The Manhattan Mercury from Manhattan, Kansas • 11

B3 THE MANHATTAN MERCURY SPORTS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2 7, 2 0 0 0 Former Steeler Gilliam dies of heart attack Alexander named as Chiefs MVP FSU assistant hired as coach at Georgia Associated Press Associated Press Associated Press ATHENS, Ga. While directing one of the country's most dynamic offenses, Mark Richt's name came up from time to time as a potential head coach. He never thought about leaving Florida State, however, until Georgia fired Jim Donnan and began the search for someone who could lead the Bulldogs to a championship, On Tuesday, Richt was named Georgia's new coach, though he'll work double-time during his first week on the job. He will stay on as the Seminoles' offensive coordinator until after the Jan. 3 Orange Bowl against top-ranked Oklahoma.

"I've had some opportunities over the years, but when I found out that I was a possible candidate for this job, it was the very first time that I got really excited andeager about the possibility of a 0 6 Kgfi KANSAS CITY, Mo. Wide receiver Derrick Alexander and safety Greg Wesley were voted the Derrick Thomas MVP and Mack Lee Hill rookie of the year awards for the Kansas City Chiefs. Alexander caught 78 passes for a team-record 1,391 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 78 catches were third-highest in team history. He led the AFC in yards per catch (17.8).and was third in both receivingyards and touchdowns.

Wesley, third-round pickoutof Arkansas-Pine Bluff, became the first rookie to start opening day for the Chiefs since 1990. He totaled 100 tackles and two interceptions and had a team-leading lOpasses defensed. He also had a fumble recovery, two forced fumbles and a sack. The awards are voted on by players. They're named in honor of former Pro Bowl linebacker Derrick Thomas, who died following a car crash last February, and wide receiver Mack Lee Hill, who died following his second season with the Chiefs in 1965.

Hoak said. "But Joe had problems off the field and that hurt." This was Gilliam's third straight year of sobriety. His father, Joe Gilliam credited Gilliam's wife of four years, Barbara, for the turnaround, and his passion for the youth football camp he started in Nashville. Gilliam used the field of his alma mater, Tennessee State, where his father spent 40 years coaching football. "I learned from the turbulent years what unconditional love is," Gilliam Sr.

has said. He now has Gilliam's Super Bowl rings. Kind-hearted football fans and friends bought the rings a few years ago and returned them to his father, who was waiting to give them to his son until he was ready to hold on to them permanently. Gilliam, who was called "Jefferson Street Joe" for a boulevard near Tennessee State, was an All-America in 1970 and '71. He was an llth-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1972.

Gilliam kept the starting QB job when Bradshaw, the starter the previous season, and the others returned after the 1974 strike and led the Steelers to a 4-1-1 record. He topped the Steelers in passingthatyearwith to Bradshaw's 785 yards. But many Steelers' fans were unhappy with Gilliam and there was a racial tone to their anger. Gilliam began receiving hate mail and death threats. He said the franchise began receiving bomb threats on Three Rivers Stadium.

"I thought if you played well you got to play," he said. NASHVILLE, Tenn. After years of struggling with a drug addiction that left him homeless and broke, Joe Gilliam finally seemed on track with hissobri-ety and priorities. He was coaching a football camp for boys, counseling drug addicts and renewing relationships with family and friends. His turnaround ended Monday, four days short of his 50th birthday, when Gilliam died from an apparent heart attack.

"It's a shame because I think he did mend a lot of fences," said Woody Widenhofer, a former Pittsburgh Steelers assistant and current Vanderbilt coach. "He talked a lot about his dad and there was some mending there." Gilliam was dead on arrival at Baptist Hospital about 10:30 p.m. Monday, hospital spokeswoman Jessica Etz said. An autopsy was planned to determine the cause of death. Etz said family members believed Gilliam had a heart attack.

Gilliam's career was marked by a series of highs and lows, including a starting role for the Steelers in 1974, six years after Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos became the NFL's first black starting quarterback. But drug addiction, in part, led to his benching and eventually ended his NFL career. It also created financial problems that led Gilliam to pawn his two Super Bowl rings and left him homeless for a while on the streets of Nashville. He fought his addiction to cocaine and heroin several times with stays in drug-rehab 1 QB ahead of Terry Bradshaw. Rooney said he had a long talk with Gilliam at the reunion and "he was upbeat and in great health, probably in better shape than anyone." "Joe had some difficult times and everybody knows that, and during those times I had some talks with him and tried to help him and get him straightened out, it didn't work at the time but in time he did solve some of his problems," Rooney said.

