But as the world reacts to Armstrong’s confession, the question remains as to how the world should view the man once considered the most influential athlete in the world and the legacy he leaves behind — which includes the Livestrong Foundation, which has raised more than $470 million to fight cancer.

There is no denying the despicable reality of Armstrong’s actions, even more so his emphatic dedication to lying about them. Armstrong cheated and lied about doing it under oath during a court deposition in 2005 and in the media multiple times after that. Armstrong will have to face many people regarding his actions — the World Anti-Doping Agency, all of his past sponsors, all of his past team mates all of the people who claimed that he was doping before and all of his fans.

But nobody understands the seriousness of his actions more than Armstrong himself.

More than anything that Armstrong has accomplished, recovering from his reputation will turn out to be the second most trying fete he will ever face.

Regardless of the implications that doping will bring, Armstrong’s influence extends far beyond his accomplishments as an athlete. When he was 25, he was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer that spread to his lungs and brain.

Armstrong battled through cancer, got back on his bike and won the Tour de France seven times in a row. It made for an inspirational story and Armstrong lived the life of a celebrity and hero for years after that, starting Livestrong Foundation in 1997. Armstrong reportedly apologized to Livestrong before taping the interview.

He was one of the few bicyclists who were a household name and an inspiration to those affected by cancer.

His story forces the public to question the standards that we place on athletes and the pedestal we put them on just to watch as they notoriously fall.

While there is no sense or humility in rationalizing Armstrong’s actions, there is humility in allowing Armstrong — and his foundation — the chance at a normal and vitriol-free life as long as he tells the truth.

Armstrong, like the majority of people, was prone to the inevitable cadence of feats and failures that define the human condition. Despite how much he may have disappointed those who looked up to him, it would be unwise for us to overlook his contributions outside of professional cycling and his storied battle against cancer.

Armstrong, who had spent the last few years swearing that he had won his titles without any performance-enhancing drugs, is coming out with the truth after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA)charged Armstrong with having used performance-enhancing drugs during events last summer. The USADA then sentenced Armstrong to a lifetime ban from competition late last summer, keeping Armstrong away from any major cycling events and stripping him of all his titles won since August of 1999 with his first Tour de France victory.

Following soon after, Armstrong was forced to drop out of his Livestrong foundation as chairman due to the continuing allegations. According to ESPN, Armstrong came clean in front of his staff and made an apology that led some staff members to cry early Monday morning.

This interview with Winfrey is Armstrong’s first public response since the ban brought by the USADA, according to ESPN, and in a sent text message to the AP earlier this weekend, Armstrong wrote “I told her (Winfrey) to go wherever she wants and I’ll answer the questions directly, honestly and candidly. That’s all I can say.”

The interview with Oprah Winfrey is set to air on the OWN Network on Thursday Jan. 17.

While I stopped wearing it long ago, Lance Armstrong always remained a hero of mine for his ability to bounce back from testicular cancer to not only race professionally, but also to be as incredibly successful at it as he was.

It’s funny how quickly feelings can change.

In the midst of recent allegations and the verdict that followed, Armstrong can no longer boast the squeaky-clean image that once made him so popular with his fans. In fact, he is quickly being forgotten altogether.

After taking a big, pink eraser and removing all of Armstrong’s most important accomplishments in the racing world — including seven Tour de France championships between 1999 and 2005 — the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped the former world cycling champion of not only his titles, but also his reputation.

When this response is compared to other sports’ handling of performance-enhancing drugs, it represents one of the stronger stances taken on performance-enhancing drugs in sports, which can only have beneficial repercussions across the sport most affected by rampant drug use.

Just look at the scandal that is Major League Baseball. After Barry Bonds was convicted on an evasive answer to a 2003 jury concerning whether or not he was ever given anything requiring an injection, many called for his stats — including his career home run record of 762 home runs — to be thrown out.

Unlike the International Cycling Union, Commissioner Bud Selig and MLB did not do anything about Barry Bonds. As a result, the Bonds saga dragged on for weeks with nothing being resolved. In the end the case didn’t give anyone — fans, coaches or players — any closure on the situation or where steroids-stained records stand in MLB’s record books.

The International Cycling Union’s ruling handled its crisis much better. By erasing any evidence of Armstrong in cycling’s record books quickly after the story broke, UCI has avoided most of the backlash that MLB received for its non-decision on Bonds. By closing the case quickly, the sport of cycling has set the precedent that they would like to move on and let the tainted past be completely forgotten.

But this doesn’t mean people haven’t disagreed with UCI’s decision. They have.

Some have even gone as far as arguing that, since many other cyclists have admitted to steroid use, Armstrong’s records should still stand. Regardless of whether or not these claims about other cyclists are true, to have maintained Armstrong’s records based on this reasoning would be to accept cheating as an acceptable part of competition. As my mother used to tell me growing up, “Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” The same can be said for the doping. The popularity in sports for the use of performance-enhancing drugs does not mean it should become the very reason for their use.

As I touched on earlier, Armstrong reached his peak in the cycling world while many college-age students, including myself, were still in our early formative years. The bulk of his success took place while we were just young elementary and middle school kids, a time when many young sports fans are just picking out the athletes they will look up to for years to come.

So for us, Armstrong’s fall from grace is more than just another famous athlete being outed for his bad decisions — it means the loss of a hero.

Some might say Tiger Woods’ fall was just as hard on the young fans who grew up cheering for him. But there is one major difference between the two.

While Woods might have been known as one of the stronger moral characters in the sports world, none of it was from attention that he brought on himself.

Armstrong was different; he was marketed as a beacon of hope through his Livestrong campaign in the dark world that has been sports in the age of performance-enhancing drugs. An example of a hard-working athlete whose work ethic and drive helped him achieve seemingly impossible tasks. Now I guess we know they were impossible.

His Livestrong Foundation, while still a noble cause to help those battling cancer, suddenly has lost the touching story that made it famous in the first place.

Without Lance Armstrong’s resurrection from being diagnosed with cancer to winning the Tour de France, his entire story is tainted, something that he hasn’t helped by his remarks since the verdict.

“I know who won those seven Tours, my teammates know who won those seven Tours and everyone I competed against knows who won those seven Tours,” Armstrong said in August after the USADA released the initial report.

While a slice of humble pie might have gone a long way to salvage whatever reputation he had left, any chance of restoring his name to its former glory has been dashed.

Armstrong may have lost his career and reputation, but his actions have cost millions of fans their childhood idol.

The legendary cyclist, Lance Armstrong, has decided not to contest the charges brought down on him by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Since being officially charged in June, Armstrong said the judicial process has taken too much of a toll on him and his family, while also distracting him from work with his cancer foundation.

By not challenging the charges, Armstrong has been stripped of all his seven record-breaking Tour de France titles and banned for life from all future competitions. Armstrong was disqualified and stripped of all medals and accolades obtained since Aug. 1, 1998 and on.

As Armstrong rolls over and lets the USADA tarnish his legacy, many feel he has quietly admitted he used steroids.

They are wrong.

Armstrong had a constitutional right to fight the USADA allegations. He isn’t admitting guilt; he has admitted he’s grown tired of fighting for his legacy.

Armstrong has been an American icon for the better part of the past decade. From his tireless efforts towards raising money for cancer research to his unparalleled success as an athlete, Armstrong’s influence in American culture has inspired millions.

By stripping Armstrong of his accomplishments the USADA is essentially throwing American history in the garbage.

Let’s face it. In the competitive world of sports — where the window for success is so small — performance-enhancing drugs will always exist.

Take San Francisco Giants outfield Melky Cabrera for instance. Cabrera had been fully aware of baseball’s steroid policies, but the need to stay ahead of the game outweighed the risk of the consequences. He tested positive for steroids.

Armstrong is one of the most highly-tested athletes in the world. In 24 unannounced drug tests from fall of 2008 to March of 2009 he did not fail a single one. In 1999, a blip on a test was from a prescribed medication he took for saddle sores. That test never fell in the positive range.

Since the allegations against Armstrong are not physical evidence and all eyewitness, then concluding he used steroids is more congruent with hearsay.

We will never know if Armstrong took steroids. What we do know is that his name will forever be etched with an asterisk. It’s a sad time when we have to question all our American heroes. It’s even sadder no physical evidence is needed for icons to fall from grace.

One year after Patrick’s 2005 debut in the Izod IndyCar series, GoDaddy.com began its sponsorship on Patrick’s car. Since, the internet domain registrar company has increased its small sticker on Patrick’s helmet to painting her entire car the notorious bright GoDaddy.com green and fully sponsoring her since 2010 in either IndyCar and NASCAR.

On Sunday, Patrick will have a chance to make a name for herself on the racetrack, rather than in the advertisements that many non-race fans know her for.

GoDaddy.com has come under fire for the racy commercials produced that feature Patrick among other female athletes, including former WWE wrestler Candice Michelle and former “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels.

Marie Hardin, associate professor for the College of Communications, sees the GoDaddy.com ads that depict Patrick as a part of a long trend that has gotten worse over the past two or three decade that has marked female athletes as hyper feminine.

“If we look at female athletes over the decades, the ones who have become really high profile athletes at some point have often been presented in ways that demarcate them from sport or really present them in ways that are not athletic at all,” Hardin said.

However, Patrick’s driving talent has carried her to numerous successes. She became the first woman to win an IndyCar Series race when she took top honors at the 2008 Japan 300 and later notched the highest place for a female in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, the crown jewel of the series, when she finished third.

Janet Guthrie became the first woman to qualify for both the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1977. Close to 10 other women have qualified for the Indianapolis 500, but Patrick will be the first female in 10 years, and third overall, to race in the “Great American Race” at Daytona.

NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. noticed Patrick’s accomplishments and offered her a part-time NASCAR Nationwide deal for 2010 with his team, JR Motorsports. She recorded a fourth-place finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in a March 2011 NASCAR Nationwide event and became the highest placing female across NASCAR’s top three series.

Patrick abandoned her IndyCar career in 2012 and chose a full-time NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule with JR Motorsports, where she is expected to contend for the championship. She also added a 10-race Sprint Cup Series schedule to her plate with Stewart-Haas Racing, including the Daytona 500.

Avid NASCAR fan Doug Rood (junior-aerospace engineering) has been impressed by what Patrick has shown throughout Daytona Speedweeks and the diversity that she can bring to an otherwise male dominated sport. But he doesn’t view the ads as an essential part to Patrick’s career.

“She’s a fantastic racer, and I definitely think she will be a competitor,” Rood said. “The GoDaddy [ads] are sometimes a little too much and not really necessary. Who she is as a racer and her profession is more important than her doing the ads.”

Rood, who is GoDaddy.com user, said he already knew about the website before the ads, and they didn’t affect his decision to choose the site. He said he responds better to funny ads and believes the risqué nature of the GoDaddy.com ads isn’t the right way to go.

Rood said the ads may get a male’s attention, but they won’t make the products any more desirable.

However, Hardin believes that female athletes argue that they need to appear in these ads because it helps them financially and enables them to make a living in professional sports.

“Nobody can argue that Danica Patrick isn’t benefiting individually from the decisions she’s made about how to position herself and brand herself,” Hardin said. “The other side of the coin, though, is what does it do for women’s sports and for female athletes in general? And that is the price that gets paid is for female athletes and women’s sports in general.”

While Hardin said it’s hard to argue with Patrick’s bank account, she said the progress of women’s sports is being sacrificed. She sees no benefits culturally or socially from these ads.

Although Hardin acknowledges much progress has been made for women’s sports, such as the passing of Title IX, she also sees gains in key aspects are moving slowly.

“I do foresee a future where we are fully accepting of the athletic talents of female athletes and without their having to sell themselves in other ways,” Hardin said. “But we’re not anywhere close to that yet.”

That’s why the Jeremy Lin story happened. That’s why the Cardinals had a chance to win the World Series and did. That’s also why Trevor Bayne won last year’s Daytona 500, to become the youngest winner of the prestigious race, at just 20 years and 1 day.

While NASCAR’s status as a sport is debatable between die-hard supporters and lifelong critics, a rule implemented almost seven years ago still has me questioning, especially because it is likely to turn off people who used to enjoy the uncertainty.

On Thursday, NASCAR will host one of its many exhibition events: the Gatorade Duel. This is a pair of afternoon races for about a total of 150 miles that were once meaningful. The Duels used to establish 43-car field for the Daytona 500, which will be run for the 54th time Sunday.

Qualifying for the sport’s biggest race is not what you would find in any other race. Before the rule change in 2005, the pole positions, two front row starters, were determined by timed laps, a traditional process that many races use to determine the whole field (mainly due to time constraints). But at the Daytona 500, the rest of these positions are filled by the finishing order of these two races. Because there were two races, drivers can enter into either one. The finishing order of the first race is used to fill the inside positions after the pole and vice versa. This stretches all the way until the field is full.

As you can see, this was not only to determine the start position but also if the driver would be racing at all. The rule change, however, has given many cars a free pass to the big race, only using the Gatorade Duel for starting positions.

The rule exempts top-35 teams from last year, which is based off owner points, in addition to the two drivers who qualified for the front row from trying to qualify. However, many top teams still do run the race, as it determines the starting positions, but are much more cautious than a team that’s trying to get into the field.

Before the rule change, this was just as exciting as the Daytona 500 itself or any other big race on the NASCAR circuit, usually filled with drama for fans and top drivers alike. It was bigger than many of the NASCAR races that actually counted for points.

Just two years ago, fans were treated to probably one of the most exciting duel finishes in the history of the event. Jimmie Johnson edged Kevin Harvick in his backup car by just five thousandths of a second. In the second race, Kasey Kahne held off Tony Stewart, winning it by 14 thousandths of a second.

While some drivers believe that starting position is very important, fans know it really doesn’t matter, as positions can easily fluctuate in the race itself. With only 150 miles, or about 60 laps, any lap could have had an impact on one’s qualification status and sometimes one’s rise to fame, as it did with Bayne last year.

This race also isn’t a big time investment for fans, like most races. The Duel usually finishes in just over an hour, depending on the number of cautions. As a result, it has brought in a good 100,000 people to Daytona International Speedway — and many more viewers — even though it is scheduled for midweek matinee.

By standing by the rule, NASCAR has taken the climatic atmosphere out of the race, promising spots to drivers that fans want to see in the big race. While there is nothing wrong with that because those drivers bring in the big dollars, it just makes sense to start every season with a cleaner slate.

How about only determining the top 14 slots for the Daytona 500 in advance, based on the highly touted owner rankings, in addition to the two drivers who qualified for the pole? That would not only secure the best drivers from last season in the biggest race, but more importantly, leave 27 spots up for grabs at the Duel. The battle for these 27 spots would still include some big names, but would give a fighting chance to the less-experienced drivers, such as Bayne.

After all, we all know what could happen once one qualifies for the big race — no matter the experience.

Last weekend’s Winter X Games were no exception, celebrating another highly anticipated chapter of organized stunt competition, which was first cultivated circa the 1990s.

Thursday’s showcase began with heavy hearts, as the late Sarah Burke was honored by her mourning friends and family, as well as the competitors. The four-time X Games gold medalist and Aspen native pioneered the sport of freestyle skiing. She died a few days after suffering catastrophic head injuries while training for the “superpipe” competition last month.

The ceremony included friends of Burke taking a quiet, glow stick-lit walk down a darkened half-pipe in remembrance.

Over four days, the 16th annual Winter X Games showcased some of the blossoming year’s most gratifying performances, highlighted by none other than “The Flying Tomato” himself, two-time Olympic gold medalist Shaun White, who, evidently, has not lost a spin, flip or grab since last year’s competition.

Like most extreme sports athletes, White hardly ever garners pride in an average performance. Striving to be more innovative and to go faster and higher than the last person is the name of the game, and White proved capable yet again.

In Sunday night’s superpipe competition, White earned his fifth consecutive X Games gold medal in the event and the Winter X Games’ first-ever perfect score, tallying 100 points from judges on his third and final run.

In the run, the 12-time X Games gold medalist unveiled his latest trick marvel, a front-side double cork 1260 — becoming the first ever to land the combo — along with pulling off a few classics like the double McTwist 1260, frontside stalefish 540, Cab double cork 1080, frontside double cork 1080 and 180-foot backside air.

Although White may have earned the event’s so-called “Most Valuable Player” award, many others also pushed boundaries between normality and insanity.

Sled freestyle rider Heath Frisby completed the first-ever front flip. Yes, a front flip on a snowmobile. Then again, once upon a time the 900 was thought to be impossible, too — until Tony Hawk reimagined the possibilities of skateboarding by successfully spinning two and a half times around in the air.

On the other hand, challenging the “impossible” doesn’t always have a pretty result. Dirt bike and sled freestyle rider Justin Hoyer attempted the first-ever double back flip, just one run before Frisby’s, but did not share the same luck. Hoyer failed to fully complete his second flip, resulting in a hospital trip for the 30-year-old to treat a fractured left ankle and right forearm.

The bottom line is: Extreme sports — with the helpful popularity of ESPN’s X Games — have become the optimization for the term “don’t try this at home.”

Extreme sports athletes put themselves in dangerous situations — the tightrope-walk of serious injury — and consistently defy the limitations of the human body.

Kevin Pearce, a pro snowboarder who suffered severe head trauma over two years ago, rode again for the first time last month. With not a moment of tentativeness, he flew past the film crews who were all ready to document his return. The anxious crowd was relieved and moved by his ease and confidence in the snow. He still had it. The stickers and shirts that read, “I ride for Kevin,” were replaced with the phrase, “I ride with Kevin.” From hopeful to happening, the community was uplifted by the moment of triumph.

But, in even the simplest of forms, the sports world is filled with binary oppositions. The blessing of victory is met with the woe of loss.

On the very same halfpipe that Pearce fell in the winter of ’09, Sarah Burke, a 29-year-old pro skier, crashed two weeks ago while training for the Winter X Games. She ruptured her vertebral artery, went into a coma, and died nine days later on Jan. 19.

Respected for her continuous progression of women’s freeskiing and revered for her passion for life, she was, and always will be, an inspiration to athletes everywhere. The four-time Winter X Games medalist lobbied for the addition of women’s superpipe in the Olympics and was just at the start of her collection of medals and honors, family and life.

Both athletes wore helmets, and both crashed on the same pipe. One lived to ride again, and the other left behind a legacy. It’s hard to pin; eerie, tragic, unfair? For one, we mourn the loss and damage that is irreversible. For the other, we cherish survival and restoration.

