The Viper Vibe - Volume 13 Issue 4

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NBA Playoffs Summer construction Amazing Spiderman disappoints

Summertime Fun and Games Felix Varela Sr. High School * 15255 S.W. 96 St., Miami, FL 33196

Hits and misses Varela is getting a makeover! Tablets for students, shiny new Promethean boards for teachers and Wi-Fi connectivity for all. Welcome to the Grid.

Dear Michael Bay, Please leave the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles universe alone. Sincerely, All TMNT fans.

Dear Michael Bay, Please don’t bring Dinobots into your Transformer universe. Sincerely, All Transformer fans.

Summer Break - 10 weeks spent binge watching House of Cards and drowning in hours of Watch_Dogs!

Here’s hoping Hollywood doesn’t mess up really good YA Novels, i.e.

The Fault in Our Stars, The Maze Runner, The Giver, etc.

Summer Break - ONLY 10 weeks spent binge watching House of Cards and drowning in hours of Watch_Dogs!

2 t h ev i per vi b e @ g mai l . com

From th e Editors View p oints

The Editor Says: Thanks

It’s been a pretty interesting year. The summer of 2013 was a sad one with the announcement of Varela’s journalism class being cut from the schedule, leaving this hopeful editor heartbroken.

Thankfully, we didn’t give up. We pulled through and kept fighting, no matter what anybody told us. Part of that is all thanks to our

supporters: you guys.

All our readers have been our motivation to keep going, and we couldn’t be more grateful.

This issue is dedicated to all of those who kept reading and always supported us. Have a great summer and I’ll see you next year. #wemadeit Cj Salcedo Managing Editor

experience summer, We Say: don’t just live it A wise man from Toronto once said “You only live once.” Now, what was once a simple phrase meant to inspire people to live a good life has now turned into coworkers and family making really brash decisions and merely saying “YOLO.” Thankfully, Toronto-born rapper Drake publicly apologized for unleashing the “YOLO-plague” upon the innocent and impressionable minds of humanity.

Even though this “YOLO” craze has reached some seriously unsafe heights, the phrase does carry a lot of truth with it. You only have one life to live, live it to the fullest. Obviously, be safe while doing it.

What exactly do we mean by this?

Try to experience an entirely different kind of summer. Something that is really far from the norm. Don’t spend another summer sleeping in until noon and waking up to binge-watch something on Netflix. Go out and live. Try to travel somewhere and experience everything that place has to offer. Eat

whatever those locals eat and participate in local events.

If you can’t afford to travel, drive up to Miami Beach and just hang out.

Go to a restaurant and order something you’ve never tried before, just to say you’ve tried it. Go watch some strange foreign art house film at a small local theater. Heck, go on some boat tours.

Don’t follow the same boring routine that everyone else is following. Break away from the mundane and live your life.

Listen, we could only sit here and tell you what to do. It’s up to you to decide how you want to live out the remainder of your existence.

Have a great summer.

What do you think?

Let us know!

We’d love to hear from you Write to us at: thevipervibe@gmail.com

volume 13 issue 4 June ‘14 Editorial Board MANAGING EDITOR Cj Salcedo SECTION EDITORS Taylor Daley David Murray Christian Schlegel

Staffers Jordan Cline Alec DiLella

Adviser

Elizabeth Cardenas Cover artwork by Meghan Espinosa

Editorial Policy The Viper Vibe is the student newspaper of Felix Varela Senior High (15255 SW 96 St. Miami, FL, 33196). It is an open forum for student expression. The opinions expressed in the publication do not reflect the official opinions or policies of the school.

The Viper Vibe welcomes letters to the editor, but requires that they be signed and reserves the right to reject, edit and condense letters. The staff and davisor can be contacted at 305-752-7900 or thevipervibe@ gmail.com

Ads The Viper Vibe solicits advertising but reserves the right to reject any material deemed obscene as to minors, defamatory or materially and substantially disruptive of school activities.

New s A rou n d V arel a

Drama revisits a 90s classic

Based on the 1998 movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, The Wedding Singer is a play about Robbie Hart who works as the lead singer for a band that plays at weddings. Julia Sullivan is a waitress at one of the weddings where he performs. Robbie is just getting over being dumped by his girlfriend and Julia is engaged to be married to a man that is very self-centered and unfaithful.

