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Show sThe Utah Statesman II Western Wats Western Wats has increased our wages, and we are still willing to work around your schedule. We still offer weekly pay, a fun work environment, and we'll give you time off for school events, tests, and holidays. Call (435) 753-1303 or stop by 22 East Center in Logan. For more inormation or apply online: surveynetwork.com/application. Monday- Friday 11 am-3 pm 10% OFF per perso only valid with USU ID "A l o t of food on a s t u d e n t Budget" 432 N. Main Street Logan 753-5789 v »*^ v^tftv m • • • • • • i • BASEBALL From page 11 the Aggies ace pitcher and the most likely player to end up in the minors according to AlImari. Ladd had an era under one in the games he pitched last fall. Part of the meltdown of last season could have been attributed to a lack of games, since the Aggies had to cancel 28 games because of the snow that arrived early and stayed late last fall and spring. To get around the winter weather in Logan, the Aggies will take two road trips in September to Wyoming and Montana. All through October, the Aggies will have a home stand. After that, the Aggies will take their winter hiatus. When spring starts up, the Aggies will take more road trips than they did last year since they will play junior colleges in New Mexico and Arizona to take advantage of the warmer climate and get more games in during the spring. The Aggies will go on the road to Pocatello, Idaho to face Idaho State this weekend. -krn@cc.usu.edu ;* amu.edu UTAH STATE'S U N D O N POTTER kicks the ball around a BYU-ldaho player Saturday in Logan. The Aggies won 1-0 over the Dragons. Soccer club sees new talent Team has good balance of youth, veterans BY SCOTT MCALLISTAR Quik Payday Pays More. SLiff Writer With only 20 percent of his players returning from last season, one would think Vince Lamara, head coach for the Utah State men's club soccer team, would be worried about his teams ability to compete. Not so. During open tryouts last week, Lamara said he liked what he saw from both newcomers and veteran players alike. "This is the first time I've seen so much talent," Lamara said of the quality of players at the tryout. Of the nearly 30-35 guys who came out for the team, Lamara said he plans to keep about 25 on his roster for the 22-game schedule. Lamara said he has been impressed with the new players that he will use at midfield. In the back, Lamara has veteran leadership where it counts. All four of his starting defenders have played on the club team before and will add a level of maturity to the young squad. Returning to the team are both outside marking backs Jake Lucus and Jordan Sefcovic, as well as last year's team captains Landon Potter and Jake Carlson. Both men anchored the central defense at stopper and sweeper, respectively. There will, however, be a change in the back line this season. Last year, while playing at sweeper, Carlson led the Aggies in goals scored. That kind of offensive weapon is more likely to be dangerous depending on how close he is to the goal. So, rather than stopping goals, Carlson will be up front striking balls past opposing defenses. It's not every day when a defender leads a team in scoring and Lamara recognizes that Carlson is a special talent. "[He's] probably the best player Utah State has ever seen," Lamara said of Carlson. "He puts the ball in the goal, and that's important in soccer." With the move of Carlson up to striker, the Aggies look to have a solid team. "We're a lot deeper than in the past - solid in every position," Potter said. Their journey began Saturday as the Aggies defeated the Dragons from BYU-ldaho • CLUB SOCCER See page 13 Blake to face childhood hero BY NANCY ARMOUR The Associated Press Per/Hour Can You Say, "Cha-ching?" That's right - $8.50 per hour from the get-go. No waiting. No tricks. You'll also get a $50 training bonus and $100 more after 90-days, plus the chance to make up to $10 after just three months. Throw in medical, dental and vision insurance, discounted Sports Academy memberships and seven schedules to choose from, and you'll see why so many Aggies choose Quik Payday. ., - - r Apply TODAY at our website: www.jobs.quikpayday.com. .COM Financial Solutions Online NEW YORK - James Blake thought Andre Agassi was so cool the first time he saw him - the tennis rebel with his long, highlighted hair and big earring - that Blake went out and got a pair of those denim shorts. "Man, it had to be fifth or sixth grade. I was probably 10 or 11 years old," Blake said. "He was probably in his early 20s by then, taking the world by storm already." Agassi's hair and his 20s are long gone, and those denim shorts have been replaced by staid, old-school-length white ones. He's still taking the world by storm, though, becoming the first man over 35 to make the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 14 years. And his opponent Wednesday? None other than Blak6, who is still as big an Agassi fan as he was back in grade school, referring to him as "a legend" every chance he gets. Blake rallied to beat No. 19 Tommy Robredo on Monday after Agassi scratched out a five-setter over Xavier Malisse. "Before the match, after the match, if someone interviews me during the match, I'll probably say nice things about him," Blake said. "He's really a true gentleman, one of the friendliest guys in the locker room. That's something that's impressive when you don't need to do that because you're one of the legends of the sport. You've got everything you can ever dream of, but he still knows how to treat people. "That's something I really admire." There's much to admire about both Agassi and Blake, the feel-good stories at the Open for their similar determination and resilience, forged by different circumstances. "James is an easy guy to like and he's an easy guy to root for," Agassi said. "If he's getting the better of me, I couldn't wish it for a better person. He deserves support." Blake's story is well-known by now. An up-and-coming American, his career almost ended when he crashed into a net post during practice at a tournament in Rome in May 2004 and fractured his neck. Two months later, his father, Thomas, died of cancer. A week after that, part of Blake's face was temporarily paralyzed and his vision and hearing impaired by a severe case of shingles. His ranking dropped to 210 because of all the time he missed, and he was invited to the Open as a wild card. But he won at nearby New Haven two weeks ago, and has been on a spectacular roll ever since, knocking off No. 2 Rafael Nadal and then rallying to beat Robredo 4-6, 7-5,6-2, 6-3. "I've always known I had a chance to go deep in a major or go and win a tournament and play with these guys because I can put together a good set here, a good match here," Blake said. "It's just a matter of putting it all together. "I definitely think most of my maturity, different perspective comes from last year and everything I went through," the 25-year-old added. "It was just a matter of seeing that there is more to life.... I'm not going to play forever. I only have a certain amount of time." No one knows that better than Agassi. Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Jim Courier - his old rivals are only memories now. His wife, Steffi Graf, is six years into retirement, and their oldest child, son Jaden, is almost 4. He has a chronic back injury that is one wrong step, one awkward move from flaring up again. Yet, somehow, he manages • BLAKE See page 13 Associated Press photo JAMES BLAKE, OF THE USA, reacts during his match against Tommy Robredo, of Spain, at the US Open tennis tournament in New York. He will face Andre Agassi Wednesday. |