Spectators witness Tiger's weaknesses

Imagine the best player in the world standing on the 17th tee at Augusta National Golf Club, having just chipped in for a dramatic birdie. Imagine him with a two-stroke lead over his opponent, a man whose putting stroke is called “the claw.” Imagine a father watching from a couch, too sick even to attend his son’s extraordinary chase for a fourth green jacket. Now imagine that player hitting his tee shot on 17 into the woods. Imagine his lead dwindling to one. Imagine a tee shot softly landing

Babbling and friends watch NCAA hoops

Tonight’s crowd includes at least two compulsive gamblers, at least one person who picked none of the Final Four teams, and, thank God, no one who thinks UConn and Tennessee are national powerhouses. 9:22 p.m.: The game hasn’t started and already the Roy Williams jokes are in full form. “Roy Williams, the Dan Marino of college basketball,” says my half-Asian roommate. 9:25 p.m.: “McCants is an excellent finisher.” Thanks, Billy Packer, most of the best players in the country are. 9:38 p.m.: B

Babbling relishes role of NCAA bracketologist

Like every year, this year’s tournament has been filled with upset specials. I’ve been watching the tournament for basically my entire life, yet I’m always surprised by the amount of upsets and how they occur. It seems irrational and inconceivable that a double-digit seed from a small conference could ever beat a national powerhouse, but it happens every year. Chicago Bracket This year’s Sweet 16 only has two teams that have no business being there: North Carolina State University and Universi

Women in Black speak out against war and inequality

Scottie Faerber can relate to the millions of Americans today who struggle with the departure of a parent, child, spouse, friend or other family member to war. Faerber’s grandfather was a doctor in World War I, her father served in World War II, her husband was drafted into Vietnam and two of her brothers served in Vietnam as well. So how does someone with a long family history of service become an activist for peace and pacifism as a member of Women in Black, a group that protests international

Babbling Bostonian: NHL season cancelled, twice; did you notice?

Right now, the NHL needs one of two things in order to salvage not its respect, but its financial future. First, the two sides must come to an agreement as soon as possible, and consider starting the 2005-06 season early to avoid a full calendar year without hockey. Real hockey fans will almost definitely forgive and forget, but real hockey junkies are not the fans that the league should be worried about. The fans that the NHL should worry about are the corporate fans, the businesses that buy l

Women's Ice Hockey: Jeffs build confidence against Elmira before NESCAC tourney

The positive changes in the Jeffs’ play has been noticeable in recent weeks, but it was especially evident this weekend as they took on number-one ranked Elmira College Saturday on neutral ice at Williams College. With a hefty 18-3 record entering the game, Elmira could not have foreseen Amherst’s inspired play during the first two periods. In the first, the Jeffs flooded the Soaring Eagles’ goaltender, Cara McGurry, with 10 shots. But McGurry, who boasts a miniscule 0.94 GAA, turned away even

Babbling wishes he were Phil Mickelson

Lefty dominated the field this week at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, cruising to a four-stroke victory over fellow southpaw Mike Weir despite scoring a final round one-over par 73. Mickelson’s victory was his second consecutive PGA tour win in as many weeks and, despite the fact that Tiger was not in either field, these victories are sending a strong message to the rest of the world that Mickelson is not quite ready to fade back into oblivion. While Tiger’s focus has seemed foggy since the

Hats off to Simon, Sisti as each net three goals

Saturday, the Jeffs took on the sixth-place Bantams, who tied the Jeffs at Orr Rink in the first game of the season. This time Amherst tasted victory, dominating Trinity in a 4-0 win. Sophomores Simon and goaltender Lindsay Grabowski led the Jeffs’ charge. Simon recorded her second career hat trick with her eighth, ninth and 10th goals of the season, and Grabowski notched her second shutout of the season and fourth of her career with 21 saves. Forward Leah Kaplan ’06 started the scoring in the

Babbling's Patriots validate dynasty talk

10:55 a.m.: Why did the scheduling gods pick this weekend for a noon women’s ice hockey game? I should not be up at this ungodly hour. 5:21 p.m.: Time for a quick bite at Valentine to hold me over; I’m fairly certain this is my first meal at Valentine in a week. 6:05 p.m.: Wings have arrived. $10 per person will cover you for wings, pizza, chips and beverages of all varieties. 6:06 p.m.: Andre on Joe Buck: “I wish my father was really famous.” My thoughts exactly. 6:17 p.m.: Some guy named M

