1993_12 The Daily Collegian December 1993

              -the Daily Collegian
Monday, Dec. 6,1993
MINER'S DIGS
BY HOBBCTMHER |
Who schedules
these games,
anyway?
My days of vegging in front of
the television set all Sunday after¬
noon and watching sports, is over.
I remember a time when there
were at least one, sometimes two
marquee pro football games on
every Sunday. Nowadays, I find
myself occasionally flipping the
channels between some really bad
KAIL-Channel 53 movfe.women's
golf or a. football game between
two teams I could care less about.
Ever since the NFL initiated a
plan to give teams one idle week a
season, the number of true mar¬
quee matchups has decreased. Now,
each team gets two idle weeks, and
as a result, I'm forced to decide
between watching the Chiefs and
Seahawks or the Rams-Cardinals
game. It's like deciding whether to
cut my toe nails or take out the
trash; I could care less either way.
About two weeks' ago there
was a Bill McEwen article in The
fnwfld^e#tiashing thecurrent situ¬
ation of the NFL. He moaned abou t
the boring matchups, low-scoring
games, and lack of Grade A teams
in pro football today. At the time I
read the article, I was wondering
why McEwen was rambling so
emphatically. But now that I've
had time to think about it, I've
come to believe that McEwen said
it perfectly when he shouted "The
National Football League stinks."
I can't remember a time when
I saw a really good professional
football game between two of the
game's top teams and that includes
Monday nights.       \
This last week convinced me
that Monday Night Football isdead.
The person who scheduled the
Chargers and Col ts to play on Mon¬
day night should be demoted to
messenger'boy. And it's not just
the competition that puts me to
sleep, but the promotional gimicks'
As much as I loved Aaron Neville's
rendition of "Are You Ready For
Some Football," no one can re¬
place Hank Williams Jr.
McEwen also pinned the tail
on the donkey by saying that no,
1993 NFL team could walk on the
same field as Vince Lombardi's
Packers or Chuck Knoll's Steelers.
The San Francisco 49ers are the
only team that has the capability of
dominating any team in the NFL,
but even still, their defense leaves a
lot to be desired. The Bills and the
Co wboys Can thrash a team like the
Oilers or the Dolphins one week.
but then fall on their face and lose
to Tampa Bay the following week.
The Dolphins may be 9-3, but with¬
out Dan Marino, they are no more
titan jiiw a good team.
Anyway, enough about the
'Dogs stumble at the line
Fresno State misses
14 free throws in
69-67 loss ^>
By David Donnelly
Editor
In college basketball a team gets
seven fouls a half. Once a team
uses its allotted seven fouls, its
opponent shoots free throws for the
rest of the half.
Saturday night at Selland Arena,
San Jose State committed its sev¬
enth foul with 10 minutes and.4r*
seconds remaining in the game and
the Fresno State men's basketball
team leading 51-46.
Fresno State shot 11 free throws
in the second, half and 32 for the
game. ■ .
The Bulldogs couldn't capital¬
ize, shooting only 56 percent from
the free-throw line, allowing San
Jose State to escape for its third
consecutive win against FSU (1-
2), 69-67.
The Bulldogs had a chance to
send the game to overtime or win
but Carl Ray Harris missed an of£■
balance,desperation 21 -foot three-
point try as time expired.
While the 'Dogs were missing
theirfree throws, the Spartans wjete
making the most of their charity
shots, making seven of eight at -
temptsinthe final 2:07 of the game.
Head coach Gary Colson said
he thought the missed free throws
down the stretch played a major
role in the loss.
"There are no excuses," Colson
eryday;"
Spartans head coach Stan
Morrison said the contest with the
Bulldogs was typical of past en¬
counters between the two teams.
He also said it was characteristic of
the problems his team has had with *
committing too many fouls.
"With the exception of the first
half againstSanta Clara, we've beerr
shooting ourselves in the foot and
allowing the opponent to be on the
free throw line, shooting one-and-
one lOminutes, at least, left in eacrT-
half," Morrison said. "We were
fortunate that they missed quite a
few free throws tonight, otherwise
it would have been curtains."
Senior guard Brian Santiago said
the Bulldogs thought they played, j
well in a close loss to Pepperdine
Dec. 1 and wanted to come out and
play well against the Spartans (2-
2). He thought the Bulldogs didn't
perform up to their potential. :
"We wanted tocome out strong,"
Santiago said. "We were on our
home court, playing against a team
we for like we should beat and we
didn't play well. They came in and
beat us on our own court. There
wasn't a lot said in the locker room.
