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WASHINGTON- Senator Barack Obama has officially been named the Democratic presidential nominee after convincingly beating Senator Hillary Clinton in the Montana Primaries on Tuesday.
Obama reached the needed 2,024 delegates yesterday when it was released that he beat Clinton in Montana by a nearly 60 percent margin. He also beat her in South Dakota by nearly the same margin.
“I couldn’t be happier. The world is ready for change and I’m ready to give them what they want. No offense to Senator Clinton, but I don’t think she was ready for the White House” said Obama in a statement released shortly after the results.
The win was pretty much a forgone conclusion for Obama after it was made public that Clinton had had an affair two years ago. She tried to rebound with support from her husband Bill, but the people made their opinions known.
“To be honest, she showed that the entire Clinton family is messed up. It’s time for something new in the White House, not the same thing we saw eight years ago” said Mac Love, an Obama supporter.
Obama took control of the race in March, when he won a string of primaries back to back to overtake Clinton in the race for delegates. He never gave the lead back, and pulled away in the final month. Obama has ended the race with 2,487 delegates, while Clinton had 1,561.
Clinton knew her chances were slim after Obama’s huge March, but she kept on pushing.
“I wanted to let America and the world know that I will never give up. I’m happy for Senator Obama and will be pushing for him to be the next president of the United States, but I want everyone to know that my opinion will be heard, and I will push for America to move in the right direction” Clinton said in a public statement shortly after the results were published.
Obama will now battle Republican nominee John McCain for the right to become the next president of the United States. McCain secured the Republican nomination way back in March, beating out Mike Huckabee by a huge margin.
WEST HARTFORD, CT- The new University Magnet High School of Science & Engineering will soon be opening up on the University of Hartford campus. The school is supposed to open in January of 2009 with over 400 students.
The school has been open on Asylum Ave since 2004, but the new school will be much more modern, with more advanced technology and better equipment.
Many Hartford students have expressed concern that the construction, which is going on behind Public Safety, will cause even more traffic around campus. University Magnet School dean Alan Hadad says this won’t be a problem.
“One of the things that I was insistent upon in the construction project was that all construction vehicles enter via the external portion of Mark Twain Drive as opposed to coming through the University”
Mark Twain Drive will also serve as a secondary entrance to the University once the school is finished. Hadad is hoping that will help to alleviate traffic around the campus.
The most impressive feat of the current high school on Asylum Ave is the number of women that are involved. The current average of women enrolled in college that are science or engineering majors is between 25 and 30%.
“We have 35% women enrolled in the high school of science and engineering. We think this is a significant feat compared to what is the situation on a national level” says Hadad.
Another advantage to being enrolled in the high school is that students can earn college credits while still in high school. The University will be offering classes for the high school students to take during their free time.
The project is being funded by the state of Connecticut and the federal government. It costs approximately 45 million dollars.
“This is one of the many things that will bring the University distinction. I’m looking forward to the day where this school will achieve the original vision I had for it, to be ranked among the premier high schools in the country”.
To see the groundbreaking ceremony speech by president Walter Harrison, click here
Godzilla meets Blair Witch in this thriller, directed by Matt Reeves. It’s not actually Godzilla, but from the few scenes where we actually get to see the monster, it looked close enough. It’s a suspenseful, well told action movie, shot from the POV of a hand-held camera that you’d find in any Circuit City. The movie can get awfully scary at some points, and sometimes will make you sick with the movements of the camera.
Rob (Michael Stahl-David) is the lead character who is about to leave for a job in Japan. He comes home to a farewell surprise party thrown by his best friend Hud (T.J Miller). Hud has the camera, and tapes people saying goodbye to rob, including Lily (Jessica Lucas) and Jason (Mike Vogel), two of Rob’s good friends. As the party rages, a loud noise is heard, the building starts to rock and the lights start flickering. Everyone runs to roof to see a huge explosion and the city being slowly destroyed. Once down on the street, we see a small glimpse of a huge monster, and the head of the Statue of Liberty being thrown right toward the camera.
