USC Schedule
■ Men’s soccer vs. William & Mary, 7 p.m.
■ Women’s soccer vs. Arkansas, Friday
Holtz sticking with Petty at QB
I
Staff Reports
The Gamecock
Struggling quarterback Phil Petty is still the starter for the
Gamecock football team, head coach Lou Holtz said Mon
day.
“Wfe ought to give that doggone guy a Purple Heart,” Holtz
said of Petty, who turned in his third consecutive subpar per
formance. “Our offensive line is totally unfair to our quar
terback.”
Petty, who was sacked only once in Saturday’s 21-3 loss
against East Carolina, threw 12 completions in 31 attempts
for 134 yards. He also had three interceptions with no touch
downs.
“Phil Petty is our quarterback,” Holtz said “He gives us
the best chance to win.”
Freshmen quarterbacks Mikal Goodman and Josh Rogers
also played against the Pirates, but neither attempted more
than three passes.
USC (0-3) is hoping to find some answers for its offen
sive ineptness by Saturday, when they travel to Starkville,
Miss., to take on No. 23 Mississippi State. The Gamecocks
have scored only 12 points in three games this season.
“It certainly isn’t going to get any easier, we just have to
get better. I can’t understand why we don’t perform on Sat-,
urdays like we do in practice,” Holtz said
Although the Gamecocks have managed to put forth spurts
of offense, they have yet to maintain a driving force. Fresh
man running back Derek V&tson ran for 118 yards in the open
ing game at N.C. State, a game that was affected by Hurricane
Dennis, but he hasn’t broken the 100-yard mark in dry weath
er the last two games.
Holtz said he would pressure the team even more in prac
tice this week than usual in preparation for Mississippi
State.
“We need people to step up. Overall, we have a quiet
team. I don’t identify leaders; they identify themselves,” Holtz
said.
USC will have to find some kind of offensive punch to
beat the Bulldogs, who always seem to give the Gamecocks
fits and will be looking for extra revenge. The ‘Dogs’ offen
sive coordinator, Sparky Woods, and defensive coordinator,
Joe Lee Dunn, are both former USC coaches.
Along with that factor, MSU’s offensive line averages 325
pounds. This presents a serious problem to USC’s already un
dermanned defense, but Holtz is pushing his team to over
come the adversity.
“It’s attitude as much as anything,” Holtz said. “We don’t
have a lot of depth and we need to play fresher people earli
er in the game.”
As for the beleaguered Petty, Holtz is still standing up for
him but has expressed his frustration at the difference between
Petty in practice and Petty in the game.
“I will say that our quarterbacks will not throw three
interceptions in a game again, because after two they won’t
be playing,” Holtz said. “I haven’t been too hard on him in
practice, but that’s going to change.”
Holtz seems optimistic about his team’s chances, but
would not specify what the Gamecocks will emphasize Sat
urday.
USC currently holds the second-longest losing streak in
the nation at 13, which is also a school record.
DtAN HAYI-UNU rMU IU tUIIUK
Despite three disappointing performances this season, quarterback Phil
Petty will start Saturday against the No. 23 Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Men's golf begins 1999 campaign
by Jared Kelowitz
Sports Editor
The ninth-ranked South Carolina men’s
golf team kicked off its second tournament
of the new season last weekend. The team
traveled to Opelika, Ala., to compete in the
prestigious Ping/Golfweek NCAA Preview
Tournament
Last season, the Gamecocks finished
the season ranked an impressive No. 11 in
the country. With the return of many of
their stars and a class of solid recruits, USC
will look to improve upon that rank
Three of USC’s golfers qualified for the
U.S. Amateur Tournament in Pebble Beach,
Calif., last month. Juniors Kyle Thompson
and John Bloomfield and freshman Nash El
liot all traveled to rate of the most hallowed
grounds in golf.
Carolina also boasts two All-American
candidates on their squad. Thompson and
senior Eric Ecker were both named to the
1999 All-American Collegiate Golf Team.
This is the first time two Gamecock linksters
have ever received this honor in the same
season.
As for USC’s up and coming golfers, a
couple of freshmen are turning heads every
where. Scott Feaster and Nash Elliott, an
Estill native, will both see a great deal of
match time in the new season.
In the Gamecocks’first match of the
year, the Ridges International in Johnson
City, Term., the team fired a collective fi
nal round total of 300, putting than in fourth
place. Thompson ended that tournament
carding an even-par 72, which shot him in
to fifth place.
Bloomfield also turned in a top 10 per
formance, shooting a 4-over-par 76 in the
final round.
