The Litter Box

Looking at some of the Chico Hall of Fame’s inductees this year brought some questions to mind for me. The first one revolved around why I chose the last minute to start writing mine on former Chico State coaches Pete Riehlman and Clark Yeager, but then I remembered that I’m somewhat of a slacker and I really do enjoy doing things at the last possible moment.

Warning: Tangent ahead. I could write a whole book on the “tragic, artistic journalist.”

It’s not like faux procrastinators, though. You know the guy (actually, to be honest, it’s usually women) if you ever took journalism classes in college. He insists that he grew up talking too much and that his parents always had to quiet him down or warn against asking too many questions. It’s like these people are trying to convince themselves and everyone else that they were child prodigies, born to be great journalists because they’re inquisitive — but wait!

They’re also flawed (it’s hip to be flawed in journalism; don’t worry), because for some darn reason, they just “work better under pressure.” That’s why they all take up smoking and move to San Francisco, to be around all the pressure and stupid traffic and tight deadlines. If they don’t, then they’re trendy and go to some remote area/urban development/city of cultural importance. There’s tragedy in journalism, don’t you see? Well, they do. They see the tragedy in what they do, right down to the “I was a prodigy and I have all this natural talent but I’m so flawed because I don’t take my J classes seriously (yes, people actually say that phrase) because I’m too cool for school and I smoke and wait ‘til the last minute” innovation.

Of course, those flaws are all complete novelty. Those people handle pressure better because they’re overachievers and that’s how they decided journalism is what they wanted to do. It’s not like journalism is forgiving of people who can’t work on deadline. Everyone who writes on deadline for a living — or at least the ones who do it for a long time — do it because they’re good at it, not because they like it. If they like it, it's only because they know they're good at it. As for the tragic, artistic journalist, I’m pretty sure that this stems from articulate people seeing the romance in writing and deciding that, for some reason, the archaism and deception that writing can provide is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of it and is actually their true character coming out. In journalism.

What it is, really, is that I just hate how every young journalist thinks he’s Raoul Duke.

Tangent over. Thanks for reading/skipping.

These stories also got me thinking that two programs that could produce Hall of Fame coaches are now defunct at Chico State. Football and swimming were two of the Wildcats’ most successful endeavors in terms of winning, at least for short stretches (although with swimming, Yeager got his squad conference titles in 13 of his 15 years). It kind of makes you think of all the facilities that are still around as ghost facilities.

Next time, my own Chico State Hall of Fame, class of 2008 version. Rant TBD.

Posted by Travis Souders at 06:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I’ve never really bought into the importance of quotes — at least of having a lot of them — in stories. I’ve definitely read my fair share of writers who clearly thought that instead of writing a story, it’d be OK if they just put a bunch of quotes in and that would be it.
However, I will say that a lot of the things new Chico State men’s basketball coach Greg Clink had to say were pretty intriguing if you’re into Chico State basketball. Even if you’re not, he seems like a pretty laid-back dude, clearly a Chico fit. I obviously couldn’t get all of those quotes from the conference into the story. My blog, however, is a different realm.
Without further adieu (I’m not sure how much adieu I just gave you, but it felt like a hefty amount as far as adieu goes), here is what I could gather from my notes on the press conference:

Anita Barker, Chico State athletic director
“Greg has been a part of the Chico State family since his playing days. He was a part of the teams that packed this gym week after week. He was a part of great teams. As a player, he was tenacious, passionate. It really made it the clear choice for us. He calls this his dream job, he pursued it, he was excited and that really stood out the most. He is poised, I promise you, to take this team over. With him, we have a link to the past and a vision for the future.”

Clink
“This is something that I’ve been excited and optimistic about, is working here. I’m passionate about this university and this community. The things that I want, first and foremost, are degrees. I met with the team during interviews, and I talked a lot about expectations. The first thing out of my mouth was academics. I want everyone with a degree in his hand. From there, it's about effort and how we conduct ourselves. We're going to be demanding.

“I'm here because I want to compete for championships. I think of my time here and how much it's meant to me, and hopefully in 15 years or so, the guys here will have one of these (conference championship T-shirts) of their own.
I'm optimistic about the potential of this team and the parts to the puzzle that are already here. I could just go down the list about the pieces that could lead to success. Our goal is not to take a back seat to anybody.
There might be some similarities between me and Puck (Smith), but for those of you who know him, I’m sure you’ve heard this before: There’s more than one way to skin the cat.

