Editors Weekend Picks

AMAN GUPTA

FITTFU Semi-finals and Finals- Friday Is The Time For Ultimate.

This Friday night, in Carzo Cage, sparks will fly, tempers will flare, and by night's end, a winner will be crowned: FITTFU champions 2004.

The first semifinal match-up from 8:30-9 will be between the number one seeded Skippers Skipping School Girls against the fourth seeded Danny's Mad Cows. The School Girls have practically steamrolled over every horny boy that has come in its path this season, winning by a total of 29 points this season. The squad is led by alums Funboy, Nate, senior Zach "Snatch" Geller, and sophomore STUD Chris Healey. The squad crushed the Mad Cows earlier this season 11-3, and look for more of the same this week.

In the other semi-final, The Dude's Dudes face off against Crocker's Roughnecks. Despite the absence of their injured captain, the Roughnecks, led by Speeeeeeeez, Neil Pallaver, and the hottest of them all, a Mr. Evan Ream, the Roughnecks won't give up the chance to face the schoolgirls in the finals. They'll also want to get back last week's 8-7 loss to the Dude's.

Thus the stage will be set for the finals: Schoolgirls vs. Roughnecks:

Prediction: Pallaver vs. Funboy, Ream vs. Healey, Spies vs. Snatch, Chira vs. Nate. And don't forget Skipper, the captain, the x-factor. In week three, the Schoolgirls crushed the Roughnecks 10-4, and look for more of the same tonight. Schoolgirls win a squeaker, and are crowned FITTFU champs. Sweeeeeet.



KRISTY CUNNINGHAM

The NHL vs. Hockey Violence -- In light of the Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi pummeling Colorado rookie Steve Moore, violence in hockey once again has made the news. In a sport where checking and even fights fill the highlight reels, a line needs to be drawn between physical play and full-out battery. Bertuzzi was suspended for the duration of the regular season and playoffs and issued a hefty fine for his hit on Moore, action the NHL had to make to avoid a maelstrom of negative media coverage and questioning. These incidents of dangerous violence, though relatively rare, have no place in sports, even in hockey.

Prediction: The NHL's decision about the Bertuzzi hit is justified and sends a message that violence will not be tolerated in the league. The NHL has to control its players for their own protection and the integrity of the game. Hockey will always be a physical sport, but the NHL did the right thing by penalizing Bertuzzi, and the Canucks, for this brutal act.



>JESSE GERNER

>St. Kilda Saints vs. Geelong Cats -- It's Grand Final time for the Wizard Home Loans Cup, the preseason tournament for Aussie Rules Footy that would be the equivalent of spring training, but with a championship game at the end. Tomorrow night in Melbourne, Australia, the Geelong Cats and the St. Kilda Saints will clash before approximately 53,500 people.

But, you might ask, why should anyone care? Well, not too many people do. Just about the only interesting thing about this match is how irrelevant the results will be on how the real footy season plays out (and that's not really interesting, right?). St. Kilda and Geelong finished 11th and 12th respectively in last season's standings, well out of playoff contention in the 16-team competition. We probably can't expect too much difference.

Prediction: I have friends who are St. Kilda fans, and just to spite them because their team has finished 11th and 15th, I'll pick Geelong. But do you really care? I know I don't.