A Final Reflection On Cornell Sports

During my visit to Cornell as a junior in high school, I attended a Q-and-A session with other prospective students. While most of the questions were in the typical mold of the sort you would expect to hear (What’s the core curriculum? Are the students really competitive?), one girl asked, “Can the students playing intramurals use the same fields as the varsity athletes?” At the time, I thought this was the most ridiculous question that anyone could have asked. “Who cares about intramural fields? I’m here for the academics,” I thought at the time.

It is ironic that, five years later, I have spent a large portion of my time here at Cornell at both the intramural and varsity fields. Coming in as a freshman, I had no idea that I would stand in the pouring rain during a football game, get frostbite covering an evening soccer match, or play ice hockey in Lynah Rink. I’ve experienced a lot of things here as a fan, a reporter, and an athlete, and it’s these memories that I’ll look back upon years later and smile.

Thinking about how sports as a whole has impacted my college experience, I remembered those commercials on ESPN – the ones that asked, “Without sports, how would we know what we’re made of,” or “who would cheer for the Nimrods?” I’d like to that ask -- and answer -- that question now, based on my four years on the Hill.

Without (Cornell) sports….

Why would we hate Harvard?

Sure, they’re ranked higher than us in the USNWR rankings (along with every other Ivy for that matter), but how much can you really dwell on those numbers? The Ivy League, after all, is an athletic conference, not a research convention. We can complain all we want about Harvard’s grade inflation, but once a year when the men’s hockey team provides a beatdown of the Crimson in Lynah, we can forcefully assert our dominance. There was never a time that I hated Harvard more than after they beat us in overtime at Lynah East my freshmen year. When they came to Lynah three months later, the atmosphere and crowd noise was unbelievable, and Cornell got its revenge with a 6-3 thrashing of the Crimson. But then of course Harvard went and won the ECAC title in double-overtime, setting off another round of hatred.

How would we brag to our friends at other schools?

I’m sure your friends at USC or UNC really cares that Cornell’s nano-genomic research department is regarded as the best in the country. They’ll really lose sleep over that fact after watching their school’s highlights on SportsCenter. While people don’t normally think of athletics when they hear “Cornell,” the athletes and teams here have been making a huge splash on the national scene in the past four years. The wrestling team finished fourth in the entire country this year at the NCAAs, and senior Travis Lee won his second national title in three years. The men’s lacrosse team is currently ranked fourth in the country after posting its first undefeated Ivy season since 1987. They’ve also reached the NCAA quarterfinals in two of the past four seasons. Of course, the men’s hockey team has had an amazing run the past four seasons – a Frozen Four appearance, three NCAA tournaments, two ECACHL titles, and four Ivy League titles, not to mention two Hobey Baker finalists. We’ve also had a slew of All-Americans in hockey, lacrosse, wrestling, track, cross country, and softball.

What would we wear?

ESPN already touched on this question in one of their commercials by showing a clip from Nelly’s music video for “Air Force Ones.” While I sadly don’t own a pair of these coveted shoes, I do have an inordinate amount of Cornell sports clothing. Let’s tally it up – one Lynah Faithful shirt, three Cornell hockey hats, two Cornell hockey jerseys, one ECAC Championship t-shirt, three Frozen Four t-shirts, three Cornell hockey long sleeve shirts, three Cornell basketball t-shirts, two Cornell lacrosse t-shirts, and one Cornell football t-shirt. That’s two weeks worth of clothing right there.

How would we give it our all?

For those of us non-varsity athletes on campus, we are fortunate enough to have the largest intramural sports program in the Ivy League. I can think of no better activity that lets you take a much-needed break from studying and also lets you demonstrate to your classmates that you are, indeed, the best horseshoes player on campus. Thinking back to that Q-and-A session, I never thought the answer to that girl’s question would actually have any importance to me. Of course, now I know the answer – sometimes, depending on the sport and/or how far into the playoffs you are.

As this is my last column, tradition holds that I explain what my moniker, “I Never Kid,” actually means. To understand the relevance, we must travel back to the fall of 1968….

It’s the first day of class, and my father, a high school senior, is sitting in college physics (it’s a double period). The teacher was Mr. Landau--

the most nasty, ornery teacher in the school. He had a bad reputation and everyone hated him. Landau had a short gray crew cut and mustache like Adolph Hitler. His complexion was gray – gray mustache, gray face, gray hair. After a lecture for the first period, the bell rings, and Landau tells the class to sit quietly until the start of the next period. In between periods, a student comes into barging in, and flings open the door. The class, who had been sitting quietly, looks up at this kid. Landau then looks at the kid and asks, “Who are you?”

“I’m XXXXX,” the student says.

“Where have you been?”

“I’ve been in study hall.”

“Well, this class is a double period and you missed the first period.”

“You’re kidding!”

At this point, Landau bangs his fist on the table and screams,

“I NEVER KID!”

And he never did.

35 years later, this seemingly irrelevant story inspired the name for my column. As a kid, my dad would retell similar stories about Landau. Whenever I questioned the fairness of one of my parent’s decisions, my dad would quip, “I never said it was fair,” another Landau-ism, this one born after a student complained that he only got two points on a test even though he had the right answer (but the wrong work). This was in stark contrast to his usual grading policy of full credit for the correct answer and no credit for the correct work, and so the student protested about the unfairness of the new policy. However, the student was lucky to have received such a comment, as Landau typically answered an argument with, “So?”

While this story has nothing to do with sports, it’s a fitting title because of my preferred use of sarcasm in my columns. At times, I took the sarcastic route in my columns (such as my suggestion that hockey bring back the rover position as the solution to its labor woes or when I previewed the 2004 baseball season by comparing teams to their animal nicknames). Other times, “I Never Kid,” can be taken at face value (see my actual suggestions for repairing the game of hockey after the season was cancelled). Overall, I tried to take the middle ground because too much sarcasm gets old too quickly and too much seriousness makes a column boring. No one wants to be lectured about sports – people prefer to be entertained.

Though I had no central theme for my column topics, I always tried to write about something that was just outside the game itself, whether it be the sports media, business, or history. By the time you pick up a copy of the Sun, you’ve already heard everything you need to know about how the Yankees can get out of their slump, so you certainly don’t need another reiteration. Hopefully, I’ve given you a fresh take on some sports issues you may not have been thinking of.

At this point in the column, some thanks are in order:

To my mom: You’ve read every article I’ve written for the Sun over the past four years, edited my writing, talked sports with me, and always reminded me to do my work, thanks for your support.

To my dad: I know sports aren’t at the top of your list, but you still read most of my stuff anyway. I’ve relied on you for help with physics and computer science, and I appreciate it a lot. Thanks for your sense of humor and the stories above.

To Alissa: Every other week you ask if you’re going to be in my column, and at last, here you are. You never fail to impress me with all you’ve done in high school, and I’m sure you’ll continue to impress me once you get to Cornell this fall.

To my grandfather: For first cultivating my interest in sports and for quizzing me endlessly about sports trivia.

To the current Sun Sports Editors – Chris, Brian, Bryan, and Olivia: You guys work incredibly hard every day to put out this section. You’ve still got a lot of work ahead of you, so try to get some sleep.

To the past Sports Editors: Thanks for editing my columns and for molding me into a better sports writer.

To Mike Pandolfini: We’ve covered many sports together and have gotten two free t-shirts out of it. Good luck next year getting a reservation at Dorsia.

To the Cornell coaches and athletes: It’s been a pleasure covering your teams the past four years. I’m awed by your hard work and dedication.

To Sports Information: Your enthusiasm and friendliness has made my job a lot easier.

To my friends: You sometimes read my column; that was nice of you. Thanks for the experiences and the memories these past four years.

Finally, to the reader: Thanks for reading down this far. The best part about being a columnist is the positive feedback I’ve received from you.

Well, that’s it. I would like to leave you with one final piece of wisdom – the best water fountain on campus can be found in the ACCEL lab in the engineering library.

The Other Student-Athletes

The field lies empty as the sun rises on a Spring morning. As 1 p.m. approaches, droves of people appear in the distance. Soon, the once quiet field is alive with the sounds of softball, as teams begin to warm up for the upcoming games. With the blast of a horn, play begins. It is Sunday afternoon, and the intramural softball season is underway.

Cornell's intramural sports program, which has been around since the early 1900s, offers students the chance to compete against each other in some of their favorite sports throughout the school year. Intramural sports not only provide great exercise, but they can also help students blow off steam after a bad prelim grade. According to a study conducted by Professor David Kanters of North Carolina State University, participating in campus recreational sports can help college students lower stress-related anxiety.

Intramural records indicate that the All-Around Intramural Championship Trophy was first awarded during the 1927-28 academic year to Delta Chi, but recreational sports have had a presence on the Cornell campus since as early as 1904. Cornell's third president, Jacob G. Schurman, wanted to give non-varsity athletes the chance to participate in a variety of sports under the direction of the varsity coaches.

Nicholas Bawlf, who coached the men's ice hockey team from 1920-1947, was the first known director of intramurals, holding that position from 1937-1947. Before the advent of a full-time director, students were the ones responsible for organizing the intramural competition, and still play an important administrative role in the current program.

After being male-only for its first 70-odd years of existence, the intramural program at Cornell began offering competition for women during the 1974-75 academic year. Sigma Delta Tau and Alpha Phi were the first sororities at Cornell to organize teams in the women's division.

When the program changed its rules to allow men to compete on a single-sex team and a co-ed team, the number of co-ed teams competing increased dramatically. Rules were modified to encourage the utilization of women during the co-ed games. In co-ed basketball, a normal two-point shot is worth three points if a woman makes it, and a normal three-point shot is worth four points.

Dave Pearson is entering his second year as the Robert D. Kennedy '54 Director of Intramurals at Cornell, estimates a student participation level of 6,500 to 6,800 during the 2003-04 school year. Pearson, whose position is the only endowed one of its kind in the country, came to Cornell after working at Washington State and the University of Nebraska, where students take intramural sports very seriously.

"There was one particular individual at Nebraska who was on his ninth or 10th year as an undergrad. He had a degree, but he would sign up for one credit a semester so he could continue to play intramurals," Pearson said.

Pearson and new assistant director Betsy Johnson oversee the program, which offers over 30 different sports and events. Students are also involved in the day-to-day functions, as supervisors and referees. Seven senior supervisors and 13 student supervisors are responsible for overseeing the 150 officials during the games and solving any problems that may arise.

"We always tell the students that work for us that it's their program and we're just there to facilitate it," said Andrea Dutcher, who served as the director of intramruals from 1988-1996.

Jill Mikolayczyk '05 has been working in the intramural program since her freshmen year. After serving as a referee and scorekeeper in volleyball, basketball and floor hockey, she became a student supervisor her sophomore year and is currently a senior supervisor.

"Trying to keep everything on schedule and running smoothly and having enough officials on each field, that's probably one of the hardest things that I have to do," she said. "You have to take into consideration the ability of your referee and the level of the game they're going to be refereeing. You don't want to put a referee who's only had two games under his or her belt in a very intense fraternity game."

Running an intramural program the size of Cornell's takes a large organizational effort. While a software program takes care of scheduling games for the different sports, assigning referees to individual games is trickier, as there are not always a sufficient number of referees available. Being an official can be stressful at times, as some Cornell students are very competitive during intramural sports.

"They want intramurals to be, I think, as competitive as some varsity sports," Mikolayczyk said. "They see all these great referees on television and expect students that are just like them to be top-notch. Our officials are very good. A lot of them come in with no sports knowledge whatsoever, and I think that by the end of the year, their improvement is amazing."

