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Sports

Oregon, Auburn lead the pack as NCAA bowl mania begins

By Justin Cohen

Writer

The end of the 2010 college football season has been nothing but spectacular, but a trio of huge Black Friday games helped to shape the possible Bowl Championship Series (BCS) landscape.

With only one week left in the college football season, pending any major upsets, the top contenders have set their place among the elite and are poised to accept invitations to key bowl games. The five big games—the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and BCS Championship Game—are getting ready to give this year’s top schools money and publicity.

Oregon and Auburn are currently the two schools poised to play in the BCS Championship Game. Both teams are undefeated and claim stellar offenses. Auburn has defeated four ranked opponents this season. Quarterback Cam Newton has put together a marvelous season with 3,590 combined passing and running yards and 43 total touchdowns.

Oregon averages over 50 points per game. Star running back LaMichael James leads their offense with over 1,500 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns. With both offenses putting up huge scores week after week, it would not be surprising if a high-scoring championship game awaits us as the top two teams are en route to clash on Jan. 10 in Glendale, Ariz.

Beneath the top two, the non-automatic qualifying schools have been making headlines all season. TCU and Boise State have had impressive seasons, but Boise State was defeated by Nevada in overtime last Friday, ending the Broncos’ chances of playing for the national title.

TCU still remains undefeated as the number-three team in the BCS, and, with its season already finished, a Rose Bowl bid could be in the future. If a monumental upset were to happen over one of the top two teams, the Horned Frogs could even punch their ticket to Glendale for their own bid at a championship.

After the three undefeated teams, many one-loss teams are poised to accept BCS bowl bids, such as Stanford, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Ohio State, Michigan State, Oklahoma and LSU.

Stanford has had excellent play from quarterback and possible first-round draft pick Andrew Luck. The Cardinals’ only loss came at the hands of undefeated Oregon. Wisconsin has put up over 200 points in the last three weeks and claimed the Big 10 tiebreaker over Ohio State and Michigan State, even though both had the same record.

Arkansas is the second-best BCS team in the SEC. Rounding out the top 10 in the BCS are Oklahoma, whose quarterback Landry Jones has passed for nearly 4,000 yards, and LSU, who has been in numerous close games this year, with the scoring difference between its opponents in eight of their games at eight or less.

Regardless of who plays, the bowls are all played with extra meaning as every team is looking to bring victory and honor to its school.

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Sports

Fall Sports Awards

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

As the fall sports season comes to a close, a multitude of Bison have earned all-conference honors for their success this season.

Kelly Bruvik ’11 earned several honors to represent the field hockey team this fall, most notably a unanimous selection to the All-Patriot League team. Bruvik posted team and career highs in goals (10) and assists (26) during the regular season. She was also named to the NFHCA All-Mideast Region team.

Bruvik attributed much of her success to her team’s offensive system and her teammates.

“We play a unique system on the forward line that allows five or six forwards to contribute in different combinations every game,” she said. “Each player brings a special skill set and this allows for great things to happen. Having the opportunity to play with Katie Durkin [’13], Mallory Smith [’12] and Morgan Kauffman [’11] this year on the forward line was fantastic. We all play at a fast pace and this allowed for a great deal of my individual offensive success this season.”

Christa Matlack ’11 and midfielder Caitlin Holtz ’11 represented the women’s soccer team on the All-Patriot League first team. Matlack led the team in goals (seven) and points (17).

Stephanie Fulmer ’12 had another sensational season for the Bison cross country team that earned her first team all Patriot League. And despite an up and down season, Rachel Rodriguez ’11 represents the Orange and Blue volleyball team on the Patriot League All-Tournament team, and Heidi Kamp ’11 is a First Team All-Patriot League selection.

Brendan Burgdorf ’13 and Ross Liberati ’11 both earned first team All-Patriot league selections for the men’s soccer team. Burgdorf was also named 2010 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. Burgdorf was tied for the league lead in both goals (six) and points (14). Defender Mayowa Alli ’14 was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year.

Burgdorf was honored by the All-Patriot League nod. “[The Patriot League] is a great league and there are a lot of good players that deserved it, so I was happy to be one of them,” he said.

Three members of the Bison men’s water polo team were named to the Collegiate Water Polo Association All-Southern Division Teams. Richie Hyden ’11, Howie Kalter ’11 and Sean Coghlan ’11 were all named to the team, while head coach John Abdou was named the conference’s head coach of the year. Hyden finished the season with team high 52 goals, 37 assists and 89 total points. Kalter was also named to the First Team All-Eastern Championship.

