Every day it seems some high profile athlete rapes a girl. Its always in the news, and in turn every time people get angry about it. But then all of the sudden it drops from the public view and people forget about it. Then one day your reading through the news and you see 100 words describing that the athlete got off free. Maybe he pays a fine or misses a meaningless game but nothing very harsh, despite the severity of the crime so and so committed.

It seems that the Washington State Cougars now base their basketball recruiting on the amount of weed they consume. They prefer heavy pot heads. This season alone three Washington State University Cougars have been arrested for the possession of marijuana. These members include Klay Thompson, Reggie Moore, and DeAngelo Castro. Some received suspensions.

In the case of Klay Thompson he was originally pulled over for a burned out taillight. When the officer approached the car he smelled marijuana and then questioned Thompson who promptly denied having the drug. After a search of his car they found 1.95 grams of marijuana. Thompson got off ridiculously easy, despite having lied to the officer in question, and then getting caught for it. All that happened was he missing a meaningless game.

Deangelo Castro was caught right after a NIT tournament game when the police raided his apartment. They found marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. However he was not punished in the least. Washington State University did not find it reasonable to suspend him, completely ignoring the fact he was guilty, because they had a game to win. They shouldn’t have played him but will wait until next year when it will not matter as much.

Venoy Overton was accused of sexual assault against a minor on January 11th. He allegedly had brought over underage girls to his house, where he had a gathering with a few friends. While he was there he gave them alcohol and then proceeded to force sex upon one girl, according to her statement.

However the investigation found no reason to believe this despite the alleged raped girl’s statement. He was found guilty of the lesser charge of giving alcohol to a minor. He served the suspension of the entire Pac-10 tournament. This is an incredibly light sentence because the girl is still insisting that she did not want to have sex with Overton. Add on the fact that Overton admitted to having sex (he said it was consensual) with the girl and it makes little to no sense that he was able to get off so light. Many people are convicted in such cases, but Overton the athlete got the case to disappear completely, poof, gone.

If that wasn’t enough, Seahawks tight end Jeremy Stevens has been charged with so many rapes, DUI’s and possessions of marijuana that he could probably stop using a lawyer and do just fine at defending himself in all of his extensive legal battles. He has been charged three times for DUI, twice for violence related incidents, once for rape and twice for marijuana related incidents. All of this and he has served less than thirty days in jail total. And gotten off free on the rape charge despite many witnesses saying that Stevens drugged and then proceeded to rape his victim. Also on the freebie bin is a time when officers found a total of thirty-eight grams of marijuana on him, which amounts to the intent to deal in any state, even if they have a medical marijuana card.

This preferential treatment exists even at our own school. At one point in time there was a three person Spanish class. This was not for those who had exceeded the boundaries of the language and were simply looking for a way of expanding their own knowledge. Nope, quite the opposite, this class was for a couple of kids who had failed once and needed to make up credits so they could graduate on time.

Coincidentally, these three students also all happened to be standout athletes on Garfield Varsity teams. The class has now been shut down on account of overcrowding among other things, but the fact that they were able to get this class in the first place is troubling. Despite the overcrowding in the school by hundreds, when superstar athletes needed it the school was able to fit three people into a class of their own. It’s good the class was later canceled, but the overall societal trend doesn’t appear to be going anywhere.

Men’s Track

This year’s team looks primed for greatness, with all three units showing up strong. The sprinters, led by senior Brandon Jimerson and juniors Byron Howell and Shane Menjivar, all expect state berths. The distance team has made notable improvements despite losing ‘010 graduates Michael Cunnetta and Duncan Clark, and is  looking for at least six of its runners to PR under 4:30 in the mile, and the likeliness of multiple state level qualifiers is high. Word on the street is the basketball team is coming out (fingers are crossed). The mood is best described by junior class lightning rod Ryan Peterson; “We’re basically the [poop] aside from throwing, which could be good, but you add in Tony and there’s no way we can lose.”

This year is possibly a down year for the women’s part of the team as a whole but it still can hold its own against most schools and figures to send a fair sized group of people to state.

The distance unit despite lacking in size has very talented and determined veterans who have proven themselves in this year’s cross country season. Meanwhile the sprinters look like the best group around in years and are almost certainly sending several people to state.

“The sprinters are great,” says junior captain Tamzin Atkins. “All that needs to happen is for the distance team to come up big.”