One of the factors that must be considered when running an intramural program is risk management. The staff must ensure that the participating students are safe during the games. For sports like ice hockey, this means strict equipment requirements for all players and the use of non-contact rules. Riskier sports that were once offered by the intramural program at Cornell, such as fencing and box lacrosse, have been discontinued.

At the University of Notre Dame, the only school in the country to offer tackle football (most schools offer flag football as an intramural sport), extra safety considerations are extremely important. Equipment must be in excellent shape, interested players must sign a waiver form, and there are EMTs at every game. Despite the hazard involved, tackle football has a high participation level.

"This program is by far our most popular men's intramural sport," said Rich O'Leary, the director of intramurals at Notre Dame. "We do not have fraternities or sororities, so the dorm competition is quite intense. Dorms hold barbecues before or after the games, and some halls provide half-time entertainment. The championship game is played in Notre Dame Stadium."

Intramural athletes at Cornell also compete in the varsity facilities. The entire intramural ice hockey season is played in Lynah Rink, and the championships for flag football and basketball are played in Schoellkopf Field and Newman Arena, respectively. Basketball was an extremely popular sport last year, as a maximum of 160 teams registered to play across all divisions.

"I talk to the old intramural director about once a month, and when I called him and told him how many basketball teams we had, he just said, 'Holy cow!'" Pearson said. "He moved on to the University of Maryland, which is a basketball school, and we had more intramural teams than they did."

While intramurals provide great athletic competition for non-varsity athletes, every student hopes to one day win an intramural championship and the trophy that comes with it -- a T-shirt. Dutcher recalls one student who, having never won an intramural championship T-shirt as a student, purchased two intramural championship T-shirts at the Quill and Dagger Charity auction for $48. For those students at Cornell who have yet to win, another opportunity is just around the corner, whether it be in softball, indoor soccer, or dodgeball.

Never-before Published Column

Note: I wrote this column about the NFL Draft and then scrapped it in favor of an article I had written in my Writing for Magazines class about Cornell intramurals.

With the NFL Draft this weekend, we’ll be finally rid of those annoying Tom Brady commercials on ESPN. You know the one, “Tom Brady—didn’t even make the All Big 10 First Team, picked 199^th in the 2000 draft, made the team in camp, won three Super Bowls in four years, hosted an awful episode of SNL last weekend, despised by everyone outside of New England. The draft matters! You’d better watch all 2258 hours of coverage on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, and check out past year’s drafts on ESPN Classic!”

Thanks for pointing out the obvious, ESPN; that commercial definitely persuaded me to watch all seven rounds of the draft. That way, when the Jets’ sixth-round pick develops into an amazing player in four years, I’ll be able to say, “Hey, I knew taking C.J. Leak was a great move.” I’m surprised that ESPN hasn’t hired a psychic as one of their draft day commentators, so we would immediately be able to find out if Maurice Clarett will be the second coming of Ricky Williams.

The NFL Draft has the distinction of being the second-best draft to watch on television, but this is not that high an honor. First, you’ve got the NBA Draft, which generates so much buzz that we all tune in to watch the draft order a month ahead of time. Plus, it’s much, much shorter. With only two rounds and five minutes to make a pick, the NBA Draft is a sprint compared to the NFL marathon.

The NHL Draft is third on the list. This one is really exciting. Combine foreign players that you’ve never heard of and never seen play with Canadian junior hockey players that you’ve also never heard of and never seen play, and you’ve got all the makings of a ratings hit. (Oh wait, this year’s draft was cancelled a few weeks ago. Never mind). Finally, you’ve got baseball’s draft, which is conducted by general managers over a speakerphone. Plus, it’s a whopping 50 rounds. Yikes.

That brings us back to the NFL. Seven rounds, 15 minutes for each pick, 12 different teams of analysts, and … Mel Kiper, Jr. Yes, it’s going to be an exciting weekend. In the past two years, viewers have been treated to several interesting storylines. Two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings forever cemented themselves in draft day lore when they failed to make their selection in the allotted time. This led to a mad scramble as Carolina and Jacksonville submitted their draft selections in mere seconds, kicking Minnesota down to the ninth pick. Thankfully, this also gave everyone 30 minutes of their life back.

Last year’s draft featured Clarett’s failed legal battle and Eli Manning complaining about going to San Diego. However, with the dust settling on the 2004 NFL season, we can all see that the Chargers’ pick of kicker Nate Kaeding in the third round had much more of an impact on their season than Philip Rivers. What do we have to look forward to this weekend? Umm … the draft’s new location at the Javits Center? When Clarett will be taken? My mouth is watering.

I’m not too concerned what team ends up taking Alex Smith or Aaron Rodgers. In fact, I don’t think I’ll make it to the end of the first round, when the Jets finally get to their first pick. Besides, according to Mel Kiper’s bio, his first-round predictions are sometimes 80 percent accurate. You don’t even need to watch the draft at all with that kind of accuracy. Too bad you’ll have to pay for ESPN Insider to read anything Mel Kiper has written. While we’re on the subject of Mr. Kiper, is there anyone else in the sports world who spends so much time analyzing something that when you think about it is pretty meaningless? I mean, tracking the draft stock of college players is kind of pointless when he could be doing actual analysis during the season. Or, maybe he could be working as an actual scout for an actual NFL team. We don’t have an NBA equivalent of Kiper; maybe because it’s Jay Bilas would rather be doing analysis and color commentary during the college basketball season. Even though he’s not holed up in an office watching games via satellite all season, Bilas still does a great job during the NBA Draft coverage.