Throughout the play both Robbie and Julia grow closer together and realize that they are pining over people who aren’t worth the energy.

The movie was later turned into a musical on Broadway and Varela’s drama department presented its version to the school April 30-May 2.

“The whole month of March was dance rehearsal and April was songs, blocking and dance reviews in between,” said junior Ryan Bauta, who played Sammy.

The set was a tacky mix of colors, but it was fitting since the play takes place in the 80s. With movable walls and set pieces, the design worked well with the play.

The acting in the play was great even with the small minor problems like the microphone not functioning properly. There were a few flubs on lines and lyrics; however, the rhythm on stage flowed easily among the actors.

“Because the band follows you, if you mess up on a lyric, they keep vamping until you get your lyric right,” said senior Jeanfranco Cardentey, who played Robbie.

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BY Taylor Daley

Section Editor IG: captainjamaica24

One interesting aspect about the play was that the audience to the “weddings” was not only on stage but also in the audience in the front of the stage bringing the acting out into the auditorium seats.

Cardentey really stood out since he had the most stage time; however, the audience never felt like he was taking over. He blended in well and made the play feel more like an ensemble piece.

The school’s jazz band was on stage during the whole performance.

Playing the score for the musical, the band was hidden in the back part of the stage covered by a screen.

“Having a live band is always better for the actor because it gives you more energy on stage,” said Bauta.

Varela’s drama department said goodbye to seniors on the last day of the play.

“It feels a little bittersweet due to the fact that it’s my last show. I got to give it my all,” said Cardentey. “It’s sweet because I got to play an awesome role and just have fun on stage.

But on that last night it was bitter because it was my last night and my last show performing on this stage.”

The Wedding Singer was an exceptional play with talented performers and music from Varela’s Jazz Band.

“It was an amazing show to end my high school career with,” said Cardentey.

photos by Fox-Mar

Arou n d Varela N ew s

Summer Construction

By Taylor Daley

section editor IG: captainjamaica24

In the fall of 2013, Miami-Dade County voted for the improvement of schools through the Bond Referendum. While students here at Varela saw the beginnings of the change when the school put in building-wide Wi-Fi, most of the money allocated to Varela will be used this summer in different construction projects.

This summer teachers are being asked to take everything they need with them, from personal items to planning materials because the main building will be closed for construction. All summer school classes will be in Building 11. Since Varela is a newer school (opened in 2000), construction is geared mostly towards upgrades and general fixing.

1. Veteranary Magnet For the past 14 years, a main complaint in the Art hallway has been the smell from the Vet area.

Hopefully, things will change for next year. Vet teacher, Ms. Yleana Escobar, has been working diligently to find homes for all the dogs currently housed in the kennels so that construction workers can get to work.

Plans for the program include a separate air conditioner so that smells can be more contained and new floors that will be easier to clean.

2. Media Center Plans for the media center involve full renovations. Databasphotos by Taylor Daley

es will be completely digital. There will be two new computer labs and a conference area for teleconferencing. All new books purchased will be e-books.

3. General The school in general will be getting fixed up. There will be painting in order to spruce up the buildings.

The air conditioners will be getting new chillers. Hopefully, this will correct the problems we have had in the past with temperatures varying from room to room.

The biggest upgrades will be in

technology. Every classroom will be equipped with an interactive whiteboard. Teachers are being encouraged to take professional development classes over the summer to learn how to use the new Promethean boards that have been delivered.

All overhead projectors are being donated.

Next year, Varela will also be a Bring Your Own Device school.

Many students will be getting free tablets. This makes way for student activities and assignments to include a technological component.

A night fit for the gods

Seniors fled to mythological Greece on Saturday May 17, for the 2014 senior prom. This year, the theme was Mount Olympus, as seniors danced among the gods, complete with living statue and a fountain.

“I really enjoyed the theme this year,” said Jocelyn Rodriguez.

The night was also filled with food, fun and a lot of dancing, especially from the Prom King Nick Cuervo and Queen Amanda Dominguez.

“My favorite moment was the crowning of the king and queen. I thought it was really cute that they were really boyfriend and girlfriend,” said Rodriguez.