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Arts & Life

Potter sparks scholarly study at University

By Sarah Bookstein

Writer

For those “Harry Potter” followers on campus who live, breathe and discuss every aspect of the series, perhaps the best way to feed their obsession is to take a course that incorporates the tales of the perfect magician in the syllabus. The course that uses “Harry Potter” most profoundly is “Young Adult Fiction” taught by associate professor of English Virginia Zimmerman. An expert in Young Adult Fiction as well as Victorian literature and geology, Zimmerman published an article entitled “Harry Potter and the Gift of Time” in the literary journal “Children’s Literature.”

Zimmerman herself is passionate about Harry Potter. “I think the series is brilliantly plotted, and delving into the plot with all my analytical skills is always rewarding. I enjoy guiding students through that process. The extraordinary popularity of the books demands that we pay attention to them, but they are not just popular, escapist “good-reads”—they are high-quality, game-changing literary texts,” she said.

Zimmerman usually begins the course by assigning the first book of the Harry Potter series, because many student sign up for the course after hearing that they can read their favorite book for homework. Then students read other young adult fiction books such as “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Jungle Book,” “The Secret Garden” and “The Golden Compass.”

“A professor really can’t go wrong teaching Harry Potter in an English class, but it was a particularly engaging course because it was discussion-based so we all participated,” said Laura Hudson ’11, a past student in the course.

Using connections drawn from the other books analyzed throughout the course, students can see that J.K. Rowling employs themes common to this genre, such as an orphaned child, the idea of a prophecy and kids working together to solve problems. A less common theme that is still important to Rowling is family. “For instance, the narrative arc of the third book is really about Harry needing someone to sign a permission slip,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman also teaches a foundation seminar called “Fiction Inside Out” that primarily focuses on texts that have inspired movies and other spin-offs. “Harry Potter” naturally becomes the focus of a class like this because the series essentially opened a world of magic to the literary world. In this course, a discussion about the idea of a magic world being part of the real world arises. One example is the existence of Hogwarts Platform 9 3/4 in a real London train station. “We consider how the presence of, for example, actual Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans in the real world complicates the relationship between magic and reality in and out of the books,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman explained that many students sign up for her courses primarily because they integrate Harry Potter into literary discussions, and enjoy “discovering layers of literary depth in the books that they may not have noticed before.”

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Arts & Life Movies Review

Modern ‘Love’

By Ashley Miller

Writer

“Love and Other Drugs” is a romantic comedy with a bit of a twist. Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, who played the imperfect couple in “Brokeback Mountain,” create serious on-screen chemistry.

In a role unlike any she has played before, Hathaway plays Maggie Murdock, a lusty, free-spirited artist with her own ideas about love and relationships. Gyllenhaal is Jamie Randall, a notoriously charming heart-breaker and the black-sheep member of a medical, professional family.

When Viagra is released in 1996, Jamie decides to join the cut-throat world of pharmaceutical sales. He moves to the Ohio River Valley as a Sales Rep for Pfizer, where he makes his way to Chicago. This goal can’t be achieved without a little brown-nosing of doctors, sex with receptionists and other questionable methods. Desperate to prove himself and make some money, Jamie will do anything to get ahead, even shadow a doctor. In this way, Jamie meets Maggie, who is a stage one Parkinson’s victim.

Originally, Maggie seems to be one of the only women ever uninterested in Jamie. Eventually, Jamie’s charm wears her down and she agrees to a date. Neither of them is looking for anything serious, so when they get together, it seems a match made in heaven.

But as the two sex buddies start to spend more time together, primarily in the bedroom, they realize things are a more serious than either of them originally thought. The question arises: can they overcome their fears and actually commit to something?

This movie includes the conventions of romantic comedies, namely the sweet, mushy romance and the subtle underlying humor, but combines them with cruder aspects. You may remember the controversy over Hathaway and Gyllenhaal posing naked for the cover of “Entertainment Weekly.” If you thought that was bad, you haven’t seen anything yet. Maggie and Jamie have sex for probably half of the movie. You can look forward to plenty of nudity; bet you never expected to see the “Princess Diaries” star topless (quite a few times). Since this is a film based around the drug Viagra, you can guess what kind of jokes are featured.

Crudity aside, the message of this unconventional love story is a good one. This against-all-odds couple learns to trust each other and themselves. Expect to laugh and cry as Jamie and Maggie attempt to combat a degenerating disease while they fall in love for the first time. Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are pretty hilarious and definitely make Maggie and Jamie a cute couple. If you can get past the crudeness, this story will warm your heart.

