Newspaper Page Text
2B
♦ FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2005
Outside
the
‘Home’
Bryant lawsuit settled
DENVER (AP) - Kobe Bryant
and the 20-year-old woman who
accused him of rape nearly two
years ago settled her civil lawsuit
against him.
Terms were not released. A
statement faxed to The Associated
Press by Bryant's attorneys said
only that the matter had been
resolved “to the satisfaction of
both parties."
Bryant was in Boston for a
game against the Celtics and
scored 26 points in a loss. He did
not comment on the settlement.
The lawsuit, filed three weeks
before the criminal case against
the Lakers star collapsed last
summer, sought unspecified dam
ages for mental injuries, public
scorn and humiliation the woman
said she suffered since their June
2003 encounter at the Vail-area
hotel where she worked. The
woman, now pregnant and mar
ried, has not commented publicly
on the case.
Trai Blazers Ire Cheeks
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)
- Maurice Cheeks was fired
as coach of the Portland Trail
Blazers, who have dropped
seven of nine games and are in
danger of missing the playoffs for
the second straight year. Kevin
Pritchard, the team’s director of
player personnel, was appointed
interim head coach.
Cheeks, who played in the
NBA for 15 seasons, leaves the
Blazers with a 162-139 career
record.
Robinon gets late award
WASHINGTON (AP) - Jackie
Robinson was posthumously
awarded a Congressional Gold
Medal, more than half a cen
tury after breaking baseball’s
color barrier. President Bush
gave Congress' highest honor
to Robinson’s widow, Rachel
Robinson, in a ceremony in the
Capitol Rotunda. The Democratic
and Republican leaders of the
House and Senate and the com
missioner of major league base
ball looked on.
When Robinson joined the
Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, pro
fessional baseball was segre
gated. He died in 1972 and his
No. 42 was retired throughout
baseball in 1997.
Former Brave passes away
VIERA, Fla. (AP) - Rick Mahler,
who won nearly 100 games dur
ing a 13-year career spent mostly
with the Atlanta Braves, died
Wednesday. He was 51.
Mahler died of a heart attack
at home in Jupiter, Fla., while
preparing for his second season
as a minor league pitching coach
for the New York Mets, the team
said. He was set to rejoin the
Mets' Class-A team in Port St.
Lucie.
Mahler pitched in the majors
from 1979-91, going 96-111 with a
3.99 ERA. His best season came
in 1985, when he went 17-15 with
a 3.48 ERA for the Braves.
None get Hal election
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The base
ball Veterans Committee failed to
elect anyone to the Hall of Fame.
Gil Hodges and Ron Santo came
the closest with 65 percent - 75
percent was needed for induction
- each falling eight votes shy.
Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat were the
only other players to be picked on
more than half of the 80 ballots.
Moss joins Raiders
ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) - Randy
Moss joined the Raiders, when
Oakland completed a trade with
the Minnesota Vikings for the star
receiver. The Vikings received
linebacker Napoleon Harris, the
No. 7 pick in April's NFL draft
and a late-round pick in the deal,
which was completed a week ago
but couldn’t be made official until
Wednesday.
Andnizzi signs witti Browns
CLEVELAND (AP) - The New
England Patriots lost another
player when guard Joe Andruzzi
signed a four-year contract with
the Cleveland Browns, reuniting
him with coach Romeo Crennel.
Andruzzi is the fourth player
to leave the Super Bowl champi
ons, following wide receiver Troy
Brown, linebacker Roman Phifer
and cornerback Ty Law.
Mason, Ravens agree
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP)
- Derrick Mason agreed in prin
ciple to a five-year deal with the
Baltimore Ravens, giving the
team one of the top receivers on
the free-agent market.
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Laßoche deals with ADD
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - When
Adam Laßoche is out in the
field, his mind will occasion
ally drift to that deer stand
where he hunts during the
offseason.
“I’ll lose track of the
game,” he said, struggling
to suppress a yawn. “Then I
have to get myself back. I’ll
be like, ‘Hey, there’s a game
going on here.’”
Staying focused is a con
stant battle for the Atlanta
Braves first baseman, who
has been diagnosed with
attention-deficit disorder
and seems capable of dozing
off at any time.
Laßoche’s sleepy person
ality didn’t keep him from
making it to the big leagues
- he batted .278 with 13
homers and 45 RBIs as a
rookie - but it has been a
stumbling block along the
way.
Minor-league managers
constantly prodded Laßoche
to show more emotion.
Teammates kidded him
about his habit of sneaking
off to a darkened room just
before a game to get in a
nap. And everyone learned
to keep an eye on him.
Even now, Laßoche occa
sionally needs a reminder
when it’s his turn to bat or
go back in the field. He’ll
slip into his own little world,
struggling to stay focused
on a game that provides so
much idle time.
“I don’t look like I’m play-
CAMPBELL
From page 1B
is on ESPN or one of the
networks.
Basketball isn’t the same
though. Every conference
has a tournament coming
up in the next week, and it
just is not feasible for TV
channels to show the early
rounds of the MEAC tour
nament.
That’s where ESPN U
steps in.
It can dedicate itself
entirely to covering and pro
viding commentary on the
conference tournaments.
This means you will have
the chance to watch a lot
of the smaller conferences
in action, whereas in the
past, all you got were quick
Sports Center highlights of
the close games and the
championship.
ESPN U will get especial
ly interesting on Selection
Sunday (when the brackets
are determined) and dur
ing the NCAA tournament
itself.
While it won’t get the
high profile games, it will
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ing hard,” Laßoche said.
“It looks like I’m just going
through the motions. But
deep down, I want to win as
much as anybody.”
The Braves have gotten
used to Laßoche’s demean
or. He was one of the team’s
best hitters in the second
half last season, and that
carried over to the playoffs
against Houston. He sent
Game 2 to extra innings with
an eighth-inning double, and
won Game 4 with a three
run homer.
“He can catch the ball and
hit the ball,” manager Bobby
Cox said. “The rest doesn’t
matter.”
Still, it took a while to con
vince those around Laßoche.
Coming through the Braves’
system, he was always find
ing protein bars and energy
drinks in his locker, a not-so
subtle hint that he needed to
put a little zip in his step.
“One manager told me
that I needed to fake it for
all the scouts and other peo
ple who didn’t see me play
every day,” Laßoche said. “I
tried it for a while. I put on
a smile and jumped around.
But it was so fake.”
Laßoche is such a smooth
fielder that he comes across
at times as lackadaisical.
When he’s hitting, he looks
downright disinterested,
holding the bat lazily behind
his left ear.
Laßoche figures he got
his approach to the game
from his father, former
major league reliever Dave
be a welcome addition dur
ing the first two rounds,
when channels have fre
quently switched between
games in the past.
The signature anchor for
the channel will be Mike
Hall, the original Dream
Job winner. The 22-year
old’s presence will give the
network even more of a
“college” feel.
I am personally looking
forward to having the chan
nel over the course of the
next few weeks.
I hate getting caught up
in a game, only to have the
channel switch to a game
that is closer to ending.
Plus, the conference tour
naments and the NCAA
tournament always produce
exciting games.
Most of the teams playing
in the conference tourna
ments go into the tourna
ment with the mentality
that winning the champi
onship is the only way that
they will make it into the
NCAA tournament.
Also, there are always
Cleats
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SPORTS
Laßoche.
It’s tough enough to con
centrate without trying to
be something he’s not. While
in high school, Laßoche
was diagnosed with ADD,
a condition that afflicts up
to 6 percent of Americans,
according to a leading sup
port group.
While the disorder is often
associated with hyperac
tive, impulsive children, the
Attention Deficit Disorder
Association says up to one
third of sufferers don’t dis
play those traits. The nap
loving Laßoche falls into
that group.
“I’ve been to a ton of doc
tors, and they all tell me it’s
no big deal,” he said. “I just
need to take a 30-minute
nap when I’m tired. That’s
fine with me. I love sleep
ing.”
Laßoche’s teammates
pitch in to keep him from
drifting off during the game.
“They stay on me all the
time,” he said. “They keep
me up to speed, tell me,
‘You’re up next.’”
He will probably spend
another season splitting time
at first base with 46-year-old
Julio Franco. Laßoche would
prefer to play every day, but
has no problem sharing a job
with someone who batted
.309 last year.
“It would be tough if I
thought I should be out
there,” Laßoche said. “But
he’s proved himself a hun
dred times more than I
have.”
countless upsets in March.
What would be better
than watching a game in its
entirety that had a 14 seed
upsetting a 3 seed?
While I’m on the subject
of upsets in the tournament,
let me make a side note I
predicted at the beginning
of the season that either
Alabama or Mississippi
State would make the Final
Four.
Although it looks unlike
ly, I’m still sticking by my
prediction.
With all the hype that
surrounds March Madness,
it’s perfect timing for the
debut of the channel.
Hopefully it will be a big
enough hit this year that
they will expand it for next
year’s tournament.
ESPN has already come
to an agreement to show at
least seven football games
on the channel next fall,
and it will also air a vari
ety of other college sports
throughout the year.
With all the possibilities,
I think it will succeed.
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Comer room
E ASEBALL
Here are the results of the GaSports.
Com preseason baseball coaches poll:
Class A
1 Athens Academy
2 Bremen
3 Landmark Christian
4 Lakeview Academy
5 Pacelli
6 Calvary Day
7 Atkinson County
8 Seminole County
9 Gordon Lee
10 Hawkinsville
Class AA
1 Bacon County
2 Greater Atlanta Christian
3 Vidalia
4 Jeff Davis
5 Buford
6 Calhoun
7 Dublin
8 Wesleyan
9 Swainsboro
10 Dawson County
Class AAA
1 Columbus
2 LaGrange
SPLIT
From page 1B
three in the inning to stifle
any comeback.
“We’re so far behind in
hitting right now,” Sellers
said. “We’re not up to speed
hitting live pitching. They
can hit off me or my assis
tant coach Allen Smith, but
they haven’t had enough live
pitching.”
Westfield missed another
scoring chance in the fourth
when Travis Barrett singled,
went to second on a throw
ing error and third on Rob
GENTRY
From page 1B
RBIs. Joe Vasques was also
2-2 with two RBIs and Ben
Brighton was 1-2 with a tri
ple. He drove in the first two
runs of the game.
“Last night was a great
night for Houston County
baseball,” Gentry said. “We
have been working diligently
since last June to get start
ed.
“I was very proud of the
ATHLETES
From page 1B
and team members recog
nized assistant coaches - Ira
McGehee and Scott Palmer.
“Our continued suc
cess and improvement as a
team is a direct result of
the hard work and knowl
edge of the sport that these
two men bring to Westfield,”
Humphrey said.
Managers Marissa
McGehee, Zach Hamsley,
Taylor Byrd and Lauren
Frenchko were also sin
gled out for their efforts
as were junior varsity
wrestlers Cohen Moore,
Ben Kinnabrew, Halston
Kirkpatrick, Nic Bekkers,
Ashton Leavengood, Ethan
Soles, Bryan Thompson and
Shane Greene.
“All were seventh graders
that worked hard and will
have a chance to fill in varsi
ty weight classes next year,”
Humphrey said.
As far as varsity, Humphrey
and company recognized 11
wrestlers - all returning next
year. They were:
■ Jackson Wells, eighth
grade, 160 pounds, first-year
wrestler
■ Kevin Tuttle, eighth
grade, 171 pounds, first-year
wrestler
■ Luke Campbell,
eighth grade, 145 pounds,
second-year wrestler, first
year varsity, fourth place at
region and with an overall
record of 15-20 with six pins
■ Ryan Hamsley,
eighth grade, 112 pounds,
second-year wrestler, first
year varsity, fourth at region
with an overall record of 17-
13 with 11 pins
■ Nic McGehee, eighth
grade, 103 pounds, third
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
3 Cartersville
4 Gainesville
5 Shaw
6 South Effingham
7 Oconee County
8 Westminster
9 Spalding
10 Washington County
Class AAAA
1 Evans
2 Lee County
3 Hardaway
4 Manst
5 Greenbrier
6 Effingham County
7 Lakeside-Evans
8 St Pius X
9 Henry County
10 Loganville
Class AAAAA
1 Milton
2 East Coweta
3 Redan
4 Walton
5 Parkview
6 Roswell
7 Lassiter
8 McEachem
9 Starr s Mill
10 Newnan
Tillman’s two-out single.
The next batter popped up,
hotyever.
SCOREBOARD
WESTFIELD 8, MT. DE SALES 5
MS: 200 003-5 8 1
WF: 203 20x - 8 6 1
WP: Tony Albritton (1-0). LP: Justin Young
(0-1). Leading hitters: (MS) Brandon
Mahoney 2-2 28, Micah Pherson 2-3 3B;
(WF) Daniel Peake 3-3 2 HR 6 RBI.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN 7, WESTFIELD 0
FP: 301 210-7 9 1
WF: 000 000 - 0 2 2
WP: Daniel Stokes. LP: Conner Lester
(0-1). Leading hitters: (FP) Casey Adams
2- Michael Bridges 2-3. Records: (FP)
3- (WF) 2-1.
players. We came out ready
to play. We are still a little
behind as far as terminology
and putting all our program
in but we are coaching on
the run.”
And getting older by the
minute - 101 may come
today when they play (in
a schedule change; it was
originally Thursday) Clarke
Central in Athens at 5:30
p.m.
year wrestler, first year var
sity, fourth at region, fourth
at state and with an overall
record of 23-8 with 11 pins
■ Matt Mcßride, fresh
man, 275 pounds, first-year
wrestler, third at region with
an overall record of 11-8 with
five pins
■ Austin Madruga,
sophomore, 215 pounds,
third-year wrestler, fourth at
region with an overall record
of 21-10 with 11 pins (five of
his losses were to the region
champion from Southland,
John Edwards)
■ Jeremy Rowland,
sophomore, 152 pounds,
third-year wrestler, second at
region, third at state and with
an overall record of 19-7 with
14 pins. Also selected to the
Houston Home Journal’s All-
Houston County Wrestling
Team
■ Brian Byrd, junior,
third-year wrestler (football
injury that required surgery
kept him from competing
this year)
■ Cam Arnold, junior,
135 pounds, first-year wres
tler, third at region, fourth
at state and with an overall
record of 15-11 with 11 pins
■ Josh Graham, junior,
119 pounds, third-year wres
tler, second at region, fourth
at state and with an overall
record of 17-8 with five pins
■ Carsten Franklin,
140 pounds, third-year wres
tler, second at region, fourth
at state and with an over
all record of 23-8 with team
high 15 pins
■ Owen Culpepper, 275
pounds, second-year wres
tler with an overall record of
5-2 (football injury - ankle
- cut his season short)