STATE OF THE CITY: Season Finale Draws Out Top Performances

BY HUBERT HUANG
Editor

PHOTO BY NATHAN WEYLAND

After the lady Rams finished third at the Nor Cal championships, coach Tony Kauke asked the team if they would have believed him if he had told them at the beginning of the season that they would be just 20 points away from the best team in Northern California.

They all shook their head to say “no.”

A week later, they were the best team in Northern California, after defeating Nor Cal champion De Anza at the state championships. Overall, the Rams’ finished ninth in the state, a marked improvement on their 16th place a year ago.

Tara Hillier lead the Rams for the seventh straight time in the state competition, finishing second among Northern California runners and 22nd overall, but the real boost for the women came from the continued ascent of Cathryn Guevarra.

Guevarra followed a career-best performance at the Nor Cal championships, with another personal record. Guevarra placed fourth among Northern California runners and 33rd overall in a career best of 19:40.

Rams Uphold Promise

After one and five point losses to conference champion Hartnell in consecutive meets, the Rams vowed to change the outcome at the state championships.

When the time came to back up their claim, the Rams not only defeated Hartnell, they routed them, defeating their archrival by a whopping 69 points.

The Rams finished second among Northern California teams and ninth overall.

Gus Gibbs rebounded from a subpar performance at the Nor Cal championships to run his best race of the season. Gibbs paced the team with a time of 21:13, which included a 5-minute finishing mile where he moved up 25 places.

The rest of the Rams were tightly bunched behind Gibbs, as the top five were separated by only 47 seconds.

“Our goal coming in was to improve our position versus Northern California teams and finish top 10 in the state overall,” Kauke said. “Both teams were able to accomplish both goals.”

Football State Semifinal

Northern California Championship
Fresno at City College
12/4, 1 p.m.

The undefeated Rams come in as the prohibitive favorite, but without their aura of invincibility after narrow wins over Santa Rosa and Foothill. In an earlier meeting, the Rams handled Fresno with relative ease and they have the best player on both sides of the ball in quarterback Joe Ayoob and linebacker Desmond Bishop. Both Sierra and San Joaquin Delta deserve the spot in the championship game more than Fresno. An absurd selection process makes Sierra ineligible despite a 29-game winning streak and gives the nod to Fresno over San Joaquin Delta despite Fresno losing the head-to-head matchup. That said, Fresno matches up well with the Rams, with two cover corners to match up with City College's spread offense and a quality receiving corps to try and expose the Rams' pass defense.

Southern California Championship
Canyons at Saddleback

Canyons looked like the best team in the country in a 30-0 trouncing of the third-ranked team in the country and previously undefeated Grossmont. The shutout was their third in four games, and second straight in the postseason. Saddleback comes into the game with a record of 10-1, but their road to the championship has been relatively easy. They escaped an upset in a 21-18 victory over Mt. Sac in the first round of the playoffs, and then struggled to an ugly win against 7-5 Long Beach in the semifinal. They do have home-field advantage, courtesy of an early Christmas present from the COA, who awarded them the top seed.

SCOREBOARD

BY Hubert Huang

Men's Basketball

It’s difficult to glean much hope from the Rams’ performance through four games. They’ve posted a single win thus far, and that victory came against the 1-5 Contra Costa squad. In addition, all of their losses have been by double-digits. While two of their defeats have come against teams ranked in the top-20 in California, the Rams are at least the equal of these teams – on paper. If one is determined to find a silver lining, City College is still tied for first in conference – at 0-0. In fact, the Rams’ half of the Coast Conference looks to be far weaker than the Southern counterpart. Currently, Ohlone, at 4-3, is the only team in the Coast Conference North with a record above .500.


