In Cornell’s final game of the season, the Big Red took on Columbia University in an effort to win the Ivy League Title and an at-large position in the NCAA tournament. After finishing 4-8-5 last year, Cornell had an impressive turn around this season, as they went into last week’s game 8-2-5. Going into the game, the team knew that a win would put them in a tie for the Ivy League Title, a fact that set the tone for the entire game.

 

However, things did not start well for Cornell. In the 17th minute of the game, Columbia’s David Najem chipped the ball over the head of Cornell goalie, Zach Zagorski, who was standing in for an injured Rick Pflasterer. The goal put Columbia up 1-0.

 

In the closing minutes of the first half, Cornell evened the score with a goal from Daniel Haber. After a long pass down field from Defender Patrick Slogic, Tyler Regan sprinted down the right sideline, beat a defender, and crossed to Haber for the assist. The Big Red went into the second half tied with Columbia, and they would exit the final minutes of regulation time the same way.

 

The teams headed into the first over time ready to score, Cornell eager to edge out the Lions for the title. However, after two overtimes, the game ended in a tie and landed in fourth overall in the Ivy League.

 

“Coming into this season we felt like last year we left a lot on the table, and the group we had going forward was so committed, that we felt like we had this in us, we had to go out and prove it” said Haber. Cornell fought until the very last minute, until the final whistle blew when almost everyone on the field fell to the ground showing both the physical and emotional anguish the game caused.

 

“Obviously it’s a pretty emotional night.” Said Lannon, a senior midfielder and captain on the team. “This season, we’ve kind of been fighting back from what we used to be. As tough a result as it was to take, we fought the entire time. And that’s kind of what this team has been all about for the last three years. I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” he continued, “even during the thought time of the game, we got down one nothing, and it took all we got to fight back and get a goal.”

 

After finishing 1-14 his freshman year, Lannon credited the dedication of the team and coaches for the turn around. “It’s really tough because we put in the hours, we put in all the work that I don’t think a lot of other teams did. And that’s kind of why we really believed we were doing something right. They couldn’t work nearly as hard as us without getting the results and I think this year proved it,” said Lannon, “It’s so tough because we all put our hearts and souls into this whole thing.”

 

After the game, coach Jaro Zawislan talked about the development of the team over the season. “The foundation with 8 wins 2 losses 6 ties, of course we would like to win more games, of course we would like to win the title tonight for this program, for the fans, for the community here, and just came short, but I am so proud of the players, they left everything on the field,” said Zawislan, who has now been with the program for three years. Along with the efforts of the team, Zawislan was able to push the team into the top 25 in the NCAA rankings this season.

 

Despite the disappointing finale to the season, after a discouraging 2010 season, the team was still proud of their accomplishments this season. “The whole attitude of the program is completely different now. We are much more positive we really believe that going forward we will be competing every year for the Ivy League Championship and for a spot in the [NCAA] tournament” Haber said.

 

“The foundation with 8 wins 2 losses 6 ties, of course we would like to win more games, of course we would like to win the title tonight for this program, for the fans, for the community here, and just came short, but I am so proud of the players, they left everything on the field.” Added Zawislan. “Sky is the limit! And we always try for perfection so this process will never end and just looking at the progress that this group of players made from the preseason, form the first game, and getting better almost every half of the game, almost every 45 minutes we’ve been getting better, and better and better.”

 

In addition to a season the clearly displayed great potential for future seasons, defender Patrick Slogic and junior goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer made first team All-Ivy. Slogic played every minute of every game (except one which he didn’t play in at all), and Pflasterer started 15 or 16 games and allowed only nine goals in 15 games, allowed an average of 0.78 goals against (third all time for Cornell). Pflasterer also had six shutouts, and 81 minutes of a seventh. The last Cornell player to make first team All-Ivy was Matt Bouaree in 2009, and this pair is the first duo since 1996 to make first team All-Ivy, when three Cornell players made the team. Senior midfielder Jimmy Lannon and sophomore forward Daniel Haber make second team All-Ivy, and sophomore midfielder Benjamin Williams was named to the Honorable Mention All-Ivy team. Freshman forward Conor Goepel walked away from the season with two freshman of the week awards, and Goalkeeper Zack Zagorski with one.

