031308

HORTON WANTS YOU!

TERP TRYOUT

Dr. Seuss’s magic lives on in the animated Horton Hears a Who!

Football players show skills to scouts before NFL draft

DIVERSIONS | PAGE 7

SPORTS | PAGE 10

THE DIAMONDBACK THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

98TH YEAR | ISSUE NO. 104

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER

Santa Fe SGA supports Campus Drive route cleared to admit underage

Vote establishes plurality of support for Purple Line among students

BY MARISSA LANG Staff writer

The SGA lent support to the Campus Drive alignment for the Purple Line transitway last night, becoming one of the last in a slew of student groups to vote in favor of the route.

Legislators said plans to send the proposed light rail line down Campus Drive — rather than

Preinkert Drive as administrators have proposed — would place the transitway in a location most central for students.

Administrators have long opposed the Campus Drive route because they say it would tarnish the look of the campus.

Maryland Secretary of Transportation John Porcari is expected to make the final decision on the Purple Line’s route next fall, but

A CONTROVERSY UNFOLDS

State transportation planners’ proposal to bring the Purple Line up Campus Drive has been controversial.

■ Administrators have lobbied hard against putting the transitway along Campus Drive, citing safety and beauty issues.

■ The Graduate Student Government and the RHA have voted to support putting the transitway on Campus Drive.

the Student Government Association legislators said their show of support for the Campus Drive route last night sends a clear signal to Annapolis on where students stand on the issue. The Residence Halls Association and the Graduate Student Government have already voted to support Campus Drive.

Please See VOTE, Page 3

Liquor board ticks off list of concerns, but votes ‘yes’

BY BRADY HOLT Staff writer

Terps take turmoil into ACC Tourney It has not been a normal season for Gary Williams and the Terrapins. The home losses to Ohio and American. The shocking win over North Carolina. The mid-season winning streak. The collapse against Clemson. All of it unique.

But more than ever, there has been a gloomy feeling surrounding the men’s basketball program. The negatives always last longer than the positives, and because of that, the Terps have received a barrage of criticism since December. Williams, nearing the end of his 19th season with the team, has felt the brunt of it in one of the most tumultuous seasons of the past 10 years.

Williams and the Terps (18-13, 8-8 ACC) have one last

Santa Fe Café is set to admit patrons as young as 18 on nights featuring live music after the Prince George’s County Liquor Control Board voted last night not to raise any formal objection to the plan.

But that didn’t stop the commissioners from panning the idea.

Santa Fe owner Mark Srour recently unveiled a plan as a way to “get the 18, 19, and 20-year-olds to come out and have a good time.”

But members of the liquor board criticized Srour’s ability to prevent underage customers from drinking, suggested he was bringing in the wrong type of musical acts, questioned the bar’s lack of a sprinkler system and informed him that his property’s liquor license did not allow him to operate a nightclub.

“Truthfully, I’m leery of the whole concept,” liquor board attorney Edmond O’Connell said. “Frankly, I don’t think we can support something that undermines the entire

Please See ACC, Page 9

Please See MINORS, Page 3

BY ANDREW ZUCKERMAN Senior staff writer

Salary for top SGA job will be reinstated Bill passed last night sets up performance-based pay for SGA presidents

BY MARISSA LANG Staff writer

Mandatory health insurance picks up support

BY JAD SLEIMAN Staff writer

The SGA voted unanimously yesterday to support mandatory health care for students, a show of solidarity with a University Senate committee in support of the policy a day before the full senate will have the final say on the issue today.

The Student Government Association’s resolution, however, warned that the organization would withdraw support for the bill should the university fail to provide financial aid to students unable to afford a university health insurance policy.

Please See HEALTH, Page 2

Tomorrow’s Weather:

of the fee will cover costs associated with putting on the concert.

Despite students now paying for tickets, Baccinelli remains optimistic that students will continue to attend.

“Our research shows that students are more interested in paying for a great show” rather than attending free but mediocre concerts, she said.

Tickets will be on sale at Hoff Box Office starting April 1 and online starting April 18. mtvU is co-sponsoring the event as part of its Campus Invasion Tour, in which high-profile and emerging musical acts flock to campuses nationwide. As an

The SGA voted unanimously last night to pay future student government presidents a salary and provide them with an expense account.

The Student Government Association president who takes over next fall will be the first to get paid for the job since 2004, a change SGA legislators hope will open up the position to students who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

“I have met a number of students over the years who didn’t run specifically because of financial problems,” SGA President Andrew Friedson said. “This is in the best interest of the student body.”

The money for the salary will come from student activities fees and will be contingent on the president fulfilling certain duties.

SGA Speaker of the Legislature Nick Chamberlain, who authored the two separate bills, said a committee including the SGA Inspector General and the members of the Constitution and By-Laws Committee will decide how much salary the president has earned.

“If you only do 70 percent of the work,” he said, “you only get 70 percent of the pay.”

The bills were amended from their original form to restrict access to the expense

Please See CONCERT, Page 3

Please See PRESIDENT, Page 3

Wyclef Jean to play Art Attack In unprecedented move, SEE will charge students $5 to attend

BY NANDINI JAMMI Staff writer

Hip-hop artist, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean will headline this year’s SEE-sponsored Art Attack concert on May 2, which will require students to purchase tickets for the first time ever, the group announced yesterday.

This year marks Art Attack’s 25th anniversary, prompting Student Entertainment Events to bring on mtvU as a cosponsor, a move Public Relations Director Maggy Baccinelli said will bring bigger acts to the campus.

The decision comes at a cost to students, who will pay $5 per ticket, which were free in previous years. Tickets for the gen-

Showers/60s

Index:

eral public will cost $10, a $5 decrease from last year’s show. “[MTV’s] getting a cut of it,” said Baccinelli, who added part

News . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Diversions . . . . . . . . .7 Sports . . . . . . . . . . . .10

www.diamondbackonline.com

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THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

Page 2

TODAY

@M

ARYLAND

MONDAY | NEWSMAKERS

BEST of the BLOGS

At the women’s tournament Greg Schimmel We headed back to the Greensboro Coliseum around noon today with high expectations for semifinal Saturday.

The lunch buffet did not disappoint, offering salads, deli sandwiches, barbecued pot roast and some sort of marinated chicken.

Add in the always-open complimentary snack cart — highlighted by dark chocolate Haagen Dazs bars — and the beverage cooler, and the Coliseum wins far and away for media hospitality at arenas the Terps played in this season.

Even with the absurd $89 per day wireless Internet access.

— POSTED ON TERRAPINTRAIL.COM MARCH 8, 2008

BRIEFS

North Carolina police charge two with UNC student’s murder HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – Two suspects were charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in the killing of the University of North Carolina’s student body president, though one remains at large.

Demario James Atwater, 21, of Durham was arrested and ordered held without bond. Police said they are still searching for the second suspect, 17-year-old Lawrence Alvin Lovett Jr. Chapel Hill Police Chief Brian Curran would not say which of the suspects shot Eve Carson, 22, of Athens, Ga., who was found a week ago lying on a street about a mile from the UNC campus.

The biology and political science major had been shot several times, including once in the right temple.

In the days after Carson’s death, police focused their investigation on several ATM and convenience store surveillance photos.

Police believe Lovett was pictured in two photos taken at an ATM, driving Carson’s Toyota Highlander with Atwater in the back seat. Police believe Atwater was the suspect shown trying to use Carson’s ATM card inside a convenience store.

Police received hundreds of tips after the first two photos were released this weekend.

– Compiled from wire reports

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TUESDAY | OVERHEARD

Physics is Phun

Chinese Language Classes at Business School

Hands on experiments about the origin of color, color mixing and color vision, 7 p.m., Physics Bldg., rooms 1410/1412

Non-credit foreign language and culture classes, 6:30 p.m., Van Munching Hall, rooms 1415/4534

WEDNESDAY | SCENE + HEARD

THURSDAY | BEST of the BLOGS

FRIDAY | Q + A

SGA: Insurance may strain cash-strapped students HEALTH, from Page 1 “Imagine the choice between buying $800 health insurance or buying books,” SGA member Matt Verghese said.

The issue of mandatory health insurance for undergraduates has been moving through the senate for more than a year. University sena-

tors have expressed support for a plan that would require undergraduate students to provide proof of health insurance or buy into an annual $800 university policy.

The policy would be implemented starting with 2009’s freshman class, leaving current students unaffected.

Some SGA members last night

expressed concern about the possible strain mandatory health insurance would place on students in particularly severe financial situations.

SGA member Jun Wang noted his own financial difficulties and called for an amendment that would allow a “case-by-case” evaluation of undergraduates that

would allow some students to exempt themselves from buying into a health insurance policy.

“I just want to give some level of control to the students,” Wang said.

After a tied vote on the amendment and some semantic wrangling, student legislators, in the end decided to drop the addition because of the possible “loop-

holes” it would create.

“The university could say, ‘Oh, OK, we’re going to exempt everyone,’” SGA member Brad Docherty said. The amendment would “negate the whole point” of a mandatory health insurance policy, he added. jsleimandbk@gmail.com

Sweatshop workers ask students to boycott Terp gear Former Hanes employees discuss 12-hour shifts, hazardous working conditions and poor pay

BY BEN PENN Staff writer

Manuel Pujols, who said he works grueling 12-hour shifts at a factory in the Dominican Republic, might have made the university T-shirt you are wearing right now.

