Page 36 - Phoenix2003

CMeR TeffjJr Volume XXVIII Number 3 SPORTS Wednesday, October 8, 2003 - Page 12 Women's Basketball Preview: "We have a pleasant dilemma" Answers from Sports Trivia: RuSGOEKE snBPI:::>!N Staff Writer )[:::>Bf'v Often, when a team is about to begin a Though the influx of freshmen will af- "The challenge for me this year will be season, the coach has their concerns and fect the team, the upperclassmen's presence fitting all the pieces together," said Coach doubts about how the team will fair as the will aid in the younger players' development Martin. season progresses. This first statement, said as weI! as keeping the team steady and suc- And this is the 'pleasant dilemma' Mar- by Women Basketball's Coach Becky Mar- cessful. tin has. Her team can adapt and thrive in any tin, shows that none of these usual trepida- Cramp has been a solid starter since her type of game, be it a slow down, grind it out UOl)[:::>OlS tions exist for the coach. arrival at McDaniel. Junior Jacqueline Pundt contest or a fast paced, finesse one. Coming off consecutive 22-win seasons received significant minutes last year. (22-7 in 2001-2002, 22-9 in 2002-2903), a Kasey Barnes and Brooke Weimer, each The team also has the ability to dominate uqorS facet of the game, as well as Centennial Conference championship in the juniors, will vie for starting spots. the rebounding shooting portion .. the outside 200 J -2002 season, and a championship game "All of these players are capable of see- This versatility will aid them. appearance last season, recent history would ing quality playing time and will help the ln preparation for the season, the team indicate that Martin has little reason to be team to be successful," said Martin. has been working out by themselves. worried. The team's lone senior, Toby Mcintire, On Tuesdays and Thursdays nights, one However, she still has a few apprehen- has been a consistent contributor [at point might have a difficult time getting into the BAOlH01ABN sions, but they are the type of problems a guard] the past three seasons, and Martin an- gym. It is always being utilized by the coach likes to have: a lot of depth and a rich ticipates much of the same this season. women's team. mix of youth and experience. "This season is her final opportunity. She The women's basketball team at BU!llBW'Z "We recruited a lot of freshmen because wants to go out on top and she will do ev- McDaniel is like a predictable drumbeat. At of the mass exodus of seniors last year. erything in her capabilities to help the team first glance, with so many members of the OUf present freshmen class is very tal- win the conference," said Martin. ented" said Coach Martin Sophomore Kristy Costa will also aid the team gone, the team seems like it should lose its rhythm. Five seniors left the team last year. team both on the floor and the in locker room. However, the combined force of the At last count, eleven freshmen are at- "Kristy saw quite a bit of playing time freshmen and upperclassmen can act together tempting to replace them. It appears that last year. Iam looking for her to step up now to keep the team and tradition of women's these graduates are being replaced with not that she is an upperclassman," said Coach basketball at McDaniel intact. just quantity, but also quality. Martin. Martin added, "We have a sharp learning "We have a young team. It will take some Just as the mix of experience and YOUlh curve, but with hard work, the team will learn time to get everyone on the same page, but is beneficial to the squad, so are two other how to play together." the first-year students are learning relatively strategic groupings: speed and height and the quickly," said Junior Kelly Cramp. availability of an inside-outside game. Rush Limbaugh's "folly": What did we expect? PAT O'TOOLE Assistant Sports Editor Opinion: n, A belief or conclusion held with day NFL Countdown." The move came amid have done so for a third straight year had he confidence but not substantiated controversy over comments he made regard- not bee~ injured in 2002. Yes, he is strug- the consequences that would follow thereaf- by positive knowledge or proof. ing Philadelphia Eagles quarterback gling this season, but to say that he was never ter. Donovan McNabb. Limbaugh said that good might be a stretch. He knew there would be some contro- Sometimes it seems like the American McNabb's poor perfonnanceoflate is no sur- But Limbaugh,just like every other foot- versy, but I can say with confidence that he people need to take a closer look at the above prise, that he was never any good in the first ball fan, is entitled to his own opinion. And never imagined his remarks would be scan- word and its definition. An opinion cannot place. He went on to say that the sports me- so what if he expressed it on national televi- dalized to these proportions. be right or wrong. It is not fact, nor is it dia exaggerated McNabb's abilities because sion? Why can't we all just get along? claimed to be so. It is nothing more than one they wanted to see a black quarterback suc- That's why ESPN hired him in the first Limbaugh made a comment; he stated his person's belief. ceed. p.lace, isn't it? ~id they expect him to just opinion. Okay, so now it's someone else's Why, then, does someone simply giving The flurry of negative publicity that fol- turn. sit there and nod IS head? I think not. He is his or her opinion warrant such negative lowed Limbaugh's comments was, in my known to create a stir, and he lived up to his That's the civilized way to do it. To me, press? Maybe because it touches on such a opinion, utterly ridiculous. reputation. ignoring an issue shows some kind of guilty sore subject that it's difficult to even discuss. Not only were there reporters insinuat- There are a lot of opinionated people in conscience. Maybe it's not "Politically Correct." ing Limbaugh's stupidity and racism, but the the world, but not all of them have a chance If Limbaugh's speculations are untrue, So, in the eyes of the press, the simplest media also began looking into his personal then someone should be willing to sit down solution is to just scrutinize the person who life. For example, headlines expressed un- to air their views in front of millions of with him and publicly discuss the topic. people. Well, not many people would want had the gall to bring up such a controversial founded claims of I would like to think that we still live in to. One can only imagine the headlines if topic. To me, this is nothing more than a Limbaugh's addiction 10 painkillers. e~eryone's thoughts were nationally rele- a world where we can talk about issues with- COpOUI. Limbaugh's comments may have been in- VIsed. I know J wouldn't want to be in that out fear of retribution. Rush Limbaugh, the quintessential con- accurate. After all, McNabb has three solid position. Limbaugh made the choice of stat- servative radio show host, quit his job last seasons under his bell. He passed for over ing his mind, and probably thought he knew [Note: commentator's phone number and Thursday at ESPN's pregame show "Sun- 3000 yards in both 2000 and 200 I, and would address wuheld]