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http://www.thepost.mindspring.com Cljarlotte 1B SPORTS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 19b ^ Blowing the whistle Livingstone reported an eligible athlete played in two games to the CIAA and NCAA. Sanctions are likely. Page 2A Rivera makes impact at JCSU By Herbert L. White THE CHARLOTTE POST Angel Rivera doesn’t believe in being meek. Especially when it comes to smash-mouth football. The Johnson C. Smith strong safety has been a bright spot in a disappointing 2-5 season. As a freshman, he’s cracked the start ing lineup and has made an impact with his all-out attitude. “Defense is easy,” said Rivera, who leads the Golden Bulls with six tackles for losses and is second with 35.5 tackles. “All you have to do is go out there and play crazy. Second time better for Reid By Karl Petraroja FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST FORT MILL, S.C. - When things don’t go right the first time, try again. That’s why Charlotte Hornets forward J.R. Reid is determined to make his second stint here a success. The Hornets’ No. 1 pick in 1989, Reid came to Charlotte as a rook ie with big expectations. The for mer North Carolina star spent 3 1/2 years in Charlotte, most of it struggling at center with an expansion team fighting to find its own identity. Basketball was n’t much fun, he admits. “That was tough being right out of college a year early, then com ing to a team that was not very good,” Reid said. “I didn’t have a lot of direction that some of the other players had, so I think that might have hurt me some. But once I got to San Antonio and played in New York, I seemed to fit in well, especially in San Antonio.” Reid played four seasons with the Spurs, including two when Hornets head coach Dave Cowens Reid You’ve got to have fun and be off the hook.” That spells trouble for oppo nents who venture into Rivera’s territory. At 6-2, 208 pounds, he’s already shown a penchant for hit ting. “He’s a bruiser,” Smith head coach Bill Davis says. “Tve seen several plays he made near our sideline where it made me cringe with the kind of plays he’s made on receivers. You know you’ve been hit when you’ve been hit by Rivera.” Besides the thunderous tackles, Rivera has been an impact in the huddle, too. As the only freshman starter in the secondary, he has been a steadying influence despite his relative inexperience. “He really is a leader on our team,” Davis said. “For him to be a freshman, that’s saying a lot about him. I’m just he’s in our camp.” As a senior tailback at E.E. Smith High in Fayetteville, Rivera rushed for almost 1,800 yards, but Division I colleges cooled on him becartse of so-so test scores. But JCSU’s close-knit campus atmosphere and Davis’ belief that he would be an impor tant part of rebuilding the pro gram were attractive. In a way, Rivera is playing to prove Smith did the right thing by recruiting him. ‘T took pride in coming here,” Rivera said. “When I was coming out of high school, a lot of people weren’t Irxrking at me, so he took the chance of bringing me here. I’m going to do what I’ve got to do while Tm here for him.” Rivera has done it all as a fresh man. He has seen action at run ning back and special teams in addition to defense. Because of his See RIVERA on page 3B was an assistant coach. Cowens, along with executive vice presi dent of basketball operations Bob Bass were instrumental in Reid’s decision to leave a French team to rejoin the Hornets. “It’s great to be back here but I probably wovddn’t have been here if it wasn’t for (Bass) and Dave,” he said. “If those two guys weren’t here, I probably most def initely wouldn’t have been back. I know those two guys. I respect them, trust them, so it made it a httle easier for me to make that decision.” Reid’s preseason play reflects his new-foimd comfort. Last week against Golden State, Reid scored 22 points and pulled down 10 rebounds substituting for Anthony Mason. His shooting range, limited during his first stint in Charlotte, has improved. He’s also lighter at 6-9, 225 pounds. “I was real impressed with J.R.,” Cowens said. “He played 39 minutes and I thought he didn’t reaUy lose anything as the game went on. He looks like he’s in pretty good condition. “He’s got all those quick herky- jerky moves down there. He’s got a nice assortment. He was hitting his jump shots, he was very active on the boards.” Reid serves a key role as a back up to Mason at power forward. With his experience, Reid upgrades the Hornets’ bench. “If he can do that every night, that’s more power to our team,” forward Glen Rice said. “We’ve got a lot of weapons on this team and we’re going to try and use them all.” Now that he’s back in Charlotte, Reid is reflective in how his journey has taken him full circle. It’s in the bag PHOTO/WADE NASH Carolina linebacker Micheai Barrow had his best game as a Panther iast week, registering eight tackles and two sacks in a 13-0 win over New Orleans. Carolina plays Atlanta Sunday. Defense restores Panther pride By Ed McHale THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Finally, it was a happy Carolina Panthers locker room. A13-0 victory by Carolina (3- 4) over the New Orleans Saints (2-6) snapped a three-game losing streak and ended a Saints scoring string of 216 games that dated back to 1983. The Panthers, who are 0-3 at Ericsson Stadium this season, play Atlanta Sunday in a key NFC West game. Guys strutted around with Carolina blue towels around their waists after Sunday’s win, the Panthers’ first in 32 days. Some had unlighted, five-inch cigars stuck in their faces. Almost everyone wore a smile. Linebacker Sam Mills, who recorded eight tackles and cor- See FINALLY on page 3B PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON By Beth Harris THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BEVERLY HILLS, Cahf. - The robe, trunks and shoes that Muhammad Ali wore in 1974 when he beat George Foreman for the heavyweight title in their “Rumble in the Jungle” drew some of the highest bids Simday at an auction of Ah memorabiha. Ah regained the heavyweight championship with an eighth- round knockout of Foreman in Zaire. The white cloth, calf-length robe decorated with Afncan patterns and elaborate beadwork sold for $140,000 to a telephone bidder who requested anonymity. Christie’s said the amount was an auction record for boxing memo rabiha. The trunks sold for $50,000 to venture capitahst Robert Chaney, Lions eye N.C. 4A volleyball title By Karl Petraroja FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST PHOTO/PAUL WILLIAMS III He’s the champ: Heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield responds to a question Saturday during Extreme Experience, a program that encourages students to academic excellence. West Charlotte hopes its next unbeaten streak takes the Lions to the N.C. 4A voheyball champi onship. The Lions roared through the regular season, win ning all 20 matches, including 14-0 in the Southwestern 4A conference and three victories over state powers Providence and Crest. Providence, however, derailed West Charlotte 2-1 in the confer ence tournament for the Lions’ only loss of the sea son. Now West Charlotte hopes to build another streak with a team that has thrived on collective tal ents. “Each person knows their own talent and how well they do but the also know there’s a team effort and it’s not a one-person show out there,” senior JaneU Although he’s only a freshman, Johnson C. Smith strong safety Angei Rivera has been a constant on defense. He’li also play some running back on offense, as he did against Livingstone. Outfielder Grissom is Indians’ version of Mr. October By Hal Bock THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CLEVELAND - Introducing baseball’s new Mr. October, Marquis Grissom. Equipped with the highest batting average in World Series history at .441, Grissom was still batting ninth for Cleveland in the third game of the World Series against the Florida Marlins. Can you imagine Yogi Berra, who had a record 71 Series hits, batting ninth? Or Babe Ruth, who once batted .625 in a Series? Or Mickey Mantle, who hit 18 Series homers? No way. And none of them had a higher World Series career average than Grissom, who’s batting .441 after getting five hits in the first two games against the MarUns. That pushed him to 26-for-59 in his World Series career and moved him past Paul Mohtor and Pepper Martin, who both were 23-for-55 (.418), Through Itiesday, Grissom had hit safely in all 14 World Series games he has played and is three short of the consecutive game Series hitting streak held by Hank Bauer, who played with the Yankees in thel950s. All of this is very nice, but it won’t move him from the bottom of man ager Mike Hargove’s batting order. And that’s fine with Grissom. “Mike’s done a great job all year,” he said. ‘You don’t gripe. You just go out and play ball. I got there hitting eighth and ninth. I’ll just go out and continue.” When the Indians and Atlanta Braves talked trade in spring train ing, Cleveland general manager John Hart ran the proposed deal - See INDIANS on page 4B Ali auction puts pieces of boxing history up for bid and the shoes went for $52,000 to an anonymous man bidding in the outdoor tent at Christie's. “It’s great. A lot of Muhammad All’s fans have spoken for their love for Ah and the memorabil ia that’s avail able,” said Ronnie Paloger, a Los Angeles businessman who put his pri vate collection on the block. “The sale did veiy, very well.” The sale of 348 lots totaled more than $1.3 million, which includes Christie’s 15 percent commission. Ah’s attorney said the 55-year- old former champion, who has See AUCTION on page 4B Robbins said. ‘You can’t go out on the comt and- think that it’s your show and it’s all about you. You have to work together and the whole team wins.” That’s most evident after every team meeting, practice and game. Players and coaches gather in a circle and talk. It brings everyone closer in a sport where trust and communication are keys to success., ‘We’ve been doing it ever since I’ve been here,”; junior Sommer Murphy said. “It’s called ‘Our Circle,'- where you can pretty much say what you feel, come together and give your thoughts on what’s going on and how we played. ‘You can say whatever you want,” all-conference junior Jessica Tate said. “It just gives us the chance to get to know each other a little bit better and try to focus on practice or the next game or whatever is See WEST CHARLOTTE on page 3B
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 23, 1997, edition 1
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