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(03/15/09 12:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>INDIANAPOLIS — Seventh-ranked Michigan State beat Ohio State twice this year on its way to winning the regular-season Big Ten title.No way the Buckeyes were letting the Spartans get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, too.Ohio State used every bit of its depth and versatility, not to mention some nifty 3-point shooting, in overpowering the Spartans 82-70 in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament Saturday. It was the second-most points allowed this year by the Spartans, who lost for only the second time in 11 games."Yeah, we watch TV, and we've heard people talking about Michigan State getting a No. 1 seed. We were like, 'Not on our watch, not on our watch,'" P.J. Hill said.Not a chance. Not when Ohio State (22-9) gets contributions from just about everyone on the roster.Evan Turner had all 18 of his points in the second half, along with 10 rebounds and five assists. Jon Diebler had 17 on 5-of-10 shooting from 3-point range, William Buford had 14 and B.J. Mullens added 12. The Buckeyes shot 53 percent, including 9-of-16 from 3-point range, and made all but six of their 29 free throws."I'm trying to decide am I more disappointed with us or more impressed with the way they shot the ball," Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. "The better team won today. It's disappointing, because I don't think we gave it our best shot."Kalin Lucas had 17, one of three players in double figures for the Spartans, who were hoping that sweeping the Big Ten titles might convince the NCAA selection committee to make them a No. 1 seed, especially after former No. 1s Pittsburgh and Connecticut and higher-ranked Oklahoma lost.But it's tough to win when shooting just 38 percent, including 3-of-21 from 3-point range."I've said all along, we don't even deserve a No. 1 seed. Now we've made it easy on them," Izzo said.Ohio State will play No. 24 Purdue on Sunday for a shot at its second tournament crown in three years. The Boilermakers beat Illinois 66-56 in the second semifinal.
(07/25/07 11:46pm)
SAN FRANCISCO – Baseball commissioner Bud Selig was at home watching Barry Bonds and the Giants play when he decided he needed to be at the ballpark to see the San Francisco slugger break Hank Aaron’s career home run record.\nSelig arrived Tuesday in San Francisco and said he’ll try to be present when Bonds passes Aaron. In a statement earlier in the day, Selig said he decided to attend “out of respect for the tradition of this game, the magnitude of the record, and the fact that all citizens in this country are innocent until proven guilty.”\n“It’s a huge moment in baseball history,” Selig said as the Giants played the Atlanta Braves. “It just struck me this was the appropriate time. Really, it’s no more involved than that.\n“I’m confident in my decision,” he added. “I think it was the right thing for me to be here, and I’m here.”\nSelig does plan to leave Friday for Cooperstown, N.Y., where he’ll attend Sunday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies for Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Jr. But he said he’ll rejoin the Giants afterward if Bonds still is chasing the record.\nSelig didn’t commit to being part of any on-field celebrations, saying that was up to the Giants organization. He also said he has not talked to Bonds nor does he plan on doing so.\n“I try not to talk to players period during the course of the season,” Selig said. “Unless they’ve acted badly.”\nBonds, who turned 43 on Tuesday, has been dogged for years by suspicions that he used performance-enhancing drugs. But he’s never tested positive, and has said he’s never knowingly taken steroids or any other drugs.\n“Everyone has to make their own judgment,” Selig said. “I’m just here to watch it.”\nBonds didn’t speak before the game, but his teammates were happy that Selig will be on hand to see Aaron’s record fall.\nAs recently as last weekend, when Selig watched Bonds and the Giants play in Milwaukee, the commissioner said he remained undecided on whether to be in attendance when the record falls. Selig skipped the Giants’ homestand opener on Monday, watching the game from his home in \nMilwaukee instead.\nBut he arrived just before gametime Tuesday and watched from a box on the broadcast level of the press box with Giants executive vice president Larry Baer. Team owner Peter Magowan joined them later.\n“It’s a prestigious record; it’s hard not to be there,” Steve Kline said. “It would contradict his words on someone being innocent until proven guilty. They’ve been after him for a while. If he’s found guilty, they can do something different then. Right now, he’s about to be the new home run king.”\nThe former owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, Selig has been friends for years with Aaron, who began his career in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves and ended it in 1976 with the Brewers.\nIn 1974, commissioner Bowie Kuhn was criticized when he was not at the ballpark in Atlanta when Aaron hit his 715th home run to surpass Babe Ruth. Kuhn was at the game in Cincinnati when Aaron tied Ruth.\n“Bottom line, Barry’s good for the game,” Barry Zito said. “People on the upper levels might not want to embrace that. But the way he draws people to the game is second to none.”\n– AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum in New York and AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.
(03/30/07 4:00am)
ATLANTA – There won’t be any warm and fuzzy scenes like when Jim Valvano sprinted across the court looking for somebody to hug. You won’t see any blubbering meltdowns a la Rollie Massimino, either.\nAnd the next George Mason? That dream got squashed two weeks ago.\nNope, this year’s Final Four is all about the power conferences. There might as well be a sign: “No Underdogs Allowed.”\n“What we did last year as a group was pretty amazing,” George Mason coach Jim Larranaga said. “This year it’s what the high-major teams have been able to do, which is survive some incredible scares and advance.\n“I just think what makes March Madness so special is its unpredictability.”\nNot this season. A year after George Mason delighted the country with its improbable run to the Final Four and the mid-majors elevated themselves with eight of the 34 at-large bids, the power has shifted back to, well, the powers.\nFor the first time since 1993 – and only the second time since the NCAA began seeding the field in 1979 – a 2 is the “highest” seed in the Final Four. Each game Friday night features a No. 1 vs. a No. 2 – Florida vs. UCLA and Ohio State vs. Georgetown.\nSome underdogs, those Bruins and Hoyas. UCLA returns almost the entire team that lost to Florida in the title game last year and was ranked No. 1 for six weeks this season. Georgetown has one of the biggest guys in college basketball and has won 19 of its last 20 games.\n“Last year, everyone was talking about the mid-majors. This year, everyone’s excited about four of the top teams in the country – who were in probably everybody’s mind at the beginning of the year,” Larranaga said.\n“It’s a battle of Goliaths. There is no David.”\nThat takes some of the fun out of it. Part of the tournament’s charm is that there always seems to be some high seed that knocks off a team it should have no business beating – Valparaiso stunning Mississippi on Bryce Drew’s shot from just across the half-court line in 1998. Princeton beating defending champ UCLA in 1996.\nValvano’s N.C. State was hardly a mid-major, being from the ACC. But the Wolfpack were a sixth-seed in 1983, and they beat two No. 2 seeds and two No. 1s, including Houston in the championship game.\nVillanova wasn’t an unknown, either, in 1985, coming out of the Big East. But the Wildcats were a lowly eighth seed when they upset Patrick Ewing and mighty Georgetown.\nLast year, the mid-majors ran amok. Besides George Mason, Bradley, Gonzaga and Wichita State all made the round of 16.\n“The parity in college basketball is just so close now,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said. “Anybody can beat anybody on a given day. I mean, I really believe that we can beat anybody on a given day. I still believe we can be beaten by anybody on a given day.”\nThat the Final Four wound up this way isn’t really a surprise, though. While the regular season was a model of equality – a record-tying 48 schools were ranked at some point – the big schools have dominated the NCAA tournament.\n“Last year there were quite a few mid-major programs that had the perfect ingredients for pulling off some big upsets,” Larranaga said. “This year, some of those teams also got very, very close to doing it and, for one reason or another, fell slightly short.\n“It’s always been difficult (for underdogs). It’ll continue to be difficult,” he added. “But it’s what makes the tournament so good and unpredictable. In any given year, somebody can get hot at the right time and do some amazing things.”\nJust not this year.
(04/15/05 5:51am)
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Eddy Curry and the Chicago Bulls are optimistic he'll play again, but the center will miss the rest of this season and the playoffs while more tests are done to determine the cause of an irregular heartbeat.\nCurry's undergone numerous tests since having an irregular heart beat March 30, and all have been "positive," said Kathy Weber, a team physician. But they've also been inconclusive, and the Bulls don't want to put the 22-year-old back on the court until they have more answers.\n"We've been as diligent as we can to rule out anything possible that would put him at risk," Weber said at a news conference Thursday night at the team's practice facility. "We're going to continue to do that until we feel it's safe for him to play."\nWeber said Curry isn't experiencing any arrhythmia now, and he isn't on any medication. He'll undergo six more weeks of testing, after which the Bulls should have a definitive answer on when he can return.\nWeber wouldn't elaborate on what those exams will entail, and general manager John Paxson said the team won't give any updates until the tests are complete.\n"We are being cautious with this thing," Paxson said. "We have to do whatever we possibly can to eliminate any possible concern before we put him back on the floor."\nCurry warmed up for the Bulls' game at Charlotte on March 30, but was a late scratch with what was listed as flulike symptoms. He was later diagnosed with an irregular heart beat.\n"It was just kind of a funny beat," Curry said. "I don't even know when it first happened. It was so subtle, it felt like it was always there. That particular day, it was pretty strong. I felt like it deserved some attention."\nCurry underwent tests in Charlotte, and was admitted to Rush University Medical Center for further exams when he returned to Chicago on April 1. When those were inconclusive, specialists in Boston and Minnesota were consulted.\nThough some causes have been ruled out -- Weber said no medications or supplements were responsible -- the Bulls want to know more before they clear Curry to play again.\n"Although everything has been positive, we still have some unanswered questions," Weber said. "Until we have that completely put to rest, we've opted to continue testing."\nWhile Curry said the process is frustrating, he wants more answers, too.\n"I realize that safety is first," he said. "I really think everything will turn out for the best, but right now, I've got to be cautious."\nOther NBA players have played through similar conditions without serious complications, including Hakeem Olajuwon, Derrick Coleman and Aaron McKie. And Curry plans to play again, too.\n"I definitely feel confident that I'll be back," said Curry, who smiled and looked relaxed when he arrived at the news conference. "That's why I'm not really stressed out."\nCurry's absence is a big loss for Chicago, which was already without starting forward Luol Deng. The rookie had surgery Tuesday to repair a torn ligament in his right wrist, and will be in a cast for the next 6-to-8 weeks.\nThe Bulls are 7-8 this season without Curry. They're 6-3 since he got sick, but have dropped their last two.\n"Eddy's meant so much to our success and our turnaround," Paxson said. "It's not going to be the same without him."\nAfter losing more than 30 pounds last summer, the 7-footer has become the inside force the Bulls envisioned when they drafted him fourth overall in 2001. He led Chicago with 16.1 points a game and was shooting 53.8 percent, fourth best in the NBA. He had scored at least 25 points in his two previous games before being sidelined.\nCurry's development has been a big factor in the resurgence of the Bulls, who have gone from NBA laughingstock to one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. At 44-34, Chicago has the third-best record in the conference and has clinched a playoff spot for the first time since the Michael Jordan era.\nWith four games left in the regular season, Chicago is still fighting for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.\n"It's tough, but I'm extremely happy for everyone around here and for the organization," said Curry, a Chicago native. "It makes what I'm going through a lot easier because it makes me happy to see the guys doing well"
(03/28/05 6:03am)
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Deron Williams looked up at the scoreboard, frowned and shook his head.\nDown 15 with only four minutes to go, Illinois' season of triumph was about to slip away. All those victories, that near-perfect record, a path to the Final Four that seemed tailor-made for the Illini -- none of it would matter. They'd be just another one of those teams that had teetered on the verge of greatness.\nAnd that wasn't good enough. Not even close.\n"I just said not to give up," Williams said. "That's what I said on the court. We've just got to keep fighting."\nLed by Williams, Illinois (36-1) mounted a furious comeback that is sure to become an NCAA tournament classic. Williams scored 14 of his 22 points in the last four minutes of regulation and overtime, and Luther Head made huge plays offensively and defensively as Illinois forced OT and then hung on to beat Arizona 90-89 and advance to the Final Four.\nFighting Illini, indeed.\n"It's incredible," Roger Powell Jr. said. "We were meant to be in St. Louis."\nAnd this is the kind of victory that could propel them to a national championship.\n"Coaches have told me, to win the national championship you've got to win a close game, make a big shot," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "Well, we did it today."\nThough the Illini spent 15 straight weeks at No. 1 and were challenged plenty, they were never really threatened. They lost one game, the regular-season finale, and it took a last-second shot. They led a ridiculous amount, some 90 percent of their games, and never trailed by double digits until Saturday night.\nBut when it comes to winning a national championship, being good isn't enough. Teams need mental toughness, the grit to hang in there when things get bleak. Louisville proved it has it, coming from 20 points down to beat West Virginia and earn a spot in the Final Four against Illinois.\nNow everyone knows the Illini have it, too.\n"We've had a goal, a dream to make it to St. Louis," Williams said. "I wasn't going to let (losing) happen."\nWilliams is the most gifted player on the team, a rare blend of power, shooting skill, tenacious defense and uncanny vision. He can easily go off for 20-plus points a game, as he did in the Chicago Regional. \nHe was 5-of-9 from 3-point range Saturday night, and he scored 21 on 8-of-12 shooting in Thursday night's semifinal.\nBut with an ability to see the entire floor and envision plays before they unfold, the point guard is just as content to make his teammates look good. He's averaging 6.7 assists a game, and had 10 on Saturday night.\n"I've won some awards this year and he's come up to me a couple of times and congratulated me and I've told him, 'I win because of you.' He's been our foundation," Weber said.\n"Those shots down the stretch, we could have panicked. That's where Deron comes in. He's got a great feel for the game and he doesn't panic."\nIt was Williams who yelled for his teammates to huddle up when all seemed lost, telling them they weren't done yet. And it was Williams who put on a shooting clinic that destroyed the Wildcats' spirit.\nAfter Arizona took its 15-point lead -- the largest deficit Illinois has faced all year -- Williams started the rally with a 3-pointer. After a pair of Arizona free throws, he found Head, who made a 3.\nHe bulldozed his way inside for a layup that cut the lead to six, then fed Head for another 3. After Jack Ingram poked the ball away from Salim Stoudamire, Williams raced down the court and popped up one more 3-pointer.\nJust like that, the game was tied at 80.\nWilliams was at it again in overtime, having a hand in three of Illinois' four baskets. He made two more 3-pointers, and had an assist on a layup by Powell. He also kept up his pressure on Stoudamire, who never got a chance at last-second heroics because he couldn't get open.\nFlustered by Illinois' pressure, the only shot Arizona got was a 3-pointer by Hassan Adams that never had a chance.\n"Instead of looking at what went wrong with Arizona, I think you've got to give those kids from Illinois a tremendous amount of praise," Arizona coach Lute Olson said. "They did a great job."\nAnd when it was finally over, the Illinois players let out screams of elation and relief. They piled together in the middle of the floor for a group hug, then gleefully put on the T-shirts and hats that let everyone know they were going to the Final Four.\nJust as they promised.\n"There was definitely a lot of pressure on us. We made that pressure because we set a goal of getting to the Final Four this year," Williams said. "We were able to get it done. We were able to fight back. That makes it that much more special"
(03/25/05 5:53am)
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Standing at midcourt, Deron Williams and Dee Brown grinned at each other and slapped hands.\nIt's tough enough stopping one of Illinois' standout guards when he's having a good night. Make it two, and that's just not a fair fight.\nWilliams and Brown gave upstart Wisconsin-Milwaukee all that it could handle and then some Thursday night, combining for 42 points, 10 assists and some nasty defense to lead Illinois to a 77-63 victory and a spot in the Chicago Regional finals.\nWilliams had 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting and eight assists. Brown scored 15 of his 21 from 3-point range, and had two assists and two steals. Roger Powell Jr. and Luther Head added 12 each, and James Augustine finished with 11.\nThe top-seeded Illini (35-1) will play the winner of the Oklahoma State-Arizona game Saturday for a chance to go to their first Final Four since 1989.\nJoah Tucker led UWM (26-6) with a career-high 32 points, but he was a one-man offense. UWM shot 39 percent, and leading scorer Ed McCants was 4-of-17 overall for 13 points. Illinois forced the Panthers into 12 turnovers while committing only nine.\nThe victory was some payback for Illinois fans, who still harbor a grudge against UWM coach Bruce Pearl for the role he played in a recruiting scandal some 15 years ago. Pearl gave the NCAA a tape of a secretly recorded phone call in 1989, touching off a 16-month investigation. Illinois was cleared of the most serious violations, but had to skip the 1991 postseason.\nPearl said earlier this week he expected a hostile reception, and he got it. The Illinois fans booed him loudly when he was introduced.
(12/02/04 6:03am)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- With about 2 1/2 minutes still left in the game, Illinois' rabid "Orange Krush" student section started chanting "WE'RE No. 1! WE'RE No. 1!"\nNo. 5 Illinois certainly made a case for the top ranking Wednesday night, turning No. 1 Wake Forest into a nonconference patsy with a 91-73 rout that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicated.\n"They played infinitely better than we did. I don't know how much more clearly I can say it," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "They made shots that were open, they made shots that were contested. Their offense was exponentially better than our defense, hence the score of the game."\nRoger Powell Jr. scored 19 points, Dee Brown and Luther Head added 16 each and the Illini (5-0) beat Wake Forest (5-1) in every single phase of the game. Illinois led by double-digits the last 28-plus minutes of the game, and were up by as much as 32 in the second half.\nThat was even with Deron Williams having an off night. Williams, the preseason pick as Big Ten player of the year, missed much of the first half because of foul trouble and finished with only eight points, though he did have a team-high 11 assists.\n"Playing without Deron, the best player, player of year is tough," Brown said, who added seven assists. "He's a great asset to our team, but when he goes out, someone else has got to step up, and I think Luther and Rog and myself made some shots and played hard."\nThe Illini were so dominant in stretches they looked like the Globetrotters. They held the Demon Deacons to 39 percent shooting, and their two best players were never a factor. Chris Paul, the leading vote-getter on the AP's preseason All-America team, had 10 while Justin Gray, MVP of the preseason NIT, had 11.\n"I don't know what to say," Brown said when asked if the Illini should be No. 1. "After that performance, you tell me."\nThe Illini are now 2-19 in games against No. 1 teams -- but they won both played at Assembly Hall. They beat then-No. 1 Michigan State 57-55 in 1979 -- if it's any consolation to the Demon Deacons, the Spartans still won the national championship that year.\nIllinois has now won 35 straight at home against non-conference opponents, a streak dating back to Nov. 17, 1998. The Illini are 67-3 overall at Assembly Hall since the 2000-01 season.\n"You don't get many chances to play a No. 1 team on national television," said Jamaal Levy, who had six points and seven rebounds. "They were definitely ready. They proved they wanted it."\nAnd Wake Forest, which earned its first No. 1 ranking last week, proved it has some work to do. Though the Demon Deacons won the preseason NIT last weekend, they looked at times like they were still trying to find their rhythm against Providence and Arizona.\nIllinois didn't give the Deacons time to catch their feet, let alone get a rhythm. Harassed and badgered anytime they tried to get close to the basket, the Demon Deacons had no answer for Illinois' speed -- or its smoothness.\n"We're a good team, but the way they shot the ball they couldn't be stopped," Paul said.
(11/19/04 5:17am)
CHICAGO -- Major League Baseball owners surprisingly did not vote Thursday on the proposed move of the Montreal Expos to Washington D.C.\nBaseball commissioner Bud Selig said he still expected the move to take place, and said owners will vote on the deal by Dec. 6.\n"There are a myriad of issues still in play, so there was no vote taken," Selig said. "There will be a vote in the very near future."\nThe District of Columbia government has delayed financial approval of a new ballpark. The Expos' agreement with Washington calls for funding to be in place by Dec. 31.\n"The City Council has nothing to do with it," Selig said, adding that the postponement of a decision was caused by "internal issues."\nBaseball officials said they planned to announce Friday when the franchise will be renamed.\nThere has been great local interest in the Expos in Washington, which has been without a major league team since 1971, and season tickets went on sale Thursday morning. Plans call for a new ballpark to be built along the Anacostia River, about a dozen blocks south of the U.S. Capitol, and for the Expos to play there starting in 2008.\nWhile the agreement estimates the cost of refurbishing RFK Stadium, land acquisition and ballpark construction at $435 million, some D.C. council members have claimed it would be far higher, perhaps exceeding $600 million.\nDistrict of Columbia Council Chair Linda Cropp postponed a Nov. 9 vote on the deal, saying the District should spend two weeks seeking private financing. The money would come from a new tax on the city's largest businesses, a tax on baseball-related income and lease payments by the team's new owners.
(02/02/04 6:00am)
CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls gambled big three summers ago, entrusting the future of the franchise to a couple of teenagers just out of high school.\nTyson Chandler and Eddy Curry were raw and inexperienced, but they were also 7 feet tall and incredibly talented. Give them time to develop and the two could be the best big men in the East -- and the cornerstone of a new Bulls dynasty.\nThree years later, Chandler and Curry remain certain they'll be a force in the NBA one day. But they're no closer to dominating the game than they were that June night they were drafted, and the Bulls are paying the price with another abysmal year.\nChandler has shown he can live up to his hype, averaging a double-double early in the season, but he's played in only 10 games because of a back injury. Curry gets pushed around too easily for a guy dubbed "Baby Shaq," and he's regressed from last season, when he led the NBA with a .585 field goal percentage.\nHe's averaging less than six rebounds to go with his 12.5 points, and Coach Scott Skiles has criticized his conditioning. He's also a frequent target of boos in Chicago -- not an easy thing to hear in your hometown.\n"I know if I was out there, I could make things easier for him," said Chandler, who was drafted second overall in 2001, two spots ahead of Curry.\n"I'm always going to feel like we can be the best two big men in the East. I know we can be. I know we will be."\nBut when? While Kevin Garnett made the transition from preps to the pros with relative ease and LeBron James makes the leap seem like child's play this year, they are the exceptions. Most players who've gone from high school to the NBA have struggled early on, children in a man's game.\nSome eventually become standouts, developing slowly like Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and Seattle's Rashard Lewis. Others become cautionary tales against precociousness, flaming out like Darius Miles or Leon Smith.\nMiles, the No. 3 pick in 2000, is on his third team in four seasons. Smith, a first-rounder in 1999, isn't even in the league anymore.\n"The expectations, they're hard, but that's the price you pay when you want to jump straight from high school," said Toronto Raptors forward Donyell Marshall, who played with Chandler and Curry before the Bulls traded him in November.\n"I don't think anybody wants those high expectations on them, but that's what they come in the league for. They wanted to make themselves the franchise and stuff like that. That's what comes with the territory."\nPlayers are eligible for the NBA as soon as their high school class graduates. NBA commissioner David Stern would like the minimum age raised to 20, but that's unlikely to happen.\nSo teenagers will continue to dream big and make the jump. Teams will keep taking chances on the kids, just in case they really are the next James, Garnett or Kobe Bryant.\nAnd the growing pains will continue for everyone.\n"There's no question not going to college hurts," said Bulls general manager John Paxson, who didn't draft Chandler or Curry. "It's really the environment. I've been able to see several college practices this year and you say to yourself, 'There's something demanded of them. There's discipline.'\n"There's just a structure that, as professionals, you can't totally give them."\nLike the other phenoms who've gone straight to the NBA, Chandler and Curry dominated in high school. Chandler was USA Today's player of the year in California his senior year, when he averaged 26 points, 15 rebounds and eight blocked shots. Curry was a McDonald's All-American and Illinois' Mr. Basketball, and he averaged 25 points and 10 rebounds in the state tournament his senior year.\nBut they also were bigger and stronger than just about everyone else they played. Going to college would have evened the competition out, forcing them to work on their games rather than rely on their talent.\nLook at Bulls rookie Kirk Hinrich. After four years at Kansas, he's averaging 10.8 points and 5.7 assists, and only Jamal Crawford plays more than his 33.7 minutes per game. Skiles recently called him the team's best player.\n"College just gave me a chance to mature, physically and mentally," Hinrich said. "You get great coaching for four years, and you enjoy yourself. It was a great experience for me."\nNeither Chandler nor Curry regrets skipping college. This season has been tough on both, with Curry struggling on the court and Chandler limited by injuries. But both are confident they will eventually be the stars everyone expected.\nIt's just going to take some time.\n"Tyson Chandler wants to get better. Eddy Curry wants to get better," said Toronto's Jalen Rose, who spent 1 1/2 years in Chicago. "Unfortunately for those guys, their learning curve needs to come when their team really needs them to be great players. And right now, they're still working to be that"
(01/15/04 5:48am)
LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Now that he's turned around the St. Louis Rams' defense, Lovie Smith is taking on the Chicago Bears.\nSmith was hired Wednesday as the Bears new head coach, agreeing to a four-year deal. He replaces Dick Jauron, who was fired Dec. 29.\nSmith will be introduced at a news conference Thursday. He was in St. Louis on Wednesday and unavailable for comment.\n"There's a position right for everyone," he said Tuesday when he came to Halas Hall for his second interview. "And I'm hoping this position is what is right for me."\nThe Bears hope so, too. Team founder George "Papa Bear" Halas helped create the NFL, and some of the game's greatest players once wore the Bears uniform.\nChicago has been more of a laughingstock than a leader in recent years, though. The Bears have had just one winning season in the last eight years, and haven't won a playoff game since 1995. Smith will be the team's third coach in six years -- fourth if you count that botched attempt to hire Dave McGinnis in 1999.\nBut Smith is confident he can make the Bears winners again.\n"Tough, hard-nosed football, that's what Chicago football is all about," he said. "That's what I've seen at times. The consistency probably wasn't there. That's why probably the coaching change was made.\n"I think they can win," he said. "They just need a little boost, just a little bit more energy, a change of scenery. That's what I think I can bring."\nSmith was the defensive coordinator in St. Louis the past three seasons. The Rams had one of the NFL's worst defenses when Smith arrived, allowing a whopping 471 points in 2000.\nOne year later, the Rams were the league's third-best defense, giving up 273 points -- a 198-point reduction -- on their way to the \nSuper Bowl.\nThe Rams were 16th in the NFL this season, allowing 315.8 yards per game. But their 46 takeaways led the league, and they had four players -- yes, four -- with four interceptions.\nLeonard Little also had 12 1/2 sacks, third-best in the NFC.\n"It's a terrific opportunity for Lovie," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "I'm excited for Lovie, and I'm also excited for the Bears' organization. I'm not sure they fully realize the quality individual and the professional they are getting. They will soon realize that and fully appreciate it."\nThe Bears named Smith and Pittsburgh offensive line coach Russ Grimm finalists for the job after front-runner Nick Saban turned them down last weekend. General manager Jerry Angelo also interviewed New England defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and Jim Mora Jr., who later took the Atlanta job.\nGrimm had an impressive playing career, winning three Super Bowls as part of the Washington Redskins' famed "Hogs" line. But he lacked experience, never having been a coordinator.\nSmith, on the other hand, has had just about every coaching job imaginable. Before going to the Rams, he spent five years as linebackers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.\nIt was in Tampa Bay that Smith first met Angelo, then the Buccaneers' player personnel director.\nSmith also was a college coach for 13 years. He began his career in 1980 at his alma mater, Big Sandy (Texas) High School, after playing defensive back at Tulsa.\n"I've gone through the proper channels to be a head football coach," Smith said. "To me, this is a normal progress of a coach in the league, and the next step is being a head football coach. I've been successful on all those different stages and am excited about the next step."\nSmith is the first black head coach in Bears history. He's also the fifth black head coach in the league, joining Dennis Green, hired two weeks ago by Arizona; Herman Edwards of the New York Jets; Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati; and Tony Dungy of Indianapolis. There have never been more than three black head coaches in a season before.\nLast season, under pressure from a group headed by lawyers Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Cyrus Mehri, the league instituted guidelines that require teams with vacancies to interview minorities.\nOne of Smith's priorities will be to revive the Bears' sputtering offense. Though Smith's background is on defense, he said he has picked up plenty of ideas from watching different offenses over the years.\nHe has already said he will run an offense similar to St. Louis' high-powered scheme.\n"All the qualities that make him an exceptional coordinator will also make him an exceptional head coach," Martz said, "with his leadership and knowledge of the game and his ability to communicate with the players"
(12/04/03 5:22am)
CHICAGO -- Scratch that right-handed setup man off the Chicago Cubs' wish list.\nThe Cubs confirmed Wednesday they'd agreed to terms with free agent LaTroy Hawkins. The deal, which includes a player option for 2006, guarantees the pitcher $11 million over three years.\nHawkins, who turns 31 later this month, was 9-3 with a 1.86 ERA in 77 1-3 innings for the Minnesota Twins. He had 75 strikeouts, and didn't allow a run over 20 games from July 31 to Sept. 14.\nHawkins was especially impressive in the opener of the playoffs against the New York Yankees, striking out four over two innings and getting the victory.\nHawkins was converted to a reliever in 2000, when the Twins made him their closer. He was moved to the setup role before the 2002 season, and is 15-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 139 games since then.\n"We were certainly hoping to bring him back," Twins general manager Terry Ryan said Tuesday night after being told Hawkins had signed with the Cubs.\n"Obviously, he got security. It sounds like he got dollars. I could never fault a player for taking a deal that sets him up. I feel horrible about losing him. But I'm satisfied he's going to a place he wants to be. Unfortunately, it's not here."\nThe deal also puts Hawkins, a native of Gary, Ind., closer to home and gives him a chance to play for Dusty Baker.\nBolstering the bullpen was high on the list of priorities for Cubs general manager Jim Hendry this offseason. Cubs relievers were 20-19 with a 4.16 ERA, 16th in the majors.\nJoe Borowski was a pleasant surprise, calmly filling the closer's role when Antonio Alfonseca got hurt in spring training and finishing with 33 saves. Left-hander Mike Remlinger is solid, and Kyle Farnsworth is one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the NL.\nBut the rest of the bullpen was shaky. Alfonseca never got back on track after coming back, and Dave Veres and Mark Guthrie weren't very effective. All three are free agents.\nHawkins gets a $2 million signing bonus, $4 million next year and $3.5 million in 2005, and he has a $3.5 million option for 2006.\nHe can earn an additional $150,000 per season based on appearances: $50,000 each for 60, 65 and 70 games.\nHawkins would have a chance to earn $1.3 million more annually if he becomes Chicago's closer. He would get $50,000 each for 20 and 25 games finished; $100,000 for 30; $150,000 each for 35, 40 and 45; $200,000 each for 50 and 55; and $250,000 for 60.
(09/15/03 6:31am)
CHICAGO -- The Cincinnati Reds tried for eight innings to shake Carlos Zambrano out of his groove, with little success.\nThen Zambrano had to wait out a 13-minute delay when an umpire became ill before the ninth inning, and the Reds got the opening they needed.\nRay Olmedo drew a leadoff walk, and Russell Branyan drove him home with a two-out single as the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 1-0 on Sunday.\n"That's something that couldn't be helped," Cubs manager Dusty Baker said. "Zambrano wasn't as sharp when he came out against that first hitter. But we should have won three or four times earlier in the game. We had plenty of scoring opportunities."\nThe loss dropped the Cubs two games behind Houston in the NL Central race. The Astros beat St. Louis 4-1 earlier Sunday.\nIt was the Reds' 29th victory in their final at-bat, most in the majors.\n"It's a bump in the road," Baker said. "There's 13, 14 games left. You can make up two games in two days. It's still going to go down to the wire."\nZambrano (13-10) was dazzling for most of the day, allowing only three hits and no walks through the first eight innings, and retiring 13 straight at one point. But after he came out for the ninth inning, home plate umpire Steve Rippley left the game with a headache.\nRippley had been hit in the chin with a foul tip in the sixth inning, and his headache got progressively worse. He was taken to an area hospital for observation, and Zambrano waited 13 minutes while second base umpire Jerry Meals changed to go behind the plate.\n"It's never a good situation, but we do the best we can do with it," first base umpire Larry Vanover said.\nBut when the game started again, Zambrano got in trouble. He gave up a leadoff walk to Olmedo, who took second on a sacrifice and went to third on a wild pitch. Zambrano retired D'Angelo Jimenez on a grounder, but Branyan lofted a single into shallow center to score the game's only run.\nIt was Branyan's lone hit of the day, and just the fourth of the afternoon for the last-place Reds.\nZambrano was gone when the Cubs clubhouse opened, but Cubs catcher Paul Bako said he didn't think the right-hander was thrown by the delay.\n"He might have lost his rhythm for a second, but he made some pretty good pitches to Olmedo," Bako said. "He made a great pitch on Branyan, and the guy just muscled it out there and it fell in where we weren't playing.\n"The bottom line is we didn't score," Bako added. "We didn't score and we didn't give him any support out there today."\nZambrano struck out seven while walking only one in the complete game. It was only his second loss in 11 starts since the All-Star break.\nJohn Riedling (2-3) struck out one in one inning for the victory. Chris Reitsma struck out two in the ninth for his ninth save in 14 chances.\nThe Cubs had never seen Reds starter Josh Hall, who was making only his fourth major league appearance after spending most of the year at Double-A Chattanooga.\n"Anytime you're familiar with a guy, you've got an idea of what he's going to do," Baker said. "In my experience, anytime you face a new guy, he's going to have the advantage."\nHall made the most of that advantage. He allowed seven hits in seven innings, but all were singles. And whenever the Cubs threatened, he responded.\nChicago had runners in scoring position in both the sixth and seventh innings and came away with nothing. In the sixth, the Cubs loaded the bases with two outs on an intentional walk to Randall Simon, but Alex Gonzalez grounded out.\nIn the seventh, Kenny Lofton drew a two-out walk and Mark Grudzielanek followed with a single to shallow right. That brought up Sammy Sosa, and the Wrigley Field fans got to their feet and chanted "Sam-my! Sam-my!"\n"It was a gut check," Hall said. "I knew it was do-or-die, and I had to go at him like everybody else. I gave him a curveball down."\nSosa struck out, and the Cubs didn't manage a hit the rest of the game.\n"We've still got more games to go," Lofton said. "We've got to go out and win ball games. That's the bottom line"
(07/17/03 12:46am)
CHICAGO -- With a three-run lead and Billy Wagner, John Smoltz and Eric Gagne in the bullpen, the National League figured this All-Star game was pretty well wrapped up.\n"It's a pretty neat feeling," Smoltz said. "You feel pretty much armed. That whole staff, that's something undescribable. In a normal situation, you don't have that kind of ammunition."\nBut this time, that overpowering arsenal misfired. Wagner allowed a solo homer to Jason Giambi in the seventh inning, and Gagne gave up three runs, including a pinch-hit, two-run homer to Hank Blalock, in the eighth as the American League rallied for a 7-6 victory Tuesday night.\n"I'll take the blame for the National League," Gagne said. "Sorry, but that's the way it is if you want to be a closer."\nBut this was hardly the performance NL manager Dusty Baker expected when he put together his pitching staff. Smoltz (34), Gagne (31) and Wagner (25) lead the NL in saves, and Gagne has converted 39 consecutive saves going back to last season. From May 31 to June 13, he retired 24 straight batters.\nTurn the game over to any one of those three, and odds are pretty good he'll close it out. Let all three of them handle the job, and the engravers can get to work on the trophy.\nAnd it sure looked as if that would be the case Tuesday. The NL took a 6-3 lead on Andruw Jones' solo homer in the seventh, his third RBI of the game. Baker turned to Wagner first, sending him in to face the top of the AL lineup in the bottom of the seventh.\n"We're pretty confident that game is pretty much in the bag," Wagner said. "But that's the beauty of baseball. There is no sure thing until it's over."\nWagner quickly retired Bret Boone and Magglio Ordonez. But he missed with his very first pitch to Giambi, and the New York Yankees slugger sent the ball rocketing over the wall in center field.\n"The ball came back over the plate," Wagner said. "He did what he gets paid to do."\nThen it was Gagne's turn. Nomar Garciaparra grounded out, but Garret Anderson followed with a double, his third hit of the night.\nPinch-runner Melvin Mora advanced to third on Carl Everett's groundout to first and scored on Vernon Wells' RBI double.\nThat brought up Blalock, whose Texas Rangers have no stake in the home-field advantage in the World Series that went to the winner of this year's All-Star game. But Blalock delivered all the same, hitting a two-run homer on a 3-1 count.\n"I actually thought of that the other day, 'What if I'm the guy to go out there and blow the save?'" Gagne said, referring to the impact the All-Star game can have on the World Series. "Hopefully I'll be in there in October so I can get my stuff back and go out there and redeem myself."\nEven with home-field advantage, the All-Star game is still, ultimately, an exhibition. But that doesn't make the loss any easier to take, Woody Williams said.\n"We had pride on the line, and no one wants to see it go like that," said Williams, who gave up a two-run homer to Anderson in the sixth inning. "The bottom line is you make the pitches, you get outs. It just didn't happen"
(07/14/03 12:53am)
CHICAGO -- The last time U.S. Cellular Field was in the spotlight, yet another unruly fan had gone after someone on the field like it was WWE Day at the ballpark. This one grabbed an umpire around the waist. Seven months earlier, a father-and-son tag-team had taken down a Kansas City Royals coach.\nNot exactly the warm-and-fuzzy memories the Chicago White Sox want associated with their ballpark. Especially when "The Cell" is hosting the All-Star Game.\n"Isolated incidents," said Rob Gallas, senior vice president of marketing and broadcasting for the White Sox. "There are a couple million fans that go through the ballpark every year, and there were a couple of lunkheads that happened to be in those millions of fans.\n"This," Gallas said of the All-Star game, "is an opportunity for fans to show what Chicago fans are really about."\nThe White Sox and Major League Baseball have been preparing for Tuesday night's All-Star game for months, long before a barechested father and his teenage son attacked Royals coach Tom Gamboa last September.\nBut after April's incident, security for the All-Star game took on added scrutiny.\n"We have to learn from these lessons, no question about that," said Kevin Hallinan, major league baseball's security chief. "And we have."\nThe White Sox have always had about a dozen security guards, all off-duty police officers, positioned at both ends of each dugout, in the bullpens and elsewhere on the field during games. Ushers roam the stands, standing at the bottom of the aisles when teams switch sides during the half-innings.\nTickets are checked to make sure fans are in the right seats. And since April's incident, fans with upper-deck seats can't go to other levels of the ballpark unless they have season tickets.\nWhile Hallinan would not discuss what additional measures are planned for the All-Star game, he said he's confident everything possible has been done to prevent a problem.\n"The White Sox have done everything we have asked. In fact, above and beyond," Hallinan said. "There's absolutely no stone left unturned as far as making sure before the game or the event that we ... have an environment that is safe and secure."\nEvents like the All-Star game generally don't attract the riffraff. Tickets ranged from $125 to $175, and the game is sold out.\nBut Hallinan and his staff are not taking any chances.\nHundreds of people have been involved in planning security for the All-Star game. Besides working with White Sox security, Hallinan said baseball officials consulted with the Chicago Police Department, the Chicago Fire Department and the FBI.\nAfter the April incident, Hallinan and Sandy Alderson, executive vice president of baseball operations, met with White Sox officials to see what else could be done. Problem areas, like the waist-high fence along the first-base line that fans have jumped over to get on the field got added attention.\nAnd the vigilance won't stop until the game is over and the fans are gone, Hallinan said. There will be evaluations during the game to see where adjustments are needed. Staffing can be increased if there's a potential hot spot, and particular attention will be paid to the later innings, when trouble tends to happen.\nNot that Hallinan anticipates any.\n"I'm excited about the game," he said. "I think the fans are going to have a great day, and we want to make sure that we're not part of the story."\nThe White Sox would like that, too. Though this is the fourth time the White Sox have hosted the All-Star game, it's the first at this ballpark, which opened in 1991.\nRenamed U.S. Cellular Field under a $68 million deal announced in January, the park has undergone renovations the last three offseasons in preparation for the All-Star game. The bullpens were repositioned so fans could watch pitchers warming up, the outfield fences were shortened and seats were added down the lines.\n"It's always great to have one of professional sports' jewel events at your ballpark. We've made some substantial improvements to U.S. Cellular Field, as well, and we're anxious to show them off," Gallas said. "Hopefully it will be a great game, and people will come away from here impressed with the park and impressed with baseball"
(04/08/03 5:43am)
Deerfield, Ill. -- Jerry Krause had a rare eye for talent, assembling two very different supporting casts for Michael Jordan and laying the foundation for the Chicago Bulls' decade of dominance.\nIt's the destruction of the championship team that will be Krause's legacy, though.\nThe man blamed for breaking up the Bulls' dynasty and driving Jordan out of Chicago resigned as general manager Monday, stepping down for health reasons with only a week left in the season.\n"Physically, he wasn't feeling that great. He's had a lot of stress on him," said Bulls coach Bill Cartwright, the center on Chicago's first three championship teams.\n"I think it'd be easier to walk away with a championship, obviously," Cartwright said. "But he and I had an opportunity to talk this morning, and I basically told him, 'You should be really proud of what you've accomplished.' I know he is, but it's really tough to walk away with the mission not totally completed."\nChicago (27-50) will finish with a losing record for the fifth straight season and miss the playoffs again. The Bulls have won only three road games all season.\nKrause, 64, didn't elaborate on his health problems. But he's been bothered by a variety of ailments in recent years and has had a bad back all season.\n"The rigors and stress of the job have caused me some minor physical problems in the past few years," he said in statement released by the team. "Those problems can be eliminated if I lessen my load for a while and concentrate on overcoming them."\nStill, his decision caught everyone by surprise. Players said Krause was emotional when he met with them before practice Monday, and he left the Bulls' practice facility without speaking to reporters. So did Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf.\n"The whole thing is sad," guard Jamal Crawford said. "People criticize him a lot for different things ... but he had a vision."\nOthers couldn't always see it, though.\nThe Bulls already had Jordan when Krause became GM in 1985, but it was Krause who found the pieces that formed a dynasty.\nHis most brilliant move came in 1987. In one of the best deals in NBA history, he maneuvered with Seattle for the draft rights to Scottie Pippen, who went on to become Jordan's famous sidekick and was selected as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players in 1996.
(12/04/02 6:53am)
CHICAGO -- Dumping yet another big salary, the Oakland Athletics traded closer Billy Koch to the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in a six-player trade.\nIn exchange for Koch and two minor leaguers, the Athletics will get White Sox closer Keith Foulke, catcher Mark Johnson, minor league right-hander Joe Valentine and cash.\n"Keith Foulke and Mark Johnson did a tremendous job for us, and we appreciate their contributions to our success, but this trade made sense for us in the short- and long-term," White Sox general manager Kenny Williams said.\n"The cash considerations on our part make this a cash-neutral deal for both clubs," Williams added. "Because minor league rosters are frozen right now, we will announce the two other players in the deal sometime in late December."\nKoch, who turns 28 on opening day, has emerged as one of the American League's top closers, becoming the first ever to start his career with four consecutive 30-save seasons. He won AL reliever of the year honors this season, going 11-4 with 44 saves.\nHe led major league relievers in victories and led the AL with 84 appearances. Only Minnesota's Eddie Guardado had more saves, with 45.\nIn four seasons with Toronto and Oakland, Koch is 22-17 with 144 saves and a 3.48 ERA.\nBut once again, the small-market A's are trying to pare payroll by dumping some of their big names -- and their big salaries. A year after allowing Jason Giambi to sign with the New York Yankees as a free agent, Oakland has already traded right-hander Corey Lidle.\nKoch had a $2.35 million base salary this season and made $150,000 in performance bonuses. He's eligible for salary arbitration this year, and his salary is likely to double.\nBy acquiring Koch, the White Sox hope they've finally found a long-term, reliable closer. Foulke saved a career-high 42 games in 2001 and ranks third on the White Sox saves list. But he struggled last season, losing his closer role in early June. He went from June 27 to Sept. 17 without a save, and finished with only 11.\nHe was 2-4 with a 2.90 ERA. He is due $6 million next season, the final year of a $10 million, two-year contract. He's eligible for free agency after next season.\nFoulke did regain some of his old form at the end of the year, not allowing an earned run over his final 17 2-3 innings. But the White Sox still had three different pitchers with 10 or more saves -- Antonio Osuna had 11 and Damaso Marte had 10 -- and they'd like to stay off that merry-go-round in the future.\nJohnson had a career-high .994 fielding percentage in 86 games last year. But the White Sox are expecting big things from rookie Miguel Olivo.\nThough Olivo played in just six games, it was enough to show his savvy behind and at the plate. In his first major league at-bat, he hit a three-run homer off Andy Pettitte on Sunday in his first at-bat.\nOlivo didn't commit any errors in his six games, and threw out the only runner who tried to steal on him.\nValentine, a converted catcher, was acquired off waivers from Detroit last season. He went 4-1 with 36 saves and a 1.97 ERA at Double-A Birmingham last season.
(09/12/02 5:05am)
CHICAGO -- The colorful NL pennants that usually fly above the Wrigley Field scoreboard were gone, replaced by a lone American flag at half-staff.\nSongs such as "Let it Be" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water" played during batting practice instead of the usual bubblegum pop music. And the electronic message board carried a simple message:\n"We Shall Not Forget."\n"I first felt guilty about coming here to celebrate," fan Geraldine Mrozinski said before the Chicago Cubs' game against the Montreal Expos. "But once we got here, it seems like the perfect place to be. Here, we'll commemorate it in the proper way."\nWhile the rest of the country marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with solemn prayer services and speeches, the games that ordinarily entertain and amuse us became another, very different sort of memorial.\n"Sports," Cubs catcher Joe Girardi said, "is an outlet for people."\nThe Meadowlands Racetrack and Monmouth Park were closed, and Belmont Park switched its regular off day this week to Wednesday instead of Monday. But most sporting events went on just as on almost any other day, despite the government's decision to raise the United States' security alert warning to "high risk."\nSecurity was tight at afternoon baseball games, and crowds seemed smaller than usual. At Turner Field, where the Atlanta Braves played the New York Mets in a day-night doubleheader, only about 1,500 people had arrived a half-hour before the first game.\n"It's a day that we'll all remember, but you've got to get on with it," Braves outfielder Chipper Jones said. "You've got to do what you do. And that's what we're doing. Twice."\nBut the day's serious tone was never far away.\nBefore the Dodgers-Giants game at Pac Bell Park, there was a tribute on the big screen on the center-field scoreboard reading "9.11.01 We will never forget," with a series of black-and-white photos from the events of one year ago.\nInstead of a ceremonial first pitch, the ball was placed on the mound by a man whose father died in the attacks. Members of the San Francisco Fire Department tossed wreaths of white flowers into McCovey Cove from a fireboat outside the park.\nAt the Pirates-Reds game, the first pitch was thrown out by 14-year-old Andy Moskal, whose father, William, was killed at the World Trade Center.\nFans at all games were given a T-shirt with an emblem featuring a red, white and blue ribbon, the major league baseball logo and the words "We Shall Not Forget." That same emblem was displayed on the outfield fences, the bases and the lineup cards.\nThere was to be a moment of silence at 9:11 p.m. local time at all night games, with a videotape in memory of those who died in the attacks. During afternoon games, the moment of silence and video came during the seventh-inning stretch.\n"We're here to play baseball, we're here to entertain and we're here to hopefully help people heal," San Francisco Giants manager Dusty Baker said.\nA U.S. flag flown at the World Trade Center a year ago was raised outside Lambeau Field. At the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., seven white balloons floated into a gray sky as 100 athletes and officials surrounded the Olympic flame.\nThere were similar observances throughout the world. English horse racing held a minute of silence at Doncaster, Epsom and Hereford, and jockeys wore black armbands.\nAt Hereford, there was a three-minute ceremony of prayers and silence as the entire day's racing was dedicated to the bond-trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which lost two-thirds of its New York employees in the World Trade Center.\nRecord-holding jump jockey Tony McCoy donated his riding fees and prize money to the Cantor Fitzgerald UK relief fund, which was set up to support families of the 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who died.\nIn central England, officials observed silence at the Rockingham Speedway -- site of CART'S Rockingham 500 on Saturday -- beside an oak tree planted in memory of the Sept. 11 victims.\nCyclists in the Tour of Spain observed a moment of silence before Wednesday's fifth stage. The U.S. national anthem played while the flags of the United States, Spain and the European Union were raised -- all marked with black sashes.\n"Certainly it's solemn," said Chris Argall, who was at the Cubs' game with his wife. "It's sad to think about what happened a year ago, but it's time to move on. The time of grieving is over."\nBut not all fans and athletes were convinced that being at a game was the right thing to do.\n"I'm sure some of us would like to be playing and some of us wouldn't want to be playing. It all depends on everybody's own opinion of today's date," said Mets reliever John Franco, who stacked medical supplies at Shea Stadium after the attacks.\n"I would prefer not to, just to pay tribute to everyone."\nCubs second baseman Bobby Hill remembers being at the San Francisco airport last year, waiting for a flight to Chicago. Hill left the airport and walked a half-hour to meet his sister.\nIt was months before he got on an airplane again.\nHill can see why the games needed to be played Wednesday.\n"We helped get everyone going again last year. People were happy to see us playing," he said. "For that reason, I'm kind of glad to play."\nOne thing is changing at all venues.\nTransportation Security Administration decided to forbid aircraft, including blimps, from flying over sporting events as soon as the Federal Aviation Administration notifies pilots of the directive, said agency spokesman Robert Johnson. The prohibition will stay in effect as long as the nationwide terror alert remains at its second highest level.
(08/28/02 6:30am)
CHICAGO -- Whether it's the picturesque views of San Francisco or the powerful story of New York, the United States is confident it has a winner. \nSan Francisco and New York beat out Houston and Washington, D.C., on Tuesday when a U.S. Olympic Committee task force chose two finalists to be the American candidate for the 2012 Summer Olympics.\n"We are very confident we will bring the games to the United States in 2012," said Charles H. Moore, a former Olympic gold medalist who heads the bid evaluation task force. "I think the chances are very good for either one." \nThe U.S. Olympic Committee's board of directors will pick the 2012 candidate at a Nov. 3 meeting. Then comes the international competition, where things really get serious. \nAs many as a dozen cities -- including possibly Toronto, Rome, Paris, Moscow, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- are expected to be in the mix. The International Olympic Committee will pick the host in 2005. \n"New York offers the Olympic movement the chance to tell a powerful Olympic story," said Dan Doctoroff, New York's deputy mayor for economic development and former head of NYC 2012. "It represents the best of what the Olympics is all about, an international city where various nationalities interact peacefully every day." \nOver the past 15 months, the task force spent hundreds of hours visiting cities and analyzing bids. Members gave the final four cities a scorecard, using a scale of one to 10 to grade various factors ranging from venues to environmental impact. \nThe biggest portion of the ranking -- 54 percent -- was based on the IOC's criteria for host cities. Another 15 percent was related to the financial stability of the bid. The final 31 percent was something Moore called "what it takes to win." \nThe rankings were converted into ordinals for Tuesday's meeting, where task force members pitted the cities against each other for the first time. That was too close to determine a winner, so Moore said it ultimately came down to international strategy and appeal. \nFinally, after being holed up in a 10th-floor suite for half the day Tuesday, the task force decided on the two finalists. It wasn't unanimous, but Moore said there was a consensus. \nHe would not reveal either the scores or the final vote. \n"Washington and Houston did not fall down," Moore insisted. "This was a question of riches, and picking the two cities we felt have the best chance of winning the international competition." \nThe task force originally planned to tell the bid cities privately but decided instead to announce the decision at a nationally televised news conference. As Moore announced New York and San Francisco, someone yelled, "Yes!" while half a country away, boosters in San Francisco jumped out of their chairs and screamed. \n"I can't believe it," said a teary-eyed Suzy Jones Roy, a 1968 Olympian. "New York got it, and to be followed by San Francisco was exciting news." \nBut while those two cities celebrated, Washington watched in stunned silence. The nation's capital had been considered by many to be a favorite, with a plan that centered most of the venues in an Olympic park similar that of the Sydney Games. \n"Yes, we were surprised. Maybe shocked is the right word, and clearly disappointed," said Dan Knise, president of Washington DC 2012. \n"We put forth a great bid and we can hold our heads high," he added. \nWashington's bid might have been tainted by the Salt Lake City bribery scandal. Congress held hearings after it was discovered that Salt Lake City organizers had plied IOC members with more than $1 million in gifts and scholarships, even grilling former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch. \nNew York and San Francisco both have wide international appeal, favorite destinations for American and foreign tourists. Both have a certain magic to them, too, whether it's the Golden Gate Bridge or the legacy of being home to the American dream. \nThough New York still needs to build or renovate many of its venues, Moore said it got high marks for its infrastructure. New York is the nation's largest city, and organizers say it is best equipped to handle and move large crowds. \nAll of the venues would be accessible by either rail or water, with organizers saying athletes would never have to be on a roadway. \n"Bring 'em here," Ann Solomon, a secretary from Queens, said after hearing New York was a finalist. "The city can handle anything. We handled the 11th, didn't we? We can handle this, too." \nNew York also touts its diversity and immigrant history, likening it to the Olympic movement itself. \n"In the end, I think the reason we're one of the two is that they looked around at eight million New Yorkers and they realized this is the city that best represents the Olympics," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. \nSan Francisco's weather, waterfront and scenic vistas are the highlights of its bid, which has a budget of $2.4 billion. Organizers hope to use the Golden Gate Bridge as a signature emblem, the way Sydney's Opera House was used during the 2000 Summer Olympics. \nThough it initially spread venues from the Bay Area to Sacramento, organizers reorganized their plan over the past few months and moved several sites. Now 92 percent of the venues would be within 32 miles of the Olympic Village. \nRegardless of whether New York or San Francisco is chosen as the finalist, the U.S. entrant might be a long shot with the IOC. The United States has hosted two Olympics in the past six years, and the IOC might want to go somewhere new. \nAlso, Vancouver, British Columbia is a favorite for the 2010 Winter Games, and the IOC might hesitate to put two games in North America so close to each other.
(09/12/01 4:46am)
MILWAUKEE -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig and his wife were in New York last Thursday night, and decided to take a drive through the city after dinner.\n"We went to the World Trade Center because I hadn't been there in a while. Now to believe that they don't exist anymore," a stunned Selig said Tuesday, slowly shaking his head. "It's beyond human comprehension. There is nothing in any of our backgrounds to even begin to prepare you for this."\nWith the start of the playoffs only three weeks away, baseball became little more than an afterthought Tuesday after terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.\nTuesday's entire schedule was canceled -- the first time since D-Day in 1944 that a whole day of regular-season play was wiped out -- and Selig said he didn't know when play would resume.\nAt Qualcomm Stadium, where San Diego had been scheduled to play Los Angeles, a news radio station was playing over the clubhouse speakers.\n"For a lot of people my age, we've only read about history, and haven't really felt the impact of terror that we're dealing with," Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman said.\n"Generations before us have been through some world wars, and not that we haven't been through the Gulf War and some other issues, but to have something happen on our own soil, is a bit frustrating, it's angering, it's scary," he said. "A lot of emotions that I don't think a lot of people have ever dealt with."\nChicago White Sox bullpen coach Art Kusnyer, in New York for a series against the Yankees, was looking toward the smoke at the World Trade Center when he saw a horrible sight.\n"All of a sudden, the whole tower just collapsed," he said. "All those poor people. It was hard to watch."\nBaseball's quarterly meeting, scheduled to begin in Milwaukee Tuesday afternoon, was canceled.\n"I believe we are a social institution," Selig said. "We have a lot of responsibilities, but above all, we have a responsibility to act in a manner befitting a social institution."\nInstead of spending their day in meetings, owners who arrived before the attacks huddled around a television at the Pfister Hotel, watching for the latest developments. Cellular phones rang as friends and loved ones checked in.\nHouston Astros owner Drayton McLane had a son who was in New York on business; he called McLane's wife to say he was OK. Arizona Diamondbacks owner Jerry Colangelo reached his son Bryan, who was in Milan, Italy, and told him to stay put. Bryan Colangelo is president of the Phoenix Suns.\n"We can't worry about our game, our business," Colangelo said. "What were we all doing here? The people who were here, waiting for a meeting to take place. How silly."\nSelig heard the news when he was at home, riding his exercise bike as he does every morning. Stunned, he flipped through the channels, only to see the same horrific images everywhere.\nHe spent most of the morning making sure everyone who works in the Commissioner's Office was safe, and tracking down owners who were supposed to be traveling to Milwaukee.\nBecause the meeting wasn't scheduled to start until late afternoon, most owners planned to fly in Tuesday morning. About a quarter made it, and a few more were stranded on their way. One owner was in Des Moines, Iowa, while another was diverted to Cincinnati.\nSelig told the others to stay home. While baseball has some pressing issues with the current labor agreement expiring Oct. 31, now isn't the time to worry about them.\n"Right now I'm not concerned about any of them (issues), to be frank," said Selig, whose Milwaukee office was evacuated as a precaution because it's in the city's tallest building.\nSame for the games.\nWith fewer than 20 games left for most teams, these next few weeks are critical for clubs in the playoff hunt. Seattle is the only team that's clinched a playoff spot.\nArizona leads San Francisco in the NL West by just 11/2 games. The Giants lead the NL wild card race by only a half game.\n"I don't think it's correct to focus on that right now," said McLane, whose NL Central-leading Astros were to begin a crucial series against the Giants Tuesday night.\nColangelo agreed.\n"I don't care if they're all canceled," he said. "When it's deemed safe to proceed or it's in the interests of our country to go forward, that's when we should resume. Whenever that is.\n"If it's 24 hours from now or if it's a week from now, I'm just not concerned about it."\nIn the past, baseball has been a healing force during national tragedies. President Franklin Roosevelt ordered games to continue during World War II. When an earthquake devastated San Francisco in 1989 and delayed the World Series between the Giants and the Oakland A's, the city asked baseball to keep playing.\nSelig hopes baseball will help heal the nation again. But with emotions so raw, it's too soon to even think about it.\n"It's got to be done right. It's got to be done with only healing in mind," he said. "We're going to do this when it's the right time and the right thing to do. Not for us. This is one time we're not going to think about us.\n"We're going to think about what's best for the country"