Feminism Without Borders’ efforts to convince the university to support the Designated Suppliers Program, which puts demands on clothing suppliers and factories to enforce humane working conditions, continued yesterday evening with a sweatshop workers panel featuring Pujols and another speaker.

The two factory workers informed about 100 people in the Art-Sociology building’s main lecture hall about their harsh working conditions while making Tshirts that universities, including this one, brand with their logos and sell to students.

Pujols opened the panel by describing exhausting 12-hour shifts, which include two 15minute breaks and one 30-minute break. Pujols said employees get paid $200 every 32 days and frequently suffer injuries. But when workers try to complain about the conditions or organize, they are sometimes threatened, terrorized or fired, he said.

Pujols, along with his Hanes coworker Julio Castillo, is going on a seven-state tour speaking on college campuses. Pujols said he would like students to not only boycott the university apparel, but join him in his efforts to change the conditions at the factory.

“We ask you to help in our struggle because you are the consumers of the products we produce,” Pujols told the crowd through a translator.

Feminism Without Borders is asking students to urge the university, particularly Joe Ebaugh, director of trademark licensing, to support the Designated Suppliers

Program. The program calls for brands such as Nike or Adidas to order a portion of their university apparel from factories that treat workers humanely and to pay the factories enough money to adequately pay their employees.

Ebaugh, who attended the panel, responded to the campus feminist group’s written request that the university adopt the Designated Suppliers Program with a formal letter of his own last month. Ebaugh said the letter told the group that the university cannot support the Designated Suppliers Program, in part because of legal issues.

Scott Nova, the executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, said the program cannot be implemented until it receives legal approval from the Department of Justice, something not expected to happen before 2011.

However, he encourages all colleges to voice support for the Designated Suppliers Program.

“There’s nothing to stop universities from supporting [the Designated Suppliers Program] on a provisional basis, and it’s important for universities to demonstrate that they recognize that the DSP addresses critical issues,” Nova said.

Forty colleges and universities, including Duke, Georgetown and Syracuse, have already issued statements in support of the Designated Suppliers Program, something Feminism Without Borders member Daniela Vann will use to continue applying pressure on the university.

“Our ultimate goal is for the university to adopt DSP, and that’s basically the only thing we’re going to be accepting because that’s the only solution,” said Vann, a senior government and politics major.

Ebaugh supports Feminism Without Borders’ goal to increase awareness through the sweatshop workers panel and said the uni-

versity is involved with the Worker Rights Consortium and also supports the Fair Labor Association.

“The fact that we don’t endorse the DSP does not mean that we don’t endorse workers’ rights,” Ebaugh said. “The DSP and the university both have the same goals. It’s just the tactics we differ on.”

Freshman philosophy major and Feminism Without Borders member Josef Parker, while encouraging the Designated Suppliers Program’s adoption, said informing more students about the sweatshop injustices is a more attainable short-term goal.

“We want to give people an idea of what work conditions are like in isolated places around the world,” Parker said. “We want people to be a little more aware about their JACLYN BOROWSKI–THE DIAMONDBACK own clothes.”

Feminism Without Borders member Daniela Vann oversees a panel discussion The group’s mission affected between a group of students and Dominican Republic sweatshop workers, panel attendant Matthew Wynter, Manuel Pujols and Julio Castillo. a sophomore criminal justice and Winston-Salem, N.C.-based speaking on the tour, Pujols said communication major.

“People place a high value on the Hanes vice president has al- Hanesbrands Inc. issued a stateclothing. People take pride in ready asked to speak with him ment Dec. 14, 2007, in which it denied nearly all allegations of inhuMaryland gear,” said Wynter, who and Castillo.

“We’ve been campaigning for mane work conditions. The statesaid he will no longer purchase workers’ rights at Hanes for over ment acknowledged that an interuniversity apparel.

Not only is the sweatshop work- a year, but it wasn’t until we start- nal investigation uncovered “severs’ tour impacting college stu- ed this campus tour that Hanes eral managerial issues.” dents, but word has already was willing to meet with us,” Pureached Hanes. After two days jols said. penndbk@gmail.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

3

State tax could be a mixed blessing for univ. students Computer tax helps fund state schools, but some warn expense could force technology jobs to flee the state

BY MEGAN ECKSTEIN Senior staff writer

JACLYN BOROWSKI–THE DIAMONDBACK

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights member Vicki Schieber and Sara Klemm, a 2000 alumna who now works for the group Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, speak about abolishing the death penalty.

Event organizers fail to connect with death row Opponents of death penalty hit technical problem at Union event in call to condemned state prisoners

BY ERICH WAGNER For The Diamondback

Anti-death penalty advocates who organized an event on the campus held last night failed to reach two Maryland death row inmates by telephone due to an unknown problem at the prison.

The telephone call, which would have been conducted conference-style with attendees, had been the centerpiece of an event aimed at rallying support for a bill being considered in Annapolis that would repeal the death penalty. Mike Stark, an activist and D.C. area organizer with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, said he was disappointed the inmates had not been able to call in to the event.

“It could have been some sort of technical problem, where my number was not on the inmates’ lists of approved phone numbers,” Stark said.

“The prison could have also gotten wind of the event and locked down death row.”

While the group waited for the inmates to call, Vicki Schieber, a Chevy Chase resident and treasurer of Murder Victims’ Families for Human

Rights, spoke about her family’s experiences with the criminal justice system.

Schieber’s daughter, Shannon Schieber, was raped and murdered in May of 1998 while attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

“Despite what people in the news always talk about, there is no such thing as closure,” Schieber said. “If we as a family sign a paper saying that we want this man to be put to death, how are we any different than he is?”

Samantha Nickey, a freshman psychology major who attended the event at the Prince George’s Room in the Stamp Student Union, said she was undecided on the death penalty issue before last night’s event. But Nickey said “[the event] pretty much convinced me to be against it, simply because of the money argument.”

Capital cases in Maryland cost, on average, $700,000 more than the average $1.1 million price of sentencing a person to life in prison without parole when the prosecutor unsuccessfully seeks the death penalty. When a successful death sentence is reached, the

number soars to a total of $3 million.

Sara Klemm, a 2000 alumna and a member of Maryland Citizens Against State Executions, cited a university study that concluded that application of the death penalty is arbitrarily distributed across racial and geographic lines.

She added that 127 inmates on death row in the United States have been exonerated by DNA evidence.

Tim Palmer, a junior communications major, said he went into the event already strongly against the death penalty.

“This is one of the few political issues I have a strong personal opinion about,” Palmer said.

No one at the event vocalized support for the death penalty.

The House of Delegates is holding hearings today in Annapolis on two anti-death penalty bills. One would repeal the death penalty and the other seeks to form a commission to study the death penalty, similar to the one that led to its repeal in New Jersey in November of 2007. newsdesk@umd.edu

A new technology tax is causing headaches for lawmakers in Annapolis, but it has the potential to cause more serious problems for the university’s technology and life sciences students.

Last fall, the General Assembly reluctantly passed a measure to tax “computer services,” but lawmakers are now finding that declining economic conditions prevent them from repealing the tax, which they’ve soured on in recent months as some have realized it might drive technology companies away from the state.

The vaguely defined tax, which has been interpreted to cover not only repair services but also companies, is estimated to raise about $214 million next year, much of which will go toward funding higher education. But as the tax stands, its impact on the state job market might have larger implications for students looking for jobs after graduation.

Despite the short-term problems with repealing the tax, some legislators are

afraid the tax will encourage computer and biotechnology companies to leave Maryland and settle in Northern Virginia or Pennsylvania, pushing away thousands of jobs that state officials have said are vital to the state’s future prosperity and prestige.

Gov. Martin O’Malley spoke at the university at the grand opening of the Bioscience Research Building, saying the 10 years it spent trying to secure $69 million in funding were well worth it, if it meant the university would be able to produce top-notch students to enter the local biotechnology field and contribute to the state’s longterm wealth.

Some fear that the computer tax, though, might undermine all this time and money.

Comptroller Peter Franchot said he is staunchly opposed to the tax and wants to see it repealed before it has time to wreak havoc on the state’s status as a business- and technology-friendly state.

“It has a symbolic aspect to it. This is Maryland’s strength — technology, computers, life sciences, etc. And for the state to tax this in isolation and give Virginia and Pennsylvania the competitive advantage, they

are currently in our state recruiting our companies to move out of state because of this tax, and it hasn’t even taken effect yet.”

The tax will go into effect July 1 unless the General Assembly decides to repeal it before April 7, when this year’s legislative session ends.

Many legislators say they’re relying on the tax to bring the state money, especially as the Board of Revenue Estimates predicted last week the state’s revenue next year will be $258 million lower than originally predicted.

Franchot said he thinks the tax won’t bring in as much money as the Department of Legislative Services predicted because so many companies will move out of state and therefore not contribute to the tax revenue.

“You go to tax them, and they aren’t there anymore,” Franchot said.

Warren Deschenaux, director of the Office of Policy Analysis in the Department of Legislative Services, however, said this was “a hypothesis that has yet to be proven.” ecksteindbk@gmail.com

Art Attack will not be free CONCERT, from Page 1 event sponsor, mtvU will bring contests, freebies, and casting calls to the event.

“The artists we're having doesn't really exclude anyone,” she said, referring to the eclectic lineup of musical groups, including Simple Plan, The Bravery, Cobra Starship and The Spill Canvas.

