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Sports Monday NFL Fantasy Leagues Full Of Fanatics It’s time. After all the hoopla, after all the preseason wheeling and dealing, after all the worrying about injuries and holdouts, it’s finally here. The smack-talking, the prognostica tion, the tinkering with lineups - they’ve all led up to this moment. Fantasy football season is upon us. Let the dorkery begin. With last Thursday’s New York Giants-San Francisco 49ers matchup, fantasy team owners every where began their ritual firing up of computers, checking of their players’ stats, rooting out their lineup’s weak links and search ing for the blue chip talent that initially evaded * IAN GORDON OFF WAIVERS their gaze. Sure, the NFL is a big deal these days, and I suppose the guys who make up the “real” teams probably have much more of a vested interest in the “real” games they play. But don’t tell that to the thousands of fantasy team owners around the nation who, come every Sunday, prime themselves for their public or private-access, head-to-head or points leagues housed by sites like Yahoo.com and ESPN.com. Now, I’m not going to sit here and extol the virtues of an Internet-free life, or give instructions as to how you can slip out of the life-sucking noose that is fantasy football. How could I, considering that as I • write, the homepage of Yahoo! private league #61541 is open on the comput er screen before me? Instead, I think it would be more appropriate if I shed some light on exactly what fantasy leagues are and how truly weird they are. According to a letter posted on the National Fantasy Football Center Web site byjames Mesick, the NFFC com missioner (imagine what this guy is like), fantasy football is “all about having fun.” Fun indeed. If fantasy football is about having fim, why are people so insane about it? Take my fantasy league, for exam ple. Unlike other leagues in which I have participated in the past, the draft for players in the league was live, instead of computer-driven. Think about that for a second. For an automated draft, it takes about 20 minutes out of your day to make a fist of the players you’d like to draft, and then the computer does all of the work. If your highest-ranked player is drafted, it will draft your next highest ranked player for you. A live draft has a whole different, and completely more pathetic, feel. The 10 team owners in our league sat around one Sunday afternoon in the commis sioner’s living room, and we actually went through 18 rounds of drafting. Everyone had a draft board and took note of the other teams’ picks. Everyone nodded at the perceived good picks, smirked at the bad ones and uttered a quick “Damn!” when other teams select ed the players they wanted. This, it seemed, was not normal behavior. Then again, there I was, nodding, smirking and uttering just like everyone else. For all two and a half hours of the draft. And what for? To join a league that you probably won’t win, that initially will sap your spare time and your energy, and that eventually you’ll stop paying attention to anyway? For plenty of people, though, this is a good time. No, check that. A great time. So much so that people like to cheat at it The fantasy football Web page at Yahoo! reveals a link to the site rules, which include this disclaimer: Even though fantasy games are meant to be a com petitive experience for all invoked, it is important to us that our users not lose sight of the rules of fair play and good sportsmanship. What says “fun” like being reminded not to lie and cheat your way to victory? But tonight, as I check the scores one last time, it seems as though I’m winning this week’s matchup. One win, no losses, so far. Maybe this isn’t so bad, after all. Or perhaps I’m too much of a loser to see how strange this has become. lan Gordon can be reached at igordon@email.unc.edu. in DTH/GREG LOGAN North Carolina freshman Lindsay Tarpley heads in a goal past Husky goalkeeper Lisa Brookens in the first half to give UNC a 2-0 lead. Durant Spurs Offense to Squeeze Orangemen Sophomore QB excels in 4th quarter By Aaron Fitt Sport Saturday Editor SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Just when it looked like Darian Durant had fumbled away his quarterback job, he scooped it up off the Carrier Dome turf and didn’t let go. North Carolina coach John Bunting stuck with his sophomore QB despite two first-half fumbles, and was rewarded Football ______________ UNC 30 Syracuse 22 for his patience with a seven-minute, 17- second touchdown drive that sealed the Tar Heels’ 30-22 victory against Syracuse (0-2) on Saturday. The 14-play, 77-yard drive began with UNC (1-1) clinging to a 23-22 lead at the 10:13 mark in the fourth quarter. Four consecutive Jacque Lewis runs up the middle gained a total of 17 yards and directed Syracuse’s attention away from the passing game. Durant completed an 11-yard pass to tight end Zach Hilton to cross into Syracuse territory. Two plays later, on a key third-and-15, Durant found wideout Sam Aiken over the middle for a 21- yard gain. “Throughout the game (Syracuse) usually doubled the guy in the slot, so we decided to use a trips formation so they couldn’t double anybody,” Durant said. “Sam just found a hole in the zone and I was fortunate enough to find him.” Durant then scrambled for 13 yards on