The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 125

3C Saturday April 22 2000 wwwheraldcom jj SPORTS EOUKDUP READY TO THROW: Fred McNair the older brother of the Tennessee Steve McNair will be at QB for the Florida Bobcats which plays its home opener at 7:30 tonight at National Car Rental Center McNair 32 is playing his eighth season of Arena Football HOME OPENER ABOUI THE BOBCATS ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE BOBCATS ROSTER Bobcats counting on leadership of Fred BY BOB EMANUEL JR com Florida Bobcats quarterback Fred McNair has seen a little of everything in his professional career McNair 32 who attended Alcorn State went to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys under Jimmy Johnson in 1989 and but did not participate in any exhibition games before he was released Next up was the Canadian Football League where McNair played two seasons one with the Toronto Argonauts and the other with the Saskatchewan Roughriders Finally in 1993 he began to find a home McNair was signed by the Albany (NY) Firebirds and got his first taste of Arena Football was McNair said had 12 men on the field It was wild They had long sidelines and long out routes to come to Arena Football and play on the small field everything was different Things happen here so quickly You really have time to let the plays develop the way you McNair was welcomed to the league right away first time I got in a game I saw a middle linebacker shoot in I sprinted out of the pocket and started running before getting run into the boards I got hit on the chin a couple of times before I really learned what was going Now as McNair begins his eighth year in the Arena Football League and fifth with the Florida franchise he has established his place in the indoor game In last season-opening victory over Carolina McNair threw for a team-record 362 yards and topped the 10000 mark for his career becoming the 12th player in league history to eclipse the milestone Tonight at 7:30 he leads the Bobcats (1-0) against the Tampa Bay Storm at National Car Rental Center He entered the season with a renewed drive to compete for a championship after getting his first glimpse of the Super Bowl spectacle where he watched his younger brother Steve compete for the Tennessee Titans was my first Super McNair said was excited to be there I had a chance' to spend time with Steve so it was The offshoot of the game was the notoriety the Arena Football League garnered as former Iowa Barnstormers quarterback Kurt Warner capped his MVP season with the NFL champion St Louis Rams did an outstanding job in the Super Bowl and Who: Florida Bobcats (1-0) vs Tampa Bay Storm (01) I When where: 730 tonight National Car Rental Center Tickets: $10 to $40 buy one get one of equal value free Available at Ticket-master and NCRC box office More Information: 954 577-9009 I Notable: Florida defeated Tampa Bay three weeks ago in an exhibition the first win over the Storm Florida QB Fred McNair found WR Eddie Williams for six touchdowns in last 63 51 victory over expansion Carolina Tampa Bay is led by former Florida State QB Thad Busby The Storm lost last week's opener 41-26 to New England Bobcats schedule Pierce Arantxa advance 9 to semis i From Herald Wire Services i Top-seeded Mary Pierce! beat Jelena Dokic 6-3 6-1 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Family Circle Cup in Hilton Head SC 1 Pierce the French star has lost only nine games in three matches will face the! winner of the match between third-seeded Monica Seles! and Ruxandra Dra- gomir just went out there and tried to play my best and think I served pretty well and played pretty Pierce said Fourth-seeded Arantxa-Sanchez-Vicario of Spain advanced beating No 8 Amanda Coetzer of Africa 7-6 (12) 3-6 6-3 and I we always have tough matches and we always play longer Sanchez-Vicario said the! end I started being a little bit more aggressive and I made it Sanchez-Vicario will second-seeded Conchita Mar-! tinez of Spain a 6-2 6-1 winner! over Jana Nejedly After Sanchez-Vicario took the opening set with a 14-12 tie- break victory Coetzer came back to win the second set I Hrbaty advances in Monte Carlo: Dominik Hrbaty beat one of the best clay court players scoring a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Alex Corretja to advance to the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Open in Monaco BASKETBALL 9 Keyon Dooling to turn pro Missouri point guard Keyon Dooling a former star at Fort Lauderdale high schools Dillard and Cardinal Gibbons