Pratik Bhandari


Name: Pratik Bhandari
Position: Page Editor
Graduation Year: 2006
Pratik Bhandari is (now) a 5'6" SENIOR who (still) weighs about 125 pounds. He came from India, which could explain his diminutive stature and lived there for three years before moving to Albany, the capital of New York believe it or not, and finally to Maryland. Other than work on SCO (haha) and take hour long bus rides to and from school - because of the godforsaken traffic and the fact that he lives in GERMANTOWN!?!?!?! - Pratik also likes to play badminton. That's right, badminton. Pratik is also uber-competitive and slightly annoying which gets him into trouble all the time. However, he uses his charm (yeah, right) and an unlimited arsenal of bad jokes to survive. Somehow, he has risen to the status of sports editor which basically allows him to act as if he has a really important job while giving him a great excuse for watching the Redskins. Four years from now, Pratik hopes to be working on a degree in aerospace engineering and having lots of fun at some top-notch college (like MIT or UMCP). His perfect day would probably include lots of sports, lots of sleeping and lots of eating (He has a high metabolism, okay?) . Probably not all at the same time though... "Save me Jebus!!!!!" -Homer Simpson


Stories (69)


Rollin' out in style

By Pratik Bhandari, Varun Gulati | May 24, 2006, midnight | In Print »

Given that Varun and Pratik are about to be rollin' up out of this joint in a couple of days, they figured that it would be hard for "The Man" (that's you, Philly G) to expel them...so for all you suckahs left in the building, they have left you one, final article, detailing an adventure on Blair property. This is the one adventure that will sweep your days when these two mavens of mischief, dashing young fellows, strapping lads and objects of your desires graduate from old Monty B.

Spring fashion 101

By Pratik Bhandari | April 27, 2006, midnight | In Print »

So as the weather outside climbs into the seventies, we here at Silver Chips Online have realized that trench coats and earmuffs are no longer very wearable. Unfortunately, resident Silver Chips fashion expert Alex Hyder is bogged down with AP tests and actual work in his classes, so the editors pushed - I mean gave - the assignment to the second snazziest Silver Chips staffer: me.

Oh so sweet Cinderellas

By Payal Patnaik, Pratik Bhandari | March 24, 2006, midnight | In Print »

Georgetown. George Mason. Wichita State. Bradley. Raise your hand if you had all four teams in the Sweet Sixteen. Put 'em down, liars...

The quest for the Changuris Cup

By Pratik Bhandari | March 22, 2006, midnight | In Print »

A small orange ball rolls smoothly past a throng of people lined up on the bleachers. WHACK! Curved yellow and blue plastic sticks smack against each other in midswing, all in an effort to direct the tiny sphere into the other team's net.

Blair boys take second at Division II swimming championships

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In Print »

At the Division II county championships, the Blair swim team had a great meet as the boys finished second and the girls, while finishing last, set many individual records.

NFL Divisional playoffs

By Phillip Allen, Abe Schwadron, Pratik Bhandari | Jan. 14, 2006, midnight | In Print »

Every single game this week is a rematch of a regular season game...how weird is that? The Redskins are still alive this week...let's hope that they'll be here next week too.

NFL Wild Card predictions

By Phillip Allen, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Jan. 7, 2006, midnight | In Print »

The wild card round is here and the hometown Washington Redskins are finally back into the playoffs. With intruiging matchups including former Super Bowl champions and rabid fans, Silver Chips Online and their crack team of football experts breaks it all down...

NFL Week Seventeen predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 31, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Happy New Year!

NFL Week Sixteen predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 25, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays...

NFL Week Fifteen predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Dallas vs. Washington. Nothing else matters.

NFL Week Fourteen predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 9, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane, snow is glistening, a beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland...Happy Snow Day! On an unrelated note, we make all of our picks without consulting one other so that we uphold the highest standards of integrity (and also so that we can brag about it when we have the best record), but amazingly, this week, Josh, Abe and I all picked exactly the same...how weird is that?

NFL Week Thirteen predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 3, 2005, midnight | In Print »

15-1. That's all I'm going to say.

NFL Week Twelve predictions

By Phillip Allen, Abe Schwadron, Pratik Bhandari | Nov. 24, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the picks and don't worry about how much you eat; you can always work it off later...

NFL Week Eleven predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Nov. 20, 2005, midnight | In Print »

We're back up to 16 games this week so that's another six hours of football for all you fanatics out there. Seems like I'm the only one that gives Carolina a chance against Chicago. Well, I guess we'll see who's right huh? By the way, Reggie Bush had 513 all-purpose yards last night. That's more than most teams get in a game! Can anyone else say that he's making a huge case to be the number one pick in next year's draft?

