Summer Times 2007

Being a basketball fan from Atlanta, I’ve got every right to complain about that garbage-disposal-of-an-organization, the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s one thing that Atlanta has never been able to experience a professional basketball championship, but it’s another that the lack of winning has been brought about by the incompetence of the Hawks’ front office. For years now, it has almost seemed as if the organization has been trying to self-destruct, usually by means of making inexplicable and horrid picks in the NBA drafts.

This process started way back in 1992, when the Hawks opted to leave Robert ‘Big Shot Rob’ Horry on the board and instead select Adam ‘No Shots Adam Because I Am Never In the Game and Always On the Bench’ Keefe, and has not come anywhere close to ending.

The following year the Hawks made an even more egregious choice when they passed on possible future hall-of-famer Sam “I Am” Cassell and happily drafted possible future nothing Doug “I Lug” Edwards.

After several years of impressively mediocre picks, 1998 marked the beginning of an era in which the Hawks would perennially make fools of themselves on draft day. This era was highlighted by such moves as picking Roshown McLeod before Ricky Davis or Al Harrington, Cal Bowdler before Ron Artest, Dion Glover before Andrei Kirilenko, DerMarr Johnson before Jamal Crawford or Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress before Luol Deng or Andre Iguodala, Marvin Williams before an abundance of future all-stars, and, most recently, Shelden Williams before anything that could be valuable to a basketball team.

In 2001, however, the Hawks stole a dominant franchise forward in Pau Gasol with the third overall pick—only to then immediately trade him for the single most overrated player in the history of the game, forward Sharif Abdur-Rahim.

I should just give it all up and head west to places like San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, or, heck, even Portland, but I won’t, because I’m too loyal. No, not to the Hawks; to my Facebook Group entitled, “No Matter How Much It Hurts, I am a Hawks Fan.”

Sometimes I just want to grab the Hawks’ front office, shake their shoulders, and dramatically ask them, “Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted—one moment., would you capture it or just let it slip?” Yeah I know, that’s the intro of Eminem’s single Lose Yourself, but it fits so well: the 2007 NBA Draft is on Thursday, and opportunity is worming around the Hawks nest, waiting to be scooped up and fed to the young. With the 3^rd and 11^th picks, the Hawks have the positioning to draft at least one winner from Titletown and turn things around in
Atlanta.

Where’s Titletown you ask? That would be Gainesville, Fla., the home of the back-to-back champion Florida Gators. Three Gators are almost certain to be selected in the top 10 of Thursday’s draft, and two in the top five. All three will be available by pick three, meaning that the Hawks essentially can choose whomever of the competitive and mature Gators they want to.

And by whomever I mean Al Horford. His coachability, basketball IQ, work ethic, and, of course, extremely refined overall basketball game make Horford the most logical choice for the disorganized and turnover-prone Hawks.

In order to quickly turn around the disheveled franchise, the Hawks need to quit adding projects and high-flying dunkers to the roster studded with projects and high-flying dunkers. No team with that type of backbone has ever won a national championship on any level.

Horford, or any of the Gators for that matter, yes, even Lee Humphrey…maybe, would make the Hawks play more like one collaborative unit—more like the San Antonio Spurs squad that recently won the NBA Championship and, obviously, the most dominant college team of the last two seasons, the Florida Gators.

Not to mention the Gators like to each play MJ when in Atlanta; for the basketball and football teams have gone a combined 12-0 in the Georgia Dome including four Southeastern Conference Championships and one National Championship over the past three seasons.

The Hawks have to take Horford at the least. He’ll be playing just down the street from the Dome, where he perennially dominated in college during tourney time. Draft him for the good of the team. Draft him for the good of, well, Horford. Draft him to prove that the Hawks front office wouldn’t be better run by Anna Nicole Smith—dead or alive. Draft him because, most importantly:

Is a Hawks jersey with the name “Horford” plastered on the back too much for a guy like me to ask for?

BY LANE HACKER

The University of Florida Gators. The Swamp. Each of these hold historic value among college football fans, and the significance of these are only increasing after the Gators dominated the Ohio State Buckeyes, beating them 41-14. Winning this game, capped an amazing season that included a 13-1 records, a SEC championship and most importantly a national championship.

