I took a couple minutes to sit down with Ferris State head coach Jeff Pierce to get an overview on the up coming season.

Torch: What are the expectations for the 2007 season?

Coach Pierce: “We are very excited right now. We want to create a lot of opportunities and become a contender in the GLIAC.”

Torch: Coming into the first week, which players are you looking at to lead this team?

Coach Pierce: “First, we need to start with our quarterback CJ Van Wieren. He started a couple games for us last season and helped out with the offense. Robert Miller is a returning wide receiver who made a lot of big plays for us last season and we are also looking for Bill Bourdlais to help anchor the offensive line. On the defensive side, I’m looking towards the whole defensive line. Two linemen that stand out are Kurt Hout and Jake Visser, a Preseason All-American selection, both of which could possibly be taken in the NFL draft.”

Torch: How is the first week of practice going so far?

Coach Pierce: “The first week is going very well. We are very excited to be out on the field. The players have come into the first week committed and are all business.”

Torch: Is there one game you are looking towards this season?

Coach Pierce: “The first game and then the second game, we are going game by game and week by week.”

With their best finish in more than a decade, the Bulldogs will start the season ranked #18 in the 2007 Division II preseason top 25 poll. Ferris State will start the GLIAC season on September 8th against Mercyhurst. Scheduled kickoff at Top Taggart Field is 7p.m. with fireworks to follow the game. The Bulldog season opener begins on Sat., Sept.1 against Kentucky State; kickoff scheduled at 7pm on Top Taggart Field.

Gibson received his position as interim head coach last fall after former coach, Melissa Lalonde, left in August. As interim coach he led the Bulldogs to a fifth-place Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) finish. The Bulldogs concluded the season 7-11. The season marked the sixth highest wins in a season in Ferris history. The team ended the season with a total of 120 points and 46 goals which represented the highest points in Ferris history. Gibson also had the opportunity of coaching junior midfielder Kristie Smilanich, who earned another first for Ferris. Smilanich is the first player in the Ferris’ history to be named to the 2006 Daktronics All-America First Team.

In 2004, Gibson operated his own soccer training company. He helped players be successful on and off the field. He also worked with the Grand Valley Soccer Club in Kentwood, Mich. before becoming interim coach at Ferris. He led the program’s U-17 team to a Midwest Divisional Championship and Midwest Regional League First Division title in 2005. He also worked with Tony DiTucci, Central Michigan women’s head coach, to help lead an Olympic Development Program team to a regional championship.

In Nov. of 2003 and 2004 Gibson held a head coaching position with a Premier Development League, West Michigan Edge. He worked as the camp director, coached and recruited players, and was responsible for players housing.

Gibson has his United States Soccer Federation Coaching License. In Feb. of 2002, Gibson was heavily involved with the Des Moines (Iowa) Menace organization. He served as an assistant coach, player, director, and academy coach.

In 1994, Gibson signed a professional soccer contract with the San Jose Grizzlies of the Continental Indoor Soccer League. He also played with the Football Association of Sarawak (FAS) in Malaysia. During the 1995-96 season of his career, his team was the Malaysian Cup runner-up. During the 1997-98 season, Gibson was the league top cup scorer in Japan. He was also a player in the Swedish Premier League in 1997. Gibson has also played with the Colorado Rapids and Rochester Raging Rhinos. In addition, he has coached in Finland and Japan during his soccer career.

Gibson is a 1994 business administration/accounting graduate of Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. He earned first team National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American and won Most Valuable Player awards during his collegiate career.

Surely he has demonstrated through his numerous and varied experiences in the world of soccer that his is capable of continuing the tradition of Bulldog excellence on the pitch.

The Short Game Junior Becky Hoffman, pictured above, earned All-Scholar recognition in NCAA Division II golf. Raquel Hansen and Casey McKinnon, two other lady Bulldogs, also received the honor. Torch File Photo

Raquel Hansen, (sophomore) Becky Hoffman, (junior) and Casey McKinnon (senior) earned All-Scholar recognition in NCAA Division II golf. Among the 61 women selected, 12 were from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), the conference in which Ferris participates. They were all selected to the 2007 NGCA All-American Scholar Team.

There are 368 women golfers on the NGCA team. The golfers are combined from divisions I, II, and III. Each golfer has at least a 3.5 GPA and have competed in more than half of scheduled competitions.

This marks the second year for Hansen, third time for Hoffman, and fourth time for McKinnon. Hansen ended the 2006-07 season with a total of 2,061 strokes in 26 rounds. Her average is the 11th best in the program. She had five top ten finishes last season. Furthermore, FSU Athletics Department’s Willie Bouver Leadership Award was awarded to Hansen. She received the award as a co-recipient.

