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Sports
Bill |
Overton I
gft Sports editor
Hockey is more
than just a fight
on the ice
When I'm watching the Winter
Olympics, I try to put things into
perspective when the United States'
medal count is revealed.
A world power, we are. A winter
world power, we are not.
And that's fine. Look, only
roughly a fourth of the U.S. is a
winter "haven" where athletes can
train and prepare for their sport.
And I just don't see the cross
country skiing being picked up as
the latest spectator craze.
No, we Americans are interested
not in sport, but in controversy.
That's evidenced by the ridiculous
amount of coverage given to the
Kerrigan-Harding deal. Pray that it
will quiet down now that it is
finally over.
Not to dwell on the subject, but
did you see some of the headlines in
Thursday's papers: "Tonya
Tanglefoot," "Beauty Crushes the
Beast" Brutal.
Anyway, I know that the United
States is not going to win the
Olympics (at least by a medal
count). But that doesn't mean I
don't expect us to compete against
the world's finest
After all, some of my money
from the charges on my VISA card
are going toward that ski jumper.
Funny thing I didn't see him on
the leader board during last week's
large hill ski jump.
Oh, well. I didn’t expect some
guy who spent "30 minutes in a
wind tunnel" to challenge the
Flying Fins. Or Norway. Or Japan.
Or Budapest, for that matter.
But there are some more
traditional sports that concern me.
One of them is hockey.
Hockey. United States.
Automatically, I think of ABC's A 1
Michaels doing that great call of
"do you believe in miracles? Yes!" I
get goose bumps every time 1 think
about it.
But after that improbable gold
medal in 'BO, the United States
hockey team has slowly
deteriorated. It finished seventh in
1984 and 1988. The team surprised
some people with a fourth place
finish in '92. But, with a loss
yesterday (if they lost), the U.S.
will finish worse than any other
American team in Olympic history.
Why does the U.S. fail most of
the time? Because the Americans
don't play intelligent hockey
they play NHL hockey. More often,
they play minor league hockey.
Rough and tumble. The harder
we hit 'em, the more we'll
intimidate them. Except in
international hockey, the harder we
hit 'em, the more time we spend in
the penalty box, hockey's version
of jail.
All you have to do is look at the
U.S.'s penalty record during the
Olympic competition. It's absurd.
Finland knocked the almighty
Americans out with three power
play goals Wednesday.
This comes from a nation which
thinks it knows hockey. But we
hardly know how to compete
against the world.
Somehow, hockey in America
has got to change. It needs to get a
new face. It needs to be cleaned up.
People need to learn to appreciate
the beauty of the game rather than
the blood.
Hockey is big, even in the
south. The East Coast Hockey
League is thriving with franchises
all over North Carolina. You need
to look no farther than the fact that
the Greensboro Monarchs are
averaging about 10,000 fans a
night.
However, these fans don’t come
to see a hockey game. They come
to see a brawl. That's what they
think hockey is.
They've been taught that by the
mother league the NHL. And
believe me, you see a lot of fights
in the ECHL.
You see, we are a country of
controversy. We like it We thrive
on it. A fight is what we’re all
about! The more fighting, the more
the 'S’ on our chest sticks out.
That's a joke. Until we learn
how to play hockey with the rest of
the world, we're going to be a third
rate hockey country. And I don’t
foresee any more miracles on ice.
All I see is a massacre on ice. And
every time, the Americans keep
taking the beatings.
Panthers Eliminated From Tournament
Perry Ends Season With Third Straight Defeat
By BILL OVERTON
Sports Editor
Perry girls basketball coach Max
Vickers wished that he could start
the whole night over again.
With each new experience, the
youthful Panthers seemed to be
improving...leaming. Maybe the
wins and losses didn't echo that
thought, but the improvement
appeared to spell consistency. Each
small step was a nudge in the right
direction.
But Perry took a few too many
leaps backward Wednesday night
and found itself on the losing end of
a 53-40 decision to Jones County
in the opening round of the GHSA
Region 2-AAA Tournament.
The loss abruptly ended the
Panthers' season at 9-16. For Perry,
it was a frustrating end to a season
that showed much promise. But
despite the end, Vickers will take
pride in not only the past, but the
future.
"I'm disappointed with the way
we played,* Vickers said. "We didn't
want to end it like this.
"But we're not going to end the
season on a negative note, whether
we lost or not."
Perry's nemesis appeared to once
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP
GAMES TONIGHT
7 p.m. (girls)
Wayne County/Jones County winner
vs.
Dodge County/Ware County winner
8:30 p.m. (boys)
Perry/Jones County winner
vs.
Wayne County/Dodge County winner
All games at Perry High School
V
111 -
11
Rowland Receives Medal
Parry senior John Rowland la presented his first pises
msdal during ths Class AAA stats wrsstllng tournsmsnt
In Gainesville. Rowland won four mstehss In two days
to claim ths 171-pound division's blggsst prlza.
Numerous reports of dying fish during
cold winter weather stretches
Biologists with the Department
of Natural Resources, Wildlife
Resources Division have received
numerous reports of dying fish in
area reservoirs and lakes since the
extreme cold weather during the
week of January 18.
The fish most affected are
threadfin shad, a "semi-tropical"
species which cannot tolerate cold
water temperatures. The die-off is a
natural phenomenon that has not
been widespread in the last few
years due to mild winters. When
Girls
Jones County 53
Perry - 46
again be the almighty free throw.
The Panthers were only able to
convert 6-21 charity tosses for a
miserable 29 percent clip.
Jones County didn't shoot that
much better, but in this case it was
the quantity, not the quality. The
Greyhounds connected on 21-41 free
throws (51 percent), giving them
15 more points than the Panthers
just from the line.