“I foresee us being aggressive, doing a lot of things defensively, mostly scouting-driven. We want to be physically and mentally tough. We’re going to take personal pride in what we do, a lot of focus on being a team guy.
Offensively, we’re going to attack, we’re going to execute. Our guys are going to hear a lot about valuing the ball.
The main difference I think between Division I and Division II programs is the scholarship situation, but I’m not worried too much about that. We’ve got some good places here, and recruiting will obviously be a focus for us no matter what.

“I saw this team’s last game of the season, and it’s pretty clear to me that there are some pieces that can be built on. Some of these guys can do really great things, they’re part of that puzzle. I walked out extremely excited and optimistic about the potential of the team.
An obvious one is Justin Argenal, and really before you start even talking about basketball, just in terms of a great young man. He’s one of the top guards in the league. I’m impressed with Frank Igbekoyi, I’m impressed with Darroll Phillips. Rod Hawkins did some great things off the bench, the same thing for Jesse Soto. You can just go down the list, just a lot of pieces that can lead to success.
I could sit here all day and talk about Chico State basketball.
This community excites me. Being able to bring my family back here is extremely exciting. I see myself being here long-term.”

End quote. Phew.

Posted by Travis Souders at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The final eight games of the regular season are potentially huge for the Chico State baseball team, which is clutching the fourth spot in the CCAA standings that would represent the final position available in the conference tournament. Since it looks pretty set in stone that the Wildcats won’t host a series if they do make the tourney, what will be interesting is this home series against Cal State Dominguez Hills.

I say that because, while Chico State is a playoff-caliber team, its record is bolstered by a 19-4 mark at Nettleton Stadium and a pedestrian 9-8 record on the road. This series with the Toros will be the last home set Chico State has, and the final games down the stretch could have implications, as third-place Cal State Stanislaus is within reach if the Warriors trip up against No. 1 Sonoma State — a significant possibility, given that the Seawolves have been the CCAA’s best team all year — or Cal Poly Pomona in their final series. Cal State L.A., the defending CCAA champs, are lurking in fifth place but needing lots of help from the Toros this weekend if they’re to unseat the Wildcats.

Just as in the regular season, Chico State could be a scary team in the playoffs just because of its rotation, but it all depends on how Pete Mickartz opens up. He’s looked like the No. 1 guy most of the year, but he was rocked in his last start. All three of Mickartz’ losses this season have come to the three teams ahead of the Wildcats in the standings, and that 17-9 drubbing to UC San Diego last week that he started doesn’t bode well if Chico State makes a push and does end up claiming third place. That would mean a rematch with the Tritons.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Mike Robbins is a lefthander and thus compliments No. 3 Andrew Pluta in the doubleheader format so well, I might go out and wager that he would get top starter considerations. At 8-1, his ERA is a full run lower than Mickartz’s. Part of me really wonders if, in a double-elimination playoff setup, more than those three would get the ball to start.

Posted by Travis Souders at 07:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s now been four days since Scott Bauhs ran his 3:59.81 mile, and I’m now sure it’s not just adrenaline making me think it was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in person. Among others are Journey in concert, my grandma barehanding a backyard line drive, countless game-winning 3-pointers in prep games and a cat that exclusively drinks water using its paw.

Unlike those things, though, none set any Chico State records, and really, there aren’t too many 2,500-people anythings that happen in Chico. But they all showed up on Saturday to watch one guy, and they got a show.

First-person perspectives are looked down upon in the Enterprise-Record’s accounts of sporting events, but this isn’t the E-R, now, is it? Nope, it’s The Litter Box (why did that feel third-person?), and I’m certain I can’t get fired for putting you, metaphorically, trackside as I was for Saturday’s race in a recap of The Sweetest Thing University Stadium Will See All Year Except the Almond Bowl.

Since time rules our lives, let’s start at the beginning. This is kind of an extrapolation on what I’m assuming my jotted notes actually say:

It’s about 5:45. I just saw Bauhs walking around toward the infield. He’s a pretty subdued dude. You wouldn’t pick him out in a crowd as a world-class athlete unless you knew his face. Right now, he’s milling around with Gary Towne and old teammate Charlie Serrano. There are a lot of miles (or kilometers, depending on what event you’re talking about) between those six legs.

It’s almost 8 now. People have been filing in steadily since 7 p.m., and public address announcer Thomas Whitcomb — who kindly and rather expertly directed me to ground level of University Stadium at about 4:30 p.m. when I was trying to address the issue of hiding from the sun — is now prepping the crowd for “the moment you’ve all been waiting for.” I wonder if the families of the shotputters took offense to that. No matter. I sure as hell am not sitting here in the bleachers. I’m gonna go climb under the “TRAINERS ONLY” rope so I can get closer.

