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(01/17/13 4:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Former IU goalkeeper Cassie Wyckoff left a legacy before graduating last season.The water polo athlete from Los Altos, Calif., is the school’s all-time leader in saves, has 118 career starts and earned two All-American Honorable Mentions during her career.In her absence, though, a new goalkeeper has the opportunity to create her own legacy.Freshmen goalkeepers Jessica Gaudreault and Mary Campbell know the importance of replacing a player of Wyckoff’s stature.“It’s definitely intense because she was a great player,” Campbell said. “It’s definitely hard to fill her shoes, but I’m just trying my best.”Campbell and Gaudreault both have their own advantage against each other.They said they agree Campbell wins the size department, as she is 6 feet 1 inch and Gaudreault is 5 feet 10 inches.“Mary has a lot of good physical attributes,” Gaudreault said. “Like, she’s a lot taller than me and a lot longer than me, so I’ll have to put in more effort.”The two also said Gaudreault’s experience is something Campbell cannot match. Gaudreault has competed on the Canadian Junior National Team in the FINA World Championships and in the under-22 and under-18 nationals at the club level.IU’s competition begins this weekend when it opposes San Jose State and Colorado State on Saturday and San Diego State and University of California, Los Angeles on Sunday. Although the opener is just days away, IU Coach Barry King has not yet determined which freshman will start.Despite his lack of choice, however, King said the starting job will be up for grabs for the remainder of the season.“Everything gets reevaluated during practice every day,” he said.King also said IU’s goalkeeper situation isn’t unique.“Cassie’s class of goaltenders that came out that year was really good all across the country,” he said. “A bunch of us are facing the same thing that’s happening here. We’re all playing with freshmen or untested keepers, so it will be interesting at the beginning.”Campbell said it isn’t impossible to match Wyckoff’s numbers.“I don’t know specifically any of them, but that would be awesome to try and do that,” she said.Wyckoff’s numbers rank among IU’s best. During her water polo career, she made 1,108 saves and faced 3,014 shots, which are current IU records and top the second-place numbers by 217 and 981, respectively. Her 6.59 goals-against average is the third best among goalkeepers that played more than one season and is exceptional considering the number of shots she’s faced.Wyckoff also twice broke the single-season record for both saves and shots faced in a season. She owns four of the top 11 records for saves and four of the top eight in shots faced in a single season and holds the record for each one. No other IU goalkeeper has received an All-American Honorable Mention, but Wyckoff has two.Campbell said she’s a bit intimidated by those numbers. “But, I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe I’ll eventually be where she was.”Before any records can be broken, though, either Campbell or Gaudreault must win the starting job. Campbell said the competition between the two has been intense, so far, and it will be hard to tell if one of them can keep the starter’s role throughout the season.“I think we match up pretty well against each other,” she said.
(12/04/12 3:54am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Professional football should enjoy its time on top of the sporting world while it can. Although the sport currently rules the landscape of athletics in America, it’s only a matter of time before the inevitable fall takes place.Just look at what is happening to the game.First of all, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the rest of the league’s executives are trying to do the impossible: make a violent game safe. From excessive fines to moving the kickoff to the 35-yard line to relentless flagging, Goodell and his partners are trying to transform the game into something the die-hard fan doesn’t like to see.Fans love the Ed Reeds and Troy Polamalus of the world, high-flying safeties that crush any receiver who dares set foot in their territory.As football goes further away from this violent style of play, more fans become outraged that the game isn’t close to what they grew up with.Still, the league is forced to apply these rules because of the more than 2,000 former players suing the NFL for supposedly withholding information about concussions and other long-term effects caused by a career of playing football.Health-wise, football is heading down the same road boxing once did. Boxing used to be one of the top sports in America, but the violent nature ultimately caused its downfall. Parents didn’t want their kids to spend their lives taking blows to the head, so they strongly encouraged or sometimes forced their children into safer sports. Now, boxing is an afterthought in American sports culture.With information available to everyone now, 2012 parents are beginning to drive their kids in the direction of basketball or baseball rather than the concussion-prone sport of football.If it were only for the aforementioned reasons, I think football still could survive, even if not as the nation’s top sport. But the always condemning factor of greed gives football almost no shot of surviving in the long run.Just like any business, the NFL is trying to continually grow and spread its already incredibly wealthy brand. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse, because competition is always improving.This has led the league to attempt several new gimmicks. Most notably, 2012 is the first year in which a Thursday night game occurs every week of the regular season except for the last two. This year, the league has begun playing annual games in London, and Goodell has been pushing for an 18-game regular season.While these are great attempts to promote the game’s popularity, they completely contradict any measure taken to increase player safety.The Thursday night game scheduling forced the Baltimore Ravens to play their first four games in a span of only 18 days.Traveling to and from London provides the participating teams much less time to rest and recuperate from grueling NFL matches.And how can anyone possibly think adding two games is a good idea when player safety is the number one concern heading into the future?I don’t see any way a sport can survive this perfect storm. Fans want the game as violent as possible, player liabilities demand maximum safety and the league’s plan to promote the game disrupts any growth in either area.The NFL is far from invincible. Other sports have had their time in the limelight only to see their clocks expire. Baseball, formerly “America’s national pastime,” is slowly declining and clearly behind football in popularity. Horse racing and boxing used to rule the sporting world and now rarely draw any attention.It surely won’t happen fast, either. For now, fans will continue to watch their beloved sport despite their objections to how the game is changing.It may take 10 or even 20 years as today’s athletic youth begins to focus on safer sports and the younger generation of fans replaces the traditional gridiron-loving crowd.But unless Goodell and his coworkers come up with some genius plan to satisfy every party, football’s demise will come.It’s just a matter of time.