on the court, he stands tall.(Sports) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: RICH RADFORD

By Rich Radford

The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK

Darius James wears size-10 shoes and buys dress shirts with 16 -inch necks - and they're still loose on him.

If he walked through your office, you might figure he was the new intern looking for the copier.

A Division I basketball player? Please.

'I've ordered a couple pair of size 10s for our team managers before,' said Blaine Taylor, the Old Dominion men's basketball coach. 'But not for someone on our roster.'

James won't just be on ODU's roster today when the Monarchs play host to Virginia Commonwealth at the Constant Center. He'll be on the court, probably for much of the regionally televised game that begins shortly after 4 p.m.

When James played at Tallwood High in Virginia Beach, his nickname was 'Prince.' Now that the 6-foot, 165-pounder is playing for ODU, maybe his teammates should borrow from Leonard Wibberley's 1950s novel and call him 'The Mouse that Roared.'

In the past month, James has shown anyone who was watching that little guys can play, too. During an eight-game span, the lefthanded freshman point guard has averaged 12.1 points and 2.9 assists.

If that doesn't catch your attention, how about his 3.9 rebounds per game during that stretch? He grabbed six against James Madison on Wednesday night - and that's not his best. He had seven a month ago at Winthrop.

'It's not like I just got small,' James said. 'I've been small all my life. I've had to learn to work with what I have.'

His teammates stopped measuring him with a yardstick and a scale long ago.

'In my opinion, he's the top freshman guard in the conference,' ODU junior forward Jonathan Adams said.

Hofstra coach Tom Pecora remembers having a player similar to James.

'I was so dumb (that) I didn't start Loren Stokes until the middle of December of his freshman year,' Pecora said. 'He was reed thin. I was worried whether he'd be able to hold his own.'

Stokes twice was the runner-up for Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association and finally earned the honor last season.

Oddly, James still practices with his reversible jersey showing light blue, the second-team's color.

'That's what I came out wearing at the first practice this season,' he said. 'And I'm not going dark blue until coach tells me to.'

James might have been a first-team All-Tidewater selection last season, but recruiters weren't knocking down his door. Other than ODU, he had a late scholarship offer from Appalachian State.

That was it.

'Me and Denzel Bowles are good friends and, when we were juniors, he was getting recruited by Wichita State and Texas A&M,' James said. 'I was getting Virginia Wesleyan and Mount Olive. He's 6-9. I'm 6-foot. Pretty easy to figure why the big schools were recruiting him and not me.'

Bowles, who played at Kempsville High, ended up at Texas A&M after being named second-team All-Tidewater. The Monarchs waited until late May to tell James they had a scholarship for him.

'Darius grew on us,' Taylor said. 'He had a real clear look in his eye and a belief in his ability. He just wanted to have a chance. I sensed that, if we took him, we'd have a loyal competitor.'

Taylor would have played James more in November but says he 'needed to let the smoke clear.'

'The questions about what type of competitor he'd be couldn't be answered in a game or two,' Taylor said. 'It's a lot easier to find players than it is to find competitors. The little guys in this game have a tendency to develop a chip on their shoulder, an 'I'll-show-you' mentality.'

James has that. He remembers not too long ago being passed over during pick-up games at Kempsville Recreation Center in Virginia Beach.

'They'd think I was too small,' he said. 'I'd be over on the sidelines waiting my turn thinking, 'I'm not just going to school you when I get out there; I'm going throw a pass between your legs and embarrass you.''

Taylor has stopped thinking about James in terms of size and has started thinking about him in terms of results.

'There are kids who keep count in everything they do - and those are the ones you want,' Taylor said. 'It's a real advantage to have that type kid at the point guard position. It permeates through the rest of the team.

'Darius wants to win so bad that, if we have a free throw shooting competition and he finishes second, we have to take his shoe laces away from him to keep him from hanging himself. He couldn't care less that he beat the other 11 guys.'

Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com VCU at odu men

When 4 p.m.

Where Constant Center, Norfolk

Records VCU 12-4, 5-1 CAA; ODU 9-9, 4-2

TV CSN

Radio 94.1 FM

About the Rams VCU has lost its past three trips to the Constant Center, including a 79-63 outcome last season. VCU is paced by the dynamic Eric Maynor (17.8 ppg, 5.1 apg), who last season earned a reputation as a clutch player when he hit winning shots against George Mason in the CAA championship game, then did it again against Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Jamal Shuler is averaging 14.9 ppg. Michael Anderson from Landstown High is averaging 7.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg. The Rams have played only four true road games this season, going 2-2. VCU is tied with Delaware atop the league standings.

About the Monarchs ODU is tied for third in the CAA standings and can move into a tie for second - or better - with a win. The Monarchs are led by 6-10 sophomore Gerald Lee (13.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Senior guards Brandon Johnson and Brian Henderson each average 9 ppg. ODU is coming off a 79-52 home victory against James Madison; it was the Monarchs' second-highest point output of the season.

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L. Todd Spencer [bar] The Virginian-Pilot

ODU's Darius James reacts after passing over JMU's Heiden Ratner on Wednesday. James is averaging 12.1 points over his last eight games. Bill Tiernan [bar] The Virginian-Pilot file photo

UCONN STAR STANDS TALL.(SPORTS) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: CHUCK SCHOFFNER Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A veteran player and a rookie coach have earned the top awards in women's basketball from The Associated Press.

The Player of the Year is Connecticut senior Jennifer Rizzotti, whose leadership and hustle have kept the Huskies in the running for a second consecutive national championship.

Angie Lee, who engineered a dramatic turnaround at Iowa in her first season as a head coach, was named the national Coach of the Year.

Both awards were based on voting by Associated Press member newspapers nationwide.

Rizzotti's importance to Connecticut lies more in results than numbers.

The 5-foot-5 guard, a first-team All-American, averages a modest 10.8 points a game, but her team is 34-3 with 20 successive victories. She also averages 5.8 assists and three steals a game, and she has three times as many steals and assists as turnovers.

Relying heavily on six sophomores and two freshmen, Iowa won the Big Ten championship and reached the semifinals of the NCAA Mideast Regional. The 27 victories matched the second-best total in school history, but Lee takes none of the credit.

``I guess it's just another compliment to the team and assistant coaches,'' she said. ``I truly believe that. They did a great job all year.''

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MAVERICKS' COACH STANDS TALL.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: David Aldridge {FACTBOX} Avery Johnson, at a glance - In 16-year playing career, Johnson averaged 8.4 points, 5.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 1,054 games. Played in 90 playoff games, starting 73, with averages of 10.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.13 steals per game. Member of San Antonio Spurs 1999 championship team. He and Calvin Murphy only players under 6 feet in height to play at least 1,000 NBA games. Coaching statistics Reg. season Playoffs '04-05 Dallas 16-2 6-7 '05-06 Dallas 60-22 13-5 Totals 76-24 19-12

DALLAS - At every turn, Avery Johnson has been too short, too shot-challenged, too high-pitched, too young, too inexperienced, maybe too country, too SWAC for some to fit comfortably into the Armani world of the NBA. But he's still here, having willed himself through 16 seasons as a player without much of a jumper, without much vertical lift, without much of anything.

Except brains and toughness and character.

'Well, I think for me, you've got to, first of all, have credibility,' Johnson said the other day. 'You know, in this situation, everybody feels that I got this job so suddenly. But this is my 18th year in the NBA, so whether it's as a player or a coach or combined, you know, this is 18 years in basketball, after playing a thousand and something games, when I wasn't necessarily invited to the party, all right? I had to kind of come in through the back door.'

A 5-foot-10 fist of a player out of Southern University of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Johnson bounced from team to team throughout most of the 1990s, a whiz of a passer who was always found wanting because he couldn't make an open shot. While he worked on that, he challenged his team mates at every turn.

'Me and Sean (Elliott), if we let our guy past us, he'd say, `Come on, guys, you're better than that,' ' recalled Heat guard Derek Anderson, who played with Johnson in San Antonio in 2000.

Johnson hit the biggest shot in Spurs history - appropriately, a jumper that clinched San Antonio's first championship in 1999. And now that the coaching title is official, as it has been for the past 14 months, the 41-year-old Johnson looks like he's straight out of central casting: the coach as dictator. A shouter. A friend to his players when he wants to be, a jerk to them when he needs to be. And a coaching savant.

I don't care what talent you've been given; when you win 95 of your first 131 games, and you get your team to the NBA Finals in your first full season, you know what you're doing.

'We made it to the finals, and it's a tribute to him, obviously,' Mavericks all-star forward Dirk Nowtizki said. 'Every time he's hard on you, it's not the person, we all know that. He's got great relationships with his players, but he's just a very emotional guy. And he can get heated, but it's nothing personal.'

'I think when you've played in the league, you've still got to be able to communicate and teach,' Johnson said, 'because your playing career can only get you so far.'

Give former coach Don Nelson and owner Mark Cuban credit, for they both quickly centered on Johnson as Nelson's heir apparent three years ago, after their first choice, Sidney Moncrief, left the Mavericks' bench to return to his car dealerships.

And the Mavericks have taken on the personality of their coach. They aren't pretty any more.

'My relationship with (my players) is very important,' Johnson said. 'But I'm not a player's coach.'

David Aldridge writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

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MATTHEWS, DOWNEY STAND TALL.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: Pete Dougherty Staff writer

Just how much talent this Siena College basketball team has is open to debate each time it plays. The experience factor, though, is a non-issue.

When other avenues are closed, Siena can ride the road of experience to victory, as it did Wednesday night to defeat Central Michigan 65-52 in a non-conference game at the Alumni Recreation Center.

Marc Brown, one of three senior starters, had 22 points, six rebounds and five assists. He finally got some help from center Steve Downey (10 points, five rebounds), another senior, who scored in double figures for only the second time in his last nine games.

Throw in Lee Matthews, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who has played more career games (52) than many juniors, and Siena (15-8) can win a game even when starters Bruce Schroeder and Tom Huerter score four points between them.

'I was pleased with how well Lee and Steven played,' Siena coach Mike Deane said. 'Steven had a couple of mental lapses, but when a team is playing against us with 6-6 inside people, they can undress you a couple of times, but over 40 minutes our size and strength was very effective.'

