A senior at South Kingstown High School, Jonathan Kelley has gone from Xbox superstar to a pine riding champion. Kelley’s goal from day one of his freshman year was to make the boys’ basketball team. Kelley was denied this opportunity sophomore and junior year.

  “I was too small, I didn’t have the endurance to run as much as they would like,” says Kelley.

  His senior year however was different. Kelley put in the time.

  “All summer I played basketball for four hours a day, I would wake up shoot around for about an hour then go home, sleep, play Xbox, and then ball at Old Mountain Field all night,” Kelley says.

  In the late days of November Kelley took his third and final try at making the boys’ basketball team. Instead of entertaining the coach with his rollercoaster, Kelley planned to entertain Coach Champion with his basketball skills. With a calf sleeve, high socks, polished Durant’s and a “fresh cut,” Kelley knew this was his year.

  “I think this year I had a good chance of making the team after the seven seniors who graduated,” says Kelley.

  After five days of trying out, Kelley was still nervous.

  “I was terrified of getting cut.”

  With a final decision made, Kelley was the newest and happiest member of the Division 1 boys’ basketball team.

  “I was so happy it was unreal.”

  As soon as Kelley got home that day, his Facebook status and twitter had been updated reading. “Finally, all of the hard work has paid off.”

   Just three months ago Kelley was living a different life, a life that had countless hours on Xbox,  a life that averaged eight golden, crispy, chicken “nuggz” a day, along with scary hours of creeping on Facebook. It was a different life before basketball and he is glad for the change. Basketball, Kelley says is his new swag.

  He sports the look of a true basketball player: new Nikes on his feet with a crisp blue and white color scheme, a high white sock on his left foot with a prostatic leg  calf sleeve on his right foot.

  Through 11 games this season, Kelley has made an appearance in just four of those games.

  “I hope to get more playing time, if I work hard, I know I can make a difference on the court,” says Kelley.

  Kelley is for sure a fan favorite on the court. Even during warm ups you can see the crowd cheer with joy when Kelley makes a layup or a free throw. It is the environment that Kelley loves. “It’s great to see my fans in the stands.”

  With a disappointing start to the season, the boys’ team looks to rebound and change the losing season into a winning one.

  Along the way, Kelley, a striving basketball player who looks to follow in the footsteps of the great Michael Jordan. Kelley hopes to follow in the footsteps of Jordan and become the new biggest thing since sliced bread.

  Recently, the Baseball Hall of Fame held their annual election. This year’s candidates included the likes of Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGuire, Roberto Alomar, Jeff Bagwell, and Bert Blyleven who has spent fourteen years on the ballot.  

  When the final results came in,  Alomar received about 90 percent  of the votes and Blyleven received about 80 percent of the votes.  Bagwell, McGuire and Palmeiro fell significantly short of being voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, as each of them received very little votes from baseball journalists and the Hall of Fame Committee.

  My question is, should the Baseball Hall of Fame let players who used steroids or performance enhancing drugs during their careers into the Hall of Fame? Many players who are currently on the ballot and  players who will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in the next few years, have failed drug tests for using steroids or other performance enhancing drugs. 

  Players like McGuire and Palmerio, who have been caught using steroids during their careers, are eligible for the Hall of Fame.  But over the next few years, more and more steroid users will be eligible for the Hall of Fame.  Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Juan Gonzalez, and Sammy Sosa will all be eligible for the Hall of Fame in the near future.

  This is a huge problem for the Hall of Fame.  Should they let a whole generation of steroid users into the Hall of Fame?  Or should they punish these players by not letting them into the Hall of Fame? 

  Personally, I think this would be completely unfair to players like Blyleven who spent fourteen years on the ballot before he was voted in.  These players who used steroids don’t deserve to get in because they basically cheated by using performance enhancers and altered the outcome of games in a negative way.  It’s also unfair to fans because now most fans are unsure of what they are watching is real or fake.

  Several players during what is now called “The Steroid Era” lied about or continue to lie about using steroids.  In 1919, the Chicago White Sox that were banned for life from the MLB and the Hall of Fame for intentionally losing the World Series. Eight players from that team including “Shoeless” Joe Jackson were banned and yet baseball has failed to take such a stand regarding steroids.

   Before the 1919 World Series started, William Thomas “Sleepy Bill” Burns, who was an ex-major league baseball pitcher, and Billy Maharg, approached Chicago pitcher Ed Cicotte and first basemen Arnold “Chick” Gandil about fixing series. Since baseball players back then made significantly less money than baseball players do today, they were immediately interested. 

