26 • Friday, February 8, 2002 • Technique SPORTS Men’s Hoops: Duke (20-1, 8-1 ACC) at Georgia Tech (10-13, 3-7 ACC) Frontcourt Coaching Hot Devils Georgia Tech comes into Sat- Duke’s frontcourt, with All-Americans Mike Dunleavy Paul Hewitt was selected as coach of the year last urday’s showdown with the top- and Carlos Boozer and the athletic Rutgers transfer season in the ACC, but few people would say that Mike Dahntay Jones, has too much size and talent for the ranked Duke Blue Devils riding Krzyzewski isn’t the best basketball coach in the young and undersized Jackets. Tech will probably start a recent hot streak that saw the conference—if not the country. He’s a dream coach; he 6’7” freshman Ed Nelson at center and 6’5” redshirt Jackets win their last two home gets the best student athletes and he knows basketball. sophomore Clarence Moore at power forward. games. Tech has shown that it Backcourt Intangibles can play with the nation’s elite teams, posting two near misses The Jackets and the Devils are two perimeter-oriented The Jackets have nothing to lose against the Blue Devils at home against both Maryland offenses. They rank second and third in the ACC in and have played well against powerhouses Virginia and and Virginia. However, the Jack- three-point shooting, respectively. However, while these Maryland at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum ets youth showed in these two two squads bury the three-point jumper with ease, this will be sold out Saturday and if the Jackets can somehow losses by allowing the game to game comes down to the battle on the blocks. The Tony stay in the game against the Devils, the Duke bench will slip away in the waning moments Akins-Jason Williams will be exciting to watch. need earplugs. of the second half. Forecast Bench The Blue Devils have also If Tech can attack the basket and get Boozer into foul Tech plays deep into their bench; Duke rarely has less been hot since suffering their trouble, than Nelson, Moore, and 7’0” freshman center than three starters on the court at a time. It’s not that only defeat of the season at the Luke Schenscher will be able to be effective inside and Tech’s bench is deeper, Duke’s bench could come close hands of the Florida State Sem- on the boards. However, an effective inside presence to winning the ACC . Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzews- inoles on January 6. Duke has won’t be able to stop Williams and the talented Chris ki simply likes to play the stars. Tech will get into foul sent a message following the Duhon on the perimeter. A win against Duke would be a trouble from simple frustration against the fast, big, and FSU defeat by easily handling huge confidence booster for the young Jackets, but this talented Blue Devils so Halston Lane, Isma'il Muham- national powers Maryland and squad should really just hope to stay in the game. mad and Robert Brooks will have to play solid games. Virginia, and slaughtering bitter Duke rolls...Blue Devils 87, Jackets 67. in-state rival North Carolina. thrashersatlanta last week’s winner numbers Congratulations to Peter BourgBourg. He was the first to correct- ly answer that .704 is the career winning percentage for Ex-Head Coach Shelton Collierwhile at Georgia Tech. explain what the number on page 32 represents, and win a pair of thrashers tickets SPORTS Technique • Friday, February 8, 2002 • 27 Beyond the White and Gold Analysis from page 32 Baseball and how I almost landed in jail They’ve also made themselves at home in their spacious new club- By Derek Haynes ing in a dialect that I didn’t under- house and practice facilities. One Sports Editor “We stopped. We looked at the stand. I don’t remember where my problem that the team is recogniz- friend was; I think he was stagger- ing with their new home is the open- I remember the first time I did it fence. I don’t remember who ing along the left field line. ness of the dugouts. Fans, and very clearly. I was young, stupid, went first, but I don’t think it After admiring the field and catch- possibly opposing coaches, can peer and probably a little bit crazy. It matters.” ing our breath, we started to leave directly into them. might have been the cold weather; the stadium. Out of the corner of The second inadequacy is the it was Christmas break. It could Derek Haynes my eye I saw what I thought was walkway directly behind home plate. have been because I was bored; the Sports Editor headlights coming towards us; we What’s the point of bringing the breaks can also cause some bore- dismissed it as just a car on a nearby seats closer to the field if the fans in dom. street. the front row can have their view But I did it. I told my friends thing; I of course wore all black. So ond we saw it that all three of us The lights got brighter. We de- blocked by pedestrians? And how about it. I even told my parents did my two colleagues. We got to a would have dirt from the construc- cided we were wrong. In fact, the will this look on television, with about half of the story. temporary chain-linked construc- tion site on our sweatshirts from lights were getting very bright. Now fans walking around as Kyle Bakker No, it wasn’t my first encounter tion fence about 100 feet from where sliding under the fence. we had two options, run to the car and his fellow Jacket pitchers are with a female, it was the first time I the stadium structure began. The We all ran inside, there were some which was parked close by or calm- trying to send in the heat and throw snuck into a sporting facility at night. stadium was beautiful already; 80 lights but not much. Seats that ly explain the situation. We thought Tech to another College World Se- The Detroit Tigers were build- percent of the games we’d seen played weren’t installed yet lied on the they would catch us pretty easily ries? ing a new baseball stadium, Com- were inside of a building that Tigers ground. There were boxes, crates running to the car; we decided to Speaking of the NCAA tourna- erica Park, that was set to open the Hall-of-Famer Al Kaline said looked and other normal construction ma- pretend to be stupid college stu- ment, this place is more than ade- following April. The grass was laid, like a battleship the first time he saw terials all over. dents instead and explain the situa- quately equipped with facilities for a large amount of seats were in- it. It was as close to Wrigley Field in We saw another hole in the fence, tion. all types of media. The press rooms stalled, and it just about in every cosmetic appearance as Roseanne is metaphorically speaking. We made I asked the editor-in-chief if I are comparable to those at Disney’s way resembled a baseball stadium. to Ashley Judd. But like Roseanne, our way to the field. I’d never been could print what the security guard Wide World of Sports, which is, in My brother and a friend of mine, the old Tiger Stadium had person- on a professional sports field of any said, but he advised me not to print my opinion, the best small stadium who, like me, were all devout Ti- ality. We walked along the fence, kind before; I wanted to make sure the dialogue. The guard told me in America. gers fans, wanted a little one-on- just peering in and gathering it all that in a couple of minutes I would that he should have arrested us right Fans who aren’t entertained by one time with Detroit’s newest sports in. Then we saw it. never say that again. I walked to- then, he told us that if his supervi- the play on the field will surely be facility. The fence was pushed up, easily ward the pitchers mound planning sor came we would have been going entertained by what plays on the We pulled up and parked in a enough for even Fat Bastard to to grab a handful of clay, but it was to jail. Luckily, he just took our brand new video screen, a Russ Chan- church parking lot adjacent to the squeeze through. We all stopped. too hard; I couldn’t scrape any up. I license plate number and told us to dler first, as soon as the staff perfects stadium and made our way towards We all looked at the fence. I don’t just grabbed a handful of grass blades never come back. its use. the construction site. It’s not like it remember who went first, but I don’t instead. My brother was running in Am I, at age 21, too old to sneak As cushy as the new stadium is, looked like we were up to some- think it matters. We knew the sec- right field like a wild banshee, scream- into the new Russ Chandler? it’s more incredible considering it was built in just eight months. If defense thanks to the redesigned have a centerfielder who can run you’re not a baseball fan, check out the stadium anyway, it’s a real throw- Rusty C Up-Close from page 32 playing surface.