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Sports Stuff
(Mar.
1, 2002)
by
Mike Morrow
Long before
Stan Watts (yes, there was BYU basketball before Stan Watts),
Mel Hutchins or Kresimir Cosic, a basketball team
known as Latter-day Saints College made international history.
The school,
which some historians say became a part of BYU, was one of three
invited to participate in a 1904 basketball exhibition at the St.
Louis Olympic Games. It was the first time basketball, founded 20
years before by Dr. James A. Naismith, had been a part of the Olympics.
Known as the
Olympic World's College Basketball Championships, the tournament
also included Hiram College of Ohio and Wheaton College of Illinois.
Olympic records mention the tournament only briefly because the
sport did not become an official Olympic event until 1936. However,
the 1904 Olympic Games are memorable even today.
They were the
third ever held, following the 1896 Olympics in Athens and the 1900
Olympics in Paris. However, they were small in scale, lasting only
five days, with mostly Americans and Canadians on hand because travel
costs prevented European athletes from participating.
If nothing else,
the 1904 Olympic Games and the neighboring St. Louis World Expo
will be remembered for the invention and introduction of the ice
cream cone.
Don't worry,
Coach!
With 6-foot-5 center Ben Olson playing a major role,
the Thousand Oaks, Calif., High School basketball team advanced
to the final of the California Interscholastic Federation tournament.
Olson is a football All-American who will attend BYU, but says he
was not thinking about changing uniforms when he reports to Provo.
"I'm a football player who plays basketball," he told Vincent Bonsignore
of the Los Angeles Daily News. "(Basketball) is something I enjoy
when I'm not playing football. But, no, this is it - this is my
last basketball game for awhile."
Olympic postscript
Playing key roles for the German Olympic ice hockey team were
Church members Stephanie and Sabine Kuerten.
Stephanie, who is 23 and married, is the team's starting goalie,
and Sabine, who is 24 and married with two children, is a starting
defenseman.
Batter up!
A 21-year-old from Salt Lake City is raising eyebrows in Kissimmee,
Fla., spring training site of the Houston Astros. However, John
Buck isn't likely to make the big leagues yet.
Buck, who joined
the Church shortly after marrying his high school sweetheart in
1998, figures to play in Double A at the start of the season and
could move up to Triple A. He is a catcher and a solid prospect,
though he needs experience, particularly against older and more
mature pitchers, according to the Astros.
Recruiting
update
BYU women's soccer coach Jennifer Rockwood is all smiles
after signing nine players, including one national high school and
one national junior college All-American, to letters of intent.
Brooke Bowman
of Plano, Tex., who played on the nation's top-ranked high school
team, and Jennifer Henry of Pasco, Wash., and Dixie College,
who played on the nation's top-ranked junior college team, will
be joining the Cougars this fall.
Also signed
were three standout players from Utah - Natalie Evans from
Salt Lake City Skyline High School, Ashley Smith from Salt
Lake City East High School, and Davia King from Orem Mountain
View High School. Also signed were players from California (Jamie
Rendich from Canyon Country Canyon High School and Brooke
Thulin from Huntington Beach), Hawaii (Charlene Lui from
Honolulu) and Georgia (Jenavieve Phillips from Kennesaw,
Ga.).
If you
are aware of an LDS athlete that deserves recognition in Meridian
Sports, please e-mail the sports writer at sports@meridianmagazine.com
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© 2001 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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