The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 43

Ijc Charlotte (Observer TIME I HORNETS I 3C Kirk Haston earns high praise from coach Silas but rookie be rushed COMING SATURDAY I COLLEGE FOOTBALL North Carolina-ECU game gaining momentum SRi A) 11 Vk wwwcharlottecomobserversports FRIDAY OCTOBtR I 3001 section £3 Alexander Jr killed after hitting wall with 4 laps left at track Earnhardt survives Fatal head injuries sustained after drivers jockey for lead of race Blaise Alexander Jr BIRTHDATE: March 26 1976 BORN: State College Pa HOMETOWN: Montoursville Pa RESIDENCE: Mooresville Began racing career at age 12 running go-karts Moved to North Carolina at age 18 in 1995 to further his stock-car racing career Was ARCA Rookie of the Year in 1996 rear of car made contact with the left front of sending both cars spinning and Alexander head-on into the wall car flipped and skidded upside down along the fronts tretch car came to rest in the infield grass When emergency medical technicians arrived Alexander had no pulse and showed no life signs track spokesman Jerry Gap-pens said He was transferred to the infield care center sustained in an accident during an Automobile Racing Club of America event at Motor Speedway With four laps left in the Easy-Care 100 Alexander and Kerry Earnhardt collided just after Alexander passed Earnhardt for the lead Just past the start-finish line the right where doctors tried to revive him for 25 minutes They pronounced him dead at 10:20 pm body was taken to Northeast Medical Center in Concord The medical examiner will determine what kind of autopsy is performed Ty Norris executive vice president for motorsports at Dale Earnhardt Inc and Kerry spotter Thursday said slower cars played a role went into the comer with a five car-length lead and they ran up on all of that lapped Norris said came off the comer and he was right there next to Blaise There was nothing anybody could do it was just the circumstance of having four cars vying for the same space coming off Him 4 Blaise have a choice and Kerry have a ARCA President Ron Drager said Alexander had been wearing SEE ARCA I 6C By David Poole Dan Wolken and Jim Utter Staff Writers Blaise Alexander Jr 25 died Thursday of severe head injuries COMMENTARY BASEBALL HISTORY Bonds hits record-tying 70th homer Tom Sorensen 9th-inning blast brings celebration with team ovation in Houston wife and daughters behind the third-base dugout as he returned to the bench was telling me just be patient be patient Fm glad over Fm glad my family was here My wife gets to sleep Bonds said got frustrated when it was 8-1 and they intentionally walked me because it was not a really crucial With fans still cheering at Enron Field Bonds came out for two curtain calls He took his position in left field to start the bottom of the ninth was mobbed by SEE BONDS I 4C More Baseball 4C OTHER TOP STORIES BRAVES CLINCH NL EAST TIE Atlanta win all but ends hopes HENDERSON RUNS PAST COBB Rickey Henderson breaks Ty runs record ECU-UNC offers promise of increased verbal sparring Rather than pontificate about North Carolina-East Carolina game I thought rd introduce you to two people who can Barton is an amalgam of Tar Heels fans and Bubba is an amalgam of fans of the Pirates BUBBA: Who you calling an amalgam? Amalgam means that if all the Pirates fans were blended together get you BUBBA: CooL BARTON: Now when is this game? Saturday in Chapel HilL BARTON: already beaten Florida State and NC State Why do we need to play the the Pirates BARTON: Pirates Because the Pirates are the rare North Carolina school at which football is more important than basketball BARTON: If basketball recruiting class is as good as advertised the state will soon have one more BUBBA: going to smoke you the way basketball team does been waiting for this since the last time you deemed us worthy enough to play which was 1937 going to stomp into Chapel Hill win the game tear down the goalposts run onto the field and take home so many pieces of sod think at Ericsson Stadium SEE SORENSEN I 11C SATURDAY'S GAME East Carolina at North Carolina 330 Not televised locally By Ben Walker Associated Press HOUSTON Barry Bonds took all the frustration bottled up inside him and sent No 70 into the upper deck in right field With one big swing Thursday night Bonds tied Mark home run record a feat even Big Mac thought might last a lifetime when he did it a mere three years ago After watching Houston pitchers work around him throughout the three-game series Bonds finally got a pitch to hit leading off the ninth He did not miss hitting a 454-foot shot off rookie Wilfredo Rodriguez was Bonds said was happy I made contact hard to just take pitches all the Bonds immediately raised both arms in the air and began a slow trot around the bases The record crowd of 43734 which had booed when Astros pitchers walked him rewarded him with a standing ovation The Giants won 10-2 completing a sweep that kept them two games behind Arizona in the NL West race with only a weekend series left at home against Los Angeles teammates greeted him at home plate along with son Nikolai Bonds The older Bonds 37 then pointed to his NL STANDINGS EAST Pet GB GR Atlanta 86 73 541 3 Phil 83 76 522 3 3 CENT Pet GB GR St Louis 92 67 579 3 Houston 91 68 572 1 3 WEST Pet GB GR Arizona 91 68 572 3 San Fran 89 70 560 2 3 THURSDAY St Louis 10 Milwaukee 3 Arizona 5 Colorado 4 San Fran 10 Houston 2 Atlanta 6 Philadelphia 2 1 DAVID PHILLIP ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Barry 70th homer of the season hit in Houston on Thursday was the 564th of his career moving him past Reggie Jackson a distant relative into seventh on the career list KRZYZEWSKI TO ENTER BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME Honor caps a lifetime of teaching leading John Chaney Moses Malone also will be inducted tonight Digest High School Football 8C Eagles to get measuring stick game with Myers Park will allow the East Mecklenburg football team to gauge how good it really is Gameday with Sweet 16 and predictions organized his neighborhood buddies in teams baseball football basketball and hockey depending on the season and he found his voice as a leader always thought that to be a teacher and a coach you do says Krzyzewski who resigned from the United States Army as a captain before becoming head basketball coach at West Point in 1975 In 21 seasons at Duke Krzyzewski has produced a blizzard of images that define an unforgettable and continuing era Three national championships A court named in his honor The Cameron Crazies Slapping the floor Five straight Final Fours Christian Laettner against Kentucky Escorting his dying friend Jim Valvano off a stage in New York City Hugging Steve Woj-ciechowskl Dueling Dean Smith A bad back and a broken spirit A return to glory A passion for excellence Six hundred six victories and 223 losses A legacy of accomplishment By Ron Green Jr StaffWnter Through the years Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski has made his career and success a collective achievement But tonight is about him Krzyzewski will be inducted into the Nais-mith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Mass in a ceremony that begins at 7 pan Temple coach John Chaney and former NBA star Moses Malone also will be inducted this evening the highest honor for any player or says Johnny Dawkins who played for and now coaches with Krzyzewski As a child in Chicago Krzyzewski admired teachers and coaches more than athletes He Panthers choose thicker sod for stadium PANTHERS I 2C The Carolina Panthers will turn to a thicker heavier sod to try to get Ericsson Stadium back into shape DuraTurf Service a Richmond Va-based company will begin installing a sand-based sod today Index NBA 5C Scoreboard IOC Hockey IOC Coll Football UC Reach The Observer Sports News (704) 358-5125 Fax (704)358-5110 E-mail obsportscharlotteobserver com www charlotte comobserversports 9C I Special commemorative page: Comments from and about Coach and where he stands in history Pf? i'lh1 3' CT3 I.