Monthly Archives: April 2022

San Jose Sharks, Tomas Hertl Agree On Eight Year Extension

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Hertl scoring in a game against Vegas.
Tomas Hertl scoring in a game against the Vegas Golden Knights

Sharks star forward Tomas Hertl was re-signed by the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday, March 16 to an eight year contract worth 65.1 million. The contract is worth 8.1 million per year and has a no movement clause for the first three years and a modified no trade clause for the rest of the contract.

Hertl has been with the Sharks since getting drafted in 2012. He’s tied for first in goal scoring on the team this year and is second in points on the team only behind Timo Mier. Hertl was in the last year of a four year contract.

“It’s [good] to sign a nice long contract to be a franchise player and part of the Sharks,” Hertl said to NHL.com. “It’s an honor, but at the same time, I know what is coming with that. I’m one of the leaders and I have to make it better, so it’s challenging for me and I want to see every day, every year us getting better.”

Hertl and his contract has been a looming issue for the Sharks all throughout this season. Many trade rumors were thrown out in the past couple of months especially with the Sharks falling out of playoff contention.

“We’ve always been committed to signing him to this contract,” acting general manager Joe Will said to NHL.com. “It was [about being] fully committed to signing up here because we recognize the importance of the top-line center…“Tomas has evolved into a premier top-line centerman in the league, competing against the NHL’s best players every single night and delivering significant results…We are thrilled to have Tomas for another eight years.”

Hertl is now the highest paid forward on the team, beating out captain Logan Couture by $137,500. He’s second overall in highest paid on the team with defenseman Erik Karlsson leading the way.

Hertl is a fan favorite in San Jose and many rejoiced seeing him back as he’s made many favorable moments as a Shark.

“Just saw the post on Instagram and it feels more real now! I’m very happy, excited, and relieved,” said local fan and season ticket holder Aaron Convino.

The Sharks have missed the playoffs for the past two years and are poised to miss the playoffs for a third straight year. It would be a first in Sharks history. They currently sit eight points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card spot with 26 wins, 25 losses, and eight overtime losses.

Hertl himself is excited to be back for eight more years with a tweet going out on his Twitter page when the contract was announced that simply had a smiley face.

“My heart was always with the Sharks,” Hertl told reporters.

Brady Is Back

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Tom Brady

HE’S BACK!

Tom Brady announced on Mar. 13 on his Twitter that he was coming back to the NFL to play another season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady said on Twitter “These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa.”

Brady had initially retired on Feb. 1 with almost every single QB record in the NFL along with seven championships. 

The Buccaneers when Brady retired were in a moment of uncertainty with many of their star players not under contract. However Brady texted Buccaneers stars Chris Godwin and Mike Evans 20 minutes before he publicly announced his comeback that he would return for another season.

Godwin said in a public interview “we were gassed up. We’re back and we’re trying to make it back to the top of the mountain.”

General manager of the Buccaneers Jason Licht said in a statement “We are thrilled Tom Brady has decided to come back this season.”

As for other NFL teams and players, they’re not as happy as the Buccaneers organization are.

The New York Jets tweeting out “this better be real,” when Brady retired, retweeted that tweet with a caption of two words. “Guess not.”

Jalen Ramsey who Brady threw his “last” touchdown on tweeted out “Thank you! Throw that last touchdown on somebody else.”

Brady will play his 23rd season in the NFL this upcoming season and his third season with the Buccaneers. Brady is the record holder for most games started by a QB in the NFL along other records. 

Listen to Signs of Cancer

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“Anyone can get cancer, listen to your body” For Leslie Alejandra Lopez Luna cancer was the farthest thing on her mind. After undergoing treatments, surgeries, and personal struggles, Leslie has found support within the American Cancer Society club here at Chabot College.

Leslie was 18 when she was diagnosed with skin cancer, Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). However, her story began two years prior, at 16, Leslie had felt a lump in her left arm. The reality was these were connective tissue cells in the middle layer of her skin, which grew to the lump she found on the surface layer.

Every six months consists of full body checks, and yearly MRI scans, but every day Leslie performs self-body checks to feel for any possible symptoms.

Before Leslie was admitted to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, she was seeing a dermatologist who would remove the lump, which they believed only to be a cyst at the time. But as they continued to remove the lums, they were still finding bits of the cancer, and suggested that Leslie seek help elsewhere.

“I was kind of left on my own to look for doctors,” Leslie was grateful that she had the support of her family to assist her in finding the right medical treatment, but it did feel a little deserting to be in this position at such a young age.

Although UCSF is a children’s hospital, Leslie (who has now passed 18) is still able to receive treatment. Her doctors are very familiar with DFSP and believe her condition will be stabilized or possibly gone before she reaches 25.

Right now the MRI can’t detect cancer because the tissue build-up is too small, Leslie has to wait to see if it grows more and if it’s still as severe as it was before the beginning of treatment.