Matthews contributed 18 points, his highest career total against a DivisionI opponent, nine rebounds and a court presence that belies his sophomore status.

'If you say, 'Coach, who beat you today,' because you know Marc Brown can beat you, it was Matthews,' Central Michigan's Charlie Coles said. 'Where did he come from?'

Central Michigan (10-10) wondered that several times in the final five minutes, when Matthews made two steals, connected on his last five foul shots, and rejected two successive 3-point attempts.

Matthews' instincts have improved as much as his jumper.

'I just try to play the game and react to what's happening on the floor,' Matthews said.

'His play was extraordinary,' Brown said.

This was far from an easy home victory for Siena, which has lost just twice on campus the past four season. The crowd of 2,722 was the season's lowest except for a January game played during a snowstorm. Those who attended were no match for Coles, who had the perfect response to the fans' obscene chant that has been directed at many a visiting coach.

'They tried to get on me,' Coles said, 'but I'm the best in the country at taking people out of the game, because I agree with them. When they said (bleep), I said, 'Who ... me?''

But Siena was able to ride other factors to keep the ARC's reputation afloat. Siena's shooting generally is sharper at home - statistically, the Saints' field-goal percentage is 3.5percent higher at home, their free- throw percentage 6.7percent higher - and that helped.

Siena made three straight shots to take a 52-41 lead with 6:27 to play. Then, as the Chippewas chipped away, Siena made 11 of 14 free throws in a six-minute stretch, maintaining its lead despite not scoring a field goal in that span.

Coles, as entertaining in a postgame press conference as he was on the sidelines, pointed to a play much earlier, with 11:17 remaining, as key. With two seconds left on a shot clock, Brown launched a 22-foot shot that found net.

'The biggest play of the game, you can't guess what it was,' Coles said. 'Marc Brown's three. Why didn't we stay on him? Three seconds on the clock! (Darian) McKinney had him, and went back. Excuse me, I didn't mean that, but, oh, God, why didn't we stay on him?'

Another key point came early in the first half, after Central took an 8-2 lead. The Chippewas went scoreless on 14 straight possessions (six turnovers, eight missed shots), enabling Siena to jump on top, 20-8.

The closest Central Michigan got after that was three points, right before Brown's 3-pointer.

'They really struggled for a long period of time against the matchup (zone) to get any kind of open shot,' Deane said. 'We got them to stand around for a long period of time. They finally made the adjustment, and wewent to man-to-man.'

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BUTCH, APPLETON WEST STAND TALL.(SPORTS) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Byline: Jesse Osborne Wisconsin State Journal

As Greg Stiemsma headed to the bench with 3 minutes left in the third quarter Friday, the victim of his fifth foul, the UW Field House crowd rose to pay respects to the Randolph center.

The 6-foot-11 Stiemsma and Appleton West's 6-11 center Brian Butch had just engaged in perhaps the most anticipated 21 minutes of prep basketball in recent memory. The UW recruits -- Butch arrives next season and Stiemsma in 2004 -- displayed the talent that has led to national notoriety.

Butch finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Stiemsma had 22 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Almost an afterthought, Butch's Terrors (6-1) claimed a 64-45 win over the Rockets (4-2) as part of the Badger Classic.

Displaying an improved shooting range -- he knocked down three baseline jumpers of intermediate length and a 3-pointer as part of a 10-for-11 shooting performance that included three dunks -- Stiemsma caught Butch off guard on his way to a 20-point first half.

'I should have known it,' Butch said. 'Coming into a big game, everyone wants to see (a) him vs. me type thing. I should have known the younger guy wanted it and (would) try to take it over.'

For Stiemsma, who has not had to be a go-to scorer over the past two seasons, it was more a matter of pride against Butch.

'It was a great opportunity and it just happened to be a breakout game,' Stiemsma said.

With Stiemsma out, Randolph managed to cut the lead to 47-39 at the end of the third quarter, but Butch had six points in the fourth quarter -- the same total as the Rockets -- and he got the most important statistic of all -- a win.

'I don't know if (Stiemsma's) going to say anything about how he dunked it all the time,' Butch said. 'But, experience wins over youth in this matchup.'

* Madison Edgewood 54, Mayville 52: Mayville's Mike Toellner was the star of the game but the Crusaders made sure his performance wasn't enough.

'I thought we played pretty solid in the second half,' Edgewood coach Chris Zwettler said. 'We got a lot of guys involved and its pretty common for us to have nine, 10, 11 guys scoring and that's what our strength's going to be (this year).'

Toellner finished with 28 points, including 17 points in the second half.

Edgewood junior Craig Meier had 11 of his team-high 13 in the second half and senior Robert Grady added all 12 of his points in the last two quarters.

'It was nice to see Grady hit a couple 3-pointers back to back, and then it becomes contagious,' said Zwettler, whose team outscored Mayville 22-11 in the third quarter. 'We need more of that and more of those type of quarters.'

It was the Crusaders' fourth game in the past eight days.

Boston's youngsters stand tall.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: HOWARD ULMAN Associated Press

Red Sox 7

Devil Rays 4

BOSTON - The liner kept sinking as center fielder Adam Stern charged in. Catch it and Boston wins. Miss and let it get by him and all three runners could score to tie the game.

'I don't think there was anyone breathing in that dugout when he dove for the ball,' Kevin Youkilis said.

Stern, a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, hit the grass and raised his glove with a piece of the baseball visible at the edge of the pocket. His diving catch ended a 7-4 win Tuesday over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and came ahead of his likely departure to the minors this week.

'I snow-coned it. I was like, `It keeps dying on me.' I was wondering what the heck was going on,' Stern said. 'That's the way I play sometimes. I take some chances to make some big plays.'

With Manny Ramirez just starting to break out of a long slump and the Red Sox bats quiet for most of the season, they've had to rely on pitching, defense and young players like Youkilis, whose two-run double in the eighth broke a 4-4 tie, and Stern.

Mike Timlin (2-0) won despite allowing two runs in the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon loaded the bases on a single and his first two walks of the season but got his seventh save in seven chances, breaking the Red Sox record for saves by a rookie in one month set by Jeff Gray in 1990. Ruddy Lugo (0-1) took the loss.

Youkilis, who shuttled between Boston and Triple-A Pawtucket the last two seasons, is now the starting first baseman.

'I'm not a role player anymore where I'm playing every seven days,' he said. 'I've got to do something each day to contribute to a win.'

Stern is expected to be sent to Pawtucket as soon as Thursday. The Red Sox had to keep him all last season or offer him back to Atlanta because they chose him from the Braves in the Rule 5 draft. At that time, he hadn't played above Double-A. Because he didn't have enough time on the active roster last year, he has to spend the first 17 days this season with the Red Sox before they can send him down so he can play regularly.

'Whatever they want to do with me, that's cool,' Stern said.

He stuck around long enough to grab Damon Hollins' low drive.

'I was hoping it got by him somehow, but that is what great defenders do,' Hollins said.

With the score tied at 4, Mike Lowell started the bottom of the eighth with a double, his sixth in seven games, and pinch-hitter Trot Nixon walked. Stern forced Lowell at third and Alex Gonzalez struck out.

KNIGHTS' GUARDS SHOOT TALL.(SPORTS) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: BUZZ GRAY Staff writer

ALBANY -- Shut down the two big guns inside and the College of Saint Rose will still find a way to beat you. On Wednesday, it was two pesky guards doing the most damage for the Golden Knights as they turned back always troublesome Adelphi.

Matt Fryer and Mike Perno combined for 30 points to provide the foundation of St. Rose's 71-62 triumph in a key New York Collegiate Athletic Conference basketball game.

``I knew they were going to play off me,'' said Fryer, the 5-8 sophomore guard. ``I think they put their worst defender on me. I was just driving by him.''

Fryer hit on 7-of-7 shots in the first half, many of them layups, and then added two more points in the second half for 16 points, easily his best output since joining the team.

``I thought he showed a lot of poise,'' coach Brian Beaury said after the Golden Knights, the No. 7 ranked Division II team in the country, survived the loss of center Damon Reed to fouls.

Reed, a pre-season All-American, was held to just eight points before fouling out with 1:16 remaining. Forward Nate Connolly, another inside tower of power, managed just 12, well below his average.

``They (Adelphi) did a good job on Damon,'' Beaury said of the Panthers' defense.

Eventually, though, the Knights (3-1, 3-0) adjusted by letting their guards carry the offensive load.

``We were getting open off of screens,'' said Perno who buried back-to-back 3-pointers late in the second half as St. Rose pulled away.

A 10-2 run broke open what had been a 44-44 tie. After that, the Knights applied suffocating defense to bottle up the Panthers (3-2, 1-1). Adelphi was held without a field goal for four minutes during a stretch of the second half. It was especially significant since Reed was sitting on the bench for four minutes with four fouls.

Joining Perno and Fryer on the attack was Steve Sgambelluri, another deadeye guard. His pair of 3-pointers in the second half helped make the Panthers pay for their smothering of Reed. ST. ROSE 71, ADELPHI 62 ADELPHI (62)

Kellman 2-5 1-2 5, Williams 1-8 1-2 3, Edwards 3-8 0-1, 6, McCormack 7-17 2-5 19, Graig 5-14 2-3 13, Laul 0-0 2-2 2, Williams 2-4 2-2 4, Nelson 3-5 1-2 8. Totals 23-64 11-20 62. ST. ROSE (71)

Connolly 4-10 4-4 12, Reed 3-7 2-4 8, Perno 3-7 5-6 14, Fryer 8-11 0-1 16, Sgambelluri 3-12 0-1 8, Organ 1-2 0-0 2, Doran 2-6 0-0 5, DeVries 3-6 0-2 6. Totals 27-72 11-19 71.

Big Mike walked tall.(Sports) - Post (South Africa)

DURING the cash strapped days of the Federation Professional League (FPL), one manager's secret to signing up players was a neatly gift-wrapped package containing a soap dish and towel set.

Mike Royeppen revealed this, and his other shenanigans as a professional soccer club manager, to POST last week.

Mike who was big in size and walked on to the field with an imposing gait is nowadays wheelchair-bound following the amputation of his right leg in January last year, due to his high blood sugar condition.

He turned 65 on Monday, and spends his retirement days in a flat he recently bought in Paradise Valley absorbing the breathtaking views and playing with his grandson Jiaan, 2, whom he describes as being 'my life'.

