The Metropolitan's New Website

*I did a lot of posting today so check out my older posts from today if you haven't already.

I am a writer for the Metropolitan (more commonly known as the Met)

It is a weekly publication where I am the beat writer for hockey and baseball. I am also the assistant sports editor. For those of you who are interested I also write regular economics column - I am an economics major not a journalism major.

You can check out the website which is updated weekly at http://www.mscd.edu/~themet/. Click on sports for sports articles and insight for my column. You can also scroll down to the bottom and click my name to see all of my articles.

To give you a taste I will copy and paste this weeks sports articles:

Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Hockey ends season by looking forward

Robert Dran
rdran@mscd.edu

Metro hockey closed out the season in a disappointing fashion with a 7-2 loss against Arizona State University on Feb. 6 and a 6-6 tie against Brigham Young University on Feb. 9.

Team captain, forward Turner Bahn, felt the team was overconfident when facing ASU because ASU lost to the University of California - Los Angeles, a team Metro easily beat 9-3 just a few weeks ago.

"We took them too lightly," Bahn said. "At least I finally played my best game of the semester the next game."

Bahn finished with three goals and two assists on the weekend. Forward Ryan Yudez had a goal and an assist in the second game after sitting out two weeks with an injury.

Metro nearly finished their season with a victory but were called on a penalty with less than two minutes remaining in the game. BYU took advantage and scored the tying goal that sent the game into overtime. Metro had their chances in overtime but couldn't capitalize on them and had to settle for a tie.

Despite finishing the season under .500, the 'Runners feel the season was a crucial building block for success next season. Head coach Curtis Duffus has big plans to build on the chemistry the team built this season and expand to better systems.

"The thing that stood out the most to me was our inexperience and youth. Players tend to get a lot better in their second season, so we look forward to getting better," Duffus said.

The team also has plans to play in a summer league to keep themselves fresh for tryouts which will happen during the first half of September. With a season full of injuries and ups and downs, the team plans on building on lessons learned to have a more successful 2009-2010 season.


Robert Dran
rdran@mscd.edu

Metro baseball managed to trade wins and losses over a four-game set against Colorado State University at Pueblo.

The 'Runners started off on the wrong foot with a 13-6 loss but quickly rebounded to grab a close 6-5 victory during the first game of a double-header the following day. The second game was a disappointment as the team lost 6-1, yet Metro ended on a strong note, doubling up the Thunderwolves in a 14-7 rout. The team attributed the split to inconsistent play, but they did find positives in their performance.

First basemen Jordan Stouffer and catcher Tyree Absire each grabbed a home run in Metro's 13-6 loss. Right fielder Mike Coffey went 2-for-3 with two runs batted-in in the 6-5 victory.

"The big thing for us was momentum – in both our wins we got four runs in the first inning, which carried us for the rest of the game,” left fielder Marcel Dominguez said. “We need to score early and stay ahead."

Metro's defense, which has been a weakness for them, improved. In the final two games, Metro ended with no errors after committing six errors in the first two games and seven errors in a double-header against Regis University on Feb. 1.

"We did a lot better once we got rid of all the butterflies when we started the season,” Dominguez explained. “In the last game we were able to dominate them.”

Head coach Jerry Schemmel echoed Dominguez's claim by attributing the poor defensive start to nervousness.

Pitching control was another issue for Metro in the 13-6 loss; the ‘Runners gave up seven walks. However, Metro pitching quickly rebounded in the next game when winning pitcher Steven Green nabbed five strikeouts in the 6-5 victory. Pitcher Ted Jamison managed to go through the 6-1 loss with only a single walk but failed to strike out a batter. He gave up eight hits in three and a third innings in a loosing effort.

"We got five to seven guys we can throw in there. We need to work on our pitch control, but I think pitching will be the best part of our team," Schemmel said.

Metro will look to go above .500 for the first time this season with double-headers against Montana State University - Billings on Feb. 13 and University of Nebraska at Kearney on Feb. 15 at All Star Park in Lakewood.