Rules to put excitement by L.C. Johnson January fB, 2001 Knight-Ridder Tribune ORLANDO - Fourth down the most important down in foot ball? That could be the case in the XPL. League founder Vince XFL •rules require the re- McMahon wanted rules that ceiveridefender to have just would make the game leiter, one foot in bounds on a recep more physical and more enjoy- tion/interception, just like in able when' the eight-team college. Likewise, the rules league kicks off Feb. 3. The governing overtime will be rules, announced Tuesday, of- similar to college in that each fer a blend of college football, team will take possession at the the NFL and the Arena Football opponent's 20 (it's the 25 in League,-alongwith some mea- college). surer the league hopes will An old NFL rule that allowed make fourthr down one of the defensive backs to employ " most exciting plays in the bump-and-run" coverage will game, • be adopted. But there is a twist 44 McMahon did not like the fair catch,!' said Mike Keller, XFL vice president of player development, "As a result, fourth down will be the most exciting dowa in the . XVI.. We're not going to have the fair catch, but we're going to hold in the gunners until the ball is kicked. It will give the (return) guy:the chance to catch the ball without getting his clock cleaned, "The other , thing , . is that when the ball goes past 25 Siragusa: goose is loose, ready for Donovan-like fun by William Gildea The Washington Post Janury 22, 2001 OWINGS MILLS, Md. - Driving along one day, Artie Donovan pointed to a res taurant in Timonium, Md. "Up there," he said, "is where I used to have my radio show. They must have had 500 people in this place, listening to this goofy radio show. Ordell Braase and I were on it. "On my radio show, Miller was the sponsor. And I'd say, 'Give me another Miller.' And I'd open a can of Schlitz. The liquor store here, they used to send me up 12 cans of Schlitz on the house so I could drink the Schlitz." Fast forward 40 years. Now Baltimore is enjoying the Ravens and their players just as it used to love the Colts of Donovan, Braase et al. Baltimore is in a time warp: This sea son, fans have gathered in the base ments of their row houses on Sundays to root for the Ravens on TV; drive al most anywhere in Baltimore this week and you will find a bar/restaurant plan ning a Super Bowl Sunday bash when the Ravens will play the New York Gi ants. There are no second chapters? There's even a second Artie Donovan - he would be a reincarnation of Donovan if Donovan weren't still around and planning his own Super Bowl party. Tony Siragusa is a defensive tackle, as Donovan was; Siragusa is a jolly, round giant, the team prankster, the same as Donovan - Siragusa is 6 feet 3, 340 pounds; Donovan was 6-2 and claims to have played at 280 although "I got up to 335"; the stories of what Siragusa can eat and what Donovan used to eat sound mythic except they are true; Siragusa plays and Donovan played alongside another mammoth tackle, Sam Adams (6-6, 330) and Big Daddy Lipscomb (6-6, 283), respec tively - as they said in Baltimore then and are saying again, it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to run between the tackles; both Siragusa and Donovan grew up following the Giants, Donovan in the Bronx when the Giants played at Yan kee Stadium and Siragusa in the north Jersey town of Kenilworth, near Giants Stadium. Both had sports-mad fathers - Art Donovan Sr. was one of boxing's great est referees; Pete Siragusa coached his three sons in youth football before he died of a heart attack in 1989 when Tony was playing for the University of Pitts burgh. Both Donovan and Siragusa had religious mothers, loving but strict - Mary Donovan, who used to pack Art Sr.'s little bag with his ref's stuff in it; Rosemarie Siragusa, who ruled Tony and his girlfriend, Kathy Giacalone, could not live together before marriage, which finally took place after a 12-year in punts yards, it's a live ball. If the ball hits the ground, no longer are you going to see a bunch of guys circling the ball waiting for it to roll dead." And the point-after kick is dead. Instead, teams must run or pass for the point. in that the offense will be al lowed to run a man in forward motion outside of the tackles, as permitted in the arena league. In an effort to shorten games, XFL teams will have 35 sec onds to get a play off after the previous one is ruled dead and 25 seconds after any clock stoppage. " We're not going to have those 31/2 and four-hour games," Keller said. courtship. Siragusa and Donovan have had a laugh together - Siragusa calls him "a good guy, a great guy." But still Siragusa says: "I don't like being com pared to people. I am who I am. When I first came to Indianapolis, they were comparing me to the Refrigerator (the Chicago Bears' William Perry). I like With the Baltimore