We have to come out ready [tomor¬
row]. We weren't ready to play
[Saturday night], I don't think."   .
It was the second consecutive'
loss for the Bulldogs. Seth Marshall
scored 20 points to lead the 'Dogs;
the first time someone other than
Harris has led the team in scoring.
Harris added IK points while Lee
Mayberry had 13 and 15 rebounds.
As inj the loss against
Pepperdine, Colson thought, re-
'     •  ,   ,. Victor Des Roches/Daily Collegian
Seth Marshall led the Bulldogs with 20 points Saturday night
against San Jose State. The 'Dogs play Washington tomorrow.
was outrebounded on;he offensive
backboard 15-8 and 38-27 on both
sides of the floor.
"I think our basic problem was
rebounding," he said. "I looked at
half time and three of my starters
[May berry | is just flat out carrying
us on the boards. I think people are,
sometimes, doing an adequate job
of blocking oui-but they're not get¬
ting any numbers. There mi ght have
to be some changes."
said. "We work on free throws ev-    bounding hurt the Bulldogs. FSU    didn't have a rebound. Lee
Fulton paces women hoopsters
Wunder gets her
first win as Fresno
a
State coach^
By Mark Bryant
Staff writer
Fresno State women's basket-
- ball head coach Lafca Wunder came
to the Bulldogs stressing an intense
desire to strive to win at all costs.
Saturday, the Bulldogs showed
this intensity as they cruised to a
76-59 win over Cal State Fulterton.
"Obviously, we're pleased with
getting the most out of Our play¬
ers," Wunder said. "Overall, we
did a good job and played to our
best potential." m —-
Wunder hinted that the key to
the victory wafa taking the Titans
out of their game plan.
"I think we frustrated them and
took them out of what they do best,"
Wunder said.
Fresno State improved to 1-1
with the win in the Bulldogs' home
opener.
,   "What you saw today was total
effort out of everyone on this team,"
Wunder said. "It took hard work to
be able to reach where we're at
right now."
The Bulldogs were paced 6y
junior Kristi Fulton. Fulton had 18
points while hitting six three-point¬
ers,
Wunder has never had a losing
season as a head coach and she said
that she's not about to start losing
now.
"If we play to our potential and
play hard, we should be all right,"
Wunder said.
The 'Dogs romped to a 45-33
halftime lead on the strength of
Fulton's streak shooting. FSU
showed an inordinate wealth of
ability to hit the treys as they hit 9
of 19 attempts.
SiaciOddowas also a main con¬
tributor. Oddo hit three key.baskets
from three-point land in the second
half, essentially putting the game
away.
It seems that Wunder has
brought back the winning tradition
the 'Dogs have grown to love. " I
"Exactly how we'll do is up to
us. Our players have to work hard
and do what needs to be done. More
than wins and losses. I've always
been able to get my teams to bring -
out the best in themselves and each
other. And that's all any coach can
ask of their team," Wunder said.
Wunder was hired by the Bull¬
dogs last summer and since has
tried to put things in place and
make things right side up for the
,Doss   ->*•   '■•
"My job is to make this program
move ahead and build on that," she
said. "We want to allow that suc¬
cess to continue."
Wunder said the real test for her
'Dogs'will be when they enter
league play. ^*%t
"HopeftiUy, we')! be more com¬
petitive this time around in the
WAC We have a betteridea of >
who we'll go up against, and we
can pick up what it takes to win in
thJts league."
The Bulldogs have also been
helped by great recruiting in the
last few seasons.
Nine of the 14 Bulldogs on the
roster were recruited out of state.
"Our program does recruit excep¬
tionally well," Wunder said.
"At Fresno State, we try and get
the best possible players. If we have
to go out of state to get good talent,
we'll do that. But we'd eventually
like to get and, retain more local
talent."
The Bulldogsareayouthful team
full of potential. Wunder said her
job is to get the 'Dogs working
every night.
"My job' is to get them to de¬
velop, and make sure the contribu¬
tors show up," she said.
Wunder also said the Bulldogs
have made the transition from'
former head coach Bob Spencer,
who retired last spring after 12 sea¬
sons at FSU.
"I think you have to put things in
perspective," she said, noting that
the 'Dogs haven't been looking over
their shoulders. "He did build a'
great tradition here and I just want
to make the success continue." .
She also added that this year
will be, a learning experience for
the'Dogs.
"It's hard to know at this time
how our team will shape up,"
Wunder said. "I really haven't bad
a chance to see them play together."