Newspaper Page Text
2B
♦ SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2005
Outside
the
‘Home’
Nationals beat Diamondbacks
WASHINGTON (AP) - Vinny
Castilla's triple rattled around in
the right-field corner, bringing
home the first major league runs
in this city in 34 years. Most of the
45,596 fans rose and jumped in
place, making RFK Stadium sway
once again. The national pastime
was back in the nation's capital.
Castilla had three hits and
four RBIs, Livan Hernandez was
nearly flawless until the ninth,
and the first-place Nationals beat
the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-3
Thursday night in Washington's
first regular-season baseball
game since Sept. 30, 1971.
And the baseball-starved fans
cheered everything, although a
smattering of boos was heard
when President Bush strode to
the mound in a team jacket to
throw out the ceremonial first
pitch - for the record, it was a
bit high.
Sheffield gets into scuffle
BOSTON (AP) - Yankees right
fielder Gary Sheffield got into a
brief scuffle with a fan at Fenway
Park during New York’s game
against the Boston Red Sox.
Sheffield was fielding Jason
Varitek's two-run triple along the
right-field fence in the eighth
inning when a fan swung a short
uppercut in his direction and
appeared to graze the side of the
slugger’s face with his right arm.
Sheffield picked up the ball,
then shoved the fan before throw
ing the ball back into the infield as
two runs scored. Sheffield then
whirled around with a cocked fist,
but restrained himself and began
shouting in the man's face but did
not throw a punch.
NFL draftees lest positive
NEW YORK (AP) - Four play
ers projected to be taken in the
middle to low rounds of next
week's NFL draft have tested
positive for marijuana, a source
said.
The four include two from
Wisconsin: defensive tackle
Anttaj Hawthorne and guard
Jonathan Clinkscale; defensive
tackle Eric Coleman of Clemson
and safety Atcheson Conway of
Bowie, according to a source
within the league who spoke to
The Associated Press on condi
tion of anonymity.
Lonard takes MCI lead
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.
(AP) - Peter Lonard flirted with a
59 and finished with a two-stroke
lead after opening round of the
MCI Heritage.
The 9-under 62 was one shot
off the tournament record and
brought some life to an event that
doesn't have Masters champion
Tiger Woods and his Big Four
buddies. Lonard was two strokes
ahead of Thomas Levet, who
birdied six of his last eight holes
to shoot a 64.
Webb shares Takefuji lead
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Karrie
Webb, a dominant player on
the LPGA Tour a few years ago,
showed flashes of her former bril
liance on and around the greens
in a 7-under 65 that gave her a
share of the lead at the Takefuji
Classic with Wendy Ward.
Amateur In-Bee Park, a native
of South Korea who is a 16-
year-old high school junior in Las
Vegas, shot a 66 that left her in
a group one shot behind the co
leaders.
Williams sutlers upset loss
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP)
- Defending champion Venus
Williams blamed exhaustion for
her upset loss to Tatiana Golovin
at the Family Circle Cup.
Williams lost 7-5, 6-4 on a blus
tery day. It was the first time this
year that Golovin, a Frenchwoman
ranked No. 25 in the world, had
beaten a top-10 player.
Justine Henin-Hardenne, who
spent much of last season ranked
No. 1, defeated Iveta Benesova
6-2,6-3 and faces No. 1 seed and
top-ranked Lindsay Davenport on
Friday.
Federer extends streak
MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP)
- Off to the best start to an
ATP season in 21 years, Roger
Federer extended his winning
streak to 25 with a three-set vic
tory over Fernando Gonzalez at
the Monte Carlo Masters.
The top-ranked Swiss star
dropped a set but still beat the
Chilean 6-2,6-7 (3), 6-4 to improve
his record to 35-1 this year. John
McEnroe started the 1984 season
with 39 straight wins.
MLS players approve deal
NEW YORK (AP) - Major
League Soccer players over
whelmingly approved the first col
lective bargaining agreement in
the history of the league, one that
increases the minimum salary,
establishes a pension benefit and
also inaugurates a neutral arbitra
tor in grievances.
MLS and union officials made
the announcement, and although
union executive director Bob
Foose would not disclose vote
totals, he said it clearly was a
mandate.
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-■ -*- fir- -v .
My philosophy: 'Master' one sport, move to the next
I, like several thousand
people across the coun
try, decided to watch the
Masters this weekend despite
rarely ever watching golf dur
ing the rest of the year.
I don’t have anything
against the sport, and I usu
ally try to keep up with who
wins most of the bigger tour
naments. However, since I
have never hit a ball from the
tee that landed on the fairway,
I tend not to get involved with
watching the golf itself.
Plus, I don’t really under
stand most of the things the
announcers say during their
commentary. The most tech
nical golf term I understand
is “fast greens.”
There have been times
when I have tried to elevate
myself from fair-weather fan
to someone who could carry
on a golf conversation that
was more in depth than “he
hit that ball a long ways.”
SERSEY
From page 1B
I likened my visceral reac
tion to the game to the same
gut response I experienced
at a professional wrestling
match.
I was stationed in
Pittsburgh, Penn., and was
given free tickets to a WWF
event. To me, it’s a big joke,
and I seriously question the
intelligence level of anyone
who is a rabid fan. But free
is free, so I went.
There is an atavistic qual
ity to being surrounded by
people screaming for blood. I
got caught up in the moment
and was soon yelling in sup
port of fake death and may
hem as if it were real.
Even though I know that
pro wrestling is just arm
twisting soap opera, I rev
eled in the violence. Call me
Nero, get me a Bic and a
fiddle, and Pm ready to get
on with my bad self.
That’s how the only NHL
m zr -fl
Nick Campbell
‘ln the Nick of time’
nickscampbell@earthlink.net
For example, a few years
ago, the US Open was held
at the beth Page Black golf
course. I listened to ESPN
radio for awhile, and all of
their commentators seemed
to think that playing here
was a big deal because it was
a municipal golf course.
At the time, I couldn’t have
hockey game I ever attended
affected me. Again, I was
in Pittsburgh and again,
the tickets were free so I
went. (Notice the correla
tion between free and what
Pm willing to do. I never let
pride interfere with a cheap
night out with my Muffin.)
People talk about the fine
points of the sport but most
of the yelling occurs dur
ing the fights. I laughed at
myself when I realized I was
yelling, “Rip off his arm and
beat him to death with it.”
I don’t think that’s what
hockey is supposed to be
about and that’s why I don’t
miss the sport.
The Trax are gone and
the NHL is on sabbatical
for at least another three
months while owners and
players go through their
greed fest. Hopefully, if the
NHL returns, the teams will
be restricted to Canada and
states north of the Mason
SPORTS
told you if beth Page Black
was a golf course, small third
world country, or a crude gar
dening instrument.
But when I got home, I had
an in-depth conversation with
my dad about the pros and
cons of playing at a municipal
golf course and the decision
for the U.S. Open to be played
there.
That’s about the same way
I went into the Masters. I
found out what I wanted to
know on Wednesday, the day
before the real rounds start
ed. I knew who was playing
good and who had a good
shot at winning. I looked up
professional commentary on
who could make a surprise
run and who the underdogs
were.
I guess the only thing I
didn’t do on Thursday and
Friday was actually watch the
event. I did see a good portion
of it on Saturday and the final
Dixon line or that are in
danger of falling into the
ocean.
To me, sports are about
competition. Pm interested
in the elements it takes to
win the game.
If one of those elements
means one team’s goon has
to beat the bejabbers out
of the opponent’s goon,
then why not return to the
Roman gladiators and be
done with it.
It is disturbing to me to
note that sports fans are
becoming more attuned to
the violence of the event
rather than the skill it takes
to play the sport.
A case in point is
Wednesday’s Warner Robins
versus Northside soccer
match.
The fans oohed and aahed
more for the fouls than the
goals. Somebody getting flat
tened was more entertaining
to the crowd, except con
Telegraphic
swing
A junior golf clinic was
held at the Landings
earlier this week as part
of the NGA Hooters
Satterfield and Dempsey
Classic. About 30 young
sters took part in the
opportunity.
LEFT: Hooters golf pro
fessional Andrew Suggs,
center, shows Trent
Deighan, right, and the
rest proper putting tech
niques.
BELOW LEFT: Jererpy
Ford works on his irons
while golf pro Kevin
Newell (not shown) helps
in the background.
BELOW: Golf pro Kevin
Newell helped Kasey
Lunceford with her
swing.
