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Sent on Mormon-News: 06Feb02 By Mormon News Sports Editor

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Sports: Two Mormon Olympians Identified

NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- With the 2002 Winter Olympics starting Friday, Mormon News is trying to identify the Mormon athletes who will compete in the games, and has so far identified just two. Meanwhile Mormons professional basketball players, hockey players and golfers saw action this week, but mostly gave mediocre performances.

Mormon News is somewhat surprised that just two Mormon Olympians at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games have been identified. Skier Rowena Bright is considered the lone LDS Church member at the games, but she hails from Australia, not the U.S. (or even the Rocky Mountains, where observers might assume any LDS skiers would be from). Gea Johnson, a brakeman on the leading U.S. team, comes from Mormon heritage, but isn't known to be LDS. Mormon News will cover the performance of these athletes and any other Mormon athletes during the games.

Meanwhile, the Mormon basketball players seem to be getting back on the floor a bit, but are still not up to where they have been in the past. Mavericks' center Shawn Bradley played 44 minutes in 3 games, scoring 3.3 points per game, down from his 4.5 point average so far this season. The Laker's Mark Madsen was in a similar state, playing 34 minutes over 4 games and performing at about half his normal scoring level. Again best of the Mormon players was Scot Pollard, the Sacramento Kings forward, who played 94 minutes over 4 games, and racked up 8.3 points per game, ahead of his average for the season.

Aaron Gavey of the Minnesota Wild was idle last week, sitting out the one game his hockey team played, while the Florida Panther's Bill Lindsay played two games, but didn't add anything to his statistics for the week. And Nashville Predators coach Brent Peterson saw his team give up just two goals, winning their lone game last week.

Meanwhile, in golf Dan Forsman tied for 24th in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro/Am, earning a respectable $32,400 for his effort while Bruce Summerhays, on golf's senior tour, also tied for 24th at the Royal Caribbean Classic, earning almost $13,000.

Mormon Sports Statistics for week ended 4 February 2002
[If the listings below aren't clear, try looking at them with a mono-spaced font, such as courier - Ed.]

PLEASE NOTE: Not all these athletes are members of the LDS Church! Our reporting includes those that have Mormon heritage, and an athlete's inclusion below doesn't mean that they are a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

We do our best to ensure the accuracy of athlete's affiliations. Please let us know if we are in error.

Olympics

We have identified the following Mormons who will compete in the 2002 Olympics Games starting later this week. We are actively looking for others:

Bright, Rowena	Aus	skiing
(MH) Johnson, Gea	USA	W Bobsledding

Baseball

Major League Baseball

The MLB 2002 season will begin April 1st. Preseason games may start as early as mid February.

We have identified the following Mormon players:

Position Players

• McKay Christensen CF Los Angeles Dodgers
• Jeff Kent 2B San Francisco Giants

Pitchers

• * Brandon Duckworth SP Philadelphia Phillies
• (MH) Shawn Estes SP San Francisco Giants
• Kyle Farnsworth RP Chicago Cubs
• Mike Fetters RP Pittsburgh Pirates
• Roy Halladay SP Toronto Blue Jays
• Jason M. Johnson SP Baltimore Orioles
• * Omar Olivares RP Pittsburgh Pirates
• (MH) Garret Stephenson SP St Louis Cardinals
• (MH) Dave Veres RP St Louis Cardinals
• (MH) Jaret Wright SP Cleveland Indians

Coaches

• Iorg, Garth 1st Base Coach Toronto Blue Jays

Please help us find out if the following are Mormon:

• Scott Eyre RP Toronto Blue Jays
• Ryan Jensen SP San Francisco Giants

Minor Leagues

Minor League Seasons generally begin about the same time as the Major League season or soon after. We are still interested in identifying Mormon players in the minors, especially those at the AAA level. Also of interest are those playing in foreign leagues, such as Japan and the Venezuela winter league. Here are the minor league players we know:

AAA
Minors

• Banks, Brian Catcher Calgary Cannons (Florida Marlins)
• Perez, Santiago Infield Oklahoma City Redhawks (Texas Rangers)
• Secrist, Reed 1st Base Nashville Sounds (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Please help us find out if the following are Mormon:

• Nate Tebbs SS Richmond Braves (Atlanta Braves)
• Ron Wright 1B Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
• John DeSilva SP Las Vegas 51s (Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Jeremy Lambert SP Memphis Redbirds (St Louis Cardinals)

College
NCAA - Division I
We plan limited coverage of NCAA Division I baseball players and coaches who are Mormon, and want to at least compile a reliable list. Please let us know about any Mormon players not listed below:

• Adams, Ryan RHP Sr. BYU
• Bills, Kevin 3B So. BYU
• Birkeland, Lars C Sr. BYU
• Boothe, Brandon RHP Jr. BYU
• Dabo, Tyler RHP Jr. BYU
• Fernley, Sam RHP So. BYU
• Itri, Rob RHP/OF So. BYU
• Jacinto, Paul RHP So. BYU
• Jensen, Dave 1B So. BYU
• Law, Vern HC BYU
• Rodriguez, Curtis RHP So. BYU
• Stone, Jeff LHP Sr. BYU
• Stubblefield, Jake INF Jr. BYU
• Thurgoo,d Ryan SS/OF Fr. BYU
• Weingarten, Mike C Jr. BYU
• Wiens, Ranger INF So. BYU
• Wilkes, Adam C So. BYU

Dean,Paul OF Fr Minnesota

• Guthrie,Jeremy P Jr Stanford
• Topham,Andy Inf Sr Stanford

• Gourley,T.R. OF So Utah
• Hunn,Spencer OF So Utah
• Owen,Dan P Sr Utah

Basketball

NBA

Bradley, Shawn

Center

Dallas Mavericks

	G	Min	FG/FGA	Reb	Pts	ppg	pp60min
This Week	3	44	3/ 7	15	10	3.3	13.6
YTD	31	499	50/106	120	138	4.5	16.6

Knight, Travis

Forward

	G	Min	FG/FGA	Reb	Pts	ppg	pp60min
This Week	0	0	0/ 0	0	0	0.0	0.0
YTD	23	191	18/ 51	44	39	1.7	12.3

Madsen, Mark

Center

	G	Min	FG/FGA	Reb	Pts	ppg	pp60min
This Week	4	34	3/ 6	13	6	1.5	10.6
YTD	28	313	39/ 80	88	94	3.4	18.0

Pollard, Scot

Forward

	G	Min	FG/FGA	Reb	Pts	ppg	pp60min
This Week	4	94	12/ 17	22	33	8.3	21.1
YTD	46	1176	116/221	347	289	6.3	14.7

Pope, Mark

Center

	G	Min	FG/FGA	Reb	Pts	ppg	pp60min
This Week	4	5	0/ 1	1	0	0.0	0.0
YTD	33	208	16/ 41	35	35	1.1	10.1

WNBA

The WNBA's 2002 season should begin in May following an April 19th draft.

We know of the following players:

• * Kristen Rasmussen Forward Miami Sol
• (MH) Natalie Williams Forward Utah Starzz

College
NCAA - Division I
We hope to begin limited coverage of NCAA Division I basketball players and coaches who are Mormon, and we would like to at least compile a reliable list. Please let us know who you can add to the following:

Men

• Balderson, Jimmy G Fr BYU
• Bigelow, Mark F/G So BYU
• Bobik, Daniel G So BYU
• Hansen, Travis G/F Jr BYU
• Howard, Daniel C So BYU
• Jepsen, Bart F So BYU
• Montague, Matt G Sr BYU
• Nashif, Terry G Fr BYU
• Nielsen, Eric F Sr BYU
• Opunui, Shawn G Fr BYU

Christensen, Matt C Sr Duke

• Lindquist, Ben G Sr Oregon
• Michaelis, Mark F Sr Oregon

• Barnes, Julius G Jr Stanford
• Jacobsen, Casey G/F Jr Stanford
• Robinson, Nick G/F Fr Stanford

• Burgess, Chris C/F Sr Utah
• Johnsen, Britton F Jr Utah
• Allred, Lance C/F So Utah
• Caton, Trace G/F Jr Utah
• Johnsen, Jeff G/F Sr Utah
• Koford, Cameron C Jr Utah

• Sparrow, Nic F Jr Weber
• Van Orden, Jared F Jr Weber
• Eyre, Talmadge F/C Jr Weber

• Evans, Chad F So USU
• Nelson, Spencer F So USU
• Puzey, Mike F/C Sr USU
• Williams, Kevin G Fr USU

DeWitt, DeWy (missn) ASU

Bailey, Marcus G/F Jr Wyo

Evans, Bill HC SUU

Women

• Chamberlain, Ashleigh C Jr BYU
• Cheesman, Danielle F Fr BYU
• Cheesman, Heather F So BYU
• Osguthorpe, Lisa F Sr BYU
• Rose, Chanell F Jr BYU
• Taylor, Kali G Fr BYU
• Thorn, Erin G Jr BYU

Peterson, Jamie G Sr Weber

Football

NFL

Quarterbacks

• Ty Detmer Quarterback Detroit Lions
• Joe Germaine Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
• Scott Mitchell Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals

Offense

• Greg Clark Tight End San Francisco Forty-Niners
• Todd Heap Tight End Baltimore Ravens
• Itua Mili Tight End Seattle Seahawks
• Chad Lewis Tight End Philadelphia Eagles
• Brandon Manumaleuna Tight End St Louis

