The Sporting News articles from January 2000

The Sporting News archives from January 2000

Voice of the Fan.
January 3, 2000... Choice voice `Joe Paterno's teams have competed at the highest level for 30 years. Yet, he gets beat out by a chicken in your 100 Most Powerful People in Sports for the 20th century (TSN, December 20). Your list laid an egg with that one.' ...

Caught on the Fly.(even the Green Bay Packers fans seem to acknowledge the need to rebuild the team; this and other sports items are presented)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Hey, didn't you used to be the NFC East? * Fresh from the Rumorama (today's special on the old-country buffet: Czech waffles): So, Dom Hasek's tellin' the folks back home that "I would mind very much to quit after a poor season.... Nothing...

Bob Hille's Starting Five.(low-football-IQ film: 'Any Given Sunday'; this and other sports items are presented)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... 1 Proposition 16. The NCAA's eligibility requirements are not race-biased, a federal appeals court rules. The majority opinion was written by John Rocker. 2 Any Given Sunday. Oliver Stone's flick scores extremely low on football I.Q. The...

UNGODLY pressure.(the pressure on Saul Smith, the coach's son, playing on the University of Kentucky basketball team)
January 3, 2000... In a state where basketball is a religion, Saul Smith's greatest sin is being the Kentucky coach's son This is the sort of peaceful moment Lexington does best. The air is clean and clear and warmer than a December afternoon deserves to be....

Gussied-up Bearcats still should look sharp in March.
January 3, 2000... There may be no better description of the dramatic change in the nature of Cincinnati than that offered by Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson: "They're more of a tuxedo team." And this was his comment before the Bearcats formally trounced his...

Holiday gifts.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Providence's season began last Thursday. Arkansas hopes its season begins this week. After a woeful start for the Friars that included losses to Holy Cross and Central Connecticut, Florida State transfer Karim Shabazz made an...

The book on ... Harold Arceneaux.(Weber State basketball player)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Weber State, SF, 6-6/215, senior After leading Weber State to the second round of the NCAAs last season with two 30-plus-point efforts, Harold Arceneaux nearly followed the trend and left school early for the NBA. Instead, after declaring...

MATCHUPS.(college basketball contests on televison includes Maryland at North Carolina State)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... MARYLAND AT NORTH CAROLINA STATE, 7 RM. ET THURSDAY, ESPN2: Let conference play begin! This should mark the start of a tight battle between these two and Wake Forest for third in the ACC. Frontcourt: Maryland's Terence Moms would be the...

The Big East's big bonanza.
January 3, 2000... In Jeff Sagarin's power ratings and the college basketball RPI, the Big East ranks a not-so-big eighth among the nation's 31 conferences. But if this season's top recruiting classes can stay together for a couple of seasons, the Big East--which...

THE MISSING PIECE.
January 3, 2000... At last, Steve McNair thinks, stepping in behind Titans center Kevin Long. There is 7:17 showing on the third-quarter clock in Sunday's rematch against Jacksonville at Adelphia Coliseum. McNair, the Titans' quarterback, has had a good day so...

We take the measure of the first-year coaches.(first-year National Football League coaches; includes other NFL news and statistics)
January 3, 2000... One year is too quick to judge first-year guys, and that includes coaches. But we can file a progress report on the nine coaches who are in their first seasons with their teams. Brian Billick, Ravens. Billick has done some interesting...

Better late than never.(quarterbacks Steve Beuerlein and Rich Gannon elected to the 2000 Pro Bowl, at age 34)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... The Pro Bowl selections of Steve Beuerlein and Rich Gannon are proof that, if anything, persistence pays off. When they take their first snaps from center February 6 in Honolulu, Beuerlein and Gannon, both 34 and taken 12 spots apart in the...

Seeing is believing.(quarterback and the receiver -communication)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Opening a pair of bleary eyes on New Year's Day after a Y2K soiree is one kind of sight adjustment. Another is the read-and-react adaptation an offense must make when the defense is about to blitz more players than the offense can block. ...

Previewing 2000 ... for last season's final four teams.(Broncos, Jets, Falcons and Vikings )
January 3, 2000... A year ago, the Broncos, Jets, Falcons and Vikings were headed for their respective conferences' championship games. This year, only Minnesota is returning to the playoffs, but not without struggling. Let's look inside these four teams and...

NFC East.
January 3, 2000... Teams are listed alphabetically Giants' Toomer has pulled his career from the brink For the 31st season in a row there will be no Giants wide receiver in the Pro Bowl, but that streak might be in jeopardy. In his fourth pro season and...

