The CT sports editor sounds off

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

North Carolina is proving they truly
deserve to be the top team in the nation.
Forget about the fact that the Tar Heels
were sluggish in a victory over UNC,
Asheville. UNC proved it is a better team
than last year by overcoming Clemson
on the road, despite playing from behind
for most of the game and whipping rival
N.C. State at home. Last year’s Elite Eight
team was close – but this year’s team has
the maturity and the willpower to get to
the title game.

I’ve never liked Memphis – but the
Tigers also are proving that they belong on
top of the polls. Head coach John Calipari
took a risk by scheduling home games
with Georgetown and Arizona and road
games with Oklahoma and Connecticut,
but the Tigers have responded and are 15-0.
Conference USA is not strong this year, so
it is possible that Calipari’s squad could go
undefeated. The only road block is a Feb.
23 match-up with No. 9 Tennessee.

NBA

The fact that Atlanta and Miami have to
replay the last minute of a game later on in
the year is ludicrous. How competent do
you have to be to count fouls? The referee
motions toward the scorer’s table and
clearly points out who commits a foul. So
how did the good folks in Atlanta manage
to miscount and disqualify Shaq when
he only had five fouls? In my opinion,
forget about it. Forget the last minute of
the game. It’s not like the game is doing
anything to affect the Heat’s season. They
aren’t good no matter what. Fine the guys
who were supposed to be able to do basic
second-grade math and move on with the
season.

NFL

To my dismay, the Patriots are still moving
after a 31-20 victory over Jacksonville
on Saturday night. If any team was going
to stop the Patriots, it was the Jags. David
Garrard was efficient enough and the
Jacksonville defense was good enough to
slow down the New England attack – but
the team was unable to accomplish the
task. Neither San Diego nor Indianapolis
has a solid enough combination of offense
and defense to get the job done. It will be
up to an NFC team to stop the Patriots’
run at the title.

SPORTS BRIEFS

While many students went on
vacation during break, VCU athletic
teams remained in action. Here is
some of the action you might have
missed.

BASEBALL

Junior first baseman/outfielder
Jared Bolden (Lynchburg/E.C. Glass)
was named to the Brooks Wallace
Player of the Year Award watch list
and was named third-team All-PING!
by PING! baseball.com.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

The Rams won six of seven games
over the break, including victories
over cross-town rival Richmond and
conference foes UNC Wilmington
and Georgia State. The lone loss came
at the hands of James Madison in
Harrisonburg, where the Dukes took
a 62-61 victory thanks to a layup by
Juwann James as time expired.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Just like the men’s team, the
women’s basketball team won six
of seven games over the break,
including victories over Richmond
and conference rivals Northeastern
and William and Mary. The Rams
also took home wins in the VCU
SportsCenter Holiday Classic over
Morgan State and Boston University.
The Rams suffered their first loss of
the season in a December road game
against Georgetown.

MEN’S SOCCER

Many Rams were honored over
the break for their solid play. Gerson
Dos Santos (Sao Paulo, Brazil/E.E.
Ruth Cabral Troncarelli) was named
first-team all-state, while Jorit Loehr
(Bremen, Germany), Dirk Dittrich
(Stuttgart, Germany) and Sven
Meusch (Cologne, Germany) were all
named to the second team. Dos Santos
and Dittrich also were named to the
National Soccer Coaches Association
of America All-South Atlantic region
team.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Junior midfielder Megan Flanagan
(Franktown, Colo./Ponderosa) was
named third team All-Mid Atlantic
region by the National Soccer
Coaches Association of America.
Sophomore defenseman Myriam
Bouchard (Quebec, Canada/Cardinal
Roy) was invited to train with the
Canadian U-20 team. Bouchard accumulated
4 goals and two assists for
a total of 10 points this season.
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The Rams posted four victories
and 23 top-five finishes in the
Navy quad meet in Annapolis, Md.
Sophomore Jason Gallo (Rochester,
N.Y./Eastridge) won the 55-meter
dash with a time of 6.52 seconds; Guy
Alton (New Kent/New Kent) won
the 3,000-meter run with a time of
8:39.18; Mike Garel (Stafford/Brooke
Point) won the 55-meter hurdles
with a time of 7.7 seconds; and Allen
Moody (Woodbridge/Garfield) used
a 6’4.25 jump to take first in the
high jump.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

The Rams participated in the CNU
Holiday Open over the break and
placed best in the 3,000-meter run
in which Reagan Merriam (Fredericksburg/
Massaponax) and Genova
Washington (Woodbridge/Garfield)
placed third and fourth.