ports
The Compass, Dec. 2004 Page 5
Curse of the Babe
By Marshall Goatley
Sports writer
The curse of the Babe
is finally over. After 84 years of
terrible seasons or getting to the
World Series and losing, the
Boston Red Sox finally won a
World Series.
The curse allegedly
began after the Red Sox traded
Babe Ruth to their hated rivals
the New York Yankees. Shortly
after the trade the Red Sox team
itself went down hill. For years,
the team could not even buy a
playoff birth.
Fans themselves tried to
reverse the curse by going to
Babe Ruth’s old cottage in the
Boston country side and giving
good wishes and gifts to the spirit
of Babe Ruth. Nothing was
working. One fan even went as
far as to look for an old piano that
Ruth himself pushed into the lake
behind his cottage.
The 2004 baseball
season was a new beginning for
the Red Sox; they had a great
pitching staff, great defense,
power and clutch hitters in the
lineup. Even with all the team
chemistry, the Red Sox could not
claim the American League East
division title. The hated Yankees
claimed the East all to
themselves.
The Red Sox swept
their first round opponent in
three games. Then came the
American League Championship
Series against the Yankees. The
Yankees quickly jumped out to a
three game to nothing lead.
Facing elimination for the second
straight year, the Red Sox bats
came to life. Johnny Damon led
the charge against the Yankees
over the next four games. The
Red Sox did something no other
team in baseball history has ever
done. They came back from a
three-game deficit to win the
ALCS.
It was on to the World
Series for the Red Sox where they
faced the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Red Sox swept the Cardinals
in four games. David Ortiz was
named World Series MVR So,
as it turns out, there really was
no curse on the Red Sox. It was
just that the Red Sox team
themselves never had a team that
gelled together. It may have
taken 84 years, but the Red Sox
have finally won a World Series.
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UN ARMY 0
Vikings take
home opener
75-62
Courtesy ECSU Public
Relations Department
ELIZABETH CITY, NC- The
Elizabeth City State University
Vikings were victorious in their
season opener, defeating
Bluefield State College 75-62
Wednesday night at the RL
Vaughan Center.
After finding
themselves down by four at the
intermission (29-25), ECSU
would outscore their opponent
28-6 over an 8-minute span in
the second half to take a
commanding 16 point lead with
9:45 remaining. The Big Blue
would orchestrate a run to cut the
deficit to 7 but that was as close
as they would get after
consecutive 3-pointers by
sophomore Devin Mooring and
freshman Martin Chavious gave
the momentum back to ECSU.
The Vikings swarming defense
would hold Bluefield to just 10
points over the final 8 minutes,
while on the other side of the
ball, Vikings shot 52% from the
field in route to 50 points in the
second half alone. Chavious led
ECSU with 14 points followed
by Maurice Wilkerson with 12,
while Mooring chipped in 11.
Four Vikings receive all-
CIAA football honors
Courtesy ECSU Public
Relations Department
HAMPTON, VA-Four members
of the Elizabeth City State
University football team have
been named to the 2004 All-
CIAA and All-Rookie teams.
The team, which was
released on Wednesday,
November 3, 2004 is voted on
annually by the CIAA Football
Coaches Association. For the
Vikings, Howard Williams,
Kevin Dodson, Greg Moore and
Dewitt Newkirk, all received All-
Conference nods.
Williams, a native of
Elizabeth City, concludes his
career by being named to the All-
CIAA Defensive First Team for
the first time. This season
Williams was arguably the most
feared defensive back in the
CIAA with a league best 10
interceptions for 174 yards,
which is also tied for 1st in the
nation.
During this year’s
campaign, Williams was named
CIAA Defensive Back of the
Week twice and he is tied at 6th
in NCAA Division II in passed
defended with 10. His previous
accolades include the 2001 All-
Rookie Team, the 2002 All-
CIAA Pre-Season Team, and the
2003 All-CIAA Defensive
Second Team.
Kevin Dodson, a
Camden, NC native, follows up
a stellar rookie campaign as the
CIAA’s most consistent punter.
This season he averaged 37.6
yards per punt, good for 1st in
the conference. In the season
finale versus Virginia Union,
Dodson punted his career long
with a punt of 65 yards. He
finished 2003 with 3,087 yards
with 12 over measuring over 50
yards.
Rounding out the
Vikings on the 2004 All-CIAA
First Team and representing their
only All-Rookie selection is
Teachey, NC native Greg Moore.
The freshman defensive lineman
had an impressive rookie season,
leading the CIAA in sacks with
10 for a loss of 56 yards and
ranked 10th in tackles for loss.
In NCAA Division, II, Moore
finished tied at 10th in sacks and
31st in tackles for loss.
The final Viking to
receive All-CIAA recognition on
the Defensive Second Team is
senior linebacker Dewitt
Newkirk. A native of Teachey,
NC, Newkirk was the Vikings
leading tackier with 102
including 20 for a loss of 50
yards.
ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY
2 0 05 VIKINGS BASEBALL SCHEDULE
DATE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME
January
28-30
Florida Memorial Tourney
Miami, FL
T.B.A
February
16
#Mount Olive College
Mount Olive, NC
1:00pm
19
Benedict College
Durham, NC
1:00pm
23
#St. Andrews College
Laurinburg, NC
1:00pm
25
#Bluefield State College
Farmville, VA
12:00pm
27
Bloomfield College
Elizabeth City, NC
12:00pm
March
4
Dominican College
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
6
#Voorhees College
Raleigh, NC
1:00pm
10
Chowan College
Murfreesboro, NC
2:00pm
13
#Bryant University
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
15
Apprentice School
Newport News, VA
2:00pm
18
Apprentice School
Elizabeth City, NC
2:00pm
25,
#*Shaw University
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
27
#* Virginia State University
Petersburg, VA
1:00pm
28
#"Saint Paul’s College
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
30
#*Saint Augustine’s College
Raleigh, NC
1:00pm
April
3
#*Shaw University
Raleigh, NC
1:00pm
4
#*Saint Paul’s College
Lawrenceville, VA
1:00pm
6
#*Saint Augustine’s College
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
10
#* Virginia State University
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
20-24
CIAA Baseball Championships
Petersburg, VA
TBA
ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY
2005 LADY VIKINGS
SOFTBALL SCHEDULE
DATE
OPPONENT
LOCATION
TIME
February
25
Chowan College -
Murfreesboro, NC
1:00pm
March
■
12
Bowie State University
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
15
Saint Augustine’s College
Raleigh, NC
1:00pm
19
U. of California (PA)
Elizabeth City, NC
11:00am
20
Saint Paul’s College
Lawrenceville, VA
12:00pm
22
Fayetteville State Univ.
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
25
Livingstone College
Salisbury, NC
1:00pm
26
Winston-Salem State Univ.
Winston- Salem, NC
11:00am
29
Virginia Union Univ.
Richmond, VA
1:00pm
31
N. C. Central Univ.
Durham, NC
1:00pm
April
1
Johnson C. Smith Univ.
Elizabeth City, NC
1:00pm
4
Virginia State Univ.
Petersburg, VA
1:30pm
12
Shaw University
Raleigh, NC
1:00pm
21-24
CIAA Softball Championships
Petersburg, VA
TBA