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(08/30/07 4:17am)
INDIANAPOLIS – Anna DeForge, not Tamika Catchings, was the Indiana Fever’s top scorer in its playoff series win against the Connecticut Sun.\nIn fact, DeForge leads the entire WNBA in playoff scoring. The shooting guard averaged 25 points against the Sun, a surprise from someone who averaged 8.7 points in the regular season. She hopes to continue her success against Detroit in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Friday in Indianapolis.\nDeForge was content with a secondary offensive role this season before Catchings, an early favorite for the MVP award, suffered a left foot injury that kept her out for a month. While Catchings healed, DeForge started looking to shoot. Even with Catchings back for the playoffs, DeForge put up a scoring spree that brought back memories of her college days at Nebraska.\n“I think it’s about opportunity, and it’s about aggression,” she said.\nDeForge always has been a capable scorer – she averaged 19 points a game as a college senior in 1997-98, and had the same average for her Polish League team this past season. When she came to the Fever last season in a trade with the Phoenix Mercury, she deferred to others because she knew her role wasn’t to be a primary scorer.\n“I think when you first come over here, you play off other people,” she said. “There’s people you’re supposed to read. Now, I’ve become a little more aggressive with the ball in my hands, and that’s led to some opportunities for myself and for my teammates.”\nDeForge isn’t just throwing up shots – she’s fourth among postseason players with a .571 field-goal percentage.\n“You’ve got to be smart about it still,” she said. “You’ve got to score in the context of the system, and I think that’s what we’re doing.”\nDeForge benefits from the fact that Catchings and Tamika Whitmore are scoring inside. Whitmore is averaging 20 points in a reserve role and Catchings is averaging 19.7 points in the playoffs.\n“You leave one of us open, somebody else is going to pick up the slack and knock it down,” DeForge said. “We hope to continue that ripple effect, with everybody being confident and playing well and making shots.”\nDeForge was such a force against Connecticut that the Sun put Katie Douglas, an all-defensive first-teamer, on her instead of Catchings in Game 3. Catchings took advantage with 30 points and 13 rebounds, and DeForge still scored 18 points after scoring 31 and 26 in the first two games.\nNow, Detroit must figure out how to handle DeForge – or hope she cools off.\n“With Anna shooting the ball well and playing well, it’s another dimension for our team,” Indiana coach Brian Winters said. “(Opponents) have to figure out how they’re going to match up and pay more attention to her. Any time you have a situation where another team has to be conscious of (a certain player), it creates bigger spaces for other people to do what they do.”\nDeForge is more concerned with wins than points. She’s never made it this far in the playoffs in her six WNBA seasons.\n“It doesn’t matter if I score 35, because I scored 31 (in Game 1 at Connecticut) and we lost,” she said. “I’ll take a win and two points versus a great shooting night and losing.”
(08/29/07 4:01am)
IU freshman Alec Purdie will sit out this men’s soccer season with a medical redshirt because of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he sustained during the summer.\nPurdie led the state of Indiana in goals during his All-American senior campaign at Elkhart Central High School last year. Purdie tallied 93 goals and 39 assists in his high school career with 38 goals and 21 assists as a senior.\nIU coach Mike Freitag said Purdie might benefit from the year he sits out.\n“Alec is a soccer junky,” Freitag said. “He’s a little disappointed that he got injured this summer, but things happen for a reason sometimes, they make you stronger. I’ve known players who it’s been good for to sit out and watch the game. Mentally, he’s not used to not playing, but he’s got to deal with it, and Alec is a young man I’m proud to have as a part of my program.”\nPurdie will still have four years of athletic eligibility after this season and should be ready to play next year.
(08/29/07 3:51am)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber said promising recruit Quinton Watkins will not play or attend school this fall because he is not academically eligible.\nWatkins could still join the team in the spring after attending either a preparatory school or a junior college.\nWeber announced last week that junior guard Jamar Smith will sit out the year after pleading guilty to drunk driving.\nWatkins, meanwhile, was expected to compete for playing time as point guard. Returning starter Chester Frazier is now most likely to start at point.\nWeber says the team will start figuring out its guard rotation while on a weekend trip to play in Canada.
(08/29/07 3:50am)
CHICAGO – Confetti fell and euphoria reigned as manager Ozzie Guillen and his team paraded through the streets of the city after the White Sox won the World Series for the first time in 88 years.\nThat day seems so long ago now, although it’s been less than two years.\nIn a stunning and swift collapse, the White Sox have plummeted to the bottom of their own division. And with five weeks left this season, the only team with a worse record in the AL is Tampa Bay.\nGuillen hasn’t lost his fondness for talking, but one word that has come tumbling out several times this season is “embarrassed,” often used to describe his team’s play.\n“This year is the hardest year I’ve ever had in my career, as a player and a coach,” Guillen said. “This is the hardest one, not because we’re losing. I feel like we let a lot of people down. We have a better ball club than what we’ve shown, and I take full responsibility.”\nIt’s one thing to lose, but another to be humbled as the White Sox were last weekend at U.S Cellular Field when the Boston Red Sox won four straight by a combined 46-7 score.\n“We’ve played horrible,” Guillen said, describing not just the four games against the first place Red Sox but most of the season.\nSome frustration surfaced in the series when catcher A.J. Pierzynski and hitting coach Greg Walker exchanged words in the dugout. Pierzynski said it’s happened before and will happen again, and it was no big deal. He insists he and Walker are fine.\n“It’s an issue that shouldn’t be brought up but is going to be because of the way we’re playing. If we were playing better, no one would care,” Pierzynski said.\nEveryone seems to be looking for signs that the White Sox are ready to go on vacation. Guillen told the team in a recent meeting to keep playing.\n“I haven’t seen a lack of effort by one person on this team,” Pierzynski said. “Every guy runs out balls and everyone hustles.”\nBut here’s how bad it’s gotten: The White Sox had lost 13 of 15 games to fall 18 games under .500 for the first time since 1989, before they won a makeup game Monday against Tampa Bay.\nThe current skid was preceded by an earlier one that was just as unfathomable. During one stretch starting in late May and running into late June, the White Sox went 5-22.\n“I don’t like to wish days away. But it will be nice when it’s over so we can start playing for next year,” chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in an interview with the team’s flagship radio station last week.\n“I’m certainly shocked and surprised, but so are most people in baseball. Most people thought we had a team that would contend and we never were in it.”