Categories
Arts & Life

‘Deathly Hallows’ a book for the ages

By Brenna English-Loeb

Senior Writer

With the release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I,” many fans of the series are returning to the books. Though they begin at the very beginning, with “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive,” the most important book is the seventh. Some readers refresh their memories of specific plot points to spot deviations from the text in the movie, while others hope to be able to follow along by the seat of their pants. Whatever the motive, anyone who has attempted to check out a Harry Potter book from their library in the last month is aware that this series is already timeless, with the ability to recapture a reader, even though years have passed since the original publication dates of its several installments.

With the Harry Potter series captivating such a large readership, an immense responsibility is placed upon the culminating book. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” ties up all the plot lines in one satisfying package. The ultimate question of how Harry will defeat the Dark Lord must be answered. Since Rowling left Harry with several Horcruxes to find and destroy before he can even think about approaching Voldemort, it’s no wonder the book is so long. A common criticism of “Deathly Hallows” is that it spends too much time following the trio of Harry, Ron and Hermione as the three camp around Britain, stagnant in their attempts to find and destroy the locket. While this does slow down the plot considerably, it helps establish the desolate mood and strained relationships of the Wizarding world.

It also allows the reader some quality time with the characters of the trio. Rowling is captivating with her action scenes and imaginative world-building, but her ability to give more than tantalizing characterizations is hardly seen. Finally we get a chance to see Harry, Ron and Hermione fully express themselves as burgeoning adults, far removed from the first glimpses we receive in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Harry is no longer the wide-eyed newcomer, nor is Hermione the bossy know-it-all. They are tied together by deep bonds of emotion and responsibility.

Perhaps because she has focused so much more time on Ron and Hermione, Rowling handles their relationship with considerably more poise than many others. Probably her weakest moments are those that pair up secondary characters. The unexpected marriage between Remus Lupin and Tonks in particular is void of all believability. Sadly, the continued relationship between Harry and Ginny remains just as lackluster. They barely have any moments together, and when they do, Rowling only allows Harry to keep insisting that Ginny stay behind for her own good and Ginny to beg to stay by his side. Readers are led to wish Ginny had more bearing on the series or had at least kept some of the character she exhibits in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.”

Still, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” delivers as a capstone achievement. Rowling’s writing has developed over the course of the series. This can be seen in the contrast between the quality of the main body and the Epilogue, supposedly written first, which feels too neat. Long accused of becoming egregiously dark, here Rowling shows us just what she can really do, and it works. The shambles that the Wizarding society becomes feel real and necessary, even when more beloved characters fall beneath the onslaught of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Of course “Deathly Hallows” cannot accomplish the wishes of every single reader, but it does a good job of bringing everything together. This, of course, has not deterred many fans from begging for more, an idea Rowling has fanned the flames of by hinting in interviews she may have more “Harry Potter” stories waiting in the wings.

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Featured Sports

Water polo finishes fourth in tournament

By Chris McCree

Writer

The men’s water polo team earned a hard-fought fourth place finish at the Eastern Championship this past weekend at Kinney Natatorium. The Bison managed one win in three games against Fordham, St. Francis and Princeton, but all three came down to the wire; two were decided by just one goal and the other finished in overtime.

“I think that the closeness of the games really showed how we as a team are able to overcome adversity. We were able to sustain our level of play throughout even though we were in a close contest,” Howie Kalter ’11 said.

The Bison started the tournament with an overtime thriller against Fordham and walked away with a 12-9 victory. After a shaky start, the Orange and Blue came back from a halftime deficit and took the lead in the third quarter with a goal by leading scorer Beau Caillouette ’12. The Bison had momentum heading into the fourth quarter, but they quickly saw their three-goal lead disappear in the final minutes of the game. In overtime, the Bison scored four goals in six minutes to blow past the Rams 12-9.

During the semifinal matchup against St. Francis, the Bison’s comeback bid fell just short as the Terriers held on for a 10-9 win. In the middle of the third quarter, the Bison faced a 7-3 deficit, but they outscored the Terriers 6-4 from that point on to make it a close game. Kalter cut the deficit to one goal with 29 seconds left, but the Orange and Blue were unable to complete the comeback.

In the third-place game, the Bison fell behind Princeton early and could not overcome the deficit. As the fourth quarter began, the Tigers held an 8-4 lead, but the Bison were able to battle back to 8-7 before the clock ran out.

