Agassi expected to give up spot on Olympic team by Rick Freeman hhe Wa‘Thington Post September 5. 2000 Andre Agassi is evected to relin quish his position on the ['sited States Olympic tennis team tor this month's Sydney Games because of concern over health problems suffered b> his mother and sister. Also, two-time Tour de France winner lance Armstrong is considerine withdrawing from the cycling competition follo \+. Aug. 29 accident in Fiance. Agassi, who was ousted last \\ eek as the top seed in the U.S. Open, ap parently wants to spend as much time as possible with his mother, Betty, and sister, Tami, both of whom have breast cancer Armstrong fractured a vertchni in his neck in a head-on o itli a car outside of Nice, France. Armstrong's official Website said he will make a final decision on the Olympics after competing in the Grand Prix des Nations on Sept. 16. The site also said he sill w ithdraw from two races this weekend. United States Tennis Association President Judy Les ering said A iassi's withdrawl from the Olyinpi ,c team looks " probable. - " He called me today, and I got the impression that he was very seriously considering riot coming, - Levering Giants look for by special teams by Neil Best Vs 'Ala \ September 5. 2000 EAST RUTIfERFORD, N.J. - On the first play of the Philadelphia Eagles' season, they tiled an onside kick. It was a shocking gamble, hut it w orkcd. They recovered the hall. drov e for a touchdown and went on to hui in hate the Dallas Cowboys, 41-14. On the first play at the Giants' sea son, Brad Daluiso kicked off 2 yards deep into the end /One. a milestone in a con rebrick from knee stir But wait: Brandon Short \\ ors ofi side. I )o over. The Ariiona Cardinals returned the hall 12 arras farther upheld aster Daluiso's second kick Short s Loot did not cost the Chants. But it was a reminder that ..lainst a better opponent, such as the Eagles. whom they visit Sunda\ , poor special teams play easily could decide the The tirst play ,igainst iriiona was, only the heginning. l'ke or the ants' nine penalties, ').ere on spe.aal teams. (1,) holding calls ,igainst Craig Walendy cost suds or field position.) They mishandled a punt, allowed a Is:ickoff return ands On a revel-tie and failed to wit:over an onside kick No one was surprised, imn the (,- ants' spotty special-teams vs ork under assistant coach Larry Macl)uff in le cent years and poor preseason perfor mance. But Coach Jim Passel put a surprisingly positive spin on the ef fort. Although he made it clear the penalties were unacceptable, he said the units have been iniplovilw and are Cl()' -, C' . 0 1 hr‘ • .•, The reason for his relative opti mism? Youth. The Giants believed their problem in the past was lack of talent, especially speed. The problem now is inexperience, which time a nd coaching could heal. Four of the five penalties vi ere o,llilitLd t -v. players in their NFL debuts - A l, \ Short and Ron Dixon, "We're dealing with a lot of (mkt . guys," Fassel said. " basing a lot of my projections on that, and that they have a chance to get better." Fassel is excited about the poten tial of Dixon on kickoff returns and Tiki flArber "IC` .J •Id s , l the NCAA it's the Dixon, who spent 1999 not in the NCAA but sail Tuemlav .e% ering did not offer a reason for derision " Tennis players play a very diffi cult spot, - she said, " so anytime one does pull out, they usually have a rea- Agassi had been expected to join Michael Chang, Todd Martin and Jeff Tarango in representing the U.S. in singles. Alex O'Brien and Jared Palmer will play doubles. levering refused to speculate On who might re place ,•\ , ;._!asi on the team. " We'd have to talk to the lOC and he sure to comply exactly with what ever their procedures are, - she said. In an Aug. 28 interview with CBS, during which he revealed the condi tions his mother and sister, Agassi said he doubted whether he should he playing tennis at all, telling reporter and thriller player Mary Carillu that " it has heen a difficult year.,. A2,a , ,si was eliminated in the sec ond round last Thursday by Arnaud Clement of France. In the past seven months. Agassi's most impressive re sult has been a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon; in the seven months before that, he won three of the four