third-and-eight at the 31, and later con nected with Bobby Blizzard in the back of the end zone on another third-down play. “Offensively in the second half, we moved the ball,” Bunting said. “We moved the ball, and we wore them down Mullinix Carries Success Beyond Years at UNC By Kellie Dixon Assistant Sports Editor Chances are good the next time Siri Mullinix prepares for a game, she will eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich. She’s also likely to jump up and touch the cross bar just before the first whistle blows. It’s little super stitions like that that keep Mullinix on point. But with her skills, she seems like the last person to need to cling to luck, or anything else. Mullinix, who played on two national champi # jESSt For the next several months, The Daily Tar Heel will profile former UNC athletes who were among the ACC's best. Next week: Men's soccer onship teams at North Carolina and cur rendy plays for the Washington Freedom, was one of 23 UNC women’s soccer play ers named to the list of the 50 greatest ACC women’s soccer players of all time. But Mullinix’s success didn’t start with UNC, and it certainly hasn’t ended. Asa rising senior at Ragsdale High ■ ’'•va&jjL . V \ • fMßpjHEfr ■•li PHOTO COURTESY OFJAMES PINSKY/THE DAILY ORANGE North Carolina defensive back Michael Waddell (center) returns a kick against Syracuse on Saturday in the Carrier Dome. Waddell returned two punts for minus-1 yards in the Tar Heels' 30-22 victory. a little. We needed our offense to have some ball control and give our defense a rest, and that is what happened.” Durant attributed the third-down suc cess during the drive to aggressive play calling. “We just didn’t want to let up," Durant said. “We knew that in that situation we needed to keep the ball in order to win. As long as the ball is in our hands it’s hard for them to score, so we just need ed to keep the ball in our hands.” Keeping the ball in his hands was not as easy for Durant in the first half. His first fumble occurred on North School in Jamestown, she was sand wiched between sisters Melissa and Cindy - both soccer standouts. However it was Siri’s goalkeeping that enticed UNC coach Anson Dorrance to extend to her the opportunity to join the Tar Heel squad a year early. “Of course we were disappointed. When you think you’re going to have a great player for four years, then you only have her for three,” said Ragsdale coach Brien Braswell, who coached Mullinix and her teammates to two state champi onships. “That was a rare opportunity.” That opportunity is also one that Dorrance said he extended just one other time at UNC, to Mia Hamm. “The thing we loved about Siri is she was a kid who came to our camp when she was young,” Dorrance said. “Asa North Carolinian, we saw this amazing athleticism that usually is hard for us to recruit in-state and find national-caliber athletes. But she was one of the first, so we were thrilled about her decision to come here and play here for us.” That was 1995, die same year the Tar Heels ended a nine-year national cham pionship streak. Mullinix expected to redshirt that year but found playing time Tar Heel Freshmen Impress In Weekend Tourney Wins By Kellie Dixon Assistant Sports Editor The North Carolina women’s soccer team discovered quickly this weekend just how deadly three of its newest additions can be, and how well they already fit in. Three fresh men, Lindsay Tarpley, Kendall Fletcher and Women’s Soccer Washington I UNC 5 Guilford 0 UNC 9 Lori Chalupny, all fresh from stints with the U.S. under-19 national* team, helped the Tar Heels defeat Washington 5-1 Sunday on Fetzer Field in the Carolina/Nike Classic. But the new players, who were sub stituted about 28 minutes into Sunday’s match, weren’t without leadership. Sophomore Mary McDowell opened Carolina’s second play from scrimmage, but was recovered by wide receiver Brandon Russell. The Tar Heels got on the board two plays later with a 52-yard field goal by Dan Omer on his first col legiate attempt. Durant said he wondered after his first fumble whether Bunting would keep him in the game, or pull him in favor of backup CJ. Stephens. “Some coaches would have just said, ‘This guy’s turnover-prone. We need to get somebody in there who can do something,’” Durant said. “I’m just glad Coach had confidence in me and my immediately, and in the following two years, UNC reclaimed its seat as No. 1. In 1997, the final four was held in Greensboro, Mullinix’s home town. In addition to leading her team to the tide, Mullinix was named NCAA Tournament Defensive MVP. “It was interest ing because rarely Former UNC goalie Siri Mullinix led the Tar Heels to two national championships between 1995-98. does a goalkeeper get any recognition here at Carolina,” said UNC goalkeep ing coach Chris Ducar. Mullinix was named first-team All America in 1997 and then again in 1998, when the Tar Heels lost to Florida in the tide match. Dorrance said she brought a new aspect to her role. “What she revolutionized for us is she is very good with her feet,” he said. “And she sort of put that aspect of goalkeeping on the map of the United States because she was so good with balls at her feet, and Davidson Upsets No. 2 Men’s Soccer Senior co-captain Matt Crawford and the Tar Heels lost their first game of the season Saturday, ending a 15-game