Broadside Sports

Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer

The George Mason University men’s basketball team kicks off their 2009-10 basketball season against the Liberty Flames of the Big South Conference.

The biggest difference for the Flames going into this year is the loss of Seth Curry to the Duke Blue Devils. Without Curry, the Flames lack a dominant scoring threat that could compete with the Patriots’ offensive weapons, but the Flames will be led by senior guard Kyle Ohman, who averaged 13.9 points per game last year.

The Patriots are led by their lone senior, Louis Birdsong and his big presence under the boards. With the departure of leader John Vaughan, the Patriots will rely heavily on not only Birdsong, but junior Cam Long, who averaged 11.7 points last year, along with promising sophomore Ryan Pearson, who scored seven points and grabbed 3.6 rebounds per game.

The Patriots hope that they can continue their remarkable success at home this year, so they can stay on top of the very competitive Colonial Athletic Association. Patriot fans also have to hope that the team is not looking past their first two games against Liberty and Dartmouth since they have the sixth-ranked Villanova Wildcats looming thereafter.

With Head Coach Jim Larranaga at the helm, the Patriots will not be looking ahead of their schedule, but rather they should be more than focused on the Flames come Nov. 13 at the Patriot Center. Fans should fully expect to see the explosive Patriots’ offense they have grown accustomed to in the past.

It is now safe to say that the women’s volleyball team is out of the running for hosting the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. Mason can still play for second place, but the chances of that are quite slim.

If the VCU Rams were to finish as the conference leader, the Delaware Blue Hens would then take the second seed. However, Mason can still tie VCU with a 10-4 conference record, but the Rams are currently on a seven-game winning streak and have shifted their focus on contending with the Blue Hens for the top spot.

Earlier, we looked at Mason’s chances in taking the top or number two slot. It appears that the team will more likely contend for the third seed with the William & Mary Tribe. With the Rams and Blue Hens fighting for the top spot, Mason looks to hold on in the third spot.

If Mason wins their final match against the James Madison Dukes, the Tribe will need to win their remaining matches to force a tie. Since the two teams split the season series, no team will hold the advantage if they were to conclude with a tied record. The difference between the numbers three and four slots can be quite significant, depending on whether VCU or Delaware finishes on top.

While the Northeastern Huskies cannot get past Mason in the standings, the Huskies can still sneak into the postseason. Not only will the Huskies need to win their final two games, they will need the Tribe to lose their final two. The Tribe’s win against the Dukes strengthened their playoff position, putting the Huskies in a tough situation to reach the CAA Tournament.

Even though the pivotal match against VCU could have placed Mason higher in the standings, the big match this weekend was the win against the Tribe. For now, Mason has a half-game lead over the Tribe, but preventing the sweep was crucial if the two teams were to have identical conference records by the end of the season. There was a lot of hype entering this weekend, and even though it seems things have simmered down, much is anticipated next week as teams look to close out their season on a good note.

Situation 1: In order to host the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, the women’s volleyball team must win their final two games and have the Delaware Blue Hens drop their final two. No matter what the VCU Rams do, Mason will have the advantage due to sweeping VCU.

1. Mason
2. Delaware
3. VCU

However, it is still possible for all three teams to finish with an 11-3 conference record. Thus, the tiebreak advantage is as follows:

1. Mason > VCU
2. VCU > Delaware
3. Delaware > Mason

Tonight’s match between Mason and VCU will determine whether the intransitive relationship will happen.

Situation 2: Otherwise, Mason will still have the opportunity to fight for the second seed in the tournament. If the Blue Hens win their final two games, Mason can still earn the second seed by winning their final two games. No matter what VCU does from there, Mason holds the advantage.

1. Delaware
2. Mason
3. VCU

If Mason were to split their final two matches, the William & Mary Tribe would need to win their remaining matches to force a tie for third place. The Northeastern Huskies are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but if they were to win out, Mason will still be ahead in the standings if Mason were to drop the final two matches. The Hofstra Pride are still hanging in there, but like Northeastern, the Pride have no influence on Mason’s seeding. Essentially, the pieces are far from being assembled for the CAA Tournament, but tonight’s results can be a major factor in determining Mason’s position.