is leaving school two years early and declaring himself eligible for the NBA draft a source close to the program said The sophomore reportedly has been weighing the decision since the Tigers ended their season with a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament to North Carolina Dooling earned second-team all-Big 12 honors last season shooting 39 percent from the field and averaging 15 pointy and four assists I Ex-Duke player denies wrongdoing: Former Duke player Corey Maggette denies accepting 52000 trom an AAU coach an accusation that could cost the Blue Devils considerably more if proved I Coach acquitted: St (Md) College coach Othell Wilson was acquitted of charges he kidnapped and raped his former girltriend very said Wilson a former college teammate of Ralph Sampson the evidence proves that I was not guilty what been saying all along Wilson 38 was placed on paid leave by the college after the charges were made last falL It is not clear if he will be reinstated and college officials did not return a calL The woman testified 38 threatened to kill her and choked her repeatedly holding her in his home for two days Wilson was arrested Sept 27 ETC I Boxing: Americans Brian Livoria Dante Craig and Olanda Anderson will fight for pride in the finals of an Americas qualifier today already qualified for the Olympics Their victories in semifinals Thursday night in Tijuana Mexico means the United States will send a full 12-member team to Sydney Australia" I Football: The Washington Redskins eager to clear some room under the salary cap released quarterback farmer FSU QB Casey Weldon a regulation field it seems like everything is McNair said the Arena League you have to get your reads quicker than in the NFL You have a little more time in the NFL than you do New Florida coach Dave Ewart the defensive coordinator in 1998 believes his star has what it takes to make it on any level got to be able to block to give Freddy the time to throw the Ewart said in my opinion throws the ball better than his brother a pretty big statement The not in the air very long when throwing McNair will attempt to work his magic on a young Bobcats squad The team returned just 11 veterans leaving McNair with a tutorial role on the team just try to be a leader on the team and try to show positive things to the McNair said team chances are great very excited to be back here We have a great group of guys These guys are very hungry for this game As one of the veterans got to show leadership and try to get the young guys pointed in the right Helping the Bobcats this season will be a formidable group of receivers led by Eddie Williams and Curtis Ceasar got one of the great receiving corps in the McNair said going to be wide open and going to spread the ball around very happy to have those guys Attendance is one of the few things the Bobcats lack But McNair believes if things are done right the crowds will appear got to keep win- injured reserve Thinking of attending a Bobcats game this season3 Here are some important things to know Home field The Bobcats play all their games at National Car Rental Center 2555 Panther Parkway Sunrise Tickets Florida offers five ticket options ThemostexpensiveistheWOCatEye which allows fans to sit in the second and third rows along the sidelines These are the best seats if you hope to bring home a souvenir as any ball coming into the stands is yours to keep For $30 Cat Claw seats are on the lower levels along the sideline Higner up on the sideline is the Cat Paw for $25 Party Cats tickets are available in the lower endione for i 5 with Nine Lives tickets higher in the endzone for $10 For group rates or club seats call the Bobcats office at 954 577 9009 lOntheWeb The Bobcatscan befoundatwww flabobcats com For more information on the league check arenafootball com I Field size The field is 50 yards long and 85 feet wide with eight yard endzones surrounded by tour foot foam rubber barriers I Players Each team carries a 24 man roster with 20 active on game day Eiqht players per team are on the field at once with six required to play offense and defense The offense is allowed a specialist and a quarterback with the defense allowed two specialists All nonspeciaiists may substitute once per quarter The otfense must line up four players at the line of scrimmage and may send one receiver forward motion before the snap The defense must have three down linemen with no stunting or twisting allowed Scoring A touchdown is worth six points with one point awarded for a kick by placement