While friends and competitors remember Burke’s life, they continue to practice, progress and perfect for the Winter X games, the four-day event beginning Thursday morning in Aspen, Colorado. There will undoubtedly be an aura of sorrow, but they will continue to compete as she would. By Monday, headlines will be exalting the newest trick landed and the newest athlete discovered, recognized and awarded. Records that stand today will be broken in this week’s events. And in the surpass, people will slowly move on.

It is in the undetermined moments of life, in the seconds we can’t predict, that we are met with our worst nightmares and our happiest successes.

With death, it is near impossible to find the beauty in the uncertainty of life, but we can always lift our heads and ride on. And just as people rode for Kevin, they will ski for Sarah.

This week and beyond.

Less than a week after the 15-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the racing legend was laid to rest. In the time since the crash, more information has come forward to show that it could possibly have been prevented.

Everything that wasn’t meant to be in IndyCar racing was present in that afternoon’s IZOD IndyCar World Championship. Driver Danica Patrick made an eerily prophetic statement a few days before the race.

“The track is so smooth, we will be three-wide out there,” Patrick said. “The race will be crazy and the crashes spectacular.”

Patrick and other driver’s words must have fallen on deaf ears of racing officials because after just 11 laps, the crash that everyone feared actually happened, and the Indy 500 Champion became the second driver to die in an IndyCar race.

How could people ignore the perfect storm of factors leading up to the race that afternoon? There was not just one reason to reevaluate the race but many.

The lineup included 34 cars. That made it the largest field since the 1997 Indianapolis 500. Several of the cars in that race did not even make it to the green flag.

The design of the track gave each car the opportunity to run at nearly the same speed. Packs of cars — experienced and inexperienced drivers next to one another — raced at 220 mph with not much room to maneuver and virtually no reaction time.

The fact that the cars were so bunched together on a track that is nearly a mile shorter than a track made to hold a 33-car race meant a chain-reaction crash when Wade Cunningham hit James Hinchcliffe’s car.

These were just a few things that contributed to Sunday’s crash. It seems so obvious that there were issues that needed to be addressed before the 34 drivers got in their cars.

Maybe the drivers should have made more serious claims about the track conditions. Maybe racing officials should have known that the chance to run a wild race came with the ultimate price: the life of one of the best drivers in the series.

After the ash on the track settled, racing officials must have known that a mistake had been made. Eight days later, more than a dozen drivers, the IndyCar CEO and the series’ president of competition all attended a meeting to discuss how to make the sport safer.

IndyCar drivers know every time they get in their cars, they might be risking their lives, but there is a difference between calculated risk and the risk the drivers had Oct. 16. That risk was brought to give fans a better show, and it backfired.

Martin, an Indiana U alumnus from the class of 1982, was covering the IndyCar Series season finale for SportsIllustrated.com. He was near the entrance of pit road when a wreck began in turn one. It ended with a 15-car wreck and the death of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

“You could hear the expression of the crowd over the sound of the 34 racing engines and the crashing going on in the background. It was just kind of a collective gasp,” Martin told NPR on Thursday. “It was a scene that I had never seen at an IndyCar race. That many cars. I mean, it was half the field.

“This was just cars being launched — launched into the air once they ran into the back of other cars because of the way the wheels are. I mean, these things looked like missiles being launched out of a silo.”

Each of the drivers involved in the wreck had to be evaluated at the medical center.

“They were in there while Wheldon was being tended to,” Martin said. “As each driver was being released, that’s when word started to circulate that he may not have made it.”

Members of the media began to report the story and waited for any available news. Wheldon was airlifted from the track and taken to Las Vegas’ University Medical Center. Two hours into a red flag to stop the race, the drivers were called to a meeting.

“That was pretty much the indication that they were being told he was gone,” Martin said.

This Sunday, a memorial service will be in remembrance of Wheldon at 4 p.m. at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

As IU junior Evan Fetherolf sat working on homework on Sunday in Bloomington, his phone showed he had a text message.

“(My friend) asked, ‘Are you watching the race,’ and I said ‘No,’” Fetherolf said. “He texted me back, ‘You should be. There was just a big wreck. I’m pretty sure Dan Wheldon is dead.”

Fetherolf said he was shocked. The Speedway, Ind., native grew up three blocks from turn one of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and has been a Wheldon fan since his first Indianapolis 500 win.

“It’s sad,” Fetherolf said. “He was a real recognizable guy in the sport. He didn’t necessarily win a whole lot, but everybody really liked him. He had a lot of fans. It’s a blow to the sport.”

IU junior Eric Wertenberger, also an IndyCar fan, agreed that the severity of the crash was as extreme as it gets.

“It brought back the danger involved in racing and the inherent risk you take when you get in the car,” Wertenberger said. “It’s always like the elephant in the room. Nobody really acknowledges it, but the danger is always there. It never comes back to reality until you see someone in a fatal accident.”

While Fetherolf said the first IndyCar death since 2006 does raise some questions about safety, he added that IndyCar has been working on making improvements since the passing of Paul Dana that year.

“It comes down to the fact that anytime you’re going 200 miles in a car and you’re six inches away from a car that’s also going 200 miles, it’s not always going to add up well,” Fetherolf said.

Earlier this year, it did add up for Wheldon. He was rounding turn four in the 2011 Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Rookie driver J.R. Hildebrand was leading before he crashed on the last lap. Wheldon drove to the finish line as the winner.

“He drove a very smart race to be in the position to capitalize when somebody else made a mistake,” Martin said.

Martin said Wheldon’s emotion in his second IMS victory was truly special.

“To see his boyish enthusiasm, to see him grab that bottle of milk, take a big swig out of it in victory lane, then pour it on his head,” Martin said. “This was just raw, human emotion.”

In all the post-tragedy media coverage Martin has covered, he hasn’t grasped on a personal level that the driver he knew, the driver that was a smiling father who spent time pulling pranks on other drivers and visiting hospitality suites with his wife Suzie and his son Sebastian, is gone.

“It’s almost like I keep expecting to go to the next race and see Dan Wheldon with these big old white teeth of his walking down pit lane in these ridiculously bright white shoes that he wore sometimes,” Martin said. “Just to see him joking and laughing and see him saying ‘Hi’ to everyone. I still expect to see that when IndyCar starts next season, but he’s not going to be there anymore.”

After the announcement of Wheldon’s passing, the racers drove a five-lap tribute for Wheldon. In the background, bagpipes played.

“It was a very emotional scene,” Martin said. “It was one where I had to describe what happened for my story. Dario Franchitti with tears in his eyes and hugging his wife Ashley Judd, then going down pit lane and hugging Mario Andretti who had just signed Dan Wheldon to a contract next season earlier that morning. The guy not only had a great career, he had a bright future ahead of him.”

It seems to strike when we least expect it.

NHRA Funny Car driver John Force once called it “The Monster” — that dark side of racing, of danger and sometimes death, which lurks in the shadows of every corner of every racetrack.

And last weekend, it got Dan Wheldon.

Just five months ago, Wheldon was on top of the world, basking in the emotional glory of a dramatically unexpected Indianapolis 500 victory.

On Sunday at the IZOD IndyCar World Championships in Las Vegas, Wheldon had another shot at winning, along with a $5 million-dollar bonus if he did so, in the series’ final event of the 2011 season.

But on the race’s 11th lap, all that changed in a fiery crash that gobbled up 15 cars. Wheldon couldn’t avoid the accident, sailing over the top of another car, his No. 77 Dallara chassis flipping wildly and striking the catch fence cockpit-first.

As drivers got out of their wrecked machines, and as safety crews tended to them, it was clear something was wrong. Too much attention around Wheldon’s car, but no even moderately-tight camera shots. During the helicopter ride to the hospital no word was given on Wheldon’s condition. A yellow tarp draped over the car.

It all just seemed like posturing for the tragic news that was to come two hours later.

I’ve been a race fan for more than ten years now, and in that short time, I’ve watched a lot of wrecks — some more terrifying than others, some of them fatal. Last year, I was unfortunate enough to be at the NHRA Northwest Nationals in Seattle when Top Alcohol Dragster driver Mark Niver was killed.

And so, from time to time, you think about the risk of death that participants and fans subject themselves to while at the racetrack. But when the knowing hypothetical becomes a crushing reality, you still never seem to be prepared.

Safety was a concern heading into Sunday’s race, but was somewhat overshadowed by the hoopla of a championship being decided and a potential big money bonus.

Practice speeds of up to 224 mph were recorded by pole sitter Tony Kanaan, and there was a record 34-car field. The Las Vegas track, with its relatively tight corners, led to concerns about pack-racing, where the cars drive clustered together just inches from each other and potential disaster.

There is something alluring, perhaps almost perversely so, of subjecting people to great danger in the name of entertainment.

But we do it because it is exciting to see these men and women, high-horsepower gladiators, putting their lives on the line for a shot at fame and fortune while negotiating the paper-thin edge of control.

The drivers, most of all, know and assume the risk. They do it because they love it, and because in their mind, reward usually outweighs that risk.

But Sunday, as drivers hugged their families and crews before taking part in a rolling five-lap tribute to Wheldon while a bagpipe version of “Amazing Grace” played over the track PA, it was sadly clear the risk was more.

Wheldon, a two-time Indy 500 winner and former IndyCar champion, was just 33. He left behind a wife and two children and a family that includes a mother with Alzheimer’s disease.

In this modern age of professional auto racing, where so many safety advancements allow drivers to commonly walk away from horrible wrecks, it can be easy to forget how dangerous the sport really is. The human body cannot evolve along with technology.

With another life lost amid the carnage of flame and flying sheet metal, how high a cost it is to be reminded.

The Big Green dominated both halves of the match due to solid forward runs and repeated Army blunders. Co-captain Chris Downer ’11, who been injured with a cracked rib during the spring’s inaugural College Premier Division season, came up big in the match, and secured the team’s first try.

The Black Knights responded just two minutes later, but with neither team able to score its conversion, the score remained tied at five.

The Big Green took control soon after, as Nate Brakeley ’12, Bill Lehmann ’12 and co-captain Paul Jarvis ’12 each added a try to end the half at 22-5.

Dartmouth succumbed to one last Army run and try early in the second half, but was able to maintain its momentum to close out the dying minutes with two last tries from Downer and TJ Cameron ’11.

The Big Green’s win against Army comes just over two months after it ceded a 32-23 loss to the Black Knights earlier this spring.

Dartmouth was invited to the Championships after participating in last year’s tournament, in which the University of Utah came out victorious.

Dartmouth managed to overcome Utah in Saturday’s group play 17-12, and ended the first day of play undefeated by edging out the University of Notre Dame and Boston College.

The Big Green went on to vanquish semifinal opponent Central Washington University 24-12, converting its 17-7 halftime lead to a win and advancing onto the final game.

The Championships tournament was comprised of two 10-minute halves, markedly different from the Premier Division’s longer 40-minute periods. Played on a smaller field and with seven players per team compared to the Premier Division’s 15, sevens is a faster game that sees more ball movement and running, head coach Alexander Magleby said in an earlier interview with the Dartmouth.

Dartmouth is no stranger to rugby sevens, as Magleby is a former captain of the United States National Sevens team.

The act of slacklining involves tethering a 1-inch tubed webbing between two anchor points. The rope is secured using a carabiner and can maintain a weight of 4,000 pounds.

“The mental focus experienced while walking the line is just beautiful. As far as the walker is concerned, the outside world does not exist; it takes 100 percent of your brainpower to maintain balance. If you let the outside world into your thoughts for an instant, you fall off,” said Ian Roth, an active slackliner and OSU alumnus.

While the act most commonly seen on campus involves walking just a few feet above the ground, there is also a style of slacklining called “highlining.” As the name suggests, the walker is often much higher off the ground and is tethered to the rope for safety.

Slacklining has gained a lot of momentum as an extracurricular activity for rock climbers. Often on rest days or while at camp, climbers will slackline to work on their mental focus. Though it may be recreational, the sport does take a great deal of practice.

“Persistence is key. Also, coming to grips with the fact that you are going to take a lot of falls. Keep getting back on the line until you get another step. A fun game for beginners is to loosely tie a string on the line as a marker for the furthest point walked, and push it forward with your toes as you get better. Soon enough it will be to the far anchor,” Roth said.

Clearly the art of slacklining is for the calm and patient, but not for the faint of heart.

“I really enjoy the feeling of mastering a skill,” said Jesse Hansen, slackliner at OSU. “When I am slacklining, especially on a high line, there is a moment of focus that is unparalleled in anything I have ever done.”

The Centaurs’ roster actually consists of members of three schools—The University of Vaasa, Åbo Akademi Vaasa and Hanken School of Economics—and while the team masquerades as a quidditch squad, they actually have another identity. Vassar quidditch Captain Sandy Wood ’13 explained, “I believe it’s the Model [United Nations (UN)] team.” Wood continued, noting that the Butterbeer Broooers received an e-mail in late 2010 stating, “[Vaasa was] planning on coming to the United States in February and they [wanted] to arrange to play us.”

The Vaasa roster consists of 11 players from five different countries: Finland, France, Italy, Portugal and Mexico. The team was initially introduced to the sport just months ago, when as Wood explained, a member of the team happened to discover online videos showcasing the sport. The game quickly spread in Finland, and just a few months later the country’s first quidditch team is already facing international competition.

International director of the International Quidditch Association (IQA) Andrea Hill confirmed in an e-mailed statement, “The Centaurs are playing in the United States because most players are on a National Model [United Nations (NMUN)] team traveling to Boston for the NMUN at Harvard [University] in February. Individuals from the team traveling to the States for this event decided to get some game time in while they were in America.”

Vassar will not be the only team facing Vaasa when the Finnish squad visits the United States; they will also face a number of Boston-area teams, including 2010 runner-up Tufts University and Stony Brook University. However, Vassar will be both their first American opponent, as well as their first intercollegiate opponent. Hill writes: “The Vaasa Centaurs team formed in December 2010 so the team is quite young. However, team members have been practicing diligently in the past months in between studying and preparing for the NMUN. The games in the United States will be the first they play against other teams.”

Although the Centaurs will be spending the lionshare of their time in Boston, they decided to go out of their way to face the Broooers. Wood claimed Vaasa’s decision to visit Vassar is one inspired by the similarities in their names.

When prodded to elaborate by fellow Captain Nathan Hoston ’13, she continued, “Well, I think that must have been part of what makes it fun.”

Hoston offered a different explanation: “I would like to think it was because of our reputation.” The reputation, Hoston added, is one of skill, sportsmanship and friendliness. He did, however, relent that the similarities in the names might have also been a factor.

Hill, though, offered another explanation. “Teams were chosen on a first-come basis. Vassar volunteered first and offered to host players,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement.

Those within the IQA are hopeful that this international expansion is a lasting trend. Hill writes, “We have a number of teams across the world, including teams in Australia, New Zealand, India, Russia, South Africa, Mexico, France, Germany and the United Kingdom and we hope to encourage some of these teams to travel to the United States.”

Commissioner of the International Quidditch Association Alex Benepe is hopeful that this international presence might manifest itself at the 2011 World Cup, the IQA’s next signature event. He wrote in an e-mailed statement, “Both Vaasa and a team [from] Auckland, New Zealand hope to attend the 2011 World Cup.”

Although in the Harry Potter books it is easy for wizards and witches to assemble from across the planet for a quidditch match, in the muggle world the same feat is challenging. Still, with Vaasa’s visit to Poughkeepsie and the United States, perhaps a trend is beginning, just as a trend began three-and-a-half years ago on a field at Middlebury College.

According to The New York Times, the campus is currently not in line with any of the three prongs of Title IX compliance test. The three prongs require all universities that receive federal funding to either have the male to female athlete ratio represent the male to female ratio of the campus population, demonstrate a consistent history of expanding women’s athletics on campus or have full and effective accommodation of the interest and ability of women in sports.

Though the campus claims to adhere to the law, The New York Times article states the campus is not compliant with any of the three criteria.

“Just 40 percent of the 965 participants on the university’s varsity teams were women in the 2009-10 academic year; its overall student enrollment was 53 percent female,” the article stated.

However, the most current number of student athletes, as released by the campus in September, was in fact 814 individuals. Campus officials said the numbers in The New York Times article were outdated and that the article was speculative.

Campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said in an e-mail it was necessary to understand that the campus fully analyzed the Title IX consequences in the initial scope of the decision to cut the five teams – baseball, men’s rugby, men’s gymnastics, women’s lacrosse and women’s gymnastics – back in September.

“Once the campus completes its continuing review of philanthropic commitments provided to the ‘Save Cal Sports’ endeavor and determines the extent of its success, a final determination will be made about the future scope of the program,” he said in the e-mail.

Mogulof added that once the decision regarding the possible reinstatement of the athletics teams is announced Thursday, the campus will provide information and answer questions about how the campus will continue to fully comply with Title IX.

The campus plans to announce its decision on whether or not it will reinstate the athletics teams Thursday by noon.

Jack Wang of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

“‘Script Ohio’ is very important to me and to the Buckeye nation,” said Jon Woods, director of the OSU Marching Band. “It is a signature of who we are as the state of Ohio and a university.”

The first time OSU’s marching band scrawled the state’s name in cursive — and dotted the “i” — was in 1936, said Tamar Chute, associate university archivist.

But that was not the first time a marching band spelled “Ohio” on the field. Four years earlier, in 1932, Michigan’s marching band performed at OSU’s stadium, Chute said. During the show, the band spelled “Ohio” in script diagonally across the field.

How it became a pre-game tradition for the OSU band is a matter of speculation, Chute said. Some say that Eugene Weigel, director of the marching band in 1936, saw the Michigan marching band spell out the state’s name on the field. Weigel, though, said he got his inspiration from Times Square signs in New York City and from Columbus’ Ohio Theatre sign.

Chute said it might be a combination of both.

Others say Weigel was inspired by an airplane that spelled “Ohio” in smoke, said Paul Droste, unofficial archivist and former director of the OSU Marching Band from 1970 to 1983.

The biggest difference from the 1936 “Script Ohio” and the formation seen today is the dotting of the “i,” Chute said. When it started, the letter was dotted by a trumpet player.

Four games later, Weigel wanted to put more emphasis on dotting the “i,” so he assigned a sousaphone player to the task, Droste said.

“Weigel wanted to make it more visible, and what is more visible than a large sousaphone?” Droste said.

