Wednesday, February 26, 2014 FOCUS
SPORTS
COMMENTARY
NEWS
Spoken word poet talks body empowerment
Bria Hartley leads all scorers with 25 and Huskies win
Regulators must consider more than market share in Comcast merger
Gov. weighs in at partisan dispute in Washington
page 5
page 12
page 4
page 2
Proposed housing fee increase scrapped Volume CXX No. 93
Storrs, Conn.
A proposal by UConn administrators to increase housing fees by up to 6.5 percent has been tabled for the semester
By Jackie Wattles Associate News Editor A proposal put forward by several University of Connecticut administrators to increase housing fee rates by up to 6.5 percent next year has been scrapped for the time being, but other fee increases are still on the table. The UConn Board of Trustees was poised to consider the proposed increase in housing rates, which was first presented at a public hearing earlier this month. But the proposal — which would have translated to an additional $500 for undergraduate students on top of current fees — has since been discarded. Vice President of Student Affairs Michael Gilbert worked with Executive Vice President Richard Gray and Provost Mun Choi on the proposal. Gilbert was not available for comment for this article, but Michael Daniels — the student-elected undergraduate representative for the board of trustees — said the proposal was pulled in order to allow more time to investigate the necessity of the
fee increase. In an interview last week, Gilbert said the increase would have funded “deferred maintenance costs” for existing UConn dormitories — including renovating bathrooms, repairing roofs and installing emergency power sources for residential life facilities. Shortly after the administrators came forward with the proposal, the Undergraduate Student Government spoke out against it — saying the administrators hadn’t vetted the fee enough to justify increasing the burden on students. The USG Senate passed a resolution at its Feb. 12 meeting opposing the increase. USG Senator Kevin Alvarez, who was present at the initial hearing, said the administrators did not have an answer when they brought up alternative funds for the suggested deferred maintenance projects. “At the public forum it was stated that the funds from Next Generation Connecticut have not been factored in accordingly to the above mentioned hous-
FILE PHOTO/The Daily Campus
Michael Daniels, the undergraduate representative to the UConn Board of Trustees, is shown in this Oct. 9, 2012 file photo. Daniels said the 6.5 percent housing rate hike that was proposed by UConn administrators will likely be lessened to a standard 3 percent increase to adjust for inflation and operating costs.
ing rate increase,” the legislation reads, referring to the $1.5 billion capital investment fund recently approved by the state legislature. The Next Generation fund does include money set aside for deferred maintenance and housing at the Storrs campus, but in a recent interview UConn President Susan Herbst clarified that those funds would not cover the type of dorm renovations proposed by
BEHIND THE NAME
Homer Babbidge
Gilbert, Choi and Gray. Gilbert also denied that NextGen funds could be used for dorm renovations in a Feb. 12 interview. Daniels said he also wants to see a more detailed, prioritized list of the deferred maintenance projects before he will support a housing rate hike. “While a number of those (deferred maintenance projects) seem legitimate, I was hoping
to see a more detailed list of the pressing concerns before we pass an increase that high,” he said. Daniels said a fee hike as high as 6 percent will not likely show up again this year, but the board will probably approve a standard 3 percent increase — to keep up with inflation and operating costs — before the end of the year. The board is set to consider standard increases to the general
By Matt Stypulkoski Associate Sports Editor
been brought in to help work on the taping of sheet rock. “They were paying cash to avoid payment of state and federal income taxes,” Gary Pechie, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Workplace Standards director, said. “And they didn’t have people on certified payroll that were working on that job…they underpaid wages also.” The stop-work order does not pertain to UConn’s general contractor for the project, Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, and the construction site as a whole has not been shut
Homer Babbidge Library, at the heart of UConn’s campus, is shown in this June 2013 photo. The man behind the name was a Connecticut governor, university president and a controversial figurehead at a time of social change and political unrest.
By Alban Murtishi Staff Writer UConn students are assuredly aware of Homer Babbidge library in the center of campus, but do they know who it was named after? Born in Massachusetts in 1925, Babbidge resided there until his family moved to New York 12 years later. After high school, Babbidge attended Yale University on scholarship. A lifelong historian, he worked with Professor George Pierson on reconstructing the history of Yale, which pointed him toward his continued studies. He garnered his bachelor’s degree in 1945, followed by his master’s and doctorate degrees in 1948 and 1953, respectively, also through Yale. Dr. Babbidge’s career was diverse. At Yale, he was a professor of American studies and eventually the University’s Director of Financial Aid. He left Yale to become the special assistant to the commissioner of education in 1955, and steadily worked his way up in the Department
of Health, Education and Welfare from there. In 1959, he became the assistant U.S. commissioner of education and director of the Division of Higher Education, earning himself a medal of Distinguished Service from the department. He became President of the University of Connecticut in 1962. Replacing former President Albert N. Jorgensen proved to be a challenge, who had been UConn’s president for the past 27 years. But, as he did with most challenges, Babbidge made the situation into an opportunity. Under President Babbidge, the faculty doubled, as did their salaries. These steps were taken in order to keep up with the fluctuating student population. True to form, library and research centers were a top priority for Babbidge. When he took office in 1962, the UConn library was located in the Wilbur Cross building and housed 270,000 texts. At the end of his tenure, plans
» BABBIDGE, page 2
Jacqueline.Wattles@UConn.edu
Contractors ordered off UConn construction job over wage issues Two companies subcontracted to work on the UConn basketball practice facility have been issued stop-work orders by the state Department of Labor. According to the university, the stop-work orders apply specifically to those subcontractors – Intex of Glastonbury and one of its subcontractors, J&V Construction – which were performing “specific, limited work” at the site. Those two companies had
FILE PHOTO/WikimediaCommons
university and transit fees at its Wednesday meeting. The current general university fee is $1,848 per year for undergraduate students, but the board will consider a 3.6 percent bump in that price (to $1,914). That fee, known as the GUF fee, funds “student related programs and institutional services of those programs,” according to the UConn Bursar Office’s website. That includes programs such as the One Card Office, Student Health Services, Career Services and parking. In the proposed budget for GUF fee revenues, the Jorgenson Center for the Performing Arts will receive the biggest influx of cash, bumping its budget from $1.35 million to $1.49 million. The board will also consider a $10 increase in the transit fee. A proposal to the board authored by Gray and Choi states, “the primary rationale for this adjustment is increased fuel prices, labor costs and maintenance of the shuttle buses and accessible vans.” The board of trustees’ monthly meeting will begin at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday at Rome Commons in South Campus’ Snow Hall. The proposed fee increases are slated as the fifth agenda item.
down. “Neither UConn nor its general contractor were aware of the violations alleged by the Department of Labor,” UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said in an email, “nor would we condone any such work practices.” Pechie added that there have been no penalties as of yet for the two subcontracting companies because the issue is still under investigation, but the payment of fines and back-wages is a possibility.
Matthew.Stypulkoski@UConn.edu
Student Life Award nominations due Friday, past winners reflect By Marissa Piccolo Staff Writer Nominations for the university’s 2014 Student Life Awards are due this upcoming Friday, Feb 28 at 12 p.m. Students may be nominated by faculty, fellow students or themselves, and both recipients and finalists will be recognized during the Department of Student Activities Leadership Program’s “Recognition Week” in midApril. The scholarships and awards, sponsored by the UConn Co-Op, Division of Athletics, Office of Multicultural and International
Affairs and the Division of Student Affairs, honor both individuals and student organizations in a variety of categories. John Dearborn, UConn ’13 alum now pursuing his PhD in political science at Yale University, was one of fourteen individual Student Life Award recipients last year, recognized for his outstanding UConn spirit by the Individual Husky Pride Award. In his words, “What Hogwarts was to Harry Potter, UConn was to me.” Well-known for his blue and white face paint, wig and energy at Gampel, Dearborn exuded pride beyond just basketball,
although as you can imagine, he still comes up for a game whenever he has the chance. As a former coordinator of the Honors Initiative for Prospective Students, commonly known as HIPS, he still tries to convince high school students to seriously consider UConn and become part of the Husky family. “UConn allowed me to study abroad in London, do an internship in D.C., witness amazing sport teams and be part of great student organizations,” Dearborn explained. “I still try to show husky pride in a number of ways. As a graduate stu-
» AWARDS, page 2
At UConn today
High: 26 Low: 6 Today: Snow Shower
10 to 11:30 a.m.
12:30 to 2 p.m.
2 to 5 p.m.
Board of Trustees Meeting
Public Policy Series: Newtown Recovery
Men’s Tennis v. Fairfield
Rome Commons, South Campus
Greater Hartford Campus, Library 403
East Hartford Racquet Club
7 to 8:30 p.m.
Gov. Malloy: Leadership in Times of Crisis Laurel Hall 102
The Daily Campus, Page 2
News
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Gov. weighs in at partisan dispute in Washington WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s governors emerged from a meeting with President Barack Obama on Monday claiming harmony, only to immediately break into an on-camera partisan feud in front of the West Wing. Louisiana Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal lashed out first, saying if Obama were serious about growing the economy he would approve the Keystone XL pipeline project and take other executive actions. Instead, Jindal said, Obama “seems to be waving the white flag of surrender” on the economy by focusing on raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10, up from $7.25. “The Obama economy is now the minimum wage economy. I think we can do better than that,” Jindal said. Jindal’s statements were the kind that Republicans often make on television appearances or at partisan events, but don’t usually come from potential presidential candidates standing yards from the Oval Office. Other governors had been instead expressing wide agreement and appreciation for the president’s time. As Jindal spoke, some of his colleagues began shaking their heads, and Hawaii Democratic Gov. Neil Abercrombie began audibly mumbling to others around him.
Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy took over the microphone from Jindal and responded sharply, “Wait a second, until a few moments ago we were going down a pretty cooperative road. So let me just say that we don’t all agree that moving Canadian oil through the United States is necessarily the best thing for the United States economy.” Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, a Republican who chairs the National Governors Association and supports Keystone, earlier said she asked Obama when the administration would decide whether to allow it and he told her there would be an answer in the next couple months. Malloy said Jindal’s “white flag statement” was the most partisan of their weekend conference and that many governors support a minimum wage increase. “What the heck was a reference to white flag when it comes to people making $404 a week?” Malloy snapped. “I mean, that’s the most insane statement I’ve ever heard.” Jindal did not the back down. “If that’s the most partisan thing he’s heard all weekend, I want to make sure he hears a more partisan statement,” the Louisiana governor responded. “I think we can grow the economy more if we would delay more of these
from STUDENT, page 1
would not be the person I am today without them.” Graduating this year, Lee hopes to attend a neuroscience doctoral program and ultimately become a professor at a university. Yet in addition to his academic passions, Lee has been motivated to become involved in organizations and activities that “promote, encourage and enhance diversity of campus.” His commitment is clear: Lee is a Resident Assistant in McMahon Hall, coordinator of the Kids & UConn Bridging Education program (which won the 2013 SLA Organization Community Service award), employee of the Asian American Cultural Center, brother of Beta Theta Pi and has in the past worked as a Violence Against
AP
Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy, center, speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014, following a meeting between President Barack Obama and members of the National Governors Association (NGA).
Obamacare mandates.” But Malloy was already walking away from the news conference. He called Jindal a “cheap shot artist” as he departed the White House grounds. The public dispute came after
Awards recognize contributions to community, leadership at UConn dent now, I work hard not just because of the goals I want to achieve, but because I believe my actions as an alum reflect on UConn.” Margaret Lamb, former Associate Director of the Honors Program, nominated Dearborn. “With John, you heard and saw his pride, over and over again, and you could see the influence of his enthusiasm on others, right before your eyes.” Tommy Lee, biology and psychology ’14, was also honored at the 2013 Recognition Week by receiving the Andrea Dennis LaVigne Scholarship for Advancing Diversity. “As a first-generation college student,” Lee emphasizes, “I take pride in my family values because I
Women Prevention program facilitator and he attended two alternative break programs. “Opportunities for furthering education should be a right that is granted to every person in the world regardless of their race, culture or background,” Lee says, “Understanding that each individual in the world has his or her own story is key to being open, tolerant and accepting of diversity.” Lee’s nomination came from UConn Cultural Centers and UConn Residental Life. Nomination forms and descriptions of available awards can be found on the Student Activities website and filled out Friday.
Obama appealed to the governors for their help to advance his economic policies that stand little chance of winning passage on Capitol Hill. “Even when there’s little appetite in Congress to move on some
of these priories, on the state level you guys are governed by practical considerations,” Obama told the governors during remarks in the State Dining Room. “You want to do right by your people.” The president pressed in par-
ticular for states to act on their own to raise the minimum wage and expand access to early childhood education, two initiatives that have gained little traction in Congress since Obama first introduced them last year. Several governors are seen as potential presidential candidates in 2016. Obama made light of the speculation about the race to replace him, saying he “enjoyed watching some of you with your eyes on higher office size up the drapes, and each other.” Not every governor met Monday with the president. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie left the NGA meeting early to attend his daughter’s birthday and prepare for a budget address. Facing multiple investigations in a political-retribution probe in New Jersey, the Republican leader also skipped a Monday news conference by the Republican Governors Association, which he leads. Jindal shrugged off Christie’s absence from the news conference, declaring that the RGA is “more important than just any one governor.” Asked about his own presidential ambitions, Jindal responded, “My honest answer is I don’t know what I’m going to be doing in 2016.”
