Around the horn with Craig Dewalt
By CRIAG DEWALT
Staff Reporter
CAD2BI@PSU.EDU
Hello and welcome back
for the second season of Around the
Horn with Craig Dewalt. Incase
you don’t know the rules; I prepare
a series of questions and ask four
contestants for their responses.
The four contestants will give their
answers and be scored with pluses
and minuses. If a comment is
really good they can receive up to
three pluses. If their comment is
downright awful they can receive
up to three minuses. If their answer
is so terrible I will shut them up
by putting them on mute. After
each question one person will be
eliminated. The winner will then get
their time to shine in the “Moment
of Fame” section. Here is this weeks
round of questions:
1. With an exciting end
to the 2007 regular
season, who will win
the National League
MVP award?
2. Buy or Sell? Tony
Romo is the next big thing?
3. The 2007 College
Football season
has seen a series of
upsets and surprises.
Who’s your biggest
surprise team, and
why?
QUESTION 1
Sarver: “Two words Matt
Holliday (-). This man is
a monster at the plate. He
led the National League
in batting average (.340),
hits (216), Doubles (50),
RBl’s (137) and he was 4 th
in homeruns (36). (+++)
What else more do you
need to hear? Plus the
fact that he plays for the
hottest team in the league
right now, the Colorado
Rockies. (+) Look for
Holliday to lead this team
deep into the playoffs,
maybe even a World Series
Championship.” (3 points)
Me: “Sarver, Matt and
Holliday are not words,
they’re names, but I’m
feeling you on this answer”
Carroll: “I’m a Phillies
fan (—)... MUTE... (-3
points)
Me: “That’s all I needed to
hear from you. Carroll, you
lose three points and get
muted for being a Phillies
fan.”
Aumiller: “Noßrainer.
Matt Holliday. Well, (Call
me full of it) I knew he
was a stud, but he led the
Rockies all year for his
“coming out year.” (+) #1
in batting average (.340),
#1 in RBl’s (137), and #4
in home runs (36) made
him 14 homers shy of a
Women's soccer team finishes top three in all
By ALISON SMITH
Reporter
ALSS39@PSU.EDU
Team USA is the only country
to finish in the top three in all five
Women’s World Cup tournaments.
However, Coach Greg Ryan’s
decision to play veteran goalkeeper
Brianna Scurry instead of Hope
Solo against Brazil caused
a firestorm of controversy.
The team knows this tournament
won’t be forgotten soon, but they
would rather disregard the drama
and get back to soccer.
The disruption caused by Solo’s
remarks to the press following the
loss to Brazil was cited as a major
factor in the decision made by Ryan
and the team to bench Solo for the
game against Norway.
triple crown season (Not
that is that close). (+) Not
too mention, he also led the
NL in doubles (50). He’s
the best player on the team
that won 13 out of 14 to
make the playoffs. (+) It’s
a crime if it’s not Holliday.”
(3 points)
Me: “Good answer Kris, I
like the stats.”
McComas: “Matt Holliday
hands down. Before I
say why Holliday is the
MVP, let me tell you
why the other favorite,
Jimmy Rollins, is not. If
the Mets didn’t have their
monumental collapse the
Phils wouldn’t have made
the playoffs and therefore
would have eliminated
Rollins’ chances. (++) Not
to mention, Holliday just
has better stats. Now, look
at Holliday’s numbers on
a team that put together a
more than impressive streak
to get into the post-season.
He hit 36 home runs, while
batting 340. He hit 137
nothing, and he can make
T.O. happy. (++) Shouldn’t
that make him the next big
thing? Did you see the
play last Sunday? The ball
was snapped 5 feet over his
head, he ran 15 yards back
to go get it and he still ran
for a first down. (+) He’s
leading Dallas to a 4-0 start
in which they are mowing
through everyone. Not too
mention, he is a stand up
guy. (+) Being marketable
can easily make you the
next big thing too.” (4
Me: “My thoughts exactly, points)
RBIs and scored 120 runs.
The numbers speak for
themselves and oh, by the
way, unlike the unanimous
AL MVP, Alex Rodriguez,
he is continuing his strong
play into the playoffs. (++)”
(4 points)
good answer.”
Part of the controversy surrounding
Ryan’s goalie choice came from
public descent.