Activities Director, Ms. Felicia Christin, hired a decorator to transform Jungle Island’s Treetop Ballroom into a Grecian wonderland. With over 650 tickets sold, the $75 per ticket price not only provided food, decorations and entertainment, but each attendee received a Varela blanket.

“It was a lot better than I expected,” said Carlos Rodriguez.

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story by Cj Salcedo photos by Fox-Mar

reviews By alec Dilella staff Reporter @alecdilella

Bad Seed Rising

Nina Nesbitt

Parade of Lights

The lively sound of alternative electronic and indie rock music has given birth to thousands of young aspiring artists looking to find a way into the niche and get their powerful music heard.

As a musician myself, I can relate to how utterly difficult it is to sound different than the thousands of others competing for the same spotlight. Although I can’t refer to the rest of the alternative electronic music genre as a comparison, I have heard Parade of Lights’ EP Golden, their debut album.

The powerful combination of electronically-created instruments, beats and vocals make for songs that without a doubt took many hours to coordinate and compose. The songs are reminiscent of groups such as MGMT, and Imagine Dragons.

If you’re looking for a feel-good, bright and lively style of music, look no further than Nina Nesbitt, a UK star with a fan base growing seemingly exponentially.

The star of her own show, Nesbitt uses relatively clean and natural instrumentals to back up her singing, which normally remains equally clean and undistorted.

“Statues,” a song from her selftitled EP, stands out as an especially emotional song in her list of otherwise bright and cheerful ones. However, my favorite of the bunch remains “Boy.” This song starts out with an aggressive, somewhat rebellious tone and transitions about a third of the way through into a calming yet uplifting sort of sound.

If you’re a fan of individual musicians like Taylor Swift, Nina Nesbitt is someone you might want to look into to see a fresh face in the music industry.

For a group reminiscent of punk-rock bands of the early 2000s and mid-tolate 90s, Bad Seed Rising accurately recreates the sound I was so used to hearing back when I was younger; and believe me, it was a great sound.

Bands like Paramore, who were relevant back in the times that seem to have inspired Bad Seed Rising’s style, essentially defined American Punk-Rock.

Bad Seed Rising’s aggressive, rebellious-sounding Charm City album fails to deviate far from the original sound of the genre.

Personally, I enjoy hearing refreshing revivals of music genres long thought dead and gone with the rising in popularity of synthesizers and artificially-created music like that of Skrillex or Panic at the Disco.

It takes special skill and dedication to pick up instruments and form a group to have fun and make music, but it takes talent, above all else, to make music that is good and enjoyable. This is a group that I absolutely would not switch radio stations to avoid.

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Ten weeks of no school and no work sounds awesome, but all of that time can be pretty boring if not spent wisely. Thankfully, we at The Viper Vibe devised this list of some fun things that you can do over the summer.

Movies

Zoe Saldana and Chris Pratt in a scene from Guardians of the Galaxy. photo with permission Marvel Studios/MCT

The young Charles Xavier played by James McAVoy, left, meets his future self played by Patrick Stewart in X-Men: Days of Future Past. photo with permission Marvel Studios/MCT

X-Men: Days of Future Past - Old meets the new in Brian Singer’s latest adventure starring The Uncanny X-Men. The story here is future Wolverine goes back to the year 1979 to stop all sentinel robots from eradicating all mutants in the future.

Jonah Hill, left and Channing Tatum, right with Ice Cube confront the bad guys in 22 Jump Street. photo with permission Glen Wilson/MCT

22 Jump Street - Time to learn your Miranda rights! Jenko and Schmidt are back again, and this time they’re going to college! After a new drug craze hits campuses, everyone’s favorite narks are undercover and on it.

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Guardians of the Galaxy - Based on the Marvel comic book series of the same name, Guardians stars an unlikely team of extraterrestrials misfits led by Star-Lord, played by Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt. The film also stars Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper.

concerts

Looking for a fun way to incorporate music, fun and complete your social activity quota for the whole summer?

Why not go to a concert?

Check out Fall Out Boy and Paramore at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach for their Monumentour. The show is at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 25. Tickets are available at LiveNation.com. Sitting on the lawn will cost about $33.

Only a few weeks away from the “Best Day Ever,” there is so much to look forward to in the 2014 Vans Warped Tour.

