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SPORTSWje CjjtbBe Son
Thursday, March 30,2006
Smith key to Johnson deal with Panthers
Continued from page 1C
‘1 didn’t come here to catch
100 balls,” Johnson said. ‘T
came here because I feel
Carolina is the team with the
best chance to get to 1lie
Super Bowl.”
Eeleased last week by the
Dallas Cowboys, Johnson
rejected a bid from the New
York Giants and also
planned to meet with the
Seahawks. But after coming
to Charlotte on Thursday, he
never made it to Seattle
because the Panthers con
vinced him to stay
“We have a wide receiver
and a football player who is
going to have a huge effect on
this football team .the next
foiar years,” Humey said
before handing Johnson his
new No. 19 Panthers jersey
Johnson said it doesn’t
bother him if quarterback
Jake Delhomme considers
Smith his No. 1 target.
“The only
people who get
caught up in
No. 1 or No. 2
are the ones
playing fanta
sy football,” he
said. “The only
number that
means any
thing is the number of
(Super Bowl) rings 5^u have
on your finger.
“Steve is important to me
and he’s the reason I came
here,” he said. “And I’m
important to him.”
Wth Johnson on the field,
defenses can’t zero in on
Smith because they’ll know
Smith
the Panthers have at least a
second option. CaroUna
lacked that for most of the
year because its running
game took
months to
develop, and
No. 2 receiver
Keary Colbert
had a big
dropoff from
his outstand
ing rookie sea-
son.
Delhomme
Now Johnson takes over
that No. 2 role, where he can
also be used as a blocker to
open up DeShaim Foster and
the running game. Colbert,
who had offseason ankle
surgery to correct a problem
that apparently bothered
him most of last year, won’t
have as much pressure on
Davis drives to historic win
Continued from page 1C
Drive for Diversity is an ethnic and gender
minority driver and crew member develop
ment program based in Charlotte. The pro
gram supports eight drivers in the NASCAR
Dodge Weekly Series and 12 crew members in
the NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR
Craftsman Tiuck Series.
“Thlent behind the wheel of a race car comes
in all shapes, sizes, creeds and colors. The pro
gram’s success has allowed the company to
think long term, because we have some really
good drivers developing on the grassroots
level. Their success wUl ensure this team’s
success now and in the years to come.”
Brock aims for title shot
Continued from page 1C
future of the heavyweight
division than to rush there
and get beat,” he said. “Ri^t
now when the heavyweight
division is mentioned. I’m in
the mix. I’m right there. All I
have to do is keep winning
and when I get there, the
world will know who I am.”
That’s something Brock
has set his sigjits on since his
days training at Charlotte
Boxing Academy As he’s
risen up 'the rankings.
Brock’s on the cusp of profes
sional success he envisioned
as an amateur.
“I’m ahead of everybody
else fiom the 2000 Olympics
era that turned pro. I’ll get a
world title, shot sometime
this year. After June, we’re
looking for a title fight' in
September or October.”
If Brock becomes The Man,
he has a plan to stay there.
His goal is to unify the cham-
Embattled Bonds ready for
record chase; will Rocket?
Continued from page 1C
and the much-improved Mets in the NL East,
not to mention those power-hitting
Philadelphia Phillies. Rookie of the Year Ryan
Howard and Co. could be a lot better than peo
ple think.
“They’re all kind of taking turns stockpiling
and gearing up for us,” Atlanta slugger Chipper
Jones said. “Once again everybody is picking
somebody else. We’ll just lay back in the
weeds.”
In the NL Central, the St. Loxus Cardinals
are moving across the street into a new Busch
Stadium. MVP Albert Pujols, CyYoxmg winner
Chris Carpenter and a healthy Scott Rolen
make this team the favorite for a third consec
utive division crown.
Clemens and his hometown Astros finished
second to St. Louis the past two seasons, win
ning the wild card each time. They finally top
pled the Cardinals in last year’s playoffs to
reach their first World Series, but could they do
it again without him?
TOth 341 wins, 4,502 strikeouts, seven Cy
Young Awards and nothing left to prove, the
43-year-old Clemens has been putting off his
final decision about whether to come back for a
23rd season. He led the majors with an
astovmding 1.87 ERA last year.
The Rocket also pitched well for the United
States in the World Baseball Classic this
month and issued this open-ended statement
after Tbam USA was eliminated in the second
round: ‘Tor me, right now, it’s goodbye.”
Back in December, the Astros figured they
couldn’t wait for an answer fiom CTemens, so
they didn’t offer him arbitration. Under base
ball rules, he can’t re-sign with them until May
1
Over in the American League, the New York
Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Tfexas Rangers
have aU expressed interest in his services.
“He knows how much we would like to have
him back,” Houston manage Phil Gamer said.
