Most basketball teams these days have trouble scoring 100 points in one night. On Tuesday, though, Dajuan Wagner of Camden High School in New Jersey scored 100 points himself in his team's 157-67 victory over Gloucester Township Technical School. Wagner is the first high school player in 22 years to break the century mark.
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
THE BICKERING LAKERS, AGAIN
First Cris Carter, then Steve Lavin, now Shaq. The whiny little bitch syndrome is apparently contagious.
After being the focal point of the Magic and Lakers offense since he entered the NBA, Shaq has been
reduced to the role of support for teammate Kobe Bryant this season. Last year's League MVP, in
frustration, asked to be traded two weeks ago and has ignited a firestorm of press focusing on the growingly dysfunctional relationship between Shaq and Kobe.
Now coach Phil Jackson has stepped in, trying to quiet the two superstars. Jackson was brought into the Lakers organization, in part, for how he was able to appease Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan in Chicago and win Championships with two stars. Even Magic Johnson has gotten into the act, asking the two stars to consider the team before they worry about points and MVP titles. Is the dynasty falling apart before it even starts?
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
HOMOPHOBIA ON THE
AIRWAVES
We received this e-mail from a straight colleague of ours in the Bay Area. He wrote to us prior to the AFC Championship game between Oakland and Baltimore:
``Just to show you the raider mentally--and I assume this will disturb you at least as much as it disturbed me --they have a talk-show host here on the raider station (1050, the ticket) named Bob Frantz who said the Raiders were going to do the prison routine with the Ravens (and he made it clear he meant butt-fucking).
``He then went on to say it was going to be ``soap on a rope'' action, except they weren't going to lube them up but were going to do it to them dry. What is it about the macho self-professed hetero male that prompts him to use such imagery to discuss something as trivial as winning a football
game?
``If you went up to Bob Frantz and suggested to him that he has issues and probably has gay tendencies, he'd probably pull out a billy club and start beating you. I just thought it was sick and tasteless--especially in a diverse area such as the Bay Area known to have a sizable gay population. I would expect to hear something like that in the Midwest, not out here.''
NFL Defense wins championships. Last year, that model came into question as the Rams slipped their way past the Bucs and Titans and won the Super Bowl. All of a sudden, everyone wanted speed on offense and a quarterback who could get the ball there. Defense? Who needs it? We'll just score more points than our opponents. A lot of good it did Oakland and Minnesota. Now, while the Super Bowl's final score may be 4-3, it's great to see two teams that didn't forget that old mantra playing in Tampa Bay for the Lombardi Trophy. Of course, now everyone wants a Ray Lewis.
WOMEN'S COLLEGE
BASKETBALL This week was about records and milestones. Can you imagine doubling your point total in the
second half and still losing by 95? That's what Bennett College did Monday night in a 98-3
loss to Peace College that set the NCAA record for fewest points scored in a game. All three points were scored on free throws.
In Texas, Jody Conradt became the first women's coach to coach 1,000 games. Her Texas Longhorns were upset by Kansas State, 72-63.
TENNIS The Grand Slam season is under full swing for 2001 with the Australian Open. With most seeds advancing to the second and third rounds, it was Australia's Andrew Ilie providing one of the few sparks of the tourney, ripping off his shirt in celebration after knocking off 9th seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 1-6, 6-2.