The Oscar goes to...

There's a collegiate woman volleyball player named Cynthia Barboza that deserves your vote at the Oscars.  Well, not those Oscars, they’re done, I mean the Oscars of collegiate sports.

Now, if you're like me, at least as I was a year ago, you might not be able to name one single volleyball player, man or woman in the entire world.  So, I'm going to help you out - Cynthia Barboza.  After reading this, you’ll be able to drop her name into a casual conversation, with something like ‘Did you know there’s a woman Volleyball player that is up for an Oscar?’

A couple of years ago I got to know her father, Bob Barboza, (of kidstalkradio.pnn.com fame) through helping him promote kid journalism, which he is brilliant at.  So, one day Bob calls up and asks me if I wanted to go to a Volleyball game.  Turns out his daughter plays for Stanford College and he was coming up from southern cal to go to the game, and I could meet him there.

I met Bob at the arena and went up into the stands to sit with the other parents of players and spent the game learning all the rules and the personal stories of the other players, most of whom his daughter had known since middle school.  The game was great.

After the game Bob wanted to take me down to the court and have me meet his daughter.  So, we go down to where all the players are milling around and something instantly becomes obvious to me - these girls are tall, in shape, and gorgeous (I know I'm not supposed to notice the good looking part, but they were).  Most of them are over 6'.  When you’re sitting up in the stands you don't realize this, since, from a distance, they all look small.

Later that summer I accompanied Bob to the College playoffs in Sacramento Ca. where I managed to score a photographer's pass (couple of my shots are on this page) and could kneel down at the end of the court with other reporters, including a fellow from ESPN to watch the game.  It was, possibly, the most fun I’ve ever had at a sporting event. 

These women were great – it was pure competition – no million-dollar athletes doing funny dances in the end zone – these women were the height of team play and sportsmanship.  They were into it for the pure sport of it, and they had to be, since there isn’t life after college for 99% of all volleyball players.  A few go on, but it’s just not a popular U.S. sport.

The guy from ESPN had a radar gun and was tracking the speed of the spikes at the net - most were over 90 mph.  If you look at the photos closely and notice that the women who leap up to block shots have their arms in front of their faces and their eyes shut – now you know why -it hurts to be hit in the face by a leather ball traveling 90 mph.  

Stanford lost, but Cynthia was great.  Well. Cynthia went on to compete in a grueling world tour as part of the Olympic tryouts and managed to make an alternate spot on the team– which is really something considering that there is only one U.S. Olympic team and they already had a team.

Okay, now fast forward to yesterday when Cynthia was one of only 12 U.S. collegiate athletes to be nominated for the 79th annual Sullivan Award, given to the outstanding amateur athlete in the U.S.  The Sullivan award isthe ‘Oscar’ of sports awards and is older than The Heisman.

She’s right in there with folks like Dara Torres, and the entire Men’s 4 x 100 relay swim team that had Michael Phelps on it – pretty good company.

But for me, I’m voting for Cynthia – from what I know of her through her father’s stories and from what I’ve have seen of her, she epitomizes what an amateur athlete should be.  She works hard, doesn’t get paid, competes for the pure fun of it, and is a great person besides.

So, now that you can drop her name into a sports conversation, bounce on over to the USA Today poll and give her your vote – The award will be announced April 15th in New York and it would be great to see her there.

The AAU Sullivan Award

Michael Phelps has been selected as part of the men's 4x100-meter freestyle relay that gave him his second of a record eight gold medals in Beijing. Other relay team members who set a world record in the final were Garrett Weber-Gale, Cullen Jones and Jason Lezak. Phelps won the 2003 Sullivan Award.

The AAU Sullivan Award honors the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. Presented annually since 1930, the Sullivan also is based on leadership, character, sportsmanship and the ideals of amateurism.

The winner will be announced April 15 in New York.

USA Gymnastics had three athletes make the list of 12 semifinalists. Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin was selected along with teammate Shawn Johnson, who won gold on the balance beam and three silver medals. With a gold, three silver and one bronze medal in Beijing, Liukin tied Mary Lou Retton and Shannon Miller for most medals by an American gymnast.

On the men's side, Jonathan Horton was named a semifinalist after winning silver on the horizontal bar and bronze in the team competition.

Cynthia Barboza

Cynthia Barboza, Volleyball
Barboza, 22, was an all-American as a senior at Stanford last season. She played in all 118 sets as the team's starting outside hitter. She was among the Pacific-10 Conference's top-10 leaders in kills and points. Barboza, from Long Beach, Calif., finished at Stanford ninth all-time in kills (1,639), ninth in service aces (115) and sixth in digs (1,241). She was an alternate for the 2004 and 2008 Olympic teams.