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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 24, 2002)
10_______ WEÓNEsdAy, Appi! 24, 2002 TI he CI ac I camas P rìnt Stop the commentary: I want to be a fan 77uzrsday,Aprû25 @ MT. HOOD IBA Saturday, April27 S. PUGET SOUND Noon From the Bleachers Tuesday, April3O LOWER COLUMBIA 3pm Fïiday,May3 Nick Barron Staff Writer The questions never cease. An is sue of Sports Illustrated doesn’t get published without its pages offering up another so-called thought-provok ing query. The sports sections of news papers constantly compare present- day teams and players with those in the history books. Were the 1980s Lakers better than the present day squad of Bryant and O’Neal? What would Joe DiMaggio hit today against the stretched talent of Major League pitchers? Most sports thinkers always say that the olds'team, or the older player, is the superior one. But my answer has always been, who cares? I remember when I was a teenager, when the only tiling that mattered to my adolescent mind was getting a Sports Illustrated every week, and see ing an SI cover that declared the death of the National Football League. Oh, the honor! There I was, a bud ding young man, and suddenly my favorite publication had uttered a time of death for one of my favorite pro leagues. The accompanying article spoke of how the NFL was nothing like it used to be, with players just get ting strongs*, not better. Ticket prices were exorbitant and television ratings were fal ling faster than John Madden out of an airplane. While Sports Illustrated made some good points, I realized that my genera tion would never be safe from over- analytical sports writers and talking heads. From that point on, I knew that the sports I loved and cherished would be dissected on a continual basis in an effort to rob me of my passion for the world of athletics. I understand that Major League ballparks are smaller than they used to be, and perhaps the baseballs are wound tighter. Yes, it is afactthatNFL players are stronger in the present, forcing them to also be slower. Of course the NBA is riddled with over hyped high schoolers, stripping the league of its storied talent. But I cannot change these things, and even if I could, I am not sure that I would want to. Because when I was seven years old, and the St Louis Car dinals lost the World Series to the Min nesota Twins, I didn’t care that expan sion had forced my team to use pitch ers who would not have been in the Majors twenty years ago. I was merely a fan then, and at times I want to exist as just a fan. Even though I do my fair share of analysis and critiquing, it bothers me when people compare today’s athletics with those of tiie past Perhaps it is therapy for middle-aged sports writers who are lost in memo ries of yesteryear, but they are robbing me of my time to enjoy all that profes sional sports have to offer. There will only be one baseball season- when I am21,just as there was one Super Bowl winner when I was 19. That team was the St. Louis Rams, the first team from that city to capture tiie Lombardi Trophy, but the victory forme was bittersweet This was be cause some morons on ESPN told me that the formerly hapless Rams only won tiie Super Bowl because manage ment used the salary cap to its advan tage, allowing them to turn the team around in just one year. Just when you think your team is finally going to get some respect, the sports commentators explain, in excru ciating over-analysis, how they won, stripping the joy ofvictory from afan. It is not fair to have overweight blabbermouths who remember when Hank Aaron topped Babe Ruth’s home run record destroy my experi ence as a fan. I plead to all sports writers and all commentators and play-by-players, please do not take away my chance at rooting for a game, just as you did when you were young. So let’s stop with the questions and the analysis. Let-Joe DiMaggio and iy Cobb rest in history, for they had their time. And just as you had your chance to be an ignorant young fan, allow me the same privilege. To reach Nick Barron e-mail barronoru@hotmail.com or drop by B-104 Softball team slides into second Baseball _________ DAISY BAIN________ Saturday, April27 The women put two more wins un der their belts after a doubleheader Fri day and strengthened their second A&E Editor LANE lpm Tuesday, April 30 @ MT. HOOD lpm Saturday, May 4 @ LANE lpm TLiesday, May 7 @ LINN-BENTON lpm place standing in tiie Southern Region with a 10-3 record for the season. Clackamas was ready to play all week, but their games were rained out Tuesday through Thursday. Mount Hood Community College, which was tied for second place until they met up with the Cougars, lost 7-2 in Gresham Friday afternoon. “Everyone came ready after wait ing so long to play,” said Coach Paul Fiskum. “We handled them nicely. We really hit tiie ball well.” The Cougars scored seven runs off 12 hits.’ Freshman Miranda Gillaspie threw 12 strikeouts, a “high for the year,” according to Fiskum. Sheallowedtwo runs on five hits. Clackamas played close to what seems to be their tradi tional error-free game, ending up with only one error. “But it didn’t hurt us,” saidFiskum. “It was a great performance against a really good team,” said Fiskum. Game two was “one of the more interesting games I’veever coached,” saidFiskum. It was an up and down game from inning to inning. “Wedidn’t play the usual defense; our bats saved Track Saturday, ApriL27 OREGON INVITATIONAL @ University of the day for us.” Going into tiie bottom of the third, Mt Hood was up by three. Clackamas cracked six hits to bring three runners in to tie the game. “JJ wasn’t any one bighit, it waseverybody,” saidFiskum. In the top of the fourth, Mt. Hood re- claimed their lead 5-3. The Cougars retaliated and shortened, the gap to one. Ip. the top of the fifth inning, Vanessa Holm relieved Gillaspie at the mound, shutting out Mt. Hood for the rest of the game. “We had one of the most dramatic hits in history in the bottom of the sixth inning,” said Fiskum. Brooke Comstock, hit a single to left. Nikki Staley, sophomore, hit a sacri fice bunt, advancing Comstock tosecond. Then, Carla Lillis, freshman, hit tiie long PH0T0 CONTRIBUTED BY JACK 0STLUND est home run Clackamas has ever Shortstop Erin Murphy reaches for a thrown ball during a recent game. had on thé softball The Cougars won two very important games this week and now field. It hit the possess the second-place spot in the Southern Region. scoreboard, which is The last game of the tournament about 15 feet behind the fence. “It Gillaspie threw her fifth shutout of was “the worst performance of the hit the board hard. You could hear it the year, winning 3-0. Sunday, the clank,” said Fiskum. The Cougars Cougars played the only team they season,” according to Fiskum;2 It have been unable to defeat so far was a 14-1 loss against Walla Walla won the game 6-5 Community College, which is in sec Over the weekend, the Cougars this year, Lower Columbia Commu ond place in the East “They hit bn played in a tournament in Salem, but nity College. “We played a very ex didn’t place, finishing with three cellent game,” said Fiskum. The her (Gillaspie) hard. Everything that wins and two losses. In game one Saturday, the Cougars played Green River Community College, which is third in their league in the North. Holm, who is leading in wins right now for the Cougars, threw seven strikeouts, winning the game 3-1. Game two was against South Puget Sound Community College. game was tied 2-2 through most of the game until Lower Columbia scored two runs in the seventh, giv ing a tragic 4-2 Joss to the Cougars. On Sunday afternoon, the Cou gars went against Centralia Commu nity College. Holm threw another shutout. The Coqgars scored 10 could have gone wrong did. We just runs on eight base hits. drop by B-104. ran out of gas. ” The Cougars played South Puget Sound Community College Tues day; statistics were not available at press time. To reach Daisy Bain e-mail Daisypower2@yahoo.com or Oregon SoftbaU Player of the week: . Erin Murphy, sophomore, is a shortstop from LaSalle High School. She had seven successful hits out of 18 at bats last week. You can look for • # 20 on the field Thursday, April 25, when the Cougars play Mt. Hood Community College, the time TBA. PHOTO BY ISAIAH CREEL I Clackamas Print