The offensive fireworks were led by the two-headed monster at quarterback, Chris Leak and Tim Tebow. The defense was led by strong play from their defense line, sacking Heisman trophy winner, Troy Smith, 5 times and holding him to negative 29 yards rushing on 10 carries. Florida Gator’s coach, Urban Meyer, used an excellent offense and defense strategy to out coach Buckeye’s coach Jim Tressel, and help the Gator’s win their second national championship in school history.

“Honestly, we’ve played a lot better teams than them,” Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss said.

“I could name four or five teams in the SEC that could probably compete with them and play the same type of game we did against them.”

The Gators were the underdogs and nobody expected them to win except the Gators themselves. College football fans across the nation said that the Gators didn’t even belong on the same field as the undefeated Buckeyes, and were asking for a rematch of the Big Ten Championship against the Michigan Wolverines or a game against the undefeated Boise State Broncos. The Gators proved the critics wrong with the stunning defeat.

The supposedly tough Buckeye’s defense was no match for the Gators offense. The offense compiled 214 yards passing and 156 yards rushing. Chris Leak was extremely efficient completing 25 out of 36 passes (69.4%) and one touchdown. The freshman sensation, Tim Tebow, threw and ran for a touchdown. DeShawn Wynn was the leading rusher for the Gators, gathering 69 yards and a touchdown. Percy Harvin, another freshman superstar, led the team in receiving, catching 9 passes for 60 yards and also ran for another touchdown off a direct snap from center. Dallas Baker and Andre Caldwell each caught a touchdown as well. The Gator’s offense had its strongest performance of the year in the game that mattered most.

The Gator’s complemented their offense with more than stellar defense as well. Derrick Harvey, one of the top Defensive End recruits in 2004, finally fulfilled his potential by getting 4 sacks and forcing and recovering a fumble. Earl Everret, Ray McDonald and Jarvis Moss each contributed one sack as well. Reggie Lewis intercepted a pass in the end of the first quarter to end an Ohio State drive. This was beginning of the end for Ohio State, as Florida scored on the next possession to put the Gators in the lead by 14 points.

Although the 2006 season was amazing for Gators’ fans, 2007 may be harder to watch. The 2007 Gators are very inexperienced as there are only 7 seniors or 8 juniors on the team. The offense will now be led by sophomore Tim Tebow, who hopes to prove that he is more then just a running quarterback. Tebow will be throwing to senior Andre Caldwell and sophomore Percy Harvin, who have both proven to be skilled enough to change a game. The biggest problem is tailback as one runner has yet to solidify himself as a starter.

The Gators’ defense is in more shambles than the offense. The defense returns only two starters, Derrick Harvey and strong safety Tony Joiner. Free safety Kyle Jackson, defensive tackles Javier Estopinan and Clint McMillan and linebackers Dustin Doe and Brandon Spikes will all be starters this upcoming season for the first time, but they have had playing time prior to this season. The defense could prove to be a critical flaw in the tough SEC.

The Florida Gators’ recruiting class was ranked number one by several websites. They have 4 five star recruits according to Rivals.com, with quarterback Cameron Newton being ranked their top prospect. He will be used similar to how Tim Tebow was used this past season. Also, the Gators were able to sign 7 players from Lakeland High School, the defending state champions of Florida. Running backs Bo Williams and Chris Rainey both will be considered in the race for starting running back. The chaos in the defense will be helped by the signing of 2 five star defensive linemen and 4 four star defensive backs. This top ranked recruiting class will hopefully aid the Gators in defending their national title.

“I’m very pleased with the way Tim (Tebow) managed the offense today. I was disappointed with Cameron (Newton) in first half, but he came back well in the second half and made some plays for his team. This was the first time that (Newton) has been in front of this kind of crowd, so that is why we wanted to keep him in there. Louis Murphy earned a spot as a starting wide receiver at Florida today. He had a heck of a day, and I am very proud of him. Brandon (James) was terrific on offense, and on defense, Jermaine (Cunningham) played well rushing the quarterback. Lawrence (Marsh) also played well. Another player who earned spot on defense was Joe Haden. His redshirt is over – he’s going to play for us this year. In the kicking battle, we will have nice competition there. I am really proud of the leg strength that both of our kickers showed today. Both (Joey Ijjas and Jonathan Phillips) can hit a 60-yarder – even though the consistency isn’t there yet – and they are both trying really hard. I don’t know yet who will be our kicker next year” said Coach Meyer.