Gilliam got the Steelers starting quarterback job in 1974 when veteran players, like Terry Bradshaw, were on strike. But Dick Hoak, a Steelers assistant for 30 years, said that wasn't why Gilliam got the job. "He was an excellent quarter For a period Joe Gilliam was the No. centers, even working as a drug counselor, but it took more than 20years for him to finally kick his habit. Earlier this month, when former Steelers reunited for the final game at Three Rivers Stadium, Gilliam said his life was so tough atone point that he lived in a cardboard box under a bridge for two years and, "To me, it was like the Ritz-Carlton." "I had it all and then it disappeared and then my life disappeared and now, look, I'm back with my friends again," he said, gesturing toward teammates Lynn Swann and Roy Gerela.

"I let a lot of these guys down, but only in America could I could come and be with these guys again." back and could throw the ball," Steelers president Dan JIV.1VI I II I a-rui Martz happy about getting Home back for playoffs "Hp'11 Pd that rpsnito. so to sneak. teams are better off goine with their bes "He'll get that respite, so to speak. teams are better off going with their best, and Ottawa coach gets head job at Wabash Associated Press CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. Chris Creighton, the coach at Ottawa University the past four years, has been named football coach at Wabash College.

Creighton previously was offensive coordinator at Manchester College, which will play Wabash in the 2001 season opener. He succeeds Greg Carlson, who was asked to resign after his team finished this season with a 64 record. Carlson compiled a 112-57-2 record in his 18 years at the Little Giants' helm. Creighton, a 1991 graduate of Kenyon College, compiled a 37-7 record as coach at Ottawa. His teams twice won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship and reached the NAIA playoffs in 1997 and 2000.

Associated Press not over-adjusting. "I think you play what you play on defense," Martz said. "You can change it somewhat, but my experience this year is the people who have changed for us defensively eventually go right back to what they do normally. "I think it's a little easier to do what you do and adjust to it and just to rally to the ball as opposed to doing something dramatically different." A case in point was the Saints' defense on Sunday. Martz "said it was about the same, with New Orleans playing two deep safeties most of the game, except for some increased pressure.

"They came after us a little bit more, but by and large I think it was pretty much the same," Martz said. Whether or not the plays change, preparing for a familiar opponent will make the short work week heading into Saturday's game less of a factor. "I think the preparation part of it is a big advantage for us, and obviously it is for them, too," Martz said. "Obviously you don't use your whole game plan, so there's still some things you've got in and have practiced or worked on that you didn't get a chance to get to." "He may have to go a couple plays in a row but he should be fine with that." Home's replacement, Darrius Blevins, is averaging 19.2 yards with a long return of 26 yards. Martz used punt returned Az-Zahir Hakim late in Sunday's 26-21 victory over the Saints, and also threw Marshall Faulk back there at the end of the Rams' loss at Tampa Bay.

Martz believes he can surprise the Saints (10-6) in other ways, even though they've faced each other so much lately. He anticipates the game plan will be about two-thirds new from the one the defending Super Bowl champions used in the second game against the Saints. "Oh, I'm sure," Martz said. "We try to change it up each week, whether it's the same opponent or not." Martz also expects the Saints to do some things the Rams haven't seen. New Orleans returned to practice Tuesday, while Martz gave players their second straight day off.

"I'm sure they'll have some new things for us, that's just the way it is," Martz said. "You try to get one leg up in some respects by having something a little bit different, whether it's formations and a different run or two, or a pass play." Defense is another story. Martz believes ST. LOUIS It's as if the St. Louis Rams have been keepingTony Home under wraps.

Home, who has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns the last two regular seasons plus one in the playoffs last year, is due to return for Saturday's wild-card game against the New Orleans Saints. Home has been out five games, missing the first two Rams-Saints games. The Rams (10-6) didn't place Home on injured reserve for just this reason. He's averaging 24.2 yards per return, including a 103-yard touchdown in Game 6 against the Falcons, and led the NFL with a 29.7-yard average last year. "We hoped we'd be in the playoffs and we thought, listening to our doctors, that we would have him a week after the regular season," coach Mike Martz said.

"We obviously felt he'd be a major factor and I think he will be." Martz said Home's work on other special teams is underrated, including coverage on punt and kickoff returns, and said he was probably the team's best special teams player. He's not worried about Home being out of shape, either. "He doesn't have to line up and play every snap on offense or defense," Martz said. Sponsored by making a move," said Richt, who spent 15 years on Bobby Bow-den's staff. While he remains committed to Florida State for another week, Richt will begin working the phones for Georgia, hiring a staff and touching base with potential recruits.

He hopes to follow the Bowden formula, which made the Seminoles one of the country's most dominating programs. "He's a great man," Richt said. "I'm excited about the chance to try to build something very similar to what he's built, and hopefully, I learned well from him." The 40-year-old Richt said it will be difficult to leave Tallahassee, where he worked with Heisman Trophy winners Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke. But when Richt heard his name linked to Georgia, he decided to pursue a head coaching job for the first time. He asked both Bowden and Grant Teaff, former president of the American Football Coaches Association, to call Georgia athletic director Vince Dooley with a recommendation.

