The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 20, 2006, Page 8, Image 8
8
women • connnucDPRomi
Simms leads the team in
scoring during conference
play, averaging 13.3 points
per game, but she averages
8.8 points a game on the
season.
“Lauren’s not afraid to
shoot the ball,” Walvius said
on her weekly television
show. “She’s a fearless
player, and that’s what we
need righf now.”
Junior guard Stacy Booker
is the only Gamecock
averaging double digits on
the season at 10.1 points
per game. Booker is the
prime example of the sixth
“man,” having played in 15
games this season without
recording a start.
“Stacy really cares about
winning,” Walvius said.
“She wants to shoot the
ball, and she’s really tough
on • herself. We really
need her shooting and the
way she gets after the ball
defensively.”
The defensive side of
the ball is a place where
the Gamecocks have not
struggled during the season.
While they are last in the
Southeastern Conference in
3-point shooting and ninth
in scoring, the Gamecocks
rank second in scoring
defense, first in field goal
percentage defense, third in
rebounds, second in blocked
shots and fourth in steals.
“Defensively we can
match with most te'ams
in our league,” Walvius
said, “but we need to take
advantage of the size that
we have on the offensive
side of the ball.”
The good news for the
Gamecocks is that their
upcoming game against the
Crimson Tide shouldn’t
come down to 3-point
shooting. While the
Gamecocks are last in the
SEC, they are only slightly
edged out by Alabama, which
shoots only 2 5 percent from
behind the arc.
A key stat for this
game will be which team
can control the boards.
Alabama leads the SEC in
rebounding. The team is
led by senior center Dee
Merriweather, who averages
9.2 rebounds per game.
Merriweather is nearly
averaging a double-double
in conference play. She is
recording 10 points and
9.7 rebounds per contest.
Alabama is led in scoring
by junior guard Marverly
Nettles at 11.3 points a game.
Despite a lackluster 8-8
record (2-1 in the SEC),
Alabama is 6-2 at home,
while USC’s only road win
this season came against
Clemson.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu
men • coiuinucDPRomi
Then, Vanderbilt found its
stroke with nine minutes left
through sophomore forward
Shan Foster. He hit two 3
pointers in a row and put
the Commodores up by six.
Foster led Vanderbilt with
17 points. The lead wouldn’t
hold though.
The Gamecocks were led
by the scoring of sophomore
guard/forward Dwayne
Day, senior guard Tarence
Kinsey and sophomore guard
Stephen McDowell near
the end of regulation and
pulled within three. But the
key to the comeback came
from an unlikely source
— Vanderbilt’s free throw
shooting. The Commodores
missed four free throws in the
last minute and didn’t score at
all for the last three minutes.
That was all the invitation
that USC needed as junior
forward Brandon Wallace
squared up with 17 seconds
left and drilled a 3-pointer to
tie the game.
“It’s probably not (a play) I
would have drawn up, but we
tell our players that if you’re
open and you’re in rhythm,
shoot it„” head coach Dave
Odom told the AP. “(Wallace)
felt like he could, so he stayed
with it.”
Once overtime came,
Kelley took over again. He
scored all of the Gamecocks
points in the extra period and,
with ice in his veins, made two
free throws to put USC up
by three with 30 seconds left.
Vanderbilt moved the ball
down the floor, and senior
guard Mario Moore hit a
three to tie it up at 64 with 19
seconds left in the game.
Kelley wasn’t rattled. The
Gamecocks quickly threw
the inbounds pass, and Kelley
took it from coast-to-coast,
drove the lane and watched the
winning shot drop through
the net with five seconds left
on the clock.
“I needed the jump shot so
the team spread Vanderbilt
out for me so I could get the
lay-up.” Kelley told the AP.
“To be able to come back
and play like thatin the second
half I think speaks volumes
about where our club is right
now,” Odom told the AP.
“They still believe that they
can play well, they believe
they can win, they believe
they can win on the road, they
believe they can beat quality
teams like Vanderbilt.”
