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THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
THE
CURTAINCALL: :< ores, standing 6 and more
National Basketball Association
Eastern Conference
Atlantic
W L Pet Gil Coot Div Home Road LlO Streak
New Jersey 16 12 0.571 0.000 9-8 2-2 8-6 8-6 7-3 Won 7
Philadelphia 15 14 0.517 1.500 7-11 4-2 10-5 5-9 7-3 Lost 1
Boston 11 16 0.407 4.500 6-9 4-0 9-6 2-10 4-6 Lost 2
New York 7 20 0.259 8.500 2-12 1-3 4-8 3-12 1-9 Lost 2
Toronto 7 22 0.241 9.500 6-11 1-5 2-12 5-10 4-6 Won 1
Central
W l Pet Gb Cons Div Home Road LlO Streak
Detroit 24 3 0.889 0.000 12-1 3-0 1 2-1 12-2 9-1 Won 9
Cleveland 17 10 0.630 7.000 1 0-5 3-2 1 2-3 5-7 6-4 Lost 1
Milwaukee 15 11 0.577 8.500 11-4 2-1 8-5 7-6 6-4 Lost 2
Indiana 15 11 0.577 8.500 8-6 1-2 9-3 6-8 5-5 Lost 3
Chicago 12 16 0.429 12.500 7-9 04 5-7 7-9 3-7 Lost 5
Southeast
W l Pet Gb Cons Div Home Road LlO Streak
Miami 17 13 0.567 0.000 11-8 4-1 114 6-9 7-3 Lost 1
Washington 12 15 0.444 3.500 6-8 1-3 7-5 5-10 4-6 Lost 1
Orlando 11 15 0.423 4.000 7-9 3-1 7-9 4-6 4-6 Won 2
Charlotte 10 19 0.345 6.500 9-9 2-2 6-8 4-11 5-5 Won 2
Atlanta 7 20 0.259 8.500 5-6 0-3 5-7 2-13 5-5 Lost 2
Western Conference
Northwest
W L Pet Gb Cons Div Home Road LlO Streak
Minnesota 14 12 0.538 0.000 10-11 4-3 9-6 5-6 4-6 Won 1
Denver 14 16 0.467 2.000 8-8 2-1 9-6 5-10 3-7 Lost 2
Seattle 13 15 0.464 2.000 5-11 4-2 8-8 5-7 4-6 Won 1
Utah 13 16 0.448 2.500 7-8 3-2 6-8 7-8 5-5 Won 2
Portland 10 18 0.357 5.000 4-10 1-6 6-7 4-11 5-5 Won 3
Pacific
W L Pet Gb Cons Div Home Road LlO Streak
Phoenix 17 10 0.630 0.000 11-8 3-2 10-6 7 4 5-5 Won 2
L.A. Clippers 16 11 0.593 1.000 7-5 3-1 10-3 6-8 4-6 Lost 1
L.A. Lakers 15 14 0.517 3.000 7-9 0-2 6-7 9-7 5-5 Lost 3
Golden State 15 14 0.517 3.000 5-7 1-3 9-7 6-7 3-7 Won 1
Sacramento 11 17 0.393 6.500 7-11 2-1 7-9 4-8 4-6 Won 1
Southwest
W L Pet Gb Cons Div Home Road LlO Streak
San Antonio 23 7 0.767 0.000 11-2 3-2 14-1 9-6 7-3 Won 2
Dallas 21 7 0.750 1.000 11-5 5-2 11-3 104 8-2 Won 3
Memphis 17 10 0.630 4.500 11-5 4-1 9-5 8-5 5-5 Won 1 '
Oklahoma City 12 16 0.429 10.000 9-10 3 4 7-5 5-11 4-6 Lost 1
Houston 10 17 0.370 11.500 7-10 0-6 3-8 7-9 5-5 Lost 4
NHL
Thursday's Games
Philadelphia 4, Carolina 3, OT
Pittsburgh 6, New Jersey 2
Toronto 4, Buffalo 3, So
Thursday's Sports Transactions
By The Associated Press
New York Yankees-Agreed To Terms
With Rhp Octavio Dotel On A One-Year
Contract.
Texas Rangers-Agreed To Terms With
Rhp Kevin Millwood On A Five-Year
Contract.
Florida Marlins-Agreed To Terms With Inf
Pokey Reese And Rhp Joe Borowski On
One-Year Contracts.
Pittsburgh Pirates-Agreed To Terms
With Rhp Giovanni Carrara On A Minor
League Contract.
Washington Nationals-Agreed To Terms
Petty Enterprises prepares for a new era
By GREG ENGLE
Scripps Howard News
Service
A new season is underway
for Petty Enterprises, a sea
son they hope will return
the fabled team to its win
ning ways.
New crew chief Todd
Parrott and driver Bobby
Labonte spent Tuesday test
ing the 43 Cup Series car
at Kentucky Speedway. The
test wasn’t all about speed,
though. It was more about
establishing solid team com
munications between the
seasoned veterans.
Labonte, the 2000 series
champion who finished
24th in the 2005 standings
with Joe Gibbs Racing, and
Parrott, who helped Dale
Jarrett win the 1999 series
title with Robert Yates
Racing, join new Executive
VP of Operations Robbie
Loomis, who guided Jeff
Gordon to 23 wins and the
2001 championship with
Hendrick Motorsports. The
trio hopes to rejuvenate a
Petty program that hasn’t
scored a series race win since
. Loomis last worked there in
1999.
rou
DON'T
You could just tell they didn't
want to be here. When we hung
around them learlier in the
week), you just couldn't see the
■sue that we had in our eyes. ...
I was trying to be friendly, just
talking to them lon the field),
and they weren't. That's just how
it goes when you get pounded
like that."
- Utah cornerback Eric
Weddle, on the Utes' 38-
10 win over Georgia Tech
Thursday in the Emerald
Bowl
"This was the biggest play that
Ive ever made in any spoit.
I verythmg we ve gone through,
everyone made plays and I just
made the last one.
Oklahoma linebacker Clint
Ingram, on the interception
he made Thursday to pre
serve Oklahoma's 17-14 win
over Oregon in the Holiday
Bowl
SCOREbOfiPD
Dallas 3, St. Louis 0
Phoenix 6, Los Angeles 5,0 T
Calgary 4, Minnesota 2
NBA
Thursday’s Games
Tpfinsficnons
With Rhp Ramon Ortiz And Rhp Tony
Armas Jr. On One-Year Contracts.
NBA-Suspended Seattle F Danny
Fortson Two Games For Berating A
Referee And Failing To Promptly Leave
The Court After Being Ejected In A Dec.
28 Game At Minnesota.
Houston Rockets-Signed F Josh Davis.
Waived G-F Stephen Graham.
Cincinnati Bengals-Signed Qb Carson
Palmer To A Six-Year Contract Extension
Through 2014.
Oakland Raiders-Placed Cb Charles
Woodson On Injured Reserve. Signed
Te James Adkisson From The Practice
For Labonte the new ride
with Petty is his first in over
a decade. He goes from being
the veteran to the new kid
in town.
“It’s different,” Labonte
said. “I was kind of jittery
at first because it’s been 11
years since I’ve had any
thing like this go on. It’s a
little too cold here for me,
but, so far, so good.”
The temperatures in the
low to mid 20s didn’t cool
Labonte’s enthusiasm.
