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(04/04/10 7:18pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CINCINNATI — A “drunk and belligerent” 17-year-old Notre Dame football recruit was killed in a fall from a fifth-floor hotel balcony during his senior-year spring break in Florida, authorities said Saturday.Matt James died Friday around 6:30 p.m. at the Days Inn Motel in Panama City Beach. Police said he was dead when officers arrived.“It appears to be a tragic accident,” Panama City Beach police Maj. David Humphreys said.James’ former teammates at St. Xavier High School gathered for a private prayer service in the school’s chapel, mourning the second death of an athlete this school year. James, an all-state offensive lineman, had been the first top signing for new Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly.James was part of a group of about 40 St. Xavier students and a half-dozen parents on the trip.“Witnesses and friends indicate he had become drunk and belligerent,” Humphreys said. “He had leaned over the balcony rail, was shaking his finger at the people in the next room over. He fell over.”Humphreys said the railing at the hotel met the standards for proper height. He said police would be interested in pursuing charges if they learn who provided the underage teen with alcohol.Police said an autopsy on James would be done later. Toxicology results were pending.James’ parents went to Florida on Friday night, returned to Cincinnati and released a statement Saturday evening asking for privacy while they make funeral arrangements and grieve.“We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and support during this tragic time, particularly the family at St. X,” Jerry and Peggy James said. “Matt was a very special young man, and it is gratifying to us that you all could see that as well. We are touched by this outpouring of love.”The 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive lineman also was on St. Xavier’s varsity basketball team.“This is just such a tragedy because he was just a wonderful, wonderful kid,” said Mary Massa, the mother of St. Xavier quarterback Luke Massa, who also has committed to Notre Dame. “When he first came to St. X, he was pretty quiet. He was tall and kind of awkward. He just blossomed while he was there. He was just a good, wonderful kid. It’s heartbreaking.”Word of his death spread quickly through social-networking sites Friday night. Students gathered at the football field next to the school for an impromptu vigil.On Saturday, James’ former football and basketball teammates held a private prayer service led by the school’s chaplain, Paul Rieselman.“His message was that we have to take care of one another,” school spokesman Mark Motz said.James was the second St. Xavier athlete to die during the school year. Junior wrestler Kevin Le was struck by a car and killed in September. The football team — including James — wore his initials on their helmet for the next home football game.Grief counselors will be available when classes resume April 12 after spring break.James originally planned to go to the University of Cincinnati, where Kelly coached the last three years. When he left for Notre Dame, James reconsidered and chose the Fighting Irish instead of Cincinnati and Ohio State.“The Notre Dame football program is in a state of disbelief and incredible sadness with the news of this tragic event,” Kelly said in a statement. “Matt was an extremely talented person who was very bright and possessed a great dry sense of humor. He could not wait to join the Notre Dame family.”Luke Massa’s father, Gary, said his son and James had “big dreams together” about their careers at Notre Dame.“One of the visions I have in my mind is after football games at St. X he was like the Pied Piper. All the little kids, everybody’s little brothers and sisters would follow him around,” Gary Massa said. “He was just a gentle giant, that’s the best way to describe him.”James isn’t the first spring breaker to die from a balcony fall this year. Brandon Kohler, a 19-year old from Winder, Ga., died March 24 when he fell from a fifth-floor balcony at the Holiday Terrace Motel in Panama City Beach.
(12/08/09 2:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>CINCINNATI – Coach Brian Kelly confirmed Monday that he will meet with Notre Dame officials about their open job, leaving No. 4 Cincinnati with a lot of uncertainty heading into its first Sugar Bowl appearance.Kelly met with his players on Monday afternoon, and confirmed his interest in the Notre Dame job on his Twitter feed.“Just informed our team that Notre Dame has contacted me, and I will listen to what they have to say,” he tweeted.ESPN first reported that Kelly would interview with Notre Dame on Tuesday in New York, where the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is having its annual awards dinner. Kelly didn’t return a message left on his cell phone, but told Dan Patrick on his radio show that he expects to decide his future by Saturday.Cincinnati athletic director Mike Thomas was in New York on Monday for Big East meetings. He said, through a spokesman, that the university is still negotiating with Kelly on an upgraded contract. Kelly got an improved deal at the end of last season, including a commitment by the university to build practice fields.Kelly hadn’t posted anything on his Twitter since last week.
(04/24/08 3:55am)
CINCINNATI – With Walt Jocketty, the question was when.\nWhen would the Cincinnati Reds decide to switch general managers and give Jocketty the chance to turn them \ninto winners?\nThe answer: 21 games into the season.\nOff to their worst start in five years, the Reds fired Wayne Krivsky on Wednesday and replaced him with Jocketty, who built consistent winners during 10 seasons running the Oakland Athletics and 13 with the St. Louis Cardinals.\n“We’ve just come to a point where we’re not going to lose anymore,” Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically.\nJocketty is the fourth general manager in six years for a team that has gone through seven straight losing seasons. The Reds have been through four managers (plus an interim manager) and two owners since 2003, when they moved into Great American Ball Park. It’s their deepest slump in a half-century.\nJocketty’s job is to provide direction. He’ll likely get more of a chance than Krivsky, who walked into Castellini’s office Wednesday morning anticipating a regular baseball meeting.\nHe was shocked when told he was fired.\n“I fought for an hour to keep my job,” Krivsky said. “I did not see this coming at all. I still think it’s a gold mine. That’s what hurts so much, not to see the job through to the end and bring that winner to Cincinnati. I’ve had visions of being in the clubhouse with champagne being poured all over everybody.”\nCastellini said a 9-12 start was the main reason he turned to Jocketty, a move that was expected at some point. Krivsky, who was hired before the 2006 season, was in the final year of his contract. Jocketty was hired as a special consultant in January. The two were friends from Castellini’s days as part of the Cardinals’ ownership group.\nWhen he brought him in as a special assistant in January, Castellini insisted it was no threat to Krivsky’s job. However, he talked to Jocketty about becoming director of baseball operations after this season, giving him time to ease into a major role.\nJocketty was surprised when Castellini asked him to become general manager on Wednesday.\n“I knew this was important to Bob,” Jocketty said. “I’m charged up and ready to go. I think this organization is going in the right direction.”\nThe move marked a significant change.\nWhen Castellini hired Dusty Baker in the offseason, it was the first time the Reds had gone outside the organization for a manager since Lou Piniella came aboard for the 1990 season. The days of trying unproven managers were done.\nSame now with the general manager’s job.\nThe last three general managers – Jim Bowden, Dan O’Brien and Krivsky – were new to the job. Krivsky was the only one of the three hired by Castellini. Jocketty comes with a lot of experience at turning a struggling franchise into a winner.\n“I think this organization is a little further along than St. Louis was when I took over in ’95,” Jocketty said. “This organization has a lot better base to work from.”\nJocketty left the Cardinals last year, only one year removed from winning the World Series. Front-office friction left him out of a job even though he’d helped the Cardinals get to the playoffs seven times in 12 seasons.\nThe Reds haven’t been since 1995.\nBefore going to St. Louis, Jocketty spent 14 years with Oakland overhauling the A’s farm system and working in baseball administration. He also was an assistant general manager in Colorado.
(10/22/07 2:55am)
CINCINNATI – Don’t blame Chad Pennington solely for this one. He had a lot of help.\nKenny Watson ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns in the best performance of his career, and the Cincinnati Bengals turned the New York Jets’ second-half meltdown into a 38-31 victory Sunday.\nHardly a drive went by without a major gaffe by two of the NFL’s most disappointing teams.\nThe Bengals (2-4) snapped a four-game losing streak that was their longest during coach Marvin Lewis’ five seasons. Watson led the way, playing like a star instead of Rudi Johnson’s fill-in.\nThe seventh-year runner with a half-dozen career starts scored on runs of 1 and 2 yards in the second half, finishing off a Jets team that couldn’t hold a 13-point lead or get out of its own way.\nNew York (1-6) has already matched its loss total from last season, when coach Eric Mangini was dubbed the “Mangenius” for taking a previously 4-12 team to the playoffs.\nThere’s been nothing brilliant about their play this year.\nIn some ways, this one was the worst yet.\nPennington, the main target of fans’ wrath, put the Jets ahead with touchdown passes of 57 and 36 yards to Laveranues Coles, showing he can still make a big play. He couldn’t make any meaningful ones in a horrid second half by the Jets: two costly pass interference penalties, a shanked punt, a personal foul for punching a downed runner, a botched snap and Johnathan Joseph’s 42-yard interception return for a touchdown that made it 38-23 with 37 seconds left.\nPennington threw his third touchdown pass on the final play of the game, little consolation to a team off to its worst start in eight years. The Jets also opened 1-6 under Bill Parcells in 1999.\nPennington has been under fire in New York for his dink-and-dunk passing and six interceptions in the previous three games. Fans were clamoring for stong-armed Kellen Clemens to give it a try, a move that Mangini has so far resisted.\nAs he watched the second half unfold, Mangini saw a lot more problems than just the quarterback.\nFirst-round draft pick Darrelle Revis drew a pair of pass interference penalties that extended Bengals touchdown drives during their comeback from a 13-point deficit. Carson Palmer finished one of them with a 3-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Watson completed the other with a 1-yard run.\nBen Graham’s shanked, 20-yard punt set up the second drive, which put Cincinnati up 24-23 early in the fourth quarter.\nThe mistakes kept coming.\nPennington was calling a play in the shotgun formation when the ball was snapped, a fumble that gave Cincinnati possession at the 50. The Bengals then drove for Watson’s 2-yard touchdown with the help of a personal foul on safety Abram Elam, who threw a left-handed punch at Watson on the ground at the end of a run.\nNot that the Bengals were on top of their game, either. They were flagged for having 12 men in the defensive huddle in the first half, and had to use a timeout because they had too many defensive players on the field in the second half.
(10/16/07 3:46am)
CINCINNATI – Dusty Baker had a whole new look.\nThe 58-year-old manager put on a bright red Cincinnati cap and a red-and-white jersey Monday during his introduction as the next Reds manager. The color just didn’t fit.\n“This is my first red uniform in my whole life,” Baker said.\nAs an outfielder, he won a World Series ring while wearing Dodger blue in 1981. As a manager, he has won 1,162 games in San Francisco’s orange and black, and in the Cubs’ blue.\nHe led the Giants to the 2002 World Series and got the Cubs within five outs of the 2003 Series, two near-misses that still gnaw at him. After one year of working in television, he’s back in baseball and back on his quest.\n“I’m inspired,” said Baker, the first black manager in the history of baseball’s first professional team. “I feel that I was brought here for a number of reasons, not just to manage a baseball team. \n“Hopefully we can all come together for the same goal of winning, and we can have that championship ticker-tape parade, which is what I really, really need. I need that badly. You just don’t know how bad I do need that.”\nA winning season would be a reason for a parade around here.\nThe Reds haven’t won a World Series since 1990, when Lou Piniella was hired and led them to their sweep of Oakland. They’ve been to the playoffs only one time since then, losing to Atlanta in the 1995 NL championship series.\nThe city went zany when Ken Griffey Jr. returned to his hometown before the 2000 season, but it was little more than an overnight sensation. The Reds are coming off their seventh-straight losing season, their longest such stretch since 1945-55.\nThey’ve been through two owners and three general managers since 2003. Baker is their fifth manager over that span, following Bob Boone, Dave Miley, Jerry Narron and Pete Mackanin, who took over on an interim basis last July.\nAbout that time, general manager Wayne Krivsky first approached Baker, who was fired by the Cubs after their last-place finish in 2006. Baker, currently an analyst for ESPN, didn’t hear from the Reds again until after the season.\nThey made it clear he was the one they wanted.\n“We wanted to come up with the person we felt was the best person to take the Reds forward and bring winning back to the Reds, but also provide the stability, continuity, credibility I spoke about,” general manager Wayne Krivsky said.\nBaker was impressed by the way the Reds pursued him, offering a three-year deal. He wanted to get back to managing, and felt right about the chance.\n“This is the place where I was most wanted,” Baker said. “That’s a great feeling when you feel wanted and needed. You go into things with an upbeat attitude.”
(09/14/07 3:53am)
CINCINNATI – The season has brought one setback after another for the St. Louis Cardinals – manager Tony La Russa’s drunken-driving arrest, reliever Josh Hancock’s death, a series of injuries to everyday players.\nThe defending World Series champions may be running out of resilience.\nJoey Votto hit a two-run double and David Ross followed with a two-run homer Thursday, sending the Cincinnati Reds to a 5-4 victory that completed the Cardinals’ road trip to ruin.\nThe Cardinals lost all seven games on their trip, capped by their first three-game sweep in Cincinnati since July 1998. It’s their first winless trip of at least seven games since May 1972, when they went 0-7 in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.\nIt’s a bad time to be making historical references.\n“We’re a little flat, things aren’t going our way, and we’re not playing good baseball,” outfielder Jim Edmonds said. “All those add up to losses. It’s really no different than it was at the beginning of the year. It’s just a bad time for it right now.”\nThe Cardinals had surged from 10 1/2 games out at the end of June to within a game of first place in the NL Central before hitting the road and hitting the skids. The latest loss dropped them to 4 1/2 games out.\n“It’s just been – I don’t even know how to word it,” said Kip Wells (6-17), who lost his fourth straight start. “It’s just been tough. We haven’t caught any breaks.”\nVotto doubled home a pair of runs in the fifth off Wells, and Ross followed with his first homer since July 23. The catcher had been 1-for-15 since returning from a concussion on Aug. 28.\nAaron Harang (15-4) gave up three hits and three sacrifice flies – two by Albert Pujols – in seven innings. David Weathers gave up Edmonds’ RBI single in the ninth before becoming the ninth Cincinnati closer to reach the 30-save mark.\nThe sweep was particularly pleasing for the Reds, who were swept in a three-game series in St. Louis from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2.\n“We went into their place and they smacked us around, so it was nice to come back and take three from them, especially with the playoffs right around the corner,” Harang said. “It’ll make them work that much harder to get back in the race.”\nThe Reds were still holding out hope of getting back into contention until they landed in St. Louis two weeks ago. Since then, they’ve been relegated to playing it out.\n“We went in there kind of on a roll and they stuck it to us,” Ross said. “I don’t know if we knocked them out of playoff hunt, but we did a good job of hurting their chances.”\nIt was the Cardinals’ costliest trip of the season by far.\nIn addition to losing precious games in the standings, they lost third baseman Scott Rolen, who had shoulder surgery on Tuesday, and outfielder Chris Duncan, who aggravated a hernia and is likely out for the season.\nNow, they’re running out of time. They play four games against the Cubs this weekend in St. Louis, and have three left in Milwaukee – the two teams they’re chasing.
(09/01/06 3:09am)
OXFORD, Ohio -- While speakers on a makeshift stage behind the end zone told stories about Randy Walker's playing and coaching career, a kicker's warm-up try left the field and landed nearby, punctuating the speechmaking with a loud thump.\nThe perfect touch.\nThe former Miami of Ohio and Northwestern coach who died two months ago was remembered Thursday night before his two schools opened the season with a game he had set up. Speakers recalled how much he loved people and football.\nA few hundred fans, some dressed in white shirts with "WALK" on the front, gathered on a plaza behind an end zone to hear stories about the passionate coach who rebuilt both programs. A plaque with his likeness was also unveiled.\nWhile a variety of friends and coaches told vignettes about his loyalty and dedication, players from both schools limbered up on the field a few feet away, on the other side of a brick-and-iron fence.\n"Randy Walker is looking down with pride," said author Bob Kurz, a close friend. "This is what we've been waiting for. Let's get after it."\nThe schools worked together on a tribute to Walker, 52, who played and later coached at Miami before moving on to Northwestern. He died of an apparent heart attack in June.\nThe game in Oxford was supposed to be a feel-good homecoming for Walker, who remained close to his alma mater. Instead, it turned into a tearful tribute.\nA temporary stage was set up on the Cradle of Coaches Plaza behind the end zone, where Walker's plaque will be displayed. Fans entered the stadium through a stone and brick arch inscribed with the school's reputation for developing coaches who go on to great things.\nNow, Walker will be remembered as one of them.\n"Godspeed, Randy. Godspeed," Kurz said. "Your spot on God's sideline has been preserved."\nThere was a moment of silence before the kickoff. Walker's wife, Tammy, and other relatives were on the field for the coin flip. Players from both schools wore decals with Walker's jersey number and nickname on the front of their helmets, just above their facemasks. Northwestern players also had patches saying "WALK" sewed onto the front of their uniforms.\nWalker was the only coach to lead Northwestern to three bowl games, the most recent a 50-38 loss to UCLA in the Sun Bowl. The Wildcats shared the Big Ten title in 2000 and went to the Alamo Bowl. They also played in the Motor City Bowl in 2003.\nAt Miami, Walker took over a team coming off a two-win season and went 59-35-5 during his nine-year run before heading to Northwestern. He was a tailback from 1973-75, known for his tough-to-tackle style.\n"Class, class person," said Bill Mallory, a former IU football coach who was Walker's coach at Miami. "Didn't come any better."\nDick Crum, who hired him as an assistant at Miami, remembered the way he would insist on getting things done correctly.\n"The last Walkerism is, 'What's the deal?'" Crum said. "When something wasn't right, he'd say that when he'd walk into the huddle or the meeting room."\nWith a voice choked by emotion, Crum added, "I think every one of us can say we're better off for knowing him"
(02/03/06 5:53am)
DETROIT -- Jerome Bettis returned for one more chance to make a run at a championship. Against long odds, he got it.\nMany stars in all sports go entire careers without playing for a ring. A few -- Bettis, Mark Grace, Oscar Robertson, Ray Bourque come to mind -- finally get a shot at one as they're heading for the exit.\nIt doesn't happen often or easily.\n"In sports, you're going to have players who are great but haven't won championships," said Robertson, a Hall of Famer who got his NBA title with Milwaukee near the end of his career. "That's true. You only get one winner a year, and the rest of the guys don't win."\nThey sure try.\nLike Bettis, who decided to play another season for the Steelers in hopes of reaching the Super Bowl, athletes will push their bodies as far as they'll go -- and sometimes hang on longer than they should -- to get the thing that sets a winner apart.\nThe ring.\n"You look at me -- I played 17 years and didn't get one," quarterback Warren Moon said. "That had a lot to do with how long I played. I was still chasing that elusive, one last goal that I had left to accomplish in my career. Unfortunately, it never happened. But I'll tell you what: I did try."\nPro Football Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan notes that it's commonplace for stars to miss out on a shot at a championship. Before free agency changed the dynamics of sports and gave players freedom to pick their teams, a player could be stuck on a struggling franchise for a long time.\nFolks around these parts know that greatness doesn't translate into glory. Running back Barry Sanders spent 10 years with the Lions, but had only one playoff victory to show for it.\n"It's a reality of the game," Sanders said. "Coming into the NFL, my assumption was that this is the NFL and, naturally, I'll get to the Super Bowl because all you have to do is win three games in the playoffs. That was a mistake I made, because I later found out how tough it was."\nIt's universal.\nRobertson was already a superstar -- the only player to average a triple-double for a season -- during his 10 seasons with the Cincinnati Royals when the struggling franchise traded him. With Kareem Abdul-Jabbar -- then Lew Alcindor -- as his teammate, he got an NBA championship in his first season with Milwaukee.\n"It meant that the critics who needed something negative to say about my career couldn't say something negative about it," Robertson said.\nFor each of these late-in-life success stories, there are dozens who fail.\nAgain, the Cubs provide a benchmark. Ernie Banks put together a Hall-of-Fame career during 19 years in Chicago, but never even came close to the ultimate prize.\nEven in the era of free agency, going to a winner doesn't guarantee getting a shot at becoming the ultimate winner.\nNow, it's Bettis' turn to make that one final stab at a title. He considered retiring after the Steelers lost in the AFC title game last season, but came back in part because this year's Super Bowl is in his hometown of Detroit.\nIt looked like he'd frittered the chance away when he fumbled near the Colts' goal line with 1:20 left in a second-round playoff game, and Nick Harper scooped up the ball and headed downfield.\nIf quarterback Ben Roethlisberger doesn't double back and make a lunging ankle tackle on Harper, Bettis doesn't get his chance.\nAnd if Mike Vanderjagt doesn't miss badly on a 46-yard attempt, the game might go to overtime with a different outcome. It took all of those quirky things to get the Steelers a 21-18 win and get Bettis to his Bowl.\nThat's how fine the line is between getting a shot and being shut out.\n"Jerome Bettis had 13 years to prove how great he is," said the Hall of Fame's Horrigan. "If he wouldn't have made the decision to play this year, we would be talking about 'poor Jerome."
(11/21/05 4:44pm)
CINCINNATI -- In a game of pinball offense, Peyton Manning showed he's still the greatest wizard of them all.\nHe called the right plays. He made incredible passes. And, ominously, he showed that the unbeaten Indianapolis Colts are just starting to hit their stride.\nManning threw three touchdown passes in an offense that reached the end zone on its first five possessions Sunday, setting up a 45-37 victory over the awe-struck Cincinnati Bengals.\n"He's unbelievable," Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer marveled. "They're unbelievable."\nThey're the 17th team to go 10-0 and the first since Denver in 1998. With the defense faltering for the first time and Cincinnati's defense geared to stop running back Edgerrin James, it was up to Manning to protect that perfect record.\nHe did it with his unique flair, sizing up the defense at the line and then calling the right play to beat it.\n"Peyton's the best," said tight end Dallas Clark, who had career highs with six catches for 125 yards against a blitzing defense. "If he sees it, we're going to take advantage of it."\nThe Bengals (7-3) couldn't stop him until it was too late. Manning went 24-of-40 for 365 yards with one interception, while James had 89 yards and a pair of touchdowns.\nComing off his record-setting 49-touchdown season, Manning took some time to get going. He's found his stride -- 18 touchdown passes in the last seven games, a threat to score on every snap.\n"It's been a while since we've been in a shootout," he said. "We had been running the ball, and I think Cincinnati came in and said, 'Hey, we don't want to let Edgerrin James get established.' We were kind of thinking they might be thinking that. So we came out and threw it."\nJohnson gave the Bengals confidence with an early 68-yard touchdown catch and another novel celebration. He removed his helmet on the sideline, knelt in front of a cheerleader and took her hand in a mock proposal. Back at the bench, he wrote on a dry erase board: "T.O. I Got You Baby."\nIn the end, Manning got them.\nJohnson and Palmer drove to Indianapolis to watch Manning and Marvin Harrison work their magic in a Monday night game last season, hoping to pick up some pointers. On Sunday, they learned not to try to one-up them.\nHarrison had five catches, reaching 900 career receptions faster than anyone in NFL history. And Manning had a perfect passer rating after those first five touchdown drives that set the tone.\nJohnson backed up his guarantee that the Colts couldn't cover him. The Pro Bowl receiver had eight catches for a career-high 189 yards. But it wasn't enough in a game of unrelenting offense.\n"Looking at that offense from the sideline, it's unfair," Johnson said. "We're going to see them again, believe me."\nHuddles were disregarded and the defenses were flat-out dissed by a pair of quarterbacks who made it look so simple. The first six possessions resulted in five touchdowns, one field goal and two perfect passer ratings.\nIt was so outrageous that Palmer and some of his teammates laughed in disbelief on the sideline during the closing seconds of the first half.\nManning was flawless on the Colts' first five possessions, throwing for three touchdowns while the offense rolled up 301 yards and scored 35 points.\nThen, the Colts got greedy and made it a game.\nInstead of running down the clock and taking a 15-point lead into halftime, they tried to score after getting the ball back at their 28-yard line with 1:25 to go. Manning slipped as he threw a pass, and the ball went directly to Keiwan Ratliff for the Bengals' NFL-high 21st interception.\nThat set up Rudi Johnson's second touchdown run, cutting it to 35-27 -- the second-most points ever scored in the first half of an NFL game. The Jets and Buccaneers combined for 70 in 1985.\nSurely, they couldn't keep up this pace, could they?\nAt the start of the second half, they did. Palmer opened with his second touchdown pass, getting the Bengals to within a point. Then the Colts showed their diversity, letting James carry 10 times in a 77-yard touchdown drive.\nWhich quarterback would blink first?\nIt was Palmer, who finished 25-of-38 for 335 yards. His only poor throw was picked off by Marlin Jackson, setting up Mike Vanderjagt's 19-yard field goal for a 45-34 lead with 6:16 to go.\nOne mistake too many.\n"You've got to be perfect," Palmer said. "It's unbelievable what they do"
(08/24/05 4:57am)
CINCINNATI - Bob Huggins was ordered Tuesday to resign or he'll be fired as Cincinnati's basketball coach, culminating a power struggle with the school president.\nIn a letter sent by the university, Huggins was given 24 hours to resign, or he would be fired and get a buyout, said an associate who spoke on condition of anonymity because Huggins had not yet seen the letter.\nThe 51-year-old coach was traveling and unavailable for comment. His lawyer received a letter from the university on Tuesday afternoon with the ultimatum.\nHuggins has won more games than any other coach at Cincinnati, but his tenure also has been marked by player arrests and NCAA rules violations that landed the school on probation.\nHis arrest for drunken driving last year upset new school president Nancy Zimpher. Huggins was placed on unpaid leave over the summer, but returned and coached last season, the last before Cincinnati moved into the Big East.\nThe school declined to invoke a roll-over provision in the contract that would have given Huggins another year. Richard Katz, Huggins' lawyer, had been talking to the school about trying to get an extension.\nKatz said Tuesday that the school had refused, leaving Huggins with only two years left on his contract and a tough time persuading recruits to play for him.\n"We've been discussing with them for the last six or eight weeks an extension of the contract," Katz said. "It appeared he wasn't going to be able to fulfill the remaining two years of the contract because he couldn't recruit, he was running into obstacles at the university. It would not have been appropriate for that to continue."\nThe university confirmed only that a letter had been sent to Huggins, and declined further comment. The development was first reported by The Cincinnati Enquirer.
