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Show sports Sports editor: Preston Truman Phone: 626-7983 Caffeine required to Sitting through a day of the Rocky Mountain Revue is like watching the same infomercial over and over again until you finally fall asleep. But there are no couches at the Delta Center, and they turn the air up real high to keep you awake. Then they eive vou an excuse fr basketball to rack your mind with. If you needed some time to think out your problems, or a place to drop off your children for a day so they could bug has-been basketball players for an autograph, well, you missed your chance. The Utah Jazz's annual summer league, which began July 26, ended yesterday at the Delta Center. Eleven NBA teams spent the week getting to know their draft picks while hoping to find a diamond in the rough. Hundreds of fans flocked to the Delta Center each day to watch less than-stellar-basketball. But hey, it wascheap. For five dollars you could see four basketball games, that is, if you could muster up enough patience. But that's not saying there wasn't any quality players on display. The Bulls' No.-1 pick Elton Brand, fresh off his bag carrying duties with the Olympic "Dream Team," made his first appearance in an NBA uniform. So did Minnesota's Wally (World) Szczefbiak. . The rest of the field was a culmination of CBA, foreign, forgotten, or undrafted players dreaming of landing a roster spot come November. Teams also use the Revue to get players that sit on the end of their bench during the season some playing time, and to give any other guys under contract an opportunity to keep in shape. Take the Jazz for example. John Stockton and Howard Eisely's practice dummy Jacque Vaughn, who can say nothing about his two years in the NBA except "V ve Cup revitalizes hope for female athletes By Jay nee Paskins senior sports writer-Hie Signpost "Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you!" Sound familiar? . What was once a song in a musical and the theme song to the Michael JordanMia Hamm commercial, has now become the fight song of hundreds of little girls across the nation whose athleticism been rejuvenated following the U-S. women's. soccer team win "gainst China to claim the World Cup. i . "Female athletes used to be con-Sdered tomboys," said Weber State J University women's soccer coach, ; Lynn Kofoed "Now it's seen as eahhy- Girls don't have to be shy '. about their athleticism." Tbe World Cup was a magnet to i aj' sports fans, especially young j g s' and marked a new high for i 0me"'s sports. More than j J0.0OO tickets were sold to the 32 I 0n'en's World Cup matches, and I than 90,000 fans were in the j lad,um for the final game. Preston Truman sports editor had a great seat for free," is getting a chance to show Utah's coaching staff he can do more than hand out high fives. Backup center Todd Fuller was thrown into a Jazz uniform right before the NBAs joke-of-a-shortened season last February. With training camp cut in half and little practice time during the season. Fuller didn't have time to ease into things. Through Sunday, Vaughn averaged nearly 16 points and 7 assists a game while leading the Revue in minutes played (37). He's been vocal while running the team, showing poise and confidence of a 10-year veteran. Fuller's taking a quieter role. The former starter for the Golden State Warriors is having a nice showing, shooting 61 percent from the floor while scoring 9.4 points. If anything, Fuller's working for his paychecks (earth to Greg Ostertag!). The Revue can do nothing but help players like Vaughn and Fuller. On top of getting in shape, participating shows fans and coaches (here's a hint, Ostertag) a commitment to the team and community. Draft picks Quincy Lewis and Scott Padgett also suited up for theless-than-Jazz, contributing to the team's 3-2 record through Sunday's play. Lewis, who looks like a pigeon-toed Kobe Bryant, showed his jumper is more unpredictable than Karl Malone's mouth. Then there is the 6' 8" Padgett, who will soon be joining Greg Fos- If that doesn't say enough, consider that 2.9 million households watched the U.S. beat Brazil on July 4, giving it a higher TV rating than Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.Still, Kofoed feels that women still have a long way to go. "We're just at the point of that first ripple in the water," she said "It's going to spread out from here with a great deal of momentum." A look back at the time line of women's athletics shows just how far we have come. In 1900, women competed in the Olympics for the first time, but were only allowed to play the "genteel" sports of tennis and golf. In 1943, the "All American Girls Professional Baseball League" (read: "A League of Their Own"), begins 12 years of play. Title IX was passed in 1 972 banning sex discrimination in federally funded school programs including sports. At that point in time, only one in 27 high-school girls played sports. This was also the year Mia enjoy Rocky Mountain Revue poccc x r- f F YT teai M- 1 The NBA's 1999 No. 1 draft pick Elton Brand (right) has been honing his skills for the Chicago Bulls at the Rocky Mountain Revue. Brand averaged 12.5 points in two games. ter in Jerry Sloan's doghouse because he does nothing but take unwarranted 20-foot jumpers. His shot (33 from field) looks worse than his tan. Unlike Padgett, the fans were in mid season form. The referees were definitely not. Like the players, the Revue referees weren't NBA veterans, but guys and gals trying to find a job in the NBA. Hamm was born. In 1975, women's athletics got a big boost with the approval of regulations for Title IX, which improved funding to women's sports at the university level. Since that time, we have seen tremendous leaps and bounds in the women's athletic movement. Names like Billie Jean King, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Flo-Jo, Mia Hamm, Rebecca Lobo, and Serena and Venus Williams have become household names. The U.S. women's teams have scored gold medals at the Olympics in basketball, soccer, Softball and hockey. Women have had to prove themselves worthy of Title IX-. and they have. Currently, one in three high-school girls plays a sport. The WNBA is doing well, and there is now talk of a women's professional soccer league. There really doesn't seem to be any justification for disparities.But we are still a long way from equality. The women's soccer play 1 JF. The few fans in the stands didn't care, giving the rookies in stripes a lesson in swearing and name calling. If they weren't sure before working the'Revue, wanna-be refs now know the NBA and its fans don't care about hurting feelings. Speaking of fans, if you were in the Delta Center crowd at all last week, and resemble a basketball ers were each paid $ 1 2,500 for winning the World Cup. Had the men's soccer team won the '98 World Cup, they each would have nabbed $388,000. WSU is reaping the rewards of Title IX, and has already started ahigh-profile women's soccer program. The Wildcats won the Big Sky Tournament last season, in only their second year of NCAA play. The winner of next year's tournament will be invited to the NCAA tournament. "It's a really exciting time to be involved in women's soccer," Kofoed said. 8C 1x4 FENCING ALSO: 1x6, 1x8, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 4x4 FIREWOOD $35CORD cut& dryi SATTERWHITE LOG HOMES 1-888-882-4645 fW iiJr T -,- VI.- 2JL- .'-NV-iA player in any shape or form, you were probably asked to sign an autograph. Kids, adults acting like kids, and people with nothing better to do worked the crowd. Their goal? To see who could bug the most people and come back with no ink in their pen. By the end of the day I was ready to join them. We had to do something to keep awake. sports? The Signposts now hiring an assistant sports editor, if you're interested in covering Weber State sporting events, apply at Career Services! X..- . hl 1M - |