Paintball By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor ost games and activities that blur the Me= of what are and aren’t sports usually do so because the physical element isn’t all that prominent. Things like bowling and golf are good examples of this. But what about the other end of the spectrum? What about paintball? Without a doubt, the physical aspects of paintball won’t be called into question any time soon. There are so many things about paintball that are essential parts of more common sports that it is difficult to say that it isn’t a sport. You have to have both speed and skill. You have to formulate strategies and tactics quickly, often on the fly, with a small team to take on another squad. There is a great deal of adrenaline and pressure involved as the threat of getting shot, even if it is just with paint, is always present. Accuracy and coordination are also vital. It’s a rarity that you’ll be able to line up a clean shot, so you have to be able to take aim while constantly moving or in awkward positions while you’re behind cover. You have to keep a close watch on your ammunition levels and the amount of time elapsed in each game. Depending on which type of game you're playing there are a ton of unique objectives you have to complete, from just simply 16 eee eliminating every opposing team member, at time there can even be more than two sides involved, to storming or defending the bases of other squads. There are also no shortage of paintball competitions and championships out there at all different levels. Despite all this though, there is virtually zero coverage on any sports networks or newspapers about paintball. I think this is because it is still such a relatively young sport. The same thing happened with snowboarding before the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Paintball is still largely regarded as a niche activity designed for birthday parties and corporate retreats. So while there is little coverage of paintball to speak of, I still say that it is a sport. You have to be incredibly sharp both mentally and physically and you have to have guts to play it well. The strategy involved varies for a multitude of different scenarios and you have to be totally aware of your surroundings at all times. THE VERDICT: Paintball probably won’t be appearing on ESPN or in the Summer Olympics any time soon. It has a long way to go before it is even remotely considered by the general population to be even a lower-end extreme sport but still, paintball is a sport. Klitschko’s next opponent set Ukrainian comeback fighter to be tested against Kevin Johnson Dec. 12 By Garth or almost his entire career, Vitali Klitschko has flown under the radar, which is a feat in and of itself considering the Ukrainian is 6 foot 8. . .. At the start of the decade, Klitschko sort of fell between the cracks of public opinion in a stacked division which at the time still contained the likes of Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. When Klitschko assumed the status of the heavyweight division’s top fighter, after most of those luminary names had moved on, boxing wasn’t nearly on the same popularity levels at it had been in the past. When Klitschko retired after his 2004 bout with Danny Williams for nearly four years, his brother Wladmir stepped up and took his place. Since making a highly successful comeback starting in October of last year, which is incredibly rare in the boxing world, Klitschko has quietly become one of, if not the best heavyweight fighter in the world. In just over a year Klitschko has already fought three times, and that is even more impressive when you think about the fact that he’s 38 years old. Klitschko captured the WBC Heavyweight Championship from Samuel Peter in his first fight back after Peter retired at the end of the eighth round. He then went on to defend the belt in convincing fashion against Juan Carlos Gomez, who he stopped in the ninth, and Chris Arreola, who he pummelled for 10 rounds before Arreola’s corner threw in the towel. What makes these victories all the more impressive though, is that Klitschko is considerably older then all of them. Peter and Arreola are nine and 10 years junior to Klitschko, respectively, while Gomez is two years younger. With all of this, Klitschko is still proving that he’s a fighting champion. Less then a month after defeating Arreola, Klitschko has already scheduled his next fight, a December 12 clash with the undefeated Kevin Johnson, who at 30 is eight years younger than Vitali, in Switzerland. If you sit and think about that for a second, what we’re about to see is pretty McLennan, Sports Editor amazing. For a 38-year-old fighter to come off of four years of inactivity and win in such dominating fashion within the span of a year is remarkable. Then, to take a bout against a highly touted, much younger boxer with a 22-0-1 record just two and a half months after a previous match... well, that’s basically unheard of. Now, to be fair, while Johnson has never lost professionally, he hasn’t exactly faced the cream of the crop. It’s true that he was more than impressive during a sixth round TKO win over Devin Vargas, who was a perfect 17-0 before fighting Johnson, but it’s safe to say that Vitali Klitschko is more than a small step up in quality for Johnson. Also working in Vitali’s favour is that while he’ll be just coming off a big victory, by December it’ll have been a full seven months since Johnson’s fight against Vargas. Also important to note is that Johnson has never gone 12 rounds before, whereas Vitali hasn’t fought in anything but in over a decade. That could really work in either man’s favour. In his 22 wins, Johnson has just nine knockouts, and if this one goes the distance he’ll have to box longer than he ever has in the past. Meanwhile, it’s no secret that Vitali won’t be thinking along those lines. With a sparkling 38-2 career mark, Vitali has an incredible 37 knockouts, and hasn’t been forced to go a full 12 rounds since he fought Timo Hoffman way back in 2000. So there could be endurance problems on both sides. Both are big guys, but the size edge goes to Klitschko, who stands five inches taller than Johnson and if their last fights count for anything, has a weight advantage as well (Klitschko fought at 251 Ibs against Arreola while Johnson weighed in at 225 against Vargas). Expect a Vitali Klitschko knockout in this one. He’s back and here to stay, and he’s once again entrenched himself among the elite of the heavyweight division. There has been talk about a superfight against his brother Wladimir sometime down the road, and a convincing win over Johnson would certainly build towards that. Want more boxing news? For great stories, interviews and videos of boxing from around B.C. and beyond, check out http://www.boxingcinema.com.