Newspaper Page Text
Monday, March 22, 1999
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 15
Sports
What makes March mad?
1998- 99 Maroon
Tiger Basketball
Season
Cotinued from page 14
put the team on his back in
the early stages of the
season and provided senior
leadership that many times
was the difference in a
number of games.
Midway through the
season' the Maroon Tigers
got a much needed face lift.
Mike Harris returned in
excellent form, seemingly
not bothered by his
sidelining injury, and
Kenny Smith was eligible to
play in early January. I said
it here first, Kenny Smith
will be the SIAC MVP for
1999- 2000. He is simply the
truth.
When the ball gets in his
hands, a hush fills the arena
and the crowd awaits
something magical and
most times, it happens.
Smith is a refreshing
addition to the team who is
literally unstoppable and
without rival or compare
anywhere else in the SIAC.
Next year, without a doubt,
the Maroon Tigers will be
his team and the SIAC will
be all his for the taking.
Smith has the help of
the seemingly rejuvenated
junior guard Mike Bonner
who has tremendously
stepped up his game as he
fearlessly challenges and
daunts players into
submission. He will also
have the help of forward/
center James Teague who
has added nifty inside
moves to his game that has
primarily been that of ah
enforcer. To complement
Smith's game, sophomore
Jerone Dodd will be back
for another season to
provide silky smooth inside
moves as well as long range
jumpers and tenacious
jumper swatting defense to
help the cause of the
Maroon Tigers.
While the Maroon
Tigers have not had the best
record this season, they
have been enjoyable to
watch and support.
Whether on the road in
Tuskegee, down the street
at Morris Brown or at home
against Clark, the 1998-99
Maroon Tigers will leave an
indelible mark in the minds
of all who witnessed them
play.
Joe Carlos
Sports Editor
March Madness, the
NCAA's most ballyhooed and
beloved National
Championship season is once
again here to provide
basketball fans with
memorable thrills.
For three we^cs in March,
64 college campuses across
the country are transformed
into frantic places full of rabid
fans.
March Madness is unlike
any other playoff system
because teams only get one
shot. Dick Vitale is famously
quoted for saying, "It's the
greatest thing in all of sports.
Greater than the Super Bowl
and the NBA Finals, cause you
only get one shot baby, one
shot and you're out!" Vitale is
correct in stating that teams
do get one shot.
Unlike baseball or
football, the NCAA's selection
committee chooses at least
fifty teams. Many teams get
automatic bids into the
tournament by winning their
conference tournaments. This
practice is the reason a school
like FAMU, who was 12-18 for
the season, made it into the
tournament.
Some teams slip into the
'Big Dance' and succeed, they
are known as Cinderella teams.
This year's Cinderellas, have
come from schools many of us
have heard, but few expect to
make it this far. The University
of Miami of Ohio and Gonzaga
University have advanced to
the regionals of the
tournament, better known as
"The Sweet Sixteen." Other
schools like Detroit, Purdue,
Southwestern Missouri State,
and Weber State knocked off
perennial powerhouses and
higher seeds in the first two
rounds of the tournament.
One of the great things
about the tournament, is the
fact that upsets and classic
contests that go down to the
final seconds regularly occur.
College athletes become
household names in a matter
of hours and many times get
their first taste of national
limelight. I can remember back
in 1990 when everyone's
favorite, the UNLV Runnin'
Rebels defeated Duke for the
national championship. The
look on the faces of future NBA
players, Greg Anthony, Stacey
Augmon and Larry Johnson
was sheer delight. Over the
years, Michael Jordan, James
Worthy, Lew Alcindor
(Kareem Abdul Jabbar),
Patrick Ewing, Bill Russell,
Isaiah Thomas, Earvin Johnson
and Grant Hill are a few other
players who have hoisted the
NCAA championship trophy
above their heads.
What makes the March
Madness so special is the fact
that the young men playing in
these games are our age. They
are following their dreams and
playing a game that they love
on the biggest stage in the
world. March Madness is one
of the greatest sporting events
in the world because much like
the Olympics, it is amateur
athletics in its most pure, non-
tampered form. It is one of the
best things about college
sports, because of its rich
history and its continued
tradition of basketball
excellence.
