© Sports the other press e Flash Gordon e dcsportseditor@yahoo.ca September 10, 2003 Lebron James - The NBA’s Next Great One? lan Hogan OP Contributor Lebron James is now my hero. He's a few years younger than I am and is worth over $90 million US. I stopped counting how much he was making after the lucrative Nike deal. At first I thought to myself, “This kid is gonna get killed (in the NBA).” Like many people, I questioned whether James was ready to back up all the hype sur- rounding the 18 year old, who may well be one of the greatest players of all time. Now I’m sure there are cyn- ics and rightly so but I will put my neck out there to say he will go down in the books. Not as a teenage rookie sensation but for what I’m sure he will accomplish in the next 10-15 years. Some may disagree, but I chal- lenge them to watch his high school games and ask yourselves the ques- tion, “Is he really that good?” Take note of how athletic this phenom is. If his dominance is not clear, keep an eye on him when he reaches the pro- fessional level. As a basketball player in Canada, I stand at six foot nine. Lebron James is the same height, twenty pounds heavier, darker skin and has twenty more inches to his vertical than I do. Pretty impressive, isn’t it? I am not sure anyone has ever seen such ath- leticism before. Lebron James appears to have it all. His contract signing with the Cleveland Cavaliers has increased merchandise sales from one of the lowest in the NBA to the third high- est below the powerhouses of the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks. It seems fans have jumped on the band wagon. With all this in mind, we will have to wait and see. So with the end of my first article ever, I would love to see a follow up from someone who thinks they know bet- ter than I about all this hype. Peace. Flashzilla Knows Best Flash Gordon Sports Editor Holy crap. I got back from vacation on the last day of August. I wasn’t overly impressed to be reminded classes start- ed in the first week of September. Somewhere in my mind, I had con- vinced myself I had another week to slack off. I should say I planned to have an extra week to prepare for a wonder- ful year at the Other Press. Those stu- dents and faculty who are new to Douglas this fall would have missed the changing of the guard over the sum- mer. Jordan Cripps, who was my pred- ecessor as sports editor, graduated in April to go on to bigger and better things. I hope. A number of other vacant positions at the Other Press were filled too so over the summer, the new cast stumbled through four issues. Sportwise, there wasn’t as much news as I would have liked but it did give me some practice typing out filler and bull- shitting my way through competent writing. Don't get me wrong. My arti- cle about the Douglas Rugby Club was nothing short of Pulitzer material. But I can't speak for the rest of the articles submitted by my colleagues. Just kid- ding kids. If you really truly want to see what we did over the summer, someone in the Other Press office might be con- vinced to share a copy with you of the May, June, July or fabulous August issues. July had a fabulous feature where the Other Press editors were branded at the famous tattoo salon, The Dutchman. Full colour photos included. Instead of recapping the summer events, let's look forward to what's ahead for September and onward for the Douglas College Athletics teams. This men’s and women’s soccer teams beginning where they left off last year in their quest for national championships. Our men’s team came second last year in the soc- cer nationals tournament and the rumour has it that the team is stronger than last year. The women also look for month sees our that elusive title with a strong team. Both sides will be on display for the nation to see when Douglas College hosts the national college tournament in November. It’s a very exciting time for the players and the college. Anyone interested in helping out with hosting the event, might want to visit the ath- letics office to see what can be done. Our basketball teams got facelifts over the summer with an influx of new players and coaches. Steve McGilligan, from the University of Manitoba, is the new head honcho of the men’s team. McGilligan has spent the summer recruiting some of the best young tal- ent of the area. Two steals came in 6 foot 8 centre Cody Berg from the island and Fraser Valley AAA MVP Donald Burton of White Rock Christian Academy. The coach appears to be a cautious optimist when evaluat- ing the potential for the team’s success this year. But the amount of raw athlet- ic talent he has brought in will do lots for the teams’ chances at returning to a provincial tournament. In October the men will play two exhibition games. One against the Douglas Alumni and the Seattle Blue Angels will fly into town to test the mettle of our Royals in the same weekend. Ed Lunn’s women’s basketball team brought in a number of talented play- ers to rebuild the team. While no exhi- bition games are scheduled this month, official tryouts do begin. Any interest- ed women should get to Ed Lunn as soon as possible. Fans should be ready for October when the regular season begins. Their first test will be against an Alumni team before they tackle Medicine Hat College. Women’s volleyball begins in October with the other indoor sports. They will all get to play in the newly painted New West gymnasium. For years our Royals have been a strong force in the BCCAA league but find themselves in a rebuilding stage. There mail | slot ofthe the OP eee in the | els of Douglas College. Ss Page 22 ¢ hittp://www.otherpress.ca is a new head coach at the helm in Becki Kosinski. The end of last season saw more than one coaching shuffle and one can expect it affects a team. This year begins with nothing but a positive outlook toward regaining a top position in the league. Their main should come Malasapina and Capilano. Men’s Volleyball hired a new coach competition from last year in Mike Sapic, an experienced ex-pro from Finland. He has coached in the Lower Mainland and on the island with a number of successful teams so one can only expect great results from the team this year. The 2003-2004 Douglas College Athletics calendar should be on the stands this week. For your own person- al schedule of games, pick one up. Jason Kurylo of the athletic depart- ment will be available to autograph the calendars somewhere around campus, some day. If I haven't rambled enough, stay tuned to the next issues of the Other Press. Submissions about any- thing in the world of sports are wel- come. E-mail me with your ideas/arti- cles at dcsportseditor@yahoo.ca or drop your articles in the slot at the Other Press office on the first floor of Douglas College, New Westminster.