HHJ/Joe Sersey
18 holes on Sunday.
I was in the company of
a group of people who had
an invested interest in the
outcome and were pulling for
certain players to perform
well. Since I don’t have a
favorite golfer, I just watched
it for the fun of it.
I did have to put up with
seemingly meaningless com
ments. I didn’t complain
though, because I’m sure I
yelled out some stuff during
the NCAA basketball tourna
ment that sounded unneces
sary to the people who were
only interested in whether
the team they picked in their
bracket was winning.
Now that it’s over, I’ll prob
ably keep up with the next
few golf tournaments until I
drop back to my fair-weather
status. Besides, it’s almost
time for the Kentucky Derby,
and I need to jump on that
bandwagon.
cerned mothers, than what
the Demons did to set up
their first goal.
I must admit that it was a
rivalry, which should allow
for a certain amount of glee
if someone eats sod.
With my point made, I say
in my best French to the
Trax as they hit the rails,
“Awe reservoir.” I hope they
find a home near a WWF
fan base that enjoys seeing
hair, teeth and eyeballs lying
around on the ice.
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Home VKe "' rv,ce
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RENTAL AND SERVICE
1544 Watson Boulevard
iWarner Robins, GA 31093
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
PROPa-
From page 1B
Snipes raced home on a
passed ball and Summer
moved to second. When
Justin Beatty’s grounder
to third was thrown into
the dirt in front of first
and skipped past the first
baseman.
West’s perfect game
ended in the fourth on an
error and single, but he
racked up three straight
outs on two strikeouts and
a fly ball to keep his per
formance looking good.
Perry had a chance to
score in that inning but
couldn’t execute the bunt
to move the runners over.
“It’s what always hap
pens,” Masters said. “If we
had bunted (Josh) Stewart
and (Jeff) Roeder over, the
next batter hits a fly ball
and a run scores.”
Warner Robins added
another run in the sixth
when Snipes opened the
frame with his second sin
gle of the night.
Parker McConnell
walked. With one out
Justin Beatty was plunked
in the ribs to load the
bases. Then Anthony Lee
was grazed on the knee
on a 2-2 count for another
hit batsman that pushed
Snipes across the plate
to give the Demons a 3-0
lead and their only earned
run of the game.
The Demons added an
insurance run in the top
of the seventh off an error
and sacrifice fly.
Blake Allen made it to
second off consecutive
infield errors. The throw
from shortstop on his
grounder went awry and
when he slid into to sec
ond, the fielder dropped
the ball.
Allen moved the third
when Perry’s catcher
attempted to pick him
off at second and the ball
sailed into the outfield.
That set him up for
Snipes’ sacrifice fly to
right field to put Warner
Robins up 4-0.
Perry’s Corey Jones dou
bled to start the Panther’s
last gasp attack in the bot
tom of the seventh, and
Michael Roberts followed
with a single to put run
ners on first and second
with nobody out.
Reber singled in Jones,
and that put Roberts at
second.
West was called for a
balk on the next batter and
both runners advanced.
Duckworth’s grounder
drove in Reber to make
the score 4-2, and Josh
O’Neal walked after fac
ing a 1-2 count.
West fanned the next
batter to end the come
back and garner his sec
ond win in three starts.
West went deep in the
count against three batters
in the game. He went 2-2
against Shane Ashley and
3-2 on Bryan Duckworth
in the fifth inning and 3-2
on O’Neal in the seventh.
“My defense made the
plays for me when they
needed to,” West said.
Warner Robins improved
to 3-11. Perry fell to 7-9.
“The way this sea
son has gone, it would
have been easy for this
team to roll over,” said
Demons head coach Chad
Simmons. “About the last
week, things have been
coming together. This
team never gives up.
“The key was T.J. West
going to the mound. He
was beating them with all
three pitches. He set the
tone.”
SCOREBOARD
WARNER ROBINS 4, PERRY 2
WR: 000 201 1 - 4 3 3
PY: 000 000 2 - 2 5 4
WP: T. J. West (2-1). LP: Mitchell
Fowler (3-2). Leading hitters: (WR)
Chris Snipes 2-3, (PY) Seth Reber 2-3.
Records: (WR) 3-11, (PY) 7-9.
478-922-2889
1-800-269-9335^
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