Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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USC all-sports standings rise; Carolina ranks 11th in Sears Cup STAFF REPORTS The University of South Carolina put an exclamation point on its most successful athletics year ever by fin ishing 11th in the final 2001-02 Division I Sears Directors' Cup na tional all-sports standings. The end of the year rankings, which were released by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), catapulted the Gamecocks 14 spots to improve upon last year's previous best show ing of 25 th. Sixteen of USC's 19 varsity sports teams, which apply towards the Sears Cup race, received points for their performance at the NCAA championship level. The Gamecocks, highlighted by a na tional championship in women's outdoor track and a national run ner-up showing at the baseball College World series, improved from the 24th spot that the school held at the conclusion of this year's winter standings. Other sterling efforts this season were turned in by the women's bas ketball team, which advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight; the football team, which finished 13th in the final na tional polls; and the men's track team, which finished sixth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. "We congratulate our student athletes and coaches for an out standing year," said USC athletics director Mike McGee. "The com mitment to excellence has been made across the board and it's re warding to see the efforts of our ath letes and coaches come to fruition." McGee continued, "Our coaches have recruited the caliber of young people it takes to compete at the highest level. All of our coaches have set their standards high," McGee said. "The confidence has been conta gious throughout the department. Much of our success stems from that, and we have had some good for tune as well." Comments on this story?E-mail garnecocksports@hotmail.com Baseball great dies at age 83 r m $ m PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Ted Wiliams died In Florida last Friday. BY MIKE BRANOM ASSOCIATED PRESS CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. - Boston Red Sox treasure Ted Williams died Friday, the last man to bat .400 and perhaps baseball's greatest hitter of all time. The "Splendid Splinter" was 83. The Hall of Famer always want ed to be known as the greatest hit ter ever, and his stats backed up the claim. Williams had 145 RBIs as a Red Sox rookie in 1939 and closed out his career - fittingly - by hitting a home run at Fenway Park in his final ma jor league at-bat in 1960. Williams was a two-time MVP who twice won the Triple Crown. He hit .344 lifetime with 521 home runs - despite twice interrupting his career to serve as a Marine Corps pilot in World War II and the Korean War. Williams' greatest achievement came in 1941 when he batted .406, getting six hits in a doubleheader on the final day of the season. As word of his death spread, baseball paused to remember one of its true heroes. "With the passing of Ted Williams, America has lost a base ball legend," said President Bush, a former baseball owner. "Whether serving the country in the armed forces or excelling on the baseball diamond, Ted Williams demon strated unique talent and love of country" /.V. J _i. i UbUUiUl U11VA UOUV/UUUl John Glenn had Williams as his wingman on combat missions in Korea. "There was no one more dedicat ed to this country and more proud to serve his country than Ted Williams," Glenn said. Williams led the league in hitting six times, the last in 1958, when, at age 40, he became the oldest batting champ in major league history. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1966, his first year of eligi bility. As a member of the Marine Reserves, Williams was called up as a jet pilot in 1952. After combat ser vice as a fighter pilot in Korea, he rejoined the Red Sox late in the 1953 season. After his 1960 retirement, Williams became an avid fisherman and outdoorsman. But he returned to baseball in 1969 as manager of the Washington Senators. He managed three years in Washington and one more when the club moved to Texas as the Rangers in 1972. Although he was respected by his peers, Williams' teams went 273-364, a .429 mark. williams returned to tne Ked sox as a vice president, then was a con sultant and spring training hitting instructor. But the strokes, espe cially a particularly severe one in February 1994, limited his vision and mobility Williams underwent open-heart surgery in January 2001 and had a pacemaker inserted in November 2000. Married three times, he had three children: Bobbie Jo, Claudia and John Henry Williams. AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker contributed to this story from New York. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com BRIEFLY Gamecocks Appear in Sports Illustrated USC rising sophomore Lashinda Demus and rising junior Otukile Lekote have both been featured in Sports Illustrated’s 'Faces in the Crowd' the past two weeks. Demus is in the current issue (July 1) which includes an article on USC's run at the College World Series. Demus and Lekote are the fourth and fifth USC athletes to be featured this year in Sports Illustrated. Others included Megan Hosp (vol leyball; September), Demetria Washington (track and field; September) and Jocelyn Penn (women's basketball; January). Lekote Continues to Impress Gamecock NCAA champion Otukile Lekote has continued his winning ways this summer, hav ing racked up two wins on the CanAm running circuit in the past two weeks. Lekote is currently competing at the CanAm meet in Montreal before traveling to Dublin, Ireland to com pete in the Commonwealth Games July 26-Aug. 1. ^ Lekote won the 800 meters at the Boston High Performance Meet with a time of lminute, 47.48 seconds on June 29. This past weekend he won the 800m at the Maine Distance Festival with a time of 1:46.02, de fending the title he won last year. Dunleavy signs with Warriors Mike Dunleavy, the third overall pick in the NBA draft, signed with the Golden State Warriors Monday. Dunleavy, a 6-foot-9-inch forward, was a member of Duke’s 2001 na tional championship team. He av eraged 17.3 points and 7.2 rebounds for the Blue Devils last season, then skipped his senior season to enter the draft. ^ The Warriors wouldn't discuss the terms of Dunleavy’s three-year contract, but the deal is in line with the rookie pay scale determined by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. Last year’s No. 3 over all pick, Memphis forward Pau Gasol, signed a three-year deal worth $9.6 million. Allen CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 But he looks like he will be ham strung by bumbling Bud. You would think that with an other strike looming and widespread allegations of steroid use that Selig would have more on his mind than the Expos. But, unfortunately, he didn't. When the plan was announced that MLB would assume operations of the club, Selig never counted on them being competitive. In fact, he'd prefer they lay down like dogs so he could just fold them after the season and his contraction dream would come true. Success never entered into the equation, and now it might make Bud look bad. n imo uauc guco uuuugn, minn about the Expos in a first-round playoff series. Their pitchers - Bartolo Colon, Javier Vazquez and Ryan Dempster - could match up with anybody, and their lineup could mash with any NL team. Vladimir Guerrero and Jose Vidro are among the best hitters in the game, and if Floyd can stay healthy he may hit 40 homers this year. There is also talk of Montreal going after Yankee pitcher Orlando Hernandez, who incidentally sports an 8-1 postseason record. Everyone agrees that the team has to leave Montreal because they play in a horrible park and the yjw just doesn't want the team, but Selig should not stand in the way of their success. If the team makes the play offs, it might certainly be easier to find a new city and buyer for the franchise. Besides the Expos. Selig proposed folding the Minnesota Twins prior to the season. At the break, the Twins hold a 7.5 game lead in the AL Central. Sorry Bud, you're 0 for 2. Selig whines incessantly about restoring competitive balance, and $5 million would go a long wayTo achieve that goal. Bob Watson now works in the MLB offices. Maybe he can convince Bud to pony up some money and "let the kids play". Allen is a first-year history student