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Show THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE Thursday, October26,2006 The Commish It's midseason report card time A midterm grade • is kind of like a belly button. I'm sure it has helped us at some point in our lives, but it's difficult to explain why we need it today. Midterms give us an idea of where we are> but ultimately, don't matter. As you procrastinators can attest, much can be done in the final week to salvage a semester. The same can be said for giving midterms to fantasy football players. Your league's regular season may be halfway over, but even if your team has. straight As now, you won't be awarded the championship trophy just yet. There's a lot of football left to be played. Nevertheless, let's open those report cards. Quarterbacks: Marc Bulger, Michael Vick and David Carr all get an A. Not just because of their performances, but by taking into consideration when they were drafted. Donovan McNabb and Peyton Manning each get an A, but we all expected it. As for the slackers in the back of the class, Daunte Culpepper, Jake Plummer and Steve McNair all get an F for their first-half performances. Running Backs: As you have likely discovered, the running back position is by far the most difficult to find on the waiver wire. If you don't have reliable options at RB, you probably aren't happy with your team. Brian Westbrook comes in at the head of the class. Not only is he top-3 in scoring, but there were anywhere between 12-14 running backs taken ahead of him. So this means that, if you have him to a three-touchdown performance last week. If there had to be a disappointment, I would say KYLE it is Tony Gonzalez. Many owners spent high draft picks draftNELSON ing Gonzo second among tight ends behind Antonio Gates, but he had four straight weeks with on your team, he is probably fewer than 60 receiving yards. your No. 2 running back. What He might be getting hot again, a luxury! LaDainian Tomlinson though, after 138 yards receiving and Larry Johnson also get an A, in his last game. but who didn't see that coming? Defense/Special Teams: It Shaun Alexander has to be the seems like every year the Bears biggest disappointment in the and Ravens are the best in this class. He played three unspec- department. This year is no diftacular games before breaking ferent. Nobody can score on the his foot, and who knows if he'll Broncos this year, but they've yet be fully healthy again this sea- to find the end zone defensively son? and they need to get more sacks Wide Receivers: Like every and takeaways. The Vikings are year, this position offers the the surprise of the class. They most surprises. Andre John- lead the league with four deson and Darrell Jackson get the fensive touchdowns but might top marks. Each is in the top-5 still be available in your league. among wide receivers, but nei- The Dolphins would have to be ther was supposed to be. Torry one of the biggest disappointHolt is head and shoulders above ments. They were everyone's the competition and gets an A, darkhorse Super Bowl team too. As for the failures, how can during the preseason, but now we overlook Chad Johnson? He find themselves 1-6 and ranked always tells us about the great- in the bottom-five in fantasy deest trivia question...how do you fense. stop No. 85? Halfway through the Kickers: Are you kidding me? season, I would say the league What do you expect me to write is getting closer to stopping No., here? Do you expect me to give 85, as Johnson isn't even in the good and bad grades to place top 30 among wide receivers. kickers? Hahahaha. I'm too busy Tight Ends: Unlike previous for that. I'm a full-time student years, this year's tight end class trying to provide for my family. has been fairly predictable. The Do you think I would waste any top five tight ends drafted will of my valuable time researching likely find themselves near the and evaluating kickers? Hahahatop five in your league's scoring. ha. All right, fine. Robbie Gould What other position can say gets an A and Neil Rackers gets that? Alge Crumpler finds him- an F. Are you happy now? self atop the TE scoring thanks k.nelson@chronicle.utah.edu UTAH, BYU VIE FOR RECRUITS continued from Page 7 "I loved the feeling that I got when I visited here," Robison said. "It was a fun environment and I knew I would love it here. I didn't get that same feeling when I visited BYU. It's a great school, but it's not for me." Robison's quarterback on the court, setter Sydney Anderson, was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country a year ago. But the wily demeanor of Launiere and Co. showed up once again as the Utes were able to snag another blue-collar recruit away