Billed as a festival, over 100 artists from different genres appear on several stages. Expect to see bands such as The Summer Set, Of Mice and Men, Chelsea Grin and MC Chris.

Their South Florida stop will be Saturday, July 26, at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. If you need additional information, go to warpedtour.com and go the warped 101 section. Tickets are available at LiveNation.com, with general admission prices around $50.

Fans of Panic! At The Disco will be happy to hear that their The Gospel Tour is making a stop in South Florida at the Mizner Park Ampitheater in Boca Raton on Friday, August 15. Tickets are available for $53 at ticketmaster.com.

F U N I N

Ramon Rodriguez stars in Gang Related on Fox. photo with permission Fox/MCT

Gang Related FOX - This RZA-produced drama stars Ramon Rodriguez as an LAPD officer, raised by one of the most dangerous gangs in the area.

His struggle between juggling both his work and personal life really makes this a must-watch for 2014.

photo courtesy of NBC Universal

Crossbones NBC - John Malkovich stars as a white-goateed Blackbeard in this swashbuckling adventure from Neil Cross. Like Black Sails, the series from Cross is set around New Providence Island and the pirates’ fight for treasure.

Girl Meets World Disney Channel - Boy Meets World fans rejoice! The sequel all fans have been waiting for is coming and it couldn’t be here soon enough!

Girl Meets World tells the story of Corey’s daughter experiencing her adolescence the same way her father did in the 90s.

photo courtesy of ABC Studios

S U M M E R

TV

video games

Mario Kart 8 Platform(s): Wii U - Anti-gravity cars, boats and hang gliders? Sign me up! All your favorite Mario characters are back on the race track and ready to race. Prepare for all your friendships to end in the blink of an eye.

photo courtesy of ActiVision

Destiny Platform(s): PS3, PS4, X360, XBO - Halo developers, Bungie, return with an MMO-shooter that is garnering a lot of anticipation. The game will bring in many different elements to the genre and will be released on both next-gen and current-gen.

photo courtesy of Nintendo

Watch_Dogs Platform(s): Win, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO - Ubisoft’s latest adventure takes gamers to Chicago as Aiden Pierce, a skilled grey hat hacker, making the choice to fight against the law or for it. The game feature an open world, filled with many missions and an ability to hack items in the virtual world

Ubisoft Montreal’s new open world video game, “Watch Dogs,” available May 27 across all platforms, features the virtual city of Chicago prominently. Players explore the Windy City in the game as Aiden Pearce, a hacker who can take control over everything from traffic lights to trains. photo with permission GamerHub.TV/MCT

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L if est y le E nt er tai n m ent

Spiderman 2 The Amazing Disappointment

Andrew Garfield, left, and Dane DeHaan star in Columbia Pictures’ “The Amazing Spider-Man,” also starring Emma Stone. photo with permission Niko Tavernise © 2013 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

into an obsession. One day while fixing an issue with wiring in the lab, an accimanaging editor dent occurs, transforming him into the @cj_fett_salcedo super villain Electro, granting him the power to control any electricity around

Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a disappointing film. Maybe even a bad film. It’s him. Electro is similar to Doctor Octopus just a shame to see such a great superhe- from Spider-Man 2 in that, he’s not really a bad guy; he was just a product of soro in such a terrible adaption. I mean, it has some great special effects and some ciety’s mistreatments. He is a character that gains my sympathy. decent acting, but it could use an actual

As far as other villains go, Rhino story.

(Paul Giamantti) is thrown in there for

The story is a horrible mix of a a few minutes, which is a shame, since subpar coming-of-age story blended Rhino was one of Spider-Man’s better with a half-baked superhero plotline. villains. The baddie who steals the show Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) is now though is Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan). an established hero as Spider-Man. He

Dehaan plays the character the way has saved the city of New York and the he should be. A tortured son of a milworld a few times yet can’t manage to lionaire, left heir to an empire he knows make it to his graduation on time. All these issues in the world, combined with nothing about and constantly battling his personal life clash and he must juggle his own demons. New Goblin’s origin is similar to the Ultimate version of the between these problems. character, along with elements from the

Now, this isn’t only Peter’s story.

Amazing counterpart of the Goblin.

