Around the horn
Hello readers! The semester is
finally winding down and for some
of us our school careers are over. In
case that there are any new readers
to this article let me explain to you
the rules. I will ask three different
sports-related questions to each of
the contestants. Based on how they
respond, I will either reward them
points for good answers or dock
them points for horrible answers
In the case that their answer I so
pathetic that it does not deserve to
be printed in the paper I will mute
them and they will be out for the
rest of the article.
After each question I will eliminate
the contestant with the fewest
amounts of points, until there are
only two left. Then the final two
will face off in a showdown with the
winner receiving time to brag about
whatever they want in the "Moment
of Fame"
For the second straight issue Mr.
Matthew Carroll has decided to
not answer back to any of these
questions. Has anyone even seen
this guy around campus? Matt I
know that you graduate in May
and your one class schedule is
really hard for you, but come on
man. All you need is to take a few
minutes for one day, every-other
week, and answer these questions.
Unfortunately King Kupfer was
unable to participate this week as
well, however former host Craig
Dewalt stepped up to the plate and
will be taking his place against Mr.
Austin Kulp, and Mr. Kris Aumiller.
Let's get to the game. Here are the
questions for this week:
1. Since all my boyz on here are
huge baseball fans and opening
day was just a few weeks ago some
teams are starting fast, like the
Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee
Brewers. Others are slumping like
the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red
Sox. Yes I know that there are 150
some games left in the season but
like we do when every sport starts
give me your AL, NL Champs and
the surprise team for 2008.
2. Overall what were your
thoughts on this year NCAA
Tournament? Were you excited,
pleased with the outcome, or didn't
really care about March Madness
this year?
3. The Miami Dolphins are on
the clock for the NFL Draft.. They
add Bill Parcells to become the VP
of Football Operations and started
cleaning house. If you were the
Dolphins Organization who would
you take at Number One in this
year's draft?
Question 1
Kulp- "Since I am a Phils fan the
Road to the World Series is going
to be through Philadelphia this
season. (-) The Phillies have the
2006 and 2007 NL MVPs in Ryan
Howard and Jimmy Rollins. (+)
They also have the best player in
the league right now in Chase Utley
I'm making the prediction now that
Utley will be the 2008 MVP and
the Phils will win their 2nd straight
Division Title. The AL winner will
be the Red Sox; Daisuke Matsuzaka
is now in his 2nd season and will be
a 20 game winner along with Josh
Beckett. (+) Wakefield is always
good for 15 wins and has shown this
over the past 5 seasons. They also
have a young lice arm in Jon Lester
who won 7 games in 15 starts last
season. My sleeper team is going
to be Braves when your pitching
rotation consists of John Smoltz,
Tim Hudson, Tom Glavin and Mike
Hampton when he returns. (+) These
4 guys are good for 70 win together.
All the Braves have to do is score a
couple runs because their starting 4
will keep them in close games." (2
Points)
Aumiller- "First off, if I hear one
more thing about the Orioles, I
will beat Barry Wiestling with a
stick. Now, teams like the Tigers,
Mets, and Red Sox will remember
that they are the Tigers, Mets, and
Red Sox and start playing like
it after a so called "rough start."
These teams are more than capable
of ripping off 10 in a row at any
point in time as soon as the bats
heat up and they just didn't right
out of the gate. For the AL, I like
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the Angels. They have a solid
pitching staff (Lackey, Weaver,
Garland) with a good starting
rotation and great late inning guys
to shorten the game (Somebody
say K-Rod?), not too mention a
well balanced line-up. (++) As for
the NL, who else would I pick?
I'm picking my Metropolitans to
go all the way behind Santana,
Maine, Pedro's healed hammer
string, and murderer's row. (+) This
year's surprise team, The Tampa
Bay Rays.(-) Looks like they
finally invested in some pitching
and it's going to pay off in northern
Florida." (2 Points)
Craig-" You're absolutely right. I
like the Red Sox and the Angels
in the AL. I have to give Boston
the edge; I think they have better
pitching. Both teams can put up big
runs, but I think Boston's pitching
will prove to be efficient. The NL
is a wide open race. I know the
acquisition of Johan Santana and
some other players had Mets fans
running to the store to personalize
cute little Mets uniforms by getting
their own names on the back with
their numbers like Kris Aumiller,
(+) but I don't see them winning it.