Considered a mark of prestige, dotting the “i” is reserved for seniors who spend their college careers working up to that honor, Woods said.

Ryan Wiens, a fourth-year in zoology, is the sousaphone player who will dot the “i” at Saturday’s game against Michigan.

“It is great to be a part of what is known as the greatest college tradition,” Wiens said.

This week, the BG Rugby team was voted the No. 1 team in the nation by both “American Rugby News” and “Rugby Magazine.”

After receiving praise from both magazines, the Falcons faced the challenge of hosting Virginia Tech Saturday, a team that dealt with adversity in the past but is back on the right path this season.

The Falcons took it to the Hokies, defeating them 58-7 in a dominating performance from beginning to end.

“Any time a program goes through something like this, they’re not going to be as strong as they once were,” coach Tony Mazzarella said. “They were a strong team. I thought they played better than the score showed. We just played solid defense against them.”

The victory was no easy feat, especially with All-American wing Rocco Mauer unavailable for the match because he is currently trying out for the United States National Sevens team.

The Falcons did not hesitate to score as they took the first kickoff down the field to the five-yard line, ending in a try by eight-man Kyle Bonek.

Freshman wing Max Narewski added two first half tries and lock Ed Luther and prop Dane Szente both scored a try for the Falcons.

In a completely one-sided first half, BG went into the break with a 32-0 lead.

Unfortunately for the Hokies, not much would change in the second half.

Narewski tacked on two more tries after the break, one from about 75 yards out.

Szente barreled his way past the try line from short yardage for five more points.

The Hokies finally put some points on the board in the final minutes of the match.

Not to be outdone, wing Jon Bill quickly responded by breaking free down the sideline with a try of his own to finish the game.

Despite the win, there are always things that can be tweaked or worked on.

“We’re just not all quite on the same page for an entire game,” Mazzarella said. “I think we showed flashes of what we are trying to do working out, then there are flashes of where we look a little discombobulated, and we just don’t look very sharp and that’s something we’ve been working on.”

Narewski led the Falcons with 20 points. All-American flyhalf Nick Viviani added five conversions and a penalty kick, good for 15 points.

The Falcons return to the pitch to defend their undefeated record when Purdue comes to town Saturday. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.

At 11:27 a.m. on Sunday morning, professional skater Tony Hawk sent a message via Twitter, “Greencastle Skatepark (Indiana), 4pm-ish. That’s all I’m saying.”

Unannounced in any other capacity, this was indeed a surprise visit. Traveling on a tour through the Midwest, Hawk and his skating team, Birdhouse, stopped by Greencastle on their way to Cincinnati from Chicago. Hawk said this was a chance to see the skate park in Greencastle, which is funded by the Tony Hawk Foundation.

“We wanted to make a sort of unscheduled appearance at a skate park and hang out with the locals and do a surprise exhibition, and that’s what we did here,” Hawk said.

Hawk found the spontaneous visit worthwhile. He later posted another Twitter message: “Thanks Greencastle, most polite autograph line ever.”

Greencastle residents, DePauw students and skateboarding fans gathered at the skate park to watch Birdhouse skate and receive posters signed by Hawk. Sophomore Nick Barone, a frequent skater at the skate park, attended the event and had a chance to watch the Birdhouse team, a group he has idolized for a long time.

“It’s crazy for me because I’ve grown up seeing these guys in videos, and now they’re randomly at the Greencastle skate park,” Barone said. “It’s just unreal.”

Shawn Hale, a team member of Birdhouse, said the visit mainly consisted of filming video of the Birdhouse team skating. The video can be viewed at http://www.shredordie.com/video/birdhouse-midwest-tourchicago.

Hale first picked up a skateboard at the age of 13, when his sister gave one to him as a gift. Ever since, skating became the focus of his life.

“It was just all I started doing,” Hale said. “I pretty much just quit everything else and started doing it all the time.”

Hawk said the Tony Hawk Foundation funds skate parks like the one in Robe Ann Park in order to reach out to local youth.

“I’d like to think that it’s given a place for kids who are into these sports a sense of belonging and a place to hone their skills and to find their community,” Hawk said.

Hawk said the skate park in Greencastle is a good example as to how far skateboarding has come since he began skating.

“When I was growing up, there were only a handful of skate parks in the world, and now smaller towns are getting really quality facilities,” Hawk said. “The next pro-skater could come from a place like this.”

When the junior captain of the Penn State U. fencing team walked onto the White House’s South Lawn Monday evening, he was greeted by lush, well-manicured grass, picturesque picnic tables and a sturdy platform stage that featured a podium with the Presidential Seal.

Ochocki called the scenery “beautiful,” but said he was actually more impressed by something else — an estimated 650 student athletes standing there with him.

“I was just trying to meet as many people as I could,” Ochocki said.

“There’s so many different athletes who have accomplished so much. It [was] cool to be just here with them.”

The Penn State men’s and women’s fencing teams — along with a collection of nearly three dozen other 2009 national champion squads ranging from the Duke men’s lacrosse team to the Fairleigh Dickinson women’s bowling team — were honored Monday by President Obama at NCAA Champions Day.

And, according to Ochocki, the highlight for the Nittany Lions was the chance to mingle with their counterparts from around the country.

“We didn’t really talk sports,” said Ochocki, who, in 2008, became the first true freshman to become a NCAA saber national champion. “We just talked about life, where you’re from, things like that.”

The Lions arrived at the reception about two hours before Obama made his remarks. They spent that time socializing with their peers, trading stories and comparing the NCAA championship rings each athlete sported at the event.

Junior fencer Miles Chamley-Watson even joked that he “talked to a bunch of cute girls.”

“I got a bunch of numbers,” Chamley-Watson said with a grin.

But once the ceremony began, all eyes were on the podium.

“This is the most athletic talent we’ve ever had on the South Lawn,” Obama told the audience, who clapped and cheered every time the president took even the slightest pause.

During the speech, Chamley-Watson stood somewhere in the middle of the crowd of student athletes.

He used his lanky 6-foot-4 frame — that helped him earn All-American status last season — to extend his arm above the crowd and capture the speech on his iPhone.

“It’s just an amazing experience,” Chamley-Watson said.

Penn State Director of Athletics Tim Curley, who accompanied the Lions to the nation’s capital, echoed Chamley-Watson’s sentiment.

He added that being honored by the president should give the athletes some motivation to keep working hard for the upcoming season.

“Anytime you get a ring on your finger, and get a chance to do this, it’s a reward,” Curley said.

Coming in from high school, Erica was not the most highly touted runner in her class. In fact, she was competing against many other runners who had far better résumés.

“She came from a good high school, so she understood what it meant to be a contributor to a strong team,” Irish coach Tim Connelly said.

Watson knew what it meant to contribute to the team, whether in big ways or just by doing the little things. She has been a quiet example for other runners to look up to as she goes about the sport the right way.

As a freshman, Watson was competing against stronger competition than she had competed against high school. She did not waver however, and continued to persevere through the trials.

“The main thing that I told her early on was to work hard and be patient, which is what she has done for four years,” Connelly said.

The years of hard work finally began to pay off as she improved to become a regular contributor to the team. She finally began collecting points for the Irish in the meets as she continued to put forth the effort.

When working hard, it’s possible to over-train and eventually tax the body. Watson has watched herself and come to know when she may need to slow down, which is not typically done in a race.

“She has been very intelligent in her training, push[ing] hard when she was able to and back[ing] off when she needed to recover,” Connelly said. “As a result, she has avoided many injuries and has been able to have a steady progression.

Her hard work has paid off in running and has affected other members of the team. She has had a positive effect upon the younger runners and has become an excellent leader for the team.

During her career, Watson has given the Irish three years of consistency, and she has moved from a rather quiet freshman to become a more vocal team leader.

The first image seen on the team’s website, for example, is of team president Eric Hagen with his face covered in blood.

The spaces where players on the roster who don’t have mug shots would be are filled with images of ex-Cornhusker football star Ndamukong Suh.

The team’s site prominently features a photo of the entire team attempting to hold off the scrum machine, a gigantic tackling sled.

These images drive home a point.

The Nebraska U. rugby team is far from average compared to UNL’s other Rec teams.

The typical UNL Rec team doesn’t have a website.

It doesn’t travel to five states to compete. It doesn’t have a full-time coaching staff.

The average team also isn’t as demanding as the rugby squad.

The team practices at least three hours a week and sometimes up to seven in addition to their game schedule, which includes division rivals Kansas State U., Oklahoma State U. and Truman State U..

But there are no scholarships, so the team can’t punish players for not practicing.

That can lead to some players having more rigorous schedules than others.

“There’s not a whole lot we can do to force players to come to practice,” Hagen said.

“So it’s really what you make of it. We have two mandatory practices, and I lead another, and there’s also another fitness one.

“Our goal is to make the Sweet 16 (national championship) tournament, and we need to work hard to do that. If a player skips, though, his teammates ride him pretty hard.”

The team is able to support itself through alumni and fan donations, memorabilia sales and player dues, but coach Niko Waqalaivi doesn’t have great amounts of financial assistance from the university, making money a problem for the team at times.

“The university does a good job of providing for us, but not when there isn’t class,” Waqalaivi said.

“But the Old Boys (alumni association) are very good about raising money when we need them to.

“Money’s always an issue, but we always have it when we need it.”

On the field, though, those concerns go away.

Due to “communication issues,” the team had to withdraw from the Jackalope Tournament in Laramie, Wyo., and has played just one collegiate match, a 34-5 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 4.

The blowout loss was to be expected, as the team is relying mostly on inexperienced players as it tries to create a rugby program similar to what would be found in South Africa club teams.

Erwin “Smidy” Schmidt, a former NU distance runner and native of South Africa, has been instrumental in that capacity since joining the team as an assistant coach this season.

“We’re building a platform right now,” Schmidt said.

“We’re installing a system and trying to build on it. Our goal is to be a great college team in four or five years.”

That system requires a lot of new players, a job Waqalaivi leaves to players like fifth-year senior hooker Jeff Hunter.

“We try to get high school players who played football or wrestling and want to play a competitive sport,” Hunter said.

“To me, rugby is the greatest sport ever, and just playing the game makes it worth the effort.”

“You have to pay to play, so it’s not exactly easy to recruit.”

Players pay nearly $100 for insurance from the International Rugby Board as well as a few small fees, but those costs vary every year.

Waqalaivi knows all too well the problems facing the program.

After coaching Nebraska in the 1990s, he left the program to coach in Aspen,  Colo., and returned this year to find “the cupboard bare.”

Recruiting had stagnated, players had become complacent and weren’t practicing hard enough, and there wasn’t any experienced depth on the team.

“The key to any sport, any athlete, is competition,” Waqalaivi said.

“We had players who didn’t care as much, who thought they would play regardless. But we brought in more players, installed more competition.

“We can make rugby work here, but we need that competitive spirit to do it.”

A competitive spirit isn’t the only thing — a little luck avoiding injuries would help, too.

While Waqalaivi calls rugby a “contact sport like any other,” the fact remains that with very little padding worn, and high levels of contact, rugby has a high injury risk.

“Rugby has the most injuries per 1,000 minutes played of any sport,” Schmidt said.

“I would know — I tore my ACL playing. This is why I’m a coach now. I was on the track team at UNL but wasn’t allowed to play rugby for this reason.”

Despite the risk of injury and the time commitment involved, the players wouldn’t change a thing.

To them, rugby isn’t a pastime. It’s a lifestyle.

“It’s definitely a lifestyle, no question,” Hagen said.

“We hang out together, party together, do everything together. I’ve made this team my entire life. We pay to play. We’re not getting any benefits.

“We do this because we love it — love the game, love the team.”

The No. 24 Penn State women’s team turned in a third-place finish, while the men placed fourth at the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational at the Penn State Golf Courses Saturday morning.

After finishing 11th nationally last season and winning the Big Ten championship, the team finished behind only No. 11 Georgetown and No. 7 Princeton, and both runners and coaches expected a finish on par with what the teams ended up with over the weekend.

“We’re pleased with the third-place finish. I think we competed very well against [Princeton and Georgetown],” coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. “When the rubber hit the road a little bit on this course — the last half is very difficult — I didn’t think our women ran as tough as they can. But it’s September, and you don’t want them to run as tough as they can until October and November.”

In similar fashion to last week’s Dolan Duals, both the men’s and women’s teams ran in a pack for the first part of the race.

Junior Kara Millhouse came out on top for Penn State, placing seventh overall with a time of 21 minutes, 16.6 seconds on the 6,000-meter course, averaging a 5:45 mile.

“I think it was one of my better races I’ve had here. I think it has to do with me maturing as a runner,” Milhouse said. “But we have so much talent in the front pack of our team. Any day, we could run this race and someone else will finish in front.”

Alford-Sullivan said she was happy with the men as well as the women, saying the men have shown much more focus and determination already this season. Led by juniors Kyle Dawson and Vince McNally in the 8,000-meter race, Penn State earned two of the top seven spots.

Though Sullivan said she was happy with the men’s results, McNally said he wanted to beat unranked Navy, which finished in third place, just ahead of the Lions.

“It would have been nice to be third. It was pretty close,” McNally said. “It kind of sucks that we’re trying to set our sights on the Georgetowns and Princetons, to have Navy slip in there was a little disappointing.”

McNally said the team will continue trying to run as a pack for the bulk of races, but identified a weak spot in the team’s game Saturday on which to improve.

“It’s kind of tricky, because we wanted to run more as a team [Saturday], but we went out a little hot,” McNally said. “Getting up there with Kyle, [Chris] Cipro and I in what I call the peloton, we could have been back leading our whole group of guys instead of being in our own little pack out front.”

With the next meet coming on Sept. 25 in Minnesota, both teams’ runners are anticipating competition of even higher quality.

And while neither team finished above their expected performance, McNally said September is all about building up the team and solidifying the team’s strategy.

“It’s September, so I think this was a good baseline, especially off of what we were last year,” McNally said. “We’re content [with this race] as a team. So we’re just going to build off this race and keep getting better.”

Both the men’s and women’s squads will run 5 km races, giving them a chance to ease into a long schedule that will typically feature 6 kms for women and 8 kms for men.

“It’s basically a get-your-feet-wet race,” head coach Clay Calkins said. “We’re trying to get one under our belt and see where our athletes are at.”

The course runs over the campus golf course on South Green and provides the perfect setting for this first meet of the season.

Calkins said the terrain was forgiving, and the trail should be one of the easiest the team will face this season.

Because he can bring an unlimited roster size, Calkins did not have problems deciding which runners will compete.

“We’ll pretty much run most of our athletes, minus some of the top ones,” Calkins said. “For the returning athletes and the freshmen, this will be a good gauge and it will help us see who’s going to make the traveling team for the following week.”

Calkins will rest some of his top runners because of the Sept. 17 Virginia Tech Invitational.

The top five runners in each race Saturday will receive points, while the next two finishers also will place.

But while this is the first event of the fall for Ohio, Rio Grande is bringing in a bit more experience.

The RedStorm of the NAIA competed in the Flyer 5 km Challenge at the University of Dayton. The women’s team finished fifth out of eight teams in the Intercollegiate Division and the men’s team finished fourth out of seven.

Junior Cassie Mattia was Rio Grande’s leading woman runner, as she crossed the line in 19 minutes and 46 seconds.

Sophomore Nick Wilson, the first RedStorm male to finish, turned in a time of 15:43.

At the Ohio Open Saturday, the women will start at 2:30 p.m. and the men will begin at 3 p.m.

“The alumnae race is a 5K that will just be the team and former cross country alumnae racing together. We’re anticipating 15 to 20 former athletes to come out and run, but it is not a very competitive event, but more an exhibition event for the team,” Belles coach Jacqueline Bauters said.

The event will be a good warm-up for the Belles, as they will race again Sept. 18 at the Calvin Invitational, which is an event for which the team has been working hard to prepare.

“For the past few weeks our focus has really been working towards our first real race at Calvin on the 18th,” Bauters said. “Up until now we are working to prepare ourselves to race competitively and strategically to do well then.”

The Belles will look to their core of veterans to help the team work on its weak spots before the meet at Calvin.

“The past two races have provided us with markers on how prepared the team is currently and what steps we need to do to get them ready for next Saturday”, Bauters said. “We have a strong team this season, with [sophomore] Julia Kenney and [junior] Joanne Almond leading a pack of seven or so sophomores, juniors and seniors.”

The team has indeed put up strong results already this season. The Belles opened up their season with a 58-15 victory over Goshen on Sept. 1, posting the top eight times in the meet with a first place finish by Kenney, who posted a time of 20 minute, and 48 seconds as well as a second place finish on the strength of Almond’s 20 minute, 48 second run.

The following race for the Belles came on Sept. 4 at Wabash. The Belles took home a third place finish out of six teams, only falling short behind then-No. 12 ranked DePauw and the Division II University of Indianapolis. Kenney and Almond were again the top finishers for the Belles, both coming in at 23 minutes and 27 seconds.

With some already positive results, Coach Bauters said she is looking to improve from last year and to keep striving for even more success this season.

“As a team we are looking to improve within the MIAA, cracking into the top 3 in the conference after a few years of coming in fourth,” said Bauters. “I think with the talent and hard work I’ve seen thus far, these goals are attainable. I’m very pleased with how everyone is running so far and look for much better things to come.”

The Alumnae Race will be held Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Angela Athletic Facility.

The win comes a season after the Axemen, who play their home games at U. North Florida’s Hodges Stadium, lost in last year’s AMNRL Grand Final after going undefeated the entire season.

Axemen co-founder, coach and player Daryl “Spinner” Howland said he felt the team had to lose a championship before they won one, and he feels winning one after losing last year makes their first championship feel so much nicer.

“It’s a dream come true,” Howland said. “It’s one of my happiest days of my career and one of my happiest days of my life. I will never ever forget that day.”

The championship did not come without a struggle. It was a physical game that led to broken noses and stitches for some of the players. The Axemen found themselves down 14-10 at halftime and memories of last season’s let down started to crawl back into the heads of the players, Howland said.

Howland said the Axemen were not composed in the first half, and some of the guys were trying to do too much. They were missing tackles and forcing passes.

However, the Axemen came out of the half composed after going through the same thing a year ago and scored 24 unanswered points. Halfback Brent Shorten, who was named MVP after scoring three tries and four conversions for 20 points, led the team.

Howland said fitness played a huge role in the way the Axemen came out and played in the second half. He also pointed to the fact that they did not panic. He said they just went out and played their game at their speed. Howland was very impressed with how his team reacted.

