdrums. This song shows you that he’s ready to take Wayne’s positi on while he’s away and in the process make a name for himself. He shows us through this album that hip-hop is not in a reces-sion and he’ll prove it. For that, I (and hopefully you) can proudly say, thank you Drake.

ENTERTAINMENT

MovieMovie monthmonthof theof the

By Matt PrindleMovie Columnist

Incepti on is the latest movie by Christopher Nolan, the director of Batman: The Dark Knight. Nolan has created an amazing fi lm that is as good, if not bett er, than his previous work. The movie feels like it was inspired by The Matrix, but sti ll remains completely original. The characters are generally deep and all go through some tough situati ons, and then you have characters that are central to the plot and have per-sonal psychological problems that are exposed and make things dangerous. Now the world of Incepti on is set in the semi-future, as we now have the technology to link each others dreams together. This allows some people to steal ideas from others, and like Cobb, who specializes on stealing ideas and informati on from people in their dreams. He is a fugiti ve from the United States and has a single wish of returning to his family. Of course he is given such an opportunity and jumps for it; his task is to do his average extract only in reverse. He is asked to plant an idea into someone’s head, some-thing that has not been done successfully on record. While this plot is relati vely simple, it can be diffi cult to follow the details. Things will happen that can confuse you and make you wonder why things are happening, the most confusing aspect of Incepti on was probably the dream within a dream sequence, each having its own standard of ti me. This movie makes you concen-trate if you what to fully understand it, unlike most other movies.

Incepti on remains realisti c in its setti ngs and bends the rules every now and then, with opti cal illusions such as infi nite stairways which can be prett y fantas-ti c. They locati ons are also varied going from whole citi es to frozen arcti c bases. Each dream locati on is supposed to be designed like a maze, but they feel realisti c and can present challenges to the charac-ters even though they designed them. As for special eff ects, they are not as breathtaking as James Cam-eron’s Avatar with its plant life and crazy land forma-ti ons, however, it does have some amazing scenes with enti re sky scrapers coming down. The eff ects also were used to create what I would call the best fi ghti ng scene of the decade, having no gravity at all. No not defying gravity, but having no gravity to defy. My only complaint was that the most intense eff ects where used at the beginning of the movie and never really came back. Characters of Incepti on have deep personaliti es and are played well that are showcased through interacti ons rather than background informa-ti on. Incepti on is something that really hasn’t been done since The Matrix in 1999. It played on the defi niti on and bending of reality, , but what makes the two stand diff erent is that characters do not have control of the reality bending as they did in The Matrix. Incepti on is beauti ful, developed, well played, and has very few issues. With great fl ow of events, impressive fi ghts shoot outs, infi ltrati ons, vehicle chases, clever

trickery, and spectacular eff ects. Incepti on will haveyou wanti ng to see it multi ple ti mes.

theboxofficeBy Matt and Sulaiman Somani

The Central Post

The Good: so manly you’ll want to go lift weights and eat 10 pounds of steak.

The Bad: at ti mes, it tries to be manly - and hardly succeeds.

Bott om Line: if you don’t mind a rush of testos-terone oozing from the movie, then go watch it.

LLAAYYLLIISSTT

The Good: dance scenes aren’t terrible.

The Bad: even for a dance movie, it houses far too many dance scenes. Movie att empted to be a romance and failed miser-ably.

Bott om Line: overall it was boring - waste money at your own risk.

The Good: funny, sati rizes the generic buddy cop movies.

The Bad: not one of Will Ferrell’s best movies.

Bott om Line: Downright hilarious - worth the trip to the theatre. Between Dinner for Schmucks and this, opt for The Other Guys.

