FEATHERS FALL AT FOOTHILL: Musings From Center Court

BY ELI MILCHMAN
Contributing Writer

NATHAN WEYLAND / GUARDSMAN

It’s the smell that hits you first. There’s something about the odor of a gymnasium that really rapes your nostrils if you’re not used to it.

I wasn’t used to it. This game, which pitted the Rams against the Foothill College Owls, was my first experience as a bystander of basketball, and probably the first time I’d set foot on an indoor basketball court since high school.

As my eyes wandered around Foothill’s cavernous gym, I noticed huge, impressive banners hanging from the ceiling, which were a little worrying—until I realized the banners were all for the women’s team. As it turns out, the men’s team has some catching up to do.

In fact, the final score, 67 to 54 in favor of the Rams, was never really in question, as the Rams lead with relative ease throughout the game. Despite this, the game was still a blast to watch.

The Ram’s were easily more dynamic, firing cannon-like passes across the court, with deadly effectiveness at the hoop. The Owls looked like a high school team in comparison.

“We gave up too many turnovers and free-throws against a team that has better athletes,” said Owls head coach Shanan Rosenberg.

It seemed the Ram with the biggest horns this night was No. 22, Harry Brown, who was described to me as a “guard.” I think a more appropriate term would be “action hero.”

Throughout the night, Brown made the act of getting that orange ball through the slightly wider hoop look effortless.

“We just came out very intense,” Brown said.

Basketball, like any sport, has it’s own arcane language and sub-culture, which can—and will—be enormously confusing to the neophyte fan.

Buzzers, next to sneaker squeak, seem to be the dominant sound in basketball. I still have no idea what any of those buzzer sounds meant.

The announcer at the microphone wasn’t any help. Most of what I heard sounded like “vertibergge fordie, wurz dasta, soouuudannzzzz!” None of which, I think, are legitimate basketball terms.

Some things were pretty clear though.

With the Owl’s taking five time-outs in the second half, I didn’t need to be Dick Vitale to know they were in deep trouble.

Also obvious is the fact that height is an important factor in basketball, as the Rams towered over the shorter Owls.

“The height difference is unbelievable. They killed them,” said Rams fan Bobby Bonnici.

Interestingly, the coaches’ attitudes after the game were completely opposite of their team’s performance.

“We were just playing better athletes,” said Rosenberg. “I was pleased with the way our kids competed.”

Ram’s coach Justin Labagh expressed similar ironies. “We weren’t firing on all cylinders,” he said.

Probably the purest outlook came from little Christina McNicol, 5-year-old daughter of Ram’s assistant Tom McNicol. “I like when a guy from our team scores,” she said.

Her friend Carmen, also 5, chimed in, “I liked it when our team was the winner.”

e-mail: emilchman@theguardsman.com

SCOREBOARD

Baseball

Rams 7 Porterville
Despite the rough start, the Rams managed to pull out a victory at Porterville. After losing three of four, the Rams pulled to within one win of evening their record, which now stands at 2-3. Derrick Reynolds led the way offensively, going 2 for 3 with two RBI’s and two runs scored. Alex Sowydra pitched five innings to earn the win, recording four strikeouts and allowing four earned runs. In the previous game, the Rams offense fluttered and the pitching staff did not match their young potential. College of the Sequoias prevailed 9-1. - Dan Verel


Women's Tennis

Rams win 5-4 vs. Mills
The women’s tennis team came out swinging in their first match of the season, winning the best of seven match in both the singles and doubles brackets. The Rams won all but two of the singles matches and lost only one match in doubles. Genna Gossette won her match by the biggest margin, defeating Alexa Franz of Mills 6-1 in consecutive matches.

Softball

Laney 6 Rams 5
The Rams lost their opener at Laney College on Thursday, giving up the winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Despite a solid pitching performance from freshman Sidney McIver, who recorded eight strike-outs and allowed six hits, Laney prevailed. Allison Low lead the way for the Rams with two doubles and two RBI’s.