Babbidge’s legacy: governor, UConn president, U.S. offical
Marissa.Piccolo@UConn.edu
JESS CONDON/The Daily Campus
COURTESY PHOTO/Hartford Public Library
LEFT: Homer Babbidge, a former UConn president who reigned during a time of political and social upheaval, is shown on the university’s campus in this 1971 photo. RIGHT: The library that carries Babbidge’s namesake is shown in this file photo.
from HOMER, page 1
LARCENY Feb. 21 A woman, 20, of Bristol, was arrested at the UConn Co-Op and charged with larceny in the sixth degree. The woman was allegedly observed by Co-Op personnel with a pink-knitted, winter hat valued at $14.99, and left the store with the hat without paying. No bond was set, but the woman gave a written promise to appear. Her court date is March 4.
DWI Feb. 20 A man, 24, of Norwalk, was arrested at Middle Turnpike and charged with failure to drive right, operation while under the influence and traveling at unreasonable speed. Police stopped the man’s vehicle after observing it driving over the centerline at an “unreasonably fast” speed. Police subjected the man to a series of field sobriety tests, which he subsequently failed. His bond was set at $500 and his court date is March 3.
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TRESPASSING Feb. 19 A man, 50, of East Hartford, was arrested at 369 Fairfield Way and charged with criminal trespassing in the first degree. Homer Babbidge Library officials issued the man a no trespass order in March 2008 for “inappropriately utilizing library resources.” Police determined the man was aware of the no trespassing order but was present at the library regardless, and was placed under arrest. His bond was set at $1,000 and his court date is March 4.
were in place for the building of an improved library and the collection of written works had grown to over one million. In addition, the Benton Museum of Art, the Honors Program, as well the additions of anthropology and linguistics were all contributions Babbidge made to the university. The Babbidge years were also a tumultuous time. The conflicts of the Vietnam War not only abroad, but also the domestic struggle against racial and gender discrimination spilled into the confines of the UConn campus. Student protests, demonstrations and strikes were met with opposition and regulation from the state police, for which Babbidge was vilified. In response, Babbidge hired a “race relations ombudsman” who was according to the New York Times “a black special assistant from the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.”
The Governor of Connecticut at the time of Babbidge’s presidency proved to be a constant adversary. Up to and during the Babbidge years, the university was tuition free, but Gov. Thomas J. Meskill sought to instill a $350 fee. Although Babbidge vehemently opposed it, Meskill passed the bill. From 1971-1972, Babbidge was the Vice President of the American Council of Education. He stepped down from his position as president of the University of Connecticut in 1972 to the dismay of his students, but Babbidge had no intentions of retirement. He ran for governor of Connecticut in 1973 on the democratic ticket and lost. He returned to work at Yale from 1972-1976 as the master of the Timothy Dwight College. While director of Connecticut Public Television (CPTV), he created and narrated a series in 1977 by the name of “Connecticut Heritage,” a subject he was quite knowledgeable
about. The series won him an award at the New York Festival of Film. Babbidge died of cancer in 1984 at the age of 58 and was survived by his wife, Marcia, and his three children, Alexander, Aimee and Sandra. Friends of Babbidge lauded him for his bright mind and quick wit. Pushed out as President in 1972 due to ongoing unrest, he had this to say: “It seems that every time an institution befouls itself, the president is dismissed; we might properly be known as the disposable diapers of American higher education.” Although he never did become governor, Babbidge was the central intellectual figure of Connecticut during his lifetime. One gets the impression that, without cancer, he would have continued achieving until he had held every position and done everything there was to do.
Alban.Murtishi@UConn.edu
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The Daily Campus, Page 3
News
» HEALTH
Centralizing organ removal may benefit transplants
AP
In this Friday, Feb. 21, 2014 photo, organ procurement coordinators Lindsey Cook, left, and Josh Skelton work with the body of a potential organ donor at Mid-America Transplant Services in St. Louis. Organ donors are brought to the facility from nearby states in an effort to bring donors to doctors rather than the other way around.
(AP) For decades, surgeons have traveled to far-off hospitals to remove organs from braindead donors and then rushed back to transplant them. Now an experiment in the Midwest suggests there may be a better way: Bring the donors to the doctors instead. A study out Tuesday reports on liver transplants from the nation’s first free-standing organ retrieval center. Nearly all organ donors now are transported to Mid-America Transplant Services in St. Louis from a region including parts of Missouri, Illinois and Arkansas. Removing organs at this central location near the four hospitals that do transplants saves money, the study found. The livers spent less time outside the donor’s body, which at least in theory improves the odds of success. Doctors also think they are getting more usable organs from each donor, though this study only looked at livers. Transplant experts say this could become a new standard, and groups in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Denver, Chicago and Ann Arbor, Mich., have started or are exploring similar ventures. “It’s kind of a foreign concept so it’s taken some time for this to catch on, but I think it will. It makes so much sense,” said Dr. William Chapman, a transplant surgeon at Washington University in St. Louis, which uses the MidAmerica center. “There’s no question in my mind” this should be done everywhere, said Dr. Majella Doyle, also of Washington University. “It will increase the number of organs that are used and it will increase efficiency and decrease costs.” She led the study, published in the American Journal of Transplantation. About 28,000 transplants were done in the United States in 2012; more than 121,000 people are on the waiting list now. Organs have a finite shelf life — livers, 6 to 10 hours after removal; hearts and lungs, even less. Kidneys last about a day. Transplants are not done at every hospital — only a few in any major city have that capability. Surgeons usually travel to wherever the donor is to retrieve organs, performing these hurried, complex operations in unfamiliar settings, often assisted by staffs at hospitals that don’t have transplant expertise. Donors provide three organs on average but can give six or
more. Each specialist — lung, heart, kidney — wants to test and inspect an organ to ensure viability before committing to the transplant. Sometimes multiple doctors make the trip to retrieve organs, or there is redundant testing and inspection when an organ that’s been removed by one doctor gets to another hospital where it will be transplanted. Mid-America, the region’s organ procurement organization, thought that having a retrieval center — a commercial building with two operating rooms and testing equipment — near the four St. Louis hospitals that do transplants would improve coordination. In 2001, the first year it was open, it handled 36 percent of liver donations in the region. By 2011, it was up to 93 percent. Two staffers, usually nurses, go to the donor’s hospital — by ambulance if within 80 miles and by plane if farther — to bring brain-dead donors on life support to St. Louis. After any organs and tissues are removed, the body is returned, according to the family’s wishes. The study looked at 583 livers donations from 2001 through 2011— 407 procured at the organ retrieval center, 94 at St. Louis hospitals and 82 from flights to other hospitals in the region. Patient and organ survival rates were similar. Removing livers at the central facility shaved an hour and a half off the time they were outside the donor’s body. Costs dropped 37 percent — $7,876 for liver removal at a hospital versus $4,957 at the organ center. “We can save more lives by doing the management and recovery here,” said Diane Brockmeier, Mid-America’s chief operating officer. “It’s a huge benefit for donor hospitals. We’re freeing up resources they can use on other patients” because their intensive care units and operating rooms are not tied up with organ retrieval, she said. Donor families have not balked at sending their loved ones’ bodies out of town. “At first it bothered us,” said Stacey Smith, whose 21-yearold son, Cameron Greenwood, became an organ donor in 2010 after dying of complications from diabetes. But she said MidAmerica’s staff explained why it was best to move him from the small hospital in Branson, Mo., to St. Louis, a four-hour drive away.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Senators hit rivals hard in GOP primaries WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican senators are attacking GOP challengers earlier and more aggressively than in past elections, including using opposition research to try to knock out upstart rivals before they become serious threats. These senators are eager to avoid the fate of colleagues who fell victim to tea party-backed rivals they had shrugged off. In Kentucky, the tea party-backed challenger to Sen. Mitch McConnell is trying to explain old investor letters that recently surfaced, undermining his criticisms of government bailouts of banks. In Kansas, the physician trying to oust three-term Sen. Pat Roberts is apologizing for posting graphic images of gunshot victims on his Facebook page some years ago. Both stories have the markings of “opposition research,” the term for time-consuming digging into documents that well-funded campaigns often carry out. Campaigns sometimes offer the material as tips to news outlets, or seek to publicize it themselves. Traditionally, Republicans and Democrats have aimed such efforts mainly at each other, in general elections held in November. The rise of tea party challengers, however, is prompting some Republican incumbents — or their friends in the GOP establishment — to direct early opposition research against intra-party challengers. This comes after veteran Republican senators in Utah, Indiana and elsewhere were too slow and flat-footed in responding to primary challengers.
Tea party champion Mike Lee kept Utah’s Senate seat in Republican hands after knocking off three-term Sen. Bob Bennett in 2010. Indiana Republicans, however, lost a Senate seat when Richard Mourdock ousted 36-year Sen. Richard Lugar in the 2012 primary, only to lose the general election after saying pregnancies resulting from rape were something “God intended to happen.” Mainstream Republican groups that once took a handsoff view of primaries are now active in undermining challengers they view as weaker potential candidates against Democrats. “We’re not anti-conservative,” said Rob Collins, executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. “We’re just antipeople-who-can’t-win.” Collins said his group dug up bankruptcy records that helped knock out a potential tea party challenger to West Virginia Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, seen as the strongest Republican contender for the Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jay Rockefeller. Tea party champion Matt Bevin has criticized McConnell for backing a 2008 government bailout of collapsing banks. This month, letters praising the bailout — and bearing Bevin’s signature from his days heading an investment firm — surfaced. Bevin said the signatures were a formality that did not reflect his views of the government action. Kansas radiologist Milton Wolf this weekend said it was inappropriate of him to have posted gruesome X-ray photos of gunshot victims, along
with macabre commentary, on Facebook some years ago. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that the X-rays came from various hospitals. Wolf apologized and said he had removed the images years ago. He accused Roberts of trying to smear him in the Republican Senate primary. Roberts’ campaign said the news report “speaks for itself.” Collins, whose group sup-
ports Roberts, defended the tough tactics against Wolf. “Do they have some fantasy that Democrats wouldn’t use that?” Collins said of the Facebook images. Republican strategist Brian Nick said senators have learned from watching the fate of colleagues such as Lugar. The lesson, he said, is “don’t allow one of these candidates to get traction, because then they can cause major headaches.”
AP
TOP: In this Feb. 8, 2014 file photo, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., waits to speak during a campaign stop at Badgett Supply in Madisonville, Ky. BOTTOM: In this Oct. 30, 2013, file photo, Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., questions Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius as she testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
» INTERNATIONAL
EU revises growth forecasts, up slightly BRUSSELS (AP) — Economic growth across Europe is expected to be slightly stronger this year as the recovery gains ground, according to the European Commission’s new forecast released Tuesday. The 18-country eurozone’s economy is expected to grow by 1.2 percent in 2014 and by 1.8 percent next year — 0.1 percentage points more each year than predicted in the Commission’s last forecast in November. “The recovery in the European Union is gaining ground and spreading across countries
although it remains modest,” said Commissioner Olli Rehn, the bloc’s top economic official. “The worst of the crisis may now be behind us.” Spain stands out as firmly turning the page on a two-year recession. The Commission doubled its 2014 growth outlook for the country to 1 percent. Its high unemployment rate, however, is expected to fall only slowly below 26 percent this year. For the eurozone as a whole, the jobless rate is seen as staying flat around the current record high of 12 percent, falling to 11.7
percent only next year. The wider 28-nation EU, which includes members like Britain and Poland that don’t use the euro currency, will grow by 1.5 percent this year and 2.0 percent in 2015, according to the Commission forecast. That outlook is also revised upward by 0.1 percentage points each. Overall, solid growth in major trading partners will help Europe by boosting its exports, Rehn said. “The recovery in the European Union will be supported by the advanced economies, notably the
AP
The new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB), building at right, is under construction on the water front of the River Main,in Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Feb. 24, 2014. The ECB is supposed to move into the building at the end of 2014.
