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SPORTS/tCJe Cisrlotte
Thursday, June 3, 2004
look past die obuioiis to broaden oppoituiiiies
Continued from page 1C
in the National Hockey
League is a black man, yet
you would be hard-pressed
to find a black boy who
knows him. Actually, you
would be hard-pressed to
find a grown black man who
knows him.
OK, Ill end the suspense:
His name is Jerome Iginla.
Few people in and aroimd
the sport of hockey dispute
Iginla is the best player in
the world right now. It’s too
bad more black people don’t
know that.
Example 2: The greatest
rodeo cowboy in the world -
and, arguably, ever - is a
black man named Fred
Whitfield. You want to see
amazing calf-roping, then
try to find time to catch a
rodeo when Whitfield is com
peting. The man is a phe
nomenal athlete, even
though he can’t take off and
dunk from the free-throw
line.
My point? More Afhcan-
Americans have to be open
to NASCAR and other
things, particularly when
opportunities are created.
How can we expect others
in this country to be diverse
if we, first, are not willing to
be diverse?
Don’t get me wrong.
Racing is white, but it’s not
entirely white. There are
black crew members and a
handful of up-and-coming
drivers on the lower series.
On the top circuit, the Nextel
Cup, there is Phillip Horton
(no relation), a former NBA
athletic trainer who is a crew
coach for Robert Yates
Racing. And former Carolina
Panthers trainer A1 Shuford
is a successful fitness consul
tant in the motorsports
industry.
There are a number of jobs
available to African-
Americans in NASCAR,
from mechanic to engineer to
crew chief to, well, ovraer.
Not that it’s easy to obtain a
career in the sport. It isn’t.
But this much is obvious:
The first step in obtaining a
career in auto racing is
wanting one.
And that’s why I applaud
NASCAR for even mention
ing diversity when it didn’t
need to.
I just hope that more
African-Americans will take
the league up on its offer to
be more diverse. Now that
would be more than neat.
E-mail cohmmisi C. Jemal
Horton at
seejeinalwrhe@aol.com.
Pistons’ Hamilton lets ‘er Rip to push Detroit to NBA Finals
Continued from page 1C
the court and around screens.
Miller had been the primary
defender against Hamilton
previously in the series.
“I wish I would’ve. ... I don’t
know,” Artest said. “He just
played great.”
Hamilton was 7-for-15 from
the field and 7-for-8 from the
line. His teammates were
just 20-for-67 from the field
and 4-for-7 from the line.
Winfred
B. Cross
Test
Drive
Isuzu
Ascender
has GM’s
qualities
SUV’s ride
and interior
rival GMC
Envoy
When is a General Motors
SUV not a General Motors
SUV? When it’s an Isuzu
Ascender.
What’s an Isuzu Ascender?
A Chevy Trailblazer, or GMC
Envoy or, well, you get the
picture. GM owns a stake in
Isuzu and Isuzu needed a
bigger SUV once it got rid of
the Trooper. So what better
excuse to build another GM
SUV?
None, because the
Ascender is pretty good. It
debuted a few years ago as a
seven-passenger vehicle.
New for ‘04 is the five-pas
senger. Everyone doesn’t
need to cany seven folks.
Besides, the shorter wheel
base vehicle handles better
than its longer sibhng.
The Ascender’s interior is
more GMC than Chevy.
Isuzu opted for the more
upscale look. The dash has
an expensive look. The fake
wood trim that graces the
dash and doors is almost
nice. Almost.
The leather bucket seats
are comfortable for front pas
sengers. Each is power-oper
ated and can be articulated
to make any size person
happy. The second row is
comfortable as well, but also
sphts for different types of
loads.
The engine is the vibrant
inline six-cylinder that pro
duces 275 horsepower. It’s oh
so smooth and powers. The
four-speed automatic is OK,
but a five-speed would be
better. It does shift crisply
and smoothly.
The ride is pretty good. On
a 3(X)-mile round trip, the
Ascender handled like a
champ. The steering is quick
and responsive while pass
ing power is as good as it
gets.
At $33,372 the Ascender
isn’t so much a bargain as it
is worth the money. You can
buy the same thing several
different ways under differ
ent names but it still comes
out as a good deal.
“In the second half I slowed
down, and I started hitting
some shots,” said Hamilton,
who missed just two of seven
shots after halftime.
The Pistons didn’t have a
scorer in double figures until
Hamilton’s two free throws
gave him 10 with 3:26 left in
the third quarter, and pulled
Detroit wdthin six.
Heading into the game, the
Pistons were 0-6 when trail
ing after three quarters in
the playoffs.
Hamilton made sure the
trend didn’t hold.
Artest may have been over
come by fhistration when he
put his forearm in
Hamilton’s face with 3:57 left
and was called for a flagrant
foul.
Hamilton, who wears a
plastic face mask to protect a
nose that was broken twice
this season, got up and made
two free throws to put the
Pistons ahead - for the first
time - 61-59.
“It certainly had an
impact,” Pacers coach Rick
Carlisle said. “It was a tough
call.”
With Artest chasing him a
couple minutes later,
Hamilton’s basket gave
Detroit a 65-61 lead.
Hamilton scored at least 20
points for the 28th time in 35
playoff games with the
Pistons, who acquired him
from Washington two years
ago for Jerry Stackhouse.
“We’d be lost without Rip
and we’d probably be home
by now without him,” Corliss
Williamson said.
The Pistons’ latest series
ending win allows them to
take another step in the
playoffs, just as they have
the previous two seasons.
In 2002, Detroit advanced
to the second round for the
first time since 1991. The
next season, the Pistons
made it to the conference
finals, then fired Carlisle and
hired Larry Brown.
“We had gone as far as we
were going to go,” Pistons
president of basketball oper
ations Joe Dumars said.
“That team was not going to
come back this year and beat
Milwaukee, New Jersey and
Indiana. I knew that. That’s
why it was time to shake
that team up.”
He has his fathers eyes, his
grandmothers looks, and he has lead in
his blood from the house we live in.
If you live in a home built
before 1978, it may have
lead-based pamt inside or on
the outside
of the house. One out of 11
children in the
country has lead
poisoning in his or her blood,
is you child one
of them?
Lead poisoning in
children, even in low
levels, may cause
development problems,
learning disabilities and
^hearing problems.
Have your child and your
home tested for lead
poisoning. It’s free for those
who qualify.
Be Lead Safe!
Call the LeadSafe Charlotte
Hotline
to get more information
about lead-based
paint poisoning now.
o
CHARLOHE.
UadSafe Chariolle Hodine Spanisli ■ 7IH-»-35(IO EngU ■ 7l)433(i-2114