Referring to Ryan’s decision to
play Scurry against Brazil, Penn
State Harrisburg communications
student and unofficial soccer guru
Brighid Wood said, “That would
not have been the coaching decision
that I would have gone with.
The biggest mistake that he made
was not playing different
goalkeepers during the tune up
matches. There were a lot of
goalkeepers in the tournament that
were backups. Coach Ryan didn’t
even plan for the fact that Hope
Solo could possibly get hurt and he
would need a backup goalkeeper.
The position itself really
requires some game time to get
knowledge of how the back
QUESTION 2
Sarver: “I hate to admit
this but I’m buying Tony.
He’s on the best team in
the NFC, he’s third in the
league in passing yards, and
he’s second in the league
with a 112.9 passer rating.
(++) I believe that if he
can keep the majority of
the offensive weapons he
has around him, then he
will be leading the Dallas
Cowboys to several playoff"
appearances in his career.
(+)” (3 points)
Me: “Another solid answer.
What’s gotten into you Sarv?”
Aumiller: “Buy. Romo
is a winner. He is an
accurate passer, he can
make something out of
four works and the trust that they
have in you as a goalkeeper. He did
not allow for this to happen.”
Brandy Chastain, a former
member of the Dream Team that
internationally dominated women’s
soccer for over a decade, told
Yahoo! Sports, “People say this
is a step back, but I think Greg
Ryan has put us three steps back,
all the way at the starting gate. He
lacks the ability to communicate
and is not in tune with his players,
and he’s
obviously not a tactician or he
wouldn’t have made the decisions
he did.”
ESPN analyst and former Dream
Team member Julie Foudy also
said to Yahoo! Sports, “There was
no flow to this team. I think that’s
because all three lines practiced
Me: “Aumiller, excellent
answer. T.O. is happy,
and that is deadly. Call
me crazy, but when he’s
motivated and happy, T.O.
is the best in the league.
The marketability factor
is also a plus. Carrie
Underwood?”
McComas: “At first I
wasn’t going to buy Romo,
but after some thought I
am. Who else would you
consider to be the next big
thing? The only way you
can dispute this is if you
say Romo is already a “big
thing” and therefore is
not eligible be an answer
to the question. Romo is
not only getting the job
done on the field, but the
media love him. (+) Heck,
he’s already doing ESPN
commercials. What’s next?
Saturday Night Live (i.e.
Peyton Manning)? (+) The
Cowboys have good, young
talent to keep him atop the
league statistically for years
to come. I’m assuming
Dallas will re-sign him now,
but if Romo decides to opt
out he will go some place
where he can win and be in
a big market. Buy Romo.
One Pro Bowl down, more
to come. One commercial
down, many more to go.
(+)” (3 points)
Me: “Good answer, Romo
is a class act guy and a good player”
separately; they would all go off
with their separate coaches, rather
than work together. What Coach
Ryan did tactically made no sense
and there were a lot of decisions
he made that I think many people
would question.”
Other former champions voiced
their opinions about Ryan’s failure
to his players on tactical and
motivational levels, noting the
outcome of the semifinal match is
enough evidence for him to lose his
job.
Standing by his choices, Ryan said,
“I want to continue on as the head
coach. I don’t feel like my job is yet
done with this team.”
Despite the controversy, Team USA
pulled off a major victory against
Norway with a 4-1 win.
Needing to play a near perfect game
THE CAPITAL TIMES
QUESTION 3
Aumiller: “The South
Florida Bulls. UK will
probably get a lot of love
here and it is deserved, but
how about those boys from
USF. (+) Jim Leavitt has
his 11-year-old program
(Yes, no football at USF
until 1996) in the top ten
and on pace to win the Big
East. (+) They took down
powerhouse West Virginia
and have a favorable
schedule the rest of the
season. (+) They could pop
into a BCS bowl and really
get on the map for those
leisurely college football
viewers, like Sarver. (++)”
(5 points)
Me: “Great answer again,
nice shot at Sarver as well,
he is a leisurely college
viewer (atleast when the
wife lets him be one)
McComas: “I could go a
lot of different ways here.
Disappointing teams such
as Penn State, Notre Dame
and Louisville could all
be options. Teams like
Boston College, Kentucky
and South Florida some
people may pick because
of the number of wins
they have. BC and KU
haven’t played good teams
until this weekend when
the Wildcats lost to South
Carolina. (+) South Florida
has supposedly come out of
nowhere, but who wouldn’t
have picked them to win
the Big East? I know I
did. (+) So which team
is the biggest surprise to
me so far? The Michigan
Wolverines.
