The Independent Collegian: Summer Issue 3

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We all believe that there are some special things happening at this program Tim Beckman UT Head Football Coach

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www.IndependentCollegian.com

Sports Monday, July 25, 2011

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Joe Mehling – Editor

Beckman signs contract extension through 2015

By Nate Pentecost Assistant Sports Editor

Just weeks before two-aday practices begin, the University of Toledo and head football coach Tim Beckman came to terms on a contract extension which will keep him a Rocket through the 2015 season.

“I’m just excited about the commitment that is here from Dr. Jacobs and Mike O’Brien,” Beckman said. “It also states the commitment the staff has, not just Tim Beckman. We all believe that there are some special things happening at this program.”

Beckman, 46, is entering his third season at UT and is a season removed from an 8-5 (7-1 Mid-American Conference) campaign which included the Rockets first bowl appearance since 2005, a trip to the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl at Ford Field in Detroit.

Previously the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, Beckman was named Toledo’s head coach in December 2008, inheriting a team which finished 3-9 the season prior to his arrival. He led the Rockets to a 5-7 finish in his inaugural season at UT, featuring a nationally televised 54-38 victory over Colorado at the Glass Bowl.

Beckman’s last two recruiting classes were ranked No. 1 in the MAC by most recruiting services, and with 17 starters returning for the 2011 season, Toledo is widely considered a favorite to capture the MAC West title.

“Tim Beckman is not only an outstanding football coach, but he is also a tremendous leader and mentor,” Athletic Director Mike O’Brien said.

“He is

determined to make the UT football program the finest in the Mid-American Conference, as well as a factor on the national scene.”

A testament to the caliber of talent in Beckman’s program, Toledo wide receiver Eric Page and running back Adonis Thomas have both been named to preseason award watch lists.

Page, a junior from Springfield High School, is one of 40 players named to the watch list for the Walter Camp Award, given to the nation’s top player each year. Page and Northern Illinois senior quarterback Chandler Harnish are the only two MAC players to make the list.

Page was awarded FirstTeam All-American honors as a kick returner last season, ranking fourth in the nation in return average (31.8 ypr), and leading the nation with three return touchdowns. As a receiver, Page tied for fifth in the nation with 94 catches for 1,081 yards. He was also selected as First-Team AllMAC at both wide receiver and kick returner.

Thomas, a senior from Newark, N.J., is one of 51 rushers selected to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, given to the top running back in the country.

Thomas is the sole representative of the MAC among the 51 named.

Last season Thomas earned Second-Team All-MAC honors, leading all rushers with 1,273 all-purpose yards and eight touchdowns. Thomas finished with 458 yards more than Temple’s Bernard Pierce who received First-Team honors for the second-con— Contract, Page B2

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Tigers and Indians fight for the AL Central Now over a week removed from the All-Star break, the unofficial midway mark of the Major League Baseball season, the American League Central has quite evidently become a two-horse race between the upstart Cleveland Indians and a gritty Detroit Tigers club. After losing 190 games over the past two seasons en route to back-to-back fourth place finishes, the Tribe entered the season with a lean payroll, a youthful roster lacking depth, and few believers Nate outside of Pentecost t h e c l u b house.

But a 3 0 - 1 5 s t a r t turned The Indi- hf er ao d ms ans’ flaws a r o u n d league appear to the toward have finally C l e v e land, who caught up has manwith them aged to s t a y as of late. afloat in spite of numerous key players visiting the disabled list — including center fielder Grady Sizemore, designated hitter Travis Hafner and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo — all of whom are expected to play a critical role in an already inconsistent Indians’ lineup.

Cleveland has stayed near the top of the AL Central in large part due to a solid rotation led by young pitchers Justin Masterson, Josh Tomlin and Carlos Carrasco, as well as the late-game support of arguably the best bullpen in baseball, anchored by shutdown closer Chris Perez.

The Indians’ flaws appear to have finally caught up with them as of late, having gone just 17-27 since blazing their way to an early AL Central lead. The club’s dreadful June allowed the Tigers to claw back into the race, raising concerns as to whether or not the young, injury riddled Tribe is equipped to fight off its division counterparts down the stretch of the regular season.

