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Show I BACK PACE v t Monday, January 10, 2005 Sports world to surprise fans in 2005 in The year of 2004 provided many surprises the world of sports, from the idiots wearing the colors of the Boston Red Sox to the sudden retirement of former Miami Dolphins running back Ricky Williams. However, 2005 promises to have quite a few surprises of its own. The year in sports should start innocently enough, with the Vince Lombardi Trophy returning to its current home at Gillette Stadium after the New England Patriots wrap Super Bowl up their championship with a resounding victory over superstar quarterback Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons. March Madness promises to be just that mad. Along with powerhouses like Duke, Kansas, Illinois and North Carolina, teams conferences from the like Gonzaga, Oral Roberts and Wichita State could all destroy office pool brackets nationwide come tournament time. When the vendors return to serving up peanuts and Cracker Jacks come April, Major League Baseball teams will have a vastly different look. With the former Montreal Expos moving to our nations capital and becoming the Washington Nationals, and the Anaheim Angels becoming the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, fans have many more moves to keep track of besides just players switching teams. The only thing that will not surprise fans is the New York Yankees, whose payroll will continue to exceed the gross national income of most developing countries. However, the will once Yankees realize that again are championships won on the field and in the not bought offseason, as the St. Louis Cardinals will avenge last seasons and disappointment claim their first World Series victory since 1982. When the basketball playoffs roll around in late April, Kobe will realize Bryant that he is unable to carry the Lakers to a championship on his own and will wonder what ever happened to Phil Jackson and Shaquille ONeal as his d exit. When the team makes a swift dust settles in June, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs will beat ONeals Miami Heat in a thrilling final series, further cementing Duncans place as one of the leagues greatest players of all time. The year of 2005 should also see the National Hockey League return to action after a lockout claims an entire season, albeit minus a few franchises. The true surprise will be if the fans return to the rinks, or if they actually tune into games on television. Hockey will finally have to realize that it is no more than a niche sport, as NASCAR has taken its place among the top four sports in the country. For the teams at SUU, 2005 will bring a great deal of prosperity. The mens basketball team will have its best showing since making the NCAA tournament in 2002, as Tim Gainey, DeAngelo Newsom and Jason Baker should among the top teams in the keep the Conference all season long. The Birds should pose a threat to teams such as IUPUI and Oral Roberts at the conference tournament in March. The womens basketball team will shake off its problems of the early season and should become a force in the Mid-Co- n behind the leadership of seniors Sarah Hutton and Janis Beal. Jessiann Andrus, Carly Geronimo and gymnasts Molly Bauer should lead the to another strong season, as they will once again be among the elite in the Western Gymnastics Conference. The indoor track teams should defend their conference titles, as they use the altitude to their advantage when they play host to the Mid-Co- n Championships in March. The should be able to carry that success over to the outdoor season, as they should contend for their sweep Track Championships. of the Mid-Co- n Fans could use a break after a year like 2004, which saw surprise retirements and doping scandals ravage the sports world. Unfortunately, as all sports fans know, the key is to expect the unexpected. Will Barry Bonds pass Hank Aaron as home-ru- n e baseballs king? Will Peyton Manning shatter his own touchdown record next year, putting up numbers that greats such as Dan Marino, John Ehvay and Joe Montana could only put up in their wildest dreams? Who is the next superstar athlete to call it quits while he or she is still in his or her prime? d As a sports junkie, I honestly cant wait to find out what will happen as it all unfolds in the year to come. r f L By DARREN VAUGHAN dvaughansuujournal.com The SUU football team has hired four new assistant coaches to round out its coaching staff, filling the openings created when former assistants Kalani Sitake and Aaron Roderick left to join Kyle Whittingham's staff at the University of Utah and Kevin Clune left EDITOR V L . 1 V r L Darren Vaughan, full-tim- See COACHES, page 10 SU loses to Roos, second-consecuti- now 1 in league 0-- mid-maj- By DARREN VAUGHAN dvaughansuujournal.com The SUU womens basketball team was unable to hold on to an early lead Thursday night in Kansas City, Mo., losing its 7 opener against the UMKC Kangaroos. had a 14-- 8 lead with The 14:37 to go in the first half, but the Roos answered with a 21-- 2 run during the next nine minutes to 6 lead. UMKC forced take a seven SUU turnovers during the run, while limiting the to just one layup by Cassie Warburton. The Kangaroos went into the locker room at halftime, holding lead a 40-2- 5 after a layup Jowan by 77-5- 29-1- Ortega. Southern first-roun- nt second-consecuti- die-har- the holiday break, providing entertainment for students who spent the holiday m fa dvaiighansutijournal.com. ffTrn in Cedar City. was Utah unable to get closer than 13 points the rest of the way, as UMKC kept Birds the to just shooting from the field in the second half, including a paltry from range. The Kangaroos connected on 46 percent of their attempts from the field during the game. SUU was 5 for outrebounded by UMKC the contest. F owever, the forced 19 UMKC turnovers, while turning the ball over just 13 times themselves. Junior forward Cheryl Grant with 14 points, led the while fellow' juniors Kristin Pierce and Warburton added 11 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing cause. Sammi Knapic narrowly e for UMKC, missed a scoring 14 points to go along with 15 rebounds and eight assists. Liz Obrecht and Katie Houlehan added 16 and 15 points, respectively, for the Roos, who improved their in Mid-Co- n record to play and 8 overall. SUU dropped to 8 overall with the defeat and currently stands at 1 in Mid-Co- n play going into with Oral matchup Tuesdays Roberts in Tulsa, Okla. ORU goes into Tuesdays game victories with SUU boasting over Big 12 foe Oklahoma State and Conference USA opponent Memphis. The Golden Eagles are led by sophomore forw'ard Elisha Turek, who averages 20.9 points and 11 rebounds per game. Senior forward Claudia Louis and junior guard Leah Cannon also average in the douhlc figures for the Golden Eagles, with Cannon lead ng the team in assists. 47-3- e triple-doubl- unable to beat MWC foes T-Bir- ds By DARREN VAUGHAN dvaughansuujournal.com The Southern Utah mens and womens basketball teamshad mixedresults during the holiday break, with both falling on the road to Mountain West Conference foes and picking up home victories over opponents. The SUU men opened their holiday 3 break with an victory over Idaho at the Centrum on Dec. 18. The shooting kept the Vandals to from the field, while senior Jason Baker scored 23 points. Baker hit all six he attempted in the contest, while SUU shot a blistering 56 percent from behind the arc for the game. SUU continued its hot shooting two nights later, defeating the Drake Bulldogs 4 behind a record 17 82-5- 94-7- with leading scorer Gainey limited to performance was the mens highest point total for a 7 team dating back to a victory over 0 season. UMKC during the in double Baker led four figures with 20 points, while Rand Janes added 17. Senior DeAngelo Newsom with nine barely missed a double-doubl- e rebounds to go along with 16 points, and Tim Gainey added 15 points and three blocks. After a weeklong layoff for Christmas returned to action break, the Dec. 28 in Provo against BYU. SUU kept the game close until BYU went on 5 lead in the 1 an run, taking a second half. SUU was unable to close the gap during the rest of the game, and 2 the Cougars cruised to a victory. The struggled from the field, shooting just 36 percent for the contest. SUUs nt just nine points. were able to recover Dec. The 30 in Cedar City against winless Adams 9 victory. SUU State, collecting a shot 51 percent for the contest, with Baker and Gainey each scoring 14 points. Nate Janes added 12 points in the teams preseason finale, leaving SUU with a 4 recoid. The womens team opened its Christmas 7 vacation with a victory at the Shalee Centrum over former Fackrell and the Westminster Griffins. Fackrcll led all scorers with 21 points, but the Griffins shot just 28 percent from the field and were outrebounded Freshman forward Ally by SUU Smith scored a career high 16 points to while fellow fieshman lead the 96-7- 1999-200- 18-- 75-4- 7-- 65-3- 42-2- 50-2- 77-5- See page 10 4-- 4-- 0-- Men struggle on boards, drop to Kangaroos in K.C. By DARREN VAUGHAN dvaughansuujournal.com The SUU mens basketball team lost its second consecutive game Thursday night, 8 decision to UMKC at dropping an Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. led the The with Kangaroos in 2:06 remaining the first half, but the Kangaroos managed to take a 9 lead going into halftime. UMKC never looked back after that, using an 2 run early in the second half BASKETBALL 0 lead to take a with 12:09 remaining. The Roos stretched the lead to as many as 19 points with 7:56 remaining in the 88-7- 28-2- 7 32-2- 11-- 54-4- Darren Vaughan is the sports editor for the University Journal. He can be reached at 2 offense that should improve a ranked 21st in the nation last season in total offense. Coach McGiven has a very good understanding of the spread offense, Meier said. We wont skip a beat well be better. offensive lineman Ryan Former e status Hunt was promoted to at BYU to the SUU program. McGiven. who graduated from UVSC in 2001, spent the past four seasons assisting former BYU coach Gaiy Crowton after spending time as an ass stant coach at Mountain View High in Oiem. He was also an undergraduate assistant at Louisiana Tech, where he played wide receiver. SUU coach Wes Meier said McGiven to become the defensive coordinator under Ron McBiide at Weber State. The departures of Sitake, Roderick and Clune come just one year after former coach Gary Andersen returned to the Utes program, where he currently serves as the defensive coordinator. Kevin McGiven will replace Roderick offensive coordinator in as the 2005, bringing four years of experience 586-199- game, though the Birds managed to cut the deficit to seven points in the game's waning seconds after a layup by sophomore guard Steve Barnes. The loss dropped SUU to 2 in Conference play and 6 overall. in record improved to UMKC's conference play. The Kangaroos have only picked up victories this season in Mid-Coplay, picking up an upset victory at IUPUI after starting the season with seven consecutive losses. continued to struggle from the The foul line, as they have all season, shooting from the charity stripe. just were able to shoot 51 percent The from the field, i ncluding a perfect night from forward Nate Janes. The Kangaroos sh,.t from the foul line, with a blistering Mike English and Quinton Day combining f- - i 0-- 7-- 2-- 0 n See j t i i L .. - . . - w y.. CAMBRIC WHITE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL Skills Jason Baker shoots over BYUs Mike Rose in a Dec. 28 game as DeAngelo Newsom and Esteban Bonzano fight for Page 10 position. SUU lost to UMKC Thursday night, 88-7- 8. tfcH J |