The Ithaca Journal from Ithaca, New York • 21

BUFFALO KIND OF PARTY With Bruce Smith and Ralph Wilson set to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bills fans will have plenty to cheer about today. PAGE 5C Live sports scores on your cell phone Send a text message to 44636 (4INF0) with SPORTS, then select your team (Cornell, Yanks, Mets) Sports Editon Brian Delaney 1 274-9214 1 bdelaneyithacajournal.com THE ITHACA JOURNAL ithacajournal.com Saturday, August 8, 2009 1C Sports Pizzotti scrambling to earn backup job i. -V- ruga v' a -mm- back to lead the Jets to a touchdown in the scrimmage. "He is obviously very smart coming out of Harvard," quarterbacks coachMatt Cavanaugh said. "He has learning ability.

He's just almost a classic fourth guy on the roster." Cavanaugh said Pizzotti has some of the tools the team is looking for He is "Big, has a good arm and is smart. And so we're just trying to figure out if he can handle what we're doing." Unfortunately for Pizzotti, whose grandfather, Frank "Boley" Dancewicz, played quarterback at Notre Dame and was the See PIZZOTTI Page 5C THE CHRIS PIZZOTTI FILE Height: 65" Weight: 225 pounds College: Harvard Notable: Pizzotti was a two-time All-Ivy League selection. His grandfather, Frank "Boley" Dancewicz, played quarterback at Notre Dame and was the No. 1 overall pick of the Boston Yanks in the 1946 NFL Draft. but at Thursday's Green-White scrimmage completed four of six passes for 42 yards.

Still, Pizzotti is a longshot to take the third spot away from Ainge, who in his second year with the team, was the only quarter By Dan Sweeney dsweeneygannet.com Staff Writer CORTLAND Of the New York Jets' four quarterbacks in training camp he is the biggest, has the NFL bloodline in his family, owns nearly every passing record in his college's history and is a rookie battling for a spot on the depth chart That quarterback is not Mark Sanchez; it's Chris Pizzotti. Pizzotti, an undrafted rookie out of Harvard, was brought into camp to battle Erik Ainge for the No. 3 quarterback position on the team. Pizzotti struggled mightily early, rl SIMON WHEELER Staff Photo Undrafted Harvard graduate Chris Pizzotti, left, is in a battle with Erik Ainge for the Jets' third-string quarterback job. NASCAR AT THE GLEN 0 JUT ---SV.

total! pes on attack J'wiijp 1 '( "1 A-i -r ijf i 1 1 1 Sxt -hp i JASON WH0NG Staff Photo Marcos Ambrose came out of the shadows to win the Zippo 200 last year, which makes him one of the favorites heading into today's race. Ambrose feels a little more at ease in return Defending champ still a favorite despite inactivity By Joe Mink jminkgannett.com Staff Writer WATKINS GLEN Marcos Ambrose entered last year's Zippo 200 a virtual unknown. The Tasmanian's public profile rose dramatically after he won the NASCAR Nationwide event last year at Watkins Glen International, beating out such established stars as Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick. Ambrose has not competed in any Nationwide race this season after running in 70 events over the past two years. Yet he ranks among the favorites for today's Zippo 200, which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

and go 82 laps (200.9 miles). He will drive the No. 47 STP Toyota owned by Jodi Geschickter that ranks 20th in owners' points. Nationwide qualifying is also today, with 48 cars trying out for the 43 spots in the field beginning at 10:10 a.m. For road courses, the Nationwide Series uses the European-style qualifying, where groups of five or six cars go out together for five minutes trying to run as fast a lap as possible in that span.

Each car's best lap will determine starting position. "We had such a great year here last year that really it's about managing expectations for this weekend. It's easy to get carried away with the hype of trying to win the race," Ambrose See AMBROSE Page 3C JENNIFER KINGSLEY Staff Photo Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, will start on the pole for the Helluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen on Sunday. Reigning points champion earns pole at WGI IF YOU GO What: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at ON PAGE 3C Complete schedule, ticket info.

ON THE WEB For more coverage, go to twitter.com stargazette 03 The Glen race weekend. Where: Watkins Glen International. Races: NASCAR Nationwide Series: Zippo 200, 3 this after era By Joe Mink jminkgannett.com Staff Writer ATKINS GLEN Fast practice times carried over to qualifying Friday for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. Jimmie Johnson won his first-ever road course pole, completing Watkins Glen International's 2.45-mile course in 1 minute, 1134 seconds, averaging 123.633 miles per hour. Johnson, the three-time defending Sprint Cup points champion, will be looking for his first career road course victory in 16 attempts Sunday.

He edged out Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin for the pole. Busch had the fastest practice lap of the day 124.362 mph), followed by Hamlin 123.535 mph). Busch, who won the pole for the 2006 Cup race here, will start second Sunday, with Hamlin third and Marcos Ambrose fourth. noon; NASCAR Sprint Cup: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen, 2 p.m. Sunday.

General admission tickets: $80 for four-day admission ticket; $55 for Sunday-only ticket ($10 for ages 6-12; free for ages 5 and younger). Reserved seating: $135 for Pit Terrace; $115 for Frontstretch; $95 for Jumbotron view; $85 for no Jumbotron view (all tickets good for all four days). Information: theglen.com or call (866) 461-RACE. Last year, Ambrose started at the back of the 43-car field and finished third behind winner Kyle Busch and runner-up Tony Stewart. Johnson started in the No.

1 spot for the 2004 Cup race at the Glen, but that was because qualifying was rained out and starting positions were based on the points standings. "This shows the progress we're making on road courses," said Johnson, who has See ATTACK Page 3C us Rounds in the red keep Harrington atop Bridgestone field top 10. He was at 2-under 138, the same score he had in 2007 when he went on to win by eight. "You just have to be very patient," said Woods, coming off a victory last week in the Buick Open with the final major of the year looming next week at Hazeltine. "This course is playing like it normally does, and it's very similar to a major championship.

A good number this week is going to be somewhere in the high 60s, and more than likely you can move up the leaderboard." a reasonable score toback it up. Break 70 on the weekend a few more times and I should be doing OK." Scott Verplankwent35holes without abogey until hitting into the trees on the 18th hole and dropping a shot for a 69, leaving him alone in third at 135. Tiger Woods, a six-time winner at Firestone, was among 20 players within five shots of the lead, although he found himself in a peculiar spot after an even-par 70. He was tied for 13th, the first time after any round at Firestone he has been out of the Woods five shots off lead at Firestone The Associated Press AKRON, Ohio Padraig Harrington broke par for the second straight day, something he hasn't done infourmonths.Twomore days like that and it could lead to something he hasn't done in a year. Without a victory since the PGA Championship, Harrington tread carefully across Firestone on Friday for a 1-under 69 that gave him a one-shot lead over Tim Clark (68) going into the weekend at the Bridgestone Invitational.

Harrington didn't put much stock into his opening round of 64, and he wasn't ready to declare himself the favorite to win his first World Golf Championship. Even so, he conceded that consecutive good rounds were helpful. who was at 7-under 133. "I shot a good score (Thursday) put me up there and it's nice to shoot 1 The Associated Press Padraig Harrington holds a one-shot lead after two rounds of the Bridgestone Invitational. Selling your car shouldn't involve spinning your wheels.

Conlideno Comas Slandaid.