Sports

Volume 22, Issue 18

Puckett’s bucket lifts UIS over HLG 54-50

By Jason Stuebe - Sports Editor

The clock was winding low and UIS faced a tied ballgame at 50 points apiece against bottom feeder Hannibal LaGrange.
Thirty-nine minutes of play yielded the Stars only 3-14 shooting from behind the arch.
UIS junior standout Antonio Puckett was just coming off his worst game of the season not 72 hours prior.
And to UIS coach Kevin Gamble, it all made sense.
“We were shooting bad all game long, then with a few seconds to go called for the single-hi, which Puck can pull up if he has to or drive inside if our big guys help,” said Gamble, “he was contested but stepped up and showed confidence.”
Puckett showed confidence alright, draining the game winning three after holding the ball for 30 of the final 36 seconds in a perfectly executed play that sent the Assembly Closet into a screaming frenzy.
The UIS victory snapped a four-game losing skid, which featured the three top teams in the American Midwest Conference. Some might refer to Saturday’s win as ‘relief.’
“I told ‘em at the half that we are supposed to win this game,” said Gamble, “had we lost it, it would be very discouraging.”
As for the game itself, few shots and a decent bit of defense on behalf of both teams led to an excruciatingly low score highlighted by a 24-22 UIS lead at the end of the first half.
“We play ugly and we don’t shoot the ball well,” said Gamble, “so we got to slow down and play a sluggish game and make the other guy play at our level.”
The lack of a run-and-gun system would leave most teams reeling for success in the backcourt, but UIS has started to make it work shooting 48.9 percent from the field on Saturday.
UIS was led by Antonio Puckett, who returned to form with 13 points, while UIS freshman Aaron Anderson chipped in nine of his own.
The Stars are now just one win shy of hitting .500 in the conference (3-4), and look to stick that feather in their hat when they resume conference play against Harris Stowe this Saturday after taking a nonconference vacation of sorts to avenge an early season loss to Brescia.
The Brescia game is scheduled to tip-off Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the Assembly Closet.

Stars control tempo, finally finish with big win

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

It has been a while since the Stars have won in the friendly confines of the UIS gymnasium. But, this past Saturday saw a complete ball game played by our beloved women’s basketball team and the score displayed that as the Stars were victorious over American Midwest Conference foe Williams Baptist College 74-63.
With only a 33-31 lead at halftime, the Stars improved their shot selection and shooting percentage as it went from 38.7 percent in the first half to 44.8 percent in the second. In conjunction with the offensive improvement was the stifling Prairie Stars defense that held Williams Baptist to no higher than 35.7 percent from the field in the game. They also were able to force 27 turnovers.
The Stars outscored Williams Baptist 41-32 in the second half and much of that came from Senior Zabrina Harper, who led all scorers with 33 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 steals. This was Harper’s second straight 30 plus point performance at home. Also pitching in was freshmen guard LaTrice Nettles who tallied 17 points in the game with 12 of those points coming from behind the three point arc.
With the win came the end of a three game losing streak for the Stars. Their overall record is now 6-16 and 2-6 in the AMC. The next home game for the team is this coming Tuesday, February 15th against Harris Stowe State College. Tip off is scheduled for 7 pm.

