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Show 18 Vernal Express Wednesday, August 23, 1995 LQ)(S)lf"& Rafe Johnston wins men's Steenburg sets new course record to win championship by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer The 1995 Dinaland Golf Course Club Championship was held last weekend for both men and women under perfect early fall conditions. Match the great weather with a course quickly growing into one of the most beautiful in the state and you get golfers nirvana. "We arc quite pleased with the progress the course has made this summer," head golf pro Kent McCurdy said. "Nearly everything has grown in and the greens arc better bet-ter right now than any we have ever had." To that end, there was little disagreement from, any of the win 2b Coach Moon 'keeps the head six. Despite bogey, Moon held 2 t. What more could they possibly want? by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer The ongoing negotiations between the NBA and Players Association is amusing at best. What more could the players possibly want? An elite group of players including includ-ing Patrick Ewing, Alonzo Mourning and Penny Hardaway led by Michael Jordan, keep telling anyone who is foolish enough to listen, they have the best interests of the public and fellow players in mind when they say the Union should decertify and strike. I don't think so. I think Mike and his cohorts have one thing in mind themselves. I think this select group of players are the ones who stand to benefit the most at the expense of everyone else. Another group of athletes tried the same thing last year and they still haven't come to an agreement. Why? because their own greed is much to big of a roadblock to overcome. over-come. The same mind-set seems to be creeping into the current NBA scenario and if the players are not careful, they will ruin one of the most popular and successful professional profes-sional tickets around. If is hard for me to relate to someone some-one making 15 million a year telling me he deserves more money and the current salary structure is unfair. The current minimum salary is around 160 thousand a year, and that's for the player who will probably proba-bly only see a minute or two of playing time each game, if that. Sound unfair to you? The sad thing about the current NBA dilemma is most players and teams made more money last year and enjoyed greater popularity than ever before. As Utah Jazz guard John Stockton said, "the current offer of-fer by the owners is both generous and fair. We (the players) should ratify it immediately and get on with the business at hand playing basketball!" Another high profile player, who has had his share of controversies throughout his career Charles Barkley echoed Stockton's sentiments. senti-ments. "The one thing the dissident ning players. Jill Steenburg who set a new course record for the women with a championship flight victory total of 7974-153, felt the course was in better shape than she has ever seen it. "There are still a few spots which need to fill in, but overall, they have little if any effect on your play. In winning the women's club championship, Jill gave local enthusiasts enthu-siasts one last glimpse of the form and focus which will carry her to the Weber State women's team this fall. Right on her heals, finishing second, was Jill's heir apparent Julie Stringham. Just a junior this year and playing on the Uintah High School boy's team, still' during this chip onto number onto win second flight gross. Dlavers seem to have forgotten about is the game of basketball. The game should come first. We could easily work out a new contract with the owners and continue playing the game. I just don't agree with their position or line of reasoning." The bottom line is this. Ticket prices have doubled and even tripled under the current salary structure as teams spend incredible amounts of money to sign high draft choices and free agents. Franchise players are effortlessly earning upwards up-wards of 10 million a year now. Come on Mike, convince me and my 20-some-odd thousand a year teacher salary that is not fair! If Jordan is successful in getting the Union decertified and a strike ensues, eventually leading to unlimited unlim-ited salaries for rookies, free agents and anyone else, who does he think is going to be able to afford tickets? Even the nose-bleed seats are over $30 right now in some arenas. We're talking $200 for a family of four to enjoy a Jazz game, and there aren't too many family of fours in Utah! NBA games will begin being featured fea-tured on 'The Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous' if this current negotiating negoti-ating ploy is followed to its end. Hopefully, both sides will find a way to reach a sensible compromise where no one group benefits too much and no one group (Joe Public) gets hit too hard. One other thing. If Jordan really believes what he is saying to all of us, I would like him to head up the next salary negotiations for teachers, teach-ers, policemen and any other public servant. We would all like a 'fair' salary too . . . Julie shot a two day total of 172, good for second place in the championship cham-pionship gross. When asked about Jill's new course record and competing com-peting against her, Julie responded, "Jill is awesome. The rest of the field was playing for second, she's so tough mentally." Virginia Garner and Jean Johnston tied for first place in the championship net with 133 each. First place paid $75 and second $50 in all women's divisions. divi-sions. In the women's first flight gross, Barb Thome took the victory with a 36 hole total of 200, one stroke in front of Helen Atwood's 201. Lola Anderson won the first flight net with a 136 total. Jan Gardiner placed second with a 138. The men's club championship was won by Rafe Johnston with a 73-76 Open Club Champion Jill Steenburg drives her second shot within See Golf page 19 5, number 1 hole. Steenburg will be competing for the Weber State Lady Utes begin season with victory over Pleasant Grove by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer The Lady Ute soccer team became the second fall sport to get under way last Thursday, Aug. 17 when the girls hosted 4A Pleasant Grove at the junior high school field. To say head coach Randy Shafer was pleasandy surprised with the team's 4-0 victory would probably be an understatement "We have such a young team this year, I thought there would be no way we would compete as hard as we did Thursday. The girl's first half effort was as good an effort as I got all last season with 22 seniors," Shafer said. Starting two freshmen (Becky Warburton and Bridgette Dart) along with three first year players, Coach Shafer was hoping his young team could just stay close, but obviously obvi-ously he forgot to tell his team. The team exploded for three goals in the first half two by Mikki Miller and another by Becky Warburton for a three-zero halftime lead. The first half highlight came See Lady Utes page 20 Basin Sports 3 on 3 Basketball Tournament Basin Sports and the Uintah Recreation Association will be holding a 3 on 3 basketball tournament tourna-ment on Labor Day, Monday, Sept 4. The tournament will be held at the Basin Sports parking lot on that day. Cost for the tournament is $20 per team with plenty of basketball and other activities throughout the day. Age divisions will be offered if enough teams register. Registration for the tournament will be accepted up through Friday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. For more information contact the Uintah Recreation office at 781-5486. 781-5486. i These 'bent' mountains are a good example of the geologic wonders riders will enjoy during the Sheep Creek Geologic Loop ride. Just one half hour north of Vernal and well worth the drive. 11 0ssr- G ...... . " s r i i Footwork is a must as these two opponents fight for control. Geologic Loop follow the 'paved' road for overload! by Eric F. Pye Sports Writer .Editors Note This is the seventh of weekly or bi-weekly articles which highlight different hiking and mountain bike trails in one of the following areas: Dinosaur National Monument, Ashley National Forest, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area or i 4 N 1 . I, . . a . J..Vt j v tl i' ill Bureau of Land Management land. Peddling into the Sheep Creek Geologic Loop was kind of like tinkering with the old chemistry sets and their assortment of chemical combinations. One minute you've got something the next it's gone. Entering the 25 mile loop from FR 221, I was in the process of admiring an open meadow and the vmm, . 20 feet of the green on the par Women's team this year. JJgy Elk Permits Regional offices for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) were notified Monday, Aug. 14, by the UDWR Director's office, of a change in policy for dealing with errors in general deer and elk permit purchases. Under the new policy, if there was an error in the purchase of a general season elk and deer permit, it may be surrendered and another purchased.- For example, if someone wanted to hunt with a friend near Current Creek and purchased a Central Region deer permit even though the friend intended to hunt east of the creek, he would surrender the Central Region permit and purchase one for the Northeastern Region. The hunter would need to take the permit to the Salt Lake or a regional office and upon surrendering the original permit, they may then purchase pur-chase the correct permit. This replaces re-places an "all sales final" policy. For those desiring to change permits, per-mits, the regional office for the Northeastern Region located at 152 East, 100 North, Vernal, 789-3103. surrounding mountain tops when 'whamo,' there it was. Describing the expansive, wild panorama of broken rocky bluffs, scattered pine, majestic red cliff tops and deep gorge which jumped out of nowhere would be as difficult as pumping up the steep grades which mark the entrance and exit no matter which way you enter of the loop. One minute you are cruising along on the paved (semi) road which traverses through the loop the next you are screaming down a considerable 8 percent decline. The challenge is to fight the desire to just go with gravity. But if you do that, you'll miss some spectacular scenery on both sides of the road! The area is a mix of broken, rocky crags, intermittent thick pine' growths and beautiful geologic rock formations. Believe me, the rocks literally 'grow' in every conceivable direction and are comprised of reds, greys, tans and brown colors. Gurgling through all of this is the determined Sheep Creek. Several times the water of the creek crosses back and forth under the road, taking advantage of the porous structure in the existing rock at the bottom of the gorge. The rock, especially towards the lower end of the gorge, is littered with mysterious cave openings, highlighted by the main source of Sheep Creek Sheep Creek cave. The creek literally boils out of the SeeTralls page 20 |