Offensive Line

• David Dixon Guard Minnesota Vikings
• Edwin Mulitalo Guard Baltimore Ravens
• John Tait Tackle Kansas City Chiefs
• Kyle Turley Tackle New Orleans Saints

Defense

• Marcus Bell Linebacker Seattle Seahawks
• Brant Boyer Linebacker Cleveland Browns
• Byron Frisch Defensive End Dallas Cowboys
• Travis Hall Defensive Tackle Atlanta Falcons
• Chris Hoke Defensive Tackle Pittsburgh Steelers
• Junior Ioane Defensive End Oakland Raiders
• Rob Morris Linebacker Indianapolis Colts
• Derek M. Smith Linebacker San Francisco Forty-Niners

Special Teams

Punter

• Lee Johnson Punter Minnesota Vikings

Kicker

• Owen Pochman Kicker New York Giants

Coach

• Andy Reid Head Coach Philadelphia Eagles
• George Henshaw Asst Head Coach - Offense Tennessee Titans
• Dave Campo Head Coach Dallas Cowboys
• Darrell Bevell Offensive Asst Green Bay Packers

CFL

The CFL season will begin in June 20th. We have identified just two Mormon players, but suspect several others may be Mormon.

Wide receiver Ben Cahoon of the Montreal Alouettes is LDS, and Winnipeg Blue Bombers Linebacker Sefa O'Reilly is LDS.

While we are compiling a list of Mormon players in the CFL, that league doesn't make available player by player statistics.

We have also identified the following possible Mormon players, based on the 2001 Rosters:

• Rob Hitchcock, Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- Weber State
• Trevor Shaw, Hamilton Tiger-Cats -- Weber State
• Kevin Alexander, Montreal Alouettes -- Utah State
• Anthony Calvillo, Montreal Alouettes -- Utah State
• Josh Cochran, Montreal Alouettes -- Utah
• Neal Fort, Montreal Alouettes -- BYU
• Chad Folk, Toronto Argonauts -- Utah
• Profail Greer, Toronto Argonauts -- Utah State
• Errol Martin, Toronto Argonauts -- Utah
• Morgan Welch, Toronto Argonauts -- Weber State
• Brandon Dyson, Winnipeg Blue Bombers -- Utah State

College

NCAA - Division I
We hoped to begin limited coverage of NCAA Division I football players and coaches who are Mormon, but were unable to start doing so this season. We still hope to do so next season. Here is a list of the players OUTSIDE OF UTAH we have identified to date. We would like also to include players INSIDE UTAH, including those at BYU, which often has non-Mormon players. Many of those listed come from H.B. Arnett's "Cougar Sportsline," with the assistance of Mormon News subscriber Brent Romney. Others come from the BYU Board and CougarBlue.com bulletin boards, courtesy of the work of Jeff Fuller:

• Tippets, Jeff TE Alabama, Birmingham
• Tuck, Jason(Kurt?) C Alabama, Birmingham

• Brittain, Brad TE Arizona
• Feula, Vince DL Arizona
• Fraser, Keoki DL Arizona
• Fraser, Keoni DL Arizona

• Brittain, Grant TE Arizona State
• Fulton, Skyler WR Arizona State
• Miller, Matt WR Arizona State
• Niko, Damien OL Arizona State
• Pace, Tom RB Arizona State
• Unck, Mason LB Arizona State
• Wallin, Kurt DT Arizona State
• Wolfgram, Jared DL Arizona State

Lundin, Trent WR Boise State

Magner, Cole QB Bowling Green

• Gustaveson, Josh Cal
• Jensen, Mark K Cal
• Lupoi, Tosh DL Cal
• Tuitama, Nofoaalii T Cal

Hoover, Adam QB Cincinnati

Flores, Jeremy P/PK Colorado

• Kay, Russell LB Colorado State
• Porter, Guy DB Colorado State

Findlay, Garren OL Georgia Tech

• Ilaoa, Nate WR Hawaii
• Peters, Hyrum DB Hawaii
• Peters, Leonard DB Hawaii
• Tafuna, Sione OL Hawaii

Ross, Ethan WR Houston

• Dunn, Marc QB Kansas State
• Togiai, Jerry DT Kansas State

• Boone, Aaron WR Kentucky
• Parker, Michael QB Kentucky

• Brinton, Spencer QB Michigan
• Probst, Jake DL Michigan

Weathers, Brad OL Mississippi State

Bowen, Jake LB Navy

• Bingham, Ryon DL Nebraska
• Brown, Manaia DL Nebraska
• Fonoti, Toniu OL Nebraska

• Johnson, Cody OL Nevada
• Kretschmer, Chance RB Nevada

• Fife, Jason QB Oregon
• Line, Josh LB Oregon
• Loftin, Ryan LB Oregon

• Casper, Cameron OL San Diego State
• Thompson, Tyson TE San Diego State

Hunter, Tommy TE South Florida

• Blackhurst, Cooper DE Stanford
• Caylor, Drew DE Stanford
• Chambers, Kirk OT Stanford
• Giles, Scott OLB Stanford
• Heitman, Eric OL Stanford
• Leonard, Matt DL Stanford
• Schindler, Greg OL Stanford

