The stretch run of the NBA season has arrived and the battling for playoff position has started. Although the Eastern Conference teams make the playoffs by default, they have the two teams with two of the best records in the NBA, the Detriot Pistons and Boston Celtics. Cleveland’s LeBron and the Orlando Magic are nothing to sneeze at. Although these four teams are talented, all things great still reside in the Wild, Wild, West, where Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the Lakershow are on top of the West for the first time in a long time. Still, the defending champs, the San Antonio Spurs, are the team to beat.

      Washington D.C. is famous for many diverse attractions and activities. Politics, monuments, museums, the Beltway, the Redskins, Wizards and now the Nationals. Notice which sports team I didn’t mention? Yes, there is the United, but professional soccer isn’t big in any American city. No, I’m talking about the Washington Capitals, referred to by their miniscule fan base as the Caps. In case you’re wondering, the Caps are Washington’s professional hockey team and have been since 1974.

    The Michigan Wolverines entered the Capital One Bowl, apprehensive about their coaching situation. That was the least of Michigan’s worries as they had to prove that they could beat Florida. The maize and blue ended up beating the Gators, who where huge favorites in what would be Lloyd Carr’s last game. It was one of the most heart-felt moments of the bowl season, as Michigan players carried Carr on there shoulder pads while "Hail to the Victors" was playing in the background. But now, the Lloyd Carr era is over, and it is now time for former West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez, who left the Mountaineers and a huge contract extension from West Virginia, to head to Michigan.

      I get it. Basketball fans don’t like the NBA. It’s the college game they love. And though I doubt that the majority of the people who emphatically denounce professional basketball have ever so much as watched an entire game, I do understand their distaste, no matter how much I may disagree. And I believe that a concerted effort needs to be made by Commissioner David Stern, along with the players, union and owners, to restore and reinvigorate the NBA after several seasons of disillusionment, falling ratings and diminished enthusiasm.

      The Sherwood Warriors defeated Whitman 38-0 last Friday night to end their season with a 9-1 record. The Warriors had already secured the number two playoff spot in the Maryland 4A West region. Quince Orchard received the number one seed in the region, with Magruder at number three and Whitman at number four.

    After last season’s loss to Eleanor Roosevelt in the 4A Baseball State Championship game, which ended hopes of a perfect season, the Warriors dreamed of redemption. Nearly a year later they got exactly what they desired, a State Championship, by defeating the C. Milton Wright Mustangs 7-6 in extra innings to win the 4A championship.

      For years, Sherwood gymnastics didn’t have many requirements for students to participate. For example, gymnasts may not have necessarily competed in meets but were still part of the team. This season, it has been slightly different. Coach Gary Peters, who has been coaching gymnastics here at Sherwood for 25 years, decided to hold tryouts instead.

      After years of the increasing popularity of lacrosse, Montgomery County finally has added a JV league for both boys and girls. The addition of JV is another step towards challenging top lacrosse areas in Maryland such as Arundel County and Baltimore counties.

      Unlike professional sports and to a lesser degree college athletics, high school sports teams face the unique challenge of a massive turn-over in personnel from one season to the next. Specifically, varsity teams routinely see half their squads graduate each year. The following season, the remaining varsity players have to step up and new players from the JV ranks must step in. Fielding a consistently strong team from one season to the next is no small feat for a coach to accomplish year in and year out.

      On February 2, 2008, Ethiopian immigrant and new Sherwood student, Solomon Haile took the running world by surprise when he began his high school running career at the Last Track to Philly indoor track meet at Georgetown Prep.

      The boys’ varsity basketball team has had an up and down season, winning a few games here, losing a few there. The team started the season 0-3 but has improved its record to 10-8. In one stretch from Dec. 21 to Jan. 4, the boys won four straight games. They beat Blake 62-50, South Philadelphia 65-63, Hempfield 46-41 and Magruder 42-39. Three weeks later, the Warriors lost two games in a row to Magruder (57-55) and Springbrook (68-58).

      JV teams and their players have come to expect and accept that they are largely ignored by fans as well as media. For example, when was the last time you read about a star JV player in the Washington Post, or even in the Warrior? However, occasionally a player excels at the JV level and begins to catch the eyes of fans as well as eventually his sport’s varsity coach. That is the case with sophomore point guard Brad Bolen, who recently was called up to varsity.

     The wrestlers went into their Feb. 2 tri-meet at home against Paint Branch and Magruder with their focus directed towards the Panthers. The Warrior entered the gym with a 15-1 record, and the match against Paint Branch was for the division title. In a surprising twist, the Warriors got their victory over the Panthers and the division title that went with the win, but they unexpectedly lost to the Magruder squad.

      Parents commonly tell their children to find that one activity to which to dedicate themselves. The activity can be playing a sport or participating in a club or playing a musical instrument. The point is not which activity, just that there is an activity. But what happens when just one activity isn’t enough for the person?