Newspaper Page Text
2B
♦ FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2005
Outside
the
‘Home’
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in to meet agam
(AP) - Union president Trevor
Linden and NHL board of directors
chairman Harley Hotchkiss spoke
at Chicago's O'Hare International
Airport, and the sides are planning
another meeting in an effort to
save the season.
The session lasted about five
hours, including several breaks so
each three-man negotiating group
could huddle. It was just the third
time the league and its players
have had face-to-face talks in the
four months since the lockout was
imposed Sept. 15.
NHL commissioner Gary
Bettman and union chief Bob
Goodenow were not present.
More than half of the regular sea
son - 662 of 1,230 games - has
been wiped out so far.
James sets record
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)
- Leßron James became the
youngest player in NBA history
to record a triple-double, with 27
points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists
in Cleveland's 107-101 win over
Portland.
Lamar Odom was 20 years and
54 days on Dec. 30, 1999, when
he had one for the Los Angeles
Clippers. James beat Odom's
mark by 34 days.
James' pass to Zydrunas
llgauskas with 1:19 left gave him
10 assists and completed the feat.
His teammates congratulated him
during a timeout a short time later,
and his mother cheered him from
a courtside seat.
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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Scott
Linehan agreed to a three-year
contract with the Miami Dolphins
to be their offensive coordinator,
leaving the Minnesota Vikings
without one.
In three seasons in Minnesota,
Linehan oversaw one of the
league's best offenses. The
Vikings ranked second in the NFL
in 2002, first in 2003 and fourth in
2004 in total yardage.
Though Linehan wouldn't
divulge specific terms of his deal,
he's believed to be getting a sig
nificant raise. Minnesota has one
of the lowest-paid coaching staffs
in the league.
Hackett to leave Jets
NEW YORK (AP) - Jets offen
sive coordinator Paul Hackett
knew the time had come for him
to leave the team.
Following mounting pressure
and constant criticism for his con
servative play-calling, Hackett and
coach Herman Edwards decid
ed it was best for them to part
ways. So Hackett resigned after
four seasons with the club, and
Titans offensive coordinator Mike
Heimerdinger was hired hours
later as his replacement.
Polce charge Robbins
MIAMI (AP) - Former Oakland
Raiders center Barret Robbins
was charged with three counts of
attempted felony murder, less than
a week after being shot during a
furious struggle with three police
officers investigating a burglary
call.
Robbins is best remembered
for missing team meetings the
night before the 2003 Super Bowl
in San Diego. He spent Super
Bowl Sunday in a hospital and
later acknowledged that he had
stopped taking his medicine for
depression and bipolar disorder.
Players granted fraft entry
NEW YORK (AP) - Maurice
Clarett and Mike Williams were
among 49 underclassmen granted
early entry into the NFL draft.
Players needed to file paperwork
with the league by Jan. 15.
It’s been two long years for
Clarett, the talented running back
who was suspended before his
sophomore season at Ohio State
for NCAA violations and never
returned. Clarett initially won a rul
ing to enter the draft last year, but
the decision was reversed by an
appeals court.
Williams, then a sophomore wide
receiver at Southern California,
declared for the draft after a lower
court ruled in Clarett's favor. After
the reversal, he was not allowed to
return to the Trojans, so he sat out
last season.
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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Memphis
guard Jeremy Hunt rejoined the
team after serving a two-game
suspension.
Hunt was suspended after he
was arrested on misdemeanor
assault charges in connection with
• a complaint filed by his former
girlfriend.
Soccar negotiators to meet
NEW YORK (AP) - Negotiators
from the U.S. Soccer Federation
and its union are scheduled to
meet with a federal mediator on
Thursday in an effort to resolve
the dispute threatening to keep the
regular players off the field for a
World Cup qualifier next month.
The sides, arguing over money
and other issues, will meet at a hotel
at Chicago's O'Hare International
Airport along with a mediator
from the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service.