So there you have it—the NFL Draft is overrated. There’s no allure to who gets picked first (only two players picked first overall since 1998 are actually bona fide superstars right now) and it’s way too long. Instead of spending four hours inside this Saturday afternoon, I’m going to be at the Cornell-Princeton lacrosse game at Schoellkopf. Maybe you should be too. [I ended sleeping in and not going to the game]

Mets Fans Caught in the Middle of Television Dispute

"I can see Shea Stadium from my roof, but I can't watch a Mets game in my living room? That's just crazy!" opines Andre from Corona, Queens. Yes, it's a difficult time for New York sports fans. Thanks to the squabbling of Time Warner and Cablevision, 2.4 million New Yorkers have been without MSG, Fox Sports Network NY, and Cablevision's other sports networks since March 7. This of course also affects the 350,000 Time Warner subscribers here in upstate New York. While one would normally expect to see the FSN NY and MSG networks on channels 24 and 100, respectively, they have been replaced by College Sports TV and NBA TV while the two parties duke it out.

Up until Monday, many of you were probably unaware of the channel pull, because, let's face it, no one really wants to watch the Knicks right now. However, with the start of the baseball season on Sunday, many of you were anxiously waiting to see the new-look Mets play their season opener on Monday against the Reds. Alas, that never transpired.

You probably first tuned into ESPN and ESPN2, but there were other games on instead. "Oh, it's probably on MSG," you thought. But wait, NBA TV was there in its place.

At this point, you were probably screaming at your television set. You would not be able to see Pedro's and Beltran's first games as members of the Mets. You were going to have to wait to see the highlights on SportsCenter. While you were listened on the radio or constantly updated the score on the Internet, you missed the Mets doing what they do best-losing the game after the bullpen squandered the lead.

Now that we're all familiar with the pain that Mets fans are experiencing, let's get to the actual dispute between Time Warner and Cablevision. According to givebackmsg.com, a website run by Cablevision:

"MSG has attempted to negotiate a fair and reasonable rights deal with Time Warner Cable for MSG Network and FSN New York. Time Warner Cable has declined the offer to keep games on while the dispute is brought to binding arbitration. Instead, Time Warner Cable has pulled the plug on MSG Network and FSN New York. MSG is still prepared to live by the decision of an independent arbitrator and call[s] on Time Warner Cable to give the fans back their games."

Right on, MSG! Fight the good fight! Interested to know more about the "reasonable deal" that MSG had offered, I perused the site for a few minutes, only to find that there was no other information about this deal. Instead, there were only video testimonials from such impassioned Mets fans like Gregg from Queens, who proclaimed that "We deserve to be able to see ... the Mets; The Knicks too. I mean, c'mon."

Gregg has chosen to invoke the classic "I mean, c'mon," argument, which can be very convincing. However, that wasn't enough for me, so I sought out a different source. According to the New York Daily News, Cablevision wants Time Warner subscribers to pay 30% more per month for FSN NY and MSG. Time Warner refused this increase because no one wants to pay more to watch the Knicks' drive for a lottery pick, and Mets games are not worth nearly as much as Yankees games. Cablevision's offer to settle the dispute via binding arbitration was rejected by Time Warner because the company felt that going to arbitration would only lead to higher prices for its cable subscribers.

While each side has been involved in similar disputes in the past (Cablevision with the YES Network in 2002 and Time Warner with Disney in 2000), I can't really in good conscience side with a company that tried to derail New York's Super Bowl and Olympic bids, stop the Jets from getting a West Side stadium, and run the Knicks and the Rangers into the ground.

Let's not forget that this whole dispute was probably caused by Time Warner's investment in the new Mets network, which debuts in 2006. With the Mets off of MSG and FSN NY, Cablevision will only have the pitiful Knicks and Rangers to show on its networks. Who is going to pay 30% more per month to watch those games? Not me.

While the Mets may have self-destructed on Monday, it would be very ironic if the team completed a huge turnaround this season and made the playoffs when a large portion of its fan base only got to see a third of its games. However, don't despair, dear Mets fans. If you send a copy of this column into DirecTV, you'll get free installation and free HBO for six months, as well as all the Mets game you can handle. If you're still angry at Time Warner for taking away your Knicks and Mets games, you can find solace with fellow Knicks fan Harold from Englewood - "I'm a real diehard Knicks fan. Not being able to see any of the new Knicks and things like that, [not] being able to see Sweetney and all that other stuff, it really makes me mad."