Five time Cy Young winner traded to New York Yankees
Thursday February 18 TAMPA,
Fla. (AP) - Five-time Cy Young Award
winner Roger Clemens was traded to
the New York Yankees today for David
Wells, Graeme Lloyd and Homer Bush.
Clemens agreed to the deal, but
did not get an extension to his contract,
which has two years to run and calls for
him to be paid $16.1 million.
"I'm a little emotional right now,"
Wells said after meeting with Yankees
owner George Steinbrenner at the
team's training complex. "Give me a
couple days. It's a little tough right
now."
The trade shakes up the World
Series champions, coming off a record
setting 125-win season, on the day they
start training camp.
Wells, a quirky left-hander known
as "Boomer," was the toast of New York
after pitching a perfect game against the
Minnesota Twins last season, While he
clashed with Steinbrenner and manager
Joe Torre at times in 1997, he reached a
peace with them last year and became
one of the team's most effective pitchers.
"There's some shock in that room
right now," Torre said of his clubhouse.
"It's something you have to get used to.
That is what the game is all about. There
are going to be changes."
Going into today, New York had
retained 24 of the 25 players who helped
win its second Series title in three
seasons, letting go of only outfielder Tim
Raines.
"I'm shocked," Lloyd said. "To
break up the team - it's a shame."
Clemens, coming off consecutive
Cy Young awards, will report to the
Yankees this weekend.
He has always been one of
Steinbrenner's favorite players, and is
the only five-time Cy Young winner in
baseball history.
"Roger
Clemens is a non
stop Hall of
Famer," Torre
said. "The last two
years, what he's
done, it's
incredible."
"The
Rocket" exercised
a clause in a side
agreement
between himself
and the Blue Jays,
demanded a trade
Nov. 27, wanting
to be dealt either to
a contender or
closer to his home
in Houston.
Clemens,
who has never
played on a World Series champion,
withdrew the demand Dec. 22, criticizing
Houston Astros general manager Gerry
Hunsicker for blasting his request for a
$27.4 million, one-year contract
extension, which would have left the
Astros owing him $43.5 million over
three years.
Texas, Cleveland and Houston also
expressed interest in the 36-year-old
right-hander, who went 20-6 last season,
leading the American League in ERA
(2.65) and strikeouts (271), and tying for
the lead in wins. His career record is 233-
124 in 15 seasons.
Toronto had
sought several
young prospects
from teams when it
shopped Clemens
during December's
winter meetings in
Nashville, Term., but
the Yankees were
able to hold onto
some of the players
the Blue Jays coveted
most: outfielder
Ricky Ledee and
pitcher Ramiro
Mendoza.
On Wednesday,
the Blue Jays finally
lowered their
demands, and the
Yankees couldn't say
no.
"We had an
offer yesterday from them to us that
made my knees buckle," New York
general manager Brian Cashman said.
"It's tough when you have a player
the caliber of Roger Clemens staring you
in the face."
Still, the final decision was
difficult. New York set an AL record
for wins last year, going 114-48 in the
regular season. The Yankees then
went 11-2 in the postseason, including
a Series sweep of San Diego.
"It's not an easy choice to tinker
with the success we had in 1998,"
Cashman said, adding, "We're a
proactive organization and constantly
looking to improve things."
Wells, a 35-year-old left-hander
known as much for his fondness for
heavy metal as his pitching, returns
to his first major league team.
He was with the Blue Jays
froml987-92 before moving on to
Detroit, Cincinnati, Baltimore and the
Yankees. He has a 124-84 career record
and a 3.96 ERA.
Lloyd, a 31-year-old left-hander
from Australia, was 3-0 with a 1.67
ERA in 50 relief appearances last year,
combining with Mike Stanton, Jeff
Nelson and Ramiro Mendoza to form
perhaps the best middle relief corps
in baseball.
Bush, a 26-year-old infielder
who plays primarily at second base,
was voted the top Yankees rookie in
spring training last year.
He hit .380 in 71 at-bats for the
Yankees but was considered
expendable because New York has
Chuck Knoblauch.
—Staff Reports