mm
11B
SPORTS/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, February 22, 1996
Sun, sand and golf: A Florida road trip
Results from Charlotte golf
get-away in Tampa, Fla., with
courses played
Pebble Creek Country
Club (gross scores):
Charlie Barnett 84; Reggie
Sellers 85; Otis Worthy 86;
Price Cathy; Voyd Neal
86;Robert Sifford 87; John
Love 87; Jerry McCain 89;
Thurman Suggs 90; Frank
Liston 90.
Callaway (net scores):
Otis Worthy 72; Price Cathy
73; Voyd Neal 73; Richard Reid
74; John Love 74; Fred Neal
75; Ed Newland 75; Salem
Worth 75; Robert Sifford 75;
Charlie Barnette 75.
The Eagles Lakes (gross
scores):
Robert Evans 74; Otis
Worthy 78; James Brown 82;
Fred Neal 82; John Shadd 84;
Aquil Shamsid-deen 85; Frank
Liston 86; Salem Worth 86;
John Love 87; Jack Richard
87.
Callaway (net scores):
Robert Evans 71; Salem
Worth 71; Fred Neal 71; Otis
Worthy 72; James Brown 72;
Paul Coutourier; Robert
Sifford 73; Jack Richard 73;
Delano Rankin 73; Johnny
Frazier 74. Skins winners
($170) - Salem Worth (10);
Harold Gamble (15); Otis
Worthy (16); Charlie Barnette
(17). Best ball team - Salem
Worth, Jerry McCain, Harry
Benton, Amos McDowell.
Rogers Park Golf Course
(gross score)
James Brown 76; Robert
Evans 78; Jack 78; Jerry
McCann 79; Frank Liston 79;
Richard Reid 81; Reggie
Sellers 82; Otis Worthy 84;
John Shadd 84; Aquil
Shamsid-deen 85.
Callaway (net scores):
James Brown 70; Richard
Reid 71; Robert Evans 72;
Jack Richard 72; Jerry
McCain 72; Aquil Shamsid-
deen 72; Harry Benton 72;
Fred Neal 72; Frank Liston 73;
Otis Worthy 73. Skins winners
- Jerry McCain (3), Reggie
Sellers (14), Aquil Shamsid-
deen (18). Best ball team -
Frank Liston, Robert Sifford,
Tommy Hudson, Jimmy Lee,
Robert Brown.
CIAA tourney could be another coronation for Va. Union
Continued From 8B
as this group takes them, but
everyone in the CIAA has good
guards.
The Southern Division’s sur
prise team is Livingstone,
which has made a dramatic
turnaround under second-year
coach Charles McCullough.
The Bears are assured of the
division’s second seed and can
finish 8-4 with wins over
Winston-Salem State and
Smith. Tlie Bears are small.
but quick, relying on a furious
defense that pressures the
ball. Livingstone might be the
team no one wants to play,
especially if they get out of the
first round.
• Charlotte’s Lakeisha
Phifer was selected CIAA
women’s newcomer of the
week.
'The St. Paul’s freshman set a
new NCAA season record for
blocked shots last week, and
totaled 11 in two games.
Bonds, already testy, wants to be measured by statistics
Continued From 8B
Griffey, who missed much of
the 1995 season with a broken
wrist, hit .258 with 17 homers,
42 RBIs and 52 runs. He stole
four bases and had a .379 on-
base percentage.
Bonds had plenty of other
complaints about reporters,
saying they turned fans
against baseball last season
and are “destructive” in gener
al.
“I’m not going to let you guys
get under my skin any more,”
he said in the middle of a com
bative session with reporters.
Bonds let plenty of things get
under his skin last season.
He was mentally exhausted
by a publicly humiliating
divorce case that dragged
through the season. He jousted
with fans after getting booed
at Candlestick Park for stand
ing still as a fly ball went over
his head for a two-run double.
And, in a strike-scarred sea
son that turned many baseball
fans into cynics. Bonds and his
$43.75 million contract
became targets for those who
claimed greed was destroying
baseball.
It left Bonds with constant
headaches, and led him to hint
he would consider retirement
after the season.
“I was in a lot of pain,” he
says, referring specifically to
the wrist ipjury but in a sense
to the 1995 season in general.
"I just wanted to get to the fin
ish line.”
After surviving that season
of pain and anguish. Bonds
says he’s in the best shape of
his life - thanks to a new
workout regimen and the end
of the divorce case.
He spent much of the offsea
son doing intense workouts
with former San Francisco
49ers running back Roger
Craig, and they were joined by
49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice
in recent weeks.
on the track, where Bonds -
who has always prided himself
on having enough natural abil
ity to overcome a lack of dedi
cation to conditioning - chal
lenged himself to keep pace.
“I’m in the best shape I feel
I’ve ever been. I just want to
tell Jerry: ‘Man, I made it,’”
Bonds says. “I’m a lot stronger
than I ever was. I can bench
press 315.”
The workouts began in
October, and took place five
days a week.
“We all do it because of pride,
fear of failure,” he says. “I just
didn’t think I was going to get
through it. They tried to break
me. There were a lot of days I
didn’t want to go back.”
Much of their work was done
The result is that Bonds feels
more confident entering spring
training than he’s been since
winning his third MVP award
in 1993.
“I’m happy now. I’m free of a
lot of things and I’m content,”
he says. “I’m not as tired. I
don’t have to be in court as
much.”
After years of frustration, Bears winning
By Herbert L. White
THE CHARLOTTE POST
SALISBURY - These are
heady days for Livingstone
basketball.
The Bears, who have been
perennial doormats in the
rugged CIAA, have been the
league’s surprise team this
season. Livingstone, 6-4 in the
Southern Division and 10-14
overall, can clinch second
place behind N.C. Central
with wins over Winston-Salem
State and Johnon C.' Smith.
Even if Livingstone loses both
games, the Bears win a tie
breaker with St. Augustine’s
for second.
“It’s been a long time,” Bears
coach McCullough said of the
team’s new prominence in the
division standings. “The worst
we can do is tie for third.”
Much of the credit goes to
McCullough, a legendary fig
ure at West Charlotte High
before moving to Livingstone
last season. The Bears are
taller than previous teams,
but are still among the CIAA’s
smallest squad. They make up
for the lack of height by play
ing a helter-skelter combina
tion of defense and oppor
tunistic offense.
“We have 6-4s and 6-5s
(players),” McCullough said.
“Six-four for us is good,
because we’re quick. We force
teams to use their smaller
teams, so they can have all the
6-lOs, 6-lls and 6-8s they
want. When they play us, they
play their small team.”
Livingstone’s season has
been a combination of near-
miss losses and upset wins. As
the Bears have gained confi
dence, McCullough anticipates
making waves at next week’s
CIAA tournament in Winston-
Salem.
“I feel like
(when) we’re
shooting the
belli well and
McCullough
playing
defense like
we know
how, we’re
capable of
beating any
body we
face.”
No
that
one
could’ve said that in
McCullough’s first season. The
Bears were hit hard by gradu
ation as well as a lack of
height and depth. Yet the
seeds were planted by
McCullough, who kept the
undermanned Bears compet
ing against superior teams.
“Last year, we played
extremely well,” McCullough
said. “We were small, but we
stayed in ball games. People
were glad to see us leave.
‘"The team plays an exciting
brand of basketball. We play
lull-court and we play from the
time you toss the ball up until
the final whistle. We haven’t
been out of but one or two
games all year. All the other
games, we’ve had a chance to
win.”
Livingstone has beaten St.
Augustine’s and Fayetteville
State twice this season and
split with division power
Central. Those wins are testi-
ment to the Bears’ improve
ment despite having a rela
tively inexperienced team.
“'These were teams that beat
us by solid margins last year,”
McCullough said. “Even
though we stayed in the
games, they pulled away from
us because of our size.”
Not anymore.
Braves ready to repeat championship season
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -
The Atlanta Braves were
ready for their first full work
out of the spring today at
Municipal Stadium after posi
tion players reported to train
ing camp.
Early arrivals worked out
over the weekend with pitch
ers and catchers, who started
spring drills Saturday.
Included were infielders Jeff
Blauser, Chipper Jones and
Mike Mordecai, and outfield
ers Jerome Walton and Damon
Hollins.
Among the arrivals for work
outs Monday morning were
infielder Rafael Belliard and
outfielders Marquis Grissom,
Dwight Smith and Jermaine
Dye.
All others on the 40-man ros
ter as well as non-roster posi
tion players were expected by
today.
Once everyone is in camp,
contract negotiations are
expected to accelerate with
these unsigned players: pitch
ers Pedro Borbon, Brad Clontz
and Greg McMichael; catchers
Javier Lopez, Eddie Perez and
Tyler Houston; infielders Ed
Giovanola, Robert Smith and
Mordecai; and outfielder Ryan
Klesko.
• lyier Houston, the second
overall choice in the 1989
draft, is back in camp in a do
or-die situation.
Houston is down to his last
minor league option, and is
likely to be waived if he doesn’t
make Atlanta’s roster this sea
son.
While Houston has struggled
through some lackluster sea
sons in the minors, the top
overall pick in 1990 - Chipper
Jones - is a star.
The Braves feel Houston is
ready to help the team off the
bench.
“FvprvVindv «pvc en ’’ pniH
manager Bobby Cox. “(John)
Schuerholz says so; minor
league people say so.”
“It’s time,” the 25-year-old
Houston said. “It hasn’t been
easy being a top pick and not
making it yet, and hearing
things said about you. Chipper
breezed right through and he
didn’t give anyone time to say
anything.”
In 2,330 minor league at-
bats, Houston has hit just ,236
with 54 homers.
Although he played third and
shortstop his last two years in
high school, professionals saw
Houston as a catcher. Last sea
son, the Braves moved him to
first, also using him at third,
and Houston hit .255 with 12
homers and 46 RBIs at Class
AAA Richmond.
The Braves think he can win
the 25th roster spot, giving
them left-handed power off the
bench.
• Pete Skorput, spring train
ing camp coordinator for the
Braves since 1963, when they
were still in Milwaukee, will
be among five inductees at the
20th annual Palm Beach
County Sports Hall of Fame
awards dinner March 10.
“I’ll probably be here as long
as the Braves are still at the
Stadium,” Skorput says.
“When they move to Jupiter, it
will probably be a good time to
retire.”
The move to a new spring
training site, also to be shared
with the Montreal Expos, will
not be before 1998.
Also scheduled for induction
is Tommy Hutton of Palm
Beach Gardens, who has spent
32 years in professional base
ball as a player and broadcast
er, the last few years with the
Toronto Blue Jays.
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