The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 111

ignpftm FlTffalUpKlTit jjft1'H'itTlii jj-m MgjgpsMi (the Charlotte (Observer Eagles need rally to ground Jets After the Jets built a stunning 207 lead Saturday the Eagles come back to win 21-20 and keep their playoff hopes alive NFL GameDayPage 12G Sunday December is 1996 Section 0 £AtYuerffel wins lleisman if Troy Davis to win the Heisman Trophy Page 8G Inside: Crest Hickory capture state football championships pace 70 11NCC goalie Jon Busch named first-team All-American pace 20 Charlotte to stage IRL race on July 2 6 Blue Devils atone surprise Villanova By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer Charlotte Motor Speedway will bring Indy-car racing to the Caroli-nas July 26 Speedway President Humpy Wheeler confirmed the Indy Racing League event will be held under the lights at CMS that night Tickets will range from $15 to $90 and will go on sale this week The track has signed a three-year contract to hold the race and Wheeler is hoping for attendance between 60000 and 75000 the first year on similar events half will be stock-car fans the rest will be general sports fans and fans of that type of Wheeler said benefit from the curiosity factor and promote this event harder than we ever have before Attendance in that range would allow the speedway to break even or make a slight profit Wheeler said The track will make about $300000 in safety improvements strengthening the crash wall on the backstretch and building stronger barriers along the inside of the track in reaction to the speeds when Indy cars tested in Charlotte Wheeler expects the pole-winner to be clocked at 210 mph Race speeds should be about 200 mph which is equivalent to a football field per second Wheeler said Fox ESPN and Turner Sports have expressed interest in television rights to the race CMS-owned Performance Racing Network will do the radio broadcast Texas International Raceway also owned by parent company will hold an Indy-car race June 7 By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer PHILADELPHIA Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski sounds a bit like a preacher these days talking about sin and redemption and breaking bad habits mmmmmmmm He obviously scared the devil out his players following a second-half collapse against Michigan eight days ago Duke played as well as expect on defense and better than anyone could predict on offense in upsetting No 4 Villanova 87-79 at Co-reStates Center The Blue Devils (7-2) clearly felt they had to make amends not only for scoring three points in the last 10 V2 minutes against Michigan but for two seasons of very un-Duke-like basketball not only this season making up for the sins of the past two Krzyzewski said of the agenda Did he mean performance? Recruiting? Learning? Krzyzewski concluded go through the last two (bad) years we did after the 10 (great) years we did without making up for some If No 14 Duke is turning this season into a crusade then performance served as one attention-grabbing revival meeting The Blue Devils shut down heralded freshman Tim Thomas through the first 38 minutes and shot marvelously (9-of-17) from three-point range not a huge surprise Duke contained future lottery pick Please see DEVILS page 9G CHRIS GARDNERAssociated Press Villanova freshman Tim Thomas (right) takes out Steve Wojciechowski Saturday during the second half of the Blue 87-79 victory over the Wildcats Jordan steps up for Bulls Star guard interrupts bid for upset By LEONARD LAYE Sports Editor CHICAGO The Charlotte Hornets had seen this one before And it was no better in the reruns After giving Chicago a jolting defensive shot and leading most of the way the Hornets found Michael Jor- ot dan in their way down the stretch as the Bulls came 82 from behind for an 87-82 victory in the United Center Jordan limited to eight first-half points on 4-of-12 shooting finally lit a fire late in the third quarter and kept it going scoring 21 in the second half His handiwork as much as any single factor put a frustrating end fo the four-game winning streak and ruined another superb defensive effort was a game we could have won" guard Dell Curry said wanted to come up here stay in the game and give ourselves a chance to win We did that But we Jordan led the Bulls with 29 Glen Rice scored 25 for Charlotte Matt Geiger 20 including 18 in the final quarter The loss left the Hornets with a 12-10 record The Bulls are 20-3 The first meeting with Chicago Nov 15 in Charlotte was a 23-point blowout 1 10-87 They were never really in it and came in this time making defense and competitiveness a priority The Hornets asserted themselves early particularly on defense And they stayed in it even when the Bulls jumped ahead coming back from deficits of six points in the first quarter and five points in the Please see HORNETS page 4G BOB LEVERONEStaff Receiver Willie Green (left) and tackle Matt Campbell two of the original 10 players to sign with the Panthers have become key players in the success The last of the originals CAMEDAY BALTIMORE AT CAROLINA KICKOFF: 1 pm TV: The Panthers make their first appearance on WCNC-TV Ch 36 PLAYOFFS: All the scenarios 14G COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF: A guide to Panthers-Ravens game 13G AFTER THE GAME: Call The Observer and voice your opinions about today's game Just call 377-4444 and enter code 1075 Campbell Green enjoy 2-year ride to postseason By CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writer The Carolina Panthers had no coach and a stadium barely beginning to rise from the ground when team officials gathered at an uptown Charlotte hotel two years ago today to announce the signing of their first players The Original 10 All were free these guys make our Polian said selection in this league is always a crap The Panthers hit the jackpot Two of the players they signed on Dec 15 1994 wide receiver Willie Green and left tackle Matt Campbell are not only on the roster but will start today against the Baltimore Ravens for a 10-4 Carolina team suddenly become the toast of the league Thanks in part to catches and blocking the Panthers beat the San Francisco 49ers 30-24 last week to unemployed and unwanted by the 28 NFL teams playing out the final weeks of the regular season There were more than 1600 players on NFL active rosters and practice squads at the time The Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars the two expansion teams scheduled to begin play in 1995 got to pick from the leftovers Though Carolina officials proudly presented their charter class of signees general manager Bill Polian admitted the chances good any would remain with the team for long be pleased if two of become the first NFL expansion team to clinch a playoff berth in its second season Green caught seven passes from quarterback Kerry Collins for 157 yards and a touchdown Campbell a converted tight end protected blind side by holding defensive end Chris Doleman without a sack it a great said Panthers assistant general manager Joe Mack who was in charge of scouring the league for the top 10 available prospects two years ago Please see 10 page 14G UNCC stings Davidson to reclaim Nest Trophy By STAN OLSON Staff Writer DAVIDSON -How close was UNCC and struggle for the imimb Nest Trophy Saturday night at Belk Arena? It came down to the final second Not seconds sec-' ond And one false step The 49ers lock up their 70-68 victory over their arch-rival until 39 min- utes 59 seconds were gone and Davidson point guard Ali Ton traveled giving the ball back to UNCC Davidson had gotten the ball back with 6 seconds remaining and Ton had darted upcourt and into the lane There he tried to come to a jump stop but collided slightly with UNCC point guard Sean Colson and took an extra fateful step The whistle blew was surprised the ref called Colson said was a walk but they had been letting a lot of stuff go He came to a jump stop and after that you move and he It ended a taught intense game packed with big plays and missed opportunities For a while it appeared Davidson (4-4) which had won four of the past five in this series was on the verge of taking control again The Wildcats had scrapped back from an eight-point first-half deficit to tie and led by three (62-59) with 5 minutes left But they failed to score on their next three possessions giving UNCC its chance had an opportunity to make some plays and just make Davidson coach Bob McKillop said wall Please see UNCC page 1 1G sr KARL DEBLAKERAssociated Press Before Crest's 20-7 victory over Fayetteville Byrd in the NC 4A final Saturday in Chapel Hill the Chris McCraw hoists the helmet of teammate Matt Grier who recently was killed in an auto accident Story page 7G 3.