“College Sports Capsules: UCLA, South Carolina set to meet in CWS finals” plus 3 more

College Sports Capsules: UCLA, South Carolina set to meet in CWS finals
Sports Digest: Spearmon, Moore captures 200 titles at track nationals
UCLA, South Carolina set to meet in CWS finals
Why do we need a major-league team? Grand Rapids sports scene already is rich

College Sports Capsules: UCLA, South Carolina set to meet in CWS finals

Posted: 27 Jun 2010 04:42 PM PDT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — UCLA has won a nation-leading 106 NCAA championships in 17 sports. Not one of them is in baseball — yet.

The Bruins' chance is here, against South Carolina, in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting Monday night.

"It's obviously known as a basketball school with Coach Wooden and everything he did at UCLA and all the national championships and all the NBA players, and then certainly football has a rich tradition as well, and softball and gymnastics and volleyball and golf," UCLA coach John Savage said Sunday.

"Every day we go in the Hall of Fame room and we go in the weight room and you see all the national championships, and baseball doesn't have anything underneath it."

UCLA made it to the CWS 1969 and 1997 and went 0-2 each time.

The Bruins are in the finals a year after finishing 27-29 and not making the 64-team NCAA tournament. They've ridden the strong pitching of starters Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Rob Rasmussen, and their offense has been timely, cranking out 15 hits in Saturday's 10-3 win over TCU.

South Carolina reached the CWS finals in 1975, 1977 and 2002, losing each time under the old tournament format that ended with a single national championship game. The best-of-three finals started in 2003, a year too late for coach Ray Tanner and the Gamecocks.

"Back when we were in this position before, we had finished on an early evening on a Friday, and we had a noon game on Saturday. It was set up for television," Tanner said. "We were excited. We were energetic. It was a short turnaround and it wasn't the best of three. Is that going to make it easier for us? Absolutely not. But I think it's the way that it should be done.

"Two teams left. Best of three. You get a variety of pitchers out there in the games, whether it's a two-game or three-game set. We're all used to the series mentality."

UCLA will start Cole (11-3), the New York Yankees' 2008 first-round pick, in Game 1. Tanner didn't say his choice to start. He's deciding among Blake Cooper (12-2), Tyler Webb (3-2) and Jay Brown (3-0). Cooper has started twice in the CWS but would be coming off only three days' rest.

The Gamecocks have won four elimination games to get to this point. They beat Oklahoma in 12 innings after being down to their last strike, and they got an improbable, complete-game, three-hitter from Michael Roth, a career situational reliever called on to start against Clemson on Friday.

South Carolina wasn't a top-10 team in the polls until mid to late April. The Gamecocks lost the Southeastern Conference regular-season title on the final weekend against Florida and went two-and-out in the SEC tournament.

They've played four one-run games in the NCAA tournament, winning three of them, including Saturday's 4-3 victory over Clemson.

"We went through a period of time where we really did have trouble scoring runs," Tanner said. "We weren't giving up a lot and we were playing good defense. But we took the mentality that, you know, we've got to win some games late. We're going to have to win some close games."

UCLA hopes to add a national title to the ones the school won in softball and women's gymnastics this year. The baseball team's opportunity has been a long time coming.

The Bruins were No. 1 in the preseason polls in 2008 but fell far short of expectations, finishing third in the Pac-10 and getting eliminated from regionals by nemesis Cal State Fullerton. In 2009, the Bruins lost nine in a row early in the season, tied for third in the conference and missed the national tournament.

Savage said last year's hiring of assistant Rick Vanderhook — "one of the best offensive minds in the country," he said — has made all the difference. Cole and Bauer also have matured, and second-round Florida Marlins draft pick Rob Rasmussen has been the best No. 3 starter in the country.

This year they opened with a school-record 22-game winning streak, finished behind No. 1 national seed Arizona State in the Pac 10, went 3-0 in regionals and bounced back from a first-game loss in super regionals to knock out Fullerton and advance to Omaha.

Cole, who will start Game 1 on Monday, was dominant in UCLA's 6-3 win over TCU, striking out 13 and allowing five hits in eight innings.

Bauer, the national leader in strikeouts, has fanned 24 batters in 15 innings in Omaha.

"We tried to create a new identity for our team after last season," Cole said. "We've been working a lot with (noted sports psychologist) Ken Ravizza, who has helped us out quite a bit. We kind of got together and bonded as a team. There are no individual players on this team. Everybody is a part of Bruin baseball."

Football

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Sports Digest: Spearmon, Moore captures 200 titles at track nationals

Posted: 27 Jun 2010 08:11 PM PDT

Track and field

SPEARMON, MOORE CAPTURE 200S AT NATIONALS: Wallace Spearmon knows his 200-meter title at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships might be viewed with skepticism since Tyson Gay and Shawn Crawford weren't in the field.

That doesn't bother Spearmon, though. He's used to being doubted.

Spearmon finished in a wind-aided 19.77 seconds Sunday at Des Moines, Iowa, to edge Walter Dix, who won the 100 on Friday. Dix took second in 20.14.

"We're missing Tyson ... and (Crawford) too, and that guy, he's an animal. Both of those guys are great competitors," Spearmon said. "You're going to hear 'He wouldn't have won if Tyson was there. He wouldn't have won if Shawn was there.' So I mean, hey. Take it. If they'd have been here I would had to race them and you never know what happens."

Consuella Moore, who recently returned to the track after an extended absence, was the surprise winner in the women's 200. She won in 22.40, edging out Shalonda Solomon.

David Oliver upset David Payne in the 110 hurdles, breezing to the victory in a world-leading 12.93. Payne, the silver medalist in the Olympics two years ago, finished fourth.

Jenn Suhr, the silver medalist in Beijing, won the women's pole vault at 16 feet, .5 inch, the best jump in the world this year. Dwight Phillips, a three-time world outdoor champion, took the long jump in 27-5.5, good for second-best in the world in 2010.

Shot putter Christian Cantwell won his second straight outdoor title with a heave of 71 feet, .5 inch.

Alysia Johnson won the women's 800 in 1:59.87, while Nick Symmonds took his third straight American title in the 800 in 1:45.98.

Ti'erra Brown won the women's 400 hurdles by nearly a second, while Lopez Lomong beat Leonel Manzano by less than 0.1 seconds in the men's 1,500.

Pro baseball

MOYER YIELDS RECORD-BREAKING 506TH HR, STILL WINS: Jamie Moyer gave up his record-breaking 506th home run but was sharp otherwise, and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of Toronto's troubles to beat the Blue Jays 11-2.

Moyer only mistake was a two-run homer by Vernon Wells in the third inning. Moyer passed former Phillies Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for the most homers allowed in a career.

The 47-year-old Moyer (9-6), whose mound opponent wasn't even born when he made his major league debut, gave up two runs and six hits in seven innings. He struck out seven and walked none.

Moyer made his big league debut on June 16, 1986, 16 days before Toronto starter Brett Cecil (7-5) was born.

Pro football

LIONS PRESIDENT ACCUSED OF DRUNKEN DRIVING: Detroit Lions President Tom Lewand is apologizing after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving while at a charity golf tournament in northern Michigan.

Lewand said in a statement Saturday night that he is "deeply sorry" for his actions and takes full responsibility.

Team spokesman Matt Barnhart confirmed Sunday that Lewand was arrested and released Friday night. Lewand was attending a charity golf event in Houghton Lake, about 150 miles northwest of Detroit.

Without providing details, Lewand says he's "a person in active recovery" and "committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure nothing like this ever happens again."

Motorsports

ANDERSON SWEEPS PRO STOCK WEEKEND AT NHRA: Greg Anderson raced to his first Pro Stock victory of the season at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals at Norwalk, Ohio.

The three-time champion pocketed more than $125,000 for the weekend by sweeping eliminations Sunday and Saturday's K&N Horsepower Challenge all-star event, which includes a $25,000 bonus.

Anderson outran Allen Johnson in the final round for his 61st career victory. Anderson's Pontiac GXP posted a winning performance of 6.722 seconds at a top speed of 204.54 mph to hold off Johnson's Dodge Avenger, which slowed at mid-track and finished in 6.982 at 159.38.

Larry Dixon (Top Fuel), Tim Wilkerson (Funny Car) and Matt Smith (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also were winners at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park.

Smith raced to his second victory of the season and 12th overall in Pro Stock Motorcycle, beating defending world champion Hector Arana in the final. Smith clocked a 7.076 at 188.36 on a Buell, to hold off Arana's Buell, which finished in 7.080 at 188.52. Portage grad Craig Treble placed 14th.

College baseball

UCLA, SOUTH CAROLINA SET TO MEET IN CWS FINALS: UCLA has won a nation-leading 106 NCAA championships in 17 sports. Not one of them is in baseball -- yet.

The Bruins' chance is here, against South Carolina, in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting tonight.

"It's obviously known as a basketball school with Coach Wooden and everything he did at UCLA and all the national championships and all the NBA players, and then certainly football has a rich tradition as well, and softball and gymnastics and volleyball and golf," UCLA coach John Savage said Sunday.

"Every day we go in the Hall of Fame room and we go in the weight room and you see all the national championships, and baseball doesn't have anything underneath it."

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UCLA, South Carolina set to meet in CWS finals

Posted: 27 Jun 2010 02:06 PM PDT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)—UCLA has won a nation-leading 106 NCAA championships in 17 sports. Not one of them is in baseball—yet.

The Bruins' chance is here, against South Carolina, in the best-of-three College World Series finals starting Monday night.

"Every day we go in the Hall of Fame room and we go in the weight room and you see all the national championships, and baseball doesn't have anything underneath it."

UCLA made it to the CWS 1969 and 1997 and went 0-2 each time.

"Two teams left. Best of three. You get a variety of pitchers out there in the games, whether it's a two-game or three-game set. We're all used to the series mentality."

They've played four one-run games in the NCAA tournament, winning three of them, including Saturday's 4-3 victory over Clemson.

UCLA hopes to add a national title to the ones the school won in softball and women's gymnastics this year. The baseball team's opportunity has been a long time coming.

Savage said last year's hiring of assistant Rick Vanderhook—"one of the best offensive minds in the country," he said—has made all the difference. Cole and Bauer also have matured, and second-round Florida Marlins draft pick Rob Rasmussen has been the best No. 3 starter in the country.

Cole, who will start Game 1 on Monday, was dominant in UCLA's 6-3 win over TCU, striking out 13 and allowing five hits in eight innings.

Bauer, the national leader in strikeouts, has fanned 24 batters in 15 innings in Omaha.

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Why do we need a major-league team? Grand Rapids sports scene already is rich

Posted: 27 Jun 2010 02:30 AM PDT

Published: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 5:15 AM Updated: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 7:40 AM

GRAND RAPIDS -- Staying on top of what's cool in the world of sports can be exhausting.

One day soccer is the next big thing, the next it's lacrosse and then it's mixed martial arts.

Then you attend a baseball game and can't comprehend why all the kids think it looks good to keep the bill completely flat on a cap that's already two sizes too big.

Face it, there's no way to predict with 100 percent accuracy what will be the next hot trend. The times are eternally a-changin'.

Who knows, the next big sport even could be something like log rolling.

That's right, log rolling. Why not? A class on the lumberjack-endorsed sport is among the many programs being offered by the Grand Rapids YMCA this summer.

"It's one of those things you might see on TV, but here's an opportunity to try it," YMCA senior program director Dave Leggett said. "We encourage people to try different things."

And that, right there, is truly the essence of what makes Grand Rapids, and all of West Michigan, "cool." The chance to actually do something.

So maybe log rolling isn't your thing. The local YMCA and the city's recreation department have a catalogue of other options.

Or maybe you'd be more inclined to try indoor rock climbing, like they offer at Inside Moves. Or maybe you'd prefer one of the 26 public golf courses in Kent County, with a dozen more along the Lakeshore.

Still haven't found the right task to get your blood pumping? There is a veritable A to Z list of activities available, from archery, bowling and canoeing, to disc golf, equestrian and flag football.

You could even craft a bad poem around everything: Skiing and hiking, running and biking; basketball, gymnastics and darts, rugby, fencing and martial arts.

Or you can simply find out what the heck pickleball is.

All of these options — and many, many more — are readily attainable throughout West Michigan. And they're available for all ages, all abilities and all comers.

The opportunities are practically endless, and most require only a short drive.

And apart from the games themselves, there are a plethora of opportunities available to volunteer, and not just as the stereotypical soccer moms who provide orange slices and juice boxes.

Scores of coaches, officials, scorekeepers and more are needed to keep things moving in leagues that range from youth to adult.

"Volunteers are absolutely vital to what we do," said Holland recreation and special events coordinator Adrienne Wallace. "From a community aspect, we're the biggest consumer of volunteers, with coaches, officials and parents."

The initial inclination of many is to point to the area's professional sports teams, and that's not necessarily wrong. Teams like the Grand Rapids Griffins and West Michigan Whitecaps continue to be excellent family entertainment.

But it's also like going to a trendy nightclub. You pay for parking, you pay to get in, you're heavily influenced what to wear, you pay for mediocre food, you're surrounded by people you don't like and at the end of the night you wonder what all that money really bought you.

It's also hard to know how many people attend pro events for the love of whatever sport it is they'll observe. Sure, there will be plenty of diehards, but just as many will be there to enjoy the atmosphere, the weather, the company of family and friends, or the chance to ease their boredom for a couple of hours.

And those are all perfectly valid reasons.

But pro sports don't stimulate arms and legs, outside of an occasional flurry of cheers or boos. And even the best seats in the house keep you detached from the action.

"Our big goal is to keep people moving," said John Judnich, recreation supervisor for the Grand Rapids Department of Parks and Recreation. "We encourage people to venture outside rather than just watch."

And that's the point.

As nice as it is to watch professional athletes, there's no ball for you to catch, no bat to swing, no goal to be made.

But getting into a game yourself? Now that always should be considered cool.

E-mail Michael Zuidema: mzuidema@grpress.com

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Gymnastics Sports

Sunday, June 27, 2010