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Show li EUWdW 11 Tfr WEDNESDAY, APRIL SPORTS 6 - DIXIE SUN j MLB season approaches, leagues reviewei as NL yEC seriously, I kid, I kid, have never seen a team with so much talent pull a Houdini down the stretch of the last two seasons. However, with The different teams in division do have somegj players like Reds pitch Edinson Volquez, Astros r that being said, they would not have lost some of the games they did if they had a capable bullpen. To cure this young outfielder Ryan Br" and lets not forget the Red Sox will capture American League Philadelphia should repeat but BY TYLER ROBERTS Dixie Sun Sports Editor League Baseball season. I dont know about you, but I have been looking forward to this ever since the Philadelphia Phillies popped the cork on the first bottle of champagne after beating the Tampa Bay Rays in last years World Series. Many teams have changed in efforts to reach the postseason and that ultimate goal of being world champs. Lets take a look at the American League, arguably the best league in baseball. To start it off, well look at the AL East, which is the best division in baseball. There are three teams competing for the division crown: the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and last years surprise team, the Rays. The Yankees had a very busy offseason, forking over millions of dollars to recruit the services of first baseman Mark Teixeira, starting pitchers C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett, as well as utility man Nick Swisher. They wont have Alex Rodriguez at the start of the season because of his hip surgery, but the team should be very competitive without him. If the Yankees fall far behind early, it is going to be tough to make up ground on the Red Sox and Rays. The Yankees need to start out playing well or it is going to be hot water for them after spending so much money. The Red Sox also had a busy offseason but not as big as the Yankees. They added starting pitchers John Smoltz and Brad Penny to core with reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis and Big Papi David Ortiz anchoring the lineup. Look for the Red Sox to win this division. Their rotation is just too stacked as well as their lineup. They will overpower the other teams in this division and could run away with the title if the new Yankee acquisitions dont live up to the hype. Look for the Yankees to duke it out with the Rays for the wild card. If the Yankees are playing just OK, the Rays will win it. The Rays key acquisition was adding outfielder Pat Burrell from the Phillies. Otherwise, their great pitching staff is still intact, so dont sleep on them. The AL Central is not as powerful as the AL East, but 'it will be an entertaining race between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The Indians actually improved after the Sabathia trade. In the offseason they have added starter Carl Pavano and closer Kerry Wood, who was brilliant for the Cubs last season. Having a healthy Travis Hafiier will help, as will Grady Sizemore. Fausto Carmona and reigning AL Cy Young Cliff Lee will anchor the starting rotation. The White Sox have a good rotation but too many questions in the bullpen. The key will be having their veterans play well, with hitters like Paul Konerko, A.J. Pierzynski, Jermaine Dye count out the White Sox or the always competitive Minnesota Twins. The AL West figures to be more competitive, but it looks like the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will run away with the division title again. The Angels lost closer Francisco Rodriguez but added Brian Fuentes. The rotation for the Angels is strong with Joe Saunders, John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Kelvim Escobar. The bullpen is solid with Fuentes and setup man Scot Shields. The lineup is solid with Vladimir Guerrero, Bobby Abreu and Torii Hunter. The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics should compete. The Rangers as usual have plenty of offense but no pitching. They will not seriously compete, but Josh Hamilton will improve on his breakout year. The As added Matt Holiday, Orlando Cabrera and Jason Giambi, but they are in the same boat the Rangers are in with no pitching. The Mariners, if healthy, could compete with a rotation with Felix Hernandez, Erik Bedard and Carlos Silva. They really dont have much offense unless Ken Griffey Jr. can spark his old team. The Angels will win the division. Out of the Angels, Rays, Indians and Red Sox, I see the Red Sox representing the AL in this years World Series, but its a long season and anything can happen. BY JARED BURTON Dixie Sun A&E Editor The combination of things like seventh inning stretches and "Fenway Franks" add up to hope for a World Series, unless