Pick Six Magazine

Pick Six Heisman Trophy controversy Why college players should get paid to play

How Texas A&M’s football team will struggle in the SEC.

2

2

2

0

Letter From the Editors

Dear Reader,

Thanks for picking up this awesome magazine! We could not spread the news of sports without the readers. We promise that you will not be let down.

Pick Six isn’t just another ordinary sports magazine. We are here for the fans and athletes who live, breathe, and play sports. Sports are not just hobbies we like to do occasionally. It’s a way of life. That’s why whenever the big game is on we gather with family and friends to watch the people and the teams that we love to root for.

When the team we like wins, we cheer and celebrate, and when they lose, we become sad. However, we are never sad for long because we always know there will always be another game or another season. That’s the thing about sports. Our love of sports will never end because sports never end. There is always some sort of sport going on with people of all ages watching.

Pick Six is dedicated to bringing YOU, the reader, all of the components necessary for making your sports experience exciting, memorable, and informed. We are here to give you the facts that you need to know, the behind the scenes info you never thought you needed to know and the entertainment you need to get through the day. This magazine is for you sports lovers out there that love sports so much that you would pick up this magazine to read. Thanks again, and we hope you like it!

Sincerely, Pick Six Staff 2

Pick Six 2

Ben R is a student at LASA high school.

He is a cross country runner, baseball player, and a basketball player. He was also a cheerleader for powerpuff. He enjoys being in the student section at the football games. . Ben’s hobbies are to cook, and to play sports.

Myka is a student at LASA high school.

Her favorite hobbies are to play basketball, watching sports, and going to UT basketball games. She loves watching Texas A&M , and Oklahoma lose 50-0.

She also enjoys playing at the football games with the band. She loves talking about sports.

2

Ben Y is a Mixed Martial Arts master he was taught by Jackie Chan. He loves boxing and any kind of wrestling sport.

He really hates the homework load of LASA. His favorite food to eat are noodles. He can do back flips and really crazy things.

Kevin is a student at LASA high school.

He is a soccer player, his position in soccer is right back. He plays in the marching band and he enjoys going to all the football games to cheer for the jags. He was a cheerleader for the powderpuff game. He also loves talking about sports.

2

Opinion Pieces

Mixed Martial Arts Boxes Boxing Why MMA is the better combat sport to the fighter and to the fans.

By: Ben Yang

P 8

unches thrown and kicks released. In the octagon, two people go at it. First, the plan in their heads are mysterious, but eventually you will see that the fighter on the left will fake a left jab and round house kick his opponent in the kidney. The fighter on the right knows the situation, and blocks the left jab and catches the kick.

He swipes the left fighter’s left leg and brings him down to the ground. Lastly, the fighter on the right ends the fight with a leg bar with the fighter on the left tapping out. This is not a brawl. This is not boxing. This is Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). With more choices and a high level of excitement, MMA is the better test of athleticism compared to boxing.

It will outweigh elements of boxing and take the title of the best combat sport.

In MMA, one has more options to choose from than boxing. One

“This is not a brawl. This is not boxing.

This is MMA.”

can punch, kick, elbow, knee, grapple and choke the opponent to win. To sum it up shortly, the rules of boxing are to punch above the pelvis. In an article about Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, a light-heavyweight mixed martial artist, Rampage said he might join boxing because he will meet tougher opponents.

Rampage is an “infighter”, which means he loves the close quarter exchange of attacks. An “out fighter” on the other hand, stays at the edges of the square shaped ring, which Rampage relates to as “running away”. “Running away” is not being scared, but a tactic to not be hit. Retreating for a few seconds and throwing a

kick later is one of the many strategies MMA offers. The judge may call stalling or illegal action, limiting the amount of strategies. Stalling occurs when a fighter does not do anything while he is inside the ring. Some options such as sprawl and brawl, and ground and pound are not allowed in boxing because those illegal strategies interfere with boxing’s rulebook. Limited by the rules, boxing does not have as many options or choices as MMA does.

Punch, block or maybe even clinch, the fighter only needs to worry about his head and torso in boxing. In MMA, one has to think about the head, body, legs, arms, neck and every other body part. Therefore, an MMA fight requires more thinking than a boxing fight.

In an article about Lyoto Machida, a light heavyweight mixed martial artist, the author states usage of karate and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ), two different styles of martial arts. Just those two styles aim for every body part. Some people might say

boxing does require thinking, but never as much as MMA. Boxing does require some thinking because the boxer has to look at the punch and know where it will go, but Karate’s punches and kicks combined with BJJ’s submission techniques requires a lot more thinking than just punches.

People watch sports for entertainment, so if it is not entertaining, then people will not watch it. MMA trumps boxing in fan applause because of the various techniques and choices the fighter makes.

If someone wanted to learn a combat sport for real life applications and not in a ring, then MMA is the choice. If a street fight erupts, everyone can assure the victim that his or her opponent is not only going to punch. The opponent is going to do anything, almost like in MMA. MMA is more popular because learning it is more useful. In addition, watching a MMA fight is stressful entertainment, and it is a good thing. Anticipation of all

the fighter’s movements and the ironic comebacks of the losing fighter gives a ton of entertainment. Watching a boxing match is pure repetition. The match is not punch, kick, take down and grapple, but it is punch, punch, punch and guess what comes next. Punch. “Super-fights” are fights between two good fighters and fights people really want to see. An article states a super-fight between George Saint Pierre and Anderson Silva may happen, but it is still a rumor. Fans will love to see this because Silva is a stand-up fighter, while Pierre has good wrestling skills. A match of grapple versus punch and kick would be much more entertaining that a match of punch versus punch. Two different styles will attract an audience and more entertainment will occur.

Boxing was once the main full contact sport, but now something more exciting to the fighter and to the audience emerged back from its multiple pasts from around the world. MMA is not strictly in the US, but it has originated

from everywhere. The freestyle fights with martial arts ranging from Sambo, a Russian martial art, to all popular karate; MMA is the new combat sport. It requires more thinking, and it gives more options. Either way, MMA is tougher on the athlete than boxing.

9

Opinion Pieces

By Kevin G.

P

eople might argue against me that college players should not be paid because they will want more money each season.

For instance if they start giving them 300 dollars per game, maybe next season they will argue to get 1000 dollars, and it will start turning into the NFL. Some might argue that they are already being paid because the college is paying their school. In addition, why would they want more?

It is time to end this amusement with college football and let the players get in the entertainment industry. Of course, at one time college football was consistent with the universities to educate and give the well-being of its student body. However, college football is not different from the NFL. It is also part of the entertainment business. However, the difference is that college football players are not paid and NFL players do. I think it

whole team equally so they will not be jealous.

Even the South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier thinks football players should be paid. He thinks that the football players should be receiving 300 dollars per game with the money coming out of the coacher wallet. This proposal was backed up by several of the SEC (South East Conference) football coaches, including Nick Saban from Alabama and Les Miles from LSU. He thinks they should be paid because of mainly the same reasons as Reggie Bush. He thinks that they

“Television income was what, maybe $50,000?

And now everybody’s getting 14, 15 million bucks? And they’re still just getting a scholarship?”

10

is time to change this. College players should be paid; consider the massive amount of money colleges are ranking and spending. For example, when Vince Young led the Longhorns to the national championship, Texas earned $42 million profit. Where does this money come from? It comes from television, marketing and media rights, tickets and luxury box/suite income.

Since the NCAA will not let the schools pay their players a large amount of money goes to the coaches and facilities.

When Reggie Bush was playing in the football team of the University of South California he said “I think [collegiate] athletes should get paid,” Bush told ESPN “Maybe not as much as NFL players but they have to get something more than they get now.” Bush knows he was worth a lot of money to USC. Thousands of his No.5 jerseys were sold which cost $79.95 each. Bush says, “It’s a lot of hard work preparing for the college season, and at the end of the day, it’s a lot of strain on your body and you’re dealing with a lot of pressure.” In addition, most of them do not have a lot of money, and that means once you pay your rent, there’s a little left over for daily bills. Bush thinks that players should get paid based on their performance, or pay the

This is Brandon Weeden from the Oklahoma state should be paid because many of the Division-1 players live below the poverty line. He says, “Twenty years ago, 50 years ago, athletes got a full scholarship. Television income was what, maybe $50,000? Now everybody is getting 14, 15 million bucks?

And they’re still getting a scholarship?” Spurrier said he feels the players deserve something more because of their role in making collegiate athletics, especially football, a multi-billion dollar industry for the NCAA, television, conferences and individual institution.

W Move Wrestling Move

1.

2.

The Head and Arm

The first thing to do would be to get into a stance.

Basically, it means to decrease your height by bending your legs and bending at your waist, too. My opinion is that one of your legs should be slightly more forwad than your other leg.

Next, put your hands up in front of you, not in front of the face, but relaxed at waist level. Tuck your elbows comfortably close to your stomach.

If you are looking down at the ground right now, look up. Always keep your head up.

Now you are ready to perform the move. The move will throw your opponent practice dummy on the ground.

When you are in your stance, you first put a foot in between your opponent’s feet. Look at the picture to see which foot should be put in there. Stomp it in there.

While putting a foot in there, grab the opponent’s head and arm. The two motions should be done as one.

Now turn your entire body so that your back is touching your opponent’s chest. Keep your body close to your opponent’s.

Remain the tight grip on your opponent’s head and arm so that they won’t get away and escape.

The third and last part of this tutorial is the part that should be the most fun.

3.

Push down with the arm you are holding your opponent’s head and arm with. He should flip over your body and land on the ground or mat.

The more strength you put into flipping him, the harder he will hit the ground.

This move should be done quickly, like all moves should.

The move will not come the first time you do it unless you are a natural, so practice it a little.

I wish you luck on this move and would like to thank some people. I would like to thank the man, Juan, who volunteered to be the dummy and the wrestling team.

11

Photo by Bryan Terry

Opinion Pieces

E LU

B

how A&m’s decision to move to the sec will backfire on them

By Myka Rodriguez

F 12

ive. That is the number of years in a row the Southeastern Conference has obtained the BCS national championship title. Three. That is the number of total football championships the Big 12 conference has ever won.1939. This was the last and only time Texas A&M was the football national champions. Texas A&M is a member of the Big 12 Conference, but its only conference championship title came in 1998, and their only Big 12 South titles came in 1997 and 1998. How can they compete against the likes of Florida, Alabama, Auburn, or LSU, when they can’t even compete in their own conference? Moving to the SEC will turn out to be a devastating choice for Texas A&M. A&M’s troubles with Texas started in January. ESPN announced a 20-year deal with the University of Texas to have a network dedicated to Texas sports. Texas A&M was unhappy that Texas was going to have recruiting advantages because all of their games would be on television. TAMU decided this was unfair and joined the SEC. TAMU says that its move to the SEC will

be better for recruiting, as they will get more players from the southeast. However, they must also remember that the SEC teams, except for Arkansas. This may be a bit intimidating to recruits who want to stick with what’s been working at the original SEC teams.

Although Texas A&M excels at other sports such as track and field, when it comes to football, its teams have only been average. The last time Texas A&M won ten or more football games in a season was in 1998, where they won 11 games. In the past 20 seasons, TAMU only accomplished five ten-win seasons. In the past 10 seasons, the football team has only been able to get to six bowl games, none of them BCS bowls. TAMU has also lost nine out of its last 10 bowl games. If TAMU going to play against high caliber teams like LSU, who has gone to a bowl game every year for the past 11 years and won 2 championships, they are going to have to step it up. If Texas A&M can’t get better, their bowl game chances will decrease. TAMU should quit dreaming about thriving in the SEC and think realistically about how it would affect its record.

Texas A&M and Texas have had a long-standing rivalry and it could be in jeopardy if TAMU moves to the SEC. UT and TAMU’s football teams have been playing each other since 1894. Their rivalry is so strong that they even reference the other school in their fight songs. In UT’s “Texas Fight”, UT says “good-bye to A&M.” In “Aggie War Hymn”, one of the most

famous moments in the song is where the crowd sings that they will “saw varsity’s horns off ”, while swaying back and forth in opposite directions, mimicking a saw. TAMU often points out that A&M should be the flagship university, and often refers to UT as t.u., so instead of being THE University of Texas, they should be Texas University. Before the big football game, UT holds the Hex Rally, while TAMU used to hold the Aggie Bonfire. However, in 1999, when the Aggie Bonfire collapsed during construction and killed 12 people, both schools were united as Texas A&M held a vigil instead of a rally, and during halftime, the UT band played Amazing Grace in honor of those who passed. There has been a lot of time and effort put into this tradition. If TAMU moves to the SEC, they might still be able to play against Texas, but it will not have the same level of importance, since it will be a non-conference game. This long cherished rivalry will not be as valuable as it had been in the past.

Texas A&M may think that this decision is doing the best for the school, but it is wrecking the relationships they have with other smaller Big 12 teams. The SEC said that for A&M to be accepted, all the other members of the Big 12 would have to waive their right to take legal action against TAMU. Before A&M was a part of the SEC, Baylor decided not to waive its rights, in a last minute effort to get TAMU to stay in the Big 12. Although this did not end up happening, smaller schools like Baylor and Iowa State are terrified of the Big 12 separating because they are the most at risk of being without a conference.

Baylor’s only two team national titles came in 2004 for men’s tennis, and for women’s basketball in 2005. None of Iowa State’s

aggie rEcords: 2000-2010 2010: 9-4 2009: 6-7 2008; 4-8 2007: 7-6 2006: 9-4 2005: 5-6 2004: 7-5 2003: 4-8 2002: 6-6 2001: 8-4 2000: 7-5

13 national titles came in the Big 12 era. These teams aren’t the cream of the crop when it comes to sports, so if the Big 12 falls apart, athletic conferences might not want Baylor or Iowa State.

This will only happen if the Big 12 falls apart as a whole. With TCU joining the Big 12, it looks like they will be safe for now, but the tension between the schools remains.

Texas A&M may believe this is the right thing by mov-

"The last time Texas A&M won ten or more football games in a season was in 1998, where they won 11 games." ing to the SEC, but there are consequences that will follow. The Big 12 needs to stay strong and acquire teams that are looking for a conference. They have made a step up by adding Texas Christian University, a team who has had a successful football team in the past few years. While there’s no turning back now, all A&M can do is cross its fingers and play good football.

Total record: 72-60 10 Win seasons: 0 bowl games played: 7 Bowl Games won: 1

13

-By Ben Riedenhy is the Heisman Trophy winner announced before the Bowl games instead of after them? The Heisman Trophy is meant to be given to the player who performed the best throughout the regular season. If the winner was announced after the Bowl games, many voters would focus on the performance of the players in only their final game, completely ruining the idea of having a regular season trophy. The Heisman Trophy winner should continue to be announced before the Bowl games begin.

Having the winner announced before the Bowl games keeps the vote focused on the entire season instead of just the player’s final game. For example, in the 2005-2006 season, USC’s Reggie Bush had a better season than UT’s Vince Young, and Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy.

However, when those two met in the National Championship, Vince Young carried his team to victory. “I wanted to show the world that I was the real Heisman Trophy winner. But on paper, Reggie Bush is the Heisman Trophy winner. [I am] not taking nothing from him, he knows he’s a phenomenal athlete,” Young said in an interview. If the vote had been held after the Bowl games, Vince Young would have won the Heisman Trophy because of his outstanding performance in the

w

“I wanted to show the world that I was the real Heisman Trophy winner”

14

National Championship game.

The gap between the end of the regular season and the end of all the bowl games is too long to delay the announcement of the trophy winner. The Heisman Trophy is a regular season trophy, and waiting until after the Bowl games would lose focus on the regular season. The time between the regular season and the end of the Bowl games is two months

long. Waiting that long would lose the fans attention towards the Heisman Trophy. Imagine two entire months without football!

Having the Heisman Trophy winner announced before the bowl games give the players more focus on their final game of the season. Since the Heisman Trophy would have already been given away, the players could focus more on their last game of the season without stressing about doing good enough to win the trophy. If the Heisman Trophy was given out after the Bowl games, the players would all be wor-

Heisman Trophy won by Rashaan Salaam (cracked in two). ried about racking up good personal stats so that they would have a better chance of winning the trophy.

Not all people agree with my argument. They believe there is no reason the Heisman Trophy should be given out before the Bowl games, even though there are several. Ever since 1974, the final national rankings have come after the Bowl games. Ever since 2002, a player’s postseason statistics have counted towards his career totals. These changes have made the Bowl games more part of the regular season. Some

argue that these changes have made it more reasonable to have the Heisman Trophy announced after the Bowl games as well. However, it is still more logical and reasonable to

have it announced before the Bowl games, for the reasons I have explained.

15

Perfect Games -By Ben Rieden-

May 5, 1904: Cy Young who played for the Boston Americans

April 30, 1922: Charlie Robertson who played for the Chicago White Sox

Sandy Koufax September 9, 1965: Sandy Koufax who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers

June 12, 1880: Lee Richmond who played for the Worcester Ruby Legs

1880 June 17, 1880: John Montgomery who played for the Providence Grays

June 24, 1964: Jim Bunning who played for the Philidelphia Phillies

May 8, 1968: Catfish Hunter who played for the Oakland A’s October 2, 1908: Addie Joss who played for the Cleveland Naps September 30, 1984: Mike Witt who played for the California Angels

Don Larsen

16

October 8, 1956: Don Larsen who played for the New York Yankees

Tom Browning September 16, 1988: Tom Browning who played for the Cincinnati Reds July 28, 1994: Kenny Rogers who played for the Texas Rangers Mark Buehrle July 23, 2009: Mark Buehrle who played for the Chicago White Sox

May 15, 1981: Len Barker who played for the Cleveland Indians

May 18, 2004: Randy Johnson who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks

2011

May 9, 2010: Dallas Braden who played for the Oakland Athletics

July 28, 1991: Dennis MartĂ­nez who played for the Montreal Expos May 17, 1998: David Wells who played for the New York Yankees

David Cone July 18, 1999: David Cone who played for the New York Yankees

Roy Halladay May 29, 2010: Roy Halladay who played for the Philidelphia Phillies

17

Feature Stories

An inside look into the Texas Firefighter Olympics

By Myka Rodriguez

18

The air was humid and the sun was scorching. Sweat dripped down the back of people’s necks as they chugged down the last of their bottled water. Wives and children sat anxiously at the edge of their lawn chairs. Some players laughed at jokes as they sipped from their beer cans and chewed on their tobacco. Others threw a softball around and stretched their legs. Even in the hot and humid weather, these athletes are still dedicated to playing the sport they love: softball. But they aren’t just any other athletes.

They’re firefighters from across the state of Texas competing in the annual Texas Firefighter Olympics.

The Texas Firefighter Olympics is an event held every July where firefighters compete in a variety of sports from soccer, basketball, and power lifting, to bowling, Texas Hold ‘Em, and horseshoes. This event helps to create bonding across the state, and is coordinated by firefighters themselves.TFO fosters fellowship that connects firefighters everywhere across the state.

“It’s one time a year that you can get together with your brother firefighters and compete and fellowship,” said Curtis Dunn, the coordinator of the softball tournament.

The TFO was first created in 1983, and has been going strong

ever since. Fireman flock to the event every year no matter what the weather is like.

“I have been a participant every year since the Olympics have been played,” said Dunn. “I feel it is very important to keep the tradition going for the younger guys as well as the veterans who still love the spirit of competition.”

Although the TFO is associated with fun and fellowship, the games are often competitive. It’s what fuels the energy and excitement between the teams.

“Let’s be honest, it takes a certain type of mentality to do this job and being competitive is one part of that mentality,” said John Collins, coordinator of the basketball tournament. “This is a way for guys to test themselves in competition against people with the very same mentality.”

The TFO bring back memories of unity and friendship in the fire department. Rick Brewer, who coordinates the power lifting, thinks they help foster brotherhood.

“They remind me of the days when firemen did everything together, in the old days; our off-duty time was filled with common activities. If a fireman needed help, his brothers

Photo by Myka Rodriguez

jumped into action. That is still true on-duty, but the new breed of younger firefighters are less likely to fraternize with other firemen on their days off.”

“Brother” is a term used by many of the firefighters who coordinate the TFO. Brewer said firefighting is a brotherhood and TFO helps for firefighters to meet and greet other brothers and sisters.

The TFO has become a tradition for some firefighters, such as for Rance Wilson, who coordinates horseshoes and washers.

“There is no Rank, no Chiefs, just a bunch of Indians out to have a good time.”

“Firefighters can still compete in the Olympics, some with their sons and or daughters who are also in the Fire Department now and sometimes they are lucky enough the play against or with their grandchildren who are now firefighters!” said Wilson.

These firefighters, who have a strong bond with each other, must stay positive in order to overcome the grief of their difficult jobs. Kit Hickman, of the Bryan Fire Department, has coordinated the billiards tournament for 15 years and has only missed one Olympics since it started.

“I think the popularity of the games is due to the fact that on our jobs we deal with life and death, heartbreak and sometimes the ugly side of people, that we can forget the stress of the Job and

just enjoy the fellowship and the competition,” said Hickman.

John Collins became a firefighter in September of 2002, a year after the horrific attacks of 9/11, where 343 firemen died trying to save those trapped in the World Trade Center.

“I entered the fire service at a time at one of the lowest points in our country’s history,” said Collins. “But what I saw was a group of people that were generally very happy and playful stuck in a season of sadness.”

The Olympics brought something positive when our country’s mindset was negative.

“The Olympics coming into town helped lift us out of that funk a little bit,” said Collins. “Guys were happy about it being here, getting to see old friends, being able to cheer on the guys from their own department competing, and our newer members got to see an event that they may want to be a part of in future.”

The TFO has made Texas firefighters into a community, where everyone is welcome.

“There is no rank, no chiefs, just a bunch of Indians out to have a good time,” Hickman said.

Firemen of all ages as well as families are also welcomed with open arms to the Olympics.

Dunn said, “I feel it is very important to keep the tradition going for the younger guys as well as the veterans who still love the spirit of competition.”

When competitors go to the Texas Firefighter Olympics, the goal is not to destroy the other teams. Winning is only an added bonus to the thrill of the game. The bonding and friendship that comes along with competing is the most valuable thing that keeps the Olympics thriving.

Collins said, “It does build that concept of family no matter if you were there as a competitor, a spectator, a friend, or just stopped by, [it’s] constantly building up that sense of family.”

Photo by Rolando Rodruguez

2009 Austin Bomberos Softball Team

19

Feature Stories

No Rest in Wrestling

By Ben Yang

W

LBJ wrestlers doing some throws and takedowns.

rist control” is screamed by the people on the sideline. The man in black listens and grasps his adversary’s wrists with the tightness of a panic inducing strangle. The man wearing a purple singlet feels the loss of balance due to the opponent’s lightning fast headand-arm take down throw. Shoulder blades almost touching the dull and purple mat, the man in purple struggles. But using the force applied by the wrestler in black, the purple wrestler flips his foe one-hundred eighty degrees. Sweat of the wrestlers are mixed and smeared all over. He pinned the enemy and won his match, but too bad it was only a drill. Wrestling is not what you may think it is. With training as tough

20

“Well, it’s my first year, but it seems like a cool sport.”

as football training and thinking under tense conditions, Joel Eguiza helps explain what wrestling really is. Joel helps explain one of the toughest full contact sports at LBJ. “This year towards the first month,” Joel said. “Like two or three weeks into the year, first year.”

Joel Eguiza joined the LBJ wrestling team two are three weeks into the school year.

The LBJ wrestling team only has two LBJ

LBJ wrestlers doing conditioning during training.

students, and the rest of the team are LASA students. Joel is one of the freshman LASA students.

“Well it’s my first year, but it seems like a cool sport. A lot of physical activity,” Joel said, “Really have to get in shape.”

Joel goes to practice every normal Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for one to two hours of training. He joined after the preseason wrestling conditioning camp, so he is not in shape yet. The

LBJ wrestler on the left performing single leg take down.

preseason camp was pure running and lifting weights with a little wrestling on the side. During practice, he drills various take downs, escapes and reversals from the opponent’s control. A take down is when the opponent is brought down to the mat and is worth two points. An escape is when a wrestler escapes from his opponents control and is worth one point. A reversal is when a wrestler escapes and gets control of their opponent which is worth two points.

“Lots of things to learn,” Joel said. “You have to learn new moves and techniques every day.

Joel learns many new moves. Some moves are complicated and some moves are simple. The first moves he learned were the single leg take down, and the elbow chop from top position. Top position is when a wrestler is in control and on top of his or her opponent.

“You have to learn to get used getting your opponent coming at you from either side,” Joel said. “So, you have to get used to different situations and just have learn to cope with it.”

A single leg take down is when a wrestler would lower his body position, literally shoot forward with their leg strength to get closer to the opponent and grab a single leg. Joel may face people who shoot for the left or right leg, so he said he must “cope with it” and adapt.

“Then I have to learn to apply ‘em and see open ends and stuff,” Joel said. “You have to learn how to roll with the punches as they say. You have to know what your opponent is trying to do and see how you can counteract it.”

Time only allows a moment’s thought.

Think too long, and the musing wrestler will lose. Think too fast, and the cursory wrestler will lose. There is no premeditated game plan to use, and the wrestler only has himself to depend on. Joel is the kind of guy that “goes with the flow” or “rolls with the punches”, but wrestling is more like “roll with the opponent”. For example, if a wrestler goes for a single leg take down on Joel, Joel should sprawl. Sprawling is when Joel would forcefully swing his legs back and shove the opponents head into the mat, putting all his body weight on the opponents head. It is painful for the opponent, but it is legal.

“I don’t know. I’d probably say George,” Joel said. “Well, he’s experienced so I didn’t know what to do at all. He was doing advanced moves.”

George Chen is one tough man and a good wrestler. When Joel and George start drilling, sometimes George gets a little carried away with some advanced moves.

It is a good experience for Joel to wrestle someone who knows a lot more.

“During school I try to drink one of these bottles. After practice, or during practice, I drink another one and a half. So probably two throughout the day,” Joel said. “Then go home, while I’m having dinner, I drink a lot of fluids like juice or maybe water if I don‘t feel like drinking acidity stuff.”

During the hydration test, the test where Joel had to pee in a cup to see if the color of the pee was healthy or not, everyone on the wrestling team drank a lot of water.

Joel gained around three pounds from being hydrated which brought him to a weight of 146 pounds. Joel was originally

LBJ wrestlers in top and bottom postition.

143 pounds. It is important to stay hydrated in wrestling and in any sport. An effect of hydration is fatigue and no one wants to feel fatigued during a match.

“On weekends, sometimes I try and do what we do at practice which is run and do cardio stuff. Sometimes I try and do pull ups and push-ups, sit ups; sometimes a little bit of weights,” Joel said. “Try and condition a little.”

At a normal practice, the wrestling team stretches their legs and arms. Next, they loosen up by jogging around the mat and rotating joints. They do incorporate some other aerobic exercises such as backwards skipping. Now, it is time for the tough part.

What the coach calls a “warm up” is an intense work out for the wrestler. The chain of non-stop exercises does increase heart rate and tire the person out. The coach tells them to do exercise outside of their daily practice.

“I think the cradle is kind of cool,” said Joel, “and it seems kind of like a nice move to use on your opponent.”

A cradle is a pin or a move where the wrestler holds his opponent’s should blades on the mat for two seconds. A pin is extremely useful because it gives six team points, and the wrestler who performed the pin gets an automatic win. There are other ways to win, but a pin used correctly saves energy and is the best way to win.

Just like so many other sports, wrestling isn’t about winning. At least to Joel it isn’t.

Joel wrestles for different reasons.

