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2C #i)0 SPORTS/QC^e Charlotte $o0t Thursday, June 15, 2006 Diggs adds 10 Pamhenr bedackers Continued from page 1C the middle and second-year player Thomas Davis into a full-time role gives Carolina speed and flesdbility “The good thing is there are so many good young players,” said Diggs, who is in his sev enth year. That’s going to help us all the way down the read, hopefully throughout the playoffs- There’s depth and youth and freshness and it’s going to be huge.” Di^’ thbu^ts aren’t far from the playoffs. After five successful years in Green Bay, the Packers fell apart in 2005, dropping to 4-12 and all but conceding to rebuilding. “That’s what it became up in Green Bay and that’s defi nitely not the situation I wanted to be in,” he said. ‘Tour NFL career is so short, if you can help it or somewhat control it, you really don’t want to be in that situation because this season, mentally they’re already saying they’re rebuilding, so they’re proba- .bly not going to do that wdl. They’ve accepted rebuilding and it’s an excuse why they’re not going to do that well as opposed to a team with high expectations before snap one of any camp.” Most important, Di^s fikes the organization’s commit ment to winning now. “It’s kind of like buying a new house,” he said. “You can tell almost immediately when you walk in the fiont door if you’ie going to buy it. It was a matter of walking in and feel ing comfortable.” United States still a stranger on soccer’s grandest stage Continued from page 1C “We’re here to get results and do well,” he said. “The World Cup is an experience you want to enjoy The guys are having a great time. There’s no tension or anxiety within the team because of the security issu^.” Not so the openii^ game. U.S. players know well that years of work could be wiped out by just a few seconds of lapses against the Czechs, Italy and Ghana, all part of the United States’ tough Group E. “It’s very difficult to lose the first game and ejqiect to get through,” Donovan said. Their battle for respect extends beyond the famous soccer grounds of Europe. In America, many sports fans remain unconvinced that soc cer is worth their time. Former coi^ressman Jack Kemp, once an NFL quarter- bach, proclaimed on the floor of the House of Representatives: ‘Football is democratic, capitalism, whereas soccer is a European socialist sport.” Twelve of the 23 U.S. play ers are based in Europe, sev eral with big dubs, but many say they still encounter con descension firom continental types skeptical of their new- world pedigree. “Until we’ve really prov^ ourselves on kind of the European stage, I think it will still be there,” said goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who plays here and lives in a German castle. Growth has been slow, but steady Major League Soccer, launched in 1996, has 12 teams, with more planned. ABC and ESPN bought U.S. English-language television rights for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups for $100 million, and Univision purchased U.S. Spanish-language rights for the next two tournaments for $325 million Corporate sponsors have amped up their support, with Nike erecting giant billboards in New York and San Francisco featuring Donovan, Chnt Dempsey, Eddie Johnson and DaMarcus Beasley and the warning “BEWARE.” It’s far different than 1990, wh^ the Am^cans returned to the World Cup for the first time since 1950 — and were manhandled 5-1 by Czechoslovakia in their open- er. Current coach Bruce Arena sat in the stands at Stadio Comuhale in Florence, Italy that day to root on players he coached at the University of Virginia. “In a sense it was embar rassing how far behind we were,” he said. “We didn’t belong on the field.” As host of the 1994 World Cup, the United States made it to the second round before losing to eventual champion Brazil. At the 1998 tourna ment in France, the Americans finished last, lead ing to Arena’s hiring. He is now the longest- tenured of the 32 World Cup coaches. Arena has plaity of lineup options, but won’t divulge them. His defeise appeared set, with Keller in goal, Lewis at left back, 6-foot-4 Oguchi Onyewu and Eddie Pope in the center, and Steve Cherundolo on the right. Reyna anchors the midfidd, where Beasley could flank him on either side, with Bobby Convey and Dempsey possible starters. Donovan and Brian McBride, who each scored ' two goals in 2002, are starters barring unforeseen injuries, and forward Josh Wolff or defensive midfielder Pablo Mastroeni could get selected. Four years ago, the United States upset highly favored Portugal 3-2 in the op^er, so the Czechs say they expect the Americans to play them toi^h. “They play fast soccer,” mid fielder Tbmas Rosicky said. “We’ve seen what they’re capable of” Sting searches for consistency on boards, tempo Continued from page 1C by a lot, so that was a big focus throughout the week in practice,” Sutton-Brown said. T think we imderstand as a team that for us to be suc cessful, we’ve got to go inside and outside. When we get the ball inside and they start doubling, we can go back out side and work the game that way and we’re successful when we work together.” Charlotte’s early singles are linked to its difficulties on the boards and conrolling tempo. TOth fewer second- chance opportunities or unable to stop opponents, the Sting fell three games below .500. The goal now is to use Pontiac’s Solstice adds