Wyclef Jean is best known as former lead rapper for the musical group, The Fugees, which dissolved in 1997 after churning out such songs as “Fu-Gee-La” and “Killing Me Softly.”

Jean most recently featured fellow rappers Akon

“We’re really trying to make it an exciting and memorable event.”

–Maggy Baccinelli SEE PUBLIC RELATIONS DIRECTOR

and Lil Wayne, as well as singer Niia in his 2007 single, “Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill).”

The song peaked at #10 on the Billboard Top 100 last month.

Still, last spring's headliner, The All-American Rejects, may prove hard to beat. More than 9,000 Terps crowded the show at Byrd Stadium. Other past musical acts include Guster, The Bloodhound Gang and PFunk All Stars.

“We want to make it something that students will think of as a yearly tradition,” Baccinelli said. “We're really trying to make it an exciting and memorable event.”

The show is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. at Byrd Stadium. Doors open at 4 p.m. jammidbk@gmail.com

SGA rebukes univ. president for Purple Line stance VOTE, from Page 1 “The GSG, RHA, and now, the SGA have all come out with a united position on the issue, contrary to the administration’s position,” said SGA Legislator and author of the resolution Matt Verghese. “The students are united on this. ... This is our

campus, and our home.”

While the SGA had long considered both perspectives on the Purple Line debate, their decision to support the Campus Drive plan last night leaves administrators alone in their position.

Ann Wylie, university President Dan Mote’s chief of staff,

said the administration doesn’t plan on budging.

“We’re not going to change our position,” she has said.

Verghese said this type of “us or them” mentality is what drove them to propose an amendment saying, “the university administration has endangered the expedient con-

Liquor board pans Santa Fe plan MINORS, from Page 1 function of this board.”

Nonetheless, the measure passed without official objection after the board members decided that it could not block the plan without letting Srour give the plan a fair chance.

He will have provisional approval to admit underage patrons through the rest of the semester, and the board will revisit the plan in June.

The board predicted the experiment will not go well.

Although Srour’s plan includes a system of hand markings and wristbands to prevent underage patrons from drinking, Commissioner Earl Howard said it would be too hard to monitor in a crowd of hundreds of people.

“I can sit down with five people who are under 21 and order a drink, and who’s to say I don’t give it to one of them?” Howard said. “I don’t believe you or anyone else can control a crowd of that size from not passing alcohol from one person to another.”

Srour’s lawyer, Russell Shipley, reminded the liquor board that it did not have the authority to block the plan and assured the commissioners he intended to work hard to make it a success.

“We’re not asking to do anything that violates your rules or state law,” Shipley said. “We just

struction of the Purple Line by ignoring student opinion.”

But not all legislators had such strong reactions to the administration’s uncompromising stance.

In recent months, administrators have proposed multiple routes to avoid a Campus Drive option. SGA President

DIAMONDBACK FILE PHOTO

want to be responsible licensees and inform the board, invite the board’s inspectors to make even closer inspections of the premises and obviously discontinue [the program] if your concerns turn out to be correct.”

The board’s first vote on the plan was deadlocked at 2-2, but it passed 2-1 after Howard decided to abstain.

Liquor board Chairman Franklin Jackson made it clear the vote was not a show of support for the plan.

“The issue before us is not whether we think this is a smart thing to do, because obviously we don’t think this is a smart thing to do,” Franklin said.

The board did strike down one

of the provisions, that would have required underage patrons to present a university ID, citing discrimination. In an interview before the hearing, Srour had said he “didn’t know” and “didn’t care” whether such a measure would have been legal.

The College Park City Council’s decision to support Santa Fe’s bid — which also came after many concerns were expressed — proved instrumental in the liquor board’s decision.

“I’ve expressed my sincere doubts, but I defer to the judgment of the city of College Park and its mayor,” O’Connell said.

“Let’s put them on the spot.” holtdbk@gmail.com

dite the passage of the bill, though he remained resolute in his stance.

“President Mote is entrenched in his position,” he said. “Mote should care. As our president, he should take our viewpoints seriously.” langdbk@gmail.com

SGA says president’s salary will depend on performance in office PRESIDENT, from Page 1

Santa Fe owner Mark Srour (center) at a 2006 city council meeting.

Andrew Friedson said he has tried to guide the debate within administration ranks throughout the process, but concluded last night that a vote was necessary to voice student’s opinions.

A lengthy argument pushed Verghese to back off his amendment in order to expe-

account and to cap the salary at the current in-state tuition rate.

The expense account would be subject to evaluation by elected officials from the executive and legislative branches, as well as the inspector general, who has the least affiliation with either branch.

The president will submit expenses to the committee, which will decide on reimbursements.

The SGA voted in 2004 to stop paying its presidents.

Former SGA President Aaron Krause argued at the time that the position should be strictly volunteer.

But Friedson and others in the SGA maintain that the salary opens the position to more students.

Chamberlain said that by passing the bills last night, the SGA has leveled the playing field for all future president-hopefuls.

“It really opens up the process,” he said. “Not only is it the highest office, but it is the only full-time position in the SGA.”

Friedson, in his appeal to the legislative body, pointed out that many other schools around the country have stipends in place for their SGA presidents.

“This is not unique,” he said. “It happens everywhere else.”

He pointed out that the proposed amount is significantly less than what presidents at other institutions make, despite a more

demanding job and larger constituency.

“The SGA President at Towson receives $12,000 out of student activities fees every year,” he said, “and her job is easier than my job.”

Chamberlain said salary will remain limited to the president and will not be extend to legislators or cabinet members in the future. langdbk@gmail.com

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THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

KEVIN LITTEN

THE DIAMONDBACK

Opinion

EDITOR IN CHIEF

YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK PHONE: (301) 314-8200 | FAX: (301) 314-8358 3150 SOUTH CAMPUS DINING HALL | COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742 NEWSDESK@DBK .UMD.EDU

MEGHA RAJAGOPALAN

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MANAGING EDITOR

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OPINION EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Staff Editorial

Len Goff

“The articulate voice is more distracting than mere noise.”

- Seneca

Vegetables are the new meat

Hear this, city council DANIEL KOBRIN

Baseball breakdown

G

eorge Mitchell, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. There.

I’ve filled my quota, so let’s move past all that. Baseball’s come again. Santana’s a Met. Rolen’s a Blue Jay. A-Rod’s still a Yankee, and Joe Torre is a Dodger: The bullpen bell continues to toll for thee, Scott Proctor.

I’ve gotten ahead of myself, though, and I’m all over the place. Let’s break this down by division and take a good, critical look at the cream and crap of Major League Baseball. So, ladies and gentlemen, let’s move forward in an organized and orderly fashion.

National League East — We all know the Mets blew it. Big time. Seven-gamelead-with-17-to-play big time. So, they went out and signed the best left-handed pitcher in baseball. In response, the Phillies signed Brad “Get Me Out Of Pujols’ Division” Lidge. The Marlins traded away their two best players, and the Nationals traded two of their players to the Mets. The Nats also made moves to ensure their outfield would hit 60 combined home runs, six combined women, or both. The Braves, on the other hand, just hope Mike Hampton makes it out of a spring-training shower before suffering a season-ending grundel injury.

Needless to say, it’s going to take a mammoth effort on the part of the New York Metropolitans to piss this one away. Division champ: Mets.

N.L. Central — The Cubs spend the most money, but the Astros seem to use the most steroids. Then again, the Cardinals rack up the most injuries and tragic deaths, while the Pirates play the most inept players. Ah, who am I kidding?

Everyone knows they don’t make steroid needles big enough to pierce Prince Fielder’s round hide. Pencil him in for another 50 home runs and a Brewer title. Division champ: Brewers. Wild card: Cubs.

N.L. West — Look, the Rockies, Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Padres are all in contention for this one. Great pitching, superb hitting and good fundamentals all around. But let’s recognize the real story here: The San Francisco Giants could lose 150 games. Think about it. One unfortunate injury to Matt Cain, who posted a 7-16 record last year anyway; one drop in production from free-agent prize Aaron Rowand; and one normal year out of Barry Zito. The Giants start a 37-yearold at first base, a 33-year-old at catcher, a 36-year-old at second base, a 40-year-old at shortstop and 30-, 33- and 35-year-olds in the outfield. This team is old. These hitters are terrible. These pitchers are awful.

With the right breaks, we could be in for something very, very special here. Division champ: Diamondbacks.

American League West — God, what a depressing division. If Erik Bedard didn’t get traded here, you probably wouldn’t know it existed. Division champ: a sub-.500 team.

A.L. Central — Honestly, this might be one of the most exciting divisions in sports.

The Royals won’t contend, but they’re on a youthful and exciting track. If they can stay healthy, the White Sox can play with anyone, especially with the addition of slugger Nick Swisher. The Twins lost big with the departures of Tori Hunter and Johan Santana. But Francisco Liriano is back, healthy and throwing as well as ever, and the Minnesota roster still lists Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Delmon Young as active players. The Indians showed they were a balanced juggernaut last season, and that was with Travis Hafner struggling at the plate. The Tigers, though, may average over 10 runs a game while only allowing two or three.

I’m telling you right now the World Series champ comes out of this division. Division champ: Tigers. Wild card: Twins.

A.L. East — Orioles = young. Rays (dropped the “Devil” this offseason) = .500 record. Blue Jays = more injuries.

