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► WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2004
Outside
the
‘Home’
Martinez to sign with Mets
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Pedro
Martinez closed in on a four-year
deal with the New York Mets, and
the Boston Red Sox resigned
themselves to losing the three
time Cy Young Award winner as
baseball's annual winter meetings
finished.
Also, the Chicago White Sox
dealt Carlos Lee to Milwaukee
for Scott Podsednik, Luis Vizcaino
and a player to be named, and
four free-agent agreements
were announced. Catcher Mike
Matheny reached a $10.5 million,
three-year agreement with San
Francisco, right-hander Esteban
Yan agreed to a $2.25 million,
two-year contract with Anaheim,
right-hander Todd Jones finalized
a sl.l million, one-year deal with
Florida and outfielder Wil Cordero
got a $600,000, one-year con
tract from the Washington-bound
Expos.
In an agreement awaiting a
physical, second baseman Jose
Hernandez agreed to a $l.B
million, one-year contract with
Cleveland.
Martinez helped pitch Boston
to its first World Series title since
1918, but Red Sox general man
ager Theo Epstein said he refused
to increase the team's offer in the
past two days. Martinez, 33, must
pass a physical before the Mets
complete the deal.
Polack named M-America
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia
defensive end David Pollack con
tinued to add to his long list of
postseason awards when he was
named to The Associated Press
All-America team Monday.
Pollack, earlier named the
Southeastern Conference's
Defensive Player of the Year by
The Associated Press, had 48
tackles, including 9 1/2 sacks and
14 1/2 tackles for a loss, for No. 8
Georgia this season. He will lead
the Bulldogs (9-2) against No. 16
Wisconsin (9-2) in the Outback
Bowl on Jan. 1.
On Sunday night, Pollack
won the inaugural Lott Trophy
in Newport Beach, Calif. Named
for NFL Hall of Fame member
Ronnie Lott, the award honors
the IMPACT national defensive
Player of the Year. IMPACT is an
acronym for Integrity, Maturity,
Performance, Academics,
Community and Tenacity.
Pollack also won the Lombardi
Award as the nation’s top col
lege lineman and the Bednarik
Trophy, given to the nation's top
defensive player. Georgia safety
Thomas Davis was a second
team AP All-America pick.
Roddck spits with coach
(AP) - Andy Roddick split with
coach Brad Gilbert after 1 1/2
years together that yielded a U.S.
Open title and the No. 1 ranking.
No specific reason was given for
the surprising change in a state
ment Roddick released through
SFX Sports Group.
Roddick went 121-26 and won
nine titles with Gilbert, including
his first Grand Slam at Flushing
Meadows last year. Roddick fin
ished 2003 atop the ATP Tour
rankings to become, at 21, the
second-youngest American to end
a season there.
But Roddick was relegated
to No. 2 this year behind Roger
Federer, who became the first man
since 1988 to win three majors in
a season. Federer, who hasn't
had a coach since firing Peter
Lundgren at the end of last year,
beat Roddick for the Wimbledon
title and in two other tournament
finals to improve to 8-1 against the
American over their careers.
Mendenhall headed to BYU
PROVO, Utah (AP) - Defensive
coordinator Bronco Mendenhall
was hired as the football coach
at Brigham Young. Mendenhall
replaces Gary Crowton, who
stepped down two weeks ago.
BYU also interviewed Utah
defensive coordinator Kyle
Whittingham, but he accepted an
offer to take over for Urban Meyer
as coach of the Utes. Meyer took
the job at Florida.
When he announced his resig
nation, Crowton said it was time
for new leadership after BYU went
14-21 over the last three years,
the school's worst three-year run
since the early 19605.
■nois stays at No. 1
(AP) - Illinois was No. 1 in The
Associated Press' college bas
ketball poll for a second straight
week, the school's longest run
ever at the top of the rankings.
The lllini (9-0) moved into the
top spot for the third time in school
history last week. The other two
times - 1952 and 1989 - they
were there for all of a week,
although they reached the Final
Four both of those years.
