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Williams wants to finish strong BY ANDREW MASON SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE DeAngelo Williams isn't exactly on pins and needles waiting for the announcement of Pro Bowl rosters, which was released this past Tuesday. "I don't care about the Pro Bowl at all," the running back said.^'lt's one of? those things where it's name recognition,? TV time, things of that nature 1 don't really care about all that stuff. As long as our team is being productive, and we con tinue to win, it doesn't matter to me." He'd rather play in the sandbox, so to speak, than the sand of Hawai'i. "I'm one of those guys where, on Sunday, it's game day, it's time to shine, it's time to get on that playground and in that sandbox ? whether it be the Carolina Panthers' or New York's or wherever we're playing at, that's the sandbox for us," he said. "We're like big kids having fun, and that's what we go out and do." From the Panthers' perspective, Williams' priorities are in the right place. Instead of pondering the Pro Bowl, he told reporters in the locker room after Sunday's win that he planned to get a jump on studying the New York Giants, first by watching their 20-8 Sunday Night Football loss to the Dallas Cowboys. And instead of frittering away moments fretting over an individual honor for a season that has seen him score a league-leading 16 touchdowns, he'd rather relax, refresh and re-energize for a game that looms even larger than the ones he just completed. "I know a lot of people are going to build this game up as one of the largest games in December, but we just played one last week," Williams said. "We're accustomed to playing in big games now ? not just that one, but over the years. I think the coaching staff is going to put us in a position whefe we can make some plays 6ome Sunday." That's the kind of mature response that illuminates his growth as not only a running back, but as a teammate and a professional in his third season. "Whatever business you're in. that first year is usually the toughest. So it usu ally gets better and more comfortable after that," head coach John Fox said. "A lot of that ? mentally, maturation, there are all kinds of words ? but he got better only through hard work, and it's a tribute to his work ethic." Williams' success this year is also due to his feel for the game improving, which was in evidence on his 56-yard touch down run Sunday against Denver, when he reversed his field and moved away , from the flow of the play, turning a poten tial two-yard loss into an untouched sprint to the goal line. Such a run might have been impossi ble in his first two seasons. "When I first got here, I couldn't feel guys diving at my feet or where guys were at on the field," he said. "I've got a really good feel for that this year as opposed to the first two years." Notes: Fox had no update on the sta tus of defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu and right Keydrick Vincent, both of whom were hurt Sunday. Kemoeatu suffered an ankle injury, while Vincent succumbed to a groin injury early in the fourth quarter ... Fox said that offensive lineman Jeremy Bridges, who replaced Vincent, did a superb job." Vincent started four games in October at right tackle while Jeff Otah recovered from a sprained ankle ... Fox declined to discuss the playoff scenarios awaiting the Panthers this Sunday. "I know next week's our new 'biggest game ever' ? like the last three," he said. Photo by Charlie Pfaff Carolina Panther running back D'Angelo Williams races for a touchdown. Five Deacs earn soccer All- America honors CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT The Wake Forest soccer team may have dropped a heartbreaker to UNC in the semifinal round of the semifi nals of the 2008 NCAA Tournament the over the weekend. But that hasn't stopped the postseason honors from rolling into Wake Forest. Five Deacons were named All Americans by College Soccer News. Former Mt. Tabor star Sam Cronin, Ike Opara arid Marcus Tracy were named first team All-American?, while Cody Arnoux and Corben Bone notched second team acco lades. The honor marks the third time this postseason that Tracy and Opara have earned Ail American honors. Tracy has been named a first team All American by Top Drawer Soccer and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Opara was a first team selection by Top Drawer Soccer and a second-team pick by the NSCAA. ? Cronin, who's a senior, played and started every game during the 2008 season, extending his consecutive games started streak to 98. He became the all-time career leader in games played and games started at Wake Forest during the 2008 season. A 2008 Hermann Trophy finalist and Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner, Cronin scored 10 goals on the season. Opara was named the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. The sophomore defender from Durham, N.C., helped the Wake Forest defense to 14 shutouts during the 2008 sea son. A 2008 first team All ACC selection, Opara also scored five goals during the 2008 season. Tracy finished the 2008 season with 13 goals, 10 assists and 36 points. The sen ior forward from Newtown. Conn., was one of only two players in the country to finish the season with double-digit totals in goals and assists. A 2008 Hermann Trophy finalist, Tracy scored at least one point in 16 of the team's 24 games in 2008. Arnoux led Wake Forest with 17 goals and 42 points in 2008. The junior forward from Wilmington, N.C., became just the third Walce Forest player to eclipse 40 points in a season and the first since Scott Sealy finished the 2004 season with 44 points. Amoux fin ished the season strong, scor ing 16 goals in the last 16 games of the year. A sophomore midfielder from Piano, Texas, B^ne led the country in assists with 17 during 2008. The 17 assists set a new school record for most assistsvin a single season. A first team AU-ACC selection, Bone also scored seven goals in 2008 and finished the sea son with 31 points. Wake photo Sam Cronin graduated from Mt. Tabor High School. Hill from page Bl the intensity or execution that we needed to win the game. We didn't take advantage of second chances and overall our execution was poor." And. do I need to talk about the football season'' I may have been off when I said the Rams wouldn't win a game. They turned around and won that same week ( wrote about it. Which was fine with me. I want to see them win, which is why I don't like to see all of these great athletes, and passion ate fans endure so many pit falls. Where's the respect? Some teams look at Winston-Salem State as if it were a second class institu tion. I didn't graduate from there. But I have friends that have. Some of them hate when I talk like this, while others ask me to get more gutter with it. I don't write these types of columns to please them either. I write them because I think the stu dents, fans, coaches and alum deserve better. I'm just saying. Don't you get tired of seeing loss after loss while checking out scores scrolling across the screen on ESPN? Agam, that's not a knock on the ath letes. It's not a knock on the coaches. It's not even a knock on the athletic direc tor. It's almost like me going up to a well-respected hot dog salesman with a lil stand and asking him why he's stHl trying to sell hot dogs in an area where there are established steakhouses? You're just not going to make any money in that area You may sell a couple of hot dogs But not enough to be as prosperous as you were on that street with lim ited food resources And. who wants to sign with a school they always see taking Ls? Winston Salem State is too good of an institution for that kind of stuff. At least, I think so. Yet. no one is trying to pull the plug and go back to Division II. When is enough, enough? I mean, really. I want to ask this before 1 leave. What's the point in winning the conference tour nament in basketball only to be defeated in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament? 1 mean, I thought it was about win ning championships. Just like during the Civil Rights movement, it was about more than just walking through the door. We wanted to eat too. Sometimes smaller is better. Anthony Hill is the sports editor for The Chronicle. He can be reached at 722-8624 (ext. Ill ) or ahill@wschron icle.com Don't Feel MiserabiUPill! Call your doctor and get a flu vaccine today ! The flu vaccine can help protect you (gainst the (iu, so you won't but to am experience the common symptom* like headaches, fever, muscle aches, I extreme tiredness, sore throat and cough. 1 oftf?c OfM* ?# OfptrtSmfHim mt Hmm Wi WANT TO APPLY FOR STUDENT IOANS? WANT TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS? WANT TO RENEW YOUR DRIVER'S LICENSE? Want to know where to get all this information? 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We accept only 40 applications per week. ? We are not able to provide care for pregnant womei ? We are not a walk-in clinic. ? We can't handle emergencies. ? We can not accept patients with Medicaid, Medicare, Veterans' Administration Benefits or private health insurance. Volunteers and our small staff provide medical and dental care for our patients. We are supported with donations from churches, individuals, businesses, foundations and the United Way. We do not receive government funds. p 2135 NewWalkertown Road Winston-Salem, NC 27101 (across from Evergreen Cemetery) More Information: 336-723-7904
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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Dec. 18, 2008, edition 1
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