Loud and clear

March 28, 2008


Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian

The University Police Department tested a new campus notification system on Wednesday, as university police officials look into new ways of alerting the campus in times of crisis. Read more

Immigration ideas

March 28, 2008

Nationally syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette launched the 2008 Veritas Forum on March 26 at the Satellite Student Union. The presentation was the first in a three-day event called “Immigration: It’s Not Just About a Wall.” Read more

New building plans for University High

March 28, 2008

An artist's rendering of the new University High School building south of Joyal.
Courtesy of Dyson Karby Siegrist Janzen Architects, Inc.

Plans for a 37,500-square-foot building to house University High School (UHS) got the green light from California State University trustees on March 12.

Construction on the building could start this fall and UHS students may be learning in the new classrooms as early as September 2009. Read more

Book fair benefits Read Fresno

March 28, 2008

Yesterday the Kennel Bookstore hosted a book fair in conjunction with Books are Fun, an affiliate of Reader’s Digest, which donated 10 percent of their proceeds to Read Fresno.

Read Fresno is a non-profit organization with the goal of teaching Fresno children in pre-kindergarten through third grade how to read at or above their grade level in order to reverse the dwindling direction of Fresno’s literacy rate. Read more

Fresno State’s Top Chef

March 28, 2008


Juan Villa / The Collegian

It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that David Hickok digs chocolate.

After reading “The Essence of Chocolate” last summer, the senior culinology major read five more books on the subject and bought a tempering machine, which liquefies chocolate. Read more

Fun and Games: 03/28/08

March 28, 2008

Fun and games for March 28, 2008.

Read more

Bulldog football springs into action

March 28, 2008

Tight end Bear Pascoe is coming off a season in which he was named First Team All-WAC and led all tight ends in the conference with  540 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
Juan Villa / The Collegian

During the height of March Madness, no one is talking about the Fresno State basketball teams. Instead, the buzz is about the 2008 football team.

The Bulldog football team held its first practice in preparation for the 2008 football season Wednesday afternoon. The team was practicing on the field for the first time since preparing for its Roady’s Humanitarian Bowl victory over Georgia Tech on New Year’s Eve. Read more

Putting academics first

March 28, 2008

Kelli Cale (right) and Alex Jensen (left) study in the Ricchiuti Center. Both play on the soccer team and are required to study six hours a week at the facility.
Juan Villa . The Collegian

The scene inside of the Ricchiuti Center is a far cry from the misadventures of the Jerry Tarkanian era.

Student athletes are huddled inside cubbyholes staring into computer screens, poring over their latest assignments in English and history.

The room is dead silent. Read more

Bulldogs prepare for Wolf Pack after two game sweep of Cal Poly

March 28, 2008

After splitting their Western Athletic Conference (WAC) opening series with Hawaii, 2-2, the Fresno State baseball team swept Cal Poly Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Bulldogs had to rally from behind in both Tuesday and Wednesday’s contests, which they won 10-9 and 13-11.

Junior Gavin Hedstrom led the Diamond Dogs offensively Tuesday night, going 2 for 5 with four RBI and a three-run homer. Read more

WEB-SPE@K: Will an early spring break mean low class attendance?

March 28, 2008

Have you been affected at all by “spring fever?” Do you think the earlier spring break will have an impact on student attendance later in the semester?

Hushed Knight

March 28, 2008

HE JUST SITS THERE.

There are literally millions of people watching him at this moment, but it doesn’t seem to interest him.

He is hunched over, arms crossed, staring blankly into the camera, as if nothing at all stimulating is anywhere in the vicinity.

The moment is so awkward and long that it seems he blinks a million times before changing his attention to his colleague that sat just feet from him.

These were the opening moments of Bobby Knight’s debut as an ESPN analyst on SportsCenter.

After Knight’s retirement earlier this year, I wasn’t sure what would become of the hot-headed general.

Knight made a name for himself as one of the biggest hot heads in the history of the NCAA. Knight was known to verbally abuse players, coaches and referees, but he was probably best known for physically abusing folding chairs that made their ways to the center of the court. Read more

Warning System Test 3/26/08 - Reminder

March 26, 2008

Wednesday, March 26th University Police will be testing an outdoor warning system from 3-3:30 p.m.

Sirens and public address systems will be very audible during this test.

Please do not be alarmed this is a test.

If you have any questions contact Amy Armstrong, public information officer with University Police Department, at 278.6709.

The ups and downs of the Sweet 16

March 26, 2008


Illustration by Michael Uribes / The Collegian

Midwest Region
No. 10 Davidson

Davidson is the best story to come out of the NCAA this season. The small school played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the nation. They played against the likes of UCLA, North Carolina and Duke.

After competing with such high competition, the Wildcats flew through conference play, finishing 20-0.

