The Wake

The Gophers’ men’s basketball team entered the final weekend of February in the upper echelon of the Big Ten and with its sights set on an NCAA tournament bid. Should they be granted a spot in The Big Dance, it would mark Minnesota’s first appearance since 1999.Sure, the Gophers have posted winning records in three of the past four seasons. Sure, Minnesota has earned invitations to three postseason tournaments in that same time frame. And sure, Minnesota has also been able to produce three first or second round NBA draft picks in recent years. But recovering from the scholarship and recruiting restrictions (and reputation) the program incurred with its academic fraud in the late 90s, combined with the rise of the Gophers’ women’s basketball, Minnesota men’s basketball teams have unquestionably lost the luminous glow they …

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It was snowing on Friday when I stepped on a plane in MSP. It was snowing in Chicago when I transferred to a connecting flight. But it wasn’t snowing in sunny California, where I was the guitar player for Blues Traveler during spring break. Since this is the first websclusive View From the Bench, I felt it was necessary to make it special, to make it different. So I’m in San Francisco, and I figure now is as good of a time as any to begin bringing the masses an extra column, every fortnight, exclusively on the website.And what better way to start than by telling you about my new profession: the guitarist of Blue Traveler. Or so I was introduced as at 3:30am Sunday morning at an after hours party to a woman I …

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I could regale you with stories of my intramural past. Like the time my flag football team triumphantly completed our undefeated season with a come-from-behind victory in the championship game. But let’s be honest. You could care less.This doesn’t mean intramurals aren’t interesting. On the contrary, they can spur the most lasting memories, the deepest feelings of anguish and ecstasy. But don’t take my word for it. Follow Timmy as he takes you through the ups and downs of intramural sports.You may remember Timmy from his first “U” football experience. You know, when he knocked over all the chili? He is now deciding what intramural sport to play. He started with softball.Softball was never Timmy’s favorite sport, but it seemed easy enough, and therefore he was inclined to join. His co-ed team was surprised when …

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With words scrum, ruck, maul and try used to describe various parts of the game, it is easy to notice that Rugby is a foreign game. Originally an English sport, there are 15 players on the field from each team during the game. The equipment is rugged and the game is played without pads, but mouth guards are worn to protect costly dental work. Due to the lack of pads, injuries occur frequently ranging from concussions to broken bones. This fascinating sport is offered at the club level at the “U.”The “U’s” rugby team is composed of hard-hitting, beer-guzzling crazy asses. This group is not pampered with scholarships and each player must pay $75 per semester in order to play. The coach, Lauren Lemke, doesn’t get paid and must pay out of pocket for some …

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Ah, Valentine’s Day. The perfect excuse to cry your lonely self to sleep, wishing you had the courage to ask that cute red-headed girl to be your valentine. After all, if Charlie Brown could never get her, what chance did you have?But before you broken-heartedly dismiss the holiday as a corporate sham designed to boost the teddy bear and chocolate industries, let us take a moment to play athletics matchmaker and pair the sports figures that deserve to spend Valentine’s Day together. After all, sports are people too… or something like that.Marion Barber III & Kris Humphries. Since Barber decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and jump ship to the NFL, it seems fitting to pair him with the U’s former super-kid, Kris Humphries. Ever since Humphries took off the maroon and gold, …

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When high school football ends for seniors, only a select few are lucky enough to play at the college level. Like all schools, the University of Minnesota actively recruits prospects and hands out scholarships to deserving players. This process takes place over many months and ends with a group of excited players fighting for a spot on the roster.Players hoping to make the team are preferred walk-on players –- those who do not receive a scholarship but are asked to join the team –- and regular walk-on players, who try to make the team without being recruited. Dan DeJaeger was lucky enough to be a preferred walk-on coming into the 2003 football season.Throughout high school, DeJaeger was a top place kicker for a conference-winning football team, thus making him a prospect for many collegiate programs. …

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I picked a bad year to follow the Gophers around. I picked a bad year to spray-paint my car maroon and gold, and invest the money to get it fixed up three times just so my best friend and I can roll into the tailgating lot, honking the car horn and playing the Minnesota Rouser on a $30 melody maker that I picked a bad year to buy.
I picked a bad year to travel to Michigan: my car broke down. I picked a bad year to travel to Michigan State; it was raining and I lost my glasses. I picked a bad year to travel to Indiana: c’mon, we lost to Indiana, their only Big Ten win on the season. All in all, I picked a bad year to follow the Gophers.But can you …

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The six lowest walk down the hall to a different apartment. Once four players are eliminated, the remaining eight will convene at the final table. Alex draws an ace and doesn’t have to walk down the hall. He looks at the players sitting at his table, sizing up the competition, remembering past games he’d played with them. He pays the $5 buy-in, and shuffles his white and blue chips. It’s a Saturday night at the University of Minnesota, and Alex Maleki, a junior in the College of Biological Sciences, is doing what he does many nights: playing Texas Hold’em with his friends.If you’ve watched any sports station in the last year and a half, you know that America’s poker craze is alive and growing. The World Series of Poker main event increases its cash …