Max Dillon (Jaimie Foxx) is an Oscorp

Yet, all these excellent villains bring scientist. Constantly bullied by his issues to the table. The fact that several coworkers and has lost all self-respect, of people’s favorite bad-guys are coming he is saved by Spider-Man on the busy together on the big screen may sound streets of New York. His fascination of the superhero’s kindness begins to grow cool, but it results in a film crowded

reviews By cj salcedo

with too many characters and a rushed ending. The story fails to be this high-flying superhero flick and tries to mimic this Dark Knight-style of storytelling and character development (which is much better than the first film).

Visually, the film is a spectacle for the eyes. Electro runs rampant around the city, and sparks fly everywhere while Spider-Man swings from building to building, shooting his usual humorous quips around. They are excellent, and provide an excellent distraction from the subpar story. Music is also well done, with a great score and some awesome dubstep that plays whenever Electro enters the scene. An Alicia Keys and Kendrick Lamar track during the credits is also a nice treat.

Where do I stand on The Amazing Spider-Man 2? I really did not like it that much. Acting and special-effects are the standout elements that make the film bearable, but its story makes it really hard to sit and watch.

When a great superhero can’t save a film, there is no hope.

D+

Andrew Garfield stars as Spider-Man in Columbia Pictures’ “The Amazing Spider-Man,” also starring Emma Stone. photo with permission Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Imageworks ©2013 CTMG. All Rights Reserved. All Rights Reserved.

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Entertain ment L if estyle

Hollywood takes on the Bible By cj salcedo and Jordan Cline

managing editor and Staff Reporter @cj_fett_salcedo @J_cline82297

It’s not surprising to see films based off biblical tales, or even feature themes and messages dealing with the Christian faith. This year proved to be a prominent year for these films, with three releases: Noah, Heaven is For Real, and God’s Not Dead. Critically, the films each received mixed to negative reviews and Noah underperformed at the box office.

Surprisingly though, the latter two were huge successes at the box office. Part of the reason might be due to the fact that they are much calmer films, unlike Noah, which was an epic that strayed too far away from the source material.

This has been a trend among moviegoers since the 1950s. Epics like BenHur and The Ten Commandments were both critical and commercial successes, with Ben-Hur winning Best Picture in 1959 and grossing over $70 million on a $15 million budget and is still the highest-grossing biblical film of all time.

What do these two films have in common? They both stuck very close to their source material, the original Bible stories we all learned in Sunday schoo

Then again, back in the ‘50s people were a lot more conservative, and it was considered taboo to stray too far away from what we were taught.

Fast forward 29 years later and Martin Scorsese releases The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 to positive reviews but disappointing box office results. Based off Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel of the same name, the film caused controversy when it was released, with theaters being boycotted by Church officials and the general public. It seems as if the country had to yet to drop its conservative ideals.

Our culture seemed to become more accepting of certain taboos, biblical cinematography being one of them. The Passion of the Christ (2004) directed by Mel Gibson, was released to a mixed critical reception, yet made over $600 million in the box office, and was incredibly popular with Christian groups. Churches were even granted permission to show it during services.

The general consensus with these films is that if directors stick to the source material and don’t stray too far from the original stories they will find a measure of success.

With the release of the big budget Noah, Hollywood was hoping that “A” list

stars such as Russell Crowe and Emma Watson, along with dazzling special effects, would bring back the age of biblical epics. However, box office sales disagreed.

Following Noah, Chernin Entertainment and director Ridley Scott are hoping to impress audiences in December with Exodus: Gods and Kings starring Christian Bale as Moses. Joining Bale is a star studded cast consisting of Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley and Aaron Paul.

Whether they learned anything from Noah’s mistakes remains to be seen.

