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Show SPORTS Rivalry week unfolds WEDNESDAY PAGE 11/17 7 Daily Utah Chronicle ESPN, tailgating, free breakfast and Operation Sombrero to highlight weekend events leading up to Holy War Joe Beatty Sports Writer Asad Kudlya Columnist Not so fast: The Utes aren't there just yet The U football team is clearly the better team going into this week's rivalry game against BYU and just about every Ute fan I have talked to has asked me if I am going to the Fiesta Bowl. Hey Ute fans, it's not over yet, Prior to Utah's run, there have been two teams that have challenged the BCS and have come close to busting into the elite system— TCU and BYU. In 2ooi, BYU threatened the BCS with their offense. The Cougars scored 70 points in their first game against Tulane to set the tone for the year. ' Although the team had close games with UNLV, Wyoming and New Mexico, the Cougar administration persuaded the BCS to let BYU quarterback Jackson Brown, 17, gets hammered in last year's slim Utah victory over the Cougars. them in, but they forgot one thing—the season wasn't over. In the last game of the regular season, the Cougars went to Hawaii and gave up 72 points in a loss, which ruined their season. The game deflated all morale and the Cougars went on to lose the Liberty Bowl against Louisville. TCU, however, did not get as close as the Cougars, but were getting a lot of publicity. At 7-0, the Horned Frogs were ranked No. 9, but fell complacent and lost to San Jose State. There is an easy lesson to be learned from the prior runs for all Ute fans along with the players and coaches—it's not over until the team is undefeated and the regular-season schedule is finished. The differences between TCU's and. BYU's runs to the BCS in comparison to Utah's are easy to spot. For one, the attention paid to this run is above and beyond the past runs and "College Football GameDay" did not go to either of those schools, so you know it's going to be huge. That said, Utah is not just playing another Chris Fowler, Lee Corso, and Kirk Herbstreit broadcast "GameDay" from Auburn University last weekend. SEE B Y U PAGE 10 Red Rocks add depth to an already world-class lineup of tumblers Matt Ouellette Sports Writer The U gymnastics team assured itself of at least four more dominant years Tuesday when head coach Greg Marsden and assistant head coach Megan Marsden signed two of the most highly sought-after recruits in the country. Kristina Baskett of Normandy Park, Wash., and Nina Kim of Houston, Texas, are internationally renowned gymnasts who are both expected to be competitive at the championship level in their first year with the team. Some of Baskett's career exploits include three appearances in the USA Championships, a third place all-around finish at the 1999 American Challenge and a fifteenth place [all-around finish at the 2001 U.S. Classic. Baskett recently finished fourth on the vault at the 2004 U.S. Classic, thereby consummating her comeback from a broken foot suffered at the 2003 USA Championships. "Kristina is one of the most powerful, yet artistic gymnasts in the country," Greg Marsden said. "She is someone we've had our eye on for many years and was recruited by every major program. Kristina has not yet reached her full potential and will absolutely blossom in the collegiate gymnastics format. She will make an immediate impact on our team and I feel fortunate that she selected Utah." Kim has appeared more often on the world stage than her fellow signee, and has a few more impressive credentials under her belt. She VOLLEYBALL NO. 19 UTAH (21-4,13-1) AT MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT Nov. 18,200411 a.m. @ Fort Collins, Colo. Tailgate to your heart's content Tailgating is to start early Friday evening, and diehard fans are encouraged to start arriving at 6 p.m. KUTV Channel 2 will sponsor a Red vs. Blue cook-off in the tailgate lot (west of the Veterans Administration Hospital). The event will be shown live on the 10 p.m. newscast and will pit chefs representing both schools. Part of the judging revolves around the amount of support that shows up for each university. Starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Hot Ticket 700 AM will be throwing an all-night party in the tailgate lot. Radio hosts Matt Thomas and Bill Reilly will hang out with Ute fans all night. The official radio-station bus will be parked and a big-screen TV will provide late-night entertainment. Fans who wish to sleep may set up tents across the street on the MUSS tailgating lawn. The MUSS will have its usual game day tailgate party north of the Eccles Tennis Center (500 South and Guardsman Way). The event will run from 2:30 p.m. until 4:30 p.m. Home