Born in Mayville, Mike played soccer as a central defender for amateur clubs and also excelled in swimming and water polo. He joined South African Breweries where his job was to promote the company's products.

Mike takes up the story: 'Theatre personality Ronnie Govender also worked at SAB. During those days he served on the executive of the FPL and was a soccer reporter for the Leader newspaper.

'In 1979 Ronnie introduced me to Zazi Khuzwayo who was the owner of NPSL team African Wanderers and encouraged me to get involved with soccer administration. My job at SAB required me to be public-friendly and I decided taking up the position as manager would assist me in my work.

'I worked with coach Jim-my Kerr, who was an England and Durban United player. My first change room session with the club was literally a baptism for me. We were all made to stand in line and a bucket of water with a concoction of green herbs was used to brush us down. As the muti man approached me, I attempted to move back when Jimmy quickly shoved me and made me stand straight to accept the brushing. He later told me that if I did not accept the blessing, I would have been kicked out of the club.

'Zazi was heavily involved in the ANC and he was assassinated at the end of my first year with the club. FPL executive member Jasper Vurden then approached me and asked me to take up the managerial post at Manning Rangers.'

Rangers were going through a rough patch and had finished the previous season rock bottom. One of Mike's stipulations before taking on the job was that there would be no interference from club directors while he was the manager.

Mike was a strict disciplinarian regarding punctuality and fitness training, and he managed to change the fortunes of the club within a few months, taking Rangers to a second-on-the-log finish that season.

'If I found that a player was lagging behind in training, I would call him aside and make him run 20 times up and down the Currie's stadium stands. If he failed to accomplish this, I would not hesitate to tell him to pack his bags and leave the team.

'The secret to a winning team is to get the right players for the job and this was where Don (Mudaly, Berea's manager) and I almost came to blows on many occasions. There was a fierce rivalry between us to sign on players.

'The clubs in the Fed did not have money to throw around and I resorted to giving a cellophane gift-wrapped soap dish and towel set, a few hundred rands from my own pocket and a pair of boots to tie up the deal.

'Once both Don and I were after a player from Wentworth I only remember as China. As I approached the player's house, I saw Don's car parked in the yard. I then drove further down the road and kept watch until he left the house. I then drove in and my gift worked like a charm. I got China.

'Another time Don got the upper hand on me. We were both after the signatures of the dynamic Cape duo of Keith America and Calvin Petersen. Don must have heard that I was booked to fly to Cape Town on a Saturday. He flew down on that Friday, and beat me to the draw.

'Then I beat him to sign on brothers Mark and Tony Buckley (uncles to Bafana Bafana's Delron) and the battle between us continued. Walking through the Currie's tunnel before we played each other would always draw menacing glares between the two of us.

'Sometimes our battles ended up in the boardroom. Don once protested a match result citing late registration of players. I always used Merewent FA official Sammy Sayed as my negotiator. He was brilliant at getting out of tight situations and I often won my cases.'

After a two-year stay with Rangers, Mike resigned to take up the post of PRO for the Federation Professional League where he said he was privileged to have worked with 'great administrators' like Ashwin Trikamjee, Sithia 'SK' Chetty and Gaff Osman.

After a two-year stint with the FPL executive, he was enticed to manage the Tongaat Crusaders team, but that did not last long because the 'strictly off limits' deal he always insisted he had with club directors was breached and he moved to Berea where he took over from Don, who had moved to Rangers - and the battle resumed.

Mike, who would smoke a packet of cigarettes during the 90-minute course of the game was so passionate about his soccer that he was admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack after his team lost to Cape Town Spurs in 1981.

He enjoyed a healthy and productive relationship with the press, singling out current POST Editor Brijlall Ram-guthee, who was a sports reporter then, for keeping public interest in the game alive.

Brij said of Mike whom he had nicknamed 'Sir Alf' after England supremo Sir Alf Ramsay: 'He was one of those managers who brought a lot of razor sharp tension to the game. He had the ability to spring surprises and one could feel the passion oozing out of his frame.'

Through his work Mike also secured a R15 000 Hansa Pilsener Cup sponsorship and said: 'My bosses who were big on sponsoring different codes of sport were shocked when I showed them the breakdown of the money, saying that this was the first time they saw only 10% of the amount going towards administrative costs with the winning teams sharing the balance.'

Mike was an extrovert and he then turned his attention toward running nightclubs and was co-owner of the once popular Club Lipstick.

He said he was responsible for introducing the supper club concept to Durban when, together with Cape Town singer Vivienne Kinsley, he hosted the province's first Sunday supper club at the Himalaya Hotel in 1975.

Today both he and Don are the best of chums who hug each other whenever they meet.

Mike, who was twice named manager of the season with Manning Rangers (1981) and with Tongaat Crusaders (1988) said his prosthetic limb had arrived and he would want to start walking again as his doctors warned that he was in danger of losing the second limb.

'I want to walk one last time before I lose the other leg,' said Mike.

He lives with his wife Needha and has two daughters Yolisha and Srenika and son Shaun, who is currently the PRO of amateur club Savells. Mike has three grandchildren whom he dotes over.

n THE SA Fed Legends will hold a fund-raising dinner and dance at the Coastlands Convention Centre on September 8. Monies raised will go to the Legends' various projects they intend undertaking to improve the lives of all former players, administrators and officials of the FPL and its predecessor, the SASL.

Members of the Legends are already involved with coaching clinics for school children. After a classy launch held in April this year, high standards have been set and to book your place at this event will cost you R250 per couple. Call PRO Jasper Vurden on 083 298 1757.

Standing tall.(Sports) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

Byline: PAUL WHITE

BY Paul White

THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

When he joined an undersized Tallwood High School basketball team three years ago, the then 6-foot-3 Kelly Beidler stood out simply by standing up.

'I'm thinking, 'OK, we've finally got some height,' ' Lions coach Matt Myint said.

It didn't take long for Myint to notice quite a bit more. In the Lions' first scrimmage, Beidler accepted a pass, drove the baseline and threw down a thunderous dunk.

'This kid's going to be good,' Myint told one of his assistants.

For most of the days since, this information remained pretty much a Beach District secret. But after the Lions' remarkable run last week, the word is officially out across Hampton Roads - Beidler isn't just good, he's the best player on the best team in the Eastern Region.

The Lions' claim to that title didn't come by much - their tournament victories over Maury, Bethel and Booker T. Washington came by a combined four points.

Beidler's performance was much more clear-cut, although it can't be measured in mere numbers. His stats were fine: Beidler averaged 16 points in the three games for a team that typically scores in the 40s.

Then again, Beidler wasn't counting.

'I mean, it feels good to get 30,' said Beidler, who has signed to play at Mount St. Mary's. 'But I'll take 16 any day if it means the Eastern Region title.'

It was the range of Beidler's contributions that set him apart. Against Bethel, Beidler handled the ball from the top of the key, forcing 6-7 Jamel McLean and 6-8 Duke Crews out of the paint. If they laid back, Beidler hit 3-pointers. When they matched up with him, Beidler put it on the floor and attacked the rim.

On defense, he rebounded and blocked shots, the expected contributions of a player who earned Beach District Defensive Player of the Year honors in addition to the overall Player of the Year award. Yet he also displayed enough quickness to check smaller players on the perimeter. Then there were the intangibles. When the Lions fell behind the Bookers by three points late in the fourth quarter, it was Beidler huddling the players together during a timeout, encouraging his teammates to rally.

When sophomore A.J. Boggs missed the first of two free throws with four seconds left in that game, it was Beidler offering reassurance.

'I just slapped his hand and said, 'I know you're going to make this,' ' said Beidler, who then watched with glee as Boggs drained the game-winner.

He even stood up to Booker T. Washington's Myles Holley early in the third quarter, going jaw-to-jaw with the Bookers' star forward and sending a message to his team that the Lions would not be intimidated.

'We didn't want to initiate anything,' Myint said. 'But we weren't going to back down.'

According to Beidler, his on-court versatility comes naturally. In middle school, he played guard before a late growth spurt, a position in which he developed his ball-handling and shooting skills.

The leadership traits had to be developed. Even as recently as last season, Myint said he continually had to warn Beidler against slumped shoulders and hang-dog expressions when problems arose on the court.

'Coach stayed on me, and I worked harder,' said Beidler, who was second-team All-Beach as a junior. 'After summer league I knew we could do something big, and all season long we've pretty much proved it.'

HE STOOD TALL.(Sports) - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Randy Johnson arrived in Seattle as a 6-foot-10 baseball curiousity. He soon became a giant in the game with a fearsome fastball and his ``Mr. Snappy'' slider, and helped save baseball in Seattle.

1989

Langston, Langston, Langston. Randy Johnson's Mariner arrival was far overshadowed by the departure of the Mariner pitching ace on May 25, 1989. The deal was this: Seattle sent Mark Langston and a player to be named later (pitcher Mike Campbell) to Montreal for Johnson, fellow starting pitcher Brian Holman and reliever Gene Harris. Johnson was with Class AAA Indianapolis at the time of the trade, having been sent out after an 0-4 start with the Expos.

``They're young and crude and we're going to have to live with some mistakes for a while.''

- May 26, 1989, Mariner manager Jim Lefebvre, sizing up his three new pitchers.

1990

No hits, no runs, no regrets. Nearly a year after the deal, Langston finally was a forgotten man as Johnson fired the first Mariner no-hitter on June 2, beating Detroit 2-0 at the Kingdome. The 6-foot-10 lefty struck out eight and walked six. To perserve the masterpiece, there were four tough plays, two flyouts and two groundouts, all handled flawlessly by his teammates, including one by second-year centerfielder Ken Griffey Jr.

``I went for it then. I started to rear back and let it fly. My thinking was if it's going to happen, it's going to happen. I'm a fastball pitcher, and I'm going down throwing fastballs. I'm not going to lose this on anything but my best pitch.''

- June 2, 1990, Johnson, regarding his eighth- and ninth-inning mindset.

1991

Almost straight A's. Fourteen months after his no-hitter, Johnson had a near-miss, losing another gem in the ninth inning against Oakland at the Kingdome. Mike Gallego, the A's No. 8 hitter, spoiled his effort with no outs and a runner on base, ramming a single cleanly to left between third baseman Edgar Martinez and shortstop Omar Vizquel.