"Our goal was to never leave Tallahassee or make one move," said Richt, accompanied to Athens by his wife and their four children. "We felt like if we ever did make a move, we wanted to make sure it was a place where we wanted to stay. We've made that commitment. We're not looking back." That's good news for Dooley, who hired Donnan five years ago after then-Kansas coach Glen Mason accepted the job, then changed his mind. Richt actually took the job last week, but remained mum until the Bulldogs completed their final season under Donnan with a 37-14 victory over Virginia in the Oahu Bowl.

Donnan, fired Dec. 4, finished his tenure at Georgia with a 40-19 record, including four straight bowl victories for the first time in school history. He was let go after the Bulldogs lost to Georgia Tech for the third year in a row, which hasn't happened since the early 1960s. That was indicative of a lack of success when playing the school's biggest rivals. Under Donnan, Georgia was 6-14 against Tech, Florida, Auburn and Tennessee.

After the news conference in Athens, Richt hurried back to Tallahassee to rejoin the third-ranked Seminoles, who were flying to Miami on Wednesday with hopes of winning their second straight national title. "It's been a great pleasure having him on our staff," Bowden said. "He and his family have been role models for our players and fans. We will miss them very much, but wish them well at Georgia." A 1982 graduate of Miami, where he was a backup quarterback to Jim Kelly, Richt joined the Florida State staff three years later. His tenure was interrupted by a one-year break as East Carolina's offensive coordinator in 1989.

littleapme Commerce Bank Look for: Homes, Apartments Manhattan Websites Movie Times www.littleapple.com Dolphins counting on defense Associated Press Start the new year off right! Join us for a night of K-State Basketball! Men's Basketball Jan. 2nd vs. Texas-Pan America 7PM I DAVIE, Fla. In each of the past two seasons, defense carried the Miami Dolphins into the playoffs, then unraveled. It happened two years ago, when Miami's season ended with a 38-3 loss at Denver.

It happened again last season, when Jacksonville eliminated the Dolphins 62-7. The Dolphins face another potential offensive onslaught Saturday against Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game. "In the past we always collapsed, but this time I think we might make it further," defensive end Lorenzo Bromell said. This year's defensive unit ranks with the Dolphins' best ever. Miami ranked third in the NFL in points allowed and in the top four in five other categories.

"This is the best defense we've taken into the playoffs," linebacker Robert Jones said. "We've been in all types of situations in different elements and found a way to gel and not become frustrated. If someone screws up, we just keep fighting." Four defenders ends Trace Armstrong and Jason Taylor, cor-nerback Sam Madison and safety Brock Marion were chosen for the Pro Bowl. Armstrong and Taylor ranked 1-2 in the AFC in sacks, and Miami led the NFL with 28 interceptions. "We've had some pretty good defenses, but I think it's safe to say thateachyearwe've gotten better'linebackerDerrickRodgerssaid.

"We should be confident. We have a very good team. As long as we're playing our style of football, we can go very far in the playoffs." The Dolphins (11-5) won the AFC East for the first time since 1994, and their reward is to play a high-powered offensive team. The Colts (10-6) won their final three games to make the playoffs. When the teams met Dec.

17, Peyton Manning went 21-for-28, Edger-rin James ran for 112 yards and Indianapolis beat Miami 20-13. Manning's short passes allowed Indy to control the ball for nearly 34 minutes, the second-best total against the Dolphins this season. "Their pass rush and secondary are so good, we felt like we had to get rid of the ball quickly," Colts coach Jim Mora said. "They make you look bad at times. They're an outstanding defensive team as good as there is in the league, if not the best.

You've got to be patient against them, but it's hard, and they make it hard. They stop you and stop you, and you can't panic. You've got to keep your poise and hope eventually that things will work." The Dolphins struggled against the run at times the second half of the season, and they blew a 23 point lead in the fourth quarter in a memorable Monday night loss to the New York Jets. Miami also held six opponents to a touchdown or less. "They're so disciplined, and so fast," Manning said.

"There are so many times you have first and 10 and try to run it, and then you have second and 10 because they're so good against the run. If you force passes and try to be greedy, it always costs you. It can be a challenge. You can't force plays against a defense as good as theirs." But the Dolphins' defenders have yet to prove themselves in the postseason. On Saturday, they get another chance.

")' For Tickets tor both games call, -800-22-CATS! omen 's Basketball Jan. 3rd vs. Iowa State 7PM Big Xtf Opener! FREE BALLOON NIGHV. Flint Hills News Starzto host event The Rock Creek Starz girls basketball team will be hosting their 2nd Annual Tournament for grades 4 through 7 on Jan. 20-21.

There will be separate divisions for each grade level with all games played at Rock Creek and Westmoreland. The entry fee is $125 with three games guaranteed. The deadline for entering is Jan. 8. For more information.call Jeff Ebert at 785494-2436..