Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 11

NBA: Dallas Mavericks-Milwaukee Bucks. ESPN, 6 p.m. PORTS M.t?. iff I College basketball: Virginia-North Carolina. ESPN, 4 p.m.

i itLISiv SECTION WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12,2003 RENO SQDDD -4fr-rq Unexpected pick: The Oregon State coach signs a 5-year, $12.5 million deal. ASSOCIATED PRESS SANTA CLARA, Calif. Dennis Erick-son was hired Tuesday by the San Francisco 49ers to replace Steve Mariucci as coach in a surprising end to a search that stretched nearly four weeks. Erickson will be introduced as the 49ers' 1 4th head coach at a news conference in San Francisco today. The former Seattle Sea-hawks coach leaves Oregon State, where he went 31-17 over the last four seasons.

Mariucci, fired by owner John York on Jan. 15 despite leading San Francisco to four playoff berths in six seasons, signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Lions last week. Erickson, who turns 56 next month, is an unexpected choice for San Francisco, which concentrated its search on NFL defensive coaches since York surprised his front office by firing Mariucci. After wowing York and general manager Terry Donahue in a weekend interview, Erickson got a five-year contract worth $12.5 million half of what Mariucci will make in Detroit. Erickson is charged with continuing the winning tradition established by Bill Walsh, George Seifert and Mariucci.

"We have found what we were looking for in a new coach: a leader, a motivator, a teacher, an individual with exceptional skills in coaching," Donahue said. "Dennis Erickson has a long history of coaching winning teams, and I'm confident he'll succeed See ERICKSON on 6B THE FILE ON DENNIS ERICKSON Blrthdate, place: March 24, 1947 in Everett, Wash. Family: Wife, Marilyn; sons, Bryce, 26, and Ryan, 24. Education: Graduated from Everett High in 1965; graduated with a B.S. in physical education at Montana State in 1969.

Playing experience: Was a quarterback at Montana State, 1966-68; named first-team All-Big Sky Conference in 1 967 and '68; set school records for career total offense (3,945 yards), career passing yards (3,1 81 and passing yards in a season (1 ,81 9, 1 968). Coaching experience: First head coaching job at college level was in 1982 when he became coach at Idaho; coached Vandals for four seasons; has also been head coach at Wyoming, Washington State, Miami (where he won national titles in 1989 and '91) and most recently Oregon State; was head coach of the Seattle Seahawks from 1995-98; in 16 years as a collegiate head coach, his record is 136-52-1. Et cetera: Ranks seventh on the all-time college coaching list in terms of percentage with a 136-52-1 record ninth on the all-tim victory list (1 36); while playing at Montana State, was the holder for kicker Jan Stenerud, an NFL Hall of Famer; was enshrined into the Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002. 8 i 7 I) Associated Press file FLYING SOUTH: Oregon State head coach Dennis Erickson celebrates his team's 45-24 win over Oregon in Corvallis, in this Nov. 23 photo.

Erickson was named coach of the San Francisco 49ers on Tuesday, replacing Steve Mariucci, who was fired last month. Blown call: 49ers settle for a retread 49ERS' COACHING San Francisco 49ers head coaches since LEGACY 1979 and their records (includes 63 35 43 102 108 60 (1979-88) (1989-96) (1 997-2002) am confident he will succeed in San Francisco." (We'll correct Donahue and say Erickson has a long history of coaching winning college teams. His NFL record indicates otherwise.) At the beginning of his search, Donahue claimed he wanted a tough, defensive-minded coach, which led many to believe Cottrell had the inside track, with Mora Jr. not far behind. But Donahue, a former UCLA coach, clearly See GLAUBER on 6B By Bob Glauber NEWSDAY San Francisco 49ers general manager Terry Donahue spent nearly a month in search of a coach to replace Steve Mariucci.

With all that time, you'd think he could have come up with someone better than this. Dennis Erickson? Please. Dennis Green would have been a better alternative. Or Ted Cottrell. Or Jim Mora Jr.

Or for that matter, Jim Mora Sr. At least he helped two NFL make the playoffs, more than you can say He never finished 8-8 in four seasons Seahawks. way Donahue tells it, have just discovered coming of Bill "We have found what we were looking for in a new coach: a leader, a motivator, a teacher, an individual with exceptional skills in coaching the game of football," Donahue said. "Dennis Erickson has a long history of coaching winning teams and I ijiiic TODAY Kareem to join CBS for March Madness NEW YORK (AP) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will join CBS Sports as an analyst during its coverage of the NCAA tournament. Abdul-Jabbar will work in a three-man booth with Dick Enbergand Matt Guokas.

"I'm enthusiastically encouraged," the 55-year-old Hall of Famer said. "I will be perceptive and able to convey why things are happening on the court." Abdul-Jabbar won three straight NCAA titles during' coach John Wooden's dynasty at UCLA. He said he thought this tournament would be wide open with no clear favorites. "There's a lot of parity now because all the best players are in the NBA," he said. "That makes for a situation where anybody can win it." Abdul-Jabbar remains interested in coaching but has not received any offers.

He thinks that's the result of his perspective when he retired as a player. "I was so burned out I didn't want anything to do with the game," he said. "Over the years, my opinion and viewpoint changed. I didn't have much to say as a player." TODAY Auto Racing Practice crash sends drivers scrambling A five-car crash Tuesday during practice for the Daytona 500 forced three drivers to have to go to their backup cars for Sunday's race. Details, 2B Preps Lowry mourning the death of ex-mate Lowry High basketball players had heavy hearts during their game Saturday against Dayton.

In the early morning hours that day, former teammate Travis Zimmerman was killed in a car accident. Details, 5B Scoreboard NBA Orlando 92, New Jersey 83 Indiana 107, Cleveland 96 Golden State 116, Atlanta 113 New Orleans 78. Miami 69 Minnesota 100, Dallas 98 Utah 103, Houston 101, OT Detroit 89, Chicago 79 LA Clippers 107. Phoenix 106 Boston 82, Seattle 76 Sacramento 99, Washington 80 San Antonio 1 1 6, Portland 1 1 1 OT LA Lakers 121, Denver 93 Ml St. Louis 3.

Buffalo 2 Y. Islanders 6, Tampa Bay 2 Montreal 3, Boston 1 Edmonton 5, Toronto 4 Los Angeles 3. Nashville 2 Dallas 2, Carolina 1.0T Colorado 3, New Jersey 1 Coflege Baskettafl Top 25 Kentucky 87. Georgia 67 Kansas 79, Baylor 58 ill THURSDAY CotiECE Basketball La. Tech one of WAC's hottest teams There are a few Western Athletic Conference teams playing CALeyuuikiiiy -i well ngm now, including Louisiana Tech, the Wotf Pack's opponent on Saturday.

The Bulldogs, like the Pack, have won five straight games. COKTACTUS Sports editor Joe Santoro, (775)788-6349 Ennail: sportsgrgj com Far (775) 788-6458 Sports Department hours: 4 p.m. to midnight dajty-Circutatioc (775) 786-8744 Oassifie (775)348-7355 mmt uumm E2 Jordan's Arco adieu not memorable A list of playoffs): but it's no different when we we're back in Sacramento," Stojakovic said. "We need to get a lot of wins in a row. Vlade Divac had 13 points, joining six Kings scoring in double figures, as Sacramento won for the third time in seven games since Chris Webber sprained his ankle on Jan.

28. Sacramento jumped to a 25-point lead in the third quarter and beat Washington at home for the fifth straight time. The rest of the Wizards shot just as poorly as Jordan, though they made three of their final four shots to finish with 29.9 percent shooting three-tenths better than their worst shooting game of the season. Jordan had eight points in Bill Walsh George Seifert Steve Mariucci teams which is for Erickson. better than with the But the the 49ers the second Walsh.

ll'l -mmwmmymm mmr-rmm mm ASSOCIATED PRESS SACRAMENTO, Calif. Along with the rest of the NBA's All-Stars, Peja Sto-jakovic was properly deferential to Michael Jordan last weekend. Back in the real world, however, Stojakovic and the Sacramento Kings weren't in the mood for any fond farewells. Stojakovic had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Doug Christie had 16 points and 12 rebounds as the Kings opened a seven-game home-stand with a 99-80 victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night. Jordan, in his first game since his celebratory Ail-Star weekend in Atlanta, Johnson critical Paul adjust HISAIRNESS: Washington Wizards guard Michael Jordan, center, goes for a layup against the Sacramento Kings' Doug Christie, left, and Mike Bibby during the first quarter at Arco Arena in Sacramento, on Tuesday.

It was the final appearance in Sacramento for Jordan, who has announced his retirement after this season. Associated Press next brush will be last day," he said. "I never got to say goodbye, never got to say I love you. Every time I fight, I think about my mom. 1 get vicious." The five-time champion, who lost his last fight Nov.

3 to Marco Antonio Barrera, says his troubles which include arrests, suicide attempts and drug overdoses usually occur when he is between fights and not training. Tapia's latest hospitalization occurred Jan. 1 1 after he returned to his Las Vegas home after he and his cousin were involved in a police standoff in Arizona. Two years ago, Tapia who has been diagnosed as bipolar tried to commit suicide. "I just don't know how the story is going to end," his wife, Teresa Tapia said.

the first quarter, but he didn't score again until hitting a jumper with 5:08 left in the third part of Washington's 1 1 points in the quarter on 4-of-25 shooting. It was the lowest-scoring game of Jordan's career against Sacramento. "I'm not immune to having bad games," Jordan said. "Ilook forward to bouncing back from them. Sometimes when you have seven days off, the first thing you lose is rhythm.

A lot of us didn't have anv rhythm tonight." Stojakovic left early in the fourth quarter with cramps in both of his calves. He also rebounded aggressively in Webber's absence, adding to the Kings season-high 57 rebounds. this stretch (of games) that have been as crucial as any," Johnson said. Paul had nine points in the Pack's 71-64 victory at UTEP last Saturday and one of his steals came after Nevada had taken a 63-61 lead with 4:24 left. He fouled out with Nevada leading, 66-61, with 3:13 left.

He fouled out for a team-leading sixth time this season, but recently has done a better job of staying out of foul trouble. Foul trouble has been a key factor in Paul's averaging just 17 minutes per game. Early on, he wasn't playing with confidence. Now, he is," Johnson said. "The Louisiana Tech game, the ball went down for him.

He played with some confidence. It was on the road. The same thing happened last year. "Sean, when he's going See MX on 5S INSIDE NBA roundup: Karl Malone scored 33 points as the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets, 1 03-1 01 in overtime. Details, 38 had 12 points on 5-of-19 shooting before sitting out the fourth quarter of a blowout loss.

Barry Bonds, Jerry Rice and Tim Brown all watched Jordan's final Sacramento appearance from courtside but Stojakovic and the Kings were the show while snapping their first two-game home losing streak since April 2001 with another methodical victory. "It was great to get a chance to play against the greatest player in the world, helps self Associated Press We THINK POSITIVE: Nevada's Sean Paul, shown shooting over San Diego's Mike McGrain in San Diego on Nov. 23, has a new-found sense of confidence parity because of the book. The Power of Positive Thinking in Business." book to hand to Paul, a junior from Elko who majors in international business Boxer says with death ASSOCIATED PRESS LAS VEGAS Boxer Johnny Tapia says he won't survive his next brush with death. "I don't get no more chances," Tapia said.

"Next time I die I'm out. My nine lives are over." Declared clinically dead for the fourth ti me in his life last month at a hospital after collapsing at his Las Vegas home, Tapia is now in a California rehab center for is co-caine addiction. The troubled boxer, in a report Tuesday on HBO's "Real Sports," tearfully described a life filled with pain since his mother was stabbed 22 times and raped when he was 8. "I have a bunch of hurt and anger in me to this and business management. "He's the one that pulled me out of my slump basically," Paul said.

"He didn't say much to me. He gave me a book, 'The Power of Positive Thinking in "It's basically a book about confidence. He knew I was lacking in confidence. He probably has more confidence in me than I do. He knew what to say to me to get me out of my slump." Since coming off the bench for the first six games and missing the Santa Clara game with the flu, he has started the last 1 4 games and is averaging 5.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.2 minutes for the season.

Even when he moved into the starting lineup, his confidence remained shaky. He started reading "Positive Thinking" just before the game at Louisiana Tech and scored 14 points in a 75-67 win over the Bulldogs. "Sean's had 1 2 baskets in By Steve Sneddon RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Sometimes a coach needs to say the right words to help a player. Sometimes it's handing the right book to the player. Nevada coach Trent Johnson succeeded both ways with 6-foot-9 Wolf Pack center Sean Paul, who doesn't produce big numbers but nas been a key figure in the Pack's push that has produced eight wins in the last nine games going into Thursday's game against SMU at Lawlor Events Center.

The Pack, 13-8 overall and 8-3 in the Western Athletic Conference, plays host to Louisiana Tech on Saturday. Paul's confidence was near a low ebb. He had been struggling in preseason practice and then into this season after starting his first two years at Nevada. Johnson knew just the.