excitement General Motors has always touted its Pontiac division as the performance division, despite keeping the Camaro and Corvette in the Chevy brand. Cars hke the GTO, Gran Prix, Grand Am and other names conjure visions of great and not so great vehicles. Still, this company once proud ly boasted “We build excitement-” Maybe the com pany needs to go Winfred B. Cross Test Drive back to that tag line. Its Solstice is something special with a capitol S. It’s one of the most stjhsh con vertibles of any brand in the past 20 years. Its wide stance and Italian stallion curves set the heart sputtering. Tbp up or down, this is a killer car. Open the door and get a bigger surprise - GM got the interior r^ht. No Playskool dash to be se^. Nice pebbled surfaces, bright work around the gai^es and clean classic lines make this a great place to sit. OK, maybe if you only sit on the driver’s side. There’s leg room for tall drivers but not pas sengers. Even short riders will wish for a few more inches. The seat has minimal adjustment for there is no back seat to intrude upon. There’s even less room in the trunk, which has enoi^h space for the manually opea^ated top but little else. Ahh, but who buys a convertible for practi cality? No one. The Solstice is a weekend toy that can pass for a daily commuter if you don’t need the room. The 177 horsepower four cjlin- der certainly will give you nice fuel economy and even a little giddy up. Press the gas and the engine responds nicely Th^^’s a gurgling exhaust note that fits the car’s sexy body I wished for a bit more torque on steep inclines but that will be taken care of with a tur- bocharged engine in a few months. The Solstice handles very well due in part to its rear wheel drive configuration. The steerir^ is quick and feels nicely we^hted. The 18-inch wheels have a lot of stick-em but don’t give a harsh ride. The four-wheel independent sus pension is tuned more for sport, but doesn’t penalize witli a harsh ride. The handling isn’t as sharp as a Mazda Miata but the Afiata has never looked so sexy If you want one of these you can get in with only $20,490. If you want air conditionir^, power windows, door locks and mirrors, antilock brakes upgraded radio and automatic transmission, fork over an additional $7,500. That’s still a bargain for such a sexy convert ible. its newfoiuid commitment to reboimding as a springboard to the remainder of the sea- son. “It (is) fiustrating, but the one thing you can always do is rebound, and we weren’t being successful in that area,” Sutton-Brown said. ‘You see tiiat we can do it and when you do it we are successful, so we krtow it has to be done for us to be successful.” Hidden Valley Optimist Club 10th Annual Golf Tournament All festivities will be held at The tradition Golf Club on June 23, 2006 with a captians choice format. The golf tournament is one of the club’s major fund raisers Individual Player $65.00 Tournament starts @ SAM All proceeds will benefit youth in the communities The Perfect Film COCA-COLA “CITIZEN” OF THE MONTH “Reggie Mobley” Partner, Back to the Basics Motto for Encouraging Children: ‘To« “All” can succeed, just put in the work. Work with ethics and accountability, stay focused, and most of all apply yourself when doing homeivork. ” • Reggie Our “Citizen of the Month,” Reggie Mobley, is a native Charlotcean with a great desire to help improve our community by working to improve the lives of our children. Reggie is on a mission and finds the best way to touch children is through what they like: Sports. If the basketball court is where to reach them, that's where Reggie is. As girls J.V. coach at West Charlotte High School, he has the opportunity to give life instructions to help mold them for the future while charting plays on the court. In addition, as part of the West Charlotte security team, he gets yet another chance to be a role model while giving instruc tion to following school rules. Taking his mission one step further, Reggie is a partner in the Back to the Basics year round sports program, and directs the summer basketbil camp at St. Paul Baptist Church, A1984 graduate of Gaiinger High School, Reggie attended Central Piedmont CommuniU' College, joined the Navy in 1985, returned to the area to work as a Navy Reserv^e Officer and ended his tour of duty in 1996 as Petty Officer Third Class. His career path includes graphic ai't with Ai'ts Engraving and driving for Federal Express. He joined CMS in 1989 as a bus driver and has since climbed the ladder of success. In addition, Reggie is employed part-time with Park and Rec in the Ray of Hope program at St. Paul Baptist Church, Reggie is married to Annette Covington Mobley. They have two children, 19-year old Donee’ is a sophomore at Morehouse College, and 10-year old Devin attends Villa Heights Elementary School. The family are members of Mt, Zion A.M,E. Zion Church where Reggie is very active on the Steward Board, and sings on the Hymn, Mass and Men’s choirs. Best Wishes “Reggie” from Coca Cola Bottling Company Consolidated of Charlotte Coca Co (a ^aC On DVD June 6! [GlGIMKAL Al^EtkESl Learn More/Ujout Dimibo's High-Hying DVD At DisneyDVD.ctxn 'Jj&wn Bwus Maleriaf Kol Rated Ofslflbuied by Buena Vista tiome Cniertainnnsnt. Inc.. Buriark, CA 81521. © Disney FREE DVD to the 1st “5” New Advertisers
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 15, 2006, edition 1
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