He said he finally felt like the team had control of the game and was going to win with about 10 minutes left on the clock. He said it is close to impossible for a team to come back from three tries down with that amount of time. He started to get excited and even admitted to shaking a bit.

The only thing that calmed him down was when he had to come back into the game after an injury to another player. Howland had played earlier but did not expect to have to come back into the game. However, he did find time to score the final points of the game on the last play of a championship season for the Axemen.

“I basically fell over the try,” Howland said. “It’s one of those things where it’s so bizarre you don’t even dream about it. They say things like that happen in slow motion.”

After the try, Howland found himself having to attempt the extra point conversion, something he wasn’t used to, since their kicker was hurt.

“I hadn’t taken an extra point conversion in about four years,” Howland said. “But I put her down on the tee and took a couple of steps back, a couple of steps sideways and just belted it right over the black dot.”

Howland hopes the win will add to the popularity he feels rugby already has in Jacksonville, he said. He was surprised with the amount of fans that made the trip from Jacksonville up to Pennsylvania. He said fans were even at the airport waiting to congratulate the Axemen Aug. 29 when they got back.

With the Axemen not losing a home game at Hodges Stadium in the past two seasons and more people attending and becoming fans of rugby, Howland has confirmed the Atlantic Cup will be played at Hodges Stadium Nov. 14-21.

The cup will feature the national rugby teams from the U.S., Jamaica and Canada. If attendance goes well and the tournament is run well, Howland hopes to put in a bid for a 2013 Rugby World Cup qualifying tournament, which will take place in 2011, to be played at UNF. Howland is very happy for the relation between UNF and the Axemen and said he would love to bring an event like that to Hodges Stadium.

“UNF, what a great partner,” Howland said. “I mean, honestly they have been not just a venue. They’re just not a place we just rent a stadium from. They literally are a part of everything we do. It’s first class. It’s just a quality establishment.”

The Axemen started their celebration Aug. 30 at the Times Grill in Jacksonville but look to take about three weeks off before starting back up and training to defend their new championship.

However, the Colonels will continue to have their work cut out for them in 2010 as Nicholls enters the year as one of six Southland Conference schools ranked in the South Central region by the USTFCCCA.

Once again, the Southland continues to live up to the billing as home to some of the best distance programs in the region as Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, Texas-Arlington, Lamar and McNeese State all begin the year ranked ahead of the Colonels in the region.

Nicholls is led by a strong senior class headlined by Lauren Jones who, last season, became the first Nicholls cross country runner to earn All-Southland Conference honors. Kadi Whisnant will look to translate her 2009 conference dominance in the 3K steeplechase into greater success on the cross-country course.

A strong crop of new distance runners also bolsters the Colonels. Distance runner Emily Charlesworth comes to Thibodaux all the way from Quathiaski Cove, British Columbia, Canada. Charlesworth established herself as one of the top distance runners in her province, turning in a runner-up performance at the British Columbia Under-19 Championships this spring.

Jaclyn White joins the Colonel distance crew after turning in a stellar high school career at Springstead High School in Weeki Wachi, Fla. White is projected to be a cross country runner and 800 m specialist on the track for the Colonels.

Closer to home, Baton Rouge native Sarah Pressley comes to Thibodaux after coming on strong late in her senior year at Archbishop Runnels High School. Pressley boasts a second place time of 11:46 in the 3200 at the state championships as a senior.

The Colonels will open the 2010 season this Friday at the McNeese Relay. The Lake Charles meet will be Nicholls’ first opportunity to line up against and possibly pass several of their regional rivals.

North Carolina State U. junior Ryan Hill hopes the height of his team and personal success in competition will reflect the height at which they have prepared themselves. After being named ACC Rookie of the Year and earning All-ACC honors in 2008 and receiving All-ACC, All-NCAA Regional and All-American honors in 2009, Hill’s goal are even higher this year.

“First I think about team goals,” Hill said. “I always want the team to win ACC’s and finish top-10 at Nationals. We want to take that next step. Individually I also want to be in the top-10.”

As the track season and cross-country season bleed into one another, one season prepares athletes for the other, making training and racing a year–round process. With summers of training involving running more than 100 miles per week, workouts and constant competition over the course of 11 months, it is easy to understand the possible fatigue and wear on the athletes.

Coach Rollie Geiger said the key to a consistent, successful season is having a heavy workload, but also knowing one’s body and getting rest.

“Coaches have to hold back athletes sometimes,” said coach Geiger.

Hill’s career accomplishments to this point prove he has the physical skills to compete at a high level

“When Ryan enters a race, he’ll have a chance to win,” Geiger said. “People have to see him as a formidable competitor.”

In addition to the physical mechanics, Ryan also uses his knowledge to help him succeed.

“His racing IQ is off the charts,” Geiger said. “There are no timeouts in cross-country, so you have to figure it out on the run.”

What separates athletes that are just good enough or simply better than everyone else from athletes that are great is an internal motivation, a competitive drive to be better. And Hill has that work ethic. He is especially competitive, making no excuses for anything other than his absolute best, and he maintains high expectations. These characteristics are seen and emulated by his teammates. They see the expectations he holds for himself and they adopt similar expectations and motivations.

His competitive nature is a motivational tool he uses not only for himself, but also for getting the best out of his teammates, and he aims his intensity directly at the opponent.

“A lot of people think that UNC has the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, so obviously I want to beat UNC,” Hill said. “Every time we race, I want us to beat them and I don’t want any of them to beat me. They have a lot of hype in the cross-country scene right now and I’d really like to put all that to rest.”

The State College Police Department said Gyory, a sophomore business management major, had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath at the time he was cited.

Gyory was intoxicated and crawled into the bed of a pickup truck where he passed out, police said. Gyory also broke a rear view mirror off of a vehicle and took it, police said.

Police did not say if the vehicle Gyory fell asleep in and took the rear view mirror from were the same.

The charges against Gyory were filed on Aug. 24, according to court documents.

Police are still awaiting a plea from Gyory, according to court documents.

Penn State head cheerleading coach Curtis White released a statement today that said Gyory will not suit up during the month of September.

“We are certainly disappointed in the news of this incident,” White said in the statement.

White declined further comment.

Athletic Department officials could not confirm if a Nittany Lion mascot will be present at the first home football game of the season against Youngstown State this Saturday.

Gyory did not return calls for comment.

Super Late Model driver Jim Klingel, of Aurora, can attribute his latest victory at Sycamore Speedway to his good fortune. After recording the seventh-fastest lap in qualifying times, Klingel would earn the starting pole position for the feature event.

It didn’t take long for the pressure to be put on Klingel as Chris Thielsen, of Elgin, was all over his rear bumper. On lap two, Thielsen edged underneath Klingel but couldn’t keep his car from making contact, sending Thielsen into the infield and spinning Klingel sideways. Klingel regained composure and built a solid lead.

After a mid-race caution, fifth-place starter Johnny Heath, of Kingston, had moved up to second. Heath is a four-time past champion in the Super Late Model division at Sycamore. Saturday was his third runner-up finish.

“The car is getting closer but I’m not happy with it yet,” Heath said. “I haven’t been starting up front like everybody else though.”

Heath would challenge for the top spot but Klingel led flag-to-flag for his third Super Late Model victory this year.

Klingel, a former Late Model champion, knew that if he stayed focused he could capture the victory. “You can’t worry about what is behind you,” said Klingel, who entered the night seventh in the points standings. You have to worry about what is in front of you and give every effort to keep them from getting by you.”

Heath would hang on for second with trophy dash winner Jay Brendle, of Kirkland, third and Thielsen fourth. The semi-feature went to Jeff Lasage, of Elgin.

Sargent recently joined nine professional skiers from across New England to participate in the Craftsbury Green Racing Project, a program in which members participate in various sustainability activities and community outreach intended to offset the environmental damage caused by ski training and racing.

As a professional cross-country ski team based in Craftsbury, Vt., the Craftsbury Nordic Ski Club trains throughout the year in preparation for upcoming competitions.

Sargent trained and competed with the club full-time during her off-term this past fall and races with the team throughout the year.

During the summer, however, the team strays from its strict training regimen to promote a greener lifestyle, Sargent said.

Sargent and her fellow skiiers partake in composting efforts, gather data on general lake health and survey the Craftsbury Outdoor Center’s carbon emissions.

The skiers also work to expand the club’s trails in a manner that minimizes damage to the surrounding ecosystem, according to the Green Racing Project website,

Additionally, the team reaches out to the community to encourage others to live environmentally-responsible lives, according to Sargent.

Members of the Green Racing Project — currently in its second year — is also working to set up an initiative that will encourage consumption of locally grown foods, as well as enable team members to install solar panels at the Craftsbury Outdoor Center and monitor the water quality in a nearby lake, Sargent added.

The team provides online updates through a blog that include both sustainability advice and information regarding the group’s activities.

While at the club, Sargent also leads a group of seven to 14-year olds who train through dry-land exercises such as roller skiiing and running three times a week. She said that these sessions enable her to relive her own childhood experiences at the club.

“One of my favorite projects is coaching for the kids’ ski program,” she said. “It’s the same program which I was a part of at that age so it’s exciting to help the next generation of Craftsbury skiers.”

Sargent said she has been able to acclimate quickly to the program since she grew up near Craftsbury and skiied with the club as a child.

“It was the perfect fit for me when the Green Racing Project started last spring,” she said. “I was already familiar with the coach and the training plan so it’s awesome to have a full-time program now with other things besides just training and skiing.”

The program includes four Dartmouth alumni — last year’s men’s Nordic team captain Patrick O’Brien, Chelsea Little, Hannah Dreissigacker and Susan Dunklee.

Sargent said that her fellow teammates’ commitment to the sport inspire her and that it has been great to train alongside fellow Dartmouth skiiers. “It really shows the strength of the Dartmouth ski team,” she said. “ It produces a lot of skiers who are capable of and want to continue the sport after graduation.”

In her first season as the team captain this past year, Sargent attained unprecedented success. After a sophomore campaign with only one carnival victory, Sargent ended her junior year with seven wins and finished first in at least one event at every carnival she participated in.
Sargent highlighted last season with a third-place finish in the classic sprint race at the U.S. Cross-Country Ski Championships in Anchorage, Alaska, after which she traveled to Germany and finished fourth at the U-23 World Championships.

Looking to next year, Sargent said she hopes to build on the momentum from last season on both an individual and team level.

Formula One officially has a home in southeast Austin after Tuesday’s release of details regarding the new United States Grand Prix track location and the project’s primary investor, Red McCombs.

The track will be located on a 900-acre site along the Texas State Highway 130 corridor, just north of FM 812. The parcel of land is near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and is approximately 13 miles from the UT campus.

Tavo Hellmund, managing partner of Full Throttle Productions LP, held a press conference at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center announcing the site and the project’s partners.

McCombs, a native Texan, is a UT alumnus and the namesake of the University’s business school. He and his investment group, McCombs Partners, are “not new to sporting events,” as he stated at the conference. McCombs has previously been the owner of the NBA’s San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets as well as the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.

McCombs Partners will be joining Full Throttle Productions and Prophet Capital Management as the Formula One project’s partners as they bring what Hellmund calls the “most technologically advanced sport on the planet” to Austin.

“As excited as we all are about this, we still have many challenges,” McCombs said.

One of the partners’ priority commitments, Hellmund said, is to help economically improve the area. He cited ideal geography, connectivity and infrastructure as factors in making Austin a desirable host for Formula One.

According to the Office of the Texas Comptroller, the estimated annual economic impact of the race will amount to approximately $300 million. This figure is comparable to the annual economic impact of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, South By Southwest and all UT football home games combined, as reported by Community Impact Newspaper.

The date of Austin’s first Grand Prix will not be released until fall 2011, when the Formula One Association announces the schedule of races for 2012. Fans can sign up for updates and ticket information through the recently launched website, formula1unitedstates.com.

Many details regarding the track itself have yet to be revealed, including a layout that will be released later this summer. German engineering and architecture firm Tilke GmbH is designing the track, which will be the first specifically constructed for the Grand Prix in the U.S.

Hellmund plans to utilize the track throughout the year as more than just a Grand Prix location. He hopes to turn it into a “world-class multipurpose facility” that can be used for research and development.

“This is a lot more than just a race,” Hellmund said. “This puts us on a global stage.”

McCombs shared his vision of turning the site into a “Speed City,” complete with laboratories, testing centers, children’s activities and competitions and races not exclusively for cars.

“All of us want to go faster,” McCombs said.

Getting around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on a race day has never been easier.

The IMS, the largest sporting facility in the world, opened in 1909. Since then, a variety of races have graced the track, including the Indianapolis 500. Since 1994, it has also invited NASCAR to a 400-mile race around the 2.5-mile oval track.

The Brickyard 400 has been very popular in its relatively short lifetime and boasted high attendance numbers and even sellouts — until now.

Taking a gander at the crowds from the beginning of pit road to the end, a visitor might think it was a practice run, not race day.

With such a large venue — the IMS seats more than 250,000, not including the infield seating, moving the total to about 400,000 — a few empty seats might not seem like a big deal.

Several drivers seem to have the same mentality, including four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon.

“I still see we have great crowds,” said Gordon, who drives the No. 24 DuPont car. “So when you look at the other sports and the numbers, we’ve always been this huge number, you know, averaging over 100,000 fans.

“So we get knocked down to averaging 95,000, and we’re still doing pretty darn good.”
Gordon added that while he isn’t sure what exactly is keeping fans away, as there are so many potential factors, he tries to not think about it.

Whether it is the economy, the sweltering heat that took over the Speedway for most of the weekend or the lackluster races that have plagued the Brickyard for the past two seasons, it all comes to the same point — fewer people are coming out to watch NASCAR.

Or maybe, some drivers suggested, fans are just bored with a similar scene playing out every weekend, even if they are at different venues.

“Well let’s face it, I think that in the last five to seven years, the reality-based TV shows of everything we see on TV — it started out with ‘Survivor’ — people want to see dramatized, real-life things play out,” said Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion car.  “We’re hungry for that. ‘The Bachelor.’ ‘The Bachelorette.’ All of this drama and these ‘What’s going to happen next?’ You want to make it exciting and interesting. It has to be, so that’s part of it, I think. People don’t want to see the same old thing.”

However, it seems that even the recent Nationwide Series — the NASCAR racing league under the Sprint Cup — drama between drivers Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski has not been enough to entice more people out to the Speedway.

If two drivers intentionally wrecking one another on the final stretch of a race was not enough drama for the viewers, maybe they would be better off sticking to reality television rather than racing.

The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite car, Kurt Busch, isn’t worried about the decline, and he believes the attendance moves in cycles.

“I think that the racetracks saw a big boom in the mid-80s and -90s and started to build grandstands and built the tracks up so big that it’s not at full capacity right now,” Busch said. “There are still grandstand packages that they’re putting together. … Over 100,000 fans at most of our events is something that really can’t be done at any other sport.

“Whether it’s the economy, action on the track or the way that the cars look, there’s always things to look at and improve on because we want to be sold-out at every one of our events.”

And while any of the things Busch mentioned might be true, the drivers will still focus on the fans who do attend, rather than be upset about those who choose to stay away.

“I still see avid, incredible fans that are supporting us,” Gordon said. “So the numbers are down a bit. Are they ever going to be what they were? We’ll see. But I think the racing is about as good as it’s ever been.”

Lucky for Jamie McMurray, his crew made the right, and the winning, decision, as McMurray was able to drive his way to victory.

McMurray’s crew decided for two tires, while other drivers, such as Greg Biffle, opted for four during a pit stop late in the race.

“I thought I had a flat tire on the front, but I knew if we put four tires on, we weren’t going to have a chance to win,” McMurray said. “Man, when it is your day, it is your day. Everything just worked out. Our pit crew did a great job getting us off pit road really fast every time.

“It is just remarkable.”

Greg Biffle, one of the drivers who took four tires during that fateful pit stop, felt had he chosen two, he would have been the victor, not McMurray.

“We would have pulled it off. We would have won that race if we would have put two tires on and that and that’s just as simple as it gets,” Biffle said. “Woulda, shoulda, coulda. It’s hard when we haven’t won in a year-and-a-half and Ford hasn’t won up to this point. That’s pretty hard.”

Biffle, who finished in third place and led 38 laps, said that the difference between getting two and four fresh tires is a bigger deal than one might think.

“It’s like you got brand-new tires when you’re out front, it’s like you have 20-lap tires when you’re six car lengths behind a guy,” Biffle said. “The thing just stops. Just slides all four tires.”

However, taking fewer tires can be a gamble for teams if a late caution occurs, but McMurray had luck on his side, and the decision ended up creating some history.

With McMurray’s win, who races for Chip Ganassi Racing, taking the checkered flag today, Chip Ganassi has become the first owner to win the Daytona 500, the Indianapolis 500, and the Brickyard 400 in the same year. McMurray also won the Daytona 500, and Dario Franchitti brought Ganassi the other Indianapolis win.

Things weren’t always so great with Ganassi Racing, as the team was called unstable as recent as last year, and McMurray wasn’t even sure where he would be racing this time last season. But Ganassi relates the team’s turnaround to hard work, and of course a little luck.

“I’ll tell you what, I’m speechless,” Ganassi said. ‘I’m lucky and privileged to be in this business. I am honored to work with the people I work with … I’m the luckiest guy on the planet.

“You wouldn’t dare dream this, you wouldn’t dare dream this kind of year. That is the kind of year it has been.”

And Ganassi is right. Having teams in both NASCAR and IndyCar at the same time is rare, and having them all have the fortune to win races at Indy and Daytona during the same year is nearly impossible to imagine. Winning the Brickyard 400 also can be more difficult for the Sprint Cup drivers, as they only race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway once a season.

His accomplishment is one that will never be repeated, said Kevin Harvick.

“I think as race teams and race drivers and owners and sponsors, you come into the year, if you’re in the IndyCar Series, you want to win the Indy 500; if you’re in the Cup Series you want to win here and you want to win at Daytona,” Harvick said.

“To win all those in one year is remarkable. It will probably never happen again.”
And while winning the trifecta of races is extraordinary, it did not come as a surprised that a Ganassi team won today, but McMurray wasn’t the favorite.

Rather, his fellow teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, was dubbed the favorite after qualifying on the pole.  As the race delved on, it looked as if Montoya would be able to revenge the speeding penalty he was slapped with late in 2009’s race, and win his first Brickyard 400. A win this year would have been his second win on the IMS track, as he won the 2000 Indianapolis 500.

However, after leading 86 laps, he wrecked with just 15 laps to go, and was forced to retreat to the garages. He finished in 32nd place.

Having the favorite of the race delve out so close to the finish, and the winner both under the same owner can be a difficult situation.

But Ganassi, who had not yet had the chance to speak with Montoya, said that the Colombian was probably already over the mishap and ready for the next race.  However, Ganassi responded in good spirits about what he would say to Montoya about the race.

“Should’ve taken two (tires),” Ganassi joked.

And he has a good reason to be happy, as several of the last Brickyard 400 winners have used the momentum from Indy towards winning the Chase. This is particularly true with Chevrolet drivers, which McMurray is, as six times in the last 12 years a Chevy driver has won the Brickyard and later went on to win the championship. The most recent to do so is Jimmie Johnson, who won the Brickyard and the Cup championship in both 2008 and 2009.

However, McMurray isn’t as interested in the key component of the Chase as some drivers are, as he said he doesn’t pay attention to the points competition or where he is in relation to the top-12.  In fact, making the Chase is not the most important thing for the season to McMurray.

“I think you show up every week and you do your job and if you make the Chase, that’s wonderful,” he said. “Everyone wants to make the Chase. But getting to win the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 this year means more to me than making the Chase.

“In 10 years the guy that won both those races one year is the guy everybody will talk about. Whoever finishes second or third in the Chase, nobody is going to care about.”

Texas A&M’s men’s and women’s polo teams might be the best squads you’ve never heard of.  The Aggie men’s team won three straight national U.S. Polo Association championships from 1996-1998.  After a few years of finishing near the top, the Aggies returned to prominence with three titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010, thanks in large part to one man: Steve Krueger.

Krueger, a senior industrial and systems engineering major from Argyle, Texas, is considered to be the top collegiate player in the country.  He and Katie Connell were recently named the U.S. Polo Association’s Players of the Year.  Kreuger led the men’s team to championships his freshman and sophomore years, but the group placed second in 2009.  Kreuger and the Aggies upset the heavy favorites, the University of Virginia, on home turf in Charlottesville, Va.  by a score of 21-17 in the 2010 championship match.

In the same season, Stephanie Massey, a junior biomedical sciences major, captained the women’s squad to the national championship but lost to the University of Kentucky by a score of 14-15.   She is gearing up for next year and said she is ready for a challenge.

“Spring is polo season, though we practice year-round,” Massey said.  “Both our men’s and women’s polo teams are considered among the best in the country.”
Although the squads are successful, the sport’s existence on campus has remained in anonymity.

“I didn’t even know we had a polo team,” said Lindsay Toppert, a junior elementary education major.  “It’s great to know though because I love horses.”
A collegiate polo match consists of four chukkers, which are 7.5-minute periods. Players ride their horses and swing 4-foot mallets, attempting to knock the ball through the posts.

The game is played on an area approximately the size of a football field, and three players play for each team.

“Eighty percent of the game is riding your horse,” said Massey, a junior biomedical sciences major.  “To offset any advantage a team with superior horses would have, the animals are switched after every chukker.  So for example, when A&M plays Texas Tech in a match, all six players on the field will use A&M’s horses, then all six will use Tech’s horses, and the process is repeated until the game is finished.”

Texas A&M has the best horses in the game, Massey said, and there is evidence to back up her claim.  At the national championships, awards for best team horses and best playing pony are given after tallying up votes from the players who have ridden them in the matches.  Last year, A&M’s horses won awards in both categories for the men’s and women’s teams.

Since the polo team fields three players at a time, there is limited space and usually members with years of playing experience have the ability to make the cut.  To offset this reality, the A&M Polo Club was founded.  Massey was the club’s president in 2009 and will serve in the same position this year.

Elizabeth Hemmi, a senior animal sciences major, said she joined the polo club because of her love for horses.

“The first semester’s dues are only $250, which is a deal if you know anything about how expensive it is to ride horses,” Hemmi said.

The club plays matches on Thursdays, and practices and trains the horses throughout the week.

“It’s become therapeutic for me,” said Hemmi.  “It’s just a great way to get away from school.  When you’re out there, the only things that matter are you and your horse.”

Hanson finished in ninth place individually in the tournament, and Princeton’s Todd Harrity earned bronze — the U.S. team’s highest individual finish in the tournament.

According to Dartmouth men’s head squash coach Hansi Wiens, this is the first time a Big Green athlete has competed in the Games.

“In squash it’s very unique because [Hanson} is a freshman — it’s a great achievement,” Wiens said. “We’re happy to have him here. He’s actually one of the best U.S. players.”

Thanks to his ninth-place finish at the College Squash Association Individual Championships in March, Hanson scored an automatic bid into the tournament for the United States with four other men and women.

The Ivy League provided all of the United States’ players for the tournament, with players from Yale, UPenn, Princeton and Cornell joining Hanson in Melbourne.

Hanson’s matches against players from Australia and Canada were the best showcases of his talent, according to Wiens.

In his final match — against Frederick Reid of Canada — Hanson won the first game, 11-9, but then lost the next two games to find himself on precarious footing.

Finally, Hanson picked up momentum with an overwhelming 11-1 victory in the fourth game.

“I knew he was going to come out in that [fifth] game harder than the fourth, but I felt like my fitness and skill could outlast him,” Hanson, who is still in Australia, said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth. “I just pushed hard for the first half of the game until he broke and I took the final few points easily.”

Australia’s Luke Sims also pushed his match with Hanson to five sets and the Big Green star fought hard until the end. After evenly exchanging wins and losses for the majority of the match, Hanson closed out with the victory, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6, 6-11, 11-6.

The high level of challenging international competition was new for Hanson, who said he had never competed in a professional tournament until this event, although he has trained in Australia eight times in the past.

The challenge helped Hanson grow and improve as a player, he said.

“I feel like I will be even stronger and fitter than I was last season,” he said. “As for the team, hopefully I can bring some of the things I’ve learned this summer back to the practices with the guys.”

Hanson has already made “immense” improvements in his fitness after practicing twice a day throughout his freshman year, Wiens said.

“I’m really happy that he keeps training year round,” he said. “It’s good for the rest of the team to see that if you put the hard work in, you get something out of it.”

Before departing from down under, Hanson will compete in another professional tournament — a challenge he would like to continue in the United States, he said.

The Dartmouth squad will reunite in the Fall term, when the team will hold captains’ practices before official training begins on Oct. 15.

The first matches of the season will be the Ivy Scrimmages, which typically take place in early November, according to Wiens.

Excitement will continue to build as the season progesses, culminating with the individual championships — which the College will host this y ear, Wiens said. Wiens added that Hanson has a good shot to win the championships.

Last year, Hanson played as the Big Green’s top player over the course of the season and came away with All-American and All-Ivy honors. Coming in as the No. 2 player nationally in his age group, Hanson transitioned well to collegiate play to finish the season with an 8-3 record. The Big Green finished with a record of 12-8, while going 2-4 in Ivy League play.

No freshman squash player had received All-American honors since Ryan Donegan achieved the recognition in 2002, according to DartmouthSports.com.

During last year’s Brickyard 400, Johnson took advantage of NASCAR flagging Juan Pablo Montoya for speeding on pit road, not once, but twice.

Montoya responded angrily, as he essentially had the race in the bag with only 26 laps left of 160, before NASCAR came down on him.

“If they do this to me, I’m going to kill them,” Montoya said on his radio. “There’s no way. I was on the green (dash light).

“Thank you, NASCAR, for screwing my day. We had it in the bag, and they screwed us because I was not speeding. I swear on my children and my wife.”

The speed limit on pit road is 55 mph, with NASCAR giving the drivers 5 mph leeway. Montoya posted speeds of 60.06 mph and 60.11 mph throughout pit road.

However cruel the penalty on Montoya might have seemed, it gave way for Johnson to jump into the lead and to his second consecutive victory.

During the 2008 competition, a race riddled with pit stops because of poor tires, Johnson propelled himself to victory when his team performed an outstandingly fast pit stop, and other drivers, including Hendricks teammate Jeff Gordon, fell by the wayside with much slower pit stops.

This year Johnson will be a marked man, and drivers want to see anyone but Johnson kissing the bricks after Sunday’s race.

“When somebody has a problem, boom, they’re there to win,” fellow driver Kurt Busch said at a race in New Hampshire. “They’re always putting themselves in position to win.”

And it’s not just Johnson, who has won three of the last four Brickyard races, dominating at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fellow teammate Gordon has won four times, including the inaugural race in 1994.

Johnson seems to be the favorite with the public, as well as the driver the others will be gunning for.

“They’ve won (the Sprint Cup series title) the last four years, and they should be the favorites to win it right now until somebody can knock them off,” Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick said.

If no other driver can manage to beat Johnson this weekend, he will be driving himself into a very distinguished group: four-time winners at the Indy oval. Johnson would join Gordon, as well as three famed Indianapolis 500 drivers, A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as the only four-time victors.

Johnson’s chance to be immortalized in Indy history has him very excited.

“It would be a huge honor to join the list of four-time winners,” he said. “Just to win there once is a career-maker for anyone, so to have three victories there means a lot to me.”

There’s no defending the conspired commercial ploy, a down-and-dirty business deal crafted among promoters, boxers and television enablers.

Gone are the golden days when boxing, much like art, was viewed for its aesthetic value, for its controlled violence and the bonding emotional effect it had on its viewers.

Thomas stands off to the side with arms folded across his chest, keeping one eye out on his athletes’ mechanics and the other on the scoreboard’s digital clock.

Meanwhile, Brittany Day and her teammates are furiously pedaling away on the exercise bikes and simultaneously losing beads of chlorine water that drip down to the floor. Soon, they will jump back into the pool for another set of laps before returning to the bikes.

It’s a rigorous, amphibious routine for a weekend morning, but considering the state of the UCLA triathlon team nine years ago, such a structured regimen speaks to the ongoing growth of the program.

It was in 2001 that a student named Marcus George founded the team, but membership consisted of only six athletes back then, and the coaching was minimal.

“I was brought in to coach literally one hour a week,” Thomas said. “We didn’t have any uniforms or anything else to start with.”

Contrast that with the 2010 triathlon team that boasts 100 male and female athletes, and the evolution seems all the more remarkable.

Today, the makeup of the program ranges far and wide. From a world-renowned coach to a scholarship athlete to a community member whose experience with triathlon spans less than a year, the triathletes who represent this multi-faceted sport have come together via different routes. But one thing is clear: All have found common ground in arguably one of the most physically challenging sports.

For Stephanie Pacitto, a native of Toronto, what the city of Los Angeles has to offer is awe-inspiring.

“I call this a mecca for athletes; you can train year round, and to have that flexibility, I try not to take it for granted. It doesn’t get old for me,” she said.

Having an extensive background in running, the 30-year-old Pacitto recently decided to challenge herself by taking on a multisport, and in October, came across the UCLA triathlon program.

“I knew that I wanted to be coached, so I was thinking of the LA Tri Club, but there was nothing formal in the way of coaching, so I decided to go through the UCLA team,” Pacitto said.

Meanwhile, Brittany Day has accomplished what few others have during her four years on the triathlon team. This past year, Day was one of just four athletes to have been awarded a non-academic scholarship, making her mark as one of the elite athletes on the team. Yet given the demands of joining a triathlete program, she was initially reluctant to commit.

As a former member of the swim and cross country teams in high school and a former swimmer on the UCLA women’s swim team, Day was fully prepared to take on the swimming and running aspects of the sport, but not quite the biking part.

“It was scary at first,” she said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to be dedicated enough to get a bike because they can be pretty expensive.

“It was overwhelming because there were so many things to learn in terms of safety, bike maintenance, where to ride and how fast to ride. But the team here does a really good job of helping everyone out. We all know what it’s like to be new to biking, and that’s generally what most people have to get used to when they start triathlon.”

Now, having graduated UCLA as an accomplished triathlete, Day is eager to continue training, with the hopes of one day becoming a dietician.

As for the man at the helm, Thomas is as accomplished as they come. Prior to his arrival at UCLA six years ago, he had already established a reputation as a world-class endurance coach and athletic consultant. A former member of Team Great Britain at the World Long Distance Triathlon Championships, the England native has worked with top-tier athletes from all over the world, yet finds his occupation as a collegiate coach most rewarding.

“It was hard at first because everything was so basic,” Thomas said. “But I’ve come to love it much more than working with professional athletes because we have a great camaraderie, and the team is just really, really cool.

“Everybody socializes well together and trains well together. There’s just something about this team that is very special.”

And if today’s team of 100 determined athletes is of any indication, the future remains bright for Thomas and his burgeoning program.

Brock Lesnar completed his comeback from the hospital bed to the pinnacle of the fighting world Saturday night at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The former Gophers wrestler defeated previously unbeaten heavyweight Shane Carwin (12-1-0) in his first fight since being diagnosed with diverticulitis this winter, capturing the undisputed heavyweight title in the much-anticipated feature fight at UFC 116.

Carwin became the interim heavyweight champion while Lesnar — and his heavyweight belt — was away from the sport. Known as a knockout artist, Carwin hadn’t allowed an opponent out of the first round in his 12-fight career, a trend which almost continued Saturday.

With three and a half minutes left in the first round, Carwin knocked Lesnar to the ground and started raining punches to the former NCAA champion wrestler’s face and chest. Lesnar could only cower and enter what he called “survival mode” as he waited for the first-round onslaught to end.

In the second round, however, the man previously known for his brute strength and wrestling ability took Carwin down to the mat and put him in a jiu-jitsu submission for the tap out.

“You find out how tough a fighter is when they face adversity,” UFC President Dana White said. “Brock stayed in there.”

The technical submission symbolized not only Lesnar’s evolution as a fighter, but his ability to survive when faced with difficult challenges — and then overcome them.

“It’s been a crazy year. I’ve been through a lot,” Lesnar said. “I wasn’t going home without this [belt] tonight, that’s for sure.”

Lesnar defeated Frank Mir in a fight last year to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, and the ensuing post-match celebration left many UFC fans appalled at the actions of the brash, surly heavyweight king.

Lesnar verbally taunted a dazed Mir, gestured toward the crowd with both middle fingers and berated the fight’s primary sponsor, Bud Light. Shortly after that, Lesnar was stricken with diverticulitis — essentially a perforated intestine which prevented him from eating solid foods.

Because of weakness stemming from the condition, Lesnar had to cancel a fight with Carwin scheduled for last October. Lesnar’s next bout is not yet scheduled, but it will be with another undefeated heavyweight, Cain Velasquez (8-0-0).

A more humble celebration

Moments after choking out Carwin with an arm triangle jiujitsu submission hold even Lesnar couldn’t pronounce, the fans cheered, but certainly some must have wondered, “What will he do this time?”

This time, Lesnar acted more like a grateful man than a possessed one. The perspective gained from his bout with the illness was evident immediately after his hand was raised Saturday night.

Lesnar was handed a microphone and silenced any doubters who questioned his maturity.

“This isn’t about me tonight,” Lesnar said before immediately thanking his family, his doctors, his training staff and the referee for allowing the fight to continue past Carwin’s first-round onslaught.

“I am blessed by God,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you, a humble champion.”

At several times throughout the night’s interviews, Lesnar appeared as if he would break down and cry, and later admitted he was choked up by the magnitude of the situation.

“I really feel like I’m in a dream,” he said.

Yet, after giving his thanks and displaying some newfound humility, Lesnar still flashed the macho bravado that reminded anyone wondering that the 6-foot-5-inch, 265-pound giant isn’t just a teddy bear.

“I’m still the toughest S.O.B. around, baby,” he said.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is relieved to have one of the top fighters in history — U. Minnesota alumnus Brock Lesnar — back to fight interim heavyweight champion Shane Carwin.

The two will fight for the title of undisputed heavyweight champion Saturday in a match billed as “the most anticipated heavyweight bout in UFC history.”

“This is a fight that we’ve all been waiting for,” UFC spokeswoman Jen Wenk said, “because it will decide who is the greatest heavyweight in the UFC.”

Lesnar is just happy to be healthy again, overcoming a bout with diverticulitis — an intestinal inflammation — last winter that left his fighting career in jeopardy. The 6-foot-3-inch 265-pound fighter collapsed at one of his homes in Canada in October after battling what he thought was a case of mononucleosis. He cancelled a scheduled fight with Carwin and increasing stomach pains led to the diverticulitis diagnosis.

Lesnar announced his return in January after receiving the OK to begin training and wrestle from several doctors, including those at the Mayo Clinic.

“I think the setback for me actually has been a good thing because it allowed me to sit back and really focus on my diet, the way I trained,” Lesnar said in a recent teleconference interview.

While Lesnar was out, Carwin beat Frank Mir to become the UFC interim heavyweight champion.

Beginning his wrestling career as a junior college national champion, Lesnar transferred to Minnesota where he finished his career with two Big Ten championships and an NCAA Division-I heavyweight championship.

The Webster, S.D., native has since wrestled all over the world, most notably for the fictionalized World Wrestling Entertainment — where he was a three-time champion — and UFC.

Carwin doesn’t pose the type of grudge match that would have been present had his opponent been Frank Mir . Lesnar said there is no animosity, but rather a mutual respect between the two competitors.

“Brock is a big, talented, athletic heavyweight and those are rare to find,” Carwin said. “These are the [fights that] you remember.”

Preparation, perspective

For his training, Lesnar has worked with former members of the Gophers wrestling family such as Cole Konrad and Marty Morgan . Morgan was an assistant coach for the Gophers who stepped away this season in order to help Lesnar train.

“I believe that’s what you have to do,” Lesnar said. “You have to surround yourself with people that are going to push you … You get what you put into it, and I’ve put my heart and soul and my whole life into this training camp.”

The changes he made weren’t only limited to his training staff and his diet. The condition did something to Brock that few wrestlers he’s come across have been able to do: lay him flat on his back.

“You definitely take a different approach on life,” Lesnar said. “You realize that there’s nothing more important in life than your family, and you really find out who your friends are.

“I’m excited. The fight is almost here, and it’s just a good day to be alive.”

“It has been a remarkable journey from Dad Vail in Philadelphia to Henley-on-Thames for the Henley Women’s Regatta,” assistant coach Matthew Owyang wrote in the crew blog.

The Dragons certainly made their coaches proud with their immense success in both the Dad Vail and the Women’s Henley regattas.

