 Chew on This
...a sports column with bite...
by Steven "Jenko" Jenkins, SSID contributor
1/16/08
Too Much Sour, Not Enough Sweet
 Lately there have been conflicts in the CCSC basketball community, starting with a situation that began earlier in the season. Sometimes, though, adversity can help a team. Luckily, all has been sorted out. This was good, seeing as it was the week before the holiday break. So it was time to change from the terrible fruitcake attitude, to our gingerbread fresh style.
After the holiday break, the team returned with a newly revived passion for the game. It went on to play the highly anticipated game against MATCH. Saturday, at Jackson Mann, it played MATCH as a new team with trust like the Jackson Five. The game started with fouls left and right, looking more like a UFC fight than a basketball game. But Coach Hurst-Hiller came with his new cookbook of plays that sizzled MATCH like some greasy bacon. CCSC started slow but picked up fast after halftime. The intensity of this team was exploding like pop-pocks and soda pop. There were steals every time the ball was in sight, pressure all over the court like Chuck Taylors on hot tar, and rebounds that would make one think they were stealing light bulbs from the ceiling. CCSC was unstoppable.
At the end of the day, everyone could see that this is a new evolved team, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a pivot foot and a jumper. Both CCSC teams won- the girls with a 30 piece that was full of taste like a box of chocolates and the boys with an adrenaline rushed filled game by four points that would make the movie “CRANK” look like “The Land Before Time.” The CCSC team has changed. Not in a bad way, but in a way that would make the Lakers look like an elementary school team. GO CCSC.
12/18/07
CCSC's Future Has a Great Taste
After the first two games of the season, the boys’ basketball team is knocking other teams off the shelves. It has shown speed, power, and finesse in every game played so far. With a 2-0 start and an upcoming game on Wednesday, the basketball team is looking to show everyone what it has.  As Coach Hurst-Hiller states, “We are taking this game as a chance to send our league a message.”
In each game to date, the basketball team has shown different skills. Against Foxboro, it showed a caramel, smooth, finesse game, with “good to go” speed, and quick grabbing rebound action that was hittin’ the taste buds of every CCSC fan at the game. Then, at City on a Hill, the team showed full intensity. City on a Hill is strong, quick, and very athletic, but it was no match for the quick thinking and relentless drive in every CCSC player. Each had crunch with every rebound, not to mention sweet and sour driving skill. However, there were a few moments where one began to melt and crumble like a soggy Kit-Kat bar.
Coach Hurst-Hiller said, “I know we can beat this team. Yes, they’re big, yes they’re athletic, yes they might be stronger than us. But we are better conditioned and definitely better disciplined then the other team.” With the contest coming to an end, and CCSC in the lead by one point with Geo Morgan at the line shooting two, this game looked like a done deal. But Geo missed both free-throws which kept the intensity of the game going. With three seconds left, the point guard for City on a Hill shot a long shot from the half court line but missed, giving CCSC the win. After the game, the team was so jumpy that is seemed like it was filled with Pop Rocks.
Now, the team is hard at work, getting prepared for the next game. With very little information about the opponent, Coach Hurst-Hiller and Coach O.G. plan on dominating any team in their way. And with the kind of players on our team, CCSC has Wonka’s golden ticket.
11/30/07
CCSC Candy Bar is a Huge Hit
Have you ever gone to the store and seen a new type of candy? Have you ever decided to try some new kind of candy you just found on the shelf? Moments like this happen all the time. I mean, how do you think the first guy to bite into a Snickers felt before that first taste?  Well, that’s how the new roster of the CCSC Boys Basketball team felt in its first scrimmage. You could say that all the kids playing for the first time were having that feeling- not knowing what to expect and how they will do. And the veterans of the team were, let’s say, the tasters- the ones who knew about it before others were comfortable with it.
The whole team was playing basketball wonderfully. Players executed to the best of their abilities and gave CCSC the lead the whole game. The team stayed on point with a dazzling amount of rebounds from players Geo Morgan, Steven Jenkins, and Michael Elysee, a large load of assists from Bayoan Garcia and Elson Delpe, and a handful of three pointers from Wale Wright that blew up the court like an unexpected bombardment. The team proved to be strong on offense and very strong on defense, highlighted by Robel Fitiwi’s crowd roaring block.
For the entire game, the coaches were hard at work commentating the game. They seemed to be imitating the FOX Monday Night Football anchormen. With Coach O.G. getting substitutions ready and working with players fresh out the game and Coach Hurst-Hiller creating different line-ups, they showed that they were never getting their minds off the game. So you could say that each of the five players on the floor was a different type of candy, and depending on how well each was performing, Coach Hurst-Hiller was acting like a real life Willy Wonka. With every substitution he made, it was as though he was thinking of the other team, saying in his head, “Chew on this!”
11/28/07
Initial Chewin'
I like to chew gum. But I hate chewing gum that falls apart easily. I chew gum all the time, when working, skateboarding, and playing basketball. I just love gum. Now, one of my favorite gum chewers is Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls. I witnessed the first half of the Bulls-Sixers game from 1991. The starting five for the Sixers consisted of Gilliam, Mahorn, Green, Hawkins, and the big man, Charles Barkley. The Bulls had their regulars of Pippen, Grant, Cartwright, Paxson, and Jordan. The game began with both teams looking like they just ran the Boston Marathon, but it was jump started with the first basket by Jordan. It made me wonder what kind of gum he chews, because it had him playing like a man on fire.
Over and over again, Pippen came through the lane and threw down a series of his power pumped dunks all over the Sixers. Bam! Smash! Boom! Pippen started to give the court construction sounds. I almost dropped my gum from having my jaw drop. When asked before the game how he felt, Jordan replied, “Well, I mean they’re a great team. I know they will give us a run for our money, buy hey, that’s why I play ball, for the competition.” These are the usual “words of wisdom” that one would hear from any talented player. Score after score from the Bulls helped me notice that Charles Barkley, usually a strong force on the team, wasn’t doing much. He just watched as Michael threw great passes to his teammates.
Now this is the kind of gum I like to chew on, a team that is working great together. But soon enough, Barkley fought back with his rough, streetball mentality. One could tell that he had Malcolm X on his mind because he was getting points “By any means necessary!” Barkley was changing this team from a tasteless gum with no hold, to a jaw-working zinger gum. By the half, both teams were showing their power. I didn’t know which one to buy. Good thing I didn’t put any money down.
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