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th#Sbamecock SPOPTS Friday, Feb. 17,2006 I I m K—/ Page 7 Meg GailLird/ THE GAMECOCK USC first baseman Justin Smoak leads a group of young Gamecocks into weekend series with Radford. > Tanner looks to find early season success USC coach, Gamecocks seek SEC tune-up Brian Davis THE GAMECOCK Elon produced an unusually stiff test for the young USC baseball team’s opening series. This weekend, i the Gamecocks host the Radford Highlanders, who are predicted to finish eighth in the Big South’s preseason poll. Heroics by St. Petersburg Junior College transfer Cheyne Hurst and freshman shortstop Reese Havens were pivotal in the Gamecocks’ 2-1 series victory over the Phoenix. But that is what coach Ray Tanner expected. “Elon is an outstanding team out of the Southern ^Conference; they’re well ■ coached,” Tanner said or the team. 1 want to win them all, but ... I was pleased with our weekend.” Freshman first baseman Justin Smoak accompanies Havens and Hurst among the less-experienced players being asked to replace big losses. “The expectations are that they plug some holes that we got from last year,” Tanner said. “Steven Tolleson’s gone, Steve Pearce is gone, Brendan Winn is not in the lineup anymore.” h The Radford ^Highlanders open their season at Sarge Frye this weekend. The Highlanders finished 15-40 last season and lost Kellen Wohlford, who finished the 2005 season in the top 30 nationally in triples per game. In baseball, each early season contest matters though, according to Tanner. “There are no exhibitions. There aren’t any games that don’t count,” Tanner said. “That’s a very important part of this developmental preseason going into the SEC — that these times get better each time out,” Tanner said. Most agree preparing for Southeastern Conference play is vital — it currently features six teams in the Baseball America Top 25. The highest of these teams is No. 2 Florida, who was stunned by Mercer on Wednesday in Gainesville. Many argue that SEC success will depend on the performance of the freshmen — notably Major League Baseball draftees Havens and Smoak. “We need for them to play right now and play well,” Tanner said. Although many overlook the weekend’s matchup with Radford, Tanner points to Florida’s situation: “Well you’d certainly expect us to be the favorites. That being said, it’s baseball. Anything can happen. Mercer beat Florida last night in Gainesville, 3-2.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu Teams to do bubble battle Kentucky, USC look to improve postseason chances with opportunity for conference win Tom Bennmg STAFF WRITER Let the NCAA Tournament bubble watch officially begin when Kentucky visits the USC men’s basketball team this Saturday. “The game is being played with the same meaning for both teams,” USC coach Dave Odom said during his Thursday teleconference. “It is not an elimination game, but it is an important game.” With Carolina’s record (14-10, 5-6), it may not seem like the Gamecocks have a strong profile for the Big Dance. However, according to InsideRPI on espn.com, USC is ranked No. 47 in the nation. And even before Tuesday’s thrashing of Alabama, USC was rated as the seventh-best bubble team not currently slated for the tournament by ESPN “Bracketologist” Joe Lunardi. Much of the success during USC’s three game win streak can be attributed to forward Renaldo Balkman and guard Tre’ Kelley. Since Balkman returned to the starting lineup against Florida, the Gamecocks have either won or tied the rebounding battle in each game. During the streak, Kelley has averaged 17 points and 7.3 assists. While Carolina’s stock seems to be rising, the Wildcats no longer appear to be a lock for the NCAA tournament. UK had lost three straight, before beating Georgia 68-61 Wednesday to make its record 16 9, 6-5. Kentucky’s woes only seemed to heighten Odom’s concern about the matchup. “Kentucky is always a tough assignment any time you play them, but it is even more difficult when their backs are against the wall,” he said after the Alabama game. The main cog of the Wildcats’ offense is the inside-outside combination of center Randolph Morris (12.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and guard Rajon Rondo (12.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 4.5 apg). However, Rondo struggled during Kentucky’s three game losing streak and lost his starting job for the Georgia game. While Morris and Rondo statistically lead the Wildcats, the X factor is guard Patrick Sparks. Although he is not putting up the same numbers as a year ago, Kentucky is 7-2 this season when he scores 10 or more points. “Right now, Patrick Sparks is playing as well as any other guard in the league,” Odom said on Thursday. “He plays extremely well on the road, and particularly well in big games.” In UK’s 80-78 win over Carolina earlier this season, Sparks had 14 points, including a key 3-pointer in the closing minutes. USC was in control for much of the game but could not hold on to a 12-point second half lead. “It was a really difficult loss for our team,” Odom said. “But you have the opportunity to learn in those kinds of games. In a way, that game helped us get better.” To avoid a sweep, the Gamecocks will need another big game out of guard Dwayne Day. He had 18 points and six rebounds against UK, but recently he has lost his touch. He had totaled orrly 11 points and three rebounds in the last three games. USC will also need a better game from Balkman, who had only six points and five rebounds in 18 minutes in the teams’ first game. .. The game will tip-off on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at