Wednesday, 5/28/97 Meandering down path of sports From Bruins to
pros, much goes on at fields, courts
Of deep thoughts, cheap shots and bon mots. … When next
season’s NCAA basketball rankings come out we are likely to witness
a resurgence of respect for Pacific 10 Conference hoops. The No. 1
team could be the Arizona Wildcats while the No. 2 team may be our
own UCLA Bruin squad. … Congratulations to the UCLA baseball
team. … Troy Glaus finally did what Eric Karros, Todd Zeile, Jeff
Conine and many other Bruin alumni could not do – lead UCLA into
the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time while
under the command of Coach Gary Adams. … Thanks should also be
granted to the Harvard baseball team for handing UCLA a wake-up
call. … The question for UCLA baseball is whether or not the
program can escape the jinx that has haunted most other sports
during the 1996-97 campaign, as seven sports failed under high
pressure situations – all losing to different teams: * The football
team choked when it blew a commanding lead over national title
contender Arizona State during the regular season, yet props to the
team for winning a sixth consecutive city title. * The men’s soccer
team fell in an early round upset to God knows who – all that I
know is that the team should have won. * The men’s basketball team
could not put away Minnesota after a strong first half, showing
just how much maturity this team still lacks. * The men’s
volleyball team made a valiant comeback before losing in Game 5 to
Stanford by a score of 15-13 after losing Games 1 and 2. * The
men’s tennis team lost to Georgia while hosting the NCAA
championships. * The softball team lost to Arizona in the national
championship game Monday, 10-2, by the mercy rule. Postseason
possibilities for next year are still up in the air due to UCLA’s
appealing of an NCAA-imposed postseason ban. … Nevertheless,
there have been a couple of uplifting stories for the Bruins. * The
women’s gymnastics team completed a miraculous season by winning
its first-ever team title. * Showing his great ability to recognize
and mold talent, water polo coach Guy Baker led both his men’s and
women’s squads to repeat national championships. * The track team
looks as strong as ever with the nationals coming up … well,
forget the fact that the UCLA men lost the Pac-10 championships for
the first time in six seasons. * The men’s basketball program’s
tradition of excellence may hold up with an energetic Steve Lavin
running the show. He could be the man who could possibly follow up
John Wooden by becoming the next Apprentice of Westwood. … * * *
Contrary to popular belief, there are sports being played outside
of UCLA. First and foremost on my mind is the Indianapolis 500. I
cannot bring myself to believe that people actually think there is
suspense in watching rednecks make left-hand turns for hours and
hours. Even God agrees with me as he refused to allow the race to
happen by raining it out twice. But the fans of this "sport" kept
showing up every day at the track, so when the rains stopped it was
a sign that God had eventually given up and therefore the race
finally took place yesterday. … As the playoffs near the finals
in both the NBA and the NHL, the contrast of young and old is more
visible than ever. In the NBA, the Bulls, the Jazz and the Rockets
are all experienced teams and with the Bulls enjoying a commanding
3-1 lead over the exception-to-experience rule (the Heat), it looks
like either Charles Barkley or the John Stockton/Karl Malone combo
will face a daunting task in their mission to win their first
championship. The reason the Heat have excelled without experience
is not the talents of Alonzo Mourning or Tim Hardaway, but the way
in which Pat Riley is capable of maximizing performances from the
likes of Isaac Austin and Voshon Lenard. In the NHL, the Detroit
Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers will battle for the Stanley Cup
(I betcha you did not know that). When the Quebec Nordiques (now
the Phoenix Coyotes) traded Eric Lindros to the Flyers, they knew
that within five years the Flyers would be a Stanley Cup contender,
and now with an impressive supporting squad, Lindros was able start
a new era by eliminating NHL legends Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky
at the same time. … Another thing you may not know is that
tennis’ French Open started on Monday. I didn’t know the clay-court
event started either until I saw a picture of Mary Pierce, who is
France’s best hope for a title, in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times. …
In MLB, there are three points that are needed to be touched on. *
Ken Griffey Jr., if healthy, may be able to break Roger Maris’
single-season home run record (61 in 1961). But when was the last
time that Griffey stayed healthy for the entire season? * Kirby
Puckett Weekend in Minnesota showed both just how great of a player
baseball lost last season and just how great the Twins fans are. *
Last night at Dodger Stadium, Jackie Robinson Night took place and
the legacy of the former Dodger and Bruin was proudly exhibited. I
was there. Were you? Mazeika has lost all sense of reality and, to
the relief of most readers, will likely not write another column
this school year. He congratulates all the graduating seniors one
final time. He can be reached at vmazeika@media.ucla.edu.