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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.
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