Amid June’s debacle, Cleveland replaced hitting coach John Nunally with the organization’s minor league hitting coordinator Bruce Fields in hopes of breathing new life into a batting order which accumulated over 500 strikeouts by mid-June. The Tribe promoted infield prospects Lonnie Chisenhall and Cord Phelps to aid the lineup as well, but neither has made a significant impact to date, forcing the Indians front office to continue searching for offensive firepower.

If General Manager Chris Antonetti is to make a move before the July 31 trade deadline, rumors suggest he will be seeking outfield bats. As per usual, Cleveland has little to spare in the way of finances so a major transaction is likely out of the question.

However, in such a tight division race, adding even one or two more experienced hitters could greatly increase the Indians chances of making a playoff run.

If nothing else, the Tribe needs more reliability from starter Fausto Carmona, who was expected to anchor the staff but has registered just eight quality starts in 19

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File Photo by Zach Davis/IC

University of Toledo Head Coach Tim Beckman signed a contract extension through 2015.

Last season, Beckman led the Rockets to an 8-5 overall record, including 7-1 in the MidAmerican Conference. The Rockets open up their season against New Hampshire on Sept. 1

U.S. Senior Open begins at the Inverness Club on Thursday

By Joe Mehling Sports Editor

Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT

Fred Couples will be one of the favorites at 2011 U.S. Senior Open at the Inverness Club.

Toledo will host some of the best players in golf history this coming week at the 2011 U.S. Senior Open at the historic Inverness Club.

Players such as Fred Couples, Tom Kite, Tom Lehman and Bernhard Langer will be blazing the fairways starting on Thursday and hopefully through the weekend.

The Inverness Club has hosted numerous prestigious events such as U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, NCAA Championships and of course the U.S. Senior Open. The club also hosted an event called the Inverness Invitational from 1935-1952 where players such as Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, and Walter Hagan would compete in a round robin format to decide the winner. The course also holds a special place in the hearts of Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones, who made their major championship debuts in Toledo.

This year the player to beat will be the reigning U.S. Senior Open champion in Langer. The German-born player captured last year’s title at Sahalee C.C. in Sammamish, Washington and has one win already this year to go along with four top 25 finishes. Challenging Langer will be the winner of the

2003 U.S. Senior Open at Inverness, Bruce Lietzke, who fired a U.S. Senior Open record 64 during that historic week. However, the players will be feeling a bit of stress as they just completed the Open Championship in Surrey, England and now must travel to Toledo to face an already tough golf course.

Inverness will play at par 71 and a total distance of 7,143 with the first cut of rough being six feet wide and 1.5 inches tall while the second and third cut of rough can be anywhere from 2.5 inches to 4.5 inches tall.

The Donald Ross and Arthur Hills designed course will give testament to the rich history of Inverness.

This year’s tournament has a lot to live up to as it seems that drama always seems to find its way through the gates at Inverness. The club has been home to some of the greatest finishes in major golf history.

The 1931 U.S. Open at Inverness was the longest playoff in the history of American golf, Billy Burke and George Von Elm had to play 144 holes before Burke finally defeated Von Elm. In 1986 Bob Tway hit one of the most memorable shots in golf as he holed out from the 18th bunker to win his U.S. Open by two strokes over Greg Norman.

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Independent Collegian

Central From Page B1 outings. While the young guns in the rotation have far exceeded expectations, Carmona’s inconsistency has left Cleveland without a proven veteran arm, a longstanding staple for any club with ambitions of a successful postseason run. Carmona began the second half with a quality start on July 18th, going six innings while giving up two earned runs to Minnesota, but only time will reveal if he is still capable of being the solid front-end-ofthe-rotation guy the Indians need him to be.

Meanwhile, after a rollercoaster first half which at one point saw them 7.5 games removed from first place, the Tigers had to be relatively pleased to enter the All-Star break with a division lead for the fourth time in six seasons under manager Jim Leyland.

Outside of Cy Young hopeful Justin Verlander, who registered the third no hitter of his career, Detroit struggled to find consistent pitching in both the rotation and the bullpen early in the season but managed to stay competitive with the aid of a surprisingly potent offense.

When young starters Max Scherzer and eventually Rick Porcello began to find a groove, the Tigers hitting seemingly disappeared, due in no small part to injuries to right fielder Magglio Ordonez and critical offseason acquisition designated hitter Victor Martinez. However, Ordonez’s return helped spark the team’s best offensive stretch of the season, enabling Detroit to overtake

the Indians atop the division.

Though they currently hold a slim lead in the Central, in each season since 2001, the Tigers have recorded a record below .500 after the All-Star break, save for 2009 when they finished at .500. Detroit will need more consistency in every facet of the game if they hope to overcome their now all too familiar trend of second half collapses.

With Leyland, General Manager Dave Dombrowsk, and the majority of Detroit’s other decision-makers in contract years, the pressure is as high as ever to find a solution for the second half woes which have vexed the club for nearly a decade.

Leyland has repeatedly emphasized the need for his bullpen to gel as Joel Zumaya continues to suffer from elbow pain and youngster Ryan Perry struggles with location, and the return of middle reliever Al Alburquerque from the disabled list could be just the boost a pen lacking right-handed relief needs.

The Tigers will also need such players as Martinez and first baseman Miguel Cabrera to maintain a strong presence in middle of the batting order, and must hope that up-and-comers such as firsttime all-star catcher Alex Avila and outfielder Brennan Boesch continue their breakout season in the second half. With slumping third baseman Brandon Inge recently being relegated to the minors, bench player Don Kelly may be expected to take on a larger offensive role as well, unless Inge is able regain his form in Tri-

ple-A Toledo.

Like the Tribe, Detroit is also expected to seek outside help before the trade deadline but the Tigers foremost priority will be finding a reliable back-end-of-the-rotation starter to supplement the work of rookie Charlie Furbush whose ERA has steadily risen as the season has progressed. However, with a multitude of clubs in contention hoping to address similar needs, and the trade market severely lacking star power, Detroit may be forced to make due with its current rotation.

If Scherzer is able to overpower hitters as he did in the closing months of last season and Porcello can reclaim command of his secondary pitches, with the inclusion of Verlander, the Tigers will still inarguably possess the best 1-3 starters in the division, affording them an immeasurable advantage over any other team in the race for the Central.

While the Indians have become a league darling and a compelling Cinderella story, over the course of the 162 game season, it is improbable that a young, overachieving club will be capable of performing at the level necessary to claim a division crown over a more talented, veteran-laden team such as Detroit. If the Tigers play solid team baseball for the remainder of the season, the AL Central is theirs for the taking.

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Monday, July 25, 2011

File Photo by Jason Mack/IC

Adonis Thomas is a nominee for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s top RB.

Contract From Page B1 secutive season.

The lists will be narrowed down to 10 semifinalists on Nov. 11 with the winner being named live on ESPN on Dec. 8.

“They understand that the success of the team is the most important thing,” Beckman said. “You seem to see guys on all these lists that come from winning programs. Both are fine football players, don’t get me wrong, but both realize that team success is very important for any honors like that.”

Heading into August’s twoa-days, there is no word yet on who will be starting at quarterback, a decision that could play a major factor in

shaping the Rockets season.

Junior Austin Dantin and sophomore Terrance Owens are currently listed as co-No. 1 at quarterback on the preseason depth chart.

Dantin started the first nine games for Toledo last season before a shoulder injury in the first quarter against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 30, sidelined him for the remainder of the year.

Dantin finished first in the MAC in completion percentage (66.1), sixth in passing efficiency (124.7), and 10th in passing yards (139.3 per game). He also tied for the team lead with eight rushing touchdowns.

Stepping in for Dantin, Owens threw 13 touchdowns with five interceptions, compiling 1,244

passing yards in the final four games of the season.

Owens threw a touchdown and ran for another against Florida International in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl.

“Both of them are very capable and that is what you have two-a-days for,” Beckman said. “We look forward to seeing both Austin Dantin and Terrance Owens, along with David Pasquale, Dwight Macon, and the newcomer Ryan Gannon. The five quarterbacks we have will all be competing and we will see who pulls it out the Wednesday before the first game.”

Toledo will kickoff the season at home against New Hampshire on Thursday Sept. 1 at 7 pm.