Showing posts with label Amber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amber. Show all posts

CLC sports have talent, lack fan support

Thursday, May 6, 2010 11:11 AM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor

            When you think of college sports football and basketball are most frequently mentioned because they are popular sports for tournaments and playoffs. Fans can engage themselves in the sport. Four year schools, like Northwestern and University of Illinois, have sports teams where students and general sports fans actively participate in games and cheer on their teams.

            At CLC, where there is plenty of talent among all teams, there is very little support from the average student.

            To an extent, this makes sense. CLC is a community college where students usually go to move on to a four year school. Students here have jobs and other non-school activities that affect their schedules, making it difficult to spend extra time at school for sports.

            However, there are students who have the time, but do not want, or don’t know, about sports at CLC. If students are bored, they should check out what sporting events are happening. It is also the duty of the athletic department to get more students interested in watching games. Coaches and players should encourage students to find out about CLC’s teams.

            “The only reason I don’t go to games is because they don’t advertise,” freshman Nick Hefner said. “I never know who’s playing when or where.”

There is a lot of talent and many reasons to watch sports at CLC. The question is why more people don’t watch. There is no clear cut way to get more people involved. If students are busy, they’re not going to watch. Teams could advertise game times and tournaments, or they could simply mention it to their friends and classmates. Any attention given to the teams will be welcome.

            Baseball is America’s past time, and CLC has a good team with a lot of talent. The team is among the nation’s best with 27 wins and 13 losses so far this season. And there are still several home games left before season’s end.

            Women’s softball still has games left, and they aren’t doing badly either. They have 15 wins and 15 losses this season. They have several high ranked players, especially pitchers, among the nation.

            CLC has talent, they just need others to recognize it. 

New rule regulates dirty hits in NHL

11:08 AM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor

            Mention hockey in any conversation, and people automatically think of fights. Fighting and physical contact is what hockey has always been known for, and fans love it.

            However, Senior Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations for the NHL Colin Campbell, along with coaches, players and others in the NHL, have some concerns.

            While most players say fighting and checking are part of the game, those in charge say it’s too dangerous and needs to be eliminated, especially headshots.

            The 2009-2010 regular season has seen a progression of penalties for headshots and dirty hits.

            In early March, Boston Bruins player Marc Savard was hit by Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke. Cooke blindsided Savard from behind, yet Cooke did not get penalized on the ice, nor by the NHL for the dangerous hit. Though Savard has yet to skate in a game since the hit, the Bruins are in the playoffs and advanced to the second round, and he has been cleared to play as of April 27.

            On March 14, Washington Capital star Alex Ovechkin knocked Chicago Blackhawk defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards after Campbell got rid of the puck. Campbell broke his clavicle, but returned to the Hawks April 22 after six weeks of recovery. Ovie was given a five minute boarding penalty and was tossed from the game. He was also suspended for two games by the NHL.

            Three days later, during a game against the Anaheim Ducks, Hawks defenseman Brent Seabrook was charged by Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski. Wisniewski elbowed Seabrook in the face and Seabrook’s head hit the glass. He was unconscious before he hit the ice.

            On March 24, during a playoff game against the Nashville Predators, Blackhawk Marian Hossa crashed Preds’ player Dan Hamhuis into the boards from the side. Many compared this hit to Ovechkin’s on Campbell. However, Hossa’s hit was less severe as both players were racing for the puck.

            Colin Campbell said Hossa did not receive a suspension because he doesn’t have a history of violent hits and both players were reaching for the puck. The hit was still dangerous, as Hamhuis went into the boards, and Hossa was given a five minute penalty during the game.

Hits are dangerous in hockey. Hitting someone from behind could severely injure them.

In Feb. of 2004, Todd Bertuzzi, then of the Vancouver Canucks, punched Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche from behind, driving him headfirst into the ice. Moore suffered deep cuts to his face and two broken vertebrae. Thankfully, his spinal cord wasn’t damaged.

Bertuzzi was suspended until the 2005-2006 season, because of the 2004-2005 NHL lockout. He lost $850,000 in endorsements and salary.