Hopefully, we will see the Gators hoisting another BCS National Championship trophy next year on January 7 in New Orleans.

BY REED YARAS

Butch Davis, Steve Spurrier, Rick Pitino and Roy Rubin were the legends on campus during their college coaching days. They had the immaculate records, the thousands of adoring fans, and the reigning national championships. However, those days did not last forever. After these coaches left for the professional leagues they became nothing more than a regrettable disgrace looked down upon by sports fans everywhere.

Some people today still have sympathy for the professional suicide coaches such as Butch Davis brought upon themselves. Davis led the University of Miami Hurricane fans through what many would call the wonder years. He set up a dynasty, and his 47-20 record proved it.

Nevertheless, within time Davis fell hard like the rest. He accepted the head coaching job of the Cleveland Browns, and the rest is nothing more than a tragedy. He gave the Browns three horrible years and was responsible for the draft pick of Gerard Warren, a defensive end who was picked in the 2001 draft over much better talent such as LaDanian Tomlinson.

Davis, like the other coaches, was fully responsible for his choices. He left behind the game he loved for a life of luxury and fame, or so he thought. It’s a difficult transition and not everyone can make it, especially since most coaches are placed on a losing team and expected to become a miracle maker in their first year.

College coaches play a completely different game than professionals. It’s a college coach’s job to nurture and develop, whereas the professional coach’s job is to please his general manager, who writes his paycheck each week. They are two different lifestyles and just because one can coach on a college level does not imply that the professional level will just be handed to them.

Joe Gibbs still sleeps on a cot in the Redskins Park office trying to turn around a 3-8 team, and he is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers and still wakes up everyday at 3:17 a.m. for work. These men struggle everyday, and if some of the greatest names in the game can’t cut it, it must be nearly impossible for college coaches.

Billy Donavon, the University of Florida’s head basketball coach, recognized this after he accepted the Orlando Magic job. He had everything going for him, a great location, young talent, and a hefty $27.5 million paycheck, but after watching his role model, Rick Pitino, tarnish his name as the coach for the Boston Celtics, he knew the job was a disaster right away.

After returning to the collegiate game, Donovan received many criticisms on her career move. However, people have to understand that Billy The Kid is nothing more than that, a child at heart just like the rest of us, and has the right to change his mind off his own intuitions. By admitting his mistakes early, Donovan saved himself from years of agony and anxiety he would have endured through the NBA.

College coaches will always be tempted by the lifestyles of the rich and famous. They want the fortune and fame, but unfortunately most of them can’t handle the work they need to put in for it. So, to help limit ourselves from the heart breaks and public humiliations placed upon coaches everywhere, we need to stand up and do our part as caring citizens. By signing our college legends to contract extensions, we can help keep our proper coaches or professional in the jobs they deserve.

By: Belle Ciraulo

Entering Gator Corner, I immediately smelled chlorine and could not help but notice the many swimmers filling their plates with food. Being a swimmer myself, I wondered about the summer swimming program here at the University of Florida and whether or not I would be able to survive it.

I decided that during my free time I would make my way over to the pool to observe them in action. The second I stepped into the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, I saw the swimming pool and instantly fell in love with it; I almost wanted to hop in and swim a few laps with them!

Hollie Bonewit-Cron is the men and women’s assistant coach for swimming as well as the swimming camp director at the University of Florida. Hollie described the program as very beneficial to the swimmers through technique training.

In the beginning of the program, the swimmers started off working on backstroke and freestyle. They finished the program by working on breaststroke and butterfly techniques.

Although most of the swimmers are on United States Swimming (year round swimming), they do not have to qualify to join the swim camp. The youngest group at the camp swims about 4,000 yards a day, while the older group swims about 6,000 to 7,000 yards a day. The elite group swims about 7,000 yards a day.

