by Logan Butts | Oct 26, 2012 | Opinion, Sports
For the decade after Michael Jordan’s last game in a Bulls jersey, the NBA went through constantly declining ratings, a lack of stars, boring playoff games, a referee fixing scandal and a number of other problems. However, the last few years have seen a return to form for the NBA. Some experts are even claiming that the NBA is now on par with the golden age of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s (or at least getting close). This season looks to be a continuation of that trend with more interesting storylines, competitive teams and talented players than the league has seen since that golden era. Eastern Conference 1. Miami Heat: Who else? After LeBron James finally played to his full potential and figured out how to effectively balance the main scorer and facilitator roles, the results were devastating. They added sharpshooters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to the offense in the off-season to bolster their star-studded roster. Also, a healthy Dwyane Wade will be key. 2. Boston Celtics: Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are not getting any younger, but luckily for the Celtics, Rajon Rondo went into full superstar mode during last year’s conference finals against the Heat. The Celtics will need more of that if they want to get past the Heat this year. 3. Indiana Pacers: The Pacers are just about as deep as anyone in the league, but the NBA is a league of stars, and who is going to take that role on this team? Danny Granger? Roy Hibbert? Somebody has to. 4. New York Knicks: They have possibly the best pure scorer in Carmelo Anthony...
by Bridgette Begle | Oct 17, 2012 | Sports
Andie Thornton, a senior from Franklin, Tenn., had to learn the difficult balance of dedicating time to her school work, her soccer team and her social club. Thornton said she found stability between soccer and her social club, Phi Sigma, when she became an “inactive” member her junior year. Inactive members, according to Thornton, do not pay dues but can still attend events by paying a higher entry fee than the active members. Thornton joined Phi Sigma in the spring of her freshman year, partially because her older sister, Meredith Thornton, was a senior at the time and was also a member of the club. “I was a freshman looking to find a group of friends,” Thornton said. Thornton had her heart set on attending Lipscomb for the spiritual aspect of the university before she was even old enough to be recruited for soccer. Even with offers to play soccer at other schools, Thornton ultimately decided on Lipscomb. “I would have come here regardless of soccer,” Thornton admits. “That was just a bonus.” Thornton said her four years at Lipscomb have shown her where her priorities lie. “The older I got, the harder classes got, the more intense soccer got, and the less time I had to devote to the club,” Thornton said. With almost 17 years of soccer under her belt, Thornton soon found it had to have priority over her social club. But as a graphic design major, Thornton learned early that even soccer wasn’t her top priority. School came first. Even through her semesters of being an active member, Thornton said she did not devote the...
by Nick Glende | Oct 16, 2012 | Sports
Sami Khan, a sophomore from St. Louis, has been playing golf competitively since she was 10 years old. The fashion merchandise major got started when she was only 6 because her family was involved in the sport.“I guess I’m just like my family,” Khan said. “My uncle played and taught me when I was 6, and my older sister played too. She’s 10 years older than me. Her high school team won state, and that’s kind of why I started doing it competitively.” Just like her sister, Khan’s high school team also won state, and she was a state medalist all four years. Currently, Khan plays with a four handicap and averages high 70s each game. Khan considers her best golfing game to have been at a very early age. “My best game? I don’t know… I know I had my first hole in one when I was 10,” Khan said. “It’s pretty funny. My sister was playing with me and she got a hole in one, and then I got one right after. And neither of us have had one since then. That was probably my best game.” It is Khan’s second year on Lipscomb’s golf team under Coach Buddy Harston, and she said she really enjoys her coach and her teammates. “My coach is a character,” she said. “He always takes us to Dairy Queen after tournaments or always takes us out to eat. He’s a really good coach. Even at tournaments he just likes to have fun. He has us practice really hard, and that helps us qualify for everything. We work really hard, but once we...
by Lumination Staff | Oct 15, 2012 | News Slider, Sports
A Lipscomb baseball player was arrested and charged with resisting arrest after police subdued him and a Lipscomb golfer, who is charged with underage drinking, Saturday night at a party near the university. According to affidavits from the Metropolitan Police Department, sophomore baseball player Hunter Brothers and sophomore golfer Paul Kleine-Kracht were arrested by police at a party taking place at a home across the street from the baseball field, on the corner of Woodvale Drive and Granny White Pike. Brothers received the charges when he refused to cooperate with officers’ commands, police said. The arrests sprang from the confusion after police arrived at the house in response to several noise complaints by neighbors. According to the police affidavit, after they confronted a resident about the noise level of the party, many frightened party-goers fled the scene on foot. Brothers, 20, also tried to flee but didn’t make it, resisting arrest in the process, according to officers. After being apprehended by officers, Brothers continued to try and escape. He finally relented and gave in to police officers’ demands. Kleine-Kracht, 19, willingly submitted to police during his arrest. Both were under the legal drinking age, and both allegedly violated the university’s no-alcohol policy. The university released the following statement in regard to the weekend incident. “As you may know, privacy laws in higher education prevent us from commenting on details of student conduct issues,” the statement said. “We always hold our students to a high standard and are disappointed whenever those standards are not met. Lipscomb takes these standards seriously and will vigorously pursue student...
by Bridgette Begle | Oct 11, 2012 | Sports
Sabrina Ferreri, a junior from Franklin, Ky., has learned to balance being captain of the women’s golf team and a member of the Pi Delta social club at Lipscomb since fall of her sophomore year. Golf runs in the Ferreri family. Her mother, Robbie, was on the first women’s UK professional golf team and is now a pro-golf teacher. She played in Europe for a while as well as in Japan. “She is a big influence on me and is the reason I play golf,” Ferreri said, noting that she has been driving and putting pretty seriously since sixth grade. But golf isn’t the only thing on this athlete’s plate. Ferreri has begun to broaden her horizons by interacting with some new people in a setting a little different than the fairway. “The best part of being in a social club, for me, is meeting new people besides athletes,” Ferreri said. When Ferreri decided to pledge her sophomore year, she surveyed the clubs and made the choice based on the members of the club and where she would fit in. “I liked the girls in Pi Delta the best,” she said of her social club, which has about 50 members. “There seemed to be a good variety of girls in the club.” With both her club and the golf team requiring a lot of time, Ferreri said she has had to learn a lot about time management. “Since golf is the reason I came to school here, it takes priority,” she said. “The social club was something I decided to add on.” According to Ferreri, there have been some hectic...