On the first day of the Preview Tour
nament, the Gamecocks collectively fired
a 12-over-par 300 to slot them in a tie for
13th place. Ecker led the team with a 2-un
der-par 70 and was three shots behind tour
nament leader Bubba V&tson of Georgia.
Other top scorers for Carolina were ju
nior Brent Roof, with a 74, Thompson, with
a 78, Bloomfield, with a 78, and Feaster,
with a 79.
Round 2 of the tournament was
scheduled for Monday, but was shortened
by an hour-and-a-half rain delay near the
end of the day. Rain and darkness caused
some players who did not finish to start ear
ly Tbesday morning.
1999-2000 USC Men’s Golf
Date Tournament Location
Oct. 1-3 Carpet Capital Classic
Rocky Face, Ga.
Oct. 26-27 Country Club of La. Classic
Baton Rouge, La.
Oct. 11-12 Taylor Made Red River Classic
' Dallas, Texas
Nov 5-7 Colfworld Palmetto Dunes
Intercollegiate
Hilton Head
Feb. 21-22 Mercedes-Benz Intercollegiate
Jacksonville, Fla.
Mar. 10-12 Golf Digest Invitational
Las Vegas, Nev.
Mar. 20-21 Morris Williams Intercollegiate
Austin, Tex.
Mar. 25-26 Chris Schenkel Classic
Statesboro, Ga.
Apr. 14-16 SEC Championships
Opelika, Ala.
Apr. 16-18 SEC Championships
TBA
May 13-14 The Maxwell
Ardmore, Okla.
May 18-20 NCAA East Regional Championships
Scranton, Pa.
May 31-June 3 NCAA Championships
Opelika, Ala.
Men's soccer
takes on Tribe
tonight
by David Cloninger
Assistant Sports Editor
The USC men’s soccer team will face
William and Mary tonight at 7:00 at Stone
Stadium.
The Gamecocks (4-1-1) will play the
Tribe after beating Air Force last Fri
day. USC put together one of its strongest
performances of the season in that game,
shutting out the Falcons, 3-0.
This is also USC’s last home match
of the month before traveling to Furman
on Sunday. After that match, the Game
cocks will travel to St. John’s for a two
game tournament before playing at arch
rival Clemson.
Head coach Mark Berson is ex
pecting his two main scorers, sophomore
forward Joey Worthen and senior for
ward John Harr, to shine in the upcom
ing matches, but last week, he found a
new weapon. Freshman forward Jukka
Sundquist was named the Independent
Rookie of the Week last week after notch
ing a hat trick against Winthrop.
Sundquist is now second on the team
in goals, with four, just behind Worthen,
who has five.
The Slate (late GAMES NOT included)
National League
Eastern Division W L Pet GB L10 Str
Atlanta 93 57 .620 - 5-5 W-l
New York 92 58 .613 1 7-3 W-2
Philadelphia 70 80 .467 23 2-8 L-3
Montreal 63 86 .423 29.5 5-5 L-l
Florida 58 91 .389 34.5 1-9 L-2
Central Division
Houston 92 60 .605 - 6-4 L-l
Cincinnati 89 62 .589 2.5 6-4 W-l
Pittsburgh 74 75 .497 16.5 5-5 W-2
St. Louis 71 79 .473 20 4-6 W-l
Milwaukee 67 82 .450 23.5 6-4 W-l
Chicago 60 90 .400 31 4-6 L-l
West Division
Arizona 90 60 .600 - 7-3 L-l
San Francisco 82 68 .547 8 6-4 L-3
San Diego 71 80 .470 19.5 5-5 L-l
Los Angeles 70 80 .467 20 5-5 W-3
' Colorado 68 83 .450 22.5 5-5 W-l
Note: New York leads Cincinnati in the NL Wild Card
race by 3.5 games.
American League
Eastern Division W L Pet GB L10 Str
New York 90 59 .604 - 5-5 W-l
Boston 87 62 .584 3 8-2 W-5
Toronto 77 73 .513 13.5 3-7 L-5
Baltimore 72 76 .483 17.5 10-0 W-ll
Tampa Bay 65 86 .430 26 3-7 L-l
Central Division
Cleveland-x 90 60 .600 - 3-7 L-2
Chicago 68 81 .456 21.5 5-5 W-4
Minnesota 61 88 .409 28.5 3-7 W-2
Detroit 61 88 .409 28.5 4-6 W-l
Kansas City 60 91 .397 30.5 4-6 W-l
West Division
Texas 89 61 .593 - 5-5 L-l
Oakland 82 67 .550 6.5 6-4 L-l
Seattle 74 76 .493 15 4-6 L-2
Anaheim 62 89 .411 27.5 6-4 W-l
x-clinched division title
Note: Boston leads the A.L. Wild Card race by five games
over Oakland.