Leslie has spent most of her college experience through Zoom, making it easy for her to work around her schedule. She did have one in-person class right before the pandemic.

Leslie felt a bit intimidated at first. After reaching out to her professor about bringing a bag with her that held her medical devices, Leslie felt more comfortable in the environment.

“I noticed some students would look over wondering where the nose was coming from” The students at the time weren’t aware that the little noises were coming from Leslie’s bag.

Her professor assured that there wasn’t anything to worry about. Leslie grew comfortable with the other students, the majority made up of other women, and had a bond with many at the end of the semester.

Leslie has stuck to online classes for the 2022 spring semester, but is hoping to be back to in-person classes as soon as possible.

Leslie found a great sense of support in the American Cancer Society Club (ACS)here on campus. A new club to the school that tries to bring awareness to different kinds of cancer, and possible symptoms, as well as raise money to donate to cancer research and treatments.

Running a new club hasn’t been easy for founder and president, Emily Lou, but she has made the most of what she can through the pandemic. Emily was proud of the fundraisers the club was able to achieve last semester. The club participated in the 2021 Relay for Life of the East Bay and collected over $1900 in donations.

This semester ASC will be hosting a booth once a month that’s dedicated to spreading awareness of specific cancers.

March is kidney cancer awareness month, the ACS club set up in the Cesar Chavez plaza on Mar. 21 with their bright orange ribbons to hand out, as well as to encourage students to have the courage to talk about cancer concerns and not discourage possible symptoms.

“Being part of the club has given me a microphone.”

Leslie has enjoyed her contribution to the club, from spreading awareness to making small gifts to other patients in treatment. One of her most prideful moments on campus was sharing her story with other students and educating them on the realities of treatment and finding support systems.

Bay Area Playoff Hockey Is BACK

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Stockton Heat game on Apr. 22
Stockton Heat game on Apr. 22, 2022

Playoff hockey is returning to the Bay Area! Even with the San Jose Sharks playing out their final stretch of games on the road with no playoff hopes (they were eliminated from playoff contention a month ago) and their minor league team, the San Jose Barracuda finishing at the bottom of their division, the Bay Area will still see May hockey. An hour’s drive northeast of the Bay from San Jose lies the city of Stockton, where the AHL’s Stockton Heat is about to compete in the Calder Cup playoffs.

The AHL, or the American Hockey League, is the league below the NHL. Many NHL players play a handful of games in the AHL over their careers, like current Sharks players Timo Mier and Logan Couture. While the Sharks’ AHL team: the Barracuda, finished last in their division this season, the Stockton Heat finished first. 

The Heat are the Calgary Flames AHL affiliate. They’ve played in the pacific division of the AHL since their inception in 2015 when the Adirondack Flames relocated to Stockton to become the Heat. Before this season, the best season the Heat have had was the 2016-17 season, when the Heat qualified for the playoffs with 77 points but were eliminated by the Barracuda in five games.

The Heat this season, however, quite literally turned up the Heat. They have a record of 45 wins, 15 losses, and seven OT/shootout losses. Matthew Phillips is their leading scorer with 30 goals and 37 assists for 67 points. He’s also ninth in the league for points. Rookie Jakob Pelletier is also playing well with 62 points so far this season. 

The Heat clinched their second-ever playoff spot on Mar. 19 and clinched the pacific division title on Apr. 23.

The Heat have also had good net performances, especially from young netminder: Dustin Wolf. This season, Wolf has 33 wins, eight losses, and four OT/shootout losses under his belt. He’s rocking a .924 save percentage and 2.33 goals-against average. Wolf was born and raised in Gilroy, under two hours away from Stockton. He would go to Sharks games and later play with the L.A. junior Kings when his family moved to southern California.

“From when I started playing, the game has grown tremendously in California,” said Wolf to AHL.com. “It’s huge for guys coming out of here. Kids look up to you. To have them be able to say they live five minutes from where this guy or that guy grew up it’s huge. It creates a ‘Why can’t that be me?’ sort of thing.

Wolf was named a first-team AHL all-star on Feb. 28, the only Heat player ever to do so. 

The Heat’s attendance has been strong ever since their inception. The Heat’s attendance has dipped this season, but it’s mainly been due to COVID. Since the city of Stockton dropped their vaccine requirements, the Heat have had great attendance, including their final home regular-season game on April 22, where the Heat lost in overtime to the Abbotsford Canucks.

“It’s great when we get more fans in the building. It’s always more fun to play in front of an atmosphere…Whenever the building is loud, and there’s energy in the crowd, it makes it a lot more fun to be a part of the game from the player’s standpoint,” leading scorer Matthew Phillips said in an interview.

“It’s actually fun! It’s cool to know there’s another hockey team in my backyard. I would 100% go again,” said Sharks fan Aaron Coviano after attending the last home game of the season.

Due to the team winning their division, the Heat get a first-round bye in the AHL playoffs. They will face whatever team is the lowest seed that gets out of the first round. That could mean a California playoff matchup of the San Diego Gulls or the Bakersfield Condors. 

