OCR Text |
Show MARCH WEDNESDAY, SPORTS 6 - DIXIE SUN 2S j Basketball trumps other sports Dixie golf teai places 9th, 6th over the break BY JARED BURTON Dixie Sun A&E Editor Forget the past. The future of the NBA is right now, and it is time to embiace this amazing league. - We can look back all we want in any sport, and names like Ruth, Sanders and Olajuwon conjure up great memories and unforgettable icons in sports. However, for those of you who have not jumped on tire bandwagon it is time to see the NBA for what it is one of the most entertaining sports on the market for fan consumption. Names like Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and even Kobe Bryant entertain and light up the scoreboards each and every night. If you want more evidence of this fact, check out Wade and his last second steal and running to win the game in Chicago on March 9. This game is the one place to see amazing athletes on a SOFTBALL continued from page 5 Warriors. Dixie was shut out in both games of the doubleheader, 0 and 6-- 2-- 0. The first game of the doubleheader started off a disaster. Unlike Schumers first game pitched in Hawaii, this one had a very different tune. In the first inning HPU plated in three runs led by Sea Warrior Kozy d Toriano, who hit a double, scoring two of those runs. The Sea Warriors continued to let the bats swing as they put in three more runs the very next inning when Sea Warrior Krystal Plunkett base-loade- blasted a three-ru- n walk-of- f home run to left center field. The bats for Dixie were held silent by Sea Warrior pitcher Courtney Kessell the entire game. The second game was m zh like the first, just in a smaller dose. Dixie and HPU started out the game in a stand off, allowing barely any hits. The game remained that way until the fourth inning when the Sea Warriors bats finally came alive. They scored one run in the fourth and the fifth. nightly basis. Baseball is an individual sport and by individual I mean it is so individthat it puts ual the concept of team in the dust. Football has the team mentality, but it is all about who is the strongest player or the fastest receiver. Who cares if you cannot catch the ball (Terrell Owens)? The NBA is based purely on athleticism 48 minutes of running, jumping and defense. The NBA has 82 games a year plus a month and a half Not only does of it have this, but the last half of the season is also just as important as anything else in stats-onent- post-seaso- n. sports. We are in the midst of a playoff race at this very moment, and this by itself makes the sport worth watching. The trade deadline is over, the game is long over, and now we are seeing the end of the race with a few teams sending a strong message that they are serious contenders for the NBA title. The drama and emotion is something that sets the league on the same pedestal all-st- ar to above any other sports organization in the United States. Make sure that you watch the next couple of months because a lot of questions are Si an ac ev going to be answered. Can the new Big 3 of the Celtics repeat? Can LeBron carry the Cavaliers on his back yet again and make it to the finals? Will Dwayne Wade continue this tear of scoring an average of 36 points per game since tire game to secure his first MW? Will Kobe and the Lakers win the West and collapse in the finals yet again? Only time will tell, and it will be a great couple of months. an pc an in ex ca en all-st- ar ge Wl ex an pi, thi i , 4 at win. In the final game in Hawaii, the Vulcans sent Dixie packing with their fourth loss of the season. TENNIS Hawaiian Islands by stopping in Hilo, Hawaii. Dixie took on the University of Hawaii-Hil- o and split the double-head- Dixie pitcher Folta pitched seven innings for Dixie and allowed no M ,1 er home Thursday. The games will be played at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The team also has a doubleheader continued from page Ill iiJUUl.l 1 A 5 Cameron pressure of the fre ha en wl sti so be do scl compete playing field. It 0-- 8. tough statistically, coach Eric Pelton said his team stayed competitive with some nationally ranked teams, and this allows his players some perspective about what to work toward as a team unit. Pelton said he was happy about the way his team performed, and even when the wasnt all business t the Red Storm women's nis team, though; Rogers said they had a good time and are becoming closer, team, supporting one ana through the good and the bad days of play. The Red Storm will be playing a 2 p.m. home match Friday at the Greer 1 Valley Spa and Resort against the Academy of? San Francisco. bu 1 nr su To see a story about the NCAA ii. J team struggles and loses matches, he said he know gives his players expener and allows them to feel it University. The Storm fell short, losing to UCO 5 and to CU with the final score of Although the road trip was think we'll be fine, Collett said. We have all those teams coming back ft Vy i fre is I for our home games this week, so I think itll be a different story when we have them at home and not on a seven-da- y road trip. Thatll get us back on track. 2-- 0, fi Dixie sent senior pitcher Jessie Kaonohi to take on the Vulcan batters and allowed only one run. Vulcan pitcher Amber Waracka pitched a scoreless game, making that one run just enough. Dixies next double-headis against the Hawaii Pacific University Sea Warrior at B er The Vulcans lost the but came back and defeated Dixie in the second game. IIWum Sr Friday against Chaminade University and Saturday against Airport. first game ge 2-- at the Old Kona two-gam- thi Sophomore Aaron Tuttle, a business administration major from Eldridge, Iowa, works on his putting at pm tice. The team went to Belmont, Calif., to play in the Notre Dame de Namur Invitational March 0 and placed ninth. The team also had a tournament in Monterey Bay, Calif., where they placed sixth in the CSUMB Otter Invitational. Their next tournament Friday through Sunday in Phoenix. game. The Red Storm finished their tour of the ing six hits and two runs. The bats for Dixie finally came alive after a e hiatus. In the first inning Dixie scored three runs with their first thr sophomore catcher Breanna Egge doubled to right field, scoring the first run of the game. In the seventh and final inning of the game, Hardy homered to left field, giving Dixie a 0 their fingers. Freshman outfielder Kourtnie Schlacter singled, allowing Schumers to score. She then stole second and finally finished it off by passing home plate for the final score of the 3-- 1. 2 r of seventh innings. Folta kept Chaminade silent for most of the game, but the Silverswords finally scored two runs in the fourth inning. The second game was kept close with Chaminade trailing heading into the bottom Dixie was not about to let the game slip from ( -- runs. In the third inning field. e (which is generous) Nate Robinson quite literally 1 inch jump over Dwight Howard to dunk a basketball in the 2009 slam dunk contest. This makes the entertainment factor of the NBA head and shoulders five batters. Dixie scored again in fourth, sixth and Silverswords tied the when Skye game at Virtudes singled into left losing streak, the longest this season, Dixie stayed in Honolulu for revenge. The Red Storm defeated Chaminade University in their douand bleheader, In the first game of the doubleheader Dixie saw Folta pitch. She pitched all seven innings, allow6-- 1 of the sixth. The we did. two-gam- interest in it rather quickly. Football has 6 games in the regular season; this mean if your team sucks you will know by the end of the first four weeks and therefore lose interest. Lets face it: No one really cares about the NHL except the Canadians and a very few people from Michigan, so that is in no way relevant. In fact, the only way that hockey is important is when there is a fight. Even then it is not like watching a good fight like a UFC battle. It is more like watching a more lame version of "Rock'Em Sock'Em Robots" without the payoff! However, in the NBA your team could make a small change in your lineup and still have the opportunity to make it to the playoffs and compete for a title. Tremendous athletes and pitching. We just didnt get the results we were looking for. We needed a little more offense, which is odd because thats usually our strong suit. We were pretty good defensively, but we just needed to hit better than Coming off the someone who is not a diehard fan of the sport lose head-springi- At the top of the seventh inning, Schumers dug out a triple to give the Red Storm hope for a comeback, but they were unable to produce any other hits. Head coach Beth Collett said they just needed more offense than they had. I think we played ok, Collett said. Weve played better. We didnt score as many runs as we usually do, but overall we had pretty good high drama are the biggest reasons to watch this sport. Besides the playoffs, it is important to be entertained, and nothing is more entertaining than watching as the NFL and the MLB, but the NBA has its own way of dealing with it. MLB has 162 games a year; this alone could make Pit re( so to tournament, visit our Web site at www.dixiesunIink.coii -- lip i J ris sti be an me SO me sai bu hir 4, UtXiA.LzJi.Ltlr' tittUJLijjJjLikl. Vi & eat U : u- Itl 'luC v r' - ii' U C S f qu aw ( noi - ' - col f f '"U 4 4 Or cor to isP" ; Li MihdM.AJLJL . UP, sai jun ilubuL fro .itLasij r? LLLjj. Li... iAL.Ajr. .. ( Wa Ca . ofi . k ?C T e .w anc f f .nunrnr-- one " ' Re y c! i xics ia 3 c is t & o 11 s I v i . e o i r$ 'r. V J - w 435-673-- f'' Re hirr |