After the initial scenes of destruction, the movie focuses on Rob, who is trying to find and save his ex-girlfriend Beth (Odette Yustman) from her apartment building. Somehow, they all manage to get across Manhattan without being killed, and they save Beth from her building. They eventually find a helpful soldier, who gets them a helicopter out of the city. Unfortunately, the helicopter gets attacked by the monster and crashes, yet somehow the camera survives the fall.
We never actually find out how the monster came to be, or where it came from, but I think that adds to the mystery of the movie. With a movie that is meant to be shot from a hand-held camera, I highly doubt the characters would’ve had time to talk about the origins of the monster.
I like the idea of the hand-held camera. It added to the idea that the audience was actually there and experiencing the monster at the same time as these characters were. Hud couldn’t keep a shot steady for his life, and I heard several people walking out of the theatre saying they almost got sick. Not me though, I really enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me was that the camera somehow survived through some nasty action. A helicopter crash and a bridge collapsing were just some of the things this camera had to survive through. All in all however, I’d say this is definitely a movie worth going to see.
Schaefer leads Hartford to the Second Round
BATON ROUGE, LA- With 13 seconds left, the Hartford Hawks (28-5) needed two points to advance to the second round of the women’s NCAA tournament. Instead they got three when junior Marylynne Schaefer hit it from beyond the arch to secure the Hawks second ever NCAA tournament victory against the Syracuse Orange, 59-55 on Saturday afternoon.
Schaefer finished the game with a career high 19 points. She also finished a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line, including two at the end of the game that iced it for Hartford. Lisa Etienne also contributed to the win, with 10 points.
As for Syracuse (22-9), this is the fourth time they have been in the NCAA tournament and the fourth time they have lost in the first round. The Orange were led by Erica Morrow with 17 points and Fantasia Goodwin, with 15 points.
The Orange stayed close throughout the game with incredible free throw shooting. Overall, they were 21 of 24 from the line, including 10-10 by Morrow and 7-7 from Goodwin.
Both teams struggled shooting in the game. The Hawks only managed to shoot 34.5 percent (20-58) for the game, but won with defense, as they held Syracuse to 27.6 percent (16-58) shooting.
With 3:15 remaining and Hartford down by one, Syracuse coach Quentin Hillsman got called for a technical foul when he sat on the scorers table. Schaefer hit both of the ensuing free throws, putting the Hawks up for good.
Hartford will face the #2 seed Texas A&M Aggies on Monday in Baton Rouge. The Aggies won in convincing fashion on Saturday, destroying the University of Texas- San Antonio Roadrunners, 91-52.
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Strong Point: The lineup. This team has a scary lineup where every batter 1 through 9 can drive in runs and get on base. If Jose Reyes can get over his collapse from September of last year, he can easily win the MVP this year. The man can steal 100 bases on his own, as well as hit 20 home runs and drive in 80-100 runs. Not too bad for a lead off man. David Wright is coming into his own, and is a force to be reckoned with. He hit .325 last year, and will probably improve on that. They have Fernando Martinez in AAA this year, and in the next year or two will make the Mets lineup and be a force. This team could easily score 10 runs a game.
Problem Child: Depth and Durability. In certain positions, the Mets have no depth and getting old. First Base could especially pose a problem. Carlos Delgado saw his numbers take a huge dive last year, and if he doesn’t do something, his average could hover right around .200. SP Pedro Martinez is 36, and far from durable. He’s been hurt for the majority of the past two seasons, and we really don’t know what’s left in the tank. Moises Alou is ancient, and backup Endy Chavez is not dependable in an everyday situation.
Difference Maker: Johan Santana. The reigning Cy Young winner came to New York for one reason; to make sure what happened to the Mets in September does not happen again. If he stays healthy down the stretch, the Mets will win the division. If not, we could see the same thing we saw last year.
Strong Point: Three MVP’s? The middle of this lineup is deadly, and it’s because of the past two MVP’s. Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins are the anchor of this lineup, and if it wasn’t for an injury, second basemen Chase Utley could have easily won the MVP last year. Teams need to find a way to pitch to these guys, and so far they have failed. The Phillies did lose Aaron Rowand in the off-season, and didn’t really find anyone to replace him with. They did get third basemen Pedro Felix, which should help this lineup score some more runs, though it’s not like they will actually need it.
Problem Child: The Rotation. Outside of Brett Myers and Cole Hamels, the rotation has no depth. Hamels is injury prone, missing most of the last season on the DL. Myers is a converted closer, and nobody knows exactly what he will do in his new starting job. Brad Lidge is fragile. Will he be the Brad Lidge of old or the Brad Lidge of the past three years?
Difference Maker: Brad Lidge. The closer from Houston still has a dominating 96 mph fastball and a nasty slider, but nobody has ever questioned if his stuff was good enough. Ever since blowing the World Series for Houston in 2005, Lidge hasn’t been the same. His confidence was rocked, and so far it hasn’t come back. If Lidge can finally get over his 2005 collapse and return to form, the Phillies might take the division. If not, it’s going to be a long year.
Strong Point: The Rotation. Even though the starting pitchers for the Braves average over 30, you can deny the experience and talent they have. Tom Glavine is back after five years with the Mets, and can still throw with the best of them. John Smoltz has been back and forth between the bullpen and the rotation, but is by far still the best pitcher on this team. Tim Hudson came over for the A’s two years ago, and has definitely been worth the money. If Mike Hampton can stay healthy, he is a solid number four starter. Also, Turner Field is definitely a pitchers park, so that should help the rotation.
Problem Child: Injuries. This team cannot stay healthy. With a rotation older than dirt, it’ll be tough from them to be able to pitch a full season. Chipper Jones has not been able to play a full season in years. Mike Hampton hasn’t pitched in the Major Leagues since 2005 because of different surgeries. Mark Kotsay was hurt all of last year. This team does not have a lot of the depth, so the starters need to stay healthy if they want to have a chance to keep up with the Mets and Phillies.
Difference Maker: Yunel Escobar. The Braves shortstop dominated lefties last year, hitting .355 against them. The Braves traded away both Edgar Renteria and Willie Aybar in the off-season, so they must feel confident with Escobar. He will be hitting leadoff, so if he can consistently get on-base, the Braves 2-3-4 hitters will have the shot to draw first blood.
Strong Point: Potential. The Marlins have a laundry list of potential on this year’s roster. They traded away their two best players, Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, but got decent talent in return. Andrew Miller has the potential to be a stud for the rotation, and outfielder Cameron Maybin was the Tigers number one prospect in their farm system. Hanley Ramirez is already a stud at shortstop, and will only continue to get better.
Problem Child: Inexperience. The average age of the Marlins is only 26, and they will play a lot of kids this year that have no experience in the Major Leagues at all. Expecting a 21 year old like Maybin or a 23 year old like Miller to consistently put up good numbers is unrealistic. The Marlins will probably suffer through a rough season this year, but should be better in 2009.
Difference Makers: Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham. Both players are very young and very talented, but also quite injury-prone. Willingham fought a herniated disk last year that limited his productivity and also cut his season a couple weeks short. Hermida has had leg problems for the past two years which have cut his speed. If the two can stay healthy, the Marlins could be a surprise in the east.
Strong Point: It’s tough to find anything the Nationals were good at last year. They finished 30th in offense and weren’t much better in the rotation. The bullpen did show some signs of life last year however. Closer Chad Cordero had 37 saves, and is pretty much a sure thing when you can get to him. The problem with the Nationals is they usually don’t. They were able to trade for Lastings Milledge from the Mets, and he should fit right in centerfield. People sometimes questioned his maturity, but nobody has questioned his skills. The Nats are hoping the move out of the spotlight in New York might put his career into overdrive.
Problem Child: Where do you start? The offense couldn’t score and the pitching couldn’t stop the scoring. The rotation does not have one pitcher that anyone has ever heard of. The lineup has basically the same people it had last year when the Nats finished dead last in scoring. It looks like another rough year for them.
Difference Maker: Ryan Zimmerman. The third baseman has been the Nats only ray of sunshine in the past three years. He is at his best right now, and pretty much carries the team on his back. He has hit 44 home runs in his past two seasons and has driven in almost 200 runs. He has played in every single game with the Nats and is probably one of the top five third basemen in the league.
