The Louis Lunatic April 2005 2005 Major League Baseball Preview Yankees / Red Sox: Lunatics Debate Steroids Coverage A Sports Fan’s Guide to the American Studies Department Pros and Cons of NBA Early Entry The Intimate Side of Brandeis Basketball Table of Contents April 2005 Louis Lunatic Table Staff List of Contents Head Lunatics Page 2- An Athlete’s Guide to the Andrew Katz and Aaron Katzman American Studies Department Editors-in-Chief Brandeis Professors take to the Hardwood Alexander Zablotsky, Copy Editor Page 4- Steroids Coverage Seth Roberts, National Sports Editor The Truth on the Juice Danny Katzman, Brandeis Sports Editor Sir Jerry Cohen Adam Green, Assistant to the Traveling Secretary Page 6- Major League Baseball Preview Ben Gellman-Chomsky, Layout Editor Melissa Alter, Business Manager Joe Udell, Publicity Director Silver Jade Deutch, Photo Editor Bryan Steinkohl, Online Editor Courtesty of MLB.com Is the curse gone for good? General Staff Layout Assistant: Tessa Venell Page 10- America’s Pastime Returns to Editorial Assistants: Dawn Miller, Lisa Friedman, Lisa Debin, Jessica Goldings, Samantha Hermann America’s Capital By Professor Michael Socolow Staff Writers: Lauren Ruderman, Kyle Turner, Ben Reed, Jonathan A. Lowe, Dave Ostrowsky, Leor Galil, Jay Hyne, Devin Carney, Page 11- Two Lunatics Debate Is the Monkey off the Red Sox Back? Dan Tress, Eric Weinberg, Adam Marks, Jordan Holtzman-Conson, Sidney Coren, Scott Green, Eric Horowitz Page 14- Books or Bucks? Photographer: Carly Goteiner The Pros and Cons of the Teen Movement into the NBA Cover Illustration by Hayley Levenson Page 16- An Endangered Species: “The Louis Lunatic” is a chartered student organiza- The Fundamental Basketball Player tion of the Brandeis University Student Union. By Sidney Coren Opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff at large or the executive board. “The Louis Lunatic” encourages letters to the editor. You can submit these by e-mail to Andrew Katz at Courtesy of goduke.com [email protected] Page 19- Real World: Tax-deductible donations and advertising inquiries can Brandeis Basketball Edition be directed to Melissa Alter at [email protected] Behind the Scenes of Brandeis Basketball Visit our website at louislunatic.blogspot.com EDITORS-IN-CHIEF Hello! Welcome to the first issue of The Louis Lunatic, Brandeisʼ all-new, independent sports magazine. In- side youʼll find coverage of professional sports, as well as plenty on our own Brandeis athletic teams. Make sure to check out the 2005 baseball preview (pgs. 6-10) and our exclusive inside look at Brandeis basketball (pg. 19). So take a look, and if you want to add your opinion, e-mail [email protected] to join our team. Enjoy! The Katz in The Hat...is back Field Of Dreams By Andrew Katz By Aaron Katzman South Street. It’s the time of year that every sports fan dreams about. Classes in major college campuses across the country are half-full, and employees are Every Brandeis student knows it as the road that leads to the calling in sick. It was just March Madness, and everyone was watching…well school. But what looks like a small road is really a multi-lane expressway. almost everyone. The closest that Brandeis University comes to March Madness South Street divides the academic side of Brandeis from the athletic side; a was a statement on the school homepage that states: “It’s March Madness gap that seems a lot bigger than the two-lane road it really is. It is no ordinary alright, only with books, not with basketballs.” Sure, the women’s basketball game of Frogger to navigate from the academic side to the athletic side. won the ECAC tournament for the second year in a row. And yes, there was The fencing team plays against Division I schools, the (monopoly) money changing hands around campus with bracket challenges. But swimming team sends members to nationals, and the women’s don’t begin to think that Brandeis is turning into a sports university quite yet. basketball team wins back-to-back ECAC Championships. Yet, It’s a common theme around campus: nobody follows sports. People sports apathy seems to be at its peak (or, in reality, its valley). talk about the reasons for this apathy towards sports. Could it be the long walk It’s tough not having Division I athletics to get behind. At from the academic side of South Street to the athletic side of South Street? Indiana University, University of Wisconsin, University of Miami, or the Possibly. Is it the lack of a football team? Maybe. Or is it a result of the lack of Ohio State University