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Show ThursdayS Port Thursday, March 7, 2013 Page 8 Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com March Fever Online and nonphysician diagnoses can sometimes be a little misleading. I once had a chest rash I checked out with WebMD before going to the doctor. The verdict: AIDS. Try explaining to your dad how you contracted that one at age 14. It ended up being just a bacterial infection. But for the following case study, I believe I and thousands of Americans like me, have been positively tested for disease. Though crippling at times, it comes from extended periods of jubilation spent on a couch during one month of the year. Yes, March Madness fever is real. And for those who have it, it's now peak season. There are many reasons March is the best month of the year. The death grip of winter loosens its hold and the snow starts to melt away, giving hope. Spring break, shorts, my birthday coupled with John Stockton's: All are great things, but none are better than the best weeks of the entire sports calendar all crammed into one month. So how can you test yourself for addiction? First, check for the following symptoms. Do you watch YouTube clips the entire year, thinking how much one shot changed the world? Do you incessantly draw out brackets for meaningless activities, then challenge others to fill one out? Do buzzerbeaters and upsets make you chest bump your closest neighbor? You're inching toward disease. Next, name check recognition. When I say 16, do you say "sweet"? Who does a 5-seed match with? Can you say Krzyzewski? Do you want to be saying Krzyzewski at the end of the month? What's a Cinderella? Can you put a Tar Heel, Jayhawk, and Hoosier in their respective locations? Is your first thought for Gordon Hayward a half-court shot to win the championship? If it's his being your favorite player on the Jazz instead, you're definitely a woman from Utah who probably bases her tourney selections off of each team's mascot. Not that there's anything wrong with that: Your bracket probably beats mine. Speaking of brackets, will you be able to name the 68 teams in the field this year but can't remember the first law of thermodynamics? Will you study your selections more than for your accounting midterm? Luckily, grades aren't given out for pick percentages. If you've passed all of the above, you can make your diagnosis official. And congratulations! It's a badge of honor. March Madness is everything that's right about America: underdogs, passion, lastsecond miracles, unity ►See HOPKINS, Page 9 HOCKEY UTAH STATE HOCKEY CAPTAIN BRIAN GIBBONS celebrates a goal during action at the Eccles Ice Center. CURTIS RIPPLINGER photo USU ready to skate into nationals BY SEAN O'SULLIVAN staff writer Some students view spring break as an opportunity to travel to an exotic location and let loose for a week. Utah State's hockey team, however, will be on a business trip to St. Louis for the American Collegiate Hockey Association's National Tournament from March 15-19. Utah State skated out of the west region as the number-one seed, earning an automatic berth in the national tournament without having to compete at the regional tournament. "It's pretty awesome," said USU captain Brian Gibbons. "It's the first time that USU has done that, and it's hockey history. It's an honor to be a part of this team and be number one all year." The Aggies were dominant in the west region, recording 10-1 record against the three other teams coming out of the west: Weber State, Colorado State and Arizona State. The Aggies only lost to Colorado State on the road. One reason for USU's success against the other top teams in their regions has been their attention to team defense. "The team has been pretty talented ever since I've been here, but this year's a little different," said senior forward Matt Hamilton. "We kind of revamped the way we play the game. Instead of our run-and-gun offense we usually have, we started thinking about defense a little more." Utah State allowed 1.9 goals per game while scoring 5.5 goals per game clip. "You have to play defense to win championships," Hamilton said. "If the other team can't score, you should be pretty successful." Skipping the regional tournament has many benefits for a team that played a physical style of hockey all season long. "You get a little bit of time off to heal injuries and stuff like that," Hamilton said. "You get a little more practice time in. You get to prepare for playoff hockey. There's nothing in your way except for game one at nationals. It's a good feeling that you get to focus on the start of the tournament instead of having to go through regionals. One down side to skipping regionals is the team won't have played a competitive hockey game in about a month. But in order to counter the long down time, the team stayed active. "Just kind do what you've been doing the whole year," said goaltender Bryce Scherschel. "A lot of guys aren't going to change anything up. It's not like guys are going to start suddenly working out, including myself. I've kind of been in the gym all season. Just stay on the ice, stay in the gym " and stay sharp." Utah State will face New Hampshire, Bowling Green and tournamenthost St. Louis in pool play. The winner of each of the four pools moves on to the knockout round. New Hampshire is 17-6-2 on the year, and are the No. 2-ranked team coming out of the northeast region. Bowling Green earned a record of 19-8-1 and came out of its regional tournament as a 5-seed. St. Louis earned an automatic bid to the national tournament by hosting it. The Billikens finished the season with a record of 22-11 and ended up tenth in the central region. ► See HOCKEY, Page 9 SPORTS FEATURES Freshman athletes: Making the jump BY JEFF DAHDAH staff writer Transitioning from high school to college can be a big deal. Freshmen learn to adjust to being on their own, having free time and managing more difficult classes, to name a few differences. Athletes have to deal with these and a host of other differences both on and off the court. "I could just coast in high school," said freshman basketball player Marcel Davis. "Now the game speed and intensity is so much higher." "Every player on every team was the best on their high school team," said freshman lacrosse player Colin Maxfield. It can be much more difficult to play in college then high school. It almost has to be easy for athletes in high school to be able to excel at the next level. Collegiate sports are faster, hits are harder and the overall margin for error is lower. In addition to having to be an athletic specimen, these guys and girls have to be able to handle stress, time and mental strain. "It's like a full-time job," said freshman football player Nico Bronzati. "It may sound cliche, but there's no days off." USU athletes have to be full-time athletes and full-time students, even in the offseason. Year-round athletes at Utah State are expected to maintain good grades and maintain their physical level. "The system here is more complex, much harder to grasp then our system in high school," Davis said. Not all adjustments are unpleasant, however. Some are rewarding to the players. "Everything's a competition," Bronzati said. "The cornpetition made me better, mentally and physically. I have learned a lot about my character from the changes." "The skill level is also a good thing," Maxfield said. "People couldn't pass and catch like they do here." Playing sports at this level makes the athletes better and make them gel together. Statistically, athletes have better grades and succeed more in college. There is some nostalgia for many of these athletes for their high school games. "I miss the high school rivalries and having friends and FRESHMAN GUARD MARCEL DAVIS goes up for a shot against Illinois State on Feb. 23 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. DELAYNE LOCKE photo ►See FRESHMAN, Page 10 |