to where the sombrero is One group in particular is going to great lengths to promote Utah's Fiesta Bowl dreams. Early Saturday morning will mark the culmination of Operation Sombrero. The main Web site for U fans, www.utefans. net, will sell sombreros for $2 to the fans who are braving the early morning cold to attend the ESPN "College Football GameDay" broadcast. The Web site has taken donations to buy the hats in bulk, and will try to get as many sombrero-clad Utah fans on TV as possible. Supplies are limited, so the organizers are asking The trio comes to the U this weeked for the first time. The university hopes to get 20,000 fans to the live broadcast Saturday morning. Two blue-chip recruits sign with U gymnastics | While the Utah State Fair officially took place in September, Saturday looks like it will have a definite carnival feel. Anyone wandering around or near RiceEccles Stadium between Friday afternoon and game time will have a hard time finding peace and quiet. From radio shows to cook-offs, here is a look at some of the festivities happening on Holy War weekend. has been on the USA National Team for four years and has plenty of podiurns to justify her place on the squad of the nation's elite gymnasts. She has all-around titles from the 2003 Podium Meet, and the 2002 Crystal D'Arc, which took place in France. Recently, Kim won the balance beam title at the 2004 American Classic. Even when Kim isn't winning in a field of international elites, she's almost always in the thick of things. She has a sixth place finish at the 2002 USA Championships, a fifth at the Ukraine's 2003 Golden Lilia, and a third at the 2004 FL Gymnastics Open in Luxembourg under her belt. "Nina is a world-class gymnast and one of the best known and most highly recruited in our country," Marsden said. "Her reputation and international experience will help Utah to remain competitive at the highest level. She should be an immediate challenger in the all-around as a freshman at the 2006 NCAA Championships." Last season, the Red Rock recruiting class was reputed as one of the nation's best with Ashley Postell, Katie Kivisto and Jessica Duke all signing with the U. That trio of freshmen will have a chance to showcase their talents this year beginning in January, and is also expected to solidify an already outstanding Ute squad. Led by the winningest coach in the history of college gymnastics, Greg Marsden, the Red Rocks will be a big draw in 2005, and, thanks to the two most recent recruits, again in 2006 as well. mouellette@chronicle. utah. edu MEN'S HOOPS STONY BROOK AT UTAH Nov. 19, 2004 8 p.m. @ Huntsman Center Blake Moore Columnist Volleyball packs 'em in This fall has been one of the most exciting seasons for sports fans in the Salt Lake area—with Saturday night being the pinnacle thus far. When the No. 7 Utah football game was postponed until 6:50 p.m. and the Jazz started their duel with the World Champion Detroit Pistons 10 minutes later, who in his or her right mind thought that Crimson Court would host its largest crowd of the season? Just 50 fans shy of 1,000 showed up to cheer on the women's volleyball team in its pursuit of a perfect conference record. Its previous 13 conference wins are the most in school history and a win against Colorado State would have capped off a perfect record in the Mountain West. As fans arrived at the stadium, they could tell that it was a special event because of how far away they had to park. There are usually plenty of spots up front for the regulars, but people found themselves making a bit of a walk. The majority of those regulars included friends and family of the athletes. The band will always send a few of its members, a handful of students will come to heckle the opposing girls, and a cameo by U basketball star Richard Cheney can be expected. That, unfortunately, con- WOMEN'S HOOPS (0-0) (0-0) SEE UTE EVENTS PAGE 10 NO. 7 STANFORD AT UTAH Nov. 19,2004 6 p.m. @ Huntsman Center Kelsie Kartchner drives the ball Saturday night at Crimson Court against Colorado State. stitutes the bulk of the spectators at a typical Utah volleyball match. This was not the case Saturday night. Right outside the door there was a television trailer with hightech equipment furthering the suspicion that this game would get some airtime. There was an actual SWIMMING/DIVING (0-0) (0-0) UTAH AT INDIANA INVITATIONAL Nov. 19 2004 all day @ Bloominqton, Ind. wait in the ticket line and latecomers didn't have the luxury of sitting wherever they wanted. Once inside the gym, it was clearly evident that it was a unique night for coach Launiere's women.' The SEEVOLLEYABLLPAGE8 FOOTBALL BRIGHAM YOUNG AT NO. 5 UTAH (5-5, 3-2) (10-0, 6-0) Nov. 20,2004 5 p.m. @ Rice-Eccles Stadium |
