The 1L Chronicles: May Edition

By Dan D. Hallberg

Managing Editor

I remember when I was in high school thinking as I entered my sophomore year, “Wow, there is no better feeling then not being a freshman anymore.” Well I was wrong, because I am quite sure that there is no better feeling in the world then not being a 1L anymore.

If I remember correctly from orientation, there were a lot of copies of The Forum lying around and to kill the time many of us read through them several times. Well, I hope some of you incoming 1Ls are reading this column now because this column is for you. In fact this column could even be yours next year. I mean, I can’t write it, so someone has to. So here you go, a little advice for you just cutting your teeth in the law school world from someone who just finished the year.

Words of Wisdom for the Valpo Law School Class of 2013

1.  Don’t hoard books.

This won’t make any sense to you right now, but in a week or so you’ll have your first legal research assignment. First off, I’m sorry. Second off, if you need a book, don’t take it to your desk; just write down the answer or the info you need in a notebook or something in the stacks where you found it. If you don’t, everyone will hate you.

2. Make outlines, don’t collect them.

The whole reason you do outlines is so that you review the material as you write them. There’s nothing wrong with having a few others to compare with, or even well organized one from someone else for use on open book exams. However, you don’t need to start up a collection of them, there is such a thing as too much information.

3. Don’t be late to Civ Pro.

If you have Prof Lind she will kick you out. No joke. Other than that, she is a delightful person.

4. Don’t worry about grade normalization.

I know a lot of you have been getting A’s for the better part of your scholastic career. What you’re going to find out is that that’s not going to be the case here. We have a thing called grade normalization going on here and it kind of works like a bell curve. Other law schools will have a curve or something like that, but a grade system like this is not that uncommon. You won’t ever understand it, it won’t affect your grade too much, and you have have absolutely no control over it, so don’t worry about it.

5. Everyone’s first writing grade sucks, just take a deep breath and deal with it.

You’ll be getting your first writing assignment soon, and you’re going to work very hard on it. You’ll put in tons of effort and try to work in things you learned from writing in undergrad and think that you did a good job adjusting to the new writing system that we use in law school. Then, about a month later when your prof finally grades it, you’ll see that your paper is hemorrhaging pen ink. Don’t be discouraged, it happened to all of us, and we’re still here. Also, don’t forget the honor code, that’s 10 points right there.

So that’s it guys, for those of you leaving good luck getting jobs, and for those of you coming in, heed my words. Trust me, they’ll do you a lot of good.

Dan is a 1L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.

MMA Monthly Matchups: April

By Dan D. Hallberg

Well, it’s a first for MMA Monthly Matchups: this month, they’re all title fights! That’s right, everyone is coming full force and gold is on the line. Who keeps it and who loses it? Well here we go!

5. Champion Anderson Silva (25-4) v. Damian Maia (12-1), UFC 112, 4/10/10

It’s been nearly a year since pound-for-pound kind Anderson Silva defended his title. Unfortunately for us fans, original and more worthy contender Vitor Belfort had to step out due to injury. That leaves Damian Maia as the winner of the “who gets a title shot” lottery. That doesn’t mean that Maia isn’t a threat, but right now the biggest weakness in his game is his striking and striking defense. Now he’s up against the best striker on the planet. Hard to see this ending in any other way then a decision or TKO for the champ.

4. Champion B.J. Penn (15-5-1) v. Frankie Edgar (11-1), UFC 112, 4/10/10

And the pound-for-pound list makes a second appearance as B.J. Penn takes on up and comer Frankie Edgar. I like Edgar, he’s an impressive kid with good boxing, wrestling, and okay jiu jitsu skills. He’s on the rise and could be Champion some day. Unfortunately April 10th isn’t that day. Edgar on paper is very similar to Kenny Florian, but he does focus more on his boxing. That could help Edgar provided he doesn’t shoot for takedowns. In the end though, it’s B.J. Penn, and he doesn’t lose to people his size. Penn by submission in the championship rounds.

3. Champion Jose Aldo (16-1) v. Urijah Faber (23-3), WEC 48, 4/24/10

WEC is live on pay per view for the first time, and they chose a fantastic card to start with. Time for the biggest star in the WEC to try and reclaim his titled against the fierce Jose Aldo. Faber’s style is weird to say the least and hard to explain. But it doesn’t really matter. The only thing that matters is that Jose Aldo is the baddest man in the WEC. He is 145 pounds of butt-kicking wonder. If he doesn’t destroy Urijah Faber I will be shocked. Knockout, early.

