OCR Text |
Show ^V f f i SUMMER UTAH CHRONICLE SPORTS www.dailyutahchronicle.com W e d n e s d a y , July 6, 2005 Hoop slate Runnin' Utes release 2005-2006 schedule 2005/2006 Utah Men's Basketball Schedule Date Team Mon. 11/1-1 NW Nazarenc (Exb.) Tue 11/22 Rhode Island T Sat.iJ/3"., ired. 12/7 @> Colorado Arizona (ESPN/ESPN2) Tliu. 12/22 vs. Washington Slate" Wed, 1/4 New Mexico* San Diego Stale* iu, 1/19 V A i r Force' (ESPN2) "TCP- (ESPN+Plus) 9 Wyofoing* . >. @ New" Mexico' (ESPN2) Sat. 2/11 Sat." 2/18 (y>San DicgoSUtc* (ESPN+Plus) "Colofa Air Force* WSyyi VVcd. 3?1 * MWC game *" Game at Key Arena in Seattle, Wash. Joe Beatty Chronicle Sports Editor Ute fans have been clamoring yearly for a more competitive basketball schedule. The 2005-2006 version will go a long way to sate their hunger. Headlined by a home game with national power Arizona, the Runnin1 Utes will square off against several "BCS" conference teams, as well as two match-ups with Mountain West Conference newcomer Texas Christian. "I think we have a very competitive schedule for next season," U head coach Ray Giacoletti said. "This is something we are constantly going to try and upgrade through the years." Arizona, a former WAC rival, will come to the Huntsman Center Dec. 17 for a nationally televised showdown. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite 8 last season, eventually bowing out to national runner-up Illinois. Arizona beat the Utes in Tucson last season, but Utah holds the all-time series edge at 28-19. Other big names on the non-conference schedule include road games against Colorado, Rice and Weber State, home games versus Rhode Island and Utah State, and a neutral game in Seattle against Washington State. The U will play on national or regional TV at least seven times, with four games on ESPN or ESPN2 and three on ESPN+Plus regional. Matt Patton Cougar crash What caused the rapid descent of BYUfootball? Utah head coach Ray Glacoletti directs his team last season in the Huntsman Center. This is thefinalseason of the MWC's contract with the network, and the league will switch over to fledgling CSTV for the 2006-2007 season. Thanks to TCU joining the MWC, the conference schedule will get a bit of a jostling. Gone are the late-night ESPN Big Monday See HOOPS SCHEDULE Page 8 Gritt and bear it Hofmann will be back with the Red Rocks in 2006 ,; Chris Bellamy Chronicle Asst. Sports Editor Without doing any extra recruiting, the U gymnastics team just got a huge addition to its 2006 roster. 2005 Ail-American Gritt Hofmann, a senior for the Red Rocks last season, has been granted a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA, giving her one more season of collegiate eligibility. Hoftnann's freshman season was cut short in 2002 when she suffered a back injury after competing in just one event Following the conclusion of the 2005 season, in which she won All-America honors on thefloorexercise, head coach Greg Marsden talked with Hoftnann about returning for one more year. "At the end of the season, we started talking to Gritt about whether she was ready to be done or not. And she said Well, no, I still love gymnastics and I'd still do it if I could,'" Marsden said. "I said, TVell, there's a possibility that we could get you another year'" According to Marsden, the team petitioned for a medical hardship year, and he and Hofmann found out the good news last week. "We really weren't sure (if she would get the exemption)," Marsden said The Red Rocks had already inked three of the most sought-after recruits in the nation—Kristina Baskett, Nina Kim and Beth Rizzo—for next year's squad, but they still had one more scholarship available to let Hofmann rejoin the team without any complications. Hofmann's somewhat unexpected addition to the gymnastics team makes the Red Rocks—already a perennial championship contender—even more formidable in 2006. A former member of the German National Team, Hoftnann won the 2004 regional floor title and was the runner-up in the event last year. After her first season was cut short because of a stress fracture in her back, she put together a standout season in 2003 and was named the team's Most Improved Gymnast Just two seasons later, she was an All-American, and she'll get a chance to duplicate that feat next seasbn. • "It's always helpful to have somebody back with as much as experience as Gritt has," Marsden said "She was our finisher on the floor and was an All-American on the floor. (She) is capable of also contributing on See H O F M A N N Page 8 Utah's Gritt Hofmann begins her beam exercise by mounting the beam and landing In a split position last season at the Huntsman Center. RSL rallies to tie 2-2 against MetroStars Trembly brings strength to weak midfield position Brian Shaw Chronicle Writer • Left midfield has been a problem for Real Salt Lake (3-9-4, 5th in Western Conference) all season long, RSL head coach John Ellinger said in his interview .at Rice-Eccles Stadium, following his team's dramatic come-from-behind performance to tie the MetroStars 2-2 before a crowd of more than 20,000 on Independence Day. During the game, Seth Trembly, all 5-feet-6-inches and 140 lbs of him, got the tough position 76 minutes after the opening whistle blew. The job: to solidify an anemic left midfield and to provide a spark to the team, which it surely needed after losing defender Brian Dunseth to a controversial red card offense in the first half and trailing 2-0. RSL was down to 10 men on the pitch, and time was running out It had been eight days since the RSL squad had last touched grass, or turf) in a first-team MLS game—the reserves had played last week in Spokane, Wash., and won 3-1—and a big crowd was expected for the Fourth of July tilt The Fourth is traditionally a time