University of South Carolina Libraries
MCKIE'S MARCH TRACK A Senior BJ McKie remains only Behind the 15 points behind Alex English pound weip as Carolina's all-time scoring seniors Ryai leader. Bert Sorin, track and fi Stay tuned for McKie's march up to No. 2 into the record books. Trackwire p |Page 8 Singleton: 'Stupid Bpwl' x. n -r> 1 not super Dowi i ? "Once again, it is time ?for another diatribe from the man whose numbers always add up to a perfect 10, the 3-16." Thank you once again, announcer boy. After another week of running from the feds and taking myself out of Shawn Singleton a wedding because of Singleton 3:16 shifted loyalties, our hero is back tp write this wonderful piece of garbage for your reading pleasure. However, the liquor store would like to give one shout-out. Thank you, Maurice Stansfield, for giving me the opportunity to let my voice and opinions be heard on your "Sports Explosion," and I sincerely hope to be on the show again in the future. You said we were "kindred spirits," and I must agree. You are on the air what I am in my columns. Thank you and God for giving both of us the ability and nerve to speak the truth without fear, for it's something that's sorely needed and missed here in the South, which is the land of sugarcoated-candy b.s. When I was a senior in high school, I witnessed the execution known as Super Bowl XXVII, a game that I skipped the second half of to lose my virginity, thereby missing Leon Lett's boner at the end of the erame. During my lifetime, the Super Bowl might as well have been called the "Stupid Bowl" because of the countless number of games that have been over by the final gun of the first half. The Vince Lombardi Trophy is on the line Simday as the Denver Broncos defend their title against the upstart Atlanta Falcons in what looks to be a Super Bowl that might actually be worth watching The Falcons, under former USC standout Dan Reeves, arrive at this point two years after going 3-13 under that coaching legend June Jones. With the passing of quarterback Chris Chandler, the running of Jamal Anderson and a defense more hard-core than a porn flick, the Dirty Birds defeated San Francisco and Minnesota for the NFC's Halas Trophy, leaving the broken bodies of Garrison Hearst and half the Viking defense in their wake. The Broncos, however, reached this summit for the second straight year primarily behind the rushing of Terrell Davis, who gained more than 2,000 yards. Nevertheless, this is Denver, and Mike Shanahan's offense isn't the same without John Elway, who might be playing in his final game. Led by what's probably the most underrated defense in the NFL, the Broncos crushed Miami and took the Hunt Trophy by forcing the New York Jets into six turnovers in the AFC title game. , There's another story line to Super Bowl XXXIII. Reeves still feels that Shanahan and John El- ( way are responsible for his 1992 firing as Den- , ver's coach even though he says he holds no i grudges. Come on, Danny Boy, grudges are good for the game. It gives a person, or in this case, a , team, something to fight for. For the Falcons to win this game, it's very sim pie: CONTAIN TERRELL DAVIS. ( Force Elway to beat you. Of course, this puts a great deal of pressure on the Atlanta secondary, ^ especially rookie corner Michael Booker, who will ' most likely cover Rod Smith. i Pro Bowler Ray Buchanan will cover Broncos Pro Bowler Ed McCaffrey. Buchanan did an ad- t mirable job on Minnesota's Randy Moss in the ( NFC Championship. Falcons' Pro Bowler and team captain Eugene Robinson will also try to "hit 'em in the mouth" and play a key role in his third straight Super Bowl. On offense for Atlanta, the line must open holes for Anderson and protect Chandler so he can get the deep ball to Tony Martin and Terrence Mathis. The tight end play for both teams could be the X-factor in this game. Perennial Prn Bowler Shannon Sharpe is another deep threat for Elway and will be a nightmare for Falcon linebackers. tie s part 01 a tnree-neaaea monster at tnat position for Denver that also includes Byron Chamberlain and Dwayne Carswell. On the other side, Falcon tight ends O.J. Santiago and Brian Kozlowski will be major targets for Chandler. Kozlowski filled in at fullback for an injured Bob Christian and played admirably. For all the people who believe the Dirty Birds don't stand a chance against those bucking Broncos, Chandler is 3-for-5 lifetime against Elway in his 11-year career, which made stops in five other cities before coming to the city that formerly went by such names as Terminus and Marthasville. If you want my pick for this Super Bowl, don't expect to get one, for I don't do picks at the liquor store. Instead, I want to give one more shout-out to two people who have suffered their entire lifetimes for this one chance at glory. I call them the two Daves. One is a senior here at USC, the other a bouncer at Group Therapy. ? Both of them are the quintessence of what a true fan should be. J If only Rankin Smith could have been this ' smart. 3 lND field one-two 35;ht punch of < n Harrison and (JSC's men's eld team moved in the national i Carolina by Brock Vergakis Assistant Sports Editor Carolina won an SEC basketball game for the time all season Wednesday night, doing so in dra in foeVtmn nn f urn frnn f lirnuro K\r o nrn^n nn olxr IV lUOlllVii Vll v TV \J 11 VV 1/111UTYO KJ J U VVIUUOIJ pended player in the final minute. USC had to battle their way back from as many points at different times, and seemingly every time it got to taking the lead, Ole Miss would go up by 10 again. L the determination and youthful spirit of freshman sens Aaron Lucas, however, the Gamecocks would not relc their pursuit of the victory. Lucas had a career high in p even outscoring teammate BJ McKie with 21 points. "With [Ole Miss! defense, Aaron is the only other gi have that can beat them off the dribble and create sometl head coach Eddie Fogler said. Lucas might have had hi play of the night on the defensive end. After Williams hit his free throws with 13.9 sec left, the Rebels wanted to hold the ball for one last shot were playing good pressure defense and wanted to f( bad shot," McKie said. A bad shot was indeed forced, loose ball followed. Lucas, who had been scrambling for loose bal night, found his way to this one, too. With three seconc and only a one-point lead, Lucas ran toward the sideline dove, knocking the ball downcourt as time expired an suring the victory. The last seconds were part of an accumulation of e that had all of the fans on their feet, led by the cheers of 1 man Jamel Bradley on the sidelines, who didn't play i game. In fact, only seven players played more tha minutes for the Gamecocks the entire game. With less than three minutes remaining, McKie tie game up on a running jump shot, bringing a loud ovati the crowd. "We've got some of the best fans in the cou They smelled victory and were behind us 100 perceni said. Like so many times before for USC this season, it se as if it just wasn't meant to be, though. After a ste Williams with 1:39 left, McKie was charged with a fou questionable call. Fogler was so vehement in his proh the call, he earned a technical foul. "I was a little upset at him at first," McKie said. Wil] said, "It kind of lit a fire. We said, 'The ref isn't goii take the game away from us.' It was my first time seeing do something like that. He iumned nrettv high " Thp nical gave Ole Miss a one-point lead on a free throw and session of the ball. A steal by McKie with 1:03 to go gave Carolina a se chance, however. After a series of timeouts, there wi question McKie was going to be the go-to man for the shot. "I told him before," Williams said. 'Everybody is { to collapse on you. So if they do that and you don't hi shot, just lob it up, and I'll go catch it.'" As McKie drove down the court with 20 seconds ren ing, he had three players on top of him and tripped. 0 the corner of his eye, he found Williams and completed a to the forward. "He lost his footing, and I saw him fall ran over there and yelled his name, and he found me," Will said. Williams went up for a shot but was fouled hard, ing him two shots at the free-throw line. A 45 percent free-throw shooter had the game in his hi "I have confidence in my team. No matter who steppe to the line, I knew they were going to make it," McKie Williams made both shots after going 2-for-5 on free th earlier in the night. Fogler acknowledged that if not fo tenuating circumstances, Williams might not even have pi Wednesday night. "I'm not sure LeRon would have gotten much time if [Johnson] would have played tonight," Fogler said. Johnson was serving a one-game suspension for viok \-f* innrn nnn/-? i/?r ji icQiu a^du.ciiiic puiiiy. "I was just fortunate to be playing," Williams said, fore the game, the guys told me to let the game come t< and not try and force things. Tonight, I just wanted to < in and contribute." Carolina looks to build upon the victory Saturday v ;hey take on the Commodores of Vanderbilt. "It's good to )ne, now it's time to go onto the next one," Fogler said. ^?39s!B Sean Rayford Photo Jenior LeRon Williams celebrates USC's win over l/liss Wednesday. Williams made two free throws L3.9 seconds left to give Carolina the victory. Gamecock . S " d%/ Vanderbilt, oris ~ Wtr ming and 1 Saturday, I The Gamecock ekes past R< first matsiis as 14 close ed by m?wf ay we |V?V* s best f#^i KiSS :onds . "We >rce a and a Is all Is left sand id envents fresh- ^ ^ -^B HHmHi bBP by ^^HUf/ BKjtf intry. fl t"he Kjfl W'?:A,t .