Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Williams-Brice adds new turf 3Y BEN BRYAN THE (JAMEEOC K When the USC football team Jakes the field this fall for the start 3f a promising new season, they’ll je nmning onto new ground. As a part of the maintenance being done to Williams-Brice Stadium this off-season, the football field is being stripped and com pletely re-sodded. There is typically some piece meal sod replacement done each year to the parts of the field that are most worn, such as the area be tween the hashmarks and the end Zones and other places where heavy painting of logos may have dam aged the soil. However, according to Jeff Davis, assistant athletic director in charge of facilities, “Nothing this extensive has been done to the field in the last six or seven years.” The entire process is roughly a two-month long project, which be gan on May 13 and is scheduled to conclude July 12. First, the maintenance crew had to strip and remove the exist ing sod from the field. Then, the soil was blended and fumigated to erad icate any remaining old or foreign grasses from the ground. A new drainage system was installed, and a “sand cap,” a one-inch layer of sand, was then laid. The crew is currently in the pro cess of installing the new sod. The only major remaining project is to replace the artificial turf that ex tends from the sidelines to the sta dium wall. The entire process is ex pected to cost less than $300,000. For right now, there are no real major plans for stadium renovation in the near future. There have been recent rumors about perhaps adding an upper deck section to the North End Zone section to close off the stadium. Davis acknowledges that such an endeavor has been dis cussed, but there is nothing con crete in the works as of yet. While talks continue about pos sible addition of seating, Davis says that such a project is little more than just discussion presently. “Adding the upper deck is prob ably in a conceptual design stage right now,” said Davis. Bidding on the project is still some distance in the future. For now, the Gamecocks will settle for fresh new turf for the upcoming season. With the potential for sev eral televised home games, the face lift for the field will help to main tain the professional image that the success of the football team has earned. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Victory CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Drew Myer walked to the plate with two outs and runners on sec ond and third. Hurricane pitcher Andrew Cohn, the third Miami pitcher of the in ning delivered a wild pitch that gave Gonce time to scamper home to score the fifth run to the delight of the capacity crowd. With Myer still at-bat, Cohn’s next offering got away from Miami catcher Danny Matienzo, Harris scored and USC led 6-4, and now stood three outs away from Omaha. Carolina reliever John Wesley re tired the first two batters in the bot tom of the ninth inning, but allowed two singles to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Jim Burt. The crowd held their breath as Burt stepped in, but he lofted a harmless foul ball down the right field line, which found the glove of Tim Seaton. The celebration was on. Afterwards, Tanner praised his squad’s efforts. “These guys showed you what they’re made of,” Tanner said. Their quest for a National Championship begins Friday at 2 p.m. against Georgia Tech in Omaha. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com Bridge to the Future PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK In the past two weeks, bridges have been added over Assembly and Blossom Streets. Terrorist suspect held in SC; bomb plot foiled BY TED BRIDIS ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER WASHINGTON (AP) — The gov ernment on Monday announced the arrest of an American accused of plotting with al-Qaida terrorists to detonate a "dirty bomb” to spread radioactive material, possibly tar geting Washington. Authorities said the alleged scheme, involving a former gang member from Chicago who was raised Catholic but converted to Islam, went only as far as the plan ning stages. Undersecretary of State John Bolton indicated the man was carrying plans for the attack when he was picked up in Chicago. Jose Padilla, 31, also known as Abdullah al Muhajir, was arrested May 8 as he flew from Pakistan via Zurich, Switzerland, to O’Hare International Airport. Officials said the CIA and FBI had helped foil the alleged plan, and FBI agents were waiting for Padilla as his plane ar rived at the gate. Authorities said they believed he had returned to conduct reconnaissance for al Qaida. "We have a man detained who is a threat to the country and that thanks to the vigilance of our intel ligence gathering and law enforce ment he is now off the streets, where he should be,” said President Bush. A "dirty bomb” — traditional ex plosives combined with radioactive material—would not result in a nu clear explosion, but a powerful de vice could release small amounts of radioactive material over dozens of city blocks. Experts believe the most devastating effect would be the pan ic caused and the difficulty sending rescue workers into the contami nated area. For that reason, it has been called an ideal terrorist weapon. In an unusual legal twist, the Justice Department handed the Brooklyn-born Padilla to the Pentagon for indefinite imprison ment as an "enemy combatant.” Government lawyers cited a 1942 Supreme Court ruling permitting such a transfer. Padilla had been held for weeks in New York, then was flown Monday to a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. Padilla was assigned a lawyer in New York immediately after his May 8 arrest, but his access to his lawyer probably will be severely re stricted now that he is in military custody, said Lt. Col. Rivers Johnson, a Pentagon spokesman. Officials said there were no plans to organize a military tribunal or oth erwise pursue criminal charges against Padilla, in part because tri bunals are reserved for accused ter rorists who are not U.S. citizens.