> the ©) ‘ther press >>>SPORTS The Final Seventh Inning Retch (and a Farewell to Douglas College} Pe iamsportsman himself Patrick Witwicki Sports Editor Yes, my friends, it’s over. Your beloved sports editor is about to ride off into the sun- set, with a prestigious new position at a different publication. You probably think this is one last chance to take a cheap shot at baseball, but that’s not really true. Instead, with this final article, | thought | would touch upon my highlights of the past year, both as sports editor and sports fan, as well as utter my main complaints about sports in general. Let’s start with the good first: the highlight of the sports year had to be the Canucks amazing run to make the playoffs. Who wasn’t planning a victory parade when they won those first two games in Detroit? Yes, they eventually lost, but we can definite- ly look forward to this season, can’t we? But my personal highlight (and this may sound arrogant) was getting the chance to attend the World Cup in person, includ- ing one game in Japan, and one in Korea. | doubt that experience will ever be dupli- cated, no matter what | do in my upcoming sports’ writing career. Unless, of course, Canada qualifies for 2006 ... Other highlights? Game Seven, LA Lakers vs. Sacramento, which was decided in overtime. Unfortunately, the expected happened, and those damn Lakers went on to increase that awful smirk on Kobe’s face, but what a game! And of course, we can’t forget the biggest event in Canada since 1972, when both of our hockey teams won gold in Salt Lake City. Shouldn’t February 24 now be a national holiday? As for Douglas College sports, well, our badminton team won the provincials, our women’s rugby team repeated as champions, our women’s volleyball team finished fourth at the nationals, and wrestler Travis Cross won his class at the nationals. And of course, we can’t forget how the Coquitlam Adanacs won the Mann Cup, after upsetting the undefeated Victoria Shamrocks in the WLA final. Personally, my favourite interviews had to be Lui Passaglia (former BC Lion) and Dave Lowry (Calgary Flames). Other highlights included getting to attend every Vancouver Ravens home game—especially the home opener when they knocked off Toronto—and working alongside Darcy Rota and the Coquitlam Express. My favourite DC moment came when the Douglas College women’s volleyball team swept Malaspina 3-0 during the regular season, the first time that’s happened to Malaspina in five years. Watching the men’s soccer team play in the provincial final against Langara was also exciting, despite the disappointing result. Low-points? Well, the lowest of the low is about to happen, as baseball will once again go on strike, ending my dream of watching a “contracted World Series” with Minnesota taking on Montreal. Damn. | might have actually watched that, you know —ah, probably not. Baseball is baseball, unfortunately, no matter who is playing. And don’t even talk about that stupid baseball all-star game. The Canucks before Christmas were pathetic, the BC Lions continue to be inconsistent, and Detroit went and won the Stanley Cup. Despite all this, the past year was a great year for sports, and | enjoyed acting as the voice for the OP. Finally, before | ride off into the sunset, | would like to thank all of you who wrote for me over the past year, such as Brandon Yip, Bill McFadden, Sam Payne, Malminderjit Singh, Erin Culhane, Jason Kurylo, and anyone else | may have for- gotten to mention. And one final request out there: if you love sports, why not write about it? I’m sure whoever takes over as sports editor would love some help. So, write, damn it! And don’t forget to get out there and support your college teams. Have a great year, and maybe I'll see you on the cover of Sports Illustrated some day.