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Show StatesmanSports Paee 10 Tourney: San Jose St. first opponent Di continuedfrom page 9 the attack, we're scoring a lot of goals. When you put those two things together, your confidence rises. I think we're probably the most confident we've been in the three years that we've been going to the conference tournament." Offensively, the Aggies are a drastically improved team from earlier in the season. In the last seven games, all of which were against conference opponents, the Aggies have scored a combined 24 goals, posting a 5-2 record. In the 12 games prior to that, USU scored a combined 12 goals while tabbing an 8-4 record. The WAC season has also brought out some improvement in a well-balanced attack, even with the loss of team captain and leading scorer Dana Peart for four games due to an injury sustained against Boise St. Cairns said Peart will play some minutes in the tournament, though she is not at full strength as she continues to recover from a PCL injury. Freshman forward Lauren Hansen leads the Aggies in scoring with nine goals on the season and 18 points. Peart is tied for second in scoring with senior midfielder Abby Hunt at five r erfect Partner. You found one partner. Now find are ons' the finest in Wedding p sou r i n i n invitations & related 630 West 200 North papergoods. 753-8875 T rii G TEN HI' AS TO JOIN ARMY BOTC 10.100% Tuition & Fees 9. $1200 a year for Books 8. $400 monthly cash 7. Logan Canyon is your classroom (repelling & adventure training) 6. Learn leadership by taking charge 5. Set yourself apart from your peers 4. Don't buy action figures, be one (Like Major Bruce) 3. Make a difference in the world 2. College credit to get strong 1. Someday history classes could read about you. (435) 797-ROTC LTC Stuart goals. Junior forward Candice Clark has also pitched in four goals and four assists. In all, 12 USU players have scored this season, creating a balanced attack. On the other end of the field, Cairns said she feels her team is strong, giving the offense more opportunities to score. Griffin finished the regular season with a .765 save percentage, placing second in the WAC in save percentage for conference games, and tallied 65 saves on the season. But even with the team starting to play cohesively, Cairns said her team cannot get overconfident. "I think probably the biggest thing is just making sure we bring it for San Jose and not overlook them," Cairns said. "We can't underestimate the importance of that. But in terms of tactics, we feel pretty good about where we are so it's just going to be bringing it on that day." While overlooking SJSU is something Cairns wants her team to avoid, should they beat the Spartans, they would go on to play No. 1 seed Hawaii, who was the clear conference leader throughout the season, finishing with a 6-1-0 conference record. The lone conference loss was to none other than the Aggies, where they fell 3-2 in Logan. Should USU face Hawaii again, the Ags would have the benefit of knowing they beat the Rainbow Wahine before and there would be no home field advantage for Hawaii, which they have relied heavily on this season. Hawaii has only won two games on the road the entire season. When asked if she thought her team could beat Hawaii again, Cairns said, "Yeah we do, but again, we've really tried to control those thoughts. It's really about taking it one game at a time because if we don't take care of business the first day, we don't meet Hawaii." •seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu Road: Ags drop to fourth spot 3 continuedfrom page 9 University of Nevada-Reno Thursday night as they honor seniors Nielson and Ale. This last home match of the year is especially significant, since the Wolf Pack leapfrogged the Aggies to take over third place in the WAC after USU's loss to Idaho. With only two matches left — the other at Hawaii Nov. 4 — WAC wins are at a premium as teams jostle for position heading into the WAC Tournament Nov. 15-17 in Las Cruces, N.M. "That third seed is a good seed to be in because you won't have to play Hawaii until the finals probably," DuBose said. A win Thursday night will go a long ways in the Aggies quest for the No. 3 seed, but win or lose, DuBose said he sees a fun match ahead for USU and its fans. •da.bake@aggiemail.usu.edu GOAGGI Beat the Boise Stat Team tip with TtmcsffS BEATTHOSEMIGRUMB. TOUCH»W Ma Engine performance/repair • Computer Diagnostics • Brakes CV Axles • Emissions • Transmissions • A/C • Clutches Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007%} The Blue and the White Sports Debate Sam Bryner is a senior majoring in business management Comments can be sent to him sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu David Baker is a sen/or majoring in print journalsim. ! Comments can be sent to him da.bake©aggiemail.usu.edu 1. Adrian Peterson: Best back in NFL? After setting the single-game rushing record, Adrian Peterson is going to get a lot of praise heaped on him - most of it deservingly so. He ran through a San Diego defense that was missing a couple of its best players, so he loses a few points there. I'm not going to say he isn't a great back, because he is. But the best? Not so fast. We live in a society that loves to pre-emptively crown victors, make legends. So this is expected, but we need to give Peterson at least a full year before we crown him the new O.J. Simpson -yes, pre-black glove, he was the best thing since sliced bread. For my money, LaDanian Tomlinson is still the best. Ask me next year at this time and things may be different. That's as easy as asking if Utah State basketball will win 20 games this year. Of course he is. Just look at the stats. He has rushed for 1,036 yards, and the next closest is Willie Parker at 768. He has run for a league-leading eight touchdowns. Did I mention he does all of this without even touching the ball 20 times a game? Five other backs get more touches per game and don't have near the yards. Oh yeah, he's also listed as the Vikings' No. 2 back behind Chester Taylor, which should soon change. If all that isn't convincing enough, then I don't know what to say. It's not even like the Vikings have a good pass game to throw off opposing defenses. They have one weapon and one weapon only, and that's Peterson. 2. Did Pats-Colts game live up to the hype? Considering I snoozed through much of the whole first half, I'd say it didn't live up to expectations. This game was pumped up to epic proportions - a combination of "Gladiator." "300" and all the summer threequels rolled into one football game. I was anticipating waves of pleasure to overcome my body. I expected an orgasmic roller-coaster ride of a contest, something sublime for poets to ruinforyears to come. But it was just a football game. There was a lot of running in the first half, . some long passes, a few big drops, some picks, a big fumble and a comeback win. A good football game, but after all the hype, a '69 Camaro would have had to pop out of my TV for me to be satisfied. The game was low-scoring and for the most part pretty boring until the last 10 minutes. Because of this, at first look it's easy to say the game was over-hyped. I tend to disagree though. The game got a lot of coverage and hype rightfully so. You had two undefeated teams going at it past the halfway point of the season, the two best quarterbacks in the game right now and overall just two really great teams. Give me a reason the game shouldn't have been hyped up. Did the game actually live up to the hype? I think everyone was expecting a high-scoring shootout. In reality, both teams have good defenses, so the low score isn't surprising. Tom Brady led his team from 10 points back in the final quarter, and once again we saw the Colts fold to the Patriots. 3. Early Final Four predictions? It's time once again for the most arbitrary thing anyone could ever do. I'm going to attempt to, with very substandard instrumentation, forecast ^he college basketball weather on a weekend in late March. If] actually do get these right, I'll start writing under the pseudonym Bakerdomus. But given my picking history, I'm just relegating the four teams that follow to a season of pain and suffering - that's why I'm leaving the Aggies off. Here it goes: I'll start with the UCLA Bruins, who will make it back after losing last year to Florida. Then I've got Memphis, with their outstanding freshman point guard Derrick Rose. Louisville, too, because I like Rick Patino's immovable hair. And a surprise, Oregon. This is a lot like, well, I don't know what's it's like, it's near impossible without actually seeing any games for real. But on paper, this year's Final Four will be North Carolina, UCLA, Georgetown and Tennessee. North Carolina has three starters back from last year's team that made it to the Elite Eight, including Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. UCLA returns a lot of experience as well as welcoming in highly touted freshman Kevin Love. Georgetown has a dominant big man in Roy Hibbard, and as long as he can stay out of foul trouble, look for the Hoyas to contend. Tennessee made the cut not only because they have experience but also because senior guard Chris Lofton has ice running through his veins. This guy is clutch. 4. Will any college teams stay undefeated? It depends on the time frame. Spoiler alert. Ohio State will blow through a weak Big Ten and end up in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game, making them the only undefeated team, because Kansas will lose to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship Game and Hawaii will lose to either Boise State or Washington at the end of the season. That being said, Ohio State will probably play either LSU or Oklahoma, maybe even Oregon, for the championship. It doesn't matter which one of those ,. teams plays the Buckeyes, the challenger will win, just like Florida did last year, leaving us at the end of the season with no undefeated team. There you have it. No need to watch anymore college football this year. Right now in the Top 25 there are three teams undefeated: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 4 Kansas as well as No. 16 Hawaii. Ohio State still has to play No. 12 Michigan at the big house. Kansas plays No. 6-ranked Missouri at home, and Hawaii plays No. 20-ranked Boise State. Not only will there be an undefeated team at the end of the season, but I think all three of these teams will finish undefeated. As a Bowl Championship Series hater, you love to see this because it means at the end of the year, there will likely be at least two undefeated teams remaining. And really, how can the BCS determine a true champion if there is more than one team that has not lost? 5. Rant This will sound less like sports and more like manly chest beating, which is sports-like, right? For uppity sports purists, stop reading now. This isn't going to sound like ESPN sports punditry. It's going to sound like, "The. Alphabet of Manliness," a great book. Girls, when a guy takes you to a sports bar, they are prepping you for a life full of over-theshoulder gazes, subtle fist-pump celebrations and silently mouthed phrases about prevent defenses. Also, know your stage of undress has a lot to do '; with our focus on you during sporting events. If you% are willing to be in any advanced state of clothes abandonment while we're watching a Southeastern Conference football game at Iggy's, you're going to garner our attention. You can be more clothed if it's a Big Ten game. And yes, after that, I welcome celibacy with open arms. There are a lot of unheard-of sports, or to avoid argument, a lot of unknown athletic events and athletes. Specifically I would like to mention cross country. For those of who don't know this, USU does have a cross country team. Actually they have two, men's and women's. Did you know in 2005 the men's cross country team won the schools first Western Athletic Conference Championship, and since then they have been champions both of the two successive years? The women in 2005 finished second, in 2006 they were WAC champions, and this year they came in third. Clearly these two programs have to be considered among the top athletic teams the school has to offer, especially the men. These athletes are among the hardest working athletes on campus in addition to constantly being recognized for their academics. Give these student-athletes some credit. They do a lot for our university. Go Aggies. Dl Comment on this @ utahstaiesman.com |