Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 27

TO CONTACT SPORTS: Phone: (800) 333-7505, ext 8123 E-mail: sptsnewssptimes.com SPORTS SECTION 1 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2003 THE TIMES In the world that is jJ and that's the perfect teammate, he says, and if you disagree, oh, well. Simeon Rice, there is no I in team, but there is Hitting the high spots It's no stretch to say-one key to the Bucs' successful passing attack is the size advantage of their top receivers. 1 11 Jy J- 1 'f" 'V-- -v jm, -1 if. 1 I Tf MX By RICK STROUD Tlrnw Staff Writer fir s0 itrvv I I i it's i i if i TAMPA As Joe Jurevicius jogged to the sideline after his first touchdown against the Eagles on Monday, the -one before the Immaculate Deflection, he repeatedly was slapped on the helmet by an exuberant Keyshawn Johnson. "And you're slow! And you're slow!" Johnson kept repeating.

Of course, Johnson was referring to the general misperception that because Jurevicius is 6 feet 5, 230 pounds, he must be about as fast as cold molasses. But whether it's Jurevicius, the 6-foot-4 Johnson or 6-foot-l Keen-an McCardell, the Bucs receivers keep running opposing secondaries ragged. Why? Because they run precise routes, use their body to shield defenders from the football and can leap over smaller defensive backs in a single bound. "It's like lobbing it up to Yao Ming," quarterback Brad Johnson said of Jurevicius. "He's so tall and he's got long arms so he's kind of like a guy who's 6-7.

"I think all three of our receivers have something they bring to the table. In this league nowadays, I don't think it's all Please see BUCS13C r-9 Times photo JIM DAMASKE Simeon Rice (97) not only knocks opponents for a loop but some Bucs fans, who do not like his me-first attitude. "I want to be the best there ever was," Rice says. TODAY Bucs vs. Panthers, 4, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa.

TVRADIO: Ch. 13; WQYK-AM 1010, FM 99.5. Lit Bucs by 9 V2. TODAY ON TV Dolphins at Jets, 10 Bears at vikings, 8:30, ESPN Capsules of the remaining Week 2 NFL games, 12C one of the greatest who has ever played this game. It's my time to be one of the legends.

It's something I crave, it's something I honor, it's something I go out and play for. "I don't play for money. I play for history. I'm playing for tradition. I'm playing for the legends who came before me.

I'm playing Please see SHELTON 1 1C parents are named Aretha and Rodney. As the Bucs play their home opener today at Raymond James, then, the rest of us will join Rice in mid quest to get what he feels is his due. Odds are, Rice will spend much of the day thumping chests. Occasionally, his own. "This is my time right now," Rice says in that sing-song cadence of his.

"It's time for me to be TAMPA At last, we know the reason Simeon Rice wraps his arms around opposing quarterbacks with such regularity. Man, does this guy need a hug. He is a blur of motion, too fast to block, too quick to love. He is the NFL's leading paradox, a man who feels overwhelming and undervalued, invincible yet invisible, unstoppable but unappreciated. Think of Rice as a one-man high light show that no one bothers to watch.

He does. Yep, that's Rice. Week after week, he does some of the darnd-est things you've never seen. In the world of Simeon accent on the second syllable, of course this is the new fuel. He wants recognition.

He wants reverence. He respect Lately, Rice has used the word respect so much, you'd swear his GARY SHELT0N SPORTS COLUMNIST Rays defect no signs of a Yankees decline This won't be a party like it was in 1999 The Women's World Cup returns to U.S. on short notice and must compete for attention By BRUCE LOWITT Times Staff Writer YANKEES 6-6, RAYS 5-3: Sweep goes to team that cashes in on its chances. By MARC TOPKIN Timet Staff Writer NEW YORK The tabloids have SUNDAY EXTRA officer of Major League Soccer, marketing this tournament as well, and senior vice president of the 1994 men's World Cup in the United States. "Nineteen ninety-nine can never be replicated." This second Women's World Cup in the United States is here by happenstance.