The Panthers also suffered from
an off-shooting night. Leading
scorer Angela Legged (18 ppg)
only scored six points. The rest of
Perry's limited offense had success
at times, but all too often couldn't
attain continuity.
For example, Perry trailed by as
many as seven early in the second
quarter after a sluggish start. But
the Panthers went on a 16-4 run to
end the first half to take a 24-19
lead into the break.
Jada Releford came off the bench
to provide four of the points during
air temperatures plummet to five
degrees and below, water
temperatures drop below the
threshold temperature of 45 degrees
and these small forage fish begin to
die in noticeable numbers.
The Wildlife Resources Division
is monitoring these kills. The
public is encouraged to report these
or any fish kills to the Department
of Natural Resources by contacting
a local fisheries office or by calling
(404) 918-6418.
Houston Times-Journot
the run, while Shenetia Gilbert
sparked the Panthers with two
consecutive three-pointers to end
the half.
However, things proceeded to get
ugly for Perry early in the second
half. The tables were reversed on
the Panthers, and Jones County
outscored Perry 16-4 in the third to
take a five-point lead of its own.
"When we slow down and get
our game together instead of
rushing things, we're as good as
any team that we play," said Jones
County coach Carl Dixon.
Leading the second half rally
were a pair of forces one old and
one new. When the teams split the
first two games of the season,
Jones senior Heather Hauser scored
23 points in each game. Wednesday
nighL she had 21.
But the biggest boost may have
been freshman forward Jennifer
Trimmell. Trimmell scored 16
points, including 12 in the second
half. She and Leitra Young helped
keep Perry off the boards all night
long.
Perry tried to respond in the
fourth, but just couldn't get out of
first gear. After Jones pushed the
lead to 13, the closest the Panthers
would get was 10 points after an
Amber Fendley bank shot for three
points. Jones converted three out of
its last four free throws to seal the
win.
Fendley led all Perry scorers
with 12 points. No one else scored
in double figures.
Perry ends its season but not its
hopes. Even Dixon could see the
measures the Panthers had taken
since Vickers took over an 0-2 team
in early December.
"I've got to give a lot of credit to
Coach Vickers," said Jones County
coach Carl Dixon. "This team has
improved, probably as much as any
team in the region, since he took
over."
Spring Sports
Registration On
The Horizon
The Perry Recreation
Department has announced that
softball registration will be held
Monday, Feb. 28-Friday, Mar. 11
at the recreation office on Keith
Drive.
There will be three leagues open
for play, including men's open,
church and ladies' open. The fee is
$350 per team.
Also, Perry Recreation baseball
and softball registration will be
coming up Mar. 7-18 or until full.
The sign-ups are available for boys
and girls ages 5-18.
The age cut-off for baseball is
August 1,1994 and the age cut-off
for softball is September 1, 1994.
Once again, registration will take
place at the office on Keith Drive.
The cost is sl6 for one or $32
for two or more living in the same
city. For county residents, that fee
goes up to $24 and S4B,
respectively. For out of county
residents, the fee goes up to $32
and $64.
Practices are scheduled to begin
in middle to late April.
For more information on
softball or baseball registration, call
the recreation office at 988-8075 or
988-8131.
Also, Ochlahatchee is holding
its softball and baseball registration
today in the Ochlahatchee
clubhouse. Registration is open to
boys 5-15 and girls 6-15. For more
information, call David Knowles at
987-2820.
Eddie Wiggins
Tournament At
Houston Lake
The Houston Lake Country
Club will hold the sixth-annual
Eddie Wiggins Invitational this
weekend.
Forty teams have signed up for
the three-man scramble event, with
five currently on the waiting list.
The two-day, 36-hole event had
over $2,300 in prize money last
year.
Buz Wooten, Chico Hobbs and
Bobby Lane are the defending
champions, after shooting a two
day score of 120 a year ago. The
threesome won S3OO each as top
prize.
Saturday, February 26,1994
■I , WBLM M
¥
Bk I M - 'l i mutt Mfr
Parry's Arles Askew lilts a shot over Jones County's
Heather Hauser In Wednesday night's loss.
Westfield Cruises
Past Brookwood
By BILL OVERTON
Sports Editor
During the regular season,
sooner or later, a team runs into
a mismatch. Westfield was
fortunate to have its mismatch
in the first round of the state
tournament.
The Hornets blitzed
Brookwood Academy 74-38 at
the GISA tournament Thursday
afternoon in Macon. The win
moves Westfield into the eight
team quarterfinal field, and the
Hornets will face Stratford today
at 4 p.m. at Tattnall Square
Academy in Macon.
How bad was it for
Brookwood? Try a 16-2 hole at
the end of one quarter of play. Or
how about a 3-18 performance
from the free throw line? It gave
new meaning to the word
"mismatch.”
"You could pretty safely say
that we came in expecting to
win and they came in expecting
to have a real tough time,"
I f|
'. * : m \ Jy/ ‘
jigr J&tf* jgL 'BHr
i Ah M ®
Todd Rlgdon cuts off Brookwood's Brian Braun.
page 7A
Boys
Westfield 74
Brookwood *sß|
Westfield coach Jim Massey
said. "We jumped out real
quickly on them, and they really
weren't ready for us."
After Westfield took a 32-13
advantage at the half, the
Hornets really opened the game
up in the third quarter,
outscoring Brookwood 27-10.
Massey kept his starters on
the floor for the entire quarter
and they responded, especially
senior Lon Talton. Talton found
a comfortable spot on the right
baseline and proceeded to launch
three three-pointers in the quarter
which probably didn't even touch
metal. Talton added another
putback hoop to give him 11
points in the period.
Meanwhile, the rest of
Please see HORNETS, page 9A