Sports
TI he CI ac I îamâs P rint
Women drop to third place
________ 7
WEÚNEsdAy, FEÓRUARy 21, 2001
Confessions of an addict
RYAN BRINKLEY
Sports Columnist
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRPHER
Left to Right: Numbers 15 Danielle Tilton, 4 Kayla Steen, 25 Jennifer Lane, 20 Jennie Kooch,
23 Briana Anderson, 54 Amanda Lee, 14 Kathryn Kettles, 33 Mercedes Juarez, 32 Erica
Hobart, 24 Lawly Redner, and 11 Kim McBride.
JASON LINGEL
Sports Editor
The Cougar Women’s Basketball
team dropped to third place in
league after two tough losses last
week.
Wednesday’s game brought the
number one ranked Chemekata
Storm to the Randall Gym. A win
here by the Cougars would have
put them in a first place tie with the
Storm. The Cougars went into the
game with a 2-1 record against the
Storm for the year. Unfortunately,
the Cougars lost 89-71. According
to Head Coach Jim Martineau, it
was their worst game of the year.
“It was a very tough loss for
us,” said guard Kayla Steen. “We
just didn’t come out with the en
ergy that we needed to.”
Steen led the team with 20 points
and 7 assists. Steen leads the
North West Athletic Association
of Community Colleges in assists
per game and is ranked eighth in
scoring. Mercedes Juarez, who is
ranked fifth in scoring, third in
three-point percentage, and third
in ffee-throw percentage, scored
16.
Saturday’s game in Coos Bay
against the Southwestern Oregon
Lakers faired better, but not by
much. The Cougars came out with
what Martineau said was a strong
defense. A mixture of poor shoot
ing and missed free throws hurt the
Cougars down the stretch in a very
close game, as they lost 65-61.
“It was hard to come off that big
loss and then lose again,” said
Juarez. “But it just makes us want
to work harder.”
Juarez led the team in scoring
with 21 points. Kathryn Kettles
scored 15 and Steen 15.
The two losses drop the Cou
gars to third place in the Southern
Region. With two games left in the
season, Martineau expects to stay
in third place.
“In a league like this unfortu
nately, as tough as it is, you go
from playing for first to third,” said
Martineau. “Third is not a bad
position in league.”
Tonight’s game takes the Cou
gars to Portland Community Col
lege to face the Panthers. The Cou
gars blew away the Panthers in
their last meeting. Saturday brings
the Cougars back home to face the
Linn-Benton Road Runners. The
Road Runners have also fell prey
to the attack of the Cougars.
The upcoming NWAACC Cham
pionship Tournament will be held
March 8-10 in Mt. Vernon, Wash.
“If we play like everyone on the
team kpows that we can, then we
have a good chance of taking the
tournament,” said Steen.
Cougar men prepare for championships
DARREL HOBSON
Staff Writer
With only two games remaining in
the regular season, the Cougars are
already preparing for the NWAACC
tournament in March However, the
players and the coaching staff cannot
afford to look past any opponent be
cause Clackamas can still win the
league title and a first place seed.
Lane Community College lost on
Saturday and Clackamas beat
Chemeketaand Southwestern commu
nity colleges last week and now, both
Lane and Clackamas are tied for first
place in the league.
Last Wednesday, Cougars won a
big game against Chemeketa. In the
first half, the Cougars played great
defense but had trouble on offense
resulting in a 34-33 score at halftime.
Then Clackamas came out in the sec
ond half and played some of the best
basketball all season. IfESPN showed
a highlight from this game, you would
have seen Mark Campbell on the fast
break in traffic passing the ball off the
backboard to Nate Block for the dunk.
Campbell finished with nine points,
12 assists and five steals. Block had 12
points, 15 rebounds, four assists and
three blocks. Chris Lohrey added 15
points and six rebounds. Matt Tabisz
came off the bench and scored 14
points and had three rebounds. Tom
Lenox had 12 points and Michael
Kuebler racked up 17 points.
When it was all over, the Cougars NWAACC Championship.
forced Chemeketa to 25 turnovers and
“We are working on our defenses,
played with a lot of intensity and en- rebounding and our focus. Over the
eigy to win the game 90-76.
break, we will have practices to pre
On Saturday, the men’s team had to pare and we will use the time to rest
make the journey to Coos Bay to face too.”
Southwestern. The Cougars made the
Clackamas will have to play Port
long trip worth it by winning 85-59.
land Community College and Linn-
The bench played very well with
Benton Community College this week
JeredGritters
before wrapping up the
scoring 11
season. Neither of these
points, five
games can be considered
of six free
"We are
of the
easy wins because Linn-
throws, five
Benton has defeated
in
rebounds
some of the best teams
and three
NWAACC"
in the league and the
steals.
