Bulls Look for a Christmas Miracle
While UB students are getting ready to welcome in the New Year, the women's basketball team will be preparing for one of its toughest challenges of the season.
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While UB students are getting ready to welcome in the New Year, the women's basketball team will be preparing for one of its toughest challenges of the season.
In honor of Greg Oden's perennial season-ending injury, I have compiled the top-10 NBA draft busts of the last 10 years. While I feel it is unfair to view Oden as a bust this early into his career (he is still only 22), the success of Kevin Durant makes it very hard. However, there have certainly been a good amount of busts, and without further ado, here is the list:
Remember that joke from almost all the episodes in the Charlie Brown cartoon? Lucy holds a football for Charlie to kick but pulls it away before he boots it, causing the clumsy kicker to fall on his back time and time again.
"Wats Up?"
Roy Halladay's postseason no-hitter was an improbable, once-in-a-lifetime performance.
New York Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia should be the Cy Young winner in the American League.
New York Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia should be the Cy Young winner in the American League.
$23,444,104.
A rematch of the 2009 International Bowl is set for Saturday afternoon as the Bulls look to stop a running attack that went ballistic in Toronto two years ago against the Connecticut Huskies.
Last week, Jerry Davis said he was ready to lead his team.
Bulls head coach Reggie Witherspoon continues to build the basketball program after receiving a verbal commitment from high school senior Xavier Ford.
Coming off its first gold medal since 1994 at the FIBA World Championships, Team USA is well within its right to celebrate.
The Mid-American Conference certainly took notice of the UB volleyball team after a dominating performance last weekend in the Blue and White Classic.
Two shutout losses put a damper on the men's soccer team's opening weekend.
After a competitive preseason camp, head coach Jeff Quinn announced freshman Branden Oliver as Buffalo's starting running back.
With an alumni turnout that included first-ever head coach Wendy Black, the rowing team fought through cold weather and rain to impress against Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Tracy McGrady, Rashard Lewis, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O'Neal and Kobe Bryant all have something in common. They entered the NBA straight out of high school and though they are still young, they seem a lot older on the basketball court. When these players controversially declared for the NBA Draft in the mid-'90s, general managers and fans alike wondered if they would have extra-long careers, or if every NBA player is limited to the same amount of years. We are now starting to learn the answer to this question. Have you seen Tracy McGrady or Jermaine O'Neal play lately? They are 30 and 31, respectively, but they look more like 40-year-old veterans out on the court. Former all-star Kevin Garnett is only 33, but is currently breaking down before our eyes, while Rashard Lewis' numbers have dropped in each of the last three seasons. Maybe David Stern was right to create an age limit for the NBA. Maybe kids coming out of high school need a couple of years in college to develop and prepare for the pros. College players play between 30 and 40 games a season compared to 82 in the NBA. While college players were practicing less, playing less games and taking classes, teens that went straight to the pros immediately subjected their bodies to the rigors of the NBA. Take Jason Kidd and Steve Nash for example. These two star NBA point guards continue to produce after long careers. Kidd, who is in his 21st season, is currently gearing up for a playoff run with the Dallas Mavericks. Nash, at 36, is the undisputed leader of the Phoenix Suns and is averaging 16.6 points and 11 assists per game this season. Oh, and did I mention the most important part? Kidd played two years at the University of California and Nash had a four-year college career at Santa Clara. Is it a coincidence that players like Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, and Andrew Bynum continually suffer injuries at their young ages? Some people may argue that Kobe Bryant's (31) work ethic could have him five or six years of great basketball left in him. However, Bryant, who is arguably the best player ever to come directly out of high school, may not be as invincible as we think he is. Bryant has suffered from numerous injuries this year, signs of an aging body that has gone through 13 grueling NBA seasons. Kobe has played in 1,178 NBA games through March, and though he hasn't experienced a substantial drop off, doesn't seem to have the same quickness in his first step or the same lift in his jump shot that he once did. It seems as if it isn't the age of these prep-to-pro stars that matters, but rather how long they have played in the NBA. Which list will Kobe join: The list of Michael Jordan, Reggie Miller, and Julius Erving who thrived in their mid-thirties, or the list of Jermaine O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett, who suffered a severe decline once they hit the age of thirty? If the fate of his fellow prep-to-pro stars is any indication, then it seems that Kobe will be part of the latter. More importantly, what does this mean for the last group of high school stars gone pro? At age 25, Lebron James may not have as long as people think he does to win a championship. He has played 592 games in his seven seasons, 324 more than Jordan played when he was 25. Will LeBron age in basketball years, or prove to be the exception to the rule? E-mail: laurenti@buffalo.edu
The softball team traveled to Ohio in search of their first win over a Mid-American Conference foe since 2005. After a tough first day, Buffalo finally broke the trend. Things didn't start off as planed for the Bulls (11-21, 3-3 MAC) as they fell to the Kent State Golden Flashes (17-16, 4-2 MAC) in the opener on Saturday, 8-2. After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, Kent State scored the game's first run on a solo homer by Amy Hair in the bottom of the second frame. Buffalo played small ball to tie the game in the third inning after converting on a walk, a bunt single and a balk that set up a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Candace Sheehan. Hair countered with her second homerun of the day in the fourth inning to headline a four-run outburst by the Golden Flashes. KSU scored another run in the fifth inning on a solo long shot by Jess Carmichael. The Bulls scored their second and final run in the top of the sixth. Sheehan led off the inning with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sophomore catcher Kristin Waldron then drove Sheehan home on a double. Kent State responded once again with two more runs in the bottom of the sixth and coasted the rest of the way to earn the victory. "We knew we were going to face [Kent State's] number one pitcher, Kylie Reynolds," said Assistant Coach Jessica Jones. "She has a great curveball and we focused on our offense to make sure we weren't just guessing. We did a decent job going into the first game, but we seemed to have a mind block and were still very passive at the plate." Sophomore pitcher Terese Diaz started the game for Buffalo and struck out two batters in only one inning of work. Senior pitcher Sharon Barr earned the loss in relief despite retiring eight batters over five innings. Sunday's game was a different story as the Bulls tallied seven hits en route to a 2-1 victory for the program's first win over Kent State in five years. Buffalo struck first in the opening inning as freshman left fielder Ashley Bertot led off with a single and then stole second base. Waldron followed with a single to set up an RBI opportunity for freshman first baseman Jessica Griffin. Griffin delivered with a single to left to score Bertot. A wild pitch by Reynolds gave the Bulls a 2-0 lead after the first. The Golden Flashes threatened in the bottom of the first, but left the bases loaded for a second consecutive day. Kent State's Mary Holt cut the lead in half with a solo home run in the fourth, but that was all that the Golden Flashes could muster against Barr in game two. The Bulls stranded two runners on base in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings but their two first-inning runs held up to notch the victory. Five different players had at least one hit on the afternoon. In her second contest in two days, Barr pitched a complete game and struck out 11 batters. Jones was very pleased with how the team played. "We watched a video of the game on Saturday night as a team and each player critiqued how we played," Jones said. "A hitter can learn a lot about their game when they see themselves on the screen. We responded very well on Sunday and used a full team effort to beat a solid Kent State team that is tied for first in the MAC." The Bulls will try to earn consecutive victories when they make their season debut at Nan Harvey Field against St. Bonaventure (7-14, 2-6 Atlantic-10 Conference) on Wednesday. "We are in a great place right now," Jones said. "We are playing with high energy. We are close-knit and we have great chemistry. We are just going to keep doing what we're doing and our play will continue to improve." First pitch is set for 3 p.m. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
Rainy weather could not slow the rowing team on Sunday as the squad started its season off strong against formidable competition. The Bulls finished in second-place after a day of races at the Indiana Invitational against Indiana, Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame and Purdue. "It was our first race of the year and we had a lot of second-place finishes in five-team fields," said head coach Rudy Wieler. "It was a good start to the season, but we could get faster in all of these races." Buffalo earned a first-place victory in the Second Varsity Four race with a time of 8:34.5, finishing ahead of Notre Dame by seven seconds. The boat, made up of senior coxswain Britt Marshall, junior Megan Bayley, sophomore Dakota Smith, as well as freshmen Sarah Gallagher and Francisca Strange, finished 16 seconds ahead of third-place Purdue and 32 seconds ahead of Indiana. The Bulls also earned three second-place finishes on the day. The Second Varsity Eight Boat, led by sophomore coxswain Kate Evely, finished with a time of 7:21.4, just seven-tenths of a second behind the first-place Fighting Irish. Alongside Evely were seniors Kate Garofalo, Francisca Nwoke, Sam Masucci, Kelsey Tretter, juniors Sasha Bailey and Lindsay DiCosimo, and sophomores Alexandra Condon and Jacklyn Postulka. The Varsity Four Boat earned a second-place finish after finishing with a time of 8:22.6, 16 seconds behind a superior Notre Dame team. Indiana, Purdue, and Eastern Michigan rounded out the five-team race respectively. The Novice Four Boat recorded the final second-place finish of the day for Buffalo. Once again, the Bulls came up short