This Illinois team had easy wins
over Chicago State, Georgetown
and Oregon last week and stayed
No. 1 with 35 first-place votes
and 1,748 points from the national
media panel. •
Kansas (6-0), which beat Texas
Christian and Louisiana-Lafayette
last week, stayed second with 22
No. 1 votes and 1,709 points.
H ASKETBALL
National Basketball Association
W L Pet GB
New York 10 10 .500
Boston 9 11 .450 1
Philadelphia 8 12 .400 2
New Jersey 7 13 .350 3
Toronto 7 16 .304 4 1/2
Southeast Division
W L Pet GB
Miami 16 7 .696 -
Washington 12 7 .632 2
Orlando 13 8 .619 2
Charlotte 4 14 .222 91/2
Atlanta 4 16 .200 10 1/2
Central Division
W L Pet GB
Cleveland 13 8 .619 -
Detroit 10 10 .500 21/2
Indiana 10 10 .500 21/2
Milwaukee 6 12 .333 51/2
Chicago 4 15 .211 8
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W L Pet GB
San Antonio 17 5 .773 -
Dallas 15 8 .652 21/2
Houston 9 12 .429 7 1/2
Memphis 9 14 .391 8 1/2
New Orleans 1 18 .053 14 1/2
Northwest Division
Smoltz to make return to
Braves' starting rotation
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA - Leo Mazzone
expected to
enter spring
SMOLTZ Instead
the Braves
pitching
coach only has to figure out
the bottom of the rotation.
Make no mistake, the
Braves’ No. 1 starter is John
Smoltz, who returns to the
rotation thanks to the team’s
acquisition of closer Danny
Kolb from the Milwaukee
Brewers Saturday night.
“Smoltzie is certainly a
number one starter in the
National League,” Mazzone
said Sunday.
Smoltz has 154 saves the
last four seasons, but the
trade for Kolb clears the way
for Smoltz to start.
The Braves have to replace
at least two starters from the
2004 rotation. Russ Ortiz
signed with Arizona, and
Jaret Wright has reached a
preliminary agreement on
a deal with the New York
Yankees. Ortiz and Wright
each won 15 games last sea
son, sharing the team lead.
Smoltz, Mike Hampton
and John Thomson likely
will enter spring training as
the team’s top three start
ers. They could be joined
in the rotation by Horacio
Ramirez, if the left-hander
has recovered from a shoul
der injury. Ramirez ranked
fifth in the NL with a 2.25
Food (Wil)banks
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submitted
Bob Wilbanks of Warner Robins killed a 10-point buck
“with a couple more 3/4 inch stickers” in Baldwin County
recently. He said he had already killed an 8-pointer before
this one.
Comer room
W L Pet GB
Seattle 17 4 .810
Minnesota 13 7 .650 31/2
Denver 12 8 .600 4 1/2
Portland 10 9 .526 6
Utah 9 12 .429 8
Pacific Division
W L Pet GB
Phoenix 18 3 .857 -
Sacramento 14 6 .700 31/2
L.A. Lakers 12 8 .600 51/2
LA. Clippers 11 9 .550 61/2
Golden Stale 6 14 .300 11 1/2
Wednesday's Games
Denver at Boston, 7 p.m.
Miami at Washington, 7 p.m.
Portland at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Detroit at New York, 8 p.m.
Golden State at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Orlando at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m.
Utah at Phoenix, 10:30 p.m.
NBA Capsules
Celtics 134, Clippers 127, 20T
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paul Pierce and
Ricky Davis each scored 34 points as
Boston over came a 12-point deficit.
Davis had 19 points in the fourth quarter
and seven in the second extra session to
rally the Celtics. Gary Payton had six of his
15 points in the second overtime.
Suns 121, Magic 100
ERA at the time of his inju
ry-
The Braves may re-sign
free agent Paul Byrd.
“Right now with the three
guys coming out of the gate
- Smoltz, Hampton and
Thomson - who are pretty
darn good, you start visual
izing again one of the top
rotations in the game,”
Mazzone said.
Smoltz enjoyed great suc
cess as a closer, setting a
National League record with
55 saves in 2002 and add
ing 45 saves in 2003 and 44
saves in 2004.