 Alexander Gimenez

Space Jam is the greatest sports movie of all time. Yes, I understand the crazy statement I just made, but just hear me out. Space Jam was created in 1996 and throws Michael Jordan, the Looney Toons, and monstrous aliens together to create an epic basketball movie for the ages. This movie was made for children, but what makes it so special is its lasting appeal. I can’t even count the amount of times I have heard my college-aged friends clamoring to watch the movie once again. It has the ability to bring out the child in all of us, which cannot be said about most sports movies. That’s all folks!

Benjamin Rosenthal

The recently released Moneyball, adapted from the Michael Lewis book which provides a behind the scenes look at the 2002 Oakland Athletics and their general manager Billy Beane, does not just appeal to diehard baseball enthusiasts.  Brad Pitt brings the eccentric Billy Beane to life in a stunning performance that captures the inner workings of a Major League Baseball organizat

ion like never before. Beane and his sidekick Peter Brand (Jonah Hill, loosely based on Paul DePodesta) set out to prove that they could put together a successful team finding undervalued players using computer analysis.  With Beane’s job on the line, his Athletics fight through the ups and downs of the 162 game season to prove that playing Moneyball can win games and could ultimately change the game forever.

Alex Post

Remember the Titans has got to be one of the best sports movies of all time and one of my personal favorites. Denzel Washington can make any movie a block buster, but his character in this movie took the role of high school football coach to a whole new level. You watch it and you feel personally invested in the team. The integration of the coaches and the athletes is moving and the soundtrack is so good it’s hard to sit still in your seat. All these things are wonderful, plus a young Ryan Gosling isn’t hard on the eyes.    

After finishing second in the NCAA tournament last year, winning five straight EWIA titles, and nine straight Ivy League championships, the Cornell Men’s Wrestling Team is red-hot.  Coach Rob Koll could not be more excited to lead the team into the 2011 season. We took the opportunity to sit down with Coach Koll and ask him about the upcoming season.

Coming off a successful season, Koll plans to approach the season by building on the success of prior years. “What [they] really do is work two, three, four years prior to this year in order to have a successful year now. You don’t just wait until everyone graduates and say ‘let’s get to work’.” Last year’s success was years in the making. Koll added “we are going to be good this year, don’t expect us to drop off, we better not have a big drop off…the reason we brought [the new members of the team] here is because they’ve done extremely well in high school, and they all worked all summer long for the past couple summers. Yeah, we have some new faces in the line-up, but they are kids that are going to be immediately competitive.”

Freshman wrestlers do not generally start; with rare exceptions such as Kyle Dake ’13 who won an individual national title his freshman season. The team has five returning members, three of whom are All Americans. “Kyle Dake is an anomaly,” said Koll. “You don’t see many Kyle Dakes who step into the lineup and win a national championship. I think there’ve only been three or four in the history of the sport, it’s been 100 plus years.”  Despite having five members of the team graduate last year, Koll is optimistic that the returning members will create a solid foundation for the team, which will only be strengthened by new additions. “Don’t expect us to drop off precipitously” said Koll. Coming into the season off two, second place finishes, and with a number four overall ranking, their goal is still to win a national title. As for individuals on the team, Coach Koll says that Kyle Dake, a standout on the team, will be great as a team member in bolstering their success, and also individually.  “He is on track to be the first wrestler to win four national championships, and never actually red shirt” said Koll, who believes that Dake—who is now a junior—will continue to be a great resource for the team on the mat and off.

Coach Koll was also very enthusiastic about the addition of Mike Grey ’11 to the coaching staff. “I like to bring in our own if we can” said Koll, “it takes a little bit of time for someone outside of the Ivy League to understand the time commitment these kids have…it is a different world, so Mike has a different appreciation for the academic rigors of Cornell.” Koll expects success from his wrestlers both on the mat and in the classroom.

Koll says that their goals are to win the Ivy title, the Eastern Championship, and of course the national title. This year, the semifinals of the National Dual Meet Championships will be held in Ithaca, so getting to the National Championships (the Final Four) is a huge goal. “If everyone develops like we hope,” says Koll, “we want to be in contention for a national championship.” According to Koll, they are going to need more than a strong team. “[Success] is not always in our hands. We are going to need a little help, some people getting knocked off from the other teams…Penn State had help with us last year, so hopefully we can get some help with our trek to the national title.”

