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January 02,2002
Sports/METRO
Jefferson Senior Leads at Tournament Ducks Hope for
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Jefferson High School's
head coach Marshall
Haskins (at left) goes
over what proved to be
the game stealing
jumper with Senior
Brandon Lincoln.
Jefferson went on to
beat Jesuit 69-66 in the
third-place game at the
nationally renown Les
Schwab Invitational on
Dec. 22.
.
*
a Split National
Championship
photo by D avid G iezyng /
T he P ortland O bserver
Bonds Named Male Athlete of the Year
SAN FR A N C ISC O -(A P) Ina
record-breaking season capped
by major awards, one home run
was especially significant to Barry
Bonds.
It was not his 500th career
homer, or his 71 st of the season,
which broke Mark M cGwire’s
record.
It was a memorable year for
baseball’s new home run king. He
started it O-for-21 at the plate, but
finished with 73 homers and a
record .863 slugging percentage.
Besides smashing M cG w ire’s
3-year-old record for homers, the
San Francisco slugger broke a pair
o f Babe R uth's records with 177
walks and the gaudy slugging
percentage. Bonds hit .328 with
137 RBI while moving from 17th
place to seventh on the career list
with 567 homers.
Bonds edged three-time Tour
de F ra n c e w in n e r L an ce
Armstrong to claim the AP award
announced W ednesday. T iger
Woods, who won in 1999 and
2000, tied for third.
Hitting his 73rd home run this year, Barry Bonds breaks the
national record set by Mark McGwire three years ago.
Bonds received 33 first-place
votes and 136 points from sports
w rite rs and b ro a d c a ste rs.
Capriati, AP’s
Female Athlete
of the Year
(A P )-In late 1988, when Jennifer Capriati was 13
and about to turn pro, she played in an exhibition
event in Haverford, Pa. Some players worried she was
too young to start a career and would be off the tour
within a few years; others were certain she was too
talented not to become a star.
It turns out both predictions were on the mark.
Capriati’s remarkable return from career crisis to
the top of tennis in 2001, with championships at the
Australian and French Opens and a brief turn at No.
1, earned her The Associated Press Female Athlete of
the Year award on Thursday.
“I’m no longer going to doubt m yself in anything,”
Capriati said after winning her first major title this year.
“If I can come home with a Grand Slam, now I know
anything is possible.”
She received 37 first-place votes and 157 points
from sportswriters and broadcasters to top Venus
Williams, also the runner-up in 2000. Williams had 26
first-place votes and 120 points, Annika Sorenstam
was third with 94 points, while Stacy Dragila and Lisa
Leslie completed the top five.
Williams stopped Capriati’s streak at the majors by
winning W imbledon and the U.S. Open for the second
straight year. Sorenstam won eight times on the LPGA
Tour, the most in 22 years, and became the first woman
to shoot 59 in competition.
Points were awarded on a 3-2-1 basis, and eight
women received at least one first-place vote.
Capriati’s resurgence was stunning, coming years
after she first flashed the power game that would carry
her back to the top. She won three titles and reached
four other finals, posting a 56-14 match record, includ
ing a year-best 24-2 in Grand Slam tourneys.
“I am proud to be able to come back from every
thing that’s happened in my life, and just to enjoy
tennis and play this well,” Capriati said in October,
when she moved up to No. 1 in the WTA rankings.
While Capriati won just one other event this year
— at Charleston, S.C. — she was strong at the other
Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the semis at
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
That was enough to push her to No. 1 in the WTA
rankings in October; she finished the year at No. 2,
behind Davenport.
A
b
Armstrong, who finished second
in the voting for the second
straight year, had 26 first-place
r
i
e
votes and 127 points.
American League MVP Ichiro
Suzuki and W oods tied for third
with 43 points, though Suzuki had
seven first-p la c e vo tes and
Woods, who also won the AP
honor in 1997, had two. Randy
Johnson was fifth and Allen
Iverson sixth. Points were awarded
on a 3-2-1 basis.
The 37-year-old Bonds is the
24th baseball player to win the AP
award. Pepper Martin won the first
award in 1931, and other baseball
winners have included Bonds’
godfather, Willie Mays, who won
as a member of the New York Gi
ants in 1954. McGwire won in 1998
when he hit his record-breaking
70 homers.
After briefly testing the free-
agent market, Bonds accepted the
G iants’ offer of salary arbitration
and will be back in San Francisco
for at least one more season.