``He was a like a shark smelling blood. He kept coming. He didn't get tired, he got stronger. The ball just exploded on us. I'm glad he threw me a nice fastball instead of one of his nasty sliders. I knew I couldn't hit his slider.''

- Aug. 13, 1991, Gallego describing his frustration against Johnson.

1992

Bulls-eye. Johnson was coming off arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the offseason, when he took a Mike Greenwell liner off his left elbow in a game against Boston at the Kingdome. The ball struck him flush on the joint and left him writhing on the ground. Johnson's injury was described as a bruise, but he would pitch only once, and briefly, over the next month. He wound up on the Mariner DL for the first time. This would be the first of several health setbacks for the pitcher over the next five seasons.

``I really don't have too much to say to any of you.''

- May 31, 1992, a sore and agitated Johnson after his hospital visit.

1993

The hair was longer, the fastball faster. This was the coming-of-age year for Johnson, who matched Langston's club record for pitching victories (19) and surpassed Langston's strikeout standard (308) by 46. Johnson did everything. He made John Kruk look silly at the All-Star Game in Baltimore. He narrowly missed a pair of no-hitters against Kansas City and Oakland, losing them in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Against Oakland, he also was perfect through 71/3 innings, with Kevin Seitzer's one-out walk spoiling the effort. Johnson pitched in relief for the first time, after closer Norm Charlton was lost to an arm injury, and picked up his first big-league save.

``I'm not a perfect pitcher and this probably is about as close as I'll ever get to a perfect game. I did pitch one in high school.''

- May 16, 1993, Johnson after flirting with perfection.

1994

It was good while it lasted for the Big Unit. In a strike-shortened campaign, Johnson had a season within a season, throwing three consecutive shutouts. He stopped Oakland 1-0 on a four-hitter, defeated Minnesota 12-0 permitting just two hits and beat Toronto 2-0 with a six-hitter. He would finish with 29 consecutive scoreless innings, then second in club history to Langston's 34. The opener seemed to mirror the frustrations of the season. Nothing got finished. Johnson took a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Cleveland, had it broken up by Sandy Alomar, and the Mariners lost the game in extra innings.

``I don't like to compare myself to anyone. When I start pitching like other people, then I get away from me. I think it's important to have your own identity. He's Mark. I'm me.''

- May 25, 1994, Johnson when compared to Langston.

1995

There was none better. Johnson turned it up a notch and was rewarded with the Cy Young award. He captured 18 of 20 regular-season pitching decisions, and the club won 27 of 31 games he started. He threw a three-hitter at California to win a one-game playoff, helping propel the Mariners to their first AL West Division championship. He was the first Mariner pitcher to start the All-Star game. He also set a major-league record for the most strikeouts per innings pitched with 12.35, breaking Nolan Ryan's mark of 11.48 set in 1987 with Houston. But showing wear, he missed an August start with shoulder inflammation and had a second arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the offseason.

``I take pride in trying to be a pitcher, someone who goes out there and thinks and has a strategy, keeping batters off balance. You can't do that continually throwing 90-mile-an-hour fastballs. They can hit that. A thrower is someone who just rears back and throws. I used to be that.''

- Nov. 14, 1995, Johnson after winning the Cy Young award.

1996

It was the Big Unit, unplugged. After enjoying ultimate rewards, everything came crashing down around Johnson. On April 26, he was forced to leave a game at Milwaukee with lower back pain, pitching just 32/3 innings. Briefly returning to the mound and finding more discomfort, he went on the 60-day disabled list on May 13, diagnosed with an irritated nerve in his lower back. He would pitch two innings at Class A Everett on a rehab assignment and return to the Mariners on Aug. 6, but his back would bottom out. He was returned to the DL on Aug. 27 and had back surgery for a herniated disk in Los Angeles a month later. He appeared in only 14 games.

``I don't see any reason why he can't perform as well in baseball as he has in the past.''

- Sept. 12, 1996, Dr. Robert Watkins, discussing Johnson's back surgery.

1997

Back surgery produced a new and improved Randy Johnson. Starting slowly and working his way into shape, he became the Mariners' first 20-game winner, capturing 20 of 24 decisions. He had a pair of 19-strikeout games against Oakland and Chicago, and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Detroit. He ran off a string of 31 consecutive scoreless innings. However, he was not without physical pain, injuring the middle finger on his throwing hand and missing a month of starts. And there was unavoidable emotional pain, with Johnson losing twice to Baltimore in the postseason.

``He's human. I didn't think it would come down to them beating him twice. I didn't think they could do it.''

- Oct. 5, 1997, Jay Buhner on Johnson against the Orioles.

1998

Borrowed time. Johnson was living on it after the Mariners announced in the offseason that the pitcher, a $6 million man in the last year of his contract, would not be offered an extension. He was shopped to the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, but no deal was struck. Johnson reported to spring camp clearly unhappy despite pronouncements otherwise, and it showed as the season started. He nearly went winless in April. Next his temper flared in a game against Cleveland and resulted in his ejection and three-game suspension. Kenny Lofton had reacted negatively to a wayward pitch and got another that spun him around, emptying the benches. He wrestled with teammate David Segui in the clubhouse over a loud stereo, blaming his situation. Johnson had one more brush with a no-hitter against Minnesota, coming within five outs of the gem before Brent Gates, a former teammate, singled.

``I'm upbeat and ready to go. I'm probably in better shape than I've ever been.''

- Feb. 15, 1998, Johnson arriving at spring camp.

Mariner pitching all-time top five

WINS

Johnson 130

Langston 74

Moore 66

Hanson 56

Young 45

LOSSES

Moore 96

Johnson 74

Beattie 72

Langston 67

Young 66

ERA (300 IP)

Jackson 3.38

Johnson 3.42

Reed 3.49

B. Clark 3.66

Hanson 3.69

GAMES

Jackson 335

Johnson 274

Ayala 274

Vande Berg 272

Swift 253

STARTS

Johnson 266

Moore 217

Langston 173

Beattie 147

Abbott 246

COMPLETE GAMES

Moore 56

Johnson 51

Langston 41

Beattie 30

Abbott 28

SHUTOUTS

Johnson 19

Langston 9

Moore 9

Bannister 7

Beattie 6

SAVES

Schooler 98

Charlton 66

Ayala 56

Caudill 52

Rawley 36

INNINGS

Johnson 1,838.1

Moore 1,457.0

Langston 1,197.2

Hanson 967.1

Beattie 944.2

WALKS

Johnson 884

Langston 575

Moore 535

Beattie 369

Young 365

STRIKEOUTS

Johnson 2,162

Langston 1,078

Moore 937

Hanson 740

Young 597

Johnson's top 10 games

1. June 2, 1990.

Threw Mariners' first no-hitter, beat Detroit 2-0.

2. May 16, 1993.

Lost perfect game in 8th, on Kevin Seitzer's one-out walk, and no-hitter in 9th, on Lance Blankenship's one-out single; finished with one-hitter in 7-0 win over Oakland.

3. Aug. 14, 1991.

Lost no-hitter in 9th on no-out single by Mike Gallego; finished 1-hitter in 4-0 win over Oakland.

4. Oct. 2, 1995.

Clinched AL West Division title with 3-hitter in 9-1 win over California in playoff game.

5. Aug. 8, 1997.

Struck out 19 with 5-hitter in 5-0 win over Chicago.

6. June 24, 1997.

Struck out 19 in 4-1 loss to Oakland.

7. Sept. 16, 1993.

Lost no-hitter in 8th on Brian McRae's one-out double, beat Kansas City 14-1 with 2-hitter.

8. June 8, 1997.

Lost no-hitter in 8th on Phil Nevin's one-out single, beat Detroit 2-0 (Finished with 1-hitter in 8 innings.)

9. April 4, 1994.

Lost no-hitter in 8th on Sandy Alomar's no-out single; took no-decision in 4-3, 11-inning loss to Cleveland.

10. Oct. 8, 1995.

Walk tall, Dunc.(Sport) - The Mirror (London, England)

Joe Royle last night challenged Duncan Ferguson, saying: 'You've built the legend, now live up to it.'

The Everton boss axed his pounds 4million striker for the first time in his stop-start Goodison career on Saturday because he is not yet fully fit after a two-month lay-off.

Ferguson wasn't happy and vented his feelings with an angry finger-pointing after coming on as a sub and scoring as Sunderland won 3-1.

But Royle believes Ferguson's reputation is bigger than his achievements at Everton. Fergie has missed 48 of 107 matches since arriving from Rangers two years ago, and Royle is now demanding an uninterrupted run.

He said: 'Duncan has become a legend in some ways before he has become a player. And he's not become a player simply because he's not played often enough.

'He has games and spells when he looks unstoppable. But he has other times when I look at him and I think: `Dunc, let's get going'.

FOOTBALL: ESTONIA TALL-ENT.(Sport) - The Mirror (London, England)

ESTONIA have called up 12 players from national champions Flora Tallinn for next week's friendly with Scotland.

Estonian boss Arno Pijpers has relied heavily on Flora after including an entire team and a sub from the club. He said: 'Scotland are a proud football nation and will provide a very big test for my players.'

5-1 RIVER FOREST STAR STANDS TALL IN SPORTS, MUSIC - Post-Tribune (IN)

PHOTOJulio Concepcion, a 5-foot-1 all-around athlete at River Forest High School, stands beside 5-9 football teammate John Daniels. (Post-Tribune photo)

THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED VERSION.TV -- 7 p.m., (SC) (WTBS)

Julio Concepcion is so small he cannot be overlooked. At 5-foot-1, 132 pounds, the River Forest High School senior is immediately recognized before a performance, and immediately respected during it, whether it be on the the baseball field, the wrestling mat, on center stage with the jazz band, or on the football field.

Yes, even on the high school varsity football field.

Concepcion started at defensive back last fall for the Ingots' sectional championship football team. He wrestled in the winter, and is hitting .372 while batting lead-off for the baseball team.

The center fielder was the team's most valuable player last year when he hit .348 and earned a spot on the All-Northwest Hoosier Conference team.

When he is not proving that size is not the most important factor in high school athletics, he is searching his insides for answers to vague questions, and telling the world what he learns through the alto saxophone that has won him honors in state competition.

