Review: Trouble with the Curve

‘Trouble with the Curve’ strikes out at box office

By Emily Swanson ‘14

Clint Eastwood stars alongside Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake in “Trouble with the Curve”, his first film since “Gran Torino” back in 2008. Having only opened at $4 million, it did not live up to critics’ expectations.

Gus Lobel (Eastwood) is one of the best scouts baseball has ever seen, but all his years of hard work and dedication had cost him his relationship with daughter, Mickey (Adams).

Mickey’s mother died when she was young and that left her father, the stand-offish baseball scout, to raise her on his own. Mickey traveled with her father at first, then he sent Mickey to live with relatives she barely knew and was not a big part of her teen and college years. Mickey felt abandoned by her father and thought he didn’t want her around; their relationship had been strained ever since.

Mickey is now a powerful and successful lawyer who’s up for partner at her firm. Gus is still a stubborn baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves, but is being watched carefully by corporate and the Braves’ GM. Gus doesn’t believe in using computers to assess and possibly sign a player; he’s considered old fashioned by most of the younger scouts and agents. Still, Gus always picks the best players and believes a computer full of stats tells you nothing about America’s Pastime.

Gus has a scouting assignment in North Carolina to evaluate a possible first pick of the draft from the minor leagues. However, Gus’s eyesight is fading fast and he can barely see the pitchers mound. Gus is too stubborn and strong headed to try and get treatment for his eyes or change for his daughter Mickey.  

Mickey, being worried about her father, accompanies him to North Carolina. She, like her father, is a baseball expert, and assists in scouting this star player. Her knowledge of baseball was the only thing her father ever taught her. A player formerly signed by Gus,  Johnny (Timberlake), is now a scout for the Red Sox and is also in town to get a glimpse of this “unstoppable” player.

Over the course of the games, Mickey and her father develop a better relationship and she finally knows why he left her all those years ago. Together Mickey and Gus try and show the Braves’ GM that you can’t tell a person’s character or instinct based on stats calculated in a computer. The heart of the player is what matters to Gus the most.

Contrary to the critics, I enjoyed this film and would go see it again. Clint Eastwood’s acting is familiar, natural, and sometimes humorous. For a guy pushing 82 years of age, he’s still got it.

Amy Adams’ portrayal of Mickey is sweet and lovable; throughout the whole movie the audience is rooting for her and her father to finally have a stable relationship.

Former N’Sync pop star Justin Timberlake gave a great performance that was both charming and comedic. He has broken out of his boy band persona and is now taken seriously as an actor.

This coming of age story shows that you’re never too old to grow up, or play baseball.

Badin seeks student trainers

Badin seeks student trainers for all sports

By Alisha Bradbury ‘13

Badin High School is searching for student trainers for all sports. This is the first time Badin will have a student trainer for each sport. It is open to anybody and everybody – there is no grade that can’t do it.

Being a student trainer consists of working with the new athletic trainer, Mr. Travis Snyder. He is the team leader of sports medicine at Badin and works with Fort Hamilton Hospital.

Travis is new to Badin. He came in with a lot of new ideas to better the experience for athletes in their sports. If you plan on going into sports medicine in college, this will be a great opportunity. If you have any questions, you can contact Travis in the training room anytime after school.

If you want to become a trainer you have to be dedicated and give it your all. Also be ready to learn new things such as wrapping ankles and wrists. If you become a trainer there will be a contract you and your parents sign. If you become a trainer you will go to all the away games and stand or sit on the sideline and help out the team when they need it.

I’m a student trainer for the football team and I travel to away and home game and it is the best experience you can have. Cheer for your Badin Rams and help them out when they get hurt. It has been a lot of fun.

To contact Travis Snyder outside of school, e-mail him at travis.snyder@khnetwork.org Or call him on his cell phone at (812) 454-3664.

Homecoming 2012 is just around the corner

Homecoming 2012 is just around the corner!