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U.S., while the emerging markets will fare quite uneven,” he said at a news conference in Strasbourg. Still, Rehn urged European governments to keep strengthening their economies’ competitiveness and trim their deficits, saying the recovery remains modest and can’t be “an invitation to be complacent.” The only countries that are forecast to remain stuck in recession in 2014 are Cyprus and Slovenia, set to see their economies shrink by 4.8 percent and 0.1 percent respectively. Cyprus last year required an international bailout that requires it to overhaul its banking system and make tough debt cuts that are depressing the economy. Slovenia’s economy is mainly held back by trouble with its banks and weak domestic demand. In Greece, which has lost about a quarter of its economic output over a brutal six-year recession, the Commission continues to foresee a timid return to growth this year, of 0.6 percent. The unemployment rate is expected to fall only slightly below 26 percent. The Commission expects the eurozone’s overall government debt to stabilize around 95 percent of GDP before starting to slightly fall from 2015. Inflation will remain subdued at 1 percent in 2014, ticking up to 1.3 percent next year, the Commission said.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The Daily Campus
Editorial Board
Kimberly Wilson, Editor-in-Chief Kayvon Ghoreshi, Commentary Editor Kristi Allen, Associate Commentary Editor Daniel Gorry, Weekly Columnist Victoria Kallsen, Weekly Columnist Gregory Koch, Weekly Columnist
» EDITORIAL
Regulators must consider more than market share in Comcast merger
C
omcast and Time Warner Cable agreed to a merger deal worth about $45 billion two weeks ago. Prior to the deal, Comcast was the largest cable and Internet provider in the country, with 21.7 million television and 20.6 million broadband subscribers. With the merger, they will be acquiring an additional 11.2 million television and 11.1 million Internet customers from Time Warner’s consumer base. With Comcast now possessing so much market share there has been concern as to what it will do to the industry and whether or not it is even legal. The issue isn’t so much monopolistic control as it is general influence and power. Many have called the deal a violation of antitrust laws and a detriment to competition. However, Comcast plans on losing approximately 3 million subscribers which would give it a total television market share of about 30 percent, which may just be passable under current federal regulations. Also, Comcast and Time Warner own regional monopolies, meaning most people didn’t have the option of choosing Time Warner or Comcast to begin with and thus the merger technically doesn’t hurt competition in that sense. What does become an issue is when one company has such a substantial amount of influence. With this deal Comcast will be able to throw its weight around more with content companies like CBS and Disney. Deals between cable and media companies have been relatively lackluster in the past few years, as well as scattered. With Comcast having so much of the market, it is possible they will be able to cut deals with more content providers given the appeal of their wide user base. It could potentially bring more content to their consumers, and also at a lower price considering Comcast has more leverage now. On the other side of the coin, Comcast could also charge Netflix more to stream to its consumers and that extra cost would inevitably get passed down to Netflix’s customers. One also has to be wary of Comcast possibly giving preferentially treatment to specific content, such as its internally owned studio, NBC Universal. When evaluating the deal, federal regulators need to not only focus on the market share numbers, but also the overall impact of Comcast’s newfound leverage on the everyday consumer and on other content and service providers.
Conn. right to open debate on assisted suicide
O
n Friday, Connecticut legislators agreed to reconsider the state’s laws on physician-assisted suicide. The General Assembly this session will take up a bill that would make it legal for doctors to prescribe lethal medications to terminally ill patients. The bill is already generating controversy in Connecticut. The state needs to have this debate on assisted suicide. While the bill under consideration may not be perfect, our current laws regarding assisted suicide are unfair and should be revised. Physician assisted suiBy Kristi Allen cide is legal Associate Commentary Editor under strict conditions in four states in the US- Oregon, Washington, Montana and Massachusetts. It’s also legal in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Assisted suicide has been legal in all of those countries except Luxembourg since 1942, and it accounts for between .05 percent and 3 percent of all deaths annually in those countries annually. Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland are also the only three countries whose laws concerning assisted suicide extend to the non-terminally ill. Patients with severe depression can receive medical assistance with suicide. Belgium just passed a law mak-
ing assisted suicide legal for people of all ages, including children, and the Netherlands has ruled that child assisted suicide is permissible in some cases. In the US, the laws in each state vary, but require a doctor to certify that a patient is terminally ill in order to qualify for lethal medications. The patient must be mentally competent and they must meet a number of other requirements, including waiting periods, review by other doctors, having an understanding of all other options for treatment available and psychiatric evaluations. In Connecticut, it’s not illegal for a terminally ill patient to end his or her own life. However, it is illegal to assist someone in committing suicide. The law is designed to protect patients near the end of their lives from being taken advantage of, and the concerns it addresses are valid and will certainly have to be considered in any new laws. It doesn’t, however, address those concerns as well as legal assisted suicide would. A case from West Hartford two years ago shows the shortcomings of our current law. Bruce Brodigan was charged with manslaughter after helping his father George, a prominent Hartford lawyer who had developed alzheimer’s commit suicide. George died from a mixture of alcohol and his son’s antidepressants. Brodigan told police that his father had planned to end his life before the disease made too much progress and that “it was the most beautiful, loving moment” he had with his father. On one hand, Connecticut’s laws forced a man to use prescription pills that weren’t his, and another man went to trial for trying to help his father fulfill his dying wish. On the other hand, a man
in a compromised mental state was put to death by someone with a vested interest in the matter. If assisted suicide were legal, there would be better ways to deal with these conflicts of interest. The General Assembly is set to consider that bill that is modeled on Oregon’s right-to-death law, which requires that a physician approve a patient’s case for assisted suicide. George Brodigan’s case would have had to be reviewed by two doctors who were not related to him and did not stand to benefit in any way from his death. We’ll never know much more about the Brodigans’ decision than we do now, but there’s a chance it was the most sensible and compassionate choice and what George sincerely wanted. The bill under consideration would recognize that voluntarily ending life can be a reasonable decision in some cases and make the process more fair and sensible. Patients would have the autonomy to seek lethal medication on their own instead of having to appeal to someone close to them for help. They would have to pass numerous safeguards and be aware of other options. The bill can’t prevent someone from going around the law as Bruce Brodigan did if they couldn’t get approval from their doctor, but neither can the current legislation. In light of that, making assisted suicide legal is the best decision overall. It’s a difficult choice but one patients should be able to make for themselves.
Kristi.Allen@UConn.edu 4th-semester journalism and geography
Political life lessons from ‘House of Cards’ Good luck on your interview today Sarah! “So that was the only time I made the InstantDaily, it was two weeks ago. It was a proud moment.” InstantDaily (8:43:30PM): Someone mourned the death of the InstantDaily on Twitter yesterday. Let me just say, rumours of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! The fact that I’m the last one out of the house at 8:45am has me concerned for my roommates’ continued wellbeing. “People who put eyelashes on their car headlights should not be allowed to reproduce.” “Well I was sitting down waiting for a bus and I looked down and I was like ‘Hey, that’s a hockey puck!’ It said 10.25.13, actually I found it on my birthday. So now I use it as a paperweight.” Ah, Wednesday, you’re finally here. I was introduced to the TimTam yesterday. My life has been forever altered. “I want another snow day” “My ethos is ‘make your own.’”
Send us your thoughts on anything and everything by sending an instant message to InstantDaily, Sunday through Thursday evenings. Follow us on Twitter (@InstantDaily) and become fans on Facebook.
F
iction has always had a lot to teach, and “House of Cards” may be no different. It could be televsion at its best, but its politics at its worst and, maybe, most honest. Lesson one: centrists, pragmatists and crooks. The late, great, political philosopher Ayn Rand once said, “There is right and there is wrong, and in the center there is evil.” It could just as well be said that in the center, there is Frank Underwood. “House of Cards” By Devin Keehner often ridicules ideoStaff Columnist logues on both sides of the political spectrum. Tea Partiers and progressives alike are portrayed as entrenched, unreasonable and useless. At first glance one might even assume that “House of Cards” is a figment of America’s longing for pragmatism. After all, the politics of “House of Cards” is, by and large, bipartisan. The show features an education bill that increases funding for public schools, while simultaneously expanding school choice and taking on teachers unions. The show’s protagonists
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even tackle entitlement reform raising the minimum retirement age - fighting Democrats and Republican along the way. There is only one problem. Do people really want bipartisanship if the cost is Frank Underwood? It’s not that every centrist is a cold-blooded murderer. The real problem is you can’t trust someone who doesn’t stand for something. Frank Underwood is exactly that. He wants power for the sake of having power. His ambition serves no greater purpose of any kind. An ideologue you can trust. They might not be open to compromise, but you know where they stand. The media screams for some kind of compromise. In reality, however, the American people instinctively run from pragmatism and moderation of any sort. Just look at the 2006 and 2012 Presidential elections - the losing candidate in both cases was pinned as a flip flopper. The American people know in their guts that someone who will compromise on their most fundamental beliefs, or worse someone who has no fundamental beliefs can’t be trusted. Lesson two: Journalists and politicians are two sides of the same coin.
Media personalities can be just as power hungry, corrupt, and amoral as politicians, a fact beautifully portrayed by House of Cards character Zoe Barnes, who is willing to lie, cheat, and sleep her way onto the front pages. Why wouldn’t media personalities and journalists share in the character flaws of their political counterparts? After all, they often have as much, if not more to gain. There is far more easy money to be made in the cable news industry than even Washington as to offer. Talking heads on the television are often millionaires, receiving yearly incomes that dwarf those of their political counterparts. According to actress Robin Wright, a senior person within the Obama administration, “Washington reporters really do sleep with their sources,” a favorite tactic of young journalists in the world of House of Cards. It’s clear that reporters and politicians stand to gain from relationships with one another. After all, a kind word from one can make the career of the other. Perhaps that’s why the media pines for centrists and pragmatists who lack strong principles. That, or they enjoy reporting
on those politician’s inevitable scandals. Most importantly “House of Cards” teaches us something about the American people. Gone are the days of the “West Wing.” Politicians are no longer portrayed as well-meaning idealists, and neither is Washington a place of optimism. At least for now, politics is seen as the art of deceit and betrayal. “House of Cards” can’t be separated from the society that gave birth to it. Americans are fed up with politicians and they are fed up with government. They want a government that works, but they are skeptical of anyone capable of making it work. Take New Jersey Governor Chris Christie for example. He was hailed as a bipartisan bridge builder, but recent revelations suggest he might be better at shutting bridges down. Like “House of Card’s” Frank Underwood, Christie or his staff cared more about getting something done than doing the right thing. Art really does imitate life.
Devin.Keehner@UConn.edu 6th-semester communications @Devin_Keehner
“The Russians were supposed to do well in men’s and women’s hockey. Now they’ve both been eliminated. Not from competition; actually eliminated. They’re gone. Vladimir Putin threw them a poison state dinner.” –David Letterman
THIS DATE IN HISTORY
BORN ON THIS DATE
1919 Two national parks were established in the United States 10 years apart--the Grand Canyon in 1919 and the Grand Tetons in 1929.
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The Daily Campus, Page 5
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Spoken word poet talks body empowerment
Patrick Gosselin/The Daily Campus
Caroline Rothstein, a spoken word poet based in New York City, performed at the Student Union Theater Tuesday evening. Her performance featured themes of body empowerment to connect to National Eating Disorders Week. The event kicked off a week of events focused on positive body image sponsored by the Women’s Center, S.H.A.P.E, Active Minds and SUBOG.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ slated for Shakespearean success
Photo Courtesy of the Connecticut Repertory Theater
From Feb. 28 to Mar. 9 the Connecticut Repertory Theatre is presenting Shakespearean comedy ‘Much Ado About Nothing’.
By Emily Lewson Staff Writer From Feb. 28 to March 9, the Connecticut Repertory Theatre is presenting “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare in the Nafe Katter Theater. Paul Mullins directs the Shakespearean comedy and modernizes the intertwining love stories. The play describes the homecoming of Claudio and Benedick, who have been away at war. While visiting Leonato’s house, Claudio immediately falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero, and they decide to marry. Meanwhile, Benedick and Leonato’s niece, Beatrice, have clashing, witty personalities that lead to amusing banter. In the week preceding Claudio and Hero’s wedding, tragedy strikes. The characters must deal with societal expectations, adultery and death. The comedy drives characters and audience members on an emotional rollercoaster while laughing all the way.
“Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy of manners,” said Mullins in a media release. “The most socially and psychologically realistic of Shakespeare’s comedies, the play and its ‘merry war’ between the sexes is a precursor of restoration comedies, screwball comedies and even the romantic comedies of today.” By setting the play in the 1950’s, Mullins modernizes “Much Ado About Nothing.” Soldiers are returning home from the Korean War and play out the original Shakespearean storyline. “We wanted this production to be an American telling of the story,” Mullins said. “We chose the early 1950s, the end of the Korean War, as the period for Shakespeare’s tale of soldiers returning from war, the women at home, love, jealousy, marriage, laughter and a few tears.” Although this modern adaptation sounds strange, Mullins has directed many Shakespearean plays. He worked with The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, The Old Globe and The Studio Theatre, which all focus
on the bard’s works. Besides presenting Shakespearean works, Mullins also has experience with CRT; he staged last season’s “Hairspray” and 2011’s “I’m Connecticut” by Mike Reiss. James Jelkin will take center stage as Benedick, with Sarah Wintermeyer as Beatrice and David McCann as Leonato. Jelkin is a 3rd year graduate actor who has had many important roles in CRT’s past performances as well as experience with Monomoy Theatre, Mass. and University of Nebraska Kearney. Wintermeyer is also a 3rd year graduate actor who was described in the media release as matching “wits in this hilarious battle of the sexes.” McCann has performed internationally for over forty years. Tickets for all shows can be found on the Connecticut Repertory Theatre website. There will be a preview showing of the production on Feb. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Nafe Katter Theatre.