The tournament was supposed to be in China but the SARS virus intervened. FIFA (soccer's world governing body) pulled it from China and May 26, four weeks later, gave it to the United States Australia and Sweden also sought it and awarded the 2007 Women's World Cup to China. The 1999 U.S. women's team was the incarnation of the 1980 U.S. Olympic men's "Miracle on Ice" hockey team.

Everything aligned perfectly. The World Cup final ended in front of a frenetic Rose Bowl crowd of Please see SUNDAY EXTRA 4C Marlins reward big crowd A season-high 40,41 4 see the wild-card leaders win their seventh straight, 8-3 over Atlanta. 7C "It was a long day," leftfielder Carl Crawford said in the somber clubhouse. "You can tell by the guys' body language in here." About the only positives for the Rays were two numerical milestones: Aubrey Huff got his 100th RBI and Crawford stole his 50th base. Otherwise, 18 innings and 13 hours at the ballpark only illustrated the differences between the teams, the Yankees continually getting the big hits and making the big plays when they had to and the Rays, who led 2-0 in both games, failing to do so.

"We played hard; what are you going to do?" Huff said. "Those guysi over there are professional hitters and professional pitchers and we're a team that's battling their payroll; they're $100-and-whatever-million and we're $8- to 10-million. I think we showed a lot of heart out there bat-Please see RAYS 5C heck your calendar. It is 2003, not 1999. It has been four years more realistically light years since one of the United States' greatest moments in soccer.

The FIFA Women's World Cup is back in the United States but don't expect Rose Bowl redux. No matter how magnificent these matches, no matter if the U.S. team repeats as champion, the tournament almost certainly is going to be a pale imitation of the original. There is nothing anyone can do about it; it's human nature. When it comes to victory, you always remember your first, and the first always is the best Ask Charles Lindbergh.

Ask Sir Edmund Hillary. Ask DougWaechter. "Nineteen ninety-nine was catching lightning in a bottle," said Randy Bernstein, chief marketing been running with the story all season about how the Yankees roster is flawed and that New York is a less dominant and more vulnerable team. The Devil Rays should have such problems. The supposedly struggling Yankees swept a day-night doubleheader from the Rays on 'Saturday, winning 6-5 and 6-3.

By the end of the long, wet, dreary day, the Yankees had won a season-high-matching eight straight, improved their major-league-best record to 92-56 and reduced their magic number for clinching a sixth straight division title to 10. The Rays lost their fifth straight, dropped to 58-89 and made more pressing the question of whether they wil win five more games to avoid a third straight 100-loss season. AP When Brandi Chastain kicked the winner in 1999, she did so in front of 98,000 fans at the Rose Bowl. This year's final will be played in front of 27,000. INSIDE SPORTS Today's game Rays at Yankees, 1, Yankee Stadium, New York.

STARTERS: Doug AUTOS Another France will lead NASCAR Brian France takes over growing sport from his father, Bill France Jr. 3C BOXING Mosley defeats De La Hoya Sugar Shane is fresher in late rounds, takes two titles from rival. 8C Janne Laukkanen skates during the Lightning's first scrimmage Saturday. LIGHTNING Team's improvement a matter of growth Season's success all about natural progression, a a theory based on older, wiser players. 3C COLLEGE FOOTBALL 'Noles, Gators, Hurricanes win No.

10 Florida State comes back from a 13-0 deficit in the final 7:09 to defeat Georgia Tech 14-13. Also, No. 19 Florida gains 309 rushing yards in beating Florida 63-3 and No. 2 Miami doesn't play its best but rolls over East Carolina 38-3. 1 5C-22C Waechter, Rays; IriaaiHiniMinlf jLi irnJH Jose Contreras, Yankees.

WUDIO: FSN; WFLA-AM 970 Time photo DIRK SHADD.