Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Monday, April 27,1998 Hockey takes center stage during playoffs I ?mbJ First off, H found the write this urban-sized William FOLKS esteemed Common Folklore panfel ?f professors decided to dump on my head this week. Seriously, I don't get it. These people are supposed to be the brilliant ones, the elite intelligentsia of our community? C'mon. What Neanderthal form of chimp-logic convinces these "geniuses" they can cram 99 percent of a semester's course work into one week, this week. Really, fellas. What were the last three-and-ahalf months supposed to be for, my entertainment? And then they insist on passing out these inanely-trivial,.cunninglyvindictive final exams just because we wouldn't laugh at their stupid Honeymooners impressions, final ex ams mat always seem to be based on that age-old maxim that, of course, "theirs is the only class that matters." Yeah, and we don't need to sleep, either. I think you'd be better off trying to persuade Ike Turner that some selective aromatherapy and sensitivity awareness training could have cured him of that nasty conflict he kept having with his inner-"pimp" child. Honestly. You wouldn't be able to sell that load of crap to all the "Diana Doll" owners in the world... Whew. Yet I digress. At any rate, I knew I had to write this column somehow because it's that time of year again; Ice Hockey Time. My favorite time of the sports year. Once again, the world's single greatest sporting event takes its annual stab at the American market with a five-week barrage of the most frenzied and barbaric (yet somehow still slick and graceful) action available to sports connoisseurs, anywhere. The Stanley Cup Playoffs combine the endurance requirements of Kenyan marathoners, the Pele-esque element of precision, a Winston-Cup addict's need for speed; and then magically wraps everything up into a potent package we Southeastern Conference football fans can easily , appreciate: brute force and violet collision. Yet for some reason (or reasons, more precisely), the sport has failed to gain widespread acceptance in many growing U.S. entertainment markets (particularly here in the Southeast). While baseball has endured devastating strikes and labor disputes, and with the National Basketball Association currently coping with a myriad of highly-publicized off-the-court problems, hockey has somehow managed to miss its golden opportunity to supplant these teeter ing giants in capturing the non-football sports entertainment dollars. Is it Something in the Weather? Some experts, like Bryn Griffiths of the Edmonton Oilers Media Relations Department, think hockey's struggles have something to do with the balmy climatic conditions prevalent here in the South during these Spring and Summer months, right at the close of the hockey playoff season. "Honestly," he asked me, "how much ice do you guys have down there?" The answer? Not much. But as arena-building foresight and technology improve, the possibility to erect hockey-ready arenas likewise increases. The phenomenal success of ' the East Coast Hockey League franchise in Charleston, S.C., attests both to this idea's feasibility and profitability. The Greensboro (soon to be Raleigh-Durham)-based Carolina Hurricanes have also started the process of capturing loyal fans and creating a support base here in the Carolinas despite a horribly rocky start (this rather indifferent reception was profiled at its absolute low I point in a detailed Sports Illustrated feature story). Carolina's late-season playoff run did garner more support, but the Hurricanes' average attendance mark (8,997 people per game) still ranked last in the league. Next season's ticket figures will be very important, and might very well depend > ~ FOLKS page 21 i \ I I Goldberg is sports editor BRY AW JOHNSTON n waiiuiu. nguii-tuuui, MIUC-IUUU bad guy. A decade ago, that's how Georgia's undersized, outspoken, head-slappin', trash-talkin' nose tackle was characterized by opposing coaches. In complimenting Bill Goldberg, they also forecast his true calling in life. Now, as a lifelong Oakland Raiders fan who idolized the late, crazed John Matuszak and played with the Tooz's outlaw abandon at Georgia and later with the Atlanta Falcons, Goldberg lives by a new credo: Just pin, ba"We got Bill Goldberg here!" screamed ring announcer David Penzer, and the Carolina Coliseum roared wildly. They're here for "Thun- pP8 der," Turner Sports' professional wrestling show that usually airs each H Thursday night on TBS, but this week was on Wednesday. They're here to see the luminaries of World Championship Wrestling. Sting. Lex Luger. |HE Hulk Hogan. And the newest rising H star in the WCW galaxy. The unbeat- jF . ^ en and unchallenged... Bill Goldberg? ^ So what's a nice Jewish boy do- F ing in a menagerie inhabited by The J|j| Macho Man, Nature Boy, Sickboy and < Mongo? Doing quite well, actually, as a burgeoning WCW icon wrestling un- wcws Bill Goldbei der the unlikeliest of names. His own. Wednesday on "Thu Bill Goldberg? Sounds like an accountant. Looks like an accountant on wide, eyes bulging, a r human growth hormones, with a rgghh!" seeking appro shaved head, goatee, tattoo and tiny Then he returned black trunks the size of underwear roots, bouncing off the i "Goldberg rules!" a kid shouted as ming down Enos with a Goldberg appeared out of a cloud of le. Goldberg always us< smoke, posed beneath a waterfall of a prelude to The Jackha fireworks, slapped his face twice, he holds an opponent snarled and stalked towards the ring, head, feet pointed to tl Homemade signs sprouted like dan- "Nobody's ever di delions: hammer," Goldberg s "Goldberg Is My Twin." "Goldberg show. "I like to say Fn Ate My Wheaties." "Goldberg Fears with my instructor Dwi My Chick." "Clemson Fears Goldberg." a pretty scary move. I w "Goldberg Sank the Titanic." Goldbeig one try it on me." ? Enough Said. Enos had no choice Seven months since making his TV straight back but flip] wrestling debut, Goldberg is unde- courteously not breaki feated at 76-0 and the United States One, two, three, pi Heavyweight Champion. This night, leaped up and roared. T the designated Goldberg whoop-ee is back. As Bobby the Bn Mike Enos, a professional opponent "This man is a monste who'll enhance what WCW TV com- He is not Franker mentator Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Goldberg does undergc likes to call "another chapter in the tion in the ring, as legend that grows in our sport. This gridiron. "After matcl monster, this killer, this ... Mr. Gold- cally and emotional berg!" said. "It really is like Enos lasted about four minutes, no Mr. Hyde." match for Mr. Goldberg's strength, More like Dr. Jekyl speed and athleticism. And the script, berg. "To be totally hon After shrugging off assorted forearm ing myself," he said. " smashes and escaping takedowns, af- me from Georgia. I'd ra ter performing an ankle-lock takedown, play. That's why it's sc Goldberg played to the crowd: Arms portray the character. Gamecock ^ AsweepofVanderbilt who went the distance combined with two LSU 3 victory. Jodie strucl losses give Carolina the best 1T?^ed five ^ ?n the , . .? cr?^ Jodie was still thrown record in the SEC in the ninth inning. sports editor BRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecocks, v The USC baseball team catapult- hits,score(^ their runs ed itself to the best recotd in the South- n*n& to take a 4-0 lead, eastern Conference by sweeping w\th three runs in th Vanderbilt this weekend in Nashville, third. Tenn. Sunday, Carolina Friday night, Carolina pounded out early but battled back 19 hits and scored 20 runs in crushing tory. Starter Brett I - - _ ? n .urjii u the Commodores 20-4. Freshman Kip *j*uhcv;iaao icu uwmn Bouknight became USC's most-win- innings. But the Gan ning freshman ever when he improved f?r eight runs in the fo his record to 9-1. Senior Derick Urquhart hit for the cycle. Sophomore Jamie Saturday, the Gamecocks rode the to relieve Kondro in t strong right arm of junior Brett Jodie, and after a shaky sta I T ^ ^ - - . - . i't ? - - ' <-? *> ' < > > ..... ' * - - SEAN RAYF< Sophomore Sondra Hall went 3-for-3, including the fii run at Auburn's new softball complex, in Sunday's seco ' ' A Sports The Gamecock wrestling's f ^ -g is undefeated and the U.S. Heavyweight