Emily.Lewson@UConn.edu
» CLUB SPOTLIGHT
Student Organization reaches out to high school students in Hartford By Molly Miller Campus Correspondent There are many organizations at UConn that give students a chance to help others in their community. One organization that helps students develop their own leadership skills as well is HOLDUP!, or Husky Outreach for Leadership Development, Understanding and Pride. Members from HOLDUP! travel to a high school every week and hold workshops for students on topics ranging from peer pressure and group dynamics to diversity and values. Currently, students are traveling to East Hartford High School, Bulkeley High School and Hartford Journalism and Media Magnet School to work with the same group of high schoolers every week for about an hour. “We really get to make relationships and get to know them as individuals,” said public relations and marketing committee head Nicole Lorenzo, a 6thsemester health care management major. “Week after week they realize new things about themselves.” One of HOLDUP!’s main focuses is making high school students aware of their options after high school. Every spring, the organization invites every school that it works with to come to UConn for a campus tour, lunch in a dining hall and a presentation called “Life After High School.” “We get them to get excited about applying to college,” Lorenzo said. Lorenzo said that the main goal of the organization is to make high school students feel empowered. “These kids don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do on a day-to-day basis,” she said. “We empower them and let them know that they have leadership potential.” However, Lorenzo said it’s also crucial that student vol-
1802- Victor Hugo 1916- Jackie Gleason 1932- Johnny Cash 1982- Nate Reuss
unteers are aware of the high schoolers’ particular needs and concerns. “A lot of the students have very difficult home lives and backgrounds,” she said. “We have to be very cognizant of how we act and how we present ourselves.” Lorenzo said that members of the organization at UConn get to develop their own leadership skills by creating their own content for the workshops. Although the organization has been able to accomplish a lot with its 40 volunteers, Lorenzo said that it is finally reaching the point where it has a hold of what its tasks should be. Lorenzo said she would also like to see more students entering the organization’s selective application process, which begins early in every fall semester. “If you become involved in this organization, you’re definitely going to be a leader,” she said. “You’re going to be involved not only in the students’ lives, but with our group.” With an organization constitution in the works, Lorenzo said that HOLDUP! is on its way to being more formal and organized. She said that she hopes to draw some of best leaders on campus into the organization. “We’re looking for diverse applicants from all majors,” Lorenzo said. The more people that apply, the more possibility there is to get more qualified applicants.” In the long-term, Lorenzo said the organization is also looking to reach out to more high schools around Connecticut. For more information on HOLDUP!, students can visit the organization’s website at http://www.studentactivities. uconn.edu/leadership_holdup. html
Molly.Miller@UConn.edu
Stage five clingers
By Imaani Cain Campus Correspondent The term “stage five clinger” was popularized in the movie “Wedding Crashers,” wherein Vince Vaughn exasperatedly refers to Isla Fisher’s character, who is determinedly pining after him. Although the movie came out in 2005, the phrase has survived the test of time, and is still used in popular conversation. There, it’s meant to describe women who hadn’t had their sexual debut, typically referred to as “virgins,” although this implies a heteronormative and dated view to sex that’s incredibly exasperating. These so called “clingers” who then become star-struck by their sexual partner and either want to date or get married afterwards. This alludes back to the idea of women forming heavy emotional attachments to their male counterparts who, of course, have no feelings at all. It’s peculiar that a “clinger” is usually applied to women. However, considering the world we live in, perhaps it isn’t at all. Women are usually not taken seriously because they are deemed to be “too emotional” and therefore incapable of making rational decisions. This is coupled with the concepts of sex that women are frequently taught when they’re younger—primarily that sex should only be had or is infinitely better with someone who loves you, and that women can’t have “too much” sex for fear of being seen as unmarriageable. Men, who are encouraged to have as much sex as possible with varying numbers of women, don’t have this problem at all. They never seem to be in danger of “catching feelings,” as though men are some super evolved life-form akin to Mr. Spock. On the other hand, women who aren’t “clingers” or the type to “catch feelings,” are seen as being cold or unfeeling. Since women are so commonly viewed as emotional creatures, a woman who carries out her sexual dalliances the way men do (or at least, are heavily described as doing so) is a someone who has low self-esteem, is acting “like a dude” or a “thot” (for those who don’t know, this would be someone who’s a woman of a more lascivious nature). There’s no real way for women to win here. Either side brings a negative perspective on a girl’s character. Of course, you aren’t obligated to be nice to someone who makes you uncomfortable. You don’t owe anybody who makes you feel uneasy. It’s usually women who are encouraged to have a sweeter disposition towards male clingers and are chastised if they show any sort of rudeness or impatience with the person. Men, however, particularly straight men, are usually free to be as rude as they want given their status in a male-dominated society. It’s all good and well to assume that you’d be nice to someone who’s badgering you, but the truth is that when push comes to shove, you might be a bit sharper than you would have intended. My advice for getting rid of stage five clingers is to drop them immediately. Don’t worry so much about coming off as kind as being direct. There’s no point in wasting your time with someone whose company you don’t enjoy—you’ll just come to resent them more. Imaani.Cain@UConn.edu
The Daily Campus, Page 6
FOCUS ON:
Game Of The Week
GAMES Focus Favorite “Sonic Generations”
“Sonic: Generations” is probably the best “Sonic” game released in the last decade. Sonic, more than any other character had a pretty tough time making the transition from 2D to 3D. During his tenure on the Sega Dreamcast, it seemed as though he might be okay, but since then, things have gone steadily downhill. From an increasingly large, lackluster cast of forgettable characters to downright bad gameplay mechanics (“Sonic Riders,” I’m looking at you), it seemed that the Blue Blur was nearing the end of his lifespan. That being said, it shouldn’t be that hard to understand why “Generations” was the best in a long time. It was a fun game that functioned like a “Sonic” game that hopefully will set the tone for more “Sonic” games and help revive the series. -Zach Lederman
Upcoming Releases Dark Souls III–Mar. 3 Titanfall–Mar.11 Infamous: Second Son–Mar. 21 Mad Max–May 31 Watch Dogs–Jun. 30 Destiny–Sept. 9
Interested in writing game reviews? Come write for Focus! Meetings at 8 p.m. on Mondays.
“Sonic Generation”
Yokoi’s ‘Metroid’ still a classic after twenty years
» GAME REVIEWS
By Max Engel Campus Correspondent Myriad people would say that the Gameboy is the most influential gaming system of all time. Greatly advancing the idea of portable gaming by leaps and bounds, this cultural icon from Nintendo was engineered by Gunpei Yokoi and released in 1989. The late Yokoi had also created the “Metroid” franchise, previously debuting on the Nintendo Entertainment System in the summer of 1986. Five years later, Yokoi combined his franchise with his Gameboy, and we got the second title in the “Metroid” franchise, “Metroid II: Return of Samus.” The game has you step into the shoes of the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran, as she is sent to the planet SR388 to eradicate the eponymous parasites. To reinforce this, the population of metroids remaining is listed in the lowerright corner of your screen at all times. But as you traverse through SR388’s caverns, you will see that the metroid has several stages of metamorphosis, each deadlier than the last. As per the franchise tradition, power-ups can be found all over the map, including increases to your maximum health capacity or different effects for your armmounted cannon. Unlike other games in the “Metroid” series, “Metroid II” has a very minimalistic soundtrack; some would say it’s more ambient noise than actual music. But I argue that adds to the atmosphere. It makes it tense as you anticipate your next encounter with a metroid, as a scare-chord plays every time
The end of the gaming blockbuster By Alex Sferrazza Staff Writer
metroid.wikia.com
“The Metroid” franchise takes players into the shoes of an intergalactic bounty Samus Aran as she fights “Metroid” parasites.
you begin an encounter with one. Combined with the music, you truly do feel alone in your endeavor. Who knew a game for an 8-bit system without a color palette could be so suspenseful? “Metroid II” isn’t a flawless game, however. Like its predecessor, there is no available map. As a result, some players may need to hand-draw a map, lest they find themselves completely lost. More savvy gamers will understand that following discarded molts of the metroids will lead them to their next encounters, and that killing
» GAMING NEWS Irrational Games meets Irrational End
Bioshock game developer dissolves the company By Alex Sferrazza Staff Writer
Top Purchases 1. Sim City Windows 2. Crysis 3 Windows 3. Grand Theft Auto V Xbox 360 4. Need for Speed Rivals Xbox 360 5. Grand Theft Auto PS3 6. Call of Duty Ghosts Xbox 360 7. Company of Heroes 2 Windows 8. Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag- Xbox 360 9. Just Dance 2014 Nintendo Wii 10. Pokémon X Nintendo 3DS
courtesy of amazon.com
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Focus
Last week some very sad news hit the gaming community. Irrational Games, the development studio behind some of the biggest games of the past decade, announced it would be laying off 90 percent of its staff as game designer Ken Levine said he wants to refocus his efforts on smaller, digital storybased titles that he will create with a minimal staff of 15. “In time we will announce a new endeavor with a new goal: To make narrative-driven games for the core gamer that are highly replayable,” Levine said in a statement released on Irrational Games’ website. “To foster the most direct relationship with our fans possible, we will focus exclusively on content delivered digitally.” Levine said he and his remaining team will remain with publisher Take Two Interactive. “Seventeen years is a long time to do any job, even the best one. And working with the incredible team at Irrational Games is indeed the best job I’ve ever had,” Levine said. “While I’m deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together, my passion has turned to making a different kind of game than we’ve done before. To meet the challenge ahead, I need to refocus my energy on a smaller team with a flatter structure and a more direct relationship with gamers. In many ways, it will be a return to how we started: a small team making games for the core gaming audience.” The news comes less than a year after the release of what is destined to be the studio’s
swan song, “Bioshock Infinite,” which received vastly critical praise and was awarded the coveted title of “Game of the Year” by many outlets including The Daily Campus. Considered the true successor to Warren Spector’s legendary “Looking Glass Studios”–which produced some of the 1990’s biggest PC hits, including “System Shock,” “Deus Ex” and “Thief”– Irrational Games has made a name for itself by delivering the same type of engrossing narrative driven games, with titles including “System Shock 2,” “Bioshock” and the aformentioned “Bioshock Infinite.” Irrational Games has long been considered a pioneer in advancing the use of storytelling in games and its two efforts in the “Bioshock” series are frequently cited as examples of just how artistic the medium can be. While not mentioned by either Take Two or Irrational, its speculated that “Infinite”’s rumored high production cost and long development cycle did not yield the expected return that either party hoped for. The “Bioshock” series will be continued by Take Two who have already had one title in the franchise–“Bioshock 2”– developed outside of Irrational Games. Irrational Games still has one more major release outstanding. The company will release the final piece of DLC for “Bioshock Infinite” with “Bioshock Infinite: Burial at Sea Episode Two,” being released worldwide on March 25.
Alex.Sferrazza@UConn.edu
enough of them will drain pools of acid so they can traverse into new areas and repeat the process. Some hidden passageways are so well hidden that without a guide, some players will find the life being sucked out of them as quickly as if they were, in fact, being attacked by an actual metroid. If you find yourself lost, some tastes may find the music annoying after some time as well. If you’re the gamer who enjoys games that refuse to patronize the player and hold your hand, however, this game is quite ideal.
Despite its imperfections, “Metroid II” is a decent game, and may be worth playing by gamers who love to explore. With a recent re-release on the 3DS Virtual Console, modern gamers won’t need to bounce from garage sale to garage sale looking for an original cartridge of the game. Personally, I’d argue it’s one of the better titles offered for the Gameboy, and still a must-play for “Metroid” fans who want to learn about the series’ history.
By Zach Lederman Staff Writer
given to the best voices, songs or soundtracks. Where’s the award for character design? What about lighting in a game? Lighting is an incredibly difficult thing to program well. I’d personally like to give credit to the developers who likely spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours programming this simple concept, just as an example. Also, I don’t really understand the types of people that they tend to bring to the VGAs. For example, why did comedian Joel McHale host the 2013 show? A brief web search showed that he’s not involved in the gaming industry in any way, shape or form. Wouldn’t it make significantly more sense to have someone like Ken Levine or Peter Molyneux host these events? These are people who are intricately involved not only with the development of their own games and series, but with the industry as a whole. Imagine the uproar if the Oscars decided to have Taylor Swift host, or if the Emmys decided to have Leonardo DiCaprio. Your host and guests should be involved in the industry that you’re centering on. Instead of having major celebrity guests like Samuel L. Jackson, have figures like Shigeru Miyamoto show up. Some people have said that video games simply aren’t big enough to warrant a ceremony on the level of the Oscars, Emmys or Tonys. To those people, I ask them to look up the revenue for the gaming industry, which, as of 2013, was over $67 billion dollars. Gaming is not a fad. It is a developed industry and art form that deserves the same recognition as its peers.
