Mountain Views News          Saturday, January 21, 2012

19

SPORTS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, January 21, 2012 


HUDDLE UP!

By Harvey Hyde


By Harvey Hyde

A Little Poll Dancing Here

The college football 
season is essentially 
over, except for a 
few all-star games 
which often serve as 
NFL tryouts. Scouts, 
agents, and team 
representatives watch 
these closely. Players 
realize this as well. 

 You’ve probably 
seen the final polls from sportswriters, 
computers and coaches etc. I am often asked my 
opinion regarding games, teams, players, scores 
and results. I don’t like to predict scores prior to 
games and do so only when pushed. The college 
football season is over, along with most of the 
official polling. But I do have my own summary 
poll now that all the games have been played. It 
may be a little different from others you have 
seen. 

My Top 10 is based on which teams I wouldn’t 
want to face if I were still coaching, and mainly 
takes into account how they finished the season 
with the players and coaches who were on the 
field at the end of the season. So here goes:

No. 1: Alabama. Excellent coach, great talent, 
tough, makes few mistakes – certainly no 
argument that the Crimson Tide deserves the top 
spot in any poll.

No 2: Oklahoma State. It’s all about speed, 
speed, speed. Defense is possibly the only 
weakness.

No. 3: Oregon. Again, it’s speed, speed, speed – 
even when it comes to play calling. A little soft in 
the defensive line, however.

No. 4: USC. Okay, the Trojans didn’t play in 
a bowl game, but I wouldn’t want to play them 
considering how strong they finished the season. 
At that point, they may have been the best team 
in the country.

No. 5: Stanford. Less speed but the Cardinal 
had Andrew Luck and a very sound defense. 
Imagine if Luck would have had a receiving corps 
like the ones at Oregon, USC or Oklahoma State.

No. 6: LSU. The Tigers were a big 
disappointment in the title game. They lacked 
emotion, and the play calling left a lot to be 
desired.

No. 7: Boise State. The Broncos almost always 
find a way to win. They are a very sound team 
with athletes who play up to or above their ability. 
And quarterback Kellen Moore is a gamer.

No. 8: Wisconsin. The Badgers were balanced 
on offense. They had a powerful running game 
and an athletic quarterback in Russell Wilson. 
The Big 10 should be proud of their performance 
in the Rose Bowl, despite losing to Oregon.

No. 9: Baylor. Who would want to play against 
Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III? I call 
him the king of the big play.

No. 10: South Carolina. Steve Spurrier has 
found a way to make the Gamecocks winners 
again.

Note that I have three SEC teams in my top 
10, which is no surprise. But I also have picked 
three Pac-12 teams, which might surprise some. 
Anyway it’s easy to rank teams at the end of the 
season. With recruiting, new schedules and some 
new coaches I’ll be anxious to see what next 
season brings.

Listen to Harvey Hyde on ESPN 710 Sundays 
9-11 a.m.

Senior Cassie Saavedra steals the ball from her opponent and scores a goal.

Alverno Celebrates 5-0 Victory Against Sacred Heart 

Alverno’s soccer team defeated the Sacred Heart of Jesus on January 13th moving one step closer 
to what could be their 12th league championship in a row. They started the season losing to Bishop 
Conaty, but won the next two games, with a 6-0 victory over Holy Family and a 7-0 victory over San 
Gabriel Mission. This was their 3rd straight victory.

 “The soccer team is doing really well this season and they are in great form,” said Head Coach 
Ken Berry. “With Alverno getting all of its starting players back on the field, they have been doing an 
amazing job working as a team and winning many of their games.” The second half of league play 
starts this Friday 1-20-12 where Alverno will play against Bishop Conaty again.

ANTONOVICH HONORS TOMMY 
LASORDA ON HIS 63RD SEASON WITH 
THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS 

With Bobby Eldridge 
DEEP ROUGH


I believe there are three reasons why amateur 
golfers struggle out of deep rough. The number 
one reason is because professional golfers play 
golf from the golf ball to the green and amateur 
golfers play golf from the green back to the golf 
ball.

Professional golfers look at the lie, their stance, 
wind, yardage and a few other considerations. 
Amateur golfers look at the yardage, grab a club 
and swing away. The second reason amateurs 
struggle from deep rough is they are counting on 
a miracle recover shot. Unfortunately that is why 
they are in the deep rough in the first place. 

Lastly is the technique that you have to use to 
get out of deep rough. If Jack Nicklaus or Tiger 
Woods attempted to hit a shot out of deep rough 
with their regular golf swing they could not 
advance the golf ball. 

Making solid contact with a golf ball that is in 
deep rough takes a special swing. 

Play Smart

Let’s start from the beginning. When I 
approach a golf ball in deep rough the first 
question I ask myself is “if I hit a perfect shot 
what can I expect the results to be”. Then I work 
backyards. Can I reach the green or not? If it 
hits the green is it going to stop? What are my 
chances of making great contact with this lie? 

I think you are starting to get it. Let’s do our 
homework first before we pull out a 3 wood and 
try and advance the ball 235 yards down the 
fairway over a lake, on to the green and have it 
stop next to the hole.

Now with this thinking it eliminates the 
second problem which is the miracle shot. If 
you want to learn how to play out of deep rough, 
watch a couple of the Open Championships this 
summer and you wont believe how many times 
the players take out their wedges and pitch the 
ball back in play. 

Now that I have you checking the lie and 
working from the ball to the hole, let’s spend 
some time on the technique of advancing the ball 
from deep rough.

The Secret

The main reason you struggle is because the 
hosel of the golf club (the part that connects the 
shaft with the head) gets hung up in the grass. If 
you, I or Jack Nicklaus swings the golf club on 
the same arc the length of the grass grabs the 
hosel and turns the toe before impact. 

Sometimes you can make a great swing only 
to look up and see the golf ball 10 yards in front 
of you. You have to have a completely different 
swing so the hosel does not come in contact with 
the tall grass.

When you address the golf ball you have to 
make sure that you swing the golf club UP and 
DOWN not around. The best way to do this is 
to place 70% of your weight on your left foot at 
address. Now this is the secret once again, swing 
the arms up and down and make sure you do this 
without shifting any weight to the right foot.

Now there is one more thing you have to 
remember. DO NOT allow the golf club to swing 
UP after impact. Keep the clubhead low to the 
ground so the power is going down not out.

Want to learn more? Go to Bobby Eldridges 
Purepoint Golf Forum at www.purepointgolf.com

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich honored Hall of Fame winning Dodger manager Tommy Lasorda on 
63 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers with an official presentation at the meeting of the Board of 
Supervisors earlier this week.