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Basketball CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 lot of people, and we lcat a bunch,” Peterson said. Florida lost Matt Bonner, Justin Hamilton and Brett Nelson; Auburn said goodbye to Marquis Daniels; Georgia’s Jarvis Hayes came out early to enter the NBA; and LSU lost the experience of four seniors. And this is just the beginning of the holes that must be filled for many SEC contenders. Mississippi State is one squad that is reeling from graduation and early NBA departures. “It’s very obvious that we took a hit with graduation,” MSU head coach Rick Stansbury said. “Derrick Zimmerman was draft ed in the second round and Iggy (Michael Ignerski) graduated. We were depending on some guys to be here. But, Travis Outlaw went to the draft and Mario (Austin) left.” The Alabama Crimson Tide is another team that lost serious tal ent to the NBA when Sophomore Maurice Williams, selected in the second round bv the Utah Jazz, left his old team with out a point guard. Erwin Dudley, SEC Player of the Year two seasons ago, is gone, leav- w||||anis ing Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried questioning what his team is returning. “We don’t have any strengths,” Gottfried said. “I don’t think anybody’s lost what we’ve lost.” And then there’s defending SEC Champion Kentucky. The Wildcats ran through the confer ence with ease last season and will face the challenge of replac ing leaders Keith Bogans and Marquis Estill. But Odom said not to let Kentucky’s losses fool anyone. “I think a big mistake would be to look at Kentucky and say they lost this player and that player, etc., and they are not go ing to be as good,” Odom said. “I think a better way to look at it is Kentucky is always going to be Kentucky.” So, what does all this talk of missing talent mean? Some coaches argue experience is the deciding factor. “If you have experience with some talent, then you’ve got a chance to have a great team,” Ole Miss head coach Rod Barnes said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com BCS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 season when it paired Ohio State against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl in a matchup of the only unde feated teams — a matchup that couldn’t have happened under the old system of conference tie-ins. University of Nebraska Lincoln Chancellor Harvey Perlman said the commissioners could consider adding a champi onship game after the four BCS games, as well as adding another game to the system to give schools from smaller conferences a better chance to get into a ma jor bowl game. The committee also said the Big East would remain a member at least until the current contract ends after the January 2006 bowls despite losing powerhouses Miami and Virginia Tech to the ACC. Delany said the Big East’s chances of remaining in the BCS in the next contract depend on how attractive the reconstituted conference would be to television networks. **"' Also, the Big Ten is not looking to add a 12th team and wouldn’t want to start a conference cham pionship game even if an NCAA rule change allowed it for confer ences with 10 or 11 teams. ^ While such a game could gener ate as much as $12 million for the conference, Delany said the draw backs outweigh the extra money. “It makes it much more diffi cult for your champion to run the table,” Delany said. “Then, the los er of the game is ‘less interesting’ to bowls because it’s coming off a loss. Also, fans who made a major trip from their homes to the venue may be less inclined to go to a bowl game. Lastly, it inevitably + has a way of diminishing tradi tional rivalries in a conference.” Baseball CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 will not go to the World Series, they will be American League Central Division Champions. While there are plenty of things to look forward to, there are some things that if you missed them in the first half, you will not see them in the second half. ♦No one will interfere with sausage races again this season. In a related story, Randall Simon hitting the sausage will be the most significant hit the Pirates have this season. ♦Anaheim’s rally monkey will not be needed. The Red Sox are looking to trade for the monkey. After all they could have used a rally monkey for the past century. ♦There is no medical miracle that Rafael Palmeiro can take for the Texas Rangers to “get up” from last place in the AL West. ♦What would a look into the future be without a World Series prediction? Look for the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the National League. Only the Red Sox could trade one of the hottest bats in the league for a struggling reliever that just about blew the only World Series Arizona won. This is the franchise that sold Babe Ruth for a couple of greenbacks, lost a World Series on a tee ball grounder to first and announced Roger Clemens was past his prime about a decade ago. With Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson coming back for Arizona, who needs a closer? Despite many problems, look for the Yankees to buy a solution and end up in the World Series once again. Boston never goes to the Series and the winner of the Central might not even have a winning record. The A s have played the Yankees close the past two years and might make a run if they get.by Seattle. The Mariners are lost like the SS Minnow come playoff time. Expect Arizona to win it this year in six games. The only question left is if the World Series does not go seven games, then did the All-Star game really count this year? Sinclair is a graduate student in the education college. THE GAMECOCK SPORTS is looking for people interested in writing or editing sports stories beginning in August. Applicants interested in editing should have some previous writing experience. E-mail gamecocksports @hotmail.com Directions: lust across the Gervais St. Bridge - Left at Second Light