3C
SPORTS/S^e Clarlotte
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Out of shape, answers
Miami’s ready to fall
Continued from 1C
road before - as recently as
the Eastern Conference play-
ofe.
“Everybody has written our
team off, even in Chicago,
when we lost two games in
Chicago. Then we got buried
by New Jersey in the first
game and we were history
Then we were history against
Detroit. Even when we were
ahead 3-1, we w^e history
“So I’m sure we’re history
right now,” he added. “We’ll
see what happens at home.”
The normally loquacious
O’Neal held his tongue after
the Mavericks’ 99-85 win gave
them a 2-0 lead in the series.
That bit of restraint cost him
$10,000, and the Heat oi^ani-
zation another $25,000, but
saved him at least that much
in embarrassment.
Two years ago, not lor^ after
Shaq fled LA for Miami,
Dampier signed a big deal in
Dallas and immediately
declared himself the second-
best center in the league.
O’Neal responded by renam
ing Dampier ‘Erica,” then got
a Htfle extra mileage out of
the gag by insisting the only
place Dampier would be a
dominant center was in the
WNBA. And when an injury
in the playoffs last year limit
ed his effectiveness, he could
n’t resist telling reporters he
was “playing like Erick
Dampier.”
Shaq should be so lucky Out
of shape or patience, or maybe
both, he w£is outplayed by
Dampier everjwhere on the
court and across the stat line.
As promised, the Heat pound
ed the ball down into O’Neal
in the post on their opening
possession and he dropped in
a nifty layup. But the
Mavericks settled into essen
tially the same defense as in
Game 1, doubling and
tripling O’Neal on every sub
sequent touch, forcing him to
pass the ball out of the post
and daring his supporting
cast, again, to beat them.
In his prime, ONeal would
have gone over or through
Dampier and his second,
DeSagana Diop, as often as
necessary but now he needs
help. The Heat provided
more than the first, time
aroimd, but not much. They
shot 41 percent fiom the floor,
after a fidghtful 37-percent
performance in the opening
game.
Dallas, meanwhile, added a
variety of screens at the other
end of the flcwr to create room
for Dirk Nowitzki to operate,
which in turn fi*eed up Jerry
Stackhouse for a handful of
wide-open jumpers, and the
outcome was effectively
sealed at halftime. Shaq sat
most of the second half, Riley
conceded, to conserve energy
in what was by then a lost
cause.
'Ifeams that come out flat in
finals series rardy recover -
25 of the 27 that took a 2-0
lead have gone on to win - but
most respond by changing
things up in a hurry Riley’s
strong suit as a coach has
alwaj^ been motivation, as
oppceed to strategy but he
looks hke someone who has
run out of answers.
When he deep-sixed Stan
Van Gimdy and traded a seat
in the executive suite for one
on the bench, the plan was to
coax more effort fiom a veter
an team.
“I don’t think it had any
thing to do with energy” Riley
said about' Simday night’s
loss. “The whole thing now is
about the next game, and try-
ir^ to leave this behind us.
Maybe set a fire imder us to
do something different than
what we did here.”
Of course, that was the plan
after the Heat got poimded in
Game 1. Miami is fighting a
deficit in the effort depart
ment, but it’s hardly the only
one. O’Neal can rouse himself
to take over games for a short
time, but the cavalry isn’t
going to arrive in time. The
Heat still have no answer for
Nowitzki, or Josh Howard or
Stackhouse- And no matter
how many inspirational ploys
Riley cooks up in the locker
room, it’s clear he’s out of
ideas once Miami sets foot on
the court-
For different reasons, he
and Shaq got so swept up in
the idea that these finals
would be their crowning
achievement, the payoff for
doing things the way they
always had in the past, that
they never drew up a Plan B.
And now it’s too late.
Yet when someone asked
Dwyane Wade, the young
superstar who was supposed
to pick up the slack, what the
Heat had to change heading
into Game 3, he didn’t hesi
tate.
“Eveiything,” he said.