AP Football Top 25
1. Florida State
2. Penn State
3. Florida
4. Michigan
5. Nebraska
6. Texas A&M
7. Tennessee
8. Virginia Tech
9. Georgia
10. Ohio State
11. Purdue
12. Georgia Tech
13. Miami, Fla.
14. Arkansas
15. Kansas State
16. Southern Cal
17. Wisconsin
18. UCLA
19. BYU
20. Texas
21. Michigan State
22. Marshall
23. Mississippi State
24. North Carolina State
25. Air Force
Tuesday’s Headlines___
• Tom ACL to sideline Falcons’ running back Jamal
Anderson for rest of season
• Former USC star BJ McKie replaces former Clemson
star Terrell McIntyre at point guard in European
basketball
• Bob Bockrath resigns as Alabama athletics director,
Gene Stallings might get post
• Barry Sanders’ father to advise him to return to
Lions
I" m
Todd Money
Money in the Bank
A lesson
in sports
interviewing
u know, as much as those of us
1 the sports department idol
te athletes, we can’t let our
selves foiget that these people do have
faults. They’re not gods, or anything
close. They’re humans, prone to the
same poor excuses for idiocy we all
are.
Unfortunately, way too many ath
letes are now trained on exactly how
to speak to people like me - it’s called
“media advisement,” among other
things. This in itself is pretty ques
tionable; when athletes have strict lim
its placed on what they say and how to
say it, they’re turned into public rela
tions people. And we all know how lit
tle ethics or morals they have to fol
Then again, when athletes aren’t
really saying what they mean, it can
make for some pretty funny interviews.
And that’s a good reason for writers to
never throw away anything.
Supereditan So, Joe, you’re down
by six, you’ve got the ball on your own
22,45 seconds left, playing an unde
feated team - what were you thinking,
faking the hand-off like that?
Joe Stooge: Wfell, you know, Todd,
let me make one thing clear. We came
here to play today. And we came here
to win. If we weren’t gonna pull this
one out, we were going down swing
ing. We knew it’d come down to the
wire, and I guess we overcame adver
sity enough to win.
& Yeah, well, we all saw that, of
course. But what was actually going
through your mind when you ran 25
yards in the wrong direction before you
threw the ball?
J& Coach kept telling me to stick
to the play, you know? But given the
circumstances, I think we were run
ning out of options at that point, es
pecially when that lineman broke both
our running back’s arms. We came
through in the clutch, though, and they
just didn’t have an answer for us. Wfe
took ‘em by storm, Todd.
S: Yeah, yeah, you’ve got a way
with words there, Joe. But what about
the give-and-go to ol’ Johnson at mid
field with no timeouts left? Did you
guys draw that1 up in practice?
ja: ivian, wnai can i say; we were
clicking on all cylinders. Wfe were feel
ing the flow, and everything fell into
place for that guy. He really hammered
it home, and he never runs out of gas,
you know? He’s got good foot-speed, »
and he proved his worth. He’s gonna
be a world-beater some day.
& What about those fens? Did see
ing all those girls in the front taking
their shirts off inspire you, personal
ly?
JS: Oh, it was bedlam out there
when that crowd came alive tonight.
Really, honestly, we have the best fans
in America, and if it weren’t for them,
we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere this
year. The house was rocking tonight.
S: Definitely. Yes. So is this the best
team in the country now? I’m sure you
guys were really laying it on the line
after Florida lost this afternoon.
JS: You know, that thought hasn’t (■
even crossed our minds yet. I mean,
we gave it our best shot today, our backs
were against the wall, and we hung in
there till the end. The sky’s the limit.
S: Wait - you guys didn’t know
about that other game?
JS: Uh, yeah. But everything was
going our way. We’re just trying to
do the best we can out there and leave
it all on the field. If something hap
pens, it happens.
& Riiiiight. Hey -1 can get into
this, too. So, let’s see, was this team in
rare form today, or have you guys re
ally closed the gap? No, wait, I mean,
how many more games before the oth
er team catches a break?
JS: Todd, this team is a well-oiled
machine. But every guy in this lock
er room plays a part, and if we can just
play up to our potential day in and day
out, we’ll come out ahead. Wfe’ve got
to take it one game at a time, though.
S: Great. Anything else you want
to add before I shoot myself?
J& Yeah - the grass is always green
er on the other side.
S: I knew it.