But Smoltz began his
career as a starter, winning
24 games and the Cy Young
Award in 1996. In 361 career
starts, Smoltz posted a 159-
115 record and a 3.37 ERA.
Mazzone and Braves man
ager Bobby Cox knew Smoltz
longed to return to the rota
tion.
“I think there are times
when John really wished it,
and we all did when we saw
Roger Clemens or Randy
Johnson or Curt Shilling
starting against us and we
wished we could match him
up against them,” Mazzone
said.
With Smoltz in the bull
pen, Tom Glavine spending
the last two seasons with
the New York Mets and
Greg Maddux returning to
the Chicago Cubs last sea
son, the Braves were left
without a clear No. 1 starter
to match up with other top
National League pitchers.
Smoltz, 37, has had four
elbow surgeries, including
two since 1999 - the last
season he was a full-time
starter. But he believes that
starting is less demanding
SPORTS
PHOENIX (AP) - Leandro Barbosa
scored 19 points in relief of foul-plagued
Steve Nash and the Phoenix set a team
record for best start to a season.
Mavericks 94, Bulls 93
CHICAGO (AP) - Michael Finley hit the
winning shot with 3.2 seconds left and
scored 27 points for Dallas. Dirk Nowitzki
had 21 points for the Mavericks despite
a poor-shooting night. He was 4-of-18
from the floor and 13-of-19 from the free
throw line.
Chicago's Ben Gordon hit a 3-pointer
from the corner to give Chicago a 93-91
lead with 12 seconds left. Chicago’s Kirk
Hinrich missed a 15-foot jumper as time
expired.
Heat 106, Wizards 83
MIAMI - Shaquille O'Neal scored a
season-high 40 points, and the Miami
Heat overcame the loss of leading scorer
Dwyane Wade to beat the Washington
Wizards 106-83 Monday night for their fifth
straight win.
Wade sprained his left ankle grabbing
a loose ball with 3:18 left in the first half,
and did not return. A Heat spokesman said
Wade's second-half absence was “more
precautionary than anything else."
Cavaliers 92, Grizzlies 86
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Leßron James
punctuated a 31-point performance with a
slam in the closing seconds and finished
with eight assists and seven steals.
Jeff Mclnnis added 18 points, and
Zydrunas llgauskas finished with 11 points
and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Drew
Gooden finished with 11 points.
on his elbow.
“I don’t have any doubts
that I can do this,” Smoltz
told the Atlanta Journal-
Constitution. “My only con
cerns are going to be that I
don’t get too crazy and try
to do too much. I’m excited.
It’s an incredible challenge,
and I think nothing but posi
tive things going into this.”
Smoltz experienced more
problems with his right
elbow last season, when he
missed 28 days due to ten
dinitis. He returned for the
last two weeks of the season
and the Braves’ playoff loss
to Houston.
Smoltz earned a win in
relief in the playoffs, but he
often has said he can be of
more value as a starter in
the postseason.
“My feeling is you’ve got to
get to the postseason first,”
Mazzone said. “Let’s hope
we get to the postseason.”
But Mazzone said he sup
ports the move.
“I think it’s great,”
Mazzone said. “Your bull
pen is only as good as your
starting rotation. If you
don’t have a good rotation
and Smoltzie is your closer,
then you’re basically wast
ing him.”
Kolb was an All-Star last
season when he saved 39
games.
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Men’s College Top 25 Capsules
No. 6 Wake Forest 67, Temple 64
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Trent Strickland
scored all nine of his points in the final
9 minutes and No. 6 Wake Forest went
5-for-6 from the free throw line over the
final 2 minutes to hold off Temple 67-64 on
Monday night.
Eric Williams, who along with fellow
starter Chris Paul, was disciplined for 5
minutes for being late for the team bus on
the way to the game, had 17 points for the
Demon Deacons (7-1), while Justin Gray
added 15.
No. 20 Mississippi St. 74, New
Orleans 59
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Shane Power
scored 17 points and Mississippi State
extended its road winning streak to 13
games with the win over New Orleans.