“I’m just real excited to
work with Todd and all these
guys, “he said. “Hopefully, I
understand Todd and when I
talk, he can understand the
language I’m talking. For us,
today is about getting a feel
for everybody and everybody
getting a feel for Todd. He’s
the main character here that
everyone will have to look
up to. When I’m on the race-
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THROUGH
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National Hockey League
Eastern Conference
Atlantic
Gp W L Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Philadelphia 37 24 8 5 53 140 116 13-5-3 11-3-2 8-1-1
Ny Rangers 38 22 12 4 48 119 97 11-5-2 11-7-2 54-1
New Jersey 38 16 17 5 37 109 121 10-6-3 6-11-2 3-5-2
Ny Islanders 36 17 17 2 36 118 133 8-8-1 9-9-1 4-5-1
Pittsburgh 36 9 19 8 26 100 143 5-9-5 4-10-3 2-6-2
Noftl)63St
Gp W L Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Ottawa 35 26 6 3 55 154 77 15-3-0 11-3-3 5-2-3
Buffalo 38 25 11 2 52 126 117 12-5-1 13-6-1 8-1-1
Toronto 38 21 14 3 45 125 122 14-7-1 7-7-2 64-0
Montreal 35 18 11 6 42 101 112 11-5-2 7-6-4 44-2
Boston 37 13 18 6 32 109 124 6-6-2 7-124 4-5-1
Southeast
Gp W L Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Carolina 37 23 10 4 50 135 122 14-4-1 9-6-3 6-2-2
Tampa Bay 38 19 16 3 41 119 123 11-8-1 8-8-2 4-6-0
Atlanta 38 16 16 6 38 131 136 9-74 7-9-2 6-1-3
Florida 39 14 20 5 33 104 126 11-6-2 3-14-3 54-1
Washington 35 12 20 3 27 101 140 8-8-2 4-12-1 4-5-1
Western Conference
Central
Gp W L Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Detroit 37 25 9 3 53 140 98 12-5-1 134-2 7-2-1
Nashville 35 24 8 3 51 116 99 16-3-0 8-5-3 64-0
Chicago 36 13 19 4 30 99 128 7-7-1 6-12-3 3-5-2
Columbus 37 11 25 1 23 77 132 8-11-0 3-14-1 3-6-1
St Louis 35 9 22 4 22 92 137 4-12-2 5-10-2 4-5-1
Northwest
Gp W L Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Calgary 38 22 12 4 48 99 95 134-2 9-8-2 6-3-1
Vancouver 37 21 11 5 47 126 116 14-3-3 7-8-2 5-2-3
Edmonton 38 21 13 4 46 124 119 9-6-2 12-7-2 6-2-2
Colorado 38 19 16 3 41 142 130 10-6-3 9-10-0 4-6-0
Minnesota 38 17 17 4 38 107 95 10-6-1 7-11-3 64-0
Pacific
Gp W l Ot Pts Gs Ga Home Away LlO
Los Angeles 40 24 14 2 50 141 119 13-6-0 11-8-2 7-2-1
Dallas 36 24 11 1 49 122 96 11-7-1 13-4-0 64-0
Phoenix 39 20 17 2 42 115 112 11-7-1 9-10-1 5-5-0
Anaheim 37 16 15 6 38 103 102 13-6-3 3-9-3 44-2
San Jose 36 15 16 5 35 109 116 94-3 6-12-2 54-1
Detroit 106, Miami 101
San Antonio 111, New Orleans 84
Seattle 112, Denver 105
Men's Top 25 Fared
11. Ucla (11-1) Beat Slanford 71-54. Next: Vs.
California, Saturday
Squad.
San Diego Chargers-Placed S Terrence
Kiel On Injured Reserve. Signed Cb
Markus Cherry From The Practice
Squad.
Anaheim Mighty Ducks-Assigned D
Jason Marshall To Portland Of The Ahl.
Chicago Blackhawks-Recalled G Adam
Munro From Norfolk Of The Ahl.
Columbus Blue Jackets-Recalled D
Andy Delmore And F Mark Hartigan From
Syracuse Of The Ahl.
Los Angeles Kings-Placed D Aaron Miller
On Injured Reserve.
Phoenix Coyotes-Recalled D Matt Jones
track, they’ve got to know
what to do next and he’s the
guy leading them.”
Parrott was encouraged by
his team’s early results.
“Not to say that we’re not
looking for great success
right off the bat, but I’m
throwing things at him, he’s
feeling it and that’s good.
Just from some things he’s
said this morning, I think it’s
going to be a great year.”
The moves by the veterans
surprised some; while others
agreed that the lackluster
performances during the last
few seasons for the respec
tive teams could only be
turned around by dramatic
changes. Labonte's motiva
tion was Petty’s sincerity to
help him win races.
“I just thought that I need
ed something different
Labonte said. “Those people
(Gibbs racing) treated me
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(c) 2005 Bill Hinds, DisJ. by Universal Press Syndicate
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(c) 2005 Bill Hinds, Dist by Universal Press Syndicate
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e-mail: Cleatsmail@aol
SPORTS
Cleats
www ucomics.com e-mail: Cleatsmail@aol com
1
./ WSpjpJ COOPS hy King Features Syndicate loc World rights tcterved 12-30
20. Nevada (10-1) Beat Louisiana-Lafayette 65-58.
Next: Al Saint Mary’s, Calif., Saturday.
