Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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10 the GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, February 13, 2002 GAME SCHEDULE PONTArT TTS SOFTBALL vs. Georgia Southern, 3 p.m. Wednesday vylT 1- VVJ 1 U U MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. No. 7 Alabama, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Alabama, 6 p.m. Thursday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com BASEBALL vs. East Tenn. State, 3 p.m. Friday-Sunday USC ready to host No. 7 ’Bama No. 7 Alabama at use 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Frank McGuire Arena Radio: WVOC 560 AM t - ___^_______ BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK : The USC men’s basketball team enters Wednesday night’s chal lenge with Alabama eyeing an up set over the seventh-ranked Crimson Tide. USC (14-9,4-6 SEC) is coming off a huge home win over Tennessee, while Alabama is trying to get back on track from a tough road-loss to Mississippi State. Alabama (20-4,8-2) looks to for get about the upset as it comes into Columbia. The Crimson Tide struggled mightily from the field in that loss, while its opponents shot 56.1 percent from the field. Alabama managed to shoot only 34.8 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from behind the arc. Erwin Dudley led the Crimson Tide with 23 points and eight re bounds. No other player was able to reachdouble figures against MSU. Thirty-six turnovers doomed the Crimson Tide in a game com pletely controlled by the Bulldogs. Alabama has lost four straight in Starkville by an average of 20 points. The Crimson Tide had won six straight, including 14 out of then last 15, before Saturday’s loss. After struggling on the road last season, the Crimson Tide has scored tremendous victories at Georgia and Kentucky this sea son. The team currently owns a game and a half lead in the SEC West. Dudley, an SEC Player of the -Year candidate, is averaging 15.5 points aijd 8.8 rebounds a game. He’s also shooting a league-high 57.9 percent a game. The junior forward has nabbed a league-lead ing 11 double-doubles this year and has never missed a game in an Alabama uniform. Also, junior guard Ron Grizzard comes into the contest averaging 14.8 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. USC is trying to capitalize on its chance to grab its first win over a top-10 school this season. Carolina is currently 0-6 versus teams ranked in the AP top 10. Head coach Dave Odom recog nizes the challenge his team faces. “We have an excellent Alabama team coming in here,” Odom said. “They have been a top-10 team all year and have shown no signs of moving any lower than the top 10. “They have great personal with Erwin Dudley, Moe Williams and Rod Grizzard. They also have some great veteran players, and they play their system very well. Both teams have great defenses, so scor ing points should be at a premium when they come here to Columbia." Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried also sees the importance of the matchup. "I think we've got another diffi cult road game at South Carolina", Gottfried said. "I think Coach Odom is as good a coach as anybody in the country. We have got to learn to handle the fact that we are a high ly ranked team. We are now a little older. When we go into a hostile en PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN Rolando Howell takes the basket inside against the Gators. Tonight, he’ll be facing the Tide. vironment, we now have a chance to win because those players have been there before.” Carolina comes into the game with a 5-4 all-time record against Alabama at Frank McGuire Arena. Last year, the Gamecocks lost 60-55 in Tuscaloosa.Tonight's tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotma il. com Lady Gamecocks looking to pick up third win •Georgia So. at USC 3 p.m. Wednesday Beckham Field BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK This afternoon, the Lady Gamecock softball team, ranked No. 22 in the nation, will make its 2002 home debut against the Georgia Southern Eagles. Carolina returns to Beckham Field after splitting four games at the Seminole Challenge in Tallahassee, Fla., this past week end. Georgia Southern is looking to break a four-game losing streak. In Tallahassee, the Lady Gamecocks rode the arm of Megan Matthews to victory in games against Louisville and No. 15 Florida State. The Eagles, led by first-year coach Natalie Poole, are seeking their first win ever against USC. Georgia Southern is a young team looking to make some noise in the Southern Conference this season. The SoCon preseason polls have them ranked in the top half of the conference. So far, however, the Eagles are 