The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 06, 2002, Page 9, Image 9
Snorts talk radio here needs to set real
MATTROTHENBERG
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM
In my four years at this uni
versity, there has been one thing
from home that I’ve always
missed: My favorite sport talk ra
dio station — WFAN 660 AM.
There’s just something to be
said for intelligent sports talk.
Here, no matter what station I lis
ten to, nothing compares to the pro
grams you find in New York City.
Up north, the hosts and callers
aren’t afraid to be straightfor
ward, raise their voices to em
phasize a point or let someone
know that they’re just wrong. In
Columbia, I have rarely found
that to be the case.
What I have found, though, is
that among callers and some
times hosts, the line between be
ing optimistic and being realistic
is blurred.
Please don’t misunderstand
me; I think everyone should have
one’s opinion, except when it’s a
stupid one.
Following USC’s football game
Saturday night, I had the pleasure
of once again listening to this.
Some guy calls up and says the
Gamecocks will win 11 games this
season. “Is this guy serious?” I
thought. “I mean, the same team
that struggled to beat New
Mexico State will win 11 games?”
Now I’m not saying the football
team can’t, but this guy is getting
a little too optimistic after one
game. I think the Gamecocks will
have a winning season, but 11
games are a little far-fetched right
now. Let’s get realistic here.
Sure enough, the host said lit
tle to challenge this assertion, and
the calls kept coming in a similar
fashion.
It’s great to be optimistic; it
sure beats being pessimistic. But
it makes me wonder how these
callers’ minds work.
Before I get ahead of myself, I
know WFAN and its callers aren’t
perfect. Usually, you’ll get some
one who proposes a trade that
will solve every one of the
Yankees’ troubles at once —
they’re the people that drive me
nuts.
But callers here take it to an
other level. Another guy called
the station Saturday night to sug
gest that Coach Holtz alter the de
fense to a 4-3 setup. Reasonable
idea, but come on, man! Weren’t
you watching — or even listening
— to the game? The problem isn’t
the defense’s scheme as much as
it is a bunch of younger players
lacking experience.
It’s amazing to see these hosts
“react.” The guy I listened to
agreed with nearly everything
the callers said. He appeared to
resist a conflict with Billy Joe
Bumpkin from Sumter. It’s al
most like they went out of their
way to avoid confrontation or
provoke a lively discussion, just
to appease the Gamecock faithful.
Suffice to say, in just about any
major city across the nation, most
of these callers would get chewed
out.
There is no real comparison
between Columbia sports talk ra
dio and New York sports talk ra
dio. After all, they’re two differ
ent markets in opposite parts of
the country, with dissimilar in
terests and points of view.
I realize that the football
team’s success has been a long
time coming, testing the fortitude
of Gamecocks everywhere, but
can we please get real? I’d like to
be optimistic of our chances, but
at the same time, I know that a
number of roadblocks stand in
the way of an 11-win season.
I hope these forever-optimistic
fans are few and far between, and
that the people who don’t call in to
sports shows are the ones who have
their heads screwed on straight.
Finally, I wish the Gamecocks
a successful football season, but
I also hope these 11-win optimists
can cope with disappointment
down the road.
Rotkenberg is a fourth-year sport
management student.
Preview
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8
USC will try to avenge its 1998
loss to Pacific — the teams’ only
meeting. The Tigers hail from the
Big West conference and bring a
2-1 record into the weekend.
Carolina is hoping freshman
Sarah Morgan can continue her
excellent start.
\~—’ i Morgan collected
(two double-dou
bles last weekend
at the Coca
Cola/Michigan
State Classic,
where USC
opened the sea
Morgan son with two
wins and a loss.
Morgan is leading the
Gamecocks with 3.70 kills per
game.
Also leading USC will be se
niors Cally Plummer and Megan
Hosp, two staples of the Carolina
offense.
i :
Plummer is averaging 3.56
kills per game, and she leads the
team with six service aces.
Hosp is by far the team lead
er in assists, averaging 13.60
per game. The next closest play
er is only averaging .60 assists
per game. Hosp is also tops on
the team in digs with 3.90 per
game.
Women’s soccer
Following a 2-0 start to the 2002
season, the Carolina women’s
soccer team heads to Charlotte,
N.C., this weekend for the Puma
Classic.
USC will face host Charlotte
on Friday at 7:30 p.m., and it will
close out the tournament on
Sunday at noon versus East
Carolina.
Senior forward Morgan
McIntyre scored a goal in each
Gamecock victory this past week
end, tying her for fourth place on
the USC career scoring list. The
Greenville native has 49 points
in her career.
