On Wednesday, April 13, 2016, the sport of basketball lost one of its major icons, Kobe Bryant. The 2015-2016 season was considered the “retirement tour” for Bryant.

With Bryant’s final game of the season being played Wednesday, April 13th, the emotions for many fans were high. Bryant however played his best game of the season that night, scoring sixty points on almost fifty shots.

Bryant’s career has been one that has impacted many athletes all around the country.

Matt Folger, current Post-Graduate at Williston Northampton said, “Kobe meant so much to the sport of basketball because he is one of the best to ever play the game. He was drafted into the NBA right out of high school, so he never went to college, but he is one of the smartest players in the league. If someone compared you to Kobe, it was a major accomplishment because it meant that you were special. Kobe is a once in a lifetime player, and there will never be another like him.”

JT Chamberlain, a member of the Junior class at Williston commented, “I am not a basketball player, but even I know how impactful Kobe was. The man is the face of the league and those that don’t believe that are just dumb.” This showing how Bryant was more than just a basketball icon.

Although Bryant’s career has come to an end already, Ortiz’s career is on its last season. After the 2015-2016 season, when the Red Sox’s failed to make the playoffs, Ortiz decided that the 2016-2017 season would be his last.

When JoJo Carbone, current Junior here at Williston was asked about Ortiz, he stated, “Growing up in Boston, he was my favorite player in any sport. He is probably one of the most loved players in the Red Sox organization, and I cannot imagine watching a game next year without seeing 34 stepping up to the plate. The man is one of the most clutch players in league history, we would have never won the World Series in 2004 without him.

David Ortiz is much more than an icon on the field. He is a representative of Boston Massachusetts at its finest. On April 15, 2013, when the city of Boston was bombed, the Red Sox’s game was cancelled that day.

Once the stadium was reopened, the organization chose David Ortiz to speak to the crowd that day. On that day, Tyler Glick a current freshman at Dartmouth University was in attendance.

Glick stated, “When Big Papi came up and started talking the entire stadium went dead silent and the emotion in his voice was clearly there. I was very happy I was able to be at that game, because before that game I never thought the Red Sox’s were good, but once Ortiz gave that speech I knew they would forever be my team.”