NFL Week Ten predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Nov. 12, 2005, midnight | In Print »

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Supposedly. Well, now that we've passed the halfway point of the season, it's definitely time for the teams that are serious about the playoffs to take their game to the next level. Which of these teams will be able to go on a run and set themselves up for the playoffs? Dear God, let's hope it's the 'Skins...

NFL Week Nine Predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Nov. 4, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Well, nine weeks into the NFL season, we finally have some inkling of how good any given team is. Also, Josh finally overtook Abe atop the picks lead while I'm still fending off Phil by a hair. Anyway, this is where the real pros step it up and the pretenders fall by the wayside. Who's got what it takes to get into the playoffs? More important, who's going to win the picks?

NFL Week Eight predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 28, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Amazing...Phil "forgot" to do his picks and Josh "forgot" to do the Monday Night pick. Amazingly, Abe remembered how to do his picks and actually sent in all the games. I should give him a raise. Let me see, 10% of nothing is...uh...carry the 0...oh yeah, nothing so he gets nothing + nothing = nothing. All right, now that I've ridiculed my colleagues, on to the picks...

NFL Week Six predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 15, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Four. Yes, four. That's how many picks out of 14 I got right. Thank god SCO doesn't pay me anything because if they did, I would be fired. What a weird league. Who would've figured that Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Green Bay, New York Jets, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh would win? Ay caramba…

NFL Week 5 Predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 8, 2005, midnight | In Print »

There are four unbeaten teams left in week five: Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Tampa Bay and Washington. Of the four, the two that most people aren't sold on yet are Washington and Cincinnati. Both of these teams face good tests this week against Denver for the 'Skins and against Jacksonville for the Bengals. And I'm in last place. Again. This will end, I promise...

NFL Week Four predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 1, 2005, midnight | In Print »

So, amazingly, we all (even Phil) did better this week. I know, I know, I'm in last place. But I needed to give the young 'uns a bit of confidence before I demolish them, right? Besides, if I really needed to, I could change all of their picks at the last minute. But I wouldn't do that or so I say...

NFL Week 3 predictions: What just happened?

By Abe Schwadron, Josh Zipin, Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 25, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Okay, so I had the worst week; I'm still beating Phil. But seriously, can anyone make sense out of the first two weeks? I mean, the Giants and the Bucs are 2-0 whereas San Diego and Baltimore are 0-2. Oh well, I can't complain. The Redskins won, remember?

NFL: Week Two predictions

By Phillip Allen, Abe Schwadron, Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 16, 2005, midnight | In Print »

With the exception of Phil, the whole panel had a 9-7 record last week. Not bad considering upsets by Miami over Denver and the 49ers over the Rams. With some more info going into week two, I expect a much better record overall. Anyway, on to the picks.

NFL: Week One predictions

By Abe Schwadron, Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 8, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Poor Izzy has gone to St. Andrews for college. Nick is gone as well. Bushnell has defected to print (traitor...). So you're left with me and a couple of green recruits. As we march on to Super Bowl XL (Xtra-Large?), I introduce to you Phillip Allen, Abe Schwadron and Josh Zipin as the other members of SCO's "expert" panel. Already onset by laziness, Phil and Josh have not given me their takes on the game, just their picks. Whatever. At least I have Abe to count on, right?

Redskins season preview

By Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 6, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Last year, the 'Skins had everything.

Hughes help for LeBron

By Pratik Bhandari | July 9, 2005, midnight | In Print »

According to his agent, Jeff Wechsler, Larry Hughes has agreed in principle to a five-year deal worth $65-$70 million. Hughes cannot officially sign until the NBA moratorium ends on June 22.

Woe is me

By Pratik Bhandari | July 1, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Some people spend an hour a day. Some spend considerably more. Then again, there are some who shun sports and everything associated with them altogether.

Blair wins 2004-2005 Calculus League

By Pratik Bhandari | June 8, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Blair's Calculus Team won the Continental Math League's national 2004-2005 Calculus League competition.

Where's Barry?

By Pratik Bhandari | June 5, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Once long, long ago, Barry Bonds was the single most feared hitter in baseball. In 2001, when he was already 37, he smashed 73 home runs and had an absurd .864 slugging percentage. But, now, after a deluge of controversy concerning his grand jury testimony during the BALCO trial, he is only a shell of his former self.

Eastern Conference finals: Detroit vs. Miami

By Pratik Bhandari | May 23, 2005, midnight | In Print »

At last, Detroit has finished off the pesky Indiana Pacers and the Heat can begin playing playoff basketball for the first time since May 14.