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(11/27/12 4:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In case you missed it during Thanksgiving break, Jack Taylor of the Division III Grinnell basketball team scored 138 points against Faith Baptist Bible, setting an NCAA record for most points in a game by a single player.At first glance this might seem an incredible feat, but it takes only a little more digging to realize that Taylor’s record is far from praiseworthy.When I first heard news of the performance, I felt quite giddy and wished there was some way to see the entire game. I’ve always loved looking at statistics in sports, and I always cheer for records to be broken fairly.Yet when I started to read reports about the game, I began to feel a little disappointed. Records mean something only if they are set in the flow of the game. That did not happen.It was clear before the game even started that Grinnell Coach David Arseneault’s plan was to get Taylor a scoring record. Arseneault utilizes an up-tempo, full-court press style of play that emphasizes quantity above quality of shots and makes Grinnell look like the 2005 Phoenix Suns on steroids.Unlike the Suns, though, who would distribute the ball to many different scoring options and thus spread out the opposition’s defense, Arseneault’s strategy is to pick one player and make sure he gets the most shots possible.It’s evident Taylor was that guy the night of Nov. 20.Taylor recorded 108 of Grinnell’s 136 shots, 71 of its 80 3-point attempts and 36 minutes played. The second-highest minute total for any of his Grinnell teammates, though, was 15.Meanwhile, Taylor posted no assists or fouls.The 108-to-0 ratio of shots to assists proves Taylor clearly had no intention of sharing the scoring load, and the absence of fouls can be attributed to cherry picking. A former Grinnell player told Deadspin a little about Arseneault’s game plan, saying, “(the player seeking the record) would not cross into the defensive side of the court, so after our opponents broke our press, we were essentially playing four-on-five.”There were also multiple reports from people who watched and re-watched the game that said a Grinnell player would grab an offensive rebound with a clear shot at the basket only to pass back out to Taylor so he could jack up another long-range shot.Arseneault even subbed in scrubs at the end of the game to foul and send the opposition to the free throw line to get Taylor the ball back as quickly as possible.Given this information, Taylor’s record really isn’t that impressive. Sure, it makes it harder to score when the entire defense knows who will be shooting every time, but he still made only 38 percent of his 3-pointers and less than 50 percent of his field goals.You know who played a much better game? David Larson of Faith Baptist Bible, who scored 70 points on 77 percent shooting.But it’s been only Taylor’s final point tally that anyone has seemed to care about.Arseneault is the one who’s really to blame for this completely contrived record. Taylor and the rest of his teammates were just following orders. Don’t blame them.It has been Arseneault’s plan all along to find a place for his players in the record books and secure interviews and appearances on ESPN as often as possible.Hey, there’s no such thing as bad press, right?I hope he’s happy. The entire sporting world has been talking about his player, his team and his system for the last week, just like he has always wanted.Unfortunately, it’s for all the wrong reasons.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(11/13/12 5:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With the Notre Dame football team defeat of the Boston College Eagles last weekend, the Fighting Irish are at 10-0 for the first time since 1993.Despite Kansas State and Oregon standing ahead of the Fighting Irish in the BCS rankings, Notre Dame is in the running to win its first National Championship since 1988, when Lou Holtz was at the helm of the program.Despite being one the most historically dominant teams in all of college football, this year’s success breaks the recent trend of Notre Dame’s fortunes.The Fighting Irish have missed a bowl game six times since the 1993 season, and they are 2-10 in the 12 bowl games they have made.Let’s just say it’s nice to have them back.Usually, historical powerhouses going down is what makes sports so special and lovable. America hates seeing the same teams win year in and year out.It’s why March Madness is one of the country’s most beloved sporting events. It’s why everyone who’s not a Yankees fan hates the team. It’s why “Rocky” and “Hoosiers” are great movies, and stories of the 1960s Boston Celtics or John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins are best suited as documentaries.Once the top dogs fall into the pack with the rest of sports mediocrity, it doesn’t mean nearly as much to knock off these traditional stalwarts.Sooner or later, there comes a time when even the most die-hard of fans must look at their teams and say, “Our team is not what it used to be. We can’t keep living off the past as a justification that everything will be alright.”Such had happened with Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have been and are still known for having one of the most rabid fan bases in the nation. A majority of them had still talked big to Michigan, USC and other rival schools’ fans, so much so that the resulting hatred of Notre Dame was just as annoying as the unjustified bragging coming from South Bend, Ind., and all its supporters.Even then, a great amount were starting to wonder whether their beloved team would ever make it back to the glory days after going 16-21 during former Coach Charlie Weis’ final three years and two good but not great seasons with Coach Brian Kelly.This year has proven, however, that Notre Dame is back. College football experts and opposing fans across the nation have been waiting for the Fighting Irish to make their classic slipup, which was typical during the Weiss era.Any of his teams would have traveled to then-No. 8 Oklahoma and gotten killed or found a way to lose the pitiful game that was Notre Dame v. Michigan this year.It appears those days are finished. The once-powerful Notre Dame football team is back as a legitimate title contender, putting behind it a decade of futility and moving forward.While Notre Dame haters are presumably seething about this, they need to remember only one thing — the fewer losses come, the sweeter each one will be. Watching Notre Dame go on to beat Wake Forest but fall to USC on a final drive or in some other heartbreaking fashion to end its championship hopes would be much more satisfying for Notre Dame fans than an average 7-6 or 8-5 year.Everybody wins in this scenario. The longtime Notre Dame fans finally have something to cheer for, and all the haters have something real to despise.No matter which side you’re on, Notre Dame’s relevance is good for all of college football.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(11/06/12 3:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last week, South Carolina football Coach Steve Spurrier said he thinks Alabama could compete in the NFL.I think the coach needs to think before he speaks such an absurd statement.Don’t get me wrong, Alabama is a terrific football team. If any college squad could defeat someone in the NFL, Alabama would be it. The Crimson Tide had eight players drafted this past year, four in the first round.During the past four years, 24 NFL draft picks have come from the 14-time national champion.Let’s assume Alabama keeps up on that average. This means that right now, there would be 24 future draft picks on this team. Surely they could keep with the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars or the pathetic Kansas City Chiefs, right? Wrong.It’s not like all 24 of those picks will be legitimate stars. Probably only 18 will end up staying in the league for more than three years. Of those 18, I’d say only nine or 10 will be regular starters. And of those starters, probably only five or six will be genuine difference makers.On game day, that’s 46 to 18 in favor of the Jaguars in terms of NFL-quality players, 26 counting punter and kicker starters to max 10 and about even in difference makers.But the biggest advantage any pro team would have against the Crimson Tide would be experience.The number of rookies that make an immediate impact in the NFL are few and far between. Running backs usually contribute the fastest. Besides them, it takes at least a year or two to grow accustomed to the NFL not only physically, but mentally.Take Julio Jones, for example. The former Biletnikoff Award finalist and All-American was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons with the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft to help fix their passing attack. While he’s now proven himself to be one of the best receivers in the league, he went through growing pains as a rookie and wasn’t the elusive pass-catching threat he was in college or will be the remainder of his NFL career.Think about how long it normally takes to develop a quarterback into a trustworthy leader of the offense. Alabama’s current quarterback, A.J. McCarron, probably won’t ever start an NFL game. Some of the league’s best passers even struggle reading NFL defenses. You think McCarron could pick apart even the worst of the league’s defenses? No way.Offensive and defensive linemen would have the biggest advantage against their collegiate opponents. They’ve had many more years to grow extra muscle and learn all the little tricks that make linemen successful. They would have no problem manhandling any collegiate line.Football is a game of strength and smarts. There’s no way a bunch of 18 to 22-year-olds would have a shot of defeating grown men that have studied the game as a profession rather than as extracurricular activity.Despite being one of the best college coaches ever, Spurrier struggled as a head coach in the NFL. I think now we know why.Stick to college, coach. You obviously know more about it than the professional level.