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Section
tlQEie Ctiarlotte $os(t
SPORTS
THURSDAY. JULY 20, 2006
INSIDE
Charlotte Bobcats
hire former Nike
executive to run
team.SC
CIAA doubles intensity with basketball schedules
By Bonitta Best
THE TRIANGLE TRIBUNE
Winston-Salem State is
gone, and Hie
NCAA is
threatening to
move Hie CIAA
to another
region. So Hie
conference is
making some
Kerry charts of its
League will go to round-robin format to ensure NCAA playoff minimum
Winston-Sa]
I
Beginning next basketball
season, the remaining 11
schools will be required to
play each other twice during
the regular season.
Commissioner Leon Kerry
said the change is mainly
about economics.
‘We’re trying it to see what
happens,” he said. “Most of
the teams aie ranked compet
itively It may save us some
money and help us with
scheduling because you have
to play but 26 games, so it
cuts out the outside play”
For some conferences, limit
ing their schedules to “in-
house” only, would spell trou
ble in texms of rankir^ and
strength of schedule. The
CIAA shouldn’t have such
problems. First, the confer
ence is one of - if not the -
strongest basketball league in
Division II, and its extra in
region games should make
the NCAA happy
TTie basketball committee
will “normally look at in
region strer^th of schedule
and then the outer region,”
said Sharon Cessna, NCAA
director of championships. “So
if everybody plays four out
side conference games but in
their region, it will be easier
for the committee to make the
comparisons finm region to
region.”
Althoi^h most coaches are
not complaining about the
char^, the timing they said
could have been better.
Conference officials
announced Hie change only a
few months ago, which
required some re-juggling of
schedules.
‘The only thii^ I wish they
had done was to let us know
that that was the way they
were going as soon as the sea
son was over,” said one coach
who wished to remain anony
mous. “A lot of us had to can-
See CIAA/2C
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
After nine seasons in the WNBA, Charlotte Sting forward Tangela Smith (50) earned her first All-Star game nomination.
All-Star shines bright
Sting forward Tangela Smith plays to higher standard
By Herbert L. White
herb.wh(fe@fhechar/otfeposf.com
After nine years in the
WNBA, Tangela Smith is get
ting her due.
The Charlotte Stir^ forwaiH
was named to the All-Star
team for the first time last
week and she’s been the most
consistent fi’ontcourt player,
leadir^ the Sting in scoring
(13.4 points per game) and
thi'ee-point shooting accuracy
(44 percent).
“I just go out there and do
what I can do and help my
team get Hie win,” she said.
We thought the second half of
the season we wanted to have
a fiesh start, so this is really
gcKxl for oui’ confidence.”
Smith, one of 10 WNBA play
ers to top the 3,000-point
plateau, battled early-season
knee H’ouble that limited her
playing time. Now that the
pain has subsided, she’s play
ing with more confidence.
“She’s starting to get
healthy,” Sting coach Muggsy
Bogues said. ‘‘Early in the sea
son, she was getting her legs,
getting her strength. Now the
last two weeks, she’s really
been coming on.”
Said Smith: “The knees are
doing weU. That’s,just nine
years of playing in the league.
... I’m feefii^ reaUy healthy and
I just want to go out there and
play aggressive and play
strong.”
Smith has been flexing h^
game as a versatile offensive
threat. At 6-foot-4, she’s quick
enough to get to the basket
and can score fixim the perime
ter. In her first game after her
AU-Star appearance, Smith’s
play has been more pro
nounced with the 5-16 Sting
riding a modest two-game win
ning streak, its first of the sea-
See SI\/IITH/2C
All-Star numbers
Charlotte Sting forward Tangela
Smith has been a force on both ends
of the floor, especially offense.
Category Smith Team
rank
WNBA chief: Charlotte can succeed
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
WNBA President Donna Orender
believes the Sting will rebound in
Charlotte.
By Herbert L. White
herb.whife@fhechortoftepost.com
The WNBA is healthier than ever, and
Charlotte’s chances of keeping the Sting here
are good, according to the league’s president.
Donna Orender spoke at lengHi last week
about the WNBA, which is celebratii^ its 10th
anniversary season. The league has ejqaanded
to 14 teams and is improving attendance, but
Charlotte is a troubled market. Despite a mod
est two-game win streak, the Sting is 5-15 and
is near the bottom of the league in attendance.
