Page 12
The Behrend Beacon
America's labor dispute
I I " -
Douglas Smith
I know that our sports editor wrote
on this subject last week, but I am going
to touch upon it with a little different
twist and then we will leave it alone.
What did the possibilities of a baseball
strike do for me? Well, for me, it did
absolutely nothing. 1 am a diehard
Pirates fan and baseball fan for that
matter. There are a few of us out there
who hoped the players and the owners
would settle their latest squabble over
luxury taxes and revenue sharing just so
we could go see a few more games
before the season is over. I have tickets
to two more games this year, including
one in Chicago. However, I am
currently in the minority with this train
of thought.
It was estimated that the Major
League Baseball (MLB) teams lost
Men's soccer team earns win in double overtime play
by Dan Vidal
Staff Writer
The Behrend men's 2002 soccer sea
son has gotten under way, but Behrend
has yet to find its game. Last weekend
the blue and white played in the
Fredonia Tournament before playing
against William & Jefferson last
Wednesday. The Lions have one win,
two draws, and two losses so far this
season
Senior midfielder Jason Falk said
4 000 so im Es im mum mum mum
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Large one-topping
pizza & your choice
(Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, or Mountain Dew)
anywhere from five percent to 15 percent
of their fans, per team, just by taking the
negotiations to the limit. If they had
settled the deal by Thursday instead of
the deadline day of Friday, Aug. 30
professional baseball would still have a
larger number of fans at the game.
Fans have made their feelings quite
clear before and after the strike. Many
people in America are glad that it is
football season. We will get hack to that
in a few minutes. The signs at games
were out in full force while the contract
negotiations were taking place. One,
father and daughter tandem at the Pirates
game had the child's sign reading "Please
don't strike," while the father's sign said,
"Go ahead, I don't care." Another sign
read, "Figure it out or don't come
back...ever. - These are pretty powerful
statements.
You would think that in a year in
which Major League Baseball is
expected to lose $225 million, they
would like to keep their fan base. The
national pastime has turned into more of
the national argument. Which teams
should share revenue? What teams
should no longer exist? What the heck
is a luxury tax, anyway? All I know is
that they should just ask Alex Rodriguez
to give back some of his salary and the
MLB will be well on its way.
It is a shame that this had to happen
this year. The Oakland Athletics just
went on quite a streak, winning 20 games
they can improve
"I wouldn't call it a slow start," said
Falk. "It's obvious as a team we need
to start making stuff happen offen-
sively."
On Wednesday, Behrend hosted Wil
liam and Jefferson. Coach Dan
Perritano feels very optimistic about
his team achieving their goals this year.
Coach Perritano further stated."in or
der to be successful today we must put
away opportunities and play a I till
Behrend
of a 2-liter pop
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'hos)
Friday, September 13, 2002
in a row. Many of them were in late
inning comebacks. It really was great
baseball as their amazing pitching staff
showed why everyone has been talking
about them since April. Miguel Tejada,
my pick for MVP, played magnificently
and there were even some unlikely
heroes, like Scott Hatteberg.
There are many individual
performances that were threatened by the
labor talks. John Smoltz is on his way
to an amazing number of saves in one
year. Tom Glavinc, at an old age for
major league pitchers, continues to baffle
everyone. Barry Bonds continues to
crush the ball and have a great eye to
lead the league in walks. Curt Schilling
is making batters miss like they have
never played a game in their lives. Alex
Rodriguez has hit more than 50 home
runs once again. Tim Wakefield has
resurged in his pitching game.
This is also the best of pennant races
in recent years. Last year, was great
with the Diamondbacks beating the odds,
but that came out of nowhere. This year
there are contenders that give everyone
hopes. That hope is that the Braves and
Yankees will not make it to the World
Series. The Cardinals have one of the
most explosive lineups in professional
baseball. Would they be able to beat the
amazing Braves pitching staff? The
Diamondbacks are strong again behind
Schilling and Randy Johnson. Also, the
wild -card race in the National League
game, which we have not been doing."
Perritano is not in panic mode about
the slow start just yet. He feels confi
dent that his young team is good
enough to be at the top of the confer
ence when November comes around.
lie believes that it is only a matter of
time before they gain an understand
ing and learn to play with each other.
Taking 19 shots. four of them on
goal, Behrend forced two overtimes to
pull out a 2-0 win. Making the first
College Special!
was all tied up on Tuesday as the
Dodgers and Giants face off in a very
important series. The excitement is very
high.
In the American League, the Twins
have captured America's imagination.
Torrii Hunter is quite an athlete and
everyone was rooting for the team that
could have been contracted. Elsewhere,
the Angels are pulling close to Oakland
with a win streak of their own. How
often are the playoff teams the Yankees,
Twins, Athletics, and Angels? That is a
very welcome set of teams. (Personally,
I am rooting for Oakland vs San
Francisco, but I don't think the Giants
will make it.) Unfortunately, all this
excitement for the nonstop baseball fan
isn't worth much to for most others.
As mentioned, many are happy that
football season started a bit early.
College football got underway nearly a
month ago. Penn State got a win in the
first game of the season and most people
are looking forward to tomorrow's game
with Nebraska more than the wild -card
race that will be going on for the next
couple weeks. College football brings
an exciting shadow with it as so many
teams are looking for a national
championship. Ohio State, Miami,
Oklahoma, Texas, and many others have
a shot at the BCS this year.
In the National Football League, there
are many people looking for captivation
from Steve Spurrier's offense to the
goal was sophomore Jeff Morris.
Boosting the score during overtime
was sophomore midfielder Eric
Nyberg, assisted by freshman mid
fielder Andy Lesser.
Behrend will play at Brockport on
Saturday and then return home to play
Carnegie Mellon on Tuesday. The next
couple of games could show what kind
of season it will be for Behrend. These
games are very crucial because confer
ence play is not too far off and the Li
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Bears' defense. The comebacks of
Edgerrin James and Robert Edwards
have spectators on the edge of their seas..
The NFL has an expansion team while
the MLB is thinking about taking some
teams away. It may seriously be time
for someone to rename football our
national pastime. Football stadiums are
always packed. Football fans even have
to deal with horrible weather. Just think
about the people in Green Bay.
I really hope that Major League
Baseball willrecover from this latest
setback. I am not sure if it will recover
though. If it does recover it will probably
be sometime around 2005 and then the
talk of more labor negotiations will be
in the air. The Devil Rays, Twins, Expos,
and Orioles (maybe others) will be trying
to rid themselves of the contraction bug.
Bud Selig, the commissioner of baseball,
will probably sit around on his duff, like
usual. So most likely the players will
have fans back and then another possible
strike will keep them out of the stadiums.
If that happens, I may even be hurt.
It will be a shame because so many
records will fall and the game superstars
will be emerging. Can you imagine what
it would be like if Barry Bonds, Sammy
Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez are all still
playing in 2005?
ons like to begin playing up to their
expectations as these games approach.
The first of six regular season confer
ence games begins Wednesday Sept.
25th at home against Pitt-Bradford.
Behrend hopes to have six wins when
the AMCC Tournament begins on Nov.
6.
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