http;//www.thecharlottepost.com
1C
tKIje Cljarlotte ^osit
SPORTS
•‘Thursday, December 18, 2003
,ack College Sports/4C
PANTHERS CAN EXHALE NOW
UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL PHOTO/STEPHEN DUNN
Carolina linebacker Brian Allen hits Arizona tight end Freddie Jones after a first-down catch in the Panthers’ 20-17
win in Tempe, Ariz. The Panthers wrapped up the NFC South championship with the victory, their second division
title in franchise history.
Division lide anoMis key
siarters chance to iieai
By C. Jemal Horton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
For the first time in a
• month, smiles penetrated
the massive breezeways
of Ericsson Stadium.
The' luxury vehicles in
■ the Carolina Panthers
parking lot seemed to
have an extra gleam this
week.
That ugly, three-game
losing streak that got
everyone around, here so
agitated was a distant
memory, as the Queen
City welcomed its football
team back into its bosom.
Owner Jerry
Richardson patted his
coach on the back.
It was official: The
Carolina Panthers were
in the playoffs again.
After a last-minute vic
tory at Arizona last week,
the Panthers (9-5)
clinched the NFC South
title and assured them
selves of being one of the
top four seeds among con
ference playoff teams.
And, now, Simda/s home
game against the lowly
Detroit Lions (4-10) does
n’t loom so large.
Instead of playing the
final two games of the
season to gain a sem
blance of momentum for
the postseason, the
Panthers most likely will
close by letting some key
players rest and get
healthy.
Star running back
Stephen Davis, who has
been hampered by an
ankle injury in recent
weeks, is a prime candi-
See PANTHERS/2C
Heisman heavily hyped, but award is empty
C. Jemal
Horton
'Wanna know what it
means to get a free trip to
New York City, get your
butt kissed on ESPN for
two whole hours, and then
get crowned as the single-
best college football player
in the land?
Nothing.
- The Heisman Trophy has
turned into a farce. It has
turned into every bit the
joke the Academy Awards
have been for generations
and the Bowl
Championship Series has
become in recent years.
It doesn’t mean a thing to
win the Heisman, because
the award has gotten so far
away from what it alleged
ly is supposed to be.
. According to the
Downtown Athletic Club,
which presents the trophy,
the Heisman goes “each
year to the Outstanding
College Football Player in
the United States.”
Please,
If you believe Oklahoma
quarterback Jason White is
the outstanding player in
the country... well, let’s just
hope you don’t really
believe that.
Something’s got to be
done. The Downtown
Athletic Club needs to
change the award so it goes
to “Our Favorite
Quarterback and
Occasional Running Back
Who Plays for the Tbp-S
Tteam We Like the Most.”
Or it needs to go back and
start picking the most out
standing player in America
every year. .
This'year’s award should
have gone to Pittsburgh’s
Larry Fitzgerald, who fin
ished second. Don’t give me
anything about Fitzgerald’s
team finishing in the mid
dle of the Big East pack.
Don’t give me ansdhing
about Fitzgerald being a
sophomore. Don’t give me
anything about Fitzgerald
having a bad game against
Miami.
Fitzgerald was the out
standing player in Division
I-A this season.
It doesn’t matter how vot
ers chose to dress it up. The
most valuable player?
Fitzgerald. The most domi
nant? Fitzgerald, The mes
merizing? Fitzgerald. And
the list goes on.
And, by the way.
University of Southern
California sophomore wide
receiver Mike Williams,
who wasn’t even invited to
New York, was the second-
most outstanding player in
Division I-A.
The Heisman is losing
credibility each year voters
put some patsy on the stage
to give an acceptance
speech for an award he
doesn’t deserve.
Consider the last three
years: •
This year, it was White.
Yeah, right.
In 2002, it was Carson
Palmer. He got the award
after having one stellar
game, a prime-time affair
against Notre Dame.
Otherwise, the award
should have gone to
Miami’s unstoppable Wfilis
McGahee.
In 2001, it was Eric
Crouch. Will someone
please tell me how a guy
can throw seven touch-
dovm passes and 10 inter
ceptions and stiU win the
Heisman Trophy?
Look, Jason White is a
very good college quarter
back. But it could be argued
that he wasn’t even the
best player on his team.
That honor, most likely,
would go to defensive tack
le Tbrnmie Harris.