R ASKETBALL
NBA Scoreboard from Wednesday
Boston 92. Chicago 03
Toronto 98. New York 81
Philadelphia 107, Charlotte 105
New Jersey 96, Milwaukee 90
New Orleans 90. Indiana 87
San Antonio 80. L A. Clippers 79
Memphis 88, Phoenix 79
Cleveland 107, Portland 101
L A. Lakers 93. Minnesota 90
Grizzlies 88. Suns 79
Men's College Top 25 Fared
1. Illinois (18-0) did not play Next: vs. No
23 lowa, Thursday
2. Kansas (14-0) beat Nebraska 59-57.
Next: at Villanova, Saturday.
3. Wake Forest (15-2) did not play. Next: at
No 20 Cincinnati. Saturday
4 Duke (14-0) beat Miami 92-83 Next at
Florida State, Saturday
Falcons making believers
By SCOTT ADAMSON
Scripps Howard News
Service
There was a time
when Atlanta’s
professional
baseball and football
teams were hot com
modities in the bumper
sticker business. Drive
virtually anywhere in
the city and you were
bound to see at least
one:
“Go Braves. And take
the Falcons with you.”
Cynical and funny,
these novelty items
are now relics of the
city’s distant sports
past. While the Braves
have a world champion
ship and 13 consecutive
division titles since the
early 19905, the Falcons
of the 21st century are
no longer a laughing
matter. Just ask the St.
Louis Rams.
Last Saturday night
at the Georgia Dome
the Falcons put on one
of the most dominant
postseason performanc
es in NFL history, blis
tering the Rams 47-17 to
earn a spot in Sunday’s
NFC Championship
Game vs. the Eagles in
Philadelphia.
“We’re looking for
ward to going up there
and playing,” said
Falcons Coach Jim
Mora. “I got a chance
to watch some of (the
Vikings-Eagles) game
and they’re obviously a
very impressive football
team and have earned
that number one seed
GRAHAM-
From page 1B
tests and the top three fin
ishers of each day’s racing
have to take a test. And if
you think it is easy to come
up with a urine sample after
racing a bicycle all day, you
will be wrong.
If a cyclist gets caught tak
ing drugs they face a year off
from the sport, but that's not
enough to keep them in line.
Mario Cippolini had to sit out
a year a few years back after
being caught doping up and
Jan Ullrich had to sit on the
sidelines after being caught
smoking marijuana.
Back at my University of
Tennessee alma mater one of
their top players got kicked
out of school after he got
caught submitting a fake
urine sample. He not only got
a urine sample from someone
else but he used an artificial
penis to "produce" the sam
ple in case there was a staff
member watching. He really
liked that weed.
And don’t get me started
on Ricky Williams. With an
entire lifetime of ganja-puff
ing ahead of him he still can’t
keep clean for the few years
remaining in his pro career.
All of these sports have
tougher punishments in place
than baseball, but they are
unable to keep their athletes
in line. Why does baseball
think they will be able to do
the job with their half-mea
sures?
They don’t, and what is
more, they don’t care. They
just want to throw a bone
out there to drown out the
shouts of public disgust in
the hope that the whole thing
will go away. But it won’t.
5 Oklahoma Slate (13-2) did not play
Next: vs. Baylor, Saturday
6. North Carolina (15-2) beat Clemson 77-
58 Next: vs Miami. Saturday
7. Syracuse (18-1) did not play Next: vs.
West Virginia, Saturday.
8. Kentucky (13-2) beat Mississippi 53-50.
Next: vs LSU. Saturday.
9. Boston College (15-0) beat Villanova 67-
66 Next at St. John's, Saturday
10 Washington (15-2) did not play Next:
vs. Washington State. Sunday.
11. Gonzaga (13-3) did not play Next: at
San Francisco. Thursday.
12 Georgia Tech (11-4) did not play Next:
vs. Virginia Tech, Saturday.
13. Arizona (14-3) did not play. Next: at
Oregon, Thursday.
14. Louisville (15-3) beat East Carolina 92-
41 Next: vs. Tennessee, Saturday
15. Texas (14-3) did not play. Next: at No.
18 Oklahoma. Saturday
16. Connecticut (11-3) did not play. Next:
vs No. 21 Pittsburgh. Saturday.
and earned the right to
play at home. And we
kind of feel like we’re
playing with house
money anyway, so we’re
just going to go up there
and let it roll.”
