mm
11B
SPORTS/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, January 18,1996
Steelers not falling for hype
Continued From 8B
Tempe) to enjoy ourselves,*’
Cowher said Monday. “We’re
going out for business, this is a
business trip. There will be lot
of time to enjoy this after this
is over. I’ll enjoy the heck out
of it on the 29th.’’
Cowher wasn’t predicting
victory - he’ll let the Cowboys
do that - but he wasn’t pre
dicting a loss, either. The only
time he glared during his 20-
minute media session was
when he was asked if these
Super Bowl-seasoned Cowboys
might intimidate his Steelers.
Cowher didn’t need mention
the words “Greg Lloyd” when
he answered: “This team won’t
be intimidated by anybody.”
Especially, it appears, by
their words. Among Cowher’s
admonitions to his players
were to avoid a war of words,
which could escalate out of
proportion and become a pre-
Super Bowl distraction.
“You should say the right
things,” Cowher said. “You
don’t have to say what you
really feel. We’ll let our deeds
speak for themselves.”
Even if the Cowboys, from
team owner Jerry Jones on
dovra, were saying the wrong
things. They’re already accord
ing the Steelers about as much
respect as any NFC champion
accords the AFC champion.
And while the Steelers
laughed off the Cowboys’
words, they clearly had an
impact.
Cowboys receiver Michael
Irvin, for example, said, “We’re
not going to the Super Bowl,
we’re going home. It’s our
house. Last year, we just let
somebody (the 49ers) borrow
it.”
Jones, the man who financed
the mortgage on that house,
was equally candid in his
assessment: “Nothing against
the Steelers, but we are the
better team.”
But, wearying of a seemingly
endless run of defeats by
teams such as the Bills, the
AFC is finally sending a team
to the Super Bowl that knows
how to win it. 'The Steelers
have been there four times and
won every one of them. Sure,
the Cowboys also have won
four Super Bowls, too, but it
took them seven shots - and
they’re 0-2 against the
Steelers.
Those two games were
played in the 1970s, when
most of today’s players were in
grade school, but if the
Cowboys had won those two,
they’d be the only six-time
Super Bowl champions.
“We don’t get caught up in all
of that,” receiver Andre
Hastings said. “That’s why
Michael says all that stuff, so
they will put it on 'TV. That’s
the way it is, we’re entertain
ers.”
That’s OK with Cowher, as
long as the Steelers don’t
become talk show hosts.
Unlike last season, when they
ran their mouths and
rehearsed rap videos before
losing the AFC championship
to San Diego, the Steelers
were a more focused, less con
troversial team before they
beat the Colts 20-16 Sunday.
Cowher wants the same kind
of no-nonsense approach when
the Steelers arrive in Arizona
on Monday. So, rather than
going to a warm-weather cli
mate this week to prepare, the
Steelers will maintain their
regular weekly practice sched
ule in Pittsburgh.
“Winning is paramount,”
Cowher said. “It’s like I told
the team, people don’t remem
ber the losing team.
“We are not satisfied at all to
just be there.”
Nets getting major minutes from Childs
Continued From 8B
was based on good defense and
being unselfish on offense.
“I couldn’t hit a jump shot so
I just tried to play hard and
bring some intensity to the
team,” said Childs, who was 4
of 14 from the field but 9 of 10
from the free throw line. “We
played an unselfish game. It
was enjoyable. When was the
last time you heard music in
this locker room after a game?”
The win helped the Nets
make up for an embarrassing
season-opening 94-79 loss to
the expansion Raptors. It also
handed Toronto its eighth loss
in 11 games, and 16th in 18
road games.
Stoudamire led Toronto with
18 points, all but two in the
second half. The seventh pick
in the recent NBA draft also
had 11 assists.
“The Nets killed us,” said
Stoudamire, who picked up
three fouls in the first half,
limiting him to 15 minutes. “I
hated being in foul trouble so
early. It threw us off.”
New Jersey led 51-35 at
intermission and only faced
one challenge. The Raptors
opened the second half with a
15-6 spurt and got to 57-50 on
a 3-pointer by Stoudamire
with 7:31 left in the quarter.
Gilliam then had six points
and backup center Yinka Dare
added five of his career-high
12 points in an ensuing 17-4
run that put the game away.
“We were able to cut a 16
point lead to seven, but then
the bottom fell out,” Raptors
coach Brendan Malone said.
New Jersey’s previous
largest margin of victory was a
20-point win over Portland one
game after the season-opening
loss to Toronto.
Boxer wants to shoot hooks
By Ed Schuyler Jr.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Roy Jones Jr.
headlined a boxing show in
Madison Square Garden last
week. He wished it was a bas
ketball game and he was play
ing for the New York Knicks.
The best pound-for-pound
boxer in the world is a basket
ball buff to the point that he’s
going to try out for a pro team
- not the Knicks of the
American National Baketball
Association, but the London
Towers of the Basketball
League of England.
“I like basketball a little
more because it’s not quite as
threatening as boxing,” said
Jones, the IBF super mid
dleweight champion, who beat
Merqui Sosa in a non-title bout
in his Garden debut. “So why
not try it while I have a
chance?”
Jones plans to fly to London
on Sunday for a tryout with
the Towers.
Don’t despair fight fans, the
5-foot-ll Jones, big for a super
middleweight, but small for a
guard, even in the Basketball
League of England, is not
about to quit boxing.
Boxing is his business, Jones
said, “and I owe it to the public
to fight a few years.”
Besides, he still has at least
two years to run on a contract
with American cable television
channel Home Box Office that
could extend to five years and
be worth potentially $40 mil
lion. Small guards, whose
experience in organized bas
ketball totals one year in high
school, don’t make millions of
dollars - or pounds.
HBO will televise the match
scheduled for the champi
onship distance of 12 rounds,
but which Jones refused to
make a title fight. Sosa, the
North American Boxing
Federation light heavyweight
champion, was willing to make
the 168-pound super mid
dleweight limit. The contract
weight is 171 pounds. Jones is
not interested in the NABF
light heavyw'eight title.
Jones’ stated interest in play
ing pro basketball seems to
fueled by a frustration stem
ming from challenges in box
ing because of showcase oppo
nents.
“The opposition is not equM
to what I am,” he said.
“Therefore I can’t impress the
pubUc.”
However, he had better
remember that boxing is an
unforgiving sport that
demands total dedication if the
fighter is to remain on top.
The late Buster Mathis was
right on target wdth his admce
when his son, Buster Jr., told
him he wanted to become a
boxer.
“Son,” said the father, a
heavyeight contender in the
1960s, “you can play (gridiron)
football and you can play base
ball, but just remember, you
can’t play boxing.”
RT ACK FAX
H: How many days did the Montgomery Bus Boycott last?
BT: What was the largest Black supermarket chain in 1980?
E: What was Jerry Butler’s nickname?
S; Who was called “The Black, Red Grange”?
I, A: From what Negro spiritual is the following verse taken:
“Cornin’ for to carry me home”?
P: Who plays the title role in the Braodway play “The Tap
Dance Kid”?
Answers on Page 15B
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