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Show 6 Wednesday, August 25, 2010 SPORTS UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS www.dailyutahchronicle.com Toximmilmivim.W.VATIMMATIVrermtrz Soccer Notthaak, FRIDAY: Soccer Utah @ Georgia 5 p.m. Athens, Ga. Kelsey Price STAFF WRITER Volleyball Utah battles Top 25 teams After narrowly falling i-o to No. 21-ranked Washington State, the Utes will face No. 9 Santa Clara, No. 3 Stanford, No. 16 BYU and No. 3 San Diego State this season. Utah vs. UC Davis 7 p.m. Davis, Calif SATURDAY: Volleyball Utah vs. USU 7 p.m. Logan 'Show Your Scarf' gains steam The "SHOW YOUR SCARF" campaign, a seasonlong effort to raise awareness for the team, is quickly gaining support across campus and throughout the community. Students and fans can participate or vote in the ongoing fan photo contest on the team's Facebook page www. SUNDAY: Soccer Utah vs. UNC Greensboro 9 a.m. Athens, Ga. SPORTS WORLD facebook.com/utahwsoccer . Utah broadcaster Chris Tunis dies of cancer at 54 SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Chris Tunis, a fixture in the state's sports broadcasting world for nearly 3o years who was the play-by-play announcer for University of Utah women's basketball, has died of cancer. He was 54. He died Monday, according to Chris Hill, the school's athletic director. "He was kind of old-school in the sense that he just loved doing radio," said Bill Riley, program director at KALL, the university's sports radio partner. "He wasn't one of these guys in radio or print that was out to make the story about him or garner headlines. He just loved sports." "Tuner," as he was known by his colleagues, was named Utah Sportscaster of the Year seven times. Tunis spent much of his career with Salt Lake City stations KSL, both in radio and television, and later with KALL. KSL broadcaster Greg Wrubell, a former intern for Tunis when he was the station's sports director in the early 1990s, said both the state and the industry lost a pioneer. The third photo contest kicks off tomorrow. "SHOW YOUR SCARF" has also gained national media attention and was most recently featured on NPR. Erin Dailey a serious threat to opponents An All-Mountain West Conference selection last year, junior forward Erin Dailey leads the Utes with one goal this season. Dailey also leads the entire conference with eight shots this season, including four on goal. Last season, Dalley's nine goals tied for first in leading scorers for Utah. Utes lead over opponents in first-half shots Despite two losses last weekend, the Utes have controlled possession on the field for the first half. So far this season, Utah has outshot opponents 11-9 in the first half. See SOCCER Page 7 FILE PHOTO/The Daily Utah Chronicle Lauren Hair tries to dribble past a TCU player in a conference game last season. This season the Utes aim to be among the elite in the Mountain West. 1— THE GREAT DEBATE How will Utah finish the 21:1:1 season? Defense won't hold back opponents Tough teams will prevent perfection L ooking forward to the Utes' 2010 campaign, I have all the confiJAKE dence in the world that the offense can BULLINGER lead the team to do special things. However, the Utah defense has been suspect since losing most of Utah should be able to reel its starters a year ago, leadoff a seven-game winning ing me to believe the Utes streak, with some challenges will be good, but not great. from Iowa State, Wyoming I predict Utah will have and Air Force. However, the a successful year, earning a streak will end with a second respectable 9-3 record. home loss, this one coming at The Utah defense is the hands of TCU on Nov. 6. the leading cause for any Let's face it: TCU is too concerns I have. The unit fast, too loaded and too comis green and has struggled plete for Utah to notch this against the run in practice acvictory. I'm not saying it's cording to reports. Therefore, impossible, it would just take Utah will struggle against Pitt an above-average offensive the first week, and find itself performance and a heroic beginning the season o-r. defensive stand to keep the One name Ute fans should Horned Frogs in check. know going into week one There is a reason TCU is is Dion Lewis. The Pitt ranked sixth in the Associatsophomore rushed for a ed Press preseason rankings, whopping 1,799 yards and 17 and Utah will discover why touchdowns in his freshman at Rice-Eccles. campaign. The tailback is This leaves two more not only one of the Big East's real threats to Utah—Notre Dame and BYU. After losing elite players, but he certainly should be on most people's two at home already, I can't Heisman Watch List. think the Utes will drop Utah's rush defense might another game at Rice-Eccles. improve as the season Therefore, I have them beatprogresses, but it will be subing BYU but falling in South Bend to the Irish. jected to a baptism by fire, courtesy of Lewis and the There are few who believe No. 15 rankedPitt Panthers. Notre Dame will have a Bowl The edge definitely goes to Championship Series-caliber the Panthers here. season, but I feel they will give Following the Pitt loss, Utah troubles. First off, playing StaffWriter in the Notre Dame Stadium means Utah will have to battle not only the Irish, but 8o,000 Irish fans as well. There are few home-field advantages in the country that can match that of Notre Dame. Although the Irish have lost premier players such as Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, they will still have plenty of weapons. The wide receiving corps will be strong with Michael Floyd and 6-foot 5-inch Duval Kamara. Kyle Rudolph is a solid tight end that will help first-year starting QB Dayne Crist. The Notre Dame defense was bad last year, which means Utah will keep things interesting. However, the Irish return nine starters, which will be just enough to hold the Utes. So Utah will go 9-3, but there are some gray areas. The game in South Bend could go either way, and only time will tell what the defense has in store. If Utah's defense can play to the level of Whittingham's past units, I believe it will beat Notre Dame and steal one from either Pitt or TCU, leaving the Utes at 11-I. Good things could be in store for Utah, but it all depends on whether the defense can keep opposing teams off the field and let the offense go to work. ollege football is here, folks, and the smell of tailgatCORBIN ing and optimism is filling the nostrils of GODFREY fans nationwide. As soon as the Associated Press rankings came out— which are always a joke this best football. But that is not early in the year—in come the case for Utah this year. the questions and predicApparently the Utes want to tions from fans, wanting to come out of the gates swingknow what lies ahead for ing against the Panthers and Heisman-hopeful Dion their team this season. For Utah fans, one question Lewis, who gained more might be, "How will the Utes than 1,80o yards last season fare against as tough as a freshman. I think the of a schedule as they Utes will get by Pitt in this have ever seen?" game, but the trouble lies So I will take a shot ahead when Utah will face as a human eight ball— TCU and Notre Dame backas much as I would like to-back. to say the Utes can put On Nov. 6, Utah will host together another undefeated TCU and both teams could season and get to their third easily be undefeated at this Bowl Championship Series point—Utah 7-0 and TCU game, I know the chances 9-o. It should make for of that are slim. At best, the one of the biggest college Utes will go 11-I. At best. football games of the year The Utes have four major as Utah could be ranked in road blocks in their schedthe Top 15 and TCU in the ule, the first of which comes Top 5. Everyone remembers TCU's dismantling of the in the season-opener next Thursday when they host Utes in Fort Worth and the Big East favorite and No. Horned Frogs look even is-ranked Pittsburgh. Playing stronger this year, returning in such a big game in the nine starters on offense and season-opener can be both seven on defense. I don't see great and bad. Many schools TCU running over Utah in often schedule much weaker Salt Lake City, but I can see teams to face week one as the Horned Frogs squeaking a tune-up game since no out a win in what should be one expects a team to jump the most physical and gruelinto the season playing the ing game the Utes play all C StaffWriter V S. j.bullinger@ chronicle.utah.edu Vote on who won the Great Debate this week www.dailyutahchronicle.com/sports season. But if Utah does pull out a win over TCU, then it will travel to South Bend the next week to face Notre Dame, which will surely be a Top 25 team by the time Utah comes to town. This game could turn into what is known as "the let-down game." Or as I like to call it, the game USC is primed for every year. Utah will no doubt be drained from the battle with TCU and Notre Dame will be coming off a home game against push-over Tulsa the week before. Brian Kelly is the new coach at Notre Dame and his fast-paced, nohuddle offense at Cincinnati left teams in its dust in the Big East. Okay, now let's say that Utah gets past TCU and Notre Dame. Utah still has to play BYU in the final game of the season, a game in which a coin flip might as well decide the outcome, since the rivalry has been known to produce the most unpredictable outcomes. I don't mean to sound like a downer. I would love to secretly and quietly pump my fist from the press box if Utah got past all four teams, but the truth of the matter is that it's going to be a tough road to get there. Finishing II-I is still a great season, and one that I think the Utes can achieve. c.godfrey@ chronicle.utah.edu |