By Denise Rasche ‘13

It’s that time of year again – Homecoming! It’s just around the corner and people are getting asked out daily.

There is the same rush for girls to get dresses as there is to get a date. Most girls are either already settled with who they are going with or they are anxiously waiting for Prince Charming to come and sweep them off their feet.

There is the same familiar scrambling through yearbooks and hallways to find a person to ask. There is the same, “Did you hear who he asked?” or “Do you have a date yet?” going through the lunch tables and on the texts of cell phones.

The school is jumping more than ever with gossip plus new boyfriends and girlfriends. The interesting part is how the dates got to be that way.

Senior Colleen Monaghan was asked by Patrick Kelly in a unique way. Patrick put “Homecoming? Check yes or no” on a note and he put check boxes at the end of it. Then he put it in the end of a water bottle that was empty and gave it to Colleen. She checked yes, put the note back in the bottle and gave it back to him.

I also was asked in an interesting way. I volunteer at an animal adoption center and I have a favorite dog that is there. His name is Toby and he is 3 years old. I put him on Facebook just to show everyone what I’ve been doing at the adoption center.

The next time I went to the adoption center to see Toby there was a note that said “This dog is nice but going to Homecoming with you would be nicer – Logan.” It was, of course, Logan Goddard. I called Logan while Colleen and I were driving to her family’s football party and told him thank you and that I would go with him and I am sure we will have a great time. 

It has been shown that it is great that you asked but if you get creative you may have a lot more fun of what was thought to be so stressful … even if the girl doesn’t say yes! Sometimes it is just the thought of “Maybe he likes me and we’ll go out!” or going with someone that just makes Homecoming comfortable.

Either way Homecoming 2012 is going to be a lasting memory for the seniors and all who attend!

The Homecoming football game is Saturday, Oct. 13, and the dance is Sunday, Oct. 14. Badin High School is off on Monday, Oct. 15.

Badin seniors will vote for Homecoming royalty on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Top 10 semifinalists include:

Girls – Miranda Berens, Paige Bucheit, Lauren Donges, Stacy Fisher, Sarah Flum, Kelsey Riley, Andrea Schneider, Taryn Stang, Alli Sullivan and Loren Warner.

Boys – Nick Browning, Greg Childs, Drew Evers, Jared Fetters, John Fowler, Grant Geigle, Noah Henson, Chris Pickerill, Austin Rieman, Sam Spoerl and Nick Stone.

Good start for girls' soccer

Good start for Badin girls’ soccer

By Alisha Bradbury ‘13

The Badin girls soccer team is doing very well. They were 8-0 as of Sept. 14, with wins over Northwest, Hamilton, Alter, Edgewood, Cincinnati Christian, Maderia, Chaminade Julienne, and Mariemont. They have started off doing great -- this was unexpected to the most.

Kelsey Riley is a senior on varsity; she has been playing for Badin for two years. She left Ursuline Academy and came to Badin. I asked her did she think they were going to be good this year. She responded by saying, “We have potential.”

I asked her what team she thought they would struggle against coming into the season. “Alter, because they’re always really good.” Badin won that game, 3-2.

Kelsey came into Badin with a hurt knee, but she stuck it out until she was ready to play. That shows great commitment from her and how much she supports Badin Kelsey said, “I still struggle with my knee to this day, but I fight through it because it’s senior year and I don’t want to let my team down.”

Paige Bucheit is also a senior on varsity; she has been playing full-time varsity one year. Last year she played junior varsity and got some varsity playing time.

I asked her the same question I asked Kelsey – did you think the girls’ soccer team was going to start out 8-0? “No, I didn’t think we would be doing this well so far, since last year we didn’t do so well at the beginning, but I had faith we would do well,” Bucheit said.

Asked what team she expected to struggle against, Bucheit said the same thing as Kelsey – Alter. Asked how far she thought the Rams would go in the playoffs, Paige said with so much excitement, “State, baby, all the way! I know we will do great during playoffs. I believe in the young talent we have. We play hard -- all the girls play hard, and I’m so proud of them.”

