SPORTS

Start Spreading The News: The Empire Falls (Again)

By Jacob Hankin-McNeil

Another painful season for the Yankees concludes as they are knocked out of the postseason early, leaving Yankee fans disappointed as they watch the pinstripes continue to collapse. This is not the first time this has happened, and the Yankees are crumbling; they are not the team they used to be. The New York Post stated that the Yankees are stuck in an endless loop, and it is becoming harder to believe they will ever figure it out and win the World Series, as the Yankees have now gone 16 years without becoming victors of the World Series.

The game started off with the Blue Jays scoring first, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. drove in a run to make it 1–0. Then the crowd went wild when an unlikely batter, Ryan McMahon, hit a solo shot to tie the game 1–1. Unfortunately, Ernie Clement later scored on a sacrifice fly by George Springer, putting the Blue Jays back in the lead, 2–1. Devin Williams was then brought in out of the bullpen to pitch. After that, Lukes hit a two-run single to Jazz Chisholm Jr. off Williams—a play that could have been an easy double play to end the inning, but Chisholm mishandled the ball, making the score 4–1 Blue Jays. The Yankees then had a chance to tie the game with the bases loaded but could not score any runs. Straw added an insurance run for the Blue Jays with an RBI, extending the lead to 5–1. In the ninth, Aaron Judge hit an RBI to make it 5–2, but no rally followed, ending the game.

Now, what is to blame for the way this season went? First, there were injuries to key pitchers. Clarke Schmidt and Gerrit Cole both underwent Tommy John surgery, taking them out for the rest of the season, and they still will not be back for a while next year. Overall performance also declined, as errors were sky-high—especially for Anthony Volpe—and offensively the Yankees depended too much on the long ball, leaving many baserunners stranded as they failed to cash in. Issues even extended off the field, as the roster was built around power rather than balanced skills, weakening the lineup. Additionally, Aaron Boone was overly tolerant of underperforming players, letting things slide rather than delivering immediate consequences.

Many factors contributed to this disappointing season. But there’s always next year, so let’s hope the Yankees improve and return stronger next season.

The Raptors vs. The Kings: A Game of Power and Skill

By Ramzey Ahmad

In the Gold 1 Center, the Raptors played the Kings last October. The Raptors took the lead in the first quarter. At the beginning, they scored off a jump ball, which gave them 6 points. Then the Kings scored a dunk that gave them 2 points. As the game went on, the Raptors stayed in the lead. The Kings almost caught up, but Chuck Hepburn made a free throw that helped keep the Raptors ahead. In the end, the Raptors won 130 to 122, making their record 1–1 and the Kings’ record 0–1. Go Raptors!

The player with the most points for the Raptors was Brandon Ingram, who scored an impressive 23 points. No one else on the team came within five points of him, which shows how strong of a player he is. On the other hand, Oliver Sarr had a tough game. He didn’t score and only had one rebound.

Now for the Kings. Domantas Sabonis was their best player. He scored 19 points, made 1 assist, and had 4 rebounds, which is pretty good, though still not as good as Brandon Ingram’s performance. Daeqwon Plowden struggled, finishing with 0 rebounds, 0 assists, and 3 points.

Overall, the Raptors had 23 three-pointers, 32 assists, 6 blocks, 11 steals, 16 turnovers, 42 points in the paint, and 28 fouls. The Kings had 43 rebounds, 25 assists, 11 blocks, 10 steals, 18 turnovers, 60 points in the paint, and 22 fouls.

I would say the Kings showed more skill, but the Raptors had more overall power—and the win to prove it.