TheState.com: Sports

Patrick speeds up NASCAR debut

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:31 EST

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Danica Patrick on Saturday bumped and banged her way through the crash-filled ARCA race at Daytona International Speedway, where she successfully dodged one of the sloppiest events in recent memory. She pulled off a masterful save on a slide through the infield grass, fell to the back of the field and still managed a sixth-place finish.

So it came as no surprise that after taking a day to catch her breath, Patrick decided she should make her NASCAR debut this weekend in the second-tier Nationwide Series race at Daytona.

She previously had been praised for declaring Daytona was not the right place to make her NASCAR debut, but after holding her own in the ARCA race, everyone anticipated the about-face Monday.

"Racing in the Nationwide Series race was my goal during this entire two-month preparation process, but we wanted to make sure it was the right thing to do," she said. "The ARCA race was a blast, and I'm not ready for my first Daytona Speedweeks to end just yet. I want more racing."

Saturday's race is a big-boy race, with more than half the field expected to be Sprint Cup Series stars. They have won nine of the past 10 Nationwide races at Daytona, dating to 2005, when Martin Truex Jr. won it in a JR Motorsports car.

South Carolina State defeats Howard 77-64

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:42 EST

Arsenio Williams tallied his first career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds to help South Carolina State defeat Howard 77-64 on Monday night.

The Bulldogs (13-8, 7-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) shot 50 percent in the second half (15 of 30) and held the Bison to 35 percent shooting in the half (14 of 40) to overcome a 30-30 tie at halftime.

South Carolina State, which outscored Howard 47-34 in the second half, jumped out to a 59-48 lead on Jason Flagler's jumper with 6:21 remaining.

The Bulldogs got 29 points from its bench in the second half as Brandon Smalls, Arsenio Williams and Khalif Toombs combined for 23.

Smalls, Carrio Bennett and Darnell Porter scored 11 points each and Tyvon Williams chipped in 10 for South Carolina State, which won its fifth straight.

Columbian will lead bobsled team at Olympics

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:49 EST

Bobsledder Mike Kohn was pondering retirement from the sport before receiving the most bittersweet phone call of his life last year.

Close friend and rival Todd Hays, who had all but locked up a spot in the Vancouver Winter Olympics, had sustained a career-ending head injury on Dec. 9. He left the doctor's office and called Kohn, a Columbia resident who lives part time in Myrtle Beach.

Hays' message was clear: If he could not compete in the Olympics, he wanted to make sure Kohn did.

"I struggled with it in the beginning because Todd is such a good friend of mine," Kohn said. "As a competitor that's not really how I wanted to move up, but I did some soul-searching on the issue and kind of determined that it was an unfortunate accident.

"And I also had a responsibility to help out the country."

Commentary: Parents pushing 13-year-old QB too hard

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:09 EST

THERE'S NOTHING WITHIN the contradictions and hypocrisies of NCAA law prohibiting a 13-year-old from orally committing to a college football program before he has picked a high school.

David Sills followed the rules.

Sills is a 6-foot-1 middle school quarterback in Delaware, deemed the next football prodigy. He wants to go to Southern Cal. New Trojans coach Lane Kiffin wants him to go there, offering Sills a scholarship that he can't sign for five years.

But permissibility doesn't excuse parents from condoning a stunt like this in a grab for cheap celebrity. The Sills family doesn't understand why this decision attracted national attention. They don't think it's a big deal. But perhaps they could explain the national television talk-show circuit they took last week to tell their motives while bringing more attention to a 13-year-old who should worry about being a kid.

Blame the NCAA, insists Sills' father, David.

Payton, Brees bask in glory of New Orleans' title

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

Wearing Mardi Gras beads and clearly exhausted from a late night of post-Super Bowl celebrations, Sean Payton leaned on a podium, clutching the Vince Lombardi trophy in his right hand.

"You can't get enough of this," the Saints' head coach said at a news conference at the Fort Lauderdale convention center Monday morning. "This thing lay in my bed next to me last night, rolled over it a couple times. I probably drooled on it. But man, there's nothing like it."

Certainly, the New Orleans Saints never experienced anything like it.

