The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, July 23, 2003, Page 10, Image 10
THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, July 23, 2003
m 0 FIGURE OF THE WEEK
CONTACT US I /1 ft L/' I 90: Years since a golfer won the first major he participat
E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com I \ / | | | ed in, which Ben Curtis did at the British Open Sunday.
USC, SEC to face inexperience
FILE PHOTO/THE GAMECOCK
Rolando Howell attempts a shot in a game from last year. Howell will be
expected, like many other returning players, to carry the load In the SEC.
BY BRAD SENKIW
THIE GAMECOCK
The old saying “out with the
old and in with the new” might
take form in men’s basketball in
the SEC this season. At last
Friday’s SEC coaches press con
ference, USC head coach Dave
Odom and his colleagues ad
dressed many of the changes
teams will face during the 2003
2004 season.
Much of the discussion sur
rounded players that have
moved on from SEC schools.
Carolina is one that will be
forced to rely on inexperienced
returnees, incoming freshmen
and transfers to pick up the load
left off by seniors.
“We are like most of the teams
in the SEC because we lost a
pretty healthy dose of our last
year’s squad,” Odom said. “We
had four seniors and those guys
were integral parts of our team.”
The Gamecocks will have to
look at returning players like
Rolando Howell, Michael
Boynton and Kerbrell Brown to
make up for the loss of Chuck
Eidson, Tony Kitchings, Marius
Petravicius and Chris Warren.
“The major hope of our team
is a mixture of veterans coming
back and the incoming new
group; four freshmen and one
transfer,” Odom said.
Players like Carlos Powell
and John Chappell will have to
help get newcomers Tre Kelley,
Renaldo Balkman, Brandon
Wallace and Paulius Joneliunas,
and junior college transfer Josh
Gonner adjust quickly if
Carolina is to survive the loss of
four seniors.
The Gamecocks are joining
several SEC teams that are try
ing to fill holes. Tennessee’s
head coach Buzz Peterson thinks
“there is still a lot of talent, but
there was a lot that was lost this
year.
“The Big XII brings back a lot
of people. The ACC brings back a
♦ BASKETBALL, SEE PAGE 11
BCS Committee rules out playoff chance
(AP) — Forget about a college
football playoff for now.
The committee overseeing
changes to the Bowl
Championship Series won’t con
sider using a tournament to de
termine the national champion
despite pleas to open up the post
season to more schools.
The BCS Presidential
Oversight Committee on Monday
directed the six conference com
missioners to come up with pro
posals for changing the BCS with
out a playoff.
“I’m skeptical a national cham
pion could be determined in a
playoff without infringing on a stu
dent athlete’s welfare,” said Penn
State President Graham Spanier, a
member of the committee.
The panel also said it would
meet with representatives from
the other five Division I-A con
ferences Sept. 8 in Chicago to
hear their concerns about the
current system.
Tulane President Scott Cowen,
who is holding a teleconference
with 44 other university presi
dents from non-BCS schools on
Tuesday, said the invitation was
a positive step.
But he was disappointed that
the committee refused to consid
er a playoff, which the NCAA has
in all other divisions and sports
and which would improve access
for schools from non-power con
ferences.
“If we’re going to have a dia
logue, all options have to be open,”
Cowen said. “If they are eliminat
ing options before the dialogue,
then what are we talking about?
“No matter how good we are,
we can’t get into BCS bowls. The
rankings are biased against non
BCS schools.”
In 1998, Tulane went undefeat
ed but could only play in the
Liberty Bowl because it was
ranked 11th in the BCS standings.
Teams from non-BCS conferences
are guaranteed a bid to one of the
four bowl games if they are
ranked in the top six.
But in the 20 years before the
BCS started, only one school oth
er than Notre Dame that is not
currently in those six conferences
played in one of the series’ four
bowls.
“The trend in the BCS is not
very different than what existed
in the decades before the BCS,”
Big Ten Commissioner Jim
Delany said. “The only thing that
really has changed is we’ve cre
ated a 1 vs. 2 game.”
Money is a major issue. The
Rose, Fiesta, Sugar and Orange
bowls generate more than $100
million a year for the BCS con
ferences. The BCS gives about $8
million a year to the schools from
the other five conferences.
The BCS was formed in 1998 in
an effort to match the top two
teams in a national title game.
The system takes the champions
from the six major conferences —
Pac-10, Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC
and Big East — and two at-large
teams to play in the BCS bowls.
The system worked perfectly last
♦ BCS, SEE PAGE 11
Baseball’s
wild season
will keep on
churning
BEN SINCLAIR
GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM •
MLB has taken us on a
wild ride that isn’t over.
The 2003 Major League
Baseball season has been
anything but predictable. As I
get ready for the pennant chases
of the second half, it is only
appropriate we look into the
crystal ball and find out what
you can and cannot expect to see
the rest of the season.
♦Expect Sammy Sosa to
figure out which baseball bats
should be used in practice and
which ones should be used in a
game.
♦It is a good bet that, come
October, the Atlanta Braves will
freeze up like a Buffalo Bills
player in the Super Bowl.
♦The Detroit-Tampa Bay
baseball series will draw less
than 100 fans. Only half as many
people will be watching the
WNBA finals.
♦Someone will show up in
Montreal to play the Expos
when they should have gone to
the Expos “home” in Puerto
Rico.
♦Barry Bonds will hit another
60 home runs. Over half of these
will come against San Diego and
Colorado, who routinely end the
season with AA-minor league
pitchers to get ready for next
year.
♦ The Kansas City Royals are
for real this year. While they
♦ BASEBALL, SEE PAGE 11