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Show JVU1 LP Sports Editor: Mike Browne Phone: 626-7983 Hockey players invited to national tryouls By Chris Coombs correspondent The Signpost The hockey program at Weber State University has developed a knack for gaining national recognition. That recognition has led to four WSU hockey players receiving an invitation to try out for Team USA, which will play in the World University Games Hockey Tournament. Last year's WSU hockey club Captain Brian Allen, Darin Ciavarella, Greg Elliot and Max Langford have been invited to Iowa State University July 31 through Aug. 4 to compete for a spot on the team. Eighty players from across the country have been invited to participate. WSU hockey Coach Rob Larsen, who will be among several coaches on a committee that will select the USA team, will go to Iowa with the WSU players. "This is a really huge deal. This is a great opportunity for these guys, and I hope at least one of them makes the team," Larsen said. i - - :ci:r. ; r f fx Weber State University hockey club members Brian Allen, Darin Ciavarella, Greg Elliot and Max Langford (left to right) plan to try out for Team USA, which will compete in the World University Winter Games Hockey Tournament in Tarvisio, Italy, in January 2003. Of the 80 players, 24 will be selected to play in the international competition. Elliot said he was honored by the invitation and has high expectations for the tryouts. "I'm looking forward to making the team," Elliot said. "The last time a team was selected, they didn't hold tryouts. I'm excited to have this opportunity." Allen said he has similar ambitions and hopes to increase his chances of becoming a professional hockey player. "I'm really excited to skate with the best college players in the country," Allen said. "Hopefully someone will see me play and give me a chance to play for a rnjnor league hockey team." Scouts representing National Hockey League teams and their minor league affiliates attend this tournament looking to sign top college players to professional contracts. "I'd like to win a world championship," Allen said. "Hopefully I'll be discovered. I'd love to play professional hockey." Allen and Elliot said this opportunity will increase their confidence and their abilities to play hockey. Larsen said he would love to see his players compete internationally. "Division I hockey is superior to any junior hockey in the world," Larsen said. "I'm thrilled to be involved and that some of our guys get to have this opportunity." The WSU hockey club is considered one step down from a Division I team, but the talent of players at WSU and throughout Division II hockey is comparable, according to Larsen. The tournament will talce place in January of 2003 in Tarvisio, Italy, featuring teams from Canada, Italy, Russia, Sweden and the United States. You can eavea message for correspondent Chris Coombs by calling 626-7983. Observing childbirth like watching sports J II I Steven Wozniak sr. sports reporter This column is dedicated to my newborn daughter. She came into this world June 27, 2002. I'm writing this in hopes that when she is old enough to read this, she will know that the experiences her parents had through the nine months we waited for her can be compared to many sports. By the time she reads this column I hope she is making big bucks in the Women's National Basketball Association and supporting her dear old parents. This girl is only three weeks old and has already gained two pounds and has grown an inch. Plus, she has the feet of a future WNBA center. The first two to three months of pregnancy were the worst for my wife. I sat and watched her kneel every 10 minutes to lose what she just ate; it was very sad. But it did remind me of, well, I guess, myself attempting to run a marathon and stopping after the first mile to puke my guts out. While at the hospital waiting for our baby to come out, I witnessed many things that reminded me of sports. I had to do something just to make the time go quicker and keep myself from passing out during the last feu moments of watching the actual birth. Watching the nurses run in and out of our hospital room to check my wife's and daughter's vital signs was like watching a track coach timing athletes' 100-yard dashes, making sure the athletes are always improving and making progress to reach their potentials. When the doctor came in to give my wife her shot of anesthesia, it brought reminders of the game of golf. Watching the sure hands of the doctor, making sure the shot went into the exact spot it should go in, was like watching Tiger Woods patiently knocking in a putt to win a major golf championship. When the time came for the actual birth to happen I related all the nurses and the doctor who had gathered to assist in the delivery to a NASCAR pit crew. The nurses were the pit crew making sure everything was running smoothly and there were no problems with the car, and the doctor was the driver of the car going for that checkered flag. Watching the baby come out was perhaps the best experience of all. Seeing her squeeze out was like watching a football running back fighting his way through a goal line defense on third and goal at the one-yard line to score the game-winning touchdown. The doctor also had to have sure hands to catch the baby when she came out. This reminded me of the sure hands of an NFL receiver pulling in a last-gasp touchdown. Even now as she is at home, there are experiences that we are having with her that remind me of sports. She keeps us (well, my wife) up all night. This tests our endurance and stamina just like a triathlon competitor does. To end I would have to compare changing dirty diapers to some kind of sport. I know my wife is always telling me that practice makes perfect, so I suppose changing a diaper could be compared to a sure shooter in the NBA practicing his jump shot day in and day out to improve his game. I hope this proves that anything can be compared to a sport. You can reach reporter Steven Wozniak by calling 626-7983. CROSSROADS of the WEST GUN SHOW SOUTH TOWNE EXPO 9575 S. STATE, SANDY t?7 SAT 9 - 5, SUN 9 - 4 JULY 27-28 Clip ad for $1 . discount -limit one per adult Huge Cash Rebates (mail-in) Save up to 50 OFF "l I I N i j ' I Here is what we can do for you. ..Our specially trained read- ers find and tag any press reference to your subjects. 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