Andy: Ask anybody what's the first thing they think of when they hear of London, and I bet you nobody will say American football. Yet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league officials have targeted London as the key to globalizing the sport. These efforts have had little consequence for the league up until now as only two regular season games have been held in London over the past two years. However, soon one of those games might be the Super Bowl. Nothing is official yet, and the sites of the next three Super Bowls have already been announced, but league officials have discussed the process London would have to go through to make a bid to host the Super Bowl.

With spring at last sprung and the end of the school year looming on the horizon, next year's fall varsity sports season may seem a long way ahead. But for varsity athletes, the fall is already quickly approaching. “Next year" is about to become “now"—and it is at this time that preparation becomes critical. And in the next few months, summer vacation will provide an important training period for fall sport student athletes. On top of any other plans for working or internships, they will dedicate time to keeping in shape nearly every day of every week. Some work by themselves, others with teammates; they train here in Walla Walla and in hometowns across the country. But wherever they will be, student athletes recognize the significance of their efforts in the next few months—not to mention the personal initiative required without a coach to motivate them.

The Whitman men's and women's golf teams ended their seasons last weekend placing fifth and eighth respectively in the Northwest Conference Golf Championships. The men played at Tokatee Golf Course in Blue River, Ore., while the women competed at Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima, Wash. Men's golf coach Peter McClure, in an interview before the tournament, hoped that the team would finish in the top five. Goal achieved, McClure and the team are more than satisfied with their final placement both individually and as a team. Sophomore Brian Barton finished in a three-way tie for second place. Looking back on the season, McClure is content with the team's achievements and progress individually and as a unit. “The men on our team have practiced faithfully and each and every one of the team members have tried their best on every shot they have taken," said McClure in an e-mail. “That is all a coach can hope."

For the Whitman men's lacrosse team, the season starts in the frigid cold of mid-winter, more than a month and a half before the team's first match. Starting so early, according to Coach Dave Schmitz, is a “commitment to excellence" which the players are happy to bear and is part of the reason the team has had so much success. Since 1985, when Schmitz arrived, the team has won the Pacific Northwest Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) conference title nine times and finished a close second five times. “The hard work and willingness to play as a team have made us successful over the years," said Schmitz. “[The players] understand what we are trying to do and go out and play with intensity and execute. They respect the tradition of the program and enjoy the game." With a 17-4 win over Willamette on April 25 in the quarterfinals of the conference championships, the team is looking to carry its momentum through to a conference title.

Ankeny frequently hosts football, soccer and Frisbee in the form of pickup, intramural and club games, but in the shadow of those sports, a new one has emerged. On Sunday, April 5 a group of wrestlers held the first meeting of their new club sport on Whitman's central field. “[Wrestling's] just one of those things I got really interested in at one point and talked to people around here and they had interest, so I thought it'd be cool to start a club and get things going," said sophomore Viral Oza, a four-year wrestler in high school. The club formed last semester, but spent most of that time trying to get funding from ASWC. Oza asked for money from ASWC's contingency fund to supply wrestling mats in Sherwood for next semester.

The year's biggest moment has arrived for Whitman's golf teams—where both the stakes and the pressure will reach their highest point. This Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26, both squads will participate in their respective Northwest Conference Championship tournaments. Though held on the same dates, the men's and women's championships will take place at different locations: the men's at Tokatee Golf Course in Blue River, Ore., and the women's at Apple Tree Golf Course in Yakima, Wash.

A whir of brightly colored riders strained at their pedals as they whizzed by the corner of Colville and Alder on the first lap of the 50-minute Walla Walla criterium bike race Saturday, April 18, the...

Precariously perched one spot out of qualifying for the league championships at fifth in the Northwest Women's Lacrosse Association, the Whitman women's lacrosse team finishes their regular season schedule with two games against the University of Oregon club team and Seattle University on Saturday, April 25. The top four teams play in the semifinals on Sunday before the championship game later in the same day. Whitman can crack into the top four if they beat Oregon and Seattle and Western Washington loses to Boise State and College of Idaho. Both conditions will be seem unlikely as Oregon hasn't lost a game yet this season, while the College of Idaho hasn't won a game.

When a batter walks up to the plate, all eyes are on him, and the pressure can be debilitating. As baseball players progress, however, they learn how to cope with these situations. “Ideally the pressure of the situation doesn't even factor into the equation because you practice over and over again the same motions, the same repetitive motions," said sophomore player Erik Korsmo. “Guys have their little quirks. I like to clean [the batter's box], scrape it off, make sure it's nice and flat...I do that before every pitch. That just gets your mind ready." Whitman baseball coach Casey Powell expressed similar sentiments.