Ravens, Tony Siragusa's job is to stop opponents' inside running game. opening one, but not being compared to one." Comparisons, however, are inescap able with the 33-year-old Siragusa. During a game in October when he was carted off the field and taken to a hos pital only to return and play, longtime Colts fans recalled a game from the 1960 s when the diminutive Colts flanker, Jimmy Orr, was removed to a hospital during a game and returned. Orr ran back into the huddle to the roar of the Memorial Stadium crowd and promptly caught a touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone at the closed end of the stadium _ "Orrsville." WASHINGTON POST PHOTO BY MICHAEL ROBINSON-CHAVEZ. Ravens' Tony Siragusa, 340-pound radio show host, jokes around with Keith Mills during a broadcast. He packs the house Thursdays at a Baltimore area bar. Siragusa topped even Orr's return because his injury was frightening. His spinal cord was said to have been "bruised" or "strained." Nevertheless, he hustled back to the sta dium from the shock trauma unit and trotted back into the game against Ten nessee as fans chanted "Goose." Later rioNA r 3. NBA Report: by Sam Smith January 22, 2001 Chicago Tribune CHICAGO -- After their threat to boycott practice, the constantly un derachieving Denver Nuggets won 14 of 18 for their best record in 15 years at this point, and it has caught some notice. If that's what's working for them, maybe we should try boycotting a practice," Vancouver's Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. Grizzlies coach Sidney Lowe had a different take. Denver is tough, athletic. I think they're on a mission and I predict they're going to go deep, deep into the playoffs, very deep," he said. When they're going, these guys are as good as anyone. They've got a great post-up guy, Antonio McDyess, who gets points in the post or off offensive rebounds. He can face up and shoot it. Then they have great perimeter shooting -- not good, great." The test for the Nuggets comes now, with eight of 11 games on the road before the All-Star break. If they play well maybe Denver will start to notice. The Nuggets are on pace to draw fewer fans than last season and are averaging 14,170 with one sell out. The kid can play: The Pacers are making noises about getting in the playoff race again and Jermaine O'Neal has been a big part of it. The 22-year-old power forward/center, who skipped college, is averaging 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocked shots over 33.1 minutes. he said he didn't want to miss the fun. In the Ravens' practice facility locker room, Siragusa has been given two lockers. He has too much stuff for one, like 11 or more pairs of shoes. Adalius Thomas, a rookie defensive end, occupies the locker next door. "He does things that nobody else can do because he's Goose, he has his own style," Thomas said. "He keeps us laughing. But Goose is pretty athletic for a big guy. He has the ability to get loose and maneuver his way into a quarterback." But that rarely hap pens. When Siragusa came wide open at the line of scrimmage and fell on Oakland quarter back Rich Gannon in the AFC title game, drawing a fine of $lO,OlO by the NFL, it was as if the Raiders had left a door open. Siragusa had no sacks in 1997 and 1998 and none this season. "He blocks up the middle," Donovan said. "He doesn't get off the line of scrimmage. He takes the run away from them. But when 340-something falls on you like he did on Gannon, something's got to give and it's not going to he the ground. ... Hey, he's fatter than I wa.:." Unlike Donovan, a Hall of Famer, Siragusa is a self-made player. In high school, he was a New Jersey state wrestling champion. In college, he kept a boa constrictor and a tarantula as pets. But he went undrafted by the NFL in 1990; he went out for a long walk to decide what to do with the rest of his life. His life was football; he caught on as a free agent with India napolis. Indianapolis gave him a signing bo- Denver goes from threat to threatening A year ago O'Neal had "The Year of the Resurrection" tattooed on his right arm along with a drawing of a superhero character designed by his cousin. It never happened in Portland, but O'Neal has blossomed after a trade for Dale Davis that Portland fig- ures to regret for years. "He hasn't even really played yet," Pacers veteran Sam Perkins said. "When this man realizes what he has and looks at it long-term, he can be the best player in the NBA one day. If he works at it, nobody can stop him in my mind." And in O'Neal's mind as well. " If I make the jump shot, nobody in the league will be able to guard me," he said. " Even now I can get to the 1/ Bbasket 3/8 whenever I want without being able to shoot it consistently." Family feuds: Lakers coach Phil Jackson, watching Jeff Van Gundy get pummeled stepping between Marcus Camby and Danny