The Masters is a tradition like no other and it lived up to every expectation once again this year. Going into the weeks the headlines were all surrounding some of the biggest names in the game such as Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Rory Mcllroy and others. Although Woods or Mickelson were never in real contention it didn’t mean that the leaderboard wasn’t packed with stars which ultimately ended with first time major winner Patrick Reed.     Going into the final round it was Reed at the top of the leaderboard with Mcllroy lurking right behind him in the final grouping. Mcllroy who went into Sunday in second was trying to complete the career grand slam, of the Masters, US Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship. The final round started off with Reed bogeying the first hole and then Mcllroy missing a short eagle putt on the second. That short putt Mcllroy missed set the tone for what he would do for most of the day, never really making a strong move to win. Mcllroy’s 74 wasn’t quite as bad as his 80 he shot a few years ago on Sunday at Augusta when he had the lead but it definitely wasn’t what he was looking for.                 

     Jordan Spieth came into Sunday at five under and seven shots off the lead and said it was the first time he was going to get to play a “stress free round at Augusta.” Well that didn’t last long as Spieth had an amazing Sunday charge making birdie after birdie shooting a 64 with a bogey on the final hole where he hit a branch off the tee leaving himself blocked out and over 300 yards out to the hole. A birdie on that hole could have possibly forced a playoff, but it was not meant to be. In all of Spieth’s starts in the Masters he has finished 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 11th and 3rd.                                              

     Rickie Fowler also had another strong week at a major finishing second. Fowler is still seeking his first major championship but has had many great performances at majors, but unfortunately just not good enough. Fowler in his career has eight top-5 finishes in majors including finishing in the top-5 in all the majors in 2014. Fowler has however won The Players Championship in 2015 over the 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia in a playoff, which many consider to be the biggest non-major tournament.     The player that made the first headline of the week was Tony Finau who during the par-3 contest made a hole in one and then sprained his ankle while celebrating. He played the whole week with a swelled up ankle and actually played really well finishing at seven under par.     Ultimately however it was Patrick “Captain America” Reed that came away with the green jacket. Reed has his worst round of the tournament on Sunday but it did not matter as he put up strong enough rounds of 69, 66 and 67 in the first three rounds that his 71 in the final round was enough to hand on for the win. Reed is enjoying his time as Masters champion.

     Source: The Masters.com

Baseball season is back in full swing and if you haven’t been out to the stadium yet make sure you head out to a game/s this summer. In 2018 MLB Stadiums have more to offer than just the baseball. Take a look at some of the highlights for MLB Stadiums in the northeast.

Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia Phillies: Located right next to its other Philadelphia sports team venues the Wells Fargo Center and Lincoln Financial Center. The stadium is not overly large but has a good amount to offer. New for this year at Citizens Bank Park will be a mini field for kids to play on as well as a climbing wall.

PNC Park, Pittsburg Pirates: One of the most scenic stadiums in the league with the Pittsburg skyline in the background of the outfield and the yellow Pittsburg bridges as well. The stadium itself although beautiful is not that big as it is one of the smaller stadiums in the league with just over 38,000 seats.

Camden Yards Baltimore Orioles: Known across the league as one of the nicer parks in the league. In the outfield Camden Yards has a series of restaurants that you can eat at, even on off days. With all they have to offer anybody can find something they like. In the dee outfield over the stands they also have stones on the ground of all the players that have hit homeruns over the seats and into the walking area. Outside the stadium they also have multiple statues that you can take a picture with including Cal Ripken Jr.

Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox: Fenway Park is the oldest stadium in the league and is famous for its 38-foot green monster wall in left field. The seating at Fenway is not good as there are many seats with obstructed viewing and some seats you might actually be stuck behind a pole. The reason you go to Fenway though is not for all the amenities it is for the history and the ball game itself. The park is obviously good enough for Red Sox fans as they pack the stadium game in and game out.

Nationals Park, Washington Nationals: The stadium itself is very pleasant to look at and has different food choices but nothing famous that everyone raves about. One of the most popular things at Nationals Park is the Presidents Race. In between innings there is a race between president mascots that include Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt. The race also sometimes includes Taft, Coolidge and Hoover. The big joke was that Roosevelt could never win the race and it took him seven years to do so.

Yankee: Stadium, New York Yankees: The New Yankee Stadium was built to try and replicate the old one as best it could and it did a good job at that. The stadium itself is huge and has so much history in it. When you go to the Stadium be sure to check out Monument Park where you can see some of the great Yankees history.

Citi Field: Designed off of the Brooklyn Dodgers Stadium Ebbets Field, Citi Field has a very good baseball feel to it and pays tribute to Jackie Robison the moment you walk in with the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. The stadium offers as many food options as and stadium in the league, has a fan fest in center field and has a Mets Hall of Fame that is a must go for any Mets fan.

      The NHL regular season has come to a close and it is time for the most exciting time of the season, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The regular season has had its share of surprises and none bigger than the Las Vegas Golden Knights.     The Golden Knights not only ran away with the Pacific Division but also have a shot at winning the Presidents Trophy for best record in the NHL. Going into the year, most people did not expect much from the Knights but they have exceeded everyone’s expectations. Since all of the players that the Golden Knights got were through the expansion draft it wasn’t expected for the Knights to perform well. Every player that the Knights got through the expansion draft were players that other NHL teams didn’t protect, so you would think Vegas wouldn’t have too many stars. Well, Vegas didn’t need the best players in the league to win because they have learned how to play as a team. Vegas has played like a team but they have had stars for them this season.      

      The Golden Knights this year have been led by William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and goaltender Marc – Andre Fleury. Karlsson had a 40+ goal season, Marchessault has 75+ points and close to 30 goals on the season and Fleury 2.14 GAA .931 save percentage. The Knights are a popular team right now but a lot of the people going to their games are tourists because of the town they play in. The Golden Knights realize this and want to make sure that they have Golden Knights fans in the stands to make sure T-Mobile Arena is a home ice advantage for them during the playoffs.                                                                                                                                     

      The Golden Knights are making a rule that their season ticket holders are not going to be allowed to sell their tickets on the secondary ticket market on sites like Stub Hub to prevent non Golden Knights fans from getting into the building. If you are a Golden Knights season ticket holder and want to sell your tickets you will have to pay a higher price for your tickets opposed to those who can’t sell their tickets. Every Vegas Golden Knights season ticket holder had the option to choose which option they wanted to do for the playoffs.         Some are happy with the Knights’ decision because they want to have a true home ice advantage during the playoffs. Others however, think if they spend their money on tickets they should be able to do whatever they want to do with their tickets. Regardless of how you feel this is the rout the Golden Knights are taking and they will open up the playoffs at home at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.          

      Source: ESPN

It is now twenty-four years since the murder case of OJ Simpson however, it is still something people are fascinated with and continue to bring up. With OJ recently being released from jail for a separate crime, it drew some headlines. But what more recently drew headlines was an interview that got released in a Fox Special, “OJ Simpson: The Lost Confession” where OJ tells the story of what he would have hypothetically done if he was the murderer of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.    

Although the special and interview was just recently released to the public, the interview was not a new one. The interview was done all the way back in 2006. The interview was made to help promote the book , “If I did It” but the interview was never released.

During the interview Simpson told the whole story of how he hypothetically would have killed Brown and Goldman. Simpson also told the story of how this hypothetical Charlie went to the house and committed the crime. Simpson with detail described the crime, how it was committed and then what the scene of the crime looked like. As the interview went on however Simpson stopped saying hypothetically and just said “I” did this or said “I” instead of Charlie. Simpson would then be questioned by the interviewer Judith Regan about him saying “I”. After Regan mentioning this Simpson would try to fix his mistake and say oh yea I mean hypothetically. Judith Regan was not only the interviewer of this 2006 interview but was the publisher of the book If I Did It.”

So here is OJ Simpson literally telling the story of how he murdered Goldman and Brown and it is just stunning to many people that Simpson was never punished for this. Most people at this point would say if you didn’t think Simpson was guilty from day one, there is no possible way that you could possibly think he is innocent after this interview came out. Simpson essentially told the story of how he murdered Brown and Goldman.

