August 30, 2000
Page B2
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Metro/Sports
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Rider vows to change his ways
W oods wraps up player
of the year
A ssociated P ress
A ssociated P ress
Tiger Woods has won the PGA Player of the Year award before, just never in August.
The PGA of America announced Woods as the winner Tuesday. He has been so dominant, winning three majors
and eight PGA Tour events, that no one has a mathematical chance o f catching him.
Woods won the award, which is decided by points, tor the third time in four years.
He already has a record 255 points after his victory in the NEC Invitational at Firestone. Phil Mickelson is second
Plavere earn 30 points for winning a major, 20 points for The Players Championship, and 10 points for every other
PGA Tour victory. Winnmg two majors carries a 50-point bonus, and three majors is worth an additional 75 points.
Woods became the first player since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win three majors in one year.
Also, 20 points are available for the player who leads the money list and has the lowest scoring average. Those
also appear to be a formality.
Woods, who last year won the Vardon Trophy with a record 68.43 adjusted scoring average, is on pace to shatter
that mark. He currently is at 67.38, while Ernie Els is next with a 69.37 average.
Weary Woods
ready for some
re s t
and
relaxation
Even the best need a break, and
Tiger Woods certainly deserves
one. After Woods (pictured) loses
to Sergio Garcia in a made-for-TV
match, he admits he’s weary and is
going to take a break. But a tired
Tiger is better than no Tiger at all,
as viewership o f the duel increases
by 16 percent over last year’s
Woods-Duval match-play contest.
And although Tiger may be taking
a break, that doesn’t mean you
armchair Tigers have to as well.
Isaiah Rider says he’s changing his
ways.
Honest.
Rider, who signed a free-agent
contract with the NBA champion Los
Angeles Lakers last Friday, vowed to
end the tardiness problems that have
plagued him since his first NBA
practice in 1993.
“1 have my head on straight,” Rider
said Monday at an introductory news
conference. “ I ’m really happy,
confident and not reluctant to be in
this situation.
“It’s up to me to dig myself out o f the
hole. W e’ll see in seven or eight
months what the outcome is. To me,
this is an easy transition - come in, do
my job and be a good citizen.”
Rider said he will live in a location
equally convenient to the Lakers’
practice facility in El Segundo near
Los Angeles International Airport
and Staples Center in downtown Los
Angeles, where the team plays its
home games.
He also said his new home would
enable him to drive on surface streets,
avoiding the crowded freeways.
“An adjustment o f 20 or 30 minutes a
day in my life will be the significant
part o f my turnaround,” Rider said.
“ C o a c h e s know I d o n ’t com e
dragging in in the morning.”
Rider’s constant tardiness caused
him to clash with coaches in Atlanta
last season and Portland before that.
He w as a lso late to his first
professional practice seven years ago
with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
General manager Mitch Kupchak said
Rider demonstrated sincerity about
changing his ways by rejecting
Miami’s $2.25 million contract offer
last week before signing with the
Lakers for $736,000 - the minimum
salary for players with seven years
experience.
“To me, it’s the first step,” Kupchak
said. “ H e’s acknow ledging h e ’s
looked at the situation, he knows
what he needs and he’s made a
sacrifice, which is probably the most
important thing.”
Rider said it wasn ’ t a difficult decision
to accept the lower offer.
“For me, it wasn’t about money,” he
said. “This is an opportunity I thought
I couldn’t pass up, with premier
players, a good supporting cast and
an organization that’s been No. 1 for
years.”
Both Rider and Kupchak said the
o n e-year contract w ill provide
sufficient motivation for the 6-foot-5
player to solve his problems.
Rider averaged 19.3 points, 4.3
rebounds and 3.7 assists for Atlanta
last season, near his career averages
o f 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.9
assists. The Hawks waived him a
month before the season ended.
Meanwhile, as Rider arrived, Kupchak
was casting doubt about the return of
free-agent forward Glen Rice, saying,
“I wouldn’t say it was likely,” that
Rice will be re-signed.
Tiger Woods misses his birdie
putt on the first hole against
Sergio Garcia during the 'Battle
at Bighorn' in Palm Desert,
Calif. Monday
S e r e n a Sydney Games will be
W illia m s showcase for women
advances at
U.S. Open
A ssociaieh JE kess
R euters
D efen d in g ch am p io n Serena
Williams launched her U.S. Open
title defense with a straight-set
victory on Tuesday at the National
Tennis Center.
T he fifth -se e d e d W illia m s
defeated 19-year-old Tina Pisnik
o f Slovenia, ranked 62nd, 6-3 6-2
W illiams advanced to a second
round m atch against N adejda
Petrova ofRussia, a 6-16-2 winner
against Czech Daja Bedanova.
Two reasons I q u it smoking.
At the Munich Games in 1972, there were 96 women in the U.S. Olympic
contingent. Nearly 30 years later, in the 2000 Summer Games, the number will
increase to about 270 competing against 4,100 women from around the world.
Columnist Jim Litke says Marion Jones (pwWfed) and the rest o f today’s female
athletes have their opportunities thanks to the sacrifices o f reluctant pioneers
like Francie Larrieu Smith, who ran the 1,500-meter heat in Munich and will lead
the Americans into the stadium in Sydney at the opening ceremonies on Sept.
You can do it too.
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