Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia • Page 1

Mo Inside David Teel predicts the top four seeds in each region for the NCAA basketball tournament. paihj JJrtss uO LI B8. Columnist It's Ml speed rxn ahead for 76ers' Iverson i r- o3 mTTm h-oh get ready Iverson-I I bashers. All of you may be II I busy in a few months. "i Start drafting those scathing letters to the editor Nail down 928-1111, category 7777 (aka Daily Press' "Your on your speed dial, just in case you need it If Philadelphia 76ers' guard Allen Only it will be No.

30 Sunday Iverson continues to dazzle like he has for the past month, he will win the NBAs Most Valuable Player award, which means you will be seeing plenty of his corn-rowed mug in our newspa By Al Pearce Daily Press per and media outlets across the nation. The little man many of you wanted to see fall flat on his face may be getting ready to have his finest moment Sorry, it's just a fact fans in Philly love the guy At a promotion last Friday, when 5,000 bobble-head dolls were given to fans 14 i jJi I I -J AP and younger before Philadelphia's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers, some spectators were offering free tickets to future games if the teenagers would give up the doll, according to 76ers senior vice president Dave Coskey. It's Bubba Chuck fever, and it's sweeping the nation. Whether you like what he stands for or not, he big-time, baby That's what happens when you're the league's leader in scoring (averaging 30.4 points) and minutes (averaging 42.6) played per game. He's on pace to Richard Childress Racing will compete in Sunday's 400-mile Winston Cup race at the North Carolina Speedway with a white Chevrolet Monte Carlo carrying number 30.

It will be the team's first race since losing long-time driver Dale Earnhardt in a Turn 4 accident on the final lap of last weekend's Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Sources within the racing division of General Motors in Detroit told the Daily Press on Tuesday night that Rick Mast and Wally Dallenbach have been contacted about the RCR ride this weekend. The car will continue with GM Goodwrench sponsorship. The source said Kevin Harvick, the organization's 2000 Busch Series Rookie of the Year, eventually will get the ride. 1 Childress reportedly has offered Dale Earnhardt Jr.

No. 3, the number his late father made famous. It's expected that Earnhardt Jr. will keep his own No. 8 and ask Childress and NASCAR (and get permission) to retire three.

A memorial service for Earnhardt will be at 7 tonight at Langley Speedway in Hamptoa WTKR-3 will televise the service and the Daily Press will give away 5,000 copies of its special commemorative page that was part of 1 Tuesday's sports section. WAVY-10 will follow with a half-hour special on Earnhardt's life and times. It will include interviews and reaction from fans at the Langley service. Private services for Earnhardt, a 49-year-old seven-time Winston Cup champion, will be Thursday at Calvary Church in Charlotte. The become the league's first 30-point aver age- per- game scorer since a guy named Michael Jordan did it in the 1995-'96 sea An unidentified man leaves flowers and takes a moment to remember while a crowd gathers in homage to Dale Earnhardt in front of a replica of the No.

3 car at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Hall of Fame keeps 5-year rule for Earnhardt son (30.4). When you're one of the most mys terious, albeit brooding, personalities in professional sports, everybody wants a piece of you. The question may be By Eddie Pells The Associated Press how much of the 6-foot, 165-pound Iver son will be left by the end of the season. Will he have enough to get the 76ers into June for a chance to grab an NBA championship while still playing over 42 minutes per game? Bubba Chuck has never been a big Other sports have set aside Hall of Fame waiting periods occasionally, including for Roberto Clemente and Lou Gehrig in baseball and for Wayne Gretzky in hockey.

"The position we take is that Davey Allison waited five years, Ayrton Senna waited five years and Alan Kulwicki is still waiting," Freeman said, referring to three late drivers. "We thought waiting until 2006 was appropriate." The Motorsports Hall of Fame was among several places holding ceremonies to honor Earnhardt on Tuesday The Hall of Fame is near Talladega, and honors drivers from all forms of racing, not just NASCAR. More than 80 drivers have been inducted into the Hall, which holds a ceremony each year to add new honorees. Freeman received numerous calls asking that Earnhardt be enshrined immediately, given his stature as one of the top drivers in NASCAR history. The Hall of Fame board met Monday to discuss the issue and decided not to stray from its original guidelines.

one for catching a breather. Over the course of his career, Iverson has aver Dale Earnhardt must wait five years for consideration by the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, like every other driver. "He'll be eligible for induction in 2006, and he'll obviously get in on the first ballot," Hall of Fame executive director Jim Freeman said Tuesday. "But our feeling was that to waive the five-year rule would, in a sense, downgrade all the other people we made wait five years. It's not something we wanted to do." aged more than 40 minutes per game.

Then again, he hasn't had to face the prospect of heading deep into the post season at any other time his career. Please see RideB7 Last year, Iverson was battered and bruised by the end of the regular season. He started to come under fire for losing a step or two late in games. With 28 games remaining in the 76ers regular season, there reason to believe Iver E-mail, threats dog Marlin about crash son will be presented with physical challenges similar to last year s. He's bolder with his drives to the than he ever has been, which has By Mike Harris The Associated Press resulted in an increased number of absorbed hacks.