As a mother plays with her children, her husband goes about his daily routi ne. All is fi ne unti l the man opens up a newspaper and fi nds a four-leaf clover inside. Hewalks to his home’s library, sits down, and shoots him-self in the head. Rubicon follows a man named Will Travers, who is an analyst for the American Policy Insti tute, a fi cti onal think tank organizati on. He spends his days research-ing and breaking codes. During the premier episode, he fi nds a code printed in crossword puzzles from vari-ous newspapers, but his boss, David (also his father-in-law), rejects the achievement. Travers had lived a stressful life ever since his wife and daughter were killed during the 9/11 att acks. However, things soon got worse when his father-in-law was killed on the day aft er his birthday. The following day, Travers is off ered to fi ll in the positi on that his father-in-law had held. He accepts and begins to search through his boss’ old offi ce. He receives a call from another codebreaker who knew more about the David’s death. On his way to meet the codebreaker, Will stops at the train stati on where Da-vid died. He noti ces that David’s car was parked in aspot numbered “13.” Will knew that David was a very supersti ti ous person, and would have never parked in that spot. Simultaneously, Will noti ced the car that had been tailing behind him drove away. Will knew that something was not right. Independently, he be-gins investi gati ng the death of his father-in-law and stumbles into a world of conspiracies that span de-cades and conti nents. Rubicon conti nues the quality standard of shows produced by AMC by launching viewers into a series of intrigue and secrecy. It leaves many questi ons un-answered in order to sti mulate thought, but not tothe point where you feel disoriented. It fi nds a wayto be consistently baffl ing without being incoherent.

By Juston WilliamsMusic Columnist

Get tizzy with Drizzie’s huge success Rubicon TV Review

By Ben WeintrautCopy Editor

Page 6 • August 31, 2010 • thecentralpost

SPORTS

thecentralpost • August 31, 2010 • Page 7

It’s been dubbed “The Decision”, “The Great Betrayal”,and “The Event Six Years in the Making”; no matt er the ti tleLebron James’ free agency process and announcementwas the most publicized sports story in recent memory.ESPN began their coverage before James could even of-fi cially declare for free agency on July 1st, updati ng thepublic on every aspect and meeti ng that occurred. Theprocess culminated in an hour long special where Jamesannounced his decision to take his talents to Miami. The backlash ensued immediately as ESPN had cam-eras stati oned in both Miami and Cleveland (as the twomost probable desti nati ons). Scenes came streamingthrough of distraught Cavalier fans visibly upset overthe controversial decision. This was followed by an un-believable vision of angry Cleveland fans burning James’number 23 jersey in the streets of downtown Cleve-land. In the subsequent days following the decision, anangry lett er surfaced from the offi ces of the Cavs ownerDan Gilbert, referring to James as the “self-proclaimedKing” and guaranteeing the Cleveland fans that the Cav-aliers would win a ti tle before James and the Heat did. Honestly, I have trouble seeing how James was wrongin leaving Cleveland. He is just another NBA player, pos-sessing the right to leave one team for another aft er hiscontract has expired. The fans of Cleveland seemed tofeel as if they were enti tled to an explanati on or thatJames had to stay because he was born and raised in theclose city of Akron. Neither of these is true, James wasindeed a FREE agent, and FREE to come and go as hepleased. The explanati on for his decision is simple; hewanted to go somewhere where he could win multi plechampionships, and obviously he felt that he had a bet-ter chance of doing so in Miami rather than Cleveland.Logic puts it simply; the Heat had already signed highprofi le free agents Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, where-as the Cavs had not made one move of any notoriety. In hindsight, James looks as if he made the right move,as Cleveland handled the situati on in a completelyclassless manner. Treati ng a man that had brought somuch to that city and that organizati on with no re-