Hoffman finished her season with a career best of 76.86 stroke average in 28 rounds. She has the second best average in the program. Hoffman also reached NGCA honorable mention. She also finished her season as the team’s MVP and had more than ten top twenty finishes. She received the FSU President’s Academic Award because she had the highest GPA amongst her team members.

McKinnon finished last season with the team’s fourth best stroke average. She finished in the top 20 more than five times and has the seventh best stroke average on Ferris list. She is the second women’s golfer to ever receive first-team all-conference kudos.

Under the influence of the above mentioned trio, Ferris won the 2007 GLIAC Championships and 2007 NCAA-II Regional championships. The lady Bulldogs ranked up a third place finish in the 2007 NCAA-II Women’s Golf Championships in Florida. The lady Bulldogs have finished in the top five in the nation for the past four years.

The NGCA is a non-profit organization. Founded in 1983, it represents college golf coaches. The goal of NGCA is to encourage education and play. There are more than 400 coaches represented throughout the United States. The NGCA educates and promotes the individuals it represents.

The two red-shirt freshmen are setter Dana Ruttle and libero Whitney Rupp. “The freshmen bring a great deal of energy and excitement to the team, as well as much needed depth in all of our positions,” Brandel-Wilhelm said.

The team is led by senior captains: outside hitter Lindsay Johnson, outside hitter/libero Jamie Palazzolo, and outside hitter Lindsay Tye.

The team is also made up of three juniors; setter/outside hitter Candice Marut, setter Andrea Rich, outside/middle hitter Emily Nemmers.

Four sophomores are returning from last year’s freshman class including, outside hitter Katie Edwards, outside/middle hitter Amanda Kettlewell, middle hitter Sarah Lark, and middle hitter Kristy Gilchrist. Ferris will host the Ferris State Invitational Aug. 24 and 25. The Bulldogs will take on the Seawolves of Alaska-Anchorage at one p.m. and the Yellow Jackets of West Virginia State at six p.m. on Friday. Ferris will play Glenville State (W. Va.) at 12:30 p.m. and Colorado School of Mines at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.

According to Brandel-Wilhelm the team wants to be the best it can be by having strong team focus and an outstanding work ethic.

The team begins the GLIAC season on Sept. 14 when it hosts Lake Superior State, Michigan Tech will come on Sept. 15, and Northern Michigan Sept. 16 at Ewigleben Sports Arena.

The team went 21-9 in the 2006 season and its 14th NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance losing in the NCAA-II Great Lakes Quarterfinal losing to Ashland (11-6, 23-10, in GLIAC south division) 3-0, who they beat 3-1 in the beginning of the season.

The squad’s 21 wins last season was the eighth time in nine years the Bulldogs have recorded 20 or more victories.The Bulldogs went 12-6 in the GLIAC North Division, finishing second behind rival Grand Valley State (17-1, 27-4).

“This is a very special team. I would like to see them have an amazing season,” Brandel-Wilhelm said.

Soon Bulldog fans will eat popcorn at football games, watch nail biting volleyball matches, and hope the soccer games end before it starts raining. It’s time to encourage the golf team to have another wonderful season and time to support the cross country teams through to the finish line. Truthfully, it all comes down to bolstering your Bulldog athletics pride.For all athletes, it’s time for a new beginning. It’s time to start gathering teams for intramural sports and setting goals for the season. It’s time to try new sports and meet new friends. Grab your roommate and head out to support your Bulldog sports teams.

To all the varsity athletes, it’s time to accomplish goals that slipped by you last year and correct old mistakes. It’s time to take your summer training and put it to work. It’s time to enjoy your chosen sport all over again and reunite with teammates. Above all, it’s time to show that Bulldog pride!

As the year progresses, I look forward to bringing you the latest news in the world of sports. Whether it’s on campus or a national level, I will find pleasure in keeping you updated. I look forward to meeting new athletes and catching up with old ones. I’m looking forward to following Ferris sports team all the way to championships. So as the year begins, don’t forget that life is sports and the rest is just details. Welcome to the wonderful world of sports!

Detroit Tigers Tiger's manager Jim Leyland watches as his team struggles to put together hits and wins in August. Photo Courtesy Of MCT Campus

The people of Michigan, more specifically Detroit, find solace in the success of their home teams.

Granted, the Pistons and Red Wings were out in the playoffs, and the Tigers are fighting to stay in first place in the American League Central Division, but they are still at the stop in many categories. The Tigers are leading the league in hits, ERA, and extra base hits.

The Tigers saved the city after the 1967 riots; they are now filling the Detroit area with hope for better days. According to the Detroit Free Press, in the days following the ’67 riots when someone would pick up a brick to throw it, there was usually someone listening to the Tigers on the radio, to bring the person over and listen.

The Tigers are the staple of Detroit summers. For years people have been going to watch them play either at “the corner” or now at Comerica. Even in the slow summers from 1995 through 2005, people went to the ballparks to cheer on the boys of summer.

These are the Tigers that played in over one hundred degree heat with 97 percent humidity. They are the athletes that leapt into the stands for foul balls, and managed to keep playing through the jeers of the opposing crowds.

The crowd at Comerica that has multiplied like rabbits in the spring during the 2006 season is still filling the Comerica seats.Detroit area citizens are constantly filled with the fear that one of the few things Detroit has left to bolster their pride will fail, leaving Detroit with nothing but a losing team, and all of the other negatives it had before to contend with.

A common notion is that if the Tigers can’t be first, then they will be last. Luckily for the Tigers, their fans, and the rest of Detroit, the Kansas City Royals are still fighting with that position.

Detroit has seen a slow economy since the late ‘90s, the same time that the Tigers really began to struggle for each victory. It seemed as if the success of the city and the Tigers were directly correlated. Luckily for Detroit, the Red Wings stepped up into a winning role.

The Pistons soon followed putting pressure on the Tigers to “restore the roar,” and become the regular winners that they once were. Detroit may not be the economic powerhouse like New York, but it has three teams that keep the Detroit area from becoming downhearted about the daily grind. Of those teams, the Tigers are there through each base-hit and each foul out to remind the city and its people that good days will soon be here again, especially with the help of Jim Leyland.

Head coach Jeff Kavalunas announced his recruiting decisions on August 8.

“I was real happy to get some of the recruits. They were all pretty competitive in high school,” Kavalunas said.

On the men’s side, Alex Best, Derek Childs and Mike Wheat will be added to the roster for cross country and track. Sprinters Matt Heinicke and Albert Catarino, along with hurdler Dan Anderson will be additions to the track team. The women teams will welcome Paige Onweller, Nichole Wiers, Jade Kaufman and Marva Goodson. Onweller and Wiers will participate in cross country/track while Kaufman and Goodson will participate in track only.

"The addition of these individuals will provide us with added depth, which hopefully will give us an increased opportunity to possibly compete for some of the top spots in the conference race," Kavalunas said.

Kavalunas is expecting great things from all-state high-school honoree, Best. He is also looking for great things from Childs. Wheat is credited with helping Novi High School finish second at the 2006 MHSAA Division I State Cross Country Championships.

Heinicke finished in the top eight at his high-school state track meet and Catarino helped lead Gladwin High School to a 2007 conference championship. Two-time all-conference selection, Onweller, finished her high-school career as Lapeer East record holder in the 1,600 and 3,200. Former Ubly High School sprinter, Kaufman, set a state record in the 200 meters. Goodson won MVP awards all four years of high-school and was Bridgeport High School’s team captain.

“We’re looking to be top two in the conference this year on the women’s side,” Kavalunas said. “We got a number of girls that will step right in and compete. It’s a solid group of recruits."

Jared Kelsh and Ray Rollet will be the top two returning cross country runners on the men’s side this season. Former runner Steve Piccici will be returning to Ferris to finish a degree and help coach the cross country teams.

“I’m excited about that,” Kavalunas said. “He knows and understands my training systems and he’ll be a great asset to have around.”

Kavalunas also announced walk-on decisions by distance runners Kelly Jexierski, Becca Hutchinson and Kiara Johnson. Kelsey Cryderman plans to join the team as a sprinter.

The women’s cross country team finished sixth while the men’s team finished eighth last season at the 2006 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships in Findlay, Ohio. The women’s track team ended the outdoor season with a fifth place finish while the men’s team finished ninth at Northwood University during the GLIAC championships.

"Overall, I've extremely pleased with our recruiting classes in comparison to what some of the other schools in our league have done," Kavalunas said.

Socks aren’t washed, bats are slept with, and gloves are placed in the oven. Hair is worn the same way, facial hair is grown or shaved, and spit ends up on the bat, batting gloves, or mitt. From the beginning of baseball, superstitions have existed and have become more publicized. According to psychologyofsports.com, Tampa Bay pitcher, Wade Boggs’ pre-game routines included eating chicken dinners three times a day on game days. Boggs’ superstitions moved past his three chicken dinners and went on to become (in my opinion) slightly compulsive.

Boggs fielded exactly 150 ground balls before each game, and would take batting practice at exactly 5:17 p.m. and run wind sprints at 7:17 p.m. before night games. Boggs’ pre-game routines became so famous that before a game in Texas, then-Rangers announcer Chuck Morgan changed the field clock so that it would skip from 7:16 p.m. to 7:18 p.m. While this may not seem like a big deal, it caused Boggs to go hit-less that night. The Tigers have also had their share of superstitious pitchers, besides Nate Robertson’s “Gum Time!”

According to psychologyofsports.com, former Tigers pitching star Mark “the Bird” Fidrych would talk to the baseball between every pitch. What he said no one knows, but there is a rumor that he would have discussions with it, such as who would win in a knife fight -- a killer whale or a giant sea squid?

According to baseballalamanac.org, former Tigers ace Denny McLain, the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season (31-6) in 1968. McLain would drink a Pepsi between each inning that he pitched.

There are other superstitions performed by Tiger players. Designated hitter, Gary Sheffield, looks at the sun before every game and then stares at the smallest object possible. Sheffield still has 20/20 vision. There was the “Curse of the Babe”, the superstition that all Boston Red Sox fan believed in, and posted blame to for the Red Sox inability to win a World Series. There is said to be a curse on the Chicago Cubs preventing the organization from making it to the World Series.

The curse has something to do with a wealthy man in Chicago and his goat. The goat wasn’t allowed in the stadium, and the cubs lost that year’s World Series. The following year the man and the goat were given a suite.

Too little, too late.

There is also the 2002 summer Olympics, when the US softball team lost its first four games the team threw uniforms, equipment, and anything that could have been the reason for the errors and the scoreless games into the showers at the hotel. The team went on to win the gold medal.

I now feel compelled to share my superstitions, and there are a few. The superstition reserved for writing my columns is to inhale four packages of Sour Patch Kids, three bottles of Cherry Coke, run around for about three hours, hit my head on the desk about 20 times in search of the perfect topic, and then submit it at the very last second.

Without this routine my columns become discombobulated with little to no transitions and many grammar issues. Oh, the joys of superstitions.

Champion Former Bulldog Chris Kunitz answers some questions from media and fans on his trip back into Big Rapids with the Stanley Cup. Photo By Ben Kramer, Photo Editor

The celebration began even before Kunitz walked onto the ice with the cup. The doors to Ewigleben Ice Arena were crowded as early as 8:20am on July 23 with a line of at least 300 hockey fans armed with jerseys, sticks and skates to be signed by Kunitz after the ceremony.

Festivities began at nine a.m. with speeches from those that coached and knew Kunitz through the athletic department as well as President Eisler, who presented him with a “Ferris State University Representative” certificate. Big Rapids Mayor Pro-Tempore, Dan Rothstein was also in attendance.

“If you knew Chris five or six years ago you’d know he never changed a bit. He’s humble, hard working; we are proud of what you accomplished. Even the Red Wing fans are happy for you,” Ferris Athletic Director, Tom Kirinovic said.

“I developed great friendships with classmates, met my fiancée, Maureen, here [at Ferris]. I had many life changing experiences here. My adult life started here,” Kunitz said.

In a morning filled with speeches, memories, photographs and autographs, it was clear that the Big Rapids community and Ferris were proud of this former college hero.

Big Rapids even went so far as to officially declare July 23, ‘Chris Kunitz Day.’ In addition to a day being dedicated to him, Kunitz was also awarded the key to the city of Big Rapids.

“You know how they say there are no heroes anymore? You are a hero. You won’t find a lock to fit that key. What you have is a key to our hearts,” Rothstein said. The ceremony ended at 9:45 a.m. and the hallway was soon full of hockey enthusiasts of all ages. Men and women skipped work and children postponed their summer activities in recognition of this unique event.

Two lines were quickly formed leading to a photo opportunity with the Stanley Cup and another to receive an autograph from Kunitz.

The emotions ran so high throughout the crowd with regards to the Cup and Kunitz that no one seemed to mind the long wait. Kids as well as adults were rewarded with an autograph or a photograph with the Stanley Cup.

The paraphernalia of the day is now taking up more permanent residence on mantles and shelves throughout the area. The palpable energy of the day is surely not to be forgotten for years to come as the former Bulldog, Kunitz, came and shared his Stanley Cup with Bulldog fans.