Lawrence Roberts and Jamall
Edmondson each scored 14 points, Ontario
Harper added 11 and Winsome Frazier fin
ished with 10 for the Bulldogs (8-2), who
have won six of their last seven.
Women's College Top 25 Capsules
No. 10 Ohio State 70, Penn 57
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Brandie
Hoskins scored a season-high 21 points,
and Jessica Davenport added 18 to lead
10th-ranked Ohio State to a 70-57 victory
Monday over surprisingly tough Penn.
Ohio State (9-1) had won its previous
five games by an average of 40 points.
Hoskins was 9-of-14 from the field and fin
ished one point shy of her career high - set
against Penn on Dec. 21, 2003.
Temple 71, No. 22 Rutgers 60
NHL reportedly set to
turn down union offer
By IRA PODELL
AP Sports Writer
NEW YORK - The NHL
season might be over before
it ever started.
The league reportedly
was set to formally reject
the latest offer by the NHL
players’ association, which
features a 24-percent salary
rollback and had led to hope
the lockout would end.
The two sides were to
meet Tuesday afternoon
in Toronto for a bargain
ing session. But Canadian
sports network TSN report
ed Monday that NHL execu
tive vice president Bill Daly
told the 30 team owners
the league will turn down
the union’s offer made last
week. TSN cited a memo
from Daly to the owners.
“We believe the union’s
Dec. 9 CBA proposal, while
offering necessary and sig
nificant short-term finan
cial relief, falls well short
of providing the fundamen
tal systemic changes that
are required to ensure that
overall league economics
remain in sync on a going
forward basis,” Daly said in
Sunday’s memo.
“While the immediate
‘rollback’ of 24 percent
offered by the union would
materially improve league
economics for the 2004-05
season, there is virtually
nothing in the union’s pro
posal that would prevent
the dollars ‘saved’ from
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cynthia Jordan
scored 20 of her 28 points in the first half,
leading Temple to its first victory over a
ranked team since it beat Rutgers in 1989.
Candice Dupree added 16 poinls for
Temple (5-3), which prospered on the
strength of a 13-2 run in the second half.
Matee Ajavon led Rutgers (5-2) with 18
points.
p OOTBALL
NFL Capsule
Chiefs 49, Titans 38
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - For two also
rans, the Chiefs and Titans sure know how
to put on a show. A long, wild, controversial
show.
The Monday night showcase featured
925 yards of offense, a season-high receiv
ing performance, a highly debatable pen
alty, a bunch of comebacks - and, finally,
a smile on the face of Kansas City coach
Dick Vermeil after a 49-38 victory.
“I'm sure it was entertaining," said
Vermeil, who scowled at his porous defense
most of the night. “Some people may have
turned their sets off early. I noticed that a
lot of people left the game, the stands had
empty seats."
Kansas City (5-8), which won 13 games
last season, was helped greatly by a phan
tom penalty, then got the winning points
on a 9-yard touchdown catch by Eddie
Kennison with 32 seconds remaining. Trent
Green capped a 64-yard drive in just over a
minute with his third touchdown pass.
being redirected right back
into the player compensa
tion system, such that the
league’s overall financial
losses would approach cur
rent levels in only a matter
of a couple of years.”
Optimism that the offer
might soon lead to an end
to the 90-day lockout disap
peared Monday when the
report of the NHL’s posi
tion came out. If the owners
turned down the proposed
deal Tuesday and presented
a counteroffer that included
a salary cap, the players’
association might quickly
break off talks.
If that happens, the NHL
would be dangerously close
to becoming the first North
American sports league to
lose an entire season to a
labor dispute.
Daly declined comment on
the memo to The Associated
Press, and wouldn’t confirm
its existence.
Lou Lamoriello, the New
Jersey Devils general man
ager who is on the NHL’s
negotiating committee, had
no comment other than
to say, “I’d rather just let
things be and then wait
until tomorrow.”
Ted Saskin, the NHLPA
senior director, wouldn’t
respond to the TSN report.
“It would not assist the
collective bargaining pro
cess to comment on excerpts
from a leaked league docu
ment,” Saskin said.
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