(05/12/05 1:01am)
CINCINNATI -- Tim Stauffer got a win in his major league debut and helped Bruce Bochy get No. 800.\nStauffer repeatedly pitched out of jams of his own making, and Ryan Klesko hit a three-run homer to send the San Diego Padres to a 7-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.\nSan Diego's eighth victory in 10 games handed Bochy his 800th win as a manager. Only Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa have more wins with their current clubs.\n"To be honest, I haven't even thought about it," Bochy said. "I was pulling for Stauff so much."\nStauffer (1-0), the fourth overall pick in the 2003 draft, calmed himself with deep breaths and made good pitches when it mattered. The right-hander gave up two runs, four hits and three walks in six innings, turning a 5-2 lead over to the bullpen.\nThe turning point came in the first inning, when Felipe Lopez hit a two-run homer and the Reds loaded the bases with no outs. Stauffer got a double play for his first great escape, then settled down while family and friends cheered from the first row behind the dugout.\n"It really wasn't nerves," Stauffer said. "I'm sure for the people in the stands, it was a little bit different and harder for them. I was grateful to get out of that with just two runs."\nDave Roberts had four hits and Mark Loretta got five at the top of San Diego's order, leading a 16-hit outburst. Klesko's sixth homer in his last nine games put San Diego ahead to stay in the fourth.\nThe Reds have lost 11 of 13, taking a nosedive into last place in the NL Central.\nStarter Paul Wilson (1-4) failed to retire any of the eight batters he faced in his last outing -- a 10-run first inning by the Dodgers on Friday. The right-hander struggled through five-plus innings this time, and ultimately got beat by an old nemesis. Klesko's three-run homer put the Padres up 4-2 and left him 8-for-16 in his career against Wilson with six homers.\n"I'm trying to make great pitches in situations where I don't have to," Wilson lamented.\nWilson matched his career high by giving up 12 hits overall, a fitting ending to a 2-7 homestand that was horrific and historic.\nIt started with St. Louis pulling off the greatest ninth-inning comeback in its history, scoring seven runs for a 10-9 win. Closer Danny Graves got booed off the field after the Reds' biggest ninth-inning collapse since 1952.\nThat year became a reference point again in Wilson's last start, when the Reds gave up 10 first-inning runs for the first time since 1952.\nFinally, Graves blew another big ninth-inning lead on Monday, allowing the Padres to rally from a 5-1 deficit to a 6-5, 13-inning victory that dropped the Reds into last place.\n"It's like I've been saying all along: We get good hitting and no pitching, or good pitching and no hitting," said infielder Ryan Freel. "Today we finally clicked. We didn't have anything."\nThe final game will be remembered more for what it meant to the Padres -- an eagerly awaited debut.\nStauffer, a 21-year-old with boyish looks, has repeatedly pitched in and out of trouble. He throws four pitches -- fastball, change-up, curve and sinker -- and is known for his composure.\nIt was tested right away. Stauffer hit the first batter he faced -- Freel -- on a 1-2 pitch, then gave up Lopez's fourth homer. The Reds then loaded the bases with no outs -- Stauffer also hit Adam Dunn on a 1-2 pitch -- and Darrell May began warming up in the bullpen.\nThat's when Stauffer got a reprieve. Joe Randa grounded into a third-to-home double play, and Austin Kearns lined out.\n"We were kind of hoping with the way things were going, he'd just get out of the first," Klesko said. "Your first at-bat or your first inning to pitch, it's like you've got an out-of-body experience. Between the nerves and the excitement, you don't even know what the heck you're doing out there. But he settled down. The idea was to try to get him a lead, and he ran with it."\nThe Reds loaded the bases again in the third with one out, helped by two walks, but Randa popped out and Kearns swung through a 93 mph fastball. Stauffer's coaches and teammates applauded and patted him when he got to the bench.\n"He did a great job keeping his composure," Bochy said. "That showed how mentally tough the kid is. He could have caved in there"
(04/06/04 5:53am)
CINCINNATI -- Sammy Sosa couldn't get a hit. Kerry Wood couldn't get past the fifth inning.\nBig problems? Not for these newly confident Cubs.\nCorey Patterson homered and Moises Alou doubled with the bases loaded Monday, leading the defending NL Central champions to a 7-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.\nAfter winning their first division title in 14 years, the Cubs got a good start on their next quest -- back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1971-72.\n"Last year, we were not really sure how good we were," said Patterson, who tore knee ligaments July 6 and missed the rest of the season. "Since we did well last year, it builds more confidence. We know everyone is gunning for us."\nThe Reds had another disappointing debut in Great American Ball Park, where 42,122 fans watched a lineup missing Ken Griffey Jr. stumble out of the gate once again.\nGriffey reluctantly took a few more days to rest a strained calf injured a week ago in Florida. The injury-prone outfielder paced in the dugout with a bat in each hand, but never got to hit.\n"We played some spring training games without him and we did all right, but you always want a stud like that in your lineup," shortstop Barry Larkin said.\nInstead, the day belonged to the Cubs, who got little from their top starter and best run producer, but won anyway.