These shots are dangerous. Players must wear helmets, padding, some even have visors on their helmets, but the hits keep coming. The NHL has implemented these regulations in an attempt to make the game safer, but they don’t protect players from hard hits, or hits in vulnerable spots like the neck and back, which may still cause damage. In the hockey rule book, there were no penalties based on the location of hits until this year.

On March 23, the NHL unanimously approved a new rule that will prohibit dangerous knocks to the head.  Players now have to take extra caution, for fear of in-game penalties, or postgame penalties, that impose suspensions or fines, for hits the league considers dangerous.

This is good news for all players. This should help lessen the fear of dangerous hits so players can concentrate on winning games.

That said, players who cannot handle a few knocks should never have become involved in such a physical sport.

Hits and fights are part of the game and should not be completely eliminated. It’s exciting when players get in their opponents face to defend a teammate or make a statement. It boosts the team’s morale and gets the fans revved up. The NHL should be aware that, while the hits can be dangerous, if they are clean and regulated, they are a boost to the game. 

Hawks begin quest for cup versus division foe Nashville

Saturday, April 17, 2010 2:36 PM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor

      Hockey’s thrilling regular season run came to an end Sunday, but fans needn’t wait long for more action. Playoffs begin this week, and Chicago Blackhawks fans get more hockey action soon, as the Hawks clinched the number two seed in the Western Division and begin playing the Nashville Predators Friday in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

      The Hawks worked hard this season to get where they are now. It’s been a wild ride for fans and players alike. The team has played hard through tough division foes, goal-tending mishaps and an exciting Olympic break. 

      Even before the regular season began, the Hawks were the team that people picked to go far in the playoffs, and that’s a lot of pressure for a young team to face, especially since they were the underdogs last season. 

      The Hawks have one of the youngest team in the NHL. The captain, Jonathan Toews, is only 21, though he hits 22 in late April. Top goal scorer Patrick Kane is also 21 and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is 22. Only six of 25 players on the team are over thirty. 

      Despite their youth, the Hawks picked up the pace of last year and charged into the 2009-2010 season with one goal, the Stanley Cup.

      Now, the Hawks will face the Predators in the first round of the playoffs. In the regular season, the Hawks beat Nashville four times out of six. Both goalies, Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi, have faced the Preds this season. Huet has seen them more over the last two seasons and has done well against them, with one shutout this season. However, Niemi may have an advantage in that Nashville has seen less of him and thus may not know his style in the net as well.

      With 52 wins, the Hawks will have home ice advantage throughout the playoffs, unless they play the San Jose Sharks or, in the final round, the Washington Capitals. The Sharks are only ahead of the Hawks in points, and have 51 wins. The Caps lead the NHL in points and wins, making them a threat to any team they will face.

      The Predators were founded in 1997. They have gone to the playoffs three times out of the last four seasons, and lost in the Conference Quarter Finals each time. They only time they did not qualify was last season. 

      The Hawks qualified for the playoffs one time in the last four seasons, last year when they lost in the Conference Finals to arch-rivals, the Detroit Red Wings. The Conference Finals are the last round before the Stanley Cup Finals, and the Hawks just couldn’t keep up with Detroit, despite good efforts in game six by the Huet and the Hawks.
 
      However, last season the Hawks had two wins, two losses and two overtime losses to the Red Wings, which is nothing special and thus not surprising that they struggled against them in the playoffs. 

      This year, the Hawks have fared much better against the Wings. Huet and Niemi both dominated against them by winning three and losing three, two wins were shutouts.

      This playoff season, the Hawks know they have to play better. They’ve played well in the regular season, especially against the teams in their division, the Central Division. They must be able to play hard against the Preds, and keep it up, because they may have to play Detroit at some point in the playoffs.

      No matter what, the Hawks have the skills to take on any team they will face in the playoffs. It won’t be easy and they can’t give anything less than 100 percent, but it is possible. They know they can beat the Preds and the Wings because they’ve done so before. If it comes down to playing the Capitals, the Hawks will be out for revenge. Earlier this season, Caps star and Captain Alex Ovechkin hit Hawk’s defenseman Brian Campbell from behind and into the boards, breaking Campbell’s clavicle and possibly ending the season for him.

