Recent Posts

• Mason gets last laugh: Lafferty provides Mason with a crucial hit and run

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 1:02 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor George Mason University softball Head Coach Joe Verbanic made a gutsy move in the fifth inning as he waved in freshman first baseman Emily Lafferty to give the Patriots an insurance run. That run proved to be the eventual game-winning run as Mason held off the James Madison Dukes 6-5 on Saturday afternoon at the George Mason Softball Complex, after losing the matinee game 5-0 in the conference opener. Despite losing three straight, the Dukes still came into the game as the favored team. After the Saturday split, Mason moved to 8-10 on the season while the Dukes went to 14-17. Dukes freshman starting pitcher Cara Stecher threw the second complete game shutout of her career, striking out three batters. Sophomore designated hitter Casey Mansfield had a perfect 3-for-3 day with three RBIs, putting the game away with a two-run single in the sixth inning. The Patriots, on the other hand, struggled to bring in a run, having a runner reach third base in each of the first six innings. Mason loaded the bases with two outs and came up empty-handed. “We were a little anxious at the plate, swinging a little bit early […]

   

• Gaining the spotlight: Mason Special Olympics seeks to gain recognition

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 1:01 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Fernanda Bartels, Staff Writer Some people may have seen the George Mason University Learning Into Future Environments (LIFE) Special Olympics program teams playing during halftime of basketball and soccer games. But only a few people know about the program and its success over the years. The Mason Special Olympics program started six years ago within the LIFE Program. Mason LIFE is a four-year program for young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The LIFE Program has been in existence since 2001. The curriculum of the program covers a wide range of courses, from communication skills such as reading and writing to interacting and socializing with others. Mason LIFE’s four-year curriculum includes fitness and sports-related courses. Although the Mason LIFE curriculum introduces its students to the world of sports, the Special Olympics program has a different approach. The students enter the world of competitive sports, where team work and companionship lead to success on the court. “Special Olympics is their only avenue into sports, and [for] teaching them self reliance and camaraderie,” said Head Coach Leo Alonso, one of the three coaches of the Special Olympics program. By strengthening friendships and building character, the Special Olympics program has grown over the […]

   

• A rollercoaster finish: Baseball team’s rally falls short against the Dukes

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 1:00 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Cody Norman, Staff Writer The George Mason University baseball team scored 10 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and forced extra innings in the first of a three-game set against the rival James Madison Dukes, but the Patriots were unable to complete the comeback, losing 21-16 on Friday night at Spuhler Field. The Patriots kicked off Colonial Athletic Association play on Friday afternoon, with a wild start and finish as the two teams combined for 37 runs and 42 hits. “That was one for the books,” said Head Coach Bill Brown. “I’ve never seen that before.” JMU took a comfortable 12-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning before a 10-run frame knotted the contest at 12 apiece. Junior right fielder Shane Davis led off the inning with a single before senior catcher Josh Steinberg brought him home with a double to right-center field. Mason then loaded the bases for sophomore second baseman Brig Tison, who belted his first homerun of the season and closed the gap to 12-7. The Patriots scored another run and reloaded the bases on three walks and a hit by pitch when Steinberg stepped to the plate and crushed a fastball […]

   

• Sports in a minute: Postgame recaps and athletic news at Mason

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 12:58 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor and Cody Norman, Staff Writer Streak Snapped at Six Entering Tuesday afternoon’s contest against the Richmond Spiders, the George Mason University baseball team posted six consecutive victories dating back to their March 2 loss at the hands of the Spiders. A solo homerun from senior shortstop Ryan Soares followed by a two-out RBI single by senior third baseman Mark Hill gave the Patriots an early advantage, but a fourth-inning homerun off the bat of Billy Barber knotted the game at 2 apiece. Richmond took the lead for good. Phil Ruzbarsky led off the fifth inning with a solo homerun against sophomore pitcher Ryan Pfaeffle. Soares, sophomore center fielder Jeremy Haas, junior first baseman Dan Palumbo and senior designated hitter Josh Steinberg each recorded at least two hits for the Patriots, but the team stranded a total of 11 runners on base. Pfaeffle took the loss and fell to 1-3 on the season while Richmond’s Jared Bard picked up the win in relief, and Barber earned his third save of the season. Bison Stampede Over Patriots in Doubleheader The George Mason University softball team took the field against the Howard Bison on Wednesday afternoon for […]

   

• Powell's Playbook: Living in my own field of dreams

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 12:56 pm Comments are Disabled

  By John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor So baseball season is finally in full swing. And softball season is too for that matter. As much as I love sports in general, as well as George Mason University Patriots basketball, I have to say that baseball is my passion. I have been playing the sport since I was in fifth grade, since I saw my first baseball game. I went to Atlanta for a school competition and found myself in Turner Field, the home of the big league team, decked out in a new home Braves jersey and ready to learn about what would become my team. I brought the game back home with me and played on those teams that we all remember when there was no competition; we were all playing for fun. Then, I hit middle school and played for my high school’s junior varsity team, where I learned how to play third base. Aside from all the sexual jokes that come with playing baseball with a team of prepubescent teenagers (don’t worry, this is not “In Bed with Billy”), I loved the team. My best memories come from the game: the late-night workouts at the gym, the early-morning […]

   