March Madness Bracketology

March -- a time when a young man's fancy turns towards the thoughts of creating the perfect bracket for March Madness. No other sporting event has such a massive appeal to non-sports fans and no other event wastes so much time. Why fill out your bracket at home on Sunday night, when you can pretend to be working on Monday? Besides, if you have been following college basketball all season, it really shouldn't take you that long to fill it out anyway.
If you're not a hoops maven, there are several fallbacks you can rely on to win your office pool. You've got the classic coin flip, favored by many Americans for its sheer simplicity. For those people who want to do a little more research, there's the mascot and color comparisons method. Next, we've got the higher seed technique, which is almost as good as not even filling out a bracket. If none of these options sounds appealing, random guessing is always a fallback strategy for the lazy American.
Or, you could listen to the sports analysts. Over on Yahoo! Sports, there's twelve "experts" predictions. Included in this group are three NASCAR writers, three fantasy sports experts, and Cris Carter. Needless to say, it would probably be better to follow the advice of someone who doesn't have Kentucky making it to the Final Four. ESPN.com's Andy Katz has Wake Forest winning the championship, while the National Bracket (a compilation of picks from everyone who entered ESPN.com's bracket contest) has Illinois winning in the majority of the entries.
The best option, however, would be to listen to my "expert" advice. I have watched over five complete games this season, and I also finished third (or fourth or fifth, I can't remember) in last year's Daily Sun pool. Here's a breakdown of the four regionals, along with my bold predictions.
Chicago Regional
The No. 1 overall seed Illinois was not surprisingly placed in this regional, which means we only have three more weeks of CBS and ESPN showing the same stupid map of how far the Illini have to travel for each round. Out of all the repetitive nonsense that frequently plagues sports analysis, this travel point about Illinois is really stupid. Thank you, Digger Phelps, Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Greg Gumbel, etc. -- we got the point when you first mentioned it a month ago.
A less annoying story out of this regional is whether Penn can become the first Ivy team to win a first-round game since 1998 by knocking off Boston College, who exited the Big East tourney in the quarterfinals. You've also got three of last year's Cinderella teams -- Alabama, Nevada, and UAB -- in this regional, which could cause some shakeups. However, Illinois will be the team coming out of this region, thanks to its veritable "home court advantage." (The Illini only have to drive 120 miles to its first and second rounds games, and then only 133 miles to Chicago for the Sweet 16! Wow! Let's see that visualization on a map again!)
Albuquerque Regional
Washington snuck its way to a No. 1 seed after a Chris Paul-less Wake Forest squad lost in the ACC tourney quarterfinals. However, the Huskies have not impressed anyone other than the selection committee, as ESPN.com's National Bracket has Louisville knocking them off in the Sweet 16. How the Cardinals ended up with a No. 4 seed even though they are currently ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll is a little puzzling.
ACC runner-up Georgia Tech (which was robbed on Sunday, but more on this later) will most likely be in the unenviable position of facing Louisville in the second round. However, Mike Wilbon of ESPN's Pardon the Interruption seems to think highly of the Yellow Jackets, as he has penciled them in for a spot in the Final Four. Yeah, somehow I don't think so. As long as Chris Paul decides not to go medieval on another player's crotch again, the Demon Deacons should advance to St. Louis.
Syracuse Regional
Unlike in the NCAA hockey tournament, the host city's team does not get to play in the regional, so the Orange were sent to Austin. Arguably the toughest regional with UNC, UConn, Kansas, and Florida as the No. 1-4 seeds, it's probably a bad move to jump on the Northern Iowa bandwagon. UNC will have a pretty tough game against Oakland (we're talking about a team that only lost to Illinois by 31 points and also have a losing record), but the Tar Heels should survive to face UConn in the Elite Eight. The defending national champions would have stood a better chance had they not lost the No. 2 and 3 picks in the 2004 NBA Draft, so UNC will be headed back to the Final Four for the first time in five years. For those Cornellians who will be Ithaca over break and want to check out the games at the Carrier Dome, you can buy two seats on eBay for the low price of $560.
Austin Regional
Everyone's favorite team, Duke, stole a No. 1 seed after Wake, UNC, and Kentucky faltered in their conference tournaments. The Blue Devils also stole the ACC championship, as the refs decided to call a foul against Georgia Tech in the closing seconds, when my favorite player, J.J. Redick, actually committed the foul. Instead of the Yellow Jackets getting a chance to take the lead, the best free throw shooter in the history of college basketball got to go to the line. But, I'm not bitter.
Back to the bracket, Duke will lose in the Sweet Sixteen as will Kentucky. (Do not, under any circumstances, pencil in the Wildcats to go far into the tourney. While you may like it when the camera pans to Ashley Judd in the crowd, this is a team that has destroyed my bracket the last two seasons, and probably cost me the Daily Sun crown last year. Plus, they just got destroyed by Florida in the SEC tournament final). Look for Syracuse to knock off Oklahoma in the Elite Eight.
So there you have it: Illinois, Wake Forest, UNC, and Syracuse in the Final Four. As for who wins it all, I'm going to say Illinois over UNC, just like all the other analysts in the country (They're only 180 miles from home! Zounds!). Happy bracketing.

Bonds Makes More Problems

You've got to hand it to Barry Bonds. After refusing to comment on the results of his recent grand jury testimony, Bonds came out firing on all cylinders at his press conference last week when he arrived at San Francisco's spring training. In only a few minutes, Bonds graciously provided the media with a year's worth of sound bites, sounding off on such topics as Sanford and Son, steroids, lying reporters, and Babe Ruth.

It's not easy being Barry. This is a man who's been stuck with many labels over the years, almost none of them positive. You can start out with "greatest hitter of all time," "seven-time MVP," and "record breaker." Of course, there's also "cheater," "steroid user," bad teammate," "hothead," "liar," and "team cancer." Those are pretty harsh words, and it's easy to see why Bonds would not be too friendly with the media -- if this is the way he is being labeled.

Bonds has never been a media darling, and he really didn't endear himself further last Tuesday when he accused the media of lying.

"All you guys lie, all of y'all, in a story or whatever, have lied. Should you have an asterisk behind your name? All of you have lied. All of you have said something wrong, all of you have dirt. All of you. When your closet's clean, then come clean somebody else's. But clean yours first, okay."

Bonds' reaction here is both puzzling and irrational. What is he talking about? What are reporters lying about? Of course, people have secrets. However, members of the media aren't public figures like Bonds is. No one cares about the personal life of a reporter, but people care if one of the best professional athletes in the world is cheating by taking an illegal substance.

Not satisfied with his rant so far, Bonds continued into shakier logical territory.

"The sports world is bad as it is because this is the only business that allows you guys in our office to begin with. You can't just go to Bank of America, walk in the office, and start interviewing employees."

This analogy is, in a word, awful. There's a huge difference between a professional baseball player and a bank employee. A bank employee does not get paid millions of dollars, have his work broadcast on national television, or have millions of people rooting for him to finish a loan application. His salary is not contingent on people buying tickets to see him do his job.

Bonds fails to see the simple connection between the media and his salary. If it weren't for the media coverage, the television broadcasts, or the sports networks, people would not be able to follow sports at all. No fans equals no money for Mr. Bonds. It's not that complicated, and that's what's so irritating about his comments. He seems to think that the fans are lucky to watch him play.

He also thinks he's worth more than the other players, as evidenced by his refusal to sign the MLBPA group licensing agreement in November 2003. The agreement allows the union to negotiate licensing deals on behalf of all the players, with each player getting a share of the profits. By not signing the agreement, Bonds can negotiate separate licensing arrangements for more money. Because he rejected the group agreement, Bonds did not appear in several baseball card sets and video games last year. This is a big blow to the union, and could open the door for other players to opt out as well (Michael Jordan and LaVarr Arrington are the other two notable athletes who have not signed their union's group licensing agreements in the past).

All of these things are not conducive to a positive media image. Most of the time, a player can act like a jerk to the media and it won't make that much of a difference. Unfortunately for Bonds, he happens to be caught up in one of the biggest sports scandals in recent memory. With his grand jury testimony uncovered, maybe the recent press conference would have been a good time for Bonds to answer some questions about steroids. Jason Giambi apologized last month (although not directly for taking steroids); would Bonds have it in him to do the same?

Reporter: Jason Giambi felt the need to make an apology. Is there anything that you need to apologize for?

Bonds: What did I do?

When asked if he thought steroids were considered cheating, Bonds summoned his inner politician.

"I don't -- I don't know what cheating is. I don't know cheating, if steroid is going to help you in baseball. I just don't believe it. I don't believe steroids can help you, eye/hand coordination, technically hit a baseball, I just don't believe it and that's just my opinion."

Deny. Deny. Deny. It's a great way to argue. So all that's required to hit a home run is hand-eye coordination? Really? So muscle strength has nothing to do with hitting a ball far? I suppose steroids won't help you get your bat on the ball, but I'll bet they can make you hit the ball a lot farther.

With the baseball season starting in a month, the Barry Bonds talk is not going to die down in the slightest. Bonds had a chance to gain some sympathy in his press conference, but he instead further alienated himself from the media and the fans. Until the BALCO case is resolved, reporters will continue to ask Bonds about steroids and Bonds will continue to dodge key questions. Hopefully, one day, he'll give the fans a straight answer.

Men's Cagers Set to Host Quakers,Tigers

It's a do-or-die weekend for the men's basketball team. With only four games remaining in the regular season, the Red (11-12, 6-4 Ivy) needs to run the table to have a shot at the Ivy title, and it will get a chance to make up some ground on league-leading Penn (15-8, 8-1 Ivy) when the two teams meet tonight at 7 p.m. at Newman Arena. Tomorrow, Princeton (12-11, 3-6 Ivy) comes to town for a 7 p.m. contest that will be televised on the YES Network. This weekend's games come just two weeks after Cornell played at Princeton and Penn. Also tomorrow, seniors Eric Taylor, Cody Toppert, and Chris Vandenberg will be honored as part of senior night. 

"Princeton's only played three games since we played them, and Penn's only played two games," said head coach Steve Donahue. "It's different because we know each other. Even in those two weeks for us, we've changed dramatically, just with injuries and guys playing."

After splitting last weekend's games against Dartmouth and Harvard, the Red needs four wins plus three Penn losses to clinch at least a share of the league title. If the two teams finished tied for first, they will then play each other in a one-game playoff at a neutral sit e. However, the last time Cornell beat Penn twice in one season was in 1989.

Against Dartmouth last Friday, the Red fell behind early and could not recover, losing 67-54. With sophomore point guard Graham Dow hampered by injury, freshman Jason Canady stepped up with a career and team-high 20 points against the Green, including 16 in the final nine minutes. Starting the following night, Canady put up 15 more points in the Red's 67-63 win at Harvard, and was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his efforts. Junior Ryan Rourke also had a big night against the Crimson, posting a career-high 27 points.

This weekend presents a formidable challenge for the Red, as the team has not swept Princeton and Penn at home since its Ivy title season in 1988. Two weeks ago, Cornell won its first game at Princeton since 1985, beating the Tigers 66-58. The next night at the Palestra, the Red had a chance to become only the fourth team ever in league history to sweep the Tigers and Quakers on the road, but dropped a 64-50 contest. Serving as an assistant coach at Penn for 10 years, Donahue is still winless against his mentor and Penn head coach Fran Dunphy. 

"We have to do the things we do well to win games, and for me, that's doing a real good job on the defensive boards, taking care of transition defense, and taking care of the ball, " Donahue said. "When we take care of the ball and our turnovers are in the 10-12 range, we usually are a very good basketball team, and that's what we need to do this weekend."

While Penn looked like it was ready to run away with the league title last weekend, Yale stunned the previously-undefeated Quakers with a 78-60 win in New Haven, CT. The Bulldogs built on a five-point lead at halftime, and limited Penn to 28.1 percent shooting in the second half. 

"It's a revenge game for a team that I know physically is able to match up with Penn. [Yale's win] doesn't surprise me," Donahue said. "[Penn's] a team that I think really understands how to win games, gets the maximum amount out of each guy -- one of those teams. But on any given night, anybody in this league can beat anybody. When Yale's at home and Penn has to go there after really beating [the Bulldogs] easily at the Palestra, that was a good opportunity for Yale to jump them."

Penn is led by senior guard Tim Begley, who has compiled a team-leading 14.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. Sophomore guard Ibrahim Jaaber has upped his scoring average by almost five points per game from a year ago, and is second on the team in scoring with 11.0 points per game.

"Obviously, we can really look at our film and what we did well and what we didn't do well and try to correct it," Donahue said. "We're trying to execute and maybe come up with a wrinkle here and there to make us more successful than [when] we were down there."

Since its loss to Cornell two weeks ago, the Tigers have gone 2-1, most recently beating up on Brown 69-52 last Saturday. The reigning league champion, Princeton, is currently sixth in the conference standings. Senior center Judson Wallace is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, with 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while senior guard Will Venable is second in scoring with 10.5 points per game.

Men's Hockey Extends Unbeaten Streak to 12 Games

Friday night at Lynah Rink featured a rare goaltender match-up in college hockey -- two Texas goaltenders. In the end, sophomore David McKee, from Irving, Texas, bested Rensselaer's Andrew Martin, from Plano, Texas, as No. 4 Cornell (19-4-3, 15-2-2 ECACHL) beat the Engineers (13-18-2, 5-13-1 ECACHL), 3-0.

"I played with [Martin] growing up," McKee said. "He went to college and played at Fairfield before I did, so he was playing in college way before I was. I was hoping for the opportunity and he's a good friend of mine actually, so it was a fun game to play."

McKee had a relatively easier night than his fellow Texan, as the Red peppered Martin with 34 shots on the night. Cornell was balanced offensively, with three different players scoring for the Red.

"I just thought we did a good job being patient throughout the whole course of the game," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "It was a good first period, and I thought both teams played solid, feeling each other out."

While Cornell controlled possession throughout the first period, it had some of its best scoring chances in the last five minutes before the intermission. With 5:25 remaining, sophomore Byron Bitz stole the puck from behind the RPI net, and fed it to classmate Evan Salmela. Salmela then fired a shot from the right point which was blocked by the defense. Bitz recovered the puck in the low slot and wristed another shot, which Martin grabbed with a quick glove.

The Cornell power play unit saw its first action of the night after RPI's Vic Pereira drew a boarding penalty at 15:59. Quickly setting up in the Rensselaer zone, the first unit worked the puck around for nearly the entire two minutes.

"I was a little concerned, because you get out there that long, and all you can see in your mind is the guy coming out of the penalty box fresh," Schafer said. "All he has to do is get his hands on it and the other nine guys are done."

After RPI knocked the puck out to the neutral zone, senior assistant captain Charlie Cook brought it back in with time winding down on the man advantage. Freshman Topher Scott worked the puck around to junior assistant captain Matt Moulson, who fed it to an open Cook in the high slot. Cook's ensuing shot wobbled toward the goal, beating Martin just as Pereira stepped out of the box.

"We were moving the puck around quite a bit, I think we took seven or eight shots," Cook said. "Topher passed the puck out, I got a piece of it, didn't get too much on it, and it somehow found its way to the net. I think it just went up and down and went off the tip of [Martin's] glove."

The Red put the pressure on RPI at the start of the second period, as junior Jon Gleed took the puck in on net after senior Paul Varteressian's shot was blocked at the top of the right circle. While Cornell again held possession in the Rensselaer end, the Red's second goal came in transition.

Junior Daniel Pegoraro brought the puck up through the neutral zone, and beat the RPI defense as he crossed the blue line. Skating down to the right circle, Pegoraro dropped the puck back to a tailing Shane Hynes, who wristed it over Martin's right shoulder at 14:34.

The game got physical as the second period continued. RPI's Matt McNeely hit Moulson along the right boards in the Cornell zone, and was called for interference. The resulting scrum led to a charging penalty on Hynes, and the next six minutes saw little five-on-five play.

"[Rensselaer has] a good, solid, physical team, and there were a lot of big hits out there both ways," Schafer said. "It was the kind of game that our team relishes playing in -- a strong, physical, tough hockey game, and we're built for that type of event."

The Red power play saw some more ice time after Blake Pickett was called for holding at 11:15. After the man-advantage ended without a goal for Cornell, Scott Romfo was sent to the box for hitting from behind just 13 seconds after the end of the previous power play.

Cornell went to work again on the man advantage, and this time it was able to capitalize. Scott found senior captain Mike Knoepfli at the right point, and Knoepfli fired a shot that banged off the crossbar and in at 15:01.

"The credit's got to go to [Hynes] and [freshman] Ray [Sawada]," said Knoepfli. "All night on the power play, the goalie didn't see any of the shots that Moulson or I were shooting. They did a great job getting in his way, and I saw the top corner open and just shot it there."

The third period was relatively quiet, as neither team had many scoring chances. Pereira and Bitz were each called for two penalties in a row, resulting in four minutes of four-on-four play midway through the period.

McKee finished with 20 saves for his seventh shutout of the season, taking sole possession of second place in program history with 12. He is one shutout away from tying the all-time mark set by Ken Dryden '69.

Men's Hockey Hosts RPI, Union

With two weeks left in the regular season, the No. 4 men's hockey team (18-4-3, 14-2-2 ECACHL) sits atop the league standings with a four-point lead over Colgate. This weekend, the Red will try to move one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the ECACHL tournament when it battles RPI (13-17-2, 5-12-1 ECACHL) and Union (11-18-1, 7-11-0 ECACHL) tonight and tomorrow at Lynah Rink. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.

"Everybody's fighting for position in the standings," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "The reasons we're fighting for might be a little different than the reasons RPI and Union are fighting for, but everybody's trying to jockey and get themselves the best position in the standings. It's kind of the unique thing about our playoffs, going down the stretch drive here, everybody has the same thing at stake."

Tomorrow's senior night will honor Charlie Cook, Jeremy Downs, Mike Iggulden, Mike Knoepfli, and Paul Varteressian, as it will be the last regular season home game of their careers. The class of 2005 has racked up impressive credentials in its four years at Cornell, including a Frozen Four showing, two NCAA appearances, one ECACHL title, and three Ivy League titles. 

"Senior night is coming a little too soon," Cook said. "It's going to be a bittersweet experience, I'm sure, but I guess I'm ready."

Junior assistant captain Matt Moulson echoed Cook's sentiments.

"I've played with these guys for three years, it's sad to see a great bunch of guys, a good class leave," Moulson said. "Senior night always touches home with everyone. It'll be an emotional weekend."