for Americans to remember those who have sacrificed so that we may continue to enjoy ourfreedom.How fit- ting, then, that a nativefromLittleton, Colo., a town that experienced one of the worst tragedies in U.S. history, picked such an occasion to rise above the maelstrom of reporters whining about the lack of midfield production and do something about it Before the fireworks actually started going off, the last 14 minutes of the match got under way, sending TYembly off on a pyrotechnic show of his own as he raced down the left flank and delivered ball after bah1 into the center of the pitch, eventually getting a chance of his own, which he smacked home, unassisted, just two minutes after he got into the game. Jason Kreis followed with a penalty kick in the 90th minute to get RSL the tie. Trembly's re'sume' to this point was pretty impressive: stints on the U.S. under-17, under-20 and under-23 national teams, an MLS contract and a four-year career (four goals, two assists, 2,519 minutes), all with the Colorado Rapids until this year when he was traded to Real Salt Lake. Trembly's performance on Monday was similar to what he did Versus Chivas USA on May 18, the last time RSL won a game. TYembly was MetroStars defender Jeff Parke holds Real Salt Lake midfielder Leslie See REAL Page 8 "Tiger" Fitzpatrick Monday night at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Real Salt Lake and the MetroStars ended 90 minutes of play tied at two. What happened to BYU football? It seems that our rivals down south have entered into a freefall from their glory days, and the light at the end of the tunnel may still be a long way off. When LaVell Edwards vacated his throne after 29 seasons and a career 257-101-3 record—including 22 victories over the Utes—the future looked uncertain for Cougar fans. Gary Crowton took the stage in 2001 and fueled great excitement in Provo, as the Cougars won their first 12 games, and chants of "BCS! BCS!" were heard all over Happy Valley. The team played its final regular-season game in Hawaii and was embarrassed, 7245. They didn't make a BCS bowl game, and they sulked their way into the Liberty Bowl, where they lost to Louisville. Jump to 2005 and things haven't changed much from their sudden dive at the end of the 2001 season. Gary Crowton was fired at the end of last year's campaign after finishing 14-21 after that 2001 season, including a three-year drought from bowl games of any sort. What makes matters worse is the rise of Utah football. Ute fans have enjoyed three straight years of victories over BYU, including 2003's 3-0 win that broke the Cougars' NCAA-record 361-game streak without being shutout. Last season Ute fans lived the 2001 dream of Cougar fans, watching their team win a BCS bowl game, while BYU fans looked ahead to the 2005 season, with a fresh start and hope for a better future with the hiring of Bronco Mendenhall. • But what caused this abrupt decline? What causes a once strong and dominating program to suddenly get trounced by their rivals 52-21 to finish the 2004 season? There doesn't seem to be a concrete reason for this collapse, but there are certainly many factors that may have been key contributors. The No. 1 factor and probably most obvious reason for the collapse is the loss of Edwards. He only had one losing season over his 29 years at the helm, and he was a fantastic recruiter. In the shadow of Edwards so many of those years was offensive coordinator Norm Chow. He left BYU at the conclusion of the 1999 season, having spent 27 seasons in various positions for the Cougars. Chow was an incredible tutor to several standout BYU quarterbacks, such as Steve Young, Jim McMahon, Ty Detmer and Robbie Bosco. Chow has continued his accomplishments since leaving the Cougars by helping Phillip Rivers at NC State and most recently has been pivotal in the success of dual Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC. He seems to bring success wherever he goes. A low-profile reason for BYU's lack of success over the last few years is the loss of the athletic programs at BYU-Idaho (formerly Ricks College). Ricks College was a primary resource for BYU to recruit quality junior-college transfers, as it was usually in the Junior College top 25. Ricks had its final season in 2000 and BYU currently has just four remaining Ricks College transfers on its roster. It's hard to pin down exactly what has caused this breakdown of the Cougars, since these events all occurred at nearly the same time, but it is even more difficult to determine if they'll return to being a quality match-up for the Utes anytime soon, keeping the rivalry as hot as it has been in the past Choosing Mendenhall as the new head coach has brought even more uncertainty to the future of BYU football, since he has never been a head coach, and it is still unknown whether or not he can get the job done as the man in charge. They recently lost one of the top prospects in the nation to UCLA, as quarterback Ben Olsen chose to go down a different college path since returning from his LDS mission. The Cougars will be returning both John Beck and Matt Berry at quarterback, as well as Curtis Brown at running back and Todd Watkins at wide receiver. These should be decent elements in putting together a solid offense for Mountain West competition, but their defense has lost many key players. It appears that their defensive woes will cause them problems this season. The last few years have not been kind to the Cougars, and if Mendenhall can't make some immediate progress to change the success of the team, their troubles will likely become greater as their recruiting will continue to suffer. . Like it or not, the Cougars have a long way to go to get back to their glory days. mpatton@ chronicle.utah.edu |