Newspaper Page Text
2B
♦ THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 2005
Outside
the
‘Home’
Braves (habe Hudson deal
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) - The
Atlanta Braves completed a con
tract extension with Tim Hudson
on Tuesday, locking up a former
20-game winner who could have
become a free agent at the end
of the season.
“It feels good to get it done,"
Hudson said, sitting at his locker
before a spring training workout.
The Braves planned to discuss
the extension at an afternoon
news conference. Details of the
new contract were not immedi
ately available, but Hudson was
expected to get at least three
more guaranteed years, at an
average salary of about sll mil
lion.
The 29-year-old right-hander
will make $6.75 million this year.
Atlanta has locked up the top
two spots in its rotation for at least
two more seasons. John Smoltz,
another former 20-game winner,
worked out a new S2O million deal
that will keep him Atlanta through
at least 2006.
Smoltz was ecstatic to hear
about Hudson’s contract exten
sion.
“You’re talking to a guy who
has seen so many guys have to
go for the same reason that Tim
Hudson would have had to go
- because they never got it done
before his year was up,” Smoltz
said. “This is good.”
Hudson, who has a career
record of 92-39, was acquired
from Oakland during the offsea
son. The budget-conscious A’s
didn't feel they could afford the
pitcher and didn't want to lose him
as a free agent.
Last season, Hudson went 12-
6 with a 3.53 ERA in 27 starts, but
spent a month on the disabled list
with an injury to his left side.
Mourning to pqoti heat
MIAMI (AP) - Alonzo Mourning
signed a contract to rejoin the
Miami Heat, the team with whom
he spent eight previous seasons
- a stint twice interrupted by kid
ney disease. He’s expected to
make about $325,000 for the rest
of the season, a prorated share of
the sl.l million minimum veteran
contract.
Mourning, who underwent a
kidney transplant in December
2003, said he's received full clear
ance by doctors to resume play
ing. Dr. Gerald Appel, a kidney
specialist at Columbia University
Medical Center, said Mourning is
in better shape now than at any
time in the last 4 1/2 years.
Mourning - who has career
averages of 19.8 points and 9.6
rebounds - came to Miami in a
trade with the Charlotte Hornets
before the 1995-96 season. The
Heat later signed him to a $lO5
million, seven-year deal.
He helped Miami to four 50-win
seasons, including a 61-21 mark
in 1996-97.
Mourning missed the 2002-
03 season, his last with Miami,
because of his kidney problems.
He signed a $22.6 million, four
year deal with New Jersey, but
the Nets soon fell from title con
tention. Mourning briefly retired
after the transplant, yet returned
this season.
New Jersey traded him to
Toronto, part of the deal bring
ing Vince Carter to the Nets.
Mourning never reported to the
Raptors, who bought him out for
$9 million to $lO million - and
the Heat gladly welcomed their
former cornerstone home.
Bucs release Johnson
(AP) - Hours before free
agency began, the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers released quarterback
Brad Johnson and wide receiver
Joe Jurevicius.
They joined a number of other
veterans on the unemployment
line as teams worked to get under
the $85.5 million salary cap.
Also released was Troy Brown,
who played both offense and
defense last season for three
time Super Bowl champion New
England.
The 33-year-old Brown, a 12-
year veteran who was both a
wide receiver and return man for
New England, became the team's
third cornerback last season after
injuries decimated the secondary.
He became a free agent when the
Patriots declined to pick up the
option in his current contract.
Two other Bucs also were cut:
cornerback Mario Edwards and
linebacker lan Gold.
Mrza beats Kuznetsova
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates
(AP) - U.S. Open champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova lost in the
second round of the Dubai Open
to Sania Mirza, an Indian wild
card who overcame an early
ankle injury and won the second
round match 6-4, 6-2.
Mirza, who last month became
the first Indian woman to win a
WTA Tour title, fell and hurt her
left ankle in the third game. She
then was a point from dropping
behind 5-0 in the first set. But
she won 12 of the next 14 games
to beat the Russian, last year's
Dubai runner-up.
