Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 4-8

123456 8 CHICAGO TRIBUNESECTION4 SPORTS It take the Red Wings long to retire Steve No. 19 uniform. Yzerman, who retired in July and is now a Red Wings vice president, will be honored by the team Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena. shows you how much the organization thinks of said Nicklas Lidstrom, who replaced Yzerman as captain. Yzerman was drafted with the fourth pick in 1983, also the first year for owners Mike and Marian Ilitch.

At the time, the Red Wings were a moribund franchise that had made the playoffs only once in the previous 13 seasons. In his 23-year career, he led Detroit to Stanley Cup championships in 1997, 1998 and 2002, and his 20-season stint as captain is the longest tenure in league history. AP Herm Edwards lashed out at anybody who says his Kansas City Chiefs lucked into the playoffs. get this thing twisted and think we backed into this he said, eyes flashing. lose.

We won. We won the game we were supposed to Nevertheless, the Chiefs (9-7) seemed the longest of long shots, needing to beat the Jaguars, then have the Broncos, Titans and Bengals all lose at home. The first-year coach acknowledged he was feeling I want anybody to think that all of a sudden we lucked our way into this deal. We luck our way into it. We won our way into it, just like those other teams had to win their way into it.

And they do it, to be quite AP in a name? Plenty When the Domanick Davis cleaned out his locker Monday, he had a rare request. He wanted his name plate and number removed also. The next time the fourth-year running this season with a knee suits up for the Texans he will be Domanick Williams. He legally changed his name two months ago to Williams, his maiden name. He also is switching his number from 37 to 31.

was Domanick Davis, this is Domanick Williams looking he said. Davis did all right. But time for Mr. Cornerback Dunta Robinson said he hopes the changes continue. changed his hair, his clothes and his he said.

hope he changes his knee Houston Chronicle BOLD NAMES Feel lucky? Not chief of Chiefs Ultimate Wing-man honored By Avani Patel Tribune staff reporter NEW ORLEANS They have been out and about on Bourbon Street after practice, enjoying the sights and sounds of perhaps one of the most venerated party capitals in the United States. But the revelry of the French Quarter has not been able to erase a more sobering reality for Notre football players. Almost a year and a half after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and took countless lives, some of the city still remains a ghost town. Blown-over trees still sit in greenways, garbage on curbs. And in the hardest-hit places, such as the Ninth Ward and St.

Parish, the foundations of homes are still fractured, the wood splintered, signs of life all but erased. in I saw some things over the airport, roofs missing on houses, cars Irish linebacker Travis Thomas said. lot of things have cleared up, but still in pretty bad Which is why the Irish (10-2), in New Orleans to take on LSU (10-2) in the Sugar Bowl Wednesday night at the Louisiana Superdome, made it a point to do their small part to help in the reclamation effort. On Dec. 28, their first full day in town, the players were busedto the Hope Haven Center, a residential program in Jefferson Parish for troubled kids, to help clear furniture, filing cabinets, books and chairs out of the main school building, which suffered severe roof damage and flooding during the storm.

Although they spent only an hour there, the players cleared about two storage modules from the classrooms, moving half into a storage unit and the other half into the gymnasium. The 85- to 90-year-old Spanish-style building likely will begin undergoing repairs and renovations in $750,000 effort that is expected to last through the summer, said Paul McCann, business director of Hope Haven Center. was glad we were able to help out at that Irish offensive lineman John Sullivan said. think we got a lot more work done than they were The area around the Hope Haven Center, in general, was in pretty good shape. And Canal Street and the French Quarter area, near where the football team is staying, have been spruced up nicely.

But the Irish also saw other areas that bounced back so well. we went out to our In the past, said Sugar Bowl director of communications Greg Blackwell, the game has averaged about $175 million in economic impact each year. Add to that the fact that this game has been sold out since October and that the two teams involved have rabid, passionate, free-spending fans, and prospects for a good flow of capital into the city this year look very good. am just happy that the University of Notre Dame is here together with LSU, which seems to be the perfect matchup to get some cash flow into this Irish coach Charlie Weis said. all you Notre Dame fans, come down here and spend a few Because in post-Katrina New Orleans, the more money visitors spend on revelry, the closer the city moves, inch by inch, toward recovery.

community-service project, we got to drive around areas that were really defensive tackle Trevor Laws said. places we saw were just entire neighborhoods that were wiped out. It was really Being in the Superdome every day for practice, said Laws, has served as a perpetual reminder of the havoc wreaked by Katrina. was a human crisis and it was an American crisis, and it was crazy thinking about seeing the pictures of all the people sitting and trying to sleep and live in this building and all the stuff that happened Laws said Monday after practice. went on in here, you need to take a step back and realize just playing a football game in The football game, though, is also a crucial component of the recovery.

SUGAR BOWL NOTRE DAME (10-2) vs. LSU (10-2) 7 p.m. Wednesday, WFLD-Ch. 32 AP photo by Cheryl Gerber LSU players shovel dirt for houses being built for New Orleans musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Players dig help ew Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano rang in the New Year with a newborn baby boy.

Soriano and his wife, Angelica welcomed their third child and second son when Angel entered the world Wednesday at a Miami hospital. is a happy guy said agent, Diego Bentz has been blessed. just thrilled with the baby, so now ready for spring training to Acquired as a free agent in November, Soriano signed an eight-year, $136 million contract. Soriano is planning to attend the Cubs Convention the weekend of Jan. 19, and he intends to report to spring training in Mesa, on time would be anxious to report next week if he had Bentz said.

Soriano, who will lead off, hit .277 with 46 homers, 41 stolen bases and 95 RBIs last season for the Washington Nationals. He visited Memorial Hospital last month and distributed Christmas gifts to patients. Soriano later attended a Bulls game, during which he met Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks got a big kick out of Bentz said. Word on the street John McDonough has been interim president of the Cubs for about three months, yet he will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during the Pitch and Hit dinner Jan. 28 at the Donald E.

Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. McDonough previously distinguished himself as the innovative marketing director for the Cubs. Among the other honorees will be Chicago native Ned Colletti now general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will be lauded as the Major League Executive of the Year. Visit www.pitchandhit- club.org for more info. Former Carver High School and DePaul basketball star Terry Cummings was considered a reliable player and a team leader during his 18 years in the NBA.

I felt like no one could defend me when I got in my sweet Cummings told Slam Magazine. was lethal from 15 feet Regarding his NBA leadership skills with seven teams, Cummings said: everyone brought me in to mentor their guys. Basically, you have a whole bunch of white guys who work really hard in coaching and managing these organizations made up of young black inner-city kids. They have almost no off-court communication, and part of what they wanted from me. The NBA is more than a game, and the players need to get on top of that Cubs catcher Michael Barrett has reached an agreement to be a spokesman for the Original East of Chicago.

He will make several personal appearances at East restaurants during the year. Overheard Bulls TV color analyst Johnny Kerr was the first coach of the Bulls in 1966 and the original coach of the Phoenix Suns in 1969. The teams face each other Tuesday night at the United Center. two teams I have always watched have been the Bulls and the Phoenix said Kerr, 74, who missed several recent broadcasts after a bout with pneumonia and a concern about a blood clot in a lung. Suns are having a fantastic year.

They scare you. You wonder if you can score enough points to stay in the game with Kerr was coaching the Bulls in the mid-1960s when future Suns general manager and subsequent owner Jerry Colangelo also was working for the Bulls. was scheduling games and selling Kerr said. was not named general manager when he went to Phoenix The three owners said to him to set up an office and hire a staff and everything figure out what your position will He hired me as coach and got everything all set up. Then the owners said to Jerry, name you general Then they loaned him some money and he became an owner of the Colangelo, a Chicago Heights native, is now the managing director of USA Basketball.

Sights seen Packers quarterback Brett Favre posing on the field with members of his offensive line after Sunday 26-7 victory over the Bears. was a great Packers center Scott Wells said. of what happens, his decision, a great moment for us. Hopefully get a copy of that photo, and be able to cherish that moment for a long Local attractions The March of Dimes Comcast SportsNet Sports Awards will be Feb. 12 to honor White Sox, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks, Bears and Fire players.

Tickets are $250. Contact Meredith Capshaw at 312-596-4721or visit www.marchofdimes.com/ illinois. Balmoral Park is back in session, with daytime racing through Feb. 17. The last word you were watching that game, you probably had a problem trying to figure out which guy was talking about Rex poor effort against the Packers, compared with performance.

Spring in his step: Soriano fired up Cubs Convention on his agenda after birth of 3rd child Fred Mitchell Around town THE LASTROW back Roman Gabriel, who instead chose to play with the Los Angeles Rams. Oakland will pay close attention to which juniors enter the draft. LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who will face Quinn and the Irish, is third in the nation in passing efficiency and has drawn comparisons to Daunte Culpepper because 6 feet 6 inches, 260 pounds. By Josh Dubow Associated Press ALAMEDA, Calif. After setting a franchise record for losses in a season, it might be time for a new motto for the Oakland Raiders: Quinn, Owner Al favorite saying, Win, no longer fits after the Raiders finished their fourth straight losing season with a 2-14 record that was the worst mark in more than four decades.

season-ending 23-3 loss to the New York Jets on Sunday, coupled with upset win at Dallas, left the Raiders in sole possession of the worst record in the NFL. That negative comes with a reward: the No. 1 pick in draft, when Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn could be the top player available. Coach Art Shell said Monday he was not ready to discuss the priorities in the draft, saying he first needed to evaluate the players already on the team and the coaching staff. Shell expects to be the man making those decisions, even though Davis did not give his coach a public vote of confidence when he had the chance late in the season.

Shell will meet with Davis this week. expect to be here and I want to do Shell said. want to try to see this thing to The only other time Oakland had the top pick was in the 1962 AFL draft, when the Raiders selected quarter- Fighting Irish donate time to assist a hard-hit school in storm-ravaged New Orleans Quinn, Irish QB could be wearing silver, black AP photo by Judi Bottoni Will Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn be playing for the Oakland Raiders next season?.