I like the young, talented Arizona
Diamondbacks to win the NL. (+)
Look for New York and St. Louis
to give them a run for their money
though. My surprise team of the
year is probably going to be the
Kansas City Royals. (+) They're a
perennial punch-line to a baseball
joke, but they're off to a good start
and could shock some people this
year. Watch out for the Pirates too,
behind Jason Bay. (-)" (2 Points)
My thoughts- "First off Kulp I'll
give you credit for the prediction. If
Utley has a year like Rollins did last
year there is a chance that he could
win it. Kulp I like your predictions
about the winners and wildcard.
Not very risky like Aumiller and
Craig though. Aumiller we all know
how much you love the Mets, lets
just hope they don't pull an end of
season choke like they did last year.
Santana is going to give them wins.
Every baseball fan knows they can
hit. But they need more than just
Santana to pitch. Hopefully Pedro
can get healthy for them if not they
will be fighting to get in. Craig I
am very surprised with you surprise
pick the Pirates. You know I love
my Pittsburgh teams but I've even
said this before. The Pirates do not
belong in MLB. They are terrible
and don't be surprised when they
trade Jason Bay away around the
trade deadline. Since there are only
three of you this issue, I am not
eliminating anyone so you all live to
see another question.
Question 2
Kulp (2 Points)- "This year the
NCAA tournament bored me
with the exception of Davidson.
(+) They were the only underdog
team to really make this year's
tournament exciting. Coming into
the tourney the #1 and #2 seeds
were head and heels above the rest
of the teams in the bracket. As far
as the outcome of the tournament I
wit
didn't even watch the championship
game this year." (3 Points)
Aumiller (2 Points)- " Well,
seeing as I didn't watch much of
the tournament this year, I can't
say much. From what I did see
though, I have to say; it was great
(or something)! Four #l's in the
Final Four and UNC didn't win
was kind of upsetting but hey, what
can you do. (+) A team from no
where grabbed everyone's heart
for a little bit and then poorly
managed their final shot to crush
their hopes and dreams of a final
four.(+) Congratulations to Kansas
for bringing it home. That was who
won wasn't it?(+)" (5 Points)
Craig (2 Points)- "This years
March Madness tournament had all
the makings of a great one. Turn
on the TV the first few days and
you're overloaded with first round
match-ups. You watch as some of
the upsets start to unravel. Next
thing you know you're making
bold predictions for some of these
Cinderella's for the second round. A
majority of them get shot down by
powerhouses, but some of them pull
through and make it to the sweet
sixteen. By now you're thinking,
well it's been a fun ride but it's
nearly impossible for one of these
upset specials to make it to the elite
8, isn't it? Then Davidson knocks
out Georgetown and pulls off the
miracle. (+) Now the question
is? They can't possibly make it
to the Final Four, can they? And
you already know the answer. No
way. I was pulling for them, but
you know it probably isn't going
to happen. Now you're stuck with
the Final Four teams, which are
usually always your powerhouses.
This year we got to see the best
team in each region square off for
Matt Sarver
the first time. North Carolina had
a cakewalk to the Final Four and I
think it proved costly for them.(+)
Memphis took out UCLA and we
were set for a Memphis/Kansas
final. I was pulling for Memphis,
but I think the fact that they didn't
get many close games in Conference
USA and didn't have to practice
clutch free throws proved costly.
They couldn't hit ONE clutch free
throw out of various attempts in
the final minutes of regulation, and
therefore lost the game. All-in-all,
it was a great March Madness." 4
Points
My Thoughts- "I'm agreeing with
Aumiller and Kulp on this one.
This year just did not have the same
hype as years before. Yes I'm sure
that we all had 10 brackets each
but nobody really followed them.