Grand Slams. \:lassi \vas involved in a car acci- dent soon alter his return from Wimbledon this summer. His car was struck from behind by another car, and N, , \l Limhuth in Jackson. Tenn "People make mistakes; they'll be collected kVe ha% e a good group now, all imposing group, but vi'e II gel much Michael Strahan did nut have a sack Sunday, lea\ Mg him with one in his past 10 ~antes over two seasons. But Strahan had an active game, and showed At iiona a new look that was a throwback to his early days in the "People make mistakes; they'll be corrected. We have a good group now, an imposing group, but we'll gel much better" ,At tunes, the Giants had rookie Cornelius Griffin replace Strahan at lelt end and 'w\ Strahan to the right side in place of Cedric Jones. Strithan vv as the right end for two sea sons before switching against his will in 1996. StiArdn tiaicl the ~ tiatep makes more work for opponents. - It's very easy to prepare for one guy; now you Dave to prepare for two," he said. - It gives me more opportunities. Cedric's style and my style are very different, and I think it's very hard to prepare for two different styles." Strahan expects more action on the right side this week. When he is on the left, he will face Jon Runyan, ar gnahl v the hest right tackle in the till.. Running hack Joe Montgomery ad mitted not dressing for the opener was "very hard, - but said, "I just plan to go Out there and play my game when I get the chance." Fassel said he was benched because as a third-stringer, he will play only if to contributes on special teams. - There's not a person in this orga niiatiun love to have him ac tive more than me," Fassel said. The bottom line is who gets that last jer sey is a guy who is going to help us." Fassel tried Montgomery as a full back in preseason, but his blocking was not up to par. He also frustrated ‘\. it!' ti urn ul hiti cic:kion nhtking a halfback. Montgomery's path is beginning to iNATIONAL SPORT° 3 Agassi took some time to return to form, reaching the final of the Legg Mason Tennis ('lassie last month in Washington, where he lost in straight sets to Spain's Alex Corretja. Armstrong's situation appears less resolved. X-rays taken of Armstrong after the collision did not reveal any damage, but an MRI exam taken at a clinic in Monaco on Monday revealed it fracture in his seventh cervical ver tebra, according to his official Website \vw.lancearinstrong.com. Nerves that go through the seventh cervical vertebra control hand and wrist muscles The site says that Armstrong still intends to compete in the Olympics, though it also quotes the two-time Tour de France champion saying he is able to train only " on a limited ba sis, but that it is very painful. - " It also makes me nervous when you are out on the open road and it is dif ficult to turn my neck either way to look for traffic and be aware of what's around,'' the Website quoted Armstrong as saying, Armstrong k currently scheduled to compete in Sydney in the Olympic road race Sc pt. 27 and the individual time trial Sept. 30, this bicycle and helmet were destroyed in the colli- improvement rewmble the one that eventually led 1995 first-round draft pick Tyrone Wheatley out of town. In 1998, Fassel often benched Wheatley, giving his lack of help on special teams as the primary reason. Wheatley led the team with 152 rushes in PM, and was released af ter the following season. Montgom ery led the team with 115 rushes in 1999. Pete Mitchell Vent home Aug. 5 -Ron Dixon NFL Rookie thinking "See you next year." The Giants tight end spent the night "try ing to figure out what the hell I was going to do with my year. - Like most in the organization, he assumed he had suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Chicago Bears. Instead, Mitchell was diagnosed two days later with a sprained left knee, not a ligament tear, and under went arthroscopic surgery. He hopes to practice today and play Sunday. "It's new to me how it's supposed to feel coming hack from surgery," said Mitchell, whose only previous surgery was for the removal of wis dom teeth. The final game of last sea son and this year's opener were the first games he has missed in six pro seasons. Ile ran without complica tions last week. Mitchell, who had a career-high 58 receptions in 1999, is a focal point of the offense, hut he presumably will be worked into the rotation gradually. As expected, the return of Mitchell allowed the Giants to waive tight end Brody Heffner-Liddiard and re-sign cornerback Ramos McDonald. McDonald signed Aug. 25, then was waived last week when the Gi ants signed safety Omar Stoutmire. The team told McDonald then that it wanted to re-sign him after the opener. Heffner-Liddiard went to the prac tice squad, replacing fullback Michael Jones. Sports Commentary Cowboys are already on the ropes by Steve Springer Los Angeles Times September 4, 2000 How 'bout them Cowboys! Let's see a ninth career concussion for Troy Aikman, a season-ending knee injury for Joey Galloway, a thumb injury for backup quarterback Randall Cunningham, the possibil ity of having to start rookie quarter back Clint Stoerner in Week 2. It doesn't look as if we'll see much of Jerry Jones on the Cowboy side line this season. FHE GOOD DOCTOR Of course, Jones won't be kept from his appointed rounds as team doctor. Monday, Dr. Jones made these ob servations: On Galloway: " The good news is he's repaired and rehabbed an ACL before," Yep Jerry, that's what you want on your $42 million investment - a re ceiver who leads the league in ACL On Aikman: "His test at the hos pital would allow him to be consid ered day-by-day. He'll be monitored closely. - Ilopefully by someone other than Jones. Remember, he's not a real doctor, he just plays one at press con ferences. SNOOZE CONTROL The only team that seems to he in more of a mess than the Cowboys are the Cardinals. No Simeon Rice or Andre Wadsworth to detour op ponents on their expressway to the Cardinal end zone. No Rob Moore to flag down those high and outside floaters delivered by Jake Plummer. Final month is crucial to Belcher's baseball future by Mike DiGiovanna Los Angeles Times September 6, 2000 - Tim Belcher admits he DETROIT has been a little cranky this summer, the frustration of his elbow injury and the constant questions about it caus ing him to snap occasionally at report ers. Belcher seems in better spirits this week, though, in part because he fi nally has something different to talk about. After a two-month absence, the 38-year-old right-hander will start Thursday for an Anaheim Angel team that needs a strong pitching perfor mance the way Montana needed rain this summer. Culpepper doesn't fit the mold by Bill Williamson September 05, 2000 Knight-Ridder Tribune ST. PAUL -- Locally, Daunte Culpepper will be compared to Fran Tarkenton. After all, Culpepper is the Vikings' first true running quar terback since the days Tarkenton scrambled for his life, looking for an open receiver. Nationally, Culpepper is going to draw comparisons to John Elway. At 6 feet 4, 255 pounds, Culpepper may be the most dangerous running quarterback since a young Elway in the mid-1980s. Yet, coaches familiar with both Tarkenton and Elway say there's no comparison "Culpepper is much faster than Tarkenton ever was," said former Vikings' coach Jerry Burns, who was the offensive coordinator when Tarkenton was the Vikings' quarter back. "Really, Culpepper is the fastest quarterback I've seen. There's been no one with that much speed. At his The possibility of L.J. Sheldon not being around to keep defenders off Plummer before he delivers those floaters It's fitting that the Cowboys and Cardinals should meet in Week 2. a Sunday night extravaganza in which the musical theme from " Saint Else where" should be played instead of the National Anthem. I can hear the ESPN promo now: "This week on Sunday Night Foot ball, it's... 'The Replacements. Don't stay tuned. MONEY TO BURN Jerry Jones must be green with envy, his team going down the tubes while Daniel Snyder gets all the me dia attention with his Redskins. This past weekend's signing of Stephen Davis brought the Redskin payroll close to the national debt. Maybe Snyder can spare Jones a nickel hack. JUST PLAY UGLY, BABY Attention Vince McMahon. Please do not script your XFl_ games like the Chargers and Raiders did for their 9- 6 debacle. Hey, those old Battle of the Net- work Stars tug-u-wars were more ex citing than watching those teams smash-mouthing it off at midfield. Also Vince, you can have dibs on Ryan Leaf QUICK HITS - Three Rivers