March 6- 2008- Sports

The X-Factor from Brazil a True Asset

Amy Hammelev

Before he could shoot his first jumper for the ASC Grizzly men’s basketball team, Vitor de Zoppa first had to jump almost 6,000 miles from his home in Sao Paulo, Brazil.   It’s not easy being that far from his family, but homesickness has not seemed to affect his game. He’s played so well this year his coaches have nicknamed him “the X-Factor.” “He’s pretty versatile. He’s probably the most versatile player we have. He’s referred to as the ‘X-factor’ because we know he’ll perform for us,” Murdock said. He plays both the guard and forward positions because he can score and defend well in both positions, according to Murdock. Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, de Zoppa jumped continents in 2005. A friend he knew from Brazil had gone on to play basketball at Arizona Western Junior College and asked de Zoppa if he was interested in playing in America as well. De Zoppa sent the coach videos and the coach flew out in the summer to see de Zoppa play. De Zoppa played at Arizona Western for two years before ASC men’s basketball coach Mark Murdock recruited de Zoppa to play for Eastern New Mexico, the college Murdock coached for prior to ASC. Coach Murdock knows the coach of the Arizona Western Matadors and had recruited from there before to recruiting de Zoppa. “He’s a very well rounded player. He shoots, he rebounds, he passes. He has multiple skills. He has more than most JuCo players,” Murdock said about what attracted his attention to de Zoppa.

As a sophomore at Arizona Western, de Zoppa started every game and averaged 11.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 3.0 assists a game, which earned him Second Team All-ACCAC and All-Region I honors. Arizona Western has brought home two regional titles and also made its way to the NJCAA National Tournament in 2006. When de Zoppa came to America, he only spoke Portuguese, making it difficult to meet people. He mostly hung out with the other Brazilians on the basketball team. “I was in class and didn’t know what was going on. I had to study three times as hard. Dictionaries, books, internet, translators,” de Zoppa said. For his grades during the fall semester, de Zoppa earned a place on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll. To be eligible for the honor, one must have a 3.0 GPA or greater. He was one of six from the men’s basketball team to receive the award. De Zoppa attributes his good grades to having to study more because of the language differences. “I like to pay attention in class. That way I don’t have to study,” de Zoppa said.

He also excels on the basketball court as much as he excels in the classroom. Starting 17 of 28 games including post season, de Zoppa tallied 198 points with an average of 7.1 points per game. He scored his ASC career high of 17 points against Colorado Christian in December and hit 17 points again against Colorado School of Mines nearly a month later in January. Both games were won at home. He has a .474 field goal average, .415 3-point average, and is .654 at the line. He also totals 42 assists. On the defensive end, de Zoppa has 53 rebounds, more than double his 18 offensive rebounds. Vitor’s Arizona teammates were bigger than his ASC teammates, which made them slower, de Zoppa said. “Over here, we have to run a lot.” Moving from the Tropic of Capricorn to the San Luis Valley, de Zoppa has had to adjust to many things. He has sorely missed his mom, dad, and sister, who live in Brazil. Over the past two and half years, his mother has visited him once a year. His mother stayed with him in his on-campus apartment for three weeks this year. “It was hard for her, it was too cold. She was sick most of the time,” de Zoppa said. His mother had played basketball and still plays today. “I’m real close to them. I really like being around them,” de Zoppa said about his family. He is only able to go home once a year, for two months in the summer.

During his two months in Brazil, he says he likes to stay home and be with his family. Despite how hard it is for him to be so far from home, they are very understanding and support of his attending school so far away from home. They understand how important it is for his future. With his business administration degree, de Zoppa would like to work in a big company, though he’s undecided about moving back home or staying in America. According to de Zoppa, being able to speak English in Brazil is a sure way to get a great job and having an American degree will also help. On the other hand, America has more job opportunities Cand more money than Brazil, he said. He is torn between going home to his family and staying in America where he can get a good job and make a future. As of now, he would like to stay in America for a while, then head back home.

Food, weather, and people are the other differences between Brazil and American that de Zoppa has had to adjust to. “There’s too much fast food; burgers, pizza,” de Zoppa said about American food. In Brazil, they mostly eat rice, beans, and steaks. “We like to sit down, eat, and spend time talking,” he added. According to Weather.com, the average temperature in Sao Paulo ranges between 71 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year and the lows range from 53 to 65. February is typically the warmest month and July the coolest and January gets the most precipitation.