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(11/04/12 11:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Trying to decide how many roommates is the right amount? It’s a huge choice you’ll probably have to make at least once in your college career. The following viewpoints from three IU seniors in different living situations can help make your decision easier.Hannah JonesRoommates: 0IDS Why did you decide to get a place for yourself?JONES The last three years of college, I had bad experiences with roommates. First, I lived with Kasie (Kyle). We were friends, but we didn’t really live well together. The year after that, I lived with more of an acquaintance and then a subletter, and that just went straight to hell. I guess I was just tired of roommates letting me down, and I’d rather not have to worry about them anymore and just worry about myself.IDS What specific problems did you encounter?JONES Last year, getting rent on time from my roommates was a big deal. I would pay my half, and then they would say, “Oh, I’ll get it by the end of the week. Can you just pay it? I’ll pay you back.” Living with people who were financially irresponsible was not a very good decision.IDS Besides avoiding financially irresponsible people, what are the biggest advantages to living by yourself?JONES You get to watch whatever you want on TV anytime you want. You can make noise in the kitchen, in the living room, in the bedroom. You can do whatever you want because no one’s going to complain.IDS: What advice would you give to someone wanting to live alone?JONES: Make sure you still meet up with your friends and go out and do stuff. It’s really easy to turn into a homebody when you don’t have anybody else around to encourage you to go out.Logan EllowskyRoommates: 2IDS What made you decide to live with two roommates?ELLOWSKY I think two’s the right amount. More people would be a lot more hectic, and I feel like it would be a lot more money involved. Living by yourself, it would be kind of depressing. I feel like you’d get a lot more work done, but you wouldn’t have anyone to talk to.IDS Do you ever wish you had more or less roommates?ELLOWSKY It would be more advantageous if you’re having a party or any kind of social gathering. Living alone would be nice to have your own bathroom. Sharing bathrooms can get a little annoying at times.IDS Any advice for anyone trying to decide on how many roommates to live with?ELLOWSKY If you’re really looking into getting stuff done, I suggest you live with as few people as possible. If you just want to coast, living with more people would be awesome.Jordan YlauanRoommates: 4IDS Why did you decide to live with four other guys?Ylauan One was money reasons. It’s a lot cheaper to split the cost of everything with five of us. There’s also always someone to hang out with. You’re never really bored. There’s always someone to play video games with, to watch TV with, to go eat with. So, it’s fun because there’s always people around.IDS What are the disadvantages to having so many roommates?Ylauan There’s always something to do, so you have to stay disciplined to get homework done. There’s always usually someone around your house, like other friends of people. You really have to stay on top of things. I really have to go to the library a lot to get anything done.IDS Do you ever wish you lived with fewer people?Ylauan Yeah. A lot of times dishes will pile up. There’s so much trash, and it won’t get taken out. It’s just such a pain. We only have two bathrooms, too, and a lot of times a lot of us are getting up at the same time.
(10/30/12 2:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The beginning of any NBA season is exciting, but this one feels a little extra special.The league is stacked with young talent, the Los Angeles Lakers have created one of the best on-paper teams ever, the Oklahoma City Thunder just traded away a key piece of its NBA Finals team and LeBron James appears to have turned a corner.It all stacks up to create one unpredictable year, but I’ll give it a shot.Here are my predictions for each division, along with a championship pick.AtlanticThe Boston Celtics may be old, but their best player, Rajon Rondo, is still just 26 years old. Losing Ray Allen hurts, but the additions of Courtney Lee and Jason Terry will keep Boston in the top ranks of its division.The Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets both made big moves this offseason, bringing in Andrew Bynum and Joe Johnson to their respective teams. I think these moves make both squads better, but neither will be able to contend for the Eastern Conference crown.The New York Knicks didn’t do anything to improve, and the Toronto Raptors are very much in rebuilding mode.CentralThe Indiana Pacers should walk away with the division crown rather easily. They formed a nice corps last year, taking the Miami Heat to six games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.The Chicago Bulls will obviously be hurting without Derrick Rose for most of the season. They might be able to put a strong surge together at the end of year, but it won’t be enough to win the division.The Detroit Pistons could be a sleeper to make the playoffs as a seven or eight seed. Their young corps has quietly been getting better the past few years.The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the upswing but not ready yet, and the Milwaukee Bucks aren’t getting better.SoutheastDespite having the 2012 NBA Finals champion Miami Heat, this may be the worst division in basketball top to bottom.The Atlanta Hawks are in rebuilding mode, although they have stars Josh Smith and Al Horford.After them, the next best team is the Washington Wizards, who finished with the second-fewest wins in the NBA last year.The Orlando Magic lost Dwight Howard and will not be good for a long time, and the Charlotte Bobcats broke an NBA record for the worst winning percentage ever in 2012.NorthwestOpposite of the Southeast, the Northwest division is the toughest in all the land.Sitting at the top is the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder, followed closely by the revamped Denver Nuggets.Then, there’s the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, two solid teams that are very underrated.Lastly, there’s the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were 21-19 and beating the Los Angeles Lakers when Ricky Rubio tore his ACL last year. If he and Kevin Love can get over their respective injuries, this team can challenge for a playoff spot.PacificThis is the battle of Los Angeles, but the edge goes to the Lakers because of their talent and the Clippers’ coaching.The Golden State Warriors are another team that could be good if healthy, but health is the last thing to count on from a team that has both Stephen Curry and Andrew Bogut.The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns are both in rebuilding mode, but the Kings at least have young talent.SouthwestEvery year, everyone forgets about the San Antonio Spurs before the season begins because they’re old and not the “sexy” pick. But the last time they won less than 50 games in a normal 82-game year was the 1996-97 season.The Memphis Grizzlies could give them a run for their money, but the Spurs will hold on for the division crown.The Dallas Mavericks are clearly heading in the wrong direction after missing out on Howard and Deron Williams, and Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets certainly won’t be contending this year.NBA Finals PickMiami Heat against the Lakers.In the West, I originally thought OKC was still the best team despite the Lakers adding Steve Nash and Howard to an already incredible roster.I hated the Thunder’s decision to trade James Harden. He was a great facilitator and worked well with Kevin Durant’s shooting and Russell Westbrook’s slashing.Without OKC standing in the way, the Lakers’ talent is too much for any other West team.As for Miami, now that this team has won a championship together, I think it will only get better. It sounds crazy to say, but I don’t think James has hit his absolute ceiling yet.