• Coffin, Junior DL Washington
• Kava, William OL Washington
• McLaughlin, Derek P Washington
• Stevens, Jerramy TE Washington

• Cox, Alan P Washington State
• Ena, Tali QB Washington State

• Belshe, Matt QB Wyoming
• Gough, David OL Wyoming
• Merrill, Peter, DB Wyoming
• Ralph, Brock WR Wyoming
• Rollins, Josh DL Wyoming

Stansbury-Ieremia, Ed UCLA

• Bair, Brandon OL UNLV
• Palepoi, Anton DL UNLV
• Parkhurst, Matt OL UNLV
• Parkhurst, Scott LB UNLV
• Sorensen, Trevan TE UNLV

Mailo, Faaesea OG USC

Coaches

• Afoa, Ulima Assistant Coach San Diego State
• Anae, Robert Offensive Line Texas Tech
• Borich, Mike Offensive Coordinator/ Wide Receivers BYU
• Bosco, Robby Quarterbacks BYU
• Chow, Norm Offensive Coordinator USC
• Crowton, Gary Head Coach BYU
• Empey, Mike Tight Ends BYU
• Leach, Mike Head Coach Texas Tech
• Mallory, Rick Offensive Line Memphis
• Mendenhall, Bronco Defensive Coordinator New Mexico
• Niumatalolo, Ken Tight Ends UNLV
• Reynolds, Lance Offensive Line BYU
• Schmidt, Ken Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers BYU
• Tidwell, Paul Running Backs BYU
• Uperesa, Keith Offensive Line USC

Hockey

NHL

Gavey, Aaron

C

Minnesota Wild

	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg
This Week	0	0	0	0	0
YTD	50	5	9	14	53

(MH) Konowalchuk, Steve

LW

Washington Capitals

	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg
This Week	Injured - Shoulder - Out 3-4 months	0	0	0	0
YTD	5	0	3	3	6

Lindsay, Bill

LW

Florida Panthers

	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg
This Week	2	0	0	0	0
YTD	52	3	6	9	44

Coach

Peterson, Brent

Assistant Coach

Nashville Predators

Coach Peterson's responsibilities cover penalties and goalkeeping, and the statistics listed are team statistics that reflect his responsibilities.

	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	Avg
This Week	1	10	0	5	0	31	2	29
YTD	54	574	12	257	1	1471	139	1332

Len Barrie, formerly of the Florida Panthers, is now an unrestricted free agent.

Soccer

WUSA

The WUSA's season begins in April, following a February 11th draft.

We know of the following player:

• Maren Hendershot Forward Carolina Courage

Golf

PGA Tour

Jay Don Blake

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	T 64	72-69-71-79--	$8,360.00
YTD	Entered 4 events, made cut 4 times, earned $298,230.00, Ranked 16 on money list

Keith Clearwater

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	0	70-76-74---	$0.00
YTD	Entered 1 events, made cut 0 times, earned $0.00, Ranked 0 on money list

Dan Forsman

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	T24	69-73-71-72--	$32,400.00
YTD	Entered 2 events, made cut 2 times, earned $48,000.00, Ranked 98 on money list

Mike Reid

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	0	-----	$0.00
YTD	Entered 1 events, made cut 0 times, earned $0.00, Ranked 0 on money list

* Richard Zokol

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am	0	74-71-76---	$0.00
YTD	Entered 2 events, made cut 1 times, earned $8,520.00, Ranked T150 on money list

Buy.com Tour

The 2002 Buy.com tour schedule is not yet available.

JPGA Tour

The first JPGA Tour event begins the week of March 14th.

(MH) Dean Wilson was on the JPGA Tour last year.

Senior PGA Tour

Billy Casper

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	Idle
YTD	Entered 0 events, made cut 0 times, earned $0.00, Ranked 0 on money list

Johnny Miller

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	Idle
YTD	Entered 0 events, made cut 0 times, earned $0.00, Ranked 0 on money list

Bruce Summerhays

	Event	Rank	Scores	Earnings
This Week	Royal Caribbean Classic	T24	71-69----	$12,959.38
YTD	Entered 1 events, made cut 1 times, earned $12,959.38, Ranked T42 on money list

Rugby

Australian National Rugby League

The Australian National Rugby League season begins March 15th.
John Hopoate is a Wing/Center with the Northern Eagles

* Mormon News has enough information to make it likely that this athlete is either Mormon or has Mormon heritage. But we have so far been unable to confirm this suspicion. (MH) - Mormon Heritage - This athlete is either an inactive LDS Church member, or has Mormon heritage.

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