See his current career- high average of 10.1 free throws per game. Add a slight shoulder separation in December that kept him out for a game (though it was speculated he and I think Rusty (Wallace) got up on him and got him loose. Dale and my car barely touched, and it sent my car across the apron and Dale's, too. He overcorrected and then I didn't see him again." Earnhardt, a seven-time Winston Cup champion and the greatest driver of his era, died instantly of massive head injuries. A patrolman was on duty outside the Chip Ganassi race shop all day Tuesday, but Marlin said the hate mail had slowly turned to messages of support into the concrete wall after making contact with Marlin at the front of a tight pack of five cars.

"I definitely didn't do anything intentional. We were just racing our guts out on the last lap of the Daytona 500," said Marlin, a two-time Daytona 500 winner who was longtime competitor and friend of Earnhardt's. "I've only seen the tape once, but from what I saw, it was a totally racing accident," he said. "Kenny (Schrader) pulled up to make it three-deep going in, with me on the bottom. "Some other guys were closing fast "Maybe people are frustrated and just looking for somebody to blame.

I'd do anything to not be here today, to not address this subject," said Marlin, speaking for the first time since the racing world learned of Earnhardt's death Sunday night "If people just come back-to their senses, listen to what everybody's saying and watch the tape, that's all I ask," he said by telephone from his home in Columbia, Tenn. Earnhardt was killed on the last turn of the last lap of NASCAR's season-opening race, slamming head-on could be out for up to three weeks) and Sterling Marlin said he "definitely didn't do anything intentional" when he bumped Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500, triggering the crash that killed the stock car racing great. Marlin said it was "pure luck" he didn't crash, too. The bump and the fatal accident set off a flurry of ugly e-mail to Mar-lin's Web site, and threats against him and his family have been phoned to his race shop in Mooresville, N.C. a bruised right elbow that he protects with a heavy pad, and it's clear that the specter of fatigue is looming.

However, weightlifting has become a regular part of his regimen. Even when he banged up his shoulder, he was pounding the weights. Don't expect him to exercise any more prudence in put ting his head down and driving into the lane than he has in past years. He isn't changing that part of his game for any i body, not even Sixers' coach Larry Warwick rally falls short in 61-59 loss to Heritage Brown. He also isn't changing his lifestyle for anybody either.

Nobody's asking you to be a fan of Iverson's life choices, but it might behoove you to jump on his By Marty O'Brien Daily Press basketball bandwagon now. It might be A i a long ride. 1 E- 1J 3k liil i NEWPORT NEWS Warwick had every right to be pleased with its comeback from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit in the quarterfinals of the Peninsula Norm Wood can be reached at 247-4642 or by e-mail at nwooddailypress.com a District boys basketball Woodside i Italian tournament at Heritage High Heritage. The Wolverines led 20-19 at the end of a ragged first half, despite making only 3-of-20 shots from the field. However, Woodside took advantage of the Raiders' foul problems by sinking 12-of-16 free throws in the first two quarters.

In the second half, foul trouble continued to plague the Raiders, specifially Elton Brown. The 6-foot-9 center went to the bench with his fourth personal just over three minutes into the third quarter. With Brown on the bench, the Raiders began a 20-6 run that increased their lead to 45-29 with 7:45 to play. Wolverines forward Robert Please see BoysB7 Philip Banks for a fast-break layup to spark the Wolverines to a 61-59 victory "Rodrick took a couple dribbles, their defense collapsed on him and he did a good job of getting the ball to Philip," Woodside coach Craig Davis said. "Fortunately, Philip finished the shot.

I think we caught them celebrating." Warwick coach Ben Moore agreed with Davis, adding, "Before that, our guys did a good job of finding their man on the press after we scored. But after Willie's basket, our guys celebrated. It hurt us." The Wolverines advance to the semifinals and will face regular season champion Bethel at 6 p.m. Thursday at Warwick on Tuesday. It turns nut the IQ Raiders jR- -m The Daily Press unveils its new Motorsports page Al Pearce will take you into the cars, pits, and homes of the men, and women, who make their living trying for the checkered flag.

ceieDraiea too early Immediately after Willie Williams nailed a 3-pointer to give the Raiders a one-point lead with 55 seconds to play, Woodside's Rodrick Coleman alertly dished to wide-open Joe FudgeDaily Press Warwick's Elton Brown (41) fights Woodside's Robert Kent (32) and Terrance Henderson (34) for a rebound. ITCH! ml Poquoson's winning streak now 5 in a row beating Lafayette home floor at 6:30 p.m. By Dennis Freeman Daily Press COMMUNITY. When it comes to young running wonders, the George Kent family of Yorktown is tough to top. Story, B5.

BASEBALL The drive to return minor league baseball appears headed for an April 10 showdown with the Newport News city council. Story, B2. had problems getting in sync offensively and the Rams never quite found their stroke. The Rams misfired from short and long range on their way to a 21-for-72 shooting night Please see BayB7 Lafayette, made it five in a row with a convincing 67-57 victory on the Rams floor. With the win, Poquoson, fifth in the tournament will face top-seed Bruton, a 70-61 winner over Southampton in a semifinal matchup on Thursday.

That game will take place on the Panthers Poquoson (14-7), which upset Lafayette by three points 11 days ago, beat the Rams with a consistent shooting touch from the perimeter all evening. Lafayette (12-7), who strolled into the game as the district tournament champions the last two seasons, WILLIAMSBURG Poquoson High, riding the crest of a four-game winning streak entering their Bay Rivers District boys basketball quarterfinal game against.