Even though they need to wait for the first-round matchups to finish for their playoff story to start, the boys are excited for the return of playoff hockey in Stockton.

“I mean, that’s why you train, and that’s what you play for is playoffs, and that’s when hockey is the most fun and when you get the best out of everybody, so we’re all super excited to play playoff hockey,” Phillips said.

Frida’s Paint Night at Chabot College

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El Centro celebrated Women’s History Month with a paint night on Mar. 24 centered around Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. All donations raised were given to Ruby’s Place in Castro Valley. 

Clubs and organizations at Chabot have been trying to build themselves back up since the start of the in-person semester. El Centro, Chabot’s organization committed to encouraging the Latine community, undocumented and low-income students, announced their paint night to bring students together. 

Monica Olmedo is the current Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) coordinator of El Centro and a part-time English instructor. As the paint night event organizer, Monica wanted to come up with a fun subject to focus on while also tying back to women’s history month. 

Frida Kahlo was an easy pick for El Centro as the painting subject to focus on, a staple in the Mexican artist world and an icon among the Latine Community. On Jul. 6, 1907, Kahlo was born in Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico. She married another Mexican artist, Diego Rivera, and most of her work reflects her life. 

“She represents the artist community, but also the LGBTQ+ community. She was disabled … She was a strong person.” Monica knew that Frida would draw people in and get many excited for a fun night. 

Bringing the community on campus back together was a key focus of the event, “I think we just really need this,” Monica hoped that students would be excited to come together and start participating in school activities again and rejoice as a community. 

The turnout was a great success, with nearly 50 people and some latecomers also trying to get a seat. Students who worked in El Centro were there to help all the participants hand out supplies and provide complimentary food.   

The other key component of the event was finding a way to reach out to more women. This is where Monica located Ruby’s Place, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping end domestic violence and human trafficking and helping survivors regain stability in their lives.

In Alameda County, there are several counseling services for trauma victims and educational resources and housing services, the closest in Castro Valley. As Monica dropped off the donations collected at paint night, Ruby’s Place reached out to her to hopefully connect potential students through the nonprofit and get them started on their academic path. 

“It’s funny how some things happen,” Monica was more than excited to hear that her event reached out beyond its initial intention. While a lot of coordination will be needed to work on this new project, it’s just the beginning. “I’m happy this turned into a two-way street to help.” 

Justice Jackson Confirmed

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In an unprecedented 53-47 vote in the senate, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first black woman to become a U.S. Supreme Court Justice on Apr. 7. This momentous confirmation came just weeks after president Joe Biden announced her nomination. 

Born in Washington D.C. and raised in Miami, Florida, Jackson graduated from a public high school in 1988 when segregation and racism were prevalent. Brown openly described instances of prejudice and racism that she went through during her education. 

Jackson was on the speech and debate team at Miami Palmetto Senior High School. She even received a national oratory title after her captivating speeches. Unsurprisingly she also served as student body president. What others may think of as small achievements, Jackson took it and ran with it to Harvard Law School. Prior to attending Harvard, she temporarily worked as a staff reporter and researcher for Time magazine. 

Clerkships allow students to work closely with judges to study and train how to become an attorney. And after graduating from Harvard in 1996, she began a clerkship for Massachusetts District Court Judge Patti B. Saris. About a year later, she began a clerkship for Judge Bruce M. Selya of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Then, in 1999 she clerked for Supreme Court Judge Stephen Breyer, whose seat she ironically took upon her historical confirmation. 

A sign of her humility came in 2005 in her work as a public defender in Washington, D.C. It was during this time that, according to the Washington Post, she “won uncommon victories against the government that shortened or erased lengthy prison terms.”

Her work as a public defender was questioned, and at many points, Jackson was cut off when speaking during the confirmation hearings by Senators Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Lindsey Graham (R–SC). Cotton bombarded her with questions such as “Have you ever represented a terrorist at Guantánamo Bay?”

Her previous work as a public defender and judge was used as a double-edged sword for many Republicans who questioned her work and morality during the hearing. 

In response to Graham’s questioning of previous sentences she imposed for specific cases, Jackson said, “What we’re trying to do is be rational in our dealing with some of the most horrible behavior.” 

A major turning point in Jackson’s legal career came in 2012 when President Obama nominated her as a district court judge for the district court of Columbia. 

In 2021 Jackson went on to serve in the U.S. Court of Appeals after being nominated by President Biden. 

That brings us to April 2022. In its 233-year history, prior to Judge Jackson, there had only been two African Americans who served in the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson became the first black female nominated and first black female to obtain that position in the highest court in our country. 

To young Americans who watched the confirmation hearing, Jackson had this to say:

“I hope to inspire people to try to follow this path because I love this country. Because I love the law. Because I think that it’s important that we all invest in our future. The young people are the future, and I want them to know that they can do and be anything. I would tell them to persevere.”