Pi
3B
SPORTS/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, March 6, 1997
Valley Ranch quiet for now
Cowboys
Continued from IB
ideas.”
Deion Sanders has created a
stir within the Dallas organiza
tion by opting to play baseball
for Cincinnati. It means
Sanders, who was trying to be a
full-time wide receiver as well as
a full-time comerback, won’t be
counted on as a two-way starter.
Even with a training camp and
daily work, Sanders caught only
one touchdown pass as a start
ing receiver last year.
It would stand to reason that
with no work, Sanders could
hardly be considered a primary
target for Aikman’s passes.
“I’m doing this to please
myself,” Sanders says from
Plant City, Fla. “I will probably
be there with the Cowboys for 16
games.”
Probationer Michael Irvin,
who missed the first five games
last year because of drug-related
problems, had to go back to court
recently because he and several
other Cowboys found they had
been sold stolen airline tickets at
a discount.
NCAA regionals
Continued from 1B
provides the opportunity to
showcase N.C. Central and the
city of Durham, while demon
strating the tremendous men’s
basketball talent in the region.”
Presbyterian (S.C.), which
earned the No. 2 seed and the
other first-round bye, will play
the Elizabeth City-Elon game
Friday at 6 p.m., while Central
takes on the Georgia CoUege-St.
Augustine’s winner at 8 p.m.
The regional championship
game is Saturday at 7 p.m., vrith
the winner moving on to the
Elite Eight in Louisville, Ky.,
March 19-22.
Tickets are $12 for reserved
seats, $10 for general admission
and $5 for students with vahd
ID. For more information, call
the NCCU ticket office at (919)
560-5170.
Bonilla is no fan of
Orioles’ skipper Johnson
Continued from IB
mightily before Johnson relent
ed and made him the club’s
everyday right fielder.
For the season, Bonilla hit .221
with two home runs in 44 games
as a DH. He batted .318 with 26
homers the rest of the time as a
right fielder, third baseman and
first baseman.
At one point last season,
Johnson said that outfielder
Luis Polonia had “Bobby Bonilla
disease” when he went hitless in
a few appearances as the DH.
Johnson, general manager Pat
Gilhck and assistant general
manager Kevin Malone decided
to trade Bonilla or pitcher David
Wells before the July 31 trading
deadline, but Orioles majority
owner Peter Angelos vetoed that
decision.
Bonilla went l-for-20 in the
Orioles’ five-game loss to the
New York Yankees in the
American League
Championship Series and
Johnson, Gillick and Malone
decided they wanted a different
kind of team this season.
They wanted a more athletic
club that is less reliant on home
runs, and they permitted Bonilla
to depart Baltimore to sign a
fomr-year, $23.3 million contract
with the Marlins. He’ll play
third base for Florida, which will
have Moises Alou, Devon White
and Gary Sheffield in its out
field.
Gillick has said he believes
that the Orioles have improved
in right field because Bonilla’s
successor there, Eric Davis, is
more athletic, better defensively
and more of a threat on the
basepaths. Last Saturday,
Johnson said during a breakfast
event at the Orioles’ hotel in Fort
Lauderdale that Alou had better
be ready in left field this season,
with aU the ground balls that
he’ll be fielding with Bonilla at
third base.
BoniUa said: “Somebody told
me what he said. I thmk I played
one game [actually four contests
last season] at third base, so I
don’t know what he’s talking
about. He’s entitled to his opin
ion. He’s got a lot of them. He’s
managed in New York. He’s a big
hot air balloon, so I don’t pay
him any mind.
“I was kind of surprised” about
Johnson’s remarks, BoniUa said.
“But then again, I shouldn’t
have been... I wouldn’t have him
manage my Rotisserie team.”
Bonilla exchanged pleas
antries with many of his former
teammates. “They’re good
dudes,” he said. “I had fun with
them... It doesn’t feel strange to
be here. It’s good to see every
body.”
Hayes having fun
Continued from 1B
people said; I’m going to make
my own opinion about you,"”
Hayes said. “Then I knew
Howard is where I wanted to
be.”
Last season, Hayes averaged
16.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and led
the Bison in assists and steals.
In the MEAC tournament, she
was even better, averaging 19
points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7
assists and winning the tourna
ment’s MVP award.
Since then, Hayes slowly has
taken a leadership role on the
team. That development has
simultaneously excited and con
cerned lyier, who is known for
keeping tight control of her
team.
“Sometimes I think, ‘If this
thing blows South, this could
blow up in my face,”’ said lyier,
who has only had three transfers
in her 17 years at Howard.
“But Amanda will be the rea
son we go as far as we do. She is
the glue that holds this team
together.”