Last year they only lost
two games. Yes, they lost a
lot of their defense, which
in all honesty wasn’t that
good anyway, but they
returned the entire offense
almost. (+) They had two
Heisman hopefuls at the
beginning of the year and
were ranked #5. Now, they
have two losses already and
are unranked.
The Wolverines lost to
a 1-AA at home! (+) And
then proceeded to get
embarrassed by Oregon. At
the beginning of the year
if u were to ask where all
those other teams would
have been, you could have
guessed close to where
they are now for the most
part. If you would have
said Michigan would be
unranked and looking
bad in their wins, you
would have been fitted for
a straight jacket. (+)” (5
points)
Me: “Good answer, 1 like
the direction you took on
this one. This leaves a tie
between the two of you fine
gentlemen. To break the
tie, you will each get five
brld Cup tournaments
after an embarrassing loss to Brazil,
Brianna Scurry told press, “That
performance for me personally was
one of the biggest games of my
life.”
Hope Solo’s status with the team is
not clear. Scurry is a veteran and if
Team USA wants to play at the best
level possible in the Olympics, they
will need a top rate back-up goalie
as well as an on-point starter.
“Hope did come in and apologize,”
second leading goal scorer Abby
Wambach said according to the post
match quote page on the Women’s
National Team’s Web site.
“It’s just going to be a matter of
time. We’re all humans and we all
feel equally about certain subjects,
and the forgiveness on our team’s
hearts is just going to have to come
in time.”
October 15, 2007
sentences which will be
scored on valid points and
humor.”
TIE-BREAKER
McComas: “First of all, if
you are going to dock Mr.
Carroll points for liking
the Phillies I’m going to
have to request you do the
same for Aumiller because
he likes the Mets. I’m also
going to have to question
his pick on South Florida as
being the biggest surprise.
If you look at their schedule
it has been a pretty easy
road, besides West Virginia
and that was a home game,
so there performance is not
that surprising. In closing
I would like to say good
luck to Kris and I hope his
statement is better than
Sarver’s wii tennis “skills.”
Aumiller: “I don’t think
there is much need for a
tiebreaker here. I have
called all 3 postseason
series so far (and am 1
Indians win from 4), and
I already bribed Craig D
with his trademark favorite
Whatchamacallit earlier
today. Not to mention,
Death Valley Dewalt and I
showed off our Nintendo
Wii Tennis dominance
when the chips were down
in a 7-game series against
Sarver and McComas. The
tag team title belts are on
their way and title t-shirts
and hats are available for
purchase very soon. Please
contact the formentioned
Craig Dewalt for more
information.”
Me: “Ladies and
gentlemen, after further
review of the tie-breaker
scenario, your winner.
Kris Aumiller. McComas,
you gave it a valiant effort,
It takes a lot to belittle
a teammate like you did
of Sarver, and for that I
commend you. However,
Aumiller and I are a team,
and he did in fact bribe me
with my favorite candy bar,
the often bypassed, always
underrated Wat-Cha-Ma-
Call-It. Therefore, he is the
winner.
In order to prevent Marin
from snapping from this
ridiculous word count,
Aumiller will not get his
moment to shine, but if you
would like to see him shine,
please stop by the Capital
Times office any day, at any
time to see him dominate.”
Caption: Kris Aumiller is a
very talented young man.
He dominates Around the
Horn, defends the net like
no other on Wii Tennis,
drops bombs on opposing
colleges baseball teams,
and ladies he is a former
model. Parents warn
your daughters, because
this rarity is available.
BAMMMM!
Another big question is whether
Captain Kristine Lilly, the last
remaining member of the Dream
Team, will play with the team
throughout the Olympics.
“Kristine’s function in this team
encompasses everything we do,”
Coach Ryan said according to
the post-mach quote page. “Her
character, leading by example, by
how she comes to training,
by how she treats the other players,
with how she carriers herself as a
professional, has taught our young
players what it means to be a
Women’s National Team member.”
Team USA will take on Mexico
in the next 30 days as part of
warm-ups for the Olympics.
USA plays Mexico on Oct. 13 in St.
Louis, Oct. 17 in Portland and Oct.
20 in Albuquerque.