Phil Turner

Sports

Nittany Lions roar by AU

By Phil Turner | 12/06/2004

Facing Penn State, the nation's third ranked team, in Happy Valley, Pa., was too tall an order for the AU Volleyball team, as it fell in three straight games in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night. The loss in the first round is the fourth in four consecutive NCAA trips for the Eagles. After completing a fourth straight undefeated season in the PL, the Eagles were hoping for a better seed in their region, but ended up drawing Penn State, the Big Ten champions and a threat to win the national championship. And while they gave a tremendous effort, it was not enough to overcome the relentless Nittany Lions.

Sports

Sideline Scholars: Eagles and fans brought 'A' game vs. UVM

By Phil Turner | 12/06/2004

Bender Arena felt like a real college basketball stadium and the men's hoops team looked like a real team on Saturday afternoon when it took down Vermont in arguably the most exciting home game since the Patriot League championship game in 2002. The normally reserved, offish, elitist, "I'm too tired to cheer because I've been studying cross-cultural communications" (or some similar waste-of-time homework) crowd that has come to typify AU school spirit took on a different tune for the 1:00 p.m. game.

Sports

V-Ball takes third in pre-NCAA invitational

By Phil Turner | 12/02/2004

Back during pre-season two-a-day practices, AU volleyball coach Barry Goldberg and his team talked about continuing their dominance of the Patriot League and making an impact on the national scene in the latter part of the year. Having already won its fourth straight PL title in dominating undefeated fashion, the Eagles will now get their shot at national prominence when they take on fourth ranked Penn State Nittany Lions in the first round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament this weekend in Happy Valley, PA.

News

Quitting kits could help students stop smoking

By Phil Turner | 11/18/2004

Today is the annual Great American Smokeout, and a campus and community effort will help AU students stamp out their cigarettes. The Wellness and Counseling Center is trying to help students break the habit, and Sibley Hospital is offering free smoking cessation courses.

News

ROTC trains by dawn's early light

By Phil Turner | 11/18/2004

On Sept. 12, 2001, AU junior Patrick Finn cut an artist's drawing out of The New York Times. It showed the Statue of Liberty hunched over and weeping, with the smoke from the fallen Twin Towers filling the New York skyline in the background. He put it in his wallet and looks at it every day to remind him why he joined the Army ROTC, a program committed to molding leaders on U.S. college campuses into leaders in the military.

Sports

PL perfection for Volleyball

By Phil Turner | 11/15/2004

While many AU athletics teams have experienced Patriot League success since joining the league four years ago, none have matched the unprecedented dominance of AU's volleyball squad. In sweeping Lehigh and Lafayette in Bender Arena on Friday and Saturday, the Women's Volleyball team capped off its fourth straight undefeated PL season and extended its league winning streak to 62 games.

News

Metro brief: Turkey in your straw

By Phil Turner | 11/11/2004

Metro brief: Those in the District who don't like to chew their holiday dinners are in luck this Thanksgiving. The Seattle-based Jones Soda Co. introduced its new holiday pack of soda last week, which includes unusual flavors like mashed potatoes and butter, and turkey and gravy.

News

Unparalleled security for inauguration

By Phil Turner | 11/08/2004

District security forces did not wait for the outcome of last week's presidential election to begin planning what is being heralded as an unprecedented security effort for the Jan. 20 inauguration, The Washington Post reported.

Sports

Eagles sweep weekend on a PL run

By Phil Turner | 11/08/2004

The Eagles cruelly smashed any grand schemes Bucknell or Colgate had of ending the AU Volleyball team's perfect run toward its fourth straight Patriot League title after another AU-dominant weekend in Bender Arena. On Friday night, the Eagles put forth a balanced attack, led by senior setter Courtney Mulford, and swept Bucknell in a little over an hour's time. Eighteen hours later, a similar scene was played out as the Eagles swept an undersized Colgate squad.

Sports

Basketball 'teams' wait in sad state

By Phil Turner | 11/01/2004

Sports columnist Phil Turner discusses the decline of the NBA and basketball in the United States.