The Dragons completed their time in England with the Elite-8 championship and the Sports Council Cup after winning their semi-final race against a boat that was composed of the top English women rowers. Not only was the English boat talented, but they were also picked as the favorite of the competition, and probable winners.

After Drexel defeated their undeniably difficult English competition, they finished the race by beating Grand Valley in the finals. With that said, overcoming Grand Valley was no easy feat.

Grand Valley defeated Saint Joseph’s by one-third of a boat at the finish line prior to facing the Dragons. Ironically enough, the final match-up against the Dragons was somewhat of a deja vu considering Grand Valley and Drexel had competed against one and other in the Dad Vail.

As foreshadowed by the Dad Vail outcome, where Grand Valley finished fifth while Drexel finished third, it seems as though history repeated itself.

Grand Valley was denied a lead against Drexel as the Dragons won by a one and one-half boat margin to attain the most prominent and historic award of the women’s crew program to date.

The winning varsity eight consisted of senior bow Mary Kain, junior Cassie Clawson, sophomore Emily Coyle, sophomore Juliana DeMarici, freshman Mallory Sykes, sophomore Julia Jackson, junior Dana Haneman, senior stroke Candice Webb and sophomore coxswain Cate Khella. Considering that six of the eight rowers aren’t seniors, their talent will be key for future rowing endeavors of the Drexel women’s crew team.

The gold medal at the women’s Henley regatta was merely the icing on the cake for an already exceptional season. The Dragons not only received a bronze medal at the prominent Dad Vail regatta, but they also finished with a victory in the Bergen Cup Regatta.

“We’re back! The flight from Heathrow to Newark took seven hours and then we all piled onto a Drexel bus for the drive to Philly where we were greeted at 30th and Market by the Drexel Police for an escort to the DAC,” Owyand wrote in the crew blog. “To the athletes that represent Drexel here and abroad, to our friends and family and to all our supporters: ‘Well Rowed!’”

Well rowed indeed; the women’s eight deserves much praise and congratulations.

Costello, the crew’s coxswain, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer last June – which spread to her liver, breast and bones – though she remained part of the team throughout this past season. She had been admitted into the emergency room at the UCSF Medical Center Sunday night after her condition worsened.

“As prepared as everyone was for it, it’s just awful news,” coach Dave O’Neill said. “When the reality hits, it hits hard. I’ve received a few tearful phone calls today, and understandably so.

“It’s a tough day for our team. She touched our hearts and the lives of many, many people.”

Costello was a continued a source of inspiration and leadership for both the Cal men’s and women’s crews since she found out about her illness. Throughout the season, the rowers kept her in their minds as they prepared for each and every competition.

“During the race I wasn’t thinking about anything but repeating, ‘Make Jill proud’ over and over in my head from start to finish,” women’s captain Mary Jehgers said after defeating Stanford in early May.

After enduring 20 rounds of chemotherapy and 14 radiation treatments, the nonsmoker traveled to Lourdes, France. The Catholic Church believes the waters there possess miraculous properties, and the former coxswain dipped into the ice-cold temperatures in hopes of curing her ails. She and her family even brought back 20 liters of the liquid home to her native San Francisco.

Even an ocean away, Costello kept up with her team’s progression, Tweeting her congratulations after they beat the Cardinal.

She has been universally praised for the courage and dignity with which she faced her obstacles.

“For me, it has been life-changing,” O’Neill said. “I certainly hope when I am faced with something as daunting as what she faced, I can handle it as well as she did. She never complained, never really seems to bring her down. She fought and battled.”

With her most recent post coming last Sunday, she had been inviting readers into her with her blog on the CaringBridge website. She worked with the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation to raise money for research in the disease, promoting a 5,000-kilometer run at Golden Gate Park this September.

Costello’s teammates had also been unwavering in their support. During the Big Row against Stanford, both the men and women – as well as the Cardinal – included the senior’s favorite color, turquoise, on their oars and uniforms.

She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science in May and won the Joseph M. Kavanagh Award as the most inspirational athlete.

An announcement of her services is still pending.

- Javier Panzar of The Daily Californian contributed to this report.

To accomplish her goals — boxing on the first women’s Olympic boxing team in 2012 and becoming one of the best Native-American athletes to come out of Haskell Indian Nations University — Wagoner’s footwork will have to be flawless. To reach both goals, Wagoner, 27, will have to work harder then she has ever worked before.

“Billy Mills, John Levi, Charles Baster,” Wagoner said. “They all did something. I want to be part of the Native American Hall of Fame. It’s a really big honor.”

Wagoner, who started boxing two years ago, is on her way to accomplishing just that. In 2008, Wagoner — better known as “Yosh” — was a national champion and represented Team USA in the World Championships in China.

She is currently training for boxing nationals in July.

Yosh, a member of the Navajo and Chickasaw nations, left her home on an Indian reservation in New Mexico to become the first in her family to finish college. She graduated from Haskell with a degree in American Indian studies and is now pursuing a master’s degree in conflict management and dispute resolution at Baker University.

Yosh’s success in the ring has earned her the respect from her peers and given younger female fighters someone to look up to. Many of the university’s boxers identify with Yosh, the first female professional boxer to come out of Haskell’s gym.

Marisa Chavez, a junior at Lawrence High School and aspiring boxer, said she saw Yosh as an inspiration.

“She motivates me to keep going,” Chavez said. “The coaches guide me, but Yosh helps me feel confident about everything and helps me bring it all together.”

Confidence was initially hard to come by for Yosh. When she first stepped into Haskell’s boxing gym she couldn’t tell the difference between a south paws stance and righty stance, the two stances of boxing. What she lacked in confidence she made up for in drive.

Even though Yosh couldn’t see it at the time, Haskell head boxing coach Erick Riley, a former professional boxer, knew she had something special the first time he felt her punch.

“One day we were sparring back and forth,” Riley said. “Then she caught me with a punch that sent me back a few steps into the wall. That’s when I knew.”

Yosh’s trainer, Haskell Boxing Club assistant coach Darren Jacobs, said he also knew early that Yosh had the potential to become a champion.

“It was pretty easy to see once she started hitting the bags; she had all the natural ability,” Jacobs said.

Well beyond the point of self-doubt, Yosh has stood toe-to-toe with the best female boxers the world has to offer and knows she is no fluke. She describes her mentality in the ring as fearless and determined.

“It’s either I am going to knock you out, or you’re going to have to knock me out because I ain’t quitting,” Yosh said.

Yosh said quitting wasn’t in her nature.

“I just want to be an example to the people in my reservation that you can do anything you put your mind to,” Yosh said. “Let the kids know education is so important; it’s how I found boxing, you know? Just be a living example that anything is possible.”

This is probably because Florida Ultimate’s A-Team just bought him on Friday as it began the USA Ultimate College Championships series in Madison, Wis.

Squishy brought good luck, as Florida defeated Carleton College 15-12 in the tournament finals Monday afternoon, giving the team the national championship.

Florida won six of seven games over the weekend, culminating in the victory over Carleton College.

“We never were really tested by any other team,” said senior team member and captain Chris Gibson. “They are kind of our rivals, and we didn’t even get to play until this match.”

The Florida Ulitmate stayed calm throughout the game, even facing a team whose school “put[s] a Frisbee in every student’s preview bag,” he said.

Florida was seeded No. 4 with a 15-game win streak going into the tournament; before the weekend, they were 32-5.

The team was led, in part, by fifth-year senior and captain Brodie Smith, who was the runner-up this year for the Callahan Award, which goes to the most valuable player in the nation.

“That award didn’t really matter to me,” Smith said.

Sophomore Alan Baird, one of the team’s three underclassmen at nationals, agreed.

“We didn’t want it to affect us this year, whether he wanted it or not,” Baird said.

The team is kind of like a miniature sports fraternity, said senior Cole Sullivan.

During the school year, five of the teammates live together in a house dubbed “The Glory Hole.” During the weeks between the end of spring semester and the tournament in Madison, more of the team piled in.

“We just lined up,” Gibson said. “We stacked extra mattresses next to mine in the living room. All we did was play Frisbee and live at the Glory Hole,” said Gibson.

Whether it was the gerbil, the gaming, the cozy sleeping quarters or just the frequent practices, something was working for the team.

“It was the best three weeks you can possibly have when you are sleeping on the floor, when you are sharing it with three people and [there's] no air conditioning,” Baird said.

Despite setbacks such as losing seniors like Smith, as well as coach Jonathan Windham, who moved away from Gainesville in April, the players are optimistic for next year.

Unlike Baird and Sullivan, Squishy the Gerbil is probably not looking forward to next year’s season. The same day that team members bought him, they put him in a plastic gerbil ball and took him along while they played a game of disc golf.

“We put the ball inside this bush, so he could stay there until we were done with our playing,” Gibson said. When the team returned from the game, the top of the ball was off and Squishy was gone. Gibson listed three possibilities: an animal got to Squishy, another person liberated him, or he “was really athletic and opened it himself.”

Next year, with or without an escape-prone rodent for a mascot, the team expects further success.

“We’re a program,” Baird said, “not a team. We’re a dynasty.”

The first-ever USA Sevens Collegiate Championship Invitational will consist of 16 teams from across the country, including fellow Big Ten schools Michigan and Penn State.

“Nobody has played an event like this in this country at the collegiate level ever,” OSU rugby coach Tom Rooney said. “We know a lot about the athletes that are coming in, but we don’t know what kind of system they’re going to play. We don’t know what their style is going to look like, they don’t know what ours is going to look like, so this is interesting.”

Rooney is optimistic about how the Buckeyes will perform in the championships, but said the team is facing a few obstacles.

“The biggest thing that we’re struggling with currently is that we had a large graduation coming out of the fall, so we’ve got a lot of the younger players stepping up right now,” he said. “Unfortunately those players’ skills — their passing, catching, their recognizing the opposition’s weaknesses and attacking them — aren’t as highly progressed as we’d like them to be, and that’s holding us back a bit.”

Rooney said they’ve been working hard to build up those skills, but that they’re things that really take the whole season to “polish off.”

Rooney said another difficulty will be tackling because the team’s size is comparatively small this season. Their goal during play will be to stay out of contact with bigger opponents, though it will surely be forced upon them.

Beyond the team’s struggles, the rugby team has welcomed Nate Ebner, an OSU football defensive back, to play with them in the championships.

Though Ebner walked on as a football player in college, he grew up playing rugby and went as far as playing for the U.S. National U19 and U20 teams.

Rooney said that while Ebner will be a great asset to the team, everyone on the field will need to play hard to be successful.

“Nate’s going to be a big part of what we do, but he’s not going to be able to do it by himself,” Rooney said.

Ebner said that he is excited to be playing again and feels that his previous experience playing teams with high skill levels will help him do well in the competition since there won’t be anything on the field he “hasn’t physically seen before.”

Ebner, an athlete obviously talented in both football and rugby, said his struggle switching between the two sports is tackling: head-in-front in football versus head-behind in rugby.

He said he isn’t worried about his performance in the tournament despite the switch.

“I think we play a different style of sevens that these other teams aren’t going to play,” Ebner said. “They’re going to try and smash into us a little more since we’re a small team, but our style’s going to throw teams off and I think it’s going to work out.”

The tournament plans originally arose after it was announced that rugby sevens would be a new event in the 2016 Olympics.

Ebner, who made the decision to switch to football in order to focus on his education rather than constantly traveling for rugby, doesn’t have plans for after graduation but hasn’t ruled out getting involved with the new Olympic sport.

Ebner and Rooney hope the collegiate championships being held in Columbus will catch a lot of attention for the sport and have a positive impact on both OSU’s program and the sport as a whole, but are now focused solely on the games ahead of them.

“I think if the kids come in with the plan that we’ve given them and the mentality that we’re expecting them to come into the game with, we stand a good chance of making it into the final,” Rooney said. “I think that if they come in and they don’t play like we’re trying to prepare them, they’re going to struggle. Either way, it’s going to be a fantastic thing. This is an opportunity this country’s never seen before.”

And when Franchitti saw Kanaan, who started in 33rd place, creep up to second place behind him, he thought his nightmare was coming true.

“I thought, ‘I knew it,’ Franchitti said.

However Franchitti didn’t let his dream intimidate him as he focused on both moving away from Kanaan and saving as much fuel as possible. Kanaan was forced to pit due to lack of fuel, which Franchitti said took the pressure off of him.

“Until he pitted, I never took my eye off him because he can always surprise you,” Franchitti said. “He didn’t get the result that he deserved, but to have gone from last to second was cool.”

However, Franchitti and Kanaan were never expected to be competing in the end of the race or at any logical point, as the two started thirty positions apart. Instead much of the pre-race hype was about three-time winner Helio Castroneves.

Castroneves won everything—the pole and the pit crew challenge—except the one that mattered after 200 laps on the excruciatingly hot track.  After being pegged the favorite by many, the sheer dominance that Franchitti, and not Castroneves, displayed was unexpected.

“What an awesome car he (Franchitti) had,” Castroneves said. “Ganassi (Chip) did an incredible job to put him up there. It was the car to beat today. We tried.”

“Unfortunately, silly mistakes put us in the back.”

Franchitti was indeed the car to beat as he led 155 of the 200 laps en route to his second Indianapolis 500 victory. In the past several years the driver leading the most laps has failed to win the race, as fellow Target Chip Ganassi teammate, Scott Dixon, led the most laps in both 2008 and 2009, failing to win either race. The last time a winning driver led more laps was in 2000, when Juan Pablo Montoya led 167 laps.

Target Chip Ganassi Racing drivers have led the most laps in the last three Indianapolis 500 races. Franchitti also is now ranked 21st on the all-time lap list. Prior to the race he was ranked 59th.

With his second Indianapolis 500 victory, Franchitti becomes the 17th driver to kiss the bricks at least twice. He also is the first driver from Scotland to win the race duplicate times.

Another record was also set with Franchitti’s victory on Sunday, as Chip Ganassi hit a unique milestone. Ganassi became the first owner to win both the Daytona 500, under driver Jamie McMurray, and the Indianapolis 500 in the same year.

However, even though this accomplishment is extraordinary, Ganassi has remained humble about his success in the racing world.

“I didn’t drive either car. I didn’t change any tires. I didn’t put any fuel in the cars,” Ganassi said. “I don’t do any of that stuff. I have hundreds of people that do that kind of thing. I’m very, very lucky is what it comes down to. I’m very lucky.”
?“I’m just the guy that gets my name on the door, the sign in the front. But it’s a lot of hard work by a lot of people, a lot of people that never get the attention they should.”

The victory gave Ganassi his fourth overall Indianapolis 500 win as an owner, with two coming from Franchitti. While only 16 other drivers have managed to accomplish the feat Franchitti did on Sunday, he feels that it does not place him among the great drivers of the past.

“Those guys are legends. I said the other night, ‘I’m just a driver, those guys are legends,’ Franchitti said.  “I’m so lucky to be driving for Chip and Team Target, getting in good cars, especially having gone away after we won in ’07. To be invited back was pretty cool. To have won a championship and an Indy 500, I didn’t expect any of this…I expected to be retired by the time I was 35.

“This is all a bonus and it’s pretty cool.”

The fourth annual Atomic Athletic Great Black Swamp Olde Time Strongman Picnic featured feats of strength and spectacle, as well as educational clinics on strength training. The picnic has become more popular in recent years by an increased interest in both functional strength training and strongman performances, which were once a staple of circus sideshows.

“I brought it back to show all the different manifestations of strength that are out there,” Roger LaPointe, president and founder of Atomic Athletic, said. “Trying to show some of the best of the best doing it for everybody else.”

The performances began with truck pulls followed by atlas stone lifting, an event where heavy stone spheres are picked up from the ground, popularized by the World’s Strongest Man competition. Competitive and amateur strongmen participated, lifting stones up to 290 pounds.

Brothers Nick and Stewart Rosendaul showcased their strength by bending horseshoes, frying pans and metal bars, along with ripping decks of cards. A highlight of the performance was a balancing act where Stewart hoisted his daughter Brianna above his head.

Later performances emphasized showmanship, with displays by professional strongmen Andrew Durniat and Logan Christopher. Under the name Andrew Durniat and his Flying Dumbells, Durniat juggled metal weights and performed stunts with barbells weighing over 100 pounds. Christopher pulled a classic fire truck across a parking lot using just his hair.

The two also participated in a juggling competition with rules similar to the basketball game, H-O-R-S-E, but using large weights. Durniat worked with LaPointe to develop a throwback to circus strongmen that would combine power and showmanship.

“I did a single arm snatch with a bar he made, and he said, ‘Hey, what else can you do?,’” Durniat said.

LaPointe suggested they work together to replicate a routine that had been popular in the ”30s but not practiced since.

“I went into the gym and started toying around with it, and right now I’m the only one around that is doing this routine,” Durniat said.

The inspiration for Christopher’s hair pulling truck act came from a similar source.

“I read about an old time strongman by the name of the Mighty Adam, and he did many feats of strength, one of which was pulling vehicles by his hair,” Christopher said.

“On two separate occasions he stopped a small airplane from taking off with his hair. After reading that and getting into the strongman thing I decided to give it a try. Its just been bigger vehicles each time.”

The picnic was about more than spectacle with several educational lectures on lifting and martial arts. Special attention was given to Olympic lifting, with demonstrations given by three-time Olympian Fred Lowe and Todd Baden, owner of Synergy Sports and Performance in Toledo. Olympic lifting is focused on a few specific lifts that emphasize athleticism and speed, as well as power.

“There’s more and more of the functional craze of trying to mimic movement in sports,” Baden said. “The quest to make something more explosive or powerful has brought to the forefront focus on movements.”

Circus Vera, a Bowling Green-based circus troupe filled in the spaces between strongmen acts, including performances such as walking on a staircase made of machetes, fire eating and glass walking. Circus Vera contributed to the carnival atmosphere, bringing a side-show of preserved animal mutations. The group was founded in December 2008 by BGSU student Logan Jacot.

Other shows at the event were martial arts demonstrations and a performance by Bob Nickerson. Nickerson is a comedic juggler who goes by the name the Jock-ular Juggler.

The picnic has increased in length each year since its inception, and performers from as far as Russia have contacted LaPointe about getting involved. LaPointe has already found strongmen to be involved for next year, and is focused on growth and improvement in the future.

“It just keeps getting bigger every year. We have constant mini-clinics and performances that will easily take up to six hours today,” he said. “It’s very possible that this could end up being a multi-day event at some point, because we keep going a little bit earlier and a little bit later for the start and finish.”