Women's Basketball

Despite a 19-point loss to San Jose (#9 California, #3 Northern California), the City College women’s team dropped only a single slot in the Northern California rankings. At 3-2, the women are now ranked 14th in Northern California. With two tournaments, at Santa Rosa and Contra Costa respectively, the next two weeks should give the ladies an accurate gauge of where they stand relative to other teams in Northern California. It also gives them a good opportunity to become accustomed to playing with freshmen Trisha Alaba, Pernisha Battle and Ramona Vae before conference play starts. With the only team in conference ranked ahead of them being Foothill, the Rams could be battling for the conference title later in the year.

SEVEN CARD STUD(ENTS): Young People Everywhere Playing Poker

BY MAYA MELANCHUK
Contributing Writer

PHOTO BY MARKETA KROUPOVA

Every week, Ian Chin and a handful of his friends sit around a table covered with bowls of chips and bottles of beer playing poker until the wee hours of the morning.

“It’s an easy way to hang out and bond with your friends,” said Ian Chin, a business management major at San Francisco State, who plays in a weekly game with friends. “Whether you win or lose, you bond with the other players around the table.”

Poker’s popularity has surged in recent years due to broadcasts like Bravo’s “Celebrity Poker Showdown,” Travel Channel’s “World Poker Tour” and ESPN’s “World Series of Poker.” Those in need of a quick fix need look no further than their computer for games like “Poker Stars” and “Party Poker” or one of the 20 games posted on Craigslist.

Students have joined the poker craze, some lured by the promise of quick cash, others by the prospect of a fun way to spend an evening with friends. There’s even a College Poker Championship sponsored by the “Royal Vegas Poker” Web site.

While finding a poker game isn’t a problem these days, a poker hobby that turns into a poker habit can be.

Despite the glamorous portrayal on television, poker has the potential to become an addictive pastime.

“It’s just a hobby, but at one time I did have a problem with it”, said City College student Toby Luu, while sporting a “Poker Stars” baseball hat.

Luu’s interest in poker was piqued after watching Chris Moneymaker win $2.5 million in the main event of “The World Series of Poker.” It was the first tournament Moneymaker had played in a brick-and-mortar casino.

After a crash course by his brother, Luu turned five bucks into $40 at his first game of “Texas hold ‘em” — a win he chalks up to luck. He was enticed by the idea of following Moneymaker into the world of millionaires.

He began playing regularly with friends and also groups formed through Craigslist. There weren’t any substantial wins or losses, however, until he got involved in online games.

“If I lose $200 or $400 at a live game, I feel sick and numb,” Luu said. But I can lose $100 online and it feels like nothing.”

After winning $700 playing at “Poker Stars,” Luu joined a game the next day — which he describes as being way over his head — and lost it all. Desperate to recoup the losses, he played again, with money he didn’t have, causing him to max out a new credit card.

Sleep deprived from late nights of online playing and preoccupied with his finances, Luu found it impossible to concentrate in class. Three weeks into fall semester, he dropped all his classes. “I hit rock bottom”, he said.
Since then, he has turned his financial situation around, but it didn’t stop his parents from confiscating his computer.

Luu will return to City College next semester and major in business, but he plans to keep playing poker for the rest of his life and hopes to turn professional one day.

“I’ve put too much effort into it to stop,” Luu said.

INSIDE THE UNIFORM: PART 7

BY MYLES HARWELL
Staff Writer

PHOTO BY NATHAN WEYLAND

As Desmond Bishop bursts through the line, wide receiver Warner West makes the mistake of getting in his way.

A split second after the two bodies come together, West finds himself on the ground.

“You gonna have to hit me harder next time,” West says, as he hops back to his feet, unaffected by the jarring blow.

Bishop doesn’t respond, but laughs softly, a smirk visible behind the bars of his facemask.

It’s all part of the intense scrimmages that take place on the football field every day at 3:00 p.m.

After a short discussion of the practice’s agenda and an array of drills to warm up Bishop and the other players, the scout team lines up in the same formations and with the same playbook as the Rams’ opponent for the coming Saturday.

