7 I The Behrend Beacon Men’s Water Polo team travels to California Continued from page 1. On Friday, the Blue and White began to battle several top-notch squads while playing in the Claremont Invitational. The first game took place at the Pomona Aquatics Center, an outdoor pool of 30 meters. "The pools were much larger in California than Behrend's,” said freshman driver Chris Graves. The pool was eye opening: many players had not played in a larger pool before. During warmups, the team realized that the sun was actually having an effect on the match, as the pool was outside. In the first game, the team lost a state where Water Polo matches are a big event.” 16 to 5 in a strong match against a big Occidental University team at Claremont In the second match, the Behrend Lions lost to Fresno Pacific. 16 to 3. "Fresno Pacific is a top team in the California Area." said fresh man driver Ricardo Ortiz. A week of upsets made our experts look like amateurs. Did you predict the fall of the Cowboys, Broncos and Eagles? If so, we want you to embarass us in front of 4,000 students. Try to out-pick us; send a list of your weekend picks to cisso6o@psu.edu. Freshman Chris Graves defends his goal against an attacker in a match. by T.J. Banas staff writer tjhs2l7(s'psu.edu In this match, the Lions felt overpowered as they were unable to come back in the last quarter. This match consisted of hard play from both sides, but the experi ence of Fresno Pacific was too much for the Blue and White as they were defeated. The third game was played on Saturday against Concordia University, who was another California team that defeated the Lions in "a match that felt like it would never end,” according to Ortiz. The match concluded and the final score was Concordia 22, Behrend 5. In the final game, the Lions came close to victory as they played University of La Verne, also from the California area, who defeated the Behrend Lions 11-7. This game consisted of an even matchup throughout the entire game, but the Behrend Lions were unable to come out with the victory as their last game came to an end. All in all, the trip was one that many of the players say they will remember for the better. "Even though the team was unable to win, it was good to play some stronger teams, and get the experience of playing in a state where water polo matches are the Beat The Experts NFL S.D. @ Buffalo N.O. @ Carolina Minn @ Chicago Pittsburgh @ Cinci Denver @ New England Baltimore @ Miami Detroit @ Houston Indi @ Green Bay N.Y.J. @ Oakland Cleveland @ Wash, Seattle @ Tampa Bay Tie-Breaker NY.G. @ San Fransisco Last week: * denotes winner NCAA #6 PSU @ Wisconsin #4LSU @ #ll Florida #1 Oklahoma @ #5 Texas #l7 Oklahoma State @ #3 Missouri UCLA @ Oregon Last week: * denotes winner Season Totals: Chris Graves winds up for a pass to a Lion teammate. big event,” said sophomore driv er Matthew Pluta. The Penn State Behrend Men’s Water Polo team now looks ahead to some big matches against Gannon and Washington and Jefferson on October 17 and 18. Both of these games are being held at home in the Junker Center Pool. These two games will con clude the regular season play for the Behrend Lions. Postseason play begins when Connor Buffalo Carolina Carolina Chicago Denver Denver Miami Miami Houston Houston Washington Washington Washington Cle, +3B +24 +2l +l3 N.Y.G. N.Y.G N.Y.G. N.Y.G Missouri Missouri Oregon Oregon 63-22 49-36 57-28 50-35 46-39 Sports the Blue and White head to John Hopkins for the Division 111 Eastern Championships on October 25 and 26. Then November brings the Southern Division Championships at Princeton and the Eastern Division Championships at Navy. The season could conclude with the NCAA championships on December 2 and 3. Rachel Rvan Buffalo Chicago Denver Baltimore Miami Detroit Missouri Oregon Chris Buffalo Carolina Denver Denver Houston Seattle +l4 N.Y.G. Florida Missouri Mizzou UCLA Oregon “Off the Wall” Each week, sports editor Connor Sattely picks a widely accepted NFL view and disputes it in his editorial column, “Off the Wall.” Think he’s wrong? Let him know and your rebuttal might make next week’s edition. 1970 s * Stealers ■ It The balance of power People always seem to identify a team with a decade. The Steelers had the 70s. The 49ers had the 'Bos. The Cowboys had the '9os, and the Patriots appar ently had the first decade of the new millennium. Who will be next? Which team will take over as we head into the new decade during next year's season? Perhaps the Ravens dynasty will begin; maybe the Browns or Bills will finally have their time and dominate a decade of football. As 1 watch the play in both col lege and professional football, I can't help but think that the bal ance of power will not shift in the favor of a specific team. Every week, in both NCAA and NFL play, sports fans watch as the “top teams” are toppled week after week. I know that there is nothing to go off of to say this. The New England Patriots just finished (yes, it is over) a five-year reign of terror over the NFL, ending with one of the most dominant regular season performances in NFL history. Even aside from that fact, there were always “elite” teams that would always be considered amongst the top ten in a given week. The ESPN “Power Rankings” didn't change much at the top from week to week. As the 2000-2010 decade nears an end, I don't think we will see another football “dynasty.” When I was six years old, watching the Cowboys beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl, my father taught me the golden NFL mantra: on any given Sunday, any team can beat any team. This year, the Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots. Literally, the worst team of last year beating the best team (speaking in terms of the regular 1990 s Friday, October 10, 2008 1980 s By Connor Sattely sports editor cisso6o@psu.edu season). The Dallas Cowboys, arguably the second best team of last year, lost to the Washington Redskins, who were until now decidedly mediocre. How long will it be until the New York Giants fall to the Texans, or the Lions? Upset after upset is featured in sports media not only around col lege campuses. Teams truly believe that they can beat anyone. Jim Zorn, a relatively unknown quarterbacks coach from Seattle, can outthink Wade Phillips. Tony Sparano can confuse Bill Belichick. Dynasties are finished. In the coming few years, I think that football will get more exciting as the “top teams" of the league are beaten week after week. There will be no team that will match the Miami Dolphins' 1972 year of full regular- and post-season domination. While it's easy to start this column with a list of teams who were domi nant in their decade, it won't be possible thirty years from now. Take heed, Giants fans: though it seems like your dynasty is just beginning, keep this column in mind. At the end of the year, when your team loses to one of last year's failures in a playoff match, you too will realize that it probably won't be your decade. Steelers, Cowboys, 49ers, Patriots and all of those fans will have to rest content with their decade of domination. It simply won't happen again. Submissions should be mailed to cisso6o@psu.edu and should contain no less than 250 words. All sub- missions will be considered for publication. 2000 s
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