Newspapers / The Charlotte post. / Feb. 12, 2004, edition 1 / Page 17
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01 http://www.thechariottepost.com 1C tCIje C|)arlottc ^0£it SPORTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2004 Black College Sports/4C Fox Super Bowl loss still tugs at Fox By Jenna Fryer THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Not even a kind note from Joe Ibrre could help Carolina coach John Fox get past the sting from the Panthers’ Super Bowl loss. Fox said Tuesday he has yet to watch a tape of the Panthers’ 32-29 loss to New England and he takes little solace in the game being considered one of the most exciting ever. But the letter he received from the New York Yankees’ manager has helped ease the sting from the defeat. “I got a note from Joe Ibrre mentioning that he’s been on both sides of that, and don’t let any body discredit the fact that you got there,” Fox said. “There’s a guy that’s been to their big game quite a few times and been on both sides of it. “I think it’s good that that’s coming from a guy with a lot of experience.” Fox isn’t sure when hell watch a replay of his first Super Bowl appearance as a head coach. He went through the same emotions after the New York Giants lost to the Baltimore Ravens in 2001 when Fox was a defensive coordinator. “It’s just one of those things right now I’m trying to not relive,” he said. “At some point I will watch it. I really can’t answer exactly when.” Besides, making the Super Bowl put the Panthers five weeks behind in their preparations for next season, leaving Fox and general manager Marty Humey scrambling to catch up. All signs indicate that Carolina’s coaching staff will remain intact. Fox said. That frees the Panthers to con centrate on free agents. Worthy tops field in Tampa golf Otis Worthy was tops among Charlotte Iburing Duffers during a trip to three Tampa, Fla., golf courses. Worthy finished with a score of233 after playing Rocky Point, Pebble Creek and Rogers Park Feb. 5-7. Arthur McDonald was six shots off and Cletis Dozier was nine strokes off the pace. Worthy’s best round was 72 at Rocky Point on the first day, which proved to be the best round for any golfer during the tour. McDonald, Walt Colson, Don Debouse and Olin Grier finished first in the team competition at Rocky Point with a combined score of 69, topping the foursome of Worthy, Bobby Jones, Ray Johnson and Jim WiUingham by a shot. C.C. Clarke, Dozier, Bill Davenport and Carl Clegg were tops at Pebble Creek (69) and Doc McLean, William Iblliver, Carl Stowe and Clegg were best at Rogers Park with a 71. • James Black won the Revolution Park Winter Club Championship at Revolution Park Golf Club. He fired a two-round 69, but won the tiebreaker over Howard Glover. Ken Dunlap was third at 72. Alvin Thompson was first in the Championship B flight with a 75, one shot ahead of Cletis Dozier. Don Palmer was third with 76. Herben L White Former champ makes comeback for one last bout THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HOUSTON — Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, whose last fight was seven years ago, said he is in training for a one-fight comeback. Foreman told Houston television sta tion KRIV on Monday that he began training on Jan. 10, his 55th birthday. “I’ve been training and working out to get down to 225 pounds,” he said. “If I do. I’m going to have one more boxing match.” He said he has already lost 25 pounds. Foreman has not fought since losing to Shannon Briggs in 1997. He said he knows people will make fun of him, but said he is used to it. “A lot of people say, 'Boy, you must be out of your mind. Don’t even try it,”’ he said. “But Fve heard that since I was 19 years old.” Foreman’s career record is 76-5 with 68 knock outs. jcsu junior’s achievement PHOTO/WADE NASH Chris Clyburn a former Providence High standout who watched J.C. Smith basketbaii games as a kid, taiked his way onto the Golden Buiis by convincing coach Steve Joyner he couid contribute. He’s the Buiis’ second ieading scorer. Clyburn’s play makes good on sales pitch By Herbert L. White herb.wftite@thecharIotleposi.com Chris Clybum’s marketing skills landed him a spot on Johnson C. Smith’s basketball roster. The 6-5 junior forward from Charlotte talked his way into a meeting with coach Steve Joyner, where they saw the possibilities in each other. Clyburn needed a place where he felt comfortable. Joyner needed a scorer. It was a match once Clybum’s academics were in order. “I always wanted to play at Smith because I grew up watching the Golden Bulls,” he said. “Once I finished (junior college) and got eligi ble, I asked coach Joyner did he have any room on the team for me to play and he said Veah.’ We sat down and we talked and he did the paperwork.” Coming home agrees with Clyburn, who averages 13.3 points per game. He has the comforts of home and basketball, in addition to academic development. “I love family support, that means I’m close to home,” he said. “I have schoolwork and anythihg possibly to help my family. I don’t have to miss anybody and they can see me anytime and it’s just a great place to be.” Without a qualifying test score that would make him eligible to play at a four-year college, Clyburn opted for Oklahoma A&M, where he played one season. At Smith, he’s developed into the Bulls’ second-leading scorer and one of the CIAA’s top shooters. After some early struggles with conditioning and Joyner’s guard-oriented scheme, Clyburn has been on a tear, leading Smith in scoring in six of the last eight games. Please see CLYBURN/2C Joyner History within reach for JCSU tennis By Herbert L. White fieri}, white@ihecharlottepost.com Johnson C. Smith men’s tennis is making a run for the history books. The Golden Bulls, who have won five straight CIAA titles, is aiming for a school- record sixth, which would best a streak a c c 0 m - Cuthbertson pUghed in the 1930 and ‘40s under Winston Coleman, who won eight championships overall. There’s also the matter; of getting back to the Division II tournament and advanc ing, something they’ve never done. Last year. Smith lost in the first round of the Mid- Atlantic regional. “We stay focused on the reality of what we can do,” head coach James Cuthbertson said. “We’re upping our goals to go to the regional and win there.” Ib prepare, Smith is play ing a demanding nonconfer ence schedule. During the first semester, the Bulls lost to Tusculum (No. 2 in the Southeast region) and Catawba, but beat District of Columbia, Queens and Montreat. “Our non-conference schedule is very difficult,” Cuthbertson said. “They don’t get a chance to get a big head.” Smith, which opens its home schedule Sunday against Coker on campus, is the favorite again in the CIAA with an all-American lineup. Senior Michael White is the No. 1 player, fol lowed by freshman Justin Stuckey and sophomore Tim Hunter. Frento Burton, a freshman who played at West Mecklenburg High, adds a hometown presence Please see BULLS/2C C. Jemal Horton Clarett’s right to fight NFL There are some people who call former college football star Maurice Clarett a high- maintenance problem child who doesn’t deserve to get drafted by the National Football League. I like to call Clarett the best businessmen that The Ohio State University has produced in its 134 years of existence. Smirk if you want, but there probably aren’t many graduates of Ohio State’s highly rated Fisher School of Business who broke up a monopoly and created new bylaws for the major corpo ration they plan to work for in the future. Recently, Clarett was bold enough — and smart enough — to successfully challenge the clandestine rule keeping college players out of the NFL draft until three years after graduating high school. The NFL vows to appeal the ruling. But if there is jus tice, it will lose the appeal. Clarett, 20, didn’t play his sophomore season because he was suspended for accept ing gifts from a family friend and lying about it to investi gators. But whether he now enters the draft or stays in school, the decision should be his. No one else’s. Excuse me if I don’t under stand why anyone would dis pute that. Ib hear the NFL and the National Collegiate Athletic Association tell it, the rule was in the best interest of the players. Truth is, the rule only benefited the NFL and the NCAA; The NFL got a de facto minor league sys tem in which it could moni tor players as they got big ger, faster and stronger before reaching the league; the NCAA got to keep its best players for three years, increasing revenues and putting the best players in its joke of a Division-I foot ball championship. The football player? He got to risk a career-end ing injury, and he got to do it while the NFL and NCAA both got richer. Don’t even talk to me about the player’s college educa tion. The bottom line is, kids who want to stay in school, do — no matter what the Please see LEAGUE/2C PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON Johnson C. Smith senior Michael White is the Golden Bulls’ top play er.
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