FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2000 High payroll does not equal excitement or winning for that matter avid football fans have trouble naming players on the Giants squad with Jason `t• Sehorn being the most famous, possibly from his proposal to Angie Harmon on Jay Leno a few Caught in the Grasp months back. Now a Douglas Smith tandem of running backs not being paid that much are stacking up to Mike Alstott and S pOrts editor Warrick Dunn of Tampa Bay. Ron Dayne, Thunder, and Tiki Barber, Lightning, are helping their squad find ways to win. Second, if the Redskins fail to make the Super Bowl, then it is a disappointment to their fans. All the money dished out usually corresponds to Super Bowl in the mind of true fans, as expectations go through the roof. Consider the disappointment if a team like Detroit were to beat Washington inn the playoffs. Third, the level of excitement seems to be down at times. For the ultimate fan, it is always fun to watch an exciting game, even if you are not a fan of the two teams playing. Close games are good, but the Tampa Bay—Washington game earlier this year that ended in a 20-17 victory for the Redskins was definitely not I'm sure you would like to know what this editorial is about instead of me going into a few paragraphs of obscure background until unveiling the real purpose of writing it. Well I will just tell you flat out that I am asking a question with many different answers. Can money buy excitement or success in the world of professional sports? Let's discuss. Recently the Washington Redskins have been in the spotlight, as they seemed to buy a team that looked good on paper and was supposed to prove successful on the field. So far they are hanging right with the New York Giants for the lead in the National Football Conference Eastern Division. About three weeks ago questions were being raised as to whether their big gamble with money would pay off despite it still being early in the season. The Redskins would go on to beat a good Tampa Bay team, and it looks as if they were still an above average football team. The Redskins went out and got veterans Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders to stabilize their defense. Washington also managed to draft LaVar Arrington from Penn State. Obviously this meant an abundance of money had to be spilled out. What remains in the season for Washington is uncertain. However, looking at the circumstances, the large sum of money dished out may not pay off in the long run. First of all, the Redskins are tied for the conference lead with the Giants. This is a team that has a supposed dead quarterback taking snaps from the center. Even some Behrend Scores Women's Soccer Oct. 11 vs. Carnegie Mellon W 2-1 Oct. 14 at Frostburg W 3-1 Men's Soccer Oct. 4 at Grove City W 3-0 Oct 6. at Montana State-Billings L 3-2 Oct. 9 at Colorado College L I -0 Oct. 14 at Frostburg L 5-4 (20T) Oct. 18 vs. Lake Erie W 4-0 Volleyball Oct. 7 at Pomona- Pitzer L 3-1 at LaVerne L 3-1 Oct. 9 at Claremont-Mudd L 3-0 Oct. 12 vs. Lake Erie W 3-0 Oct. 14 at Pitt-Greensburg W 3-1 Oct. 18 vs. La Roche 3-0 Cross Country Oct. 7 at Dickinson Invitational Men finished 24th Women finished 28th Oct. 14 at Rochester Invitational Men finished 7th Women finished Bth Women's Tennis Oct. 7 vs. Pitt-Greensburg W 9-0 Oct. 10 vs. Westminster W 7-2 Oct. 11 vs. Theil W 9-0 Men's Golf Finished 4th at AMCC Champi onship @ Hannanstown CC Men's Water Polo Oct. 7 vs. Grove City L 21-5 Vs. Salem-Teikyo L 9-6 Oct. 8 vs. Slippery Rock L 17-10 vs.W&JL 17-2 Oct 14-15 at Division 111 East em Championships vs. MIT L 20-2 vs. Grove City L 12-2 vs. Conecticut College L 11-2 'N ., AMCC ~ Allegheny Mountain Collegiate ca m pretty. This question can be placed on all leagues in professional sports. Baseball is a very good example. Baseball constantly tries to find ways to balance the level of power through money in the markets. Teams like the Yankees dominate free agency, while a team like the Pirates fight to stay alive. However, this is the game outside the playing field. Let us investigate inside the stadiums. The World Series is closing in on us, and the Yankees were the only big-spending team (for baseball) in the final four. The Seattle Mariners got rid of a bulk of their AMCC STANDINGS (Standings as of October 16, 2000) WOMEN'S SOCCER School Penn State Behrend Frostburg La Roche Lake Erie Pitt-Bradford Pitt-Greensburg MEN'S SOCCER School Frostburg La Roche Penn State Behrend Pitt-Greensburg Lake Erie Pitt-Bradford WOMEN'S TENNIS School Penn State Behrend Penn State Altoona Frostburg La Roche Pitt-Greensburg WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL School Frostburg Penn State Behrend Pitt-Bradford Penn State Altoona Pitt-Greensburg La Roche Lake Erie salary when they traded away Ken Griffey Jr. They still have Alex Rodriguez, but his payroll puts them in the middle of baseball's spending list. The St. Louis Cardinals have Mark McGwire, but he has been injured and the not-so big name players have dominated. McGwire's contract isn't that big compared to the rest of today's salaries The New York Mets have players The Mets play through injury and give it all they have, so this could possibly be the reason the games are so fun to watch. Take a look at Game 2 of the National League THE SCOREBOARD Conference record 4-0 3-1 3-2 1-2 1-3 0-4 Conference record 4-0 4-1 2-2 1-3 1-2 0-4 Conference Record 7-0 5-2 3-4 1-5 1-6 Conference Record Overall 7-0 23-3 6-1 10-11 4-2 12-8 3-4 10-9 3-5 3-14 1-6 1-18 0-6 0-6 SPORTS a prime example of pure excitement coming from a team with a lower payroll. Major League Baseball Playoffs Overall 12-2 9-4 11-5 4-11 4-10 0-10 AL Championship Series Seattle Mariners vs New York Yankees Game I:Mariners 2, Yankees 0 Game 2: Yankees 7, Mariners 1 Game 3: Yankees 8, Mariners 2 Game 4: Yankees 5, Mariners 0 Game 5: Mariners 6, Yankees 2 Game 6: Yankees 9, Mariners 7 Overall 8-4 6-8-1 6-7-1 5-6-2 1-8 4-10 NL Championship Series New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals Game 1: Mets 6, Cardinals 2 Game 2: Mets 6, Cardinals 5 Game 3: Cardinals 8, Mets 2 Game 4: Mets 10, Cardinals 6 Game 5: Mets 7, Cardinals 0 Overall 16-2 8-3 5-7 1-5 1-11 NASCAR WINSTON CUP Leaders as of 10/15 1. Bobby Labonte, 4537 2. Dale Earnhardt, 4327 3. Jeff Burton, 4229 4. Dale Jarrett, 4135 5. Ricky Rudd, 4102 6. Tony Stewart, 4064 7. Mark Martin, 3999 8. Rusty Wallace, 3955 9. Jeff Gordon, 3729 10. Ward Burton, 3667 11. Mike Skinner, 3393 12. Steve Park, 3357 13. Matt Kenseth, 3348 14. Johnny Benson, 3259 15. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. 3146 Championship Series. It was a wild game that the Mets won 6-5 on a single in the ninth inning. The man who delivered the hit was Jay Payton, possibly the best centerfielder in the game today, according to some of the baseball analysts. Most people had never heard of Jay Payton until midway through this season. He has made a name for himself by playing gritty baseball. This _. the Mets and Cardinals featured a lot of aging veterans and some virtual unknowns, but may have been one of the best games of the postseason. With the focus now turned to baseball there is one obvious team to discuss. The Cincinnati Reds went out \ and got Ken Griffey Jr. so \ he could be close to his dad and help the Reds close in on postseason play. That dream did not even come close to happening this year. Yes, the Reds were in first place or very close to it in the early going this year, but what exactly does that mean? Griffey Jr. moved from the Mariners who made it to the American League Championship Series. Once again, how much excitement came from Riverfront Stadium or whatever the corporate sponsorship name is now? The next section may be a bit biased, but the Pittsburgh Steelers are fun to watch. Their payroll, is very small and this can be summed up by the fact that Kent Graham is the starting quarterback. One of the biggest signings Pittsburgh made this year was Richard Huntley who has been injured the majority of the year, so in fact the Steelers way around some of the payments. Here are some of the names on the roster: Aaron Smith, Chris Sullivan, Larry Tharpe, and perhaps the best name in football, Chris Fuamatu-Ma'Afala. How World Series Game 1: Oct. 21, N.Y. Mets at N.Y. Yankees, 8 pm. Game 2: Oct. 22, N.Y. Mets at N.Y. Yankees, 8 pm. Game 3: Oct. 24, N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets, 8 pm Game 4: Oct. 25, N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets, Bpm. Game 5: Oct. 26, N.Y. Yankees at N.Y. Mets, Bpm (if necessary). Game 6: Oct. 28, N.Y. Mets at N.Y. Yankees, Bpm (if necessary). Game 7: Oct. 29, N.Y. Mets at N.Y. Yankees, 8 pm (if necessary). many of those names have football fans actually heard of? Looking back on the Steelers' past performances this year. it is easy to see by they are fun to watch. a last second game against Cleveland ends in a loss because of poor clock management, but held fans on the edge of their seats. The National Football League would then admit to messing up, saying the clock should have stopped under two minutes to go in the game, possibly giving the Steelers a shot at the tie. In another game, Tennessee quarterback Steve McNair leads the Titans hack on a 55 yard drive going 3-for-3 and finding their tight end in the corner of the endzone for the win. The comeback effort is stopped short on fourth down. Three weeks ago the Steclers took down one of the last unbeatens in the NeNA York Jets playing punishing defense that an \ football fan can appreciate. True, the Steelers could fall flat on their face the re,t of the season, but they will still he fun to Hockey and basketball don't seem to show the same problem. Hockey is just dominated by the same teams year in and year out. Teams like the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche just seem to find the right people to gel together. The National Basketball Association has no salary cap. The have stipulations that allow for tree agency wars and such, but theyc I on't seem to regulate financial matters. It is not an issue of teams with big payrolls in the NBA but deals like Kevin Garnett's $l2O million deal a few years back are a hit excessive. Just as an added point, the Minnesotit Timberwolves, Garnett's team, haven't sparked much interest lately to spurts fans. When watching the hometown team not possible, most sports Fans would enjoy an exciting game. The key seems to he finding the team with lesser-known players and twit Smith's sports column appears every two weeks National Football League Games for Week 6 Thursday, October /9, 2000 Detroit at Tampa Bay Sunday, October 22, 2000 New England at Indianapolis Buffalo at Minnesota Arizona at Dallas Chicago at Philadelphia Denver at Cincinnati New Orleans at Atlanta St. Louis at Kansas City San Francisco at Carolina Tennessee at Baltimore Seattle at Oakland Cleveland at Pittsburgh Washington at Jacksonville Monday, October 23, 2000 9:00 PM Miami at N.Y. Jets anted! , Breakers! thamas, Florida,& Call Sun Coast a free brochure and ; vu can organize a • and Eat, Drink, I tee & Earn Cash! I '4BB-777-4642 • e-mail tvacations.com • Break! Deluxe able Air, Free Food, Parties. Cancun, lamas, Mazatlan & , vel Free and Earn It on the web! ;nlCity.corn or call 4443 for info. I am EN IN IN
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers