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(04/06/04 6:17am)
SAN ANTONIO -- The Connecticut Huskies really do have it all -- the All-America center, the flashy guards, the coach who gets everything right, and now a national title won with ease.\nLed by 24 points from Emeka Okafor and 21 from Ben Gordon, the Huskies outclassed Georgia Tech 82-73 Monday night to win the championship many predicted they'd get from the very start of the season.\nThey looked like champions from beginning to end, running when they wanted, controlling the middle at other times, grabbing just about every loose ball and making the Yellow Jackets look ordinary.\nUConn became the first team since the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats to win the title after being ranked first in the preseason. The Huskies wound up on top of the college basketball world, thanks to a tall, quick, deep and talented roster put together by Calhoun.\n"Going wire-to-wire is one of the hardest things you can do, and it wasn't just the beginning of the year for us," Coach Jim Calhoun said. "This wire-to-wire went September to April, and that's as hard as it gets."\nThe 32-year coaching veteran missed making the Basketball Hall of Fame by one vote this week. After the way he built and guided this team, it's hard to imagine why. He coached UConn to its second championship in six seasons, and joined Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight as the only active coaches with multiple titles.\nOn Tuesday, tiny Storrs, Conn. -- the home of the Huskies -- could become the undisputed capital of the basketball universe. The women's team takes on Tennessee in the title game in New Orleans, and with a win, Connecticut would become the first school to sweep both championships.\n"It was a great season," Okafor said. "We had our ups and downs. This moment makes it all worthwhile."\nSome say the Huskies' success starts with Okafor, the Final Four's most outstanding player. He also had 15 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season, which was marked by persistent injuries. Prowling the lane on both ends, using his lanky 6-foot-10 frame to block two shots and alter dozens more, he dominated on offense and negated Tech's Aussie center, Luke Schenscher.\nEarly in the second half, Okafor kept his hands straight up and denied three straight Tech attempts to get the ball toward the basket. Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt buried his head in his hands and turned around toward the crowd. He couldn't believe there wasn't a foul -- or maybe he just couldn't stomach what was happening.\nBy that point, the lead had grown to 20, and although Tech's furious rally cut the deficit to seven in the final seconds, the outcome was never in doubt.\nOf course, UConn has more -- much more -- than Okafor, and every element was working.\nGordon, a junior who led the team in scoring, hit all three of his 3-pointers during the first 20 minutes to help the Huskies take a 15-point lead at halftime. His backcourt mate, Taliek Brown, bounced back from a rough game in UConn's semifinal win over Duke to finish with nine points, six rebounds and four assists.\nJosh Boone, Rashad Anderson, Charlie Villanueva -- the list goes on and on. No fewer than 10 UConn players made significant contributions in this one.\nAnderson celebrated at the end of the game by running around the court with the game ball, laughing and holding his index finger in the air as Okafor chased him. They eventually hugged -- a fond farewell for Okafor, a junior who earned his degree in three years and will almost surely leave for the NBA.\nThe two hooked up beautifully just before halftime, when Okafor snatched a missed free throw, turned and, while still airborne, threw to Anderson, who dribbled to the top of the key and swished a shot at the buzzer. The Huskies pulled it off in five seconds, and looked as if they were the only ones on the floor, instead of playing against five Yellow Jackets.\nTech got nine points and 11 rebounds from Schenscher. Will Bynum led the Jackets with 17 and B.J. Elder had 14, but they simply couldn't shoot on this night. That they shot just 38 percent from the field was understandable, given they were going against Okafor and a lineup that included two more 6-10 guys.\nBut 12-for-21 from the free-throw line? That was a killer, and it allowed the Huskies to push the lead to double digits much more easily than they might have.\nOf course, losing always hurts, but it was hard to deem this season a failure for Tech.\nThe team from the campus in downtown Atlanta was picked to finish seventh this season in the nine-team Atlantic Coast Conference, but instead made it to its first Final Four since 1990 and its first title game.\n"We may not have one name that people can latch on to, so we're somewhat nondescript," Hewitt said. "But this has been an excellent basketball team the whole season."\nThe first inkling that this could be a big year for Tech came in November, in the preseason NIT, when the Jackets dismantled UConn 77-61 to knock the Huskies out of the top spot in the poll.\nOkafor's back was hurting then. The UConn team that showed up for the final barely resembled the one from last fall.\n"The difference between this game and the preseason NIT was that this was the national championship game," Gordon said, "plain and simple"