the Colonial Center, and around 70 former Gamecock basketball players will be in attendance for SEC Throwback Week: The game will be televised on CBS, with Clark Kellogg and Dick Enberg making the calL Comments on this story? E-mail^ gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK USC guard Dwayne Day is looking to recapture success of early season as the Gamecocks take on UK on Saturday. Women return home after 2 -game road trip fllyssa fiber THE GAMECOCK After two road games, the South Carolina women’s basketball team will return to the Colonial Center on Sunday to face Ole Miss. The game will be the only time the Gamecocks and the Rebels meet this season, and both teams will be looking to improve their records as the season draws to an end and the Southeastern Conference tournament nears. Following this weekend’s competition, Ole Miss only has one game left, and USC will have three games left, including two SEC matchups against Mississippi Sate and Vanderbilt, and a non conference game against Longwood. USC and Ole Miss have similar records. Both teams have victories against Alabama and Mississippi State, and losses to LSU, Tennessee, Georgia, and Kentucky. The Gamecocks recorded an 81-63 victory against the Florida Gators last Sunday and look to carry their momentum into Sunday’s matchup. Ole Miss recorded a 64-61 win against Auburn the same day. Ole Miss coach Carol Ross will bring a lineup to the Colonial Center that includes two players averaging'double figures. Junior guard Armintie Price, who averages 16.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, leads .the Lady Rebels. Senior guard Ashley Johnson is Ole Miss’ other player averaging double figures, with an average of 10.1 points per game. Ole Miss has several players who have had career games in recent weeks. Junior guard Ashley Awkward tied her career-high of 18 points in a game against Alabama, helping the team edge out the win. Freshman center Shawn Goff has also had some impressive showings of late. She had a career game against Alabama. She recorded 13 rebounds, 8 points, three steals and three blocks. USC coach Susan Walvius has said that one of USC’s greatest strengths is the parity of talent among her players. In a recent episode of “The Susan Walvius Show,” she commented on the consistent ability level of all of her players. “We are getting a great performance from a different player every night that we step out on the floor and that makes us tough to guard for teams,” Walvius said. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm. sc. edu NBC’s Olympic snooze-fest leaves me searching for Adderall, new entertainment Curling, time of year, among reasons Torino has become giant flop The 2006 Winter ^Olympics have been in ^ full swing for more than a week now, but the question remains — is anyone paying attention? The Olympics have traditionally meant ratings JO gold for ORGCn NBC, the Graduau network with Student in broadcasting sports and rights to the entertainment g a>rn e S, but management Tuesday night the Torino coverage lost its time slot to “American Idol.” The numbers indicate that young viewers are apathetic about the Olympics. Overall, people are still tuning in by the millions, but the numbers have been declining in recent years. For a subtle indication of just how desperate the Olympics are getting for publicity, look no further than the story of Bode Miller. The most accomplished American Alpine skier in recent memory, Miller was the focus of a “60 Minutes” profile before the games began jn which he admitted to sometimes skiing “wasted.” The controversy that followed this story is straight out of the “all publicity is good publicity” playbook. Several officials involved with the Olympic Committee and the sport condemned Miller’s statements. These figures may have voiced their public disapproval of Miller’s antics, but privately they must have been thrilled to see a story about a skier get so many front-page headlines. To advertisers, it is the 18-to-31-year-old demographic that is most highly sought after. An eccentric alcoholic skier may be just the personality to draw some of those young viewers. As for Miller’s performance in the games so far, he may want to consider sticking with sobriety. Miller has failed to capture a medal in any event. He was also disqualified for having straddled the gate in the slalom combined run. Miller has two more opportunities to capture gold. This is the heart of the problem with the Olympics. It is not enough to watch the games to see who is the best at a particular competition. People don’t follow winter sports the way they follow the NBA, PGA, NFL, MLB and other sports. The challenge for the network is to simultaneously introduce the athlete to the viewer, while showing them compete for the gold medal. The question still remains — does anyone care? The fact that the Olympics lost in the ratings to “American Idol” should not go unnoticed. If the Olympic Committee wants to increase interest they should consider hiring Simon, Paula and Randy to judge the figure skating competition. It would be a relief to actually hear judges explain their motivation for a score. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend how in the world one performance is judged to be a 2.3 and another a 2.2. Just in case you care, the medal tally thus far, as of Thursday afternoon, has Norway leading the way with 13 total, including one gold. The United States is second with nine total medals, but leads the gold count with six. I have also found that watching curling at 2 a.m. is a good way to cure insomnia. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu