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(02/06/06 5:00am)
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Eagles' men's basketball team walked into Lehigh with a swagger that would be unexpected from a middle-of-the-pack team set to face one of the league leaders. The Eagles looked like they knew they could hang with the Mountain Hawks, which they. But in the end the Hawks' experience was too much for AU as it lost, 65-58, Saturday night.
(02/02/06 5:00am)
Truth: Tiger Woods will enter this year's PGA Championship with a chance to win the Grand Slam. I won't say that he's going to win it, because quite frankly, I think he'll buckle under the pressure. But, after skipping the year-end Mercedes Championship to rest up for the 2006 season and opening with a flurry at last week's Buick, Tiger has positioned himself for his best year yet.
(01/30/06 5:00am)
It hasn't been at all pretty for the 2005-06 AU women's basketball team and Saturday was just that, but the Eagles posted a much-needed 75-74 victory over the Lafayette Leopards at Bender Arena.
(01/26/06 5:00am)
The AU women's basketball team suffered its third straight Patriot League defeat, losing, 80-70, to the Navy Midshipwomen Tuesday night at Annapolis, Md.
(01/26/06 5:00am)
So last week got off to an inauspicious start as the Steelers upended the Broncos, but I'm back to try my luck again this week.
(01/19/06 5:00am)
The AU women's basketball team continued a disappointing month by losing to the Army Black Knights Tuesday night at Bender Arena, 75-66, to drop to 4-13, 1-3 in the Patriot League.
(01/19/06 5:00am)
Since my colleague Jordan Beane has gone to London and taken "Beane Ball" with him, each week, I'll let you know what I'm burning on in the weekly installment, "Two Truths and a Lie." I'll comment on some of the hottest topics in sports, telling you what's really going down, and what's just sideline banter.
(12/12/05 5:00am)
There are certain games where a coach learns about its team, for better or worse. Saturday, AU women's basketball coach Melissa McFerrin learned a lot about her young squad during its resilient 70-68 overtime win over Pennsylvania.
(12/08/05 5:00am)
The AU women's basketball team suffered a disappointing 61-48 defeat to Furman Tuesday night in Greenville, S.C. The loss drops AU to 2-5 about a month away from Patriot League play.
(12/05/05 5:00am)
Ahhh, my favorite four days of the year: Major League Baseball's Winter Meetings.
(12/01/05 5:00am)
The AU women's basketball team had little famine and then a little feast over Thanksgiving break, finishing third in the Florida International Tournament in Miami. The Eagles (2-3) suffered a 64-53 loss to Big East power Seton Hall Saturday before disposing of Western Michigan, 74-72, in overtime on Sunday to notch their first win of the season.
(11/21/05 5:00am)
The AU women's basketball team dropped its first two games of the season this weekend, falling soundly at Towson Friday and at home to Delaware Sunday.
(11/17/05 5:00am)
Tala Hadavi keeps the high-end clothing stores in Friendship Heights and Pentagon City in business...and much to her chagrin.
(11/07/05 5:00am)
For five weeks, I've been following my Dallas Cowboys through text messages, NFL.com and phone calls from friends in far-off places where they actually show the Boys' games.
(10/31/05 5:00am)
The AU men's cross country team won its fourth consecutive PL title Saturday in Bethlehem, Pa., finishing 49 points ahead of second place finisher Army. The AU men boasted the top two finishers in the 8,000-meter race, Steve Hallinan and Brendan Fennell.
(10/24/05 4:00am)
Somewhere far away from here, on a city street in Santiago, Chile, a young girl walks with a field hockey stick, thinking about the sport she loves, and her future in it. In all likelihood, she doesn't see leaving the Santiago streets as part of that future.
(10/17/05 4:00am)
Many of us have openly cried for big-time sports to come to AU. For the first time in my tenure here, we have a team that has a legitimate chance of winning the national championship: AU's field hockey team.
(10/06/05 4:00am)
The boys of summer are wrapping up another season that saw the return of Barry Bonds, the Yanks and Sox battle it out and the Atlanta Braves' 14th-consecutive division title. And as the eight best teams fight for the World Series prize, AU students will flock from the dorms looking for a place to enjoy the action.
(09/29/05 4:00am)
With Ladnergate, September 2005 will not be remembered as AU's brightest historical moment. But, I'm getting sick and tired of hearing people complain about money misspent for things that don't affect the school. So, as a frustrated flag football player and president of Delta Tau Delta, I'm going to complain about the thousands of dollars AU did spend for a "good reason."
(09/26/05 4:00am)
September 2005 will not be remembered as the brightest moment in American University's history. But, I'm getting sick and tired of hearing people complain about money misspent for things that don't affect the school. So, ion honor of my frustration, I'm going to complain about the thousands of dollars AU did spend for a "good reason."
The brand Astroturf, field hockey/intramural field is a disaster. It was just over a week ago when a fraternity member let out a blood curdling scream as he ripped his quadriceps muscle from the bone, requiring major surgery. Parallel to him on the next field, another fraternity member lay on the ground clutching his knee. After hours in the emergency room, he got away lucky, with only a sprained medial collateral ligament.
In two minutes, two major leg injuries. All because of the shoddy Astroturf on the intramural field.
Now, I'm not saying this isn't good for field hockey, where our fourth-ranked team finally has a home and is making a strong push for the National Championship. The turf is designed for field hockey, where the cuts are less harsh and the surface is conducive to a quick-rolling ball with many players.
However, there's a reason no NFL stadiums use Astroturf anymore. It's dangerous. I've seen too many Vinny Testaverde/Dan Marino torn ACL's, and too many Michael Irvin/Reggie Brown broken necks to see how Astroturf is a viable playing surface for any type of football.
The game is designed around harsh, quick cuts to fake out defenders or jump a route. These must be done with precision by planting the foot into the ground and pushing off of it to propel the body in another direction. Astroturf is dangerous because it doesn't allow the foot to properly push off, thus putting undo strain on the leg. When the body propels itself in one direction, the lack of give from the turf does not support the leg, and thus, joints and ligaments are injured.
It's simple science, and I guess AU never has been accused of focusing too much on the sciences. That doesn't change the fact that students have been thrust into danger. What seemed like a nice gesture has turned into a debacle for football-loving students everywhere.
Aside from the ligament damage already done, bloody knees are commonplace on the intramural field. I know the intramural directors thought they solved this problem by eliminating any type of contact from the game, but spills still happen, and when they do, some of the nastiest rug burn scrapes I've ever seen, occur.
What did humor me last week was the lack of compassion from an AU employee reacting to the man who tore his quad. He allowed the referees to tend to the injured player, while he fervently searched for the waiver form, double checking to make sure no liability was on the school. Now, I'd do that same thing, but it doesn't speak wonders when one of the most comprehensive waiver forms is produced to protect the school from the additional liability encountered by Turfgate 2005.
I know, by now you're asking, "Well, if not the Astroturf, then what?" Glad you asked.
While it's very convenient to have the games on campus, I propose a temporary solution of returning the games to the Tenley fields. Despite the less-picturesque view and lack of multiple fields, there was also a lack of life-changing injuries which we should strive for.
This next summer, the school should replace the Astroturf with something more reminiscent of grass, similar to what National Football League teams use in domes. Or if that doesn't work, maybe we can play Arena Football in Bender. That would surely spark some interest.
In all seriousness though, what has to happen for AU to realize the danger that is the current intramural field? I saw an ambulance come last week for a torn leg muscle. I shudder at the thought that one of my fraternity brothers or another player or myself may one day be lying there with a broken neck waiting for the next ambulance.
In this time of negative publicity for the school (many of which is undue), we must focus on the positives, one of which is usually intramural sports. However, because of the danger imposed by the condition of the field, some misspending may not be the biggest story at AU much longer.