Sports

By Clayton Coffman | ccoffman@flagler.edu

Sports Editor Clayton Coffman gives his take on the value of the top 32 players in the NFL draft.

Note: This isn’t a mock draft. This list ranks players in order of value.

1. Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
   More athletic than last year’s top tackle, Jake Long
2. Aaron Curry, LB, Wake Forest
   Very talented defender. But does he offer upside to get better?
3. Mark Sanchez, QB, Southern California
   Forget that he was only a starter for one year. He has it all.
4. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
   Big-play running back that lacks only top-end speed.
5. Rey Maualuga, LB, Southern California
   Physical skills are incredible.

By Clayton Coffman and John Pietkiewicz | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Sports Editor Clayton Coffman and John “The Sports Guy” Pietkiewicz discuss the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament.

By Clayton Coffman | cccoffman@flagler.edu
Photo courtesy Gregory Hotchkiss, Pittsburgh Athletic Department

PHOTO CAPTION: Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair (center) has averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds this season.

Do you see the days of March flying by? That can only mean one thing: the NCAA Tournament is approaching. The greatest post-season tournament ever created, and that includes the NFL Playoffs, is just days away from starting.

“It’s such a unique event in sports,” Orlando Sentinel writer Andrew Carter said. “You just don’t get that kind of excitement for any other sporting event. It’s great drama. People love drama.”

By Kenny Ray | gargoyle@flagler.edu
Photo courtesy John Jordan

PHOTO CAPTION: The softball team has posted a 12-15 record this year.

With a lot of individual talent, Flagler’s softball team is looking to put it all together and turn around a season that has fallen short of their expectations.

“You can always work harder, you can never be satisfied, and there is always room for improvement,” head coach Kristen Overton said.

St. Augustine native gives glory to friends, family, God

By Clayton Coffman | ccoffman@flagler.edu

Flagler volleyball player Justine Burkhardt has a ton of athletic ability. She’s one of the Saints’ best players; however, she doesn’t take any of the credit. “My faith in God has gotten me to be the person I am now,” she said.

“I can’t take any of the credit. It’s the people around me that makes me strive to be better,” Burkhardt said.

Tough season comes to a close as Saints look to future

By Kathy Novak | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Coach Sherri Abbey-Nowatzki had some hard decisions to make this year. “There will be harder choices to face and more difficult decisions to make,” said the woman’s basketball coach after the team’s season had come to an end.

“But there’s light at the end of the tunnel – the future for this team is there. We have played to the level.”
With a final record of 5-24 after the toughest schedule in the history of women’s basketball at Flagler, the Saints certainly had their work out for them this year thanks to games against teams like Florida Tech and Jacksonville University.

Senior center wouldn’t trade anything for experience at Flagler

By Kristina Haumschild | gargoyle@flagler.edu

Ben De la Cruz has said his final goodbyes to Flagler College basketball after a heart-breaking, over-time loss at Alabama Huntsville.

“I felt [the OT loss] was fitting. We had a heart-breaker of a season. The ball didn’t bounce our way in the last two minutes the way it did last year, but that’s part of the game,” De la Cruz said.

By Clayton Coffman | ccoffman@flagler.edu

Jerry Jones does have some brains after all. The locker room cancer that was Terrell Owens had to go. If Vito Corleone had been around, T.O. could have expected a visit from Luca Brasi to make him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Over the last three years, Team Obliterator, as some have called him, continued to showcase his skills as the worst teammate in the history of sports. He was the leader of the Cowboys’ locker room and it ruined this team.

By Matthew Boyle | mboyle@flagler.edu

Flagler College lost to Morris College 68-60.

By Clayton Coffman | ccoffman@flagler.edu

Brandon Johnson and Chanti Beckett are just two of the African-American athletes that participate in Flagler athletics. They have both had the amazing opportunity to play collegiate sports. But it didn’t come with hard work just on the court.

“I realized how important school and character were going to be. It was more than being good [on the court] and a hard worker. They want to know what kind of person you are,” Johnson said.