Which brings us to anoth
er outrageous thing about
the Heisman: If not a single
defensive player has won
the award, how can it be
Please see HEISMAN/2C
Withers
Withers key to
49ers’ success
By James Hamlin
FORTHE CHARLOTTE POST
In the Charlotte 49ers’ 85-64 vrin over Appalachian State senior
Butter Johnson led the team in scoring with 16 points. Fellow
senior Demon Brown led in assists with 6. On the season, junior
guard Brendan Plavich is leading the team in scoring, while 7-foot
freshman Martin Iti is the leading shot blocker. But one thing is
apparent: when the 49ers play very well sopho
more forward Curtis Withers does, too.
In last week’s win over Appalachian State,
Withers scored 15 points, pulled down 10 rebounds
and dished out 5 assists. He was the second lead
ing scorer, tops in reboxmds, and second in assists
in that game. For the season he is averaging a
near double-double, just under 14 points and 10
rebounds, and in the only game he didn’t play the
49ers lost to less-talented George Washington.
“Our team needs all the pieces and he’s certainly
an important piece,” says 49ers head coach Bobby
Lutz. “He can really pass the basketball. He’s a really good post
passer. In Syracuse he was tremendous against their press. He can
do some things that our other bigger guys can’t do.”
Lutz is referring to 49ers biggest -win of the season so far a 96-92
overtime defeat of Syracuse where Withers scored 16, pulled down
7 rebounds and added 3 assists.
What has really helped Charlotte this season is Withers’
rebounding. He hit the weight room hard spending time with the
team’s strength and conditioning coach this summer to help his
rebounding, but that’s not aU. “I worked on my agility and foot
work,” says Withers, “(lb) get quicker with my feet as far as guard
ing a quicker (power forward because) we play a lot of small
teams.”
Please see WITHERS/3C
After rookie season,
black NASCAR
owner closes shop
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CONCORD - The only black-
owned team in NASCAR’s top level
shut down last week after losing its
sponsor.
BelCar Racing fielded the No. 54
Ford for Tbdd Bodine this season.
Sam Belnavis of Charlotte was the
majority car owner along with Travis
Carter.
The team was sponsored by the
National Guard, which signed
Wednesday to sponsor Greg Biffie
and the No. 16 Ford for Roush
Racing. In announcing Biffie’s new
sponsor, the Roush team also intro
duced Belna'vis as its director of
diversity programs.
“I knew the direction the National
Guard was taking,” Belna-vis said.
“But I needed a platform for my
career but also a platform that could
substantiate and support a true
diversity program.”
Carter is trying to secure sponsor
ship for his own team.
Lack of sponsorship
forced Sam Belnavis,
co-owner of BelCar
Racing, to close shop
last week.
U.S. track stars rnay go
low-key for Athens
By Tom Foreman Jr.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
RALEIGH—As a precaution,
American track and field ath
letes at the 2004 Athens
Olympics might be discour
aged from wearing red, white
and blue or anything vrith
“USA” when they are not com
peting.
“For security reasons, if
that’s the way they want to go,
that’s what well do,” said U.S.
men’s track coach George
Williams, also track and field
coach at St. Augustine’s
College in Raleigh.
USA Track & Field spokes
woman JiU Geer said that “off
track uniform issues are gov
erned by the U.S. Olympic
Committee.”
“Coaching and managerial
teams always look at a number
of security issues before any
international competition,
including clothing,” Geer said.
“For the 2004 Games, the
Olympic team is within the
oversight of the U.S. Olympic
Committee.”
A spokesman for the USOC
Williams
did not return a call seeking
comment on whether that
organization
was consider
ing such a
proposal.
Greece is
spending
more than
$750 million
for security -
the biggest
security bud
get in Olympic
history and more than 3 1/2
times as much as what was
spent for the 2000 Sydney
Games. Authorities plan to
deploy about 50,000 security
personnel - including 16,000
soldiers — during the games.
Williams said track officials
have suggested ways to lower
the profile of American ath
letes around Athens.
“They said it would be good if
we low-keyed it,” he said. But
he added: “Some of us are
going to look American. We’re
going to have our Bermuda
shorts on and our white tennis
shoes. It’s going to be hard to
do.”
intliiiVtii
aruJMjS
SBSBB&T
5^5555?
.•,iiiiLr;T,iiiiV,iQi.aatii.iiM:i