Another victory
would put Atlanta (12-
5) in the Super Bowl
for the first time since
1998 and just the sec
ond time in franchise
history.
Long-suffering fans of
one of the NFL’s peren
nial doormats saw a real
contender in the NFC
divisional playoff show
down Saturday night.
Michael Vick threw for
two touchdowns and
rushed for 119 yards;
Allen Rossum set an
NFL record for punt
returns with 152 yards
on three runbacks; and
Warrick Dunn embar
rassed the St. Louis
defense for 142 yards,
including a 62-yard
touchdown scamper.
It was a complete vic
tory by a team that cer
tainly looked like cham
pions.
When the Falcons
made their lone Super
Bowl appearancfe in the
1998 season, the club
was known as “The
Dirty Birds” - a mot
ley crew of misfits that
proved to be a one-hit
wonder. Regardless of
how the Falcons fare
Sunday, this is a fran
chise that appears to
have some staying
power. While it has a
superstar in Vick, it
’They just want to
throw a bone out
there to drown out
the shouts of public
disgust in the hope
that the whole
thing will go away’
The shouts will be louder
and louder the closer Barry
Bonds gets to his invalid
home run crown.
The more people realize
that their new Sultan of Swat
is really a Duke of Drugs the
louder the cries of protest
will get.
Maybe then the sport will
take a serious look at its
problem and take efforts to
really clean up the game.
YOUR NEW NEIGHBOR-
WARNER ROBINS
SUPPLY
OF PERRY
612 Ball Street
Behind New Perry Hotel
987-2334
SPORTS
Comer room
17. Mississippi State (15-4) did not play
Next: vs. South Carolina, Saturday.
18. Oklahoma (14-2) did not play. Next: vs.
No 15 Texas, Saturday.
19. Michigan State (11-3) did not play.
Next: at Minnesota. Saturday.
20. Cincinnati (15-2) beat Charlotte 80-58
Next: vs. No. 3 Wake Forest, Saturday
21 Pittsburgh (12-3) did not play. Next: at
No. 16 Connecticut. Saturday.
22 Alabama (14-3) did not play Next: at
Mississippi, Saturday.
23 lowa (13-3) did not play. Next: at No 1
Illinois, Thursday.
24 Wisconsin (12-3) did not play. Next: at
Michigan, Saturday.
25 Marquette (14-2) did not play. Next: at
DePaul, Thursday.
Women's College Top 25 Fared
1. Duke (18-1) beat Wake Forest 99-86.
Next: at No. 9 North Carolina, Monday.
2. LSU (16-1) did not play. Next: vs.
Arkansas, Thursday.
3. Ohio State (17-2) did not play Next: at
also has a “one-for-all”
quality to it.
“Allen (Rossum) told
me that he knew he was
going to get the game
ball and he asked me to
give it to his blockers,”
Mora said. “I think that
summarizes the unself
ish attitude of this foot
ball team and it’s going
to be one of the reasons
that we are going to be
competing in the NFC
Championship next
Sunday.”
And as Mora said, his
team will enter the con
test against the Eagles
with a minimum of
pressure.
“I think one thing
we’ve been able to do all
year is refocus or focus
on what we have to get
done,” he said. “And I
sensed it in the locker
room last night after
the game. It wasn’t a
jubilant place to be. It
wasn’t like guys were
popping champagne
and pouring it over each
other’s head or going
crazy. They were just
very calm and I feel a
certain resolve amongst
this team.
“We can be loose now.
Who would have thought
the Atlanta Falcons
would be playing for
the NFC Championship
at the start of the year,
where the Philadelphia
Eagles - this is expect
ed of them. You know?
So like I’ve said, we’ve
got the house money
and the house money’s
good.”
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Play Better Golf with JACK NICKLAUS
*
Indiana, Thursday.
4. Baylor (13-2) did not play Next: at No.
15 Texas, Saturday.
5. Stanford (15-2) did not play Next: vs.
No. 25 UCLA. Thursday.
6. Rutgers (12-3) did not play Next: vs.
Providence, Thursday.
