The Republic from Columbus, Indiana • Page 9

i mm mmmi THEg REPUBLIC- Sports SECTION MLB roundup How did your favorite Major League Baseball team fare Wednesday night? Page B3 Thursday, September 23, 2010 Car illegal; Bowyer docked 150 pts. i 'ill i'i I ft Hampshire NASCAR does not typically strip wins and an official said the Richard Childress, Racing team probably was punished enough. "We don't consider taking away the win," NASCAR vice president of competition Robin Pemberton said. "If you ask some, they would consider a 150-point penalty with only nine races to go in the Chase a pretty hefty penalty." With Sunday's win in the opening race of the Chase, Bowyer vaulted from 12th to second in the standings. The penalty drops him back to last place, 185 points behind leader Denny Hamlin.

NASCAR said the No. 33 Chevrolet from Sunday's race had been altered and did not meet its strict specifications. Neither Pemberton or Sprint Cup director John Darby would specifically address the infraction, citing RCR's right to appeal the penalty. But Darby said the issue revolved around how the team had set up the body of the car. Pemberton declined to speculate what kind of advantage the No.

33 team might have gained. "I don't think that's for us to decide," he said. "We're in the rules and regulations part, and the car didn't meet specifications and that's the bottom line." BvJenna Fryer Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. Clint Bowyer's. NASCAR championship chances were crippled Wednesday when his car failed a follow-up inspection and he was penalized 150 points after winning last weekend's first race of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

NASCAR also fined crew chief Shane Wilson $150,000, and suspended him for the next six Sprint Cup races. Car chief Chad Haney was also suspended six races, and team owner Richard Childress was docked 150 owner points. Bowyer was permitted to keep Sunday's victory at New Bowyer's car passed its initial inspection at New Hampshire on Sunday, but was taken by NASCAR back to its North Carolina research and development center for a more thorough examination. It was there that NASCAR found the rear end of the car had been manipulated. The development came a day after NASCAR called in RCR officials to warn them that Bowyer's Chase-clinching car from the Sept.

11 race at Richmond had nearly failed inspection because its back end was very close to the mandated limits. Pemberton said that earlier warning played a part See BOWYER on Page B3 Associated Press NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer speaks during a sponsorship event in Charlotte, N.C, Wednesday. 0 fflD ffl (J 1 1" Trinity Lutheran's Royalty among cross country elite Bv Lew Freedman range. mim i mi im "I'm pretty happy with the lfreedmantherepublic.com True test: Temple's trip to Penn St. By Genaro C.

Armas Associated Press STATE COLLEGE, Pa. If Penn State is Temple's measuring stick, the Owls have been off by miles. This Pennsylvania rivalry is decidedly tilted in the Nittany Lions' favor. Temple hasn't beaten Penn State since World War II, and the Owls have a 27-game losing streak in the series. Penn State took an easy 31-6 victory last year which might be considered progress for coach Al Golden's club.

Yet some fans and prognosticates keep chirping about the Owls' chances this year. Temple is 3-0 for the first time since 1979, and the 23rd-ranked Nittany Lions have a few glaring issues, particularly an inconsistent running attack. "To me, obviously, it would be significant, but that's a loaded question," Golden said this week during a teleconference when asked what a victory over Penn State would mean. "The bottom line is we're just trying to focus on (practice). We're not going to beat them Saturday if we don't beat them today, that's the reality of it." Sounds a lot like something Paterno would say.

No wonder, since Golden did learn at the side of his Hall of Fame mentor after playing tight end in Happy Valley from 1987-91, and serving as the linebacker coach and recruiting coordinator in 2000. Golden incorporated a lot of what he learned then into rebuilding once-moribund Temple, singling out Paterno's blueprint of weaving academics with football. "No matter what, it's about the process, and it's about core values. It's about not compromising your values, your in- See TEMPLE on Page B4 A it Taylor Royalty not only thought of herself as a soccer player, she was a soccer player on the day her father watched her run up and down the field and came up with a fresh idea. Andy Royalty thought his daughter had such an elegant stride and that her bursts on the field came so easily haps she should give running a try.

Good idea, dad. Royalty, a junior at Trinity Lutheran, turned out to be a better runner than soccer player, and a better runner than most of the girls she competes against. "Soccer really is her first love," said the older Royalty, who was the assistant crosscountry coach at the Seymour school when he made the suggestion and is now the Cougars' head coach. "I said to her, 'You can run. I know you could do it." She can.

Last spring, Royalty ran a 5:15 mile and became the first Trinity Lutheran runner to qualify for the state track championships. This fall anyone who steps to the starting line better make sure they know where she is. Actually, if competitors lose track of Royalty when the gun goes off they are most likely to pick her up again by watching her back go over a hill. Within the last few weeks, Royalty has won the girls division of the Eagle Classic and theFlashrock Invitational and placed second at the Big Blue Invitational. There were hundreds of runners from around the state in those events.

Her 5-kilometer times are all in the 19-minute-plus way it's going," Royalty said. "My first race my freshman year it was just go out and finish." Steady improvement has been Royalty's trademark, but one major difference from her first cross-country experience to now is being surrounded by a large group of teammates. When Royalty began running she was one of only two Cougars on the girls team. Now there are 11. "I love it this year that we have 11 girls," she said.

"It's more of a tight unit. There's team spirit. We have a full team." Andy Royalty is in the always-awkward position of coaching his kid's team. He said he tries to separate his roles to be the coach at school and the dad at home. "I try really hard to leave it at school," he said of his advice offerings.

"I have 10 other runners I have to care for, too." But he's proud of Royalty's accomplishments. "This time in cross-country is the first time she's running mentally strong," Andy Royalty said. "These big invitation-als are a challenge, but she's realizing she can compete with kids from Columbus and Terre Haute." Royalty keeps getting better, her father said, because "she's just driven." Not only do the invitation-als attract anywhere from a dozen to 20-something schools, they are generally run on picturesque courses that have varied terrain. The Eagle Classic course is adjacent to Brown County State Park See ROYALTY on Page B3 ''7 1 1 u. 1-e 'k.

i Joel Philipken The Republic Trinity Lutheran junior Taylor Royalty runs during Big Blue Invitational at Muscatatuck County Park, Sept. 14. Royalty placed second. Maming marvels atntomiis attack I. "It was really fun to watch.

You hand off and you're supposed to be carrying out your fake, but when you see (Joseph) Addai poing for 10 yards, 15 yards, it's land of hard not to watch." mi J. first down, second down, first down with the sar.e running play. It makes a lot of jobs easier." Or tougher, depending on the job. "If they're going to pass the ball 50-some times a game, they're going to have their shots," Denver safety Brian Dawkins told Indy reporters during a conference call. "But if you have to defend both, that makes for a long, long day." If the Colts' didn't understand the philosophy before this season, they certainly get it now: tody's defense struggled to get off the field at Houston because last season's top passing offense gashed the Colts for 257 yards on 42 carries.

Even Manning couldn't outdo that. Peyton Manning By Michael Marot Associated Press INDIANAPOLIS Peyton Manning reveled in bis new role last weekend spectator. He'd play it every week if he could. Manning, the NFL's mind-game master, understands it will take more than a strong right arm and one good game to reach a third Super Bowl. Indy needs more balance and consistency on offense, too.

It was really fun to watch," Manning said Wednesday, three days after Indy ran over the Giants. "You hand off and you're supposed to be carrying out your fake, but when you all of the sudden see (Joseph) Ad-dai going for 10 yards, 15 yards, it's kind of hard not to watch." It's a rare admission for a man who never seems to stop thinking about football long enough to savor a single But Manning had good reason to enjoy his breaks Sunday. The Colts ran 43 times for 160 yards, incredibly high numbers given the franchise's recent trend. Since 2006, Indy (1-1) has become increasingly reliant on Manning's arm. The Colts have thrown 2,477 times out of 4,151 offensive plays, or 59.7 percent.

All but 96 of those passes came out of Manning's right hand. Opponents, meanwhile, have taken a different tack. They threw on 2,018 of 3,997 plays, or 50.5 percent of the time it's the one missing ingredient Manning would like to put back in lady's offense "It (running the ball) makes the quarterback's job easier, 'it makes the play-caller's job easier," he said "You know you dont have to dial up creative ways to get yards and to get first downs when you're going AssooAnoPmss Indianapolis Colts running back Donald Brown scores a touchdown against the New York Giants in the first quarter of Sunday's game in Indianapolis. He was 40 of 57 for 433 yards with three touchdowns, setting Set COLTS on Page B4.