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SPORTS/Hlw CInlotte Sort
Thursday, January 22, 2004
No-names litter rosters of Super Bowl competitors
Continued from page 1C
game.
It’s a testament to the
coaching savvy of Bill
Belichick that, in this era of
rotating players, he has
taken the Patriots to the
Super Bowl twice in three
years. If ever there was evi
dence that a head coach can
be more important than a
player, the Patriots proved it
after acquiring Belichick
four years ago with a com
pensation package to the
New York Jets that included
a first-round draft pick.
The flip side of the fall of
dominating teams in recent
years was the rise of the
most ragged losers. Even the
lowly Cincinnati Bengals
nearly made the playoffs.
The new laws of the NFL
jungle made it possible for a
team like the Panthers, 1-15
two years ago, to make one of
the quickest turnarounds in
sports history under the
guidance of coach John Fox.
Third, the absence of stars
on the Patriots and Panthers
hardly matters - either to the
teams or the fans. What
might seem on the surface a
TV ratings disaster in the
Super Bowl may not turn
out so bad after aU if the
game is close, as it figures to
be.
“America doesn’t want us,
but it’s going to be a game,”
Carolina defensive tackle
Brentson Buckner said
Monday. “Because right now
in the NFC, we’re the best
thing going.”
They are exactly that, and
America will settle for who
ever shows up Feb. 1 in
Houston.
Super Bowl Sunday is
America’s unofficial holiday,
a^ much a part of the
Toyata’s Tundra thaws out in
to compete in tmck wars
Winfred
B. Cross
Test
Drive
If you don’t make a big
honking truck you’re not
with the program. Just ask
Toyota. As good as the
Tundra is, it’s not big enough
to satisfy those who need to
tower over everyone else on
the road.
Until now. Toyota has
stretched and widened the
Tundra to near Titanic pro
portions with mixed results,
most of which are good.
The Tundra’s chassis has
been changed completely.
The Tundra Double Cab’s
frame is made by another
Japanese firm specializing in
heavy duty trucks. It’s long
enough to accommodate a
full-size bed. How big is this
thing. It’s nearly the same
size as a Ford F-150 and
that’s plenty big.
Unfortunately, not much
was changed in the interior.
Not that this is a bad place to
be, but it’s getting long in the
tooth. The fit and finish is
extraordinary but the fake
wood could be toned down
from a glare to a mere gleam.
Toyota also didn’t spend
any more bucks on the
engine. The I-Force V8 is a
jewel of a workhorse and it’s
also as smooth as some luxu
ry car power plants, but 230
horses pales to the 300-340
horsepower available in the
competition. Still, there’s not
much smoother.
Despite those drawbacks,
the Double Cab works well.
Get the truck rolling and it
hums along like a luxury
sedan. Punch the gas and it
will pass an3dhing - slowly,
but with vigor.
And there’s the matter of
the extra room. This thing is
cavernous. The rear area will
hold three adults or a lot of
stuff. The rear seat has been
improved and is no longer
rock hard.
The greatest advantage
Tbyota has is price. A fuUy
loaded Tundra is about
$37,000. that includes
leather and a rear-seat DVD
entertainment system.
My test truck was a 4x2
SR5. Snazzy wheels, an in-
dash CD changer, Monroe,
alarm system and towing
package brought the $25,645
base price to $29,785.
The next generation
Tundra isn’t far away. It will
be built in a new factory in
San Antonio, Texas. That
new truck will address the
Tundra’s shortcomings. Until
then, the Double Cab fiUs the
bill. You need a big honkin’
truck? Here it is.
NASCAR changes
its scoring system
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CONCORD — In .a bid to add excitement
and put more emphasis on winning,
NASCAR changed its scoring system
Tuesday by setting up a showdown for the
Nextel Cup championship over the season’s
last 10 races.
“I’m confident it is going to work and the
drivers and teams are going to like it after
they hear all the details,” NASCAR chair
man Brian France said.
NASCAR has been criticized in recent
years for using a points system that reward
ed consistency more than winning. Matt
Kenseth won the 2003 championship despite
finishing first in just one race. Ryan Newman
was sixth in the standings despite winning a
series-high eight races.