For Bishop, this is the most challenging part of the practice, as he and his fellow defenders try to memorize the nuances of an unfamiliar offense over the course of a couple of practices.

After they finish with the scout team, Bishop’s defense lines up against the talented Rams’ offense, lead by star quarterback Joseph Ayoob. But despite the offense’s ability, these scrimmages are less challenging to Bishop, as the defense has seen every wrinkle of the offense after a whole season of practice.

Even though the two units are not even allowed to hit all out in scrimmages, a friendly rivalry exists between the state’s top offense and Bishop’s “D-Unit”. Thundering hits are replaced with thuds. “Y’all can’t stop the defense,” Bishop yells at the offense before the ball is even snapped.

On a third down play, Bishop finds himself out of position trying to cover wide receiver Maurice Purify. Fortunately for Bishop, the rest of the defense does their job, defending every pass option for Ayoob.

When Ayoob tucks the ball and attempts to run, linebacker Larry Grant knocks him back before he can reach the first down marker.

Bishop turns to the sideline. “Go defense!” he yells. “That’s my defense,” the players on the sideline chant back, mimicking the chorus of the popular song “Go DJ” by rapper Lil’ Wayne.

By the time the practice finishes, the ring around the neck of Bishop’s practice jersey is darkened from sweat. As he pulls off his helmet, his stocking cap is revealed to be in the same condition.

Despite the exhaustion, Bishop finds himself anxious for practice to begin each day. He has no trouble motivating himself, because he knows practices and games have a direct effect on each other.

“I practice how I’ll play,” he says.

e-mail: mharwell@theguardsman.com

SKIING AND BOARDING ON A SHOESTRING: Deals Abound For Students

BY LUCY KENNEDY
Staff Writer

PHOTO BY AARON SEDWAY

The ski season at Lake Tahoe is fast approaching, with most resorts opening their lifts by Thanksgiving, but it’s an expensive sport and the cost to students can often be prohibitive. But don’t despair — there are deals available for beginning and advanced snowboarders and skiers.

If it’s your first time on the slopes, Kirkwood’s First Time Adventure Package is a great option. It includes a lift ticket, equipment rental (skis or snowboards) and a two-hour introductory lesson for $62.

Intermediate and advanced skiers can take advantage of Northstar’s free lessons Sundays through Fridays.

An essential but expensive part of skiing is the lift ticket — about $60 for a full-day adult pass.

Regular skiers can save money by buying season passes.

One of the best deals for variety and value is the “Double Whammy” college student pass. The pass gives students access to both Northstar and Sierra for $249, excluding blackout days at Northstar. Blackout days are Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, Martin Luther King weekend and President’s Day weekend.

Kirkwood offers a Student Value pass for those between the ages of 19 and 24 that costs $229. If a season pass is too much of a commitment for you, but you still expect to be on the slopes a few times this season, Heavenly’s 4-Pac of lift tickets for $149 for students might suit you.

Not all of the 2004/2005 ticket prices and deals have been confirmed yet, so check out the resorts’ website before you hit the slopes to see if you can spot any deals. Squaw has an online coupon for a one-day student pass for $39, which is valid on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Ski shops often have coupons for cheap lift tickets as well.

Renting skis and snowboards is often pricey. A single-day rental for a ski or snowboard package can cost anywhere from $15-$35.
By renting equipment from local shops before heading to the resort, you can avoid the long lines at ski resort rental stores and save a bit of money. The equipment at local shops is usually of slightly higher quality as well.

If you can gather a bunch of friends together to go skiing, some resorts offer group discounts. Heavenly has a price of $36 per ticket for groups of 20 or more. Sugar Bowl’s group rate for young adults under 22 is $35 on the weekend and $32 mid-week.

At this time of year, sports stores carrying ski gear often have pre-season sales. Sports Basement in the Presidio currently has last season’s snowboard equipment marked down.

e-mail: lkennedy@theguardsman.com