Rockies Bring Hope Home

Lance Hostetter

Every year at this time across the nation there are little boys and girls grabbing for their bats and gloves heading to the park to play catch. Baseball is not every child’s favorite sport, but there is something magical about the crack of the bat and smell of old dusty leather. This year, the smell of the old leather glove and the crack of the bat will be sweeter than ever. Colorado kids will run to the backyard and imitate Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, and Troy Tulowitzki. For the first time in Colorado history, baseball fans have something to look forward to. Last season’s mystical run to the World Series by the Colorado Rockies captivated a nation and inspired a state. Just a few short weeks ago, pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, then last week the first exhibition games were played, and now the countdown to opening day is underway.

The headlines thus far have not been about the brilliance that is Holliday, the romance that was Helton, or the greatness that will be Tulowitzki. Instead, Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens and the United States Congress have been tearing at the belly of the American past time. Baseball has survived the test of time and many controversies. In its early years Shoeless Joe Jackson and eight other Chicago White Sox were banned from the game for supposedly betting against themselves in the World Series, then Babe Ruth came along and redefined how the game was played leaving the American public distracted in awe.

Later, in the modern era, the players went on strike and threatened the very existence of professional baseball, but somehow the game not only survived but came back stronger than ever. Now, the game faces the consequences of the steroid era, but the game will survive because of Rockies of Major League Baseball. There is love for the game not because of 500 foot homeruns or 98 mile per hour fastballs, but because of the simplicity of baseball. Like the character Ray Kinsella building a field to ease his and his father’s pain in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. As some children grow up and leave childhoods behind, not a summer goes by that they do not reminisce on the simple days of hot dogs, soda, and baseball. Filmmaker’s have tried to capture it on screen, writers have tried to articulate it in poems, and musicians have tried to put it to music, but they always seem to fall short. You cannot capture the elegant simplicity of childhood,
love, and the sport.

Maybe that is why a good portion of America fell in love with the Rockies. They did not win by probability. They did not win by ease. They won by the only way that seemed right, the pure love for the game. They won because they played with the heart of a child. They played with dreams that the movies cannot film and baseball fans loved every minute of it. The Rockies did not always look good winning, but they had fun and played because they loved the game. America needed and needs that sort of team. Baseball laughs at the circus that steroids has caused. So, now Rockies Bring Hope Home courtesy of googlethe Rockies and baseball fans of all ages get ready for opening day with the steroid controversy swirling over Major League Baseball. But, steroids cannot take the child out of the game and out of the hearts of the Rockies and Rockies fans. The Rockies made some Americans remember that baseball belongs to dreams that only a child’s heart can imagine. It was just like what James Earl Jones said in the Field of Dreams. “This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again.”

So as spring training continues, hopefully everyone will remember why baseball is great and why baseball will never die. Baseball is every little boy and girl that has a bat and glove. Baseball is every parent that takes the time to teach the fundamentals of the sport.

Distance Runner Trains for Shot to Compete in Olympics

Kaitlyn Horton

Track and field national champion Brittany Somers not only plans to graduate this semester, but is also training to qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. During her five years as a member of the ASC cross country and track and field teams, Somers has earned a total of nine All-American titles. She also won the NCAA Division II National Championship last May in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a time of 10 minutes 20 seconds, which set a new school record and was good enough to reach the “B” standard for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Trials. “These awards are very personally satisfying because I know how hard I worked to receive them,” said Somers. Most recently, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame selection committee has named Somers the 2007 Female College Athlete of the year. According to Somers, receiving this award “is completely humbling. There are so many amazing athletes in Colorado that I am incredibly honored to receive it.” The Olympic Trials will be held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field June 27 through July 6. As a fifth year senior, Somers is now training post collegiate in hopes of lowering her time to an even 10 minutes, which is the “A” qualifying standard for the trials. “I have three or four races in March and April that I will use to try to get my time down,” said Somers. “My ultimate goal is to run sub ten minutes in the steeplechase.”

“I chose Adams State for its running program,” said Somers. “Out of high school I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to study, I loved art but was also very interested in athletic training. I was offered a scholarship here and I really clicked with my coach right off the bat. ASC had both majors I wanted to pursue, so I came here.” Somers, who grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico is an art major with an emphasis in both graphic design and art history. She has managed to become an outstanding athlete while also maintaining high standing as a student. “Right now, my immediate goals are to graduate and go to the Olympic trials, but that is really just until July. After that I want to keep running but training for ultra marathons instead. I also want to find a job, and then eventually go to graduate school for graphic design,” said Somers.