from the Cougars. "I am LDS, so that was a big reason why I wanted to go to BYU, but it was the coaches at the U that changed my mind," Anderson said. "They were a big reason why I came here. That, and I just knew all of the girls and liked them." Historically, the "point of the mountain" has served as a divide of sorts, where BYU gets recruits from the south end of the point and Utah get recruits from the north end. Btft that has not been the case with the Toone family. "Being from Utah County, it's always been kind of a big deal that I came here," Toone said. "I don't think they ever thought we would come here (her older sister Amie also played for Utes). The BYU flag and funny things like that made the recruiting process a little bit more fun for us." Funny for Toone, yes, but not so much for Launiere. Coach Launiere is in her 17thseason as head coach at the U and has built one of the more premiere programs in the country during her] •tenure. But when asked about how the U is able to consistently grab blue-chip in-state recruits, Launiere refuses to take credit. "I think the program speaks for itself. It's an established, consistent, winning program," Launiere said. "After 10 years of going to the NCAAs, kids feel like they can come here and get to the NCAA tournament, not to mention win Mountain West championships." -" c.brunner@chronicle.utah.edu with a losing streak, but this is a resilient team," Manning said. "I trust them not to crumble and lose focus if something goes wrong." Right now, the Utes are primarily focused on Friday's date with Wyoming, though not entirely because it continued from Page 7 is all that stands between them and an undefeated conference record. team that had never beaten BYU to Friday is also Senior Day, which will winning three conference champi- give the team a chance to honor the onships in the last four years." graduating class. As impressive as the Utes have "It's going to be really emotionbeen over the last four years, one al," Wayman said. "This team has could argue that the team set. a new been such a big part of my life for high-water mark in 2006. so long." Utah, which had never been Although Friday's game will ranked higher than No. 14, presently doubtlessly carry a tone of finality, sits at No. 11 in the country. Also, the Utah's players know that the seasonUtes set a new record for consecu- is far from over. To them, things are tive shutouts, with nine so far. just barely starting to get interestIn addition to all their good for- ing. tune, the Utes have endured plenty "We have about 10 games left, of adversity this year. including the national championBut they have proven to be resil- ship," fellow.senior Hailey Marsh ient, fighting through both injuries said with a laugh. "There is still a to key players and a three-game los- lot of soccer to be played." ing skid in mid-September. t.quinn@ "Last year, we had some problems chronicle.utah.edu SENIOR CLASS STILL LEADING THE WAY AFTER FOUR YEARS roo© Make it a mday night full of digs, corner kicks, spikes, and headers. When it comes to scintillating action with two of the U's most successful athletics programs, there's a plate full of action Friday night. The Utah Volleyball team is riding an 17-match win streak and is ranked #10 in the nation. Not to be outdone, the Utah Soccer team is on a ninegame win streak, is ranked #11, and just wrapped up the MWC regular season title. Both squads are in action Friday night, so go back and forth between the adjacent venues — Crimson Court and Ute Field. As always, students get in FREE with your U Card! I/QQ& /,©©©©©©© Find Out More About Peace Corps Info. Meeting and Video Saturday October 28 3 - 4:30 pm Sweet Branch Public Library 455 F Street Salt Lake City UTAH VOLLEYBALL VS. BYU Friday, Oct. 27, 7:00 p.m. — Crimson Court UTAH SOCCER VS. WYOMING Friday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m. — Ute Field ATHLETICS Enter the Red Zone. ©0OO0O0OO© trraci peacecorps.gov University Campus Store's Annual CHECK- OCT. 2 6 OCT. 11 9AM-4P.AA OURS c 27 7 V Pumpkin Carving Contest - - Tuesday, October 31 1 lam - lpm First Prize $300 Campus Store Gift Card ROWLAND HALL-ST. MARK'S SCHOOL 9 7O E. 8OO S. SALT LAKE CITY Second Prize Third Prize $200 Campus Store Gift Card $100 Campus Store Gi(t Card I SIT US AT: WWW.RQWMARK.QRf. GREAT DEALS ON ALPINE, NORDIC, SNOWBOARD EQUIPMENT A N D CLOTHING ROWMARK SKI ACADEMY CALL US AT 801-3 5 5-3 94 3 Carving Teams consist of 1 or 2 people. Maximum of 20 teams will be registered. Stop by the Campus Store Customer Service Counter and pick up and entry form and contest rules. Entry Deadline October 27th Hours: M W Th F: 8am - 5:30pm, Tu: 8am - 7pm, S: 11am - flpm 581-6326 • wvuvu.bookstora.utah.edu |