Now for the real meat: The Boston Red Sox are the World Series champs, but Josh Beckett plans on playing his way into shape, and Curt Schilling has a boo-boo. Without those two, the Sox win 80 games. Now, the Yankees’ pitching will be fine. The real question is how the offense is going to handle new manager Joe Girardi’s departure from Torre’s hita-home-run-at-all-costs offense. I think it’s very clear Jason Giambi wants nothing to do with small ball. The only thing I know for certain will happen: Hank Steinbrenner will make an embarrassing and vaguely racist remark about a Boston Red Sox player. Bank on it.

Division champ: LET’S GO, YANKEES! Daniel Kobrin is a senior government and politics major. He can be reached at dkobrin@umd.edu.

K

udos to you, Andrew Friedson, because when the — scaring students and residents alike into keeping the noise College Park City Council was opting to stand by a down at the risk of a possible $1,000 fine for a second violation new policy that could potentially levy unfair and — but it’s simply a poorly researched plan. Can the council be ridiculously high fines for off-campus noise viola- sure new tenants won’t get slammed with secondary fines tions, you stood up for students. Impressive, but from a previous tenant? How can they guarantee landlords won’t pass their own fine to the students to pay off? With such will it be enough?

While the decision has been put on hold, the city council’s high costs of living in College Park, are the possible positive positive outlook on a plan that would implement harsher penal- community aspects worth the financial downfall of students, and even more so, by way of shady and at ties for residents who are issued noise viotimes unfair means? With so many looplations doesn’t bode well for students. holes open for landlords to pass fines to Under the current policy, residents found to be creating too much noise face a The plan to extend the students, one would imagine that before passing judgment on the policy, the city $500 fine. If the resident doesn’t own his period for noise council would put more thought and reor her house, the landlord receives a violations is search into the plan, making sure to cover warning. A second violation within six these bases. months of the first would result in a $1,000 fundamentally unfair If nothing else, Friedson’s stance against fine and a $500 fine for the landlord. and full of loopholes. the policy is a staunch reminder that uniExtending the period in which a stuversity leaders need to be vigilant when it dent would be issued a second-violation citation from six months to a year has loopholes that have comes to potentially anti-student legislation. With the onslaught been overlooked at best and can be easily exploited at worst. of recent city zoning issues and Knox Box parking permit reguWhile the second violation would cost both the landlord and lations, both of which have harmed students, students need to the tenant fines — of $500 and $1,000, respectively — it keep an eye on policies unfairly targeting us. This recent discuswould leave the door open for the landlord to charge the ten- sion is a prime example of what types of anti-student policies ant for their fine, rather than paying it themselves. If, during could be passed without student input and without proper cona given year, a landlord has two tenants, the first of whom in- sideration of how they could adversely affect the students.

Before the city council makes any permanent decisions recurs multiple noise violations, under the proposed plan the landlord would be charged $500 for the first noise violation garding the new policy, they need to listen to the concerns of of the second tenant. If the landlord passes noise violation students such as Andrew Friedson and make sure the polifines to tenants, this would result in the second tenant being cy’s positives outweigh the negatives. With the housing excessively fined due to the violations of a previous tenant. crunch taking its toll on so many students as it is, targeting off-campus students and threatening severe financial punHope you didn’t need those textbooks.

Council members may believe implementing this policy ishments might not be the most efficient, let alone moral, will help crack down on rowdy parties around College Park means of maintaining the law.

Our View

Editorial Cartoon: Mike O’Brien

Letters to the Editor Culture of fear

Spring break safety

Matthew John Phillips’ March 11 condescending column, “The Chicken Little Effect,” provides us nothing but a regurgitation of an already worn argument. I see more talking heads on television lampooning our “culture of fear” than fear mongers forecasting dirty bomb strikes. From Chomsky’s groundbreaking “Manufacturing Consent” to more recent studies by Frank Furedi and Dan Gardner, the writer Phillips references, we have been told the very fabric of our lives has been contaminated by an all-consuming fear. The problem with the argument is that it is so contrary to the actual American experience. Look outside! Americans aren’t afraid — we’re still packing into tall buildings, flying on airplanes and visiting Washington. How many of us think about terrorism when we’re not reading the paper or discussing politics? How many Americans actually know the current Homeland Security threat level?

The real problem is that the memory of Sept. 11 is being clouded by partisanship. The attacks of Sept. 11 must be remembered as more than the justification for an unjust war. We must never forget — we promised never to forget — that 3,000 Americans were killed that morning for no reason other than that they were Americans. Was Sen. Clinton’s “Who do you want answering the phone?” ad that unreasonable? The next president, as the commander in chief, has a good chance of deciding whether or not to send our men and women to war. Finally, while “a rope is still a rope,” let us not forget what that rope symbolizes. Is a swastika just a clever geometric pattern? We must not live in fear of the evil in this world, but we cannot pretend it is a non-issue either.

After a long, cold winter, spring is finally here. With spring comes exams and, of course, spring break. Many of you are likely to take a vacation or travel back to your hometown. While we, Prince George’s County Police, recognize this, so do burglars and other criminals. You have likely seen the increased police and media presence that resulted from recent burglaries occurring just off the campus. We have been working diligently to put an end to the burglaries that have impacted the area in recent months.

Many homes will be vacant during spring break thereby increasing the chance that someone might target your home. For this reason, we feel it is important to pass on important information that will reduce the likelihood of you falling victim to a burglar or thief. We would like you, in addition to the police, to take a proactive stance in fighting and reducing crime. Police will be out in force prior to spring break to distribute fliers containing important pointers and safety tips, many of which are common sense. It is incumbent upon you and your roommates that you look to your neighbor for assistance if you are leaving town. Don’t hesitate to ask your neighbor to keep an eye on your residence and offer to do the same for them. And, of course, please always remember to lock all of your doors and windows.

Increased awareness in your community is the key to preventing and reducing crime. In the event you are remaining in the area for spring break, be aware of your surroundings and don’t hesitate to report anything you believe to be suspicious. However insignificant you believe something to be, it may later develop into something of greater importance. In closing, a close partnership between the police and community is one of our main goals, and I hope that you all enjoy your welldeserved break.

JEFF CAMP FRESHMAN BIOENGINEERING

SGT. MATTHEW STAUFFER PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY POLICE

Air Your Views The Diamondback welcomes your comments.

Address your letters or guest columns to the Opinion Desk at opinion@dbk.umd.edu. All letters and guest columns must be signed. Include your full name, year, major and day- and night-time phone numbers. Please limit letters to 300 words. Please

limit guest columns to between 550 and 700 words.

Submission of a letter or guest column constitutes an exclusive, worldwide, transferable license to The Diamondback of the copyright in the material in any media. The Diamondback retains the right to edit submissions for content and length.

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M

ost people have heard the standard arguments for vegetarianism: that buying meat supports the suffering of animals, wastes food and energy and puts stress on the environment. But most people continue to eat meat, which means they are justifying it to themselves in some way. Here are my thoughts on some of the common arguments offered in defense of being an omnivore.

“Animals are here to be eaten or to serve humanity.” If you believe this, then I respect that and probably won’t be able to talk you out of it. Beliefs such as this one are usually held dogmatically. But I ask that you recognize that as our our beliefs guide our actions, they matter to the rest of the world, and we owe it to one another to critically examine them. Does the belief that animals are here for our indiscriminate pleasure really hold up under scrutiny?

“Animals do not have feelings, are not conscious.” This, to be sure, is a difficult and deep question, and I don’t think anyone can claim to have discovered an adequate definition for what makes something conscious. But we have to go with the evidence we’ve got. For example, how do you reason that your best friend is conscious? Either you simply assume it or you infer it from the observations you make about their behavior, biological constitution or something else. We ought to apply the same criteria to everything around us. Biologically speaking, animals with nervous systems and brains sense the environment around them in essentially the same way humans do. While the animals we eat may not be able to write poetry or behave like your best friend, they do process information from their senses and there is no reason to think they don’t suffer when those sensations are painful.

“If animals have feelings, then don’t vegetables, too?” I grant that there is something of a point here, but rather than justifying eating animals it merely emphasizes that consciousness is a mysterious thing. Clearly we have to draw a line somewhere, in order to eat and survive. But on what grounds should we draw the line between humans and the other 10 million species on this planet? Why not instead draw the line where it corresponds to something we have good reason to think is relevant, such as the difference between having a central nervous system and not? Even if my carrot were, in fact, conscious, it still wouldn’t matter much if I took a bite out of it, because it does not have the physiological apparatus to sense the force of my teeth and feel it as pain. Animals do.

“Eating meat is natural.” This argument seems to me incredibly ad-hoc. How many other things do you justify solely on the grounds that they are natural? And why should all natural things be right? Does a rock have a moral right to fall on your head because that is natural?

“Being a vegetarian is a firstworld luxury.” This is true, I suppose, in the sense that here in the first world most of us have access to a wide variety of food and can afford it. But while it is certainly unfair that we have dietary choices that most of the world is not privy to, it doesn’t mean that we should not use that freedom for good. A large quantity of edible vegetarian food goes into raising livestock, and were the demand for meat to decline, that food could end up in the mouths of hungry humans.

“Meat tastes good.” That’s nice, but you are not the only thing that matters in this world.

Many people want to do good in their lives but are confused about how go about it. Giving up meat is something that you can do right away, and will it spare the lives of at least several thousand animals throughout your lifetime. It can help save you money, reduce your ecological footprint, live more compassionately and allow more food to go to the poor. After the first few weeks, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. There’s no harm in going green in a different way or, at the very least, giving it a shot.