It's Miller time

By Pratik Bhandari | May 19, 2005, midnight | In Print »

For 18 years now, Pacers fans have been treated to one of the best clutch players in NBA history. Reggie Miller has been the go-to guy for Indiana, ever since he was a fresh-faced rookie out of UCLA. When the fourth quarter rolls around, opponents know they've got to keep tabs on Miller or they'll get buried by an avalanche of threes.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone

By Pratik Bhandari | May 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Tampa Bay is in last place as expected. Boston is in second. Toronto is in the middle of the pack. Yankees are in fourth. Wait a minute… the Yankees are in fourth and the Orioles are in first?

Wizards feel the burn

By Pratik Bhandari | May 11, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Antawn Jamison did his part. So did Gilbert Arenas. And if Larry Hughes had made a couple of shots before the fourth quarter, maybe the Wizards could have stole one last night from a Miami team that was definitely not playing up to its potential.

Home sweet home

By Pratik Bhandari | May 5, 2005, midnight | In Print »

The Wizards finished a wild game yesterday night in Chicago, scraping by on a buzzer-beating jumper by All-Star Gilbert Arenas.

NBA playoffs: first round

By Pratik Bhandari, Adith Sekaran, Isamu Bae | April 25, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Rejoice, Washington area basketball fans! For the first time in eons, the playoffs are coming to town. Of course, the playoff thirst isn't going to be quenched until the Wizards win the championship, but it's definitely a step. Hey, if a few dominoes fall our way, we could even win it this year. Here's a peek at the first round of the playoffs, plotting out the course for what will hopefully be a good stab at the championship.

NFL Mock Draft

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | April 11, 2005, midnight | In Print »

The 10-minute clock has winded down, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue steps up to the podium. "With the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft, the San Francisco 49ers select…" Well, we can't give you their pick now, not yet, not for another couple weeks, but we can make a guess by writing up a mock draft. Here are Izzy and Pratik's mock drafts for the first round of this year's NFL rookie draft. Click on the names to learn the reasoning behind the picks.

NCAA analysis: Syracuse regional

By Pratik Bhandari | March 17, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Of the four regional brackets, Syracuse arguably boasts the most talented teams from top to bottom. Even the number ten seed, N.C. State, has a chance of getting to the Sweet Sixteen.

ACC Tournament 2005: Virginia Tech

By Pratik Bhandari | March 9, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Team record: 15-12, 8-8 conference Coach: Seth Greenberg (227-183) One of the true surprises of the ACC season was the wonderful play of Virginia Tech. They were the "new kid on the block" who would crumble under the enormous pressure of the hectic ACC schedule. Instead, Tech handed out some punishment of it's own, beating up on such heavyweights as Duke and Georgia Tech on their way to the fourth seed in the ACC tournament.

ACC Tournament 2005: Miami

By Pratik Bhandari | March 9, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Team record: 16-11, 7-9 conference Coach: Frank Haith (16-11) One of two new additions to the ACC this year, Miami has proved to be a pleasant surprise with wins over then No. 18 Florida and No. 24 Maryland, earning a very respectable sixth seed in the ACC Tournament, ahead of more heralded teams like Maryland.

ACC Tournament 2005: Maryland

By Pratik Bhandari | March 9, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Team record: 16-11, 7-9 conference Coach: Gary Willaims (538-303) Maryland has had an extremely disappointing season. After winning the ACC Tournament last year and returning most of their starters, most fans thought that Maryland had a legitimate chance to go to the Sweet Sixteen and maybe even to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Now, the Terps will be lucky just to get in after being swept by Clemson and NC State, not to mention losing their final regular season game to Virginia Tech, where a win would have almost guaranteed them a spot in the big dance.

Floor Hockey Results & Schedule

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 23, 2005, midnight | In Print »

With the second round of the playoffs over, so too are the hopes of many upper tier teams. Upsets ran amok through the second round and the underdogs lived to fight another day.

Floor Hockey Results & Schedules Week Six

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 10, 2005, midnight | In Print »

The playoffs are here. It's do or die time now, either win or go home.

Floor Hockey Results & Schedules Week Five

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 7, 2005, midnight | In Print »

This was a territorial, back and forth game with neither team really gaining much of an advantage over the other for long periods of time. Towards the middle of the game, Jisung Kim, playing for Sliced Bread, snuck in a low snapshot past goalie David Ufford. After that goal, however, Ufford settled down and proceeded to pitch a shutout for the rest of the game.

Super Bowl Prediction

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 2, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Pratik Bhandari goes against the flow and picks the Eagles to win the Super Bowl...

NFL conference championships

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae, Nick Falgout | Jan. 22, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Silver Chips Online breaks down the conference championships.

NFL playoffs: Week 2

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Jan. 15, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Silver Chips Online analyzes this week's playoff games.

Wild Card Weekend

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Jan. 8, 2005, midnight | In Print »

Check out Silver Chips Online's NFL picks and analysis for the first week of the NFL playoffs.

NFL: Week Seventeen predictions

By Pratik Bhandari | Jan. 1, 2005, midnight | In Print »

This is the week where the good teams rest their starters, the bad teams play as usual and the middle of the pack teams scramble for those remaining playoff spots. This is also the week where fans gather round and discuss all the crazy things that have to happen to get their 7-8 team into the playoffs (see Saints/Panthers/Vikings fans) or where fans of teams that are out of the playoffs sit on the couch and sigh (see Redskins fans). Anyway, this is also the week of no Monday Night Football, but cheer up…the playoffs will be here in less than a week!

NFL: Week Sixteen predictions

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 24, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Ok. So, this is what I can say for sure about the NFC playoffs. The San Francisco 49ers are definitely out of the picture. Now on to the picks.

Floor hockey results & schedules: week four

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 22, 2004, midnight | In Print »

The Blair Floor Hockey League is also online here .

Redskins in the playoff hunt

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 22, 2004, midnight | In Print »

So…at 5-9 the Redskins are out of the playoffs, right? They've got no chance, right? I mean there's no way a conference could be bad enough that a 5-9 team could make the playoffs, right?

Floor Hockey Results & Schedule: Week Three

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 20, 2004, midnight | In Print »

The Blair Floor Hockey League results are also online here .

NFL: Week Fifteen predictions

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 19, 2004, midnight | In Print »

At least, that's what Izzy has consistently proven. After breaking his jaw last year, the star wide receiver for the Blair Football at lunch team couldn't stay away from the game. Unfortunately, he's suffered an injury to his right wrist and the pain was too great for the poor guy to type up his comments. Let's hope he gets better soon. Until then here are my picks for week 15.

Floor Hockey Results & Schedule

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 16, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Fourteen predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Dec. 10, 2004, midnight | In Print »

So going into the fourteenth week of the NFL season, you'd expect that the playoff picture would be at least somewhat clear. Even a bit? Just a teeny tiny bit? But no, the NFC stinks so badly it has losing teams with a chance to get in. Shoot, even the Redskins still have a long-shot chance at the playoffs. The AFC is almost just as weird, except it has so many teams that are 6-6 or 7-5 that it's aggravating.

NFL: Week Thirteen predictions

By Pratik Bhandari | Dec. 5, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Since the rest of these so-called "writers" are lazy bums who can't do a thing, I'm flying this one solo.  I know that they're just scared of my superior football acumen. Anyway, the top story of this week: the Redskins actually have a chance to win a game!

NFL: Week Eleven predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae, Nick Falgout | Nov. 21, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Ten predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Nov. 13, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Nine predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Nov. 6, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Dubya hoping for a W

By Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 31, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Eight predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Oct. 28, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Wizards season preview

By Pratik Bhandari | Oct. 22, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Another winter in Washington arrives with the Redskins continuing their nosedive, another winter with the Capitals getting crushed (oh, right, they're not playing anymore, thank goodness). And of course, another winter with the Wizards failing in the pitiful Atlantic conference.

NFL: Week Six predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae, Nick Falgout | Oct. 17, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Five predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Oct. 9, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week Four predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Michael Bushnell, Isamu Bae | Oct. 2, 2004, midnight | In Print »

For those that live in this area and root for the Redskins, Week Threewas simply a week of blown calls. For many other teams, however, WeekThree designated a need for drastic courses of actions due to injuries.The Bears, for one, will look to tough out this season after losing twokey playmakers this season, including young quarterback Rex Grossmanlast week.

NFL: Week Three predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Sept. 25, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Redskins falter with weak offensive performance

By Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 21, 2004, midnight | In Print »

The Apprentice starts the season off with a bang

By Pratik Bhandari | Sept. 11, 2004, midnight | In Print »

NFL: Week One predictions

By Pratik Bhandari, Isamu Bae | Sept. 10, 2004, midnight | In Print »

Henry, Lucas

By Pratik Bhandari | March 30, 2004, midnight | In Print »

He's worked as a volunteer, a tutor, as a mail sorter, a pizza delivery guy and has also delivered fried chicken. Few have a résumé as varied as Lucas Henry, English teacher extraordinaire.



Images (10)


Photo: Swimming Freestyle

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Swim Start 2

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Swimming Backstroke

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Sam Bullard-Siken and David Vuong compete in the 100 Back.

Photo: Swim Hold On 2

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Swimming Backstroke 2

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Swim Hold On

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Blair Swim Fans

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Germantown Indoor Swim Center

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

The new Germantown Indoor Swim Center at the Germantown Soccerplex.

Photo: Swim Takeoff

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »

Photo: Swim Start

By Pratik Bhandari | Feb. 13, 2006, midnight | In ‎Latest »