there is a true sense of school spirit. When there is athletic talent around campus? Many students around campus were probably the a game on, everyone seems to get into it. People wear their school colors last pick on their high school gym teams. While all of these certainly make an and say their school’s name with pride. There are fierce rivalries, and impact, there is a much deeper reason, one that is typically not talked about; that people care, with partying after wins and drunken sorrow after losses. is, the lack of quality athletic fields and the diminutive fan seating at these venues. But we, at Brandeis, play in Division III. The rivalries are only Sure there’s no football team during the fall season, but our soccer between the players, coaches, and very few avid fans. We are never on ESPN, teams are normally very successful. Good luck trying to find a seat at a home game and you won’t hear us mentioned on 850 AM in Boston or 660 AM in New York. though. The lack of seating is not a result of a sellout crowd. Actually, there is only It doesn’t take any measurements to see that the academic side one cold, metal bleacher set for those loyal fans. This bleacher does not exactly of Brandeis dwarfs the athletic side in its size and campus representation. present an intimidation factor to opposing teams. It is quite an accomplishment that Admissions material claims we have the “largest mutli-sport indoor facility on both teams finished their season with a combined 25-15 record. On top of the fact the East coast”…but what does that mean when the swimmers have to swim in that there is little crowd support, the two teams are forced to share the one regulation a swampy pool or the ice hockey and golf teams have to travel for home games? soccer field on this campus. My elementary school had more fields than that! The late, great, Rodney Dangerfield made famous the phrase You want to join the track team at Brandeis? I hope you like the “I can’t get no respect,” but it seems to be the motto of Brandeis sports. indoor track at the Gosman Athletic Center because you won’t be running There seems to be a great deal of disrespect from the student body, on the outdoor track here. That track is older than the Homezone lady who and, maybe to a lesser, but still apparent degree, the administration. works in lower Usdan. It is not even possible for the teams to practice on Some blame it on the lack of a football team, or the lack of interest their own track, so they have to travel off campus just to run (I guess the in the success of non-spectator sports. But schools like Duke University, peripheral road does not qualify as a regulation track). Yes the administration University of North Carolina and the University of Connecticut don’t rally has been discussing options for renovating the track and soccer field, around their football teams, they rally around their basketball teams. If but I have been here for four years and haven’t seen any changes yet! you can’t understand fencing or golf, that’s understandable, but at least Athletic recruits come to Brandeis and hear about the varsity- go see the basketball or baseball games. There are four sports talk shows only weight room and how it’s a privilege for varsity athletes. What the on WBRS and the amount of regular callers and listeners is very small. soon-to-be athletes don’t hear about is that even the varsity athletes don’t The women go through an unbelievable season and the men play use the varsity weight room. Good luck fitting in more than ten people. exciting basketball and still the arena is empty. The “Brandeis electronic With the weather warming up and the Major League Baseball season orchestra” doesn’t do much to ignite those who do show up with their version of beginning, what would be more fun than catching a Brandeis baseball game? The the national anthem. And the off-white curtains that surround 3⁄4 of the arena don’t team has made the NCAA tournament in 12 of the past 23 years, so you can’t exactly breed intimidation for opponents. And when baseball games are played use a lack of success as an excuse for little support. If you do venture down to in football weather it doesn’t bring many fans to the cold, wet, metal bleachers. the Stein Diamond, don’t expect to sit in the bleachers. The few metal bleachers And besides Yankees/Red Sox, a little bit of the NCAA seat less people than do the soccer bleachers (and that’s nothing to brag about). tournament and the Super Bowl, there doesn’t seem to be a huge interest Don’t forget about the softball team.