Patriots’ experience, Eagles inexperience difference in Super Bowl XXXIX

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

Another year of football has come and gone and there aren’t many ways to cap off a season that compare to what we saw Sunday night in Jacksonville, Florida. The New England Patriots were victorious for the second straight year and their third title in the last four seasons. While it was no surprise to this reporter, there were many who still believed that the Philadelphia Eagles had a legitimate shot to knock off the juggernaut that has been created in Massachusetts. The interesting thing about that is how close that came to becoming a reality.
In the first quarter, we saw a typical high strung performance on both sides of the football from both teams. It’s your usual jitters that every team has that take about a series or two to get out of their system. The Eagles caught a break with what looked to be an opening drive fumble by Donovan McNabb but replays showed that McNabb had been sacked with one knee hitting the ground. Being able to dodge this bullet early on allowed the Eagles to stay neck and neck with New England by being able to play their style of physical defense.
With a 0-0 tie heading into the second quarter, I was amazed to see how sloppy Donovan McNabb had been throwing the football. While he did have good stats, he made some errant throws in huge situations. An example that sticks out in my mind is the red zone trip that the Eagles offense had right after recovering a Tom Brady fumble in Patriots territory. McNabb threw a lame duck ball into the right corner of the end zone and had the ball picked off. Luckily for him, it was called back due to an illegal contact penalty. But, he again threw a bad pass, this time to the left corner of the end zone and had the ball intercepted again. You can look at it as bad play calling but you can’t fault the coaching staff for wanting to put the ball in the hands of the guy who has led them to where they are today. In the simplest terms, McNabb threw two horrendous passes.
Even with the Eagles scoring first, the undaunted Pats were able to keep their cool and score the next 14 points in the ball game. Yes, the Eagles went down and tied the game up, but the momentum had seemed to shift into the Patriots corner with the looming factor of the experience that the Patriots have had in close football games, especially in the Super Bowl. With the help of the MVP, wide receiver Deon Branch, the Pats went back ahead and intercepted another poorly thrown ball from Donovan McNabb. I recall sitting in my not so comfortable couch after the Pats kicked a 22 yard field goal and thinking that this would be another game winning field goal for the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Sure enough, the Eagles took advantage of an injury to safety Eugene Wilson (former fighting Illini player I might add) and found speedy receiver Michael Lewis in the end zone for a touchdown. However, this would also prove to be the end of the game for the Eagles due to their bad clock management and questionable strategy to simply walk to the line of scrimmage as the time dwindled down to less than two minutes. Thus, they weren’t able to allow themselves reasonable field position to make a play in their last offensive series.
So what can we all take from this game? In my eyes, it was a matter of experience that shined through for the Patriots. While I will not say that Philadelphia doesn’t have any big game experience, it is too hard to say what any of us who weren’t there would have done in their situation. The heat of the moment will force some bad decisions out of all of us, but on this night, the Patriots proved why they are so special: they didn’t make the big mistakes. This victory does a lot for both their organization and the National Football League. For those of you out there who are frustrated with the success of this team, have no fear. For you see, next season marks the 20th anniversary of the greatest football team to ever play in a season: the 1985 Chicago Bears. And how fitting will it be to see our beloved Bears right back in the Super Bowl next year and play these same Patriots and duplicate their previous 46-10 win. Go ahead, laugh now. But, come next year at around this time, I will be doing the laughing for all of the Chicago faithful.
Take care and thanks for reading.

Stuebe’s Sporting Goods
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

By Jason Stuebe - Sports Editor

Anyone ever watch that loony crackpot on News Channel 15, Mark Hyman? He’s got that segment called Point/Counterpoint (it’s usually the three minutes of a day when you should really consider spacing out and think of swimming with seahorses). Well, I’ve been running out of ideas lately so I thought I’d do my own useless commentary called Sport/Not-sport.
Now, the only way this works is for you to not be offended (well, seriously offended at least), and take everything I say in jest or completely disregard it, as I’m sure you do every week. Basically, if you like hockey or any other sport that is related to Canada and are easily offended, it may be best to put this down and work on a crossword puzzle instead.
Cheerleading
If this doesn’t land me in a town square tarred and feathered, I don’t know what will. The case of cheerleading as a sport is largely debatable. It usually winds up with a young gent on the floor groveling in pain and unable to produce offspring. However, the fact of the matter is, though, when cheerleading occurs on the sidelines of an event, let’s say basketball, it is an act of entertainment. Period.
Before I have 90,000 members of NOW calling for my resignation, I will say this: When cheerleading occurs at a competition, such as the one in my favorite movie “Bring It On”, it is most definitely a sport. The reasoning behind my John Kerryesque approach to this debate, you might ask? To be considered a sport, mere acts of athleticism are not enough. Genuine competition is also a requirement, you know, like gladiators and such.
Poker
Maybe you heard about this or maybe you haven’t, but there’s this game called Texas Hold ‘em. You might have also heard that in the early spring there was a serious effort to promote the game to Olympic Game status. No joke, people actually wanted it to be an Olympic event.
Can anyone else say redonkulous? Much like cheerleading at a competition, there certainly is a level of contention between separate parties. However, unlike cheerleading at either a competition or a sideline act, there is absolutely NO athleticism involved. Just because you get on ESPN for 20 out of 24 hours a day does not make you a sport, even if it does give us out-of-shape and uncoordinated folk something to do.
Auto Racing
I can totally see a few dozen of you out there rolling your eyes, but you know something? There’s more to racing than just turning left. To anyone that says racing is not a sport, I dare you, no, I challenge you to go to a real driving school. You will soon learn that there is a great deal of athletic ability and coordination involved, lest you find yourself plowed into a wall.
As a former racer myself, I can tell you that it requires a great deal of hand-eye coordination, and depending on what you race in, a great deal of upper body strength and stamina as well. To put it in perspective, on average, IRL and NASCAR drivers tend to lose nearly seven to nine pounds of water through perspiration in the course of an event where the outside ambient temperature is a mere 70 degrees. Athleticism necessary? You bet.
As always, go Stars!

Stars dominate, still fall to Spartans

By Mark Brockett - Sports Reporter

Despite controlling the tempo of the entire game, the UIS women’s basketball team was defeated by the Spartans of Missouri Baptist 74-73.
UIS put forth one of their best team efforts of the season with their ability to find open shots and play physical defense. For the majority of the game, the team dominated both sides of the ball and looked to be on their way to a solid victory. But, with a nine point lead with 4 minutes to go, some costly turnovers allowed the Spartans to claw back into it and with their three point specialist Angela Cerrtio, who went 5 of 9 from the three point arc in the game, hit a game winning three-pointer with only 7 seconds left.
On the in-bounce play, the Stars were able to get the basketball down to their center, senior Ashley Barton, but the ball was knocked away from her and time expired. The buzzer sent the Spartans into frenzy and left the Prairie Stars in a state of frustration and shock.
Senior Zabrina Harper led all scorers with 32 points in the contest. She also had 4 steals. Chipping in with other big scoring nights were Barton, with 14 points and 10 total rebounds, and Kelley Beyer with 8 points.
With the heart-breaking loss, the Stars fell for the third straight game and their seventh of the last eight games. Their overall season record dropped to 5-16 and 1-6 in the American Midwest Conference.

Campus Recreational Briefs

The annual Wisconsin Ski Trip to Cascade Mountain and Devil’s Head is this Friday-Sunday, February 11-13. The bus will be leaving at 3:30pm from Parking Lot B. Please be on time for departure.

The Intramural 5x5 Basketball League kicked off with two games being played this past Sunday, February 6. In the first game, HUGE, captained by Mike Moriarity, defeated The Losers, captained by Michal Haney and Jesse Vezina, by a score of 68-43. The second game of the doubleheader saw Robert Skorczewski’s NIRSA team post an 81-40 win over The Girls, captained by Kaley Noel and Danielle Simler. Another doubleheader is scheduled for this Sunday in the UIS Gym starting with games at 2:30pm. Come out and cheer on the intramural teams playing!

The Intramural Badminton Doubles play has started in the UIS Gym. There are 4 women’s teams competing and 2 men’s teams. Check the website or the posted schedule on the bulletin board outside the Fitness Center for badminton doubles match times.

Registrations are still being accepted for the Toning & Conditioning classes. Toning & Conditioning meets on Mondays and Fridays in the UIS Gym. All classes meet from 12:10-12:50pm.

The Spring 2005 Milers Club is up and running. This 15-week activity promotes cardiovascular fitness through unstructured recreational activities in which participants choose when and where to exercise. A 150-mile goal (10 miles a week) is the minimum, but participants are encouraged to set a higher goal if they wish. You may choose walking, jogging, biking, or other measurable distance exercises. Participants are required to turn in weekly exercise slips on Mondays to the CRS Office so that the staff can make a progress chart. The Milers' Club is a free activity but you must sign up by registering at the CRS Office with a valid i-card. The Miler’s Club runs through Sunday, April 24.

Informal Open Recreation Hours for 2004-05 for the Rec Center (Fitness Center and Gym) are Monday-Thursday 8am-11pm; Friday 10am-8pm; Saturday 10am-4pm; and Sunday 2-8pm. These hours are subject to change during campus vacation periods or scheduled events. Participants wishing to use the above facilities must submit a valid i-card upon entering the Rec Center.

HOW CAN I LEARN ABOUT CAMPUS REC SPORTS NEWS?
(1) Send an Email to RecSports@uis.edu to be included in the 2004-2005 Campus Rec Sports News List to receive personal up-to-date information about future events and activities. (2) Click on “Public Folders>All Public Folders>UIS>Announcements>Campus” on your UIS e-mail account and read the e-mail announcements sent out by UIS Campus Rec Sports. (3) Check out the website at www.uis.edu/recsports/. (4) Contact the Campus Recreational Sports (CRS) Office located in the Fitness Center (SLB 118) or call 206-6658.