Archive - 2012 - Sports Article
December 30th
By
George Shirk - Times Managing Editor
It seemed like every time a sports fan turned around, there was something to catch his or her attention.
December 21st
The morning sky has not yet begun to lighten as the truck bounces over the white, moonlit ground, tires sinking nearly to the rim in deep, snowy ruts.
To the west, Laurel Mountain and Mt. Morrison are limned in light, stars brilliant, waiting.
Tomorrow, when the sun rises, the days will begin to lengthen, one minute more every morning, one minute more every evening, every day until the Summer Solstice in June when the cycle reverses.
But not today.
‘Slopeside Center’ revamped; hundreds of athletes here
Sometimes, dreams really do come true.
Dave McCoy’s vision of a high-altitude training center at Mammoth Mountain—a dream that has passed through generations of racers and coaches—will come to fruition Thursday afternoon (Dec. 27).
December 14th
By
Wendilyn Grasseschi â Mammoth Times Staff Writer
The sleet poured down in great, slanting sheets as I walked the narrow, unplowed road. I bent my (hatless) head into the wind and picked up my drenched and booted feet and kept walking. Cars passed me, casting off heavy chunks of rain-soaked snow from their spinning tires, soaking me even more.
It didnât really matter at that pointâit was impossible to get much wetter.
âWhat a @# $@ idiot,â I mumbled to myself, rain dripping off my face, not one word in three fit to print.
By
George Shirk - Times Managing Editor
In one of the more enduring traditions that Mammoth has to offer, the Village Championships rank among the top.
For 37 years, the locals in Mammoth have raced each other on the racecourses at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, and itâs no time to stop now.
With good snow cover expected throughout the season, the VCs open Jan. 8 and continue through the Finals on April 9.
The old hands will be at it again, with new faces once more popping into view.
The theme this season is âCOLOSSAL,â said Drew Krempel of the ski areaâs race department.
November 30th
By
George Shirk - Times News Editor
It might be the most madcap carnival ride in all of California.
Chair 23, a fixed-grip triple that recently was named among the âTop Seven Iconic Chairlifts in the Worldâ by a notable ski website, rises to the top of the Mammoth Mountain crest as one of the hairiest rides on any ski hill anywhere.
âItâs definitively a sphincter-tightening ride,â said Mammoth Mountain Ski Area CEO Rusty Gregory, who as a young strapper on his way up the chain of command helped build the lift in 1982.
By
Warren Miller â Special to the Times
November 16th
By
George Shirk - Times News Editor
After a hiatus of three seasons, girls basketball is back at Mammoth High School.
In the first tryouts for the new program, 33 girls took a stab at the nets under the watchful eye of new coach William Bauman, a 26-year-old long, tallâreally tallâdrink of water from Minnesota.
âBasketball is turning a corner in town,â said Bauman, who was recently married to Mammoth local John Eastmanâs daughter, Danielle.
âItâs just the greatest sport ever invented.â
Bauman said he played a bit of college hoops before arriving in Mammoth, and is familiar with womenâs basketball in particular.
The new track on Benton Crossing Road near the Whitmore Animal Shelter is ready to go.
Its Grand Opening is Saturday, Nov. 17, at noon with members of the Mammoth Track Club, town officials and the track’s main proponent, runner Elaine Smith.
In the dark November night, the snow-struck silence is broken by a cacophony of noise and the floor of the bedroom erupts.
My border collie Skye slams up on top of the bed from the floor, bouncing on her toes, barking at the closed window.
We pull the curtain back, and shine the big flashlight, hastily retrieved from its home under the bed, toward the cars and parking lot just 30 feet from the window.
November 2nd
Plunging one sandaled foot into the knee-deep snow, the other sliding on icy slush and mud, tired from the last two hours of the same, I was starting to dream about warm summer beaches.
I had climbed up this remote canyon north of Bridgeport last Saturday with the devil at my heels, running from winter, chasing gold.
A few months more than a hundred years ago, in the small French village of Megeve, a baker’s wife had a son named Emile.
In the last week, a lot of newspapers and some television news have chronicled the death of 100-year-old Emile Allais. They write about him winning two world championships in the downhill and slalom ski races in 1936 and 1937, as well as an Olympic gold medal in 1936. He would have won a third year in a row if he had not broken his ankle.
October 26th
The Mammoth High School volleyball teams turned in a strong performance Tuesday, both winning matches over Mojave in Desert Mountain League play.
The varsity won, 25-14, 29-27, 25-20 bringing the girlsâ record to 4-5 and keeping their playoff hope alive.
Notable performances were by Becca Albright (three aces and two kills); Bailey Rowan (five kills); Jolene Senn (four aces and two kills); Sydney Knadler (three aces and five kills); and Kyra Mckee and Cassidy Morris (12 assists each).
Meanwhile, the Mammoth JV girls won 25-15, 25-11, upping their DML record to a perfect 9-0.
Mammoth High School runner Jody Meads has been selected as athlete of the week for her performance at the Mount Sac Invitational earlier this month.
Jody finished second, behind last year’s California state champion. She was the first runner to finish from the Southern Section.
Jody’s coaches say she looks impressive as she and the Mammoth High School cross country team near the end of the regular season and focus on the CIF prelims and finals.
The rain is coming down hard, heavy, horizontal and very loud.
Every October, there’s a race to see who can offer the first skiing in America for yet another winter.