home-winning streak. See Page 7. scoring for the Tar Heels (4-0-1) about 30 minutes into Sunday’s game with a shot to the left far comer, past the diving outstretched right hand of Husky goal keeper Lisa Brookens. Following the first goal, the new freshmen delivered as expected. Tarpley headed the second goal in off an assist from junior Jordan Walker, and less than a minute later, Fletcher scored the third of the game off an assist from Chalupny. Washington (3-1) finally notched a point on the board with less than 12 min utes remaining in the game when UNC committed an own-goal. UNC’s depth, plus the fact that Washington had a more challenging game Friday night, helped the Tar Heels seal the win. The Huskies beat Duke 4- 2 in overtime Friday. The Tar Heels stampeded past Division 111 Guilford College with a 9-0 win Friday night. But the depth promotes constant ability to go out there and make plays.” The longest play of the game allowed North Carolina to pad its lead to 10 on the last play of the first quarter. Running back Willie Parker, aided by a strong block by receiver Chesley Borders, scampered 50 yards down the left side line for a touchdown. But the Orangemen were able to get their running game going on their ensu ing possession. Freshman running back Damien Rhodes broke off runs of 11, 5,8 and 3 See FOOTBALL, Page 9 I think that’s one of the reasons she was selected to lead the team in the goal.” Mullinix first picked up a pair of goalie gloves at about age 12, when she played on her father’s classic team, the Greensboro Twisters. She had played soccer since she was 5 years old, but only competitively starting around the fourth grade. “I would say that she’s a very advanced player, but she’s also a student of the game,” said Steve Mullinix, Siri’s father. “She understands the game tech nically and tactically, and that gives her an edge in building defenses and shut ting down attacks.” And Mullinix has translated those skills onto both national and international stages. About two years ago, Mullinix set a U.S. women’s national team record for the most shutouts in a year with 13. Coming off a starting role on the U.S. women’s national team that earned a sil ver medal in the 2000 Olympics, Mullinix was allocated to the Washington Freedom. Her 1.22 goals against average ranked fourth in WUSA this past summer. See MULLINIX, Page 9 INSIDE: ■ Sweet revenge for former Tar Heel. Page 7 ■ Field hockey places 3rd in tourney. Page 9 ■ Volleyball off to its best start since 1981. Page 9 competition among the Tar Heel starters. “That gives us a wonderful standard for competition because now every girl knows that if she doesn’t focus or does n’t commit herself, then someone else is going to take her spot,” said coach Anson Dorrance. Although Washington was without its starting goalkeeper Hope Solo, who played with the U.S. national team Sunday, coach Lesle Gallimore attrib uted the team’s performance to other factors. “On the weekend I don’t think (Solo) was the difference in this game,” she said. “Our depth compared to (UNC’s) depth and the competition on Friday compared to the competition today we just flat out ran out of steam.” The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu. Kicker Sets Record in UNC Win By Aaron Fitt Sport Saturday Editor SYRACUSE, N.Y. - North Carolina’s football coaches sure are glad they let Dan Omer push himself in practice. The junior place-kicker, who tied an NCAA Division I-A record with three field goals of 50 yards or more in Saturday’s win against Syracuse, only ■K Jaß, recently began practicing those longer kicks. “Coaches have been letting me have some longer tries in practice, but most of the time we’ve been practicing from 45 yards and in,” Omer said. “Before the game, we went out there and kicked a cou ple long ones. Coach asked us UNC placekicker Dan Orner kicked three field goals more than 50 yards to tie an NCAA record. how far we could go from, and I kicked a 60 in warmups. “I kind of thought I could hit from inside 60 yards today. We have an indoor facility, and I just love kicking off the turf.” Omer was as good as his word. His third field goal of the game, a 55-yarder, was the longest in UNC history. See KICKER, Page 9 ACC 50th Anniversary Top UNC Women's Soccer Players Player Years Played Hometown Tracey Bates 1985-1989 Dallas Danielle Borgman 1998-2001 Cincinnati Robin Confer ,1994-1997 Clearwater, Fla. Lorrie Fair 1996-1999 Los Altos, Calif. NelFettig 1994-1997 Fort Wayne, Ind. Meredith Florance 1997-2000 Dallas Wendy Gebauer 1985-1988 Reston.Va. Mia Hamm 1989-90,1992-93 Burte>Va. April Heinrichs 1983-1986 Littleton, Colo. Lori Henry 1986-1988 Seattle Shannon Higgins 1986-1989 Seattle Debbie Keller 1993-1996 Naperville 111. Angela Kelly 1991-1994 Brantford, Ont JenaKiuegel 1998-2001 Mahtomedi, Minn, Kristine Lilly 19891992 Wilton, Conn. Marcia McDermott 1983-1986 McLean, Va. Siri Mullinix 1995-1998 Greensboro Carla Overbeck 1986-1989 Dallas Cindy Pariow 1995-1998 Memphis, Tenn. Tiffany Roberts 1995-1998 San Ramon, Calif. Keri Sanchez 1991-1994 San Jose Calif. Tisha Venturini 1991-1994 Modesto, Calif. Staci Wilson 1994-1997 Herndon,Va. LIST COMPILED BY BLUE RIBBON COMMITTEE FOR THE AO 12
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 9, 2002, edition 1
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