Before this one, the Saints had only eight winning seasons - and two playoff victories - in their previous 42 years combined. New Orleans had to win three postseason games over three great quarterbacks - Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning - to win the title this season.

The last quarterback standing was Drew Brees, who joined Payton in 2006 with the idea of transforming the Saints into champions for a region needing widespread rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Colts are 7-1 favorites to win 2011 Super Bowl

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

One bad pass by Peyton Manning hasn't cost the Indianapolis Colts any cachet.

Manning and the Colts are favored to win next year's Super Bowl, according to odds released Monday by BetUS.com.

Indianapolis is a 7-1 favorite to take home the NFL championship, followed by the Chargers (8-1), Saints (9-1) and the Patriots (10-1).

The Rams, coming off a 1-15 season, are the longest shot on the board at 150-1.

The Colts were 5-point favorites in the Super Bowl on Sunday, but Drew Brees and the Saints rallied for a 31-17 victory. New Orleans sealed the upset when Tracy Porter intercepted Manning's pass and returned it for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Mercer defeats SC-Upstate 83-69

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:41 EST

Jeff Smith scored 22 points to lead Mercer to an 83-69 win over South Carolina-Upstate on Monday night.

Brandon Moore added a career-high 16 points for the Bears (12-12, 8-6 Atlantic Sun Conference), while James Florence finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.

SC-Upstate used a 10-0 run to jump out to a 37-18 lead with 4:53 remaining in the first half, and led 47-35 at halftime.

The Bears bounced back in the second half, using an 18-0 run to take a 57-51 lead after a 3-pointer from Moore with 11:45 remaining. Mercer would go on to lead for the remainder of the contest, and finished the game with a 7-0 run.

The Spartans (4-19, 4-10) were paced by Ryan LeGates, who scored 14 points. SC-Upstate has lost four of their last five games.

No. 21 Georgia Tech reaches 20 wins beats Clemson

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:58 EST

MaChelle Joseph was glad her Georgia Tech seniors got to enjoy another milestone in her program's rise the past seven seasons.

And the Yellow Jackets coach thinks there could be more special moments ahead this winter.

"Like we talked about the last few weeks, we're either contenders or pretenders and we've got some great opportunities," Joseph said.

No. 21 Georgia Tech reached 20 wins for the fourth straight season with a 68-53 victory over Clemson on Monday night.

Brigitte Ardossi, a senior who's been a key part of the Yellow Jackets' Atlantic Coast Conference rise, had her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

NFL Hall of Fame election process is busted

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:09 EST

I SPENT MUCH of my childhood dreaming of getting inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I used to practice my induction speech in front of my mother.

It's killing me to watch the prestige of sports' most important hall of fame get diminished year after year as borderline candidates slip into a Hall best left reserved for the best of the best.

Let me first congratulate Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, John Randle and Dick LeBeau, the four legitimate and deserving inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And let me also apologize to Shannon Sharpe, Cris Carter and Tim Brown, the three legitimate and deserving candidates who were passed over by Hall voters Saturday.

Let me explain to you why there is virtually no media debate or criticism of football hall of fame candidates and the selection process that resulted in non-deserving Floyd Little, Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson gaining entry.

Think about it. There are two halls of fame that really matter in professional sports - baseball and football. Every year, hard-core baseball writers and broadcasters engage in a spirited debate about who belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame. You'll read passionate columns blasting the candidacy of accomplished baseball players. You'll see sports writers on TV making arguments for and against a pitcher such as Bert Blyleven.

The Citadel tops College of Charleston 72-65

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:47 EST

Zach Urbanus scored 17 points to lead The Citadel to a 72-65 win over College of Charleston on Monday night.

Cameron Wells and Harrison DuPont added 15 points apiece for the Bulldogs (13-12, 7-6 Southern Conference), who have won two in a row. The Citadel swept the season series against College of Charleston, also winning 61-55 on Jan. 9.

A 5-0 run late in the second half gave the Bulldogs a 67-63 lead with 2:19 remaining. Casaan Breeden made a layup for the Cougars to cut the lead to two points, but College of Charleston was outscored 5-0 the rest of the way as Andrew Goudelock missed two 3-pointers in the final minute.

Goudelock finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to lead the Cougars (16-9, 11-3), who had a three-game winning streak snapped.