      They also have great players in Toews, Kane and Marian Hossa, a former Red Wing, who has incredible puck control. In the last month of the regular season, the physical fourth line stepped up and scored several key goals while the top lines and special teams, such as the power play, struggled.

      There is no question the Hawks have the skill, it’s just whether or not they can utilize the skills they have and win games.

Cubs, Sox work out kinks this spring

Friday, March 26, 2010 9:49 PM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor


      Spring is in the air and in Chicago that translates to one thing: baseball season is finally here. Whether it’s the Cubs or White Sox, each team is getting ready for the regular season in Arizona for Spring Training.

      Both the Cubs and the Sox hope to move on from disappointing 2009 seasons, where neither team reached the ultimate goal, the World Series, let alone the playoffs. 

      For the Cubs, the 2010 season is especially important. This year has the potential to be manager Lou Piniella’s last year managing the Cubs, or any team, as the 66 year old talks of retiring after this year. 

      It may also be the final season for first baseman Derrek Lee and the left handed pitcher Ted Lilly, both nearing the end of their contracted time with the Cubs. 

      Piniella has three winning seasons with the Cubs. In 2007 and 2008, Piniella led the team to consecutive postseason appearances by winning the National League Central Division. In 2009 the Cubs did not make the playoffs but did boast a winning record of 83 wins and 78 losses, a winning percentage of .516. 

      In six seasons with the Cubs, Lee has a batting average of .302 with All-Star appearances in 2005 and 2007. He’s had a few injuries the last few seasons, but that hasn’t stopped from returning to the game in full force. 

      Lilly has pitched for the Cubs since 2007. In three seasons with the Cubs, his average ERA is 3.67 and made the 2009 All-Star team. Though he is currently rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery, Lilly is ahead of schedule and already throwing to hitters. He is expected to return by the end of April.

      The Cubs have a lot of work to do besides worrying about the contracts of a few top players. They still need to decide on the fourth and fifth pitchers in the starting rotation because of Lilly’s injury, settle the bullpen issues and decide on the bench players. 

      The Cubs are looking at righty Jeff Samardzija and lefty Sean Marshall as the top two pitchers to fill the holes in the rotation. Both have struggled as starters in the major league, but Marshall has done a great job as a reliever in previous seasons while Samardzija has struggled in the majors. 

      The Cubs are also exploring the idea of Carlos Silva and Tom Gorzelanny for rotation spots. Gorzelanny is a left-handed pitcher, which is something the Cubs would like to have to replace Lilly. 

      As everything stands now, Samardzija and Marshall are likely to be in the starting rotation, along with Carlos Zambrano, Ryan Dempster and Randy Wells, all of whom are right handed. 

      Justin Berg, a reliever, has locked down his spot in the bullpen. This leaves one more bullpen spot open and four pitchers competing for the spot. There is also space for another bench guy, and the Cubs are looking for someone who can play all three outfield positions. 

      Sam Fuld can play anywhere in the outfield, but he hasn’t shown that he can hit with consistency in Spring Training or the big leagues. Kevin Millar, a veteran player, can play outfield and first base, but the Cubs aren’t sure he’s versatile enough to make the final cut.

      The Cubs also hope to produce more runs than they did last year by adding hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo to the payroll. Cubs fans hope Jaramillo can solve the hitting problems, especially when it comes to Soriano, who should have hit for a better average than .241 in 117 games last season. Jaramillo worked with Soriano in Texan in 04-05, where he boasted averages in the high .200’s. The Cubs want Soriano to be batting at least that throughout the regular season. 

      Also working with Jaramillo is catcher Geovanny Soto. Soto lost 40 pounds during the off season. His rookie year, 2008, Soto batted .285 and earned the title Rookie of the Year. Last season he batted a poor .218 and also packed on some weight. This season Soto said he’s going to be better with help from Jaramillo and his new lighter form. 