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(10/23/12 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>We’ve all heard the lesson stressed as the world continually changes: You must adapt to new technology and use it to enhance not only your livelihood, but your career.Apparently, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig missed the memo.An in-depth instant replay system could greatly benefit his sport, but Selig refuses to implement such technological advancements.Every sport experiences controversial calls that could go either way. Referees have to make instantaneous decisions on these extremely difficult calls, leading to many of them being judged incorrectly.Viewers at home have the benefit of seeing the replay in super slow motion a billion times, making the decision on their part usually quite easy.So why doesn’t baseball give their umpires the same advantage?MLB added a minor replay system in 2008, but it allows only the review of potential home run situations. The system must be expanded more than that.The NFL, for example, has taken the correct steps by automatically reviewing every scoring or change-of-possession play. In addition, coaches can challenge up to three times in every game, and the upstairs booth can challenge anything with the two-minute warning.The NBA has also taken initiative. This coming season, additional rules will allow officials to review flagrant fouls, charges/blocking fouls and goaltending late in games to ensure the correct call was made.Even professional tennis allows competitors to challenge an official’s call. When this happens, everyone in the stadium can instantly see whether a ball was in or out through the high-tech Hawk-Eye Officiating system that uses multiple cameras and radar.And yet, baseball reviews only home runs.I don’t think the sport needs a machine calling balls and strikes, but what about fair/foul calls? Catches? Whether a runner was safe or out? Or even (I’m sure Atlanta Braves fans will appreciate this) infield fly calls?There are two major opposing views to this proposition.First, many say the more replay you do, the longer games will take.This isn’t necessarily true. Look at how the NFL handles automatic reviews of scoring plays and turnovers. The head referee doesn’t run to the replay booth to check the play himself. Instead, an official with a television and unlimited replay access radios to him says, “Yep, that was a catch,” or, “Reverse it. He was down by contact.”Most fans don’t realize it’s happening due to the speed at which the system works.Baseball could do the same thing, with the home-plate umpire only needing to signal to somebody in an office and get the result in a matter of seconds.Plus, with undisputable video evidence making the calls, the five-minute shouting sessions between managers and umpires after every controversial call would be eliminated.The second beef some have with a replay system is that it takes away the human element of the game, the way baseball has always been.The worst reason not to change something is because that’s the way it’s always been.If everyone lived by that mentality, we’d still be riding around on horses for transportation and hunting for food every day.As for the human element, that’s all well and dandy, but tell that to former Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga. Had it not been for a blown call by Jim Joyce, Galarraga would be one of only 24 pitchers to ever throw a perfect game.He’s said all the right things since then and remained incredibly classy about the situation, but deep down it kills him not to have that perfect game on his résumé when it should be.Everyone knows he has it, but the record books will forever say otherwise.And you can’t really blame Joyce or any umpire. With everything happening so fast, you’re bound to miss some calls sooner or later.It’s time for baseball to implement an advanced system right away. Don’t even wait until next season. For all we know, this year’s World Series could be wrongly decided on a blown call.Sadly, that might be what it takes to get something going.Don’t be reactive, Selig. Be proactive. Make the right call.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(10/16/12 4:10am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Now that the Atlanta Falcons are the NFL’s lone undefeated team and stand at 6-0 heading into their bye week, the question that always arises at some point during every season will start to peak its head this week.Can the Falcons run the table and go 19-0 this year?Just like the question, the answer is still the same as ever: No.The 1972 Miami Dolphins are famously the only team in NFL history to win every single game, postseason included, and every year they celebrate when the last remaining undefeated team loses its first game.The ’72 Dolphins had a little bit of a scare last year when the Green Bay Packers started 13-0, and they nearly saw their unmatched mark slip away in 2007 when the New England Patriots went 18-0 before losing in the final moments of Super Bowl XLII to the New York Giants by three points.But that legendary team can rest easily, because no team will ever go 19-0.The ’07 Patriots were the perfect team to pull it off. Just look at their résumé.They owned arguably the best offense of all-time, which scored 589 points, still an NFL record.Their quarterback, Tom Brady, had already won three Super Bowls and can be argued to be the best quarterback in history.Brady had maybe the most purely talented wide receiver ever to throw in to wide receiver Randy Moss. Although Moss sometimes didn’t live up to his potential, he certainly did in 2007, when his rejuvenation allowed him to catch 98 passes for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns, the latter also being an NFL record.If Moss wasn’t open, Brady could always easily dump it off to wide receiver Wes Welker, who tied for the league-lead with 112 receptions.Although New England’s high-powered passing attack received all the attention, it’s running game was incredibly solid. The team ranked 11th in yards per rushing attempt and featured third-down back Kevin Faulk, who made countless clutch plays in huge moments.The Patriots’ defense wasn’t too shabby, either. They ranked fourth in points and yards allowed, and only eight teams forced more turnovers.Most importantly, New England benefited from a lot of luck in the regular season just to get to 18-0. In back-to-back weeks, the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens each by only three points, who finished the year 8-8 and 5-11, respectively.The Patriots would have lost to the Ravens if not for a horrible Baltimore timeout that disallowed its team from stopping New England during a crucial fourth down.Had the Patriots dropped stink bombs against decent teams, they would’ve easily lost and not even had a chance at 19-0.The path to 18-0 couldn’t have been laid out more perfectly for the Patriots, and they still couldn’t pull off the final win against the 10-6 Giants.Unlike the days of the 70s, it’s almost impossible to keep together a corps of great players in today’s NFL, making the 2007 New England season that much more impressive.Everyone wants to maximize their earnings. The NFL salary cap of about $120 million makes it hard to have more than a few great players who are real game changers.The ’72 Dolphins featured four First Team All-Pros and nine Pro Bowlers, and that list didn’t include future Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese. There’s no way Miami could have assembled that team with today’s collective bargaining agreement.Those Dolphins also only had to play 14 games in the regular season as opposed to today’s 16, giving current teams two extra chances to throw in a stinker and blow the perfect season.So sleep tight, ’72 Dolphins. No NFL team will ever go undefeated again. Your record is safe.