Sports
SEPT. 19, 2011 n THE MERCURY n WWW.UTDMERCURY.COM
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Women begin ASC play Pushing limits Inconsistencies cost soccer team after four matches on fair coverage
ANDREW JOHN Mercury Staff
With two wins and two losses in its non-conference games, the UTD women’s soccer team began conference play for the 2011 season on Sept. 15. The team took a two-game slide into the conference opener against Mississippi College, souring the results in UTD’s first matches. In its season opener against the Southwestern Assemblies of God University on Sept. 2, UTD took complete control of the game and won 7-0. Freshman Sarah Borg had a
strong start to her collegiate career with a goal within two minutes into the game. She later scored the seventh and final goal of the game for her side. Another freshman also had a bright beginning on the team in UTD’s second match: Jasmine Chipps scored the game-winning goal in the team’s 1-0 victory over Fredonia State University. The team’s momentum then somewhat faltered the following weekend as the goals stopped coming. Although the Lady Comets enjoyed a scoring frenzy in their previous matches, UTD was held
scoreless against Trinity University and Southwestern University, losing 2-0 and 1-0, respectively. The offense suddenly disappeared, troubling head coach John Antonisse. “For some reason, we had difficulty finding the back of the net,” head coach John Antonisse said. “We weren’t composed in front of the goal and that was reflected in the scores.” Although the Lady Comets had numerous opportunities to score, they simply could not finish. Despite the disappointing out-
see SOCCER page 10
COMETS TIE WITH NO. 1
BEN HAWKINS/STAFF
Forward Michael Darrow chases a ball in a match against the University of LaVerne. The Comets won the game 1-0 on a second-half Mark Brooks goal. UTD was 4-0-1 as of Sept. 15 after beating Mississippi College.
Men’s soccer undefeated after opening stretch ANDREW JOHN Mercury Staff
After posting strong results in its first four games of the season, the UTD men’s soccer team aims to continue its recent run of success through conference play. The Comets remained undefeated in their four non-conference games to start off the year. They kicked off the season with a dominant 4-0 win in an exhibition match against Northeast Texas Community College. UTD then added two more wins to its winning streak with 1-0 victories over the University of La Verne and Southwestern University. Sophomore Austin Mading managed to finish a well-placed through ball late in double overtime against Southwestern to give UTD the win. On Sept. 10, the team then tied against the current No. 1 Division III team in the nation, Trinity University, 1-1. Although the Comets did not achieve an upset, it was the first time in 12 match-ups between UTD and Trinity that the Comets did not lose.
UTD came from behind to even the score with a powerful free kick by sophomore Mark Brooks. On the defensive end, sophomore goalkeeper Steve Nicknish came through with nine saves that game, earning him the honor as the ASC Defensive Player of the Week. “Winning in overtime was big. Eventually tying Trinity also was big. Those were good results for us,” said head coach Jack Peel. These non-conference games serve as an indicator of the team’s status as it heads into conference play. The early games are a good way to prepare for the rest of the season and see where the team is since UTD does not get much preparation time, Peel said. From these opening matches, the coach has recognized several of the team’s strengths. “We’ve done some things well that we’ve been working on, and we’ve found a lot of things we need to work on,” Peel said. “They’ve had a good attitude about these things. Our defending is good. Our organization and shape are good.” In addition to these strong points,
Peel identified the team’s current weaknesses and hopes to improve upon them shortly, noting that the team has not been very aggressive and strong on attacking set pieces, especially considering the general size of the time and the good services the players get in. UTD had its first conference game on Sept. 15 against Mississippi College and then played at Louisiana College the following day. The Comets’ next match will be home against Hardin-Simmons University on Sept. 22. The meeting against Hardin-Simmons is likely to be a competitive, high-intensity battle, especially because it will be UTD’s first home conference game. Furthermore, all UTD freshmen are required to attend at least one athletic event during their first year, and Peel and his players hope for a large crowd at the match. Hardin-Simmons’ physical style of play should be good for anybody to come and watch, Peel said. Editor’s Note: All records and statistics are accurate as of Sept. 14. In addition, the UTD men defeated Mississippi College 1-0 on Sept. 15.
UT, ESPN spurn fans, ethical journalism with new TV station BOBBY KARALLA Managing Editor
Media ethics, competitive balance, alumni COMMENTARY loyalty and conference affiliation are all in question in today’s NCAA, and it is due in part to a TV station. But unfortunately for its two main beneficiaries, no eyes of Texas are upon it. The brand-new Longhorn Network launched in late August to a resounding silence and didn’t cause much bustle as UT drummed Rice on Sept. 3. What was thought to be a huge step forward in detailed, schoolspecific coverage has so far been a bust, as one irrelevant provider carries the network that so many millions long for. ESPN announced its intentions to launch a UT-exclusive channel called the Longhorn Network back in January 2011. To secure the rights to all things UT, the “worldwide leader in sports” pledged to fork over $300 million during the course of the 20-year agreement. ESPNLHN would air at least one football game per season, UT football’s spring game and a variety of other athletic events, including volleyball, basketball and Olympic sports. On the surface, this type of agreement seems painless and fair. ESPN pays UT to broadcast its games, while UT sacrifices its right to sign a larger, more lucrative deal with another network. It’s a no-lose situation, right? “Everybody can do something special and do it in their own way. That’s America,” said DeLoss Dodds, UT athletic director, in a Houston Chronicle report. Dodds seemed to be pretty happy with the arrangement when he made that comment earlier this summer. What appears to be a perfect marriage between athletics and media, though, is actually not only questioning the integrity of an entire news organization but also furthering the imbalance in the Big XII -— one of the NCAA’s most important conferences. As a national mass media outlet, ESPN is journalistically required to remain unbiased to any team. Often, people including myself will bring up the “East Coast Bias” argument, but that pales in comparison to this new, unique partiality aimed directly at a school. A huge majority of sports teams and fans are located on the East Coast, including some of the most successful of all time — immediately, the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics come to mind. When a national news outlet is not only trying to report on multiple sports but also trying to appeal to the largest audience possible, it only makes sense to subconsciously focus on a city like New York — one that has a population larger than entire regions of the U.S. and also a legendary baseball team. But even though ESPN’s telecasts may flaunt the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry like it’s comparable to the Cold War, the Longhorn Network takes an obvious bias to an even less ethical level. UT has a huge alumni population and an even larger fan base, but that gives ESPN no reason to shell out hundreds of millions of dollars to a school in order to host all its sporting events on a satellite network. A journalist’s main purpose is to stay distant enough from its subject to remain unbiased while accumulating enough information to organize effective coverage on the target. However, when the largest sports media network is in bed with one specific subject, it completely compromises not only its credibility, but it also makes a mockery of journalism in general. It will be impossible to take ESPN seriously through the coverage leading up to the UT/OU or UT/A&M games. It will be even more impossible — should a Longhorn contend for the Heisman — to take the “Heisman Watch” coverage seriously. But what is even more frightening about the network is how UT appears to be treating its alumni. Schools often hit up alumni for money, which is completely fair. The institution gave its alumni a degree, so they are indebted to the university til death do them part. This network, though, acts more as a trap than a charity. “If you want to have a network, you can’t give it away,” said Chris Plonskey, women’s athletic director in the Chronicle. ESPN could only strike a deal with Grande Communications to air the Longhorn Network — among other, smaller carriers, the main provider under the Grande umbrella is Verizon FiOs. To North Texas residents, it seems like a great deal. FiOs has 3.9 million subscribers nationwide and a respectable 250,000 in Texas. Every single regular subscriber, though, resides in the Metroplex. Grande has hardly any presence along the I-35 corridor. To make matters worse, ESPN reportedly sought 40 cents per subscriber
see NETWORK page 10
Runners prepare for D-III Championships ANDREW JOHN Mercury Staff
After a few weeks of practice, the UTD cross country team raced in its second meet of the season at the Texas Lutheran Preview on Sept. 10 in Seguin, Texas. Teams from around the area competed in the meet, including some Division I schools and a few teams from the ASC. The UTD men’s team finished sixth out of the total 10 teams, and the Lady Comets finished in last place on their side. Considering
that many of the competitors were scholarship runners from Division I colleges, head coach Kyle Starnes said he feels the Comets ran well. “I was very pleased with how we ran. I just like the way we went out and competed,” Starnes said. “We had some of our kids beat some scholarship runners. Our men’s team was very close to beating one of the scholarship teams.” Sophomore Jordan Newcomer led the men’s side for UTD with a time of 28:49, finishing 33rd overall out of 87 runners in the 8K race.
Meanwhile on the women’s side, freshman Mel Cavage finished first out of the Lady Comets in their 5K run at 23:17, placing 55th out of the 107 female runners. Starnes said he felt satisfied with the effort of his runners, noting that many of the freshmen runners — especially on the women’s side — did relatively well despite not having a solid running base that many other runners come in with. “We finished 10th, but that’s not really indicative of how (the Lady Comets) ran,” Starnes said. “The ladies that we have just went out
and competed. Their conditioning is not quite there yet, but by the end of the year, it will be there. We’ll be just fine.” The ASC Championship is three meets away, which gives the team time to recuperate and continue to improve. The Comets plans to take it week by week, Starnes said. He hopes to specifically improve the team’s race-day preparation by learning from experience at each meet. UTD’s next meet will be the Texas D-III Championships in on Sept. 24 in Abilene, Texas.
CROSS COUNTRY RESULTS The following is a list of top results from the Texas Lutheran Preview. Men’s 8K Jordan Newcomer - 28:49 Clay Howell - 29:19 Jay Sydney - 29:42 Steven Baxter - 32:14 Robert Nguyen - 33:14 Women’s 5K Mel Cavage - 23:17 Austin Schmidt - 24:16 Ariel Schmid - 24:55 Heather Pan - 26:00