The Bible vs. The Box Office Movie David and Bathsheba (1951) The Ten Commandments (1956) Ben-Hur (1959) King of Kings (1961) The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Prince of Egypt (1998) The Passion of the Christ (2004) One Night with the King (2006) The Son of God (2014) Noah (2014)

Budget $2,170,000 $13,282,712 $15,900,000 $5,037,000 $7,000,000 $70,000,000 $30,000,000 $20,000,000 $22,000,000 $125,000,000

Box Office (USA) $7,000,000 $80,000,000 $70,000,000 $14,483,352 $8,373,585 $101,217,900 $370,782,930 $13,391,174 $59,696,176 $100,869,013

information gathered by Cj Salcedo from imdb.com

photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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S por t s A ro u n d V arel a

Swimming Vanessa Ramirez Tyrone Shaffer Viper Award

Marialisa Barbaran Tyrone Shaffer Scholar Athlete Award

Girls Volleyball Maria Estupinan Viper Award

Claudia Campero Scholar Athlete Award

Football Fall Sports Scholarship Signings Maria Estupinan Girls Volleyball Jose Salvado Trayvious Fance Football

Roberto Matos Viper Award

Eric Blanco Scholar Athlete Award

Cross Country

Neysa Parham Kristian Goodger Viper Award Anju Wilson Charles Martinez Scholar Athlete Award

Boys Volleyball

Alejandro Gonzalez Viper Award

Spring Scholarshi

Christopher Ortiz Scholar Athlete Award

Tennis

Danny Ramirez Viper Award Ariana Vergara Scholar Athlete Award

Softball 1 2 t h ev i per vi b e @ g mai l . com

Track & Field

Monica Contreras Jose Belaval Viper Award Samantha Ferguson Charles Martinez Scholar Athlete Award

Badminton

Julian La Alexander Track an

Kristian Q Ben M Base

Giselle Soft

Aro un d Varela S p or ts

Winter Sports Scholarship Signings

Soccer

Carlota Campos John John Diaz Viper Award Alana Cuadra John John Diaz Scholar Athlete Award

Kevin Acevedo John John Diaz Dominic Dudley Daniel Foen Juan Grimaldo Kevin Pizzolo Boys Soccer Antonella Monrreal Karina Velasquez Girls Soccer

Softball

Quincosa Murray eball

e Mesa tball

Nixon Chavez Viper Award

Adrian Garcia Scholar Athlete Award

Basketball Sabrina Verdes Adrian Medina Viper Award

Leanna Lu Adrian Medina Scholar Athlete Award

Giselle Mesa Viper Award

Sports ip Signings

aFortune LaFortune nd Field

Wrestling

Brooke Morris Scholar Athlete Award

Badminton Juan Grimaldo Valeria Matallana Viper Award

Miguel Coira Claudia Campero Scholar Athlete Award

Baseball

Carlos Martinez Viper Award Alejandro Lazcano Scholar Athlete Award

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S por t s Out s i d e V arel a

FIFA celebrates summer in Brazil with the World Cup

Germany is a huge non-South American team for the final with young Staff Reporter players emerging such as Mario Gotze, chrischlegel21@gmail.com Marco Reus, Thomas Muller, and Toni Kroos strengthening their midfield and

Soccer fans across the world speak attack. one common language, futbol – or here

“Germany has won three world cup in the U.S., soccer. The game’s most titles. They have constantly had very sought out championship, the Federagood offense and defense. With their tion of International Futbol Association rookies, they might impact the World (FIFA) World Cup, begins June 12, in Cup,” said sophomore Jason Bernaola.

Brazil.

Then there is Spain, who have most

Teams from across the globe have battled each other with blood, sweat and of their squad in the top soccer clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern tears to get one of the coveted 32 spots.

People from around the world will watch Munich, Manchester City, and other English premier league teams. their TV sets and scream GOAL as their

Valentina Valbuena, a freshman favorite team or native team scores. soccer player here at Varela, thinks

The championship is divided into Spain will win the World Cup because of eight groups of four teams. For each their 2010 World Cup triumph and their game, the winner gains three points success winning the Euro Cup 2012. and every tie is equal to one point and In order the celebrate the upcoming the two teams with the most points and tournament, students here at Varela goals scored will advance to the next competed in the Felix Varela FIFA World round. Then the knockout stages begin Cup Championship. Organized by Social with the quarter finals, semifinals, and Studies teacher Mr. Diony Martinez, then finals.

30 students and two teachers were Many students here at Varela feel randomly assigned that the trophy will go home with a countries to represent.

South American team.