      While the Cubs have a good problem of too much talent to choose from, ranging from handy veterans to shiny new rookies, the White Sox have bad problems on and off the field.

      This Spring Training has been drama filled for the Sox. Manager Ozzie Guillen seems unable to get along with the management, especially after his son resigned from the White Sox front office, despite the fact that Guillen swears everything is fine between him and General Manager Ken Williams. 

      Guillen has managed the White Sox since 2004. In 2005 he led the Sox to their first World Series title since 1917.However, since then he has only led the team to one other playoff appearance, 2008, where the Sox lost in the first round. Last year the team finished third in the American League Central Division with a .488 winning percentage, 79 wins and 83 losses.

      White Sox closer Bobby Jenks has sat the last few games with mild calf soreness, something that also bothered the closer last season. He hasn’t pitched since March 12, and though his injury isn’t good, it has allowed other players to step up and show Guillen what they have.

      Matt Thornton and J.J. Putz have stepped up to fill in the void Jenks has left. Guillen told the Chicago Tribune if Jenks isn’t ready to go by Opening Day, Thornton is the one who would replace him. 

      Third baseman Mark Teahen is suffering from a sore right elbow, the arm he relies on most while throwing and batting. Teahen tried to play with his elbow wrapped, but his batting average suffered because of it. 

      The Sox moved Gordon Beckham to second base after acquiring Teahen during the off season. Last season Beckham batted .270 in 103 games for the Sox at third base. Beckham has made the transition smoothly, calling second base “easy”.  At second base this spring, Beckham is batting .333 in 11 games. 

      Meanwhile, the pitching staff isn’t worrying about their opponents as much as themselves.

      After a recent game, Sox pitchers and coach agreed they would do things differently during the regular season, but for now they want to work on getting their pitches down pat before they concentrate on winning games. 

      Mark Buehrle, Sox star pitcher, is 0-3 with a 3.86 ERA during Spring Training. Pitching coach Don Cooper doesn’t like to see that kind of stat, but he’s more worried about Buehrle not getting enough innings or pitches to prepare him for the regular season.

      “To me, it really is about the starters getting their innings and pitches up, getting their stuff ready and getting their arms ready to compete come opening start,” Cooper said on the White Sox website. 

      Jake Peavy, the Sox number two starting pitcher, also hasn’t looked great this spring. He has two wins and one loss, with a 6.55 ERA. He’s been working on his fastball, and though he doesn’t like where his numbers are, Peavy’s not worried. He said on espn.com that he’s making quality pitches and he’s taking steps in the right direction.

      Last season, Peavy battled injury not long after joining the White Sox after he was traded by the San Diego Padres. He was traded to the Sox in early Aug. 09 but didn’t debut with the club until mid Sept. Peavy came to the Sox recovering from a partially torn tendon in his right ankle and he injured his right elbow in a rehab start in the minor leagues. Peavy and the Sox hope that he can pitch this season without any injuries.

      Veteran right fielder Andruw Jones has a .391 batting average in Spring Training. Catcher A.J. Pierzynski is batting .345 and Designated Hitter Mark Kotsay is at .407 this spring. With these three power hitters in the lineup, the Sox shouldn’t have a problem scoring runs. 

      The Sox haven’t made too many drastic changes from last season. They traded for Juan Pierre and Teahen and signed Putz, Jones and Omar Vizquel as free agents. They lost Scott Podsednik and Jermaine Dye to free agency, but they stand by their decisions and hope the recently acquired players can step up and take them to where they failed to go last season, the playoffs.

      The rivalry in Chicago is hot and fans of both teams are ruthless. It’s always interesting come June when Major League Baseball allows teams to compete in interleague play, the time of year the Cubs and Sox have a showdown in Chicago.

      This year’s Cross Town Classic will be exciting, no doubt. In Spring Training, the Cubs won three of four games against the Sox so the rivalry will be thick this summer. 

      Both teams have something to prove this year, that they can, and will win, despite all odds against them.

