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Show I MP Sports Editor: Joey Haws Phone: 626-7983 SPORTS Wildcats look to avoid Sac. State's stin By Trent Hudley asst. sports cditor-77ie Signpost Weber Suite University head football coach Jerry Graybcal will certainly understand the true meaning of "friendly competition" come Saturday evening when his Wildcats (4-0) travel to California to take on the Hornets of Sacramento State University.Graybcal and SSU head coach John Volek spent two seasons coaching together at Walla Walla Community College in 1979 and 1980. This time, however, Graybcal and Volek will face each other on opposing sidelines."Coach Volek and myself go a long way back," Graybeal said. "I really respect him as a coach and for what he is trying to accomplish at Sacramento State." Since joining the Big Sky Conference on July 1, 1996, the Hornets have reaily struggled. Last year SSU won only one game and finished dead last in the Big Sky Conference. Despite a dismal season a year ago, the Hornets look to be a much better football team this time around. SSU has already won more games two wins on the season this year than all of last season, and appear to be the most improved team in the Big Sky. The Hornets currently hold a 2-2 record and gave Montana State all they could handle last Saturday in Bozeman before falling to the Bobcats 37-30 to begin Big Sky action. Saturday's game will be the third meeting between WSU and SSU. WSU won the first two games of the series with a 41-31 victory in Sacramento in 1 996 and last year the 'Cats smoked the Hornets 52-1 4 in Ogden. "They've (SSU) taken their licks the last couple of years, but the philosophy of building a program with freshmen is now start- 2002 Winter By Jeremy Brunner sports writer-The Signpost Several Weber State University students are getting taught the ins and outs of an obscure sport called curling. In the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, the best curlers in the world will compete right here in Ogden. The Olympic curling events, as well as the 2000 U.S. championships, will be held at the Ice Sheet, located just south of campus next to the Dec Events Center. Curling was invented in16th-century Scotland as a way to kill time during the long, frigid winter. Although curling is mainstream enough to be an Olympic sport, curlers still speak a language of their own. The coal of curlins is to slide a 42- $ 4 ; V1 J " Weber State University football team members celebrate their 27-20 comeback victory over Montana at Homecoming. ing to pay off," Graybeal said. "They are vastly improved from last year." The biggest reason SSU has improved so drastically from a year ago is partly due to the strong play of sophomore running back Charles Roberts. Roberts, who stands 6'5" and weighs 175 pounds, is averaging 1 90 yards rushing per game. He is the second leading rusher in Division I-AA behind WSU's Morgan Welch (198.3). "Charles Roberts is a tremendous running back, one who is extremely quick at getting to the openings," Graybeal said. On defense, the Hornets are led by 5 ' 1 0" 210 pound senior linebacker Ryland Wickman. Wickman leads the SSU defense compiling 34 tackles in just four games. Olympics highlight Ogden's rise as curling mecca pound granite stone across the ice toward the "house," or target, getting it to stop as close to the "button," or bull's eye, as possible. Curlers push off the "hack" and release the stone behind the "hog line," similar to a foul line in bowling, 1 04 feet away from the house. The signature characteristic of curling is the sweepers. Two curlers who are not sliding must be the sweepers. Sweepers clear the path in front of the stone to let it glide smoothly across the ice. The sweeping clears the path of any loose ice, dirt or other debris that might slow the stone down, thus making the stone's path Zamboni-slick. Special equipment is used to make the specially textured curling ice, or "pebble." First the ice-keeper must go over the rink with the Zamboni. Then a special machine, used only for curling, makes the bubbles characteristic of the sport. The ice must be absolutely fiat to keep the stone sliding straight. "Obviously, after a big win like we had on Saturday, it's time to get the players' heads out of the clouds and back to reality" WSU head football coach Jerry Graybeal concerning Saturday's game vs. Sac. St. Hornets. "Defensively, they aren't physically big, but they really hustle to the ball and like to make contact," Graybeal said. "This is a team which everyone in the league needs to pay attention to this season." You can bet the Wildcats defense Next, a special spray is applied, the final additive to make the ice ready for curling. Chris Koopmans, a WSU student and amateur curler, hopes Ogden will catch curling fever like he has. "I love it," Koopmans said. "It's a combination of many sports bowling, ice hockey, horseshoes and chess all rolled into one. A combination of physical abilities and knowledge." The lec Sheet oilers a curling cl inie on Thursdays from 1 1 a.m. until 3 p.m. The cost is $2, which includes equipment.Ice Sheet Director Jim Schreiber said, "We hope area residents will take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about curling and catch the spirit of the games." And who knows, with proper instruction and practice, maybe Ogden will have a local Olympian to watch curling in 2002. i f; J is paying plenty of attention especially after Roberts ran for a career high 25 1 yards on 40 carries last week against Montana State. Roberts may find the going a little more difficult this week against WSU however, the 'Cats are currently the i . i t . . . (' - N 5 o . 5 V... ' ' . . . O ' :y, .: I rn 3 to lain Hueton participates in the curling clinic held at the Ice Sheet every Thursday at 1 1 a.m. The Ice Sheet will be the ventie for the 2002 Winter Olympics and the national curling championships ii2C00. What began in 1 6th-century Scotland as a game to add zest to long winters is now an organized sport played by more than 1 million athletes worldwide. i -'.otx..:';-:. A ; 5 " best rushing defense in the Big Sky and Division I-AA, holding their opponents to just 49.3 yards per game on the ground. WSU's defense has been equally impressive during crunch time. The Wildcats have not allowed a fourth quarter touchdown through four games. The only fourth quarter points scored came on a field goal in the Idaho State game. The defense has allowed just 1 4 first-half points thus far on the season. Despite the impressive play on the defensive side of the ball, much of that has been over-shadowed by the incredible running of WSU running back Morgan Welch. Last week against Montana, see Stinc page 1 1 |