Page 16 • December 13, 2001 • The New Perspective
SPORTS Are athletes the role models theyÕre proclaimed to be? LI V E FR O M T H E P I O D O M E! BY
NATHAN BRUNNER Sports Editor
Live from the Pio Dome is an editorial column written by Nathan Brunner to express his various opinions about topics in the world of sports. Any comment relating to Live From the Pio Dome can be voiced via email to nbrunner@carroll1.cc.edu While I was in the process of coming up with an idea for this column I decided to grab a copy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the effort of trying to get ideas. As I was reading the sports section I couldnÕt help but notice how many athletes are either in trouble with the law or in trouble with their respective leagues. Almost everyday an athlete is arrested for something, getting suspended by his/her league for drug abuse, or having a fine levied for some reason or another. Hell, even players are getting into arguments with their coaches (i.e. Terrell Owens has been in conflict this season with 49ers head coach Steve Mariucci). This is not the kind of behavior athletes should be involved in.
Whenever a child or teen is asked who their role model is, they will often state the name of a professional athlete. This has been the case for many years and will continue to be the case for years to come. I have one question for all of the pro athletes out there. What kind of an example do you think you are setting for the youth of the world when you behave the way you do? By now some of you may be saying Òbut not all athletes are like this.Ó To that I agree 100 percent. A majority of athletes are great role models. But there are the few bad ones who cast a bad image on the rest of the sports world. Many kids look up to these people and do what they do. Many kids see pro athletes doing drugs and think it is okay. They feel if their role model does drugs, then they can too. And what kind of an example was set by the Ray Lewis (Linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens) incident. Granted he was never convicted of killing two people, but then for a team to allow a person to play who clearly had a connection in the murders of others is absolutely ridiculous. This is telling kids you can break the law and get away with it. On the playing field action is also pathetic. For example, in football
Intramural basketball
Photo by Nate Ellingson
One team goes for a shot during an intramural basketball game in Ganfield Gymnasium.
See Pio Dome Page 15
Lady Pioneers win Kilgour Tournament to open seasons BY JOHN SABAKA Special to The New Perspective The Lady Pioneers basketball team opened their regular season with decisive wins over Concordia and UW-Platteville to win the Jean Kilgour Memorial Tournament. CarrollÕs Corey Grosskopf earned MVP honors for the second consecutive year with a strong individual performance however both wins were total team efforts. In FridayÕs game against Concordia, the Lady Pioneers outhustled the Falcons on both ends of the court to win 76-58. Carroll outrebounded Concordia 51 to 34 and shot almost 41 percent from the field. Grosskopf was the leading scor-
er from Carroll with 18 points. She was joined in double figures by Sarah Letourneaux who scored 16 points and Michelle Fink with 10. Carroll sophomore Jami Hartman came off the bench to also add 10 points, hitting two 3-point baskets. In SaturdayÕs championship match up Carroll defeated UWPlatteville, winners over Mt. Scenario in FridayÕs other first round game. Carroll dominated the first half of play and took a 19-point lead into halftime. Carroll prevailed in the end 63-53. In all, Carroll used 12 players in the game and Carroll Head Coach Kris Jacobsen was pleased with her teamÕs efforts. ÒEvery player who goes in, whether it be for 20 minutes or 2 minutes, plays hard,Ó she said. ÒThat
just shows what a deep team we have and that we are very unselfish.Ó Corey Grosskopf capped her tournament MVP performance with 19 points and three steals in the final. Carlyn Wilhelmi chipped in 12 points and lead Carroll with seven rebounds while Sarah Letourneaux added seven points five assists and two steals. A week later, the Lady Pioneers met up with a strong Stevens Point squad. The Lady Pioneers overcame poor shooting early on, but could not defeat the stingy Pointers and lost 59-51 in Van Male Gym, Nov. 20. Carroll shot just 16.7 percent in the first quarter but stayed within 10 points of the undefeated Pointers at halftime by going 10 for 10 from the free throw line. Foul trouble was key throughout the contest as CarrollÕs Corey
Grosskopf and Courtney Fryatt each fouled out. Sarah Letourneaux scored a team high 13 points and contributed 10 rebounds, and Michelle Fink and freshman Krista Rode combined for 22 points, but it wasnÕt enough. With 18 minutes remaining in the game, CarrollÕs Corey Grosskopf pulled the Pioneers within 4 points with a basket, however the key to the second half was Carroll sending Stevens Point to the free throw line 24 times. They converted on 16 of those attempts. Coach Kris Jacobsen gave credit to Stevens Point in the early season loss but remained optimistic. ÒOverall, we battled a great team and if we had made a few more shots and boxed out a little better, things may have been different.Ó