They’re all lined up. I just climbed under the rope with my notepad to find Chico State SID’s Luke Reid with his new baby, Maia. He’s off the clock, but he’s also the biggest Wildcat fan I know.
“Can you hold this for one second?” Luke asks me before handing me Maia’s bottle while he adjusts the kid in his arm. It’s almost like he’s buckling his baby up in preparation for what she’s about to behold.
“Yeah,” I say. Then I give the bottle back.

Gunshot.

There’s other dudes in the race, but nobody honestly cares. I’m not being crass. This is the Scott Bauhs Show, and at first, people are a little freaked out when they wonder aloud, “Who are the guys beating him?” Those guys, of course, are redshirts Clinton Hayes and Michael Wickman, who are pacing for Bauhs. Hayes, perhaps in his enthusiasm, leads Bauhs around the first lap with impressive speed, 58.3 seconds, but it’s slightly faster than the 59 seconds in which Towne had indicated he wanted Bauhs to get through the first quarter-mile. Hayes jumps off after lap one right in front of me.

“That was easier than I thought it would be,” Hayes says. “Fifty-eight?” Then it’s eyes back to Bauhs and Wickman, who keep 4-minute pace through lap two. The third is done 61.27 seconds later, which means Bauhs got through the first 3,960 feet in 2:59.82, Towne relays (Note to self: Double-check what he’s screaming at people on the infield later so your blog doesn’t have a bunch of fake numbers in them).

Wickman gets off the track for Bauhs’ final lap, and the place is now going absolutely loopy. Everybody who has the capacity to do so is standing, and even the one guy I saw in the wheelchair with his ankle wrapped is trying to prop himself up. Bauhs is now on the west straightaway, and looking at the bevy of stopwatches around me, I’m not so sure he’ll make it. Don’t tell that to this crowd, though...

Nope, instead, Bauhs comes around turn four in what Towne will later call “another gear,” screaming across the final stretch in front of 2,500 of his new best friends like the gunshot that started this thing just 3 minutes, 46 seconds ago, with a bleacher section full of people counting down from 10, every last one of them practically orgasmic in tenor and urgency, and when Bauhs streaks past the finish line the howls of “HE’S GOT IT! HE’S GOT IT!” barely register over the shaking of the aluminum seats on the east side of the stadium.

Towne is looking at his stopwatch and the track official’s to see if they agree, and Towne is 5-year-old-at-Disneyland-giddy when he sees that all is well. Whitcomb satisfies everyone with the PA verification.

There are hugs for anyone who wants one, high-fives for anyone willing to reach over the railing by that final straightaway, and nobody is doing anything else but soaking this in. Somehow, Wheelchair Guy ended up on the ground, and he couldn’t care less.

Bauhs gives a wave with an exhausted smile on his face.

Posted by Travis Souders at 05:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tuesday’s women’s golf InterWest Chico State Invitational was cool for a couple reasons, but not in the traditional way things are usually cool. I didn’t get to partake in any of the delicious-smelling chow (as far as I know, the hospitality only extends to the golfers), I got a sweet forearms-only sunburn and, for some ungodly reason, I wore wool pants on a day I should have worn none.

But, on the bright side — which seems to be incidentally growing as the summer draws nearer — I was out of the office by 5, I had an excuse (a good one) to miss class and I essentially got to hang out at a country club for six and a half hours. I get paid for this, although it’s nothing you should really get angry about. There’s a strong sense of justice involved.

And, if you’re a Chico State fan, you were probably pretty pleased, too. The Wildcats did very well, considering sub-par (pun only vaguely intended) performances from Sara Ansolabehere and Denise Canadas, who both wound up in 31st.

This just in: Canadas shares my birthday. Hmh.

Despite those finishes, Chico State took second in its own tourney, which had a decent amount of low rounds from several individuals. The quirkiest I saw was a second-round, 1-over 73 by Alex Smith of St. Edward’s — that round featured eight birdies. Quite the bipolar second day.

Talking to Chico State coach Kathy Dais, I got the impression that the NCAA has been short-shrifting Division II a little bit, mainly by how Dais said, “The NCAA has kind of been short-shrifting Division II.” Apparently, there are four regions, with Chico State in the West. The problem is, selections from the 35-team region are narrowed down to just eight teams when postseason time comes around; from there, advancement is enjoyed by only two of those original eight teams.

