Player Profile: Junior Bernal

Wednesday February 24, 2010 senior captain Junior Bernal was recognized for his accomplishments at the University of Maine on and off the court. First, off the court academically he has won four gold medals for having such good grades and being recognized for his achievements. He has been here for five years and has not been below a 3.0 GPA and majors in child development. He has been a part of activities off the court such as help in the community, coaching camps, and team functions such as the Run For Cure for breast care awareness just to name a few. he is admired by many children and elders in the state of Maine because of what he has done for the state in his time here. At the game against Albany on the 24th of February, Bernal's whole family came up from Manhattan, New York to be a part of his ceremony and walk on the court with him as he was recognized by the audience. After the game there was a reception for him as everybody was in a room his mother, sister, grandmother, uncle, cousins, friends, old coaches and teammates, and his current coaches and teammates. It was a special moment especially for me because I been his teammate for three years and seeing him moving on is a big accomplishment. On the court Bernal has made history by being the first basketball player to record over 1,000 points, 500 assists, 300 rebounds, and 150 steals. He was obviously recognized for that accomplishment and he should be very proud to have done that and be the first to do it. It was amazing seeing his family support him and drive 9 hours from New York to be a part of his ceremony. Being able to be his teammate has been an honor and a blessing to even meet him he is a humble, respectable, honest person and it has been a pleasure being a part of his life.

Maine vs. Albany

On Wednesday February 24, 2010 the Maine men's basketball team will be hosting the Great Danes of Albany at Harold Alfond Arena on The University of Maine campus. The Black Bears of Maine currently hold a record of 18-9 going up against Albany who's record is currently 7-22. I play for The University of Maine so I know we have been playing real well this whole season. On our 16th win we had a total of wins of our last two years combined, that is a tramendous accomplishment being the underdogs of the America East Conference and to currently be in 3rd place. We have one senior on our team his name is Junior Bernal. He is a 5th year senior and is a child development major, he will be honored at the game for senior day. He is the first person to play for University of Maine and record over 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, and 150 steals. His family will accompany him as he is aknowledged for his accomplishments while playing as a Maine Black Bear. This Wednesday will be our last home game for this season but Saturday will be our last game of the regular season. Our conference tournament starts Thursday, March 4th in Hartford, Connecticut and every team is looking playing for the championship ring and to advance to the national tournament. Never in NCAA history has The University of Maine been past the America East Conference, the farthest is the championship game. If we continue to play the way we have been playing all year we have a chance to make history and be the first Maine team to advance to the national tournament. Since this game against Albany is our last home game, we are trying to pack the house to go out with a bang and show the way we impacted our fans that support us. On the behalf of The University of Maine Black Bears, we appreciate the support we have been getting from fans all year round and we will do our best to continue getting better.


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Professional Athletes in Trouble

Professional athletes these days are getting paid millions of dollars to entertain the works with the sports they play because the are the best athletes in the world that play their sport. I'm not sure if the money is making them do the things they do, but there have been some athletes that make me wonder what were they thinking? I'm only going to talk about a few athletes that have been in trouble recently and just share my thoughts on their stories.
I'm pretty sure everybody knows about the point guard in the NBA that plays for the Washington Wizards Gilbert Arenas. He was accused of having a dispute in the locker room with a teammate over money and the dispute got out of hand so there were guns drawn in the locker room. The NBA commissioner David Stern was unhappy about it because there is a rule in the NBA that there are no guns to be around the locker room, planes, or any arena that they go to (Basically leave it home). You can make an argument for both sides of the parties, in Arenas' case you can argue that there have been many cases where athletes have been robbed at gunpoint and he had it to protect himself just in case because he is a professional athlete, but on the other side the rules if the NBA do state that guns are prohibited for athletes to have in the locker rooms and arenas. Arenas and his teammate that was involved are facing a suspension for the rest of the season and is a possibility that they will see jail time I just hope people learn from this experience.
We had Arenas with the gun dispute and now we have Tiger Woods getting exposed for cheating on his wife with multiple females. It all started with a crash in front of their house with them both in the vehicle but Tiger had a bloody lip and the investigation went on from there. Tiger Woods was the first athlete ever to reach a billion dollars mainly because all his endorsements. Most of his endorsements removed Woods because they didn't want to deal with him and his situation, but the ones that stayed with Woods stayed with him because they know his sex life has nothing to do with him and golf so they stayed. I do agree with the companies that stayed with him because he still is an amazing athlete not just a golfer he can bench press more than some NBA players. Tiger is taking an indefinite leave from the game of golf, which I personally feel is a good idea for himself, his family, and other golf players so they are not surrounded by Tiger Woods' incident.
Professional athletes are watched and admired by people all over the world, and one simple mistake they make can cause them to lose their career in professional sports. Both Tiger Woods and Gilbert Arenas did make mistakes that caused them to be portrayed negatively in the public eye but everyone makes mistakes it's a test of your character to see how one can bounce back from the issue. I just hope that people can learn from their problems and become better people for themselves and the people around them.


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