spect and as if he was worse than the dirt they walkedon. James for the past seven years has been reveredas a “savior” to Cleveland. Prior to Lebron’s arrival theCavaliers were among the bott om feeders of the NBA,with a dismal 17 wins in 2002, the year before Jameswas draft ed. James made Cleveland relevant again in-creasing the Cavs’ win total and att endance, selling outevery home game for the past several seasons. CanCleveland really blame him for leaving though? Yes,the Cavaliers had made the playoff s for fi ve consecu-ti ve seasons, and boasted the league’s best regular sea-son record for the past two seasons, but what did theyhave to show for it? No championships, and except forone NBA Finals appearance, they have not come evenremotely close to achieving that goal. So how can aman be patronized for leaving for a team that is builtto win multi ple championships in the coming years? Did James handle the whole situati on correctly in myopinion? Yes, for the most part, he did it in a stand upmanner. He met with six teams and gave them all am-ple ti me to make their pitch to persuade him to signwith their team. I do not agree with one aspect, James’decision to turn his announcement into an hour primeti me television special. This was a litt le ridiculous andunnecessary and shouldn’t have occurred, but didn’tdeserve the public backlash he received for it. In theend, Lebron had to go where he could win. Simplyput, he could not do that in Cleveland. As Seth Meyersjoked at the ESPYs, “Leave is in your name Cleveland.”

By Trey CampsSports Editor

TreyTrey--ningningCamp

Leave is in your name Cleveland “ ,,Leave is inLeyour nameCleveland

Courtesy of Google Images

The sounds of the infamous vuvu-zela ring in our ears as we take our seats while leaning in to get a bet-ter glance of the players. We watch as they valiantly take on the fi eld with pride in their eyes. Face-paint-ed men and women of both coun-tries fi ll the audience with their nati onalisti c spirits. Flags cover the dome from every corner whilst the audience cheers from the top of their lungs. The air is fresh, yet the players sti ll drop a sweat. Welcome to South Africa. The 2010 World Cup was the fi rst to be held on the conti nent of Afri-ca. The event seemed to be a good way to unite the peoples of South Africa and the conti nent as a whole, and to ease the minds of the many who were suff ering in that region. Senior Tobi Olagunju, however, was not in favor of the locati on. “It was held in South Africa, which is the European-colonized part of Africa. This is not the real Africa.” Though the South African team had over-whelming support from it’s fans, it became the only host nati on team in World Cup history to not reach the top 16. Unlike the rest of the world, Amer-ica is far down the list of countries

that come to mind when they hear the word “soccer” or “football.” The US’ lack of knowledge in this sport was shown in South Africa when only one out of ten Ameri-cans interviewed knew how the game of football actually worked. The rest of the world may laugh at America when it comes to soccer, but most would agree that America played great games this year. Junior Walker Rogers who is a big fan of the U.S. soccer team was very disappointed when he discovered the U.S. was eliminated from the cup. “The U.S. played very well in the Olympics so I knew they would do well in the World Cup, but I felt like they deserved to go farther,” he said. Senior Trent Dominy was also in favor of the US. “It’s ti me that we prove to the rest of the world that we can do it,” he said. “That is ex-actly what America did this year’s World Cup. The United States was placed in group division C along with Eng-land, Algeria, and Slovenia. Most Englanders along with Fabio, the England team’s coach, were disap-pointed when America ended their fi rst match as a ti e with England. The fi rst goal America made was by Clint Dempsey. England was, without a doubt, upset when their goalie Robert Green accidentally lost grasp of the ball and letti ng it enter the net. “My computer’s got the Robert Green virus. It can’t save anything” was one insult thrown at the English team for their dire mis-

take. When it came to Slovenia, Landon Donovan and Sam Bradley scored two amazing goals, yet what would have been a victory turned into a ti e when referee Koman Coulibay nullifi ed an American goal. Looking past it, the team headed on to the Algeria game where Captain Dono-van led America to another victory in overti me with an ending result of 1 – 0. A lot of the anti cipati on, how-ever, quickly went down the drain as Ghana managed to score a goal within the fi rst fi ve minutes of play. Donovan ti ed the game with a pen-alty kick in the second half. The game went into overti me. Again, the U.S. allowed an early goal (in just the third minute) and they were eliminated from the tournament. Those who watched the game saw, in the stands, both American faces in disbelief and African faces with tremendous joy, as their conti nent would conti nue to be represented in the tournament. Many students had their bet on Spain when the fi nale of the World Cup came to show, despite the fact that it was the Netherlands’ third ti me to make it to the fi nals. Inies-ta’s goal in overti me sati sfi ed most of the student body, as the Span-iards left South Africa with the ti tle “World Champs.” Overall, the games were received with a great fervor from the stu-dent body. “I was on the edge of my seat the whole ti me,” exclaimed junior Hudson Brown.

