JL
SPORTS
SEPTEMBER 5, 2014
11
Golf team is
focused on future,
thankful for past
FOLLOWING DEPARTURE OF
HEAD COACH, THE TEAM
REGROUPS FOR NEW SEASON
BY HENRY SNITH
Staff Writer
The Guilford College golf team faces a new
adversity with the resignation of head coach
Corey Maggard, who recently took a job as
the assistant men's golf coach at Auburn
University.
Guilford Golf enjoyed much success while
under the leadership of coach Maggard.
"My favorite memory about my time at
Guilford would be the collective time spent
with the team," said coach Maggard to the
Guilfordian via email interview.
"Those (players) worked very hard, won
many tournaments, overcame struggles and
shared laughs. They created an awesome
atmosphere to coach each and every day."
Coach Maggard is also another Guilford
College success story, parlaying his time at
Guilford into a springboard for pursuing his
personal goals.
"I am very excited to join the Auburn Men's
Golf Program," said Maggard. "Auburn is a
Top.20 prograqa, pa^tt of..the S^C the toughest
conference in the country with 8 te^s ranked
preseason Top 25."
The hope for Corey Maggard is that the
skills he developed at Guilford will translate
to success at Auburn University.
"It is a great opportunity for me to work
with some of the top players in the country,"
said Maggard.
The golf program has grown into a
very strong organization, winning the Old
Dominion Athletic Conference the past three
years, and is consistently in contention for the
Division-III National Championship.
In the preseason coach's poll Guilford is
ranked 11th in the country.
There are five seniors on the team, which
provides leadership to help the team during
this transition.
However, the next move for the Athletic
Department is to engage in the process of
finding a new head coadK of the Guilford golf
team.
This upcoming week will be a busy one
for the Quakers and for Athletic Director
Tom Palombo as he will be meeting and
interviewing candidates for the vacant
position.
"We are going to have the candidates hold
practice with the team," said Palombo. "I
want to hear the reactions of the players to
each candidate as a potential coach."
A candidate's success does not necessarily
mean that they would understand the culture
of Guilford College.
"The new golf coach should be somebody
who understands how important it is that
our player's grow both in their sport and as a
person," said Palombo.
Tom Palombo has been a very busy man
over the past few weeks balancing duties as
Athletic Director, men's basketball coach and
interim golf coach.
"Things have certainly been busy for
me this time of year, but I'm confident that
everything is going to work out just fine,"
said Palombo. "It is just going to take time to
do this right."
The golf team has a group of seniors who
have stepped up and taken the wheel at times.
"I personally believe that, coach or no
coach, we are the best we have been since
I have been at Guilford and this is the year
that we are going to hold up a National
Championship trophy," said senior golfer
Mitch Robinette.
This sentiment was buoyed by other
members of the golf team.
"I am looking forward to this season
regardless of our situation regarding a coach,"
said Senior golfer Travis Tolbert.
"We want to win a National Championship
more than anything and we aren't going to let
anything, or anyone, get in the way of that."
The Quakers golf team is set to begin their
seasonSept.21 at Grandover Resort in Greensboro
for the Tournament Town Fall Preview.
2014 NFL Preview
PRESEASON POWER RANKINGS
BY REESE SETZER
Staff Writer
On Thuc^y, Sept. 4, NFL
football letilre^ seven-
month hilMepttaitiipn.
After of preseason
games and months of
training camps^^^siile^NFL is^fin^y
playing games -llmt matter. **To
football fans it ^ like a second
Christmas.
So for the first tfine in a little over
seven months, let us football.
CONFERENCE FAVORITES
t.;.-
It is dej& vu all over again.
In last season's Super Bowl the, INFC
Champion Seattle Seahawks r^u^d the
ABC Champion Denver Broncos Mow
entering the 2014 - 2015 season jt";seenjS:
thaf'not much has changed from a fayoTite^ ‘
standpoint.
The; Seahawks have locked in on the
Lombardi trophy once again and the Brori^st
look to steamroll the AFC. Both teams had,;
excellent off-seasons, adding players '
clearing saljary cap space.
, .The;iSeaf^’R^.l re-signed star comerback
Richard Sheiman to a four year, $56 million
deal back in May. This move, among others,
solidified that the Seahawks may once again
have the best defense in football. Along with
Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch on the
offensive side of the ball, it is hard to pick
against the Seahawks in just about any game
they play.
Intriguingly, the same could be said
about die off-season moves made by Peyton
Manning's Denver Broncos.
Manning and the Broncos compiled what
some experts believe to be the best off-season
of any team in the NFL, reloading with free-
agent personnel, a savvy draft and a stellsfii
preseason.
The Seahawks showed the Broncos last year
that while offense wins games, defense wins
championships. Therefore John Elway, the
team owner, focused on the Broncos defense
this offseason and brought in comerback
Aqib Talib from the New England Patriots,
safety TJ Ward from the Pittsburgh Steelers
and defensive end DeMarcus Ware from the
Dallas Cowboys to add physicality.
Seattle Seahawks- Repeat? Can Seattle become the ninth
fic^chise to win back-to-back Super Bowls? As long as depth
issues don't come into play, right now it's hard to pick against
the defending champion.