Women’s Softball

Hasn’t done so well recently. But there is hope in the spring air. This is mostly from the addition of a new super star pitcher whom Senior Captain Maddie Lee says “is probably going to be the number one starter” they have. In the past Garfield has only been able to beat the lowest of the low (the only two games they won last year were against Mercer Island). However, with this new pitcher Lee assures us that the possibility of some wins this year over meaningful teams is a “possibility.” But in the end, none of this matters as long as we beat our rivals Roosevelt and Franklin, of which the team is confident they can do. We could see some vast improvements from the team this year. Or we could see another two win season.

Men’s Baseball

Captain Spencer Shaw has reported that a change in coaches will signal a change in winning percentage. Unfortunately this could swing for better or worse. It’s a little like flipping a coin. On one hand you have some talented players, such as Spencer and new power hitter Valentino Coleman. On the polar opposite side the baseball coach hired before the season started has resigned amidst a storm of dissatisfaction, and it reamins to be seen who the new baseball coach will be. While the change in coaching staff could be a good sign, not having a coach over a week into the season probably isn’t very good karma.

Men’s Soccer

It appears as if the team will not only re cover from losing superbly talented class of 2010 but it will come back stronger than ever. With talents like Aaron Kovar and senior captains Sean Russell, Preston  Hale and Nick Richardson, this team is preparing for a deep playoff run. Last year this team showed some grit after charging through the season and winning the KingCo divisional crown. Then in their first game at state they were matched up with the Stadium High School, which was ranked number one in the state and number nine in the entire country in the preseason. The season ended there in a 1–0 defensive battle in which the Bulldogs felt they should have won. But Russell believes they will bounce back and win KingCo, and a state title is not “out of the question.” Look for big things from these boys.

Women’s Golf

Could give the Garfield boy’s golf team a run for their money.

Women’s Tennis

Other schools may consider the Garfield tennis team to be a joke because they think that inner city kids couldn’t possibly know how to play a dominantly suburban sport. They are supposedly in shock after they receive a whuppin by the ‘field. This years team has the possibility to continue this odd legacy of sorts. Senior Captain Summer Than looks to lead this team to a divisional title, and it seems that she has the help around her to do so. Freshman Fiona Cerf is reportedly on track to get the top singles spot despite being a lowly freshman. On the doubles side, the first team composed of Sherry Tran and Charlotte Robinson look to hand out a two person beat down.

One day word reached my ear about poetry slams that happen every so often at local community centers and such. This is it! This is what they spend their hours alone doing! Needless to say, I immediately felt compelled to take on these creatures on at their own game, just to show my dominance over their lesser souls.

If I was to infiltrate their home turf unnoticed and compete with any real sense of fairness I would have to become one of them. Camouflage is the way most hunters try to remain inconspicuous while stalking their prey so I decided to give that a try.  I entered in a dirty white converse, rumpled khakis and an odd plaid shirt.

Before I left for this so called “slam” I realized that if I was noticed without backup they would tear me to pieces like the feral animals they are. I called my friend and told him there was a mission we needed to do, so he had better get his ass outside unless he wanted me to face hipster Armageddon alone.

We were about fifty minutes late to sign ups. Our entrance was far less dramatic than expected. I was playing one of those old western movie scenes where the stranger walks into the bar and everything stops. No one really noticed us, a few mildly acknowledged our presence, but were probably too drugged out to notice we were the real deal. Actual humans.

Feeling like Luke in the Death Star, we stealthily slinked our way to the sign up booth. I immediately demanded that they register me for that nights slam as a poet. The woman hesitated; I geared up for what was sure to be total war.

“Hang on the signup sheet is somewhere around here.” she said with surprising acceptance, “its right here, what did you say your name was? Mathias right?” On the spot, I decided to go along with this mistaken identity: go native.

We obtained our seats right in the middle of everyone else so they could hear our artsy comments. Suddenly a silly woman in pantaloons jumped out of nowhere and after saying some crazy talk proceeded to start the competition. It turns out poems are supposed to be long and meaningful, in other words I was screwed. I had not fulfilled either of the two requirements. By the time I realized this I had no choice in backing out, the stakes were too high and already I was supposed to go up and read my poem. The end was near.

For some reason or another they actually liked it: it got a 9.4 out of 10. Unfortunately this meant that I was to compete in the second round, a problem considering I didn’t have two poems. My friend and I reviewed the possibilities. I could read the same poem again but that could lead to an angry mob complete with torches and pitchforks. Another option was to freestyle, I quickly said “no” to this.