(01/14/04 5:07am)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Bill Elliott wants to leave NASCAR on his terms. Whether he will is pretty much out of his hands.\nPartly by choice, partly by necessity, one of the most popular stock car drivers will race an abbreviated schedule in 2004 before he decides whether to say "Goodbye" for good.\nHow many races? The business side of the sport will dictate that.\n"I kind of have mixed emotions," Elliott said Tuesday during a testing session at Daytona International Speedway, 33 days before the season opens with the Daytona 500. "One side says, 'Yeah, it'd be nice to run another full season.' Another side says, 'Hey, stupid, why you wanna do that?' So, I just don't know."\nThus far, Elliott and owner Ray Evernham have secured sponsorship for only three events on the 36-race calendar. Elliott's goal is to race in 10 to 15 events.\nThe Daytona 500 on Feb. 15 is not on Elliott's schedule. He is there, though, to practice for the Budweiser Shootout, the Feb. 7 exhibition for pole winners from the previous season. Elliott is also around, as he will be all year, to help Evernham with testing and know-how for the two full-time cars the owner will field this year, including Elliott's old No. 9, which will now be driven by Kasey Kahne.\n"It's hard to totally walk away," Elliott said.\nBy most objective accounts, the 48-year-old driver is slowly being eased out of a sport that is increasingly for younger men.\n"It's going to happen to everyone at some point in time," said fellow driver Bobby Labonte.\nBut in the garage and in the stands, it's clear that almost everyone wants to see a happy ending for Elliott.\nKnown for his southern twang and simple style, 'Awesome Bill From Dawsonville' oozes a brand of southern charm that once made this sport what it is but has slowly -- some say sadly -- seeped out as a more businesslike atmosphere has taken over.\nHe earned his nickname in 1985 when he won 11 races and 11 pole positions. He won the 1988 Winston Cup championship and 44 races over a 27-year career, including one at Rockingham late last year. But the titles that say the most about Elliott are the 16 times he was voted NASCAR's most popular driver, a record that probably will never be broken.\nAs 2003 wore on, it appeared fans would be getting their last glimpses of 'Awesome Bill' on the track. But a strong finish -- he almost won the season finale at Homestead and wound up ninth in the points standings -- changed those plans. Elliott decided he wanted to come back part time, and Evernham committed to trying to make it happen.\n"I didn't want to see Bill Elliott leave the sport," Evernham said last month.\nSo the calendar was set. Elliott wants to drive at the tracks he enjoys -- Las Vegas, Atlanta, Charlotte, Kansas and Michigan. A note on his Web site asks patience from his fans, many of whom are trying to figure out his schedule so they can buy tickets.\nElliott will drive the No. 91 car this season, and fans will know when he's going for good: Evernham has promised to put him in the old No. 9 car for his final race.\nElliott believes he's fortunate to have a chance to bid farewell without going through the full grind of the season, the way Darrell Waltrip did during a winless and somewhat frustrating "Victory Tour" in 2000.\nThe limited schedule allows Elliott to set other goals. He wants to spend more time with his son, Chase. He wants to tinker with cars in other venues -- a dirt-track car he owns, the NASCAR truck series and maybe Busch cars, too.\n"You go out and give it your best, try to win races and go from there," he said. "But the main thing for me this year is to go out and have a good time"