\nThe reasons are numerous: An offense featuring Paul Konerko and Jermaine Dye started slowly and has been erratic and unproductive. It figured to be among the best in the league, but has been anything but – and is at or near the bottom of the AL in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.\nThe bullpen has been unreliable and shaky, even though it was supposed to be one of the team’s strengths. Other than closer Bobby Jenks, who recently tied a major league record by retiring 41 straight batters, relievers like David Aardsma, Mike MacDougal, Matt Thornton, Ryan Bukvich, Dewon Day and Nick Masset struggled off and on. The bullpen has blown 18 saves and has an ERA over five runs per game.\nAnd then there is the rotation. Two years ago in the AL championship series, Chicago starters hurled four straight complete games to beat the Angels and advance to their first World Series since 1959.\nBut now those days are also long gone, as is one of those starters, Freddy Garcia, traded to the Phillies in the offseason.\nJose Contreras was 11-2 in the second half of 2005 and went 3-1 in the playoffs. He started last season by going 9-0 before the All-Star break but has not been the same pitcher since. Contreras had lost nine straight starts this season before beating the Devil Rays and owns a dubious mark: 16 losses, the most in the majors. He is 11-25 since the 2006 All-Star break.\nJon Garland, an 18-game winner in the each of the previous two seasons is 8-10. And Mark Buehrle, who got a four-year, $56 million contract extension last month and pitched a no-hitter in April, is 9-9. Rookie John Danks, acquired from Texas in the offseason, is 6-12 and winless in August.\nThen there were some untimely injuries: Slick-fielding, clutch-hitting third baseman Joe Crede was lost for the season to back surgery in June, outfielders Scott Podsednik and Darin Erstad have been on the DL twice each, top utility man Pablo Ozuna broke his leg and DH Jim Thome has been slowed by an assortment of physical problems.\nThe 33-year-old Dye, who like Buehrle could have been a free agent, got a two-year, $22 million contract extension. Right-hander Javier Vazquez was given a three-year, $35.5 million contract extension during the spring and leads the staff with 11 wins.\nBut the future doesn’t appear to be the bright one that general manager Ken Williams mapped out during the during the World Series when he said he wanted to build a team that would be a perennial contender.\nAnd look at what happened to the team the White Sox swept in the World Series: the Houston Astros fired both manager Phil Garner and general manager Tim Purpura after falling near the bottom of their division.\nGuillen, who has another year left on his contract with an option year in 2009, will use the remainder of the season to try to re-establish what he thought was going to be a constant – winning. Williams will have to remake or reshape in the offseason.\nGuillen promised the next White Sox team would be a good one.\n“I don’t know who’s going to be there,” he said. “But it can’t be worse than this.”
(08/29/07 3:47am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Defensive tackle Corey Simon agreed to terms Tuesday with the Tennessee Titans and will try to resume his career after not playing at all in 2006.\nThe Indianapolis Colts released Simon on Aug. 4 after he failed a physical at the start of training camp. Simon took a physical with the Titans a week ago and was expected to be at practice later Tuesday.\n“Corey brings a combination of run-stuffing size and pass-rushing ability to the defensive tackle position,” general manager Mike Reinfeldt said in a statement. “Prior to last season, he has been a consistent and productive player who contributed to playoff teams and we are excited to see him get a second chance here with the Titans to prove he still has that ability.”\nSimon had arthroscopic knee surgery but was placed on the non-football illness/injury list Oct. 5 with an undisclosed ailment a year after signing a five-year, $30 million contract with the Colts.\nHe was the sixth pick overall in 2000 by the Philadelphia Eagles and a Pro Bowler in 2003. He spent five seasons with Philadelphia and had 270 tackles and 32 sacks, but the Eagles released him just before the 2005 season because he refused to sign a one-year franchise tender.\nIf healthy, he could help a defense that ranked 30th in the NFL against the run last year, giving up 144.6 yards per game.
(08/28/07 4:29am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Colts’ leadership spent Monday in debate mode.\nThe starters know exactly what that means: Little , if any, playing time Friday at Cincinnati.\nIt wouldn’t be the first time the Colts finished the preseason with a new-look team. Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning has not played a down against the Bengals, traditionally the Colts’ final preseason opponent, the last two years and in 2005, the Colts sat their entire starting offense while playing only two defensive starters.\nThe reason? No need to risk injuries before the regular season when you still have to trim the roster.\n“This week we have two goals,” coach Tony Dungy said Monday. “One is to continue to be sharp and two is to get our 53-man roster where it needs to be.”\nDungy and the coaching staff started working on the second part Monday, although he declined to announce the moves because not all of the decisions were made. The Colts must pare their roster to 75 by Tuesday afternoon and 53 by Saturday afternoon.\nOne player not practicing Monday was veteran guard Rick DeMulling, a former Colts starter who spent the last two seasons in Detroit. Dungy, however, cautioned against reading too much into his absence.\nAmong those expected to sit out Friday’s game are three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Dwight Freeney, who bruised his right thigh during the first half of Saturday’s 37-10 victory over Detroit.\nThe Colts’ top tight end, Dallas Clark, also is likely to be out after wearing an ice pack on his right thigh during the second half of the Lions game.\nWhile Dungy downplayed both injuries, neither player was likely to play against Cincinnati even if they had not been hurt.\n“I don’t think they’re too, too serious,” Dungy said. “Dallas was back running today and Dwight should be just another day or two. I think they’ll be fine.”\nInstead, Dungy wants to spend this week focused on the task of making roster decisions.\nHe’s hoping to get a longer look at players like John Standeford, primarily a practice squad receiver the last three years who is battling for one of the final spots. Or Craphonso Thorpe, Kenton Keith and T.J. Rushing, who are fighting for jobs as kick returners and the litany of defensive backs who still have not locked up jobs.\nAs usual, Dungy calls this one of the most difficult weeks of the season.\n“We have to make 11 or 12 moves this week and next week it’s 22 or 23, and it’s difficult even for the guys who have been here a short time because they’ve all worked hard in this heat,” Dungy said. “It’s just tough for everyone.”\nDungy hopes Friday’s game clears up some of the ongoing debates, even if that means fans won’t recognize those guys in the Colts jerseys.\n“We’ve got some good young guys and that’s going to make our cuts interesting, which is a good thing,” he said. “We’ve just got to figure out who are best 53 players are.”
(08/28/07 4:29am)
RICHMOND, Va. – Looking somber and speaking “from the heart,” Michael Vick apologized Monday for “using bad judgment and making bad decisions” and vowed to redeem himself after pleading guilty to a federal dogfighting charge.\n“First I want to apologize for all the things that I’ve done and that I have allowed to happen,” the star quarterback said at a news conference following his appearance in U.S. District Court to formally enter the plea.\nSentencing was set for Dec. 10 and Vick could be sent to prison for one to five years. Vick was suspended indefinitely by the NFL last week.\nIn Atlanta, the Falcons said they would not cut Vick immediately because of salary-cap issues. The team intends to pursue the $22 million in bonus money that he already received in a record $130 million contract signed in 2004.\n“We cannot tell you today that Michael is cut from the team,” owner Arthur Blank said. “It may feel better emotionally for us and many of our fans, but it’s not in the long-term best interests of the franchise.”\nVick made his first public statements on the dogfighting ring and said:\n“I made a mistake of using bad judgment and making bad decisions. Those things just can’t happen. Dogfighting is a terrible thing, and I do reject it.”\nHe singled out NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Blank, coach Bobby Petrino and his teammates for personal apologies, saying “I was not honest and forthright in our discussions.”\nHe also apologized to “all the young kids out there for my immature acts and what I did – and what I did was very immature. So that means I need to grow up.”\n“I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player,” he said.\nHe concluded by saying, “I offer my deepest apologies to everyone. And I will redeem myself. I have to.”\nVick took no questions.\nHe said little in court, \nstanding erect and softly answering “Yes, sir” and “No, sir” to U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson’s questions. Family members occupied the front row of the packed courtroom for the 15-minute hearing.\nThe plea by the suspended quarterback was accepted by Hudson, who asked: “Are you entering the plea of guilty to a conspiracy charge because you are in fact guilty?”\nVick answered yes.\nHudson emphasized he is not bound by sentencing guidelines or the recommendations of prosecutors and can impose the maximum sentence. Prosecutors proposed a 12- to 18-month prison term.\n“You’re taking your chances here. You’ll have to live with whatever decision I make,” Hudson said.\n“A first-time offender might well receive no jail time for this offense,” U.S. Attorney Chuck Rosenberg said in a statement. “We thought, however, that the conduct in this conspiracy was heinous, cruel and inhumane.” Vick is one of four defendants in the case.\nThe first defendant to plead guilty left the conspiracy in 2004 and is not as culpable, Rosenberg said.\nBlank and general manager Rich McKay refused to say that Vick’s career in Atlanta was over, though that is likely more a legal issue than an indicator of their future plans.\n“We cannot undo what’s been done,” Blank said. “But we can and will recover from this.”\nThe Falcons will receive a $6 million cap credit for Vick’s salary this year since he’s been suspended without pay. They are still on the hook for approximately $22 million in prorated bonus obligations spread out over this season and the next two.\nBaseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and former Atlanta Mayor and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young, both members of the Falcons’ board, attended the news conference at Blank’s corporate headquarters.\nIn his written plea filed last week, Vick admitted to helping kill six to eight pit bulls and supplying money for gambling on the fights. He said he did not personally place any bets or share in any winnings.\nShortly afterward, the NFL suspended him indefinitely and without pay. Merely associating with gamblers can trigger a lifetime ban under the league’s personal conduct policy.\nThe case began in late April when authorities conducting a drug investigation of Vick’s cousin raided the former Virginia Tech star’s rural Surry County property and seized dozens of dogs, some injured, and equipment commonly used in dogfighting.\nA federal indictment issued in July charged Vick, Purnell Peace of Virginia Beach, Quanis Phillips of Atlanta and Tony Taylor of Hampton with an interstate dogfighting conspiracy. Vick initially denied any involvement, and all four men pleaded innocent. Taylor was the first to change his plea to guilty; Phillips and Peace soon followed.\nThe details outlined in the indictment and other court papers fueled a public backlash against Vick and cost him several lucrative endorsement deals, even before he agreed to plead guilty.\nThe Falcons were to play an exhibition game at home against the Cincinnati Bengals later Monday. This will be the first chance for the team to see what effect Vick’s case has on attendance at the Georgia Dome. Vick wears the best-selling jersey in team history and is given much credit for its 51 consecutive sellouts.\n“We’re putting the emotions, the shock, the disappointment, the anger and the once-held hope that this was not true behind us,” Blank said. “I assure you we’ll do all we possibly can to make this season a success.”
(08/27/07 3:58am)
DETROIT – The New York Yankees hit the ball hard Sunday. The Detroit Tigers just kept making all the plays.\nThe Tigers used three early homers and three late defensive gems to beat the Yankees 5-4, and can win their first series since mid-July with a victory in the series finale Monday night.\n“We’ve had some bad moments this year, but the one thing about this team is that they always give it everything they have,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “That’s the thing that makes a manager proud.”\nThe Tigers moved within 4 1/2 games of the Seattle Mariners in the wild-card race. Detroit began the day 2 1/2 games behind Cleveland in \nthe AL Central.\n“We knew how much we needed this one,” said Tigers reliever Joel Zumaya, who pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings. “A big game against the Yankees means a lot of emotion.”\nNew York fell 2 1/2 games behind Seattle, and 7 1/2 behind Boston in the AL East.\n“We’re all right,” manager Joe Torre said.\nAfter third baseman Brandon Inge made a spectacular play in the eighth, part-time first baseman Carlos Guillen bailed out Tigers closer Todd Jones with two tough plays in the ninth.\nHideki Matsui started the inning with a grounder between first and second, but Guillen, who moved from shortstop to first before the eighth inning, ranged far to his right to get the ball, then threw across his body to Jones covering first.\n“That was an incredible play,” Jones said. “I didn’t think he could get to the ball, but when he did, I figured I better get myself over to the bag.”\nAfter Jason Giambi’s single, Guillen snared Robinson Cano’s hard-hit grounder and started a game-ending 3-6-3 double play.\n“They caught everything we hit,” Torre said. “With our offense, normally we can overcome that.”\nGuillen, Detroit’s All-Star shortstop, has been playing first base in the late innings of games because of a bad back.
(08/26/07 5:50pm)
IU men’s basketball coach Kelvin Sampson confirmed Saturday at a press conference that senior guard and prolific three-point shooter A.J. Ratliff will miss the first part of the 2007-2008 season. Ratliff is ineligible for academic reasons, and may regain his eligibility if his grades allow after the first semester is completed. \nRumors had been circulating across the Internet in the last few days suggesting Ratliff might be ineligible, but Saturday was the first time such speculation was confirmed. \nRatliff becomes the seventh player the team has lost since last season, either to graduation, academics or transfer. The team also lost seniors Earl Calloway, Errek Suhr and Rod Wilmont, and saw Joey Shaw, Xavier Keeling and Ben Allen transfer. \nRatliff can still play in exhibition games, because they are not NCAA sanctioned. Sitting out through the first semester, he will miss the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against Georgia Tech, a contest against Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., and the Hoosiers’ annual rivalry showdown against Kentucky. Two years ago, Ratliff helped lead the Hoosiers to victory over the Wildcats with 21 second-half points. \nWithout Ratliff, IU may have to rely more on freshman guards Jordan Crawford and Eric Gordon, as well as junior college transfer Jamarcus Ellis, for their outside scoring.\nRatliff averaged 9.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season, and shot 40.7 percent from behind the three-point line. Ratliff played in 30 games last season, starting 12. Ratliff led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, including 18 in the second half during the Hoosiers’ 71-66 victory over then No. 2-ranked Wisconsin on Jan. 31 at Assembly Hall. \nRatliff has averaged 6.3 points per game over his three years at IU, shooting 39.2 percent from beyond the arc.
(08/24/07 4:55am)
Junior center Ben Allen will transfer from the IU men’s basketball team, coach Kelvin Sampson said in an IU Athletics Department statement.\n“We appreciate Ben’s efforts at Indiana, and we wish him nothing but the best in the future,” Sampson said in the release.\nAllen averaged 0.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 24 games last season as he struggled to adjust to playing more in the post. Allen played inside more often last season as the tallest player on the team, and even gained 36 pounds of muscle to become more of a post presence. \nDuring his freshman season, Allen saw action in all 31 games, displaying good three-point range. \nAllen’s best game came early in his freshman season against Indiana State. The Melbourne, Australia, native scored 21 points on 8-10 shooting, including 5-6 from beyond the arc in a road loss to the Sycamores.\nAllen missed several games last season fighting mononucleosis. He returned to action Dec. 22 against IU Purdue University Indianapolis to score four points in 11 minutes.\nIncoming freshman Eli Holman, a 6-foot-9-inch center from Richmond, Calif., and transfer DeAndre Thomas, a 6-foot-8-inch forward from Florida’s Chipola Junior College, are expected to play significant minutes in the Hoosiers’ frontcourt.\nHolman was the 80th-ranked prospect in the incoming class of 2007, according to recruiting Web site www.rivals.com. \nThomas helped lead Chipola to a runner-up finish in the NJCAA tournament last season with fellow Hoosier Jamarcus Ellis. Thomas was ranked a three-star recruit in the same class on www.rivals.com.
(08/24/07 4:19am)
SAN FRANCISCO – Craig Monroe quickly found himself back in a pennant race Thursday when the Detroit Tigers traded the slumping outfielder and cash to the Chicago Cubs for a player to \nbe named.\nDespite hitting only .222 before Detroit designated him for assignment last Friday, Monroe was productive against left-handed pitching. That’s how Cubs manager Lou Piniella plans to use him.\n“I think it gives us a good balance,” Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said. “It was just one of those situations where you couldn’t pass up a guy who has already been there and helped lead a club to the postseason. We’ve had our ups and downs against lefties. It gives Lou some options here that we didn’t have before by just adding one good batter against left-handed pitching.”\nMonroe is hitting .302 with five homers and 22 RBIs in 102 at-bats against lefties. The NL Central-leading Cubs are just 12-19 against lefties and are batting 20 points lower as a team than against right-handers.\nMonroe is versatile, too, having played all three outfield positions.\n“The teams that we’re playing here all have left-handed starters in their rotation,” Piniella said. “He’s a valuable addition. He gives us more experience. This guy has been in the postseason, hit five home runs last year in the postseason, played in the World Series. It’s a good move by Jim to get us that bat.”\nAfter helping the Tigers reach the World Series last year for the first time since 1984, Monroe struggled in 2007 and lost his job to Marcus Thames. Monroe had 11 homers and 55 RBIs in 99 games before being replaced by highly-touted prospect Cameron Maybin.\nThe Cubs will send a player to Detroit by Oct. 15. Detroit is close in the AL Central and wild-card races.\nMonroe is scheduled to join his new team Friday night at Arizona. The Cubs designated outfielder Buck Coats to make room for Monroe on the 40-man roster. They will have to make an additional move before activating him Friday.\nMonroe batted .255 with 28 homers and 92 RBIs last year, then tied a franchise record by hitting five home runs in the postseason. He also tied for second among AL outfielders with 12 assists.\nMonroe signed a one-year contract for $4,775,000 in the offseason, getting a raise from $2.8 million.\nThe Cubs are also looking to get a boost soon with the return of All-Star outfielder Alfonso Soriano, who has been out since Aug. 6 with a strained right quadricep.\nSoriano looked good running in the outfield before Wednesday’s game and is expected back around Sept. 1 – about 10 days earlier than the Cubs originally expected.\nPiniella didn’t even rule out an earlier return, maybe for the Cubs’ three-game series next week against second-place Milwaukee. Soriano is batting .297 with 18 homers and 42 RBIs this season.\n“He’s amazing,” Piniella said. “You see him running around out there and you think he’s one of your regulars instead of someone who is on the DL. But we have to be very careful. One more problem and he’s out for the year and we can’t afford that. We’re going to be as cautious as we can. We’re not going to rush this thing to the point where by rushing him he can sustain another injury.”