Cougars will have to play
Cliff Wegner
Lawson
Portland on the road.
Head Coach
Struve
Ifthemen’steam
Men's BaskettxJ
added five
wins both games and
points, five
Lane loses one of its re
rebounds
maining games, then
and four as
Clackamas will win die league title and
sists. Lenox was two of three from the a first place seed in the NWAACC
three-point line and has moved up to Championship.
first place in the league for three-point
I asked Cliff Wegner if he was opti
shooting percentage after last week mistic about his teams’ chances in the
end. Campbell almost had another triple tournament.
double with 14 points, nine rebounds
“We are one ofthe best teams in the
and nine assists. Block played great NWAACC. We have Tacoma (the team
with 12 points and 12 rebounds. that is ranked #1 in conference) to play
Kuebler was four for seven from three- and we are capable of beating them,”
point range and scored 24 points in he replied.
the win.
He also added that they were very
Teams have about 10 days to pre close to being undefeated all season
pare before the tournament starts after because the three games they lost were
the end of the season. Head Coach only by a few points.
CliffWegnersayshisteam knows what
The Cougars next home game is
they have to do to be successful in the Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m.
one
best teams the
I’ve finally gotten past the denial and I’m ready to admit to myself that
I have a problem.
“Um, ahem. My name is Ryan...and I’m a sports-aholic.”
I thought that there might be something wrong when I would stay
awake well past midnight to watch America’s Cup yacht races broadcast
live from New Zealand. Also, when I recently found myself riveted to a
documentary about racehorse Secretariat, I wondered if there was some
thing else that I should be doing.
But alas, I can’t tear myself away. I’m just glad that I don’t have “all
the ESPN networks,” otherwise I might never leave the house.
The thing that’s mosttroubling however is that we’re headed towards
spring, a very busy time in the sports year. And with summer around the
comer, I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to fight off my addiction.
After all, it’s almost time to check the daily reports from baseball spring
training. Also, college and pro basketball are inching closer to the most
compelling point of their seasons - the playoffs.
And then there’s golf. Will Tiger make history again? Will a clear
challenger to his mastery emerge? I know I’ll be watching. And golf is
especially harmful to the sports addict because the tournaments last
FOURDAYS!
Then there’s auto racing. I know, I know, some people don’t consider
it a sport and question whether drivers are really athletes. But come on,
is there anything better than sitting on the couch for three hours and
hearing grown men say things like “wreckin’” and “runnin’ good?”
Don’t get me started about tennis. Tennis was instrumental in my
development as a sports junkie. I can remember those days of summer
vacation when I was in grade school watching hours of tennis television
coverage. Wimbledon marked the beginning of summer and the US
Open signaled the sad end.
Perhaps the most exciting thing coming up is the NHL playoffs. The
regular season doesn’t really mean a thing, but the playoffs are intense.
What better spectacle is there than the fans in Phoenix banging against
the boards cheering for the Coyotes. Or what about Detroit, where fans
toss dead sea creatures on the ice after victories? Who doesn’t want to
see that?
I can’t tell you how hard it is to resist the sports world. I look to get my
fix early in the morning. The Internet pushers like ESPN.com and
CNNsi.com are always available when I need to score. They’ve got
everything I need to start my day: stats, interviews, analysis, you name
it. Whatever you want, they give to you. That’s how they hook you.
Sports talk radio helps me through the day too. When I’m driving or
whenever I can’t be online, the news updates from talk radio serve as a
quick fix.
Maybe I need to go to some rehab facility or something; somewhere
where I won’t be able to get my fix. Does such a place exist? What
would one do if there was no sports programming? Is there a place
where there are no televised games, no score tickers, no athletes talking
about their “A game.”
What would we addicts do? How would we survive without sports
media? Would we go crazy? Would the withdrawals be insufferable?
With no Sportscenter, Jim Rome, or ESPN.com’s sort-able stats tables,
would we spontaneously combust?
Perhaps we would resort to actually playing sports instead of just
watching them!
THE HORROR!!!
Cross Country Nationals
Clackamas student and runner
Paul Keyes placed 30th Saturday
at the cross country national cham
pionships. Read about him next
week.
Cougar Soccer
The Cougar soccer team needs
players. Practices are held Tues
days and Thursdays at 1 p.m. on
the soccer field. There will be a
game Saturday. Be at the soccer
field at 1 p.m. if you want to play.
Practice is not mandatory. Contact
Stefan Myers in the ASG office at
x2544.
Saturday
Men 8 p.m.