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(10/09/12 2:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>It’s that time of year again. With the Major League Baseball regular season drawing to a close, it’s time to pick award winners and predict who will dominate October. If this year’s playoffs can deliver half the drama and excitement 2011 did, we’re all in for quite a treat.Without further ado, here are my picks.AL MVPMiguel Cabrera might have won the Triple Crown, but I’ve got to go with Mike Trout on this one. He was just behind Cabrera in batting average, and he led the MLB in stolen bases and runs, the latter of which he won by a margin of 20.He also drove in 83 RBI and hit 30 homeruns as a leadoff hitter. His wins above replacement of 10.7 blew everyone else out of the water. The last guy to post a WAR that high was Barry Bonds in 2002. Plus, Trout’s a much better defender than Cabrera.NL MVPMy vote goes to Andrew McCutchen. Like Trout, he has very well-rounded numbers: a .327 batting average, 31 home runs, 107 runs, 96 RBI and 20 stolen bases. He produced those numbers on the 23rd-ranked offense.I don’t care that he’s on a team that finished with 79 wins. Look at the Pittsburgh Pirates roster. Without McCutchen, the Pirates would have finished as one of the worst teams in baseball.AL Cy YoungThis is a tough choice between David Price and Justin Verlander. Price has the slight edge in ERA, but Verlander owns the better WHIP and WAR while logging more strikeouts and innings pitched. Verlander it is, giving him his second straight Cy Young Award.NL Cy YoungR.A. Dickey and Gio Gonzalez are getting all the hype to win this award, but Clayton Kershaw had a better season than both of them.He posted the best ERA in the MLB, recorded a better WHIP and WAR than both Dickey and Gonzalez and finished only one strikeout behind Dickey for the NL lead.Like Verlander, Kershaw should win his second straight Cy Young.World Series PredictionIn the AL, I don’t really trust the Baltimore Orioles or New York Yankees. The Orioles have benefited from an incredible record of 29-9 in one-run games and a jaw-dropping 16-2 record in extra inning games. Their run differential of plus seven is by far the worst of any playoff team. I have a hard time believing this kind of fortune can continue to manifest itself.As for the Yankees, they rely too much on the long ball, and their starting pitching isn’t the most stable.I believe the winner of the Detroit-Oakland series will represent the AL in the World Series. Both teams are incredibly hot heading into the postseason, and as we learned from the Cardinals last year, the playoffs are all about who’s hot.I’ll give the slight edge to the Detroit Tigers because they have the best ace in Verlander and the hottest offensive weapon in Cabrera.In the NL, I’m all about the San Francisco Giants. Besides momentum, the most important asset for a playoff baseball team is starting pitching. The Giants have both.In their last 20 games, the Giants are 14-6 yet somehow flying under everyone’s radar. Their top three pitchers, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong each have an ERA of 3.37 or lower. Their usual ace, Tim Lincecum, has struggled this year, but most of that was due to a rough start.Since the All-Star break, Lincecum has posted an ERA of 3.83. That’s still not his usual self, but he’s a great bullpen option to hold leads.San Francisco’s offense isn’t too shabby either. The batting average of .269 is fifth-best in all of baseball, and the 718 runs is good for 12th.In the rest of the NL, the Washington Nationals are too inexperienced, the St. Louis Cardinals are too inconsistent and the Cincinnati Reds don’t have quite enough firepower in their lineup.Give me the Giants in six games against the Tigers in the World Series.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(10/02/12 3:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Fueled by another early exit from the playoffs a year ago, Matt Ryan appears to be playing on a new level in 2012.He’s got his Atlanta Falcons sitting at a perfect 4-0 a quarter of the way through the NFL season, one of only three teams in the NFL to remain undefeated after four weeks.Before his arrival, Atlanta had never posted back-to-back winning seasons. He is now on the verge of accomplishing a winning season in each of his five NFL seasons.The Falcons have never been 4-0 with Ryan as their starting quarterback. One reason for their early success this season is their willingness to give Ryan much more control of the offense.During his first four years in the NFL, Atlanta averaged 30.64 rushing attempts per game while passing the ball 33.98 times per contest. The team entrusted running back Michael Turner with a great amount of work for its offense.This year, that has changed. Atlanta has decreased its rushing attempts to 24 per game and increased its passing average to 36.75 attempts.A quarter of the way through the season, the 27-year-old might just be the league’s MVP.Among quarterbacks that have started four games, Ryan leads the NFL in quarterback rating and Total QBR, statistics that completely encapsulate a quarterback’s performance.He ranks second in passing touchdowns and seventh in passing yards per game, all the while tossing only two interceptions.His most impressive performance came Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.With less than eight minutes to play, Ryan’s Falcons trailed the visiting Panthers by four points.Starting at its own 20-yard-line, Atlanta had a lot of field to cover and not much time to do it.Ryan led the hurry-up offense down the field all the way to the Carolina 15 yard line in less than three minutes. Atlanta kicked a field goal, bringing the score to 28-27 in favor of the Panthers.Atlanta got the ball back with 3:16 remaining and a chance to take the lead. Ryan made a beautiful pass on the first play of the drive, a rainbow to wide receiver Julio Jones that, had Jones’ big toe not grazed the sideline, would have been good for 43 yards.Jones stepped out, and the Falcons had to punt after a lockdown performance from the Carolina defense for the next two plays.Ryan would have one last chance to lead his team to a victory. In a seemingly impossible situation, Atlanta had the ball at their own one yard line with 59 seconds remaining on the clock and no timeouts.Ryan wasn’t fazed.Again on the first play of the game, he hoisted up a deep ball to one of his receivers. This time, Roddy White came down with the perfectl y placed pass good for a 59-yard gain.A couple more quick passes to the sidelines, and Ryan had set up his kicker with an easy 40-yard field goal to take the lead for good.To be one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, you need the arm, the stats, the confidence and the wins.Matt Ryan has all of them. The only thing eluding his accomplishments is a Super Bowl victory.The way he’s playing now, don’t be surprised if he adds one of those to his résumé come February.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(09/25/12 3:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Making a mistake once is forgivable. Nobody is perfect.Committing that same mistake a second time starts to raise suspicions of one’s decision making. Most people learn their second time around.But repeating the same mistake for a grand total of three blunders on the same issue? Now any sense of credibility is completely jeopardized.Such is the case with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.Since being named commissioner in February 1993, Bettman is now enduring his third league-wide lockout.The first occurred during the 1994-1995 season, not even two years after obtaining his position as overseer for the entire league.It lasted from Oct. 1, 1994, to Jan. 11, 1995, and sacrificed 468 regular season games in the process.The second lockout of 2004-05 was even worse. It resulted in the first time in history that a major professional sports league in North America terminated an entire season because of a labor dispute. It was also the first time since 1919 that the Stanley Cup was not bestowed upon a champion.It seemed like a huge blow that could not be overcome. The NHL was already playing fourth fiddle to the NFL, MLB and NBA, and this gave fans no reason to switch their viewing interests to hockey.Luckily for Bettman and the rest of the league, young superstars like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby helped bring back the casual fan with their electric play and intense rivalry.But now, Bettman’s incompetency of being able to run a professional league has led to yet another lockout.This time, he shouldn’t count on his superstars to bring fans back.Ovechkin has publicly criticized Bettman and the league, saying their decisions leading to the lockout has been “stupid”. He signed with the international Kontinental Hockey League to get some playing time during the lockout, and he threatened his return may not happen if the labor situation is not properly resolved, according to an interview with the Washington Post.Crosby is still one of the best players in the league, if not the best, but because of concussion issues has missed 101 games during the past two seasons. There’s no way he can bring fans back by missing that many games, no matter how spectacular his play.There is more promising young talent out there, like Boston Bruins phenomenon Tyler Seguin, but nothing that compares to Ovechkin and Crosby in their top forms.It’s important to note an occasional labor dispute is almost inevitable.The king of American sports, the NFL, just experienced one during summer 2011, but the league handled it incredibly well and only sacrificed one preseason game.The NBA endured its own lockout last year. That was supposed to be nearly impossible to resolve, but it still ended with a 66 game regular season.The MLB suffered a huge players’ strike in 1994, which cancelled the World Series.But since Bettman has been named commissioner of the NHL, five lockouts resulting in the loss of regular season games have occurred between the four major sports leagues of North America.With almost the entire NHL preseason cancelled and no new labor talks scheduled, it’s safe to assume that number will reach six before long.That would make three of the six such lockouts during the past 20 years the NHL’s doing. Bettman has overseen all of them.The NHL can’t afford to make the same mistakes over and over again when they’re already at a popularity disadvantage.It’s time for a new commissioner.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(09/18/12 3:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Back in July 2010, it seemed no one could possibly dethrone LeBron James as America’s most hated basketball player.Not only did he spurn Cleveland on national television, but he helped organize a Miami Heat welcome party celebrating the union of himself, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The trio celebrated victory before even stepping on the court together.James’ struggles in the 2011 NBA Finals and the subsequent Miami loss only fueled the fire for all the LeBron haters.But fast forward to 2012, and Dwight Howard has done the impossible.His constant waffling back and forth between wanting to stay with the Orlando Magic and requesting to be traded, in addition to demands that his head coach Stan Van Gundy be fired, left quite the sour taste in fans’ mouths.One day, he wants to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets. The next day, he decides he wants to stay in Orlando. The next, he wants Van Gundy gone. Then he opts in for one more year with the Magic.At least James made a decision and stuck with it instead of dragging out a soap opera for an entire season.Howard was clearly trying to be liked by as many people as possible. He admitted so in a recent interview with ESPN’s Ric Bucher when he said, “I never wanted anybody to hate me, you know. I wanted everybody to love me, you know, like me, for sticking around and doing what they wanted me to do. And making everybody else happy.”A lot of fans are annoyed at Howard’s indecision and rightfully so.But annoyance is exactly where the feelings should stop.Anyone who calls Howard a jerk or claims to hate him is crossing the line.All any standard fan knows about Howard is that he made some really big mistakes.None of them know his day-to-day personality, his true off-court behavior or anything else that makes up Dwight Howard the person.In a time when anything and everything deemed controversial is blown way out of proportion, fans are instantly informed any time a star athlete does something wrong.When James had his TV special and named it “The Decision,” the national media exploded, saying his act was made with utter cockiness. Yet, the media failed to give much coverage to how the show was able to raise millions of dollars for the Boys and Girls Club of America because of it.We are immediately informed any time Howard or another NBA star makes a public relations blunder but never when they help the community. The only coverage of those generous acts are the short “NBA Cares” commercials that run only during games.Imagine having to live in a world like that, in which every mistake you made was highlighted for millions to see, but your good deeds were swept under the rug. Wouldn’t you feel you were being represented unfairly?Think about some of your closest friends. Say you didn’t know them and were given only a sheet of paper listing their biggest jerk moments. By reading only those lowlights, you would consider just about every person an idiot. But since they’re your friends, you know them well, and you know there’s much more to them.Fans don’t know Dwight Howard. They know how he plays basketball, what he says to the media and every single one of his mistakes.My guess would be that if you somehow spent just one day with him to get to know him, your opinion would change.So don’t call Dwight Howard, or any athlete for that matter, a jerk. Get annoyed by his actions? Sure. Be angry that he didn’t learn from his first few mistakes? Fine. But never judge someone until you really know them as a person.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(09/11/12 3:06am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III will forever be compared to one another.Luck, the traditional pocket quarterback from Stanford, was taken first overall in the 2012 NFL draft by the Indianapolis Colts.Griffin, the spread-it-out-and-attack scrambler from Baylor, was selected right after Luck when the Washington Redskins traded up to the second spot to grab their franchise quarterback.Both were thought by many draft experts to be the best quarterback prospects since Peyton Manning in 1998.On Sunday, both Griffin and Luck made their NFL regular season debuts. They did not disappoint.Griffin faced the vaunted Drew Brees and his powerful New Orleans Saints team that finished 13-3 last year.All he did was pass for 320 yards and two touchdowns while adding 42 yards on the ground. He became the first player in NFL history to put up those passing numbers without throwing an interception in a debut. His 88-yard pass to Pierre Garcon in the first quarter was the longest by a rookie in week one since the 1940s.The most remarkable aspect of Griffin’s passing numbers was his efficiency. He completed 19 of his 26 pass attempts, which resulted in a jaw-dropping 12.3 yards per attempt for the rookie. His proficiency led to an incredible quarterback rating of 139.9.Griffin’s performance was very steady. The Redskins scored ten points per quarter, resulting in a 40-32 win against the Saints.Perhaps the most impressive part of Griffin’s debut was his reluctance to run out of the pocket. He’s extremely athletic, so he could rip off 10-yard runs left and right if he really wanted to.But on multiple occasions, Griffin stayed patient and eventually found an open receiver downfield for a big pass. Not only did this result in more yards, but it also saved Griffin from a possible injury from any roaming linebacker wanting to crack a few bones.Luck didn’t turn in the same type of performance. He went though some growing pains, tossing three interceptions and losing a fumble.But his numbers were not a direct result of his performance.Luck faced the Chicago Bears defense, consistently one of the best in the league. Combine that with the Colts’ horrible offensive line and the fact that Indianapolis’ leading rusher, Donald Brown, only ran for 48 yards, and it’s a miracle Luck could even get off a decent look.The Bears didn’t have to prepare for the run. They knew Luck was the Colts’ only threat. Chicago consistently collapsed the pocket whenever Luck would drop back for a pass, forcing him into hurried decisions that would trouble some of the league’s best quarterbacks, let alone a rookie in his first start.Still, Luck managed to throw for 309 yards and a touchdown. He also led an impressive drive at the end of the first half, going 59 yards in 42 seconds before Adam Vinatieri missed a field goal to end the drive and the period.Overall, Griffin claimed victory in round one of the never-ending comparison between the two rookie quarterbacks.But the fans of both the Redskins and Colts should be very happy. If week one was any indication, both Griffin and Luck are well on their way to greatness in the NFL.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(09/06/12 2:28am)
IDS national sports columnist Trent Stutzman gives his predictions on the upcoming NFL season and why he believes Tom Brady will win his fourth Super Bowl ring.