Nationals slowly settling in
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Sports Writer
VIERA, Fla. - Take a look
around the Washington
Nationals’ spring training
site and there are plenty of
hints that this has been a
team in transition.
A groundskeeper wears
an Expos cap while driving
past practice fields. Game
worn Montreal jerseys
are available in the sou
venir shop, marked down
from $125 to SSO. Seats in
the stands at Space Coast
Stadium and the lockers in
the home and visiting club
houses are teal, the color
of the Florida Marlins, a
previous resident.
Nonetheless, the
Nationals are finally setting
down roots.
“Everybody wants a
home, ” said Brad Wilkerson,
who tied for the team lead
last year with 32 home runs.
“We bring a lot of energy to
the ballpark, and it’s going
to give us an advantage.
Now that that’s all behind
us, we can bring more and
more energy.”
Starting Wednesday
with the spring training
opener against the visiting
New York Mets - the first
chance for baseball fans
in the nation’s capital to
root, root, root for the home
team since the Senators left
for Texas after the 1971
season.
“There’s a lot of expec
tations now, because it’s
the Washington Nationals
now, it’s not the Montreal
U.S. men open soccer Ming camp
By SCOTT ADAMSON
Scripps Howard News
Service
The U.S. Men’s National
Team is embarked on key
stage on its effort to qualify
for the next years soccer
World Cup, namely the re
start of training camp, a
pair of “friendlies” and a
pivotal road match against
arch-rival Mexico.
Earlier this week in
Carson, Calif., U.S. coach
Bruce Arena welcomed 22
players who will vie for play
ing time against Columbia
and Honduras in exhibition
matches prior to the show
down with Mexico March
27 at Estadio Azteca.
Three days later, on March
30, the Americans travel
to Birmingham, Ala., for a
qualifying match against
Guatemala.
“We’re about to enter an
important phase of World
Cup qualifying, and it
requires that we improve
in our preparation for the
next set of games,” Arena
said. “With nearly a month
to prepare, a solid schedule
of friendlies, and the intro
duction of high altitude
training, we feel that we
can put ourselves in a good
position to get results from
the games against Mexico
and Guatemala.”
The 22 athletes currently
in camp are all domestic
based players, most mem
bers of Major League Soccer.
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'They certainly have been kind of
teased the last few years about how
the club is going to be sold, no it's not,
yes it is, no its not. They're really
happy about this situation finally being
resolved. And I think you’ll see the
result on the field.'
- Nationals manager Frank Robinson
Expos,” said outfielder Jose
Guillen, who came over from
the Anaheim Angels in the
offseason. “I’m excited. I’m
happy. I’m looking forward
to getting into that rhythm
of games. Until now, it’s
just been practice, practice,
practice.”
And for the players who
were with the Expos in
recent years, it’s been a
matter of patience, patience,
patience.
First, there was the threat
of contraction. Then came
two seasons with some
“home” games in Puerto
Rico. Next came the pro
tracted process of getting
the District of Columbia
Council to clear the way
for the Expos to move to
Washington, a deal that
wasn’t sealed until late
December.
And there is still the
impending sale of the team,
currently owned by major
league baseball’s other 29
franchises.
But hope always springs
eternal at spring training,
The European-based play
ers - such as starting goal
keeper Kasey Keller - are
expected to begin arriving
March 20.
MLS expansion team
Real Salt Lake has loaned
defender Eddie Pope to the
MNT effort, and Pope is
the top cap-winner on the
roster with 67 international
appearances. Also on hand
is FC Dallas striker Eddie
Johnson, who has wowed
fans with six goals in his
first four matches with the
National Team.
Johnson is the only play
er in U.S. history to score in
his first four appearances
with the men’s national
team, after tallying the first
goal in a 2-1 victory over
Trinidad & Tobago. He is
one of just three players to
score in four consecutive
games.