Len Goff is a senior philosophy and physics major. He can be reached at lgoff@umd.edu.

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

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© 2008 UNITED FEATURES SYNDICATE

orn today, you are the kind of individual who is always being compared to others — whether there are any common traits shared by you and anyone else at all. You can bet that almost everyone you meet will think that you are like someone else they know, and this is partially because you are so quickly comfortable with people and you put people very quickly at ease in all situations. This is a blessing, for you will be able to overcome all manner of obstacles in life simply because you are able to remain calm under stress.

You are likely to get a head start when it comes to your profession, thanks to certain key individuals who are compelled to help you when you are getting started.

You’re likely to owe a debt of gratitude to others throughout your lifetime.

Also born on this date are: Dana Delaney, actress; William H. Macy, actor; Neil Sedaka, singer and songwriter; L. Ron Hubbard, author and Scientology founder.

To see what is in store for you tomorrow, find your birthday and read the corresponding paragraph. Let your birthday star be your daily guide.

B

FRIDAY, MARCH 14 PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) — A friend will be making the rules, but don’t think that you’ll be favored in any way. Be willing to do things by the book.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) — You are likely to find that you’ve been on the right track all along, despite your own real doubts and fears. Keep up the good work.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) — You may have trouble pulling yourself out of an emotional

TODAY’S CROSSWORD SPONSORED BY:

S A T E D S T E L E S R S

rut. Things are going well at work, but inside you’re playing with fire.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) — You needn’t spend a great deal of money in order to come up with something of value to offer a loved one. Use your imagination.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) — A mere acquaintance is likely to prove one of your most valuable supporters before the day is out. A close friendship may well be developing.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) — How you face a personal emergency is likely to bring you to the attention of a family member who, fortunately, has all the answers.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Romantic involvement is not advised — unless you are working to rekindle a past flame. In such a case, dramatic measures may be required.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — See if you can’t be a little more accepting and tolerant. Believe it

Copyright 2008 United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

TODAY’S HOROSCOPE SPONSORED BY:

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or not, there are those who have a little trouble with you, too.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — You’ll want more of the same once you get a taste of something new that comes your way.

Remember, however, to employ self-discipline.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — You’re being too possessive, and a loved one is likely to accuse you of being overly sensitive and wholly unreasonable.

Talk it out.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Your memory may actually deceive you, leading to a decision that others may find surprising, but that in the end proves valuable.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — A disappointment early in the day can become something to celebrate later on — believe it or not. All you need is a little faith — and patience.

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63 Mix 18 Zen master’s question DOWN 19 More than eager 1 Gambling mecca 20 Mighty — — oak 2 Pop up 21 Really scary 3 Fix, as a printer 23 Graduate course 4 Gives celebrity 25 Big hammer status 26 Phaser blast 5 Unisex wear 27 Knockout gas 6 Outdoorsy type 29 Convent 7 Limburger 32 Fishtailed feature 33 Dust cloth 8 Nonsense poet 36 Misfortunes 9 Sweet rolls 37 Thunders 10 Cloudier 38 Pup’s pop 11 Black-and-blue 39 — foo yung 12 Cake decoration 40 Bundles up 13 Deputy’s need 41 NASA milieu 21 Knock gently 42 Chicago’s airport 22 Bolted 43 Moo goo — pan 24 Opposing vote 44 “Minute Waltz” 27 Marry in haste composer 28 Rolaids rival 47 Takeovers 29 Stun 51 Boat alternative 30 Marshy place 54 Rhythm 31 Plead 55 Pitcher in a basin 32 Hang-glide 56 Multitude 33 Narrow inlet

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THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

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EMPLOYMENT

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Great Job 5 Minutes from Campus Part time receptionist/filing clerk. Duties include answering phones, filing, light administrative work. Flexible schedule. Part-time. Please contact Gary Citterman at 240-737-0361, fax: 301-441-2092, email: gcitterman@ecapitol.com.

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CAMP COUNSELORS needed for great overnight camps in NE Pennsylvania. Gain valuable experience while working with children in the outdoors. Teach/ assist with waterfront, outdoor recreation, ropes course, gymnastics, A&C, athletics, and much more. Office & Nanny positions also available. Apply on-line at www.pineforestcamp.com.

Searching for a few individuals who like to stand out in a crowd.

Must enjoy a competitive environment & be interested in making an unlimited amount of money. Those interested please send a resume to advertising@dbk.umd.edu.

Hiring Immediately Position close date 3/28/08.

* On Campus * BEHNKE NURSERIES is now hiring for these positions: cashiers, general labor and sales associates. Please call 1-301-937-1100, Beltsville location. Or 1-301-983-9200, Potomac location

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Earn $800-$3200 a month to drive brand new cars with ads placed on them. www.AdCarClub.com.

Get Paid To Play Video Games! Earn $20-$100 to test and play new video games. www.videogamepay.com

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FOR RENT 3THREE HOUSES AVAILABLE. Adelphi Rd. 1 block from N. Campus Dr. 5+ bedroom house, $3200; 5 bedroom houses $3000/month including a/c, utilities not included. Some off-street parking.

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Availble June 1 - early signing bonus. Contact Dr. Kruger - 301-408-4801.

Now Hiring!!

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House for Rent Now Hiring All Positions We offer great salaries, benefits including paid vacation, insurance plan, tuition assistance, 401K, meal plan & much more!

Apply in person: Arundel Mills Mall, MD, 410-796-0200 or 14601 Baltimore Ave., Laurel, MD, 301-470-4405.

NEED MONEY FOR RENT? You can find a job in The Diamondback Classifieds!

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ROOMS FOR RENT

Minutes away from campus. 2 medium size rooms available. House includes washer/dryer, full kitchen, 3 bath, satellite television, wireless internet, overhanging deck, and ample parking.

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Follow the Terps at their Post-Season Basketball Tournaments During Spring Break!!

Expanded coverage online at diamondback online.com

The Diamondback will have reporters and photographers at all the men’s and women’s basketball games.

Go to diamondbackonline.com for daily updates!

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 | THE DIAMONDBACK

7

ONLINE EXCLUSIVES:

Diversions ARTS

MUSIC

If you’re looking for an indie flick to see this weekend, check out Blindsight or Under the Same Moon. Look online for our exclusive reviews — just click the Diversions link on www.diamondbackonline.com.

WEEKEND

MOVIES

LIVING

REVIEW | HORTON HEARS A WHO!

LISTEN TO

HORTON After a slew of horrendous Dr. Seuss remakes, Horton Hears a Who! lives up to the author’s standard

BY THOMAS FLOYD Staff writer

When it comes to the imaginative works of Dr. Seuss, recent live-action adaptations have either left something to be desired (see Ron Howard’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas) or just been plain awful (The Cat in the Hat, with Mike Meyers). Then, the powersthat-be over at Blue Sky Studios had a novel idea: Take Seuss’ illustrations and actually translate them into an animated movie.

Who knew the formula for success could be so obvious?

Based on the 1954 book of the same title, Horton Hears a Who! tells the story of an elephant named Horton (Jim Carrey, revisiting the Whos after starring in Grinch), who hears the faintest of sounds coming from a speck of dust. As it turns out, the speck is actually home to the city of Whoville, where its quirky people are completely unaware of their microscopic status.

When the town’s mayor (Steve Carrell, The Office) hears Horton and realizes the perilous state of his world’s existence, he asks the elephant to find a safe place to set down the speck. Horton, kind in nature and pure at heart, naturally obliges, declaring “a person’s a person, no matter how small.”

But his decision is strongly opposed by Kangaroo (Carol Burnett, Once Upon a Mattress), an overly protective mother who believes Horton’s imaginative thinking will poison the minds of the jungle’s children.

When she hires an eagle named Vlad (the raspy chords of Will Arnett, Semi-Pro) to eliminate the speck, the fate of Whoville hangs in the balance. The subsequent attacks on Horton cause chaos for the miniscule city, launching the mayor into action as he tries to guide his people to safety, as well as protect his own 97 children.

In the midst of the turmoil, it is actually two quiet sons from different worlds — but with all too familiar problems — whose character arcs take center stage. The mayor’s son, Jojo (Jesse McCartney, Keith), and Kangaroo’s son, Rudy (Josh Flitter, License to Wed), are tragically misunderstood by their

parents, constantly staving off feelings of oppression both metaphoric and literal. As circumstances would have it, they each have an unlikely role to play in the climax, and it is their stories that send the film’s poignant message about accepting people for who they are.

First-time directors Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino delve deep into the imagination of Dr. Seuss, animating his world in a way that creatively goes beyond a simple portrayal off the page. Horton’s Jungle of Nool has compelling visual landscapes that fit well into the fantasy genre, but don’t step too far outside the realm of reality. More outlandish is Whoville, where the energetic town and its eccentric culture are vividly brought to life.

As Horton is a short book stretched into an 88-minute feature, one might expect the plot to be muddled by painfully forced comedy.

But writers Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul (both from College Road Trip) have penned a narrative that generally keeps the humor witty and the story lines investing. While other animated movies often deteriorate into a slew of slapstick and pop-culture references, Horton depends on a balanced mix of simple jokes for the kids and some subtler moments aimed toward older audiences.

As Horton, Carrey resists the temptation to overplay his role, delivering a spot-on, more nuanced performance. Carrell’s mayor, depicted with a measure of restrained enthusiasm, is also faultless, as is most of the all-star cast that includes Seth Rogen (Superbad), Amy Poehler (Mr. Woodcock), Jonah Hill (Strange Wilderness), Isla Fisher (Definitely, Maybe), Dan Fogler (Balls of Fury), Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl) and Dane Cook (Dan in Real Life).

In the end, though, there is an easy way to sum up what makes Horton such a success: The comedy is smart, the story engaging and the animation simply amazing. So after seeing Seuss adapted in just passable or poor ways, Horton Hears a Who! is his best film, for sure. tfloyd1@umd.edu

MOVIE: Horton Hears a Who! | VERDICT:

1/2

REVIEW | FUNNY GAMES

An insightful Games Michael Haneke’s latest has much more than bloodshed

BY DAN BENAMOR Staff writer

In a lot of ways, Funny Games shouldn’t work as well as it does in terms of entertainment. This is a film with absolute contempt for the audience, for its genre and even for itself. The movie is disgusted with you for consuming it and with itself for existing.

Most people who watch it will find themselves forced to rethink how they approach slasher movies — but then again, that’s really the whole point of the film.

Games’ setup is intentionally fairly typical: A nice family goes to a country house for a weekend, only to be interrupted by the sadistic Peter (Brady Corbet, Sunny & Share Love You) and Paul (Michael Pitt, Silk). Violence ensues.

There is no real reason these men torment the family. When the

husband and father George (Tim Roth, Youth Without Youth) asks Paul why they’re doing this, he replies, “Why not?”

There’s such a palpable tension running through this film that if writer and director Michael Haneke were less high-minded, he could have made a great, straightforward horror film. We know something terrible is going to happen from the start — apprehension builds through foreshadowing, such as a neighbor acting weird, Anne cutting up raw meat and George casually speculating on the strange young man (Paul) “playing golf” with the neighbors.

The maddeningly “polite” Peter and Paul gain entry to the house under the guise of borrowing eggs.

They keep apologizing as they “accidentally” knock wife Anne’s (Naomi Watts, Eastern Promises) cell phone into the sink and even

apologize after they whack George with a golf club.

The torment begins there as Haneke places the blades (or clubs or guns) in the hands of the audience. We watch from Paul’s point of view as he plays “hot and cold” with Anne to find her dead dog. When the dog tumbles out of the back of the family SUV, the camera pulls back, and Paul looks directly into it, chuckling “with” the audience. Games calls out the audience for taking the same sick pleasure in watching these people suffer as the killers.

These self-referential touches only increase as the film goes on.

As Paul speaks more and more to the audience (and, at one point, even finds a remote and rewinds the movie itself), Haneke makes us question our enjoyment of the genre. When Anne asks the pair, “Why don’t you just kill us?” Peter

COURTESY OF MOVIEWEB.COM

Michael Pitt and Brady Corbett star as a pair of sadistic young criminals in Funny Games. replies, “You shouldn’t forget the importance of entertainment.”

There’s a reason Anne spends half the movie in her underwear, but it’s not very sexy underwear.

There’s a reason that, when Anne is forced to get naked, Haneke doesn’t show Watts’ nude body.

There’s a reason for a five-minute scene of George and Anne crying.

As Paul says directly to the camera (us) after much abuse of the family, “Do you think it’s enough?”

Games doesn’t let the viewer off the hook; we have to watch as these events unfold, and you simply can’t ignore what is going on.

It also helps that Roth, Watts

and even the kid playing their son Georgie (Devon Gearheart, Canvas) are all totally convincing. The killers are also similarly wellplayed — Pitt is infuriatingly condescending and composed as Paul, and Corbett gives Peter an odd sensitivity that’s intriguing.

Pitt does a great job keeping one foot in reality, not overplaying the talk-to-the-camera dialogue by delivering it casually. This keeps us from emotionally disconnecting with him as a human being, even as he occasionally steps outside of

the film’s vicious reality.

What’s surprising is the film isn’t even particularly violent; most of the blood is spilled offscreen. But Games is a harsh film mentally, a pitch black “f--- you” aimed squarely at the audience. In its own strange way, Games is infinitely more satisfying than any escapist slasher. This is a movie of ideas, and that’s worth more than a million no-brain boobs-andblood dead-teenager movies. dan.benamor@gmail.com

MOVIE: Funny Games | VERDICT:

1/2

8

THE DIAMONDBACK | DIVERSIONS | THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

REVIEW | NEVER BACK DOWN

DON’T BACK DOWN — JUST AWAY Film on mixed martial arts too shallow, CRUCIAL CASTMATES superficial to connect with audiences

BY THOMAS FLOYD Staff writer

How desperate for work could Djimon Hounsou possibly be?

A gifted actor who received Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in Blood Diamond and In America, Hounsou’s appearance in Never Back Down alongside a cast of high school soap-opera alums is bewildering, to say the least. The film, of course, is far from decent, but one could certainly make the argument that it does hold its own as one of the most enjoyably awful movies of the year.

When Jake Tyler (Sean Faris, Reunion) moves to Orlando to support his younger brother’s aspiring tennis career, all he brings with him are his scattered belongings and a troubled past. His reputation as a brash fighter with a volatile personality precedes him, and it isn’t long before a student named Max Cooperman (Evan Peters, Mama’s Boy)

is introducing him to the underground world of mixed martial arts.

When word of Jake’s ability reaches Ryan McCarthy (Cam Gigandet, The O.C.), the regional MMA champion wants to see how he stacks up against a new adversary. After being embarrassed in his first bout with Ryan, Jake goes under the tutelage of Jean Roqua (Hounsou), a legend in MMA who ends up teaching him more about life than just how to fight.

There are two clear sides to director Jeff Wadlow’s (Cry Wolf) film. The narrative side shows why writer Chris Hauty (Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco) hasn’t written a movie in 12 years, as the predictable script is plagued with dreadful lines such as, “Your handwriting is harder to read than The Iliad” and “Babes — the one thing better than brawling.” Furthermore, when seemingly every character is given an identical sob story to tell from

JAKE, THE FIGHTER

BAJA, RYAN’S GIRLFRIEND

JEAN ROQUA, JAKE’S MENTOR

their past, the attempt at giving the plot some depth only makes it feel more artificial.

The better side of the movie relies heavily on its action sequences. Clever editing and cinematography combined with excellent work by fight choreographers Damon Caro (Live Free or Die Hard) and Jonathan Eusebio (Balls of Fury) make for some highly entertaining fight scenes.

Outside the gym, there are subtle cinematic touches, such as shooting in Jake’s home with a handheld camera to symbolize the state of his broken household, that show the film does have at least some artistic merit.

Hauty tries to add some spice to the story by developing a romance between Jake and McCarthy’s girlfriend, Baja Miller (Amber Heard, Hidden Palms). But to say the relationship is unconvincing and shallow would be a tremendous understatement. Thanks to Heard’s truly awful performance, Baja comes across as a superficial, unintelligent

flirt who knows that her looks are all she has going for her. The writing for the pair turns out to be no better — one moment they’re pissed off at each other, the next they’re inexplicably making out.

Meanwhile, loading the soundtrack with music from the likes of Kanye West, Soulja Boy and My Chemical Romance, while constantly filling the screen with halfnaked girls and ripped, shirtless guys, gives the impression that the movie is just trying too hard to make up for its lack of substance.

If there is one scene that summarizes Never Back Down perfectly, it is when Jake and Max are stopped at a red light and the Hummer behind them gets a little close to their bumper. Jake gets out of the car and curiously proceeds to beat the shit out of all three guys in the Hummer, leaving the audience doing three things: cheering, laughing and asking, “What the hell just happened?” tfloyd1@umd.edu

MOVIE: Never Back Down | VERDICT:

REVIEW | SLEEPWALKING

A meandering walk Sleepwalking may have a strong cast, but because of a weak script, its message is drawn out and dreary

BY DAN BENAMOR Staff writer

The unfortunately named Sleepwalking is, at the very least, truth in advertising — some viewers may be meandering out of the theater before the end of the movie. This film runs only 100 minutes, but it feels more than two hours long; though the film is interesting in the first half, its snail-paced second half will lose viewers.

The plot sounds OK on paper: Good-for-nothing mom Joleen (Charlize Theron, In the Valley of Elah) ditches her 11-year-old daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb, The Reaping) and leaves her with Joleen’s poor brother James (Nick Stahl, Sin City).

Broke enough already, James can’t exactly handle the responsibility of a daughter, so it isn’t a surprise when Social Services takes Tara away. But after seeing her in a crowded shelter, James takes her back, making them fugitives on the run for the rest of the film.

It all sounds a lot better than it works onscreen — one wonders how all these actors, including Woody Harrelson (Semi-Pro) as a nice guy construction worker and Dennis Hopper (Hell Ride) as Joleen’s and James’ estranged father — got involved in this project.

The film may sound good — well, not really, as Zac Stanford’s (The Chumscrubber) dull dialogue didn’t exactly jump off the page — but it just doesn’t trans-

fer well. The only thing that jumps off the screen is the film’s effort to look “real” — it’s gritty, but not in a good way. Everyone looks as if they’ve been crying all night, and the houses have carefully applied signs of wear.

Sleepwalking strains to give us a sense of an authentic world of poverty, but it comes off as produced, not realistic.

Sleepwalking also fails to create any gripping drama. There’s a massive, crucial difference between movies that are slow and movies that are just plain boring.

A slow movie might not have a ton of action or dialogue but might retain interest through tension (true of much of No Country for Old Men), humor (the recent The Band’s Visit) or engaging characters (much of Sideways). In Sleepwalking, the spare story isn’t supplemented by anything else.

To be fair, a lot of the action in Sleepwalking might hold more interest if they weren’t so predictable. For example, we know Hopper is going to be mean as Joleen and James’ estranged father; when he is nothing but that, it doesn’t make for engaging drama.

And despite a very fine effort from Stahl, James doesn’t have enough personality for the viewer to relate to. He’s a simple, quiet man, and that’s it. Character is of the utmost importance in this genre, and Stanford fails to give

James enough of one.

But at least Stahl is well-cast as James; the same can’t be said of Theron and Robb, who seem spectacularly out of place. Theron, playing ugly as she did in Monster, is still way too attractive to convey the desperate female hustler she’s supposed to be. A conversation with Stahl about how old she looks rings with unintentional irony.

And Robb, with the otherworldly sheen in her eyes, was much better cast in The Reaping. She isn’t COURTESY OF MOVIEWEB.COM the ideal choice to play a normal, Nick Stahl, left, and AnnaSophia Robb star as James and Tara in Sleepwalking. Stahl is well-cast and shines, though the albeit mistreated, girl. film isn’t successful and drags on.

First-time director Bill Maher is not devoid of talent. There are shots here and there that have some beauty to them, such as a tree silhouetted against the sunPREMIERE: set, James washing blood off his hands as they shake and a lone Premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival on car traveling down an empty Jan. 22. road. And there’s a strange dream sequence involving a pool BEST LINE: and some roller-skates, basically “Your fanny’s uncanny,” said by Randall (Woody out of nowhere, which sparkles JOLEEN, CHARLIZE THERON with bizarre energy.

Harrelson) to a female co-worker.

But by the time James says, “It’s like I’ve been livin’ in a BEST PERFORMANCE dream, like I been sleepwalkNick Stahl as average guy James. Although the ing,” the jeers should be out in film’s script doesn’t give Stahl too much to work full effect. While a few scenes kind of work, Sleepwalking is too with, he gives the character a depressing, realRANDALL, WOODY HARRELSON ponderous, too slice-of-life and istic portrayal. ultimately too boring to recommend to anyone.

THE TRIVIA BREAKDOWN: SLEEPWALKING

CRUCIAL SUPPORTERS

dan.benamor@gmail.com

MOVIE: Sleepwalking | VERDICT:

BEST SCENE: The random dream sequence in the pool. Most of the film is injected with a gritty feel, but this sequence is enjoyably out of left field.

MR. REEDY, DENNIS HOPPER

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 | SPORTS | THE DIAMONDBACK

9

TERPGAMEDAY

THE MATCHUP

Maryland Terrapins

Boston College Eagles

18-13, 8-8 ACC

13-16, 4-12 ACC

No. 6-seed Terps vs. No. 11-seed Boston College

WHEN: Tonight, 9:30 p.m.

WHERE: Charlotte, N.C.; Charlotte Bobcats Arena TV/RADIO: RLF Split / 105.7 FM, 1300 AM DATA: The Terps start the ACC Tournament tonight against Boston College.

LINE: Terps -5

TERPTRACKER TEAM STATS Average PPG Field Goal % 3-Point % Free Throw % Rebounds/G Assists/G Turnovers/G

TERPS

BC

73.4 46.1 34.1 70.8 38.2 16.5 16.7

71.9 46.0 36.5 69.4 35.6 15.2 15.2

INDIVIDUAL STATS TERPS POS

MIN PTS REB AST

G G F F C

36.8 33.9 25.5 31.7 26.5

G. Vasquez E. Hayes L. Milbourne J. Gist B. Osby

17.5 10.3 8.4 15.7 11.4

5.6 3.3 3.7 7.9 6.4

6.8 4.5 0.7 1.3 0.8

EAGLES POS

MIN PTS REB AST

G G F F C

38.2 20.1 20.3 27.7 23.7

T. Rice C. Raji J. Oates R. Sanders T. Blair

21.3 8.4 4.6 11.3 5.3

3.3 5.1 4.3 1.0 3.5 1.0 4.8 1.8 5.1 0.7

THIS SEASON VS BC...

Dec. 9, 2007 — EAGLES 81-78 The Terps were up by four with 10:46 left when Greivis Vasquez was called for a foul.

The Terp point guard then hit the padding on the device holding the backboard in place, and he was slapped with a technical foul — his fifth personal of the game.

With Vasquez on the bench, Boston College went on a 12-2 run, steadily built its lead during the next few minutes and held off the Terps in the end. The Terps mounted a furious rally in the final two minutes, but even four 3-pointers weren’t enough, as they opened the ACC season with a loss.

Feb. 6, 2008 — TERPS 70-65 Vasquez made amends for his technical foul, and this time led the Terps to a big road win. He scored 25 points, collected six rebounds and dished out eight assists in the 70-65 win over Boston College at Conte Forum. It was also coach Gary Williams’ 600th career win.

This time around, Boston College made the late-game run, as the Eagles cut a ninepoint lead with 3:19 left down to one with 1:38 left. But an Eric Hayes 3-pointer was the dagger, and the Terps escaped with the win.

SERIES RECORDS ALL-TIME SERIES LAST MEETING

Terps lead 5-4 Feb. 6, 2008

RECENT MEETINGS 2008-(A)2007-(H)2006-(A)2006-(N)-

W, Terps 70, Boston College 65 L, Terps 78, Boston College 81 L, Terps 62, Boston College 73 L, Terps 66, Boston College 80

TERPS’ LAST 3 3/9 @ Virginia L 91-76 3/2 vs. Clemson L 73-70 2/28 @ Wake Forest W 74-70

EAGLES’ LAST 3 3/8 vs. Georgia Tech L 86-78 3/5 @ Miami L 74-70 3/1 vs. North Carolina L 73-57

ADAM FRIED–THE DIAMONDBACK

Forward James Gist and the Terps head to Charlotte, N.C., today for their first round game against Boston College in the ACC Tournament,

3-POINTERS LIKE WHITE ON RICE

1 2 3

Stopping an All-ACC guard last Sunday didn’t seem to be in the Terps’ playbook, when Virginia’s Sean Singletary lit them up for 27 points. Containing Boston College’s point guard Tyrese Rice will be just as tall a task.

Rice has averaged 21.3 points per game this season, and although he can take the ball to the basket, he’s more of a shooter than Singletary.

The Terps have done all right containing Rice, as he has averaged 16 points in the teams’ two meetings.

NO FOUL PLAY As well as the Terps’ bench has played in the past two games, with the season on the line, the starters need to be in the game. If either James Gist or Bambale Osby gets into foul trouble, Gary Williams will have to insert players with no ACC Tournament experience to fill in for them.

N-O-T N-I-T That’s the attitude the Terps will need to take into each game during the ACC Tournament. It’s an attitude they appeared to lack during the last portion of the regular season and simply can’t afford to lose for the rest of the season.

The Terps have the talent to beat any team in the ACC, but they need to play with a sense of urgency, even against the lower-ranked teams in the conference. That all starts tonight against Boston College.

ONE-ON-ONE TERPS’ G GREIVIS VASQUEZ VS. EAGLES’ G TYRESE RICE If you thought Sean Singletary’s performance against the Terps last Sunday was something special, take a look at Tyrese Rice’s numbers from March 1:46 points on 14-of-25 shooting, 34 first-half points and eight 3pointers.

And, oh yeah, it came against North Carolina.

Rice, an All-ACC First Team selection, has the ability to single-handedly carry Boston College to a victory. In the first two meetings, guard Greivis Vasquez and the Terps did a pretty good job of holding him in check, as he scored 19 and 13 points, respectively.

“You have to play him a long way out because he has great range on his 3pointer,” coach Gary Williams said.

“And that allows his quickness to come into play where he can get you. When he gets into the paint, he’s strong enough to take a little bump from a big guy and still finish and maybe get a three-point play.”

Vasquez will again be the one assigned to guarding Rice tonight.

Terps have seen highs and lows this season ACC, from Page 1 chance to quiet critics, beginning tonight at 9:30 against Boston College (13-16, 4-12) in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Win, and the Terps keep hope alive for another day. Lose, and the Terps miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. It has come down to that, and it’s an ominous position for a team six years removed from a national championship.

“This decade, say from 2001 to 2008, we’ve done as much as any team in the country,” Williams said.

“So who’s restless? You? On the Internet? You think I worry about that? No. I don’t. I know what I do. I know what I’ve done this year, how hard I worked. See, that’s what keeps you going if you are in coaching a long time. You judge yourself honestly at the end of every year.

This year is not over yet.”

Earlier this week, Williams said

it was tough to remain on an even keel, given the constant ups and downs he and his team have experienced this season.

“For me to stay even? It’s hard,” he said. “I don’t stay even — I rise and fall, also. We’re people, you know? We’re not immune to feeling upset if we play poorly or feeling good if we play well.”

The Terps will likely finish with at least 14 losses this season, which would be the most since the 1992-93 season. But because they’ve played so well at times, the Terps’ topsy-turvy season is a bit of a head-scratcher.

And because the Terps have been so inconsistent this season, it might be tough to imagine them stringing together four wins in four days.

“I don’t think that our record is indicative of the type of team we are,” center Bambale Osby said.

