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http://www.thechartottepost.com c Section Charlotte $ofit SPORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006 Pitching to Cards’ slugger risky By Jim Litke ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT — Albert Pujols showed up at the World Series hittii^ what baseball people like to call a “quiet” .324. That made it sound as if the St. Louis slugger walked all the way to Motown on his tippy-toes, but no. In this case, quiet meant Pujols was putting up respectable nimi- bers in the postseason box scores, but not enough, final ly on the scoreboard. Not enoTi^, anyway, for a guy widely regarded as the most dangerous hitter in the game. That all changed with one swing of the bat Saturday night. Pujols re-directed the first pitch he saw in the third inning - a 94 mph fastball fiom hard-throwing Detroit starter Justin Verlander - into the ri^t-field seats for a two-nm homer and the road- weary Cardinals went on to steal a 7-2 decision in Game 1. That one swing also ignit ed a debate that will r^e for the rest of this Series: Pitch to Pujols? Or not? “I could go into a lot of detail about that,” Tigers manager Jim Lejiand said tersely ‘but Ill leave it at this: The manager’s decision is either to pitch to him or walk him. I pitched to him and obviously he bmned us. “I’m not going to.get into a lot of explanation about what the think ing was. But I take the bullet there and if somebody gives criti cism you accept it, because it’s ultimately my decision.” Leyland is an old- school manager who Pujols hates giving anybody any- thir^ for fi:ee, which means every Pujols’ bat fixim here Please see PITCHING/2C X)HNSON C, SMITH VS. SAVANNAH STATE i SATURDAY, 1 P.M., MEMORIAL STADIUM PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON l-time receptions mark with Johnson C. Smith wide receiver Marquis Belton, a North Mecklenburg High graduate, holds the JCSU £ 153 and has a chance at the career receiving yards and season receptions standards. He’s got gift of grab Belton on verge of breaking Golden Bulls pass-catching marks By Herbert L. White herb.whlte@fhecharlotteposf.com For three years, Johnson C. Smith recdver Marquis Belton was the best player on bad teams. Now he’s basking in the ^ow of individual and team success. Last week, the senior set a new school record for career receptions with 153, breaking Nate McDowell’s standard' set from 1979-82. Belton is 94 yards away from Craig Brown’s receiving yards mark of2,588 and his 42 catches this season is 12 behind Bill lide for first all-time. 'With 2,494 yards and 15 career touch downs, Belton’s not easily impressed by individual accomplishments — especially his own. “Not really” he said. “I’m just trying to get the CIAA (cham pionship game) or the Pioneer Bowl. That’s our goal li^t now. If thit^ come together for us, everything for me wiU. come through. It’s basically a team game.” At 5-foot-9, 17.0 pounds, Belton isn’t very lai^e, but he’s a key cog in the 6-2 Golden Bulls’ success. He leads the team in catches (42) and receivit^ yaitis (709), as well as intangibles. He’s the one player opposing defenders must account for and team mates draw inspiration from “In practice, everybody’s fighting to go with Belton because he’s goir^ to make us better,” said linebacker Omar BizzeU. “The best players, they foi^t about the mistakes and Please see GIFT^C Change in Pioneer Bowl selection process keeps JCSU in the mix By Herbert L. While herb.wfi(fe@tfiecttariottepost.com Johnson C. Smith still has a shot at the postseason after aU. The CIAA board of directors have authorized (Commissioner Leon Kerry to pick the league’s Pioneer Bowl CIAA West Division, two representative fi-om teams games behind N.C. Central, with winning records that The change was approved last doesn’t make the NCAA month and announced last Division IE playoffe. JCSU, week on the CIAA’s web site, which clinched a plus-.500 Assistant Commissioner Jeff mark last week, is 4-2 in the McLeod said. “We presented it to the ath letic directors in the summer and presented it to the board of directors in September, and they accepted it,” he said. Who’ll get the Pioneer Bowl See COULD/3C For brothers Hubbard, football strengthens family ties PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON Jonathon (left) and Ryan Hubbard of Charlotte are one of four sets of brothers playing football at Davidson. By Erica Singleton FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST Davidson football is a family affair. The Wldcats have four sets of brothers on the team, including Charlotte natives Jonathon and Ryan Hubbard. Another pair, Mordecai , and Matthew Scott, played at West Charlotte High. “It’s all about the family” said head coach Ibipp Merritt. “Illkethe idea of having four sets of brothers on the football team because to me that says that the older brother had a good ejqjerience...compelling little brotha' to join in, too.” For the Hubbards, playing togeth er in college just seemed like the natural progression. “We’ve played together since mid dle school,” said older brother Jonathon, “since he was in seventh grade and I was in eighth” grade. The two have played football since kindei^arten. Both of them went to the same schools, so they were bound to eventually play on the same field, but for Jonathon the ecperience never gets old. ‘It’s nice to both be on the field at the same time playing on the same side of the ball.” Jonathon, a senior and co-captain for the Wldcats, is a tailback that has been described as “a punishing runner who can bowl over just about any defender one-on-one.” Ryan, a junior, is a wide receiver, whose “speed and knack for making opponents miss make bim a weapon as a return man,” as well. “They love playing football,” said Merritt. “And they’re both very exciting...though they have con trasting stjies of football.” See FOR DAVIDS0N’S/3C AP PHOTO/ALAN DIAZ Shaquille O’Neal and Dwayne Wade are out to win a second straight NBA championship. Hash and Shan go forsecond siraight Heat the class of East with Wade and aging nucleus By Brian Mahoney THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Once the South Beadi parties had aU dwin dled and Pat Riley committed to coming back, the dapper Miami coach got to work on his plan for keeping the Heat atop the NBA. WTien Riley surveyed his roster, there vv4s Shaquille O’Neal, who looked every one of his 34 years while laboring for a pedestrian 13.7 points per game in the NBA finals. In key reserve roles, he saw 38-year-old Gary Payton and 36-year-old Alonzo Moumir^. And Riley decided, despite his aging stars, to do practically nothing. So back come the same old Miami Heat, who are convinced they’re still good enough to get by LeBron and Big Ben in the East, and then the Mavericks, Spurs, Suns or whomever else survives in the West. Sure, the Heat has flaws. But they’re also the only team with Dwyane Wade, a bona fide superstar who’s already proven he’s capable of hiding or overcoming his team’s shortcomings aU by himself “However the prognosticators out there are evaluatir^ our team based on what happened last year,” Riley said recently “I woiild not want to be a team on the other side of us in a seven-game series, because this is a rise-to-the- occasion type of team. Please see SHAQ/2C Patriots human, even if win streak isn’t KEEP STREAKING: Independence High certainly isn’t its old dominant self, but the Patriots might be more entertaining. Last week’s 31-24 come fium behind win against Myers Park is another reminder that the Patriots are very human and are on the cusp of having their nation’s best 101- game winning streak snapped. On the other hand, Independence wouldn’t have lhatstreakifitwereone-dimen- I sional, and the Patriots aren’t that. The offense shows flashes of brilliance, albeit not for sustained periods and the defense has been good. Iftheyregoingtobe had, it’ll be Butler, which has the ground game to compete. If the Bulldogs can’t make it hap pen, Fm guessing no one in the state wfll come fJayoff time. FEEL-(300D STORY: East Mecklenburg wasn’t supposed to be this potent. The Eagles- are 6-3 and are headed to the postseason because they do the little things in a big way Tailback Mike Majhew isn’t well-known but quietly effective. If East gets on a roU, they could be tough come playoff time. But first things first, startii^ Friday against Butler. GAME OF THE WEEK: Providence at See DRIVE3C 0*0
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 26, 2006, edition 1
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