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."