LESAProject

When the announcement came out of the 2005 International Olympic Committee meetings in Singapore that softball and baseball were being eliminated from the Olympic program in 2012, many, including myself, were stunned. I could understand why baseball was eliminated. The fact that Olympic teams do not include the best players in the world was one of the major factors in that decision. Major League Baseball has no vested interest in the Olympics. Why should they? Participating in the Olympics would not give the teams, players, and owners any benefits that would be tangible. Could you see the owners shutting down the season for ...

Three University of Houston swimming and diving team members have been selected by their respective countries to compete in the 30th European Championships. Swimmer Reka Kovacs and divers Julia Lonnegren and Anastasia Pozdniakova will be in Budapest, Hungary from August 8-to-15 for the championships. Lonnegren, who is competing for Sweden, will dive in the 10-meter platform competition on August 12. Pozdniakova who is representing Russia, will participate in the 1-meter and 3-meter springboard events in addition to the 3-meter synchronized competition with Russian partner Svetlana Filpova. The 1-meter event is scheduled to take place August 10, with the 3-meter event on August 14 and ...

The USA Softball national team defeated Venezuela 7-0, at the ISF Women’s Softball World Championships in Caracas, Venezuela. Monica Abbott earned the win, allowing only one hit for her second career World Championship win. Abbott earned the start in the circle and it was obvious the rowdy crowd did not get to her as she recorded six strikeouts in the first three innings. Shortstop Natasha Watley and first baseman Jennie Finch credit for the other three outs with groundouts. Four U.S. runners would reach, through the third inning, off hits by Watley and Alissa Haber and walks to Finch and Ashley Charters ...

Texas A&M’s Trinity Otto finished in fifth place after the second day of the decathlon at the U.S. Championships in Des Monies, Iowa. With a score of 7,592 points Otto finished his fourth decathlon of the season, the most he has attempted since becoming an Aggie a few years ago. When Otto arrived on campus in the fall of 2005 from Class 1A Lindsay he learned for the first time what a decathlon actually consisted of. Otto’s senior campaign with A&M only included the outdoor season. He placed third in three decathlons – Texas Relays (7542w), Big 12 ...

Texas A&M University head track and field coach Pat Henry was named National Men’s & Women’s Head Coach of the Year for the outdoor track and field season. This was the second consecutive year Henry has received the award. United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) awarded the national coaching honor following a vote by the coaches. Henry guided Texas A&M to a second sweep of national team titles during the recent NCAA Championships held in Eugene, Oregon.While the Aggie women enjoyed a 15-point victory over host Oregon by scoring 72 points at Hayward Field, the A&M ...

Texas A&M's Ashika Charan established a career best of 44 feet, 4 inches (13.51 meters) to place fifth in the U.S. Championships on Thursday at Drake Stadium. Charan bettered her previous best of 43-11.25 on a pair of jumps. The mark of 44-4 also becomes the American collegiate leader for the 2010 season. Charan is the No. 3 performer on the Aggie all-time list with the No. 5 performance. Only Yasmine Regis and Detrich Clariett have marks better than Charan at Texas A&M. She stated after her performance to a group of reporters in the mixed zone, “There were ...

Three former University of Texas at Austin women's track and field standouts advanced to the semifinals of their respective events Thursday afternoon at the 2010 U.S.A. Track and Field Outdoor Championship at Drake Stadium. Former Longhorn Alexandria Anderson, just a year removed from her 2009 NCAA Outdoor 100m Title, posted the second fastest time overall with her 11.29 to advance to Friday's semifinals. Joining Anderson is Bianca Knight who recorded a 11.46 to finish third in her heat and automatically qualify for the semis. Sanya Richards-Ross, competing in her first 400m race of the 2010 season, finished third in 51.91 to move on ...

  Photo by Darla S. Tamulitis-La Vita Loca Photography, Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved In a must-win game to keep a chance of a home field advantage for the first round of the playoffs, the Louisiana Swashbucklers manhandled the Columbus Lions 51-31 in Southern Indoor Football League action at the Lake Charles Civic Center. Swashbuckler quarterback Freddie Harrison went 10 for 23 and two touchdowns in the air, while Kendrick Perry had 16 carries for 108 yards and one touchdown. The Swashbucklers and the Lions were pretty much even in terms of offense statistics. Louisiana had 274 total yards (146 rushing and 128 ...

On a wet day at the Michael Johnson Classic hosted by the Baylor Bears, the Texas A&M men's and women's track and field teams produced six victories before heavy rains ended the remainder of the meet. Morning showers and a breezy day greeted the field of 25 teams to the Hart/Patterson Track and Field Complex. Another downpour arrived 20 minutes prior to the start of the 5 p.m. evening session finals. Then intermittent showers, which provided a couple more downpours midway through the final session, fell for the remainder of the meet. Earning Texas A&M’s first win in one of ...

In winning his third Australian national long jump title this weekend, Texas A&M graduate Fabrice Lapierre flew to an amazing distance of 28 feet, 9.75 inches (8.78), aided by a 3.1 wind, in the final round of the national meet that served as the Commonwealth Games selection trials for Australia. “It’s always there,” said Lapierre, who was quoted by the press in attendance at the meet, “People don’t understand that one day I’m going to jump something even more exceptional than that. “It’s only a matter of time until I do something crazy and everyone is going to ...