STATE YOUR CASE: What is the toughest individual position to play in all of sports?
BY CURTIS LUNDSTROM
sports editor
Hardest position in all of sports? Head referee/official/umpire/judge.
Why? It’s a lose-lose situation.
Think about it: An official is out there to govern a bunch of hot shots that think they’re the greatest thing since sliced bread in an absolutely impossible situation because there’s no such thing as a good call.
You call it one way, Team A and all of their fans hate you. Call it the other, Team B and company throw a fit.
The head officials have it the worst. They have to make the toughest calls that result in the biggest backlash from fans, coaches, players and their own supervisors. It doesn’t matter how perfect of a game they officiate, if a single controversial call is made in the late moments of a game, they become the scapegoats for the losing team and its fans.
Two words: Replacement refs.
It’s all the proof you need. Officials wanted more for the crap they go through, so administration threw a bunch of newbies in and look what happened.
The country went nuts – even more so than normal – and people caught a glimpse of how hard the referees have it, even if they all quickly forgot.
The regular refs – emphasis on regular because the replacements were real officials too – came back and everyone was happy as a clown.
It applies across the board in every sport. Not only is it the toughest position in all of sports, it’s the most under-rated, under-valued and under-appreciated job too.
– curtislundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom
BY SEAN O’SULLIVAN
staff writer
As a hockey goalie, you have one job: keep the 1-by-3 inch puck outside of a 4-by-6 foot net. It seems simple enough, until you actually think about it.
First of all, the puck can travel up to 110 mph. Then, you have to factor in that the goalie might not even see this 110-mph shot. There are players who earn their paycheck by screening the goalie.
And the player screening the goalie also falls into the goalie sometimes. Try stopping that 110-mph shot while a 200-pound man falls on you.
Oh, and there are deflections. The hand-eye coordination of NHL players is so incredible, they can deflect these 110-mph shots at the last second. The goalie’s reflexes have to be elite.
Outside of actually making a save, the goalie has to see the play develop. The goalie has to be aware of every other player’s position on the ice, just like a quarterback in football – except in hockey, players are skating much faster than football players can run. Stopping a back-door play depends on recognizing that the opposing player is coming up for the play.
Tracking the puck itself is difficult, too. The play moves so fast. Passing is crisp, and players can camp out behind the net, creating many passing options that the goalie needs to cover. There’s a huge mental side to playing goalie as well as the physical side.
Goalies have to be strong. Goalies need to push off and slide six feet across in less than a second to make the save. The goalie also needs to be flexible enough to do the splits many times a night.
It takes a special athlete to be a hockey goalie.
– sean.osullivan@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @Seansy89
BY ERIC JUNGBLUT
copy editor
St. Louis Missouri, October 27, 2011. It’s Game 6 of the 107th World Series, featuring the hometown Cardinals and the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers lead the series 3-2: A win tonight means they clinch their first World Series title in team history.
After a high-scoring affair, the game reaches the ninth inning with the Rangers on top 9-7. The Cards manage a run, but soon find themselves only one strike away from handing the series to the Rangers.
Busch Stadium is roaring with decibels comparable to that of a 747 taking off, and in the middle of all the chaos is Neftali Feliz, closer for the Rangers, trying to bring home the title with one final pitch, the weight of millions of fans on his shoulders.
No pressure, right?
Feliz would give up a hit to Albert Pujols, allowing the Cardinals tie the game and force extra innings. The Cards would eventually win the game, force Game 7 and clinch the series.
While not the most physically taxing position in sports – although it does take a tremendous amount of athleticism – the position of pitcher is the toughest based almost solely on the mental toll it takes.
Pitchers condition constantly to fine-tune their craft. They have to use all their strength to fire a small white ball into a 2-foot-by-2-foot strike zone with enough speed and curvature to get the batter to foul out, fly out, ground out or strike out. Oh, and they do this more than 100 times per game, on average.
Pitching also takes an incredible amount of discipline and control. One bad slip of the wrist, and the ball is sailing over the right field fence.
– ej.jungblut@gmail.com
Twitter: @TheJungleButt