Although the team sells out Bartells, it is not filled with current Cornell students. ”If we can get a little help from the Cornell students, it would make my job a lot easier,” says Koll, “it will be hockey without the puck, and without the pads.”

Their first home match will be on November 18th versus The University of Minnesota at Newman Arena. The rest of the schedule can be found at http://cornellbigred.com/schedule.aspx?path=wrest&

For more information, check out our interview with Cam Simaz and Kyle Dake: http://www.slopemedia.org/television/cornell-sports-broadcasting/wrestling-season-preview-talking-with-the-team-2/

Photo courtesy of Hannah Davey

The helmet-to-helmet hit has become a recurring theme in the football world, instigating the most recent exponential growth of head injuries in football.

Football has always been a violent sport, but despite innovations in protective gear, players continue to get injured, and at an alarming rate.

Concussions are spreading like wildfire, and it seems every week there is at least one violent hit that knocks a player out of a game.

The NFL has had a reputation of playing soft when it came to hard hits, which is sort of ironic and counterintuitive, but a little fine on an illegal hit and they would move on.

However, it is almost inevitable now that a football player will suffer a concussion, especially at the quarterback position.

Quarterbacks appear to be marked as a bulls eye, and injuries are spreading among the quarterback position like an extremely contagious virus.

Did we really see Charlie Batch start for the Steelers? Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is out for six to eight weeks after suffering a broken collarbone last week, Steelers’ back-up Dennis Dixon went down with an injury, Matthew Stafford of the Lions injured his shoulder and was out for five weeks, and even the iron man Bret Favre has faced his fare share of injuries—two broken bones in the ankle, a knock to the chin that required ten stitiches, and a messed up shoulder.

But the issue at hand is the NFL’s lack of discipline towards its players for illegal hits. They let players cross the line, failing to control the frequency of incidences.

When the Eagles’ Dante Jackson and an Atlanta Falcons corner were both knocked out of a game last month, they knew a precedent must be set.

On Oct. 19, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations Ray Anderson spoke on the “Mike and Mike” Morning Show and stated the NFL was cracking down on head-tohead contact to protect players’ safety.

"We've got to get the message to players that these devastating hits and head shots will be met with a very necessary higher standard of accountability,” Anderson told Mike and Mike in the Morning. “We have to dispel the notion that you get one free pass in these egregious or flagrant shots."

And its not simply the NFL, the NCAA has suffered a great deal due to injuries. In a game between the University of Houston and UCLA, star quarterback Kasey Keenum tore his ACL making a tackle after an interception and the Cougars’ back up broke his clavicle.

And this occurred in one game. The NFL needs to implement this “strict liability” of players as a nexample to be set to collegiate athletes who will one day play on Sundays and know that these techniques in tackling are not acceptable.

Football is predicated on the upper body strength and thrust of the upper body towards an offensive player. Helmet-to-helmet contact is not only highly illegal, but also puts the defender in eminent danger.

This classic tackling technique is called “spearing,” and has been frowned upon in the game for many years. Players can argue that it changes the culture of the game, narrows down ways the defense can stop explosive offensive players, but the reality is that concussions and serious injuries to athletes has become a major epidemic in sports.

In the end, the player on offense is defenseless and although a violent sport, players’ safety is the NFL’s number one priority and they should not tolerate injury after injury as a result of a violent helmet-to-helmet hit.

A red flag should have been waved as high as the Empire State Building when Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand was paralyzed from the neck down after a violent hit in a game against Army on Oct. 16.

The seriousness of head injuries is evident and defensive players apparently never got the memo. The memo is here now. Straight from NFL headquarters.

Sometimes rational actions are necessary in order to bring change to a prevalent problem. Airports increased security after the 9/11 attacks. People found it inconvenient, but it was necessary to help alleviate a serious problem.

The NFL is holding players accountable and threatening them with hefty fines and even possible suspensions if they do not follow the rules. A rational action that is implemented when numerous alternatives failed to solve the problem.

They can disagree all they want, but the NFL has already let it go on for too long.

A helmet’s purpose is for protection; its purpose is not to be used as a weapon. The helmet has become the weapon of mass destruction to the NFL. Why wouldn’t you act?

Whether it was the sound of thunder sticks, the Facebook pictures, the peeling face paint, or a headache the next day, there certainly were memories from Homecoming 2010. The game was just part of the story for many who celebrated the Cornell v. Yale football game that ended in a 7-21 loss last week.

The day started off for many students with getting decked out in Cornell Big Red spirit attire. The weather was gorgeous, and some students used this opportunity to wear their favorite summer gear for perhaps the last time.

A parade was led by the Cornell Spirit Team and the Pep Band to bring students to the game.  Student organizations participated in the event to promote their groups and missions on campus as well. The parade started on North Campus, and was led to Ho plaza where the Pep Band performed. Afterwards, the mass was led to Schoellkopf Field.

Sororities and fraternities, as well as alumni, local radio stations, and businesses had tailgating set up in the parking lot of the stadium. This was a time for mingling and enjoying the great food provided by the different organization. Free red zone t-shirts were given to a select number of Cornell students, which led to even more hype.

As part of Cornell tradition, the freshmen class was invited on the field to cheer on the players as they entered before the start of the game. The energy on the field was great, with chants including "Twenty Fourteen" and "Cornell, Cornell" that added to the intense rumbling of thunder sticks. “It was overwhelming to see so much red! It was really intense,” says Melanie Larkin.

The stadium filled up very quickly after the start of the game. The stands were a sea of red and white. Many student groups coordinated outfits just for this special event. What a sight to see! The fans were energetic through the 1st half of the game, while Cornell gave up a touchdown to Yale and quickly came back to tie the game. After half-time the fans usually remained seated as Cornell's offensive was plagued by turnovers and they gave up another two touchdowns to Yale. The weather also turned in the second half, convincing some fans to head home and prepare for other weekend festivities.

Despite the loss, the game was an exciting chance to show off school spirit, reunite with recent graduates and celebrate being a Cornellian!

Cornell Football Drops Fourth Straight

October 25, 2009

By Sam Aleinikoff

For the second consecutive week, a hot start for Cornell (2-4, 1-2 Ivy) was quickly neutralized as the Big Red fell to reigning Ivy League Co-Champion, Brown, 34-14, on Saturday afternoon in Ithaca, NY.

Brown's Kyle Newhall connected with Buddy Farnham for the Bears' first two scores of the day and Zachary Tronti sealed the deal late for the Ivy League's most prolific offense with three rushing touchdowns in the final 21 minutes of play.

"In the second half we came and made some big plays" Brown Head Coach, Phil Estes, said "We had an opportunity to shut the game down with our run game and Tronti was immense in the fourth quarter."

The Bears (4-2, 2-1 Ivy) eclipsed their Ivy League leading marks in passing offense (338 yards), total offense (503 yards) and scoring offense (34 points) as they extended their winning streak to four games.

It was the Cornell defense that struck first though. Junior, Ben Heller's interception halted the first Brown drive of the game at the Cornell 12 yard line and Cornell's Dempsey Quinn forced a fumble on the second Brown possession resulting in a 26-yard Anthony Ambrosi return for a touchdown.

"We practice scoop-and-score all the time," Ambrosi said. "The ball just happened to bounce high enough for me to grab it, and run it in."

It took about 20 minutes for the Brown offense to find it's stride. The first strike came on a 48-yard touchdown pass from Newhall to Farnham in the second quarter. After inserting Cornell receiver Horatio Blackman at safety, Farnham was able to create space against the inexperienced defender. Brown again found the end zone midway through the third quarter when Newhall found Farnham open once more, this time for a 56-yard touchdown.

"He's going to make plays on you if you cover him," Cornell Head Coach, Jim Knowles said of Farnham. "It's even tougher if you let him go free."

Within 15 seconds, Brown was on the board again. Cornell's Ben Ganter was intercepted by defensive lineman James Devlin. After several missed tackles on the return and a personal foul on the Big Red offense, Brown regained possession on the Cornell 3-yard line. A quick touchdown run by Tronti gave the Bears their first lead of the afternoon.

"It was huge. It was a big momentum swing," Estes said.