7. Tennessee (12-3) did not play. Next: at
Auburn, Thursday.
8 Michigan State (16-2) beat Illinois 62-
42. Next: at Penn State, Sunday
9 North Carolina (14-2) did not play. Next:
at Florida State, Thursday
10. Texas Tech (14-2) beat Nebraska
68-58. Next: vs. No. 20 Kansas State,
Saturday.
11. Notre Dame (15-3) beat Syracuse 74-
61. Next: vs. No. 6 Rutgers, Sunday.
12. Minnesota (14-3) did not play. Next: vs.
Michigan, Thursday.
13. Connecticut (11-4) did not play. Next:
vs. Seton Hall, Saturday.
14 Boston College (12-2) did not play.
Next: vs. West Virginia, Thursday.
Reeves watches on proudly
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA - Dan
Reeves put most of
the pieces in place for
the Atlanta Falcons to
make another run at
the Super Bowl, includ
ing the guy who wears
No. 7 and runs like no
other quarterback.
On Sunday, Reeves
will be one of millions
sitting in front of a
television set, eager to
see how it all turns out
for Michael Vick and
the rest of the Falcons.
“He feels very
responsible for a lot of
these kids,” said Joe
DeCamillis, Reeves’
son-in-law and the
Falcons’ special teams
coordinator. “No. 1, he
drafted the quarter
back. I think he feels
a serious responsibility
to it in some regards.”
But Reeves,
who turned 61 on
Wednesday, is merely a
spectator. He was fired
by Atlanta late in the
2003 season, his ten
ure snuffed out by the
most common offense
in coaching - not
enough wins.
Of the 22 play
ers expected to start
against the Eagles, 17
are holdovers from
the Reeves era. Vick
is the most promi
nent, of course, but
the list also includes
Atlanta’s other three
Pro Bowlers: tight
end Alge Crumpler,
defensive end Patrick
Kemey and linebacker
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
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AP
Former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan
Reeves watches his team at the Georgia
Dome in Atlanta as they warm up to play the
Carolina Panthers, in this 2003 photo.
Keith Brooking. Mora
also kept nine mem
bers of Reqves’ staff
- most notably, his
son-in-law.
“He deserves a tre
mendous amount of
credit for setting the
table for us,” Mora
said of Reeves. “My
whole life, I looked up
to him. Anytime I can
pick his brain about
things that might help
the team, I do.”
Reeves, one of only
six coaches in NFL
history with 200 wins,
should also be remem
bered for perhaps the
most significant move
in Falcons history -
the trade that landed
Vick on the eve of the
2001 draft. Atlanta
moved up to get the
top overall pick when
Cleats
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15. Texas (9-6) did not play. Next. vs. No 4
Baylor. Saturday.
16. Maryland (12-3) did not play. Next: vs.
Virginia, Thursday
17. Vanderbilt (13-3) did not play Next: at
Mississippi, Thursday.
18 DePaul (13-3) did not play Next: at
Tulane, Friday.
19. lowa State (14-1) did not play. Next:
vs Nebraska, Saturday
20. Kansas State (13-3) beat Texas
ASM 74-50 Next: at No 10 Texas Tech,
Saturday.
21 Georgia (14-5) did not play. Next: at
Mississippi State, Sunday.
22. lowa (14-3) did not play. Next: at No.
24 Purdue, Sunday.
23. Virginia Tech (11-4) did not play Next:
at Clemson, Thursday.
24 Purdue (10-6) did not play Next: at
Penn State, Thursday.
25. UCLA (11-5) did not play. Next: at No
5 Stanford, Thursday.
San Diego balked at
the quarterback’s con
tract demands.
Reeves has called
up Mora several times
this season, most nota
bly after a 56-10 loss
to Kansas City in late
October.
Reeves didn’t attend
any games at the
Georgia Dome this
season, saying it’s eas
ier to watch on televi
sion.
Reeves believes the
Falcons can pull off an
upset in Philadelphia.
If history repeats
itself, would Reeves
consider attending the
Super Bowl?
“I think they’ve got
a heck of a chance
of going,” he said.
“Maybe Joe can get
me a ticket.”
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