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Peter McCormick celebrated Halloween dressed in a red velvet robe with feathers glued down both sleeves and a platinum blond wig. Channeling the spirit of 16-time-World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair, McCormick looked at ease pretending to be the legendary wrestling veteran.Dressing as Flair wasn’t a stretch for the 21-year-old kinesiology major from the “U.” That’s because he has spent the last year and a half working on his own presence in the ring.Every Sunday McCormick makes the 40-minute drive to Elk River, Minn., to the renovated warehouse where the Midwest Professional Wrestling School holds their weekly matches.For these few hours every week, McCormick is no longer a student. He dons a blue singlet, fake arm cast and transforms himself into Pete Mac; professional wrestler.A long-time fan of professional wrestling, McCormick began wrestling in the spring …

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It was twenty weeks ago today, Sgt. Garnett lead the Minnesota Timberwolves out of its first-round playoffs jinx only to be eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers one game short of the NBA Finals. During a chaotic NBA off-season that saw more player movement than a life-or-death game of musical chairs, the mighty Wolves hid under a rock, and begin the 2004-2005 season with the same team that came so close to a championship ring.It has always been my observation that a healthy Timberwolves roster would have beaten the Lakers and ultimately the Detroit Pistons, so I can only applaud the efforts to keep this team together and make another run.Can they do it this time around? The answer isn’t easy. It requires an in-depth look at this team in its quest for the precious …

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On a cold Sunday evening in October, a group of friends –- teammates –- gather to defend their title as intramural softball champs. Although they’ve never captured the championship at the Autumn Classic, the Shotcallers, a group of mostly fifth-year seniors, are the reigning back-to-back spring softball champions.This group of athletes came together their freshman year in 2001. The team captain for eight seasons, Bryan Walters, walked down his hallway in Frontier Hall looking for players to fill a team roster. Each year since then, a few players have come and gone but four originals remain: Bryan Walters, Brady Bussler, Kristin Rosicky, and Gabe Quinn. During their inaugural season, the Shotcallers didn’t win a single game. “Well technically we had one win, by forfeit. They didn’t have enough guys, but we still played the …

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Women’s HockeyAlready off to a stellar start, the number-one ranked lady rink-rats are intent on defending their national championship and have the returning players to do so. This will be another big year for coach Laura Halldorson’s dominating crew. Player to watch: Krissy Wendell. Last season’s Frozen Four MVP, WCHA player of the year and All-American is set for a monster year.Men’s HockeyThe roster may not look the same, but the Gophers always seem to have talent lying around. A balanced attack will make coach Don Lucia dangerous in March if they can stay healthy enough to mesh. Player to watch: Kellen Briggs. The sophomore goalie had a solid freshman year and needs to build on that in order to take the pressure off Minnesota’s Ballard and Taylor-less blueline.Women’s BasketballAfter getting to its first ever …

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As I drove with my friend in the 1989 Chevy Cavalier we painstakingly transformed into a spray-painted maroon and gold Gopher-mobile, I asked myself: what more can a Golden Gopher football fan ask for than tickets to the sold-out Michigan-Minnesota football game in Ann Arbor? As we sped across the St. Croix River into Wisconsin on I-94, I heard the answer in the form of a blown spark plug. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a typical Minnesota-Michigan football game-weekend.Alarmed by the strange noises and inability to accelerate up hills, I was cautious, but had no choice but to trek on. However, the trip took a staggering blow with a second blown spark plug. Apparently, it wasn’t good for the car to drive 70 mph on three cylinders.Things …

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Many, if asked what their dreams for the future are, start with the, “after college I plan to…” line. It’s rare to find people, at least at this stage, who are at the top of their game. Someone with the best-it’ll-ever-get-downhill-from-here-no-way-could-it-ever-get-better-than-this-living-in-the-moment attitude. Aimee Barmore, the Feature Twirler of the University of Minnesota Marching Band, feels this way about her twirling.“I wanted to twirl for a Big Ten school, and it’s funny because my mom –- we just moved – pulled out a whole bunch of my papers she had. In second grade, ya know when you write, ‘When I Grow Up I Want To Be…?’ Mine was, I wanted to be a twirler for a college with a marching band,” says Barmore. She speaks in a thick Minnesotan accent, and blushes after telling the story. …

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Arturo Manzur was frantically pacing around, answering hoards of questions from players wondering where they will play next and who their opponents will be. The veteran director of the Black Knight/TIMEX 2004 Minnesota State Squash Championship calmly directed the anxious players to their courts as the tournament was approaching its final, championship rounds. Manzur has been the director of the tournament for so many years he can’t remember exactly how many. And this year, the squash pro at the Minneapolis Lifetime Athletic Club brought the biggest squash tournament of the year in Minnesota to the Rec Center in Minneapolis April 15 to April 17. A crowd of about 40 people filled bleachers and chairs in the Rec Center awaiting the championship match between Jay DelCarmen and Raja …

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