After taking three points off of its travel partner, Colgate, two weeks ago, the Red further distanced itself last weekend with a four-point effort on the road against Princeton and Yale, while the Raiders only came away with three. Last Friday, Cornell blanked the Tigers 5-0, with five different players netting a goal. The Red's special teams accounted for three tallies, with Iggulden netting his second shorthanded goal of the season. Sophomore goalie David McKee recorded his sixth shutout of the season, which tied him for second all-time in program history with David LeNeveu '05. 

The next night against Yale, the Red fell behind early in the first period, but answered just 22 seconds later with a tally from sophomore Byron Bitz. Cornell tacked on two more scores in the period en route to a 5-2 victory. For the second night in a row, five different scorers recorded goals for the Red, and also for the second night in a row, Iggulden netted a shorthanded goal -- the eventual game-winner. 

During its trip to the Capital District in January, the Red took four points from Union and RPI. Another Iggulden shorthanded goal, this time in overtime, sealed a 2-1 victory over the Dutchmen, while the Red beat up on an under-manned Engineer squad the next night, winning 5-0.

"RPI will be a much different team than when we played up there," Schafer said. "Kirk MacDonald was out of the game, Oren Eizenman, two of their better players didn't play. You take two of anybody's top four scorers out of the game, you're going to have a whole different type of team."

MacDonald leads the team in scoring with 31 points, and last weekend, he scored the game-winner against Brown with nine seconds remaining in regulation. 3-3-0 in its last six conference games, the Engineers sit in tenth place in the conference standings, and will need two wins to remain in the hunt for home-ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. Union, currently in ninth, is only one point behind seventh place Clarkson and St. Lawrence. After starting conference play 6-2-0, the Dutchmen have dropped 11 of their last 12 conference games. Jordan Webb and Scott Seney are tied for the team league in scoring with 24 points, while goalies Kris Mayotte and Justin Mrazek have been splitting time between the pipes. 

"Union always gives us a difficult time, especially in their rink, and we just have to play our game at home in Lynah and keep the streak going," said junior Shane Hynes. The Red are unbeaten at home this season.

The Red will head up to the North Country next weekend for its final two games of the regular season against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. With a first-round bye in hand, Cornell will return to Lynah Rink three weeks from now for the second round of the ECACHL playoffs.

With two weeks left in the regular season, the No. 4 men's hockey team (18-4-3, 14-2-2 ECACHL) sits atop the league standings with a four-point lead over Colgate. This weekend, the Red will try to move one step closer to clinching the No. 1 seed in the ECACHL tournament when it battles RPI (13-17-2, 5-12-1 ECACHL) and Union (11-18-1, 7-11-0 ECACHL) tonight and tomorrow at Lynah Rink. Both contests begin at 7 p.m.
"Everybody's fighting for position in the standings," said head coach Mike Schafer '86. "The reasons we're fighting for might be a little different than the reasons RPI and Union are fighting for, but everybody's trying to jockey and get themselves the best position in the standings. It's kind of the unique thing about our playoffs, going down the stretch drive here, everybody has the same thing at stake."
Tomorrow's senior night will honor Charlie Cook, Jeremy Downs, Mike Iggulden, Mike Knoepfli, and Paul Varteressian, as it will be the last regular season home game of their careers. The class of 2005 has racked up impressive credentials in its four years at Cornell, including a Frozen Four showing, two NCAA appearances, one ECACHL title, and three Ivy League titles.
"Senior night is coming a little too soon," Cook said. "It's going to be a bittersweet experience, I'm sure, but I guess I'm ready."
Junior assistant captain Matt Moulson echoed Cook's sentiments.
"I've played with these guys for three years, it's sad to see a great bunch of guys, a good class leave," Moulson said. "Senior night always touches home with everyone. It'll be an emotional weekend."
After taking three points off of its travel partner, Colgate, two weeks ago, the Red further distanced itself last weekend with a four-point effort on the road against Princeton and Yale, while the Raiders only came away with three. Last Friday, Cornell blanked the Tigers 5-0, with five different players netting a goal. The Red's special teams accounted for three tallies, with Iggulden netting his second shorthanded goal of the season. Sophomore goalie David McKee recorded his sixth shutout of the season, which tied him for second all-time in program history with David LeNeveu '05.
The next night against Yale, the Red fell behind early in the first period, but answered just 22 seconds later with a tally from sophomore Byron Bitz. Cornell tacked on two more scores in the period en route to a 5-2 victory. For the second night in a row, five different scorers recorded goals for the Red, and also for the second night in a row, Iggulden netted a shorthanded goal -- the eventual game-winner.
During its trip to the Capital District in January, the Red took four points from Union and RPI. Another Iggulden shorthanded goal, this time in overtime, sealed a 2-1 victory over the Dutchmen, while the Red beat up on an under-manned Engineer squad the next night, winning 5-0.
"RPI will be a much different team than when we played up there," Schafer said. "Kirk MacDonald was out of the game, Oren Eizenman, two of their better players didn't play. You take two of anybody's top four scorers out of the game, you're going to have a whole different type of team."
MacDonald leads the team in scoring with 31 points, and last weekend, he scored the game-winner against Brown with nine seconds remaining in regulation. 3-3-0 in its last six conference games, the Engineers sit in tenth place in the conference standings, and will need two wins to remain in the hunt for home-ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. Union, currently in ninth, is only one point behind seventh place Clarkson and St. Lawrence. After starting conference play 6-2-0, the Dutchmen have dropped 11 of their last 12 conference games. Jordan Webb and Scott Seney are tied for the team league in scoring with 24 points, while goalies Kris Mayotte and Justin Mrazek have been splitting time between the pipes.
"Union always gives us a difficult time, especially in their rink, and we just have to play our game at home in Lynah and keep the streak going," said junior Shane Hynes. The Red are unbeaten at home this season.
The Red will head up to the North Country next weekend for its final two games of the regular season against Clarkson and St. Lawrence. With a first-round bye in hand, Cornell will return to Lynah Rink three weeks from now for the second round of the ECACHL playoffs.
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