CIAA rivals highlight HBCU
doubleheader in New York City
Johnson
Continued from page 1C
“Madison Square Garden is honored to host
the inaugural Big Apple Classic,” he said in a
statement. “It is a great addition to the sto
ried tradition of college basketball at MSG.”
Johnson Inc. will own and operate the dou
bleheader.
The inaugural event, sched-
. uled for Dec. 2, wiU feature a
menis basketball doubleheader
of historically Black universi
ties, with games between CIAA
rivals Mrginia Union and
Bowie State as well as MEAC
foes Hampton and Howard.
Johnson, the 43-year-old
founder, owner and president of
the Jackson Ward company,
said he came up with the idea of bri-nging
HBCU basketball to the Big Apple three
years ago. -He said he started meeting with
Madison Square Garden officials in February
and signed a contract two weeks ago.
“It’s always been a part of our growth strat
egy” Johnson said. “We thought it was a per
fect market for this event. live gone to New
York several times and our research shows a
hr^ void. This is a tremendous opportunity
to bring HBCU-style basketball to New York
City Many of these institutions have gradu
ated folks from the northeastern corridor.
Vuginia has had a link with these institutions
and it was a natural fink for us.
‘Eor me, itis another opportunity to do qual
ity work,” he said, iltis an opportunity to pre
sent quality basketball to the northeastern
corridor and to showcase the good qualities of
these institutions.”
Johnson said he now is negotiating televi
sion rights for broadcast of the games. He also
is in the process of selecting a charity to be a
beneficiary of the event.
Meanwhile, the commissioners of the two
conferences heaped lavish praise on the
event.
‘We are thrilled to have Virginia Union
University and Bowie State University repre
sent the CIAA in the Big Apple Classic,! CIAA
Commissioner Leon Kerry said. iThis classic
falls in fine with our efforts as a conference to
provide meaningful and lasting expeiiences
for our student-athletes.
“What place in the coimtry offers more
diversity in the cultural arts, endless enter-
tainmeait and record-breaking sports than
New York City? Congratulations to Johnson
Inc. for creating such an enormous opportuni
ty for our students.!
MEAC Commissioner Dennis E. Thomas
said, “This is a tranendous opportunity for
MEAC institutions, Hampton and Howard
universities, to have expostore for their insti
tutions and basketball programs Madison
Square Garden is a perfect place to showcase
MEAC basketball.”
Johnson promises to piXK^uce an atmos
phere similar to that of the NBA All-Star
weekend, with a kick-off event, halftime per
formances, celebrity appearances and after-
parties.
The new classic builds on the success for
mula Johnson has used to develop his compa
ny since he larmdied it 12 years ago.He
already has created a stable of annual events
in Richmond. They include the Freedom
Classic basketball game between CIAA rivals
Miginia Union and Virginia State that is
played each year during the Dr. Martin.
Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.
Other events include the yearly Fridays at
Sunset summer concert series and the Sister-
for-Sister fall conference.
Johnson’s company also is a joint-venture
partner in managing the Richmond
Coliseum.
Heis also been influ^tial in dty and busi
ness circles. He helped usher in the $170 mil
lion Richmond Convention Center in the
1990s during his tenure as chairman of the
areals convention and visitors bureau and
helped set housing policy during four years as
chairman of the Richmond Redevelopment
and Housing Authority
Livingstone to induct nine for hall
Continued from page 1C
Watkins ‘95 of Durham, former football stand
out Itoy Veale (‘95) of Bertie County N.C., and
administrator/ track and field standout Clifton
Huff (‘85) of Wilmington
The induction ceremony at University Hilton
on Harris Boulevard is a black tie affair and is
open to the public at $100 per plate. The
Go beyond the score
Cljarlotte ^osit
celebrity golf tournament, at Rocky Riva- Golf
Course in Concord, is also open to the public at
$85 per individual or $325 per foursome. All
profits wfll benefit the Livingstone Athletic
Scholarship Foundation.
For information on haU of fame events, call
Livingstone’s athletic department at (704) 216-
6012, or alumni affairs office at (704) 216-6009.
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