<h4>Peppers a no-show </h4>
Five-year-old John Michael Salamone wears his Julius Peppers jersey as he watches the Carolina Panthers during their minicamp on Friday in Charlotte, N.C. Peppers is not participating in the camp.
WASHINGTON – Tackling an issue sure to rouse sports fans, lawmakers pressed college football officials Friday to switch the Bowl Championship Series to a playoff, with one Texas Republican calling the current system as unworkable as communism and joking it should be labeled “BS,” not “BCS.”
John Swofford, the coordinator of the BCS, rejected the idea of switching to a playoff, telling a House panel that it would threaten the existence of celebrated bowl games.
Sponsorships and TV revenue that now go to bowl games would instead be spent on playoff games, “meaning that it will be very difficult for any bowl, including the current BCS bowls, which are among the oldest and most established in the game’s history, to survive,” Swofford said.
Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, who has introduced legislation that would prevent the NCAA from calling a game a national championship unless it’s the outcome of a playoff, bluntly warned Swofford: “If we don’t see some action in the next two months, on a voluntary switch to a playoff system, then you will see this bill move.”
After the hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s, trade and consumer protection subcommittee, Swofford told reporters: “Any time Congress speaks, you take it seriously.”
Yet it is unclear whether lawmakers will try to legislate how college football picks its No. 1 before the first kickoff of the fall season. Congress is grappling with a crowded agenda of budgets, overhaul of health care and climate change, and though President Obama favors a playoff, he hasn’t made it a legislative priority.
Britton must back up words
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Ex-Arizona Wildcat Eben Britton’s bold, draft-day comments followed him to Jacksonville.
Britton, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Arizona standout who said he planned to become one of the greatest offensive tackles in NFL history, got razzed by teammates for his words during the team’s first day of minicamp.
“They’ve been messing with me a little bit, but it’s all in good fun,” Britton said Friday. “I just have to go out there and make sure I earn their respect on the field.”
Britton certainly will get the chance. The Jaguars lined him up at tackle and guard to start minicamp, trying to give him every opportunity to win a starting job on an aging line that was ravaged by injuries last season.
Jacksonville lost center Brad Meester, backup tackle Richard Collier and their top three guards – Vince Manuwai, Maurice Williams and Chris Naeole – for parts of last season. Coach Jack Del Rio said age had a lot to do with those injuries and vowed to upgrade the line in the offseason.
The Jags signed three-time Pro Bowl left tackle Tra Thomas, veteran Jordan Black and then drafted Virginia star Eugene Monroe and Britton with their first two picks on April 25. All those moves made the group one of the most competitive heading into minicamp and summer workouts.
Britton welcomed the challenge and didn’t back down from his recent remarks.
“I don’t regret saying any of it,” Britton said. “But at the same time, there’s been some repercussions.”
Britton said he was ripped on some Internet sites for suggesting he could be one of the best in league history. A few people even told him he disrespected players such as Jonathan Ogden, Anthony Muñoz, Orlando Pace and Walter Jones by implying he could be as good.
But Britton said that was never his intention.
“Those kinds of guys were my idols growing up and I would never disrespect any of those players,” said Britton, who recorded 289 knockdowns and was penalized just four times in 2,461 career snaps at Arizona.
“I hold those guys in the highest regard. What kid doesn’t want to come in and work hard and be recognized in even the same sentence with guys like that? That’s more what I was trying to get at. I would like to be considered as one of those guys (someday).”
The Associated Press
Pacquiao favored in title bout
LAS VEGAS – The last time Manny Pacquiao displayed his many talents he stopped Oscar De La Hoya in a fight no one thought he could win.
The beating he administered that night not only sent De La Hoya into retirement, but cemented Pacquiao’s status as boxing’s newest star.
Pacquiao returns to the ring Saturday night much the same fighter he was five months ago, taking on Ricky Hatton in a lucrative 140-pound fight matching two guys who love to brawl. The big difference now, though, is that everybody expects him to win.
One big fight can create a lot of expectations, and the biggest task for Pacquiao may be managing those expectations in the ring.
His trainer isn’t worried. Pacquiao, says Freddie Roach, is more focused than ever.
“The win over Oscar just gave him more confidence,” Roach said. “So many people said he couldn’t do it, but he did. Oscar could still beat a lot of guys, but he didn’t win a second of that fight.”
Once again, Pacquiao will be facing a fighter who is bigger than him as he fights for only the third time above 130 pounds. Pacquiao weighed in at 138 pounds Friday while Hatton was at the class limit of 140 pounds.
But oddsmakers who saw him dismantle an even bigger De La Hoya make him a 2-1 favorite to beat the once-beaten Hatton and win a title in his sixth weight class since turning pro.
Coming off a rugged training camp that Pacquiao believes was his best ever, he’s not about to argue the point.
“I believe that I am improving and everybody knows and can see that by my last few performances,” Pacquiao said.
The Associated Press
Rosen makes cut
Former St. Gregory College Prep star Matt Rosen shot a 6-under-par 66 Friday to finish in a tie for 14th place in the final round of a Gateway Tour event.
Rosen ended with a 9-under 207 for three rounds. Tucsonans Jacob Rogers and Brian Kontak each ended with a 3-under 213 to tie for 37th.
Citizen Staff Report
Cooper to coach USC
LOS ANGELES – Michael Cooper will leave the Los Angeles Sparks to coach Southern California’s women’s basketball team. Athletic director Mike Garrett announced Cooper’s hiring Friday.
Cooper will leave the Sparks, who begin play on June 6, after their WNBA season ends in late September or early October.
The Associated Press
The Bounce: Congressmen push for college football playoff
QUOTABLE
'Everybody is getting their money's worth.'
PAUL PIERCE,
Boston forward, on the Celtics-Bulls series. Game 7 is Saturday in Boston.
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SPORTS SOUND-OFF
Fans like idea of Parrom joining UA hoops
Re: Recruit Kevin Parrom visiting UA
• Hopefully Parrom decides to come to Arizona. I wish Wise would come back, but it just doesn’t make any sense to come back next year to play on another tournament bubble team. ZONA2SANDIEGO
• I’m confident Kevin will be our next Wildcat and we’ll be grateful for his commitment. PA
Re: Chuck Cecil inducted into College Football Hall of Fame
• I am 66 years old, an ex-coach, and have seen over 1,000 football games. I was fortunate to be in Arizona Stadium for the 106-yard return. The single greatest football moment of my life. Thanks Chuck, and congratulations. Well deserved. OLDBOB
Re: UA coach Mike Stoops to get $1 million a year
• Well rewarded. Stoops took over a program that was in the toilet from Mackovic. He’ll lead the program in the right direction both football- and academic-wise. 3202
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ON THIS DATE
1917: Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds and James “Hippo” Vaughn of the Chicago Cubs pitch a double no-hitter for nine innings, but the Reds win 1-0 with two hits in the 10th.
1939: Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees does not play against the Detroit Tigers at Briggs Stadium, ending his streak of 2,130 consecutive games played.
1967: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 to win the Stanley Cup in six games.
1995: Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers becomes the first Japanese native to play in the majors in three decades. Nomo pitches five scoreless innings of one-hit ball, but the Dodgers blow a 3-0 lead and lose to San Francisco 4-3.
2001: James Hylton, a 28-year-old construction worker from Keizer, Ore., bowls the fifth perfect 900 series in the 106-year history of the sport.
2002: Mike Cameron hits four homers and comes close to a record-setting fifth in leading the Seattle Mariners to a 15-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox.
The Associated Press