NFC Central.(National Football Conference Central Division)(Statistical Data Included)
January 3, 2000... WEEK 17 MATCHUP Minnesota's vs. Detroit's red-zone red-zone offense defense As any coach in the league will attest, the most underrated elements in the red zone are the ability to run the ball...

NFC West.(National Football Conference West Division)(Statistical Data Included)
January 3, 2000... After disastrous season, 49ers need to get to work Nobody could have guessed the once-proud 49ers would have gotten so bad so soon. They will enter the offseason with the unenviable task of trying to fix a team that has age, financial and...

AFC East.
January 3, 2000... Secondary has become Bills' primary concern When left cornerback Ken Irvin suffered a broken foot December 19 against the Cardinals, Buffalo lost a key member of its secondary to injury for the second time this season. A couple of months...

AFC Central.
January 3, 2000... Spikes toils virtually unnoticed on a 4-11 team, but he has all the physical tools to emerge as a perennial Pro Bowl player. Here is how he grades out using an NFL scout's grading scale: 8-Rare; 7-Outstanding; 6-Good; 5-Adequate; 4-Marginal;...

AFC West.
January 3, 2000... Teams are listed alphabetically Seahawks now control their destiny in title race Seattle gained control of the AFC West race with its convincing 23-14 victory over Kansas City on Sunday. The teams both own 9-6 records heading into...

STATS.
January 3, 2000... RUSHING Atts. Yds. Avg. TDs. James, Ind. 351 1503 4.3 13 Davis, Was. 290 1405 4.8 17 Faulk, St.L. ...

POINT OF CONTENTION.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Until last Sunday's collapse at Tennessee, the Jaguars were on track to become only the fifth NFL team since the 16-game schedule began in 1978 to allow fewer than 200 points in a season. The league's top 10 performances since `78 (excluding...

THE TIME OF NICK.(Nick Saban selected as Louisiana State University football coach)
January 3, 2000... When Nick Saban took over the LSU football program, he knew he would face obstacles. But the biggest may be himself. At his hourlong press conference on the day he was hired as football coach at Louisiana State, Nick Saban smiled exactly...

Major sanctions? In Notre Dame's world, maybe.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... The sanctions came down last week. Major violations they were called. But major sanctions? Hardly. Two years probation, one scholarship a year. That s it But it was Notre Dame. So it is a big deal. "We will not appeal the penalties," says...

Only the shadow knows.(Ray Bourque lives up to Bobby Orr's shadow)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... As he makes Ids rounds of the NHL, probably for the last time, RAY BOURQUE says playing in the dark image of Bobby Orr was a challenge could have exercised but didn't because he felt the comparisons made him better As the team bus passes...

Salary drive? No, Shanahan wants to win another Cup.(Brendan Shanahan )(Red Wings)
January 3, 2000... If you see the movie Any Given Sunday, you quickly learn that even the best athletes don't have a secret potion of "invisible juice" to help them avoid the harsh, physical contact that makes professional sports so violent and yet such a mm-on...

Think the Lakers are good now? Wait until April.
January 3, 2000... One step at a time. Look before you leap. You've got to walk before you run. Easy does it. Lights out by 11. This was just some of the advice you ignored in your adolescence, that heady period when you thought your parents' wisdom could...

Loss of Jones stings Hornets.(basketball player Eddie Jones of the Charlotte Hornets)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... The Hornets have been coping with minor injuries, illness and off-court distractions since early in the preseason. Now, they face their biggest challenge yet--playing without All-Star guard Eddie Jones for the next month or so. Jones...

Payton is good, but Kidd is Mr. Point Guard.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Who is the best all-around point guard in the NBA? You can start with guys like Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, John Stockton and Jason Williams, and that's a formidable group. But the debate comes down to just two players: Phoenix's Jason Kidd...

The book on ... Othella Harrington.(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Grizzlies PF, 6-9/235, 4th year Perhaps the best endorsement Othella Harrington could have had came early this season from 15-year veteran Antoine Carr. "His work ethic is probably in line with a Karl Malone," Carr said. "He works that...

It's not easy defending the crown.(defending NBA champions San Antonio Spurs)(basketball)(Brief Article)
January 3, 2000... Once they were blue collar. Now they're merely blue.... Coach Gregg Popovich warned his Spurs that defending their NBA title wouldn't be easy. Two months into it, he's right. They still lead the Midwest, which is OK if you overlook...

EASTERN CONFERENCE.
January 3, 2000... Atlanta It's Terry's time to take over at the point Starting the season with Bimbo Coles as the point guard with first-round draft pick Jason Terry as the backup made sense. That let Terry ease his way into the league, learning from...

