Top Five Questions for 2001 for NCAA Men’s Basketball The Sporting News November 08, 2000 1. What could keep Duke from winning the national title? If it’s anything other than injury, it would be defense. It sounds funny to say that about a Duke team, but even the Blue Devils have been say ing it. They recognize they were too easy to score against last year. The three teams that beat them after Feb ruary 1 averaged 89 points and .502 shooting, and opposing guards (Florida's Brett N. Juan Dixon and Barkley and Boot: much of that dam: Williams has to gel and center Carlos 1 harder to defend tl were only freshrrr Now, they're veter 2. What could Wildcats as gooi they are? We've heard cle; Wildcats they are io. Even KU folks one would considc understand how vorite to win the national title. The much of a difference point guard Wildcats recognize their individual Kirk Hinrich might make. As a talent, but fail to remember they lost Starter in the season's final months, seven games last season, with one ', lie averaged 8.5 points, 4.5 assists of those to a USC team missing big .439 3-point shooting, and he man Sam Clancy and another to dramatically improved the LSU in a 26-point humiliation. Jayhawks' on-ball defense. Hinrich Three of Arizona's seven losses and big men Nick Collison and came after center Loren Woods was Drew Gooden figure to be more injured, but what all of them had in mature as sophomores, and center common was errant (and frequent) Eric Chenowith and guard Kenny shooting by guards Gilbert Arenas Gregory are talking a lot about end and Jason Gardner. When Arizona ing their careers in style. won, Arenas and Gilbert combined to shot 20 times a game and hit .435. When Arizona lost, they averaged 26 shots and hit .377. If the guards re- member their talented teammates, the Wildcats could be nearly unbeat- 3. What will North Carolina and Wisconsin take from last year's Final Four trips? If they didn't gain confidence from that experience, it'll have been nothing but a wonderful memory. Both teams broke down completely during stretches of last year's con ference play and a tournament run was only the first step in restoring their confidence. The next step must come from the coaching staff and be reinforced through solid conditioning and practice. :ams will the ACC lament? ie output of each of :ars. Teams in the f n up - and they've . We'll see Duke, th Carolina, Vir ;est and NC State :xt March. Iliams still be glad i Kansas come Wouldn't a trip to Minneapolis for the Final Four make Williams feel right at home? NATIONAL SPORTS Tiger deserves all he can get from PGA Tour by J.A. Adande Los Angeles Times November 08, 2000 Tiger Woods is not the first ath lete to transcend sports. What makes his little tiff with PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem note worthy is that Woods is the first ath lete who has the opportunity to compete and draw attention outside the normal parameters of his sport. In the latest issue of Golf World magazine, Woods complained about his relationship with Finchem and, more seriously, said he was un happy with the way the tour and its partners use Woods for marketing without his consent. According to the article, a rift opened up when the PGA wouldn't allow Woods' father to follow him in a cart during the exhibition duel with David Duval at Sherwood Country Club last year. But the pro motional usage is the main issue, and in the interview Woods said the conflict was “Serious enough that if we don't make ev eryone aware of it now, it could es calate into a bigger situation.” Don't expect much to come of his remarks that Finchem talks to him only when he wants him to play in a tournament. What would they have to talk about if they held a longer discussion? But Woods sounds intent on get ting what's his. “I believe in what I believe in,” Woods said. “ I understand the whole picture.” It's always good to see athletes think like businessmen, because all too often they get the short end of the corporate dynamics of profes sional sports. Woods is entitled to try for as much as he can get. Everyone from the sponsors to the greenskeepers makes money off him. The dollars have poured into the sport since he turned pro in When bad teams happen to good players The Sporting News November 08, 2000 As a George Washington freshman, Sir Valiant Brown lived every player's dream: He shot the ball whenever he wanted. It was fun, he admits, but not as much as it would have been if nis 738 points resulted in an NCAA Tour nament bid instead of a 15-15 record. It can be easy to overlook or under estimate those gifted players whose teams are unsuccessful. Their numbers may be dismissed because they don't add up to victory; their production can be diminished because there's not enough help from teammates. Dean Oliver entered last season as the Sporting News' No. 15 point guard after averaging 11.9 points and 4.5 assists and guiding lowa to the 1999 Sweet 16. But when his shooting per centage dropped to .369 and his as sists fell 4.2 per game as a junior and the Hawkeyes fell to 14-16 —he was left out of this season's top 20. It's conceivable he played as well or better but was a victim of his team's struggles. “You've got to have a positive atti tude, and you have to take it as a learn ing experience,” says guard Will Solomon, who averaged 21.1 points for 10-20 Clemson. “I learned that you work hard every time you step out on the floor. We didn't feel sorry for our selves; you can't feel sorry for your self in this league. If you're down, they're going to keep you down.” Nearly every major-conference player is used to winning when he ar rives. So dealing with defeat can be a huge adjustment, one few players want to make. “I think I can do many things on the court as an individual, but what are the things I can do to help Josh Steinthal get an open shot, or stretch the defense so Jason Heide can go one on-one,” says Oregon State senior Deaundra Tanner, who averaged 14.2 points and 5.1 assists for a 13-16 team. “When you’re a point guard, the re sponsibility falls on you. If our team were Top 10, I'd be first-team All- American and all that, considering the numbers I have. Considering that's not 1996. Just look at one case of the trickle down effect (or, if you prefer, the “Mickel-down” effect). Phil Mickelson won four tournaments in the pre-Tiger year of 1996 and collected $1,697,799. Winning four PGA events this year helped him earn more than $4.7 million. Phil, Amy and little baby Amanda Mickelson can all thank Woods. Mickelson's bank account is only one sign of how Woods' popularity has brought millions of dollars to the game. The tour, the networks and affili ated sponsors (some of them com petitors with Woods' sponsors) use i believe in what I believe in... I understand the whole picture.” Woods in promos every chance they get. Should Tiger be getting the, uh, lion's share of all this money, includ ing the next TV contract that should top $5OO million? “In a perfect world, I would be,” he said. “Arnold (Palmer) would be. All the great ones would be. Arnold is the one who got it all started.” And Woods is simply the latest su perstar athlete who won't ever re coup his actual worth. Yes, even though he has a chance to win more than $lO million on the tour this year, plus endorsement deals that will bring him $lOO mil lion from Nike alone, Woods is un derpaid -just as Michael Jordan was when he made more than $6O mil ALW you CAN €AT BEEyruESDAy b^pm sayttwATTiieLueE 9o lion from the Chicago Bulls in the last two years of his NBA career. Jordan fought similar battles over his valuable name and image, and he was able to maintain control of the use of his likeness to a large de gree. Jordan's face wasn't on those caricature shirts that were so popu lar in the late 1980 s and early '9os. He didn't appear in NBA-licensed video games that featured other play ers from the league. Like Woods, Jordan became big ger than the sport he played. The dif ference was, Jordan was more reli ant on the NBA than Woods is on the PGA Tour. Watching Jordan without high- -Tiger Woods caliber teammates such as Scottie Pippen wouldn't be the same, nor would it be as exciting if he weren't playing against the Lakers, Pistons and Jazz. But people will tune in simply to watch Tiger vs. the course. That was evident by the strong TV ratings for the final rounds of this year's U.S. and British Opens, which were prac tically victory laps for Woods. And more than 10 million people watched him go one-on-one against Sergio Garcia in an exhibition in Au gust, making it the 15th-highest rated TV program of the week. Woods knows that his place in his tory will be judged by how many majors he wins. He still has seven more years re iHi nhliKi \| > HI-;'A CON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10,2000 maining on the exemption he se cured for winning the 1997 Masters and will have five-year exemptions for winning the U.S. Open and Brit ish Open and the PGA Champion ship this year. So he could fill his calendar with exhibitions around the world for the next couple of years and still show up when it counts. Ryder Cup? Woods was so suc cessful this year that he has more than twice as many qualifying points as second-place Mickelson, and could probably finish among the top 10 even if he were shut out next year. And if he didn't happen to qualify in 2001 or beyond, don't you think the TV honchos would be call ing every day with certain “sugges tions” about who should be chosen with the captains’ picks? There are too many dollars at stake. Is it all about money? On the PGA Tour, the answer is: a) yes. b) yep. c) you betcha. d) all of the above. The value of the purses on the PGA Tour has swelled to $l7O mil lion, from $96 million in 1998. Tele vision ratings have soared (the fi nal round of the PGA produced the highest TV ratings for that event since 1971 and was watched by an estimated 38.5 million viewers. On the other hand, what made Tiger Tiger was his participation in the PGA Tour, with all of its established marketing tools, and the chance to prove himself by beating the best players in the world. He has leverage, which is why the PGA will listen to him. And he has brains, which is why he'll realize the tour is the best place for him to be, the two sides will work something out, and they'll all walk away with even more money. dfLjf 4*^'
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