Heather Knapp, a 15-year-old swimmer who returned to the program for her third year, has been swimming since she was about four or five. She now swims for her city league, the Jupiter Dragons.

Even with much swimming experience, she believes the program to be a bit of a challenge. When I asked her what they work on each day, Heather said, “It’s mostly drills and stroke. The elite camp is distance.”

Heather believes that the most helpful part of the camp is probably the flip turn critiques, which benefit especially in swim competitions.

In addition to swimming, the swim camp also does “dry land” every other day. Dry land is a combination of “running the stadium, push-ups, and a lot of core work,” says Riley Jardine, another member of the swim camp program.

Out of the 10 years the program has been around, this year has seen the most drastic increase in participants, says Bonewit-Cron. About 175 kids attended this summer.

Although there will not be a swim meet at the end of the camp session, the swimmers participate in swim relays. In the swim relays, there are groups of four swimmers that compete against each other for fun.

Anyone can see the smiles on the swimmers’ faces both at the pool and around campus. If you are interested in the swim program, go to www.GatorZone.com. It is obvious it will continue to be as successful as it has been in the past.

BY KARA MICHELOTT

Grades, relationships, and time seem to be slipping through the hands of high school student athletes.

“There have been plenty of times where I should have been at home doing my homework rather than out on the soccer field practicing, and my report card shows it,” said Kristina Kostkas.

Student athletes seem to forget that the word student comes before athlete. This often results in slumping grades during the season, says Austin Lindley, teacher and volleyball coach at
Spanish River High School.

“Some of my players are also my students, and I unfortunately do notice a decrease in grades during season,” said Lindley, “ but there is really nothing I can do, my players are so focused on getting to states that it’s like nothing else matters.”

And he’s almost right. Not only are grades slumping during season, but social time is lost as well.

“I hardly hang out with my friends during the fall, I’m always with the team,” says Spanish River student Casey Gnann.

Plenty of student athletes can willingly admit that most of their time is spent on the court or field rather than at the dinner table with family or perhaps a night out with friends.

“The team becomes family during season, and all other relationship are sort of put on pause,” said Spanish River girls volleyball Coach Roxy Bradway.

But that’s not the only thing put on hold. Activities aside from an athlete’s main sport seem to get put on hold as well.

“When tennis season is not going on, I try not to do other sports because I don’t want to get hurt for my main sport of tennis,” said Joey Kinderman. “I remember when I was in middle school I didn’t participate in gym class because my tennis coach didn’t want to risk anything.”

Apparently the eyes of student athletes are focused more on the trophy than report cards and relationships. As long as high school sports remain demanding in time and energy, student athletes’ dedication to sports will have the capacity to take over their life.

BY MICHAEL EISENBERG

What happened this year to the 2005-2006 Miami Heat champions? Did they lose power, strength, and unity that they once had? Although, it may seem like the Heat have a great team, think again. Half of the Heat team was filled with veteran players such as Gary Payton in his 16th year of NBA Basketball, and Shaquille O’Neal in his 14th season. These veteran players could not compete with the young bunch of Chicago Bulls in the playoffs.

“The Bulls totally outplayed the struggling Heat, “said Miami Heat Fan Lane Hacker.

These mighty Bulls brought some fierce play to the table. The Miami Heat were unable to compete with their young talent. Something needs to be done in order to turn the Miami Heat back into champions. But what?

With big names on the market this year such as Chauncey Billups, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, and Jermaine O’Neal., the Heat must make a big move.

“I think that they need someone who is going to step up and provide some scoring and defense,” said Hacker.

Whether it is a forward, guard, or center, the Heat need some young superstars. The veteran players are not providing enough support for the team. Antoine Walker although only 31 years old, plays more like he is 50. Gary Payton has already earned his championship ring with the Miami Heat, so he plays a laid back type of game. Last but not least, Jason Williams. Every other week this player is facing some type of injury such as leg, back, or knee pain. Considering the fact that the Heat have two of the oldest guards in the NBA, they need to come up with a strategy to catch a young guard.