Leveling the playing field: Battle of the sexes reaches sports

Thursday, March 18, 2010 12:44 PM Chronicle
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Amber Kuehl
Sports Editor


      In the summer and winter Olympics combined, there are 41 sports. Those 41 sports do not include breakdowns such as gender or team sports versus individual. If it did, the number of sports would be far greater than 41. 

      Of the 41, only the equestrian teams in the Olympics are co-ed. Men and women compete head-to-head.   

      This division in athletics may cause friction between the sexes and inequality in sports and not just because athletics are considered to be a man’s world. Some “women’s” sports, such as dance, disapprove of men who want to join. 

      There’s not much to tell about the history of women and professional sports. Women created the All-American Girl’s Professional Baseball League during World War II, but it disbanded after the men returned home from war because people didn’t want to watch women play ball if men were available.  

       Another league for women’s baseball was formed in the early 1990s, but it was dissolved in 1998. Women tried to keep a professional volleyball league alive, the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association, which was also dropped in 1998.  

       The most notable among women’s professional sports are soccer, softball and basketball. In Chicago there is a women’s soccer team, the Chicago Red Stars, a basketball team, the Chicago Sky and a softball team, the Chicago Bandits.  

       The Red Stars are part of the Women’s Professional Soccer League, along with seven other teams. The Sky is part of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). There are only 12 teams in the WNBA, including Chicago. The Bandits play in the National Pro Fastpitch. There are only five teams in this league, including Chicago. 

        Of course, those are just team sports. Women are free to compete in individual sports such as tennis, bowling and golf, among others.  

        How many professional men’s sports are out there? To name a few, there’s the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, and the National Football League. Men receive more publicity, more support and better pay than any of the women’s professional sports. The men’s leagues also are better represented in society. 

         This issue isn’t something that recently reared its ugly head. The Olympics began in ancient Greece around 776 BC. Women were not officially a part of the Olympics until they were held in France in 1900. They were only allowed to participate in tennis and golf. Since then, women have slowly begun to compete in the same sports as men, but rarely ever against them.  

           This leads to the belief that women are too delicate to play rough sports, or simply incapable of playing as well as men.  

          Female athletes are still trying to catch up to the popularity of their male counterparts. If sports advocates take the time to learn about female sports leagues, there’s a chance that more sports could become professional for women, the same way that men are involved in professional sports.  

          The big sports information providers like ESPN and Comcast Sports Net should welcome any opportunity for more business. Women’s leagues would love the publicity and the sports TV, radio and magazines could lure in more viewers, listeners or readers. It’s a win-win situation. 

          The leagues themselves need to get the word out about their teams. If they have winning teams, specifically in the Chicago area, they should be advertising and promoting their stuff to interest a wider number of people. If teams do something cool and fun, people will talk about them, and word of mouth is the best form of marketing. 

           People need to promote women’s leagues. If the media hypes up these leagues, it is likely that more girls will want to be involved in sports and go on to play them professionally. 

             Changes need to happen early in children’s lives. Young girls need to take up sports that are predominately male, such as baseball or hockey. Sure, girls can pick up softball and play on their high school girl’s softball team, but it’s not the same as baseball. Both softball and baseball have their difficulties and their similarities, but they are still different. Women’s softball is fast pitch and the ball is bigger. In baseball, there are a variety of pitches and a baseball is small compared to softballs. 

              If a girl wants to play baseball, she should be able to. If a boy wants to play softball in high school over baseball, he should be able to. I’m willing to bet that if schools or athletic facilities promoted different sports, they would get more willing participants. 

              No one, especially children, should be restricted. It’s unfair to deprive a child of their will to play a sport. 

              Even at CLC there are restrictions. There is no men’s volleyball team but there is a women’s team. Women play softball at CLC and men play baseball. 

              The stereotype that only men can like, and play, sports needs to be eradicated. Women can talk sports with the best of men, and there are some men who just don’t like sports. Men who don’t like sports are just as normal as those who do, same as women who like sports are normal and becoming more common in today’s society.

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