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9 THE GAMECOCK * Monday, August 25, 2003 (\ M E SCHFDE^LE ■ "V / \ I ^ w U / NJ MEN’S SOCCER vs. Boston University, 7 p.m. Friday nA^m.AmTTP, I ■/ I I if I L 1 WOMEN'S SOCCER at Clemson, 7 p.m. Friday CONTACT l S u fl fl M—S B VOLLEYBALL vs. Bali State at Southern California Tournament, | B B I fl i 8 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? ■ \ /|| fl k V CROSS COUNTRY at Charlotte, 9 a.m. Saturday E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com 1 rVy FOOTBALL vs^Lousiana-Lafayette, 7 p.m. Saturday SEC PREVIEW SEC set for national spotlight BY BRAD SENKIW THE GAMECOCK While it’s greatly argued which conference takes top billing every year in college football, the SEC is making a strong case to lead the way in 2003. With four teams ranked in the AP Poll’s top-15, the league will showcase top talent and tough coaching in both the Western and Eastern divisions. And no matter whether changes come from scandals, coaching moves or new practice rules, one of the country’s oldest conferences continues to chal lenge on a national scene. The 2003 season means rejuve nation for the Western division. Auburn, who begins the season with a non-conference game against Southern cal, has been se lected sixth in the preseason poll and LSU 14th, with teams Arkansas and Ole Miss hoping for a chance at the SEC Championship game. With Auburn receiving so much hype, head coach Tommy Tuberville said it takes more than being talked about to be good. “To win championships you have to find ways to win games when you don’t play v'ell,” Tuberville said. “It has a lot to do with r.hemistrv ” The Tigers have been selected by many publications as not only the SEC favorite but as the na tional favorite as well. Many coaches think this only makes the conference stronger. Arkansas head coach Houston Nutt said the SEC West showcases “so many good teams. “I don’t think any coach can take a schedule and say that’s a W, that’s a W. Look at LSU, Alabama and Auburn. It’s good football and you’ve got to be ready to go,” Nutt said. On the sidelines, Mike Shula took over at Alabama following several scandals and coaching va cancies. Shula now looks to get the Crimson Tide back on track in 2003. “Bottom line is we’re still play ing football,” Shula said. “We can’t go win a national championship, but we can win football games.” Several players on this side of the SEC can make several impacts for their teams. There are 12 fi nalists in the SEC up for the Butkus Award, given to the na tions top linebacker. Two of these, Karlos Dansby and Dontarrious Thomas, play at the same time at Auburn. Heisman candidate Eli Manning, the senior quarterback from Ole Miss, is the third install ment of the Manning quest for the nation’s top player award. The Georgia Bulldogs rolled through the SEC East last season and are picked by many to repeat in the division but have fought several injuries and off-the-field issues early this season. “Some of the things that hap pened off the field helped us get our focus on what’s important,” Georgia head coach Mark Richt said. “In hindsight, I didn’t like what happened.” Tennessee is a team that strug gled last season with tons of in juries but looks to getting back on track and contending for not only the East title but a shot at Atlanta, while the Florida Gators hope sec ond-year head coach Ron Zook will give them a chance to return to national prominence. The only head coaching space filled in the East came at Kentucky where Guy Morris left anu iNUrtrt. rule violations mourn ed. Rich Brooks takes over in Lexington, as UK looks to get its program on track. “I told the team not to expect them to automatically embrace and respect me,” Brooks said. “I felt I had to earn that.” On the field, quarterbacks hope to reign in the East. Georgia’s David Greene, Tennessee’s Casey Clausen and Kentucky’s Jared Lorenzen are expected to lead their respective teams. Defensively, David Pollack re turns for UGA. No matter what happens with in the conference, Brooks thinks someone in the SEC will challenge the outcome nationally in January. “Whoever plays well in this league will be in the top-10 teams in the nation and usually in the BCS field for the national cham pionship. If the favored team doesn’t win the championship game, sometimes they fall out of the 1-2 position for the champi onship game,” Brooks said. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com ■ Georgia head coach Mark Rlcht I hopes to lead the Bulldogs to H another SEC Championship. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK | ' | Plenty to do besides USC sports BEN SINCLAIR 6AMEC0CKSP0RTS@H0TMAIL.C0M Being a sports fan in Columbia isn’t that bad. If you are a sports nut like me, you look for sports everywhere you go. Whether you are a lifelong res ident of Columbia or a freshman who has never lived here, there are misconceptions that Columbia is a bad place for sports enthusiasts. This is simply not the case. Even taking USC athletics completely out of the equation, if you open your eyes or are willing to take a short drive, you will find plenty of sports to get you through the year. If you can’t get enough base ball, act quickly, and you can still catch the Capital City Bombers in action this season. The Bombers are under new ownership now, and locals that have attended games in the past will notice a friendlier atmosphere than before. Act fast though because the Bombers final home stand starts today and ends Wednesday. I take pride in the fact I have seen cur rent major leaguers like Chipper Jones, Andrew Jones, Jose Reyes, Kevin Millwood, Marcus Giles, Terrance Long and Preston Wilson play in Columbia as minor leaguers. If the minor leagues are not for you, the Atlanta Braves are just three hours away. The Braves have made the postseasop every year ' since 1990. When you'consider how long it has been since baseball fans in cities such as Detroit, Montreal and Milwaukee have seen a playoff baseball game, the three-hour drive does not seem so long. Come October, hockey season heats up in