Not even the pressure of March Madness could slow down Davidson.

First, Davidson defeated Gonzaga in the first round led by sophomore Stephen Curry’s 40 points.

Curry went off for another 30 points in Davidson’s win over Georgetown. Davidson’s victory over Georgetown is easily the biggest upset of the tournament.

With No. 2 Georgetown out of the way, the chances of Davidson beating No. 3 Wisconsin doesn’t seem that far out of reach.

West Region
No. 7 West Virginia

If the name Joe Alexander doesn’t ring a bell at this point, you probably haven’t been getting your daily dose of March Madness.

Alexander embodies what the month of March is about; elevating your game. The junior forward averaged 16.8 points a game this season. Since the Madness began, he has finished with 20 points or more in six games.

West Virginia was a team that played solid basketball before the emergence of Alexander. The team stayed competitive, finishing 11-7 in the competitive Big East Conference.

With the addition of a superstar player, West Virginia may have gained the edge they needed to go deep into the tournament.

In the Sweet 16, the Mountaineers play a very offensively-talented Xavier team. West Virginia’s solid defense should prevail in the clash of playing styles.

The No. 1 seeds - North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA

These elite teams made it through the first round easily, winning convincingly over opponents.

North Carolina and Kansas made it through the second round, defeating their opponents by large margins.

The second round wasn’t as easy as a task for Memphis and UCLA. These two No. 1 seeds were taken down to the final minute to obtain their victories.

This can be seen as either a sign of weakness or strength for UCLA and Memphis. The weak side of the slim margin of victory could be that these teams are not as good as their rankings show.

The sign of strength would mean that UCLA and Memphis are in positions where they have to be competitive. If a team plays at a competitive level more often, it could give them the advantage in high pressure situations later down the line.

As for North Carolina and Kansas, they either haven’t yet played a quality team, or they are as good as the rankings they were given.

In the next round, UCLA and Kansas should crush both of the No. 12 seeded teams they face. Memphis and North Carolina both have big games against formidable opponents.

East Region
No. 3 Louisville

Great coaching, great defense and great athleticism; what else can you say about Louisville?

Rick Pitino and the Cardinals have played two quality teams and won convincingly.

The first win was against the Boise State Broncos by an 18-point margin. Boise shared a four-way tie for the conference championship.

Next, the Cardinals beat Oklahoma by 30 points. They beat another team in convincing fashion from another competitive conference.

Louisville’s next game is against Tennessee, a team that came extremely close to winning 30 games.

Finding a way to shut down Louisville is going to be tough. The team relies on scoring from every position. Louisville is long and athletic and can score in a number of ways.

The Cardinals thrive off their ability to take advantage of other team’s mistakes on the defensive end. In the month of March, mistakes are in surplus.

West Region
No. 12 Western Kentucky

All the parts have fallen in the right places for Western Kentucky. Without that special element of circumstance, Western Kentucky would be on a bus or plane heading back from Tampa, Fla.

In the first round, Western Kentucky played Drake. Drake is a good team, however, they are not as good as their record would imply. Drake went 28-4 this season, but not without an easy schedule. The toughest team on Drake’s schedule was Saint Mary’s.Western Kentucky easily defeated the University of San Diego in round two.

Now the Hilltoppers take on UCLA in the Sweet 16.

UCLA is a good team from a tough conference that legitimately belongs in a race to see who is the best basketball team in the nation.

Now we’ll see how Western Kentucky fares against a legitimate contender.

The Collegian’s trip to the big dance

March 26, 2008

1 photographer.
1 sports reporter.
19 hours traveling.
25 hours in New Mexico.
44 hours total.
1 NCAA tournament appearance for the Fresno State women’s basketball team.

Friday
9:38 a.m.
Juan and I hop on a flight out of Fresno, headed to Phoenix. On the plane a baby starts crying. It doesn’t stop. I’m wearing a red sweatshirt. Gotta represent, even though I am a reporter. As we get off the plane the woman with the baby silently apologizes to everyone as they walk past her. Read more

uNCAAptable

March 26, 2008

By now you know that the Fresno State women’s team lost against Baylor.

And you see that the headline’s misspelled.

You also probably know that Fresno State wasn’t on television — even though they were supposed to be.

In many ways, it’s more ridiculous than you might imagine. As would be expected, the NCAA is trying to take zero blame. That’s pathetic. Here’s why.

The NCAA knew that the game was not on television. There was plenty of time to fix the mistake.

In Albuquerque I was sitting next to Matt James, a columnist for the Fresno Bee. He discovered that the game was not on television because of phone calls and probably because of comments on his blog about the game.

“Who’s the SID?” he asked me. SID stands for Sports Information Director.

I told him I didn’t know. So he went to investigate, sometime in the first half. Read more

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