Robert Alvis’ All-Stars

No Steve Francis or Vince Carter selections here. My Sacramento State all-star team features the best this school has to offer.

Starting in my backcourt are tennis players Anna Erikson and Margarita Karnaukohova, or as I like to refer to her, K-Hova. Both of these ladies are ranked in the top 60 in the nation and they hardly ever lose. With their impressive forehands and more importantly their devastating backhands, these two will be able to keep this team well within the lines.

Jessica Hoffman, a top Hornet gymnast, asked me last semester why the State Hornet wasn’t covering her team. One look at this lady and I volunteered for the job. Even though I couldn’t help you out last semester, I can give you a plug this spring as the small forward of my all-star team. This girl could make checkers a spectator sport.

Craig Johnson hit .455 with four runs and four RBIs in Sac State’s first series of the year. With 10 total bases in three games, Johnson is rounding more bases then Paris Hilton.

I know what you’re thinking, a basketball line-up with no basketball players, is this guy cokie?

No, I saved me center position for the entire men’s basketball team. Starting conference play 1-4, these guys needed a win more then the Carolina Panthers needed a kickoff specialist this past Sunday against New England.

They came through in a big way, posting back-to-back victories last week at home to pull them to within one game of .500 in the Big Sky Conference.Really, who needs Yao when you can bring the pain… James Payne.

Jimmy Spencer’s Studs

The Fab Five of Hornet sports huh? The top five athletes picked from nearly 30,000 students — the creme de la Hornet.

Cue the dramatic award music, because here we go:

Fred Amey couldn’t be a more obvious choice. Sure, he holds just about every receiving record here at Sac State, but getting ejected for over-celebration earlier this season is what got him on this list.

Sophomore Lindy Winkler has everything going for her to be a superstar. She has the look, skill and the potential to be Sac State’s greatest marketing tool. As a freshman last season Winkler led the Hornets offense in nearly every major offensive category including batting average (.330), runs, total bases and stolen bases.

Joel Jones has earned a spot. Just check out that photo on the front page for proof. The guy has major potential to become the biggest basketball star to come from Sac State. He currently leads the Hornets in scoring, but if he can lead this team to the tourney, he can really leave his legacy.-

Binta Coleman, a senior on the gymnastics team, continues to prove worthy of a spot. She has quietly built one hell of a resume in her tenure here. She was recently named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Gymnast of the Week.

— The last spot on the roster is between three people: Basketball stars Joseth Dawson and Brandon Guyton OR the guy that gets too drunk at a Hornet event and makes a complete ass out of himself yelling and falling over people.

There’s always one of them.

I’m sorry guys, that drunken fan is more important to Sac State athletics than anyone — he gets the final spot.

Curtis’ Crew

Sometimes the player that continually saves the day doesn’t get all the attention they deserve. That is why I am choosing junior Sela Suarez as part of my “Sac State Studs” all-star team. Suarez is constantly saving the women’s soccer team from defeat with her solid defensive skills on the field. She always stays positive and acts as the teams brick wall — the ball never gets by her.

Rushing for an amazing 812 yards this season before suffering an injury was sophomore Tyronne Gross. Gross supplied a powerful force for the football team and his injury truly affected the team’s performance. He is still recovering, but made my team and should be expected to play as early as this spring.

He bats right, he throws right and plays a key role on the baseball team. Junior Bret LeVier is the team’s shortstop and is a hot young prospect. LeVier had 35 RBIs last season with seven home runs. This 6-foot-3 stud is looking forward to a great season. With some minor defensive improvements, LeVier will be getting many pro looks.

To those in disbelief, I hate to break it to you, but cheerleading is a sport. That is why my next pick, Lindsay Eskildsen, is a Sac State stud.

Without leaders like Eskildsen, Sac State would not have the same enthusiastic attitude at sporting events. Eskildsen was also on the cover of American Cheerleader. GO HORNETS!

He can run, jump, hop, skip and who knows what else. But Brandon Parker is definitely on my list of studs. Parker recently finished first in both the long jump and the triple jump helping with the first place finish at the Silver State Invite. He jumped almost 7 meters — how could he not be a stud?

Young’s Big Guns

There’s only one man who can turn The Hornet’s Nest into a madhouse with a single bound. Throwing down dunks with authority that even Eric Cartman has to respect, Jameel Pugh’s freakish hops and violent dunks make him No. 1 on my Sacramento State all-star team.

Really, even halftime half-court shots drained to give spectators free burgers doesn’t get college students on their feet as fast as Pugh jumping off of his.

Pugh’s teammate and “business partner,” Joel “JoJo” Jones fills the two spot on my squad.

This is the guy that made me stand up and take notice of Sac State sports when I transferred from Delta Junior College two years ago. With touch from the outside and the ability to finish in close, this guy might be the best shooting guard in the Big Sky. Just check out the photo on the front page of sports, is that Jones or Jordan?

We move to Football and the best receiver the Hornets have ever seen – Fred Amey. This guy could get a thousand receiving yards if I was throwing the passes.

If you saw my lame duck spiral you’d know Amey’s good. He’s also quite popular with a few of the ladies on the State Hornet staff.

The final two starting spots on this team go to coaches. To continue with football, head coach Steve Mooshagian gets the nod for always talking to the press, a lot. I can’t write fast enough in phone interviews to get half of what this guys says, and that’s a good thing.

To Dan Muscatell – hang in there and look on the bright side, we’re not last place in the Big Sky.