Denver ilSr^cos — They have the offense, and after an
offseason full of iJ^fensive additions, as well as getting Von
Miller back ffbm iidury, we could possibly see a repeat Super
Bowl matdi-up for tnel^cond time in NFL history.
San Bi^csioo 49ens—' IFhey are still the deep and talented
team they were a year ago (and could be the best team in football
if not for suspension^of AldbnSmith and Ray McDonald to start
the year). If Qolin Ka^emick ean continue to grow as an NFL
QB, the NFC West should once again be the best and tightest
division in football. a
New England Patriots — I^s haf# not to have Tom Brady and
Bill Belichidc in a preseason Top 5. Ever. Not to mention the Pats
have ipi^sibly the best secondary in the league despite losing
Talib Devin McCourtyiqnd D|irreire Rends.
Green Bay Packers — Having Aa^n Rodgers is always a plus,
and addjlig Julius Peppers to linebacker Clay Mathew's defense
may be wha| the Packers needed to take.the next step defensively.
New Orleans.,§ai|its — Quarterback'Drew Brees and head
coach Sean Payton s^ll make for one of "the bi^bl-2 offensive
combos in^the league along with tightscnd Jimmy Graham.
Cmdu^aii Beng^js — The Bengals will go as Andy Dalton
goes. But to pack him they have Giovani Bernard in the running
game, A.J. Green atTeceiver and a stout front seven on defense.
Philadelphia Es^Ies-” Nick Foies was an excellent %set to
Chip Kelly's off^^|la^,^ason. With LeSean McCoy in the
backfield theoffense^sHto^e superb.
Indianapolif Andrew Luck at QB, Reggie Wayne
and Hakeem Nicfe ffie.Colts have a lethal passing attack!
rolina Pahffters — The defense is still there. Cam NeWton
thqre, biit there is not a number-one receiver anymore. In
le Panthers to transition their success from this .past
'’"Aey will need first round draft pick Kelvin Benjamin ^o
le"'the go-to receiver. ' - ’ ! > *
WAY
BOWIf
SUPER
EDMT^N
A repeat Super Bowl mat
before in the 1993 and 1994 Sti
as only ^l^>pened once
iwls wl^ badk-to-badc
champion Dallas Cowboys defeatei^^^uffafri Bills. I believe
we will see a repeat of that scenaridthii year.
I'll taki Seattle over Denver for the second year in a rcrW.
5
S
z
It
n
O
z
SPORTS EDITORIAL
MLB steroid users deserve place of honor
BY ROBERT PACHECO
Sports Editor
Users of performance-enhancing drugs
in Major League baseball have been vilified
for several years now.
Players like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire
and Sammy Sosa are denied election into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New
York, only because of their documented use
ofPED's.
"This gigantic farce of major league
baseball to protect the brand "MLB" is a
sham," said Lucas Kempton, '04.
"I don't know if you need to separate
steroid users from non-steroid users ... but
these guys belong in the (Hall of Fame)."
Those who vote for players eligible for
election into the MLB Hall of Fame hold an
entrenched disdain towards the players of
the steroid era.
"Being a fan, I loved those years where
players were hitting home runs every
game," said San Francisco Giants fan Aaron
Parker in an e-mail interview. "But doping
is cheating, and I don't think we should
reward cheaters by letting them in the Hall
of Fame."
The issue is cast as a strict dichotomy of
cheaters vs. fair play. It is a measurement that
is binary and places blame on too few actors.
The onus is unfairly placed upon the
player without understanding fiiat the
culture in MLB during the steroid era
Lncentivized PED use. Bonds, McGwire and
Sosa were following the example of many
players before them.
That culture was not exclusive to
the players alone. The office of the
Commissioner of Baseball bears a unique
responsibility for not doing enough to halt
the pervasiveness of PED's in an athlete's
workplace.
Moreover, where does the Baseball Hall
of Fame stop in its application of justice
towards fair play?
Do we go back in time and place an
asterisk next to the records of anyone who
played after 1962 when MLB extended its
season from 154 games to 162?
Or do we take the drastic step to put an
asterisk next to all the records that occurred
before 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke
the color barrier in baseball, and finally the
best players could compete against each
other in the same league?
The Hall of Fame is not a purveyor of the
game of baseball's purity. It is a historical
marker of the national pastime.
Baseball is, believ^ it or not, still the
national pastime because it is so emblematic
of the competitive nature of America.
Sure it's slow and plods along for nine
excruciating long innings. It is played in the
boiling heat of summer and is considered a
good game if the score is 1-0.
Baseball is also constant — it does
not change often. The rules are easy to
comprehend. The equipment usually gets
handed down, just like the game, and
connects generations.
The H^ of Fame's role is to document
the history of the game.
As Americans we find it imcomfortable
to talk about the bad history.
We like to discuss D-Day but not the
Japanese internment camps of World War
n.
We do not like discussing slavery, Jim
Crow, or Manifest Destiny and often omit
them from lessons about the history of our
people.
We are also revising the history of the
game that defines America most.
We cannot omit the steroid era any more
than we can omit the history of baseball
before Jackie Robinson.
The steroid era is not the first time that
players have sinned against baseball.
But if this punishment without trial of
great players continues, it will be the first
time that the Hall of Fame has sinned
against the game.