~ -_ 30 ~ Wednesday, July 28, 1999 — North Shore News New game best of th rink worlds PETER Roosen and Tatsuya Nakagawa hope to become Canada’s next James Naismith. Naismith invented basket- ball near the end of the 19th sentury. It’s the end of the 20th century and Roosen and Nakagawa have co-invented Rollercross. Quite simply, it’s a hybrid of roller hockey and lacrosse. Two teams, each consisting of five players and a goal- tender, travel an ice-less rink on inline skates using lacrosse- like sticks and a fluorescent ball. “RollerCross retains, for players, all the elements of ice jockey and lacrosse my bud- dies love,” said Nakagawa. “The demands for lightning quick reflexes, fitness and in.” Roosen, an industrial entrepreneur, met Nakagawa while taking continuing edu- . Cation classes at the University of B.C. They devised the sport over surhi on June 9. The {rst game was played June 22 at West Vancouver Memorial Arena. Nearly a month later, on July 20, A RollerCross player readies for Rollercrass made its second local appearance. “What I was questioning was whar can we do with this inline g movenient,” Roosen said. “It’s the hottest thing in North American sport in terms of growth and build a team sport around it.” Roller hockey, Roosen said, is a poor cousin to ice hockey while lacrosse has grown stagnant. “It’s hard-hitting, it’s fast, bur the running isn’t very fluid. We've caken the running component out of lacrosse and combined fluid roller- blades with hockcy-style rules and Jacrosse-style balj han- dling.” The game is still evolving. Roosen wants to add curved ramps to the Rollercross floor, which would limit bodycheck- ing to the flat surface only. “That will really kick up the excitement level, especially from the TV point of view.” Unlike other sports, the inventors are also the owners. Roosen and Nakagawa have patent-pending status for RollerCross. That’s something, Naismith’s descendants prob- ably wish was donc for the big bucks game of basketball. , — Bob Mackin face-off at West Vancouver Memoria! Arena July 20. Canada’s newest s= sport, a hybrid of roller hockey and lacrosse, was invented by Vancouver's Peter Roosen and Tatsuya Nakagawa. RUSSIAN poet Yevgeny Aleksandrovich said it as well as anybody when he-was asked to defn: eT Oe * ° Fae sport and its place in our society. He stated “I love sport because I love life, and sport is one of the basic joys of life”. T happen to share his opin- ion, just Tike many other peo- ple, and. would add that ecause sporting activities play such a profound role within our universe, the way in which we perceive sport says much about how we see ourselves. If we accept this premise, then North Americans have “terrific examples of the. good. north shore news Beb Mackin News Reporter THE North Shore Indians swept the Burnaby Bandits in the best-of-five West Coast Senior Lacrosse semi- final with a 13-4 win Sunday night at Lonsdale Arena. Heath Bordeau’s three sec- ond-period goals paced the Indians to the fopsided victory. The Indians won the previ- ous two games Thursday and Saturday by 3-2 and 7-6 mar- gins, respectively, “We thought it would be a much tighter — series,” said Indians’ manager Kevin Rivers. “The physical and mental sides came through for us.” The Indians will face cither Ladner Pioneers or Langley Knights in the best-of-seven senior B league championship next week. Ladner held a 2-1 advantage over Langley enter- ing Tuesday night’s game four. A Ladner win would give the Indians home floor advantage. After Bourdeau, William Prince and Dan Mathias were the only other multiple goal scorers with nvo each in Sunday’s game. Frank Bolton, Kono Douglas and Teewanee Joseph all had three assists each. Rick Mang backstopped the Indians in games one and two. He started game three but was replaced in net by Chris Levis in the third period when it appeared the series was beyond Burnaby’s reach. The teams are destined for another meeting in the nation- al President’s Cup champi- onship Aug. 26-30. Burnaby, the host side, has an automatic entry. Meanwhile, the Western Lacrosse Association-version of the North Shore Indians is vying for a playoff spot. The senior A Indians spent much of the season’s first half _ in last place, but they’re on the verge of the fourth and final berth. The Indians were one- point ahead of fifth place Maple Ridge Burrards who met the New Westminster Salmon- bellies after the News’ Tuesday deadline. A Salmonbellies’ loss would ensure the Indians life in the post-season. Even if the Burrards win, the Indians have two chances to secure the berth Thursday in New Westminster or Friday in Burnaby against the last-place Lakers. The 9-i3-1 Indians would face the Victoria Shamrocks or the bad and the ugly. The ugly is as plain as the nose on your face if you look around major league team sports (specifically the hockey, basketball and baseball) and see all those overpaid, under- achieving and spoiled individu- als that call themselves ath- letes. They whine about how harshly they are treated by their greedy, ower-crazed owners and that if we really understood their plight, then we would have more sympa- thy. Yeah right! Anexitriplerof.therbad> NEWS plwto Paul SeGrath . NORTH Shore Indians’ Teewanee Joseph (right) and his teammates disposed of Coquitlam Adanacs in the best- of-seven wit serni-final, nee ginning Tuesday in Coquitlam or Wednesday in Victoria. The Shamrocks and Adanacs are jockeying for first place, some- thing that may not be decided until the teams facc-off on Friday. The Indians upset defend- ing champion Coquitlam Saturday with a 6-5 victory in Coquitlam. The Adanacs held 2-1 and 4-3 leads after the first two periods, Curt Malawsky sparked the Indians’ comeback with a shorthanded goal at (although it’s still pretty ugly} might be the deme of €x- heavyweight champion Mike Tyson. Here is a guy that is a product of his environment and his inability to realize his behaviour in and out of the ring just isn’t going te be tol- erated, regardless of his status as the “baddest man on the planet”. When we look at some of the best and most positive examples of sport, a recent world championship contest comes readily.to mind. That. being the womten’s-firtat‘o! 3:45 of the third. Paul Jones gave North Shore a brief one- goal lead until Adanac Shaydon Santos tied the game at 5-5. Only 34 seconds Sater, Tracy Kelusky scored the even- tual game-winner. “We match up really well against © Coquitlam,” said indians’ coach Rod Jensen. “Fd love to make the playoffs and meet them in the first round.” The win followed a 13-8 drubbing of the Lakers last Wednesday in the final home game of the season at Lonsdale - Arena. Kelusky had three goals soccer’s World Cup between U.S.A. and China. With all the negativity sur- rounding professional athletes these days, it was wonderful to see these talented and unselfish competitors give everythin they had inside thomas? just for the joy and pride of representing their respective counties. And while the press spent endless hours trying to conjure up some sort of politi- cally charged angle, given the two countries taking part, our . planet's best female soccer . _! players turned a.blind eye.and., body the Burnaby Bandits In three straight games in a senior 8 semifinal series. and. three assists. ‘odd Katanchik also had three goals. Derek Malawsky scored twice, while Todd Richard had a pair of goals and assists. “I'm heping Maple Ridge loses and then off. Otherwise, the way 1 look at it, if we can’r beat New Westminster or Burnaby, we don’t deserve to be in the play-. - - offs anyways.” A venue for the- Indians’ ” home playoff games hasn’t been announced. The Indians split their regular season home games between Arena, Vernon and Kelowna. got on with the job at hand. The game had everything you could ask for in an athletic contest. There was excitement, emotion, true sportsmanship - and an ending even ; Hollywood couldn’t outdo. The players exuded genuine joy and emotion at the end of. the contest and while you arguably see some of this in big time athletics, you will find none more genuine. When I sce athletes per- form with the enthusiasm and ee eo eae "See Champs _page.31.° the pressure is. Lonsdale © 4