(09/25/03 5:18am)
CINCINNATI -- Sammy Sosa, Shawn Estes and the Chicago Cubs turned off the television and kept themselves in control of the NL Central.\nSosa tied Mickey Mantle for 10th place on the career home run list, Estes pitched a shutout and the Cubs rolled past the Reds 8-0 Wednesday night to preserve their one-game division lead.\nA few hours before the first pitch, Cubs players were engrossed in the bank of TV sets in the visitors' clubhouse. They muttered curses when second-place Houston rallied for a 2-1 victory over San Francisco, meaning Chicago would have to win again to remain one game ahead.\nPressure? Not with thousands of Cubs fans in the stands and the major leagues' most generous defense on the field.\nChicago took advantage of three errors by the majors' worst defense, fulfilling the first requirement for a playoff contender -- beat up on the downtrodden. The Cubs finish with one more game in Cincinnati, and three at Wrigley Field against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates.\nThe Cubs haven't been alone in first place this late in the season since 1989, the last time they won a division title. They haven't been to the playoffs since they went as the NL wild card in 1998.\nIf they can hold on for four more games, they're headed back.\nEstes (8-11) returned from a bullpen banishment and shut out Cincinnati for the second straight game by throwing a four-hitter. His spot start allowed manager Dusty Baker to push his more formidable starters back for a needed day of rest.\nIn addition to his eighth career shutout, Estes matched his career high with two singles.\nSosa jump-started the offense by leading off the third inning with another noteworthy homer in the Reds' new ballpark. He did his signature hop as his 37th homer of the season and 536th of his career headed for the left-field stands.\nBaker mentioned beforehand that Sosa seemed to be trying too hard, resulting in a 3-for-22 slump. He broke out against right-hander Josh Hall (0-2), a 22-year-old rookie promoted from Double-A.\nThe homer landed in a group of Cubs fans -- no surprise, as the majority of the approximately 30,000 fans wore blue jackets and rooted for the visitors. The Cubs then had their way against a progression of nondescript pitchers who wore numbers 58, 70, 71 and 50.\nThe Reds helped them along by committing two errors in the third inning, raising their total to 137, the most in the majors. Paul Bako's three-run double broke the game open.\nSosa, the 10th batter in the inning, got a frightening flashback as he made the third out. Reliever Matt Belisle, a 23-year-old rookie who also skipped Triple-A, threw a fastball that darted just over Sosa's helmet.\nSosa tumbled to the ground, losing his helmet, and got up without dusting himself off. He then struck out to end the inning and flipped his bat away angrily.\nIt was reminiscent of one of his worst moments this season. The Pirates' Salomon Torres hit him in the head on April 20, taking a gash out of his left earflap.\nSosa has had more memorable moments in Great American Ball Park's inaugural season than the entire Reds' roster. He hit his 500th homer in Cincinnati on April 4, and homered on June 18 in his return from a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat.