Colorado Rapids standout
Pablo Mastroeni is also in
camp, as well as 2004 MLS
Goalkeeper of the Year Joe
Cannon and national team
regular Frankie Hejduk.
The team will remain
in Carson until March
10 - a day after meeting
Columbia.
Then it’s off to Colorado
Springs, where the squad
will undergo high alti
tude training until head
ing to Albuquerque for the
March 19 match against.
Honduras.
The conditions are
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SPORTS
and with some new faces
and - most importantly - a
semblance of normalcy set
ting in, an improvement on
last season’s 67-95 record
is widely expected around
these parts.
“I see the enthusiasm
throughout this organiza
tion - the veteran play
ers and the youngsters
- because they understand
now the situation is much
better than it was,” man
ager Frank Robinson said.
“They have endured.
“They certainly have
been kind of teased the last
few years about how the
club is going to be sold, no
it’s not, yes it is, no it’s not.
They’re really happy about
this situation finally being
resolved. And I think you’ll
see the result on the field.”
Working with a relatively
low payroll budget of SSO
million, general manager
Jim Bowden added third
baseman Vinny Castilla and
shortstop Cristian Guzman
through free agency and
traded for Guillen.
designed to help the
Americans get acclimated to
the high elevation they will
compete in against Mexico.
“We know the match in
New Mexico is going to be
a critical step for us as we
prepare for the high-alti
tude and difficult conditions
that await us for our match
in Mexico City,” Arena
said. “We haven’t played in
New Mexico for more than
10 years, so we’re excited
about getting into a new
market with such an impor
tant game.”
On March 20 the U.S.
will return to Colorado
Springs to complete their
preparations before depart
ing for the FIFA World
Cup Qualifier in Mexico
City, then the focus will
turn to Birmingham and
Guatemala.
The U.S. will play 10
games in the final round
of qualifying for the 2006
World Cup through Oct. 13,
2005.
The United States, Costa
Rica, Guatemala, Mexico,
Panama and Trinidad &
Tobago are competing for
three automatic berths to
the World Cup finals in
Germany.
The fourth-place fin
isher will face the fifth
place team from the Asian
Football Confederation in
a home-and-home series to
determine the last qualifier
for the 32-country field.
Comer room
ENNIS
At Tift County Tuesday
Tift County girls 3, Houston County Z
No. 1 singles
S. Dutchen, TC, beat Belh Johnson, HC.
6- 6-3
No. 2 singles
Anna McCarthy, HC, beat S. Perlis, TC,
7- 6-2
No. 3 singles
Sarah Dunn, HC, beat L. Lamb, TC, 6-2,
6-3
No. 1 doubles
R. Lawlrn, TC, beat Sarah Anzjon and
Candice Hall, HC, 6-0, 6-0
No. 2 doubles
A Lawlrnand R Jampler, TC, beat Sarah
Stokes and Megan Oberle, HC, 6-0,6-0
Record: Houston County 2-5 overall, 0-
5 in Region 1-AAAAA
Tift County boys 3, Houston County 2
No. 1 singles
J. Bowen, TC, beat Josh Milam, HC, 6-0,
6-0
No. 2 singles
Will Spence, HC, beat M. Bowen, TC,
6-2, 6-3
No. 3 singles
D. McAllister, TC, beat Matt Heath, HC,
6-1, 6-3
No. 1 doubles
J. Sauls and R. Vvann, TC, beat Victor
Wongk and Blake Bloser, HC, 6-3,6-1
No. 2 doubles
Ben Shepherd and Zane Willey, HC, beat
C. Tillman and T. Celia 6-4, 6-4
NASCAR fines three crew chiefs
Special to the HHJ
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
- NASCAR announced
Tuesday that fines have been
issued to three NASCAR
NEXTEL Cup Series crew
chiefs resulting from rule
violations this past weekend
at California Speedway.
