Los Angeles Dodgers
April marks the beginning of a long, optimistic Dodgers baseball season. Los Angeles, leading the National League West with a record of 15-8, looks to defend their division title. Friday’s CMC-subsidized match up features Dodger’s young gun pitcher Clayton Kershaw, and San Diego Padres’ 2007 Cy Young Winner Jake Peavy. Backed by one of the best pitching lineups in the majors, the Dodgers’ offense is centered around Manny Ramirez and Andre Ethier. But the Big Blue hasn’t won a World Series title since 1988, and Dodger fans are getting anxious. This season will put manager Joe Torre to the test, to see if he can bring the championship trophy back to LA.

Los Angeles Lakers
After ending the regular season as the best in the west (65-17), the Lakers look to take care of unfinished business in the postseason. On Monday, the Lakers finished their series with the Utah Jazz, cruising to the second round of the NBA Playoffs against the Houston Rockets that starts next week.  Right now, the focus is on bringing home a ring, although it will not be easy.  The Lake Show, led by the swift Kobe Bryant and the smooth Spaniard Pau Gasol, poses an offensive threat that gives coaches nightmares.  Unfortunately, offense alone doesn’t win championships.  The boys in purple in gold must tighten up their defense and find a way to weather the LeBron storm, if they expect to make a run for the 2009 NBA Championship.

• Teams of 2. Players may call upon a “celebrity” to take a shot or 2.
• 10-cup format with 2 re-racks and a “gentleman’s” courtesy rack at the request of the shooting team. Use an appropriate amount of liquid in each cup.
• After face-off, the cup sunk must be removed from the initial rack. If both teams sink a cup on the same face-off, neither cup is removed. The next face-off includes 2 new shooters.
• Each team gets 2 shots/turn (usually 1 shot/player).
• Teams must sink at least 4 cups before calling for a re-rack. “Re-rack” may only be called at the beginning of a turn.
• Once a cup is sunk, it must be removed immediately. If a certain cup is sunk twice before its contents are finished, the game is automatically over.
• Bounce shot = 2 cups. If a shot bounces, the defensive team may swat at the ball in hopes of preventing a 2-cup shot.
• If a player sinks 2 separate cups in a row, he/she is heating up. The phrase “heating up” must be called before the player’s next shot, because if he/she sinks a third cup in a row, that player is “on fire” and gets to shoot until a miss.
• If 1 lone cup is not touching the rest of the rack, each shooter can take 1 shot at it (upon calling “straggler cup”). If the straggler is sunk on that turn, 2 cups are removed from the rack.
• After your shot, the ball bounces back to you and stays on the table… No “buffalo” behind-the-back shots are permitted.
• The “elbow rule” should be moderately regulated (respectfully?), but should not become a yelling matter.
• Upon sinking the final cup, the opposing team has the chance to “rebuttal,” where both players shoot until they miss. If both members sink the last cup, no rebuttal is permitted. In the event of a tie, a 3-cup, no re-rack format decides the match.
• If Team A successfully sinks all of Team B’s cups without Team B getting a re-rack (Team B needs 4 cups and a new rack), Team B must run a NAKED LAP around the building in which the match was played. Fans are encouraged to chant “NAKED LAP,” to further call attention to the circumstance.
• Respect the game.

Side Note: If the “house team” does not agree with these rules, it is their job to establish the “house rules” for the night prior to competition.

© NFL

In case you’re one of those people who only watches professional football on this sacred day, here is a quick summary of tomorrow’s game. Remember, ASCMC will be hosting a super bowl party on the backside of Boswell. This year’s Super Bowl 43 is featuring the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Kickoff is at 3:20pm PST in Tampa, Florida.

The Cardinals, the underdogs, are looking to win their first Super Bowl in franchise history. The NFC champions finished the season with a 9-7 record, and have been playing their best football in the postseason. Look for veteran quarterback Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa University) to lead this dominant passing offense through his 2 favorite targets: Anquan Boldin (Florida State University) and Larry Fitzgerald (University of Pittsburgh). Running back Edgerrin James (University of Miami) also has the ability to wreck the Steelers. But is Arizona’s potent offense enough to take down the NFL’s top defense? 

The AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers, led by their defense, will come ready to take care of business. With one of the hardest schedules in the NFL, the Steelers have endured through their adversity. Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu (USC) will make big defensive plays, and quarterback “Big” Ben Roethlisberger (Miami Ohio) will control the game tempo. If the Steelers’ offense plays aggressive, fearless football, they are unbeatable. 

They always say, offense wins games, but defense wins championships. Expect an entertaining afternoon of power football and goofy commercials, with the Steelers coming out on top.