BEACON SPORTS
"Baby you can drive my car," but you're no athlete
By Chris LaFuria
sports editor
March 17. 2(X}(
In 2006, NASCAR is projected to bring in $3.5
billion of revenue. Millions of fans flock to race
tracks all over the country throughout the year to
support their favorite drivers. From Jeff Gordon to
Tony Stewart, many drivers have gained celebrity
status in the United States and beyond. The com
mon misconception is, however, that these drivers
have received the status of an athlete. Driving your
car 250 miles per hour does not classify as a sport.
There are many varieties of mindless human
activities that have mistakenly been considered
sports. Even though experts offer their profession
al opinion on why an activity should be considered
a "sport," their definition for their justification is
rather flawed.
When claiming an activity as a sport, you must
scrutinize the level of actual athleticism that is
involved with the particular activity. The criteria
for receiving the term "sport" should not he as
Nommememionmemmom relaxed as the
"Granted, NASCAR
draws the largest
crowds and is highly
entertaining, but it
should not possess
the 'sport' label."
Furthermore, there is
a long list of activities that have received the term
"sport" and should not have.
The first activity, which is arguably the least ath-
The Behrend Women's Tennis team recently captured the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championship
by gaining 16 points in the tournament. The team finished undefeated in the league and 13-3 overall in 2005.
Men's soccer improves to 5-1
By Kelly Houghton
sports writer
September 23, 2005
Queen said it first when they
shouted "Another one bites the
dust!" Although they gave the
song life, the talented athletes on
our men's soccer team are
inevitably the tyrants who are forc
ing their opponents into the dirt.
In a home contest on
Wednesday, your Behrend Lions
faced the Grove City Eagles. Both
Behrend and Grove City entered
the match showcasing very similar
2004 records of 12-6-1 and 12-7-1,
respectively, creating what was
bound to be a tight competition.
On September 22, 2004 Grove
City was defeated by your blue and
white 1-0. History repeated itself
once again as Behrend slid by the
Grove City, winning 2-1. Even
though it began as an ordinary soc
cer match, victory seemed distant
after the first half as Behrend was
found trailing 1-0, failing to play
to their top potential. Senior cap
tain Brian Blaszcyk commented,
"We knew at halftime that we did
not play well in the first half."
Marcus Taylor, a talented fresh
man midfielder from Landisville
High added, "In the first half we
did not play our game, we played a
lot of kick and run instead of pos-
s,~ { i g
. ,
p,.,•?. , ~., _ • et.ct,4
it. k
American community
has made them out to
be. Sports are activ
ities that require a
genuine physical
exertion. A profes
sional sport should
not be something that
the average American
do well.
sessing the ball." However, your
Lions got their act together and
dominated in the second half,
aggressively scoring two goals and
hindering the Eagle's hopes to
score. When Blaszcyk was asked
what brought the change in pace,
he commented that, "We all
calmed down, relaxed and started
to play the game like we knew we
could." This victory improved the
men's record for the season to 5-1.
Your soccer stars will next trav
el to Penn State Altoona on
Saturday,
September 24.
Altoona posted an
impressive 13-5-4
record during the
2004 season and
will ultimately
strive for victory
and bragging rights
in next week's Penn
State showdown.
DJ Craven, a junior
forward said,
"Altoona's picked
to win the league
We're pumped to go down there
and play them." In competition
last year, a victory wasn't grasped
by either team, as they tied in dou
ble overtime 0-0. Blaszcyk noted
that "every time we play Altoona it
is a hard fought battle."
Unfinished business needs to be
NASCAR draws in large crowds to every race. The Daytona 500 is one of the most viewed sporting
events on television. However, all of the drivers inside these cars lack the physical element of an athlete
letic of this entire list, is NASCAR racing. This
"sport" does take a lot of training to become supe
rior, but so does calligraphy. In auto racing, the
drivers do not follow the standard for being consid
ered "athletic." No clear physical exertion is need
ed to be at the top of the game. Not much condi
tioning is needed to become in-shape for a race.
Granted, NASCAR draws the largest crowds and is
highly entertaining, but it should not possess the
....,.. .„, . . .....,...
taken care of this season. A win
would prove that Behrend
undoubtedly leads the Nittany
Lion pack in the game of soccer.
Blaszcyk added, "Whoever wants
it more will win the game."
The team's next home match is
set for Thursday, September 29 at
5 pm against Capital University.
With team moral reported as being
very high at this point, senior
standout Brain Blaszcyk said, "We
want to win our conference, host
the AMCC tourney and then move
on to the NCAA
tournament." Well
Brian, I doubt any
one will have any
objections to that,
especially after such
a commanding start.
An extra special
congratulations is
also going out to
Coach D
an
Perritano. Coach
Perritano, who is in
his 13 year leading
the Lions, recently
acquired his 300 career win.
Marcus Taylor commented that
"he deserves every last one he
gets," emphasizing that as a coach,
Dan Perritano has held the team
together on more than one occa
sion when they have been down.
"sport" label
I was flipping through the channels the other day
when I stumbled on another such activity. As I
watched the professional fishing tournament in
utter comatose boredom, I heard one of the com
mentators say, "This sport takes a lot of concentra
tion and skill." When I regained my breath after
laughing hysterically for exactly 58 seconds, I did
the same assessment of fishing that I did of
Women's tennis captures AMCCs
Behrend's women's tennis team captured
their second straight AMCC title and their
sixth overall on Sunday, October 16, 2005, at
the Oxford Athletic Club in Wexford, PA.
Showing very little struggle this season, the
Lions posted an undefeated record for the
2005 season, being named the number one
seed and the favorite to win the title.
Such supremacy was proven in the champi
onship event last Sunday as the Lady Lions
overwhelmed the opposition. Behrend gained
16 points, Altoona gained six, Chatham
gained three, and Frostburg State was shut
out.
"Our goal was to make all the finals which
we did," said head coach Jeff Barger. "We
played outstanding doubles which set us up
for the singles. All the ladies played hard and
played well."
Many times, when a team has very high
expectations, it is easy for them to slip and not
play to their potential. In the case of the Blue
and White, this cliché occurrence was not
even possible. Allison Mudrey
(Hermitage/Hickory), Mindy Calvert
Senior defenseman Brian Blaszczyk goes up to win the ball against this week's competition. The
next home game for the Lions is Thursday, Se . tember 29 at 5 p.m. against Capital University.
By Chris LaFuria
sports editor
October 21. 2006
The Behrend Beacon I
Friday, April 28, 2006
NASCAR. In order to be a fisherman, some skill is
necessary to be able to find fish and lure them into
your boat (but then again, companies have manu
factured Fish Finders that do the work for you).
However, this is an activity that your overweight
Uncle Remus can do easily, so it is not a sport.
Fishing is not physically demanding in the least and
requires very little physical prowess.
Immediately apologizing to out neighbors in the
Great White North, I would like to take the chance
to revoke the title of "sport - from one of the most
popular activities to Canadians. Relax hockey fans;
Canada's national sport is indeed a sport in all
aspects. The sport to which I am referring is curl
ing. Using brushes to slide polished granite stones
down the length of a sheet of ice ranks up there
with watering a garden as a sport. Even though it
is an Olympic sport, the basic premise of being a
curling player is not athletic at all. Maybe you
could get a job as a Zamboni driver and watch an
actual sport up in Canada.
Running. Jumping. Diving. Sprinting. Physical
Exertion. These are all criteria for something to be
considered a "sport. - If you can compete in an
activity by sitting down or standing still for more
than ten minutes, the activity is not a sport. Driving
an automobile and searching for fish should not be
considered sports because of their lack of physical
demand. Even though there are competition and
professional leagues for these activities, they are
not sports.
Voice*Olt ut what
actiViridt w itiotAti : oeskhild not be
considered sports. Email Chris
LaFutia at - cslsoos@psu.edu and
have your opinion heard.
(Warren/Warren), Jenna Yankowski (Bethel
Park/Bethel Park) and Shelley Goodpastor
(Sharon/Sharon) won their single matches in
the championship. Meanwhile, the tandem of
Mudrey and Calvert dominated their doubles
event. Yankowski and Goodpastor teamed up
to win their doubles match while Amy Frizzell
(Grove City/Grove City) and Susan Cooper
(Pittsburgh/Mount Lebanon) also contributed
to the total score.
In addition to the team accolades, one
Behrend individual received individual recog
nition for her stellar efforts. Along with fin
ishing triumphant in her championship match
es, sophomore Allison Mudrey was named
AMCC Player of the Week in Tennis.
Arguably the most outstanding statistic for
Mudrey is her aversion and elusion to losing.
Since she first laced up her tennis shoes for
the Lady Lions, she has not lost an AMCC
match, maintaining a 16-0 record.
While remaining undefeated in the AMCC,
the Lady Lions also posses a 13-3 overall
record. When asked what they key to his
teams' success this season, Barger said, "Our
success is attributed to the fact that we work
hard, and that we have had some outstanding
players and students."