(11/07/03 3:32pm)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The season wears on, the turnovers mount and all his friends and coaches tell the rookie quarterback to hang in there.\nPeyton Manning lived through it five years ago. Byron Leftwich is going through it right now.\nWhen the Indianapolis Colts meet the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, it will be a matchup of quarterbacks who were highly touted coming out of college, expected to lead their struggling franchises to better days.\nManning and the Colts (7-1) took their lumps during his 3-13 rookie season, but now, they are reaping rewards. Leftwich, a rookie, and the Jaguars (1-7) are only beginning the rebuilding process.\n"I think for a quarterback -- not necessarily for the team, but for the quarterback -- it's the best thing to be in there and playing," Manning said.\nThe first pick in the 1998 draft, Manning started every game as a rookie and threw for an impressive 3,739 yards and 26 touchdowns. But he was an indiscriminate thrower, not yet comfortable with the speed and intricacies of NFL defenses. He threw 28 interceptions, which brought his passer rating down to 71.2, 23rd in the league.\nHe remembers things getting better as the season progressed.\n"It was still fast, but things started to slow down," Manning said. "We didn't win a lot, but we were in a lot of ball games. I think you'll probably see that with Byron."\nLeftwich has nine interceptions in five starts, and is on pace for 21 if he starts the rest of the season. Fumbles, however, are a bigger problem. His tendency to hold the ball low and with one hand, and to not step up in the pocket, have caused him to fumble nine times and lose six. Last week, he lost two fumbles and threw a game-clinching interception in a 24-17 loss to Baltimore.\n"I don't think I'm doing anything too bad," Leftwich said. "But for some reason, if I do something wrong, it goes very, very wrong."\nCoach Jack Del Rio said at least a subtle change in mechanics is needed, although he doesn't believe it would be appropriate to try anything too drastic until the offseason. Until then, Leftwich and the Jaguars will make small changes to try to patch things up.\n"They were slapping, slapping, slapping at me during practice," Leftwich said of the defense's newly concentrated effort to remind the rookie to hold the ball high.\nWatching Leftwich get better this year -- if he does -- figures to be one of the few highlights for Jaguars fans in what is turning out to be a miserable season. Jacksonville went 5-11 in its expansion year, and the Jags are going to have to make drastic improvements to hit that mark this season.\nWord is, the term "rebuilding" is finally being used in the front office, where they're realizing the free-agent signing of Hugh Douglas (15 tackles, once sack) is looking like a bust and the offense is having trouble finding receivers who can get open.\nIf rebuilding is the theme, it makes sense to give Leftwich his snaps. The quarterback, however, isn't using inexperience as an excuse.\n"I don't look at myself as a rookie," he said. "I look at myself as a player who has to help this team win games."\nManning quickly became that. He has thrown for 4,000 yards in every season since his rookie year. The Colts have made the playoffs three of the last four years (although they haven't won a postseason game). At the halfway point of this season, Indy leads the AFC South by a game over Tennessee, and Manning leads the league with 2,128 yards. He has thrown only six picks against 16 TDs.\n"When you draft a guy like Peyton Manning, or a guy who's going to be the quarterback of the future, usually the reason you're drafting him is because you need that productivity," said Colts coach Tony Dungy, who was in Tampa when the Colts picked Manning. "I think playing them and putting them in is the way to go. I think those guys benefit from playing and learning."\nWhile Manning stars on offense, second-year defensive end Dwight Freeney is making news on the other side of the ball. He has six sacks in the last three games, including three sacks and two forced fumbles last week in a win at Miami.\nIn other words, he is exactly the kind of player a turnover-prone quarterback like Leftwich doesn't need to be seeing this week.\n"Every time I go after the quarterback, whether he's holding the ball high or low, that's my thought process," Freeney said. "I'm going to go after the quarterback and the ball"
(04/08/03 5:38am)
New Orleans -- The Syracuse Orangemen were playground players early, a bundle of nerves late. They juked, jammed and barely held on for a victory that gave coach Jim Boeheim his long-awaited championship.\nFreshmen Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara did the scoring, and Hakim Warrick came up with a huge block at the end Monday night to lift the Orange to a thrilling 81-78 victory over Kansas Warrick, who missed two free throws that would have sealed the game with 13.5 seconds left, made up for it by coming from nowhere to swat a 3-point attempt by Michael Lee that would have tied it.\nKirk Hinrich, cold all night, shot an airball at the buzzer and the Orangemen (30-5) ran to the floor to celebrate their first-ever title. Boeheim threw his arms in the air and ran to shake hands with Roy Williams, deprived once again of the championship.