A heat index of 105 degrees and the echoing sound of metal bats striking fast pitches can only mean one thing: the beginning of soft -ball season for Central High. As the girls take the fi eld for a rigor-ous practi ce, they have in mind “the hard work we’ll soon be giv-ing to become a bett er team,” as Stacy Thompson puts it. Aft er a few speedy laps around the infi eld and a few stretches, the girls are set to begin the bulk of their practi ce. Their hard work has helped them win 15-14 over Northside in their fi rst game. Central High School has recently moved up a division from AA to AAA. The move to AAA might scare most athleti c teams. However, the s o f t b a l l

team is quite diff erent. They have already begun two-hour practi ces daily in the sweltering heat. Each player has her own perspecti ve on this recent change of division. To senior Jasmine Taylor this move will be a fl ashback to her freshman year, when Central was sti ll in AAA. She looks to this change in divisions as “a good challenge and way to prepare this year’s freshmen play-ers.” In junior Zavier Dudley’s opin-ion, the switch is benefi cial for the team in a sense that the girls will get to play to their full potenti al. Harder competi ti on will give the girls more moti vati on. Freshman Kiley Heslin said the switch does not really mean any-thing, having only her middle school experiences with which to

compare. To Coach Jennifer Raymond, this change of pace is nothing new. Throughout her 11 years as the Central High School soft ball coach, she has experienced many divi-sional movements. Despite these numerous changes, Coach Ray-mond’s goals for the soft ball team have always stayed the same. Her constant objecti ves are to “stay competi ti ve” and “limit mistakes.” However, she says that because of the move to AAA, the team will need to work on its pitching. The girls will face m a n y tough rivals this sea- son they did not face last year, like Rutland,

Mary Persons and West Laurens, which is considered by Coach Ray-mond to be the best team in the region. However, this challenge has not sti rred the girls. Dudley, aft er seeing the Rutland team play, re-marked that they were “good, but not too good.” When asked if she was at all inti midated by the switch to AAA she stated: “No. That’s

where we want to be.” To predict the future success of this year’s soft ball team, it is crucial to examine the freshmen players. This year’s freshmen girls have a lot to contribute to the team. Fresh-man Elizabeth Smith has been play-ing soft ball fi ve years. When asked if she was inti midated by the idea of competi ng against high school teams, especially AAA, she ex-claimed: “No! Not at all.” Her con-fi dence and goals prove her to be an ambiti ous player. Smith’s goals include being the left fi elder, mak-ing a hit at every bat, and making at least fi ve home runs in the sea-son. Heslin would also describe herself as an ambiti ous player, one of her goals being to play second

or third base. Both girls,

and many oth-er freshmen players like them, will contribute to the success of the team this season. “I expect that we’ll do great, because we have a well-rounded team, and because everyone on the team brings something diff er-ent to the plate,” remarked senior pitcher Stacy Thompson.

By Meera PatelBy Meera PatelStaff WriterStaff Writer

By Ethan Hammock/Thomas YoungStaff Writers

World Cup in retrospect - students loved itWorld Cup in retrospect - students loved it

Softball season off to a great start

pwin 15-14 over Northside in their fi rst game. Central High School has recently

moved up a division from AA toAAA.The move to AAA might scaremost athleti c teams. However, thes o f t b a l l

will need to work ooooon itspitching. The girls will facem a n y tough rivals this sea- son they did not face last year, likeRutland,

p y ginclude being the left fi elder, mak-ing a hit at every bat, and makingat least fi ve home runs in the sea-son. Heslin would also describe herself as an ambiti ous player, one of her goals being to play second

or third base. Both girls,

and many oth

Top: Pitcher Stacy Thompson winds up to throw. Courtesy of Charlott e HeslinMiddle: [GET HER NAME] swings at the ball.

