The Signal from Santa Clarita, California • 11

Monday, February 9, 2004 THE SIGNAL B3 Sports IT Galetti averaging more than 100 points a game, but what's even more glaring to me is the fact that the Lakers are averaging exactly one point more, as of Sunday, than the mighty Clippers. NBA action it's boring. CO And I just had to get this in. I'm watching ESPN Classic one day this past week and all of a sudden I see a commercial promoting the movie "Karate Kid" as a classic sports movie? Does that mean that "Air Bud" and "Space Jam" are sports classics too? To me, "The Pride of the Yankees" or even "Damn Yankees" are true sports classics. I'd even accept "Major League, 1 through 10" as classics before the martial arts, cartoon and canine center movies.

That's my view from the press box. TODAY NBA BASKETBALL Boston Celtics at Cleveland Cavaliers, 4 p.m., TNT. San Antonio Spurs at Houston Rockets, 6:30 p.m., TNT. COLLEGE BASKETBALL Connecticut at Notre Dame, 4pm ESPN. Kansas at Oklahoma, 6 p.m., ESPN.

San Diego State at BYU, 9 p.m ESPN. TUESDAY NBA BASKETBALL Detroit Pistons at New Jersey Nets 4:30 p.m., TNT. Clippers at Minnesota Timberwolves, 5 p.m., FSW2. Lakers at Miami Heat 5:30 p.m., Channel 9. Toronto Raptors at Phoenix Suns, 7 p.m., TNT.

NHL HOCKEY Kings at Minnesota Wild, 5 p.m., FSW. COLLEGE BASKETBALL Alabama at Kentucky, 4 p.m., ESPN. Colorado at Missouri, 4 p.m., ESPN2. Michigan State at Illinois, 6 p.m., ESPN. is ridiculous.

Sure the two are playing in the annual rookie game, but who cares? My theory is simple. The powers that be have been hyping James as the future of the game, but I don't think they were counting on him already being one of the best players in the league. You can look at his achievements, as well as Anthony's, in two lights. 1 James is the real deal and is even better than was originally projected or. 2: The league is watered down with a bunch of average players and his talents are exploiting that fact.

Come on, Mike Bibby is averaging 17.1 points (more than Yao Ming) and he's a point guard. He's also one of my favorite players to watch since I had the opportunity to see him many times when he played in Vancouver. It seems that shooting has become a lost art, including free throws. Players live for that special dunk that will get them those few seconds on Sports Center highlights that will run all night, instead of working on fundamentals that will breed longevity. Shaquille O'Neal's 51.4 percent from the foul line is abominable.

Was he really 3-of-15 from the charity stripe in a 96-73 loss to Philadelphia? Was he 9-of-20 in an overtime win against Cleveland? I suppose that's not why he gets paid the big bucks. Back to James, who has his own troubles shooting from the outside, why overhype someone and then leave him off the grand stage? Maybe the league would rather hype Miami's big win against the Knicks on Saturday. Oh, did I mention the score 76-64? There are high school games with higher scoring. No, I'm not even implying that high school games are better, but if you're looking for scoring at an affordable price, that's an option. If I was one of the 16,500 in attendance in Miami, I'd be demanding my money back.

I'm sure the spin on that game was that the defenses played great, but I say neither team cared. There are only two teams, Sacramento and Dallas, that are think of for this "event" is that it gives the players with illegal equipment (wardrobe malfunction) or too many men on the field (personnel malfunction) or unsportsmanlike conduct (attitude malfunction) a term for these infractions. What a joke, you have a game for the ages and all anyone will remember is the halftime show. Speaking of jokes, can somebody explain to me how the NBA can hype an athlete like Cleveland Cavaliers' super rookie LeBron James ad nauseam, then leave him off of the All-Star team? The kid is 13th in the league in scoring (20.6), yet he's not good enough to make the Eastern Conference squad. Let's throw in Denver Nuggets' rookie Carmelo Anthony, who is 19th at 19.1 points per game.

He wasn't good enough to make the West squad. It would not have surprised me if James made the team while he was averaging, let's say, 10 points a game, because that would just be an extension of the hype. But this Scott Galetti's column appears every Monday in The Signal. He can be reached at at Daytona Track Worker Killed --x-- I 1 I. I TiM- V' By Paul Newberry AP Sports Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Ha.

A worker at Daytona International Speedway was struck and killed by a paraplegic driver going more than 100 mph during a race for compact cars Sunday. The worker, 44-year-old Roy H. Weaver HI, was standing in the middle of the track picking up debris during a caution period when he was hit by a car driven by Ray Paprota of Birmingham, track spokesman David Talley said. Paprota, who doesn't have use of his legs and drives a car equipped with hand controls, was trying to catch up the main pack of cars after a two-car crash at the opposite end of the track brought out a yellow flag. Weaver was struck in turn two on the 2 12-niile trioval.

"The worker was standing right in the middle of the track when he hit him," said Jeff Tillman, who was behind Paprota when the accident occurred. "It flipped him over the car." Several drivers said Weaver's body already was covered by a tarp as they continued to circle the track under a yellow flag. Eventually, the IPOWERacing 150 was red-flagged for about 1 12 hours, finally running to the finish under the lights after police investigated the scene and took pictures of Paprota's car in the garage. Paprota was loaded into a wheelchair-accessible van and left the track without discussing the accident with reporters. "I'm sorry," he said.

"I can't say anything." Weaver, the supervisor of track crew, had been with" the speedway for seven years. He was the 36th person to die during an event at Daytona the first since Bryan Cassell was killed while practicing for a motorcycle race on Oct. 18. Danny Bagwell, who won the Dash race, defended Paprota's racing skills. "I think he's a capable race driver and I think everybody deserves an opportunity," Bagwell said.

"He's a hard worker. We've tried to help him as much as we could." Paprota lost use of his legs in a 1984 car wreck. He rehabilitated at the same Birmingham hospital where, former NASCAR star Bobby Allison recovered from a serious racing crash. "We learned about him through Bobby Allison," Bagwell said. "That's a pretty good reference." Raymond Claypool, an executive vice president with IPOWERacing, said Paprota had raced in three previous Dash events and tried to qualify for a fourth.

Already cleared to run on five-eighth-mile tracks, he requested to compete this year at Daytona. "We made the decision to allow him to come to Daytona for winter testing," Claypool said. "He attended a rookie meeting and went through extensive testing both on and off the track. We also asked other drivers and we felt very confident he was qualified to compete here." I Associated Press NFC running back Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks, left, falls into the endzone after scoring a 12-yard touchdown past AFC linebacker Al Wilson of the Denver Broncos in the first quarter. Pro Bowl Continued from page B1 and circumstance of trash.

I seem to recall the Super Bowl in Pasadena when Michael Jackson (I would use M.J., but that's reserved for talent that isn't in trouble with the law) was performing. That was the worst show I've ever seen in person. What's the allure of some pop star lip synching songs on a stage where only the home viewers can see well enough to decipher who he or she is? I am very surprised that with all that's been going on in the world that the geniuses putting these shows together didn't take U2's lead from two years ago. That show was not lip synched and honored victims of 9-1 1. Aren't there armed service men and women out there that could have been honored? But the geniuses would rather get singers with plunging careers giving that last push before their stellar CD sales drop off the radar.

The only positive slant I could tt Alexander and Bly led the way in a game with newcomers filling nearly half of the rosters. Peyton Manning passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns, but he couldn't stop the AFC from falling apart. Manning threw a 10-yard TD pass to Hines Ward with 1 :54 left, and after Bulger threw an end-zone interception, Manning led the AFC into scoring territory. But he was sacked with 4 seconds left, and Vanderjagt barely missed for the second time Sunday. He also made one field goal.

Just how crazy was it? The AFC set a Pro Bowl record with 31 points in the first half and it stood for about two hours until the NFC scored 42 after halftime. Bulger, an injury replacement for Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb, sat out the first half, then led an impressive comeback. He owed one of his completions to thousands of smart football fans, however: Atlanta's Alge Crumpler scored a 33-yard TD in the fourth quarter on a pass play selected by online voters. Denver's Clinton Portis, another first-timer, put the AFC up 45-27 with 13:14 left, turning a 23-yard screen pass into a TD with a sideline sprint and dive. Portis celebrated by getting up and running full-tilt into the goalpost.