Champio nder" at the Carolina Coliseum and defeated Mike Enc oaring "Aaaar- A doctor's son from Tulsa, Okla., of val. Goldberg grew up in a family with a sn to ms iootoaii. tradition 01 living on tne edge, tie opes and slam- flew gliders and acrobatic planes with St l charging tack- two older brothers, once piloted the wl 2s the tackle as Goodyear Blimp, first broke up ne mmer, in which fights as a bouncer at age 17, started th< straight over- tons of fights in football and played he le ceiling. ball with a joyful fury. At the Uni- wi one the Jack- versity of Georgia, he was hilarious, aid before the relentless and the best quote ever to bri 1 ah innovator, blow through Athens. He talked an Gc ayne Bruce. It's even better game than he played, and sii rouldn't let any- played well enough to make All-SEC fo< as a junior in 1988 and again in 1989. m; }. Goldberg fell Drafted by the Rams, Goldberg die oed Enos over, eventually played for the Falcons from foi tng Enos' neck. 1992-94 before injuries, surgery and sfc in. Goldberg a lack of notoriety conspired to end his po he crowd roared football career. Then what? By early fin likes to say: *96, Goldberg was restless and so bored Gc r!" he even considered becoming a per- ba LStein, but Bill sonal trainer. fiv ) a transforma- "Nothing caught my eye," he said, an he did on the "My money wasn't coming in like it th les, I'm physi- used to, and football was a no-go. I ac ,ly spent," he wanted to do something to carry over fir Dr. Jekyll and the skills I'd learned in football. It'd be be a waste to throw them away." 1 and Mr. Gold- For years, people had urged Gold- po est, Fm just be- berg to wrestle, the perfect outlet for an Fou remember his gregariousness and athleticism. "I "V ither fight than said, There's no way Fm wrestling. No Fi i easy for me to way I'm gonna' shave my body and go It's me." out there in my underwear in front lei :s at top o i in Carolina's 4- the last 12 batters he faced to pick up | i out 10 and al- the win. Poston allowed no runs in 5 way to victory. 1/3 innings. He struck out eight and | ig in the low 90s walked one in 72 pitches. "I came in, and coach always says rho collected six just give us a > in the third in- chance to win, Vandy answered and that's what I I lt? uuiiuin Ui liic uiu tuuay, x uoiajii ran into trouble Jj| lot more fastballs. for the 14-5 vie- ^ - I had a lot more tondro and the pop and felt a lot i 5-2 after three jf||, " better today." lecocks erupted |9k Carolina got urth to take con- IPilk 11111 some help, as TRAMMELL Florida took two Postoncamein of three irom he third inning, LSU. The two irt, retired 10 of losses, combined with the Gamecocks' sweep, gives Carolina a half-game lead ?| over the Tigers and a one-game lead over the Gators with six conference i i games left. The Gamecocks (38-10,17-6 SEC) S play Mississippi State this weekend after taking the week off for exams. The two teams play at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday. r * Track and Field L South Carolina had a strong outIk. ing at the Penji Relays Saturday at Philadelphia. , Freshman Terrance Trammell was w?'; ^ PA/?Ari/1 r?4- 1 O K4 ir\ fVio "11ft Uiiwllno Thn acvA/iiu. at iu.ut ui tiic iiv nuiuico. xiic \ team of Trammell, Jamie Price, Riaan \ Dempers and Marvin Watts won the . 4X400 in 3:17. Brad Snyder won the shot put at ^ IFI, 65-feet-9 3/4-inches. Lisa Misipeka won ' the women's hammer at 210-feet-4- ^ inches, and Crystal Brownlee won the shot put at 53-feet-3 1/2-inches. In the hammer, Bert Sorin was third at 205-feet-l-inch. The Lady Gamecocks' 4 X 200 relay team was sixth at 1:36.91. . . Softball ] .aniccfx Jamie Williams hit a two-run homer rs ever ome ^t0 ijft the nd game. r i new sutx SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK S3 n. Goldberg defended his tide IS. an oper mL millions of Deople.'" he said. Then _ . . filed. "And look at me now." Goldbe Goldberg was already friendly with ' ing and Lex Luger; he'd met them ^ ? file working out at Main Event Fit- Septem ss, the Doraville, Ga., health club ment ^ 2 wrestlers own. In September of'96, saw signed a developmental contract crowd s thWCW. "So1 "I honest-to-God figured I could Goldber ing something different to wrestling," ^ a blUl ildberg said. "I can bring the explo- body to reness and speed and power from they di itball with, hopefully, the show- with th mship I learned from football. They years a/ In't call me The Mouth of the South' enviabl nothing. I have a totally different "I tl de. With my size, I try to do things defens werfully, but explosively." was in First, the 6-foot-4-inch, 285-pound liked to ildberg had to learn the wrestling Now he sics from the mat up. For six months, Doi e days a week, he worked with Bruce day Nit d other instructors and wrestlers at Do it a e Power Plant, WCW's wrestling Glanvil ademy in Atlanta. He also had to cards ii id a stage name, and shtick. Gold- "We rg's first choice: "The Hybrid." ring," Si "My wrestling style is to combine was our wer and finesse, a little bit of freestyle tie and d a lot of submission style," he said, the-hol ftiat better name than The Hybrid and Dei ghter? " na' mes But there was a trademark prob- goes, 'N m with a company called Hybrid Eve f confei > IT . : f 5^ imm m - * > ; ^ , s ; w 1 ' ', , v.* 7 " v .,. i*0#k-*i *&<*. x ^ * * *** ,.mms^^^^'"'''''' " ' "4 ' # '^ ; J . ,,iy..#<,**. *#*>-**>''-y' "' ..-JS?'\- - v - funior Adam Everett (shown against Ge )f the year Sunday in the Gamecock's 14 Lady Gamecocks to a 10-9 win over Al- by g< abama Saturday at Tuscaloosa. Schu USC lost the second game 4-1 bles i and is now 35-19 overall and 15-11 in Ii the SEC. 2-for Senior Sky Brown picked up the S win in the first game to raise her record Aubv to 21-5. Freshman Joyce McMillin took innir the loss in the nightcap. Done In the first game, junior Kim Pietro junic extended her hitting streak to 24 games 3 RB Page 19 erstar . Goldberg also considered The i" and "Junkyard Dog." Both ken. "Then someone said, Why yourself Bill Goldberg?'" he I. "I said, 'Bill Goldberg? What nidating name.'" r-profile, too. "Eric [Bishoff, Vrestling's president] wasn't rnsed about the whole country >wing me," Goldberg said. "I But they do now." j that Goldberg has learned the ng basics and psychological You want to keep a good stothroughout a match," he said, atch has to be realistically sena crowd. It can't be just give:e, with no peaks and valleys, /e to be the crowd, take 'em on -coaster ride. t wasn't for that, I'd win all my s in 10 seconds. I'd just go out kle somebody. But the people lere to see 10 seconds of the my head." /re here to see Sting and Lex v Goldberg, who enjoys the ca;rie, notoriety and, yes, com\ in o cnnrf fViof ic oc -fivorl oc o L AAA U UJ/UA b bAAUb UC llAvvl U0 U . "If somebody walks up to me s if the business is fake," Goldid, "I ask if they want me to im that tackle and then try to a the ring. I present them with 1 invitation." re have been no RSVPs. Yet rg knows something remarkafoot, and what's behind it. A ifter making his TV debut last ber, he was told by managej'd become "the project." They ddberg's potential and the response. nething right is happening," g said. "This doesn't come along e moon where they push somethe sky like this. The last time d something like this it was e Ultimate Warrior, about 10 jo. Or Magnum T.A If s a very e position." link he's great," said Falcons ive end Chuck Smith, who town to watch his friend. "He i knock guys out, kick people. i can do it every day." t each Monday on TNTs "Monro." Do it tonight at "Thunder." s he used to in the Falcons' le-era, post-practice wrestling i the locker room, i'd set up the coaches as our mith recalled. "Deion [Sanders] * Don King. Guys would wresGoldie was always his ace-ine. He would walk in the ring ion would ask, Anybody wanis with Goldberg?' Everybody iah, the mother's crazy.w n then they knew. ence ?? . . ? -- , * ^ ...i*, ' -<? ? ?? ? SEAN RAYFORD The Gamecock orgia) hit his 11th homerun -5 victory over Vanderbilt. oing 3-for-5. Sophomore Kim ltze went 3-for-4 with three d^uand four RBI. a the second game, Brown went 4 for the Lady Gamecocks, unday, the Lady Gamecocks swept lrn, winning 4-2 and 5-3 in eight lgs. In Game 1, freshman Megan ihoo went 2-for-4. In the nightcap, ir Sondra Hall went 3-for-3 with I.