Update: The Rams rallied from a 2-1 set deficit and inched past Mason with a 15-13 win in the fifth set. Mason dropped to 9-4 in the conference. With the Tribe winning tonight, Mason remains in third place, but now hold a half-game lead. The Rams improved to 10-2 in the conference, but hold the advantage over the Blue Hens. The top four teams’ records are as follows:

1. VCU 10-2
2. Delaware 10-2
3. Mason 9-4
4. William & Mary 8-4

Mason will host their final match of the regular season at the RAC as they take on the James Madison Dukes on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.

The women’s volleyball team is currently in a tight battle against the William & Mary Tribe with the team pulling off a first-set win, 28-26 at Kaplan Arena. Trailing early in the second set, Mason rallied from a 12-3 deficit and gradually closed in on the Tribe. The Tribe took the final two points of the set, taking the second set 25-23. Both teams are vying for a playoff spot with Mason holding a half-game lead over the Tribe in the standings. With the Northeastern Huskies defeating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks tonight, Mason can still clinch a playoff spot with a win tonight. The top two teams have won their matches to keep their spots unchanged, but the third spot is still at hand, depending on the results from the Mason/William & Mary match.

Update: Mason clinched a playoff berth in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association Tournament after defeating the Tribe in four sets. Mason remains a half-game behind the VCU Rams, whom Mason faces tomorrow in Richmond. Mason increases their lead to 1.5 games over the Tribe and still lead the Northeastern Huskies by 2.5 games. In the worst case scenario, Mason can end up tied with the Huskies, but because Mason holds the tiebreak advantage, Mason can finish no worse than fourth place.

John Powell, Asst. Sports Editor

As the clouds loomed during a murky Halloween afternoon, the George Mason University women’s soccer team recognized the nine seniors on the team during the pregame festivities, starting off the final game of the season for the Patriots.

“I definitely think, since this is our best record since 1994, we’ve done great. Winning the last five games proved how much dedication and heart we had,” said senior forward Theresa DeLucca on the season.

It was a must-win game to keep their hopes alive to enter the conference tournament. While the Towson Tigers’ season was over regardless the result of the game, the Patriots entered the match tied with the James Madison Dukes for fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association, with only four teams advancing to the postseason tournament.

The Dukes won the head-to-head, so a tie of records between the two teams would send the Dukes to the tournament. The Patriots would need to win their game with a Dukes’ loss or tie, or they could tie with a Dukes’ loss.

Knowing the need to win in the game, the Patriots (14-4-2, 6-3-2) came out of gates with a strong offense, creating strong momentum as ball control led to many opportunities to score.

Unfortunately, Mason could not capitalize on these opportunities, not by fouls or change in possession, but by not many kicks on goal.

Sloppy goal play on the Patriots’ side put the game in question during the first half as freshman goalkeeper Katie Frey came a fair distance out of the box multiple times.

The sloppy defensive play and the inability to capitalize on offense led to a scoreless first half.

Ball control again seemed to switch between the two teams to the beginning of the second half, with both teams able to put many shots on goal.

“She said it was the last game of the season; we were in control of our own destiny, so just go out there and play for the seniors,” said junior midfielder Omolyn Davis on Head Coach Diane Drake’s halftime speech.

The Patriots should have been scared multiple times during the beginnings of the second half, as two Towson kicks went off the bars, missing by only inches. Seeing this occur multiple times, there was still no change in the level of play for Frey and the Patriots’ defense, allowing the same thing to happen over and over again.

With 35 minutes left in the half, the Patriots finally put a string of plays together, as Davis fed the ball to DeLucca for her seventh goal of the season.

Going down the field, only two minutes after the goal, Davis stopped the ball and fed it a mass confusion, finally ending in a goal by senior defender and midfielder Patti Benner, with an assist inside the box by Davis, for her second of the night and her eighth on the year.

Only a few more minutes of play followed before senior forward Annie Lebherz fed the ball to DeLucca for her eighth goal of the year.

For the end of the scoring frenzy, Lebherz gave her third assist of the year, second of the game, to senior midfielder Sasha Vido, who scored for only her second time all year.

During the frenzy, four of the nine seniors honored on the night were involved, gaining goals and assists.

While the Patriots won their game, the Dukes also won against the Rams, gaining a playoff berth.

Although the Patriots played with everything they had, their season ended as they watched the scoreboard.