“I think that the St. Francis and Princeton games proved that we are not a team that rolls over. We fought back from behind in both instances and were just shy of victory,” Kalter said.

With the tournament over, the Bison finished the year with a record of 13-16. “Even though we didn’t win the tournament I am still pleased with how our season finished. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to play our best polo at the end of the season and I think we accomplished that,” Kalter said.

Looking ahead to next year, the team will lose many key players, including Kalter, Richie Hyden’11, Miles Gilhuly ’11, Sean Coghlan ’11 and Paul Reamey ’11. But the team is not discouraged by the losses.

Kalter is excited about next year’s team. “There are several upperclassmen that are ready to step into leadership positions as well as many young freshman who have already contributed heavily to the team’s success,” he said. “I think that next year will provide a great chance for the younger players to step up into larger roles on the team and prove their abilities.”

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Featured Sports

Women beat Niagara, lose to Loyola

By Eric Weiss

Senior Writer

The women’s basketball team split a pair of games this week as the Bison defeated Niagara at home 69-62 on Saturday but lost at Loyola of Maryland 59-55 on Wednesday.

The Bison jumped out to a hot start against Niagara as they led comfortably throughout the entire first half. Shelby Romine ’14, Alyssa Dunn ’13 and Cosima Higham ’11 all scored in double digits to anchor the Bison throughout the contest.

“Our strong first half against Niagara ultimately carried us through the game. We were proud of our defense holding them to 25 points in the first half,” Joyce Novacek ’11 said.

The game became close in the second half as the Orange and Blue’s shooting went cold for nearly six minutes. During that time the Purple Eagles were able to draw closer, going on a 13-3 run, most of their points coming from free throws. But Dunn was able to right the ship quickly and scored eight of the next 14 points for the Bison.

“The team has done a great job responding to adversity over the past five games. We lost a few tough ones on the road, but instead of breaking down, we were able to learn from it and come back even stronger,” Romine said.

Still, Niagara was not finished. Hungry for their first win of the year, the Eagles went on another 13-2 run. This cut the lead to a slim four-point advantage for the Bison with less than 30 seconds to play. The cool composure of Romine at the free throw line helped secure the game for the Bison as she converted three of four attempts in the closing seconds.

“This early in the season, there are still many areas we need to improve, but it felt good to get another win at home,” Novacek said.

The most outstanding statistic for the Bison on the day was the play of their bench. Nonstarters for the Bison scored 41 points for the team, compared to only 11 by the Purple Eagles.

On Wednesday, it was a tough first half for the Bison as they were outscored 36-21 by Loyola in front of a hostile crowd. Twenty turnovers in the first half allowed Loyola to take advantage of Bison mistakes even though the Greyhounds only shot 40 percent from the field. Although the Bison held a slim lead through the halfway mark, Loyola pulled away just before the teams headed into the locker room.

In the second half the Bison rallied as they outscored Loyola 22-15 with just over six minutes to play. The home team used clutch three point shooting to stop a late Bison rally. The Bison were able to come back to within four but time ran out before they could catch Loyola.

Novacek played extremely well for the Bison as she led all scorers with 18 points, which accompanied her 19 rebounds for a double-double. Lindsay Horbatuck ’13 also had a double-double on the night with 11 points and 10 boards.

The team will play its next game on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Baltimore, Md. against UMBC.

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Featured Sports

Men pick up win against Columbia

By Eric Brod

Senior Writer

The men’s basketball team began a three-game homestand this week by splitting a pair of contests between Wagner and Columbia. The Orange and Blue won impressively Wednesday against the Columbia Lions 73-68, two days after losing to Wagner 77-73.

Despite shooting only 35.5 percent from the field, the Bison used a stifling defense and a turnover-free second half to get past Columbia 73-68 and improve to 3-6 on the still-young season. Darryl Shazier ’11 paced the Bison with 15 points and five assists. Cameron Ayers ’14 posted a career-high 14 points and forward Joe Willman ’13 netted 13 points with seven rebounds in his return to the starting lineup. Columbia was led by Steve Frankosi, who scored 12 points on three of four shooting from beyond the arc.

After the Bison took a 40-30 lead into halftime, the Lions came out firing in the second half, scoring the first seven points of the half. With the Bison leading 49-46 with just over 10 minutes left to play, the Lions went cold, failing to score a field goal for the next seven minutes. Columbia was unable to overcome this stretch of solid defense, and was kept at arm’s length for the rest of the game. Leading the defensive effort was Bryan Cohen ’12, who held Columbia’s leading scorer Noruwa Agho in check, who finished with 11 points on three of 10 shooting from the field.