This interview very quickly went from a hypothetical story of what happened to a first person confession. This story and interview is fascinating to watch and listen to, even all these years later. It’s hard to think about how Simpson has gotten away with all of this for all these years when the public almost unanimously feels he is guilty.

Although Tiger Woods has not won a tournament in five years, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t going to be the biggest story every time he tees it up. Woods has suffered from many injuries over the past few years and most recently a lower lumbar fusion surgery. There has never been a player on the PGA Tour that has had this surgery and returned to play so Woods is in uncharted waters on this one. Unlike past injuries and surgeries (he has had four total back surgeries) Woods made sure that he took his time coming back from this one and completely recovered and rehabbed.

Wood’s first appearance of the season was at his own tournament, the Chevron Hero World Challenge. Although not an official PGA Tour event, Woods played well but had a mixed bag of both good rounds and bad rounds. Woods has played in five events since the World Hero Challenge and mostly recently the Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Although Woods is not completely back and will likely never be able to get back to where he once was, he is showing great progress and is looking like he will compete throughout the season. Woods has had to learn how to play the game a little differently because of his surgery and aging body, now at 42. Woods has made comparisons of his game as to riding a bike, “It’s like riding a bike, but just a different type of bike.”

At the Valspar Championship, Woods finished in a tie for second and at the Arnold Palmer Invitational a tie for fifth. At the Valspar, Woods put himself in the hunt on Sunday by a great display of the short game. Woods was able to get within one of the lead on the 71st hole of the tournament after draining a long birdie putt from across the green. He then had a chance to tie the lead on the 72nd hole but his birdie putt came up a little short and Woods had to settle for second. People were excited to see him back in the hunt evident by the Valspar’s huge ratings. The final round of the Valspar Championship drew better ratings then any tournament last year except for the Masters.

The one club that has haunted Woods recently— and his whole career— has been the driver. This was especially true at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a tournament that he has won eight times in his career. For most of the week, Woods was hitting irons off the tee to try and keep it in the fairway but, after getting to within one shot of the lead, Woods headed to the par five 16th hole on Sunday and pulled out the driver. This hole was very reachable for Woods even with an iron but he decided to get aggressive and pull out driver. Ultimately Woods hit his tee shot out of bounds and in result, ended any chance he had at winning the tournament. His second tee shot after hitting it out of bounds went in the middle of the fairway and he had a wedge into the green and walked away with a two putt bogey. Since Woods clearly didn’t need the driver to reach the short par five in two, it had many people questioning his choice. After the round, Woods said that he did not fully commit to the shot and in result hit it out of bounds.

One thing that Woods definitely did not have difficult with was putting ; specifically  putting from inside nine feet. During the tournament Woods had over fifty putts from this range and made every single one of them. The play that Woods has shown has gotten fans excited and it has also made him the favorite to win the Masters coming up in a few weeks, starting April 5th.

If Woods can continue putting well and fix up his tee ball, he will have a great shot at competing at Augusta National, a place where he has already won four green jackets and is seeking a fifth. Believe it or not, Woods has not won the Masters since 2005, where he edged out Chris DiMarco and had his famous chip in on the 16th hole. Woods also has not won a major since 2008 at Torrey Pines, where he beat Rocco Mediate in a memorable playoff, while playing on essentially a broken leg.

Whether you like Tiger Woods or not, there is no doubt he draws attention to the game of golf and it is more popular when he is in the field. Will we see Woods put a fifth Green Jacket on in a few weeks? I guess we will have to wait to find out.

Source: PGATour.com

While some it may have just snowed here in St. Davids, spring break has come and gone and there were several team at Eastern that had some games to play over the break in a warmer climate. The baseball, men’s lacrosse and softball teams all went away on spring break to compete in games or tournaments.