Coming off their first NCAA
tournament appearance since
1982, Howard won nine consecu
tive games during one stretch
and has the top seed in the con
ference tournament. Hayes is
leading the team in rebounds
(8.8 per game) amd steals (2 per
game) and is the Bison’s third-
leading scorer with a 13.1 aver
age.
Hayes became the 10th
Howard women’s player to score
her 1,000th career point, and the
third player on this season’s
team to do so. The 5-foot-7
Hayes, whom Tyler caUs a “fhis-
trated center that never had the
height,” joined 6-foot forward
Alisha Hill and 6-5 center
Denique Graves in the 1,000-
point club. But Hayes reached
the milestone in a manner that
was a bit frustrating for 'lyier.
Since Hayes was suffering
from muscle spasms in her back,
Tyler told her to avoid playing
inside. Naturally, Hayes fre
quently drove to the basket.
While attempting a layup that
would have put her over 1,000
points, Hayes took a hard foul
that sent her to the floor. She
made 1 of 2 free throws for the
milestone.
“I asked her why did she do
that after I told her not to,” lyier
said with a chuckle. “She said, ‘I
forgot.’ She didn’t forget, it’s just
that her aggressive instincts
take over.”
These are good-natured con
frontations, of course, between a
player and coach that have
grown to trust one another.
“Before I got here, I had never
been in the coach’s office unless I
was in trouble,” Hayes said. “But
here, with coach lyier, we have a
good relationship.”
In this case, Indn was testify
ing for the prosecution.
The Williamses, Kevin and
Erik, also have made off-season
news.
Free agent Kevin WiUiams has
received an offer from Miami
coach Jimmy Johnson, who
drafted the speedy wide receiver
for the Cowboys. The offer could
be too high for the Cowboys to
match.
Erik Williams has sued the
Dallas Police Department and a
local television station m the
aftermath of the groundless rape
charges.
Jones has decided to muzzle
his entire staff so draft and free
agent secrets won’t be leaked to
his enemies.
Kevin Williams, safeties
George Teague and Brock
Marion, and linebacker Darrin
Smith are likely to be flee agents
who could be leaving Valley
Ranch.
One top priority is to find a
solid wide receiver. The other is
to make Aikman happy.
“I don’t know that we deserved
to make it to the Super Bowl last
year because of some of the
things that we went through off
and on the field,” Aikman said.
If the Cowboys don’t have a
good off-season with free agents
and the draft, they may not
deserve it in 1997, either.
Panthers get two men of Steel
Mills, Seals
headed to
Carolina
By Herbert L. White
THE CHAHLOTTE POST
The Carolina Panthers’ raid on
the Pittsburgh Steelers’ talent
pool continues.
Carolina signed defensive line
man Ray Seals and wide receiv
er Ernie Mills this week, the lat
est Steelers to jump to the
Panthers. Both were um-estrict-
ed free agents who were injured
most, if not all, of the 1996 sea-
Pittsburgh’s defensive coordina
tor. Seals’ best season was in
1995 when he amassed 8.5
sacks, 48
tackles and a
team-best 41
quarterback
pressures.
“Ray Seals
gives us a big,
athletic play-
maker on the
defensive line
who is able to
rush the pass
er,” Capers
said. You can never have too
Capers
son.
“WTth these two players, we
have added versatility at two
key positions,” said Carolina
general manager Bill PoKan.
“They have played at a champi
onship level and we’re very
pleased that they will be
Carolina Panthers.”
Seals’ addition upgrades
Carolina’s pass rush, which led
the NFL with 60 sacks last sea
son. Although he missed aU of
1996 with a rotator cuff injury.
Seals amassed 29 sacks in the
four seasons previously. He
started for Carolina coach Dom
Capers when Capers was
many good defensive linemen.”
MUls caught 127 passes for
2,003 yards in six season with
the Steelers smd turned in a 37-
yard reception to set up
Pittsburgh’s game-winning score
in the 1995 AFC championship
game. His best season was in
‘95, with 39 catches for 679
yards and eight touchdowns
MiUs missed most of last sea
son with a tom anterior cruciate
ligament in his left knee in the
Steelers’ Super Bowl loss to
DaUas. He returned to the line
up late to record seven catches
for 92, but is best remembered
for dropping a sure touchdown
pass in the season finale against
Carolina that could’ve denied
the Panthers the NFC West title
and a first-round bye in the play
offs.
“Ernie Mills has the abiUty to
help our speed at wide receiver,”
Capers said.
MUls and Seals join linebacker
Michael Barrow as Carolina’s
unrestricted free agent signees.
The Panthers have resigned four
of their own fi^ agents: comer-
back Rod Smith, nose tackle
Greg Kragen, receiver Raghib
IsmaU and miming back
Anthony Johnson.
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