“Cuz’ it seems like a good way to defend yourself and seems like fun.”

LBJ wrestler on the right performing a sprawl.

21

2011 College Bowl Calendar With the college football season coming to a close, here’s a calendar to keep you up with the bowl games going on.

Compiled by Myka Rodriguez

December 2011 17

Gildan New Mexico Bowl -Temple vs. New Mexico Famous Idaho Potato Bowl -Ohio vs. Utah State R+L Carriers New Orleans -San Diego State vs. LouisianaLafayette

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26 AdvoCare V100 Independence -Missouri vs.

North Carolina

27

28

29

30

31

Valero Alamo -Washington vs.

Baylor

New Era Hyundai Sun Pinstripe -Rutgers vs. Iowa -Georgia Tech vs. Utah State

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg -Florida International vs.

Marshall Little Caesars -Western Michigan vs.

Purdue Belk -Louisville vs.

NC State

S.D. County Credit Union Poinsettia -TCU vs. Louisiana Tech Military Bowl Presented By Northrop Grumman -Toledo vs. Air Force Bridgepoint Education Holiday -California vs.

Texas

MAACO Las Vegas -Arizona State vs. Boise State

Champs Sports -Florida State vs.

Notre Dame

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces -BYU vs. Tulsa

Franklin American Mortgage Music City -Mississippi State vs. Wake Forest Insight -Iowa vs.

Oklahoma

Sheraton Hawaii -Nevada vs.

Southern Miss

Meineke Car Care of Texas -Texas A&M vs.

Northwestern

AutoZone Liberty -Cincinnati vs.

Vanderbilt Kraft Fight Hunger -Illinois vs.

UCLA Chick-fil-A -Virginia vs.

Auburn

22

Photo Credits: TCU- Vironevaeh, Texas Band- trevino Robert Griffin- speedye, Louisville Cardinal- Matthew Jolley, Aggie Yell Leader- EngComm, Landry Jones- E.A. Sanabria, Rutgers- mininmalist

January 2012 1

2

TicketCity -Houston vs. Penn State Outback -Michigan State vs.

Georgia

3

Allstate Sugar -Michigan vs.

Virginia Tech

4

Discover Orange -West Virginia vs. Clemson

5

6

AT&T Cotton -Kansas State vs. Arkansas

7

BBVA Compass Bowl -SMU vs.

Pittsburgh

Capital One -Nebraska vs. South Carolina Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl -Ohio State vs. Florida Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio -Wisconsin vs. Oregon Tostitos Fiesta -Stanford vs. Oklahoma State

8

GoDaddy.com -Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois

9 Allstate BCS National Championship Game No. 1 LSU vs.

No. 2 Alabama

Photo credits: Nick Saban- Mike Pettigano- blackshoediaries.com, Case Keenum- Republic of Texas Sports, Les Miles- Crawford Orthodontics, Brandon Weeden- ShuttrKing|KT, SMU Mustang- Ateupamateur, BCS logo- Allstate, Alabama flag- mosesxan, LSU- David Rever, Fiesta Bowl- ongo.com, sugar bowl- thecollegefootballbowlreport.com, rose bowl logo- thesportsbank.net, orange bowl logo- sportsinfo101.com

23

By Kevin G OOM!”

Goes the shot of the gun as Hannah R. prepares to win this race just like every other cross-country meet she has raced.

She starts off at a fast but constant speed. Some call her the girl version of flash. At every district meet she gets first place, and qualifies for the regional meet. She says, “I decided to do crosscountry on a whim. Originally I think it was to get into shape for soccer and track, but once I started, I was hooked and enjoyed it as its own sport.”

However, track is still her favorite sport. The flaw with soccer season is that it conflicts with track season. The coaches usually understand she says and she alternates depending what they are doing at practice that day. The LBJ girl’s soccer team has won district every year. The challenges are playoffs they always have trouble.

Hannah wants to keep on playing these sports in college her plan is to run track in college, and to play soccer as an intramural sport. An intramural sport is a recreational sport it is not completive.

“Track is my favorite sport because it is an individual sport and my winning depends solely on me.”

24

She wakes up at 5 o’clock in the morning every day for practice. She enjoys going to practice except when she has stayed up on a long night of doing homework. All of the guys and gals on the cross-country team love Hannah they think she is a great and she is a clutch player. She gets along well with all of the people on the team. The coach loves her and thinks she is one of our stronger runners on the team. At practice, she is always in courage people not to give up when they are tired.