But Bulger engineered two more scoring drives. When Dunwoody Continued from page B1 with any experience," Fisher says. "He and I spoke before the season about him becoming a leader. He wasn't the most vocal person, and we wanted to build that into his character. He has done that as best as he could do it." The elder Dunwoody has also picked up his game this season, putting up 10.4 points and 3.2 assists in 21 games this season.

But for him, it's another statistical category that counts. After challenging himself to be more aggressive in the paint coming into this season. Alex has cracked the conference Top-30, averaging 4.4 boards a game. While Alex has met Fisher's challenge to play a more pivotal role on the squad, in watching the a 0 I Avengers Victorious Continued from page B1 And it wasn't over until Indianapolis' Mike Vanderjagt the automatic kicker who didn't miss a field goal or an extra point all season was barely wide right on a 51-yard field goal attempt as time expired. The 25th straight sellout crowd at Aloha Stadium loved this thriller, with both teams' million-j aire players giving their all for the paltry $35,000 given to each win- ner.

With 42 points in the helter-i skelter fourth quarter, the teams i easily topped the 82 total points in 2000 and they set srnnother record with 1,022 total yards, including 300 in the fourth quarter. Shaun Alexander had three touchdowns for the NFC, which 71 scored 28 straight points in the fourth period to set the scoring record for a single team. Torry caught seven passes for 128 il, yards and a score. Bly, Corey Chavous and Champ Bailey all had fourth-quarter interceptions. Thanks to an incredible surge that had the stars dancing on the sidelines, the NFC won for just the time in eight meetings.

Pro Bowlers Bulger, Alexander scored on a 5-yard pass with 5:43 to play, the NFC pulled within 45-40. Moments later, Bly stepped in front of Manning's pass to the AFC sideline and rambled for a diving score. "It's going to be tough to match, if I make it back in the future," Bulger said. The tremendous entertainment even extended to the sideline. Moments after Alexander's third touchdown, set up by Chavous' interception and return to the AFC 2, the NFC's Daunte Culpepper, LaVar Arrington and Alexander broke into an exuberant line dance to OutKast's "The Way You Move," to the vocal delight of fans.

This edition of the NFL's 54th annual all-star game was a showcase for the league's next wave of talent. When Green Bay's Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila was added to the NFC roster on Saturday, he became the 4 1st first-time Pro Bowler among the 86 players in uniform. League co-MVP Steve McNair, who started but got just four plays, was in his first Pro Bowl after nine NFL seasons. Kansas City quarterback Trent Green and St. Louis kicker Jeff Wilkins waited 10 years for their first trips to Honolulu.

NFL rushing champion Jamal Lewis scored a touchdown in his first game. Dunwoodys play, you might think the younger Curtis was the seasoned veteran of the two. Starring as a shooting guard at Valencia, the younger Dunwoody has made his evolution into the Cougars' starting point guard look effortless. While Curtis doesn't have the flashy stats of his brother, Fisher couldn't be happier with the freshman's play. "I gave him a chance to see what he could do," Fisher says.

"We moved him to the point, so Curtis doesn't have a large number of assists, but he does a good job of taking care of the ball for us." As Curtis will attest, leading the team in one offensive category or another certainly isn't the only way to garner respect from teammates and opponents alike. Curtis has a developed a penchant for knocking down crucial shots, and subsequently, a flair for the dra in Opener Rush 50, Rampage 30 ROSEMONT, 111. QB Raymond Philyaw made his Chicago debut a spectacular one with three touchdowns rushing and two passing Sunday in the Rush's 50-30 victory over Grand Rapids. Philyaw, who played for Indiana last year, used screen passes and his quick feet to lift the Rush in the season opener before 15,082 fans. Cobras 67, Desperados 41 CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Matt Nagy threw for six touchdowns and ran for another for the Carolina Cobras, who ended an Arena Football League record 17-game losing streak with a 67-41 victory Sunday over the Dallas Desperados. Nagy completed 28 of 39 passes for 282 yards. Storm 52, Predators 41 TAMPA, Fla. The Tampa Bay Storm raised their fifth ArenaBowl championship banner then rode five touchdown passes by Shane Stafford to a season-opening victory over the Orlando Predators. er right now," Curtis says.