Note: Rest did not play
Women's Top 25 Farad
Nothing on slale
From San Anfonio Of The Ahl. Assigned
F Steve Gainey To San Antonio.
Pittsburgh Penguins-Recalled F Colby
Armstrong And F Maxime Talbot From
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Of The Ahl.
Assigned F Matt Hussey To Wilkes-
Barre/Scranton.
St. Louis Blues-Activated G Curtis
Sanford From Injured Reserve. Assigned
G Reinhard Divis To Peoria Of The Ahl.
Vancouver Canucks-Assigned F Tyler
Bouck And G Maxime Ouellet To
Manitoba Of The Ahl.
St. Vincent, Pa.-Named Bob Colbert
Football Coach.
great and I had a great time
there, but I felt like a change
was needed.
“The Petty operation is
very similar in that the peo
ple are real sincere. I felt
like I could fit in here, kind
of like when I went to Gibbs.
I had some other opportuni
ties, and they were awesome,
but this is the No. 43. When
I put my heart to it in terms
of my family and myself, I
felt like this was the place
I’d like to be.
“Robbie was the first
domino that fell into place
here and that attracted me
because I know his leader
ship will be a plus. Then,
we were able to get Todd.
What a no-brainer that was.
I guess it goes to show you
that the Petty’s weren’t
happy with just sitting there
after the way they’ve run
the past couple years.”
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SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2005 ♦
2005: The year ie sports
Scripps Howard News
Service
The Chicago White Sox
shook off a post-season curse to
win their first World Series in
88 years while Rafael Palmeiro
shook his finger on Capitol Hill
and rued the day he did.
Lance Armstrong prevailed
again, Notre Dame football
celebrated a rebirth and the
world said farewell to a boxing
legend (Max Schmeling), half
of a fabled football backfield
(Glenn Davis) and an NFL pio
neer (Wellington Mara).
Those were among the high
lights - and lowlights - that
marked 2005 for sports fans.
A look at the year in sports.
TOP 10 SPORTS
STORIES OF 2005:
1) Baseball toughens its ste
roids policy after severe fallout
from Congressional hearings
where Mark McGwire declined
to answer whether he took
steroids, and Rafael Palmeiro
insisted that he didn’t, then
failed a drug test.
2) The Chicago White Sox
end an 88-year drought and
win World Series by sweep
ing Houston Astros, which was
playing in their first Series
ever.
3) Lance Armstrong wins a
record seventh straight Tour
de France, then retires.
4) Hurricane Katrina
wreaks havoc on New Orleans’
sports, forcing the NFL Saints,
the NBA Hornets, Tulane
University and others to move
all their games.
5) The New England Patriots
defend their Super Bowl title,
prompting calls of a dynas
ty after winning their third
championship in four seasons.
6) Quarterback Peyton
Manning leads Indianapolis
Colts toward a possible unde
feated season, the first since
the Miami Dolphins in 1972.
7) Behind Heisman trophy
winner Reggie Bush, two-time
defending national champi
on USC extends its winning
streak to 34 games, setting
up a national championship
showdown with also undefeat
ed Texas.
8) Tiger Woods wins two
major tournaments, including
his fourth Masters, bringing
his career total to 10 majors,
trailing only Walter Hagen
(11) and Jack Nicklaus (18)
9) Danica Patrick becomes
the first woman driver to
lead Indy 500 before finishing
fourth.
10) Coach Roy Williams
wins his first national title as
North Carolina beats Illinois
for NCAA Division I basketball
championship in game featur
ing six players who are drafted
in the first round by NBA.
WINNERS:
■ Notre Dame football and
coach Charlie Weis. Weis woke
up the echoes with a 9-2 sea
son that included the Fighting
Irish’s first BCS bowl bid since
2000. An offensive master
mind, Weis’ attack set numer
ous ND offense and scoring
records.