Hannah says, “Track is my favorite sport because it is an individual sport and my winning depends solely on me.” She runs the 800m, 100mh, 300mh, 1 mile, 2 mile, 4x4m, 4x2 and high jump. This season she says she will run the 800m, the 1-mile and maybe the high jump. She says, “My favorite race is the 800m, widely known as the most difficult race in track because it is a full out sprint for 2 whole laps.” Hannah says she has won the 800meter for the past two years in district. Hannah use to hate running, but then one day her basketball coach at Kealing suggested she should try it. After that, she won every race and decided to keep on running track in high school. Her plan is to keep running track through out college and to play intramural sports such as powder-puff, and soccer.

“It was the first sport I ever played.”

“I have been playing soccer since I was four”

Nothing in particular inspired Hannah to play soccer it was just her first sport she has ever played and she stuck to it.

She is in varsity in high school and was on varsity since freshman year.

“For me, soccer is the most fun to play because of the team atmosphere.”

This is Hannah R. at a cross country meet.

Hannah was the quarter back for powder puff.

Feature Stories

-By Ben Riedene’s been called many things. Some call him an algebra teacher. Some call him a hero. There is a lot more to him than meets the eye. He’s the man behind the glasses. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mr. Thomas Spurgeon.

Born and raised in South Indiana, Mr. Spurgeon moved to Austin because it reminded him of his hometown. He coached for three different high schools, earning coach of the year eight times. After moving to Texas, he decided to stop coaching and become a teacher, teaching math but also sharing wisdom with his students by telling them of previous life experiences.

Spurgeon became interested in sports when he was just

“You get a little closer to people coaching than what you do in the classroom.”

Photo Credit: http://www.forbes.com/ colleges/indiana-state-university/

a kid. Ever since second grade, he has played a variety of sports, including baseball, softball, cross country, track, basketball, and baseball.

“Sports were a lot different where I grew up than what they are for kids now,” Spurgeon explained.

Spurgeon became interested in running as a kid, having to run two miles before basketball practice, and then running another two miles to get home.

“I lived two miles from school, and when I got out of basketball practice, it was either walk home or run home,” Spurgeon said. “So I would usually run just because running would usually get me there quicker than walking.”

Being a young athlete influenced Spurgeon’s decision to become a coach when he grew up. He went to Indiana State University for undergrad and graduate, majoring in mathematics and earning a Bachelor of Science and Master’s Degree. However, he then decided to become an assistant coach for Jim Powers at Rochester High School.

“I was fortunate that I was around people who had been very successful, who had had a lot of success coaching or had a lot of success as a player and a coach.”

Jim Powers, the head coach while Spurgeon was at Rochester, had been coached by Johnny Wooden, a basketball legend who coached at Indiana State University for three years and at

UCLA for twenty-eight years, winning the most NCAA basketball titles out of any coach.

“I enjoyed playing [sports] just for the game, I enjoyed the challenge of trying to make yourself better,” Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon then went to Jac-Cen-Del High School where he was an assistant under head coach Dave Porter. The third and final high school Spurgeon coached at was Eastern High School, where he earned his eight coach of the year awards for three different sports.

When Spurgeon moved to Texas he stopped coaching and became a math teacher.

“[Coaching] takes a lot of time and it would be hard for me to give the amount of time that it takes anymore,” Spurgeon said. “If you weren’t coaching you were scouting, and if you weren’t coaching or scouting, you were probably figuring stats.”

Spurgeon said that he misses coaching, but that teaching and coaching were very similar.

“You get a little closer to people coaching than what you do in the classroom. I liked working with young people, I still like working with young people. There’s no better people to work with.”

Library at Indiana State University

25

By Kevin G Bring your kicking leg as high as possible. This will generate the most amount of power.

Keep your ankle locked. Picture above shows the position of the ankle before striking the ball.

Your plant knee should be slightly bent. This will ensure that you strike the ball with the laces. The more you bend the knee the more chances you’ll have to strike the ball with your laces.

Try to keep your plant leg about a foot or a a foot and a half away from the ball. This will ensure that when you strike the ball your kicking ankle will be at a 45 degree angle: the angle at which you’ll generate the most amount of power.

Make sure your lean slightly forward. this will ensure that your shot will stay low to the ground. If you lean back the ball will go up in the air.

This is extremely important. If this is not done correctly your shooting will not improve. Your ankle needs to be at about a 45 degree angle so that you can strike the ball with your laces. If you are not at this angle there is a high chance that you will strike the ball with you toes.

To execute the bicycle kick, you must keep your back to the target and your eyes on the ball. Bring the knee of your non-kicking leg toward your chest followed immediately with the same motion of your kicking leg. This movement is similar to the one you would make while pedaling a bicycle backwards. Extend your kicking leg to strike the ball while you are still in the air. Pedaling down with your non-kicking leg, kick through the ball.

Flex your foot so that your ankle makes a right angle as you connect. Extend both arms and your palms facing the ground behind you to brace yourself. Keep your eyes on the knee of your kicking leg so that you don’t bang your head on the ground when you land.

26

2