Max.Engel@UConn.edu
Video Game Awards need a glamorous upgrade to survive
If there’s one problem I really have with the video game industry as a whole, it’s the fact that we don’t have a unified awards system. Every magazine and website distributes its own awards, which don’t really carry that much weight. Sure, it might be nice to receive “Electronic Gaming Monthly’s” Game of the Year award, but what does it really mean when three other games are receiving the same award from three other magazines? What we need in our industry is a true awards show, in line with the television, film and music industries. We need a go-to system of awards that can really show off the best of the best. We need to make “Game of the Year” really mean best game of the year, not “magazine X’s arbitrary favorite.” For the record, I’m well aware of Spike’s Video Game Awards show. I absolutely do not, and I am not alone in this opinion by any means, consider it to be sufficient. I’m going to be blunt here and say that this show is television garbage. I hesitate to even call it an awards show. It’s a threehour long series of dumb gags that focuses very narrowly on a very specific segment of the games market. The entire ceremony hardly does justice to an industry that is slowly but surely moving towards gaining recognition of its status as an art form. Stupid shows like the VGA’s are not going to help the gaming industry if it ever wants to be considered more than just a hobby for children and teenagers. What I want for our industry is a classy event that focuses on more than identifying the best of each genre, and the best on each system. Spike VGA pretty much focuses solely on these two categories, with the occasional award
Zachary.Lederman@UConn.edu
First Cliff Bleszinski, now Ken Levine. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to when the next big-name developer will decide to transition from making multimillion dollar blockbuster titles to smaller games. Last week, Irrational Games– designer Ken Levine’s Boston based game development company–announced that 90 percent of the staff would be laid off and Levine would continue to make smaller, story-based titles with a staff of around 15. The news shocked the gaming community and burning questions remain unanswered. In 2012 another legendary game designer Cliff Bleszinski, formerly of Epic Games and “Gears of War” fame, resigned from the studio and has recently made comments that suggest his eventual return to game designing will be in smaller independent titles. After Square Enix’ 2013 “Tomb Raider” reboot was cited as failing to reach sales projections, despite selling millions of copies. All of this adds up to a simple question: Has modern hardcore game development gotten too expensive and/or too risky to continue in its present form? While Irrational Games insists that its acclaimed 2013 release, “Bioshock Infinite,” was a financial success, selling millions worldwide, the game’s advanced level of artistic detail and excessively long development time– over five years–have had people speculating over how much the project really cost. Take Two won’t say it, but I’d be astonished if “Infinite”’s performance at retail didn’t factor into the studio’s closure. The fact of the matter is this: video games are no longer something children play with a console connected to a television set. Mobile games like “Candy Crush,” social network games like “Farmville” and a variety of mini game collections and downloadable games make up the modern gaming landscape in addition to “core” AAA multi-million dollar blockbuster titles. But the cost of developing such titles in the HD era is significantly larger than it was even ten years ago, meaning more and more studios are less willing to make the risk. And there is indeed still a market for such games. Both the Xbox One and Playstation 4 launched last fall to record sales numbers, while “Grand Theft Auto V”–arguably the biggest game of 2013–was released to sales of well over 20 million units. Gaming is more popular now than ever. Even a brand new IP–released on a single console no less–managed to wow critics and post spectacular sales numbers in 2013 in the form of Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us.” People do enjoy seeing studios bring them something new and fresh. While continuing to develop blockbuster titles might be too large an investment for some, the gaming industry mustn’t, because there’s still a huge market out there waiting for the next big AAA smash.
Alex.Sferrazza@UConn.edu
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Twitch live game broadcasting coming to Xbox
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Xbox One will soon be Twitchier than the PlayStation 4. The popular video game broadcasting service Twitch is bringing a slew of fresh features to Microsoft’s newest console. An update next month will add the ability to live stream video games, join in on games with broadcasters, initiate game broadcasts with voice commands, archive game clips and watch Twitch streams broadcast from any device, including the PS4. Previously, Xbox One users could only spectate Twitch streams and record game clips with the system’s Upload app. “It’s complete integration,” said Emmett Shear, co-founder and CEO of Twitch. “It’s exciting because we’ve never had the ability to broadcast from a console like this with such a deep level of integration. The concept of being able to join a broadcasters’ party is really cool, and it’s another step in the direction of interacting more closely with broadcasters.”
“It’s exciting because we’ve never had the ability to broadcast from a console like this with such a deep level of integration.”
The updated Twitch app will also include Twitch’s chat features and the ability for users to broadcast from their living rooms with Xbox One’s camera-based Kinect system. It’s scheduled to launch alongside the March 11 debut of “Titanfall,” the muchanticipated man-versus-machine shooter being released exclusively for Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. It’s good news for Xbox One players, but what took so long? The update is coming months after Microsoft Corp. rival Sony Corp. included Twitch streaming capabilities when it launched its PlayStation 4 ahead of the Xbox One last November. However, the PS4 version of Twitch — which Shear noted was crafted by Sony, not Twitch — only permits PS4 users to spectate other PS4s and doesn’t allow them to easily connect. “That’s a very certain type of experience,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s vice president of marketing and strategy for Xbox. “For us, we thought that was too limiting for what our fans would want. Our fans really want the full next-gen service, so that’s why we decided to take our time, do it right and have it come out in this fashion.”
The Daily Campus, Page 7
Focus
US museum eyes influences of Indian-Americans WASHINGTON (AP) — Indian-Americans are doctors, engineers, motel owners, taxi drivers and spelling bee champs — just a few takeaways from a new exhibition at the Smithsonian. Looking closer, though, curators are probing the history behind certain cultural stereotypes of this population of 3.3 million Americans in a new exhibit opening Thursday. The influx of Indian doctors, for example, began in the 1960s as the U.S. needed more physicians for its new Medicare system and immigration law opened the door to those with medical training. Later, the American inventors of Hotmail, the Pentium chip and fiber optics were all of Indian origin, perhaps because H-1B visas for engineers were a U.S. effort to remain competitive with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. “Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation” is the Smithsonian’s first major exhibit to examine the history of Indian immigration to the United States and the influence of Indian-Americans. It’s a story that dates to the frst Indians arriving in 1790, those who helped build the nation’s railroads and farms, and those who fought for citizenship when immigration from Asia was dis-
couraged. There are also plenty of more recent contributions of leading Indian-American writers, entertainers, athletes and a fashion designer favored by first lady Michelle Obama. Curator Masum Momaya said her team used Indian-American stereotypes as an entry point for visitors to learn more. “We want to take people beyond some of the things they know and have seen in popular culture to the deeper and more nuanced history,” she said. “I think one of the things that museums can do is add history and add context to contemporary conversations about race and immigration.” So in a subtle way, curators show the current debate over immigration has been debated before. The Smithsonian borrowed and collected objects from many Indian-Americans, from family photos and shoes that evoke a family home to the a professional football helmet worn by the first Indian-American to win the Super Bowl, Brandon Chillar with the Green Bay Packers. For more than a year, curators worked to borrow a dress made by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan for Mrs. Obama. Khan draws on a line of Indian embroidery techniques in his design for an American silhouette.
The rarely seen gown joins items from other IndianAmerican ground breakers. There’s the NCAA basketball jersey from the first player wear a turban in competition as a symbol of his Sikh faith, a silver Olympic medal won by gymnast Mohini Bhardwaj in Athens, and the first U.S. spelling bee trophy won by an Indian-American in 1985. Coincidentally, IndianAmerican students have been on a spelling bee winning streak for most of the past decade. “It’s novel, but at the same time, it does speak to that experience of becoming American,” said Konrad Ng, director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center. “Spelling bees have this symbolic value of being American, being literate in the language of the country and excelling in it.” The yearlong exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History is part of a $2 million ongoing heritage project at the center. It will also help bring new items into the Smithsonian’s collection to represent Indian-Americans. Newly acquired artifacts include campaign materials from former U.S. Rep. Dalip Singh Saund, who was the first Asian-American elected to Congress in 1957.
AP
This handout photo provided by the Smithsonian shows a dress designed by IndianAmerican designer Naeem Khan for first lady Michelle Obama.
» INTERNATIONAL
Palestinian film spotlights Israeli Arab identity JERUSALEM (AP) — In the Holy Land, the state of Palestine does not yet exist. But in Hollywood, it already has an Oscar finalist. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ announcement that “Omar,” one of this year’s candidates for best foreign language film, hailed from “Palestine” has raised eyebrows in these parts, where Israelis and the Palestinians are engaged in peace talks aimed at establishing just such a state. For starters, much of the drama was shot in the Israeli city of Nazareth, home of director Hany Abu-Assad and many of the movie’s actors, rather than in the West Bank, where much of the movie is set. In contrast, Abu-Assad’s 2005 film “Paradise Now,” which was also nominated for an Oscar, was billed at the time as coming from the “Palestinian Territories” to avoid the inevitable political saber-rattling over sovereignty. The United Nations General Assembly’s 2012 recognition of Palestine as a non-member state, over fierce Israeli objections, paved the way for the Academy to change its definition this time around. Abu-Assad also said the film qualified as such because it
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was the first to be almost completely financed by Palestinians. In any case, he added, the film’s nationality, like his own, was a matter of identity, not geography. “As long as we are under occupation, it doesn’t matter what it is called,” said AbuAssad, 52, who, like many Israeli Arabs, considers himself Palestinian even though he holds Israeli citizenship. “That doesn’t make us Israeli. As long as the state is exclusive, you can’t identify with the state as long as it doesn’t recognize you as equal.” The debate over the film’s land of origin touches on the complex status of Israel’s Arab minority, who make up about a fifth of Israel’s 8 million citizens. Israeli Arabs remained in the country during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948, in contrast to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out during the fighting and later came under Israeli occupation when it captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. Israeli Arabs hold full citizenship rights, generally enjoy a higher standard of living
and more civil liberties than in neighboring Arab countries, and in many ways have become integrated into Israeli society. Yet they often suffer discrimination and complain of second-class status and frequently identify with their Palestinian brethren. Abu-Assad said he considers all of Israel “under occupation” since Arabs do not have full equality with the Jewish majority. Yousef Abu Wardi, a veteran Israeli film actor, said he could relate to the identity crisis many of his fellow Arabs felt. “To be Israeli, does that mean I have to stop being an Arab?” he asked. “Until the final borders are defined here, it is going to be very hard to define who is Israeli and who is Palestinian.” In “Omar,” a love story set against the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Abu-Assad explores some of these elements by focusing on the plight of Palestinians who collaborate with Israel. The title character, a Palestinian baker, routinely climbs over Israel’s West Bank separation barrier to visit his beloved Nadia. In one of his escapades he is attacked by an Israeli soldier, after which he and his friends decide to kill
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Cecilia Chiang is credited with introducing Americans to the taste of authentic Chinese food, though that wasn’t her initial plan. Chiang wasn’t a chef and hadn’t intended to be an American restaurateur. It was a case of an investment falling apart. As the story goes, in the early ‘60s she loaned friends some money to open a restaurant in San Francisco. Except they backed out at the last minute and in order to save the deal, Chiang decided to do it herself. “Maybe it was my destiny,” she said during a recent interview. In time, that business grew into the city’s famed Mandarin restaurant, forever changing Chinese food in America. It’s a story few Americans know, but many more soon will. Chiang’s life is the subject of a new documentary film, “Soul of a Banquet,” directed by Wayne Wang (who also directed “The Joy Luck Club”). The film follows Chiang as she prepares a banquet to honor the 40th anniversary of Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant. The film — an unfinished version of which was screened during the weekend at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival —
weaves in details of Chiang’s life in China before she came to the U.S., as well as her family’s struggles while she was running the Mandarin. Chiang, 94, grew up in China at a time when servants did the cooking. She attended college in Beijing, but thought she’d never need to work. When the communists came to power, Chiang and her family fled to Japan. A few years later around 1960, she visited her sister in the U.S. She had no plans to stay, but while there made a loan to friends looking to open a restaurant. When the deal fell apart, she couldn’t get her money back on the lease, so she went into business on her own. Meanwhile, she was eating at the restaurants in San Francisco’s Chinatown neighborhood and noticed something strange: They were serving dishes she had never heard of, things like chop suey and egg foo young. “I thought it was really funny. You call this Chinese food?” she recalled. “This is something really ridiculous, so I thought if I’m going to open a restaurant, I really want to introduce Americans to real Chinese food.” Not that this was easy. She’d never cooked in a
another soldier in revenge. After being arrested he is pressured into becoming an informer, setting off a chain reaction of deceptions and betrayals that will test Omar’s loyalty to Nadia, his friends and his people. Interestingly enough, Israel’s own 2014 Oscar entry, “Bethlehem,” deals with the same theme of collaboration but focuses more on the intimate relationship between the Palestinian informant and his Israeli handler. Abu-Assad said he made no effort to tell Israel’s side of the story. “I find any kind of balance between the occupied and the occupier a little false,” he said in a phone call from Los Angeles, where he is awaiting Sunday’s ceremony. “A balance makes it less impressive as a movie. All good movies are told from one point of view.” Yair Raveh, a film critic from Israel’s leading entertainment magazine Pnai Plus, said both films were equally impressive. While Israel’s “Bethlehem” made an effort to portray both sides and included some national soul-searching, he said the Palestinian “Omar” drew its strength from the rage it pro-
jected. “It’s not an anti-Israeli film per se. It just has a lot of anger and anger is good for cinema,” he said. “Omar” has mostly played before art house-type theaters in Israel while in the West Bank it has had only limited viewings. That has not stopped passions from rising over the film — and the Academy’s stance on its origins. “The policy of the government of Israel, among other things, is to establish a Palestinian state. But one doesn’t exist right now,” said Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry. “Unfortunately, this does not contribute, to say the least, toward conflict resolution because it doesn’t nurture intellectual honesty in the conversation.” The Palestinian culture minister, Anwar Abu Aisheh, called the film a “qualitative step” for the Palestinian film industry. “I’m very proud of this movie. It succeeded in introducing the world of our problems under occupation, of our tragedy.” The movie, which opened in the U.S. on Feb. 21, is the latest in a recent run of Israeli and Palestinian films that have enjoyed success internationally.