From Sea to Shining Sea: The US team was a hope-ful for many Central Students, unfortunate that it lost in the playoff round.

Courtesy of Google Images

Courtesy of Google Images

Written by Trey Camps and Ben WeintrautLayout by Sulaiman Somani

The Gators will att empt to im-prove on a 13-1 record, while trying to replace the legend-ary play of Tim Tebow with

strong armed QB John Brant-ley. Brantley has limited game

experience playing behind Tebow for the past two seasons. The spread off ense will probably become more pass oriented with Brantley at the helm. The Florida defense will be ran by new defensive coor-dinator Teryl Austi n, who faces a big challenge in replacing the former heart of the defense LB Bran-don Spikes. The Gators under the tutelage of head coach Urban Meyer coupled with the nati on’s num-ber one recruiti ng class, look like a viable contender for the SEC crown and are always a Nati onal Cham-pionship prospect.

3. 3. FloridaFloridaT

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What’s not to like about the defending Nati onal Champions? The Crim-son Tide are returning the core of their off ense, including reigning Heis-man Trophy winner RB Mark Ingram. Look for increased contributi ons from QB Greg McElroy,

WR Julio Jones, and RB Trent Richardson. The Tide will have a few questi on marks entering the season as they look to replace shutdown corner Kareem Jackson and explosive returner Javier Arenas. These concerns aside, Alabama looks poised and ready to make a run at back-to-back Nati onal Champion-ships.

1. 1. AlabamaAlabamaWWWW

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The Buckeyes are returning nine starters on off ense and seven

on defense. They have great roster depth on both

sides of the ball. Behind their strong off ensive line stands Terrelle Pry-or, a dual-threat quar-terback who will most surely be a Heisman

hopeful. Though they will have a tough schedule, the Buckeyes are very capable of going undefeated and earning a shot at the nati onal championship.

ThT BB ckeyes are ret2. Ohio State

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The Broncos return 22 starters from last year, when they won

the Fiesta Bowl. QB Kellen Moore will have to lead Boi-

se State past a huge road test in the season opener

at Virginia Tech. The Bron-cos only signifi cant loss was

cornerback and returner Kyle Wilson. So barring injury setbacks and assuming they can weather the tough opener, Boise State may be the fi rst non-major conference team to ever play for the BCS Nati onal Title in January.

5. Boise StateStateThThThe e BB

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Texas will have to rebuild aft er the losses of QB Colt

McCoy, LB Sergio Kindle, and S Earl Thomas. Garrett Gilbert will

take over as the Longhorns starti ng quarterback. Gilbert ran the team’s

off ense for the majority of the BCS championship game last year aft er McCoy injured his shoulder, and did not look too bad considering the stage he was playing at and the litt le playing ti me he had gott en all season. Texas will, as always, be a force to reckon with in the Big 12, but may not have the experience to contend for a nati onal championship.

4.4. TexasTexas

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The feeling around the Hokies locker

room is that this year’s off ense could be

the most explosive unit in the country. Led by QB Tyrod Tay-

lor and a core group of returning starters, the off ense will have to

be on its game early as powerhouse Boise State comes to town for the season opener. However, it may prove very diffi cult for Tech to replace six de-fensive starters and endure the competi ti on of the ACC.

ThT ff li6. Virginia TechTech

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The Horned Frogs are com-ing off a 12-1 season, and playing in their fi rst BCS

Bowl game, losing to Boise St. in the Fiesta Bowl. TCU

returns 16 of 22 starters off of last year’s squad, including 9 of

11 on off ense. The big concerns revolve around the defense, where the Frogs will have to replace lead-ing defenders, DE Jerry Hughes and LB Daryl Wash-ington.

7.7. TCUTCU

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Though defensive star Ndamukong Suh is gone, the Cornhuskers de-fense will return nine starters and and should be just as impressive as it waslast season. Although ten of-fensive starters are returning, QB Zac Lee will need to step up his game in

order to pose a serious passing threat. Many people may forget that Nebraska came within a fi eld goal of winning the Big 12 last year, so look for them to be a contender agin this season.

