Darren Paterson,
Sports Editor

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Back again, and in case you’ve been prac-
ticing underwater kissing for the exact
seven days between my deadlines (Oct.
7-14) here’s an update on the very few
events you missed in the world of sports.

Like I said, this one’s small and there-
fore gets kicked off with soccer. Ah,
soccer, the sport in which Canada put the
final nail in their own coffin. By losing

 

3-1 to Costa Rica in Burnaby this past
week, our team has officially eliminated
themselves from World Cup Qualifying.
This should come as no surprise since
we’ve sucked at men’s soccer for a while
now. And remember this name: Erik
Lamela. He’s only a_ 12-year-old
Argentinean now, but he’s such a soccer
phenom that Barcelona has offered to pay
him 120,000 euros (which works out to
$186,325 Canadian) to come and be a part
of their system. Yikes.

In hockey, Dany Heatley and Daniel
Briere are together again in Switzerland as
NHL players are finally signing with
teams just to play with their friends. I
don’t know why that never happened in
the NHL more, but then, I don’t know a
lot of things. One thing I do know is that
Wayne Gretzky is rumoured to be the
main candidate for the head coaching job
in Phoenix. (I wonder how that job inter-
view will pan out.)

And this year’s version of the “Best
Ever” campaign is being dubbed “Own
the Podium” as the big bucks keep on

Old School Vs New School Mens

 

rolling in for the Canadian athletes pro-
jected to perform in the 2010 Olympics.
Another $19.1 million was allocated,
mostly to coaches and facilities, in a deci-
sion that I can’t decide whether to support
or dislike. The athlete in me says, “yay!”
but the issue-conscious part of me
screams, “who cares how our athletes
place!lP We got the games, let’s make
money off it and put that towards people

?

who really need it!’ I’m still unsure who
to go with....

In Baseball it’s down to the Yankees,
BoSox, Cards, and Astros as the pointless
quarterfinals are done with. My money’s
on a reunion between Clemens and his
Astros and the all-mighty Yanks. Of
course the Yanks will shell him and prove
that big bucks win championships.

And finally, in the CFL, BC lost to
Toronto and everyone started pushing the
panic button. But don’t worry, superfans,
the Leos’ll be okay. Just like your relation-
ship with that mermaid. So keep on lovin’
my Dougie peeps.

 

RITE FOR

Volleyball Alumni Game

Brian McLennon, OP Contributor

SPORTS!

 

For the volleyball enthusiast, the Men’s Volleyball Alumni
game on Friday the 8th was a real “hit.” Held for the first
time in years, the Alumni game saw many of the “old
school” players and some of the current coaching staff,
suit up and return to action on the hardwood floor to
defeat the “kids” in five games. “You can’t teach an old
dog a new trick?’ commented one fan. “These guys are
used to winning, Look
up at the wall, many
of these alumni are
responsible for the
BCCAA
banners that hang,” he

Provincial

continued.

Players such as
Tom McLellan and
Ryan Steele, alongside
current assistant
coaches Paul Tudor
and Kent Laubman,
battled like veterans
after a slow start. The
one thing
Alumni games, it’s all about bragging rights. It’s almost like
a sibling rivalry...no one wants to lose to their younger
sibling.

After losing the first game, the Alumni regrouped to
battle back and win three of the remaining four games,
winning the match in five. “I think I smelled Ben-Gay
after the first game,”

about

snickered one player on the Men’s

OCuober = 20/200

 

Volleyball team. “But these guys are vets and we respect
that they can play.”

On the upside, the game allowed the fans to see the
newly revamped Men’s Volleyball team. In his second year
as Head Coach, Mike Sapic had a full summer to recruit
and prepare for the 2004-2005 season. This year’s team
seems bigger as the roster boasts six guys taller than 6'3".
To complement the
hard-hitting veter-
an Jeff Payne, who
has inflicted pain
on opponents for
the past two years
with his devastating
kills, are younger
power hitters such
as Nathan Veysey
and Shane Brooks.

There’s — only
one Jeff Payne or
Tom McLellan—
these guys can just
crush the ball with
their power—but young guns like Jay Kube and Nick
Marsh show promise for future banners to hang.

The Volleyball Home Opener on Friday November,
12, 2004, will host the Falcons of Langara College. The
Women’s game starts at 6:30pm and the Men’s game at
8:15pm.

 

 

 

 

OUNEPPPESS | 17

rt