(08/23/07 8:42pm)
Junior center Ben Allen has played his last game for the Hoosiers and will transfer from the program, the IU Athletics Department announced today. \n“We appreciate Ben’s efforts at Indiana and we wish him nothing but the best in the future,” said IU coach Kelvin Sampson in a news release.\nAllen averaged 0.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 24 games last season. \nFor more on this story see Friday's issue of the IDS.
(08/23/07 3:47am)
BLACKSBURG, Va. – First came the massacre on campus, leaving 33 dead and a nation horrified. Then came federal dogfighting charges against Michael Vick, Virginia Tech’s favorite son.\nAs Virginia Tech and the Blacksburg community try to put the disturbing offseason in the past, opening day of the football season can’t come soon enough for this engineering school in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western Virginia.\n“I do believe that this school will come back tighter, stronger, more together, more caring, more respectful of each other than ever before,” coach Frank Beamer said. “And there’s probably not a greater place to show it than in a stadium where, if you’re there – the alumni, the students, the fans, whatever – you’re all going in the same direction.\n“People just want something to rally around.”\nThe ninth-ranked Hokies certainly offer that. They have eight starters back from a defense that was No. 1 in the nation last season, a quarterback who guided them to 10 wins last season and no shortage of stars.\n“That’s the one thing I want to make sure that we’re focused on, and that’s that we can be pretty special now if everything falls into place,” defensive coordinator Bud Foster said. “Obviously, you have to stay healthy. There’s a lot of things – breaks that you have to make for yourself – and there’s going to be some adversity and how you fight through those things. Those are all things that characterize a great season.”\nVince Hall and Xavier Adibi might be the best pair of linebackers in the country and lead the disruptive defense that frequently scores more points than it allows. Branden Ore ran for 1,137 yards, scored 17 touchdowns and missed two games.\nThere are question marks on the offensive line and in the kicking game, where Brandon Pace has moved on and Jud Dunlevy is still unproven.\nQuarterback Sean Glennon is also considered a wild card after an up-and-down first season as the starter, which ended with four second-half turnovers in the 31-24 loss to Georgia in the Chick-fil-a Bowl.\n“I’d love to be the guy that people are unsure about and come out and play well,” he said. “Obviously, it takes a whole unit to be good. I’m only one-eleventh of that, but I’m confident in the guys around me getting it done and confident in myself, too.”\nIn the offseason, between visits to a speed coach to help with his mobility and workouts with his teammates, Glennon repeatedly watched the tape of the bowl game.\n“I kind of used that to fuel my fire,” he said.\nNot that all the mistakes were his fault.\nHe fumbled once when he was hit on his blind side, had a tipped pass intercepted and only started trying to force things after Georgia’s second-half comeback had reached full throttle.\n“I feel like our quarterback situation is in good shape,” Beamer said.\nSo does assistant coach Mike O’Cain, who helped restore Glennon’s confidence in the offseason by breaking down the bowl tape and showing Glennon that overall he played pretty well.\n“He’s gotten so much scrutiny from that bowl game that wasn’t his fault. He made one bad play,” O’Cain said.
(08/23/07 3:46am)
LAS VEGAS – Jerry Colangelo insists he was not out to build a team of All-Stars when he created the USA Basketball national team program.\nBut maybe an All-Star team is exactly what the United \nStates needed.\nThe Americans brought a strong one into their FIBA Americas tournament opener Wednesday night against Venezuela, one that looked more like the dominant U.S. teams of the 1990s than the ones who struggled so much in this decade.\nCarmelo Anthony was on U.S. teams that managed only bronze medals in their past two events, and likes the way this one stacks up.\n“I think it’s better than both teams just because we have more experience now,” he said. “We have guys who have been in situations, tough situations. Even though we lost last year, I think we took a step further toward where we want to be at.”\nOr, where the Americans used to be.\nWhen the United States started using professional players for international events with the Dream Team in 1992, the roster was usually stacked with top pros. Players such as Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Karl Malone and Scottie Pippen all made multiple appearances in USA uniforms during the ‘90s.\nThe expected U.S. starting five in this tournament of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Anthony, Jason Kidd and either Amare Stoudemire or Dwight Howard are all players who someday could join their predecessors in the Hall of Fame.\n“All those guys playing at once like they did in 1992, the first Dream Team, we just haven’t had that opportunity to put all those guys together,” Kidd said. “But this team is just as talented as any team that’s been put together, and we look forward to the challenge.”\nTop NBA players started blowing off international play after the 2000 Olympics, and the United States paid for it with a horrendous sixth-place showing in the 2002 world championships, before the bronze medal performances in the ‘04 Olympics and ‘06 worlds.\nAnthony was a late addition when the ‘04 team was scrambling to add players, and acknowledges that he shouldn’t have been on a team that was supposed to be America’s best.\n“No, not at all,” he said. “I was a rookie, I was just finishing up my rookie year. I didn’t know what to expect over there honestly. I just knew I wanted to play.”
(08/23/07 3:45am)
INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA placed Purdue on two years’ probation Wednesday after it determined that a former assistant women’s basketball coach wrote a paper for a player and made more than 100 impermissible recruiting calls.\nThe women’s basketball program will also lose two scholarships, reducing the number to 13 for 2007-08. The university already cut one scholarship for the 2006-07 academic year.\nFormer assistant Katrina Merriweather admitted to typing, correcting and revising a paper for former point guard Cherelle George during the 2005-06 season, the NCAA said. Both were suspended indefinitely before the Big Ten tournament that season, and neither returned to the program.\nMerriweather’s contract was automatically terminated when coach Kristy Curry left Purdue and accepted the Texas Tech job in March 2006. Curry will not be punished, though the NCAA said the infractions committee was “troubled” that she had been told about the violations twice and did not immediately report them.\nInvestigators also found that Merriweather made 105 impermissible telephone calls to two prospective players. The NCAA considered it a major violation because it was not an isolated incident.\nProbation means the school must make annual reports to an NCAA committee detailing corrective actions in the program.\nThe Division I Committee on Infractions made the decision after Purdue performed an internal investigation and self-reported the violations last year.\nBecause of the violations, if Merriweather wants to coach at another NCAA school during the next three years, she and the school must appear before the committee to determine whether her duties should be limited.\nCommittee Chair Josephine Potuto said the fallout could have been worse if Purdue hadn’t self-reported the violations. Potuto said Purdue will be more severely punished if it commits any more violations.
(08/22/07 10:58pm)
In his introductory press conference in 2006, Kelvin Sampson told IU men’s basketball supporters he would recruit Indiana natives to play in Bloomington. But it is the prospects in border states, not the Hoosier state, that have padded the second-year coach’s 2008 recruiting class.\nMatt Roth, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard from Illinois, announced Wednesday he will sign a letter of intent to play for IU in 2008. Roth chose IU over Bradley and Saint Louis universities. Roth is the second player from a neighboring state to join next year’s recruiting class, and the third commitment overall. He joins Bud Mackey, shooting guard from Kentucky, and Devin Ebanks, small forward from Connecticut.\nRoth is ranked a 3-star – out of a possible five stars – player by recruiting Web site www.rivals.com, and will help the Hoosiers from beyond the arc. Roth averaged 21.1 points per game for the Washington (Ill.) High School Panthers as a junior, and shot 48 percent from behind the three-point line. He drained 143 three-pointers last year, three shy of the Illinois state high school record. \nRoth is AAU teammates with Tyler Zeller, a 6-foot-11 center from Washington, Ind. Zeller, a 5-star recruit, is ranked No. 22 nationally by www.rivals.com, and is considering IU among three other schools – North Carolina, Notre Dame and Purdue. Zeller’s brother Luke, who was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2005, will be a junior at Notre Dame this season.
(08/22/07 2:53am)
BEIJING – Despite a persistent gray haze, officials said Tuesday an exercise that removed more than 1 million private vehicles a day from Beijing’s gridlocked streets was a success that could mean a clearer sky during next summer’s Olympics.\nHumidity and wind conditions kept the pollution from dispersing, but the air during the four-day drill would have been much worse without the vehicle restrictions, said Du Shaozhong, the deputy director of the Chinese capital’s Environmental Protection Bureau.\n“The test was successful. These four days the wind speed was slow, while the humidity and temperature were high,” Du told reporters, noting that a gray sky doesn’t necessarily mean pollution is bad.\nAir pollution has emerged as a key problem for Beijing as it gears up for the Olympics, to be held Aug. 8-24, 2008. Jammed traffic and the possibility of political protests by critics of the communist regime are also concerns, although venue construction is firmly on schedule.\nInternational Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge warned during a visit this month that the competition schedule might have to be juggled on days when pollution was particularly bad.\nThe government’s own statistics showed that the air quality during the test rated among the top 10 worst days of the month so far – and slightly worse than the same period a year ago.\nThe traffic ban removed 1.3 million private vehicles from the capital’s perpetually gridlocked streets each day. Additional buses and subways were added as residents turned to public transportation, car pools and taxis.\nCars with even-numbered license plates were ordered off roads Friday and Sunday, and vehicles with odd-numbered plates were banned Saturday and Monday. Emergency vehicles, taxis, buses and other public-service vehicles were exempt.\nBeijing had an air pollution index of between 93 and 95 during the test days, the city’s environmental protection bureau said on its Web site. According to the State Environmental Protection Agency, an index below 100 indicates excellent or good conditions.\n“As the air quality during these four days reached the national standard, it was fit for all activities, including sports,” Du said.\nThe index hit 116 Tuesday after the test and was 115 on Aug. 16 – the day before the trial began, the Chinese statistics showed.\nOfficials said a reading of between 101 to 200 indicates slight pollution and people with heart and respiratory conditions are told to avoid exertion and outdoor activities.\nEarlier in the month, the pollution index had dipped as low as 42 and generally hovered in the 70s or 80s in the first two weeks of August.\nChris Miller, director of the global warming campaign at Greenpeace, said the car ban was a step in the right direction for China, but he doubted whether it showed any real commitment to improving air quality.\n“This is a short-term solution to what is a very acute and long-term problem. In some ways it just highlights how serious the problem really is,” he said.\n“They will probably be able to get air pollution to at least semi-acceptable levels for a couple of weeks at Olympics sites in and around Beijing, but the question is why can’t they then figure out how to make that happen every day?” Miller said.\nBeijing residents praised the traffic controls, saying they were necessary to ease gridlock. Zhai Shuanghe, an official with the city traffic management bureau, said average traffic speeds on main roads rose just over 53 percent, to about 27 mph.\n“I thought it was very good. There was an immediate effect on the traffic,” said a woman who gave her surname as Li. She said she usually drives two to three times a week.\nA cab driver, who gave his surname as Wang, said his business did not increase significantly, but he thinks the controls should be in place beyond the Olympics.\n“I think it’s good to regulate by license plate number. I think they should do it long-term, so there’s no congestion,” he said.\nTraffic controls are just one way Olympics organizers have tried to clear the skies. Officials have spent billions of dollars closing factories and moving others out of the city. Frenzied, around-the-clock construction to modernize Beijing will be curtailed ahead of the games next summer.\nBeijing is particularly focused on combating particle pollution, which can cause breathing problems and reduced visibility. That pollution is caused by emissions from power plants, diesel engines and wind-blown dust. High ozone levels, which occur on sunny days when nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons emitted by car tailpipes, power plants and factories react in the air, are also a problem.\nZhai said the restrictions were widely respected, with only 5,648 cars found in violation.\n“It demonstrates the great consciousness and civilization of Beijing citizens,” he said.
(08/22/07 2:52am)
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Atlanta Falcons are hurt and confused. They’re struggling to comprehend how the guy they knew as a star on the field and a friend in the locker room could have gotten himself into this much trouble.\nAt least the uncertainty is gone. The players who once lined up with Michael Vick know he’s gone – and probably never coming back.\n“He’s not on the team,” running back Warrick Dunn said Tuesday. “That pretty much makes him an ex-teammate.”\nThe Falcons have no choice but to move on, though Vick’s decision Monday to plead guilty to federal dogfighting charges will have broad ramifications.\nInstead of having one of the NFL’s most dynamic players, Atlanta must turn over the quarterback position to former No. 3 overall pick Joey Harrington, a flop in both Detroit and Miami.\nDown the road, there will be major salary cap issues to address as the Falcons deal with the leftovers of Vick’s $130 million contract.\nVeterans such as Dunn, offensive tackle Wayne Gandy and linebacker Keith Brooking, all in their 30s and eager to play with a contender, suddenly find themselves on a team that everyone is picking to be one of the worst in the league.\n“This is unprecedented,” Brooking said. “It’s never happened before. For us to sit here and try to reconcile that or put it all in perspective, it’s very confusing.”\nThe Falcons practiced for just under two hours Tuesday, trying to carry on as if it was business as usual.\nCoach Bobby Petrino addressed the situation with his team, gauging their feelings and trying to get a handle on how they wanted to express it.\nSome players wanted to talk with the media. Some didn’t.\n“They’ve got me under a gag order,” said outspoken cornerback DeAngelo Hall, a teammate of Vick’s at both Virginia Tech and with the Falcons.\nPetrino said any gag orders were self-imposed.\n“I told them there would be a number of guys today that spoke with the media,” the first-year coach said. “Some guys didn’t feel like they wanted to. That’s fine. I have no problem with that.”\nTight end Alge Crumpler seemed most passionate about Vick’s predicament. They came into the league the same year and Crumpler quickly emerged as Vick’s favorite receiver. Now, it looks as though they’ll never hook up on another passing play again.\nVick is likely to be sentenced to at least a year in prison – and probably longer – after he enters his guilty plea next week. He also faces certain punishment from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell under a tougher personal conduct policy that went into effect this year. Vick is likely to miss at least two seasons before he can even think about a comeback.\n“Michael is a human being,” Crumpler said. “People have been trying to dehumanize him. But he’s hurting. I know that. Believe me, he’s hurting.”\nVick is only 27 and likely to miss some of his best years, but his young age leaves open the possibility that he’ll be able to resume his career, even if it’s with another team.\nHis one-time teammates hope he’ll learn from his egregious mistakes and come back a stronger, better person.\n“Michael is loyal to a fault,” Crumpler said. “I think that really hurt him in this situation.”\nThe Falcons won’t be making an immediate decision on Vick’s future, having been asked by the NFL to hold off until the league gets a report from its own investigator.\nThat hasn’t stopped some players from trying to reach out to Vick, offering support as he faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term. Gandy and Crumpler have both been sending frequent text messages, trying to let the quarterback know that he’s not alone.\n“It’s kind of hard,” Gandy conceded. “You don’t really know what to say.”\n“I try to send him a positive note every day,” Crumpler added. “I want to make sure he keeps his head up.”\nStill, there’s no getting away from the lurid allegations in the indictment: dogs being electrocuted and drowned when they didn’t show enough fighting spirit, some of them reportedly killed by Vick himself.\n“It’s disturbing, obviously,” Dunn said. “That someone of his caliber would be associated with that is the troubling part.”
(08/22/07 2:52am)
ALBANY, N.Y. – Tiki Barber wanted a more intense, fiery Eli Manning. The New York Giants quarterback gave Tiki what he wanted in a loud ripping voice on Tuesday.\nTwo days after being criticized on national television by Barber for a lack of strong leadership, Manning ripped his former teammate and current NBC football analyst for distracting the team last season with his early retirement announcement and his criticism of coach Tom Coughlin.\n“I guess I’m just happy for Tiki that he’s making a smooth transition into the TV world,” Manning said. “You know, I’ll be interested to see if he has anything to say (about a team) besides the Giants, and what his comments will be on that.”\nNormally reserved and never one to criticize a coach or teammate, Manning seemed to enjoy going after Barber, the Giants’ all-time leading rusher who retired after last season at age 31 to pursue a television career.\nSpeaking during the halftime show of the Sunday Night Football game between the Giants and Baltimore Ravens, Barber said that Manning’s attempt to lead an offensive meeting in the 12th week of the last season was “comical” at times.\nManning didn’t find the comment funny.\n“It’s just one of those deals. I’m not going to lose any sleep about what Tiki has to say,” Manning said. “I guess I could have questioned his leadership skills last year with calling out the coach and having articles about him retiring in the middle of the season, and he’s lost the heart (to play).\n“As a quarterback you’re reading that your running back has lost the heart to play the game and it’s about the 10th week,” Manning said. “I can see that a little bit at times. But I’m not going to get concerned. I’m going to go out there and play ball.”\nBarber was not immediately available for comment.\nGiants teammates came to Manning’s defense on Tuesday.\nWide receiver Amani Toomer, who played his entire career with Barber, was stunned.\n“I thought Tiki and Eli were pretty good friends,” Toomer said. “It’s kind of strange to have him say something like that and to make a point of it like that. Maybe he had somebody else in his ear kind of coaxing him into saying stuff, because I don’t believe he really believes that. I don’t know why he’d say something like that.”\nCenter Shaun O’Hara said Manning is progressing as a leader, especially for a fourth-year player.\n“I don’t have any problems with Eli’s leadership and the way he does it,” O’Hara said. “He’s doing it his way. I think players appreciate that. It’s a shame everybody wants Eli to be somebody they think he should be instead of just letting him be himself.”\nO’Hara noted that Manning might be under the microscope more than most young quarterbacks because he is the brother of Peyton Manning.\n“For me, you can be Johnny Rah-Rah, but if you’re not doing your job, if you’re not pulling your weight, it doesn’t matter what you say,” O’Hara said. “Being loud, that doesn’t make you a great leader.”\nTackle David Diehl said Manning showed his leadership Sunday night, getting the offensive lined up right when the Ravens threw a couple of new looks at them on defense.\nGiants new quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer added that Manning does everything a coach wants.\n“Everybody leads in a different way,” Palmer said. “If you buy any business books, there are 101 ways to lead. He’ll lead in his own particular fashion.”\nWhile Barber praised Manning at times for his play, he also questioned whether he could be a leader of men and make plays when the chips were down.\n“His personality hasn’t been so that he can step up, make a strong statement and have people believe that it’s coming from his heart,” Barber said on the show.\nBarber then told the story about Manning being uncomfortable talking to the offense in Week 12.\n“He didn’t feel like his voice was going to be strong enough and it showed,” Barber said. “Sometimes it was almost comical the way that he would say things.”\nWhile Barber rushed for 1,662 yards last season, the second highest single-season total in Giants history, he also was a distraction in an 8-8 season that saw the Giants make the playoffs.\nHe went on record in early October saying that the 2006 season would probably be his last. He also created problems for Coughlin when he criticized him for pulling away from the running game too soon in a loss to Jacksonville in November.\nIt was the second time he went after his head coach.\nAfter a playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers in 2005, Barber said Coughlin was outcoached by Panther coach John Fox, a former Giants assistant.
(08/22/07 2:51am)
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Kurt Busch is staying out of trouble these days, no longer making waves as a NASCAR bad boy.\nAfter Busch won for the second time in three races, prevailing in a rare Tuesday NASCAR event after two days of rain postponements at Michigan International Speedway, he gave most of the credit for the change of attitude to team owner Roger Penske.\n“Working under Roger, finding his ways and how to deal with people, whether it’s internally or with our sponsors, it really gave me a better perspective what this racing thing is all about,” said Busch, who joined Penske Racing in 2005, replacing longtime star Rusty Wallace in the team’s No. 2 Dodge.\n“Maybe before I pushed too hard thinking that maybe I could predict or control the outcome of races and not use the team atmosphere,” Busch said. “I’m happy flying under the radar and I’m happy delivering wins for our sponsors and, right now, the most important thing is getting into the Chase (for the Nextel Cup championship).”\nWinning the 3M Performance 400, Busch took a big step toward that goal.\nThe 2004 Cup champion solidified his berth in the 12-man lineup for the upcoming Chase, holding off Martin Truex Jr. in the closing laps for the 17th win of his career.\nNASCAR’s top circuit had never run on a Tuesday after a weather postponement during the modern era, which began in 1973.\nThe race was originally scheduled to be run Sunday, but two days of rain kept the cars off the track. Other than a 32-minute fog delay Tuesday after the first 10 laps, the race was run without any more weather problems.\nA spin by Greg Biffle with just two laps remaining sent the race into overtime. But Busch easily pulled away from Truex’s DEI Chevrolet when the green flag waved for a two-lap sprint on lap 202.\nBusch, who didn’t take his first lead until lap 101 and wound up leading four times for 92 laps, beat Truex to the finish by 0.495 seconds – about eight car lengths on the high-banked, 2-mile oval.\nThere were two cautions in the last 13 laps and Busch stayed on track with worn tires while some of the cars chasing him pitted for fresh rubber. But he made two perfect restarts.\n“It was tough,” Busch said. “You know, I’ve got to thank the fans who stuck it out on a Tuesday to see a green-white-checker (finish). We put it on for them here at the end, all the restarts, all of the guys on different strategy, it really was a tough, hard-fought win.”\nReigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson finished third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney and Carl Edwards, who won here in June.\nWith just three races remaining until the start of the 10-race stock car playoff, Busch remains 12th in the standings, 33 points behind Truex. Dale Earnhardt Jr. jumped past Ryan Newman into 13th, but a slow pit stop late in the race cost him and he finished 12th.\n“This was a great win,” said Busch, who broke a 51-race winless string two weeks ago at Pocono. “It just backs up what we did at Pocono.”\nHis late-season charge into the Chase has coincided with the arrival of crew chief Pat Tryson, who took over the job in June after being fired as Greg Biffle’s crew chief by Busch’s former employer, Jack Roush.\nAt that point, Busch was 15th in the standings and didn’t look like a likely candidate to make the Chase.\n“When we started eight races or so ago (the plan) was to get 20 points on everybody around us each week, behind us, in front of us,” Tryson said. “I think that’s how we’ve still got to look at it because it’s easy to lose 90 points in a single day.”\nBusch said he’s just following a game plan that works.\n“It’s just the same plan we’ve had for the last five or six weeks, which is just gain points and don’t lose track of the big picture, which is just get in the Chase.”\nSeries leader Jeff Gordon, who started from the pole, was in the top five most of the day before some late problems relegated him to a 27th-place finish.\nGordon’s crew had to make a quick repair on a loose flap along the edge of the No. 24’s rear window during a late pit stop, costing the four-time Cup champion several positions. He then had a near-collision with Matt Kenseth and spun into the infield, falling out of the lead lap after getting stuck in the grass left soft and muddy by the heavy rains of the past two days.\n“Matt was a little impatient with me, but we may have had a tire going down,” Gordon said.\nEarnhardt, desperately trying to make his way into the Chase lineup, was also a top-10 car most of the day, but he slid through his pits on a late stop and also fell out of contention.\n“I made a mistake on that pit stop late in the race and that probably cost us about five spots,” said Earnhardt, who had to start from the rear of the 43-car field after his team changed the transmission on his No. 8 Chevy.\nTruex, Earnhardt’s teammate who also ran second here in June, was a bit frustrated finishing behind Busch, the driver closest to him in the battle for the Chase.\n“I wanted it so bad I could taste it back there behind Kurt,” Truex said. “I felt like last time we probably had the car to beat. This time we didn’t. This time we had good strategy and a good car there at the end.”