Uniforms for the tourney took an interesting twist, as all players wore “prom dresses” with their socks and cleats.

The tourney is the team’s main fundraiser, and proved successful with an impressive turn-out of players and fans. After beating UW-Stevens Point 12-0 their first game and UW-Eau Claire 12-5 their second, the UWO ruggers faced Eau Claire again in the Championship game and took 2^nd place.

Former U. Minnesota wrestler Cole Konrad, a two-time NCAA heavyweight champion, is beginning to make a name for himself in a new sport — mixed martial arts.

Konrad (2-0) will make his debut with Bellator Fighting Championships on Thursday night in Boston against Pat Bennett (1-0). The fight will be Konrad’s third MMA bout, but his first televised event.

“I plan to come out with some fire and kind of send a message,” Konrad said.

After defeating his first two opponents in the first round, Konrad signed a contract with Bellator in February. Bellator fights and highlights are broadcast nationally on Fox Sports Net and NBC.

“Some guys will fight 15 times before they get an opportunity like this,” Konrad said. “It was just encouraging to know that they noticed my potential and my skill.”

Bellator plans to add a heavyweight tournament in its third season, which begins in August. Konrad, 26, could earn a spot in the tournament if he continues to perform well.

Konrad got his first taste of MMA more than two years ago when he began training with another University alumnus, Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar.

Prior to officially launching his own MMA career, Konrad had NFL aspirations, trying out with the New York Jets in 2007 and the Minnesota Vikings last spring as an offensive lineman. Konrad, who had not played football since his freshman year of high school, failed to make either squad.

Konrad primarily works out in Alexandria, Minn. at Lesnar’s private facility with head trainer and former Gophers wrestling assistant coach Marty Morgan. He has also trained at Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Minneapolis.

Minnesota Martial Arts Academy owner and head trainer, Greg Nelson, said that training alongside Lesnar has been a tremendous asset for Konrad.

“He’s definitely become a much more well-rounded fighter since he’s obviously working with one of the best fighters in the heavyweight division,” Nelson said.

Konrad said that he has been surprised how comfortable and relaxed he has felt competing in a new sport. He even told Gophers head assistant coach Joe Russell that he’s been less nervous before his MMA fights than his wrestling matches.

While his wrestling background has helped him transition into MMA, Konrad said he has enjoyed developing other aspects of his game and has become increasingly comfortable on his feet.

In his second bout, Konrad said he intentionally fought on his feet to acclimate himself to a different style. Konrad delivered a knockout blow to his opponent in the first round.

Nevertheless, Konrad’s wrestling roots could be his hallmark during his MMA career.

“I’m not going to say that my style is going to be strictly wrestling, but that’s obviously the thing that’s most natural to me,” Konrad said. “More times than not, I would assume that I’ll go to wrestling dominant positions to control the tempo and pace of the fight.”

Konrad has maintained strong ties to the University’s wrestling program and works as a part-time staff member, Russell said. His role with the team has him working with heavyweight wrestlers and doing occasional administrative tasks.

“He’s arguably one of our best wrestlers ever, so to have him around the younger guys is important just from a mentoring standpoint,” Russell said.

Konrad, who wrestled at 285 pounds in college, has had to drop down to 265 pounds for Thursday’s fight.

Heading into the contest, Konrad has watched tape of Bennett’s first fight, but said that he doesn’t want to over-strategize.

“You can game plan all day, but until you get out there and the bell rings, there’s no set thing that’s going to go down,” Konrad said.

While the Big Ten is unlikely to announce any decision on conference expansion in the near future, other conferences around the country are keeping a watchful eye on its actions.

Last week, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive told The Associated Press that while the conference is not considering adding new teams, it is internally examining the pros and cons of expansion in the event of a “significant shift in the conference paradigm.”

Rumored targets of the Big Ten include Big East schools Rutgers U., U. Connecticut, Syracuse U. and U. Pittsburgh, as well as several Big 12 teams, including U. Texas and U. Missouri.

U. Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi is aware that any move the Big Ten makes could have a significant effect on the landscape of college sports. Maturi said last month that that effect is one of the many considerations for the conference before it reaches a decision on expansion.

“Others might [be] concerned [with] what we’re doing, if we’re going to take a team from their conference, and how … that positively or negatively impacts the whole climate of intercollegiate athletics, and I think we’re sensitive to all those things,” Maturi said.

Losing member universities to another conference can be devastating.

Former Southwest Conference Commissioner Kyle Kallander had a front-row seat for the conference’s dissolution after losing four schools when the Big Eight, now the Big 12, expanded in 1994.

Three years after U. Arkansas abandoned the SWC for the SEC in 1991, it was announced that Texas, Texas A&M U., Texas Tech U. and Baylor U. would leave to join the newly formed Big 12 in 1996.

Kallander, currently the commissioner of the Big South Conference, came to the SWC as an assistant commissioner in 1992 and served as commissioner in its final season. He said that at the time, conferences were beginning to develop their own television packages, and schools left seeking more television revenue than the SWC could provide.

After Arkansas’ departure, the eight remaining SWC schools were all in Texas, limiting its television footprint.

“It became all about the number of households and ratings, and the Southwest Conference was in an unenviable position of being a one-state league … so the leverage at the bargaining table was pretty limited,” Kallander said.

He said there was little talk of trying to save the conference, and the issue was determining the next step for the four remaining schools: Southern Methodist U., Texas Christian U., Rice U. and the U. of Houston.

But historically, other conferences have not always sat idly by as another conference poached its members.

In 2003, the Big East filed a lawsuit against the Atlantic Coast Conference, which had extended invitations to three Big East schools — U. Miami, Virginia Tech U. and Boston College — to join the conference. The suit alleged that the ACC conspired with Miami and Boston College to weaken the Big East by stealing its top football programs.

A separate suit was filed against Miami, Boston College and its director of athletics, Gene DeFilippo.

DeFilippo declined to comment for this story.

A settlement was ultimately reached, but the Big East wanted to deter members from future departures. As a result, it established a loyalty clause requiring departing members to pay $5 million to the Big East Conference in exchange for their release.

In 2005, the Big East turned to Conference USA for replacements, plucking U. Cincinnati, U. Louisville, U. South Florida, DePaul U. and Marquette U. from its ranks.

Conference USA in turn added six new members from the Mid-American and the Western Athletic conferences to fill its vacancies.

Kallander said a similar “ripple effect” occurred when the Big Eight expanded and the WAC added three former SWC members.

While it’s unknown what the Big Ten will do, Kallander said any expansion could have a far-reaching impact.

“It depends on who all’s involved … but if it’s a dramatic shift, then it could affect everybody in college athletics at the Division I level in the country,” Kallander said.

In a year where the Cal rugby team featured an experienced, explosive offense, it was the defense that carried the most important game of the season.

The Cal rugby team scored a season-low 19 points, but staved off stout, physical BYU to win its 25th national championship, 19-7. The Bears (26-0) reclaimed the championship at Stanford’s Steuber Rugby Stadium after losing to the Cougars in last year’s final, and finished their first undefeated season since 2002.

“It was an epic game,” coach Jack Clark said, fighting off tears. “I just couldn’t be any more proud of our guys � the boys really put their bodies on the line today. I just want to go hug them all.”

It was an emotional match that left both teams beaten and bloodied. Starters Andrew Mase and Tom Rooke each celebrated the win with an arm in a sling. Fullback Colin Hawley cried tears of joy with several bruises on his face. The players’ wounds were tangible remains of an 80-minute battle between the nation’s top two squads.

All year, Cal outsprinted and outfoxed its opponents with its speed and athleticism. Saturday, however, was a game played and won in the trenches.

No play embodied this better than Cal’s Drew Hyjer standing up BYU lock Vilami Vimahi to retain Cal’s then 13-0 lead.

The 6-foot-3 245 pound Vimahi broke free from a ruck just feet from the goal line with only Hyjer left to beat. A sure tackler all season long, Hyjer lowered his shoulders and knocked Vimahi to the turf, giving the Bears their most momentous defensive stop of the game.

The Cal forwards continued their ferocious defense by consistently bottling up massive BYU prop Mike Su’a, who fans called “the bowling ball,” throughout the game.

“This was one of the toughest games in all five of my years here,” Fry said. “Those guys never quit. We just played a hard, tough game today.”

Fry spent the whole match wrestling Cougar ball carriers to the pitch and freeing space for his teammates. Sophomore eight-man Danny Barrett showed both his offensive and defensive prowess by seldom missing tackles and pitching an assist to his brother, Neill. Prop Jeremy Deterding helped generate several big pushes up field out of Cal territory.

The scoring started in the fourth minute, with Fry barreling into the BYU try zone to give the Bears an early 5-0 lead. Flyhalf Keegan Engelbrecht added a penalty kick in the 21st minute to give Cal a slight 8-0 advantage.

Cougars’ scrum half Shaun Davies missed a 40-meter penalty kick attempt just four minutes later, and BYU would never come any closer to cutting into Cal’s lead. A 38th minute try from Neill Barrett gave the Bears a commanding 13-0 lead at the half, and the defense would take over from there.

The victory was why the team worked all season.

“There is a lot of trust and a lot of commitment,” Clark said. “Those are words that are used by people every day. When you’re on a sports team, those words become real. And each one of these boys lived up to their commitment.”

The biggest issue could be the distances teams would likely have to travel if the conference added schools outside the Midwest.

Making another trip to the East Coast, for example, would take a bigger chunk out of the University’s budget than the current setup, and it would cause some athletes to miss class more often than they already do.

“This year we had about a 12-hour trip to get to Penn State,” men’s tennis head coach Brad Dancer said. “When we look at expansion, it’s probably going to be driven by finances and revenue opportunities, but I hope that when they look at that they do look at the logistics in terms of missed class time and other factors that are associated with that.”

Baseball head coach Dan Hartleb said while road trips may be extended, the benefits of expanding the conference would cancel out the drawbacks of the extra travel.

“You could have someplace where you have further travel, maybe another flight,” Hartleb said. “But that stuff will all be considered, and if it brings more revenue to the entire conference, then there’s going to be money there for us to travel.”

Some athletes may not notice or care too much about the increase in distance that expansion could bring.

“Obviously, we travel a good amount as it is right now,” sophomore tennis player Dennis Nevolo said. “I don’t know how much we’d realize it if they did add another school. Clearly, it’d be a long trip (to the East Coast), and we probably don’t want to travel too far again. But if that’s how it happens, then that’s just how it is.”

Illinois softball’s Audrey Gallien said any disadvantages of adding teams would be negated by the positives another team could bring.

“Every softball program is getting better and better every year, and to add that much more competition to the conference would just be great all around, in terms of competition and camaraderie,” Gallien said.

“We’d miss more school, obviously, but it’s a great opportunity,” Gallien added.

The Big Ten began as a seven-school conference in 1895. The original members were Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, Wisconsin and the University of Chicago. Indiana and Iowa joined four years later, and Ohio State joined in 1912 to bring the number of members to 10. Chicago left the conference in 1946 and was replaced by Michigan State three years later.

The conference first expanded to 11 schools in 1990 with the addition of Penn State. A decision resolving current expansion discussions will not be announced until at least December.

Schools that have been included in the expansion rumors include (in no particular order): Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, Missouri, Notre Dame, Texas and, to a lesser extent, Connecticut and Maryland. Notre Dame turned down an offer to join the Big Ten in 1999.

“Everyone talks about possibly bringing in Texas,” Dancer said. “I know that might be a pie-in-the-sky dream, but everyone’s got an understanding of what kind of revenue that potentially brings in, too.”

Schools joining the conference would likely need to be members of the Association of American Universities, an organization of universities to support research, which could rule out Connecticut and Notre Dame — unless the benefits of adding either school trump the importance of AAU membership.

All 11 current Big Ten schools are AAU members, which no other Division I conference can claim.

The extended travel would either cause long road trips or a two-division conference, splitting it either north-south or east-west. Softball head coach Terri Sullivan said she wouldn’t be in favor of splitting the conference, which would have the Illini facing fewer teams and possibly playing three-game series instead of the current setup of two-game series.

“I don’t particularly care for that,” Sullivan said. “That’s what the SEC has to do — they’re split into two divisions and then they join up at the end. I’ve just always been a big fan of being able to play everybody in the conference. I’d go nuts if I was in football and wasn’t able to.

“You find a true conference winner by playing each other.”

No matter how many teams are added — if any — Hartleb thinks the Big Ten will remain one of the premier conferences in the country.

“I don’t mind one way or the other,” Hartleb said. “I think our setup’s very good right now. I think if you bring more teams into the mix, it just adds a new dimension. If it’s what’s best for the entire conference, I’m all for it.”

In June Hang will embark on a 4,000-mile cycling journey across the country in an effort to raise money and awareness for people with disabilities.

Hang will be participating in “Journey of Hope” which is a 64-day bicycling trek that will take him to cities across the country including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Washington D.C.

“Journey of Hope is an event that is sponsored by Push America, which is the national charity organization of my fraternity Pi Kappa Phi,” said Hang.

Hang will be riding with around 150 members of Pi Kappa Phi from across the country. Each day the men will do an average of 75 miles with their longest day consisting of 120 miles.

Each day the men will participate in “friendship visits” with local organizations in each city.

“Friendship visits consist of various types of programs where we partner with local churches and community centers. The visits may include dances with people with disabilities, going out to movies, going to an amusement park—just getting to spend time and interact with them and also giving presentations,” said Hang.

The toughest part of the journey for Hang might be the 75-100 mile daily treks in rain or shine. Hang, who had never been on a road bike prior to this, said he decided to become a cyclist because of this event.

“Once school is over I will definitely step up training. Right now I’m riding about 30 miles every time I get on the bike. The biggest thing is getting miles on the bike and being able to go 60, 80, 90 miles each time you get on the bike and so that’s what I will be looking to do,” said Hang.

He also said because of his training he has a newfound respect for hills.

“When you’re in a car you just kind of cruise over hills and don’t think much about it but whenever you see a hill coming your way on a bike you have the most negative thoughts because it is tough,” said Hang.

Before Hang can participate in the event he must raise $5,000 minimum. Currently, he has raised just under $2,600.
Hang encourages people who would like to contribute to send a text message.

“People can donate $5.00 by texting the phrase PUSH255 to the number 50555,” said Hang.

Brad Watts, Hang’s fraternity brother, couldn’t be more excited to support Hang on his journey.

“I am very proud of him. It is a very selfless sacrifice not only for our fraternity but for people for disabilities,” said Watts.

“One of the things that is really emphasized when you join our fraternity is, ‘It’s not about you, it is about doing something greater than yourself,’ and that’s what Push America is and I think Michael does a good job representing that,” added Watts.

The brothers of Pi Kappa Phi have been helping Hang fundraise and also plan to host an event when the Journey of Hope makes a two-day stop in Birmingham in July.

Hang hopes to gain many things from his summer journey.

“I know that this is going to be one of the biggest, best memories and challenges of my life. The biggest thing that I hope to gain is definitely the experience of helping people out,” said Hang.

He also looks forward to the bond he will form with his fellow Pi Kappa Phi brothers from across the country and getting the opportunity to travel the country.

“Being able to see the country from the seat of a bike and knowing that I will be making an impact on someone’s life at the same time is an amazing feeling,” said Hang.

Finally, he also hopes to change people’s minds about what a fraternity is all about.

“I really want to change the way people look at fraternities. That fraternity stereotype is not what a fraternity is about. It is about service, giving back to the community, and brotherhood,” said Hang.

For more information on Hang and his journey visit https://secure.pushamerica.orglmichaelhang.

And 96 laps later, the Cutters celebrated again.

A frenzied and sometimes-confusing Men’s Little 500 race Saturday afternoon featured torrential rain, a 50-minute delay and uncharted weather decisions for race officials.

Amidst the wild and bizarre Saturday afternoon, though, the Cutters endured it all.

And with the win, the team added to its Little 500 legacy.

The Cutters have won 11 times in 26 years of the team’s existence and became the first team to win four Little 500 races in a row.

As rain descended on Bill Armstrong Stadium at the race’s halfway point — which would make the race official if it ended — the Cutters prepared for a shortened race.

The bike was handed over to junior sprinter Eric Young, who built a sizeable lead from the front pack as rain drenched the riders and turned the track into a sloppy mess.

Race officials threw the yellow flag at lap 101 and three laps later suspended the race.
Since it was past the halfway point, the Cutters originally assumed the race was over and they had won.

“I thought like I celebrated a little bit too much,” Young said about the mid-race ending.
But a few minutes later, PA announcer Chuck Crabb said the race was just temporarily suspended — now the Cutters faced another 96 laps before its rightful celebration.

The decision to extend the race was new for officials, because they had never faced a weather-based decision following the halfway point of the race.

In the end, with a patch of better weather on the way, the decision was made to attempt the full 200 laps.

Cutters coach Jim Kirkham said the postponement did not affect the riders’ psyche.

“Once we realized we hadn’t won, we regrouped and talked about what we were going to do to win,” Kirkham said. “We were really prepared for the second half of the race.”
In the second half, the Cutters competed against a handful of teams on the lead lap and set up its perfect ending.

When Young, arguably the fastest rider in the field, hopped on the bike at the final exchange with a few laps to go, the second finish repeated the first. Young threw his hands up in the air as he crossed the line.

This time, the team could celebrate as much as it wanted.

Afterward, Cutters junior Zach Lusk reflected on winning in front of several Cutters alumni.

“It feels good to join that elite group,” Lusk said. “But other than that, you can’t say enough about this team.”

The four riders — Young, Lusk, senior Clayton Feldman and sophomore Michael Schroeder — were the same four to win in 2009 and each contributed to the win this year.

Feldman, the team’s rider who put in the most laps, noted the team’s improvement even from a win last year.

“We’ve come a long way,” Feldman said. “Last year’s team definitely couldn’t have won this race. We fought really hard and we had to do a lot of work to get to where we are.”

And “where they are” —  for Young, at least — is at a special place in the race history.

“There’s never been a race like this with conditions like this,” Young said. “This was crazy. It will go down in history as one of the best Little Fives ever. It was great.”

The announcement, which also featured remarks from Senior Adviser to the President Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, restricts the ways in which schools can show compliance with Title IX. Schools must now show the amount of female athletes is proportional to the amount of women on campus, or show a history of continually adding women’s sports teams.

Previously, schools had a third option: Survey the student body to prove the institution had met the athletic interest of women on campus. While schools can still survey students, that can no longer be their only method of proof.

Because GW shows its compliance through the proportion-based option, the policy change does not directly affect the University, University President Steven Knapp said.

At the hour-long event, attended by about 350 people, Biden spoke of how important sports are to the women in his life and how athletics build confidence and character.

“Making Title IX as strong as it possibly can be is the right thing to do,” Biden said. “We’re going to make sure that this is flexible, that the absolute best effort that could be possibly made is being made to make sure women in college are given the opportunity that they deserve.”

At GW, where females comprise about 56 percent of the student body, there are 12 women’s sports teams and 10 men’s sports teams. About 51 percent of athletic scholarships are awarded to female athletes, according to a fact sheet released by the University.

Bonnie Morris, a GW women’s studies professor and expert on Title IX, called the policy change fantastic, and said the survey was an attempt to avoid the other options.

“Sending the survey as an e-mail… you might get a very low return and the assumption might be, okay, no women are interested,” Morris said. “So the problem is first, the technology assumes people are going to respond, but also men don’t get that survey, and men are assumed to be interested. Women have to prove that they’re worthy of equality.”

Biden referenced the coinciding of the announcement with Equal Pay Day – a day to bring attention to pay gaps between men and women – and said today should also be “Equal Play Day.”

“We gotta make sure all the women and girls know about their potential by being able to test that potential,” Biden said.

The U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey team, along with GW and D.C.-area athletes, schoolgirls and Girl Scouts joined Biden on stage. Before the ceremony, local female athletes played basketball and volleyball and practiced cheers on the court of the Smith Center.

Duncan said Title IX is one of the greatest civil rights success stories.

“This reaffirmation of long standing policy will help to bolster Title IX and insure that educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance do not discriminate on the basis of sex,” Duncan said. “I can think of no other institution, apart from the military, that does as much to shape our future leaders as intercollegiate athletics.”

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany and a number of Big Ten presidents and chancellors met Sunday in Washington, D.C., to discuss conference expansion while attending Association of American Universities meetings.

A December announcement from the Big Ten that the conference would consider a possible expansion has made waves throughout the world of intercollegiate athletics during the last few months.

Despite the ramped-up discussions, U. Minnesota Athletics Director Joel Maturi said the conference is still very much in the exploratory stage and that it’s too soon to speculate which team — or teams — the conference may add.

“I think I can very honestly and safely say that somebody’s throwing something against the wall and [hoping] it sticks, because I think it’s completely premature to believe that talks of expansion are to that level at this time,” Maturi said.

Maturi said he expects an update on the exploration process at the conference’s annual meetings between coaches and athletics directors, which will be held May 17-19 in Chicago.

Many questions need to be answered before the conference can move forward with expansion, and not every Big Ten athletics director is entirely certain it is the right move. Some of the issues Maturi said need to be addressed include how additional teams would impact revenue distribution, rivalry games and geographical issues.

“That’s why I’m pretty confident to be able to say to those people that say something’s going to happen in weeks — you’re wrong,” Maturi said. “It ain’t going to happen in weeks.”

The initial December statement from the Big Ten indicated the exploration process would take between 12 and 18 months.

Gophers football head coach Tim Brewster is a proponent of making at least one addition to the 11-member Big Ten so the conference could hold a nationally televised conference championship football game. A 12th member would enable the group to hold a conference championship, as many fellow Bowl Championship Series conferences do currently.

“I think that we’re kind of sitting at home watching while others are out there really doing some good things and getting a tremendous amount of exposure for their teams and their conference,” Brewster said during a teleconference last week.

While a conference championship game would provide an additional source of revenue for the conference, it remains unknown whether it would increase the share each of the Big Ten’s member institutions receive. The conference allocates television and bowl payout revenue evenly among its universities.

Not all conferences split all revenue equally among their members, which could make a move to the Big Ten more attractive for some. The Big 12, for example, divides half of its television revenue evenly, but the other 50 percent is distributed based on the number of appearances.

Longtime Penn State University football coach Joe Paterno believes the conference would benefit from the exposure of a conference championship game. Paterno said he thinks the conference will expand, but by how many teams remains to be seen.

“I think the trend is going to be bigger conferences,” he said during a teleconference, adding that conferences could swell to as many as 16 teams.

Paterno mentioned that the Pac 10 is also considering expanding.

“I think that we’re naive if we think that we can sit back and watch everybody else move ahead, because they’re going to move ahead … and we better start thinking about where we’re going,” Paterno said.

Universities rumored to be targeted by the Big Ten include Rutgers University, the University of Connecticut, Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh from the Big East, as well as several Big 12 teams such as the University of Texas and the University of Missouri.

Along with Texas, the most high-profile school to be mentioned as a possible Big Ten addition is Maturi’s alma mater, the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish enjoy football independence, meaning they have no conference affiliation, but it is a Big East member in other sports.

Maturi said he doesn’t envision a scenario in which Notre Dame could join the Big Ten while maintaining their football independence, which is something its alumni support.

“I don’t think Notre Dame alumni would like to see Notre Dame in the Big Ten,” Maturi said. “I believe that’s one of the reasons they’re not in the Big Ten right now. It’s because their alumni have treasured their independence and have felt that it’s one of the great uniquenesses of Notre Dame.”

Paterno said he would like to see the Big Ten add a team from the east to broaden the conference’s television market, but he said any new member must fit the high academic and athletic standards of the Big Ten.

The road to the national championship is much like March Madness, coach Ollie Griffith said. The top teams from each region advance to semi-finals, then the top three teams at each semi-final competition advance to the national championship. Nine teams are then left to compete for the national title.

OSU won the semi-finals that were held March 27-28 at Cal Poly Pamona and will compete at nationals on May 6-9 in Lexington, Ky.

“Nationals is the highlight of the year for the team. Everyone looks forward to it,” alumnus Keith Ceddia said. “Not many students get the opportunity to represent their university at a collegiate national championship.”

Competition is separated into beginner, intermediate, novice, advanced, open reining and open horsemanship divisions.

“There is an opportunity for anyone that wants to learn to show horses,” Griffith said. “If you’ve never ridden a horse, you could come be a part of this team.”

All OSU students are encouraged to join the team despite their level of experience with horses.

Griffith said part of his task as coach is finding the students who have experience.

Some members find that being part of the equestrian team enhances their time as a student.

“It’s given me a community within the school that I can identify with,” team member Lauren Smanik said. “It just makes the experience that much better.”

The team has also helped members form lasting friendships.
“The friendships that you make don’t last only four years,” team president Danielle Nichter said. “The connections last for a lifetime – that’s a pretty cool thing to say.”

With nine national titles under its belt in only 25 years, the equestrian team is considered one of the most successful sports team at OSU. Ollie and Debbie Griffith own Autumn Rose Farm in Dublin, Ohio, and have coached the team since it formed.

“Ollie is a huge Ohio State fan and a great supporter of our team,” team member Melissa Vannest said. “I don’t think the team would have the same amount of enthusiasm if it weren’t for Ollie’s passion rubbing off on us.”

To help introduce Ohno was current OSU wrestling coach and fellow Olympian John Smith.

“He shows that with sacrifice and commitment you can achieve greatness,” Smith said. “I respect what he (Ohno) has done. In a sport that is constantly striving for attention, this guy did it.”

Ohno took the audience on a trip through his life, beginning at his first exposure to speed skating when he was only 14.

“When I first saw the Olympic games, I saw something I had never seen before,” Ohno said. “I saw these guys skating around a hockey rink on 18-inch blades that are 1-millimeter-thick, going 35 to 40 miles an hour, inches from each other, leaning at these impossible angles. I thought, ‘Wow, I could do something like that.’”

From there, Ohno’s father placed him in classes and training. Within a short time he was able to place first in time trials. Instead of progressing, Ohno fell into a slump and placed last at the next year’s trials. It was there that he decided to become one of the best speed skaters.

“I didn’t dedicate myself and I didn’t sacrifice,” Ohno said. “My father told me, ‘I don’t care what you do. You need to dedicate 100 percent to whatever that is. Whatever you do you’re going to do it to the best of your ability.’”

After the sort of revelation he had, Ohno went on to make the Olympic team. Overall he has acquired eight Olympic medals, making him the most decorated winter Olympian.

In addition to his athletic accomplishments, Ohno was a guest on “Dancing with the Stars.” With dancing partner Junliane Hough, Ohno won the show.

“This 18-year-old girl taught me a lot of life lessons,” Ohno said. “The first thing I had to learn was opening up. She taught me to show my inner emotion.”

Now, Ohno travels around the country speaking to middle school kids. He gives these motivational talks hoping to make a difference in the students’ lives. By telling his life story he shows them that they can turn their lives around and achieve great things.

The Wes Watkins center was filled to the brim. With students, faculty among others in attendance, Ohno’s message reached and made an impact on many.

“I thought he was very inspirational,” OSU freshman John Engelbrecht said. “It definitely had an effect on me. It made me want to try to be more conscious of how much I put forth in everything I do.”

Ever since the enactment of Title IX of the Higher Education Amendment Acts of 1972, federal legislation aimed at preventing gender discrimination in educational institutions, the law’s implications have been a hot-button issue in the world of collegiate athletics.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights released a report recommending less stringent compliance standards for Title IX and hinted that the predominant method of compliance leads to a reduction in men’s sports.

The commission is an independent, bipartisan agency established by Congress that investigates issues of sex, race, age, disability or national origin.

The report stated: “Panelists reported instances of colleges and universities dropping men’s sports programs in order to reach Title IX compliance under the proportional representation.”

At U. Minnesota, some argue Title IX has kept new men’s sports from developing.

Alan Merrick, head coach of the Minnesota men’s club soccer team, said he would love to bring Division I men’s soccer to the school, which already has a women’s soccer team.

The club team has tried to gain varsity status at Minnesota in the past, Merrick said, but unless another women’s sport is added, it won’t happen.

“We’re stuck with Title IX,” Merrick said. “Title IX precludes that happening to us at this time.”

But some experts, like Dr. John Cheslock, a professor and senior research associate at Pennsylvania State U., disagree with the commission’s findings. Cheslock, who has conducted extensive research on the impact of Title IX, said Title IX itself has not led to a reduction of men’s sports and that such claims are not supported by facts.

“In newspaper op-eds they can sort of fly, but if you get some statisticians in the room they can pretty quickly debunk those and show that, well no, there hasn’t been these large declines in men’s participation,” Cheslock said.

Cheslock authored a study in 2008 for the Women’s Sports Foundation, which found that in response to Title IX, colleges and universities were increasing women’s participation without decreasing men’s participation.

According to the study, between the 1992-93 and 2000-01 academic years, when Title IX was more strictly enforced, women’s participation increased by 4.5 percent and men’s participation increased by .3 percent annually.

Three tests of compliance

There are three forms of satisfying Title IX compliance. The first is used by most institutions and calls for universities to have substantial proportional representation in their athletic opportunities — meaning that the number of opportunities should reflect the gender ratio of general student body.

The second requires schools to show a history of progress providing athletic opportunities to the underrepresented sex.

The third method of compliance, which is perhaps the least rigid, states that universities must show they are adequately accommodating the athletic interests and abilities of the underrepresented sex.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights’ report contends that surveying the student body to gauge athletic interest and ability is an effective way of meeting the third condition.

Interpreting the third condition can be difficult, Cheslock said, but the model survey method endorsed by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights may not be appropriate for large Division I schools who recruit across the country and even internationally. Cheslock said student-athletes interested in a particular sport likely would not attend a school that doesn’t offer that sport.

“Your student body is not composed of your potential student-athletes, so surveying them is not really relevant,” Cheslock said.

Merrick said there is no doubt that there is enough talent and interest in men’s soccer to field a team capable of competing at the Division I level. Merrick said Minnesota produces a high number of the nation’s top recruits each year.

“For somebody like me, it’s frustrating that we’ve got so many wonderful players in the state of Minnesota who are having to go out of state … to find Division I soccer somewhere else,” Merrick said.

While Title IX may hinder the chances that Merrick and the men’s club soccer team will one day compete at the NCAA level, it has undeniably led to new opportunities for female athletes, particularly in the sport of rowing.

Women’s rowing coach Wendy Davis said she has experienced the benefits of Title IX first hand.

“To me, what Title IX has done is it’s opened the door for women to experience what men have for a long time,” Davis said.

Davis recalled her days at the U. of California-Los Angeles from 1978 to 1982, when she said the men’s rowing team received four times more funding than the women’s team.

The rowing team gives women who have no prior experience with the sport a chance to compete at the NCAA level, Davis said. She estimates that 75 percent of the team had not rowed before coming to Minnesota.

In order to comply with the proportional representation standard of Title IX, some universities have added women’s rowing teams to balance the large rosters of Division I football teams.

While women’s rowing is an NCAA sanctioned sport, men’s rowing is not.

Davis said that with three coaches and a roster of about 105 last year, rowing is a cost-effective way of increasing women’s participation.

A 2007 study conducted by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education found that while women comprise 57 percent of the college population, only 42 percent of athletic participation opportunities are for women.

Of the 25 varsity sports offered at Minnesota, 12 are men’s sports and 13 are women’s.

Scarborough, the president of the forestry club, entered campus with an interest in forestry and will be competing this fall for a national championship in the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Collegiate Series.

Scarborough swept all four events of the Collegiate Series on the single buck, standing block chop, stock saw, and underhand chop at the Southern Qualifier held in Monticello, Ark. on March 25.

The result of the competition was reminiscent of the 2009 event in which Scarborough swept the first three events but was disqualified in the stock saw event for making a cut outside the allowed area. But this time, Scarborough was able to master the event with the help of a full year of practice.

“You don’t have to be strong, you don’t have to be fit, you don’t have to be anything for that event,” Scarborough said. “You just have to be really quick and precise with your cuts. [It took] practice, just practice.”

Graham Ford, a senior in forest management and vice-president of the forestry club, has seen Scarborough devote himself to his trade in order to be the best he can be.

“I’ve never seen anybody work as hard at something that he has completely taken upon himself,” Ford said. “He has become a lot more serious at training and getting better at his solo events. He understands that to be the best he needs to train and learn all he can.”

But Scarborough also gives back to the club that introduced him to the sport. When he came into the forestry club, he knew nothing about timber sports. The club introduced him to the events and he hit the ground running. After two years in the club, Scarborough assumed the presidency of it and has been working at promoting and improving the club, according to Charles Michael Cheston, a sophomore in forest management.

“When he took over the club, there was hardly any structure there,” Cheston said. “He made it into a well run club.”

Ford said Scarborough also teaches the younger members of the group.

“He is all about showing the younger guys what he is working on,” Ford said. “He is 100 percent about passing along the skills that he has gathered. We know that we came in having hardly any experience, so we understand that for them to make the club better, for them to keep going with it, they need to understand all the knowledge that we gathered.”

Scarborough’s success will do nothing but good for the club, according to Ford, who sees the attention as a way to captivate prospective members and gain support from the community.

“The exposure sheds more light on what we do and makes it come across in a really exciting way so people want to find out more about it,” Ford said. “Also, notoriety for the school and our club goes a long way for getting support from the faculty and department. We can’t do it all ourselves, so the notoriety from winning events goes a long way.”

And the club needs the support from the community, especially the College of Natural Resources, which provides a critical supply for it, wood.

“The College of Natural Resources owns multiple properties throughout the Southeast,” Scarborough said. “They own [a piece] in Durham County called Hill Forest. There is a substantial amount of white pine there that is not going to be used for anything because white pine isn’t used much around here, so they donate it to the forestry club.”

The Collegiate Championship will be held in conjunction with the 25th anniversary event of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Series at the Oregon State Fair in Salem, Ore., Aug. 27-29. The winner will win an automatic spot in the 2011 STIHL TIMBERSPORTS Professional Series. The entire Collegiate Series will air on ESPNU in the fall.

“Not only him going, but being on TV is going to be pretty big,” Ford said. “It is just exciting to be on TV. It’s like icing on the cake.”

However, on Friday, much of the city was there.

When Keeneland’s gates opened for its spring season and College Scholarship Day on Friday, 24,734 people walked through the turnstiles. The crowd set a Keeneland Opening Day record and was the track’s second largest overall turnout in history.

The thousands of patrons who walked through the turnstiles brought with them more than just their sunglasses and a wad of bills.

They brought tradition, experience and a love of the sport — which, for many, lasts longer than their cash.

“I’m not doing a real good job of managing my money right now,” said U. Kentucky sophomore David Liebman.

He “invested” much of his money in the races.

Nearby stood U. Kentucky sophomore Brandon Bell, who said he always takes his betting cues from Liebman. “He knows what he’s talking about,” Bell said.

After all, Liebman’s father is editor-in-chief of “The Blood-Horse,” a horse racing publication based out of Lexington. But Liebman does not come to Keeneland just because of his own thoroughbred bloodlines. “It’s all the people, the tradition, how much it means to the city,” he said.

In the spring and fall Liebman and Bell said they and their friends go to races at Keeneland as often as possible. They also participate in tailgating before the races start.

“It’s just a fun time to go out, dress up … and win some money,” Bell said.

Thanks to his friend’s know-how, Bell said he normally ends up being at least $20 to $50 ahead by the time the day is over.

The lines at the betting windows stretched and wound through the concourse. In these lines were college students hoping to make a buck, parents teaching their children the ins and outs of the betting game and hundreds of others with stories of their own.

Kentucky freshman Neil Taing was not in any of those lines. He was just enjoying the day with his friends and watching the races, he said.

Taing had not yet placed any bets, but was having fun guessing the winners anyway.

“Although, I should’ve (been betting) because I picked the first two races correctly,” he said.

Chase Hammons, an undecided freshman at Eastern Kentucky U., drove to Lexington to experience Keeneland for the first time. Through the first three races, he lost $50.

The sounds from the betting windows, grandstand and surrounding patio area blended together in a constant buzz that resonated throughout the horse park.

Once the horses and their jockeys made the final turn and hit the home stretch, regardless of the race or which horse was in front, the venue truly came alive.

People whose livelihoods — or at least part of them — rested with the outcome of the race cheered, waved their arms and cursed, hoping to spur their chosen horses on to victory.

The thrill of the race is part of what makes Keeneland such an exciting place for Bell.

“My favorite part about (Keeneland) is the final countdown to when the horses cross the finish line,” Bell said.  “That’s when it gets loud and crazy.”