The Guardsman Congratulates Football's NorCal All-Conference Players at City College

Offense:
QB Joseph Ayoob
RB Tim Brown
TE Jamir Davis
OL Albert Toaina
OL Cornelius Thomas
RB Antwon Guidry

Defense:
DL Isaac Watts
L Justin Johnson
DL Lloyd Talakai
LB Desmond Bishop
LB Randy Sims
DB Maurice Porter
FS Bret Jones

The Blackout Was More Like An Overload
ADDI-SPORTS--Where sports become an addiction...

By Zuri Berry
Guardsman Sports Editor

Your quintessential sports fan has begun another year indulging in the mayhem of sports and its ugly sister drugs. I've been kept busy with the annual coaching changes and overload of bowl games and like you average sports addict, am still trying to make sense of it all.

The year ended with our 49ers and Raiders both losing coaches after losing seasons. Raiders ex-coach Bill Callahan, looking the worst of the bunch, took both his pride and his bags to Nebraska in hopes of salvaging the Cornhuskers deteriorating program. Jim Mora, the 49ers ex-defensive coordinator, will try and patch up the Atlanta Falcons and most of niners others background coaches. Both coaches have difficult tasks ahead of them, though Mora is more fortunate because he has Vick to ride on.

Let's not forget how the Bay Area found itself the home of its very own steroid factory. Now our great athletes' images are tarnished. Respectable role models such as Bill Romanowski--excuse me Tyrone Wheatley, wait minute something's wrong with that, ...how 'bout Barry Bonds, ...oh forget it!

(Did anybody notice there's not enough Raiders on the list?)

Anyway when the end of the year came around wasn't it fun when we all packed Pac Bell (or is it SBC) park to watch the San Francisco Bowl? Oh, that's right, I missed that game too. It was high time for bowl-o-rama and just like that the lights went out.

Yep, the blackout hit me, though not the blackout you may have experienced. See the cable bill was overdue and the computer crashed and to make a long story short I was in the dark. By the time I reemerged there were two college champions, the NFL playoffs were underway, Pete Rose was telling the truth, and the Warriors were losing. Well, I wasn't too surprised by the last one.

After indulging in fantasy football for three months and calculating Lebron James's career stats according to preseason games, I was burnt out. It was bad enough to realize that the last playoff team we had was the A's but I also realized that they're also the next.

Things were getting drastic in 2003. There were mad dashes by the Bengals to get into the playoffs (thank God their curse isn't over) and a host of job openings for coaches in cities other than Dallas and New York. Too bad that wasn't the case for the Raider Nation. But maybe that was a good thing.

Now that we're through with Jose Cruz and pass-happy Callahan we can move on to rebuilding. We can't hate the Giants GM Brian Sabean for unloading the roster or the 49ers for letting go their "good" coaches. Sometimes you got to mix things up. Change can be good and the Raiders will see it. The Warriors are slowly getting the idea.

The Rams Football Team Finishes On Top

By Zuri Berry
Guardsman Sports Editor

The Rams' football team proved once again that City College sports are all about perfection by ending the season 12-0.

The City College defense lines up against Grossmont in the Junior College State Championship. Photo by Philip Stewart

They defeated Grossmont College 38-35 in Bakersfield on Dec. 13 to win their fifth state championship in 10 years.

Quarterback Joseph Ayoob was determined not to let the season fall short in the state championship game. He brought the Rams back late in the fourth quarter with 33 seconds on the clock, hooking up with receiver Ruben Jackson for the game-winning touchdown.

Running back Tim Brown rushed for 157 yards and a touchdown and was named the game's MVP. Ayoob passed for 304 yards and four touchdowns was named off-ensive player of the game.

City College Sports Recap
Men's Soccer Plans Challenge For Coast Championship

By Tracy Held, Zuri Berry, and Ben Schneider
Guardsman Staff Writers

Men's Soccer team completes season 11-5-5. Photo by Coleen Mackin

The Rams' men's basketball team is 15-3(1-0) due largely to an excellent freshman recruiting class and two fearless sophomore leaders, returnees Govinda Tomas-Carter and Jamal Holden. Each player has lead the team in scoring on different occasions early this season and brings the Rams a lot of needed leadership.

The Rams' only three losses this season have come against teams ranked in the top ten of state community colleges including Fresno City (#2), Diablo Valley (#6), and Ventura (#8). This should give the Rams a lot of experience heading into league play and hopefully into the state playoffs.

Every player on the squad has the capability of dropping twenty points on any given night. They're athletic, fast, smart, and unselfish with the basketball. It looks like it could be a very exciting season for the Rams.

Cross Country:

The City College Cross Country team started the 2003 season slowly but finished in November with new personal records and improved team rankings. The Rams treated their early invitationals like practice races to get the students warmed up without wearing out their fast-running flats.

The strategy worked for both men's and women's teams who started picking up the pace with the Lou Vasquez Invitational in San Francisco. By the end of the season City College had ranked high enough to compete in both the Northern California and California State Championships.

Men's Soccer:

The team lost in the first round of the NorCal Coast Conference playoffs but had a tremendous season going 11-5-5. Come next season new transfer Luciano Fusco will be added from Skyline to bolster the team and goalkeeper Carlos Alvenga should be back after knee surgery.

Expect these Rams to go into fall 2004 and challenge for the Coast Conference Championship.

Women's Basketball:

The Lady Rams have been on fire going 14-3 through the preseason. They are currently first in their division and ranked 16th in the state. Check out sophomore Monique McNealy who averages around 20 points and 17 rebounds as she leads the Lady Rams toward a conference championship.