  Despite the effort from the rest of the team who didn’t participate in the scandal, the Chicago White Sox lost the series to the Cincinnati Reds 5-3.  Two years after the series ended, the eight players that were involved were finally indicted for gambling on the World Series. 

  The first commissioner of the MLB, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, suspended each player and promised them reinstatement if found not guilty. Landis still banned them for life despite the fact that they were cleared of criminal charges. 

  It has been 92 years since the 1919 “Black Sox Scandal.”  Yet it still continues to leave a mark as one of the darkest events in baseball history.  Although the players that were involved have passed away, they’re still banned from the Hall of Fame. 

  Even “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is still banned from being inducted into the hall of fame. 

  Just like the 1919 Chicago “Black Sox,” what should the Hall of Fame do about players who have cheated like gambling on games or using steroids? I think the hall of fame should handle steroid users the same way they did with the 1919 “Black Sox Scandal,” they should be banned from the hall of fame.

  It wouldn’t be fair to players who stayed clean during their careers.   Players who used steroids during their careers should be banned from the Hall of Fame.  Until the Baseball Hall of Fame takes a stand against players who used performance enhancing drugs, the Hall of Fame is going to have a serious problem over the next few years.

Kyle Vandemore now plays at the University of New Hampshire club team.

  Kids now a days debate what they should do after high school, ranging from working to attending a four-year college. However, another option for a graduating senior is a post-graduate year.

  One student who chose the post-graduate is former SKHS athletic standout Ben Hamill. Hamill was one of SKHS most dominant athletes last year, excelling in both football and basketball. Hamill now attends Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.

   “I chose a post-graduate year because I felt like I needed another year to get ready for college academically by improving my study habits as well as another year to physically mature if I choose to play sports in college,” says the SKHS Alum.

  In simpler terms, a post-graduate, or PG year, is a year for a student who, for a variety of reasons, has chosen to take an additional year of secondary school before moving to a collegiate environment.

  “It’s another year to mature, and to gain different athletic looks, as well as improving your grades,” says Kyle Vandemoer, a 2008 SKHS graduate who attended the Williston School, in Easthampton, Massachusetts for his PG year.

  There are various reasons to explore a PG year but according to Vandemoer the choice allows students to “improve in the classroom and on the field.”  Vandemoer added that a PG year also “allows for a smoother transition into college.”

  Another reason for a post-graduate year said Vandemoer is that athletic competition is greater as well as college recruitment.

  “Definitely, the competition is stiffer,” he said, “and if it weren’t for Williston, I wouldn’t be where I am now.”

Vandemoer is presently enrolled at the University of New Hampshire, and plays for the club hockey team running a regular shift.

  According to United States College Hockey Online, four percent of hockey players go play on a division one team.

  For stellar athlete Hamill, athletics were a  major reason for his PG year.

   “From an athletic standpoint, a PG year definitely increases my chances for being looked at by better schools.” said Hamill. “As of now, a few Division II schools have shown interest in football and I’m sure when basketball season comes around I will have interest from other schools.”

   Hamill now plays the position of a wide receiver at Cushing and plans to play guard for the basketball team this winter. Currently Hamill leads Cushing in interceptions and touchdown receptions.

  Both Hamill and Vandemoer said that prep school coaches have a lot of contact with college coaches and help to get an athlete’s name out and attract attention from college coaches.

  Vandemoer did mention a few negatives of a PG year.

 “All your friends go to college, the school is hard to get used to, and very structured.”

 “The biggest negative of a PG year is hearing how much fun my friends are having in college and I’m stuck in high school for another year,” Hamill said.

 “It makes me question if I made the right decision by coming here.”

  Another negative is the overall cost to attend the school. For one year, a prep school will range from $40-45,000 dollars per year.

That’s more than some four-year colleges combined.

  Most colleges, however, appreciate any program or course of study that will enhance the student’s chances of success upon admission. Colleges know post-graduate students have lived away from home and developed independence.

  “Attending Williston broadened my range of schools,” said Vandemoer. He got into the schools he wanted to that SKHS didn’t give him.

  SKHS Math Teacher and Hockey Coach Mr. Gibbons,prior to teaching at SKHS, worked at Proctor Academy in Andover, New Hampshire.

  “I coached hockey, taught and helped kids lead better lives and witness them mature into better individuals,” Gibbons said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

  For Vandemoer a PG experience was what he needed and he took advantage of the opportunity.

  “I would love to do it over again because of the people I have met, and the experiences and memories of a lifetime,” said Vandemoer.

  “I would strongly recommend a PG year

for those who wish to play sports in college,” expressed      Hamill