The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 12, 2001 Page: 8 of 11
eleven pages : ill.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
^ September 12, 2001
Sports
The University News
Hot Sports Opinion
Near-perfection reveals passion for game
by Jack Price
Sports Editor
Loyal University News readers, please
extend me the latitude to step away from
objectivity and journalistic writing for
a week and speak as a fan of the great
game.
Though I spend ev-
ery day of my life as a
baseball fan, there are
times when, as with
all things, the game of
baseball may become
something I take for
granted. While I still
see the outstanding in-
dividual performance
four to six times per
day via the miracle of
ESPNEWS, I find myself seldom able to
enjoy the entirety of a single great ballgame
among the thousands played annually.
However, my love and intensity for the
great game was renewed recently as I, along
with two fellow fans and one unfortunate
bystander, became involved in one of the
most bizarre listening parties of which I
have ever been a part.
The scene is relatively simple: a large
group of UD students meet up in order to
caravan to the free Labor Day Pat Green
concert in nearby Bedford.
While waiting for the entire party to
arrive, those of us already at the meeting
place, Jesse Nelson's house in Colleyville,
were watching Sunday Night Baseball on
ESPN, which happened to be a showdown
between two of baseball's classic rivals, the
UD sports news and notes
Women's soccer
Friday, Aug. 31
UD 1, Whittier College 0
Saturday, Sept. I
UD 3, Pomona-Pi t'/er College 1
Saturday, Sept. 8
Trinity 7, UD 0
Sunday, Sept. 9
Southwestern 2, UD 1
Saturday, Sept. 15
vs. UT-Permian Basin, 2 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16
vs. Millsaps College, 1 p.m.
Men's soccer
Saturday, Sept. 8
Concordia-Austin 2, UD 1
Friday, Sept. 14
vs. Wiley College, 5 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 16
vs. Millsaps College, 3 p.m.
Volleyball
Tuesday, Sept.4
Ouachita Baptist defeats UD
30-24, 30-25, 30-25
East Texas Baptist defeats UD
30-32, 30-25, 30-22, 30-14
Saturday, Sept. 8
UD defeats Hendrix
30-17, 30-15, 26-30, 30-9
UD defeats Central Baptist College
30-12, 30-5, 30-14
Sept. 14-15
@ Rhodes College Tournament
Red Sox and the Yankees.
It also happened that two exceptional
pitchers of the past decade were dueling
in a scoreless tie through the first seven
innings. In fact, New York's Mike Mus-
sina had held the Sox hitless so far and
Boston's David Cone had surrendered only
one Yankee hit.
As everyone arrived, we made the 10-
minute drive to the stadium parking lot, the
location from which we would walk to the
fairgrounds. We arrived right at 9:30, the
scheduled time for the beloved Mr. Green
to take the stage.
What we had not planned on, though,
was hearing Charlie Steiner announce on
ESPN radio's broadcast that Mussina was
perfect through seven innings.
At that point the thought occurred to
us, "We just left the TV during a potential
perfect game."
As the rest of the group began the hike
to the fairgrounds, Jesse, John Stilton and
I declared that if history was going to be
made, we were going to hear it live.
Tins drew a number of bewildered looks
from the girls, who had no qualms with
leaving us behi nd. One of them, Anne I [art-
man, graciously volunteered to stay behind
with us, though I'm quite sure she had no
idea what she was getting into.
Mussina went through the eighth inning
quickly, and we were now three outs away
from experiencing history firsthand (the
beauty of a live baseball radio broadcast
is that you can feel like you are there,
creating kind of a virtual reality firsthand
experience).
The problem now is that the game was
still scoreless. John, Jesse and I discussed
strategy and possible scenarios throughout
the inning, being so presumptuous as sug-
gesting pinch hitters and pitch selections.
After the Yankees finally scored, we
realized, partly due to Anne's prompting,
what was happening.
In an attempt to explain to her just what
was so exciting about the magic of a po-
tential 1-0 Yankees/Red Sox perfecto, we
realized what was actually going on: three
pure baseball enthusiasts were standing in
the Pennington Field parking lot, listening
to a game on the radio.
Worse,we were rooting for a team that
(at least Jesse and I) despised and were
already 40 minutes late for a concert by
a performer whom we all loved (and on
whom Jesse has a borderline man-crush).
I even called my father on a cell phone
to make sure he was watching the game
at home.
At this point, the majority of readers
have probably stopped reading altogether
because they do not have time to spend
reading about three idiots listening to a
ballgame. There arc a few people like us,
though, who are probably baffled at even
the consideration of our leaving during
the game.
Sure enough, with two outs in the ninth,
Boston's Carl Everett singled on a 1-2 pitch
to wreck it.
We reacted naturally, screaming and
moaning and second-guessing, before
listening to Mussina record the final out to
preserve the victory.
After regrouping and thanking Anne
for being a trooper, we made our way to
the show, a little disappointed but with a
renewed love for the great game. I'm still
not sure if she realizes exactly what she
was doing there.
Many will tell you that the greatness of
baseball is the way in which it evens out
in the end. As the baseball gods would
have it, fans would not be let down last
week either
As I found myself mired in studies the
very next night, I was interrupted by a
phone call from Jesse: "Turn it to ESPN:.
Bud Smith is pitching a no-hitter for the
Cardinals."
Of course, I put down my book and
turned on the game. Smith got his no-hitter,
and baseball got another great story.
photo courtesy ofmlb.com
Mike Mussina looks on in finstration as Carl
Everett's single breaks up his perfect game.
Volleyball team picks up first wins,
confidence at Hendrix over weekend
by Jack Price
Sports Editor
The UD volleyball team began the week
with two more disappointing efforts but
finished strong with a pair of victories at
Hendrix College in Conway, Ark.
The ladies took three of four games from
Hendrix College (30-17, 30-15, 26-30,
30-14) and swept Central Baptist College
(30-12, 30-5, 30-14) en route to their first
victories of the 2002 season.
The Crusaders, having now gotten the
season's first wins, feel they can finally
overcome some of the frustration that
marked their first two weeks of competi-
tion
"It was just a matter of time for us,"
freshman defensive specialist Sarah Sa-
lomon said. "We really are a good team,
but we haven't been putting it all together
consistently."
Junior Nicole Taylor had a team-high 17
kills Saturday, and junior Megan Hoffman
led the way with 17 assists.
In the match against Hendrix, Hoffman
served points two through 22, rattling off
20 straight points for UD, including five
service aces.
Senior middle blocker Melissa Taylor
, who contributed 11 kills in Saturday's
matches, said this year's squad seems fi-
nally to be headed in the right direction.
"As long as we stay in the state of mmd
we're in now, I think we'll stay over the
hump and go out and start putting games
away," she said.
That state of mind, head coach Venera
Flores said, is a renewed fondness for the
game that the Crusaders found after a team
meeting following last Tuesday's losses in
Marshall.
"There's been a lot of improvement
in practice and a lot more enthusiasm,"
Flores said, predicting a turnaround over
the weekend before UD's road wins.
UD lost to Ouachita Baptist University
(30-24,30-25,30-25) and East Texas Bap-
tist University (30-32,30-25,30-22,30-14)
Tuesday, experiencing many of the same
problems the team went trough during its
season-opening tournament.
"There were a lot of hitting errors and
unforced mistakes," Flores said of the
team's performance at East Texas Baptist.
Taylor and senior Christine Brown led
the Crusaders with 17 kills each over the
two matches. Taylor added three blocks
and brown added 26 digs.
Taylor and sophomore Anne Hartman
each had nine kills Tuesday^
Hoffman and Taylor led the Crusaders
with 35 digs each in Tuesday's tri-match.
A factor in UD's effort to get back on
top is a change in strategy made last week.
The team is running a 5-1 now, rather than
the 6-2 it ran last year and at the start of
this season.
That means that Hoffman is used more
exclusively as a setter in an attempt to
stabilize the team's hitting game.
As a setter Tuesday, she led the team
with 37 assists.
Overall, the team morale seems to have
improved following the much-needed
victories.
"I feel that we're more confident now
than we were at the beginning of the sea-
son," Salomon said. "Any time you start
off like we did, it's hard to pick up from that
right away, but we're optimistic again."
The Crusaders, now 2-6, will take some
confidence into this weekend's tournament
at Rhodes College in Tennessee, where
they do not yet know what competition
awaits them.
Taylor believes that more exposure to
each other on the court puts them in a better
position to compete this weekend.
"We definitely have a better chance
against a good team now," she said.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Gaunt, Sarah. The University News (Irving, Tex.), Vol. 26, No. 2, Ed. 1 Wednesday, September 12, 2001, newspaper, September 12, 2001; Irving, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth201343/m1/8/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Dallas.