14 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>Sportswww.stmurattlernews.com<strong>November</strong> 9, <strong>2011</strong>Big men battle in Greatest vs. Greatest: Texas EditionRobinson and Olajuwon battle for title of greatest Texas centerBy Joe RodriguezSports Editor“<strong>The</strong> Admiral” David Robinson of theSan Antonio Spurs and “<strong>The</strong> Dream”Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rocketsrevolutionized the center position in theNBA during the mid-1<strong>99</strong>0s. Althoughthey had many memorable battles, manybasketball enthusiasts have been tryingto determine who the greatest is.<strong>St</strong>atistics<strong>The</strong>se big men paralleled each otherin their style of play. Both Robinson andOlajuwon are two of only four players torecord a quadruple-double in a game, afeat the likes of Michael Jordan, MagicJohnson and Larry Bird weren’t able toaccomplish. Throughout their careers,both Olajuwon and Robinson averaged2.5 assists per game, over 21 points pergame and 3 blocks per game.However, the career playoff statsfavor Olajuwon, who averaged 25 pointsper game in the playoffs compared toRobinson’s 18. All of Olajuwon’s statisticsimproved once the postseason began.Towards the end of his career, Robinson’snumbers dropped while his protégé, TimDuncan, began to take over.Advantage: Olajuwon. Although it is atoss-up in regular season statistics, theplayoffs are where it matters the most.Olajuwon raised his level of play in the1<strong>99</strong>4 and 1<strong>99</strong>5 seasons when the Rocketswon the NBA Championship. Robinson’snumbers decreased compared to hisregular season numbers. <strong>The</strong> edge goesto “<strong>The</strong> Dream.”ROBINSON: 0OLAJUWON:1Head-to-HeadIn the 42 meetings Olajuwon andRobinson had with one another, Robinsondominated with an overwhelming recordof 30-12. Both players were equallymatched statistically, but in the 1<strong>99</strong>5Western Conference Finals, Olajuwonseemingly battled out the league MVPRobinson. Eventually, Olajuwon wouldlead the Rockets past the top seededSpurs en-route to their second straightNBA Championship.Advantage: Robinson. AlthoughOlajuwon beat Robinson when it countedthe most, the numbers don’t lie. <strong>The</strong> factthat Robinson and the Spurs had 30victories in 42 meetings against Olajuwonis more than enough to prove that “<strong>The</strong>Admiral” wins this round.ROBINSON:1OLAJUWON: 1AccomplishmentsThroughout the span of their careers,both Robinson and Olajuwon havecompiled many numerous awards andrecognitions. Both were regular seasonMVPs (Olajuwon in 1<strong>99</strong>4 and Robinson in1<strong>99</strong>5). Both won two NBA championships,as well as two Olympic Gold Medals. In1<strong>99</strong>6, both these players were named oneof the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players. However,one thing that separates these two greatsis that Olajuwon was named NBA FinalsMVP twice. <strong>The</strong> most significant honorboth these men have received is beingenshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hallof Fame (Olajuwon in 2008 and Robinsonin 2009.Advantage: Tie. No onecan diminish what these men haveaccomplished in the game of basketball.Although arguments can be made forboth players, the simple fact of the matteris that both these legendary NBA centersare winners and champions.ROBINSON: 1.5OLAJUWON:1.5Who’s the Greatest?It is too close to say who is the greatestbetween these two NBA legends. Basedon all the statistics, awards and headto-headmatchups, these men are mirrorimages of one another. Of course,Houston fans would side with number 34,while San Antonio fans would stand bynumber 50. At the end of the day, theseplayers made each other great, raisingeach other’s level of competition. Bothleft their mark on the game of basketballas two of the greatest to play the game.Energy drinks require cautionDrinks dehydrate and are addictive.It’s Game TimeBy Joe RodriguezSports Editor<strong>St</strong>udents often need energy drinks to helpthem when they an extra boost to do homeworkor stay awake in their classes after a long nightof studying. However, most people never ask,how does the drink work?Energy drinks are made up almost entirelyof sugar and caffeine. <strong>The</strong> caffeine in a smallenergy drink is the equivalent of a cup of coffee.However, most people grab huge cans of energydrinks, which is the equivalent of about fouror five cups of coffee. <strong>The</strong> sugar in the drinksacts like a fast-acting carbohydrate. Thiscarbohydrate gives energy for about 15 minutes,at which time the caffeine will take effect.Energy drinks arehealthy to drink,but only if taken in moderation. It does not haveenough water to hydrate the body, so watershould be drank with an energy drink.<strong>The</strong> worst thing to drink with an energy drinkis alcohol. <strong>The</strong> energy drink, an upper, and thealcohol, a downer, willmake the body unable to tell how drunk it is,according to Conrad Woolsey from the Journal ofAlcohol and Drug Education. This is dangerousbecause it can lead to overdrinking, and sincethe energy drink and alcohol are poor forms ofrehydration it can lead to alcohol poisoning.Dr. Mehmet Oz, known for his tv show, “Dr. Oz,”has proven that energy drinks can be addictiveand unsafe when used incorrectly. Energy drinksshould never be taken while exercising becausethe energy drink is a diuretic, meaning it signalsthe kidneys to release more fluids as wastethan needed. Working out and energy drinkscombined can cause severe dehydration.While energy drinks are a great way to boostenergy for a short period of time, they shouldnot be consumed as if they are any beverage.Energy drinks are a great choice for energy iftaken with a proper hydrating drink. A sportsdrink is a good choice because those replenishelectrolytes and replenish water, but plain wateris the best choice.Men’s BasketballSat, Nov. 19 vs. <strong>University</strong> of Incarnate Word, Bill GreeheyArena 6 p.m.Women’s BasketballSat, Nov. 12 vs. Fort Hays <strong>St</strong>ate <strong>University</strong>, Bill Greehey Arena5:30 p.m.Sun, Nov. 13 vs. Pittsburg <strong>St</strong>ate <strong>University</strong>, Bill Greehey Arena3 p.m.Wed, Nov. 16 at Tarleton <strong>St</strong>ate <strong>University</strong>, <strong>St</strong>ephenville, TX, 6p.m.Fri, Nov. 18 vs. Northeastern <strong>St</strong>ate <strong>University</strong>, Bill GreeheyArena 5 p.m.Sat, Nov. 19 Southeastern Oklahoma <strong>University</strong>, Bill GreeheyArena 4 p.m.Tues, Nov. 22 at <strong>University</strong> of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio,TX, 5:30 p.m.*Home games in Bold.Graphic / Illustration by Joe Rodriguez and Felix Arroyo
<strong>November</strong> 9, <strong>2011</strong> Sports <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong> 15www.stmurattlernews.comVolleyball ends seasonwith farewell to seniorsA brief review of the <strong>St</strong>. Mary’s <strong>Rattler</strong>s’ season<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>s celebrate after winning a point. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>s finished the year with a 17-13record after a 10-0 start. / Photo by Sarah Dwyer.By Joe RodriguezSports Editor<strong>The</strong> volleyball season came to anend Saturday with the <strong>Rattler</strong>s losingin straight sets (25-20, 25-13, 25-22) toDallas Baptist <strong>University</strong>.Before the game, the <strong>Rattler</strong>s andtheir fans honored their four seniors—Adrianna Keys, Mallory Moeller, KristenChapman and <strong>St</strong>ephanie Proske—intheir farewell game. <strong>The</strong> seniors hadloved ones and family came out to helpbid them farewell in their final game. Allfour seniors were given flowers from theirfamily and head coach Jenny Warmack-Chipman. Coach Warmack-Chipmanthen started all four seniors for their lastgame.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>s enjoyed the best startin school history with a 10-0 start thisseason. However, their record thenbegan to slide after injures to key players,such as Moeller and freshman KelseyHuber. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>s would end up going7-13 in their last 20 games. <strong>The</strong> overallrecord of 17-13 was not good enoughto get the <strong>Rattler</strong>s into the Heartlandconference tournament, which they wonlast year.<strong>The</strong> team had a solid year despitetheir young roster that featured sevenfreshmen and a walk-on sophomorewho were playing collegiately for the firsttime. Of those seven freshmen, threecontributed and started at some point inthe year and libero history major VictorriaMartinez was named Heartland libero ofthe week.Although the <strong>Rattler</strong>s had a goodyear on the court, the memories thatthey will take away off the court arejust as important. “At one of our awaygames, when we were on the bus, wehad a soul train line in the middle of thebus. We were just dancing having littlecompetitions,” said senior biology majorand right side hitter Adrianna Keys. “<strong>The</strong>fun stuff like that is what I’m going totake away.”Senior political science major andmiddle blocker <strong>St</strong>ephanie Proskementioned that “the life-long friends”was what she was going to take awayfrom her time playing at the university.<strong>The</strong> volleyball team had a good year,but fell short of their goal to get into thetournament. <strong>The</strong> seniors from this yearwill be sorely missed next year, but theyshould be thanked for their dedicationduring their collegiate career.<strong>The</strong> <strong>Rattler</strong>s finished their season <strong>November</strong>5th. <strong>The</strong> team featured six freshmen, four sophmores, one junior, and four seniors. / 2 leftPhotos by Joe Rodriguez. / 2 right photos by Sarah Dwyer.
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