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Show 6 Wednesday January 8, 2014 SPORTS UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS TODAY: Men's Basketball www.dailyutahchronicle.com FEATURE Mario and Luigi lead the MUSS Utah @Washington Ryan Miller 8 p.m. Seattle, Wash. STAFF WRITER Ski Utah @ Women's 20K/Men's 30K Freestyle All Day Midway, Utah FRIDAY: Women's Basketball Utah vs. Stanford 6 p.m. Huntsman Center AP TOP 25 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 TEAM RECORD Connecticut 15-0 Notre Dame 13-0 Duke 14-1 Stanford 13-1 Louisville 15-1 Maryland 13-1 Baylor 12-1 Tennessee 12-2 Kentucky 13-2 South Carolina 14-1 Iowa St. 13-0 LSU 12-2 North Carolina 12-3 Penn St. 10-3 Oklahoma St. 12-1 Nebraska 11-2 Colorado 11-2 Florida St. 13-1 California 10-3 North Carolina St. 14-1 Purdue 10-3 Indiana 14-0 Arizona St. 12-2 San Diego 15-0 Georgia 12-3 CHRIS AYERS/The Daily Utah Chronicle In recent years, the only sea of red at Utah basketball games was the mass of empty seats throughout the Huntsman Center. With a combined 27,000-plus fans packing into Utah's home building for the team's first two conference games, it is apparent that that is changing. But even in the new sheet of crimson, two people clearly stand out. Leading the charge of the reinvigorated student section are Michael Hughes and Nick Collins, though Ute fans might know them better as Mario and Luigi. Hughes, a junior majoring in exercise physiology, and Collins, a recent graduate, have become famous around campus and on social media because of their creation. Anyone who attends a game will notice them, and their Mario and Luigi twitter handle ( utahmarioluigi) boasts more than 500 followers. They may soon be mentioned in the same breath as Crazy Lady. The story of Mario and Luigi began on a Thanksgiving in the Collins home. Every Thanksgiving, the Collins family holds a talent show. One year for the show, Nick and his brother purchased Mario and Luigi costumes in order to make a parody music video for the PSY song "Gangnam Style." With the costumes already in hand, Collins thought it would be fun to dress up as the popular video game characters at a Ute game. He approached his longtime friend, Hughes, with the idea. "My first thought was just, 'No, that's just not me. That's embarrassing, I can't do that,'" Hughes said. Collins wouldn't let it go easily. The two made a bet, the terms being that if Hughes lost, he would have to attend a Utah game dressed as Mario. What the actual bet was has now been forgotten, but who lost is still quite clear. Nick Collins and Michael Hughes dress up and cheer on the Runnin' Utes at the Huntsman Center. See DREAMTEAM page 8 COLUMN GYMNASTICS Two injured Red Rocks return No 'magic potion' will save the Utes in 2014 Griffin Adams ASST. SPORTS EDITOR An unfortunate truth in sports is that injuries happen. The injury bug bit Utah big time last season as it lost two valuable pieces in All-Americans Corrie Lothrop and Kailah Delaney. Lothrop went down four meets into the campaign with a torn Achilles while Delaney missed the entire season after undergoing knee surgery. "It was really hard not to be out there on the floor," Delaney said. "I still felt like I had a job by helping my teammates stay relaxed, but it was definitely a long year." One of the main struggles the Utes had in 2013 was on the balance beam. It was their Achilles' heel all season long — no pun intended— and was the event that essentially knocked them out of contention in the first round of the NCAA Championships. The team is hoping that having Lothrop and Delaney back will help them make that weakness a strength in 2014. "I am really hoping to be part of the beam lineup the whole season," Delaney said. "I want to help out as much as I can on that event. Last year, it was a tough event for us, but this year we seem a lot more confident and are doing a lot better." While Lothrop is looking forward to getting back into competition, she admitted she is somewhat apprehensive about it. "It's been so long since I've been out there, so I am kind of nervous," she said. "It's been a lot of rehab and working slowly. I don't want to push it too hard and set myself back. The coaches are there by my side telling me that I should take it easy from time to time to make sure I come back stronger. I am really excited though, and hopefully I will be back at full strength soon, but we aren't pushing it." While Lothrop and Delaney are happy to be back competing, their teammates may be even happier. "I think it's definitely a huge benefit," said junior Tory Wilson. "They The Daily Utah Chronicle File Photo Kailah Delaney sticks a landing during the vault event at the Hunstman Center in 2012. are talented, great gymnasts and they add depth to the team. It makes us stronger as a whole and gives us more options each week." Perhaps the happiest people of all to have Lothrop and Delaney back are co-head coaches Greg and Megan Marsden. "With Corrie, this team has moved through their career with her as a part of their entourage," Megan Marsden said. "Because of her accomplishments before she got here and her freshman year, everyone else feels a lot of confidence having her back on the floor with them. They were all honest last season after she went down and said they felt lost without their rock. Kailah is going to provide depth to our lineup, and she is looking good everywhere, and we are really excited to have her as an option." After missing the Super Six for the first time since 1999 last season, the top priority for the Utes in 2014 is making it back, and Delaney and Lothrop are sure to be two important pieces to that puzzle. g.adams@chronicle.utah.edu hen Dennis Erickson was hired as Utah's co-offensive coordinator in February of RYAN last year, hope abounded MCDONALD that the Hall of Fame coach would lead the Ute offense to amazing heights. Don't have the same asSports Editor pirations for new offensive coordinator Dave Christensen, Whittingham said. "I don't think who was hired in December to there's anybody in this building relieve Erickson of his duties and who would disagree with that. introduced at a press conference Our hope is that Dave will help Tuesday. Christensen was one of us get to that next level." the nation's top offensive coorWhen he was asked about dinators in 2007 and 2008 while demoting Erickson to running at Missouri, when he had great backs coach despite his legendary players such as quarterback status, Whittingham offered up Chase Daniel and wide receiver this interesting response: Jeremy Maclin. "We saw progress [in 20131, but But as Erickson discovered in we need to see more progress." 2013, success won't happen if a Hmmm. I'm not sure you're gocoach doesn't have capable playing to find a much better offeners at his disposal, regardless of sive coach in the country than Erhis résumé. Most notably, when ickson, but perhaps Christensen Travis Wilson was plagued with a has a magic potion he'll be able variety of ailments in the second to conjure up even though there half of the season, Utah's offense is so much uncertainty heading into 2014. sputtered to a pretty awful state. Right now, it appears that's When Christensen was where the Utes find themselves. brought on in December, my The quarterback position is in immediate thought was that Whittingham was feeling his hot limbo until doctors determine whether or not Wilson can seat warming up and hired the resume his career, and that won't new guy out of desperation more be determined until at least Febthan anything else. Whittingham ruary. Additionally, safety valve made clear Tuesday that he was tight end Jake Murphy has bolted simply trying to fill a vacancy in for the NFL. Without those two the coaching staff after special pieces, there are a lot of question teams coordinator Jay Hill took marks Christensen won't be able the head coaching job at Weber to answer, no matter how good of State, and Christensen was the a coach he turns out to be. best person to hire. Strangely, head coach Kyle Whittingham is certainly looking for improvement on offense Whittingham seemed to focus more of his comments Tuesday too, but that probably won't hapon what he hopes Christensen pen simply by virtue of Chriscan do to help the team and not tensen calling the plays. Things are enough on the notion that Utah only going to change for the better simply might not have the players when there is a higher caliber to compete in the Pac-12 in 2014. of healthy players available for "We gotta get better. We still Christensen to use. aren't good enough offensively," r.mcdonald@chronicle.utah.edu |