The baseball team went south to the Sunshine State in Florida and competed in multiple games. The Eagles first two games were in Fort Pierce Florida and was a doubleheader against Houghton. The Eagles dropped the first game by a score of 4-2 but, were able to salvage a split in the series with a 9-4 win later in the day. In the second game sophomore Jacob Breyer had the ball to start. Breyer went three innings and let up zero runs. Senior Tommy Strazza came in to close the game out and receive the win in 1.2 innings and registered four strikeouts in the process. In the Eagles next game, they matched up against Massachusetts Maritime and walked away with a 7-5 victory. Freshman southpaw Tyler Bennet got the start for Eastern allowing one earned run in three innings. Sophomore Matt Bunjo came in later in the game to earn the win and senior Justin Fredericks came into to earn the save. Sophomore Freddy Yahn and Senior Timmy Gorton each had two RBI’s in the win. In the Eagles next game, they had a disappointing loss to Houghton to drop to 2-2. In the finale the Eagle were able to come away with a win to end their spring break over the .500 mark. Combined with a three run 7th inning and Freshman Steve Sattanino, Freshman Christian Shissler, Senior Justin Fredericks, and Senior Tommy Strazza 15 combined strikeouts the Eagles walked away with a victory.

The softball team also traveled to Florida for spring break except they would be competing in Clermont, Florida. On the first day the Eagles split their set of games with the first coming against Adrian in a 3-1 win and the second against Alverno College in a 10-2 loss. In the Eagles win Junior Melisa Irick pitched a complete game for the win. Senior Samantha Albertson, Junior Leah Lozzi and Freshman Shelby O’Neil all had an RBI in the game. In the Eagles second day it was all smiles as they won both games. The first one a nail biting 3-2 win against Concordia and the second a convincing 11-2 beat down of Johnson St. On the final day of the trip the Eagles came away with one win and one loss. They had a decisive 8-0 win over Johnson St. in the opener and then a tough loss to Rose – Hulman in the second game. In the win over Johnson St. it was Senior Meagan Quinn who pitched the complete game shutout.

The Eagles lacrosse team traveled to Virginia during spring break and their first matchup was against #17 Roanoke in Salem, Virginia. The Eagles fell in their opening game by a score of 12-9 but, were led by Junior Mark Buannic who put four goals in the back of the net. The Eagles second game of the Virginia trip was in Virginia Beach against where they topped Virginia Wesleyan by a score of 12-8. Buannic once again helped the Eagles on offense scoring three goals on the game. Senior Jake Billera also was able to register a hatrick for the game. Senior goalie Jameal Hadeed made nine stops on the way to victory for the Eagles.

Source: GoEasternEagles.com

It is the highest honor that an individual can have bestowed upon them in pro sports, being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This year’s hall of fame class will feature eight players and it is a star studded cast. The players will be inducted into the hall of fame in Canton, Ohio on hall of fame weekend, August 2-5.

The Inductees:

Ray Lewis

Lewis is a first ballot hall of famer and spent 17 years in the NFL all with the Baltimore Ravens. Lewis won two Super Bowls, including a Super Bowl MVP in 2000. Lewis is also a two time defensive player of the year and is considered to be one of the best defensive players and leaders of all time.

Randy Moss

Moss was one of the most talented and explosive wide receivers to ever play the game. Only his big time personality could match his talent for big time plays. In his career Moss had 82 receptions for 15,292 yards and 156 touchdowns, ranking 15th, fourth and second in those categories. In Moss’ best season he had 98 catches, 1,493 yards at 23 touchdowns in a 16-0 regular

Terrell Owens

It took three times for Owens to make it in but he has finally made it. Many say this is ridiculous and Owens not getting in earlier was completely because of his personality and relationship with the media. Owens is eighth all time in receptions, second in receiving yards and third in touchdowns.

Brian Urlacher

Urlacher in his career won rookie of the year and defensive player of the year. In 182 games Urlacher finished with 1,354 tackles, 41.5 sacks, 22 interceptions, 15 fumble recoveries and 11 forced fumbles.

Brian Dawkins

Dawkins was a hard hitting safety for thirteen years with the Eagles and three with the Broncos. In that career Dawkins built up 1,131 career tackles, 37 interceptions, 26 sacks, 36 forced fumbles and 19 fumble recoveries in 224 games. Dawkins was also considered to be a great leader on the field.

