Sports Shorts

Athlete Of the Week

Sophomore tennis player Jamie Frankel, of West Bloomfield, Mich. was recently recognized by being named second team All-NCAC for the athletic talents he displayed in the first singles this season.

Frankel’s overall record is an impressive 10-5 overall at the first singles in the 2002 season, his defeats all at the hands of players named first team All-NCAC.
Frankel showed similar promise last season after winning eight singles games and losing four, receiving an honorable mention All-NCAC recognition.

The Oberlin men’s tennis team recently traveled to Delaware, Ohio to participate in the 17th North Coast Atlantic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship. The Yeomen fell to Denison, Earlham and Wabash, returning home with an eighth place finish in the championships.

Quote of the Week

Is he excited?

“Yes, oh yes! But of course, I’m always excited.”
–Don Hunsinger
Tennis Head Coach

On the prospects of next year’s men’s and women’s tennis teams. The
teams have no graduating seniors.

Marquee Event

Men’s Lacrosse
Alumni Game
Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Dill Field

This is it! The last home Oberlin athletic event of the year. This year’s lacrosse team will take on the greats of years past.

In the Locker Room with. . .

He’s been introducing you to athletes all semester, now it’s time to meet the man himself: Channing Joseph, sports editor.

So Channing, how have you enjoyed your semester as sports editor?

CJ: It’s been, um, quite interesting and rewarding in unexpected ways.

What’s your favorite part about being sports editor?

CJ: Definitely both getting to write Outside Oberlin and to pontificate about how sports relates to things that might not be so obvious, as well as meeting athletes every week, because most of them are really beautiful people.

JKD: All athletes are beautiful.

In the past ITL interviewers have tried to ask funny questions, but you seem to prefer to ask more philosophical questions. Why is that?

CJ: Because the answers are funny, anyway. And I just tend to think more philosophically.

What does it mean to think philosophically?

CJ: I would suppose to say that to think philosophically limits my freedom, as existentialist philosophers such as Sartre would say. Therefore to think philosophically needs to be redefined as simply asking philosophical questions.

Right then. Back to reality. So pretend it was 8:40 a.m. on a Friday morning and you hadn’t done an ITL interview yet. What would you do?

CJ: Since that never happened, I don’t know what I’d do. I don’t want to commit myself to a way of behaving that might not be representative of how I’d actually act.

Remember when we used to do Outside Oberlin articles? Wasn’t that fun?

CJ: It was fun and it’s quite nice when you have the brain, the cerebral cortex, left over to be able to do it, but unfortunately the Review has eaten away at that cortex to the point where I am now nearly catatonic.

So you’re a Review burnout?

CJ: I hate to reduce myself to a statistic, but perhaps the facts speak for themselves?

We’re all statistics. What would you say to all those potential sportswriters out there?

CJ: Do it! It’ll make the sports editor’s jobs a lot easier.

Are you saying sports editors are desperate?
CJ: We’ll, we’re not that desperate.

So have you ever been in an Oberlin locker room?

CJ: Sure.

How was it?

CJ: Simply spectacular. I felt completely…yeah.

Did you play any sports as a kid?

CJ: I always liked swimming and gymnastics. I didn’t actually learn to swim until quite late, though.

Do you have a particular favorite sport these days?

CJ: I still lean toward the Olympic type sports — track, swimming, diving. Although, I have really started to enjoy watching golf since Tiger Woods started blowing things up.

So are you a fairweather golf fan?

CJ: Unfortunately. I have to admit to that. No, I don’t have to admit to that, because that would limit my freedom.

Do you associate sports with freedom?

CJ: Well, sports are as much about freedom as everything else is about freedom. Life is about freedom. We’re condemned to freedom. I don’t really believe that though. We’re condemned to thinking we’re free.

You’ve been covering the men’s lacrosse team for most of the season. How have you enjoyed that?

CJ: They’re nice guys. I really admire them in the face of what they’ve gone through this season. Their ability to stay positive and to take what good they can from a losing season.

So have you gained a greater appreciation of the sport of lacrosse?

CJ: I would say a greater appreciation for lacrosse players as human beings in Oberlin.

What do you think about human beings in Oberlin?

CJ: The longer I stay here, the more I admire the ambition and the creative genius of many of the people who attend this institution. Sometimes I wonder whether everybody interesting graduated from Oberlin or was involved at Oberlin in some way.

I think we’re running out of space, so just a couple more. Are you going to work for the Review again next year?

CJ: Well, I’d like to work for the Review next year. I’m planning on it. We’ll see.

What would you like to do? Would you be sports editor again?

CJ: Although I’ve enjoyed my time as sports editor, I would rather not repeat myself. I get way too bored way too easily. Not that the job is inherently boring, but sooner or later everything loses its novelty.

What will you take away from your time in the sports seat?

CJ: That’s really a vague question. Let’s say a deep respect for Oberlin athletes, coaches, sports writers, and sports editors of the past, present, and future.