“We can be a great team. We have a great half every game. We just

have to start putting full games together. So if somebody wants to say, ‘Can you win it?’ Yeah. We can win it. We’ve had every team in the conference down.”

The Terps know they simply cannot lose before Saturday. And while Williams has, for the most part, stopped lobbying as to why his team deserves to be in the field of 65, the players truly believe that making it to the semifinals would at least put them back in the picture.

“I think if we win two games and play well in the semifinals, that might give us a chance to get in there,”forward Dave Neal said.

“But as always, if we win the whole thing, we don’t have to worry about anything. We’re guaranteed to make it in there.”

By the time the ACC Tournament ends, maybe the Terps will have played great and will see their name pop up on the official NCAA Tournament bracket.

Maybe they won’t and will end up hosting an NIT game next week.

Or maybe they’ll play just well enough to get back on the bubble and keep all their fans on their toes until Sunday evening.

And whichever way the season concludes, Williams will evaluate himself and do it all over again next year.

Even if the negativity sticks and his critics don’t like the job he’s doing.

“I’ve had years where ... we won 28 [games] ... and I didn’t think I did a good job that year,” Williams said. “Then there’s other years when we had sanctions against us, where I thought I did as good a coaching job as the year we won a national championship. So it’s not wins and losses when you judge yourself as a coach. A lot of times, it’s wins and losses when people judge you.” zuckermandbk@gmail.com

10

THE DIAMONDBACK | THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008

Baseball beats Delaware; More from Pro Day

Sports Terps win; Reese has third child Coach delivers baby earlier in day the score to 8-4 at halftime, but

BY BRIAN KAPUR the Terps outscored the Spiders Staff writer 9-5 in the second half to put the The Terrapin women’s game away.

“We don’t want to be just a seclacrosse team made two deliveries. The Terps delivered on the ond-half team,” senior attacker field, while Terps coach Cathy Casey Magor said. “We have to start out better and start games Reese delivered a baby girl.

After being on edge for most of the way we finished this one.”

The Terps’ efficiency at the the day awaiting the news from Reese, the No. 2 Terps’ (5-1) ex- draw fueled the offense last night. plosive offense did not miss a They have won the draw-control beat at game time. The Terps battle all season, and last night scored in double figures for the was no different. Dobbie, playing fifth time this season and center, guided the Terps to a 1610 advantage in draw squashed the Spiders controls. This gave the 17-9.

Terps extra possessions “We were really and set them up for an antsy for the good offensive explosion. news,” associate head LACROSSE The offense took adcoach Jen Adams said. TERRAPINS . . . . . . . . 17 “We had a team lunch James Madison . . . . . 9 vantage of the draw controls and put the and everyone kept askpedal to the metal. ing about Reese and the baby. Just as we left, I got a Dobbie led the way with five text message from her husband goals, while Magor added three.

The offense moved the ball well, and let the team know. ” “We are so excited to hear the assisting on 11 of the 17 goals, inname and size,” senior midfielder cluding a career-high four by Dana Dobbie said. “We can’t wait sophomore midfielder Caitlyn McFadden. to see her and meet her.”

“We moved the ball really The Terps are now 3-1 in games Reese has missed this well,” McFadden said. “It was easy to find the outlets and the season.

The Terps’ long day may have open cutters tonight.”

The Terps will have to wait and been a problem early in the game — they started off the game slow see on Reese’s availability for and sloppy, falling into a 2-1 hole. Saturday’s game against DartBut, the Spiders’ (2-5) second mouth, but one thing is certain — goal in 1:32 lit a fire under the the Terps offense will definitely Terps. They held Richmond show up. scoreless for the next 20:08 and Terp Note: Reese’s third child, Cayscored the next six goals. den Elizabeth, was born at 3:55 “We got our composure, won p.m. yesterday, weighing in at the draw and then we just started nine pounds, four ounces. to put it in the net,” Dobbie said.

The Spiders were able to get bkapurdbk@gmail.com

The Terrapin baseball team knocked off the Blue Hens for the second straight day, winning 8-6 at Shipley Field. Read beat reporter Aaron Kraut’s story online at www.diamondbackonline.com.

Read more about Pro Timing Day by reporter Adi Joseph in The Diamondback’s sports blog at www.terrapintrail.com.

Terps make noise at Pro Day Football players use opportunity to show off for NFL scouts

BY ADI JOSEPH Senior staff writer

In the middle of running one of the most important sprints of his life, safety Christian Varner broke into 50 Cent lyrics.

“I GET MONEY! I GET MONEY!” Varner screamed, as he finished his 40-yard dash at the Terrapin football team’s Pro Timing Day yesterday. Varner later explained that he likes to use the lyrics as a way to pace his breathing during sprints, but he normally doesn’t let it all out quite like that.

Varner’s exuberance echoed through Cole Field House, where players ran timing drills. And even as teammates, scouts and media laughed at the unexpected outburst, Varner’s words held a solid grain of truth.

For the 15 former players who participated, Pro Day could shape the futures of their playing careers. About 30 NFL scouts were present at the event.

And for the players, each team and scout represents a potential employer. It’s something that has weighed heavily on their minds for a while now.

“The last couple of days? — Man, my whole life,” cornerback Isaiah Gardner said. “I’ve been looking forward to today, man.

My nerves got the best of me a couple times today. It’s just been an exciting experience.”

The afternoon started with measurements: height, arm length, hand size and weight.

That was followed by a benchpress session in which linebacker Jermaine Lemons and guard Andrew Crummey led the Terps with 28 reps each of the 225pound weight.

The event moved to Cole,

ADAM FRIED–THE DIAMONDBACK

Defensive linemen Dre Moore (left) and Carlos Feliciano square off at Pro Timing Day yesterday, competing in positional drills. where the players were measured for speed, leaping ability, quickness and agility. Gardner dominated most of those events, with an outstanding 42.5-inch vertical jump and a 4.41-second 40-yard dash, along with several other team-leading figures. Then, the players were brought out to the football practice fields for positional drills.

Defensive tackle Dre Moore and linebacker Erin Henderson

only participated in the position drills because each was satisfied with his NFL Scouting Combine results, while Crummey was only able to participate in the bench press because of a fractured left leg.

Still, all three likely draftees cheered on their teammates.

Moore told everyone their unofficial 40-yard dash times, while Henderson provided some coaching on optimizing times in

Softball’s winning streak ends WHAT’S ON YOUR

BY JEFF NEWMAN Staff writer

Down by two runs to Pittsburgh with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Terrapin softball team had the bases loaded and freshman pitcher Kerry Hickey, one of its top hitters, at the plate.

A hit would at least tie the game and send it to extra innings. Anything but a double play, and the game would continue.

But Hickey hit into a gameending double play, and the No. 23 Terps (19-2) saw their luck and program-record winning streak run out.

“We all thought we were going to pull another one out,” coach Laura Watten said. “But it’s not always going to go the way you want it to.”

“Kerry’s been pretty clutch for us, and just thinking that we’ve come back from behind in the seventh before, we can do it again,” senior outfielder Jenny Belak said. “Obviously, that didn’t work out.”

The Terps dominated their first game against the Panthers (10-8) yesterday with the stellar pitching of junior Meredith Nelles and won 6-0.

The Terps came out with the victory, but they did suffer a loss. In the first inning senior infielder Sarde Stewart, who is leading the Terps in batting at .385, tried to lay a bunt down on a high pitch that struck her in the hand. She left the game to receive stitches and did not return.

Senior catcher Brittany Bessho replaced Stewart at first base, and freshman catcher Julie Lofland stepped in for Bessho at catcher.

Stewart will not be back

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Junior pitcher Sarah Dooley and the Terps took the first game but lost the second to Pittsburgh yesterday, ending their 16-game winning streak. until the Terps open their ACC schedule March 21 at North Carolina.

In the second game, the Terp’ frantic push didn’t leave Watten pleased.

“I just feel like it goes back to what I’ve been saying: that we have to go out and play better all the way around and

not wait until the last inning to try and perform,” she said.

“Everybody’s gotta learn how to lose, especially when you’re on a win streak like we’ve been. Hopefully we’ll learn from it, and bounce back this weekend.” jnewmandbk@gmail.com

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some drills. Neither Moore nor Henderson felt they had anything left to prove to scouts, but some of their teammates are hoping to slide into the bottom of the draft.

“They’re really trying to get that foot in the door. That’s really all that matters,” Henderson said.

“Once you get into the league, it don’t matter how you got there. It don’t matter whether he was a first-round pick or a seventhround pick or a free agent. It’s all about what you do when you get that shot.”

While every player interviewed said he was mostly satisfied with his performance, several dealt with nagging injury issues.

Defensive back Colin Nelson aggravated a previously pulled hip flexor and was forced to miss several speed and agility drills, while Varner said his 40-yard dash time was slowed by a hamstring injury. Running back Keon Lattimore was displeased by his team-low 11 bench-press reps, which he blamed on a shoulder injury.

Teammates and relatives cheered on the players throughout, and the players cheered each other on as well. They know that they may never get a chance to run drills on the practice field again — that this may be their last time as teammates. But yesterday, the future was more important than the past.

“I’m not even thinkin’ about that right now,” Varner said.

“Probably later on, it’s gonna hit me. It’ll probably be the last exercises I do on this field ... Right now, it’s all about getting that shine, getting that chance — you know? One shot.”

One shot to “get money.”

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