WESTERN CONFERENCES.
January 3, 2000... Dallas Up-tempo game suffers with Trent's return When F Gary Trent was out, coach Don Nelson emphasized an up-tempo offense and made extensive use of small lineups. But with Trent's return, the Mavericks can't run as often. Trent's...

This time, Bobby Cox gets upper hand on Joe Torre.(poll of baseball executives selects Bobby Cox as the best baseball manager)
January 3, 2000... Bobby Cox, whose Braves teams have won eight division titles since 1991, has outpointed a World Series nemesis, the Yankees' Joe Torre, as the game's best manager in a survey of 20 top baseball executives. Cox, Torre and the Giants' Dusty Baker...

AMERICAN LEAGUE.
January 3, 2000... Anaheim Nothing Doing: New G.M. Bill Stoneman has been on the job almost two months, and outside of hiring manager Mike Scioscia, he has done nothing to improve his last-place dub. If anything, the Angels have taken a giant step back by...

NATIONAL LEAGUE.
January 3, 2000... Arizona THE NAMED LATER GAME: The club thinks it can regain outfield prospect Abraham Nunez, who was sent to Florida in the Matt Mantel trade. Arizona sent RHPs Vladimir Nunez (no relation) and Brad Penny. a potential No. 1 starter, to the...

Century is over ... get the lights.
January 3, 2000... Quickly, the 20th century in Sports World: At the start, Connie Mack wears a stiff-collared shirt. By the end, Brandi Chastain wears no shirt. The World Series is born in 1903; in 1994, it dies. Because football caused the deaths of so many...

Voice of the Fan.(Letter to the Editor)
January 10, 2000... Choice voice `As a person or a teammate, the `new' Jeff George could be Mother Teresa for all I care (TSN, December 20). But as a quarterback, he's still a loser. Because as a Chiefs fan, that's all I ever see him do.' --Tom Flynn,...

COUCH + PETE'S SPEED = VICTORY IN 2000!(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Hey, didn't you used to be JoePa's right-hand man? * A quick size-up shows the Pacers looking like Beasts of the Least, but they could be doin' a different kind of huffin' and puffin' come season's end. The legs were supposed to be younger...

Bob Hille's Starting Five.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... 1 The Sugar Bowl. At last, the college football world has the answer to the question: "What's a Hokie?" But still left unanswered: "What's a commencement exercise?" 2 Gordie Howe. What's sadder: 1) A 71-year-old ex-jock with two knee...

DUSTBIN.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... January 5, 1991 A year after the Hank Gathers-Bo Kimble team that made the Elite Eight, Loyola Marymount was on the wane. Coach Paul Westhead had left, but file Lions still were using the run-and-gun offense, and riley had one big game...

REINVENTING VERMEIL.
January 10, 2000... The Rams have gone from NFL bottom feeder to NFC front-runner for many reasons, not the least of which is Dick Vermeil's radical makeover A year ago, cornerback Todd Lyght was sitting in his southern California home, wondering how he...

Nagging concerns.
January 10, 2000... Of the 12 playoffs teams, 11 will wind up losing. Here's what worries each one. Making the playoffs may give each qualifying team a fresh start toward winning a championship. But the resulting giddiness doesn't mask the fact that every...

Analyzing the wild-card games.
January 10, 2000... Miami at Seattle (4 p.m. ET, Sunday) * Miami will win if: 1. It gambles on defense and blitzes Seattle QB Jon Kitna. If the Dolphins use a variety of schemes and looks, they can confuse Kitna, who is liable to make some poor reads....

One down, many to go.
January 10, 2000... Cade McNown's diary Bear quarterback Cade McNown learned plenty about the NFL in his rookie season, including how to deal with injuries, read defenses and survive cold weather. And when to buy doughnuts. The best part about being a...

It will be hard for any team to beat turf-tough Rams.
January 10, 2000... For teams coming from the NFC, the road to the Lombardi Trophy is paved with artificial turf. The Rams have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and the Super Bowl will be played in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. What this means is the...

NFC East.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they've done this year and early projections for next year, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Michael Pittman, RB, Cardinals: A 1998 fourth-round pick, Pittman is an unusual blend of...

NFC Central.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they've done this year and early projections for next year, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Warrick Holdman, LB, Bears: A '99 fourth-round pick, Holdman has exceeded the team's...

NFC West.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they did in '99 and early projections for next season, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Patrick Kerney, DE, Falcons: Kerney has an explosive first step, but he needs to add about 10...

AFC East.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they've done this year and early projections for next year, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Peerless Price, WR, Bills: Buffalo has eased its No. 2 draft choice into the lineup and...

AFC Central.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they've done this year and early projections for next year, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Edwin Mulitalo, G, Ravens: A left tackle at Arizona, Mulitalo has played well after being...

AFC West.
January 10, 2000... Up-and-comers Based on what they've done this year trod early projections for next year, these players should be significant contributors in 2000: Chris Watson, CB/KR, Broncos: Watson, an unknown rookie out of Eastern Illinois, ran...

STATS.
January 10, 2000... RUSHING Atts. Yds. Avg. TDs. James, Ind. 369 1553 4.2 13 Martin, NYJ 367 1464 4.0 5 Davis, Was. 290 1405 4.8 ...

A GOOD START.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Edgerrin James showed all season why the Colts made a good decision in selecting him instead of Ricky Williams. (To be fair, Williams was hurt for most of the season.) James became the 13th rookie to lead the NFL in rushing. Of the last six...

2000 AND TWELVE.
January 10, 2000... Fret not, gridiron fans--college football returns in a little over seven months, and a dozen teams already look like contenders... It's usually best not to get ahead of yourself, but we can't help it. The 2000 season national championship...

For Penn State, it's a case of what might have been.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... For Penn State, it's a case of what might have been Its season ended with a bang--as expected--rather than a whimper. For the record, Penn State finished the year playing a bowl game in a domed stadium--as expected. But the bowl was the...

P.J. is out, Garry is in and Warriors regroup--again.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Here in the dead of winter, we experienced a giant thaw last week. It wasn't enough to save P.J. Carlesimo's job, or perhaps cleanse Latrell Sprewell's mortal soul, but their exchange of transcontinental olive branches was clearly a mutual...

The book on ... Cuttino Mobley.
January 10, 2000... Rockets SG, 6-4/190, 2nd year A slender guard, Cuttino Mobley has numerous strengths: blinding quickness, ballhandling ability, a healthy dose of cockiness and--perhaps overlooked at times--he's lefthanded. The lockout-shortened...

Indiana keeps pace without Antonio Davis.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... When the Pacers traded Antonio Davis--their most reliable post player considering Rik Smits' feet were liable to keep him out of action on any given day--in the offseason for Jonathan Bender, an 18-year-old project, it appeared the dub was in...

Heated comments.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Magic forward Chris Gatling, who accompanied point guard Tim Hardaway from the Warriors to the Heat in a 1996 trade, says recent breakdowns by Hardaway can be traced to Pat Riley's grueling workout schedule. Gatling says he is not...

Your attention, please.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Parents and gym rats, attend. It has been established that before his seizure, the Suns' Tom Gugliotta was taking an herbal dietary supplement which included furanone di-hydro, which has a twofold purpose: It induces a deep sleep, during...

EASTERN CONFERENCE.
January 10, 2000... Atlanta Rider's outburst was wrong, but his words were right Once again, Isaiah Rider's disruptive side takes over a team (and leaves him temporarily suspended). Rider's method of criticizing his teammates for "laughing and giggling on...

WESTERN CONFERENCE.
January 10, 2000... Dallas Trent's return forces halfcourt game PF Gary Trent missed the first 22 games with a slightly torn hamstring, and he has struggled to find his offensive rhythm in his first eight games back, when Dallas won only once. The team...

Lost among the Trees.
January 10, 2000... It's a rare day when Stanford's rugged defense plays zone, even rarer when it pressures fullcourt. But foes have yet to emerge victorious from the forest that is Stanford's front line. This is not about frenetic fullcourt pressure or...

Americanization of Mottola starts on the boards.
January 10, 2000... He warmed up with two 3-pointers and 16 points in a comfortable Utah victory over Chicago State. And, as if to prove missing a month of the season could not knock him off his game, Hanno Mottola also grabbed just two rebounds in his 20 minutes...

Conference call.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... Now that the games are starting to mean something, here's a quick glance at how the top conference races are likely to shape up. 1. Big Ten: Ohio State's guards are struggling because of a weak post game. Illinois is young and still trying...

The book on ... SirValiant Brown.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... George Washington SG, 6-1/160, freshman If the name SirValiant Brown doesn't catch your eye, the following will: 27.5 points a game at George Washington, an Atlantic 10-record four straight rookie of the week honors and MVP of a holiday...

MATCHUPS.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... ARIZONA AT STANFORD, 6 P.M. ET SATURDAY, FOX SPORTS NET Frontcourt: The Cardinal might have the best frontcourt in the nation. It's hard enough just finding the basket behind Jarron and Jason Collins, Curtis Borchardt and a now-healthy Mark...

`A Junk Yard dog'.
January 10, 2000... CHRIS CHELIOS will do whatever it lakes to defend his end of the ice, Most important, Red Wings fans have learned to love him as much as they hated him when he played in Chicago It's still a few months from being a year since he was asked...

Millennium mind-set: Open up game and close wallets.
January 10, 2000... Alexei Yashin was in New York to welcome the new millennium, but he traveled without his skates and stick. Keith Primeau watched the New Year's celebrations from his home near Raleigh, N.C., his visions of getting back on the ice dashed by...

The best player? A clue: He has dazzled Seattle fans.
January 10, 2000... So who's the best player in the game today? It's that guy who has done such wondrous things in Seattle. But, no, it's not Ken Griffey Jr. Shortstop Alex Rodriguez has edged Griffey, his for-the-moment Mariners teammate, as the game's best...

AMERICAN LEAGUE.
January 10, 2000... Anaheim HILL OF BEANS: RHP Ken Hill could use a fresh start, and the Angels could use a No. 1 starter, and it appears the team is putting its faith in the former begetting the latter in 2000. Hill, 34, is capable of being an ace, with a...

NATIONAL LEAGUE.
January 10, 2000... Arizona TOUGH SITUATION: The club is in a difficult spot after RHP Bobby Chouinard was arrested on Christmas night for allegedly threatening his wife with a gun. Managing general partner Jerry Colangelo and manager Buck Showalter have...

A good man, that Charlie Brown.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2000... A good man, that Charlie Brown By scores such as 63-0, 40-0, 41-0, 48-0, 200!!!-0, 123-0, 184-0, 57-0, 293!!!-0 and another 123-0, Charlie Brown's sandlot baseball team one year lost all 40 of its games to unseen opponents whose line...

Voice of the Fan.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2000... Choice voice `Dan Pompei's Inside Dish (TSN, December 13) says `many owners are leery of (Bill) Belichick's people skills.' What people skills? This is Belichick you're talking about.' --Leonard Zbydniewski Cleveland Sweet victory ...

Caught on the Fly.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2000... Hey, didn't you used to be the head coach-in-waiting? * What was it? the Spies ask. What cost Al Iverson a Dream Team spot? The tattoos? The `rows? The posse? The 3 5 shots a game? Hey-yo, perception vs. reality, USA hoops selectionistas...

Bob Hille's Starting Five.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2000... 1 The Jets' coaching situation. The Bill Belichick era lasted all of one day. Pity, too, since he resigned just four wins shy of Rich Kotite's record. 2 Ted Turner and Jane Fonda's separation. We sensed that something was wrong when they...

W's are wild.(Interview)
January 17, 2000... Warrick... Weinke... even Ward... at Florida State, where the Seminoles chalked up 109 of 'em in the '90s, making them more than just the 1999 national champions Peter Warrick wanted the ball. He knew he could make a play. He even...

Who will be next champ? Go back to the future.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2000... OK, congratulations to the team of the decade--Florida State. But that was last century. The new season begins in eight short months, and it's easy to foresee the BCS debate in the 2000 season--not only who is No. 1, but who's No. 2. And who...

A game for the ages, and a win for the aged.
January 17, 2000... The AFC wild-card games lived up to their name as Tennessee won in a miracle finish and Miami triumphed with what used to be commonplace--a fourth-quarter Marino comeback The casket was about to be closed on Dan Marino's career The plug...

Fast-break football.
January 17, 2000... The emphasis is zip, swish and go deep in the NFC playoffs, where the Rams, Redskins and Vikings--the league's top three offensive teams--rely on big plays and quick strikes. But the Bucs think stingy defense still can make a difference. I...

Analyzing the divisional playoff games.
January 17, 2000... Miami at Jacksonville (12:35 p.m. ET, Saturday) * Miami will win if: 1. Its offensive line can pick up the Jacksonville blitz. Jacksonville will show a lot of different defensive looks, and the Miami line must give Dan Marino time to...

The NFL's demoralizing cycle.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2000... For weeks, Ron Wolf kept staring at the same names: Brett Favre, Dorsey Levens, Antonio Freeman, Vonnie Holliday, Santana Dotson, LeRoy Butler. Core players with talents that range from very good to stunningly impressive. The Packers' general...

There's no sane reason for all the fuss over Belichick.
January 17, 2000... Bill Belichick may be the finest defensive coordinator in football, maybe one of the best ever. He sees things on tape that mortal coaches do not. The words "defensive genius" might not be an overstatement. He knows special teams, too. In...