France said the changes to the system that
had been in place since 1975 are aimed at
increasing attendance and TV ratings that
usually drop in the fall because of competi
tion from the World Series and NFL.
The new format will take effect after the
first 26 races. The drivers in the top 10 and
any other within 400 points of the leader will
earn a berth in what NASCAR has dubbed
the “Chase for the Championship.” .
Those drivers will have their point totals
adjusted. The first-place driver wiU begin the
final 10 races with 5,050 points, the second
driver 5,045 and so on, with incremental
drops of five points for all those involved in
the championship showdown.
The drivers not involved in the champi
onship will keep the points they have earned
to that point in the season.
“This new model wiU provide all title con
tenders an opportunity to compete and con
tend for the championship,” NASCAR presi
dent Mike Helton said.
He pointed out that no driver outside the
top 10 in points with 10 races remaining has
ever won the championship.
“This is not a playoff,” Helton said. “Every
one of our events will continue to be a Super
Bowl and all 43 drivers will be trying to win
every race.”
The champion will be guaranteed a mini
mum of $5 million, while each of the other
drivers who finish in the top 10 wiU earn $1
milhon. The llth-place finisher will get a
$250,000 bonus.
NASCAR also will award a race winner an
additional five points, beginning with the
season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 15
No sister, no problem for
Venus at Australian Open
Continued from page 1C
She returned Tuesday
after an absence of more
than six months because of
an abdominal injury, show
ing httle rust and a lot of
composure in a 6-2, 6-1 win
over Ashley Harkleroad.
“Afterward, it was just like
a breath of fresh air: ‘Oh,
yes, I’m back,”’ she said.
Kim Clijsters, seeded sec
ond, has some injury prob
lems of her own but had no
trouble in beating
Germanys Marlene
Weingartner 6-3, 6-2. Other
women advancing were No.
6 Anastasia Myskina, No. 8
Ai Sugiyama and No. 9
Chanda Rubin.
Among the men. No. 5
Guillermo Coria was ousted,
but moving on were No. 2
Roger Federer, No. 3 Juan
Carlos Ferrero, No. 8 David
■ Nalbandian and No. 10
Mark Philippoussis.
Venus Williams, seeded
third, has won four Grand
Slam titles and lost in the
final to Serena in five of six,
most recently at Wimbledon
in July. Neither played in an
official tournament imtil this
week.
“It’s just not the same.
We’re always together,”
Venus said, ^fft’s hke a piece
of the link is missing.”
She has time to think
about her own game.
“I’m alone in the room,” she
said. “I miss her. No dou
bles.”
Serena, who had surgery
in August, was on the phone
during the Harkleroad
match, exchangmg text mes
sages with mother Oracene
Williams, a coach for both
sisters.
The messages from Down,
Under were good.
Venus converted five of six
break-point chances and
gave Harkleroad only one
look at a break, which she
conceded with a double
fault. She served at up to 119
raph, although she did dou
ble-fault five times.
Venus twisted her right
ankle in the fourth game but
said it was minor.
“I was pretty clear on what
I wanted to do,” Venus said.
“It was really just a matter of
me going out there and exe
cuting.”
She’s learned the value of
patience.
“In the past, I have kind of
rushed too much,” she said.
“And that doesn’t work.”
nation’s culture as
Thanksgiving Day and the
Fourth of July. No matter
who is in the game, millions
of families will gather round
their TV sets or join friends
and relatives for the annual
feast of football. The parties
will go on even if the game is
a stinker and little more
than background noise.
If the ratings for the play
off games the past couple of
weeks are any indication,
the NFL is on a roll. New
England’s 24-14 victory over
Indianapolis on Sunday got
the highest overnight rating
of any TV program — sports
or not — since last year’s
Super Bowl. The NFC cham
pionship game between
Carolina and Philadelphia
wasn’t far behind.
The Super Bowl, like the
two teams playing in it, has
eclipsed the stars.
STEVE WILSTEIN is a nation
al sports colinnnisl for The
Associated Press.
tiatioatd
Fauieriiood
Initiative
wwwfethcrhood.org