Bonds said he’s already prepar
ing for the 2002 season and trying
to figure out how he can become
an even better player.
f
Oregon Ducks Coach Mike Bellotti declared, “The hype is
exciting, but we still have to go out and stop the best
running team in the nation if we want to be co-national
champions. ”
The University o f Oregon
Ducks prepared for New Year’s
day Fiesta Bowl with the possibil
ity of a national championship.
Ducks coach Mike Bellotti
was miffed that his team could
be ranked No. 2 in both major
polls and not play in the Bowl
Championship Series national
title game.
Retribution could come if the
Ducks pull out a win against
Colorado.
An Oregon victory and a M i
ami loss to Nebraska in the Rose
Bowl could mean split national
cham pions, w ith the Pac-10
champion Ducks earning the top
spot in The Associated Press
rankings.
The ESPN-US A Today poll,
determined by a vote of coaches,
has a pact with the BCS that
automatically gives the Miami-
Nebraska winner the national
title. The AP poll, determined by
a vote o f sports writers, has no
such agreement.
“I hope the AP people vote
their minds,” Bellotti said.
s
Bears, Jauron to Sign Long-Term Deal
LAKE FOREST, 111. - Dick Jauron is going to be the first Chicago Bears coach for
a long time. With the Bears at 11-3 and assured of a playoff spot after going 5-11
last season, general manager Jerry Angelo finally gave Jauront he security he had
sought. Angelo said he would negotiate a contract extension after the season with
Jauron, who has one year left on a four-year deal.
Cowboys Great Harvey Martin Dies at 51
G RA PEV IN E, Texas - Form er D allas Cow boys defensive end Harvey Martin,
once a Super Bowl M VP, died of pancreatic cancer. He was 51. The four-tim e
Pro Bow ler starred for the C ow boys in the 1970s and highlighted his 11 -year
career by being the co-M V P o f the 1978 Super Bowl.
BYU's Staley May Declare for NFL Draft
PROVO, Utah - Brigham Y oung’ s Luke Staley, the 2001 Doak Walker Award winner
as the best running back in the country, is expected to announce his intent to enter
the NFL draft.
Nash's 3 Spoils Duncan's 53
SAN A N TO N IO - Steve N ash scored 27 points and m ade a 3-pointer with 0.6
seconds rem aining in overtim e as the D allas M avericks overcam e a 53-point
effort by Tim Duncan and beat the San A ntonio Spurs 126-123. D allas won its
seventh straight despite a career night from D uncan, w ho scored 28 points in
the fourth quarter and overtim e and also pulled dow n 11 rebounds. M ichael
Finley led the M avericks w ith 28 pointsand Tim H ardaw ay had 15 for Dallas,
w hich defeated San A ntonio for only the 1 l lb tim e in their last 50 m eetings.
Nuggets' Issel Resigns After Insensitive Comment
DENVER - Dan Issel accepted a buyout and resigned as head coach and
president o f the D enver N uggets, after he was suspended for m aking an
insensitive ethnic rem ark to a spectator. The announcem ent came after Issel
and general m anager Kiki Vandeweghe finalized the details o f Issel’s departure
in private m eetings. A ssistant coach M ike Evans, w ho has been serving as
interim coach, will rem ain in charge of the team.
Staley Leaving BYU for NFL Draft
PROVO, Utah - Brigham Y oung's Luke Staley, the 2001 Doak W alker Award
w inner as the best running back in the country, announced he will forgo his
final year o f eligibility and enter the NFL draft. D espite a broken leg, suffered
earlier this m onth, and a history o f injuries, some expect the A ll-A m erican to
be a first-round draft pick. He set school m arks this year w ith 28 touchdow ns,
1,582 yards rushing and 170 points. He is B Y U ’s all-tim e leader with 48 TDs.
CLASS BEGINS
WITH A
HEARTY BREAKFAST
Monday through Saturday: 7am to 10:30am
Sunday: 7am to 1 1:30am
Floyd Resigns as Bulls Coach
DEERFIELD, 111. -T im Floyd resigned as coach o f the Chicago Bulls as the team
stum bled through its fourth straight rebuilding season o f the post-M ichael
Jordan era. The Bulls are 4-21, last in Central D ivision, and have the N B A ’s
w orst record. F loyd’s overall record was 49-190.
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