Robert Brazile

In his 29th year of eligibility Brazile the lifetime Houston Oiler has finally made it to Canton. In 1975 Brazile won Defensive Rookie of the Year and made a great impact on the field. In 47 career games, Brazile had 13 interceptions,14 fumble recoveries and 11.0 sacks. The reason he only had 11 sacks was because it only became an official stat in his final three seasons.

Jerry Kramer

Finally, after 45 years of eligibility the lifelong Green Bay Packer is finally in the hall of fame. Dawkins for most of his career was a right guard, but he did play kicker for a few seasons for Green Bay and led the league in kick percentage at 81.8 percent. Kramer in his career won five NFL Championships and two Super Bowls.

Bobby Beathard

Beathard is best known for his time as the director of player personal with the Miami Dolphins and general manager with the Redskins. While with Miami Beathard was able to win two Super Bowls and then another two with Washington.

Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame

       Every four years the greatest athletes from across the world taking the world stage at the Olympics. NHL players for years have always taken great pride in the opportunity to take a break from the NHL game and get a chance to go represent their nation. Many like the idea of the best professionals in the world going to represent their country in the Olympics, however some feel it should be amateurs only in the Olympics just like how it was originally.

      The NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman announced that it would not be participating in this years’ PyeongChang Olympics, which will be the first time in five Olympics that the NHL won’t participate.

      Gary Bettman who has been NHL Commissioner since 1993 released a statement saying, “We have previously made clear that while the overwhelming majority of our clubs are adamantly opposed to disrupting the 2017-18 NHL season for purposes of accommodating Olympic participation by some NHL players, we were open to hearing from any of the other parties who might have an interest in the issue as to reasons the Board of Governors might be interested in re-evaluating their strongly held views on the subject.”

      The reasons for the NHL not participating in the Olympics is that it disrupts the NHL season (as they have to take a break in the middle of the season) and it leads to the possibility of players getting injured. The NHL also argues that it has no positive impact on the business of the NHL, so from a business perspective it has no positive outcome.

      Some would argue that the NHL players playing in the Olympics would give it good publicity and in result get more people interested in the league, however the NHL disputes that.

      Many also say that the Olympics when it started always had amateur players and that is the way that it should be. As the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” US Olympic Coach Herb Brooks said, “The US began using professional athletes at the games, dream teams. I always found that term ironic because now that we have dream teams, some will never get to dream,” just as his team did in 1980 when the US had one of the greatest upsets in sports history in defeating the Soviet Union. The 1980 “Miracle on Ice,” is considered to be the greatest moment in sports by many.

      The arguments for the players playing in the Olympics is that fans want to be able to see the best players in the world represent their countries and watch the players that they know and love. When you have the biggest worldwide sporting event, you should have the very best athletes playing in it.

      Many of the players in the NHL feel they have been wronged because they are not being allowed to represent their country just because they are professional. It’s as if the league is saying you have accomplished to much so you can’t compete in the Olympics, your career should be solely the NHL.

      Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist who has won a gold and silver medal in the Olympics for Sweden and a gold medal and two silver medal in the World Hockey Championship made a statement against the NHL decision regarding the NHL in the Olympics. Lundqvist tweeted out saying, “Disappointing news, NHL won’t be part of the Olympics in 2018. A huge opportunity to market the game at the biggest stage wasted.”

      Regardless of where you stand on this issue the Olympics will go on and opening ceremonies are set for Friday, February 9th. The hockey however won’t start on the opening day of the Olympics as the United States first game is February 14th against Slovenia.

      Source: NHL.com

      The second semester is up and underway and so is the winter track and field teams’ seasons. Both the men and women have had multiple meets and have a full schedule in front of them.

     The first meet of 2018 for the Eastern Track and Field was at the Coach I Invitational hosted by Franklin and Marshal College in Lancaster, PA. In this first meet the Eagles had a variation of both strong and not so strong performances. There were defiantly some positives to take out the meet, but defiantly room for some improvement.

      One of the highlights in the Franklin and Marshal meet was sophomore Frantzy Sainvil coming away victorious in the triple jump and then had a third place finish in the long jump. Several other Eagles had strong performances but there was also a fair share of room for improvement for the team. Coach Wilson stated that, “We had some great moments of individual brilliance, but we have a lot to put together before we look our best.”

