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Show DAILY THE fmn mm jfnyy in itwyiwiwpm i ! Chronicle Sports Elditor Ron McBridc took a day or two for himself. He sat back, took a deep breath while leaning back in the chair at back of his desk, and said to himself, "job well dene." Then he was back at it ag3in, piling up freqmiles, ordering from unknown uent-flyer while menus eating in foreign restaurants and visiting homes of players he'd one d2y love to see wearing crimson and white and piling up big Stadiplays in front of 50,000 fans at Rice-Eccl- es um. Being a head coach of a division-- I college ipt miMin jii in immmM yw WM' iM j ew Season McBnde S BRANDOM WIN CHRONICLE UTAH football program is almost Biblical. It is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end. And if you don't love devouring the work, the work will feast on your body until it becomes fertilizer for the field. McBridc led his team to share of last year's inaugural MWC championship, beat the Fresno State Bulldogs in the Las Vegas Bowl nd ensured that all Ute fans will travel throughout e yet another offseason with Cheshire in he the beat when Prove, Cougars grins Yet, the man doesn't get much of a vacation. Not if he wants to be back in the same, if not a better,, position in 2000. So what do the Y2K Utes need in order to Cat-lik- return to the top of the MWC? Plenty. With a schedule and a grueling tougher conference road, McBride will have to fill some holes quickly. Here's a look at what Utah needs, in order of importance, if it plans on contending Weinke Is Wacky For Decision to Return to 'Noies next season. Running backs: Michael Anderson was a perfect fit for the simple Utah running game. The Utcs tend to rely on power more than speed and, unfortunately, the ability to break tackles at the line of scrimmage, On a team with a better blocking scheme, Anderson would have been an absolute stud; as it was, Andersen was a stand- - ERIC WALDEM Chronicle Asst. Sports rlditor Chris Weinkc.you are see FOOTBALL, page 12 a nut For the life of me, I cannot figure out why you have sud- The k denly become a certifiable lunatic. Out of the blue, you become wacky enough to make Dennis Rodman look normal. Why on earth did you sucker-pthe green-eye- d monster on Monday? You seemed like a decent enough guy no more prone to commit acts of violence than the average gridiron jock. You are also a pretty fine quarterback, as your career at that bastion of intellectual integrity known as Florida State University has proven. But you are a out' The green-eye- d monster never saw it coming; and, for that matter, no one else did either. Who could have anticipated that, in his attempt to endear himself to you, he'd end up getting When he sidled on up to you and tried to introduce himself; he was not greeted with cordial enthusiasm, or even turned away with a polite rebuff, but rather met by a right cross that left him more incoherent than any television show that runs on the FOX network. Chris, what on God's green earth were you thinking? You got your national championship, you established yourself 2s one of the best signal-callein the country, and you should have guaranteed yourself a nice little chunk of change, courtesy of the NFL's bankroll. All you had to do was be like every other college athlete with a professional pipe dream: Renounce your remaining season of college eligibility, and declare early for the draft. Lots of guys have done it, and lots of them gained mors inst?nt wealth than Anna Nicole Smith. They are millionaires, Chris. Millionaires! And all they have to do in return is put on z pair of Spandex tights, run around for 60 minutes a game, and beat the hell out of each other for 16 weeks unch Bowies Fights Through Pain For Red Rocks a a K Hi "I ' lf 1. . . ta J T. - "ft. r.t s: t I fi Ski I I BRANDON WINN Chronicle Sports Editor Blood doesn't pass through a gymnast's veins. Try cortisone, the substance that can make a dislocated shoulder feel like a mosquito bite with just one injec tion. None of the gymnasts actually shoot up like a ghetto-base- d junkie, but they treat pain like it's a cute joke told by a kindergartner. It's not very funny, but they laugh anyway and move on. Shannon Bowles had one of her shoulders fit for a sling last season; but she twisted, banged and bent it around like a Slinky. The difference is a Slinky is designed to be tossed .down stairs and across rooms; the human body needs to be nurtured, loved and protected. Gymnastics, the most beautiful form of pain since childbirth, does not make doctors smile. Unless, of course, that doctor happens to be a chiropractor and covered by the team's insurance. Still, none of the gymnasts will admit to being in pain unless it becomes too unbearable to smile through. In fact, actually saying they are hurt can be more painful than having a joint swell to the size of an Micheltr. Bowles had a shoulder that an athlete in any other sport would put under the knife without hesitation, but gymnasts are different. Sure, they may look like a cross between Mighty Mouse and Gumby, but don't let appearance cloud your mind. Gymnasts are the toughest creatures in the athletic world today. Bowles had no concern what es would rome if she her pushed pain to the brink, even though her shoulder kept screaming out "Amputate me...pieasc!" Pain? It's only in your mind. pain-numbi- cold-cocke- 1 ss. A e mt A1' ., - over-inflat- ed con-seque- nc see BOWLES, page 13 d? rs a year. Learn to play nice with the little gieen-eye- d monster, will you? He is your friend. He is looking out for you...and your luxury cars, a Shannon Be-wle-s is one of see v?ALDN, page the nation's CHRONICLE SPORTS EDITOR BRANDON WINN WINNdCHRON!CLE. UTAH.EDU 581-704- 1 14 : |
