While the women's golf team has already taken the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference championship and the Region I title, the men's team still has to compete at regionals to earn themselves a trip to Alabama. Since the Thunderbird men officially finished second in their conference, coach John Guerrero said he fully expects his team to qualify for nationals and win regionals at the championship April 30-May 3.
With more than 30 years experience in coaching, head coach Carl Hargrave of the MCC Thunderbirds Football team has his sights set high and his expectations solid. "I have been blessed to be around a lot of great head coaches," Hargrave said. "I was with Dennis Green in college games as well as the National Football League.
This year's men's and women's soccer is focused on team building. Drew Guarneri, head coach of the men's and women's soccer team has been getting his players to focus on teamwork in an effort to improve from last year's season. With no starters returning from last year's women's team and only seven returning for the men's, recruiting was a key part in building a soccer program that was focused on teamwork.
Adam Cohen, regional National Junior College Athletic Association Coach of the Year, has plenty to smile about. Aside from his own coaching award, his men's team will be competing in the national championship. "We knew they were strong going in this season with the recruiting brought in from Penny Powell and coach Cohen from last year," said Todd Bolser, sports information director.
The school year has finally wound down and the students are about to finally breathe that fresh, assignment free air. I can't wait. It has been a long year for Thunderbird athletics and I certainly feel for them. New coaches and a new sports editor seemed to go hand in hand at the beginning.
"I just want to be apart of that great tradition," said Michael Vick in his statement at a press conference on Aug. 14, when speaking on the topic of being accepted back into the NFL. However, is he helping to preserve the tradition he so loves, or degrade it? The 29-year-old quarterback was suspended from the NFL and served 18 of his 24-month sentence for felony animal abuse charges for his ownership of Bad Newz Kennels where Vick was responsible for the torture and killing of hundreds of pit bulls.
Despite another great year on the baseball diamond, the talk is not about the play on the field, but rather the steroid talk off of it. During late July, the New York Times reported that both Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the two best players on the championship Red Sox clubs of 2004 and 2007, tested positive for performance enhancing drugs during the 2003 season.
As the school year and athletic calendar come to a close, MCC's Athletic Department took some time to bring all of the athletic teams and staff together in order to honor the coaches and athletes for their efforts this past year for MCC. Though Athletic Director Jeff Fore admits that this year was for the most part a transition year for MCC, he is proud of the accomplishments the school has been able to make.
After being eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, Men's basketball coach Sam Ballard Jr. knew he was going to have to replace five position players, so he got started right away. "We were picked to finish tenth and we finished third so we're pretty happy," Ballard said.
The UFC and local events such as the Rage in the Cage (RITC) have been gaining popularity within the last few years according to ratings, attendance and sales of memorabilia. The prices for UFC pay per views have been increasing. The price of the last UFC fight was nearly $45 and $55 for high-definition Why are people willing to shell out high dollar amounts to see mixed martial arts (MMA) bouts? Is MMA a bloodlust sport where people are attracted to violence, or is MMA becoming a viable competitive sport by gaining popularity among sports fans? LA Boxing, an Ahwatukee gym which offers training for boxing, Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu and all around mixed martial arts for all levels, provided some possible answers.
The Thunderbirds baseball team played against Gateway Community College on April 21 as the baseball season neared its completion. Mesa got off to a good start containing the Gateway Geckos while they were up to bat, shutting them down allowing no runs in the first inning.