The root of Chinese food in US
AP
Cecilia Chiang poses in the kitchen of her home in San Francisco.
professional kitchen before and she spoke Mandarin, not English or Cantonese (the language of most of her San Francisco suppliers). And then there were the customers. She refused to serve American-style Chinese food, instead creating the menu from her memories of what she ate as a child. For
many American diners at the time, this was new and strange. “The most important thing, I just want to educate America about the Chinese food. And I think I did it,” she said.
Comics
Wednesday, February 26, 2013
The Daily Campus, Page 8
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Introducing...
EMAIL US @ DAILYCAMPUSCOMICS@GMAIL.
Garrett Connolly
[YES! LIGHT! by CPU clinkus]
WOULD YOU LIKE TO DRAW OR MAKE GAMES FOR THE DAILY CAMPUS COMICS?! HOROSCOPES Today's Birthday (02/27/14). With disciplined focus, your garden overflows with abundance this year. Creatively, you're on fire, especially through August, when career takes off. Make time for romance over summer and autumn. Balance home and work responsibilities with organization, partnership and communication. Everyone can help. Release stress with delicious food, exercise and rest. Love keeps your batteries charged. Indulge. To get the advantage, check the day's rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging. Aries (March 21-April 19) -- Today is a 6 -- Surround yourself with friends. Ask them what they love about their lives, and what contribution they'd like to make to the world. Listening is the key, so open up your ears. Get a sweet surprise. Taurus (April 20-May 20) -- Today is a 6 -- Let your partner do the talking first. Advance your agenda together. Doublecheck the data. Then send out the news. Let others know what you need. Revise your resume to include recent work. Sign on the dotted line. Gemini (May 21-June 20) -- Today is a 7 -- Get clear on practical details. Keep track of the numbers involved. Study the situation, and talk it over with someone experienced. Unearth a brilliant idea. Together, you find the answer you were looking for.
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Cancer (June 21-July 22) -- Today is a 6 -- Old business falls away as you grasp a new task ahead. Good communications increases efficiency. Manage responsibilities with integrity. Share what you want for the family. Open a new account. Set up structures for support. Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Today is a 7 -- Ask questions about the job. You're seeking a mutual win. It's not just beginner's luck. You've got the skills. Conclude negotiations in a stroke of genius. Spirit and mind connect. Review all details. Together, you're much smarter. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Today is an 8 -- Clean up your home communication center. Don't overlook anything. You're a master of your craft. A conflict of interests could provide obstacles. Account for every penny. Fix something before it breaks. Relax with a good book. Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- Today is a 6 -- Complete your personal correspondence, and get the word out. It's a great time for writing. Listen for your message, and express it clearly. Someone's saying nice things about you. Include thanks and appreciations in your communications. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Today is a 6 -- Express your affection. Let others know what you want, and listen for what they do. You may be able to work out a trade. Keep track of your hours. Confidence and profit are on the rise. Luxuriate at home. Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Today is a 6 -- Use tried and tested techniques applied to your brilliant idea. Confer with the family. Your commitment is bigger than whatever your considerations are. Evolve your ideals to suit a new perspective. Communicate your vision. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- Today is an 8 -- Agree to move forward with the plan. You're fascinated by new ideas. Discuss implications from current events, especially financial. Some of your theories can succeed. Listen carefully for advantage and opportunity. Write down profitable ideas. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Today is an 8 -- Put your feelings into your work, and get playful. An unexpected reaction could be genius. Find a smarter way to spend. Think before you speak. News could seem intense. There's no need to seek a new partner. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Today is a 5 -- Seek fresh inspiration. Find another way to work smarter. Negotiate for a better deal, when you discover a truth you hadn't seen before. Sign off or cast your vote. Get lost in thought. Begin writing.
by Brian Ingmanson
ALEX SFERRAZZA/The Daily Campus
The phone banks are active at WHUS as they run their annual radiothon until Sunday, Mar. 2
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The Daily Campus, Page 9
Sports
Men's Tennis takes on Fairfield Lacrosse gets set for first road trip By Eugene Joh Campus Correspondent The UConn men’s tennis team takes on the Fairfield University Stags on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in a dual meet at 2 p.m. at the Manchester Racquet Club in Manchester, Conn. The Huskies are coming off of a deflating loss, losing all seven matches in their meet against Boston University last Wednesday. Their current dual meet record stands at 3-5. The Stags come into the meet at 5-2 for the season. “No loss is a good loss, but I think we learned a lot from that meet against BU,” UConn head coach Michael Louis said. “What
we’re working on right now is mental toughness. We had a lot of opportunities and didn’t take advantage of them.” The team looks to rebound against a solid Fairfield team that got the better of them earlier this year in the Quinnipiac Invitational and the Connecticut State Championships in October. “We know what we have to work on, and what we have to do in order to turn this part of the season around,” Louis said. “Fairfield is a very good team (…) we’ve had some very good practices this week and expect a much better performance.”
Eugene.Joh@UConn.edu
Rockies' Tulowitzki: Winning will end Jeter talk SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Troy Tulowitzki grew up idolizing Derek Jeter. It's the reason he wears No. 2. Now Tulowitzki hears daily chatter about possibly taking over for the retiring Jeter at shortstop in New York. "I take it as an honor for someone to think of myself as someone that possibly could replace him," Tulowitzki said Tuesday. That doesn't mean the three-time All-Star wants to leave Denver. It's just that he knows after four straight years out of the playoffs, after all the injuries that have sidelined him, this season could determine his future. "I'd love to stay here my whole career," Tulowitzki said. "But I know if you lose, other teams may be calling or things might happen." The 29-year-old Tulowitzki still has seven years left on a $157.5 million contract that runs through the 2020 season. It's a figure that will weigh on the Rockies if they don't contend soon. It's also a price tag the Yankees could absorb as they look to replace Jeter, who announced earlier this month he'll retire at the end of the season. "I know that right now I'm wearing a Rockies uniform and my job is to prepare and try to have the best season that I can and we can as
a team," Tulowitzki said. "I think if we play good baseball those rumors will go away. But I know if we don't, they won't go away." Tulowitzki broke in with the Rockies at the perfect time. He played in a careerhigh 155 games and hit 24 home runs as a rookie in 2007 when Colorado reached the World Series. They were back in the postseason two years later when he slugged .552. They haven't been to the playoffs since. And Tulowitzki has played in only 438 of a possible 648 over the past four seasons. There was a broken wrist, a serious groin injury and broken ribs. When healthy, Tulowitzki is a feared hitter. He batted .312 with 25 home runs and 82 RBIs in 126 games last season. Tulowitzki is upbeat this spring having finally entered camp healthy. He's one of the first players to arrive at the team's spring training complex each morning. He does extra stretching, extra mobility drills and has an extensive routine in hopes he can finally stay injury-free. "He's in a much different place than he was a year ago, mentally, physically," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "I'm really excited for
him this year," Weiss said. "I think he's one of the best players in all the game and I think you'll see that this year." Tulowitzki also is taking on a much bigger leadership role. With first baseman Todd Helton in retirement after 17 seasons in Colorado, this is now Tulowitzki's team. "If you look around the locker room, I've worn this uniform the longest of anybody here," he said. "But you can't proclaim yourself a leader and say, 'Hey, this is my club. You do as I say.' I think you go about your work and let guys follow." When everyone is on the field, the Rockies boast an impressive lineup with Tulowitzki, reigning National League batting champ Michael Cuddyer, Carlos Gonzalez and newly acquired Justin Morneau. But if the Rockies get off to a bad start and aren't in contention at midseason, Tulowitzki knows he'll hear his name in trade talks. "For the organization, it is a critical year," he said. "We've had two last-place finishes in a row. Some of our key players have had some injuries. And we know being a mid-market team, that sometimes your window in a place gets short."
By Elan DeCarlo Campus Correspondent The UConn Huskies will face off against the Dartmouth Big Green, in their first road game of the season. UConn is now 1-1, coming off an overpowering 17-7 victory over Quinnipiac last Saturday. Dartmouth is 1-0, after defeating New Hampshire last week 15-7. UConn hopes to continue their offensive hot streak. Sophomore Katherine Finkelson is coming off a career high six-point performance. Senior Lauren Kahn
also added three goals against the Bobcats. She currently has 10 points off seven goals and three assists, while Finkelson closely trails with seven total points. Ten other Huskies contributed to the scoring barrage, showing the team’s strength early this season. Dartmouth, who finished third in the Ivy League last year, is led by senior Liz Calby and junior Sarah Byrne, who each tallied four goals in the season opener against UNH. Dartmouth finished 11-8 last year, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament. They advanced to the second round but fell to Syracuse
in a tough 21-8 loss. Although the Huskies went 6-4 on the road last season losing to Syracuse, Georgetown and Layola, Maryland, their offense looks to lead the way to victories. This will be the first meeting between Dartmouth and UConn in program history; the first of three such scenarios the Huskies will face this season. The Huskies and Big Green square off at SculleyFahey Field for an afternoon contest beginning at 3 p.m.
Elan-Paolo.DeCarlo@UConn.edu
Torre: Banning home plate collisions not realistic PEORIA, Ariz. (AP) — Joe Torre says Major League Baseball's playing rules committee leaned toward banning all home plate collisions but concluded it would be unrealistic because contact between catchers and baserunners is sometimes unavoidable. Torre, MLB's executive vice president for baseball operations, spoke Tuesday at San Diego's spring training facility before meeting with representatives from eight clubs training in Arizona. Torre was there to answer questions and address concerns regarding the collision rule, which was announced Monday, and expanded instant replay for umpires. Torre said when it came to the collisions rule, he had to "put the uniform back on" because there is never a perfect play at the plate and throws can make contact unavoidable. Any rule change for 2014 required approval from the players' union, which negotiated under new head Tony Clark. "The players' association had their concerns, too, based on the fact that catchers' ... instincts is telling them to do certain things," Torre said. "Tony Clark's concern was it would have been tough to get them use to a new rule
AP
Joe Torre, executive vice president of baseball operations for Major League Baseball, speaks during a media availability after a meeting about the new instant replay rules
in a short period of time. I think we both agreed on the fact we want to eliminate the vicious hit." MLB could not have implemented the rule this year without approval from the players' association. In what both sides said was a one-year experiment, the rule allows collisions if the catcher has the ball and is blocking the runner's direct path to home plate, and if the catcher goes into the basepath to field a throw to the plate. The new rule, 7.13, states "a runner attempting to score may not deviate from his
direct pathway to the plate in order to initiate contact with the catcher (or other player covering home plate)." A runner violating the rule shall be declared out, even if the fielder drops the ball. The umpire crew chief can use the new video-review system to determine whether the rule was violated. Torre referenced the hit on Buster Posey that left the NL MVP with broken bone in his lower left leg and three torn ligaments in his ankle in a May 2011 collision with the Marlins' Scott Cousins. That injury that helped intensify debate over plate collisions.
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The Daily Campus, Page 10
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Sports
Yanks, Gardner reach deal adding $52M from 2015-18
AP
New York Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner bunts during spring training baseball practice Friday, Feb. 21, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Outfielder Brett Gardner and the New York Yankees have agreed to a contract that adds $52 million in guaranteed money from 2015-18. The deal announced Sunday includes a team option for for 2019 that if exercised would make the new money $62.5 million over five seasons. "It shows the level of confidence, belief and trust, and the type of player and person he is," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "We're excited to know that he's going to be a part of this team going forward. We're a better team with Gardy on it, that's the bottom line. This is a good day for him, and we believe it makes the future for us better." Gardner agreed last month to a $5.6 million, one-year contract and would have been eligible for free agency after the 2014 season. The new four-year contract includes a $2 million signing bonus payable next Jan. 15 and salaries of $12 million in 2015, $13 million in 2016, $12 million in 2017 and $11 mil-
lion in 2018. The Yankees have a $12.5 million option for 2019 with a $2 million buyout. Gardner would receive an additional $1 million payment if he's traded, a provision he can earn only once. "Free agency is something that, it kind of intrigued me, but it also kind of scared me," Gardner said. "I've never been anywhere else. I love it here. I love putting on the pinstripes everyday." Cashman said talks about the contract started at the winter meetings in December. The Yankees are moving Gardner to left field this year after signing free agent center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to a $153 million, seven-year contract in December. Gardner did have questions in his mind about his Yankees' future after the Ellsbury acquisition. "When they signed Jacoby, your name gets thrown out in the trade rumors and all that," Gardner said. "It's kind
of annoying, really. I didn't want to get traded. I don't want to go anywhere else, and I let them know that." The 30-year-old Gardner hit .273 last year with eight home runs, 52 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. "I like what he brings," Cashman said. "The speed dynamic, the defense, and I think the offense is there as well." Also, the Yankees agreed to a minor league contract with injured closer Andrew Bailey, who was with Boston last year and is coming back from right shoulder surgery last July. Cashman said the right-hander might be able to join the team in August or September. "When he is healthy, he's an exceptional reliever," Cashman said. "He's coming off of a shoulder surgery, so we're taking a flier. A low risk. If we can get a reward out of it, great. If not, it's one of those nothing ventured, nothing gained."
MLB managers get to try out replay in spring
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Major league teams will each have at least five games this spring where managers can challenge plays as part of the major expansion of instant replay which begins this season. Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez is looking forward to getting acquainted with it. "Those five games that we have the actual television, I'm challenging everything just to get a feel for it," he said. "I'm sure that the umpires will appreciate that." Gonzalez, Houston manager Bo Porter, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus and Nationals manager Matt Williams met with MLB executives Joe Torre and Tony La Russa for almost three hours Friday to go over the replay rules. The new rules allow each manager to challenge one call a game. If he wins the first one, he'll earn another challenge. The crew chief can request a review after the seventh inning if the manager has used his challenges. Baseball has been reluctant to use replay and became the last major professional sport in North America to implement it late in the 2008 season. But it was very narrowly used — only close home runs could be reviewed. Now almost every call can be contested, with the exception of ball-and-strikes and checked swings. They also won't allow
reviews of what is known as the "neighborhood play" at second base on potential double plays. Gonzalez and Porter both acknowledged that the meeting was rather long, but they didn't mind. "It's historic for our sport," Gonzalez said. "It's never been done so we want to do it right." Porter agreed and said he left the meeting feeling very comfortable with the rules. "It was necessary," he said. "I thought that they did a tremendous job of putting the information together and giving us scenarios. It was long, but it was very much needed and very beneficial at the same time." The reviews during the regular season will be done by current MLB umpires at the replay center in MLB.com's office in New York. Gonzalez said there will be eight umpires who will each be responsible for two games at a time. And as for people who worry that this will further slow a game that some people complain already takes too long, Gonzalez doesn't believe that will be the case. "As soon as they see something going on, they can go right to that play," he said. "They feel like they'll have an answer when the umpire comes to the headphones ... and there's no delay."
Concerns about managers using replay challenges to buy time to warm-up a pitcher are probably unwarranted, Ausmus said. "It doesn't sound like there's going to be a lot of time," he said. The manager or other team officials in the dugout can talk with someone in the clubhouse watching a live feed of the game with replays available to help determine if the manager should challenge a call. Porter said he and his staff will work on how they'll decide whether to challenge plays all spring, not just in the games where instant replay is used. "It's more of getting into the practice and getting into the language you want to have transmitted during a close play and I think we can simulate it this spring," he said. Though he's certainly going to prepare to use instant replay, Gonzalez is not too sure how much he'll actually use it in the season. "If you believe the numbers that they throw at you, we may go four or five games without even throwing a challenge," he said. "I believe, without having any kind of numbers behind it that this is going to show how good our major league umpires are."
AP
Frank Wren, center, general manager for the Atlanta Braves, and others arrive for a meeting about the new instant replay rules, at the spring training facility for the Astros, Friday,
DeRozan scores 33 in Raptors' 99-93 win over Cavs
AP
Cleveland Cavaliers' Jarrett Jack (1) and Toronto Raptors' Terrence Ross (31) battle for a loose ball during the second quarter of an NBA basketball game.
CLEVELAND (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored 16 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter, and the Toronto Raptors won for the sixth time in seven games with a 99-93 victory over the injury-riddled Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer with 3:02 remaining to put Toronto ahead 90-89. DeRozan dunked on a baseline drive and added two free throws to give the Raptors a 94-91 lead with 1:23 remaining. The All-Star hit three more free throws in the final 27 seconds to put away the game. Kyrie Irving, who played 45 minutes and the entire second half because of Cleveland's depleted roster, scored 25 points and had nine assists. Cleveland has lost three straight after winning six in a row and fell 5 ½ games out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers again played without center Anderson Varejao (sore back) and guards Dion Waiters (hyperextended left knee) and C.J. Miles (sprained left ankle). Ross scored 19 points while Greivis Vasquez added 15 for the Raptors, who
beat the Cavaliers 98-91 in Toronto on Friday and have won three in a row. Toronto leads the Atlantic Division and is in third place in the Eastern Conference. Spencer Hawes, making his first start for Cleveland since being acquired from Philadelphia last week, scored 15 points. Cleveland took its last lead at 89-87 with 3:11 to play on Tyler Zeller's basket, but Ross' 3-pointer put Toronto ahead for good. Irving was called for charging into Kyle Lowry in the final minute. He was bumped on his way to the basket on Cleveland's next possession but no call was made. The Raptors went on a 15-0 run over a span of 6:46 in the first and second quarters to take a 14-point lead. Cleveland led 17-14 before Toronto began its run. DeRozan's three-point play and 3-pointers by Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson sparked a 9-0 spurt to end the first quarter. The Cavaliers were scoreless for the final 3:41 and missed their last eight shots of the period. The run was finally broken on
Irving's free throw when Toronto was called for an illegal defense. Cleveland also missed 14 consecutive shots in the stretch. Toronto had a five-point possession in the second quarter that began when Vasquez hit a 3-pointer. Hawes was called for a foul when he and Tyler Hansbrough went to the floor. Hawes was then given a technical for arguing the call, and DeRozan and Hansbrough each made a free throw. Hansbrough completed another three-point play after DeRozan's basket. Jarrett Jack was called for a foul after Hansbrough was knocked to the floor. Jack was also hit with a technical. Toronto built a 36-22 lead but Cleveland cut the margin to 47-41 at halftime and scored the first seven points of the third quarter to take a one-point lead. The game was tied five times in the quarter and Cleveland led 69-68 going into the fourth. A basket by Lowry late in the quarter was taken away after officials ruled it came after the shot clock expired.
Ehrhoff scores 2 as Sabres beat Hurricanes 3-2
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Christian Ehrhoff scored twice, including the go-ahead goal with 44 seconds left, in lifting the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night in the NHL's first game after its Olympic break. Ryan Miller played a key role in stopping the first 20 shots he faced and 36 overall in what might be the star goalie's final game in Buffalo before the league's trade deadline on March 5. Miller also assisted on both of Ehrhoff's goals, while Drew Stafford also had two assists. Tyler Ennis also scored for Buffalo, which snapped a four-game skid, and won for only the third time in its past 14 games (3-8-3). Eric Staal and Alexander Semin scored for the Hurricanes, who lost to Buffalo in regulation for the first time in seven meetings, dating to a 1-0 loss at Carolina on Nov. 18. 2011. The teams got an early start coming out of the NHL's two-week break. The game was originally scheduled to be played Jan. 9, but postponed after a blizzard hit Buffalo. Ehrhoff opened the scoring with a powerplay goal 5:34 into the second period, and then sealed the victory in a game the Sabres never trailed despite bveing outshot 38-18. Circling the Hurricanes' net, Ehrhoff stopped and spun in the right circle, where
he attempted to feed the puck through the crease to teammate Marcus Foligno. The puck instead glanced off the stick of Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk and floated in over goaltender Cam Ward. Ennis put the Sabres ahead 2-1 with 7:47 left by diving head first and poking in a loose puck during a scramble in front, and after Ward stopped Matt Moulson's chance in front. The Hurricanes, however, tied it less than 4 minutes later on Semin's goal. Driving toward the net, Semin used Sabres defender Alexander Sulzer as a screen before snapping a shot inside the right post. Miller showed no signs of jet lag despite returning to Buffalo on Monday after traveling from the Sochi Games, where he served as the United States backup to Los Angeles' Jonathan Quick. Miller appeared in only one game in Russia, making 17 saves before allowing a goal with 18 seconds left in a 5-1 preliminary round win over Slovenia on Feb. 16. Early into the second period, he got a piece of Faulk's snap shot from the left circle, and then recovered in time to turn aside Manny Malhotra's attempt to convert the rebound in front. For Miller, this might be one of his last appearances for Buffalo. Before the game,
general manager Tim Murray said he's shopping the 11-year veteran with the intention of dealing Miller before the NHL trade deadline on March 5. Miller is in the final year of his contract and Murray is unsure whether the 33-year-old is prepared to re-sign with a team that's rebuilding through youth. Following the game, Miller spent time visiting with fans at the penalty box. He then got a cheer from the few remaining fans inside the arena as he headed to the locker room about 10 minutes after the game ended. Ehrhoff's first goal came on the Sabres' first shot on net in the second period. Set up at the blue line, and with Matt Moulson creating a screen in front, Ehrhoff blasted a shot that glanced off Ward's glove, and then had enough momentum to trickle in over the line. Ward played his first game since a 5-4 overtime win over Montreal on Dec. 31, and was sidelined with a lower-body injury. The Hurricanes finally solved Miller with 3:02 left. Faulk pounced on Moulson's turnover at the Hurricanes blue line and fed a pass up the right wing to set up Staal on a 2-on-1 break. Driving into the circle, Staal patiently waited for Miller to make a move before snapping a shot through the goalie's legs.
AP
Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller stays focused on an incoming Carolina Hurricanes shot during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert)
TWO Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The Daily Campus, Page 11
Sports
Stat of the day
PAGE 2
5,317
The number of free throws missed by Shaquille O’Neal during the course of his career.
What's Next
» That’s what he said
» MLB
Home game
Away game
Men’s Basketball
(21-6)
“First of all, I want to say sorry to the fans because it’s once in a lifetime opportunity to represent your country in the Olympics, and you didn’t get the results, you didn’t get any medal” - Russian hockey player Alexander Ovechkin AP
Alexander Ovechkin
Tomorrow USF 7 p.m.
March 1 Cincinnati 12 p.m.
March 5 Rutgers 7 p.m.
March 8 Louisville 2 p.m.
Women’s Basketball March 1 Rutgers 4 p.m.
» Pic of the day
Alligator hands!
(29-0)
March 3 Louisville 7 p.m.
Men’s Hockey (17-11-4) March 1 Sacred Heart 7:05 p.m.
Feb. 28 Sacred Heart 7:05 p.m.
Women’s Hockey (9-23-2) Feb. 28 Hockey East Quarterfinals Northeastern 7 p.m.
Baseball Feb. 28 Lipscomb 5 p.m.
(3-3)
March 1 Lipscomb 3 p.m.
Softball
March 2 Lipscomb 2 p.m.
March 7 Florida 7 p.m.
March 8 Florida 4 p.m.
(0-5)
March 1 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 March 1 March 2 Texas A&MTexas A&MTexas A&M Texas A&M Wisconsin CC CC 3 p.m. 5:15 p.m. 10 a.m. 10 a.m. 12:15 p.m.
Men’s Track and Field Feb. 28 AAC Champ. TBA
March 1 AAC Champ. TBA
March 7 IC4A Champ. TBA
March 8 IC4A Champ. TBA
AP
March 9 IC4A Champ. TBA
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos fields a ground ball between his legs during spring training baseball practice in Goodyear, Ariz., Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Women’s Track and Field Feb. 28 AAC Champ. 9 a.m.
March 1 AAC Champ. All day
March 8 ECAC Champ. 10 a.m.
March 9 ECAC Champ. All day
March 10 ECAC Champ. All day
What's On TV Men’s Basketball: California vs. No. 3 Arizona, 9:00 p.m. ESPN2 The California Golden Bears will try to make lightning strike twice tonight as they take of the third ranked Arizona Wildcats in Arizona. However, the Golden Bears will have to compete with Arizona’s home crowd this time as they attempt to re-enact their 60-58 upset. Arizona are 4-1 since their loss to California and will look to keep the ball rolling. AP
NBA: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Houston Rockets, 10:30 p.m. ESPN Four of the NBA’s biggest superstars will face off Wednesday night as Dwight Howard, James Harden and the Houston Rockets take on Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers come into the game leading the Pacific Division and having the second most potent offense in the NBA. The Houston Rockets will see if their thrid ranked offense will be able to keep up. AP
Raymond Felton arrested on gun charges
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton was arraigned on two felony weapons possession charges in Manhattan Criminal Court on Tuesday. The arraignment followed an early morning arrest after a lawyer for his wife turned in a loaded semi-automatic handgun allegedly belonging to the basketball star to a police precinct, claiming she no longer wanted it in their home, authorities said. Wearing a black sweatshirt with a peace sign and other symbols on it, Felton was seemingly upbeat as he appeared before Judge Diana Boyar, nodding affirmatively after he was ordered to stay away from his wife, Ariane Raymondo-Felton. He did not enter a plea, which is common for this stage in the case. “Mr. Felton has no interest in having contact” with her, one of his lawyers, James Walden, told the judge. Court records show she filed for divorce from Felton last week. Felton was released on $25,000 bail and was ushered into a black SUV following his arraignment. Under the terms of his bond, Felton can travel to games, bail bondsman Ira Judelson said. Prosecutors said they were told Felton stored the Belgian-made FN Herstal model handgun in the home from August through February. A lawyer for Felton’s wife, a student at Fordham University School of Law, dropped off the weapon at a stationhouse on Manhattan’s upper West Side on Monday evening, shortly before tipoff of the Knicks game against the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden, police said. The gun had 18 rounds of live ammunition in its magazine, which can hold about 20 rounds, prosecutors said. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and criminal possession of a firearm. The firearm charge is punishable by up to four years in prison. The weapons charge is punishable by up to seven years in prison. The section under which he was charged concerns having a large-capacity ammunition magazine. Police had arrested Felton on charges that included a mid-level weapons-possession charge that can entail having a loaded gun outside one’s home or business or having a loaded gun with the intention to use it against someone. The DA’s office didn’t comment on why prosecutors chose the charges they did; it’s not uncommon for charges to change between arrest and arraignment. Investigators reached Felton by contacting the director of security at Madison Square Garden after his wife made a statement to detectives Monday night, police said. Felton turned himself in at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday, not long after the Knicks’ buzzerbeater loss to Dallas, police said. The former University of North Carolina star made no statement after he arrived at the precinct with a lawyer, police said.