Men’s soccer
The lOth-ranked men’s soccer
team, also 2-0, heads to Durham,
N.C., this weekend for the Duke
Adidas Classic, where it will face
a pair of ACC teams — N. C.
State on Friday and Duke on
Sunday.
Friday’s match is slated for a
5 p.m. start, while Sunday’s
showdown starts at 1 p.m.
Carolina and N. C. State have
met 12 times, with the Wolfpack
leading the series 6-5-1. USC won
the last meeting 4-0 back in 1997.
This will be their first meeting in
a neutral setting.
The Gamecocks and the Blue
Devils have faced off 16 times,
with Duke coming out on top 8-6
2 in the series. The fans at The
Graveyard witnessed the last
meeting between the two teams
— a 1-0 Duke win in the first
round of the 2000 NCAA
Tournament.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecocksports@hotmail.com
BRIEFLY
v
Center Petravicius
undergoes surgery
USC senior center Marius
Petravicius underwent a two
stage surgical procedure Monday
* to repair knee and heel damage,
but he is expected to be at full
strength when the Gamecocks
open practice Oct. 12.
The Kltenenu, Lithuania, na
tive had an arthroscope on his
right knee to clean up cartilage
damage, and an arthroscope on
his left ankle to remove a heel
spur. He began rehabilitation
Wednesday.
Petravicius averaged 5.9
points and four rebounds per
game in 34 contests for the
Gamecocks last season.
Women’s golf 17th
in preseason poll
The USC women’s golf team,
which won the SEC title last sea
son, is ranked 17th in preseason
poll of Golf World magazine.
Head coach Kristi Coggins and
the Gamecocks will open the new
season Sept. 15-17 at the NCAA
Fall Preview in Lafayette, Ind.
The Gamecocks captured SEC
crown in record-setting fashion
last season, breaking both school
and conference records. USC ad
vanced to the NCAA
Championships for the second
consecutive season, its seventh
postseason appearance in eight
years, and finished 23rd in the fi
nal poll.
Four of five starters return for
Coggins, including two-time de
fending SEC champion and first
team All-American Kristy
McPherson. The Conway native
was the MVP of the US A-Japan
Collegiate Golf Matches this
summer and qualified for the
U.S. Women’s Amateur
Championship along with team
mates Adrienne Gautreaux and
Erica Battle.
Senior Kacy Thompson and
junior Marci Robinson also re
turn this season after playing in
every Carolina tournament a
year ago.
SPORTS CHALLENGE
THE CHALLENGE: Kyle Matt Chris Mary Erin Gerald
The Gamecock’s readers and Almond Rothenberg Foy Hartney O’Neal Smith
staff test their sports knowledge Sports Asst. Sports Defending Editor in Asst. VP Reader of
with predictions of the Editor Editor Champion Chief Editor the Week
weekend’s games. (Rankings G-3) (6-4) (6-4) (8-2) (5-5) (6-4)
are from the Associated Press.)
1 Miami at 6 Florida_Florida Florida Miami Miami Florida Florida
Alabama at 2 Oklahoma_Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Alabama Oklahoma
Furman at Vanderbilt__ Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Furman Vanderbilt
Fresno St. at 13 Oregon Oregon OregonOregon Oregon Fresno St. Oregon
19 Colorado SL at UCLA Colo. St. UCLA_Colo. St. Colo. St. Colo. St. UCLA
Illinois at Southern Mississippi So. Miss Illinois_Illinois Illinois So. Miss Illinois_
Buffalo at Rutgers_Rutgers Rutgers Rutgers Rutgers Rutgers Rutgers
New Mexico St. at California NMSU NMSU NMSU California NMSU California
Louisiana Tech at Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson La. Tech La. Tech Clemson
22 USC at Virginia USC Virginia USC USC USC USC
19-17 31-27 24-14 28-21 21-19 31-21
LAST WEEK’S WINNER: Mary Hartney (8-2) - The editor in chief reminds everyone who’s boss by taking the early lead
in Sports Challenge. Hartney’s victory was ensured when Virginia Tech dominated LSU on Sunday. Hartney was the only
one to pick Colorado State over Colorado, and she was one of only two people to pick Navy over SMU.
Sports editor Almond, at 7-3, is right on her tail. Reader of the week Jeremy Register went a respectable 6-4 along with
Rothenberg and Foy. News editor Adam Beam, the Gamecock staff member of the week, went .500.
WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-mail your selections next week to gamecocksports@hotmail.com. If you have
the best record, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt and be able to talk all the trash you want.
---T-1-:---•-1
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