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3C SPORTS/0%* Cliarlotte Thursday, January 8, 2004 Titans in good shape for Patriots By Teresa M. Walker THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Steve McNair was limping around, grimacing with nearly every step. Eddie George wore a harness to prevent his left shoulder from pop ping out of its socket. Sure, Tennessee beat the Baltimore Ravens 20- McNair 17 on Saturday night in an AFC wild-card game. But can the Titans go any fur ther if the NFL’s co-MVP can’t scramble around? Don’t worry about the Titans’ ironmen. Not only are both stars likely to play in the division al round, coach Jeff Fisher said Sunday that McNair and George should practice this week. “We’re really in good shape,” Fisher said. Fisher said McNair did not re-injure either his strained right calf or his sprained left ankle with the cracked bone spm that kept him out of two of the final three games of the regular season. The quarterback only had some soreness and a little swelling in his left ankle. An MRI on George showed no structural damage to the shoulder he dislocated when he tackled Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed following an inter ception. Fisher said George already can raise his arms and has flexibility in the shoulder. “He’ll be ready to go with a harness this weekend. I’d be siuprised if he doesn’t prac tice late in the week, which is good,” Fisher said. Tfennessee lost a chance for an extra day of rest when Indianapolis beat the Denver Broncos 41-10 on Sunday, which means the Titans will visit New England as they try to return to the AFC champi onship for the third time in five seasons. “I’m sure it’ll be snowing with it being an 8:15 game Saturday night,” Fisher said. “The conditions will be per fect.” The Titans got to the play offs this season by leaning on McNair, the league’s top- rated passer. But he couldn’t move around well with his achy legs, so the Titans turned back the clock against the Ravens to 1999 when they reached their only Super Bowl by running with George. They controlled the clock for 35 minutes, and George had 88 of 165 yards rushing to offset McNair’s three interceptions in his worst performance this sea son. The victory snapped a five- game losing skid to the Ravens, and the Titans who endured that skid savored it as poetic justice for the past. Others see this victory as a springboard that could help them return to the AFC title game for the second straight season. “It was a perfect way for us to enter the playoffs this year,” Titans defensive end Kevin Carter said. “It was the perfect game for us to get the monkey off our back, shut up all the crit ics and shut down the stig ma about us losing to the Ravens. It’s over. So we won ... and we’re going to go on.” Fisher said he has never seen his Titans as excited as they were after beating the Sharpe coy about retirement By John Marshall THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Losing in a rout is not exactly how Shannon Sharpe wanted to go out. That’s why the Denver tight end will take some time before making a decision about retirement. “Obviously, it would be the easy thing for me to say Tm , coming back because I don’t want to be remembered as a 1 41-10 loser,”’ Sharpe said i. Sunday after the Broncos were knocked out of the playoffs by Indianapolis, “I’m not foolish enough right now to say this is it or this isn’t it.” Sharpe considered rettre- L ment in the offseason, but L decided to come back for a '* 14th year. He said he’s ' i already made his decision, y but wants to spend some time back home in Georgia before telling Broncos coach Mike Shanahan for sure. “You take all those out of the equation, then you just let whatever happens, hap pen,” said Sharpe, who had five catches for 31 yards against the Colts. “I’ll just call Mike in a couple of months and say This is what I’m going to do.’” Should he retire, the for mer Savannah State stand out wiU go down as one of the best pass-catching tight end ever. He’s the league’s career leader in receptions (815) and yards (10,060) at his position, and this season he passed Jerry Smith for most touchdowns with 62. A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Sharpe also ■ has won three Super Bowls - two with Denver, another with Baltimore - and was part of an NFL-record 12 straight playoff wins from 1997-01, This season, Sharpe “I think the ones closest to me know what I’m going to do. They know which direc tion Tm going in.” Panthers look vulnerable, but figure out ways to win Continued from page 1C Lewis was second (seven votes), ParceUs was third (6.5) and Philadelphia’s Andy Reid was fourth (1). Fox did not receive any votes. In many ways. Fox’s not getting a vote is fit ting. His team certainly is respected through out the league, but because of its paint-drying style of play, it’s sometimes hard to notice that Carolina is one of the toughest - and best - teams in the NFL. The Rams had better be careful. Everybody’s saying this game will be a track meet. Yeah, right. The Panthers wiU turn this game into a closely fought, red-knuckled hob- Summer trial likely for Bryant By Jon Sarche THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DENVER - The judge in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case has scheduled a series of hearings that wU! last until nearly April, mak ing it unlikely the NBA star wiU have to worry about a trial imtil the season is over. State District Judge Tferry il Ruckriegle annoimced hear- ; ings for Feb. 2-3, March 1-2 and March 24-25 to settle disputes over what evidence ■ Z can be used at trial. He has -Z not specified what he wants to cover at each hearing. Zz “I doubt if the Lakers’ Z] schedule will have any