Donald O’Mahony, Staff Writer

First Round:
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Chivas USA:
This matchup includes the two teams that share the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. The star-studded Galaxy boasts players like Landon Donovan and David Beckham, along with many other players that have experience at the highest level. No team lost fewer games than the Galaxy this season and I expect them to advance.

Houston Dynamo vs. Seattle Sounders:
The Dynamo have won two of the last three championships and finished the season tied for the second-best record. Players like Brian Ching and Stuart Holden lead a very dangerous attack while goalkeeper Pat Onstad finished tied for second in the league with 10 shutouts. The expansion Sounders field a very similar team with players like Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg along with goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who had the second-lowest goals-against- average statistic in the league. I pick the Dynamo to go through based on their experience.

Columbus Crew vs. Real Salt Lake:
The Crew goes into the playoffs with the best record in the league this season. Guillermo Barros Schelotto won the MVP award last season and tied for third in the league in goals this year. Real Salt Lake barely got in after an exciting final week, but they are here with a chance and that is all they care about. This could be a shootout and I am going with the defending champs.

Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution:
The two teams met three times this season, tying twice and the Fire taking the third. For me, this is the best Fire team in years, going back to 1998 when they won the championship. Brian McBride and Cuauhtémoc Blanco lead a dangerous and experienced attack against the Revs and Shalrie Joseph, a versatile player that can change the game at any moment. The Fire have lost only once in their last five, so I pick them to go through.

Semifinals:
Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Houston Dynamo:
This is the dream matchup from the western conference. These two tied once this season and the Galaxy won the other match 1-0. Big name players will make this an exciting series and it will come down to defending and goalkeeping. I believe Houston holds the edge in both departments so I pick them to advance to the final.

Columbus Crew vs. Chicago Fire:
This would come down to the strong, exciting attack of the Fire led by McBride, Blanco, and Chris Rolfe against the disciplined defense of Chad Marshall, Frankie Hejduk and the Crew. Columbus goalkeeper William Hesmer was third in the league with a 0.95 goals against average while Chicago averaged 1.3 goals a game, third most of any team in the playoffs. In a league where defense rules, the Crew will go to the final.

Championship:
Columbus Crew vs. Houston Dynamo:
This match would be between the 2007 champions in Houston against the defending champs in the Crew. I would not be surprised if this went into overtime or even penalties. I’m going to go with Columbus to win, and that is just a gut feeling.

Cody Norman, Broadside Correspondent

Junior forward Ernesto Marquez led the way for the men’s soccer team as the Patriots defeated the Drexel Dragons 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Vidas Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

Marquez gave the Patriots an immediate lead, scoring only two minutes into the game. After a foul by Drexel permitted a penalty kick from just outside the right corner of the goalie box, Marquez bent the ball inside the near post past Drexel goalkeeper Tres Heffron to give Mason a 1-0 lead.

After the Dragons tied the score in the 17th minute when Taylor Brophy recorded the first goal of his short career, junior forward Victor Freeman took Drexel defender Jon Volpatti one-on-one and scored to begin the second half.

Freeman’s goal was his team-leading seventh of the season and gave the Patriots the lead for good.

Mason added an insurance goal in the final 40 seconds when Freeman led a two-on-one breakaway into the goalie box before passing off to Marquez for his second goal of the afternoon to make the score 3-1.

The win bumped the Patriots into a three-way tie for third place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings with a 10-5-1 overall record and a 5-3-1 mark in CAA contests.

The top four teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season will advance to the CAA Championship Tournament scheduled to begin on Friday, Nov. 13.

The Patriots will play in their final CAA match of the 2009 season on Saturday, Nov. 7 against the Old Dominion Monarchs at George Mason Stadium.

Old Dominion Monarchs:
The Monarchs come into their final match of the season with a 9-4-2 overall record and a 4-3-2 record in CAA matches. Goalkeeper Evan Newton has recorded a CAA-leading seven shutouts while only allowing 13 goals and posting a .768 save percentage in the 2009 season. Teammates Shane Howard and Yannick Smith, both top 10 in assists in the CAA, come into the match with 11 combined assists.

The Monarchs will be coming off of a 2-1 overtime win against conference opponent VCU Rams.

George Mason Patriots:
After being picked in the coaches’ poll to repeat as CAA champions, the Patriots have posted two impressive victories over Drexel and Georgia State to leave themselves an opportunity to reach conference tournament. Junior forward Victor Freeman comes into the match with a team-high seven goals and four assists. Senior goalkeeper Sean Kelley has recorded a CAA-leading 69 saves while posting five shutouts on the year.