Ferry, recalled the famous Doug Collins tight with the Pistons' Rick Mahorn in which assis tant John Bach tried to protect then- Bulls coach Collins and wound up with torn tendons in his hand. Jack son said he goes by the adage: " Don't grab anybody who's going to tear your arms off." Jackson shouldn't joke. That Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal feud may be worse than reported. After scoring 41 points Friday against Houston, O'Neal broke his weeklong silence to take another jab at Bryant: "All nights -- not most nights, all nights -- I can score. And I've always been an un selfish player. If I get doubled, I set up my teammates." Bryant, meanwhile, got the first nus of $l,OOO - $674 after taxes. He spent it all on dinner with friends. After football, he wants to have his own cooking show on TV - although others say he has a future in the World Wrestling Federation. Siragusa and Donovan both are re nowned as radio hosts. Siragusa works out of a place called the Barn, in Carney, a few beltway exits away from where Donovan did his show. Every Thursday night the Barn is jammed with people dressed in purple for Siragusa's hour of chaos beginning at 7. Last Thursday night's crowd included a woman carry ing a stuffed raven and a man with a fake goose. "Who let the Goose loose? ... Goose, Goose, Goose," went the chants. It was body to body, hundreds stuffed in the bar, with another 50 or so held back at the door, trying to peer in the steamed up windows. Siragusa swallowed two crab cakes in what was announced as an unofficial record time of 19 seconds. Brian Billick, the Ravens' coach, phoned in. "A lot of people sort of refer to me as a Refrigerator guy," Siragusa told Billick on the air. "You know, the Re frigerator carried the ball in the Super Bowl. You think there's a shot at the Goose maybe carrying the ball on the short yardage?" The Barn erupted in cheers. "I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what," Billick tried to reply through the din. "I'll give everyone Brian's address af ter he gets off and his home telephone number," Siragusa shouted. "What do ya think, Bri? Do you think I got a shot?" "I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal," Billick said. "If we're up by four touchdowns, okay, we'll work something up for you then. "If we're up by four touch- downs - "You're going in at fullback and we'll give you the ball," Billick promised. "Oooooooh, ha-haaaaaa, yes," Siragusa screamed. "I'm in. Hey, Trent (Dilfer, the quar terback), I know you're listen ing. You better score four or I'm gonna kick your butt." "There's some motivation right there," Billick added. The crowd screamed ap proval. It did again just before he signed off, after he sang, not badly, a Sinatra song; if only Rosemarie and the guys in Jer sey could have heard him, but then, they've heard him. Finished, Siragusa cried out: "C' mon, ladies and gentlemen. Let's hear it for me." triple-double of his career last week after Magic Johnson challenged him to try for one in hopes of defusing his feud with O'Neal. But Bryant was having teammates shout out how many assists or rebounds he needed during the game as Michael Jordan did in the late 1980 s when he got 10 straight triple-doubles to prove he could do anything Magic could do. Twan time: Antoine Walker has been getting a lot of the blame for Rick Pitino's failure in Boston, even from broadcaster Howard David. "Walker is part of the problem," David said. " He cares about winning the scoring championship, not the team championship. He has one thing in mind -- scoring -- and there's an epi demic of this around the NBA." Added ex-Celtic Danny Ainge: "Walker is a nice player, but if he's ex pected to take you to the Promised Land, you're in a lot of trouble. I'd ex plore what I could get for him." Obviously stung, Walker ran up 47 points against the Kings. Around the league: The Rockets are saying they won't trade Hakeem Olajuwon, who is saying he wouldn't mind being dealt, presumably to a con tender. But any deal is difficult because Olajuwon makes $16.7 million and Houston won't take on any long-term contracts as it seeks to get salary-cap space. Miami remains in pursuit and Olajuwon is lobbying to be released to try to finish with a contender. ... The staggering Sonics, dealing with Gary Payton behavior issues again, are lis tening to Toronto, which is offering Corliss Williamson for Brent Barry. Coach Nate McMillan wants to ease his backcourt overload, but the talk is He needs a ring to complete this outfit by Shav Glick Los Angeles Times January 23, 2001 •When the New York Giants' 6- foot-7, 300-pound Keith Hamilton stepped off the plane in Tampa, Fla., for the Super Bowl, he was wear ing a black suit and black mock turtleneck, and two silver necklaces. one with a diamond cross and the other with a diamond rectangular