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."
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