Chris DeMarco, Staff Writer

Another Redskins’ loss brings more and more criticism onto the organization. In the Redskins’ first seven games, they have played six winless teams. As a result, they are only 2-5.

They gave the lowly Detroit Lions their first win in 19 games. That is the closest thing to a highlight for the Redskins this year, and it is definitely not a pretty one.

The media can only blame Head Coach Jim Zorn so much. He does what he can with what he is provided, which is practically a team made up like a fantasy football team.

Zorn and the fans have the Redskins wonderful owner Daniel Snyder and President of Football Operations Vinny Cerrato to thank for that.

Do not get me wrong, as an Eagles fan, nothing makes me happier than seeing unhappy Redskins fans, but it has gotten to the point in which I just feel bad for them, and that pains me to say.

In the 10 years since Snyder bought the team, he has opened his wallet and overpaid for past-their-prime stars in Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, and Mark Brunell.

He has hired and fired good coaches like Norv Turner and Marty Schottenheimer. He overpaid for former Florida Gator Head Coach Steve Spurrier, and it just ended in disaster.

He begged legendary coach Joe Gibbs to come back, and he did.
Essentially, the Redskins have gone from mediocre to bad to decent to pathetic during Snyder’s rein.

What the Redskins and Snyder need to do is take a page out of the other successful franchises of the last decade’s book.

Look at how the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and on a lesser note, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Each of these organizations built from the bottom-up with players through the draft along with keeping good core players and having strong-willed head coaches that have stayed put during the past decade.
The Patriots have one of the greatest coaches in Bill Belichick along with one of the greatest quarterbacks in Tom Brady. They also have a good group of players, not super stars, but good team players.

The Colts had Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning. Enough said. The Steelers have an excellent owner in the Rooney family along with excellent head coaches like Bill Cowher and Mike Tomlin. The Eagles have built through the draft, and it all started with Donovan McNabb.

Say what you want about the Eagles and McNabb, but they know how to win. All of these organizations, minus the Eagles, have won Super Bowls.
This is because they do not necessarily go out and sign the prized free agent like Albert Haynesworth, they build from within and have excellent team players to build around.

What the Redskins need is for Snyder to back off. They probably need to get rid of Cerrato and bring in someone with a backbone to stand up to Snyder. Someone like Bill Cowher or even Jon Gruden can easily do that. One still has to feel badly for Coach Zorn.

He was put into a lose-lose situation since he is practically just a go-between until Snyder can convince some high profile coach to come in, so the failures of the Redskins do not fall squarely on the shoulders of Jim Zorn or even quarterback Jason Campbell.

I personally think former Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins Head Coach Jimmy Johnson said it best about the Snyder and the Redskins: “Realize that a great 53-man roster is what wins championships, not five or six high-priced stars.

“Dan Snyder builds his team like it’s fantasy football and that’s a big negative. The Redskins need a general manager who can prevent Snyder from making decisions while letting Snyder think he is involved. Who can work that magic? I don’t know.”

Coach Johnson said it perfectly, and he knows how to deal with big personalities in the front office with still-owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones.

For you Redskins fans, I hope for your sake that Snyder wakes up soon, but as an Eagles fan, I hope he does not.

Brian T. Chan, Sports Editor

Supporting breast cancer awareness, the George Mason University women’s volleyball team sported their pink uniforms. Even with the different look, Mason (19-7, 8-3) carried out the match in a familiar fashion they had throughout this season, defeating the Georgia State Panthers in four sets on Saturday night.

After dominating the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks on Friday, Mason recorded nine attack errors in the first set. Both teams struggled as they combined for 16 errors in the first set alone. Despite the back-and-forth errors, Mason battled hand-in-hand with the Panthers, but the Panthers took the first set with a narrow 25-23 win.

Mason had a stronger showing in the second set, hitting .424 in the set. The team closed out the set with a 25-18 win and entered the third set with more confidence.

“We started off kind of slow, and Georgia State really came to play tonight, so we had to re-focus ourselves, get back into it, and stick together as a team,” said freshman libero Koala Matsuoka, who had a match-leading 18 digs in Friday’s match.