'Look at all those handicapped people out there, look at (California Angels' pitcher Jim Abbott, born with one hand), look at how he does things with his disability, and all those handicapped people out there, they're my idols.

'You don't have to be big, it's not really your physical capabilities, it's your mind, it's how bad you want to do it. If you want to do it you can do it, it's all in your head. Everything's in your head.'

Concepcion not only presents probably the smallest strike zone in Northwest Indiana, but he also knows what to do with a pitch that is there for the taking.

'He's always had the ability to hit,' said baseball coach Kirk Whiting, who said Concepcion's only glaring weakness is arm strength. 'He's been working on switch-hitting. He has an excellent eye, usually makes contact, doesn't strike out much which, with his size, makes him susceptible to walks.'

'In baseball, my size is a real good advantage. I'm pretty quick, so that makes up for my height.

'All you see are those real tall long skinny guys, and those big powerful guys, but I'm short and kind of cocky, so I just go out and I know I'm going to hit that ball.

'I just know I'm going to hit it, and I have that kind of confidence in me.

'In the outfield, it's my speed that keeps up with me. I might not have those long legs, but I'll get there.'

Small baseball players are not that uncommon. Former Kansas City Royals shortstop Freddie Patek, a two-time All-Star, was 5-5. Former Cincinnati Reds star Joe Morgan was 5-7, 150 pounds, yet hit 268 home runs over his 22-year career.

But football? Even at the Class 2A level, Concepcion was surrounded by giants.

'Julio was probably the best pure tackler on the team,' said Whiting, who is also an assistant football coach. 'Early in the season, people thought they could stick their biggest receiver on him and try to throw over him, but Julio countered that with his quickness and knowledge. And he loves to hit people.'

'In football, I was the smallest guy on the team. I had to make up for what I didn't have. I sometimes had a 6-1, 6-2 receiver on me, so I had to back up and give him a little room so he didn't beat me out in the long run.

'What made up for it was my speed and my judgment. And I had to hit him low. I just wrapped my arms around his legs and BOOM! He's down and I just made up for it. I love football.'

Concepcion, the oldest of five children and an honor roll student, credits hours of practice and help from his coaches and teachers for helping him to achieve so much. And they, in return, receive something from him.

'Julio is very warm, personable, and very communicative,' said Weldon Slater, Concepcion's music teacher at River Forest.

'Some people play notes per se; Julio has a way of communicating with the saxophone. It's the sign of a real performer. If he's having a good day, his music is bright and exciting, and if he's having a bad day, or didn't get enough sleep or whatever, he plays more melancholy.'

At a recent Jazz Fest at River Forest, which included bands from Chesterton, Crown Point, and LaVille high schools, Concepcion was recognized as the most outstanding overall performer and the most outstanding soloist, which Slater said was the first time in 11 years that one student earned both honors.

A representative from Vandercook School of Music in Chicago has offered a scholarship. Concepcion is apparently leaning that way.

'I use music to express my feelings, to let out my fears, to let out my anger. I use music in a lot of ways. It calms me down when I'm really hyper.

'It's something you express, it's not something you can explain. You can feel it. If you can feel it, it sounds something real good.'

In less than a month, Concepcion will graduate from high school. He realizes he will need his dogged determination for a much bigger endeavor that never ends after high school.

'Sometimes, I have to come to reality and say, 'Hey, your years are your high school years and when you get out of there, you're going to be out in the real world, and you have to work on your studying. Set your life.

'In a way, I'm scared to meet it, but I can't because then it'll turn on me. If I go out and meet the real world, and go after the real world, then I'm going to do something.

'I'm going to miss baseball a lot, and I'll never forget football. I want to play football (in college), but I know I can't. But it is something everybody will remember, that 5-foot-1 guy on defense.'

To see him make a vicious tackle or smack a line drive into the gap in right field elicits cheers from all who love the underdog. Strangers shake their heads in disbelief of how that 'little guy' keeps up with the big kids.

Football: Reid's tall order.(Sport) - The News Letter (Belfast, Northern Ireland)

SUNDERLAND manager Peter Reid will again turn to big striker Niall Quinn in his hour of need in the match with Fulham at the Stadium of Light.

The Black Cats have lost three of their last four matches including a home FA Cup defeat by First Division West Brom, and have slipped into the bottom half of the FA Barclaycard Premiership.

Pressure is mounting on Reid to turn the tide and with a home derby against Middlesbrough to follow the visit of Jean Tigana's side, he is desperate for a maximum six-point haul.

But with goals at a premium and the failure to find a replacement for pounds 3.5million misfit Lilian Laslandes, who has joined Cologne until the end of the season on loan, he is banking on tall veteran Quinn to ease the pressure on Kevin Phillips in the short-term.

'Defensively - apart from a mad 15 minutes at Ipswich - we have basically been very sound,' said Reid.

''But scoring goals is a different matter. Kevin Phillips has had a great season, but there is too much onus on him to get goals.'

Meanwhile, Fulham's pounds 11.5million striker Steve Marlet has pledged to battle through his sixth match in 21 days as two of the bluntest strikeforces in the country go head-to-head at the Stadium of Light.

The ninth-place Cottagers have mustered just 22 goals in 21 league matches this season, while their hosts Sunderland have fared even worse in front of goal, with only 18 strikes from 22 games.

LOOKING FORWARD, BOEHEIM SEEKS TALL GUY.(Sports) - The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)

Byline: Mike Waters Staff writer

After receiving two early commitments from perimeter players, Syracuse University basketball coaches appear to be thinking big.

Big in terms of stature and ranking.

In May, Demetris Nichols, a 6-foot-7 small forward from St. Andrew's School in Barrington, R.I., decided to attend Syracuse. Earlier this month, Louie McCroskey, a 6-4 guard at St. Raymond's High School in the Bronx, followed suit.

Now Syracuse's wish list is down to three frontcourt players. All three are at least 6-8; all three are ranked among the top 75 players in the class of 2003; and all three have scheduled official visits to SU.

They are:

Chris Taft, a 6-9, 230-pound forward/center at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn;

Terrence Roberts, a 6-8, 205-pound forward from St. Anthony High School in Jersey City, N.J.; and

Courtney Sims, a 6-11, 225-pound center from Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Mass.

Bob Hurley, Roberts' coach at St. Anthony, said Roberts will visit the SU campus on the weekend of Sept. 13. Hurley also said Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim will visit the Roberts' home on Sept. 8. The Syracuse visits are the first Roberts has scheduled.

'You reward people for their effort,' Hurley said Tuesday. 'Syracuse's coaches started recruiting Terrence the earliest, and they've spent the most time on him. They deserved the opportunity to schedule a visit that fit best for them.'

Hurley said Roberts is trying to trim his list of schools to five. High school recruits can take up to five expense-paid campus trips. In addition to Syracuse, Roberts is considering Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Villanova, Connecticut, St. John's, Rutgers and Seton Hall.

'I think we'll get down to five very soon,' Hurley said. 'We want him to visit the schools he's interested in. I'd like him to use as many as he needs. So many kids are committing so early now, they blow the opportunity to visit the campus.'

Roberts averaged 10.1 points and 8.0 rebounds as a junior, but his scoring was limited on a guard-oriented team that finished second in the nation with a 29-1 record. Three guards off St. Anthony's team will be at Division I schools this winter - Elijah Ingram (St. John's), Donald Copeland (Seton Hall) and Dwayne Lee (St. Joseph's).

HoopScoop editor Clark Francis ranks Roberts as the 35th-best player in the class of 2003.

Taft said he will visit the SU campus Sept. 6-8.

'It's the first one I've set up,' Taft said Tuesday. 'I'm still waiting to schedule my other four.'

Taft said he also plans to visit North Carolina, Maryland and Pittsburgh. His fifth visit could go to either Villanova, Miami or Indiana.

Taft, who averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior, ranked No. 43 among this year's seniors, according to HoopScoop. Taft said the important factors in his decision are academics and his relationship with the coach and players.

Sims is considering Boston College, Providence, Maryland, Michigan, Connecticut and Memphis along with Syracuse. He is ranked No. 68 by HoopScoop and plans to visit Syracuse Sept. 13.

He's already taken an unofficial visit to Boston College. In addition to his trip to Syracuse, Sims has scheduled official visits to Michigan and Maryland in September.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

File photo/Dennis Nett, 2002

CHRIS TAFT is one of three players - all 6-foot-8 or taller - on Syracuse's wish list. Color

File photo/Dennis Nett, 2002

CLIPPERS NOTEBOOK: WHY THE MISSES? ANSWER IS TALL TALE.(SPORTS) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Randy Hill

Lamond Murray, the Clippers' 6-foot-7 forward, shot just 37 percent from the floor in his team's first six games.

Several of his rim-busters have been delivered while fading away, a difficult maneuver that makes a bit of sense when Murray's small-forward foes are measured. The four primary defenders he's faced are 6-foot-11 Cliff Robinson of Phoenix, Minnesota's 7-foot Kevin Garnett, 6-11 Toni Kukoc of Chicago and Vancouver's 6-9 Shareef Abdul-Rahim.

``That's how the league is,'' said Murray of matching up the oxymoron of big small forwards. ``In those cases, you have to use your quickness. I've been getting some good looks, but having to shoot over the taller (players) does bother you a little bit.''

Murray figures to have some trajectory relief over the next several games. He started at shooting guard against Dallas on Saturday and the expected matchup was 6-7 Mavericks guard Michael Finley. He also figured to be isolated with Dallas' small forward, Cedric Ceballos, who is a more reasonable 6-7.

On this week's schedule is Monday's matchup with 6-7 Bryon Russell of Utah and a pair of showdowns with 6-7 Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.

Going gets tougher: The Clippers managed to lose their first six games to teams that check in with a combined record of 15-18 through Friday's action.

Saturday's foe, the mighty Dallas Mavericks, began their third game in four nights with a gaudy mark of 1-8. The Clippers, by the way, defeated the Mavericks in three of their four meetings last season.

And now, the bad news: The Clippers' next four opponents have a combined record of 22-12.

Familiar faces: With two of the Clippers' point guards calling UCLA alma mater, the appearance of Maverick Robert Pack added a bit of instant rivalry. Pack, Dallas' backup point guard, played at USC and had many heroic moments in the good ol' Sports Arena.

Starting ahead of Pack is Steve Nash, who also went to SC - Santa Clara.

Nash, who signed a six-year, $33 million contract before the start of the season, made only 17 of his first 61 field-goal attempts in a Mavericks uniform. In his last three games, Nash has rallied to make 17 of 26 shots.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1) MURRAY

A GROWING TREND AREA FOOTBALL TEAMS ARE SPORTING TALL TALENT.(SPORTS)(PREP PROFILE)(Column) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Byline: Rob Hernandez

It's not having a 6-foot-9 quarterback that concerns Southwestern football coach Craig Smith. It's having a 6-9 quarterback with size 19 shoes.

'I'm afraid he's going to keep growing and grow himself out of football,' Smith said of junior Jeff Skemp, the trigger man in the Wildcats' spread offense. 'He's really into basketball.'

Skemp is symbolic of a new trend in prep football players this season: The really tall ones.

Randolph has a 6-foot-11 tight end in Greg Stiemsma. Jefferson has a 7-foot kicker and punter in Kerry Gibson. Wisconsin Dells has a 6-7 quarterback in Jimmy Capelle. Sauk Prairie has a 6-7 safety in Richie Peters.

You might recognize the names. All five have a lot at stake this winter on the basketball court with the most notable being Stiemsma, a junior who led the Rockets to the WIAA Division 4 state basketball title last year and has already committed to play at the University of Wisconsin when he graduates in 2004.

Playing football may subject them to physical risk, but Skemp said there is something to be gained by playing a fall sport.

'You sit around during the football season and you're that much further behind,' he said. 'You're not in as good a shape. Your competitive level is down.'

At 205 pounds, Skemp would like to get his weight up. More importantly, the big guy would like to improve his foot speed and coordination and become a faster, stronger basketball player.

'Last year, my aunt came up with a nickname for me -- Mo -- because she said I was slower than molasses,' Skemp said. 'I told her that when you've got size 19 shoes, it's hard to get those things up and down the floor.'

Check that

The Northern Badger Conference cross country meet has been moved from Prairie du Sac to Reedsburg due to a schedule conflict at Lake Wisconsin Country Club. ... Waunakee beat West Bend East in the fifth-place game Saturday at the Spartan Invitational boys soccer tournament, not the seventh-place game as reported.

Where are they now?

Iowa State sophomore Tony Yelk (Poynette) is averaging 45.1 yards on 17 punts for 15th-ranked Iowa State (5-1). He is also handling kickoffs and long field goals for the Cyclones, who are idle until Oct.12 when they play host to Texas Tech at 6 p.m. in a nationally televised game on WTBS. ... St. Cloud State women's soccer player Ashley Rounds (Madison East) scored the winning goal in a 2-1 win Sept. 25 over Southwest (Minn.) State, and the freshman had two goals Sept. 22 in a 4-1 win over Minnesota State-Moorhead. She is third on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist. ... Carroll College freshman men's soccer player Chris Smith (Lake Mills) is third on the team in scoring with two goals and two assists for the Pioneers (4-3). Another Lake Mills product, Shelley Nelson, has made the women's soccer team at Cardinal Stritch University in Mequon.

Ready ... break

WORLD OF FOOTBALL: Transforming puny Asians is a tall order.(Sport) - Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland)

Byline: By KEVIN McALLION

CAMBODIA will give short shrift to short a*ses in a bid to compete with the big boys.

The south east Asians have never qualified for a major tournament and have shipped 21 goals in their last four games.

FA chief Sao Sokha is fed up taking tankings and reckons the reason they always lose is because the players are too small.

So he's introducing a new scheme that will ban anyone below 5ft 6in - bad news for budding Jimmy Johnstones.

Sokha said: 'We need to have bigger and taller players to play against tough foreigners.

Ibrahim call not a Tall order.(Sport) - Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)

Byline: By Alan Marshall

HEARTS defender Ibrahim Tall is on course to make a first-team return after five weeks on the sidelines.

The Senegal internationalist has been missing since December 29 when a hamstring forced him off during a 2-1 defeat at Falkirk.

But Tall is now nearing the end of his rehabilitation and Stevie Frail is hopeful he will soon be able to call on the big defender as he bids to take the Jambos into the top six.

Speaking on the club's official website the manager said: 'Ibrahim has been working hard with the physios and isn't too far away now.

'He'll continue his rehab this week and we're probably looking at the middle of next week for him coming back to training with the rest of the guys.

'We will have to wait and see how he goes in training.

'That will give us an idea of where he is at but there's every chance he might need a game or two before we can think about him for the first team.

Football: TERRY'S TALL TALE.(Sport) - The Mirror (London, England)

Byline: By DAVID BRYCE

MOTHERWELL manager Terry Butcher fears it will be a tall order against Kilmarnock today.

Killie's big men up front Kris Boyd and Colin Nish could make it tough for a Well side on the short side.

Boyd has hit nine goals including a double in the 4-2 win over Aberdeen last week.

Butcher said: 'We've made a lot of chances in games with Kilmarnock and if we keep the ball off them they can't hurt us.

'But we don't have many tall players and we need to watch setpieces.'

Motherwell, who can go above Killie with victory, bounced back from defeats against the Old Firm with a 3-0 win at Dunfermline.

SPL matches involving Well this season average just over four goals a game.

Butcher said: 'We like to attack and sometimes that leaves us short but as long as the players are positive I don't mind.'

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AT 7-FOOT-8, CHINA'S SUN MING MING IS AN INTRIGUING NBA PROSPECT TALL TALE.(Sports) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer

He stands 7-foot-8, weighs 360 pounds, wears a size 6XL jersey and seems to be the reason camera phones were invented whenever he ventures out in public.

He arrived in the United States only three months ago and already is the star of a reality television project, tentatively titled ``The Great Tall of China.''

He has the story to be basketball's Sidd Finch, George Plimpton's mythical pitcher from the pages of Sports Illustrated, as well as the next Yao Ming, all at only 21 years of age.

The only question is whether Sun Ming Ming can be made into an NBA player ... and whether any team might take a gamble on him even if he can't.

``The general consensus is he's probably a year or a year-and-a-half away,'' said Ventura-based agent Charles Bonsignore, who first spotted Sun two years ago when his Chinese junior national team played in Los Angeles. ``But he's going to need to do it in the NBA. It's about finding the right team for him to develop because the upside could be enormous.''

If he sounds like the stuff of fiction, Sun is very much flesh and blood. With no first-division team in his home, Heilongjiang province, near the Russian border, Sun is the first player China has allowed to leave without a pro contract and train in the United States.

He spent five weeks working out in Greensboro, N.C., and is eligible for the June 28 NBA draft. Scouts from Utah, Washington, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee and Charlotte traveled to see him, and Sun auditioned April 29 for the Lakers on his way back to China.

``He's a big project,'' Lakers assistant general manager Ronnie Lester said. ``He has a ways to go.''

Utah scout Troy Weaver said he thought Sun probably was an NBA player, depending on what system he would play in and how much he improved in the next year. Sun has played organized basketball for only 7 1/2 years and has done virtually no strength training.

``He has a good shooting touch and a decent feel for the game,'' Weaver added. ``He doesn't have great lift off the floor. He really has to improve his footwork as far as moving side to side and getting up and down the court.''

If nothing else, Sun already has been good for one of the lines of the year in the NBA. One scout, who perhaps had seen too many small forwards, sized up Sun to Bonsignore by saying, ``He's not really a long 7-8.''

Keep in mind that Sun's hands make it look as if he's playing with a softball. He can dunk without leaving the ground and might be the tallest living person on the planet. (The Guinness Book of World Records says a 7-foot-8 Tunisian man currently holds that distinction.)

``If he puts his arms up,'' Bonsignore said of Sun, ``you can't see the basket.''

One other thing: Sun's growth plates still haven't closed.

How much more he could grow is in question but Sun already would qualify as the tallest player in NBA history, should he make it, eclipsing Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan, who combined to play 16 seasons.

``You could say he was 8 feet tall,'' said Rocky Manning, whose family hosted Sun in Greensboro, ``and people wouldn't second-guess you.''

Sun arrived in Greensboro on March 8 to train with Keith Gatlin, who played at Maryland and was Bonsignore's first client. Gatlin also played eight seasons in Germany, France and Greece, which made him well aware of the cultural barriers Sun was facing.

``He understands a whole lot more than he lets on,'' Gatlin said. ``I know I was the same way.''

Meanwhile, Sun was taken in by the Mannings, who have three boys, a hoop in the driveway and an SUV with a big enough backseat to accommodate a 7-footer. The family was hosting another local basketball player in addition to Sun.

From his first day with the Mannings, Sun tuned out the available Chinese language television station and set about trying to learn as much English as possible, even if that meant communicating by hand signals in the beginning.

Bonsignore said Sun quickly learned how to say, ``I'm sorry, not right now,'' to the autograph seekers and camera-phone paparazzi who are part of his daily life.

The family took Sun along wherever it went, from church to the zoo to the golf course. They even were able to get Wrangler to custom-make two pairs of size-50 jeans for Sun, who slept diagonally across a queen-size bed in their home.

Before he left last month, Sun was the guest of honor at a local school for an assembly on Chinese history and multiculturalism.

Gatlin, meanwhile, was in charge of Sun's basketball education, giving him the coaching that wasn't available in China. One theory as to why Sun shoots so well - he hit 28 consecutive free throws two weeks ago - is that all he did was stand in line waiting to shoot back home.

Through an interpreter, Sun said he saw his first NBA game when he was in primary school, lists Tim Duncan as his favorite current player and said he would be a coach if he wasn't a basketball player. But for all the comparisons between Yao and Sun, the two could not have more different backgrounds.

Both of Yao's parents played for the Chinese national team while Sun is the son of two shopkeepers from a small town in China's northernmost province, where the winters are nothing short of Siberian.

Yao was the No. 1 pick in the 2002 draft and an All-Star his rookie season. Sun is a second-round pick at best whose ideal situation might come if the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement allows him to be assigned to the developmental league.

If he is not drafted, Sun will continue working out and try to sign as a free agent next year.

``He's such a nice kid,'' Gatlin said of Sun. ``I think everything's happening so fast for him, with all the attention. Once you cross that line and go to the NBA, it's a different animal.''

The league office became aware of Sun through media reports out of Greensboro.

The prospect of a 7-foot-8 Chinese player left some shaking their heads, said Terry Lyons, the NBA's vice president of international public relations.

``It's just another page in the storybook,'' Lyons said. ``There are players coming from every single direction, every corner of the earth.''

And Sun already has gotten a taste of life as a star, American-style.

He has been the subject of a reality television project by the Encino-based LMNO Productions, whose producers have followed Sun since he arrived in the U.S.

``He kind of goes with the flow,'' said Eric Schotz, president of LMNO. ``It's not foreign for him to have cameras and people looking at him. I think he's used to it.''

The producers have taken Sun shopping for clothes at Topanga Promenade and bowling in Greensboro.

The thinking is the more ordinary the situation, the better for the viewer to comprehend Sun's massive size.

Schotz and executive vice president Bill Paolantonio have pitched the show to networks and said it could be on the air as early as this fall.

The final episode will center on the draft and whether Sun gets picked.

He is set to return June 10 from playing in China's national games and could take part in a workout for several NBA teams.

``It has all the elements of what makes a great story,'' Schotz said.

``It has a beginning, a middle, and we don't know yet what the end is going to be.''

Ross Siler, (818) 713-3607

ross.siler(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Chinese center Sun Ming Ming, who is 7-foot-8, has worked out for many teams, including the Lakers.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

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ALBANY ST. RECRUIT FILLS A TALL ORDER.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: Keith Marder Staff writer

Pick a college, Scott Fuchs says, and he was contacted by it.

Letters, phone calls, visits. You name it.

That's not a real surprise. A lot of 6-foot-11, 245-pound players are heavily recruited. Especially those who have shown some aptitude for playing basketball.

Fuchs, who has been playing organized basketball for only three years, averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds and blocked 120 shots for Susan B. Wagner High School in Staten Island.

The New York Daily News named Fuchs a first-team All-Star from the borough.

He got letters from North Carolina. Took a visit to the University of Connecticut. Who's that on the phone? Oh, Brooklyn College. Take a message.

But after considering his options, Fuchs decided to go to the University at Albany, proving that he cares about far more than basketball.

Fuchs, an honors student with a 90 average, was looking for a school with a good basketball program, good academics and a social life.

He found it right off the New York state Thruway. Now, he will become the tallest player in school history. Pete Gosule, who graduated in 1985, held the distinction of being the tallest at 6-8.

'Playing DivisionI means nothing to me,' Fuchs said. 'I'm going to get a great education and they have a very good basketball program there. I'm looking forward to playing with Doc (Sauers) and tearing down the rim there. I think I can come in and help right away. I want to be a product of the system. I like the way Doc runs things.'

Sauers has never seen Fuchs play, but Fuchs saw two Albany games this past season. For Sauers, there were some precarious moments in the recruiting of Fuchs.

'He said he was definitely, definitely, definitely coming, coming, coming,' Sauers said. 'Then he says he has to get rid of this other coach.'

After committing to Albany, Fuchs did visit Brandeis but decided the school was too small for him.

Fuchs, who will be the tallest college player in the area next season, is getting some exposure playing for an AAU team. He has since been contacted by schools such as South Carolina.

'We're keeping our fingers crossed that nobody steals him away from us,' Sauers said. 'We're hoping he can come in and help the varsity right away.'

Fuchs said there is no chance of changing his mind. He is going to Albany. He wants to study pre-law and sports medicine. End of conversation. He's done visiting and is getting ready for freshman orientation June28. He also promised a lot of victories in the next four years.

Work ethic definitely won't be the problem for Fuchs. He may have picked up the game three years ago, but hasn't taken a rest since.

Fuchs plans to play in six summer leagues.

'I play every day,' he said. 'All my friends used to play baseball, so I played baseball. I played basketball one day and I just loved it.

'The thing I love more than anything is just taking a basketball all by myself and thinking about different situations and what to do in a game.'

Tim Capstraw, head coach at Wagner College, also in Staten Island, has seen Fuchs play. He considers him a borderline DivisionI player - a lot like former Siena and Guilderland High School player Eric Fleury.

FOR DECADES, WEST POINTED L.A. IN RIGHT DIRECTION FOR DECADES, WEST POINTED L.A. IN RIGHT DIRECTION MOLINARO: WEST STILL STANDING TALL.(SPORTS) - The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA)

You want big numbers? Jerry West put up some big numbers as a player and executive.

Fittingly, his retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers organization has inspired tributes to West's long, impressive record. How many great pro athletes exhibit the desire or ability to turn themselves into front-office superstars? West is a unique figure in pro basketball.

I didn't know what would become of West when I hung a big poster of him in my bedroom years ago. I just knew he was the kind of player I wanted to be.

Eventually, the poster came down. I moved out, and on. Meanwhile, West remained a force in basketball. In his four decades with the organization as player, consultant and executive, the Lakers missed the playoffs only once. West took over as Lakers general manager before the 1982-83 season. In the next 18 years, the Lakers won four NBA titles and compiled a .673 winning percentage, best in the league.

The 1999-2000 Lakers' championship was won when West traded center Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets for the rights to a teen-ager by the name of Kobe Bryant, then signed free-agent Shaquille O'Neal to a contract.

As for West's playing career, well, some of us of a certain generation are convinced we will never enjoy watching another player more. This has little to do with who was better, West or Oscar Robertson. Or whether today's players are superior athletes. Probably, they are. Let's hope their basketball exploits give young fans as much enjoyment as West's gave me.

But back to the numbers. West was a 10-time NBA first-team All-Star. He averaged 25 points per game for his career, though even that gaudy stat doesn't do him justice. Mr. Clutch was always better with the game on the line. Or when the playoffs were in session. He holds the NBA single-series record for highest points-per-game average. In 1965, he led the injury-depleted Lakers to the next round by averaging 46.3 points.

For longtime fans of West, it's encouraging to know that he'll be remembered as a big winner. Five times West's Lakers lost in the finals to the Boston Celtics. They lost another final in 1970 to the New York Knicks. West was rarely anything but heroic in those series. Maybe that's why his reputation was never tainted. Or maybe our culture hadn't yet reached the point where great athletes who failed to ``win the big one'' were branded ``losers.''

In 1972, West won his first and only NBA championship as a player on a team that was 69-13 in the regular season after winning a league-record 33 consecutive games.

The numbers speak well of West's career. But the number I keep getting stuck on is 62. This week's stories report that West is 62 years old. How can that be? If West is 62, that would make me . . . never mind.

More and more, this happens: I hear the name of a favorite athlete from my youth being mentioned on TV. I look up and see a paunchy, wrinkled old man on the tube. Something doesn't seem right.

There should be a law protecting us from such startling revelations. For the sake of their fans, great athletes should not be photographed or seen in public after a certain age. It just ruins the illusion of youth. Theirs and ours.

At least Mr. Clutch has kept himself in good shape. If somebody wanted to print posters of sports executives, Jerry West still would look great hanging on somebody's wall.

Wild shuts out Ottawa; NHL's best team stunned as Roloson stands tall.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: Tom Jones; Staff Writer

Ottawa, Ontario -- WILD 3, OTTAWA 0

The Wild season, like that of every other NHL team, consists of 82 games. Theoretically, each game means the same. One solitary game plucked out of the schedule means no more or any less than any other game.

Yeah, right.

That's like saying a bologna sandwich is the same as a steak-and-lobster entree. Let's face it, both will fill you up, but one is a wee bit tastier than the other.

That brings us to Tuesday's Wild game at Ottawa. This was a full-blown five-course feast. It might have been only one of 82 the Wild will play this season, but because the Wild went into the house of the best team in the NHL and came away with a 3-0 victory, it meant a tad more than 1/82nd of the season.

'I think this goes down as one of the best victories in the entire history of this franchise,' Wild center Wes Walz said. 'This sends a message to the rest of the league that the Minnesota Wild is a good team, that they can play with anyone in the NHL.'

During the game, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire joked with assistant Mario Tremblay, saying he would walk to Montreal for Thursday's game if the Wild beat the Senators.

'He told me, `No, no, it's too cold,' ' Lemaire said.

Tremblay saved Lemaire from frostbite after the Wild, outplayed for much of the game, ducked out with the victory.

Goalie Dwayne Roloson, especially stingy at the start when the Wild needed him most, made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season. Offensively, the Wild only mustered 19 shots, but got goals from Richard Park, Marian Gaborik and, for the moment, Lubomir Sekeras. After the game, Sekeras said teammate Sergei Zholtok actually tipped the shot he took and should be credited with the goal.

The victory was all that mattered.

'Hey,' Lemaire said, 'this was a huge victory for us. To come here? Against this team? Win in their building? It's huge for us. Every victory at this time of year is huge, but ... '

But this one carried a bit more oomph considering Ottawa sports the best record in the NHL. And no team has been better at home this season than the Senators, who had lost only six games, including one in overtime, in 30 home dates.

The Wild, which has the seventh-best record in the Western Conference, remained nine points ahead of Los Angeles in the race for the final Western playoff berth. Edmonton is four points behind the Wild in the eighth, and final, playoff spot.

After surviving a shaky start - or what Lemaire referred to as a little 'rope-a-dope' - thanks largely to the standout play of Roloson, the Wild scored the only goal it needed at 12 minutes, 20 seconds of the first period when Park deflected a Filip Kuba wrist shot past Ottawa goalie Patrick Lalime.

The score held up until the third period when Sekeras scored on a slapshot - the shot he said Zholtok tipped - at 5:54.

Those goals were more than enough to enable the Wild to win Tuesday, but the third and final goal could pay dividends for quite a while. Gaborik, one game away from equalling the longest goal-less drought of his career, ended his 11-game slump with a wicked wrist shot at 9:17.

'I finally got the monkey off [my] back,' said Gaborik, who celebrated the goal by looking to the heavens and then letting out a holler. 'It feels good to finally score, but especially in a game that we won. It was a big game to win.'

That was the theme that echoed throughout the Wild locker room amidst the smiles and back slaps: big game, huge victory, a message to the rest of the league.

'This is a tough place to play,' Roloson said. 'We're trying to make the playoffs, and to come out of here with two points is huge. It means a lot.'

Certainly more than just another victory.

- Tom Jones is at twjones@startribune.com.

GAME RECAP

By the numbers

- 1: This was the Wild's first victory against Ottawa. The only teams the Wild hasn't beaten are New Jersey, the Rangers and Toronto.

- 3: Wild defenseman Filip Kuba had points in three consecutive games.

- 4: Marian Gaborik scored his fourth goal in the past 24 games, and his first since Jan. 25, a span of 11 games - one shy of his longest drought.

Turning point

The Senators were hungry at the start, and easily could have blown the Wild out of the Corel Centre in the first 10 minutes. Goalie Dwayne Roloson, though, put a plow in front of the goal and swept everything away. Despite being outshot 12-4 in the first, the Wild led 1-0 thanks, mostly, to Roloson.

Star Tribune's three stars

1. Dwayne Roloson, Wild. Pitched 10th career shutout.

2. Jim Dowd, Wild. Best forward on the ice.

2DAY'S 2 CENTS Amateur baseball; Northwoods League growing fast and tall.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: JOEL RIPPEL; STAFF WRITER

Dick Radatz Jr. had high hopes when he helped launch a summer league for college baseball players in 1994. 'It's funny,' Radatz said. 'I had pretty big dreams. Did then, and still do, now. I see it going beyond where we're at now.'

The Northwoods League completed its 17th regular season Monday. Since 1994 the league has grown from five to 16 teams.

The league, which added its 15th and 16th teams (in Willmar and Wisconsin Rapids) this year and has teams in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ontario, has had an increase in overall attendance every year but one (2008).

Even with a stormy summer, the league drew 853,518 fans -- an average of 1,646 per game -- this year. The attendance total came despite having 50 games -- 9 percent of the scheduled 560 games -- rained out or suspended by weather this year.

'I think with the success of our business model and the amount of interest in the league, we'll go past 16 teams,' said Radatz, who has a master's degree in sports administration and worked for several major-league organizations before starting the league. 'I can see us going into the metro areas of Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.'

As the league president, Radatz said his day-to-day focus is on 'improvement of the league and moving forward with our video, fantasy league and foundation.'

The league made a big investment in the last year to produce webcasts from each team.

'We have a four-camera production at every ballpark,' said Radatz. 'I don't know of any other league, at any level, below the major leagues that has that.'

One thing that has contributed to the league's growth has been the caliber of play. In 2005, 72 of the league's players had been drafted by major-league teams. This season, 160 players had been drafted.

UW'S KENNEDY DEFIES `TALL' MISCONCEPTIONS.(Sports) - The Capital Times

Here are three misconceptions that some folks have of tall women like Wisconsin's 6-foot-4 star middle blocker Kelly Kennedy:

First, many think Kennedy is taller than her listed height. That is a problem the 19-year-old sophomore runs into with tall men, who sometimes are more intimidated by her height than short men.

``I'll have tall guys walk up to me and say, `You must be at least 6-8 because I'm 6-4.' They come up to my shoulder and I look at them and say, `Yep, I'm actually 7-3.' And then everybody's happy,'' Kennedy said with a smile.

Second, many think Kennedy hates being tall. ``I love being tall,'' said Kennedy, who is so self-confident that she doesn't hesitate to wear heels.

``Who's going to notice if I'm an inch or two taller?'' she added with a laugh. ``Nobody asks, `Are you taller today?' There are about 10 people in the entire universe who would notice that I'm taller. So I don't worry about that.''

Kennedy, obviously blessed with a remarkable sense of humor, mentioned her senior prom at Barrington (Ill.) High School Hills and said, ``I went with a guy who was 6-2. I wore three-inch heels. It was funny. But he didn't care.''

Third, many think that women can't be coordinated or athletic if they're 6-4. That, Kennedy says, is not funny. The second-tallest volleyball player in the Big Ten -- only Penn State's 6-5 freshman Laura Hoff is taller -- has spent the better part of the past six years trying to disprove that misconception.

``I know people are thinking when I'm on the court, `She's 6-4, I wonder if she's good or just tall?' '' said Kennedy as she sat in the UW Field House bleachers prior to a practice session this week. ``Nobody ever knows how I'm going to play.''

Perhaps some thought that last year when she was a freshman making her first rounds through the Big Ten Conference. But most everybody knows by now that she's better than good.

The No. 8-ranked Badgers are on an incredible roll this season with a 14-2 overall record and 5-1 Big Ten mark heading into weekend matches against Ohio State and Purdue at the UW Field House. And a major reason is the play of Kennedy, who teams with All-America candidate Heather Dodaro to dominate the middle of the net.

Kennedy leads the Badgers and is fourth in the Big Ten in hitting percentage (.369). She also leads the Badgers and is third in the Big Ten in both kills (3.46 per game) and blocks (1.48). She also is this week's Big Ten player of the week after hitting .441 and averaging 3.33 kills, 1.83 blocks and 1.5 digs per game in victories over Michigan and Northwestern last weekend.

UW coach John Cook plays Kennedy at the M1 position, which means she plays closest to the setter and gets more sets in the middle.

``Every team that is good has a great M1,'' said Cook, who used Penn State All-American Terry Zemaitis and former Michigan State star Val Sterk as examples. ``One of the ways you can gauge your team is the level of play of your M1.''

In Kennedy's case, opposing blockers can't stop her hitting or blocking when her game intensifies.

``I really see her exploding to the ball when she hits and when she goes up for a block. And when she does that, it's a block straight down and it's a kill every time,'' said senior teammate Amy Lee. ``When I watch her, it's like, `Go, Kelly, go.' We know that every time when she runs and she's explosive and goes for that ball, she's almost unstoppable.''

Cook is most impressed with Kennedy's blocking ability. ``She changes people's shots,'' he said. ``And her best skill is blocking a quick attack.''

But Cook also is impressed with Kennedy's work ethic.

``The great thing about Kelly is that she wants to get better,'' the UW coach said. ``She comes in and watches film with me once a week. Very few of the other players do that. She always wants to stay out after practice and hit extra or do whatever she needs to do extra. She really wants to be good, and it's a joy to coach someone who is really passionate about her sport.''

Kennedy is so committed to improving that when the Badgers returned exhausted from a three-week tour of Finland and Russia this summer, she hopped on a plane bound for Indonesia six days later. She spent two weeks practicing with the Indonesian national team, which is coached by a former assistant of her club team in Chicago.

She worked just as hard in high school. Kennedy started playing volleyball as an out-of-shape ninth grader looking for something to do.

``I was awful because I'd run around the gym six times and I was out of breath because I had never exercised before,'' she said.

But Kennedy got into shape when she practiced four hours and then added another 90 minutes of running and agility drills per day. Within a year, college recruiters were watching her play.

And in the process, she ended all that talk about tall female athletes lacking coordination.

``People don't expect me to be coordinated,'' said Kennedy, who then added proudly, ``It's taken me six years to be coordinated.''

Kennedy will keep working just as hard with hopes of making the U.S. national team after she graduates. But while she has an eye on the future, she also is keeping an eye on having fun. And that includes enjoying her natural intimidation factor on and off the court.

IT'S TIME FOR ACE TO STAND TALL.(Sports) - Albany Times Union (Albany, NY)

Byline: BRIAN ETTKIN

There are times in sports when there's little to say, when what is required of a superstar is as clear as a flawless diamond. In these moments, expectation must be met. At these times, tomorrows become so scarce you must black out whatever on the calendar follows and focus on the only thing that matters, which is today.

This is one of those times.

Randy Johnson, you skyscraper of a man, your team is calling.

This is what they call the swing game, because with this best-of-5 ALDS tied 1-1, on tonight's outcome this will pivot. The loser must win two games while straddling elimination's ledge; the winner need only win one. So much depends on you.

You were brought to New York not to pitch the big game. You were brought to minimize the big game, to squeeze it in your left hand and shake it until the fallout turns harmless, until the outcome comforts like a snow globe. You were given a two-year contract extension not because the Yankees could count on you pitching like a $16-million-a-year pitcher in 2006 and 2007, but so they could count on you today.

Let's be honest. These Angels pitch well and hit not so well. They don't excel at accumulating base runners or bashing baseballs beyond a team's reach. Unless Vladimir Guerrero's swinging, there's no Angel who worries teams as Jeter, A-Rod, Giambi, Sheffield, or Matsui do. At their best the Angels scratch and scrape, pester and fester - a Baltimore chop single here, a base stolen and two-out, run-scoring flare there.

Pitch your best, Randy, and the Yankees should win. The Angels' biggest advantage over the Yankees is their bullpen. But if you pitch as you're supposed to, if you provide seven formidable innings or more, the game should never be placed in Tanyon Sturtze's or Alan Embree's combustible hands.

The Yankees should score a few runs off of Angels starter Paul Byrd.

And you should be able to ensure that off you the Angels don't.

Unable for most of the season to pitch like the five-time Cy Young winner you are, you finished as strong as ever (6-0 with a 1.93 ERA in your last eight starts). You said it wasn't your 42 years of age but mechanical flaws that had stuck a stick in your spokes of power. Watching video of yourself pitching about six weeks ago you noticed that you were dropping your arm angle and hurrying your delivery.

'I'm glad that I was able to correct them or we were able to correct them; I wish it would have been sooner,' you told reporters Thursday. 'But I'm thankful that it got corrected - and I was able to still put together a quality season and pitch some games that got us to where we needed to be. Now I feel extremely comfortable with where I'm at with my mechanics.'

You don't throw as hard as you once did, but others have lost something off their fastball while continuing to pitch like something else. You can too.

Anyone who saw your three-inning, six-strikeout relief appearance on one day's rest - after a seven-inning start - to pitch Seattle into the 1995 ALCS knows what makes your breastbone tick. Everyone who saw you throw knives as if channeling the spirit of another Johnson, Big Train Johnson, in the 2001 NLCS and World Series knows why you'll sit in the same hallowed rotunda with Walter and Lefty, Spahn and Mathewson, Clemens and Koufax, and of course Cy.

But tonight's not about your legacy.

It is about why the Yankees pursued you for years.

It is time. How do we know?

There's nothing else to say.

Brian Ettkin can be reached at 454-5457 or by e-mail at bettkin@timesunion.com.

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