medallion. He also wore a diamond watch, a diamond bracelet and a dia mond earring in his right ear. "Might as well look good," he told New York Daily News report ers. Asked what the outfit cost, Hamilton said, "About 150." As in $150,000. •Trivia time: Which stadium has hosted the most Super Bowls, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum or the Rose Bowl? •Sounds logical:Venus Williams, on her motivation to win the Aus- tralian Open: "I make a 24-hour trip just to come. The ticket is pretty expensive. I feel that I deserve to reward my self by at least some type of title." •Get used to it: New Philadelphia Phillies Manager Larry Bowa has vowed to change a franchise that has learned to accept losing. "I don't accept losing," Bowa said. "I deal with losses. I don't accept them. Anybody who accepts losing is in the wrong sport. You start ac cepting losing and you'll get your brains beat in." •Bad timing: "Albertson's will tear through Texas Motor Speedway like a Tornado," trumpeted a news release for the Albertson's 300 Busch series race at the track. Two days earlier, a series of tor nadoes had ripped the Dallas-Forth Worth area, killing four people and causing $5OO million in damages. •Rough sport: Soccer star Rio Ferdinand injured his knee so se verely that he might sit out two games in Britain's Premier League. He was hurt sitting with his foot propped up on a coffee table, watch ing TV. "He had (his foot) on the table in a certain position for a number of hours and strained a tendon behind his knee," said Leeds spokesman FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 2001 if the Sonics miss the playoffs again - - they're barely over .500 since McMillan took over -- they'll look to deal Payton after the season.... Detlef Schrempf showed up at a Portland practice last week and said he might return later in the season. Interesting dilemma for Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, who released Dia mondbacks pitcher Bobby Chouinard after a domestic-violence arrest and said the club has a zero-tolerance policy on such acts. But Jason Kidd, arrested for domestic violence on Thursday, is the Suns' best player. Chouinard was a mediocre relief pitcher. ... One of the Spurs' biggest problems has been Tim Duncan's free-throw shooting, about 45 percent. He missed all seven in a loss to the Knicks.... Glen Rice is suffering from plantar fascitis and the Knicks say the foot injury could be a lasting prob lem. ... Tyrone Nesby, who had to be removed by arena security after curs ing out coach Leonard Hamilton on the Washington Wizards' bench, complained about not starting the next game. Just Jazzy: It's wild even with the normally staid Jazz. Last week the team had Olden Polynice suspended after he was convicted of imperson ating a police officer for chasing mo torists in Salt Lake City and flashing a badge. Greg Ostertag was briefly suspended for skipping practice after a dispute with coach Jerry Sloan and John Starks was suspended for vio lating team rules regarding travel with the team. David O'Leary. Ferdinand joined Leeds for a record $26-million transfer fee in November. •Concern:When Whitey Ford, his old New York Yankee team mate, had a recurrence of cancer, Yogi Berra's reaction was to call him up and ask. "You dead yet?" •Super matchup: Trent Dilfer vs. Kerry Collins. Columnist Tom Fitz Gerald of the San Francisco Chronicle says, "This should quiet the talk that Jeff Garcia can't take a team to the Super Bowl." •More Fitz Gerald: "Prediction: New York will hold Jamal Lewis to 41 yards in 25 carries, with one touchdown. What they'll be call ing Jamal after the game: MVP." •Another view: Mark Kriegel of the New York Daily News has an other candidate: "There can be no debate as to this year's MVP: Ed Garland. That's Ray Lewis' defense attorney." •Different sport: Tony Siragusa, the Baltimore Ravens' 340-pound plus tackle, was fined $lO,OOO for falling on top of Oakland Raider quarterback Rich Gannon and separating Gannon's shoulder, even though there was no flag thrown on the play. "I don't understand why I'd be fined," Siragusa said. "This isn't tennis," •The other side: When Raiders center Barret Robbins was asked if he'd like to retaliate and hurt Siragusa, he said, "What do you do? He's so big, you hurt your neck trying to hit him." •Trivia answer:Rose Bowl 5, Coliseum 2 •And finally: Wayne Chrebet, the New York Jets wide receiver, is not that sorry to see the Bill Parcells era end. Asked about what he felt when the former coach was in the general manager's role, he told Paul Needell of the Newark Star-Ledger: "Fear! You didn't see him too many times, but you knew he was always lurking around one of those corners. You could have one bad play in the game, and believe me, you were going to hear about it."
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers