Eliav Appelbaum

April 10, 2003

Boy Sets Fire | Tomorrow Come Today | Wind-Up

By Eliav Appelbaum

Boy Sets Fire exhibits a teeming tempest of energy, emotion and raw intensity that swirls around like a monsoon-blizzard-hurricane-sandstorm all rolled into one hell of a force of nature. Unfortunately, the oomph that th...

April 9, 2003

UNC Blues

By Eliav Appelbaum

What's more newsworthy: Jerry "Half Man, Half Bean Hill" Krause retiring because of a perpetually growing waistline or University of Kansas Head Coach Roy Williams using a four-letter word in a post-game interview?

April 8, 2003

Ill the Thrill: Orange Jubilation

By Eliav Appelbaum

The beaming dreams of Syracuse and Head Coach Jim Boeheim burst to radiant life Monday night in an 81-78 victory over Kansas at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

April 2, 2003

ILL Spittin’ Game: Let’s Play, Too

By Eliav Appelbaum

So what do the Chicago Cubs have planned for an encore? After a 15-2 win on Opening Day, anything less than a 162-0 season, a blitz through the playoffs and a World Series parade down the Magnificent Mile will be disappo...

March 31, 2003

Cal Poly, Aztecs Ruin UCSB’s Postseason

By Eliav Appelbaum

The Gauchos roared into March like a lion... and purred out meeker than a kitten. The UCSB men's basketball team, the 2003 Big West regular season champions, lost its final two postseason games after heading into the Big...

March 7, 2003

Gauchos Clinch Share of Big West

By Eliav Appelbaum

When Ralphy Holmes prepared to shoot a three-point basket with the clock winding down, a little twinge of heartbreak fluttered in the Gauchos' hearts. Not again. Could Holmes shatter UCSB's psyche twice?

February 28, 2003

Gauchos Blast Beach

By Eliav Appelbaum

After pasting Long Beach State 70-46 before a rocking Thunderdome crowd on Thursday night, the UCSB men's basketball team positioned itself for a chance to achieve something that no Gaucho squad has ever attained: a regu...

February 28, 2003

Santa Barbara Climbs Ant Hill

By Eliav Appelbaum

The smaller but quicker, more energetic and more inspired UCSB men's basketball team sent a message in bold black ink on Saturday to Irvine and the rest of the Big West Conference: The Big West title is ours.

February 27, 2003

Beach Awaits Gauchos

By Eliav Appelbaum

The UCSB men's basketball team faces Long Beach State today at 5 p.m. in the Thunderdome in what boils down to a must-win game. Santa Barbara currently stands a half game behind Irvine in the Big West Conference standing...

February 26, 2003

Gauchos Need the Hull Package

By Eliav Appelbaum

This is the final home stretch... it's crunch time... this game's going down to the wire. The final seconds of a season tick away and the moment is yours to mold. And we're still in February.

February 24, 2003

No Mercy for Santa Barbara

By Eliav Appelbaum

It took 12 hours for the Titans to reach Santa Barbara, yet Detroit cruised into the Thunderdome and dominated the UCSB men's basketball team within minutes. The Horizon League's fifth-place team blew out the Big West-le...

February 24, 2003

Bracket Busts for Mid-Majors

By Eliav Appelbaum

So Dickie V. didn't make a cameo at the Thunderdome. Can anyone blame him? ESPN's publicized and well-anticipated Bracket Buster Saturday roared in like a gap-toothed lion and yawned out like an alley cat mewling for fis...

February 21, 2003

Men’s basketball: Mustangs Ride UCSB Like Sally

By Eliav Appelbaum

With the final seconds ticking off in a mesmerizing clash against Cal Poly, Gaucho junior point guard Jacoby Atako drove across the lane for a chance to tie the game.

February 14, 2003

Santa Barbara Glares Into Eye of the Tigers

By Eliav Appelbaum

The UCSB men's basketball team pounced on Pacific early and enjoyed a feast that the players should remember for a while: The Santa Barbara victory coincided with a rare Utah State home defeat earlier in the evening.

February 13, 2003

ILL Spittin’: Who Needs Love?

By Eliav Appelbaum

For some people, the 11 o'clock SportsCenter matinee will be their date this Friday. In sports, there is no sob session; there's jam session. There's no pillow talk; there's pressroom back talk. But athletes - and sports...

February 10, 2003

Gauchos Stagger Before Swagger

By Eliav Appelbaum

The UCSB men's basketball team took control of a physical, low-scoring game with a 15-0 run in the final 4:38 to put the Vandals away 52-44 and remain in first place in the Big West Conference.