The Rams are now 8-0-2, having tied Fenwick and Dayton Carroll by identical scores of 1-1 the past two games. Badin plays at Mother of Mercy in its next game Saturday, Sept. 22.

A lot to love about America

A lot to love about America

By Matilde Starklit

Matilde Starklit, 16, is an exchange student from Denmark. We asked her impressions after a month in America:

I arrived about a month ago and I feel like I’ve been here a really long time. The people are amazing. I love how all are so thankful about anything and all act so nice. In Denmark we don’t have “please” or “thank you” in our dictionary so it’s amazing how people are so nice to one another.

School is totally different, too. We have one classroom and the teachers are walking from room to room, so I had to get used to that (changing classes). We don’t have lockers either, so it’s basically a whole other thing.

I’ve never seen so much discipline and respect in a school as this one, even though I went to a private school at home.

The Danish school system is very different too. We start in 0th grade when we’re 7 and go to the same school until we are in 9th grade and in 9th grade we are 16 usually.

We don’t get to choose our own classes. After 9th grade a lot of the students kind of take a "free year” -- go as an exchange student to America, Australia, France and a lot of other countries.

You can also go to this kind of boarding school. It’s basically just a 10th grade where you live at the school and you have a lot of fun with the people you live with.

After that we go to a gymnasium. It’s very similar to high school. You have a homeroom, but in some classes you change rooms. You don’t really get to choose your classes but there is a lot of different kind of gymnasiums and you can pick a "line.”

For example, if you want to be a doctor you would choose the “normal” gymnasium and a line with biology as the basic. If you want to do something with business you would choose the business gymnasium and pick a line there. So you basically choose your education when you are 16-17 years old.

Basically I’ve had that experience so far that people are very nice, and I would love more of that back home. We don’t have anything like the football games either and it is amazing to see how so many people show up to support their high school team. The atmosphere and everyone is just so happy and cheering. That’s really cool.

I’ve been in the States a lot of times before so I knew a lot about the habits and how people are, but still America keeps surprising me every day. And I love it!

Pate Family Legacy

The Pate Family Legacy

Continues to Grow at Badin High School

By Patrick Kuhl ‘13

            The Pate family has been known within the Badin community in many capacities for many years.  They have been students, parents, grandparents, athletes, and coaches.  This past August, “teacher” was added to the list. 

Mr. Rick Pate is a 2003 graduate of Badin.  He is teaching English, Study Skills and Etymology, after previously teaching at St. Joseph’s School. As a student at Badin, his fondest memories include playing football and baseball as well as meeting his wife, Jennifer Hessling Pate ’03, who is a former classmate. 

            In addition to starting his Badin teaching and coaching career this past August, he also became a father for the first time.  Leonardo Daniel Pate was born during the first week of school on August 24. Since the birth of his son, Mr. Pate said his life at home has changed for the better.  It’s been rewarding and exciting and even though he is getting a little less sleep, he is getting used to his new schedule.

            Mr. Pate is grateful to be part of such a big family.  He said, “You get used to it at a young age. I love to have people to rely on and it’s great to see my younger cousins mature." Growing up, his role model was definitely his late uncle, Mr. Danny Pate, from the Class of 1988.

Mr. Pate has several family members still involved with Badin today.  He said it can be a little challenging.  He wants his sister, junior Ashley Browning, to “view me as a brother, but Monday through Friday, I’m Mr. Pate."

            Mr. Pate is both anxious and excited about coming back to Badin.  It’s changed a lot in the 10 years since he was a student. He said the technology has been updated, and the lockers in the hallways are also much better. He also said the new PFAC and the lack of the presence of Coach Malone are also big differences. He is definitely looking forward to a long career at Badin.