^Bl PPBBL Wmfa*?2 ' ^mi I HTTilwkaHnttMl^B emed al by tJgftfljSH^BBRiB^^^B^fl on a Bst of to l him Ht K\; J^JI tech. pos is no ? m^g final 'oing tve a Senior LeRon Williams gets fouled as he makes a move resulting from the foul to give Carolina the victory. ^ T 1 IT 3 .Lucas ieaas i iams , giv- by Michael Strickland end. That play br< Senior Writer three and also brou mds. iseum to its feet, d up With senior BJ McKie the center of Even a less-tha sa-^ attention this season for the Gamecocks, die Fogler noted a rows freshman Aaron Lucas has had plenty a huge play." r ex of room to grow, and never was that Said McKie of a , growth more evident than Wednesday "Aaron did a grea' y night against Ole Miss. shots, he penetrg On a night when USC (6-13, 1-6) played a great allbroke into the SEC win column for the Lucas provide first time this season, Lucas was the hig influence the ( ltl0n main reason why. The 5-foot-ll fresh- searching for. man from Columbia ignited both his He shot 50 perc "Be- team and the crowd of 7,575 with his of-16), while the r o nie manic pace of play. only 35 percent. :ome Lucas pushed the ball up the court He also nailed continuously, running circles around P?mt range (4-of-6 /hen Rebel guard and defensive specialist Ja- ^ hit from beyond win son Flanigan. In addition to Lucas also showed McKie-like Pluy> Lucas was r( I composure, though, committing just one Much of the night, ] turnover in 35 minutes of action. tween Flanigan, i Wednesday was a night of career highs for Lucas, highlighted by his gameKncf 01 r\r?infe IUV/Qb <Ji. Lucas also set personal bests in field goals attempted (16), turnovers (1), steals (4) and minutes played (35). Lucas was M all over the court both offensively and defensively against the Rebels. He used his speed to claim four steals and three uncontested layups. But the most significant part of Lucas' performance was the poise he played with. Ole Miss is one of the SEC's top defensive clubs, ranked second in the league in turnover margin. Overall, the Rebels had forced 398 turnovers entering the Carolina game, Q compared with 265 turnovers forced by Lucas handled the ball with care, though, even while running the point much of the game. I.- ? - - . m C' ? | I His one turnover in the game, com- i ing on a fast break in the second half, 8 left him well below his season average of 2.7 per game. Lucas showed tremen- ^Hj dous touch on passes, particularly on his lob to LeRon Williams off an out of-bounds play with 7:50 to go in the game. KdiIor Another key play by Lucas came with just 5:40 left, immediately following an , ? Ole Miss timeout. Freshman Aaron L with This time, he intercepted a rushed basket. Lucas sci in-bounds pass and scored at the other over tbe Rebels. >ULE NATE sketball vs. Nate sa 7:30 p.m. yards" < ?ank McGuire pilots. : planes , . iber ma d women s swim, ^ measun Jving 11 a.m. |ots fi 31att P.E. Center. target, 1 Frid ebels < mk mam .^1 IF ^ HP y^yfiEli m & <"w%s^^lii f j*,. 1 f I H , gg^Mfl| v ^1 19 1 i $ijf toward the basket. Williams ma JSC to t Dught USC to within points, and Lght the Carolina Col- five. In the n-talkative coach Ed- USC's Wil fterward, "That was ning free Rebel Keit his backcourt mate, bouncing t job. He didn't force could have ited and kicked, he at the goal around game." hustle of L d the steady shoot- Lucas1 Gamecocks had been shrugging knock the :ent from the floor (8- preserve tl est of the team shot For the play Wedn . 60 percent from 3- of things t< ), the only Gamecock "He's v the arc. incredible, his stellar offensive With ft >ck-solid on defense, focal point ( he split his duties be- Lucas shoi ivho scored only six to shine ou HHP* ucas blows past an Ole Miss d< ored a career-high 21 points ir : SAYS... ys the term "the whole 9 :ame from WWII fighter When arming their airon the ground, the .50-calicjjine gun ammo belts ed exactly 27 feet. If the red all their ammo at a t got "the whole 9 yards." lay, January 29, 1999 1/ / \J\J llMl l': Wje r^lMrn Br jL.1*** KX3 a ' JMt,-^ ?* tCSt M Sean Rayford Photo F.ditor ide both of the free throws /ictory Michael White, who had just game's final seconds, after liams nailed the game-winthrows, the loose ball from h Carter's errant heave was around on the court. What been another Ole Miss shot I was prevented by the pure iucas. dove into a pile of big men, off the kicks to his head to ball out of harm's way and le victory. } Gamecock faithful, Lucas' esday is hopefully just a sign ) come. ery good and his attitude is " Fogler said. IcKie remaining the public's liiririflr liio r>Qroor_rv\mfci nV?or./\ 1UJ. XIAO VAU JlAJHICO UlidvJC, ild have even more chances tside the spotlight. ^i ^1^I Sean Rayford I'hoto Editor efender on his way to the i the Gamecocks' victory