On Monday night, the Bison were not able to keep pace with the hot-shooting Wagner Seahawks en route to a 77-73 defeat. Wagner shot 55.3 percent from the field for the game, led by Latiff Rivers, who scored 20 points. Teammate Tyler Murray contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists for the Seahawks. Leading the Bison attack was Mike Muscala ’13 with 22 points. Shazier tied his career high with nine assists for the game.

The Orange and Blue could not overcome an ice-cold first half in which they shot only 28 percent from the field and went almost 10 minutes without a field goal.

The men return to action Saturday night, completing their three-game homestand against Boston University. Tipoff is scheduled for at 7 p.m.

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Sports

Football loses to Holy Cross to end season

By Greg Stevenson

Senior Writer

The hopes of another season-ending upset of the Holy Cross Crusaders came up short for the Bison football team two weekends ago. The Orange and Blue struggled on both sides of the ball, dropping their 10th game of the 2010 campaign 34-9 at Holy Cross.

“I feel that the effort of our team against Holy Cross was consistent even though we faced a lot of adversity,” Head Coach Joe Susan said. “The young men on our team kept playing very hard.”

On their first two drives in the opening period, the Crusaders gained just one first down and were forced into three-and-outs twice, netting just 15 yards in the quarter.

The Bison offense charged out of the gates in the first quarter, sending the ball down the field on two promising drives. The Orange and Blue went 53 yards in 16 plays on their opening series following a Holy Cross punt, but a fumble by quarterback Brandon Wesley ’14 caused the Bison to turn the ball over inside the red zone.

The second series ended more productively than the first. Starting from near midfield, Wesley and fullback Travis Friend ’14 drove the offense down to the Holy Cross two-yard line before the offense stalled and was forced into a field-goal attempt.

Kicker Alex Eckard ’14 gave the Bison a 3-0 advantage early in the second quarter. The lead was the Bison’s first since the end of their contest against Georgetown on Oct. 16, the Orange and Blue’s lone victory in 2010.

The advantage lasted just 11 seconds as Holy Cross returned the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a touchdown.

Over the next 30 minutes, Holy Cross scored another 27 points, thanks in part to a pair of rushing touchdowns by quarterback Ryan Taggart. The Bison added a late touchdown to end the game and the season on a high note.

“We need to do a better job in protecting the ball and creating turnovers on defense,” Susan said. “We have to improve our ability to cover kickoffs as we gave up too many yards. We must be a better third down team on both sides of the ball.”

Despite finishing the year with a 1-10 record, the coaching staff sees many positives from this season that will help continue the development of the football team.

“I gained a lot of perspective on the level of talent in this league and where our primary needs are in recruiting,” Susan said. “The experience our team gained is priceless as we build this program.”

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Sports

Wrestling performs well in challenging Midwest tour

By Joe Ruby

Writer

The Bison wrestling team went 1-2 on its Midwestern trip this weekend, defeating South Dakota State 39-3 before losing 19-16 to No. 22 Nebraska and 39-3 to No. 2 Oklahoma State. Kevin LeValley ’11, ranked fourth in the nation at 149 lbs., won all three of his matches, including a 6-2 decision over seventh-ranked  Jamal Parks of Oklahoma State for his 100th career victory.

Against South Dakota State on Saturday, Derek Reber ’13, Alex Pellicciotti ’14, Zac Hancock ’13, LeValley, Brantley Hooks ’11, Corey Lear ’13, David Thompson ’12, Joe McMullan ’13 and Jay Hahn ’11 all claimed victories. Thompson and McMullan earned major decisions, and LeValley scored a technical fall.

Later that afternoon, the Bison persisted against the No. 22 Cornhuskers but ultimately fell to the hosts. Each squad won five bouts, with Reber, LeValley, Hooks, Thompson and Hahn earning victories for the Bison, but Nebraska’s No. 2 Jordan Burroughs and No. 8 Tucker Lane earned enough bonus points to give their side the edge.

On Sunday, the Bison faced No. 2 Oklahoma State and could not break through a lineup full of nationally ranked wrestlers, including top-ranked Jordan Oliver at 133 lbs. LeValley managed the sole bout victory for the Bison. His win over Parks brought his record to 7-0 on the season, including 2-0 against ranked opponents.

The Bison take on their EIWA rival No. 15 Lehigh at home today at 7:00 in Davis Gym.