In order to prove their

“They have Neymar in Brazil and worthiness, they were Messi in Argentina,” said sophomore required to complete Vladimir Maire. the Human Geography

African teams can be dangerous FIFA World Cup Finals since they may contain superstars such Country Analysis in as Didier Drogba a striker from Ivory order to familiarize Coast, Samuel Eto’o Cameroon striker themselves with their and Kevin Kevin-Prince Boateng midnew homeland. Failfielder from Ghana. ure to complete this

“African teams have good pace and assignment resulted in have good players too they can be hard automatic disqualificato beat,” said senior Kevin Yupanqui. tion for the country.

There are many stars to shine like

From May 16-28, Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal and participants played Lionel Messi from Argentina who are each other in the video considered the best two players in the world, not to mention Neymar Brazilian game FIFA World Cup 2014. Senior John John sensation, Luis Suarez from Uruguay Diaz won for Italy. who also plays forward position.

BY Christian schlegel

Top Right: This shows the tournament board which depicted all the teams and the format of the tournament. Bottom Right - An audience of over fifty students watching the Championship Game for the 2014 FIFA World Cup between Italy and France. Italy was victorious. Left - Italian Champion and Senior John John Diaz holding his custom Felix Varela FIFA World Cup Champion 2014 Trophy for all to admire. photos by D. Martinez

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Outs id e Varela S p or ts

Heat and Spurs face off for consecutive final Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat.

This was their second consecutive conference finals appearance and Section Editor and the second year that the Heat came Managing Editor out victorious. @heyydavidd

The Pacers fought hard, though, @cj_fett_salcedo nearly fouling out LeBron James in

The road to the NBA Finals has Game 5 and taking that victory. The been a long one. Teams have fought Spurs took on the Oklahoma City long and hard to make it to the top, Thunder, beating them 4-2.

This will be the second time but only one may stand victorious.

It all has come down to the last two that the Heat and Spurs will vie for teams, the Miami Heat and the San the championship. Last year, the teams battled it out until the bitter Antonio Spurs. end going all seven games, with the

Both teams had an impressive regular season, with the Spurs lead- Heat winning in a nail biting final.

After months of preparation, ing the Western Conference and the Heat placing second in the Eastern these two teams are entering and only one will remain victorious.

Conference

Sophomore Roberto Ventura

First round of the playoffs, feels that the Heat will win, but will the Spurs beat the Mavericks 4-3, only get to game six. making it a challenging series and

“We’ve connecting on all asnecessitating a seventh game. On pects of our game. Plus, Andersen the other side of the country, the is playing again, and that’s exactly Heat swept the Charlotte Bobcats who we’ll need to win this ap4-0. proaching series.

Round 2 was still a breeze for

However, junior Esteban MarMiami as the Heat eliminated the Brooklyn Nets, winning four games tinez feels that San Antonio will be and only losing one. On the western victorious.

“They have a great overall team front, the Spurs had an easier time, and they have a home court adbeating the Portland Trailblazers vantage. This is going to be a long 4-1. series going into game seven for

The final round was plagued sure.” by stress and a fear of hanging

Basketball fans, let the games onto the playoffs a little longer. begin.

The matchup in the East was the

By David Murray and cj salcedo

Right: The Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh attempts a shot in the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on Friday, May 30. photo with permission El Nuevo Herald/MCT Below: San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) drives to the basket in a game against the Dallas Mavericks during the first half of play at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday, May 4. The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Dallas Mavericks, 119-96, during Game 7 of an NBA Western Conference quarterfinal. photo with permission Dallas Morning News/MCT

The boys of summer are back in full swing

By David Murray Section editor @heyydavidd

The 2014-15 season for baseball has started and for some teams it is starting out great, others not so well. Toronto has started off well in the season, already 35-24, along with other teams like Detroit, San Francisco and Oakland.

As for last year’s champions, the Boston Red Sox, they have not started out so great. They are already 27-31 in the season, and had a 10 game losing streak in May.

Our own Miami Marlins are right now placed 2nd in the East part of the National League. With a record of 30-28, it is a better start than last season and fans can see that the team has improved a little.

The Miami Marlins’ Ed Lucas slides safely into third base in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at the Marlins Park in Miami on Thursday, May 22, 2014. The Marlins won, 4-3. photo with permission El Nuevo Herald/MCT

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Crotalus Wishing everyone a happy and safe summer.

Seniors should go to foxmar.com/sessions to set up their free appointment for senior pictures.

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