9. NebraskaNebraskaTTTTSSSfaitfffL

QB Landry Jones gained valuable experi-ence last year aft er the injury of Sam Bradford. Landry led the Sooners to their fi rst bowl victory since 2005. The Sooners off ense should be prett y well intact, with nine starters return-

i n g including WR Ryan Broyles and RB De-Marco Murray. However, the Oklahoma defense is only returning fi ve starters, though three of them were All-Big 12 selecti ons. As long as the Sooners can avoid the injury woes of last season, they will be a Big 12 and nati onal championship contender.

8. OklahomaOklahomaQBQBQ

Last year, the Hawkeyes ended their season at the Orange

Bowl, where they were able to shut down Geor-gia Tech’s triple opti on to come out with a 24-14

win. DE Adrian Clayborn (largely responsible for the shutdown)

is one of eight returning starters on the Hawkeyes defense. The off ense should be solid as long as two year starti ng QB Ricky Stanzi improves his comple-ti on percentage. Stanzi will be handing off to three strong running backs, who will alternate turns in Iowa’s two-man backfi eld.

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Though Tech lost WR DeMaryius Thomas and RB Johnathan Dwyer to the NFL, the core of their triple-opti on off ense will remain with

eight returning starters including QB Josh Nesbitt and RB Anthony Allen.

The Yellow Jacket defense, on the oth-er hand, will need to revamp quickly. Last

season, they gave up an average of over 24 points per game. It doesn’t help that they lost DE Derrick Morgan to the NFL. The Yellow Jackets will also face a much tougher schedule, playing ACC powerhous-es Miami, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech, all of which are ranked in the preseason AP Top 25.

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TTTT The Dawgs’ off ense and success will hinge on the perfor-

mance of redshirt fresh-man Aaron Murray. Mur-ray and WR A.J. Green will

look to improve upon the nati on’s 80th ranked pass of-

fense. The defense is transiti oning to the new 3-4 scheme being installed by new de-fensive coordinator Todd Grantham. If Murray can play bett er than QB Joe Cox did last year and the re-vamped defense can limit the big plays, the Dawgs may make run in the SEC East.

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Nati onal ChampionshipAlabama over Ohio State

Sugar BowlGeorgia over TCU

Orange BowlPitt sburgh over Virginia Tech

Fiesta BowlBoise St. over Texas

Rose BowlIowa over Oregon

Our Bowl PicksOur Bowl Picks 1. Boise State @ Virginia Tech, Sept. 6th, ESPN 2. Miami @ Ohio State, Sept. 11th, ESPN 3. Penn St. @ Alabama, Sept. 11th, ESPN 4. Florida @ Alabama, Oct. 2nd, ESPN 5. Texas @ Oklahoma, Oct. 2nd 6. Georgia @ Florida, Oct. 30th, CBS 7. Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech, Nov. 4th, ESPN 8. Miami @ Georgia Tech, Nov. 4th, ESPN 9. Georgia State @ Alabama, Nov. 18th, ESPNU 10. Georgia Tech @ Georgia, Nov. 27th, CBS

10 Most Anticipated Games This Season10 Most Anticipated Games This Season

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Andrew LuckAndrew LuckStanfordStanford

QBQB Dion LewisDion LewisPitt sburghPitt sburgh

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Terrelle PryorTerrelle PryorOhio StateOhio State

QBQB

Mark IngramMark IngramAlabamaAlabama

RBRB

Jake LockerJake LockerWashingtonWashington

QBQB

All photographs courtesy of Google Images

Who Will Win the BCS Championship?Who Will Win the BCS Championship?AlabamaAlabama

Georgia TechGeorgia Tech

UCLAUCLA

FloridaFlorida

GeorgiaGeorgia

TennesseeTennessee

MiamiMiami

Ohio State Ohio State = 5 Votes= 5 Votes