■ Reggie Bush. The USC
tailback not only led the
Trojans to a second consecu
tive unbeaten regular season,
but he also won ithe Heisman
Trophy with the second-most
first-place votes in the award’s
70-year history.
■ Roger Federer. The
Switzerland native started to
make his case as the best men’s
tennis player ever by winning
the U.S. Open and Wimbledon,
downing top Americans Andre
Agassi and Andy Roddick in
the finals, respectively. Only
24, Federer now has six Grand
Slam titles among his 33 ATP
Tour victories.
■ Tony Stewart. Once the
bad boy of NASCAR, Stewart
cleaned up his act in 2005 win
ning his second Nextel Cup
points title. Stewart won five
races in the No. 20 car to help
claim the title for Joe Gibbs’
Racing.
■ San Antonio Spurs. With
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understated stars Tim Duncan,
Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker
leading the way, the unselfish,
team-oriented Spurs won their
third NBA title in the last
five years rallying from a 3-2
deficit in the Finals to defeat
defending champ Detroit in
seven games.
LOSERS:
■ Terrell Owens. Woe is T.O.
Poster boy for the modem self
centered athlete, the Eagles
receiver went from heroic fig
ure after playing in the Super
Bowl on a badly injured ankle
to whining over his $47-mil
lion contract to suspended and
banished from the Philadelphia
Eagles.
■ Rafael Palmeiro. In March,
the Baltimore Orioles first base
man vehemently denied using
steroids, waving his finger at
Congress for added emphasis.
But it all came crashing down
in early August when it was
revealed that Palmeiro had
failed a drug test.
■ University of Tennessee
football. Ranked third in the
preseason, the Volunteers col
lapsed to a 5-6 finish, missing
out on a bowl game with their
first losing season since 1988.
■ New York Yankees. Despite
a payroll that exceeded S2OO
million, the Yankees failed to
win the World Series for the
fifth consecutive season, falling
to Anaheim in the American
League Divisional Series.
■ Barry Bonds. Entering the
season only 11 home runs shy
of Babe Ruth for second on
the all-time list, Bonds instead
complained of knee pain dur
ing spring training and went
on the DL in April languishing
for nearly five months before
finally playing in 14 games in
September hitting .256 with
five HRs. Meanwhile, his for
mer trainer and the founder of
the BALCO laboratory complex
were sentenced to prison for
distributing illegal steroids.
LEST WE FORGET ....
■ Vic Power, 78, a seven
time All Star and one of the
first Hispanics to play in the
Major Leagues, Nov. 29 in San
Juan, Puerto Rico.
■ George Best, 59, Northern
Ireland-born soccer star who
rose to fame with Manchester
United and became one of
sport’s first international
celebrities, Nov. 25 in London.
■ Frank Gatski, 83, Hall
of Fame center with the
Cleveland Browns and Detroit
Lions, Nov. 23 in Morgantown,
WVa.
■ Steve Courson, 50, former
Pittsburgh Steelers offensive
guard who devoted much of
his post-football career cam
paigning against performance
enhancing drugs, Nov. 10 at
his home near Pittsburgh.
■ Wellington Mara, 89, New
York Giants co-owner and NFL
pioneer, Oct. 24
■ Chris Schenkel, 82, leg
endary sports broadcaster
sportscaster who called sports
ranging from football to bowl
ing, Sept. 11 in Fort Wayne,
Ind.
■ Charlie Williams, 61, the
first African American umpire
to work behind home plate in a
World Series game, Sept. 10 in
Oak Lawn, 111.
■ Sue Gunter, 66, women’s
basketball coach who led
LSU to 14 NCAA tournament
appearances, Aug. 7 in Baton
Rouge, La.
■ Jim Parker, 71, offensive
tackle for the Baltimore Colts
and member of the NFL Hall
of Fame, July 18 in Baltimore.
■ Chico Carrasquel,
77, Venezuelan shortstop
who became the first Latin
American player to appear in a
MLB All-Star game, May 26 in
Caracas, Venezuela.
■ Tunney Hunsaker, 75,
Muhammad Ali’s first profes
sional boxing opponent, April
25 in Fayetteville, W. Va.
■ Earl Wilson, 70, the first
black pitcher to throw a no-hit
ter in Major League Baseball,
April 23 in Southfield, Mich.
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