            Being a teacher is very exciting for Mr. Pate.  He loves making an impact and finding new ways to make a difference in the students’ lives.  Mr. Greg Renneker and Mr. Danny Pate both influenced him in his decision to become a teacher.  They passed on everything they learned to help men and women mature. 

With his return to Badin as a teacher, he has the opportunity to work with teachers that have made an impact in his life.  Being back in the “green” and rooting for the Rams is also very exciting, Mr. Pate said.

iPads make education more efficient

By Denise Rasche '13

The iPads are one of the new additions to Badin this year. They have brought many new things to try and many new questions. Like, "What is the best note-taking app?" and, "How do I do this?"

The iPads have been useful but they also pose a lot of questions students have never had to deal with before. People are using iPads to make work more efficient and the iPads make it possible to work on homework from pretty much anywhere.

Snow days will now be obsolete because teachers can e-mail the assignments to their students and they will be able to do them on-line.

There will be new excuses to why my homework isn't done. Like "My iPad died." or "My iPad crashed.". This will definitely change the way things are done. The days of losing homework are gone. They will all be saved on iPads unless a student decides to use pen and paper instead.

The most pressing question with the new iPads is, "Should I use a pen or my iPad/” The iPads make notes more accessible and organized but some people like their own style of taking notes that cannot be done on the iPads.

There are many apps for taking notes that can organize your notes and even take dictation and type out what you are saying or what a teacher is saying. Some people, however, prefer to feel the ink hitting the paper and keep their handwriting organized in a certain system.

The iPad is probably better because our parents have spent a lot of money to provide them for us. They also don't want to bother with buying all the regular school supplies when they spent so much money on these all powerful iPads that will solve all of our school problems like making flash cards, studying methods, and lots of other things.

Basically, what I am trying to say is people bought your iPad … use it! It's kind of weird when you see people writing their notes down instead of typing them and having them all together. When people lose their notes and stop class to let everyone know that "Hey, I lost my notes!". That makes me want to yell "So. What do you want? A cookie?"

People should just use what they were given to succeed in school. So there you go. … Enjoy your iPad … I do!

No Oscars for "The Words"

No Oscars for Cooper’s new film “The Words”

By Emily Swanson ‘14

Bradley Cooper's new flick, "The Words" opened at only $5 million in ticket sales this past weekend. Even People Magazine's “Sexiest Man Alive” (2011) couldn't entice moviegoers to the theatre on one of the slowest weekends at the movies since 2001.

Bradley Cooper stars alongside Zoe Saldana as Rory Jansen, a struggling New York writer, who after years of failing to get published finally reaches literary success. The only problem -- Rory Jansen didn't write it.

On Rory and Dora’s (Saldana) honeymoon in Paris, Rory finds an old manuscript in a weathered briefcase. After he’s read the manuscript,  Rory loses all confidence and believes he will never be as good a writer as the anonymous author. This eats at him for weeks; he can’t get those words out of his head.

One night Rory digs out the manuscript and copies it word for word, period for period. His plagiarized novel becomes an instant success, a worldwide phenomenon. Rory is high on life, that is, until a nameless old man (Jeremy Irons) confronts him in Central Park and tells him that he wrote it.

The man tells Rory the story behind the novel, what really happened, and the pain and agony that caused it to be written in the first place. Through a series of flashbacks the audience is slowly able to piece together the events that happened to the old man so long ago.

The story behind the novel is in fact a tragic love story that takes place in Paris just after World War II; it’s a story of romance and heartbreak.

Although “The Words” seems like it has a lot to say, it doesn’t. Well-intentioned but poorly executed in some aspects, especially the ending, with a lot of unanswered questions that leave the audience confused. The brilliant actors were trapped in a predictable plot.

The film did, however, have some strong the points. The flashbacks into the 1940s were the best part. I began wishing the whole movie was about the couple in the flashbacks and nothing else.

The acting, setting, costumes, and soundtrack were all good; it was just a poorly constructed and predictable plot. In all it was a decent film, but it won't be winning Oscars anytime soon.