against Notre Dame, clocking a time of 9:07.9. The boat, made up of senior Kolina Dacko, Suvita Visqanathan and freshmen rowers Megan Klyczek, Ariana Blake, Samantha Shojaie, finished seven seconds behind Notre Dame's B boat. The Bulls did, however, defeat the Fighting Irish's top boat that finished third. In a tight race, the Varsity Eight Boat finished fourth with a time of 7:16.0. The Bulls finished behind Notre Dame, Indiana and Purdue, but were within 10 seconds of all three teams. The Novice Eight boat finished in third-place with a time of 8:07.2. The Bulls were only two seconds behind Indiana, who came in second-place. Wieler knows that there's room for improvement. "I feel that the Varsity Eight Boat can, and will, do better in races down the road," Wieler said. "They are capable of much more. The whole team can improve and one thing we're going to work on is maintaining our speed for the whole race." The Bulls will be back in the water for a meet at Cornell where they will compete against Gonzaga and Syracuse, in addition to No. 10 nationally-ranked Michigan State and the nation's top ranked team, Yale. The meet will mark the first time that Buffalo will ever race against a top-ranked crew. "This will be the toughest racing that we have ever had at Buffalo," Wieler said. "We are looking for one thing: to be competitive." Races are set to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday in Ithaca. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
Momentum seemed to spread to everyone on both track and field teams this weekend, and record-breaking performances were the result. Both the men's and women's track and field teams had impressive showings at the Raleigh Relays, a two-day event at North Carolina State's Paul Derr Track. The teams won a total of five events, breaking five school records in the process. The men's relay team broke two of those records. The sprint medley relay team of seniors Ezekiel Porter and Brian Smith, along with sophomore Isaiah Mask and junior Shaun Brummert, ran its way to a record-breaking time of 3:26.57 and a third-place finish. The team's time broke the mark set at last year's Raleigh Relays. Porter and Smith joined seniors Dan Schichtel and Dan Harris in the 4x200-meter relay and produced a record-setting time of 1:25.51. The time earned them a fifth-place finish in the event. Other successful finishes came in the 5000-meters, as junior Jacob Hagen came in second-place with a time of 15:11.30, and in the 400-meter hurdles with freshman Will Cole placing fifth in 52.62. Sophomore Casey Garbaty also broke a school record as he won the javelin throw. His heave of 224-6 (68.43m) was not only 10 feet better than the second-place throw, but crushed his mark from last season of 209-9 (63.93m). Men's head coach Perry Jenkins spoke about Garbaty's performance after the match. "Casey [Garbaty] was definitely a key performer this weekend," Jenkins said. "He is now number two in the east and number four in the country in the javelin throw." The rest of the men's throwers were impressive as well. Sophomore Rob Golabek earned third-place in the shot put with a toss of 56-11.50 (17.36m). Fellow seniors Jake Madonia and Alex Stamatakis also finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Junior Matt Gac finished fifth in both the discus (165-2, 50.35m) and the hammer throw (196-5, 59.87m). Gobalek placed in the hammer throw as well, finishing ninth with a throw of 183-1, 55.81m. Jenkins was very pleased with his team's performance over the weekend. "It was a great trip down there and we competed very well," Jenkins said. "We broke five school records and are showing improvement in almost every event." The women's team was very successful as well, winning three individual events and a relay race at the meet. Sophomore Becky O'Brien won in discus with a throw of 166-3 (50.67m). The throw also broke Sarah Vance's 2007 record by more than five feet. Freshman Erin Miller finished in seventh with a personal best throw of 142-0 (43.28m). O'Brien was also part of an impressive showing in the women's shot put, which included three spots of the top 10. O'Brien finished second with a personal-best throw of 51-1.75 (15.59m). Sophomore Kristy Woods came in third at 50-0.75 (15.26m), and Miller finished ninth with a throw of 43-1.75 (13.15m). Woods also earned a sixth-place finish in the women's hammer throw at 175-10 (53.59m). The women's team was just as successful on the track. Sophomores Jackie Burns and Ellen Muster earned the top two spots in the second section of the women's 1,500-meters. Burns won the race with a time of 4:39.98, and Muster came in second in 4:41.61. Freshman Katie Sanders rounded out the top 10 with a time of 4:46.26. Buffalo also won the sprint medley relay with a time of 3:59.96. Burns ran the anchor leg and was joined by freshman Jamiee McClary, sophomore Natalie Fildes and senior Allison Grimes. McClary continued her successful weekend, breaking the women's record in the 200-meters. Her time of 24.18, which broke a 10-year-old record set by Janelle Callender, earned her a seventh-place finish. Jenkins is very excited for the next match at the Florida Relays. "I think we are going to compete very well down south," Jenkins said. "We're going to need to continue to train hard and make sure to get our throws to qualify in the warmer weather. Our goal is to make the top 48 teams in each event to get into the NCAA." The Bulls will head to Gainesville, Fla. for the Florida Relays, which are set to start at noon on Friday. E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com