thursday, february 12, 2004
sports
the university daily kansar
3B
Top competitors for PGAtour clear
The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO —Tiger Woods couldn't help but stop and soak up the view on the 13th tee at Torrey Pines, a blue panorama of clear skies and the Pacific Ocean as far as he could see.
"It wasn't like this last year." Woods said, recalling rain and a soupy fog that greeted his return to the PGA Tour at the Buick Invitational.
That isn't the only difference.
A year ago, Woods wasn't sure how his left knee was going to respond to surgery that kept him away from competitive golf for two months. Ernie Els had won three tournaments, Davis Love III was coming off a victory at Pebble Beach and Mike Weir was already showing signs of being a Masters champion.
Now, his chief challenge is as clear as the skies over Tyrine Pores — Vijay Singh, owner of the longest top-10 streak in 27 years, a man in full command of his golf game.
Woods sees him as only the latest rival.
David Duval in 1999. Phil Mickelson the next two years. Ernie Els in 2002.
"He's definitely up there," Woods said of Singh, whose victory last week at Pebble Beach was his third in nine tour events, and 12th consecutive finish in the top 10. "Everyone has their own little run where we all play well. I think it's a fun time in golf right now because there are a lot of different challengers out there."
The fun really gets started today at the Buick Invitational on two courses at Torrey Pines (South and North), a tournament that tends to favor the big hitters.
Woods is the defending champion — yes, the knee held up just fine as he won by four shots.
He is a three-time winner at Torrey Pines, and will be among the favorites this week.
Mickelson, coming off his worst season, opened the year with a victory in the Bob Hope Classic, a tie for seventh in Phoenix and third place last week at Pebble Beach.
Still, much of the focus is on Singh.
"I already feel like I'm going to play well," Singh said. "I guess that's the momentum carrying me through."
He felt pain, but figured it would go away. When he finished his marathon session, it hurt even worse. He withdrew from the tournament, discovered he had a cracked rib and missed the next five weeks.
The Fijian actually has bad memories of this place. It was last year when he tucked a tiny sponge ball under his left armpit as part of a drill during a five-hour session on the practice range.
He returns to Torrey Pines only two top 10s away from the record Jack Nicklaus strung together in 1977, and closer to Woods in the world ranking than anyone has been in nearly five years.
"It catches your attention," Singh said.
Everything else, however, is business as usual. Players stop him wherever he goes to congratulate him on his success. Singh even sees them studying the way he practices, realizing there might be something to the long hours he puts in.
The streak is merely a byproduct of his work, as is his goal of replacing Woods at No. 1.
"I'm not thinking about the streak," he said. "I wasn't even aware of it until guys started talking about it. I'm sure it's going to end one day. I'm just going to try to play the best I can."
Mickelson played the first three rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with Singh, and said it was easy to see the biggest difference in his game.
"Putting," Mickelson said. "He's always driven it straight. He's always hit pretty good irons, pretty good short game. But he's making everything."
Coach under fire for bawdy behavior
The Associated Press
BOULDER, Colo.—When Gary Barnett was hired to coach Colorado's football team five years ago, he was embraced as a disciplinarian who would end an era of loose recruiting practices and return the team to national prominence.
Now the coach is at the center of the school's biggest scandal in decades, perhaps ever.
Amid accusations that a boozy round of recruiting visits by high school prospects in 2001 ended in gang rape, Barnett faces a university investigation that was all but ordered by Colorado's governor.
The latest blow came this week when a striptease operator said he regularly sends lap-dancers to perform for Colorado athletes. The most recent performances were booked two weeks ago —
wett after the rape allegations became public and just days after Barnett promised to step down if it was shown his staff had anything to do with what he called "tawdry" behavior by student-athletes.
To top it off, a former athletics official said Barnett seemed reluctant to crack down on entertaining recruits because it could give an advantage to other schools.
Barnett denies it all, telling The Associated Press he will be cleared by the investigation and disputes accusations in a federal lawsuit that the Boulder campus is a hostile place for women.
"I expect them to find that we have an exemplary program in every aspect," Barnett said.
The coach blames the players and students for the December 2001 party that led to the rape allegations and says he can't
watch players and recruits 24 hours a day.
"No coach or any member of my staff had anything to do with that night," he said. "At no time did any coach take part in arranging, creating or encouraging a party of any sort. You just don't do that."
At 57, Barnett has led Colorado to a Big 12 Conference title and a BCS bowl game in his five seasons as head coach (his contract runs through 2006). When he took over from Rick Neuheisel in January 1999, his former players at Northwestern said Colorado was getting a new sheriff.
During the last two seasons, nine players were suspended for various violations of team rules, including curfew and behavior standards.
"Coach Barnett is such a stickler," receiver D.J. Hackett said. "He's really strict on rules
Still, Barnett had his share of controversy even before becoming head coach at Colorado.
and stuff."
He tled Northwestern to a pair of Big 10 titles and a Rose Bowl berth after the 1995 season. He was also there during a betting scandal in which four football players were indicted and accused of lying about gambling and point-shaving activities.
Ineir coach was not implicated. Barnett later called the scandal a "tremendous betrayal" by the players.
Barnett was also with the Colorado program as an assistant coach during some if its darkest days. Between 1986 and 1988, players were accused of crimes ranging from drunken driving to serial rape, and the school was featured in a Sports Illustrated cover story that still brings bitter memories.
The Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is more complicated than he appears.
Earnhardt tackles late father's legacy
Sure, he loves to party with friends, hang out with Kid Rock and 3 Doors Down, and appear in commercials — "They ain't too much work," he said. Even he admits he's "all about fun."
But Earnhardt is also a serious competitor, ready to make a mark on the world conquered by his late father.
Going into the season-opening Daytona 500 on Sunday, Earnhardt, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the team his father started, isn't yet in his old man's class on the racetrack.
The elder Earnhardt, who died in 2001, won seven championships during the Winston Cup era of the stock car sport.
The swaggering Intimidator was a presence in NASCAR from the start of his career. He was Rookie of the Year in 1979, won his first series title the next season and was still a contender when he died.
"There was really nobody else like him," Earnhardt said. "He was awesome."
The younger Earnhardt would love to be like his father—at least on the racetrack, where he has nine victories in his four seasons in NASCAR's top series.
Off the track, the two men are nothing alike. Earnhardt Sr. was a businessman, a family man, and a dedicated hunter.
Earnhardt, an eligible 29-year-old bachelor, would rather spend time with a girl on his arm backstage at a rock concert, playing computer games or eating fast food with friends.
"I'm still in my 20s and I enjoy my life," he said. "I don't feel I have to prove anything to anybody. I just feel fortunate to have the opportunity to drive race cars and just enjoy it."
Earnhardt has built a sizable
fan base that includes people who idolized his father as well as a younger crowd that loves when he wears baseball caps backward and sports rugish stubble.
So, is Junior concerned that he is letting win down each year he does not win a championship?
"I used to worry about these things," he said. "I guess as I get a little bit older and a little bit smarter, it doesn't worry me as much. I just know I'm trying to get better and be successful."
Earnhardt won Busch Series championships in 1998 and 1999 before moving up to Cup, where Matt Kenseth beat him out in 2000 for Rookie of the Year.
Last year, while Kenseth was dominating the season points on the way to his first championship, Earnhardt also had his best season, finishing third in the points.
Three-time champion Darrell Waltrip, now a television analyst for Fox Sports, loved racing against Dale Sr. and would love to see Earnhardt reach his potential.
"There's nobody in the sport right now who has more charisma," Waltrip said. "All Junior needs is maybe a little more concentration and dedication to the job to be a champion."
Earnhardt Jr. says he's willing to pay the price for success.
"I've learned that no matter how fast you go on the track, you can't ever think it's your best lap," he said. "In this business, nothing is ever good enough. That's what makes a champion."
And he doesn't regret the attention and expectations that come with being an Earnhardt.
"It's a lot of fun even though sometimes it's a little overwhelming," he said. "I could never have anticipated what's happening now. My name has opened a lot of doors for me.
"I never wished I was somebody else," he said. "I'm all about making it fun and trying to enjoy it."