Final home win eludes senior pair

Before the game, Head Coach Jim Plumer presented the two seniors with flowers, recognizing them for their fine play and overall dedication to the women’s hockey program. “The words that Jim [Plumer] said about me and [co-captain defender] Sarah [Mason ’05] were very touching. I know we both feel very honored and proud to be a part of such a special group of girls,” said forward Annie Grabowski ’05. “It is an honor in itself to be on the ice with this group of girls. Knowing that this past week

Bonds' steroid use not exactly 'clear'

When you’re discussing the career of Bonds, there are three directions you can go, all with valid points and counterpoints about his alleged steroid use. Here are the arguments for and against each of those situations. Bonds has never knowingly taken steroids: OK, so this point is probably the most ridiculous of the three possibilities. Bonds told the grand jury that he did take the “clear” and the “cream,” but that he had no idea they were illegal. I find it hard to believe that he didn’t know

Women's ice hockey splits with Hamilton

Sunday’s game against NESCAC opponent Hamilton College proved how resilient the young Amherst team can be with its back against the wall. After being outshot 39-18 the previous afternoon in a 3-1 loss to the Continentals, the Jeffs found themselves down once again, 3-0, after only 13 minutes of play. Since their opponents featured two players who had combined for 14 goals and 11 assists in the previous seven games against them, the Jeffs had some serious work to do. “After the first Hamilton ga

Babbling: 'Monsters' squander season to remember

But it was not meant to be. Sure the NBA is receiving more attention than ever before, but for all the wrong reasons. Inquiring (or brainless) minds are the ones watching the NBA now, hoping to see another hard foul, another fight, another brawl in the stands. What happened on Friday Nov. 19, 2004 was not good for the game of basketball or for professional sports. What happened on Nov. 19, 2004 was what owners, fans, coaches, commissioners and players have been worried about and fearing for yea

Babbling Bostonian: Clarett in headlines despite ineligibility

Am I to believe Clarett, someone whose reputation and word is so poor that a perfectly reasonable analyst on ESPN wouldn’t believe him under any circumstance? And if not, how do I ignore the corroborating stories by other former OSU players Marco Cooper, Curtis Crosby and B.J. Barre? Even former OSU and Minnesota Vikings star Robert Smith has gone on record as saying violations probably occurred. Smith, however, emphatically supported the University and doubted whether it was the source for cash

Youthful women's hockey will challenge conference powers

This year’s team isn’t expecting to overtake either dynasty just yet, in Head Coach Jim Plumer’s second season behind the bench. However, that doesn’t mean the Jeffs aren’t capable of playing the spoilers in the toughest women’s hockey conference in Div. III. “I do think we are moving closer to the top teams but we are still very young (two-thirds of the team are first-years and sophomores),” said Plumer. “It will take some time to see how things come together. It is always our goal to get bette

Babbling Bostonian: Sox-Yankees drama surprises no one

So, um, yeah. Where do I begin? Did anyone else see that statistic on Fox Monday night that in the last 48 hours, the average sports fanatic had watched something like 4.5 hours of football, 17 hours of baseball, gotten 14 hours of sleep and had 12.5 hours of “other activities”? I’ve taken four statistics classes at Amherst in my four years, and I still have no clue how exactly to interpret those numbers. Is it anyone else’s dream life to be the guy who spent the other 12.5 hours playing 36 hole

Babbling Bostonian: Babbling asks for three-week hiatus

Please excuse Justin from all academic requirements for the next three weeks as he and the Boston Red Sox embark upon a long, tiring journey to the promised land. You may be hesitant at first to heed this request, but you must understand that a higher being is at work here. The playoffs are a holy mission, one that Justin will learn much from. After this journey, Justin will be a new person with a new perspective on life. When he returns, he will be mentally, physically and spiritually drained,

Babbling Bostonian: Bad play, not race, is reason for criticism

Both authors made valid points. Jones was correct in his assessment of Allen Iverson as someone that the United States should be proud of. Sidman was correct in her judgment that the basketball team simply was not as good as the players and coaches had thought. However, my point is not to hash out both their arguments. So then, why bring it up? Jones concluded that “[the U.S. Olympic basketball team] went to represent their country and they did so by winning a bronze medal. For anyone else this

