2C
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SPORTSAT^e Charlotte
Thursday, August 3, 2006
Sting playing for next season
Continued from page 1C
gave away You get finstrat-
ed.”
In a season of disappoint
ment, there is optimism.
Charlotte improved its win
total by two games over 2005
with four games left. As a
team, the Sting has shown
potential to be more compet
itive, albeit erratic.
“This has been a process
where I feel I’m getting them
to understand what my phi
losophy is,” Bogues said.
‘WeVe just not been consis
tent enough carrying it aU
tiie way tiirou^. We’ve got
to have a little meanness, a
little toughness on oiar side
in toms of when we need
that stop, we’ve got to get
that stop, no matter who it is
on the floor.”
Golden Bulls eye first win in three years
Continued from page 1C
ent about this year, and the
lasf?
For starters, McNefll
knows what’s needed and
could address it through
recruiting. Although he treat
ed his list of signees like it’s a
national security matter,
McNeill brou^t in 14 trans
fers ■ an unheard of haul for
JCSU - and four high school
recruits. If the new guys pan
out, the Bulls wfll be better.
How much is anyone’s guess.
Is Marquis Belton still
Smith’s best player^
Yep, but heU be pushed by
running back Marco Kirven,
who showed in spring prac-
BASEBALL
tice he’s capable of dominat
ing. Belton, a senior receive
from Charlotte, is a presea-
son all-CIAA
■ selection and
is one of the
league’s best
when he has
the ball.
TVouble is,
receiver is
probably the
most team-
position on
Belton
end.
What will be a surprise?
Kirven. The transfer from
Southwest
Baptist was
13th in
Division II in
rushing in
2003 with
122.9 yards a
game.
He showed
breakaway
Haynesworth
dependent
offense.
That’s why sophomore
quarterback Carlton
Richardson has to emerge as
a close second for Belton to
be all-conference at season’s
ability in spring practice,
something Smith has lacked
in recent years.-A plodder he
isn’t, which is critical for
Smith, which produced just
743 rushing jmds last year.
Can the defense keep games
manageable?
That’s a concern with hne-
backer Chris Nelson gradu
ated. Smith was decent last
year but was betrayed by a
balky offense, which aver
aged 10 points and 212.1
yards per game. The best
playa^ are defensive tackle
D. J. Haynesworth, a presea
son all-CIAA defensive end
and safety Steve Williams
Linebacker Omar BizzeU is
capable of putting up all-con
ference numbers.
So whaifs the bottom line?
Upgrades aU aroimd
should deliver a couple of
wins. The CIAA title is still a
long way off
Lee focused on Rangers to playoffs
By Stephen Hawkins
WE ASSOC]AIED PRESS
ARLINGTON, Tfex.as -
Carlos Lee is focused on help
ing the Tfexas Rangers now.
The All-Star slugger isn’t
thinking about what might
happen after this season
when he can become a fiee
agent.
“That’s one thing I don’t
reaUy worry about,” Lee said
Saturday a day after being
traded fixim Milwaukee in a
six-player deal. ‘T’ve got to go
out and do iny best, do any
thing I can to help the team
win games. Ijustplay”
The Brewers traded their
best player after it became
apparent he wasn’t planning
to stay past this season. An
NL All-Star in both of his sea
sons in Mlwaukee, Lee
turned down a four-year
extension reportedly worth
$48 million on Thursday
“A lot of things happened in
the process that couldn’t work
out ... a lot of stuff that hap
pened that didn’t really work
out the way I wanted,” Lee
said, without elaborating.
Tiying for their first playoff
appearance since 1999, the
Rangers added an impact bat
in the first major deal com
pleted in the days leading up
to Monday’s non-waiver trade
deadline.
But general manager Jon
Daniels made it clear after
completing the deal that his
desire is to have Lee for
longer than just the remain
der of this season.
“He’s potentially at the peak
of his career. It seems like he’s
gotten better each year... A lot
of things are aligned for this
guy to be how he is for a
while,” manager Buck
Showalter said. ‘We’d love to
have him around, but ri^t
now we’re focused on the last
eight to 10 weeks of the sea
son.”
The 30-year-old Lee hit .286
with 28 home runs and 81
RBIs in 102 games for
Milwauk^, already his fifth
straight season with at least
25 homers. He is a .284 career
hitter over eight seasons with
the Chicago White Sox (1999-
04) and Milwaukee (2005-06).
If he was a free agent, Lee
said he “wouldn’t mind” play
ing in Tfexas or other teams in
warm cfimates. He owns a
100-acre ranch outside of
Houston.
The Rangers sent reliever
Francisco Cordero and out
fielders Kevin Mench and
Laynce Nix, and minor
league left-hander Julian
Cordero - no relation to
Francisco - to Milwaukee.
Minor league outfielder
Nelson Cruz also went to the
Rangers, and was added to
their major league roster.
‘Tt feels good that you know
that a lot of people are coxmt-
ing on you. I don’t see that as
pressure. I see that more as a
challenge,” Lee said. “I’m here
and IT be up to it. I don’t
expect anything but the best
fium myself”
Lee went 2-for-4 in his Tfejas
debut Friday ni^t, with sin
gles up the middle in his first
two at-bats after arriving at
the stadium with a police
escort only about 35 minutes
before the start of the
Rangers’ 11-3 loss to Kansas
City
“I’m a lot more relaxed
today,” Lee said. ''Yesterday
was a crazy day It turned out
to be a crazy game. Hopefully,
every thing settles down.”
After being the designated
hitter and batting fourth in
his Rangers debut, Lee was in
left field on Saturday night
against the Ro5nls and batted
third between Michael Young
and Mark Tfeixeira. Lee was 3-
for-4 with a walk, a double
and a run scored in the
Rangers’ 5-3 loss.
Showalter planned to talk
with Lee after Saturday’s
game about whether to rou
tinely bat No. 3 or 4 in the
lineup. Lee does prefer play
ing in the outfield, which
Showalter was glad to hear.
‘He wants to play defense.
not fall into that DH role,”
Showalter said.
Cruz started Saturday
night, batting ninth and play- •
ing ri^t field. He struck out
on three pitches as a pinch
hitter in the ninth inning
Friday
PHOTO/WADE NASH
New Orleans Hornets guard and Salisbury native Bobby
Jackson looks for an opening during his annual summer
camp and all-star game at Livingstone. Jackson signed with
New Orleans iast month.
Police call Bonds attorney
when they’re in legal trouble
By David Kravets and Paul Elias
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO - He might be as self-
assured as his client, and Barry Bonds’ attor
ney is no stranger to big cases.
The formm* U.S. Marine and police officer
ridiculed the government’s steroids investiga
tion last week, saying prosecutors didn’t have
enough evidence to indict a ham sandwich, let
alone Bonds. He has accused U.S. Attorney
Kevin Ryan and his deputies of engaging in an
obsessive witch hunt.
‘T’ve never deviated,” Michael Rains said,
“fiom the amount of contempt for them, by the
way they’ve treated Barry”
Known for his aggressive legal tactics, the 56-
year-old Rains regularly defends cops accused
of misconduct.
“If you’re a police officer, I think Mike Rains
is the guy you want representing you,” said
John Burris, an Oakland attorney who sues
police officers for brutality and has tangled
with Rains in court.
In Bonds, one of poofessional baseball’s great
est sluggers, he has foimd his highest-profile
client.
Prosecutors think the San Francisco Giants
outfielder might have lied under oath when he
reportedly told an earlier grand jury he never
knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.
They’re also looking into whether Bonds failed
to pay taxes on proceeds fiom the sale of mem
orabilia.
One grand jury’s term expired in mid-July
without issuing an indictment, but prosecutors
quickly convened a new panel that began inter
viewing witnesses last Thursday
Rains says he landed Bonds as a client
through a mutual acquaintance, Dan Moheri,
a boyhood fiiend of Bonds and a former South
San Francisco pdice officer.
Most of Rains’ work defending police officers
has been in California trial courts. But Bonds’
case, should he be indicted, would be handled
by the federal court system.
T\vo people close to Giants chief operating
officer Larry Baer say he has urged Bonds to
get additional legal counsel. They spoke on con
dition of anonymity because of the secretive
nature of the investigation. Baer did not
respond to attempts for comment.
Rains said anyone who thinks he’s unfit to
represent Bonds is just envious.
“They just think they should be representing
him,” Rains said.
In fact, he scored one of his biggest profes
sional wins in a Fresno federal court when he
and other attorneys won an acquittal in the
high-profile prosecution of eight Corcoran
State Prison guards accused of staging Radia
tor-style fights between inmates of different
races in 1994. The trial was the subject of
intoise media scrutiny including coverage by
CBS’ “60 Minutes” newsmagazine.
‘Tt took me one day to dismantle the entire
government case. I have no fear of being in fed
eral court,” Rains said.
Rains also defended Clarence “Chuck”
Mabanag, one of four Oakland Police officers
dubbed “The Riders,” who were accused in
2000 of regularly beating and framing suspects
and covering it up by falsifying police reports.
Three of the officers, including Mabanag,
were tried twice. Both cases resulted in mistri
als after jurors deadlocked in trials that were
heavily covered by the media. Alameda County
prosecutors decided against staging a third
trial.
Tbrry Wiley, a 16-year veteran of the
Alameda County District Attorney’s office who
was Rains’ adversary in the second Riders
trial, said Rains is a "versatile” attorney who
can change his litigation strategy to fit the
tenor of each tidal.
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