WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2003
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
3B
Five drivers wreck during practice for Daytona 500
The Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler and Mike Skinner will switch to backup cars after a crash yesterday proved just how risky even practice for the Daytona 500 can be.
The five-car crash came on the front straightaway of the 2 1/2-mile oval with about four minutes left in the 60-minute practice, the only Winston Cup track time on the day's schedule.
Rookie Jack Sprague, a three-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion, was riding in the middle of a three-wide pack, with Steve Park above him on the banked Daytona International Speedway track and Skinner on the low side.
Sprague's Pontiac appeared to slide up the track, banging off Park, then sliding down into Skinner, who went sideways. Burton and Sadler then drove into the melee.
There were no injuries, but Skinner's Pontiac and the Fords of Burton and Sadler got the worst of the accident and were put out of action for the rest of this week.
Those three will have to get their preparations for tomorrow's twin 125-mile qualifying races done in the single 45-minute Winston Cup practice today.
It was the second year in a row that Burton and Sadler have been in wrecks that put
them in backup cars for the season-opening race.
The other drivers heaped most of the blame on Sprague, who is trying to qualify for his first Daytona 500.
"To the best of my knowledge, we got ran into by a rookie," Skinner said.
Sprague said he was in the middle, while Park was on the outside "and he didn't stay up and he hit me in the right front, drove me into Skinner and it was all over."
Park disagreed with that version, saying Sprague "bounced off me."
"I was up by the wall and couldn't go any higher, except for the grandstands," Park said.
It's hard to avoid this type of crash at Daytona. Thanks to the restrictor plates used here to slow the cars, the racing is often in packs.
"You've got to run two- and three-wide in practice because that's what you're going to do in the race," Burton said. "Accidents happen."
Sadler was less forgiving.
"It's a shame to wreck a bunch of good cars on the straightaway. I mean, we're supposed to be professionals and using our heads, and they're out there running into the side of each other on the straightaway," Sadler said.
Skinner had much the same view.
"This was our first race practice of the year, so I would say it was preventable," he said.
Woods returns after knee surgery
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO — Dressed in a black rain suit, Tiger Woods ducked out from under his umbrella on the 13th tee at Torrey Pines and gazed at what was rumored to be the Pacific Ocean. All he saw yesterday morning was a soupy fog.
"Can you believe this?" he said. "Perfect weather at every West Coast tournament, then I show up and we get this."
"I feel great," he said, "My knee feels great, and mentally I feel fresh."
Out of competition for two months because of knee surgery, and the only red carpet rolled out for Woods' return was a mat to wipe his feet at the end of a soggy practice round on the North Course.
Not that Woods was complaining.
A steady rain, not to mention his 6:40 a.m. start, kept the
crowds to a minimum. No more than 60 people were following Woods when he finished 18 holes.
Players walking to the range along a path next to the fairway stopped to watch him hit a 3wood to about 12 feet on the par5 18th hole. In the locker room, Paul Stankowski gave him a gentle tap on his derriere to welcome him back.
How long the love lasts is any-one's guess.
Woods brings a fascination to the masses, which is why television ratings are spiked whenever he plays — up 113 percent when he is in contention.
The PGA Tour is off to a great start. Ernie Els won the first two events to establish anew his rivalry with Woods. Vijay Singh won in Phoenix, Mike Weir in the Bob Hope Classic and Davis Love III at Pebble Beach with two great shots under pressure.
Still, most of the talk on tour
has been dominated by when Woods will return.
No one holds that against him especially not his peers.
Thanks to Woods, golf is more popular than ever. The PGA Tour has been able to negotiate mammoth TV contracts, which is why prize money has more than doubled since he showed up six years ago.
"He's my favorite player besides me," said Chris Riley, who grew up playing junior golf with Woods. "He gives the tour a lot of notoriety."
He also makes it a little tougher to win.
The gap between Woods and everyone else is as large as he wants. It was a gulf after 2000 when Woods won nine times and three majors. It only appeared to shrink when his victory count dipped, even though it was still higher than anyone else.
"When those guys play good, the gap is not very big," Thomas
Bjorn once said. "But it's still there, because Tiger is capable of more things."
The curiosity is what happens now that Woods has returned from Dec. 12 surgery on his left knee to remove fluid and benign cysts in around the ligaments.
"I do have some catching up to do," Woods said as he left the course yesterday.
The rest of his round looked as if Woods never left.
He hit every fairway, missed only two greens. Rain left so much water on some of the greens that Woods didn't bother to putti
The fog grew thicker on the back nine, and there were a couple of holes where visibility was reduced to about 100 yards off the tee.
"Another shot out of sight," caddie Steve Williams said when Woods ripped another drive that vanished into the white mass.
San Francisco 49ers decide on new coach
Out of sight, but never more back in the picture.
The Associated Press
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Dennis Erickson was hired yesterday by the San Francisco 49ers to replace Steve Mariucci as coach, a surprising end to a search that stretched nearly four weeks
Erickson will be introduced at a news conference today.
Mariucci, who was fired by owner John York on Jan. 15 despite leading San Francisco to four playoff berths in six seasons, signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Lions last week.
Erickson is an unexpected choice for San Francisco, which
had concentrated its search on NFL defensive coaches during the 3 1/2 weeks since York surprised his front office by firing Mariucci.
But general manager Terry Donahue always said he planned to consider college coaches in his search, which he conducted largely from his home in Newport Beach, Calif. Earlier, several college coaches said they weren't interested, including Washington coach Rick Neuheisel and Southern California coach Pete Carroll.
New York Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, Chicago defensive coordinator Greg
Blache and San Francisco defensive coordinator Jim Mora interviewed for the job last week. The 49ers also seriously considered Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who re-signed with the Buccaneers after the Super Bowl.
Erickson coached the Seattle Seahawks from 1995 to 1998, going 31-33. His greatest success has been in college, where he has turned four schools into winners. He went 31-17 in four seasons at Oregon State, resurrecting a former moribund program.
Erickson won national titles at the University of Miami in 1989
and 1991, going 63-9 over six seasons. He also has coached at Idaho and Washington State.
Mariucci was fired despite four 10-win seasons with a remarkably brief rebuilding period in between.
York had a difference in philosophy with Mariucci, who led the 49ers to a 10-6 record, the NFC West title and a playoff victory over the New York Giants this past season.
Erickson is just the 49ers' fourth coach since 1979, following Bill Walsh, George Seifert and Mariucci. Walsh and Seifert both won Super Bowls.
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