Stadium is scheduled to he he demolished after the season, hut errant passes by Kent Graham and Kordell Stewart may finish at the job early. - It was painful to watch Brett Favre trying to rally the Packers at Lambeau " Yeah, I'd like to help us get to the playoffs, hut by the same token, the addition or subtraction of one player rarely makes a difference," Belcher said. With the youth in the rotation, I can be a nice addition if I pitch well. If 1 don't, it won't matter.'' Belcher, limited to four starts this season, knows what he does in a few starts this month could determine whether he returns in 2001 or retires. The Angels have a $5.1 million op tion on Belcher for next season, which they will almost certainly buy out for $1 million. " I can't lie and say I'm not thinking about how this will affect next year, - Belcher said. " But I'm not going to make it an issue right now." size, he can really take off and hurt people. Tarkenton ran for a different reason. He ran back and forth to find time for his receivers to get open.... Culpepper is much more danger ous." While Burns sees Culpepper as a better runner than the king of all Vi kings' running quarterbacks, Paul Wiggin, the Vikings' director of pro personnel, believes Culpepper is a better runner than Elway was. Wiggin, of course, was Stanford's head coach while Elway ran the Cardinal's offense. "They're both instinctive runners and both are effective," Wiggin said, "but Culpepper is more dangerous because of the speed. Elway wasn't that fast. He was powerful but he wasn't as fast. Also, Elway didn't like to get hit. I don't think Culpepper cares about getting hit." Of Course, Both Burns And Wiggin Believe Culpepper Will Be One Of The Most effective running quarterbacks in NFL history. Thus, they don't believe his first-game ground success was a fluke. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2000 Field, but as Mike Holmgren can tell you, having Fare with about half his usual arm strength is better than having Jon K ima with full arm strength. The air has already been let out Steve McNair. - Jamal Anderson may have lost his "Dirty Bird" step. hut he took a lick ing and kept on ticking in his first extensive duty since tearing up a knee in Week 2 of last season. - Vinny Testaverde had just as much success converting third downs with his Smurfs 11 receiving corps than he did with gang! "J us t Give Me the Damn Ball - fellow. - flow long to you think it will he before Cris Carter and Randy Mon ti tell Touchdown Daunte Culpepper to give them the damn ball? LAST THOUGI 1.1 If Chris Chandler can lead a te to the Super Bowl, then \‘ll Ca Donovan McNabb do the same I the Eagles? The Angels, Tuesday. signed Johan Quezackt Santana, a highly touted 16- year-old pitcher from the Dominican Republic whose fastball has alreatb. been clocked at 93 mph and whose changeup, according to Angel scout ing director Donny Rowland." is sur prisingly advanced for his age. - Santana, a 6-foot-2, 155-pound right-hander who turns I 7 in Novem ber, received a considerable signing bonus, though a baseball source said it was not as high as the $900,000 the Angels gave to Francisco Rodriguez in 1998. " He's very athletic, he has a dean arm action and a good feel for pitching, - Rowland said." He's an exciting kid." Culpepper had 73 rushing yards on 13 carries in the Vikings' 30-27 victory over Chicago on Sunday. He scored three touchdowns in the sec ond half, on runs of 1, 7 and 4 yards, as the Vikings erased a 20-9 third quarter deficit. It was the first time a Vikings' quarterback ran for three touchdowns in a game. "He'll always be a running threat," Burns said. "He'll come right at you. ... He could be the best running quar terback ever because of his size and speed." Burns points out that in addition to Tarkenton, Joe Kapp and Rich Gannon also had some success run ning the ball as Vikings' quarter backs. Kapp, who led the Vikings to Super Bowl 111, was more com parable to Culpepper than Tarkenton and Gannon because he was a big ger quarterback, weighing around 220 pounds. However, he was no where near as big or fast as Culpepper. "Culpepper is definitely differ ent," Burns said. "The Vikings have never seen anything like it before."
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