you are an NL West fan, that is. The 2009 baseball season is upon us and even though I am a Red Sox fan first and foremost, I am going to scroll through the teams in the National League and tell you who has a legitimate chance and who should just mail in the season now and save some money. Lets start with what I think will be will be the most competitive and therefore most relevant division in the sport. That is the NL East. The defending champion Philadelphia Phillies lost just one major contributor in free agency and that was left fielder Pat Burrell. However, they filled that hole with quality outfielder Raul Ibanez from Seattle, a career .286 hitter who does not shy away from big situations. The crew also Jamie Moyer kept (OK, hes really only 46), and added an aging pitcher who will eat up some innings in the Chan person of Ho Park. The Phillies have a great young nucleus in power right-hand- er hitting Ryan Howard, infielders Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley, and the flyin Hawaiian, Shane Victorino. An experienced and talented pitching staff that features Cole Hamels and rejuvenated closer Brad Lidge also aids the team. I expect them to take this division, but the thing that will aid the Phillies the most is the fact that they play in the same division as the Mets. I problem they signed Francisco Rodriguez, who is lucky his arm did not fall off after last seasons work load. They also traded for J. J. Putz, so they have a stellar pen that will help them to not collapse for a third time. The Mets spent money on pitching, pitching and more pitching, but they do have hitters. Let us not forget Carlos Delgado, David Wright, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. I would love to say that the Mets will buck the trend, but I cannot believe it until I see it. The Braves have made big strides but will not be relevant in the race for another couple of seasons. The Marlins and the Nationals, while they do have some talent, lack the big guns to be competitive all year, so look for the Phillies to represent the East. Let's move on to the Central division. After the Cubbies were embarrassed in the playoffs last year, they have offiand will own cially this division, especially if the Jake Peavy deal ever goes through. Just imagine the rotation of Peavy, Zambrano, Harden, Dempster and Lilly. This should strike fear in the minds of every batter on a nightly basis. They also picked up Milton Bradley in free agency to add to a line-u- p that already includes Alfonso chaitii V pitcher Roy Oswalt, Cardinals Albert Pujols. n division has amazing taler but it is compiled more south side of Chicago. 1 Finally, I think we The 2008-200- 9 mens and womens basketball seasons were filled with ups and downs, excitement and disappointment. For the men it was a bittersweet season. Starting the season 5 and finishing their Hawaiian rode trip was 0-- disappointing. Being able to finish the season 16-1- 1, including winning eight of their last 12 and being second ii in the only to PacWest Conference, was BYU-Hawa- exciting. The reality of losing a player like junior guard Adam Ross was a big hit to the team. He was unable to play for the final nine games of the season because of his injury. He tore his meniscus during a game against Chaminade University when Dixie traveled to Hawaii. He had surgery on his knee and will return next year. The Red Storm were in their first year of full NCAA membership and making a trip into the tournament was a long shot, but not making it into the tournament was still a huge blow to Dixie. Some big wins of the season were over Western Washington, who won the Great Northwest Athletic Conference title, and over Central Washington, who was ranked No. 12 nationally at the time Dixie played them. Senior guard Ryan Sanchez had a great season in which he led the team in scoring and rebounding. He finished the season with an average of 14.1 points per game and 6.5 rebounds. Sanchez was named to the Pac Wests first team. He is also the Dixie State Division-I- I record holder in points, field goals made, made, free throw percentage, rebounding, steals, games started and minutes played. Two other Dixie players will not be returning next fall; senior guard Ben Hartman and senior guard Bowie Jeffs both have waved farewell to Dixie. Hartman finished the season averaging 8.5 points three-pointe- rs per game and 3.5 rebounds. Jeffs averaged 6.7 points per game and 1.2 rebounds. The LDS mission has claimed four Dude players as freshman guard Kimball Payne and freshman forward Dalton Groskreutz will be leaving for their LDS church missions before next season. Redshirts Conner Atkin and Jason Schallenberger will also be leaving. Losing Sanchez, Jeffs and Hartman along with Groskreutz and Payne will