Tim Weiss, crew chief of
the No. 73 Chevrolet driven
by Eric McClure, was fined
$ 10,000 for violating Sections
12-4-A (actions detrimen
tal to stock car racing) and
12-4-CC (unapproved third
gear transmission ratio) of
the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup
GRAHAM
From page 1B
himself a one-game suspen
sion and Temple followed by
declaring him ineligible for
the team's remaining two
regular season games and
then later it was announced
Chaney would not be allowed
to coach in the Atlantic Ten
tournament and any postsea
son play.
Not enough by a long shot.
Chaney has a reputation
as a hothead. He got himself
in trouble several years back
by physically attacking John
Calipari after a game. He was
suspended for one game fol
lowing that incident.
Chaney has been in the
coaching game for a long
time and has built up a lot
of respect by molding the
Temple program into a con
sistent winner. He is also one
of the few African-American
coaches in the business and
that makes him pretty much
bulletproof.
The only difference
between this incident and the
one that lost Woody Hayes
his job back in the day is that
Woody threw a punch person
ally and Chaney threw his by
proxy. And Hayes’ punch did
not result in any injuries.
Yes, Chaney called the play
er’s family and offered to pay
his hospital bills, but he knew
all along that those would be
covered by the NCAA so it
was a pretty hollow offer.
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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Record: Houston County 1-6 overall, 0-5
in Region 1-AAAAA
At Columbus, Tuesday
Hardaway girls 3, Warner Robins 2
Girls
No. 1 singles
Maria Hunter, HY, defeated Katie Causey,
WR, 10-2
No. 2 singles
Sasha Riveria, HY, defeated Christina
Kious, WR, 10-6
No. 3 singles
Monique Tobias, WR, defeated Carson
Greer, HY, 10-0
No. 1 doubles
Sagen Woolery/Jenna Ziensenhene, WR,
defeated Liberty Mack/Ashley Hardy. HY,
10-1
No. 2 doubles
Princess Phillps/Tamela Thompson, HY,
defeated Maya Uddin/Emily Fowler, WR,
10-9 Tie Breaker
Hardaway boys 5, Warner Robins 0
No. 1 singles
Daniel Harden, HY. defeated Vann Jarrell,
WR, 10-2
No. 2 singles
Dan Ellis, HY defeated Kyle Yawn, WR,
10-2
No. 3 singles
Phillip Land, HY, defeated Josh Milteer,
WR, 10-0
No. 1 doubles
Pat Toole/Davey Garay. HY, defeated
Brannon Poole/Dan Grace, WR, 10-0
No. 2 doubles
Wade White/Josh Morris, HY, defeated
Joseph Allen/Dan McCullers, WR, 10-6
Series rule book.
David Hyder, crew chief
of the No. 49 Dodge driv
en by Ken Schrader, was
fined $5,000 in violation of
Sections 12-4-A and 12-4-CC
(unapproved final drive gear
ratio).
Billy Poindexter, crew
chief of the No. 37 Dodge
of Kevin Lepage, was fined
twice. Poindexter was fined
$5,000 for violating Sections
12-4-A and 12-4-Q (car, car
parts, components and/or
equipment used that do not
conform to NASCAR rules)
for an unapproved deck lid.
Chaney is probably not the
first coach to send a goon out
to deliver a message, heck,
Bill Laimbeer made a career
out of it with the Pistons.
But Chaney is the first to
admit doing it and then hav
ing it result in a significant
injury to an opposing player.
Chaney should not only sit
out the remainder of the year,
he should be given some seri
ous time off for soul search
ing about whether or not he
should return to coaching. A
few anger-management class
es would not hurt either.
Coach-sanctioned thuggery
has no place in college bas
ketball ...
... Just a word of warn
ing to all of you NASCAR
fans out there: the Formula
1 season begins next week
in Australia and I am a big
fan. So you will probably be
hearing more from me about
the world’s Number One rac
ing circuit than you are used
to. Give it a try, you might
enjoy it.
When you look at the
technology involved in FI it
makes NASCAR look like go
karts.
Michael Schumacher and
his Ferrari team is look
ing for their unprecedented
eighth driving championship
this season. They go fast and
they have to turn right and
left. How refreshing.
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