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SPORTS/QPI^e C^^arlotte $o«t
Thursday, April 6, 2006
ntansoiMiehirsiimeto
draftanewquartertiack
Continued from page 1C
tract, agent Bus Cook told
The Tfermessean.
“All I know is Steve is a
starter and he is one of the
best quarterbacks in foot
ball,” Cook said. “And if the
Titans do in fact draft a new
quarterback and they want
Steve to stay around and be
a m^tor to him, tben he
needs to have a long-term
deal. Otherwise it doesn’t
make seaise for him to stay
aroimd.”
The drama took another
turn Monday when McNair
was told to leave the Titans’
practice facility until his con
tract situation is ironed out.
McNair is scheduled to
count $23.46 million against
Tfennessee’s salary cap in
2006, including a base salary
of $9 million The Titans
would like to restructure his
contract to lower the cap
number, but talks between
Cook and the team are stag
nant, leading to a chance the
Titans could release McNair.
The Titans have been
reluctant to offer McNair a
deal containing guarantees
beyond 2006. Cook is inter
ested in a contract that
would pay McNair a . hefty
signing bonus, along with
guarantees.
“He is a starts. Why would
he want to mentor a young
guy to take his place? He is
not ready for the rocking
chair,” Cook said. ‘Tt doesn’t
make sense for Steve
McNair to take a huge cut in
pay ...to be a mentor for
some young guy no matter
who it is. It might be great
for Tbnnessee, but it would
n’t be good for Steve.”
use’s Matt Leinart, Tfexas’
\Tnce Young and
Vanderbilt’s Jay Cutler are
the top three quarterbacks
in the draft. The Titans have
sent scouts, coaches and offi-
dais to Cutler and Young’s
pro da>^, and expect to do
the same for Leinart
Cook said he didn’t bdieve
the Tltar^ covdd afford both
McNair and a top-rated
quarterback draftee.
McNair has a Super Bowl
appearance, two AFC
Championship berths and a
share of the MVP award in
2003 on his resume, and he
also threw for 3,161 yards
last season with 16 touch
downs on an offense that fea
tured three rookie reedvers.
Titans General Manager
Floyd Reese said the team is
getting closer to working out
a deal with McNair. Reese
deferred to the team owner
for talk on draft decisions.
“Coming from his lips, he
carries a bunch of weight
He’s the boss,” Reese said.
“But I think he is probably
right. It is no surprise to any
body in the football world
that it’s getting about time
(to draft a quarterback). It is
a position we have to
address.”
WNBA DRAFT
Sting adds versatility in Currie
Currie
By Herbert L. White
herb.\vliUe@ihediarloUepo5t com
The Charlotte Sting hope a dash of Currie
will take them out the WNBA basement.
The Sting, which finished a league-worst 6-
28 in 2005, selected 6-0 guard/forward
Monique Currie fium Duke with the third
overall pick and selected 6-5
center Tye’sha Fluker from
Tbnnessee with the 10th. In the
second round, Charlotte select
ed 5-7 Missouri guard LaTbya
Bond with the 27th pick.
Currie averaged 15.2 points,
6.2 rebounds and 3.0 assists in
140 career games with the Blue
Devils. She finished her career
as the only player in ACC his
tory to register over 2,000 points, 800
rehwunds, 400 assists and 200 steals.
“Monique is a very versatile player who sees
the floor well, passes well, is a good rebound
er and has the ability to get to the fi:ee throw
line often,” said Sting General Manager TVudi
Lacey ‘We thought she would be a good fit
with the core of players we have.”
In 2005-06, Currie averaged 16.4 points, 5.8
rebomds and 2.8 assists while hitting 47.5
percent (202-425) and a career-best 42 per
cent (42-100) fium three-point range as a
senior. She turned in the ACC’s only triple
double this season, against Florida State.
A Kodak All-American for the second
straight year, Currie is only the second player
in Duke history as a repeat honoree.
During the course of her career, the
Washington, D.C. native helped the Blue
Devils to three Final Four appearances,
including the championship game TUesday
when they lost to Maryland.
In 2004-05, Currie averaged 17.5 points, 7.1
rebounds and 3.4 assists and was named the
2005 ACC player of the year.
“This is a dream come true for me,” said
Currie. “Fve been a fan of the league since its
inception, and this season, I have really been
looking forward to becoming a part of the
league. I am looking to come in and contribute
and make an impact. I can score, and I am
really looking to put the ball in the basket, if
that’s what they need me to do.”
Fluker averaged 9.3 points and 4.9
rebormds while shooting .532 (133-250) from
the floor this season for Tbnnessee. She fin
ished ranked seventh in school history in
games played (140) and 12th in career blocks
(88).
‘With the 10th pick, we wanted to fill a void
in our post position. We wanted some help in
terms of rebounding,” Lacey said. ‘We think
that she will be able to give us that.”
A thi-ee-time AU-SEC academic selection,
Fluker helped lead Tbnnessee to three Final
Four appearances, two regular season SEC
titles, two SEC tournament titles and a
record of 125-19 over her four-year career.
‘T am so excited,” said Fluker. ‘T’m ready to
work hard and do whatever the coaching staff
needs me to do. I’m a physical post player and
I fike to get in on the block and bang and post
up.”
A native of Pasadena, Calif, Fluker was
named a Tbp 10 finalist for the Naismith
National Player of the Year Award and was
selected to participate in the inaugural
McDonald’s All-American game following her
senior season at John Muir High School.
Bond averaged 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds
and 3.1 assists while shooting .501 (185-369)
from the field for the Tigers this season. An
All-Big 12 first team pick, she was also named
to the All-Big 12 defensive team.
‘LaTbya is a versatile athletic guard who
can score off the dribble,” said Lacey “That
will be a great asset to us considering the rule
change to a 24-second shot clock. She adds
depth to our team at the point guard posi
tion.”
Anative of Urbana, HI., Bond averaged 10.8
points in 110 games as a Tiger and is one of
three players in Missoiai women’s history to
score 1,000 points and pass for 300 assists.
The Sting’s season begins on May 20 at
home against the ^qjansion Chicago Sky
Sporty M45 could use some
beefing up on amenities
WlNF^D
B. Cross-.
Test
Drive
When Infiniti entered the
car market in 1989 it seemed
bait on taking on Jaguar
with its marvelous Q45, at
the time with the most pow
erful production sedan avail
able.
Fast forward to 2006 and
Infiniti seems more con
cerned with BMW. With
each revision or new intro
duction, Infiniti’s cars are
becoming more sports ori
ented with luxury getting
second biUing.
Not that the latest version
of the M45 isn’t a great place
to spend time. The saddle
bag tan seats are as comfort
able as your favorite arm
chair, but far more support
ive. The generous rosewood
ir^erts throughout the cabin
rivals fine furniture. And the
stereo system could easily
blow your home stereo sys
tem away
But every luxury car offers
those amenities these days.
Few offer the kind of perfor
mance Infiniti does. The
M45’s V8 comes straight
fix)m the Q45. At 335 horses
and 340 pounds-feet of
torque available, it should
easily outpace the Q to 60
mph. It’s Lighter but not
what I would call a light.-
weight. The M45 is also rear-
wheel drive, which gives it
an entirely different feel.
Coupled with a four-wheel
independent suspension and
stability control, the M45 is
an adroit handler, allowing
you to sweep around curves
and blast down straight
aways with a big grin plas
tered on your face. The five-
speed transmission clicks
through its gears smoothly
The manual shift mode is a
plus.
Despite the car’s attention
to your need for speed, the
interior wasn’t given short
shrift. The dash befits a lux
ury sedan but it is a little
busy There are lots of but
tons to push as well as a
huge control knob, called a
Controller. Yes, itis a big joy
stick, but you don’t have to
use it a lot. It’s not intuitive.
I couldn’t figure out how to
change the radio station
quicldy Tinkering with the
controller a few minutes
revealed the secret. That’s
not a good thing while dri
ving.
That aside, the M didn’t
have a lot of faults. The
cabin was roomy enou^ for
five and was finished with
luxury car , panache.
Everything was -power oper
ated and such features as
Bluetooth, adaptive head
lights, climate controlled
seats, intelligent key dual
zone climate controls, brake
assist, voice recognition and
19-inch, five-spoke wheels
were standard. Missing was
a rear backup camera and
navigation. At $50,760, those
are things expected.
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