There’s always a moment that defines a generation.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 that started the Great Depression. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivering his famous “I have a dream” speech. Neil Armstrong winning the Space Race for the United States by becoming the first man to walk on the Moon.
Make no mistake, my friends. This certainly is not one of those moments.
This is, however, The California Aggie’s first online-only sports column, so I guess that’s worth something. Sort of.
The rationale for starting this column is pretty straightforward: I have a lot of random thoughts about the world of UC Davis sports throughout the week, and prior to today, only had one chance per week to share said thoughts with you. Here’s to hoping more is better.
Also, I’ve been looking for an excuse to name something UC Davis athletics-related “All AG-Cess” for years, probably because combining the words “Aggies” and “access” is about as creative as I can get. This was my chance, so I took it.
Anyway, these stories are going to be different; they’ll rarely (more like never) develop into drawn-out feature stories or anything like that. Instead, this will be a place where I’ll try to answer your questions and write about whatever Aggies-related nonsense pops into my head every Friday. So let’s get to it.
Valentine’s Day delay
I remember it like it was 364 days ago. Probably because it was 364 days ago.
The last time a UC Davis basketball team hosted a Valentine’s Day game, the Aggie women handled UC Irvine with ease, knocking off the Anteaters 69-50.
That was hardly the only story.
The opening tip, like most games, was scheduled for 7 p.m. The power outage that shut down Davis had other ideas, though, delaying the game two hours and 20 minutes.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I had almost as much fun waiting for the game to start as I did watching it.
Aggie Staff Writer Michael Gehlken and I teamed up for some two-on-two basketball. I hit a few three’s, so I was happy; Gehlken packed the hell out of The Davis Enterprise’s Chris Saur, so that was hilarious.
I then proceeded to draw the sports page and write some random short stories on notebook paper about the team, since the stupid power outage decided to throw a wrench (or seven) into our printing press.
In one of the shorts, I said then-senior wing Jessica Campbell, one of the Big West Conference’s top scorers, would net 132 points against the Anteaters – if the game ever started. Campbell finished a tad short of my prediction, but impressed nonetheless, scoring 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting to lead the Aggies to victory.
This year, the UC Davis men’s basketball team hosts Cal State Fullerton on Valentine’s Day. The game is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m., but after last year’s madness, who really knows when it’ll start for sure? Only one way to find out: You’ll have to come to the Pavilion. Flashlights recommended.
WrestleMania
The UC Davis wrestling team hasn’t featured its full 10-man varsity lineup at home in a really, really long time – try since the Aggies‘ home-opening win over No. 10 Northwestern on Nov. 23.
That’ll change Sunday.
The Aggies host Cal Poly in their last home dual of the season Sunday at 7 p.m. at Hickey Gym. A win on Senior Day would push the Aggies to 4-4 in Pacific-10 Conference action.
Expect a healthy UC Davis team to close out its regular season with a bang in preparation for the Pac-10 Championships (Mar. 1 and 2).
What’s in a name?
The leader in the clubhouse for the Winter 2009 Name of the Quarter is going to be hard to beat: Chidinma Onyewuenyi, a junior thrower for the women’s track and field team.
I Googled “Onyewuenyi” to see if anything cool would pop up. All I got was that there’s a Dr. Rita U. Onyewuenyi who practices in Cheverly, Md. If I had a last name like that, all I’d be practicing is how to spell it.
Have a question you’d like answered in next week’s All AG-Cess? ADAM LOBERSTEIN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
