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Section
tCIie Cliatrlotte
SPORTS
THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2006
Commitment to duty,
country and recovery
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
Charlotte 49ers hammer thrower Brandon Wyatt
was a sprinter when he left for Iraq. A shoulder
injury after an insurgent attack helped lead him to
field events upon his return to school.
Suns, Heat
slumping
No. 2
seeds
HE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Phoenix Suns won a
division title, though Steve
Nash didn’t see much on the
court to celebrate. Instead,
he sent a warning to his
team.
So did Pat Riley, who does
n’t like what he is seeing
from his division champion
Miami Heat.
Clearly, the Sxms and Heat
have more in common than
just being No. 2 seeds _ if
Miami even holds onto its
position.
Phoenix won the Pacific
Division for the second
straight year, but couldn’t do
it on its own terms Sunday.
The Suns lost 116-114 at
Seattle and had to wait for
the Clippers to lose to the
Lakers before they were offi
cially champions.
Nash had 13 points and 11
assists in 30 minutes, and
was disappointed afterward
in the team’s approach to the
defeat, which dropped
Phoenix to 8-9 in the last 17
games.
“If we don’t change our
attitude and our commit
ment throughout a game,
we’re really setting ourselves
up for the harsh realities
that we’ve seen,” Nash said.
At least the Suns have no
chance of losing their No. 2
seed. That’s not the case for
Miami.
After falling 93-84 to
Orlando for their second
straight home loss, the Heat
was only 21/2 games in front
of New Jersey for the second
spot. And Riley was hinting
at changes so his team could
stop the slump.
‘It’s almost a crossroads for
me right now, to find the
competitive warriors and the
competitiveness of those
guys will transcend the tal
ent and reputation,” Riley
said. “I’m going to try to find
the guys who are going to try
to play the hardest and best
in support of ovir two great
players.”
At Miami, the Heat’s only
lead was 2-0, and there were
few contributions beyond the
27 points from Dwyane
Wade and 16 points and nine
rebounds from Shaquille
O’Neal.
Miami lost for the sixth
time in 11 games.
But before they worry
about the postseason, the
Suns have to fix their
defense.
The Suns have lost three of
four, and have allowed 110 or
more points in five of their
last eight games.
“We didn’t make shots and,
to be honest, tonight we
weren’t very smart and we
were pretty soft I thought at
times,” Nash said. “We really
weren’t that competitive for
stretches of the game. It’s
frustrating; we all have to
look at ourselves and try to
get better and be more com
petitive throughout the
game.”
Throwing helps 49ers
Wyatt heal wounds
By Eric Bozeman
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Brandon Wyatt can’t run from the
scars of service to his country. But he’s
found the strength to cope.
The Charlotte senior was severly
injured in a 2004 convoy attack in
Iraq that ended his career as a sprint
er. He clearly remembers the day his
life turned upside down.
”Our convoy was attacked, we went
off the road and I tore a lot of muscles
in my shoulder,” Wyatt said. “It felt
like my shoulder had partially
popped out, so I had a little bit of
nerve injury.”
The Army started Wyatt’s rehabili
tation immediately, but another
tragedy struck.
See THROWING/2C
PHOTO/WAYNE PAULO.COM
Former N.C. A&T standout Qasim Mitchell is adjusting to NFL Europe. He’s learning to play guard
as well as acclimating himself to a different culture.
^different,,
world
In NFL Europe, culture shock gives way to opportunity
By Herbert L. White
herb M'hiief&iliechcirhmcposi.com
Frankfurt, Germany is a long
way from Jacksonville, N.C.
But that’s where Qasim
Mitchell’s NFL dream has
taken him.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound
Mitchell, who grew up in
Jacksonville and played col
lege football at N.C. A&T, is a
guard with NFL Europe’s
Galaxy. Culturally, he’s had to
make some adjustments.
“It’s a whole different atmos
phere,” he said. “I’m like 8 feet
tall and everybody drives like
100 miles an hour because
they’ve got the Autobahn. The
only thing we have in common
is McDonald’s, Burger King
and KFC.”
And football, which is why
Hampton’s Zuriel Smith is
playing with the Rhein Fire.
The former Hampton standout
is trying to make a comeback
after two years away from the
NFL. Being far from home was
difficult at first, he admits.
See FOOTBALL/2C
NFL Europe history
First season; 1991, with 12 teams.
2006 teams: Six - Amsterdam Admirals,
Beilin Thunder, Cologne Centurions
Frankfurt Galaxy, Hamburg Sea Devils,
Rhein Fire.
Alumni in the NFL; QB Jake Delhomme
and RB Jama), Robertson, Carolina; QB
Kurt Warner, Arizona {Super Bowl MVP),
RB Maurice Hicks. San Francisco.
HBCU players on 2006 rosters: 13.
Bonds
ism
fazed by
snuggle
Season-opening slump is
offset by Giants ’ success
icmg.
■
Bonds
By Janie McCauley
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds can live
with low batting numbers and no home runs as
long as his teammates keep producing.
He remains stalled at 708
career home runs one week into
the season, not yet even coming
close to hitting one out of the ball
park.
“It’s all right. rU turn it around,”
said Bonds, seven homers shy of |
passing Babe Ruth’s 714 and 48
away from breaking Hank
Aaron’s mark of 755. “I eiin’t hit
ting anything,”
Bonds was 2-for-12 for a .167 batting average.
On Sunday in a win against Atlanta, his biggest
contributions were scoring a run and making a
sprinting catch on a high fly by Chipper Jones
near foul territory in shallow left.
"I’ll take a 2-for-the-rest-of-the-season as long
as we win the World Series,” Bonds said, stand
ing by his comer locker after the game. “I have
not swung the bat well in the past and the team
has won games. There are times you’re going to
be a big part of it and times, you’re not going to
be part of it.... It’s just fun to win. I’ll be fine.”
See BONDS/3C
SPEEDING INTO ROCKINGHAM
IHRAPHOTO
Harold Martin, one of the top drag racers In the
country, will try for his second IHRA win of the
season April 21-23 at Rockingham Dragway at
the Nicko’s NY Style Pizza Spring Nationals.
He won the season-opening Speedtech Winter
Drags at South Georgia Motorsports Park.
Sting re-signs
Sutton-Brown,
extends Mazzante
By Herbert L. White
berb.\vhiie@ihecharloueposuom
The Charlotte Sting is keeping a couple of its
young core players.
The WNBA team re-signed cen
ter Tammy Sutton-Brown and
exercised the fourth-year option
on guard Kelly Mazzante through
2007.
Sutton-Brown, originally picked
by Charlotte with the 18th overall
pick in the 2001 draft, averages
9.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 Mazzante
blocks while shooting .485 (516-
1065) from the field in 163 career games. In
2005, she averaged 9.4 points and finished sixth
in the league in field goal percentage shooting
.509 (111-218) from the field, 11th with 5.3
rebounds and 19th with 1.09 blocks.
“We are thrilled to have Tammy back with the
Charlotte Sting,” said General Manager Tmdi
Lacey. “She has been an integral part of our
team for the past five years and has continued
to make improvements in her game to become
one of the top centers in the league. We have
See WNBA/2C
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