     The next meet that the Eagles had was the Gotham Cup in Ocean Breeze, Staten Island, New York. Once again the Eagles had an average performance where they had a mixed box of results. The highlights of the day belonged to sophomore Greg Thomas who finished 5th in the 5,000 meters and sophomore Frantzy Sainvil who was fourth in the triple jump.

     On Saturday, January 27th the men had a meets at the Covert Invitational. It was freshman Doug Kramer who steeled the show finishing in second place for the 5,000-meter run. With that run Kramer was able to qualify for the MAC Championship. There were also other Eagles that were able to qualify for the MAC Championship including, sophomore Greg Thomas and sophomore Rusty Batykefer who both qualified for the one mile run. Junior Aaron Szenczy also had a strong performance as he had a 1.95M jump in the high jump, which placed fourth for the day and second all year by a MAC athlete.

      The women’s team also competed in both the Franklin and Marshal and Gotham Cup meets. In the Franklin and Marshal the women were able to put up some solid results. Junior Kierra Zack finished second in the 3,000-meter race. Zack ever since she came to Eastern her freshmen year has a great impact on the team. Sophomore Megan Bernotas also finished second in her race which was the 800-meter.

     In the Gotham Cup the Eagles put in a strong performance where coach Wilson stated, “Overall I’m happy with how we approached today mentally and how we went out and competed.”

     At the Gotham Cup sophomore Bernotas ran her first competitive mile of the season and clocked in a 5:18. With this being the first competitive mile for Bernotas, coach Wilson believes that Bernotas has the potential to do even better.

     The women also competed at the Covert Invitational and had both some strong finishes and some qualifying for the MAC Championship. Sophomore Megan Bernotas finished third in the one mile and junior Kierra Zack finished not too far behind her in sixth. Both sophomore Elaniah Boyles and sophomore Pamela Myers qualified for their respectful events which was the 3,000-meter for Boyles and 5,000-meter for Myers.

     Both teams are putting in the work and have the potential to improve and put forth solid seasons this upcoming semester.

Upcoming Schedule:

February 3rd: Ursinus College (M&W)

February 9th: New York University (W)

February 10th: Boston University

February 17th: Haverford College

Source: Goeasterneagles.com

The second semester is underway, and with that second semester comes plenty of action for the winter sports teams at Eastern. This winter, both the men’s and women’s basketball teams will be in action along with the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

During the first part of the men’s basketball season, they have gone 7-6 with a 2-0 record in the MAC Freedom Conference. This 7-6 record comes after the EU Eagles struggled out the gate with three straight losses. Since the slow start though, the Eagles have played competitive basketball with a series of close and big wins.

In the second half of the year, the Eagles have 14 games, with half of them being home at Eastern University. In the first part of the season, junior Victor Pena averaged 14 points a game to lead the team, while senior Antonio Chapman had 154 points which led the team and averaged 12.8 points a game. Junior Darius Washington has 127 points and freshmen William Blet has 94 points averaging 10.4 points a game.

The women’s team thus far has struggled with a 3-9 record and 0-2 record in the conference. Although the Eagles have struggled, they have played some competitive games. The Eagles have lost some very close games including an overtime versus Kean University and a one point 57-56 loss to Elizabethtown. The point leaders for the Eagles this season are senior Taylor Price, junior Reggie Robinson, and senior Amanda Riff with 162, 118 and 127 points.

The men’s track and field team comes into the winter with a full schedule ahead of them as they have only competed in one event so far, which was at Haverford College.  After the event, Coach Mike Wilson stated that “It was a great start for the men.” Many of the athletes on the track and field team also competed on the cross country team in the fall, which finished third  in the MAC Conference Championship. The Eagles have eight meets remaining this season, along with the conference championship.

The women’s track and field team  has also competed in just one event this year which was also at Haverford College. After the meet at Haverford, Coach Mike Williams said, “Overall, this was a decent start. We made a lot of mental mistakes today that we will have to clean up, but I am happy that we were able to get our young group out for a competition.”

It is a busy schedule ahead for the teams at Eastern and all students are encouraged to come out and support the Eagles!