Z- impact in the judge’s mind, Z~ but it certainly will in Kobe ■ * Bryant’s rrrind,” said Denver ■Z attorney Dan Recht, past tZ president of the Colorado Zz Criminal Defense Bar. “I Z~ don’t see a trial happening in Z this case rmtil summer at Z- the earhest.” The NBA finals do not begin rmtil early Jime and must end by Jime 20, Bryant, 25, is charged with felony sexual assairlt stem ming from a June 30 encoimter with an employee of a moimtain resort west of Vail. Bryant has said he had conserrsual sex with the 19- year-old woman. If convict ed, he faces four years to fife in prison or 20 years to fife on probation. Bryant’s attorneys are ask ing the judge to. close the February hearing, saying evidence they expect to be discussed might taint the jury pool and may not even be allowed at trial. Any parts of the hearing that deal -with statements Bryant made to investiga tors should be closed, defense attorney Hal Haddon said in a Jan. 2 court filing released Monday. The February hearing was scheduled to deal with a defense request to throw out statements the Los Angeles Lakers guard made to police early July 2. The defense says the statements were obtained illegally because a sheriffs investigator used a hidden tape recorder and never read Bryant his rights. “If the statements attrib uted to the defendant are disseminated to the pubhc and then suppressed, the intense media coverage of this case will insure that the jury pool will be exposed to these statements,” Haddon wrote. Haddon said the U.S. Supreme Court has approved closures of pretrial hearings, including those to discuss motions to suppress evidence. Prosecution spokeswoman Krista Flannigan prosecu tors will “most likely” file a formal response to the request to close the hearing. Ravens - not even after beat ing Jacksonville in the AFC championship to reach the 2000 Super Bowl. But he promised they will not suffer an emotional hangover. “That’s going to take you a long ways. It doesn’t wear out. It doesn’t create a situa tion where you become com placent or take things for granted,” said Fisher, who is 5-3 in the postseason and 3- 1 on the road. tlTlje Cljarlotte 704-376-0496 FORD’S USED TIRES New Tires Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. • Sat. 8 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. »Brake Job Front $35.00 Back $45.00 Oil Change - $21.88 3401.Tuckaseegee Rd. Charlotte, NC 28208 (704)393-1109 Ford’s Busy Bee Mini Mart 505 Beatties Ford Rd. Charlotte, NC 28216 (704)333-8448 1222 Central Ave. Charlotte, NC 28204 (704)377-0870 caught 62 passes for 770 yards and eight touchdowns at age 35 - second only to Kansas City’s Tbny Gonzalez in the AFC. “The one thing I wanted to do was come in and have fun,” Sharpe said. “I had fun playing this year. It was great being with the guys and we have the makings of something special. If I come or go, these guys will be fine.” But when it comes to mak ing a decision about retire ment, Sharpe will do it alone. “Only if they can take some of those reps, eat the kind of food I have to eat and go lift the weights like I have to in the offseason will I ask for their (opinion),” he said. NOTICE MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED FIRMS The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is seeking minority and women-owned firms (MAVBE) to bid on upcoming highway projects throughout the State. The Locations of the projects are: d z o a> ‘o Q. "5. cB D 3 0 0 0 CE 0 a 1^ C o (0 o o ^ r 0 w GOALS BY PERCENT ■si ® S UJ LLI CO Q in ca s UJ CQ 5 B-2963 32780.3.2 8.2352202 Durham 12 Structure,Grading. Drainage, Paving Bridge 111 over New Hope Creek on SR-1107 B-3067 32849.3,1 8.2750903 Watauga 4 Structure,Grading, Drainage, Paving Bridge 324 over Middle Fork Creek on SR-1542 B-3422 33049.3.2 8.2663203 Cabarrus 10 Drainage. Grading. Paving, Culverts, Signals Bridge 47 over Three Mile Branch on SR-1002 B-3627 33175.3.1 8.1480503 Caswell 26 Structure,Grading, Drainage. Paving Bridge 24 over Hyco Creek on US 158 R-1030E 34363.3.2 8.1330502 Wayne 002 Guardrail, Signing. Paving US 117 from Nonh of US 70 Interchange at Goldsboro to South ofSR-1342 R-1030F 34363.3.14 8.1330511 Wayne. Wilson 12 Guardrail, Paving, Signing US 117'from South of SR-1342 to South of US 301 U-3803 34971.3.2 Rowan 32 Grading, Drainage, Paving. Widening. Curb and Gutter, Signals, Pavement Markers China Grove - Intersection of US 29A (North Main Street) & NC 152 - SR 1337 (Church Street) * Designates a Federal Project LETTING DATE: TUESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2 Until further notice, the pre-letting activities formerly held at Raleigh Hilton will no longer be held at the Bennington Corpt you have questions, please contact the Office of Civil Rights. NCDOT Office of Civil Rights & Business Development l*800*522-0453 A \ Certification of highway contracting firms: Jerry Armstrong 'K i Certification of supply/service/engineering firms: Robert Mathes ^ Comments or concerns: Larry Dickens: Interim Director ^ 004 the North iratlon. If ble to the finish. Big plays wiU take place between the tackles, not down the sidelines. If St. Louis does win, it won’t be because its acclaimed hst of throwers and catchers were dominant; it will be because the Rams interi or lines hunkered down and found a way to out-muscle the Panthers. Which would be one heck of an accomplishment. Forget game-planning, forget elaborate scheming. The Panthers just need to stay true to their vanilla selves on Saturday. Fox-ball hasn’t let them down so far. E-mail C. Jemal Horton at seejemalwrite@aol.com ■Pn Natio pik liaflit ^ L^J Initiative www.iatherhood.otg
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 8, 2004, edition 1
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