During her time at Adams State, Somers believes her teammates and past athletes have been her biggest inspiration. “We all have days where we just don’t really feel that great, but when I would see my teammates working hard, it would make me want to work hard too,” said Somers. “My coach always tells us stories about previous girls that have run here, which really inspires me to carry on the tradition that those girls created while they were here.” Somers will soon leave behind her accomplishments as inspiration for future runners at Adams State. “I have been lucky enough in college to be able to do my two passions in life, running and art,” she said. “I really enjoyed the time I have spent at Adams State, where I love all my teachers and I love my coach. I really feel I received a good education in the field I chose and I have had amazing success with running that I know I couldn’t have attained anywhere else.”

Grizzly Women Compete in Historic Game

Eric Flores
South Coloradan

Even though it wasn’t the best game for the Adams State Grizzlies, it was a historic one. The Grizzlies ended their phenomenal season in their first quarterfinal game in thirteen years. They dropped to the Metro State Roadrunners 88-60. Adams’ was lead by Senior Laurel Mortensen who had fifteen points. Jocelyn Pardilla and Crystal Loch were one off of double figures for the game as they had nine points a piece. The Roadrunners got a quick jump on the Grizzlies as they were able to score and get the lead from the opening shot of the game as Ashley Mickens scored. Mortensen was the first on the board for the Adams State as she scored a lay up off of a steal to tie the game early. But to the dismay of ASC, Metro went on a 5-0 run to get a 7-2 lead, a lead that was never relinquished.

Kendra Coveal and Vera Jo Bustos were able to close the gap to the closest they would get it in for the rest of the game as they both hit field goals to bring the score to 7-6. Metro controlled the boards as they went on an 18-4 run for the next couple of minutes to take a 25-10 lead. Adams then countered with one of their biggest runs of 10-4 to bring the score to 29-20. Metro was able to make the lead up to twenty two points by the end of the first half as the score was 47-25. The second quarter was just as bad for the ASC women as Metro started off with a 7-0 to widen the lead to thirty one. But as the half went on there were trips back and forth and the gap was closed to twenty five but no mater what the Grizzlies did the Roadrunners countered as with 3:57 left in the game Metro held it’s biggest of thirty four. The Grizzlies were able to work that down to twenty eight. The Grizzlies now focus their attention on scouting and recruiting so that they can have an even better season next year. This looks like a very promising future for Grizzly basketball as they are losing only one in Laurel Mortensen, and if the NCAA rules in favor of the Grizzlies, Mortensen might even return next year for a semester or two. The Grizzlies have plenty to be proud of as they finished with their most wins of any ASC squad in the NCAA Division II, 1992-93 to present era. The Grizzlies also advanced to the RMAC Shootout for the first time since 1995 and finished with a winning conference record 10-9 for the first time since 1984-85 seasons. Thank you for such a great season!

Forsberg Makes Surprise Comeback to the Avalanche

Holly Misko

Last week Peter Forsberg, a former Colorado Avalanche hockey player, made a surprise comeback as he rejoined the Avalanche. His unexpected comeback was definitely a warm welcoming. Fortunately for Colorado, they won him back over Philadelphia, Minnesota, Chicago, and Ottawa were all vying for his incredible talent. His return does have a price. The Avalanche agreed to a one year $5 million deal, but Forsberg will be paid about $1 million on a prorated basis because only six weeks remain in the regular season when he agreed. Forsberg is excited about rejoining
the team and excited to see friends. He is even more excited to return to the ice and play in games. Unfortunately, he has been nursing an injured ankle and foot that has been giving him problems for the past year, not allowing him to play. His relentless efforts and determination are leading to a successful recovery. Last Tuesday, he landed in Vancouver from his native Sweden and skated in an optional practice. Forsberg has yet to play and is unsure of when he will return. He knows that it is not going to be easy jumping back in and is not expecting a stellar flawless first game. An article from an ESPN news conference reports that Forsberg stated, “People that have been watching me, especially in Colorado, know that I do my best on the ice, and if I don’t play good they at least know I’m trying my best every time I’m on the ice.”

The Avalanche hope the arrival of Forsberg can help propel them into the postseason. Forsberg practiced on a line that included Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk. Forsberg is enthusiastic to show they have a strong line up and are a true threat. Colorado coach Joel Quenneville is even more eager for him to play as he foresees Forsberg’s return as a new form of energy for the team. Forsberg does know that when he returns to the ice during a game he wants to be 100 percent and does not want to do what he loves in any sort of fashion that is not his full potential. Forsberg’s past with the Avalanche made his comeback an easier choice. Much of his career successes were with the Colorado Avalanche. In his previous years with the Avalanche, 1996 and 2001 brought the ultimate satisfaction of winning the Stanley Cup and in 2003 he was awarded the Hart Trophy as MVP after scoring 29 goals and accumulating 77 assists. Forsberg’s shocking comeback is undeniably going to add a twist to the rest of the Colorado Avalanche season.

 

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