THE Storrs Side
THE Pro Side
Men’s basketball drops out of nation’s top 25 teams
Race to be the No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick heats up
By Elan DeCarlo Campus Correspondent The UConn Huskies find themselves outside of the AP Top 25 for the first time in four weeks. This loss brings UConn to a 21-6 record, dropping them to No. 5 in the American where they have a 9-5 record. SMU moved to 22-6 (11-4 AAC) and are back in the Top 25, slotted at No. 23. They previously beat UConn on Jan. 4, 74-65 completing the season sweep. Elsewhere, the Florida Gators are the new No. 1 in the Associated Press poll, as this is the first time for the Gators to be at the top since 2007. At 25-2, Florida has been playing great basketball, their last loss coming at the hands of UConn in early December. Florida is the fifth team this season to hold the top spot in the AP poll. They received 47 of the 65 first place votes, the rest going to Wichita State and Arizona. Syracuse, who had previously held the top spot
as an undefeated team, was defeated twice last week, by Boston College and Duke, thus dropping in the polls at No. 4. Wichita State, who remains undefeated, moved up to No. 2, while Arizona and Kansas round out the top five. The American held strong with four representatives in the poll; No. 7 Lousiville, No. 11 Cincinnati, No. 21 Memphis and No. 23 SMU. UConn was the highest vote getter of any team that fell outside of the Top 25, effectively ranking them No. 26. This late season bump out of the poll should serve as motivation for the Huskies, as the conference and national tournaments are creeping up.
Elan-Paolo.Decarlo@UConn.edu
By Scott Carroll Staff Writer The NFL Draft is quickly approaching and the Houston Texans’ No. 1 pick is a hot topic of debate with the results of the NFL Combine. The two players that most assume have the best chance of being selected No. 1 overall in the draft are Jadaveon Clowney and Johnny Manziel. An ex-Texas A&M student and a life-long Texan, Manziel would be a prime selection for the Texans. Houston never had a steady quarterback in the 201314 season with Matt Schaub falling from grace. The Texans went 2-14 in 2013-2014, opposed to a 12-4 record in the 2012-13 season. Manziel will provide a modern quarterback for the Texans and introduce their offense into a style that allowed the 49ers and Seahawks to prosper in years past. Plus, publicity and jersey sales alone will allow an immediate return on Manziel as a superstar. However, defense wins championships and Clowney is the type of athletic freak that only comes around once in a generation. Clowney ran an official 40
yard dash time of 4.53, .15 seconds faster than Manziel who is known for his mobile presence. While the Texans had their share of offensive woes, Houston had its fair share of defensive struggles as well. They ranked No. 23 in opposing rushing yards per game, allowing 122.4 yards per game. The very idea of having J.J. Watt on the same defensive line as Jadaveon Clowney has to be keeping offensive coordinators up at night. Each are athletic freaks with uncanny abilities to bring down the quarterback as well as make highlight reel plays. Whether the Texans pick Manziel or Clowney, they will end up with a once-in-a-lifetime player. This is almost a duplicate scenario of the last time the Texans had the No. 1 pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. The Texans had to choose between North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams and USC running back Reggie Bush. The Texans passed on the college superstar, Bush, in favor of Williams. It will be interesting to see if Houston chooses to go with a defensive player again.
Scott.Carroll@UConn.edu
» INSIDE SPORTS TODAY
P.11: Knicks’ point guard arrested on gun charges / P.11: Storrs Side/Pro Side / P.9: Lacrosse prepares for their first roadtrip
Page 12
Time to Grow Up
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
www.dailycampus.com
HARTLEY HEATS UP Bria Hartley leads all scorers with 25 in Huskies’ win
Matt Stypulkoski Within the next week, the words will be ringing inside my head. “It’s time to grow up, now.” It’s true. Just about 10 weeks from graduation, it’s time to grow up. It’s time to revise resumes, fill out applications, leverage networking contacts. It’s time to find a job. Time to make a living. Time to be an adult. Next Wednesday, and this Saturday for that matter, is a gateway to the future. After all, Senior Day isn’t only for the players. It may be Shabazz Napier who strolls to midcourt March 5, but it’s the final go-round for every senior in attendance. For every student who’s spent four years strolling this campus, roaming the halls of these buildings and filling Gampel Pavilion with life, Wednesday night marks one final chance to be at home. Same goes for Saturday afternoon. It may be Stefanie Dolson and Bria Hartley that are inducted into the Huskies of Honor, but each senior in the stands will reflect on memories and contemplate their final few hours within those walls as a student fan. On press row, I’ll think back on how fortunate I’ve been to cover this team the past two seasons. Many of us will return in the years that follow, attempting to reclaim a piece of our youth. But never again will it be the same. We’ll never be students again. In many ways, it’s the last hurrah. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe it’s time to move on. But that doesn’t mean we have to like it. Hell, I can nearly guarantee that the final buzzer on Wednesday will draw tears from me – and there will likely be plenty earlier in the night as well. The best memories of my UConn experience have come inside Gampel (and occasionally that Hartford dump, too). Taking down Brittney Griner in my first ever UConn basketball game. Kemba’s floater over ‘Nova. Charles Okwandu fist-pumping his way off the floor after an 11-rebound performance against Providence. A national championship rager. Jeremy Lamb’s poster-worthy dunk. Losing my $#*! after a huge run against Marquette. Going buckwild for College GameDay (and Roscoe Smith getting hacked at the buzzer). Watching Skylar Diggins and Notre Dame escape (twice) by a single possession. Sending Syracuse out the right way. Pushing Otto Porter and the Hoyas to double OT. Eking past Providence and crying during a video dedicated to perhaps the most enjoyable 20-10 college basketball team there’s ever been. The Bazz-er-beater to take down Florida. Ollie getting tossed (and 10,000 people tossing pleasantries out the window to let the refs know how they felt). Scraping by against Memphis. And those are just the highlights. As a little kid, I grew up yearning to be a part of a student section – to be like those crazy, screaming students I saw on TV. Over my four years at UConn, I’ve managed to appease that 6-year-old’s dream. But now, it’s time to grow up. Just not before I add Senior Night to that list. Enjoy your final games, seniors. We may not get a plaque, or a framed jersey for our efforts these past few years, but hold on to that ticket stub and cherish the memories.
Matthew.Stypulkoski@UConn.edu
By Matt Stypulkoski Associate Sports Editor
LINDSEY COLLIER/The Daily Campus
After Saturday’s lopsided win over Houston, Geno Auriemma said the rest of the regular season isn’t about how many points his UConn team wins by, but how they play in an effort to ready themselves for the postseason. Well, the scoreboard may have looked okay after a 81-48 win in the second half of the Huskies’ Texas road-trip at SMU, but the product on the court was a bit more unsightly. The Mustangs (16-11, 7-9 American Athletic Conference) jumped out to an early 7-4 lead when UConn came out flat. SMU grabbed four of the game’s first five rebounds, including two offensive boards, and held the Huskies without so much as a good look for their first three possessions. UConn (29-0, 16-0 American) eventually strung together a 15-0 run over the final 4:06 of the first half, but the 37-17 score at the break was still far from pretty. As she so often is, Breanna Stewart was the sparkplug for the Huskies, remaining steady when things were going poorly for the rest of her teammates. The sophomore notched 16 points in the first half, including eight of UConn’s first 10, and finished the evening with 23. Bria Hartley turned it on later in the night when she went for 11 points in 2:29. She finished with 25. Keena Mays, the American’s leading scorer who went for 20 points in the teams’ last meeting, led SMU once again but put up only 13. Next up for the Huskies is their final home game, a Saturday date with Rutgers at Gampel Pavilion. That game is scheduled for 4 p.m.
UConn forward Kia Stokes (41) goes up strong for a lay-up against the UCF Black Knights in a 83-35 victory in Hartford on Feb. 19.
Matthew.Stypulkoski@UConn.edu
Huskies look to get back on track against Bulls By Tim Fontenault Sports Editor
Since going to Texas and losing its first two games in American Athletic Conference play, the UConn men’s basketball team is 10-3, losing only once on the road. Coming off another loss, this time to SMU at home Sunday afternoon, the Huskies will be back on the road Wednesday night, looking to get back on the winning track against South Florida. On a day marked by the inductions of the 1998-99 men’s basketball team and point guard Khalid El-Amin into the UConn Huskies of Honor, the present-day Huskies (21-6, 9-5 American) struggled to score against one of the nation’s top defenses. UConn shot 29.6 percent in a 64-55 loss that bumped the Huskies out of the Associated Press Top 25. “We executed sometimes,” junior guard Ryan Boatright said, “but we just had a bad game all-around especially on
the offensive end. I think we played pretty good defense and we outrebounded them, but we just didn’t execute on offense.” The poor shooting night was far from normal for a team that is shooting 45.5 percent from the field and averaging 74.9 points per game. “This is the point in the season where they know what’s going to come,” senior forward Niels Giffey said. “They scout us and they will take our first or second option away so we have to continue working to get the right shots at the right time. Obviously, you have to move the defense before doing that. It can’t be the first pick and roll, it has to be more than that.” Offense should be less of an issue against USF (12-15, 3-11). The Bulls rank sixth in the American in defensive scoring, allowing an average of 70.9 points per game. UConn, which ranks fourth, allows only 63.7 points, which bodes well against a team that ranks 300th in the nation offensively at 65.5 points per game.
JESS CONDON/The Daily Campus
Ryan Boatright (11) drives against a SMU defender during Sunday’s loss to the Mustangs. The UConn Huskies fell by a score of 64-55.
The Bulls are still in contention for an automatic place in the AAC Quarterfinals, but with each passing game the odds are stacked higher against them. USF is on a four-game losing streak and has lost nine of its last 11 games, winning at home against SMU on Jan. 28 and at UCF on Feb. 5.
Last time UConn and USF met, it got ugly quickly. The Huskies got out in front and kept pounding the life out of the Bulls until the scoreboard said 83-40. UConn’s last trip to the Sun Dome was ugly in a different sense for the Huskies. Without Giffey and Napier already, UConn lost Tyler Olander to an
injury mid-game, Omar Calhoun shot 1 of 14, and the Huskies never stood a chance against the Bulls, losing 65-51. Wednesday’s game tips off at 7 p.m. and will air on CBS Sports Network.
Timothy.Fontenault@UConn.edu
Heisman winner Winston bats against Yankees TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston has no plans to stop being a two-sport man. “I’m just 20-years old,” Winston said Tuesday after Florida State lost 8-3 in the New York Yankees’ spring training opener. “This is my life, man. I want to play both as long as I can. I love both of them. I’ve got a strong passion for both.” Florida State’s quarterback in the fall, Winston went 0 for 2 in the Seminoles’ exhibition game against the Yankees. He grounded out to second base while facing Shane Greene in the sixth and struck out looking on a full-count pitch from Bryan Mitchell two innings later. “Obviously, he’s a great talent,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I guess he had a football injury in AP the championship game which kept him from hitting for a while. But Florida State’s Jameis Winston, walks past New York he’s just starting to pick up the bat Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez long.
again. I guess he had torn a ligament in his left index finger.” Winston has made three scoreless appearances as a closer this season but didn’t get a chance to pitch against his favorite baseball team. Seminoles coach Mike Martin said Winston’s arm was a little tender after his outing Saturday. “There were really not any plans for him to pitch,” Martin said. “Not throwing today gives him Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday off before he pitches again. We felt that would be the best way to approach it.” Florida State plays Miami on Friday. Winston played in the field twice previously this year, getting a hit in his lone at-bat. Against Greene, the 6- foot-4, 230-pound sophomore got a big cheer from the announced crowd of 7,708 at Steinbrenner Field after shattering his bat on foul grounder.
“The favorite part of the day was just being out here,” Winston said. “Being around a bunch of big league guys, and they proved it. They beat us.” Winston talked with his favorite player, Derek Jeter, calling the meeting “surreal.” Winston said playing for the Yankees “would be a dream come true.” “I guess it feels like when I talk to little kids, how they feel sometimes,” Winston said. “They’re speechless, and that’s how I was with Jeter.” Winston led the Florida State football team to the national championship in a 34-31 victory over Auburn on Jan. 6. “I’m focusing on getting our guys to the College World Series,” he said. “It’s very important to those guys in that clubhouse, and it’s very important to the coaches.”