\nAnthony showed he is certainly ready for the NBA if he chooses, fighting off a bad back to finish with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. McNamara hit six 3-pointers in the first half to finish with 18 points.\nIn a marquee coaching matchup between Boeheim and Williams, a pair of brilliant tacticians who had never won it all, it was Boeheim who finally broke through, after 27 years coaching at his alma mater.\nSixteen years ago, Syracuse lost by one to Indiana on Keith Smart's game-winner with 4 seconds left on the same Superdome floor. Boeheim said he wanted to get the last 4 seconds right this time, and he did just barely.\n"I think this building kind of owed us one," he said.\nIn the first half, it didn't look as if he'd have to sweat it.\nWhen it was over, bad free-throw shooting killed the Jayhawks (30-8). They missed an amazing 18 of 30. They also never really found the outside touch to force the Orangemen to guard them up high. Hinrich shot 6-for-20 -- 3-for-12 from 3-point range, and missed twice with a chance to tie in the closing seconds.\nInside, Boeheim's 'D' came close to turning Kansas into a one-man show. All-American forward Nick Collison was valiant -- he finished with 19 points and 21 rebounds. But in the end, he simply didn't have enough help against the tall and long Syracuse players and that well-coached defense.\nMcNamara was relentless, unabashedly hoisting shots and making almost all of them. By the end of the first half, the Orangemen led 53-42. The 53 were the most points scored by one team in the first half of a title game.\nBut was McNamara the best player out there?\nAsk any of the three or four players who had the task of guarding Anthony, the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, after he took passes at the top of the key. A ball fake here, a dribble between the legs there, a spin or a pull-up 3-pointer -- nothing was out of the question with this guy, and very little of it was stoppable.\nEven with Anthony struggling down the stretch, Kansas couldn't play catchup well enough to tie or take the lead. A great chance came with 14 minutes left when, trailing 61-58, the Jayhawks picked off a bad pass and started rushing downcourt. But Kansas turned it right back over, and Anthony made a 3-pointer to keep the Orange ahead.\nIt was another bitter defeat for Williams, who stayed without the one victory that would round out an otherwise impeccable resume.\nNow, his next job is to decide whether he's interested in the opening at North Carolina, his alma mater, or wants to return to Kansas to try to complete his still-unfinished business.\nHe insisted he would coach the same as he always does in the final, and by the looks of things he did. He also called "foolishness" the notion that a win in this game would make him a better coach. That, for now at least, is still open for debate.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
At some point between the time the beer stops flowing and the coffee starts percolating, soccer fan John Wiesendanger will take a seat on his barstool with a stars-and-stripes sticker affixed to his chest.\n"Sleep is for wimps," he said.\nIndeed, Wiesendanger is one of those rare Americans who will do almost anything to watch the World Cup.\nThe Philadelphian counts himself among the true soccer nuts, a member of the overwhelming minority of Americans who love watching the sport, and loved it even before the United States posted its biggest World Cup victory in 52 years last week, a 3-2 upset over Portugal.\nAmerica's next game was Monday at 2:30 a.m. EDT against the home team, South Korea, a country 13 time zones ahead of the eastern United States. Everyone knows American sports fans love a winner, but now, the big question is whether casual fans will stay up late -- or wake up early -- to watch those winners play soccer.\nIn South America, Europe, most of Asia and parts of Africa, this wouldn't even be a question. The World Cup comes around every four years, and it is the most highly anticipated sporting event on Earth.\nAmericans, meanwhile, love playing soccer. The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association says more than 18 million people play in this country, leaving it behind only basketball in terms of team participation.\nBut watching the sport? That's a much different picture.\nA recent CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll showed only 5 percent were planning on watching "as much of the World Cup as possible" this year. America's victory last Wednesday, which began at 5 a.m. EDT, was watched by about 998,000 households on ESPN2 and 440,000 on Spanish-language Univision -- a great showing for soccer at that time of day, but still paltry compared to the millions who watch the sport worldwide.