‘T think this is the perfect spot for him.”
Even if Clemens retires - again - the top of
Houston’s rotation should still be strong with
NLCS MVP Roy Oswalt and lefty Andy
Pettitte.
After missing nearly aU of last season follow
ing three knee operations, the 41-year-old
Bonds wants at least one more shot at a World
Series ring. He and the San Francisco Giants
certainly have a chance in the wide-open NL
West, won last year by San Diego with an 82-
80 record.
Mike Piazza came over to catch for the
Padres, who had a curious winter and could be
him
But the signing of Johnson
is out of character for the
Panthers, who have made a
public effort to run a prob-
lem-fi:ee program since John
Fox became head coach in
2002. After a series of off-the-
field problems, including for
mer wide receiver Rae
Carruth’s conviction in a
murder-for-hire plot on his
pregnant girlfiiend, the team
has avoided signing players
with bad reputatior^.
Johnson left the New York
Jets and Tkmpa Bay on bad
terms. But his last two years
with the Cowboj^ have been
trouble-free under discipli
narian Bill Parcehs. Still, he
couldn’t avoid the questions
about his character.
‘How come everyone keeps
signing me if I’m such a prob
lem?” Johnson said. ‘T know I
wouldn’t sign Keyshawn for
aU this money if I’m a prob
lem.”
But he also said he has an
image thatfs hard to shake.
‘I’m Me-Shawn,” he said,
smiling at the nickn^e he
inherited over the last 10
years in the league. ‘T’m fine
with that.”
Panthers officials talked to
some of Johnson’s former
clubs and got positive
reports.
‘We knew we had a good
player,” Humey said.
“Everyone we talked to had
something very good to say”
Davis will continue his season at Hickory
Motor Speedway for the remainder of 2006.
“Joe Gibbs Racing and Levis Strauss
Signature have given me a wonderful oppor
tunity and I’m looking forward to an awesome
year and great things to come,’Davis said.
Davis, anative ofMitcheUviUe', Md., already
has several championships on his resume,
including the 2005 National Auto Sport
Association Road Course championship in the
Super Unlimited Division.
On the Net:
Drive for Diversity
wwwjirivefordiversity.com.
pionship, something that
hasn’t happened since
Riddick Bowe was imdisput-
ed champion in 1993.
‘Tm young enough to be
around for another nine
years if I want, because I
haven’t taken any punish
ment,” Brock said. “People
are living longer and mid-
dlewed^ts to heavyweights
back in the day boxed so
often. We don’t box so often -
what, maybe twice a year?’
headed for a fall.
The Los Angeles Dodgers might be San
Francisco’s stiffest competition after new gen
eral manager Ned CoHetti brought in Rafael
Furcal, Nomar Garciaparra (to play first base)
and former Boston manager Grady Little. All-
Star closer Eric Gagne is back fix»m an elbow
injury and the buUpen is deep.
But aU eyes out West will be on Bonds’ climb
up the care^ home run chart. He enters the
season with 708 homei^, needing only seven to
pass Babe Ruth for second place and 48 to
break Hank Aaron’s record.
“The record is Hank’s record as far as I’m con
cerned,” Bonds said when, he reported to spring
training in Scottsdale, Ariz. ‘Tt’s still Hank’s
record until somebody passes it.”
Bonds said he’s not sure if he’ll play beyond
this year, whether he sets the record or not,
and he’s declined to comment on allegations in
a new book that he used performance-enhanc
ing drugs for at least five seasons starting in
1998.
AU. the attention and criticism hardly appear
to bother him at the plate, however. The left
fielder had four homers and nine hits in his
first 13 at-bats of spring training.
A look at the NL in predicted order of finish:
EAST
Atlanta Braves
'The Braves acquired Edgar Renteria to
replace Furcal at shortstop, but lost longtime
pitching guru Leo Mazzone to Baltimore.
The 38-year-old Smoltz teams up with Tim
Hudson atop a de^ rotation, and Gold Glove
center fielder Andruw Jones is coming off a
monster season at the. plate. He led the majors
with 51 homers and finished second to Pujols
in MVP voting.
The big question wUl be the bullpen, where
Chris Reitsma begins the season as the under
whelming closer.
An infusion of rookies helped the Braves win
another division crovm in 2005, but they were
knocked out in the first rormd of the playoffs
for the fourth strai^t year.
Philadelphia Phillies
After losing Wagner and trading slugger Jim
Thome, injured most of last season, new GM
Pat Gillick said the Phillies weren’t good
enou^ to win the division. Still, look for this
club to surprise him and nearly everybody else
by capturing the wild card for the franchise’s
first playoff berth since 1993.
GiUick has already built winning teams in
Tbronto, Baltimore and Seattle. Philadelphia
See NL/3C
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