Rebuilding is the only way that the Heat can win a championship again. If the Heat do not change the look of their team, don’t look for them as fierce competitors in the 2008 playoffs. Pat Riley, head coach of the Miami Heat, must take control and come up with a solution. Forget about looking for the big names that were once good 10 years ago. Look for the young players that could easily run 48 minutes down the basketball floor. Riley has the ultimate decision whether he wants the Mami Heat to be champions again,” said Hacker.

BY TOMMY ZELLS

“Lebron James is the next Michael Jordan” is a line that is always being used by the national media. Sidney Crosby is the next Wayne Gretzky” has been said a lot as well, just not nearly to the degree that the James and Jordan comparison has.

Why? Both players have certainly attained very high levels of success in their careers. Both have led there teams to the playoffs. It could even be argued both are living up to their hype. But why does one play in front of continually sold out arenas and national television audiences and the other only gets national attention in Canada. The answer is the decline in popularity of the NHL.

In 1994 the NHL was fresh off of its most successful season to date. Interest in “The coolest game on ice” was at an all time high. A large market team (the New York Rangers) had just won the Stanley Cup, and the NHL seemed finally ready to elevate itself into a top American sports league. Sports Illustrated even had a cover about “Why the NHL’s hot and the NBA’s not”. Yes everyone could see the NHL was primed to “break out”. It looked as though newly appointed commissioner Gary Bettman was going to allow the league to reach its vast potential. The anticipation for the next season was building and more and more people were starting to seriously pay attention to the NHL. The NHL looked primed to capitalize on charismatic stars such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemuiex. Then Gary Bettman took off his Superman cape and put on his cloak of ineptitude.

After the most successful season in league history Commissioner Bettman decided a salary cap needed to be created immediately. However, pushing for an immediate salary cap that the majority of large market teams and players did not want was not a good idea. Upsetting players and the owners of the biggest teams could only prove problematic. Insisting on implementing something so controversial that could potentially cause a strike was not a good decision. So after the great season the NHL had, rather than capitalize on the golden opportunity that had been given to them, they decided to go on strike. With the league on the verge of becoming what members had only dreamt about, they alienated the fans and completely screwed up any opportunity they had to elevate the status of the league. The NHL eventually did play a 48 game season but the future that once looked so promising was now back sitting in mediocrity.

Since then the NHL has endured four teams going bankrupt, financial losses for two-thirds of the teams, and a year long lock out. Revenues have indeed gone up, but not even close to the level that expenses have. While the Canadian market is still doing well, although not as well as before the year long lock out, the American market seems to be on life support with other sports such as Arena Football and Texas Hold Em Tournaments are even beating their number of viewers.

So what can the NHL do to improve the games popularity? Well, they could start by looking at how the NBA has successfully marketed young, charismatic, and ultra-talented stars such as Lebron James and Dwyane Wade. James and Wade have billboards, commercials, public appearances, and tons of nationally televised games. Stars like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby are lucky to be featured in one or two commercials outside of Versus where most NHL games are broadcasted. Versus is a smaller market sports station that mostly broadcasts sports such as bicycling, sailing, and outdoor games. They also are rarely on national television, and when they are it is at some obscure time on a Saturday morning with no prior advertisements for the games.

When the NHL came out of the 2005 strike they had a chance to sign a deal with a popular television station the majority of people get, instead they opted for the larger contract and signed with Versus. Versus reaches about 64 million homes, by contrast ESPN reaches about 90 million homes. Since signing the contract the NHL has seen its viewer numbers hover around the same levels as professional bowling, poker, and arena football. Although the NHL enjoyed a brief one year resurgence in Canada after the strike, ratings dropped significantly the next season.

In the United States the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs ratings reached an all time low. The NHL set numerous record lows for number of viewers of playoff games on several occasions, including in game three of the Stanley Cup Finals. In game three the NHL drew a 1.1 rating, down 31 percent from the previous year according to AOL Sports. This rating was comparable to a rerun of “The West Wing”.

It is clear that the NHL star that once shown with so much potential is on the verge of burning out. From the record low television ratings, to NBC dropping an overtime playoff game in favor of a pre-show for a horse race, it has become clear the NHL has serious problems.

If the NHL ever wants to fulfill its vast potential as “The coolest game on ice” it needs to make some major changes, possibly including finding someone other than a New York Lawyer, like Gary Bettman, with no hockey experience to run it.