leave a void, but Judkins said in an article on dixieathlet-ics.cotitled "Men's basket m ball Season Recap" on March 12 that he was happy with the development of big men Nick Howard, Christian Wouden and Kevin Lindquist. Looking toward next year, Judkins said in the article that he hates to see it end. "We've been family so long it will be hard not to go to practice with them," Judkins said. "But next year will be a fun year. The program is getting better and better. We now know what we have to do to get to the NCAA." The Lady Red Storm finished the season one game better than their male 17-1- 0, counterpart. Winning 17 games is an achievement in itself, but head coach Angela Kristensen said that didnt match her goal for the season. Our goal before the season even started was to win the conference and 20 games, she said. With that being said, when we started practice I had already lost three kids out of our top 12 from the previous year. Then in the third game of the season we lost our go-t- o kid (senior forward Jessica), Carver. So when it is all said and done, I am very proud with winning 17 games. It is going to be tough to replace seniors Deney Phommabout, Courtney Boyd, Lindsey Chettingcr and Carver. Kristensen said these four players helped build the program from the ground up and will not be replaced. These kids were leaders for us on and off the court and made everyone else better around them, she said. Each one of them brought some- thing different, but something special to my program. I cant thank them enough. shouj just skip the West. I mean lets be honest: Does anjoj' in this division really loo), like a contender? Sorry TyJ but if the trend continues, ; these teams should just receive one of those blue thanks for participating'",; bons they give to kids inek mentary school. I do thin!,; division will come down it Arizona and L.A. Fans she brace themselves because Froi will not see the same Ma SUl this season. Last year was Wit contract year and now thaif has his money he will qiii just like he did in Boston. D I am in love with the fr pret of the Arizona rotation: Brandon Webb and Dan and Haren. Add this to the gra: Th Fin; young hitters like Conor a Jackson, Stephen Drew Justin Upton, and you con!; The potentially have a winning combination. However, as much as I hate Manny, lap he does make the Dodgen better in a lot of cases. Raw Martin and Matt Kemp ml become better hitters becaus of his presence and could the reason they win the din tale ami sion, making the outcome this division a toss-uThis year will be very competitive, and there is nothing like the purity oft National League designated hitter year, Geovany Soto. Unless the Cubs just do not show up or injuries mount up, take place. I for one know that I cannot wait to see drama unfold before ounr they should win the division. eyes Even though Dixie didnt win 20 games or go to the Sale Mat E o' Soriano, Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Kosuke Fukudome and reigning rookie of the Courtney Boyd had a poor shooting night that night, she said. But she hit a huge three to send the game into OT. That was another huge win for our program. 1 bt without T stuc thet Hai pos a hen and co- nstant substitutions that will fits' Air the Red Storm basketball: Injuries plagued both BY ERIK DORN Dixie Sun Staff Writer Bi, pla; ture dea teams tournament, Kristensen sal she feels proud of the team I feel like the kids bougfi into our system and gave and H wit rest percent all the time, she su We gave ourselves a shot still make the postseason, k anc a didnt accomplish that. n Phommabout led the team in scoring for the season, averaging 1 1 .6 points per game along with 2.2 rebounds Shanae Vaifanua averaged 10.7 points per game and six rebounds. Overall the program was able to average 76.4 points per game while holding their opponent to 71.4 points. Kristensen said there were two games that stuck out to her this season. In the third game of the season the Red Stonn took on Chico State, home-cou- rt who had a 1 AvilF V winning streak 'and also made play. Carver went down with a knee injury, she said. You could tell our team was a bit scared at that point. We all post-seas- pulled together and won the game in OT, snapping their home winning streak. The second game was against Western Washington, who also made the post-seson tournament. Dixie was up for most of the game, but Western Washington came back with a huge second half a- comeback to take the lead. Senior guard Lindsey Chettinger, an elementary edut tion major from Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, looks for somec to pass the ball to against the University of Hawaii-Jan. 17. The Red Storm basketball teams missed the postseason in their first year of eligibility. Frc Bei rtiu |