\nAmerican coach Bruce Arena hopes the big win over Portugal will spawn interest in the sport at home, but knows the obstacles are huge. He talked about it before his team opened play.\n"The magnitude of this event is not understood by the American public," Arena said, before quickly catching himself and adding: "If I say anything, it sounds like sour grapes."\nOf course, one win does not make the tournament a success. But with the United States' record in past World Cups, the upset over the fifth-ranked team in the world -- the United States is ranked 13th -- can certainly be viewed as a reason to get excited.\nAmerica's previous victory in World Cup play came in 1994, a 2-1 upset over Colombia, when the United States played host to the tournament. That produced a trip to the round of 16 for the first time since 1930. In 1998, the United States went 0-3 and finished dead last -- 32nd out of 32 teams.\nBefore 1990, the United States hadn't even qualified for World Cup in 40 years. In 1950, the U.S. team defeated England 1-0, and until last week, that was viewed as the biggest victory in the country's spotty soccer history.\nThe winner of the South Korean-American match could advance to the second round depending on what happens in the Portugal-Poland match to be played later Monday. The loser will have to wait to see its fate determined. The United States plays Poland on Friday at 7:30 a.m. EDT.\nHoping to capture the momentum of the American win, several barkeepers say they'll be keeping the doors open for Monday morning's game. Thus far, they've been serving the die-hard soccer fans, but now they're gearing up for more.\nPub owners Debbie and John Bayliss in Seattle will set up a beer garden outside their bar and project the game onto a wall. It will allow an extra 150 people to watch the game.\n"A guy came in and said, 'Marriages are being ruined. No one's going to work. No one's at my office'" Bayliss said.\nIn Arlington, Va., bar owner Joe Javidara can't serve beer between 1:30 and 7 a.m., but he's expecting such a big crowd, he's asking the city for special permission to set up TVs on the sidewalk outside.\n"We've had people drive hundreds of miles," Javidara said. "They sacrifice the sleep. They want to be here."\nBack in Philly, Wiesendanger already has his day, his week, the rest of the month planned out -- regardless of how the United States does.\n"The games in the middle of the week are tough," he said, as he simultaneously nursed a glass of beer and a cup of coffee. "But I'll be blowing off work to watch the U.S. play"
(02/25/02 6:55am)
SALT LAKE CITY -- With a big sigh of relief and a star-studded celebration, Utah and America bid farewell to the Olympics Sunday during a rollicking night of song and dance, a celebration of past athletic glory, and a quick glimpse into the future.\nThe closing ceremony was a wild ride, an eclectic mix of entertainment where rock band KISS shared the stage with figure skater Katarina Witt, Bon Jovi rocked the house and the Olympic flame that burned brightly for 17 days went dark.\nMost of the 2,500 athletes at the games paraded into Rice-Eccles Olympic Stadium and watched from the stands. Bobsledding bronze medalist Brian Shimer, a five-time Olympian, carried the American flag.\nCross-country skiers Johann Muehlegg of Spain and Larissa Lazutina of Russia were stripped Sunday of their most recent gold medals at the Salt Lake City Olympics after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.\nA third cross-country skier, Olga Danilova of Russia, also tested positive for the drug darbepoetin, which is used to treat anemia. All three athletes were tossed out of the Olympics.\nAt the end of the games, the athletes came down to the ice sheet on the stadium floor to mingle and party together in the final gathering of 77 nations that came to Salt Lake City -- not all of whom got along so well.\nThe mass of skiers, skaters, snowboarders and sledders watched a ceremonial rite of passage -- the passing of the Olympic flag between the mayors of the host city and the next city to welcome the games. The 2006 Winter Olympics will be in Turin, Italy.\nEarth, Wind and Fire sang. So did Harry Connick Jr. and Gloria Estefan. Dorothy Hamill and Kristi Yamaguichi skated. Dancers danced. The lights went out and a passel of glowing "stick men" skittered across the stadium, while ultraviolet paints shined through the darkness. Vice President Dick Cheney was in the audience.\nA crowd of 55,000 in the stadium and millions more watching television around the world witnessed this festival of Americana unfold -- kitschy, fun and funky.\nSalt Lake City organizers and the International Olympic Committee were happy and relieved. Other than a disturbance that resulted in 20 arrests early Sunday morning downtown, these games weren't tainted by violence. Massive traffic problems many people predicted never materialized.\nIOC president Jacques Rogge thanked the city and country "for offering us these two unforgettable weeks" and applauded the athletes for "great performances."\n"We were thrilled by your spirit of fair play and brotherhood," he said. "Keep this flame alight. Promote the Olympic dream in your countries. You are the true ambassadors of the Olympic values"
(01/26/01 6:11am)
TAMPA, Fla. -- Making a guarantee he can't keep is one sure way for an NFL coach to quickly become an ex-coach. Another is to pepper every moment with bold, brash statements, then fail to produce a winner. \nAs everyone knows, big talkers Jim Fassel and Brian Billick are both securely employed. \nThe coaches of the New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens have taken a unique, refreshing approach to football this season. They've substituted platitudes and coachspeak with reality and emotion, and that could have as much to do with their teams' sudden ascension to the Super Bowl as anything else. \n"Both coaches sort of put sticks of dynamite out there and told everybody, 'This is what we've got going,'" sports psychologist Greg Buell of Wichita State University said. "Once they said it publicly, it became easy to continue it in their locker rooms. It was easy to say, 'If we continue to do what we do, we're going to be fine.'" \nFor Fassel, it was the famous November playoff guarantee. The Giants were reeling from two straight losses and, in the coach's mind, being savaged by the New York media. \nComing off two consecutive non-playoff seasons, it was almost universally agreed Fassel was out of a job if he didn't produce a postseason trip. He knew as much, so he compared his situation to a poker game. \n"I am shoving my chips right in the middle of the table," he said. "I am raising the ante. Anybody who wants out can get out. This team is going to the playoffs." \nIt was his way of telling his players he believed in them. Some were shocked to see their placid coach get so out of character. \n"I think it was temporary insanity," defensive lineman Michael Strahan said. Buell said he believes it was much more calculated than that. \n"It was a situation where he read the tea leaves just right," Buell said. "Was he stupid? No. He shot high. He raised the bar. His players responded and he turned out to be right." \nThe Giants have won seven consecutive games since the guarantee. \nFor Billick, there has been no single, defining event, just a general air of confidence. \nAfter a 15-10 victory in Jacksonville, one of two ugly victories in which the Ravens didn't manage a touchdown, NFL Films caught Billick addressing his team in an impassioned victory speech. He sprinkled words of encouragement, profanity and the us-vs.-them attitude that seem to work in most team sports. \nWhen the Ravens won at Tennessee in the playoffs, Billick expressed his team's mindset perfectly, saying there was no use tippy-toeing into a lion's den. \n"You carry a spear, you go in screaming like a banshee, kick whatever doors in. If you go in any other way, you're going to lose," Billick said. \nHis latest act of brazenness came Monday, when he gave the media a verbal spanking for its coverage of the Ray Lewis saga, and warned reporters against overdoing it come media day. \n"If he can become a lightning rod in the Lewis thing, if the heat gets turned toward the coach, I believe the coach has done a good thing," Buell said. "He knows in this fishbowl, you're not going to escape it. But there's nothing wrong with making a statement like that." \nBoth coaches also seem to have a great sense of when not to overplay their hands. Knowing he had rubbed people wrong early in the week, Billick went to the podium Wednesday and jokingly jabbed his finger at reporters. \n"For those of you who weren't here Monday, I want to make one thing perfectly clear ..." he said, with mocking sternness. Then he moved onto new subjects, less bombastic material. \nLikewise, all week, questioners have been trying to goad Fassel into making a victory guarantee at this event, the venue where Joe Namath coined the practice 32 years ago. \nFassel never bit. \n"Sometimes you can overdo something," he said. "You can try to be cute and funny. I said that because I believed it 100 percent. I was angry and upset, and I had to get the focus going in a direction. I achieved that. Now, I don't have to be cute and funny and quotable." \nBut sometimes, it seems these coaches can't help it. \nBuell says Fassel and Billick are doing what all effective coaches do -- mastering the psychological side of the sport. \n"They're selling a system that works," he said. "There's a high level of belief in what they're doing and saying. You have to believe a big part of the success is because of how the coaches have postured themselves and sold themselves"