0-4 after a pair of losses to both Florida A&M and Florida State. In those four games, they were outscored 22-2. GSU’s pitching staff might be mostly inexperienced, but senior hurler Aimee Littlejohn stands to give the Lady Gamecocks all they can handle. Littlejohn should set numerous school records by the end of the season,, including games pitched, games started, innings pitched, victories, strikeouts and shutouts. On the other side of the spectrum, freshman pitcher Crystal Crews set GSU records in a 2-1 loss to Florida A&M, with the fewest hits allowed (2) and most strikeouts (10) in a pitching debut. On offense, the Eagles haven't really done much by this point in the season, but they shouldn't be underestimated. Sophomore in fielder Kim Griffin and senior shortstop Kelly Blazi are tied with a team-leading .250 batting aver age. Jana Fuzi, a junior transfer from Glendale (Ariz.) Community College, is right behind them, bat ting .222. Joyce Compton’s Lady Gamecocks are ready for anything the Eagles throw at them this af ternoon. Compton has plenty of weapons in her arsenal to counteract GSU, especially a strong pitching staff. Matthews, a senior fresh off her two wins, should provide a signifi cant boost on the mound. With 12 strikeouts in two games, Matthews will be planning to increase that total. Sophomore Stacey Johnson is looking to rebound off a tough 1 0 loss to Florida Atlantic, and shell provide some zip after accumulat ing 11 strikeouts in that defeat. The Lady Gamecocks are going to have to get their bats going as well. Infielder Debralee Troesh hit 2-for-3 against Florida State, and shortstop Amber Curtis hit the game-winning home run against Louisville. The Lady Gamecocks have been stifled at the plate, how ever, by two top pitchers: Nicole Meyers of Florida Atlantic and Tia Bollinger of Washington. Littlejohn will look to repeat that effort today and give GSU its first win of the season. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m, and it will be held at Beckham Field, adjacent to Sarge Frye Field. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com PROFILE Jocelyn Penn keeps it in perspective PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN A Carolina fan gives Jocelyn Penn a congratulatory hug after the Lady Gamecocks defeated the Bulldogs last Thursday. BY COURTNEY KELLER THE GAMECOCK Earlier this season Jocelyn Penn became one of the few Lady Gamecocks to ever hit the 1000 point mark. The 6-foot junior for ward from Conyers, Ga.was bom Sept. 10,1979, and is majoring in sociology, and has been playing basketball since the seventh grade. She said the thing that she enjoys the most about the game is the fun she has while playing. Penn chose to come to USC be cause her older sister played bas ketball here and because she loved the campus. Penn’s most memorable basketball moment came while she was a freshman at Carolina, when her and her older sister were teammates. It meant so much to Penn, because she was able to play with her sis ter who she considers her fa vorite athlete of all time. Currently, Penn's sister plays semipro , basketball in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Jocelyn's favorite professional basketball team is the Philadelphia 76ers. Penn said: "After graduating, I would like to continue my bas ketball career, either playing in the WNBA or for a team overseas. If my basketball career doesn't work out, then I would like to work with kids." Penn values her family the most. She said they’ve always been there for her and that they’re the backbone in her life. Penn has a twin brother and two sisters, and considers her family to be her role model when it comes to basketball. Penn’s daughter, coaches and teammates have also influenced her a lot. Penn said without their support, she does not know where she would be right now. After sitting out a semester due to the birth of her daughter, Penn said "It's truly a blessing to be back with the team." During that time, the coaches and her teammates really stepped in. When she came back to the team, they embraced her and pushed her to work hard. They supported her and helped her to get back in shape. Penn said: "I missed being able to play, but I was able to learn a few things during my redshirt season. Everybody has matured so much as players on the team." Penn commented on the success of the team last year, which she attributes to the squad’s team work and chemistry. “The game has been so much fun this year because they finally earned the respect of the fans, and they really appreciate their support,” she said. Penn is considered by many to be Carolina's most emotional player. She enjoys playing bas ketball. Penn is a leader on and off the court and a very outgoing person. Since Penn's return to the team after redshirting, she has continued to be near the top of the SEC in numerous offensive cate gories. Penn is in the top five in field goal percentage and leads the SEC in steals. She is also on the verge of becoming the school's all-time steals leader. Penn is also a member of the Lady Gamecocks’ 1,000-Point Club. Penn considers herself a fi nesse player. She enjoys getting steals, but she considers scoring more important. Penn's advice to people is, "Whatever you put your heart into, you can achieve. Work hard and push yourself, whatever sit uation comes your way." Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockspdfts@hotmail.com Fox has lost sight of whatfans want KEITH ALLEN GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Last Sunday's Super Bowl marked the end of an era in sports broadcasting with the "retirement" of Pat Summerall. Summerall teamed up with the excitable John Madden for the past 21 seasons, splitting time between CBS and Fox. The duo was recognized as the premier broadcasting team in pro football. Quite simply, if you heard Summerall's voice, you knew it was a big game. Assuming Fox forced Summerall out the door, the decision should not come as a shock to anyone, since the network has tinkered with the identity and presentation of every sport it’s covered since its first foray into the field. Every sweeping change is done in the name of "broadening sports appeal to a younger audience." In other words, they think Summerall is just too old to keep young folks tuned in to Fox football. As far as sports' appeal is concerned, I'll worry about that when advertisers pay millions of dollars to run their spots during "Touched By An Angel" rather than the Super Bowl. Fox misses the boat completely as to why we watch sports in the first place, but its mistakes are by no means confined to football. Fox infuriated hockey fans everywhere when it introduced "Fox Trax," a glowing red light that highlighted the puck during televised gamds. These geniuses figured that people needed assistance to find the puck on their screen. Honestly, is there anyone so dumb that they can't locate a puck in a hockey game? If there is, they’re probably not going to watch hockey anyway; they'll be too busy watching paint dry or burning ants with a magnifying glass. The bane of my very existence is Fox’s production of Major League Baseball. Somewhere in the midst of Fox's nationwide polls, pitch charts, unintelligible telestrator scrawl and previews for an upcoming "Malcolm in the Middle," I'm hoping and assuming that a game is actually being played. I am certainly aware that the Utica Star-Ledger thinks that Fox’s new series "24" is the most important thing on Earth since the Internet or the polio vaccine, but I do not need to be reminded of that fact between every pitch. The network sticks microphones in the bases, on the foul poles and on the coaches to presumably give us a feel of how the game is truly played. I can think of no more valuable insight than to hear Braves pitching coach Leo Mazzone say "C'mon Smoltzie, throw strikes." Fox will certainly replace Summerall with someone more "brash" or "in-your-face” to ap peal to a younger audience. Considering that the network employs Steve "Psycho" Lyons and Terry "Just A Dollar" Bradshaw, I would not be sur prised if you see Carrot Top in the booth with Madden next sea son. Fox's canning of Summerall merely adds to a list of injustices committed in the name of "modernizing" sports ♦ALLEN, SEE PAGE 11 BRIEFLY Marchbanks earns weekly SEC honor Sophomore lefthander David Marchbanks was named SEC Pitcher of the Week on Monday afternoon after throwing six innings of one hit shutout baseball in USC’s 11-3 win on Friday versus Charleston Southern. Marchbanks pitched five innings of no-hit ball before allowing a single in the sixth inning. He struck out a career-high 11 batters in the win, the Gamecocks’ first of the season. Marchbanks went 7-1 as a freshman in 2001. Baseball team moves up in polls The USC baseball team moved up three spots to No. 5 in the Collegiate Baseball poll Tuesday. Carolina also moved up three spots in the Baseball America poll, to No. 11. Men’s soccer announces signees USC men’s soccer head coach Mark Berson announced the signing of nine players to national letters of intent. This new recruiting class consists of seven high school students and two junior college students. The class includes three signees from the prestigious 2001 adidas ESP soccer event (Josh Alcala, Ben Link, and Willis Forko), along with two-time National Junior College Player of the Year, Ricky Quest. Berson hopes the class will strengthen the Gamecocks in each area of the field. ■ i l | ■ ■