So we left. Mathis: 1, Hipsters: 0.

Meanwhile the other teams go into the loser’s bracket, where the two top teams play for third place in KingCo. The fourth place team goes home (as they should) and the third place team (who really shouldn’t be allowed to move on, but we feel bad for them and want to reward their futile struggle) moves on to play the third place team from WestCo. The winner of that game then manages to secure an unworthy spot in the state championships.

The system has the top-ranked team heading one side and the second-ranked team heading the other.

This season, the guys basketball team has managed to win a trip to state with a savage trampling of Skyline on March 11th. On top of that, they have maintained the number one ranking of all 4A teams for the entire year.

On March third the lights of the Tacoma Dome will be blotted out with a relentless rain of purple threes. The ground will tremble as teams that have no right to stand in the way of Garfield’s triumph are ground under Bulldog shoes. Glass will shatter and rims will be ripped off the backboards due to our repeated and tenacious assaults.

The team has been tested this season after a couple of tough losses. It first went down against O’Dea after starting out strong and going up 30–18 in the first quarter. The Irish clawed their way back over the course of the game, and emerged the victors. But the Bulldogs came back from that game in a big way, knocking off highly touted opponents such as Lakes and Rainier Beach. Things were looking up until they were brought again to heel by the lowly and insignificant Redmond High. This is what provided the shock needed to set the boys off on the war path, and they’ve won every single game since then by at least eight points.

The boys also avenged their only conference loss of the season by beating Redmond 77–65 in their first game of the KingCo District tournament. They then went on to knock off Skyline 62–34 to easily clinch a spot in state.

That is not to say the path to the top will be easy. The field this year is very deep with many possible contenders for the title. Jackson High, currently ranked 3rd in state, has been an indomitable force in the Wesco 4A conference, going 20–2 on the year. Led by Brett Kingma, who is averaging 29.7 points per game, they pose what is believed to be the largest threat to Garfield’s title hopes. Ferris is a perennial powerhouse which has once again pushed itself into state with an outstanding league record of 17–1. Look for this team to put the ball in the paint and try to use its rotation of big men to out-muscle their opponents. Also watch out for Auburn, Olympia and Davis, who have played very well but have not had the chance to prove themselves against their more elite counterparts.

The girls team, while still fairly successful, didn’t do quite so well this year. After going 10–12 on the season with a 7–8 conference record, they were in contention for a state berth going into the district championships.

But after a heart-breaking 61–60 loss to Eastlake in the first round of the tournament, the girls moved down to the losers bracket and a win or go home situation. They managed to knock off Newport 45–41 to move one game closer to a state berth. But on Tueday, against Issaquah, the girls came five points short, losing 59–54 to end their season. While that may not have been the result they were hoping for, they had a good run this season, and can have high expectations for the future.

Boise State v. Utah.
After a first quarter of bumbling and screw ups by Boise State, they decided it was time to stop fooling around and get their game together. At that time the score was 3–0 in Utah’s favor. But Boise State’s defense wasn’t really feeling the holiday spirit of giving, unlike their opponents. Boise State won the game 26–3 proving that they were once again underrated.

Stanford v. Virginia Tech
Most highly touted sports analysts spent their time talking smack about how teams from the Big Ten, SEC, or in this case ACC were simply too good for their west coast counterarts. But with their ridiculous east cost bias they failed to anticipate Stanford’s iron-hard defense and molar-rattling run game. Oh and the top quarterback prospect in the nation. Stanford University, in the politest way it could, informed those sports analyst that they were full of [doo-doo] when they literally decapitated Virginia. Well not literally. But they did rout them 40–12.

Tennessee v. North Carolina
Tennessee was up 20–17 over North Carolina when the Tar Heels got the ball back with thirty one seconds to go at their own twenty. They used a hurry up offense to get it down to the Volunteer 18 only to have time run out before they cole kick the field goal. But then out of nowhere, it was ruled that the Carolina quarterback had spiked the ball with 1 second to go. They kicked the field goal and eventually ended up winning in overtime.

TCU v. Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s trio of savage running backs was not enough to propel them over TCU and its balanced offensive assault. The defining play of the game was Tank Carder’s late game pass defense on Wisconsin’s two point conversion, which would have tied up the game. TCU was likely inspired to whoop on Wisconsin by their frustration at being perceived as the “little guy” by many of the BCS voters.