Carolina came away
from Vanderbilt with its
first conference win. The
Gamecocks make a stop in
Lexington, Ky., on Saturday
to take on the Kentucky
Wildcats before coming
home to play the No. 2 Florida
Gators next Wednesday.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gmm.sc. edu
U.S. Skeleton team tries to move past scandals,
make name for itself in 2006 Winter Olympics
It would be interesting
to know how many people
would want ,--.
to buy
merchandise
with U.S.
Skeleton
Team insignia
on it simply
because of the
uniqueness
of the name
“skeleton
team.”
It would
probably be a
TODD
GRCCn
Graduate
student in
sports and
entertainment
management
hot-ticket item in the days
leading up to Halloween.
The fact that the name
actually represents one of
the many sports the U.S.
will be competing for
gold in during the Turin
Winter Olympics next
month would surely be lost
on many. (If you find this
unlikely, see a recent study
that found that two-thirds
of all Americans can’t recite
the Star Spangled Banner.)
Skeleton is, in tact, a
sport. It has been around
since 1885, making it the
oldest form of sled racing.
Skeleton is an individual
competition. Each slider
commands a single sled
(sometimes called a sleigh)
headfirst, in hopes of
negotiating the twists and
turns of an ice-covered
track.
The reason the U.S.
Skeleton team today is
garnering greater interest
is not because of any feat
or accomplishment, it
is because the team has
become embroiled in
controversy.
The U.S. Skeleton coach,
Tim Nardiello, has been
suspended after accusations
were made that he sexually
assaulted female members
of the team. Nardiello
maintains his innocence
and has applied for
reinstatement in an attempt
to rejoin the squad in time
for next month’s games.
Nardiello’s suspension
denied him the right to
travel to Germany for
a World Cup race two
weekends ago. Long-time
skeleton team member
Felicia Canfield came
forward with the allegations
Dec. 30. Canfield’s husband
is a member of the U.S.
Skeleton team committee.
Two other female sliders
have since made similar
charges against the coach.
A player-coach sex
scandal is the last thing
anyone involved in the U.S.
Skeleton Team Committee
wants grabbing attention in
the days leading up to the
Olympics. Unfortunately
for the committee, they also
have a steroid controversy
to contend with.
Zach Lund, the leading
male slider for the
skeleton team, has also
been suspended for testing
positive for a banned
substance. Lund proclaims
his innocence, and is
appealing the suspension in
hopes of making the trip to
Turin next month.
The substance that Lund
reportedly tested positive
for is finasteride, a main
ingredient in Propecia,
used as a medication for
male pattern baldness. The
problem is that finasteride
is on the list of banned
substances because it has
been used as a masking
agent to conceal the
presence of steroids. These
days, they don’t only test
for steroids; they also test
for things people take to
hide the steroids from the {
testing.
The fact that a seemingly
obscure sport has come
under such intense scrutiny
is a reflection of what the
Olympics have become.
These days, the games
are not about the spirit of
competition, they are about
the spirit of endorsement
deals.
Athletes from the smaller
sports cannot hope for
million-dollar contracts the
way that football, baseball,
basketball and hockey
players can. Their only *
hope is for that gold medal,
or more importantly, that
the camera will be rolling
when they collect that
medal.
Snickers, Wheaties,
Gatorade — these are the
companies that pay millions
of dollars for the gold medal.
Appearances on Letterman
and Leno are sure to follow,
and who knows, maybe
even a sitcom, reality show
or a movie script could be
in the works.
ioday, the Olympics are
a billion-dollar business f
and that money comes
from television rights
and sponsorship deals.
The amount of actual
competition being televised
is going down, while the
amount of human interest
stories are increasing. It
is torture to sit through a
piece about how hard of a
life some beach volleyball
player has had, how he had
overcome so much, and
how the pursuit of a gold
medal is what led him to
redemption. - ^
If I want to watch people
desperately competing for
fame and fortune, I’ll stick
with “American Idol.”
H