wednesday, april 21, 2004
sports
the university daily kansan 5B
5B
Cardinals snap four-game skid, 5-3
The Associated Press
HOUSTON — Reggie Sanders homered in the third inning and snatched away a Jeff Bagwell shot at the right-field wall in the fifth, leading the St. Louis Cardinals over the Houston Astros 5-3 last night.
Albert Pujols hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning and Jason Isringhausen closed it out, helping the Cardinals break a four-game losing streak at Houston.
A matchup between the National League's two top offensive teams never really materialized until late as the Cardinals'
Jeff Suppan and Houston's Wade Miller each had impressive mound performances early on.
Pujols broke a 1-1 tie in the
Pujols拍 sixth, sending a Miller pitch deep into the left field seats for his sixth homer this season.
season.
St. Louis added two runs in the seventh on a fielding error by third baseman Jose Vizcaino that scored Scott Rolen and Tony Womack's RBI single.
Houston, which swept a threegame series at St. Louis last week,
Bagwell singled and Jeff Kent got on base with help from a fielding error by third baseman Scott Rolen. Lance Berkman homered off Steve Kline, pulling the Astros within two runs.
tried to rally in the eighth.
But Isrringhausen relieved and struck out Richard Hidalgo and Mike Lamb, then finished for his second save.
within two hours. The crowd of 29,625, mostly quiet throughout the evening, came alive as it sensed a brief shift in momentum.
Suppan (1-2), who pitched six innings, didn't give up any hits after Bagwell's single in the third. He walked two batters
after that but didn't allow them past first base.
Miller (2-1), who had won five straight decisions against St. Louis, allowed five runs and five hits in six innings. He retired eight consecutive batters after giving up Sanders' homer but left in the sixth after Pujols' homer.
sixteen after I pujah it a laugh. The crowd got a bit of a laugh, however, when a streaker ran onto the field during the seventh-inning stretch. The chubby man darted to center field and threw a couple of head fakes at oncoming security guards before he was tackled to the ground. He was escorted off the field to a standing ovation.
NFL hopeful Fitzgerald a class act
The Associated Press
PITTSBURGH — Kevin Colbert could look out his office window the past two seasons and watch Larry Fitzgerald make the acrobatic grabs only a headed-to-the-pros receiver can make.
the prowess. The Steelers' director of football operations also saw Fitzgerald interact with his Pitt teammates, a sophomore by grade but an adult by nature. During games, Colbert noticed how Fitzgerald routinely flipped the ball to an official after scoring, rather than carrying out a choreographed celebration.
Still, for all the marvelous things Colbert saw Fitzgerald do up close and personal, what impressed him most was how Fitzgerald ate lunch.
He liked that Fitzgerald didn't rush through the food line, eager to eat quickly and be on his way, but took time to be polite. And Fitzgerald wasn't that way only with Steelers executives and Pitt officials, but also with the staff at
the practice complex the two teams share.
"You see a kid like Larry Fitzgerald in the cafeteria, and how he acts around people, and you are impressed," Colbert said.
It was the same air of professionalism Fitzgerald invoked whenever he was in public, almost always in a neatly pressed suit and tie rather than the standard college athlete's sweat suit.
It was the same demeanor Fitzgerald displayed while receiving the Pittsburgh sportsman of the year award, when he asked Pitt chancellor Mark Nordenberg to consider him someday for the university's board of trustees.
trustees.
Displaying good manners and being an articulate speaker hardly are mandatory credentials for an NFL player, but they illustrate the total, polished package that is expected to make Fitzgerald one of the first three players chosen Saturday in the NFL draft.
Even though Fitzgerald only went to college for two years, the NFL declared him eligible for this draft because he spent nearly 1 1/2 academic years at a prep school. He would have graduated from high school in 2001 had he not transferred and therefore is three years past his senior year of high school.
If the Oakland Raiders don't take him at No. 2, Arizonaa seems all but certain to snatch him at No. 3. Fitzgerald was a ball boy when new Cardinals coach Dennis Green coached the Vikings, and Fitzgerald's father, Larry Sr., hosted Green's weekly television show.
"I think he's the No. 1 player coming out of college football," Green said.
Not all NFL personnel directors agree — some have the faster Roy Williams of Texas rated as the top wide receiver — but they all seem to expect Fitzgerald to be a star.
star. There's just too much there: He's a smooth receiver who regularly makes difficult catches in multiple coverage. A Heisman Trophy runner-up and Walter Camp player of the year who collected 34 touchdown catches in just two seasons.
He is perhaps the best set of hands to come out of college football in years.
all in years.
And there's also an inner drive that Fitzgerald credits to his father, a former college lineman and a longtime sportswriter, and his late mother, Carol, who died about a year ago.
Fitzgerald took his mother's death hard then and still does; tears well in his eyes whenever he speaks of her.
speaks other.
Larry turned down the NFLs invitation to attend the draft in New York and instead will watch it on television with his father.
tatter.
"It's hard to put into words what he means to me," the younger Fitzgerald said. "It's been a tough last year, I'm not going to lie about that. My dad has been a rock in my corner."
Nuggets rookie confident in playoffs
up the rest of the way.
Though James won Rookie of the Year honors yesterday, Anthony has something bigger to worry about—the playoffs.
MINNEAPOLIS — Carmelo Anthony wouldn't trade places with rookie rival LeBron James.
The Associated Press
In Denver's 106-92 loss in Game One to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Anthony was a little overexcited.
he picked up two quick fouls in the first quarter and took an early seat. Minnesota responded with the first of several runs that forced the Nuggets to play catch-
up the tower.
Anthony admitted he was a little too antsy at first, but he said he would learn from it.
would learn from it. "I can take a lot from the first game," he said.
The young Nuggets take some solace in that they hung tough with the top-seeded Timberwolves and cut a 22-point lead to five early in the fourth quarter.
But there are plenty of adjustments coach Jeff Bzdelik wants his team to make for today's Game Two.
That includes doing a better job of defending the pick-and-roll
of Kevin Garnett and Sam Cassell, who combined for 70 points Sunday night.
The Wolves also outrebounded the Nuggets 48-55 and scored 25 second-chance points to Denver's six.
"Rebounding is just going down there and getting your nose dirty and coming out with the basketball," Bzdelik said.
basketball. Budeman said The Wolves are also feeling good, though they've got a few glitches to fix. Most notable was Minnesota's inability to keep Denver down.
Anthony, who had 11 points in the third quarter, had only one
He wants to be more aggressive earlier than he was in Game One, believing he can beat any defender with that quick first step.
step Bzdelik cautioned against expecting too much from his young star.
young star.
"I think we all forget that he's 19 years old," he said. "You go back in history and look at some of the great basketball players of all time and see what they did in their first playoff game. I think Michael (Jordan) in his first playoff game was 7-for-19 or something like that."
The Associated Press
Armstrong's work focused on France
MACON, Ga. — Lance Armstrong isn't getting worked up about another shot at Olympic gold.
Maybe because the Athens Games are three weeks after he sees himself coasting down the Champs-Elysees with a record-setting victory in the Tour de France.
"No disrespect to the Olympics, but I'm focused on winning the Tour de France," Armstrong said. "I'm committed to the Olympics, I guess. But to be honest, all the work I do on a daily basis is geared toward the Tour de France."
"That's what I wake up thinking about every day," said Armstrong, who is competing this week in the Tour de Georgia.
Armstrong hasn't had the success in the Olympics that he's had in cycling's biggest event. He competed in the last three Summer Games but has only a bronze medal to show for it.
week in not even the Olympics can deter his focus from winning a sixth straight Tour de France, something no other cyclist has done. When the subject shifts to Greece, the tone of indifference is unmistakable.
"The Olympics would be a highlight," he conceded. "I've always left disappointed. I would like to go back and fix the things that I thought I should have done better before."
For now, Armstrong is taking part in a major American race for the first time since 1998. He'll lead the U.S. Postal Service team at the Tour de Georgia, a six-day, seven-stage event that began yesterday in Macon.
Armstrong's still upset about the way he won his fifth straight Tour—a tumultuous three weeks in which he overcame crashes, illness, hard-charging rivals and just plain bad luck, seeming to win through shear willpower.
He doesn't want to cut it close again.
"I'm ready to fix my performance," Armstrong said. "That was a very stressful situation."
a very stressful situation He's spent time in a wind tunnel, looking for an edge in his equipment, such as a new handle-bar position, but he also has a helmet and pair of shoes that are less wind-resistant.
His personal life is more settled. A year ago his marriage was crumbling — a situation that undoubtedly took a toll on his preparations. After getting divorced, he began dating rock
star Sheryl Crow, a relationship that appears to have soothed his soul and put some fire back in his pedaling.
pedaling.
Armstrong also changed his training schedule this year so he could spend more time at home in Texas with his three young children. That's how he wound up at the Tour de Georgia, a 2-year-old event that hopes to be a catalyst for bringing big-time cycling back to the United States.
There have been a few attempts in the past, such as the Coors Classic, but all faded away with a collective yawn from the American sporting public.
Armstrong is hopeful, but also realistic.
"The bicycle is one of the most common fixtures in the American garage," he said. "The problem is, not many people actually ride their bikes. It just becomes art hanging on the wall."
hanging on the wall
Armstrong gave a boost to the race when he decided it fit into his schedule. His last race was the Criterium International in France on March 28. He won'trace again until May. He needed a U.S. event to fill his April void.
"With my kids, I was not prepared to leave here in February, come home in September and not see them during that time," Armstrong said. "If I had gone from March to the middle of May without racing, that would have been too long a break. This race worked out great."
To ensure his participation, organizers altered the course to provide a European-style layout. There are some challenges he needs to get ready for the Tour de France.
Armstrong downplayed his chances of winning.
chances of winning.
"It's been three weeks since my last race. That's a fairly long time," he said. "It would be nice to win. You're always trying to win. But I don't think I'd be a candidate to win here."
His rivals scoffed at that notion.
"It's Lance's world," said Bobby Julich, another American cyclist. "We're all just squirrels trying to get a nut. If he comes here ready to play, we're all in for some suffering."
Despite speculation that this will be his final year, Armstrong isn't ready to call this a farewell tour.
"I sit around some nights, wondering what it would be like to be retired," Armstrong said. "Can I see myself retired in five or six months? That's hard for me to see."