(08/28/12 3:38am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Very few athletes provide inspiration outside the world of sports.When my 10-year-old self aspired to be just like Michael Jordan, I was only yearning for his athletic abilities and nothing else.When young golfers all around the world dream of becoming the next Tiger Woods, it’s not his personal life they wish for.But for millions of fans, Lance Armstrong is more than just a sports hero. He’s a fighter. He not only fought and defeated testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, but he then went on to win an unprecedented seven Tour de France titles.All the while, Armstrong has raised millions of dollars through his Lance Armstrong Foundation to find a cure and help those suffering from the dreaded disease.He inspires not just sports fans, but anyone who has been or who knows someone diagnosed with cancer.I don’t understand why the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is so intent on bringing Armstrong down.USADA and many other high-profile doping agencies have tried time and time again to bust Armstrong for performance enhancing drugs, going all the way back to 1999, his first year as Tour de France champion.Cycling is one of the most PED-troubled sports in the world, so it makes sense why USADA would investigate a rider who dominated the sport every year.But after 13 years of investigation, Armstrong still has never failed a drug test. Plus, he was still racing and winning most of those years, which would be the prime opportunity to catch him, if he was indeed doping.Cyclists are busted all the time for doping. Remember Floyd Landis? He was the first winner of the Tour de France after Armstrong retired for the first time. He failed a drug test not even a week after the Tour ended and was subsequently stripped of his title.Had Armstrong used PEDs, he would have been caught.It is possible to somehow beat a test, but continually cheating the system for years seems highly improbable.The tour’s administrators know their sport is infiltrated with cheaters, and they know how to catch them. You’re not going to fool them for seven straight years.But USADA apparently believes rumors are more credible than official drug tests. The agency has decided to ban Armstrong from cycling and recommended that the International Cycling Union strip him of his seven championships, because he no longer wants to fight the constant allegations.I can’t say I blame him.Why spend time, effort and money on the legal system, when these charges will likely be coming for the rest of his life?Even if his Tour de France titles are indeed vacated, we’re not all going to forget his dominance from 1999 to 2005 or how he used his success to help so many cancer survivors and patients.You can’t rewrite the past. We all witnessed one of the greatest athletes ever, and the stories of his supremacy will forever continue his legend, no matter what the official record book says.So go ahead, USADA. You can take away his titles, but you can’t take away the memories or inspiration.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(08/21/12 3:34am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>As young pitching phenomenon Stephen Strasburg approaches his 160 innings pitching limit, the Washington Nationals face more pressure each day to protect their ace.The idea all along has been to sit Strasburg for the remainder of the season after he pitches 160 innings, preventing him from wearing out his arm at too young an age. After going through Tommy John surgery in 2010 to fix his throwing elbow, and missing most of 2011, Washington wants to be extremely careful with its young pitcher.But many fans of both the Nationals and baseball at large do not agree with the Nationals’ handling of Strasburg.With the Nationals at the top of the big-league standings, fans say the team needs to go for the championship this season, because nothing in the future is guaranteed.Baseball has by far the most streaks of any sport, and sometimes bad streaks can last for years. Injuries can occur to key players at any time.But I think the Nationals are doing the right thing.Winning a championship in any sport is all about who is hot at the right time. Just look at last year’s Major League Baseball playoffs. The St. Louis Cardinals were a good team throughout the regular season, but not the best. Of all eight playoff teams, the Cardinals had the worst record. But in the first round, the Cardinals faced the Philadelphia Phillies, who had the best record in baseball by five games. The red-hot red birds took down the year’s best team, and the rest was history.If the Nationals go for it all this year, they could very well be the 2012 Phillies. And in the process, Strasburg’s elbow could sustain unwarranted wear and tear.But by saving Strasburg, Washington provides itself with a solid foundation for the future.It already owns one of the best young cores in all baseball, including Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Jordan Zimmermann and Ryan Zimmerman, all of whom are 27 or younger.If they can keep the majority of their roster intact, the Nationals will to be a strong team for many years to come.Rather than going all out in one year for a title, the better solution is to stay healthy and strong for multiple years. That way, Washington will always be in the playoff hunt year in and year out, with a strong possibility of catching fire at least one of those years.It’s like investing. The old adage is not to put all your money into one stock, because that one stock could fail dramatically and take all your money with it.But if you spread out your wealth, your chance to strike gold dramatically increases.The NFL’s Green Bay Packers worked this plan to perfection. They could have gone for one last title push with Brett Favre back in 2008 but instead entrusted their future with Aaron Rodgers. They now already have one Super Bowl in the Rodgers era with a strong possibility of winning at least one more.The Nationals will have to make a decision. Do they want to go all in and risk the future of their franchise for one year? Will they stay patient and trust their young talent to bring home a title in years to come?We’ll find out in October.— tlstutzm@indiana.edu
(08/15/12 1:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One of the great thrills in sports is watching the underdog break through unimaginable odds to claim victory.It’s why “Tebow Mania” swept the nation during football season, only to be surpassed by “Linsanity” in February.It’s why Al Michaels’ call, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” is one of the most legendary in history, and always will be.And it’s why every IU basketball fan will always remember every intricate detail leading up to, during and after that fateful game against Kentucky on Dec. 10, 2011.But the 2012 Olympics gave us a chance to see the other side of the “dog” spectrum, if you will. Two top dogs, each seeking to complete their legacies that began in prior Olympic games, went to London and left no doubt in anyone’s mind they were the best at their respective sport.First, Michael Phelps had to prove he was not just the greatest swimmer, but one of the best athletes ever to compete in the Olympics. Coming into the games, the hype surrounded American Ryan Lochte. Phelps admitted he didn’t train as hard for London as he did for Athens or Beijing. However, Lochte claimed 2012 was his time.So much for that. Lochte did leave London with two golds, two silvers and a bronze, but Phelps stole the show again with four golds and two silvers.It didn’t live up to his eight-gold-medal performance in Beijing, but it left an exclamation point at the end of his career. Phelps left the Olympics with 22 career medals, four more than any other athlete in Olympic history.Eighteen of those medals are gold, which doubles the amount of four other athletes now tied for second all-time.Then, there was Usain Bolt. As with Phelps, many questioned if Bolt could continue his dominance in London. He had his fellow countryman rising up in Yohan Blake, trying to make his own mark in the Olympics. But Blake, and everyone else for that matter, didn’t stand a chance against Bolt.He became the first sprinter ever to win both the 100-meter and 200-meter in consecutive Olympics, and we’re still not sure if he finally gave it his all in any of those races.Bolt couldn’t break the world records in either of those events like he did in Beijing, but he set the bar so high (or low), those sprinting records will probably become two of sports’ most unbreakable, along with Cy Young’s 511 wins, Bill Russell’s 11 championships and Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 career points, among others.Many people would have liked to see Lochte or Blake pull the Olympic upset and dethrone the king of their respective sport. It would have been a great storyline, another underdog defeating the almighty stalwart.But do you know what’s better than the ultimate upset? The ultimate champion.No one complains of boredom while watching Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali or Gretzky win all the time. The spectators lucky enough to see these legends in their prime rave about how special it was to witness such greatness.Well, now you can tell your kids and grandchildren about Phelps and Bolt. There sure won’t be any others like them, at least not for a long, long time.