Everyone did pull for Stephen Curry
and the Davidson team but in the
end for the first time in a long time
all four #l's made it to the final
four. Unfortunately the team I was
pulling for the entire tournament,
Memphis, couldn't hit ONE free
throw and in the end it cost them
the game. But who watched the
championship anyway. I know
I didn't. I was getting ready for
PLAYOFF HOCKEY! Kulp I'm
sorry that I have to eliminate you,
especially considering that you have
more homeruns than Aumiller! But
you can go for the glory in the final
issue in a few weeks.
SHOWDOWN
Aumiller (5 Points)- "Does it
matter? It wouldn't matter if
Miami had every pick in the first
round, they will still suck. (++)
They need help at everywhere but
running back. Therefore, I would
say they have 21 positions to choose
from. They should thank Ronnie
Brown for narrowing it down a little
bit. One constant for the Dolphins
for the past however many years
has been Jason Taylor.(+) He has
said he would like to be a Dolphin,
however they don't have "plans"
for him. So, I'm thinking that Chris
Long is in the Dolphins future
which is who they should and will
take.(+)" (9 Points)
Craig (4 Points)- "I don't think
anyone in this years draft class
deserves the money that the first
overall draft pick will receive.(+)
Also, Miami needs a lot more
then just one player. So here's the
deal. You just went out last year
and passed up on Brady Quinn for
Ted Ginn Jr., obviously you saw
something in your second round
pick John Beck that made you
excited. (+) So you ended up with
a great young receiver and a young
quarterback. You already have
the running back depth. Ronnie
Brown will be back after his break
out season that was ended early due
to an injury. Word on the street is
that Ricky Williams had a falling
out with his best friend Mary
Jane McDevitt. So the offense is
looking towards the future. Now
all we have to do is protect that.
By drafting a player such as Jake
Long and offensive lineman from
Michigan, you can protect the young
QB, get Ted Ginn Jr. some catches
to gain confidence, and pave the
way for another strong year from
Ronnie Brown.(+) Only problem
is, with age holding you back on the
defensive side of the ball, you need
more. Therefore, you trade down a
few spots, still get the guy you want
in Jake Long, but pay him less, save
yourself some money, and most
importantly, get some additional
draft picks, and let Parcells do what
you hired him for. Draft smart for
the future. (+)" (8 Points)
My Thoughts- "Craig you came so
close to repeating in back-to-back
issues but you fell just short, like
most of Aumiller's long balls to
deep center. I love the Mary Jane
McDevitt comment but unless any
of the readers went to Palmyra Area
High School I doubt anyone knows
whom you are talking about. Still
it was a good chuckle. I feel that
which either Long the Dolphins
go with will work out for them.
How long with Jason Taylor be in
a Miami uniform nobody knows.
Chris Long replacing him would
be a huge hole filled. However on
offense the Dolphins line is terrible
Ronnie Brown is a dominating
force to be dealt with if he could
get some blocks. I don't see them
drafting Matt Ryan. They have two
QB's that with some work could
be decent enough to manage the
game and get the team some quality
wins. The only thing that has me
excited for this year's draft is where
Dan Conner goes, and if Palmyra
High School 2003 Graduate Joe
Brockington, from Notre Dame,
gets drafted. Good Luck to you Joe!
Now it's time for Aumiller to do
something he doesn't get to do very
often, brag."
MOMENT OF FAME
Aumiller- "The NHL playoffs have
started again and once again, no one
cares except Canadians and Sarver.
However, if you haven't noticed,
and judging by the attendance you
haven't (Thanks for the line Bob
Uecker), the Penn State - Harrisburg
baseball team has managed to win
a few games here and there and is
now sitting pretty (as I'm writing
this) at first place in the conference.
Not only that, but we just happen to
be unbeaten on the lovely field on
campus. So, for those of you that
actually spend 20 minutes of your
day reading this, stop just sitting
around on these nice spring days
in between your classes and head
down to the "ballpark" and watch
the Best Damn Team on Campus!
- KA