The following are her comments, edited for
brevity and clarity
Q: WlU. the Sting stay in Charlotte?
A: “I Hiink their chances are excellent. I base
it on I think Charlotte is a great community
it’s a great basketball town and I think it
believes in women and families and I think
that’s the brand identity of the Sting. As we
look forward to give this fi'anchise the right
support and focus, it’s very much at the fore-
fiont of the league’s attention and therefore
the prospects are excellent.”
Q: The Sting plays in a new arena and for
mer Charlotte Hornets star Mix^sy Bogues is
head coach, yet attendance is lagging. What
needs to happen to turn the fi*anchise around?
“I think we have to get some focused man-
Please see STING/3C
Drag racer looks to set example on and olf the traek
SPECIAL 70 THE POST
RALEIGH - Candyce
Marsh is a new breed of
sports competitor who is
determined to win on and off
the racetrack.
“Working hard to win in
fife and in sports has been a
personal commitment that
I’ve shared for many years,”
Marsh said. “I’ve had to
make a lot of sacrifices along
the way to get to where I am
today In the end, it’s all
woiih it.”
Marsh, a drag-racer, is
paving the way in the motor-
sports arena. But, according
to Marsh, ‘It’s far beyond
ethnicity that inevitably dri
ves competitors like myself
to the finish fine; it’s the tal
ent, hard work and dedica
tion to the sport.”
Similar to Serena and
Venus Williams, Marsh
laxmched her career at an
early age. With the guidance
of her father, a racer himself,
Marsh made her debut at 17
on the International Hot Rod
Association -national event
tour in the Hot Rod class.
After completing just' two
seasons there, she was able
to gain a substantial amount
of driving experience and
increase her knowledge of
racing. These successes led
See RACER/2C
#©oi
Family
affair for
Wood and
Tar Heels
Victory Christian Center
standout follows dad and
sister to North Carolina
By Herbert L. White
herb.wn/fe@fhecharioffeposf.com
Candace Wood is following her father’s basket
ball footsteps. And sister’s.
Wood, a 5-11 guard/forward at Victory
Christian Center, announced her intention to
play at North Carolina in 2008.
Her father, Al, is the school’s I
fourth-leading scorer of all time *
and has his number retired
there. Wood’s sister, Martina, a I
6-2 sophomore center, played in 1
18 games with the Tar
Heels last season. i
Wood has stood out I
in national competi
tions, most recently at the
Adidas Tbumament of i
Champions, where she ,
played for the Carolina .
Classics coached by for
mer NBA star Blue j
Edwards and Hie Nike i
Victory
Christian
Center’s
Candace
Wood.
PHOTO/GLENN NELSON
Jr. Phehom all-star ,
game. Wood
showed “athleti-|j
dsm, long-range
touch, ballhan
dling and defen
sive prowess”
against national competition, according to
HoopGiorlz.com, an online magazine covering
girls’ basketball.
She was also picked to play on the North
Carolina squad at the AAU Junior Olympics in
Hampton, Va., this month.
Wood averaged 20 points, six reboxmds and
four assists as a sophomore at Victory Christian,
one of Charlotte’s top girls’ programs.
Owens blames
media portrayal
for controversy
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
IRVING, Tbxas - TbireU Owens blames the
media for portraying him as a selfish player,
although he admits a tendency of saying thirgs
about others that he wouldn’t want said about
himself
In an interview with Bryant Gumbel airing
Tuesday night on HBO’s “Real' Sports with
Bryant Gumbel,” Owens acknowledges dishing
out more criticism than he’s willing to take.
“The only thing I can really think of is maybe it
was the way I grew up, you know,” he said,
according to a transcript released Monday to The
Associated Press. “I got picked on so much, and
it’s like I feel like I’m stiU constanHy being picked
on.”
Owens said he doesn’t think reporters are nec
essarily conspirii^ against him as much as using
him “to gain viewers’ attention.” As a result, he
beheves that he is “misunderstood.” He said other
players have been, too, ‘but I feel hke I have been
one of Hie main guys who’ve been vilified. ”
Why?
“That’s the million-dollar question,” he said.
‘Why me? ... At some point it does get to me. And
Ican’tsayitenou^. Dude, I’m human and that’s
what I’m trying to get people to understand.”
Owens also discussed his spat with quarter
back Donovan McNabb that eventually led to his
release by the Eagles.
As he wrote in a recentiy released book, Owens
Please see T.O./^3C