(04/23/12 3:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Teter, Wing It, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Sigma Pi had been battling back and forth all night with no team taking a commanding lead. As the 100th and final lap began, the six teams found themselves in an all-out, one-lap sprint to decide the winner of the 25th women’s Little 500 at Bill Armstrong Stadium.Miss-N-Out and Individual Time Trials champion Kathleen Chelminiak of Kappa Alpha Theta and Kayce Doogs of DG broke away from the rest of the pack, with Chelminiak leading on the back stretch. Doogs began to diminish Chelminiak’s lead going into turn three and caught up to take the lead by the time turn four was through. Doogs was able to maintain the lead for the final sprint, giving DG its first Little 500 victory since 2008 with an unofficial time of 1:12:59.“It feels great,” Doogs said. “We’ve been imagining this since they won back in 2008. I got a little scared because Theta was cranking away, and I said, ‘I need to stay on her wheel.’ I just found that energy in me and just went around in turn four.”It was DG’s second ever, putting them behind only Teter, Theta and Kappa for most all-time wins.“It’s unbelievable,” junior and DG rider Kelsey Phillips said. “I’ve been riding since I was a freshman, and this is finally happening. All the hard work and preparation that got us to this point was worth it.”“I absolutely cannot put it into words,” junior Emily Loebig said. “This is unbelievable.”The members of Theta found themselves a half lap down from the lead after a bike fumbling near the beginning of the race. The team eventually worked its way back to the lead group a little after the halfway mark.“I’m proud of the way everyone performed,” Chelminiak said. “There’s four people on our team. You can only do it together. There’s no way one of us by ourselves could have gotten back from that gap.”While Teter riders were looking to win an unprecedented third consecutive victory, the team had to settle for third place.“I’m happy with our placement,” senior Teter rider Lisa Hutcheson said. “I love competitive sprinting, and that’s what it came down to. That’s the funnest thing for me to do. It was an amazing experience, and I’m happy.”Wing It came in after Teter to finish fourth, while Delta Sigma Pi and Kappa placed fifth and sixth, respectively. According to unofficial times, each of the top six teams finished one second behind their predecessors. The seventh-place team, Collins, finished one minute and six seconds after Kappa.Rounding out the top 10 were Alpha Gamma Delta, Chi Omega and Alpha Chi Omega, respectively.With Doogs, Phillips and Loebig all being juniors, DG members are confident they will be even more of a threat next year.“We’re going to come back strong next year,” Doogs said. “We’ll definitely be looking for a repeat. That’s for sure.”
(04/21/12 1:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, Teter, Wing It, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Delta Sigma Pi had been battling back-and-forth all night with no one team ever taking a commanding lead. As the 100th and final lap began, the six teams found themselves in an all-out, one lap sprint to decide the 25th Women’s Little 500 at Bill Armstrong Stadium.Miss-N-Out and Individual Time Trials champion Kathleen Chelminiak of Kappa Alpha Theta and Kayce Doogs of Delta Gamma broke away from the rest of the pack, with Chelminiak leading on the back stretch. Doogs began to diminish Chelminiak’s lead going into turn three, and caught up to take the lead by the time turn four was through. Doogs was able hold on to the lead for the final sprint, giving Delta Gamma their first Little 500 victory since 2008, with an unofficial time fo 1:12:59.“It feels great,” Doogs said. “We’ve been imagining this since they won back in 2008…I got a little scared because Theta was cranking away, and I said ‘I need to stay on her wheel’. I just found that energy in me and just went around in turn four.”The win was Delta Gamma’s second ever, putting them behind only Teter, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma for most all time. “It’s unbelievable,” junior Kelsey Phillips said. “I’ve been riding since I was a freshman, and this is finally happening. All the hard work and preparation that got us to this point was worth it.”“I absolutely cannot put it into words,” junior Emily Loebig said. “This is unbelievable.”Kappa Alpha Theta found themselves a half lap down from the lead after a bike fumbling towards the beginning of the race. The team eventually worked their way back to the lead group a little after the halfway mark.“I’m proud of the way everyone performed,” Chelminiak said. “There’s four people on our team. You can only do it together. There’s no way one of us by ourselves could have gotten back from that gap.”While Teter was looking to win an unprecedented third consecutive victory, they had to settle instead for third place.“I’m happy with our placement,” senior Teter rider Lisa Hutcheson said. “I love competitive sprinting, and that’s what it came down to. That’s the funnest thing for me to do. It was an amazing experience and I’m happy.”Wing It came in after Teter to finish fourth, while Delta Sigma Pi and Kappa Kappa Gamma placed fifth and sixth, respectively. According to unofficial times, each of the top six teams finished one second behind their predecessor. The seventh-place team, Collins, finished one minute and six seconds after Kappa Kappa Gamma.Rounding out the rest of the top ten were Alpha Gamma Delta, Chi Omega, and Alpha Chi Omega, respectively.With Doogs, Phillips, and Loebig all being juniors, Delta Gamma is confident they will be even more of a threat next year.“We’re going to come back strong next year,” Doogs said. “We’ll definitely be looking for a repeat. That’s for sure.”Unofficial standings1. Delta Gamma2. Kappa Alpha Theta3. Teter4. Wing It5. Delta Sigma Pi6. Kappa Kappa Gamma7. Collins8. Alpha Gamma Delta9. Chi Omega10. Alpha Chi Omega11. Cru Cycling12. Kappa Delta13. Zeta Tau Alpha14. RideOn15. Melanzana16. Army Women17. Rainbow Cycling18. Delta Zeta19. Gamma Phi Beta20. Last Chance21. Alpha Xi Delta22. Sigma Delta Tau23. Willkie24. Pi Beta Phi25. Mezcla26. Air Force Cycling27. Anchors Away28. Alpha Phi29. Alpha Omicron Pi30. Alphie31. Delta Delta Delta32. Theta Phi Alpha33. Alpha Delta Pi