2. Champion Jake Shields (24-4) v. Dan Henderson (25-7), Strikeforce: Nashville, 4/17/10

Jake Shields is a good champion and a great young fighter. A prospect that will eventually get to the UFC and make a real challenge for the belt. The problem is that he’s a welterweight pretending to be a middleweight because Strikeforce’s competition is lowsy. That was until they landed number two middleweight Dan Henderson. Like Shields, Henderson has crossed into different weight classes, except he went up from middleweight rather then down. He even held his own against Big Nogueria. Again, it would be a huge shock if Shields wins this and the only way he could would be if he grinded out a decision, which he won’t do because Henderson is such a great wrestler. This fight will probably be on the feet because of the cancelled wrestling, and Henderson’s huge right will be the deciding factor.

1. Champion Benson Henderson (11-1) v. Donald Cerrone (14-2), WEC 48, 4/24/10

It’s the rematch of last years Fight of the Year, and this time it’s for the real title. This fight could very well go just like the last one, but I don’t think it will. Cerrone has learned that his slow starts have been costing him his decisions, so look for him to come out swinging. This could play into Henderson’s favor. He’s got the reach and moves to play a patient game which will frustrate Cerrone. Henderson has new confidence and has been working hard and even helped B.J. Penn train for Diego Sanchez. Cerrone put on an impressive show in his last fight, but I have to keep with Henderson. The man with the smallest waist in MMA retains his title in a five round thriller.

Dan is a 1L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.

MMA Monthly Matchups: March Edition

By Dan D. Hallberg

February was a somewhat uneventful, but still entertaining month of fights, particularly if you enjoy geriatrics getting crushed by other geriatrics. But March has tons of interesting battles, so lets take a look.

5. Miguel Torres (37-2) vs. Joseph Benavidez, WEC 47, 3/4/2010

Miguel Torres is back, and it’s a good thing. It wasn’t too long ago that Torres was in the discussion for top pound for pound fighter in the world. Unfortunately that all faded away after his stunning knockout loss to Brian Bowles. Now he’s trying to get back in the saddle against a tough opponent and top bantamweight fighter in his own right, Joseph Benavidez. Benavidez is a scrambler, ala his teammate Urijah Faber, so it will be interesting to see how he deals with Torres’ jiu jitsu. However, I still think the Bowles loss was a fluke. Torres wins and with it gains a shot at his old title.

4. Champion Georges St. Pierre (19-2) vs. Dan Hardy (24-6), UFC 111, 3/27/2010

This is the lowest I’ve ever ranked a title fight on my list and there is a simple reason why: Dan Hardy has no business fighting GSP. He’s only getting the fight because GSP’s beaten everyone else. I mean, Hardy has a punchers chance, but ever since the Serra loss GSP has been on guard for that. Pretty much Hardy will be taken down again, and again, and again, until he gives up a choke or gets decisioned.

3. Jon Jones (9-1) vs. Brandon Vera (11-4), UFC on Versus, 3/21/2010

For all intensive purposes, Jon Jones DQ loss to Matt Hamill was not a loss, and the UFC is not treating it like one. He takes a serious step up in competition as he faces fellow young gun Brandon Vera. It seems like every time Vera gets close to cracking into title contention he drops the ball. If he doesn’t win this fight it’s going to be hard for him to convince anyone that they should care about him. The thing is, I don’t care about him now, and haven’t seen anything in him to justify the multiple chances that the UFC likes to give him. Jones on the other hand is a highlight reel in the making. Jones by knockout in a pretty spectacular fashion.

2. Frank Mir (13-4) vs. Shane Carwin (11-0), UFC 111, 3/27/2010

Mir shut my mouth a few months back by decimating his last opponent, lets see if he can do it again. The former champ added on an extra 40+ pounds of muscle in an attempt to prepare for the bigger stronger Brock Lesnar. Now we get to see if his methods will work in a test run against the equally big and strong Shane Carwin in a matchup for the Interim Heavyweight championship. Carwin is essentially Lesnar with less wrestling credentials and without the attitude, so this should make for an interesting fight. Despite being wrong last time, I’m going to go against Mir in favor of Carwin. Mir seems to be doomed to be stuck in the “not quite championship material”zone for the rest of his career; this fight will show that.

1. Champion Brian Bowles (8-0) vs. Dominick Cruz (14-1), WEC 47, 3/4/2010

This fight has almost every element one needs to make a great title fight. Both men can throw, both men have great stamina to go into late rounds, both men are lightning fast, and both men are deserve to be where they’re at. Bowles is undefeated and won his title from top pound for pound regular Miguel Torres and Cruz is undefeated at bantamweight, and his only loss came to then featherweight champion Urijah Faber. I’m actually torn on where to go for this one, and when that happens, I have to go with the champ. Bowles pulls out a decision, leading to his rematch against local boy Miguel Torres.

 Dan is a 1L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu