Pick-Off Sports Talk

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

2006 NCAA Track and Field Championships

ARTICLE I WROTE FOR LOCAL SACRAMENTO NEWSPAPER:

When LSU’s Xavier Carter crossed the finish line of the 100-meter dash, his hands thrown in the air, track and field fans at Sacramento State’s Alex G. Spanos Complex knew it was going to be a special day.

Carter made history by winning four NCAA championships, the first athlete to do that since Jesse Owens in the 1930’s. After winning the 100, he went on to win the 400-meter dash and anchor the first place LSU 1600-meter relay team.

“I pretty much had a good day,” said Carter.

His 100/400 double wins is considered unprecedented in modern track and field and he is the first athlete to achieve this at any level.

Another big performance came from the lone hometown athlete at the meet.

Sacramento State Hornet shot putter Dave Nichols put a throw of 64’7” on his way to sixth place and earning All-American honors. Nichols threw 62’ 1.25” in the preliminaries to advance to the finals.

“I knew the competition was going to be a lot better today, and I knew I had to step it up,” Nichols said after the competition. “It was the best consistency I ever had in my throws.”

In 2005, Nichols finished ninth and earned All-American honors. He becomes the first back-to-back All-American and first athlete to score at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento State track and field history. Despite getting a new personal best and breaking his own school record again, Nichols is focusing on the future of his career.

“I know I can throw farther, I know I can be right there at the top.”

The most impressive woman’s performance came from Southern California’s Virginia Powell. Powell ran a world leading time of 12.48 in the 100-meter hurdles to easily claim first place. She ended her collegiate career with an undefeated senior season and her second NCAA Championship in a row.

“I honestly do not remember that race, that’s how much of a zone I was in,” said Powell. “I psyched myself out and ran. My focus came back after the finish line and I knew I was in the zone.”

At the NCAA Championships, the top 8 finishers of each event score a specific number of points. These points represent a team score. At the end of the meet, each team adds their points, and a team National Champion is declared. This year, the Auburn University Tigers claimed their first women’s team title scoring 15 points more than second place USC. On the men’s side, the Florida State Seminoles earned the school’s first team title. Led by 200-meter winner Walter Dix, the Seminoles beat LSU by 16 points.

Track and field, different from most mainstream sports, involves strong mental focus to allow the athlete to execute their event properly. Each event, whether it is the javelin throw or the 5,000-meter run, has a specific technique. The slightest mishaps in technique can cause the athlete’s marks to suffer. Unlike some basketball players who have poor shooting technique but are still successful, success in track comes once the technique is mastered. Many of the NCAA champions are future Olympians and National team members.

The meet was also a homecoming for many of the athletes. Martell Munguia, an 800-meter runner for UCLA, was a high school graduate of Woodcreek High School in Roseville. Now in his senior year, this was Munguia’s last collegiate race, and no better to have it on the track his career started.

“It means the world to me to come back to Sacramento,” said Munguia. I had my first high school invitational here and that’s where I grew my love for track and field.”

On the first day of the meet, Munguia ran a lifetime best 1:47.95 to qualify to the semifinals a day later. Unfortunately, in the semifinals he ran a 1:50.31 and did not make the top eight to move on to the finals. However, for Munguia it was not all about winning.

“I had my family watching, it’s just a blessing to be here.”

Brysun Stately, a freshman pole-vaulter at USC, attended Cordova High School only a year ago. The former high school state champion’s first trip to the NCAA Championships resulted in a 4-way tie for 6th place at a height of 13’ 3.5”. She scored 1.5 points in helping USC to a second place team finish. Being a freshman, the experience of a big meet will help her as her career continues.

“Now I know how to prepare and go into a big competition and know how it goes, and the process taken,” she said. “I can be relaxed more.”

Sacramento State will host the 2007 NCAA championships. This is the last year Sacramento is under contract to host the meet.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Detroit What?

Game 7 of the Pistons-Cavs series had the makings of a doozy. Until Detoriot finally put their jocks back on and play some b-ball. The point is, there never should have been a Game 7. Sheed and Rip are jumping all over the court in celebration about being taken 7 games in the semi-finals by the Cavs. If they let Miami, San Antonio, Dallas, Pheonix, and L.A. thump 3 straight on them like Cleveland, there will not be a game 7. The Pistons need to forget about the Cavs series and worry about regaining their focus. Execute, be aggressive, clog the paint, and hit the 3.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Baseball Talk: The Oakland A's & the Media

So I recently read an article on cnnsi.com about the 2005 Oakland A's. Jacob Luft's article, entitled Chatter Up, is a short write-up about the Oakland A's and Atlanta Braves. Luft predicts the A's will do "not much" come playoff time. After reading this, I had to catch my breath and grab a glass of water. How could anyone say the hottest team in baseball, on 47-16 tear through the majors, will fail to produce come playoff time. I looked for Luft's explanation, and what I found just about made me laugh. Luft preceded to support his hypothesis with the most inaccurate data, stating "history" as proof that the A's will lose. HE lists the A's 0-4 record from 200-2003. Well, it is 2005 now folks, and last time I checked, the A's have a much different team. None of the current A's starters were on the 2000 squad, and Barry Zito is the oldest A's veteran, playing since 2001. The 4 other starters are all new and young. The staffs that lost in the playoffs had guys like Mark Mulder, Tim Hudson, and Kevin Appier. Good players? Sure (maybe not Appier), but older and injury prone. The new young pitchers have not shown any injury problems through the first two-thirds of the season, and put up good numbers.
The bullpen has changed, instead of Jim Mecir and Chad Bradford (whom I remember giving up many a heart-breaking homeruns), the A's have young talent in All-Star Justin Duchscherer and stud rookie closer Huston Street who holds an intimidating 1.31 era and 13 saves in 17 chances. Think thats impressive, how about 50 strikeouts in 55 innings. As for the lineup, there is no more Terrence Long, Ramon Hernandez, Ray Durham, Jermaine Dye, Eric Byrnes, Esteban German, and Frank Menechino. I know, that sucks, J Dye used to watch some pretty called third strikes blow by him. Once again, young talent that won't break down at the end of the year (cough...Hatteberg...cough...Durazo...). Dan Johnson has emerged as a legit hitter, posting a .366 average and .448 obp. since the All-Star break. Nick Swisher leads AL rookies in home runs (18) and rbi's (65). With strong veterans in Eric Chavez, Jason Kendall, and Mark Kotsay, as well as suprise newcomer Jay Payton (acquired through trade), the A's look to be the perfect mix young and old players. Lastly, Luft states that if the A's do advance to the playoffs, they will struggle against the powerful AL teams. The A's have a better record and a more attractive pitching staff to compete with the Yankees or Red Sox in the first round. As for the juggernaut White Sox, the Oakland is 7-2 this year agains them, with a nice sweep of the Sox in Chi-town. So what seems more convincing, the stats, or history?

The NHL Born Again

The players need more money, I'm sure they do, don't we all. With the nearly ten month strike ending so recently, the NHL has taken immediate steps to improve their destroyed image:

1. Wayne Gretzky gets a head coaching job. When I first saw this, I knew exactly what was going on, imagine this conversation:

Commissioner Bettman: Hi Great One. Hockey is dead, you need to come back. Jordan did it, so can you. Please.

The Great One: I cannot play anymore. I'm sorry.

Commissioner Bettman: If you do not come back, hockey will die, we need you to draw the fans back into the sport. The NHL needs money.

The Great One: I will coach the Coyotes.

Commissioner Bettman: Super!

After first reading the news, I knew that this move was purely marketing for the NHL. I feel bad for Gretzky, who looks to be used as the goat. If the Coyotes (a 22 game winner and last place in the Pacific in 2004) have another losing season, Gretzky loses face, but the NHL will have profited. It seems like too much to ask from one man, as Great as he is.

2. Tom Bertuzzi was reinstated today, August 9th 2005. For those who don't know him, the famed Bertuzzi skated behind Colorado Avalanche's Steve Moore, and threw a pinched that dropped Moore to the ice and broke his neck, oh yeah, and Bertuzzi landed on his head when the two hit the ice. Moore has yet to recover fully and most likely will never play again. Bertuzzi was suspended, a suspension lasting 17 months until today. So let me get this right, this dangerous man, a threat to all of the players' safety on the ice, is allowed to play again. Not only that, but the man he hurt still cannot play. I find this offensive to athletics, that a scumbag that cheap shots a fellow player (when Bertuzzi's Canucks were losing 8-2!) only sits out 17 months, and 10 of those months, the NHL was on lockout. Wow, you sure missed out on a lot there Bertuzzi. He should be banned from the sport, and never to be seen again for that completely asinine act of violence. Bertuzzi's reinstatement is a controversial move that will give the NHL more press and continue to draw in fans. Fans will watch to see what Bertuzzi will do next, or watch to see how hard the mother fucker gets checked everynite.

Well, I can't write much more on the NHL, its boring me, plus I'm hungry. Final thoughts; the NHL is making change to draw their lost fans back. Without the fan support, the NHL may as well call it quiis for good.

Au revoir-

mike

Tuesday, August 09, 2005