(06/19/03 1:31am)
CINCINNATI -- Sammy Sosa is done talking about cork.\nFor the first time in a week, the Chicago Cubs' repentant home run hitter gets to play ball. He completed a seven-game suspension for using a corked bat and was expected back in the lineup Wednesday.\nOn the final day of his punishment, Sosa asked fans to forget. He doesn't want to talk about the corked bat anymore.\n"It doesn't mean that everybody is going to like me, but some people really appreciate everything I've done for this game and support me 100 percent," Sosa said during a five-minute news conference.\nThen, he got another warm reception from several hundred Cincinnati Reds fans, who he thrilled by hitting one drive after another into the upper deck during batting practice.\nSosa hit career homer No. 500 at Great American Ball Park on April 4, and was cheered during batting practice before the first two games of the four-game series.\nHe's hoping most fans are just as ready to forgive.\n"I have to deal with that for the rest of my life, no question," he said. "But I'm only human. I'm not the only guy in this world that made a mistake.\n"I'll say it again: Hopefully they'll forget and just let me continue to make people happy."\nCubs manager Dusty Baker knows it won't be that easy. Fans in some ballparks are going to provide reminders of the broken bat that tarnished a reputation.\n"It's going to be tough, but it comes with the territory," Baker said. "Hopefully it helps him focus even more, and makes him want to beat them even worse and increases his concentration."\nSosa got a standing ovation when he hit homer No. 500 to right-center field at Great American, the ballpark's first historic hit. That homer and others came under question when his bat shattered in a game on June 3 and cork was found inside.\nSosa explained that he used a corked bat in batting practice to put on a show for fans, but mistakenly took it to the plate during a game. The rest of his bats were tested, and no cork was found.\nHis original eight-game suspension was shortened to seven, but his image took a beating.\n"At the beginning, it was very tough for me to see all the things that they put (in the media) about me because of a simple mistake," Sosa said. "I mean, it was a mistake. I haven't killed anybody. They got me up there like I'm a criminal."\nOther major leaguers wondered aloud about Sosa's judgment in using a corked bat. Reds pitcher Danny Graves was one of the more outspoken, saying he was disappointed, disgusted and disturbed.\n"To me, it's a dead issue," Graves said Tuesday. "He served his time. There's no need to dwell on it. I said all I need to say about it right after it happened. Some people believe him, some people don't. I'm not going to say what I believe."\nThe Cubs went 3-4 without Sosa, who was starting to regain his stroke when he was suspended. He missed 17 games in May after having the nail removed from his right big toe, which was interfering with his swing.\nHe had a six-game hitting streak when he broke his bat. During his suspension, he's had to work on his swing in batting cages and pregame practice.\n"Hopefully the work he's done at home (in Chicago) will keep him on the same course," Baker said.\nSosa has only six homers in 45 games and hasn't hit one since May 1, a stretch of 66 at-bats. He's the only player to hit 60 homers in three different seasons.\nBaker hopes the setbacks turn into an advantage for Sosa later in the season.\n"Quite honestly, with the 24 or 25 games he's missed, I think that's really going to keep his strength up big time for the rest of the season," Baker said. "He might have one of the best second halves of all time"
(11/14/02 6:10am)
OXFORD, Ohio -- Two Miami University assistant football coaches were suspended Wednesday after one was charged with assaulting a fan and another acknowledged damaging a coaches' box at Marshall.\nCoach Terry Hoeppner apologized Wednesday, saying things got out of control when fans rushed the field following Marshall's last-second 36-34 win over its Mid-American Conference rival.\nHoeppner took two university police officers with him for extra protection on the field, anticipating a volatile situation.\n"It's scary," said Hoeppner, who hadn't slept following the bus ride back from West Virginia. "I had more police protection around me last night, and that shouldn't be necessary. We've lost a little bit of our perspective."\nDefensive coordinator Jon Wauford and linebackers coach Taver Johnson were suspended with pay while the southwest Ohio school investigates.\nWauford was led off the field in handcuffs and charged with battery, a misdemeanor, for allegedly shoving a fan who ran on the field after the game. Johnson acknowledged damaging the visiting coaches' box, Hoeppner said.\nThe post-game problems were uncharacteristic for a school that prides itself as the "Cradle of Coaches."\n"I don't want to prejudge our investigation of the facts. But I have to tell you, as president, to see one of my coaches led away in handcuffs was one of the most difficult things I've seen since I've been here," school president James Garland said in a phone interview.\n"We justify our support of athletics because of the message that it sends about character," Garland said. "These events of yesterday suggest that we've fallen short of our goal."\nInterim athletic director Steve Snyder said Miami will pay to repair the coaches' box. A shelf and chairs were damaged, and holes were knocked in the wall, Snyder said.\nWauford was released on $5,000 bond early Wednesday and has a court hearing Dec. 13. The fan, Robert Flaugher, 36, was treated at a hospital and released.\nFlaugher was among thousands of fans who stormed the field moments after Marshall scored the winning touchdown in the closing seconds.\nWest Virginia State Police said Wauford shoved Flaugher, who fell and struck his head on the artificial turf. He was taken away on a stretcher with what was diagnosed as a concussion.\nFlaugher's brother, Todd, said that neither he nor his brother used abusive language toward Miami players or coaches.\n"He was waving goodbye to Miami's players ... the coach basically hit him with a forearm. That knocked him flat. His head definitely hit first on the turf. It was basically a sucker punch," Todd Flaugher said.\nFlaugher said he and his brother ran onto the field and congratulated the Marshall players, then started running toward the facilities buildings. "That's the last thing I remember," he told WCHS-TV on Wednesday.\n"I'm tired and I've got a splitting headache and a little bit of a neck cramp where apparently my neck snapped back, but other than that, I'm feeling no worse for the wear."\nHoeppner predicted that Wauford, a Miami assistant for three years, will be exonerated because of the circumstances on the field.\n"It was emotional in all contexts," Hoeppner said.\nMarshall coach Bob Pruett said he didn't see the confrontation and declined to comment on it.\nAsked about the damage in the coaches' box, Pruett said: "People get excited after games. It's a very emotional game. You put your life and soul into a ballgame, and sometimes you react in ways that would be distressful."\nMid-American Conference commissioner Rick Chryst talked to both schools on Wednesday and approved of their responses.\nMiami is proud of its history of producing coaching luminaries such as Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes, who was fired by Ohio State for hitting a Clemson player who made an interception during a game.