Cornell's offense was led by a two-quarterback attack for much of the afternoon. Senior wide receiver, Stephen Liuzza, got the start in place of the injured Ganter. Liuzza, who led the big red on two late scoring drives and ran for a season-high 166 yards last week against Fordham, was effective through the air on Saturday, throwing for 124 yards on 10-of-13 passing. Ganter, who replaced Liuzza for the final two drives of the first half and all but one possession of the second stanza, struggled throwing the ball, completing only 10-of-20 passes for no touchdowns and 2 interceptions. When asked if his injured shoulder impacted his play on Saturday, Ganter denied that it was a problem.

"It's been getting progressively better," Ganter said of his shoulder. "I don't think it really effected the deep ball. Those were just poor decisions, poor throws."

Without consistent play at quarterback and fewer than 40 yards rushing, the Cornell offense was unable to score on Saturday. One bright spot offensively for the Big Red was the play of Bryan Walters who caught 7 passes for 105 yards, breaking the century mark for the second consecutive week.

Cornell will travel to Princeton on Saturday, November 7 looking for it's first win since beating Yale on September 26.

Cornell has a wide array of sports clubs that are offered to the student body. According to Cornell University’s Student Activities Office, there are 87 sports organizations currently affiliated with the University. The varying sports clubs range from cultural and special interest to recreational and competitive. Students searching for their particular niche or wishing to fill “that void” can trust in Cornell’s Club Sports Organizations. Unlike what people originally believe a “sport” entails, the Bhangra Club opens people’s eyes to a whole new culture and type of competition. Bhangra is a popular folk dance that originated in the Punjab region in Northern India and Northeastern Pakistan and stands as a reflection of the Punjabis’ histories. Cornell’s Bhangra Club is in its tenth year, having many wins at national premier Bhangra competitions and performing at innumerable campus shows and events, one being the inauguration of President Skorton. Three different teams make up the Bhangra club, where each group of dancers dedicate anywhere from twelve to twenty hours per week. Special interest clubs, such as the Skateboarding Club, offer students an indulgence and continuation of their personal hobbies. The Skateboarding Club has recently started up and allows avid skateboarders the chance to come together for teaching sessions of skateboarding tricks and also to organize future events and competitions. While some students indulge in the cultural, recreational, and special interest sports clubs, there are many others that rely on strictly competitive club teams to fulfill their need for sports. Julie Eitner, a senior co-captain of the Cornell Women’s Club soccer team, speaks about her experience falling back on club soccer after playing on the Women’s Varsity team. “Playing on a varsity athletics team can be an amazing experience that requires tremendous dedication and time commitment. One of the benefits of varsity is that all the players you play against and with are at such a high level that it can force you to improve. However, often with the involvement of adults, coaches, and the prestige that comes with varsity athletics, politics can cloud the original purpose of the sport: playing for the love of the game.” Author: Kit Lyman

In the sports world, spring break generally means March Madness. Everyone, it seems, including President Barack Obama, is following the NCAA college basketball tournament. These games dominate television during March, with about a 24-hour a day coverage on ESPN networks. Unfortunately, it seems like everyone is forgetting the World Baseball Classic. In its second year, the WBC pits teams from 16 different countries against each other in a baseball tournament, where players from each country temporarily break from their original teams and play in the name of their homeland. Countries around the world, from Australia to the Netherlands to Panama, participated in the Classic, with Major League Baseball players in the U.S. and players in foreign leagues coming together as teammates. Not only do members from different countries come together, members of rivals team do as well. Derek Jeter, of the New York Yankees, played along Boston Red Sox rival Kevin Youkilis for Team USA, and David Wright of the New York Mets and Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies jokingly called a truce to their rivalry. On March 23, 2009, Japan took its second title for World Baseball Classic Champion, with Seattle Mariner Ichiro Suzuki getting the game wining hit. The next WBC will be held in 2013, as the baseball community continues their hope for wider recognition and globalization of the game. The MLB players who participated in the WBC will return to their teammates at spring training and continue preparing for the start of the season in the beginning of April. The players are working to bring their team to the World Series, but those who played in the WBC know the pride that comes from representing your country through a baseball game. Author: Lauren Epstein