Sports Garth McLennan supergarth@hotmail.com NCAA will allow Canadian schools Garth McLennan sports editor oP NCAA Division 2 has overwhelmingly voted to accept Canadian colleges and universities into their league, with 97 percent voting in favor at their recent Nashville convention. Canadian schools will now be accepted in a 10-year pilot program and can now apply for Division 2 membership in the NCAA. The first year will be a provisional one, and the earliest that Canadian schools may begin competing in the NCAA is 2009- 10. The earliest that Canadian institutions may begin playing in the prestigious organizations _ top tier division, and therefore for national championships, is 2010- 11, as the Division 1 membership has decided to impose a restriction on new Canadian entries until 2011. Under NCAA regulations, all second division schools can send one men’s team and one women’s team up to play in the first division, with the exception of football and basketball teams. However, due to the freeze on Canadian colleges and _ universities entering the NCAA’s first division until 2011, this can’t occur for new Canadian schools entering Division 2. Both the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Simon Fraser University (SFU) have expressed interest in joining the NCAA, and quite possibly leaving the organizing body they are currently affiliated with, Canadian Interunivesity Sport (CIS). In the past, the executives for the athletics departments at both UBC and SFU have publicly acknowledged that they would fit in better with the NCAA and their format. This is primarily because of their views toward extending athletic scholarships. UBC and SFU officials have in the past complained about the limit of athletic scholarships they are permitted to offer to potential players. The NCAA has no such restrictions, and that is one of the main reasons many talented Canadian athletes leave the country to play in the United States. UBC has stated that one of their long-term goals is 16 to become a fully-fledged member of the NCAAs first division. CIS imposes limits on the number of athletic scholarships allowed to promote equity between the amount of athletic and academic scholarships given out. One of the major questions that must be answered before the June 1 deadline for NCAA Division 2 applications is what UBC and SFU, who are the most likely to apply for membership, and other schools that desire to become affiliated with the NCAA will do about their connections with CIS. The NCAA has said that they have no problem allowing dual membership for Canadian schools in both the NCAA and CIS, but CIS has tersely said that a dual affiliation scheme is not what they consider ideal. “OO ur membership will be the final determiner of this, but philosophically, the CIS wants to be made up of schools who want to be part of a Canadian organization,” said CIS CEO Marg McGregor. It is best for Canadian institutions to be able to become members of both organizations, as Canadian school teams that play in sports not offered in the NCAA will still be able to play in the CIS divisions. The second big issue is what conference they would play in. UBC’s athletic director Bob Phillip met with the NCAA’s Div. 2 higher ups about possibly competing in the Great Northwest Athletic conference (GNAC) or maybe the Pacific West Conference (PacWest) at the Nashville meetings. “I thought [the talks] were really positive, many of their issues were addressed and the outstanding ones are centered more on the technical aspects of academics, how we calculate grades, the SAT test, just certain things we have to get decisions on. I think both conferences are looking to add members and there are a lot of positive things to look at there,” said Phillip. Of the two conferences, the GNAC is more likely. Established in 2001, it has a number of schools in its membership that UBC has previously competed against in the NAIA. GNAC incorporates 10 schools from Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, and runs 13 different sports. PacWest has been in operation since 1992, has seven member schools competing in 10 sports from four states, Hawaii, California, Arizona and Utah. Wheelchair basketball returns to Douglas College By Garth McLennan Ac you looking for a fun and exciting challenge? Well, wheelchair basketball might just be the sport for you. A recreational league operates out of Douglas College and games are played every Monday. Both disabled and able-bodied people can play, as the turnout is usually about 70 percent disabled and 30 percent non. The program routinely runs for about seven to eight weeks at a time, the most recent set of games began at the beginning of January, playing until the middle to the end of March. The seven- to-eight week programs are in place all year, out of the big gymnasium at the Douglas College New Westminster campus. There are also more intense and competitive wheelchair basketball leagues and programs. For example, on January 5 and 6 a high performance wheelchair basketball camp was held at Douglas. The camp was a tremendous success, drawing 30 high-level players from around BC together to be instructed by six top coaches. Three of the coaches have coached the Canadian national team, and the elite players came from all over the province: the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Northern BC and the Interior. The BC Wheelchair Basketball Society also hands annual awards out every year to the best players in the province. Nominations for the cream of the 2007 crop must be submitted by January 31 of this year, and there are a number of honors that will be given out. Awards for top male and female athlete of the year, junior athlete of the year, coach of the year, volunteer of the year, top official of the year, and outstanding community support will all be given to deserving individuals. So whatever level of player you are, come on out and get involved, it’s a blast. For more information visit bewbs. ca. Ortiz named best hitter again By Garth McLennan i Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was named Major League Baseball’s most outstanding designated hitter for the 2007 season, winning the Edgar Martinez award. Ortiz also won the Silver Slugger award for his position this year. Ortiz has had a season filled with accomplishments. Aside from the outstanding DH and Silver Slugger awards, he helped the Boston Red Sox capture the World Series championship for the second time since 2004, and hit 35 home runs. Ortiz batted .332, had 117 RBI’s, and had 52 doubles. Ortiz has won every outstanding DH award since 2003, and has won four Silver Slugger awards. In 2006, Ortiz set a Red Sox franchise record for home runs with 54 in 2006. In the past five seasons, he has hit at least 30 home runs at a minimum 100 RBIs. This year he finished fourth in American League MVP voting. In 2006, Ortiz signed a four-year $52 million contract extension, paying him $13.25 million in 2007. Cujo signs with Flames By Garth McLennan V creran goaltender Curtis Joseph, 40, has signed on to become the Calgary Flames’ newest backup goaltender. The one-year deal will pay Joseph $1.5 million per year, however, as the season is already half over, Joseph will make approximately $650,000 for the rest of the season. Joseph is unlikely to see much time between the pipes for Calgary. Starting goalie Mikka Kiprusoff has played 45 out of Calgary’s 46 games at the time of Joseph’s signing. The Flames have been using prospect Curtis McElhinney as their backup. Joseph was considered one of the premier goalies at the turn of the millennium. He was touted as Canada’s best goalie for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, but ended up as the third stringer behind Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour in the gold medal winning effort. In 16 NHL seasons with St. Louis, Edmonton, Toronto, Detroit, Phoenix, and now Calgary, Joseph has played 882 games with a 446-341-90-5 record. He is just one win behind Terry Sawchuk for fourth place all time in wins. The only other time Joseph as played this year was when he suited up for Canada at December’s Spengler Cup in Switzerland, where he guided the Canadians to gold.