(Elje |Jnrtlanù (Observer
PageAIO
lanuaryOI, 2003
S ports
Serena is
Female
Athlete
of Year
PLAYOFF BOUND
(A P ) — Serena W illia m s personifies in te nsity on a
tennis court, right dow n to her routine for the prematch
coin toss.
U p at the net, most players are blank canvases,
crad lin g a racket and generally standing s till du rin g
the fo rm a lity. N o t W illia m s. She w hips her arm in a
service m otion over and over, her racket slicin g the air
— W hoosh! W hoosh! — in a display tha t’ s akin to
shadowboxing du rin g a referee’ s instructions in a
ring.
B rin g in g that in tim id a tio n to every shot on every
surface against every opponent (in clu d in g , fin a lly ,
her older sister) in 2002, W illia m s was s im p ly d o m i­
nant, w in n in g three o f the fo u r G rand Slam titles.
O n Friday, W illia m s was honored as The A ssoci­
ated Press Female A thlete o fth e Year in a vote that was
about as close as m any o f her matches.
She received 53 first-place votes and 351 points
fro m w rite rs and broadcasters across the country.
G o lfe r A nn ika Sorenstam was next, w ith 27 first-place
votes and 193 points, fo llo w e d by O ly m p ic cham pion
fig u re skater Sarah Hughes (12 first-place votes, 158
points).
“ 1 ca n 't become satisfied, because i f I get satisfied.
I ’ ll be like, ’Oh, I ’ve won W im bledon, I ’ ve won the U.S.
Open. N o w can I relax,’” W illia m s said. “ B ut now
Serena Williams was simply dominant in
2002, winning three ofthe four Grand Slam
titles.
people are really go in g to be fig h tin g to beat me.”
It d id n ’t do a lo t o f good to try to beat her this
year.
W illia m s w on 56 o f 6 1 matches (a .9 18 w inning
percentage), claim ed a W T A T our-lea din g eight
titles (out o f o n ly 13 tournam ents played), and
took hom ea record $3.6 m illio n . She was a runner-
up tw ic e and n e ve r fa re d w o rse than the
quarterfinals.
Assistant Coach Mose Rison embraces New York Jets Free Safety Damien Robinson Sunday as
the Jets are propelled into the NFL playoffs with a 42-17 victory over the Green Bay Packers. The
Jets will face Baltimore in New York on Saturday, Jan. 4. (AP photo)
h
It ’s often ea sier
to pick out the
vehicle . . .
Pitt Pounces Beavers at Insight Bowl
( A P )— Shawn Robinson became the first Pittsburgh
player to return a punt fo r a touchdow n in the scho ol’ s
22 b o w l appearances as the 24th-ranked Panthers beat
O regon State in the Insig ht B o w l.
Brandon M ire e rushed fo r 111 yards in 20 carries,
in clu d in g a 7-yard touchdow n run, to help Pittsburgh
to its firs t n ine -w in season in 20 years.
The Panthers (9-4) broke a 10-10 tie w ith a pair o fT D s
in the th ird quarter. Tez M o rris ’ interception set up the
go-ahead touchdow n on Rod R u th erford’ s 1-yard run,
then Robinson broke a pair o f tackles en route to his 66-
yard punt return to make it 24-10 w ith 3 :26 to go in the
th ird quarter.
Pittsburgh added tw o more touchdowns in the fourth.
The Panthers held Steven Jackson, the P ac-lO ’ s lead­
in g rusher and fourth in the cou ntry w ith 1,657 yards,
to ju s t 34 yards on 19 carries. Jackson had a 60-yard gain
called back by a holding penalty. Oregon State was held
Oregon
State's
James
Newson
celebrates
after a first
half touch­
down in the
Insight
Bowl. (AP
photo)
to 8 yards rushing fo r the game.
D erek Anderson com pleted 21 o f 44 passes fo r 318
yards fo r Oregon State (8-5). James Newson caught 10
fo r 165 yards forthe Beavers, in clud in ga remarkable 65-
yard touchdow n play.
Riverfront Stadium in Cincinatti came down in spectacular fashion Sunday with 1,275
pounds of dynamite and nitoglycerine. The stadium, which first opened inl97O, has been
replaced by a new sports venue. (AP photo)
Lakers’ Shaq Ties the Knot
(AP)— ShaquilleO’Neal married long­
time girlfriend Shaunie Nelson in a pri­
vate ceremony at The Beverly H ills Ho­
tel. The couple exchanged vows Thurs­
day night in front o f friends and Los
Angeles Lakers teammates at the hotel,
where plainclothes security guards be­
gan chasing out reporters and photogra­
phers during the afternoon.
A television news helicopter captured
video o f O ’Neal standing with his bride
as they prepared to take their vows.
“ This is a great event for Shaq, I ’ m
really happy for him and his wife and it
was a lovely event, so I ’ m glad I got to
attend it,” Lakers rookie Kareem Rush
told KCAL-TV.
“ It was fabulous. It was true to
Shaquille’ s class and grace,” said Cheryl
Cleamons, wife o f assistant coach Jim
Cleamons,
O'Neal and Nelson have two children
together and two from prior relationships.
They are expecting a boy in May.
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