Columbia. The Columbia Inferno advanced to the Kelly Cup Finals last season. The Inferno has played just two sea sons, but has made the playoffs each season and has developed in tense rivalries with teams in Florence, Augusta, Charlotte and Greenville, so there are plenty of opportunities to hit the road as well. Inferno head coach Scott White is one of the most talented coaches in the minors and has done a great job in selling the sport to the people of Columbia. The Atlanta Thrashers and the Carolina Hurricanes, who were Stanley Cup Finalists two seasons ago, are just a short road trip away as well. While I expect to see every one of you at Williams-Brice on Saturdays this fall, there are op portunities to see your favorite professional football team. The Carolina Panthers are only a short drive up Interstate-77, and while they might look more like an XFL team than an NFL team, there will be good football in Charlotte. Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Tennessee and Philadelphia are playoff teams from last season that play Carolina this fall. The Atlanta Falcons will be much more enter taining to watch this season, es pecially in six weeks when Michael Vick returns. However, you might have to work connec tions or pay a scalper to see them. Tickets for all Falcon home games are sold out this season. If you follow NASCAR, then be ing in Columbia is a great oppor tunity to see racing live. Races re main this season in Darlington, Atlanta, Rockingham and Charlotte. This year’s fall Darlington race will be the last time it is held on Labor Day Weekend. Even if you think NASCAR is not a sport and that it is only followed by wife beaters in the local trailer park, you should at least make it a point to see one race live. Many pre-race activities are similar to tailgates I have wit nessed before a USC game, such as beverage consumption and a Lynyrd Skynyrd Greatest Hits CD. A car passing by you at over 190 mph can provide a nice breeze on a humid September day. Do not be afraid to check out a high school game or two. You might be surprised how much tal ent comes out of the local high schools. You could catch a glimpse of future Gamecocks, NBA or NFL stars. Duce Staley, Jermaine O’ Neal, Richard Seymour, Woodrow Dantzler and David Patton are just a few of the athletes to compete in the Midlands in high school. Finally, I would like to use the last paragraph of my column to recognize the couple of hundred people I saw lined up on the first day of ticket distribution for the first USC home game. You are the best fans of the greatest universi ty, and your enthusiasm for sports is exciting. I firmly believe there should be golden bleachers at mid field reserved just for you. Keep up the support. With eight home games and a young football team, you can make the difference this season. Well, now that you are armed with the knowledge of how much is really going on around you, don’t just stand there read ing this column. Get out there and watch some games! Sinclair is a graduate student in the educhtion college. atural ■w . —* orn leader Niece Curry leads the USC volleyball squad into 2003 BY HOLLI ARMSTRONG THE GAMECOCK As Niece Curry heads out the door, she pauses. Her gaze set tles on a poem, a gift from her roommate. Its message seems particular ly poignant as the season dawns. Entitled “One Day at a Time,” the words ground the All SEC volleyball player, who is relying on pa tience and timing to lead the 2003 Gamecocks. Things have changed. Last year’s squad, dominated by seniors, allowed Curry to sit back and focus on her responsibilities. Now, as the most experienced of two re turning starters, it is her turn to talk. This makes Curry a bit nervous. “Whether she has wanted it or not, her role has changed dra matically,” head coach Kim Christopher said. “The newcom ers look to her for guidance be cause she has been here for three years. She has to be more conscious of those around her.” Curry certainly has the makings of a great leader: confidence, competitive ness, pas sion, in timida tion and per sever ance. Hopefully, her support ing cast has taken note. After all, the Kalamazoo, Mich., native has been playing volleyball since her freshman year of high school. She wanted to play basketball, but when she transferred to a rival school that fielded poor teams, she made the switch. Her mother also played the game and encouraged her daughter to do the same. Even knee surgery this past April has not quelled the middle blocker’s desire to see this young team de velop and achieve. She will settle for nothing less than a win over Florida, a team that has dominat ed the SEC for more than a decade, and topping the Tigers. Hopefully different will be good. “Last year, we had a lot of seri ousness in the gym, but now ev eryone is so willing and eager to learn and put things together,” ( said Curry, who admits that at i times the transition has been frus trating. “It should be an exciting season.” Picked to finish third in the SEC east, the Gamecocks will need Curry to lead early as the team will be tested on the road against top-ranked Southern California, among other strong squads. “I think it will be difficult in the beginning because our sched ule is so difficult, but I certainly think that the more this team works together, the better we are going to be,” Christopher said. “We have some great athletes in the gym. Sure, we are young, but that has actually been a strength for us during the preseason be cause of the enthusiasm.” It is the happy and upbeat at mosphere that has kept Curry motivated and hopeful. With a year of eligibility left, Christopher is looking forward to watching this young team con nect and grow. Her example could easily be the difference. “I see Niece as full of life and has a great deal of potential to in fluence someone else’s life. She is a natural leader; people just look to her,” Christopher said. “I told her the very first day on her re cruiting trip here that I saw some thing special in her. I hope she has learned to trust that.” Comments on this story?E-mctil amecockudesk@hotmail.com