Babbling Bostonian: Patriots set for a repeat performance

Where is this column going, you ask? Is this space going to be filled with another 900 words of Red Sox ranting and raving, claiming that this is the year and so forth? Nope. In fact, baseball will not be mentioned in this column after this sentence. Now, realize the significance of that statement, pick your jaw up off the floor and let’s talk about some football! You may already know that The Sporting News rated Boston as the best sports city in the country last year. And it wasn’t because of

Babbling Bostonian: Red Sox success vindicates Babbling

And the biggest change, the change that will probably impact your life as much as mine, was the creation of my very own Babbling Bostonian website. The picture of me is terrible, the HTML is brutal, the mailbag is empty, but damnit, the articles are extraordinary! The address is listed at the bottom of the column, so check it out. Now back to my regularly scheduled column The sports world really isn’t the same as it was four months ago. To borrow a line that Mase coined this summer, “The game

Strong senior class leads field hockey

“It was a very successful trip and a great opportunity for our returning players to gain valuable playing experience against strong competition on turf,” said Knerr. “It gave us a great head start on our season and was a wonderful travel experience to share as a group.” Knerr, who returns for her second season as the head coach, will surely welcome Paradis’ return to the sidelines after taking last fall off from coaching. The pair have great chemistry and respect for each other, as Knerr serves

Okafor's fine play in NCAAs earns praise

If you watched Monday night’s championship game, you probably noticed Okafor’s daunting presence looming in the paint all night. I had watched a few UConn games this season and was impressed by the big man, but not awed. I envisioned him in the NBA as too thin to be a bruising power forward and too short to be a center. His defense was clearly superior to his offense, but was that only because he was defending small, less talented college players? The way Okafor stood out in his regular season g

Tourney talk: "bracket busters"

Unfortunately, the Jeffs bowed to the Ephs for the third time this season and I was forced to root against Williams rather than for Amherst in the finals. I got some, but not nearly enough joy from watching the Ephs lose on a last-second fadeaway in the finals, but it just wasn’t the same. So instead of writing about the Div. III tournament, I guess I’ll have to settle for the Div. I tournament, which has less personal value, but many more stories and drama. Every year people talk about one gam

Babbling does what he does best

Since I’ve been buried in my books all week and weekend, and since there doesn’t appear to be anything pressing that needs to be addressed in this week’s column, I want to babble a bit about some random sports events of the past couple weeks. What the hell is going on at the University of Colorado? Are these allegations for real? How does a football program spiral this much out of control? What I’m amazed by most is that after the first rape accusation, five more females jumped out into the pub

Rodriguez trade stinks of Ephs

Come on people, do you think I’ve lost my mind? Of course that first paragraph was bullshit. Do you really think I’d suddenly start praising the former editor-in-chief of the Williams Record just because he acquired the best player in baseball? Hell no! Steinbrenner did what he always does-he bought a great player. He buys players and buys championships without any regard for the game of baseball. Does anyone else see a problem with this? I find it amazing and ironic how Yankees fans everywhere

Cowboy up!

For Red Sox fans, this victory is a reminder of four years of disappointment since the last time the Sox made it to the ALCS in 1999. However, the Sox will not stop here; their mission is a World Series, and no Red Sox fan will be satisfied with anything less. So I assume that you loyal readers are expecting a column similar to last week’s, when my energy jumped off the page and my enthusiasm was unmatched. Be patient, readers, because first I must address a pressing issue. Last Friday, after

Red Sox nation lives on in playoffs

People have been warning me all year, “Don’t say the Sox are going to win the World Series! You’ll jinx them!” Come on guys (and girls), the Sox are already cursed; a jinx couldn’t possibly be any worse. In all seriousness though, this is going to be their year. It’s inevitable. The Red Sox have the best offense in baseball and the best starting pitcher in baseball. They are a Cinderella story, the underdog, America’s team, the bandwagon team, THE team! Can you feel my excitement jumping off the

Clarett puts the NFL in an unenviable position

Just as the Lebron James controversy was ending with James’ selection as the number one pick in the NBA draft only weeks after graduating high school, the Clarett controversy began. Clarett, suspended by Ohio State University for the entire 2003-2004 football season, has apparently approached the NFL about entering the 2004 draft. Currently, the NFL’s policy states that a player may not enter the NFL Draft until he is at least three years removed from high school. Clarett, who violated numerous

Women's soccer stumbles in opener against Conn. College

“It was one of the first times we were challenged as a team,” said co-captain Kay Bradley ’04. “We have a lot of individual talent; we just need to keep working together.” The Camels jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when sophomore Maggie Driscoll rebounded a shot off the crossbar in the 16th minute and sailed the ball past Jeffs’ rookie goaltender, Piper Crowell ’07. Driscoll, one of the Camels’ many talented underclassmen, also tallied an assist on the second goal of the game, setting up senior

Bryant is a good guy, but what does that mean?

With that said, I want to flash back to 1993. A very immature and athletically gifted 17-year-old named Allen Iverson is convicted of maiming by mob. He is tried as an adult and sentenced to five years in prison, but only serves four months. The conviction was later overturned, but the embarrassment remains. A drunk driving incident, a possession of marijuana charge, a gun charge and a domestic assault charge followed over the next ten years, and Iverson stands in a basketball arena near you as

Youth and experience is key to women's soccer season

While the Jeffs will surely miss the four graduated seniors from last year’s team, one comforting fixture for the Jeffs will be 25-year veteran head coach, Michelle Morgan. With a career record of 206-111-48 and a 2001 New England Regional Coach of the Year award on her resume, Morgan knows what it takes to bring the Jeffs back into the national spotlight. This past winter Morgan was given the prestigious honor of the 2002 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Women’s Committee

Top seeds march on in NCAA Tourney

Midwest Midwest Besides Tulsa’s impressive upset over Dayton in the first round, the Midwest bracket was relatively unexciting. Kentucky, many fans’ favorite to win the national title, has been very impressive in beating two overmatched opponents. I expect the very athletic Wildcats to exhaust a slow-tempo Wisconsin team that likes to keep its scores in the 50s and 60s. The Badgers won the Big Ten regular season crown but were insulted by the selection committee’s decision to give them only a

Villanova is latest in NCAA scandals

This is not the first time Villanova has been in the spotlight because of student-athletes making illegal phone calls using an employee’s access code. In 1996, current New Jersey Nets guard Kerry Kittles, a freshman star on the Wildcats basketball team, was suspended for three games for charging $3,000 worth of long-distance phone calls to an athletic department employee’s account. I wonder if it was the same employee whose code was “stolen.” Coincidence? Villanova’s problems are one of the man

Schonberger, Klein ski to top spots

Although neither team will go to Easterns, both the men and women will be represented at the race in Waterville Valley, N.H. Feb 23-24. Freshmen Libby Klein and Zach Schonberger finished high enough individually to qualify for the prestigious Easterns races. The top individual on a team not attending the championship earns the coveted spot. “Libby put together two impressive finishes, placing third in the slalom and giant slalom races,” said Ski Team President A.J. Korytoski ’04. Klein finished

L.A. Lakers hurt by Shaq's selfishness

Shaq missed the first 12 games of the Lakers’ season with a toe injury and looked very immobile when he returned to the lineup in the middle of November. He has not been the same dominant center that he has been over the past decade. Just this weekend, Shaq reported having extreme pain in both his left knee and big toe. “I’m doing bad; I’m hurting,” O’Neal told the Los Angeles Times. “I can’t play like this.” Obviously the big man is not playing at 100 percent health. I look at Shaq’s recurring

Jordan remains the greatest of all time

In case it wasn’t obvious, the first player mentioned is the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan. The second is arguably the best high school player of all time, LeBron James. If you haven’t heard the news about James over the past two weeks, then you either live in a box or should flip on Sports Center, quick! The name LeBron has become synonymous with controversy and awe during the past few months as “King James” emerged into the national spotlight. James is supposed to be

Women's cross country: Lord Jeffs run to fifth place finish at ECACs

“A lot of the coaches use the ECAC to determine the last few spots for next week’s district race,” said Laurel Kilgour ’03. “This is my first full cross country season since freshman year so it’s exciting to be able to race at Districts as a senior.” Kilgour was the first Amherst woman to cross the finish line. Her time of 25:00 was good enough for 16th place in the race. Kilgour was followed by Margaret Davis ’06, who ran the race in 25:10. She finished 21st in the field. Another freshman, Jes

Women's soccer: Panthers fall to Jeffs, 3-2

Wheaton was able to control Amherst from start to finish on Thursday, scoring early and often. Tracy Prihoda began the scoring in the fourth minute, beating Amherst goaltender Brooke Diamond ’03 on a breakaway. Less than four minutes later, Prihoda, Wheaton’s star, added another goal to the box score. The Jeffs attempted a come back in the 26th minute as striker Lee-Jay Henry ’05 beat Wheaton goalie Jessica Broomhead for her third goal of the season on a pass from classmate Ashley Harmeling ’05