Mason jumped to a 9-1 lead early in the third set. Eleven of Mason’s first 18 points in the set came on serves from junior setter Fernanda Bartels. Mason led by as much as nine points, holding an 18-9 lead and eventually took the third set with a 25-20 win.

Despite dominating the third set, Mason had trouble getting their serves across the net. At one point, Mason had three consecutive service errors.

“We had to fight back. It was hard to come back from the four errors,” said sophomore middle blocker Kelsey Bohman.

Junior middle blocker and opposite hitter Holly Goode racked up seven kills and posted a .778 attack percentage in the third set.

With Mason leading 8-3 early in the fourth set, the Panthers went on a 5-1 run and again rallied from a 13-9 deficit to close it to 15-14. Mason scored the next three points to provide some breathing room and eventually wrapped the match up with a 25-20 victory.

Goode and senior outside hitter Rebecca Walter had double-doubles. Along with the 18 kills, Goode had 12 digs. Walter added 11 kills and 11 digs.

Bohman, the CAA leader with 133 blocks, recorded seven blocks and had an errorless performance, posting 14 kills and an outstanding .700 attack percentage.

The Panthers came in as a spoiler despite entering the match with a solid 16-9 record. Their 3-6 conference record and 0-4 road record did not seem to make them a favorite, but Mason knew that the Panthers would be tough and could give Mason the boot.

The victory came at the right time with teams fighting for the four spots in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. By picking up the two wins this past weekend, Mason was able to strengthen their chances of reaching the tournament.

Mason entered Saturday night in fourth place and trailed the top-ranked Delaware Blue Hens by just one game. Mason moved past the William & Mary Tribe for third place after the Tribe fell to the Blue Hens on Saturday.
“It would be fantastic [to host the tournament]. It has been our goal since day one, and [the RAC] is a brand new facility, so it would be awesome to host the CAAs in our first year here,” said Bohman.

Whether Mason was wearing the customized pink uniforms or their usual white home uniforms, the team continued to exhibit strong play. Opposing teams have now been made aware of Mason as a contender.

Ryan Dempsey, Staff Writer

Men’s College Basketball

As the men’s college basketball season is getting ready to start, the Associated Press has announced its rankings for the preseason poll. The AP voted the Kansas Jayhawks number one in the country with Michigan State Spartans, the Texas Longhorns, the Kentucky Wildcats and the Villanova Wildcats rounding out the top five.

The AP ranked the defending national champions, North Carolina Tar Heels, sixth and their biggest rival, Duke Blue Devils, ninth.

MLB

Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig has announced that MLB will be looking into the use of instant replay next season.

Selig, who is against expanding the use of replays beyond home-run calls, personally believes that the tempo of the game will change dramatically with the use of instant replays. Despite his anti-replay beliefs, Selig understands that there is a serious issue at hand and that it must be addressed immediately.

“I understand we have had some incidents that were most unfortunate,” Selig said. “They were controversial and beyond controversial. There is no sense in hiding that, nor would I.”

Whether or not the Philadelphia Phillies win the World Series back-to-back, the team that has played so impressively for two consecutive seasons should get the recognition they deserve.

The Phillies were able to go into New York City last Wednesday and dismantle the Yankees in their new stadium. The Phillies were able to show every baseball fan that despite analysts hyping the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees, the Phillies are for real.

NFL

In case you have not had your fill of Brett Favre drama this year, FOX has decided that they are going to give you a little more.

According to The New York Times, reporter Judy Battista first mentioned on Twitter that “Fox is going to have ‘Favre-cam’ Sunday, providing a non-stop online feed of Favre’s every move at Lambeau.”

The Star-Tribune confirmed this news from FOX and that there was, in fact, a camera on the 50-yard line. I guess when you create so much drama, you get a personal NFL camera on you at all times. Honestly, it is surprising Terrell Owens does not have one as well.

Tennis

After one of the most amazing and dramatic years of tennis in quite some time, Serena Williams finished the year-end ranking as number one in the world.

Many critics are against Williams taking the number one spot. Williams has had many tough moments in 2009. She threatened a player, famously threatened a line judge and was thrown out of a match. Williams was last ranked number one in 2002.

“2009 has been a truly memorable season for me during which I enjoyed some of my biggest career wins,” said Williams. “Capturing the year-end world number one ranking is a huge accomplishment for me and I am thrilled that all the hard work has paid off.”