"It makes me a better player with Alex around." The brothers agree that this year's fireworks and chemistry can be accredited to all the years spent playing informally alongside each other. "We have a court awareness for each other," Alex says. "A teleke-nis-type thing." And, for the record, just who is the better of the Dunwoody duo? "Curtis is the better shooter," Alex reluctantly admits. "But just a little bit." However, to the delight of Cougar fans, and the dismay of Western State opponents, it doesn't matter who is the better of the two COC doesn't have to choose. It lays claim to both budding stars.

And, if only for a season, the Dunwoody brothers can finally see each other as teammates. YOUR CALL IS FREE! From Signal WireSlrvices PHOENIX Tony Graziani passed for 214 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Los Angeles Avengers over the Arizona Rattlers 51-32 on Sunday in an Arena Football League opener. Chris Jackson had seven catches for 96 yards and two scores for the Aveneers. He "Arena" touchdown pass in the third quarter to Kevin Ingram, who finished I Football Roundup with two touchdown catches. Arizona dropped its season opener for the fourth straight year, the last three to San Jose.

Sherdrick Bonner was 18-of-33 for 241 yards and four touchdowns and he also ran for a score for the Rattlers, but he threw a team-record four interceptions. Arizona committed five turnovers, leading to 28 Los Angeles points. Arizona's Siaha Burley had six matic. In Canyons' own Cougar Holiday Classic tournament earlier this season, L.A. Trade Tech witnessed first-hand just how much damage the younger Dunwoody can do.

With COC down by three points with 14 seconds left in regulation, Curtis drained a 3-pointer over a tenacious defense to pull the Cougars even. In the ensuing overtime period, the game was tied, 80-80, in the waning moments, before Curtis swished yet another long-range launch as the game clock expired. Talk about pressure. Just a week earlier on the road at Barstow Fisher had entrusted the ball to his dependable freshman on a technical foul free throw as the game ticked away. Curtis converted, and the Cougars went on to victory, 86-78.

receptions for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Dragons 54, Force 28 DULUTH, Ga. Aaron Garcia threw for five touchdowns and ran for another to lead the New York Dragons to a 54-28 victory Sunday over the Georgia Force in an Arena Football League opener for both teams. New York scored touchdowns on eight on its 10 possessions, and the Dragons added two interceptions. The defeat was the worst in club history for the Force, which lost by 21 points to Los Aneeles in 2002.

V00D00 42, Soul 34 PHILADELPHIA John Fitzgerald threw four touchdown passes to help the New Orleans V00D00 beat Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul 42-34 Sunday in the first Arena Football League game for both expansion franchises. Soul co-owner Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora, who holds a 2-percent stake in the team, mingled with Bill Belichick and Doug Flutie before the game, which drew 17,484. Big-time plays from Curtis, and a consistent all-around game from Alex, have marked both brothers as forces to be reckoned with in the Western State Conference. But, for now, personal accolades come second to winning for the Dunwoodys. The two guards are a major reason why the Cougars have drastically improved from last year's 10-20 showing.

COC leads their conference at 8-0, and is creating a stir with a 17-4 mark overall. "This year's group is a special group," Fisher says. "The consensus is that they just want to win. Everyone has respect for each other this is a resilient group." As Canyons considers the possibility of reaching far into the playoffs, Alex and Curtis know they must make the most of this opportunity. "It's been great playing togeth 11 Lakers from page turnovers in the final 52.8 seconds.

"Horrible execution, and it can -cost you," said McGrady, who had (four turnovers, as did Strickland. McGrady had 35 points, six 1 rebounds and six assists in his return after a two-game absence I-Jjecause of back spasms. He Splayed 45 minutes, his only rest when he reinjured his back Sjjate in the second quarter. Juwan Howard scored six of his 5-1 8 point. in the final 2:28, with jSnhree straight turnaround jumpers giving Orlando a 96-93 lead.

came off the bench for points and five assists. The Magic shot 51 percent a 6-for-18 start. But their ,1 8-point lead was the largest blown in a loss this season, "We definitely show signs of being soft at times," McGrady "Each individual has to take responsibility of stepping up and being tough. We can talk iflbout it and tell everyone what, we from them, but you have to want to do it." PICK UP THE PHONE NOW!.