So, in other words, if you want to contend for a D-II title, you’ve got to be one hell of a juggernaut program. The Wildcats are good, Dais said, but there has definitely been some serious lobbying on behalf of the CCAA and other good-but-not-dominant golf teams to open up that qualifying round a little.

Posted by Travis Souders at 06:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An interesting statistic I saw today was that Chico State’s usual No. 3 starter, Andrew Pluta, has five complete games already this year, including in each of his last four starts.

Now, I saw Pluta nearly pitch a perfect game in the non-conference season, and I know how good he can be. His stats (6-2, 3.58 ERA, .233 opponents’ batting average) indicate that. What deserves some notice, though, is that he almost always pitches the second games of doubleheaders, while Mike Robbins — who is quietly having a stellar season — goes in game one. That means that Pluta is going seven innings for those CGs, which isn’t to cheapen his accomplishments by any means (he’s still logged 50 1/3 innings in just eight starts) but it brings up a question.

With the No. 4 starting spot occupied by Kyle Gibson at the moment — a converted starter from the bullpen who has done fairly well in the rotation in two starts, but isn’t a long-inning kind of guy, at least yet — shouldn’t Pluta be considered as the No. 4 (by name only) so as to get the most out of him? It seems like he has the durability, while Gibson’s effectiveness over a short span, say five innings or so, could stand up more in a seven-frame outing. That’s my take on the rotation situation, but then again, it’s a definite outsider’s view.

I will say this, though: The bullpen still needs help. Dave Taylor insists the guys he has are capable of doing the job, and to be honest, I tend to believe him. It’s hard to keep harping on Kyle Woodruff, because God knows his recent struggles (0-2, 7.96 ERA, .348 opponents’ batting average) have been upsetting him just as much as anyone. His most recent disappointment was a failed closer experiment, where he blew the save in a four-run ninth inning against Sonoma State. That loss prevented the Wildcats from feasibly taking three of four from the CCAA’s best club.

I suppose it’s all a matter of tinkering with guys at this point and seeing where the pieces fit. We’ve yet to see Joel Garcia since he took a line drive in the torso in that same game, and he had arguably started to emerge as the Wildcats’ best relief arm. The rest of that crew — Drew Dowl (10.50 ERA), Austin Bellanich (15.63), Ivan Gonzalez (8.31) and Dylan Gaughen (6.23) — simply hasn’t gotten the job done.

Posted by Travis Souders at 07:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I usually do when I’m feeling irate, I’ve decided to update this blog.

Whoever is in control of the temperature inside the Enterprise-Record’s office hasn’t picked up on the fact that it’s spring, not winter, and the need to keep it 85 degrees has evaporated.
Needless to say, I’m having hot flashes being in here, and I don’t really have a choice. Nothing to cover today, except for track and field, and that event is the UC Davis Multi Invitational (which, if you couldn’t tell, was being held in Davis). I get a little itchy when I’m not covering things, and it has nothing to do with the threadbare pelt that has overtaken my face since I stopped shaving at the beginning of March for a pride-based bet.

Now I know how the gloriously bearded Luke Reid from Chico State sports information feels (minus the whole “new father” thing). Oh, that reminds me: Luke’s a new father, so if you see him around, be sure to give him a high-five and congratulate him. He’s a nice guy, so he’ll appreciate it.

Speaking of nice guys, I’m sure Wildcat baseball coach Dave Taylor feels a lot better now than he did Saturday, when his club lost its second straight to then-unstoppable Sonoma State at home. In between then and now, Chico State beat the Seawolves in both games of a doubleheader in Rohnert Park. Really, it’s no surprise, based on what we’ve seen from the Wildcats this whole season.

Everyone knows it’s a team capable of being a strong contender when the offense is at its best (or defense, for that matter; Chico State kicked it eight times in those two games at Nettleton Stadium). There is no way that I’ll say the Wildcats make a better team than the Seawolves, because that’s a stacked lineup, but there is no reason Chico State shouldn’t at least challenge some of the top spots in the CCAA.

Hold on. I have to drink this MASSIVE BOTTLE OF WATER and take my shirt off because it’s now hot enough to piss off a Gila monster. I wonder if the laughable functionality of the machines in this place has anything to do with the fact that they’re all consistently exposed to this kind of torture — yeah, that “No open-toed shoes” thing is going completely ignored today.

A quick glance behind me at the copy desk just provided a look at the headline, “Best sex takes 3-13 minutes.” I’m now thoroughly distractable and will end this blog.

Posted by Travis Souders at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)