Oregon v. Auburn
The national title game was supposed to be an explosive offensive shootout. Instead it turned into a defensive struggle in which both teams scored less points in the entire game than their first half average for the regular season. With less than three minutes to go and down by eight, Oregon scored a touchdown on a LeMichael James run and then proceeded to score the 2 point conversion to tie the game at 19. Auburn got the ball back with less than two minutes to go and marched down the field on a drive dominated by their freshman tailback. After running the clock down to 2 seconds, they kicked a field goal to clinch the national championship.

They find a nice small-sized tame bear and put it in the ring, then send in some random drunk who thinks he is the bee knees and jumps and slams it around. All the while the bear is just sort of moping about not really interested and only fighting halfheartedly. The bears have been known to wander out of the ring if there is a lack of action for a brief period of time.

Of course as soon as the sport was popularized by these lesser people it was made official. Bear wrestling gained increas popularity as it moved on to television and into real wrestling arenas.

However a bunch of sissy animal rights activists started whining that this was inhumane for the bear. Despite the fact that bears aren’t humans, which would seem to render their argument invalid, they still managed to get it pulled from television, and today bear wrestling exists only in small dingy taverns, which operate in the Appalachians, Rockies and Alaska.

Then the season started and everything started to go downhill from there. In the first  game against BYU, Jake Locker looked simply pedestrian, with a performance you would expect from just about any quarterback in the college game. Time and time again he did not live up to expectations. Soon he fell off the Heisman watch as more and more people noticed what he can’t do. They saw that his passing wasn’t great, his decisions were often questionable, and he wasn’t as good a runner as he had been. What happened? That’s the question so many people are trying to answer.

No one with any knowledge of college football would say that Jake Locker is a bad player. But he has had his talent overexaggerated by people who don’t know anything about sports but want to seem like they do. He has been given more praise than many give an elite level cream-of-the-crop NFL player, most of which isn’t completely deserved. Knowledgeable experts discussed his talent in a realistic manner, but their descriptions of his talent were blown further and further out of proportion until they became completely unrealistic.

Intelligent people will say he has a great arm, not intending to say that he is an incredibly talented passing quarterback. But all the noobs out there hear that and blurt out to everybody in the vicinity that Jake Locker is the next Peyton Manning. Another person sees his forty yard run time, likens him to the infamous Michael Vick, and assumes he can run himself out of any situation. Then when he can’t,  they get all pissy because he didn’t live up to their preposperous expectations.

Jake Locker has never tried to claim he was the best, but he’s no slouch either, amassing thousands of yards and tons of magical moments. Such as the last second win over USC during the 2009 season that solidified head coach Sarkisian’s job for the future. Or in the Arizona game when he helped engineer a spectacular come back win which reignited hope in Huskie nation.

On the statistics side, he has amassed over 7150 passing yards and 50 plus touchdowns, rushed for over 1500 yards, and wormed his way into the end zone for an outstanding 27 touchdowns.

But even with such great stats he hasn’t developed at the ridiculous rate most people thought he could. He improved sure, but only at a rate you could realistically hope for. His passes have become more accurate, he no longer throws to the other side of the field when he goes deep, and he actually stays in the pocket instead of running away and trying to get yards on his own while his receivers run downfield uncovered.

But the team he has doesn’t truly help him showcase his full potential. He started with a rundown and crushed team that hadn’t won games in a  excruciatingly long while and played every game like it was inevitable they were going to lose. He helped turn the program around and got its feet back on the ground.  So even if he doesn’t live up to everybody’s ridiculous standards, they shouuld at least appreciate what he has done for the Huskies, and appreciate that he’s still managed to improve his own already spectacular game.

In this time honored contest, two people dress up in monster suits and duke it out in a boxing ring. The only rules appear to be you have to have a silly name, preposterous costume and large drug money fund.

The wrestling arena is scattered with miniature buildings that more or less become the replacement of the WWE chair.

Scripted fights that would make one of those roided up and oil slathered wrestlers scream in envy and names such as Chicken Noodle and the silver Potato make this sport a must see. Good and evil lock until the morning like Ali and Foreman, in the time honored struggle to triumph over the other.  When one player defeats the other, they gain that player for their team.

Surprisingly enough, the game originated in America. But since only people of Asian ancestry seem to play, we can still mostly blame this on Japan.