Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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_ Gamecock Sports ---——— Women’s from page B1 Keisha Evans led the Lady Bulldogs with 15 points as they dropped to 1-9 on the season. After starting the game tied at two, the Lady Gamecocks went on a 20-1 run over the next 4:14 to build a 22-3 lead. They would eventually go into the locker room with a commanding 52-21 lead, having shot 65.6 percent from the field. They would finish the pme shooting at 62.7 percent, the fourth high est in school history. “We did a better job of taking care of business early tonight,” Walvius said. The Lady Gamecocks kept up the in tensity in the second half, building as much as a 50-point lead on the way to the 45 point win, use 67 Coastal Carolina 57 (OT) The Lady Gamecocks, behind 24 points from Gortman, defeated Coastal Carolina in overtime 67-57 in a game maned by turnovers and missed layups. Gortman, the USC Women’s Bas ketball Classic MVP, hit on 9 of 17 shots from the field while grabbing nine boards and four assists. However, all-tournament team member Penn stole the show in over time, scoring eight of her 20 points dur ing the extra period, as South Carolina went on a 12-2 fun to seal the victory. “Jocelyn Penn is a fighter. I am very pleased with her play. She definitely gives it her all out there,” Walvius said. Segres chipped in eight points in the winning effort Coastal (6-3) was paced by all-tournament team selection Allison Bach, with 11. The Lady Gamecocks hit on just eight of the 23 shots they attempted in the first half and committed 19 turnovers as they went into the locker room down 27 22. The two teams would combine for 70 turnovers for the game. After Carolina managed to tie the game in the second half, both teams trad ed baskets in the final four minutes. With Carolina leading Coastal by three, the La dy Chanticlees’ Brooke Weisbrod nailed a three-pointer with just 39.2 seconds remaining to send the game into over time. USC 80, Georgia Southern 59 Recording just the third triple-dou ble in school history, Gortman poured in 21 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out 10 assists to lead the Lady Gamecocks : to a resounding 80-59 victory over the visiting Georgia Southern Lady Eagles Dec. 18 in the first round of the USC Women’s Basketball Classic. The Columbia native scored 12 points in a second half that saw the Lady Game cocks’ lead slip no further than 11. “Shaun is a great talent. It’s very important to our team that she play well,” Walvius said. “She is very unselfish, and today she scored because she played great defense.” Five Lady Gamecocks scored in dou ble figures, including Morrone, who scored 11 points on 4 of 7 shooting, including three of four from 3-point range. Ujhe lyi and Lester chipped in lOand 12points, respectively. Overall, USC shot 49.3 percent from the floor including 50 percent from three point range. Meanwhile, Carolina held Georgia Southern to just 39.7 percent shooting, forcing 21 Lady Eagle turnovers. USC 98, Florida Atlantic 60 USC beat the Lady Owls behind a 55.6 percent shooting night and Penn scor ing a career-high 23 points. The Lady Gamecocks never trailed in the game as they received an 18 point performance from Gortman, along with nine assists. Ujhelyi scored 20 points and had nine rebounds in the win. Sean Rayford Sports Photographer USC’s Crishna Hill drives between two Florida Atlantic players during USC’s 98-60 victory Dec. 15. Cloninger from page B1 But no, he should not be punished for saying what he said. » We in the media abide by a little rule, which we are taught when we step through the first door of journalism. It reads: “Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech.” That’s right. We can persecute Rocker’s com ments all day long, but we can never persecute the right to say it. He, and everybody else in the Unit ed Stafes, has the freedom to say whatever they want. Major League Baseball, the collection of ge niuses and whiz kids that they are, are considering “serious consequences” for Rocker’s actions. Com missioner Bud Selig has already ordered Rocker in to psychiatric testing. The Atlanta Braves are also considering repercussions. Everybody is so upset because Rocker started out to be some kind of hero to people, because he I started his own private war against New York be fore beating the Mets in the NLCS. Everybody ap plauded him for his take-no-prisoners style and his blazing fastball. He became an overnight sensation. Now, he utters a few racial slurs and the media, who made him into a hero, are condemning him as public enemy number one. Why? Because he had the guts to stand up for what he believes in, no mat ter how wrong it may be? We, as a people, should applaud Rocker for being true to himself and not hiding behind some screen fabricated by public relations people to make him look like the kid next door. He is a talented young ballplayer, one who feels, truly feels, the love for the game, not just says he does for a few en dorsements. ■ Who are we to punish Rocker and take away his dream of playing baseball for speaking his mind? Just because some souls were actually offended, does this mean that we all have to act offended, even though there may be some souls who agree with him? If baseball does decide to punish him more than say, a stiff fine and a multi-game suspension, does n’t this undermine the whole concept of freedom of speech? Isn’t this infringing on our rights as Amer icans, the rights our ancestors fought and died for so many years ago? Sadly, no it does not. The age of political cor rectness has brought forward a generation of mealy mouthed, whining carpetbaggers who will jump on the chance to persecute anybody who dares speak the truth. It has weakened the spines of many Amer icans, making them afraid, actually scared, to speak the truth. To quote “Saturday Night Live’s” Colin Quinn, “I don’t like the guy, but he sure knows what it’s like on the No. 7 train.” * It is absolutely true that the area around Yan kee Stadium in the Bronx looks like a shell-shocked replica of a Lebanese city. It’s true that some of the people in New York City are afflicted with AIDS, there are several unwed mothers, and all the rest of it. It’s not morally conscious to say these things, but truth should hold no bounds. The only people who should punish Rocker are the Braves themselves. Not general manager John Schuerholz, not president Stan Kasten, not owner Ted Turner, but the actual Braves, the ones who re ally win those games. * ■ > Rocker criticized teammate Ozzie Guillen for not coming up with a double hit to him in Game 6 of the NLCS, which gave the Mets the win. It’s true, if regular shortstop Whit Weiss had been playing, the game would have been a Braves victory, but that’s not the point. Don’t criticize your teammates in public. Save it for the locker room. What happens on the field, stays on the field. Punish Rocker for this infraction by making him personally apologize to every player, and then have them beat the hell out of him. It will teach him a much better lesson than fines and suspensions ever could. Unfortunately, this solution will not be considered in the fist of punishments. So, Rocker will be dealt with, because it is the “socially conscious” thing to do. He will be for bidden to speak to the media and will be shunned by his teammates, who will preach the Bible but somehow foiget«the part that says “turn the other cheek.” They seem to fotget the days when they, too, were struggling rookies just trying to get a chance. God help Rocker if he ever starts waving the Confederate flag. USC football attendance finishes 13th Sports Roundup Gamecock Sports Despite an 0-11 season and21 straight losses, home attendance figures for USC football finished 13th in the nation. The Gamecocks averaged 78,273 people in the six-game schedule, which is a 97.5 capacity percentage. USC av eraged more than 3,500 more fans in 1999 than the 1998 season. Carolina was part of a record-at tendance pace in the Southeastern Con ference, which averaged 100.4 percent in 12 stadiums. The SEC placed seven teams in the top 15 of attendance figures. -1 *» Sign up in the Office of Campus Recreation 202 Blatt PE Center Call 777-5261 for more information www.sa.sc.edu/pecenter/im.htm Entries open Monday, January 10th Entries close Thursday, January 13th Entry fee $ 15/team Play starts on Tuesday, January 18th $t? __ c