• Mason athlete highlights: Luke Hancock

  Sports March 29, 2010 at 12:55 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Accaiya Evans, Broadside Correspondent As the regular season has come to an end, it is evident that freshman forward Luke Hancock has been a vital addition to the George Mason University men’s basketball team. After posting great numbers coming off the bench, Hancock looks to be a major force in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Hancock played in all 32 games of the regular season and started in only three games. However, his sixth-man role play has been a great asset to the success of the Patriots conference play this season. Off the bench, Hancock leads the freshmen averaging 23 minutes per game, fifth highest on the team. Hancock was named one of the top 25 freshmen by Basketball Prospectus in January and earned his spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team. His contribution of 7.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game has been the determining factor in the team’s margin of victory. Hancock achieved season highs with 15 points against the the George Washington Colonials in early December and grabbed nine rebounds in a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Puerto Rico Tip-off Tournament in November. With his great court vision, Hancock has been one […]

   

• Zero to 88 Degrees: Hot Tub Time Machine as predictable as its name

  Lifestyle March 29, 2010 at 12:53 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Josh Hylton, Staff Writer Back in January, I was invited to attend an early screening of a little film called Hot Tub Time Machine. It was a rough cut and was, well, a little rough. The editing required tightening and a few story issues needed to be resolved. Now it has been completed and the finished product is, well, still a little rough. It is a shoddily structured, messily executed hour and a half trip through an unoriginal screenplay. The story is reminiscent of dozens of other time-traveling films, only this time, the machine in question is a hot tub. Still, its goofy nature and fun, unabashed ridiculousness are hard to deny. The story, as lackluster as it may be, can be summarized as follows: After Lou, played by Rob Corddry, tries to kill himself, his friends Adam (John Cusack), Nick (Clark Duke) and Jacob (Craig Robinson), travel to their old vacation spot, a ski resort in the mountains. There, they are transported back to the ’80s via a hot tub and must travel in the same footsteps they did all those years ago, lest they disrupt the past and change the future for the worse. Much like Snakes […]

   

• Broadside Now Showing

  Lifestyle March 29, 2010 at 12:52 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Ross Bonaime, Staff Writer With the remake of Clash of the Titans being released this week, audiences will see a film in 3D that attempts to be epic in every way. But Clash of the Titans has a long way to go to become one of the great epic films. With that, here are the top 10 epic films of all time. 10. Intolerance The father of the epic movie, D.W. Griffith, dropped all the white power messages of his previous film Birth of a Nation, and created four fascinating stories of intolerance spanning many countries and various time frames. 9. Spartacus In the battle of ’50s – ’60s slave epics, Spartacus beats Ben-Hur, hands down. Kirk Douglas and Stanley Kubrick created a classic redemption story with some of Old Hollywood’s finest actors. 8. The Lord of the Rings trilogy It doesn’t get much more epic than three films being shot simultaneously in a project that took over eight years to create. But Peter Jackson’s surprisingly faithful adaptations of Tolkien’s novels will go down as modern day classics. 7. 2001: A Space Odyssey Another great Kubrick epic, 2001 makes the leap from the beginning of time to mankind’s next […]

   

• Broadside Interviews: Clark Duke of Hot Tub Time Machine

  Lifestyle March 29, 2010 at 12:50 pm Comments are Disabled

  Starring alongside best friend Michael Cera in the Internet series Clark and Michael is only the beginning of Clark Duke’s story. With the underappreciated Sex Drive and hit television show Greek under his belt, not to mention the highly anticipated film Kick Ass on the horizon, Duke is proving himself to be one of the most promising up-and-coming actors in Hollywood. Broadside recently chatted with Duke about his new movie Hot Tub Time Machine and the difference between television and film. What attracted you to the Hot Tub Time Machine script? Clark: It was funny. I got involved with it because the guys who wrote Sex Drive had written the draft of Hot Tub and wanted me to play this part and I just said “yeah” because I really love those guys. They ended up not directing it, but I still stayed on because there was Corddry, Craig and then Cusack. I think Cusack being in it makes it really weird and meta because he’s such an ’80s icon himself. And in the movie, these guys go back to the ’80s and the whole thing seems like it’s coming out of him a little bit, which is cool. Since you […]

   

• Will the real Bon Jovi please stand up?

  Lifestyle March 29, 2010 at 12:48 pm Comments are Disabled

  By Evan Benton, Staff Writer Jon Bon Jovi is perhaps most responsible for ushering in the short-lived but ridiculously popular hair metal genre in the mid – late ’80s. While that may not be the greatest compliment in this day and age, it’s nevertheless a fantastic personal achievement. Bon Jovi represented the genre with his long, teased-out hair, his pretty-boy looks, his unstoppable voice and his shameless mane of golden chest hair. He and his namesake band left Sayreville, N.J. and took the entire world by storm with their second album, 1986’s Slippery When Wet. With “Wanted Dead or Alive,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” and the Mason Nation’s unofficial anthem “Livin’ on a Prayer” on the record, it went diamond-certified with 12 million copies sold and to this day holds the record for number of weeks spent at #1 on the Billboard charts by a rock band. That’s right: combined with later albums, this makes Bon Jovi one of the most successful American bands ever. But that’s not even the most important part of Bon Jovi’s legacy. With the winning smile and hairy man-chest of its lead singer, Bon Jovi was an MTV favorite, and each of the […]