and two for a drop kick a run or a pass A safety is worth two points Afield goal is worth three by placement or four by drop kick Passing A receiver must only get one foot bounds and can play the ball off the net Kicking Kickotfs are from thegoai line with the receiving team abe to p'ay the ball off the net Any kick that goes out of bounds is placed at the 20 or the point it went out whichever benefits the receiving team more There is no punting as teams either go for a first down or attempt a field 90a! on fourth down I Time There are four 15-mmure quarters and a )5-mmute halftime The clock runs continuously except on incomplete passes or out-of bounds in the final minute of each half Each team has three timeouts per half Overtime is 15 minutes with each team having a possession if teams are sti ll tied after one possession the first to score wins I League format The league is split into the American and National conferences with two divisions in each The Bobcats are in the Southern Division in the National Conference BOB EMANUEL JR played a great McNair said success has been a great drive for Arena quarterbacks Now they know if they just come out and try their best during the season maybe something good can happen for With the zone blitz packages NFL teams are employing on defense today McNair believes playing in the Arena League can help a young here in Fort Lauderdale come out and support ning McNair said people see we have a winning professional team Fusion heads west hoping to end scoring drought has best record injured Cassar Cassar has a of BY PEDRO FONTEBOA pfonteboaherald com I When where: 10 30 Rose Bowl Los Angeles I TV radio: Sunshine WAXY (790) WKAT (1360 Spanish) I Records: Fusion 1 1 3 6 points first place in Eastern Division Galaxy 3 0 2 11 points first place in Western Division I Scouting report: The Fusion is in desperate need of a breakout of fensive game as it faces the league's best team on the road But that can be a plus The Fusion and Galaxy series is tied 2 2 with the road team win rang each contest The two goals per game average against the Galaxy is its best offensive output against any opponent The Galaxy leads MLS with 2 40 goals per game having scored at least two goals in every game this season The Fusion has not allowed more than one goal in any game I Injuries Fusion Jeff Bilyk iknee) is out Jeff Cassar (right quad and right groin strain) is doubHui Galaxy none I Probable starters Fusion Goalkeeper Garth LagenwevfO-O-O OOOGAA) detenders Tyrone Marshall Francis Okaroh LeoCunen JayHeaos miflfie Pablo Mastroem Martin Ma chon BnanKamier Henry Gutierrez forwards Eric Wynaida RoyLassiter Galaxy Goal keeper Kevin Hartman (3-0-2 I 15GAA) defenders Joe Franchino GregVannev Room Fraser Zac Ibsen midfielders Simon Elliott MauricioCientuegos Danny Pena forwards Roy Myers Cimt Mathis Cobi Jones league-best goals-against average 056 but the Fusion defense carries a 060 average tops in MLS thanks to veteran central defender Francis Okaroh has done a great job in front of the Cassar said have a talented bunch of young guys like Leo Cullen Jay Heaps and Brian Kam-ler but it has been the addition of a veteran with poise and ability like Francis that had solidified the defense this season has been frustrating on the defense waiting for the offense to score but sometimes part of soccer and we just have to keep doing our job until they snap out of I Cassar and Fusion defender Tyrone Marshall along with Galaxy defender Robin Fraser were former City and lost 1-0 to Chicago Coach Ivo Wortmann said Wednesday that he was strongly considering changes in his offensive lineup if things do not change soon have to get goals it is that Wortmann said cannot win if we do not score I had given the players a few games to work out the chemistry between them Now I feel 1 must take a serious look at what players we have where and why we are not scoring I have to I will substitute players until I find the right group of guys that can finish We have been able to create chances but we been able to The scoring slump is tied for the 10th longest in MLS history Colorado holds the regular-sea-son record as it was shut out for 562 minutes from the end of the The Miami Fusion has gone 'west in search of goals and a victory The Fusion seen a in nearly ZVi games which coincidently also is the last time it saw victory The offense looks to break out of its slump tonight in Los Angeles (10:30 m) when it meets the Galaxy owner of the best 'record at 3-0-2 with 11 points The Fusion is riding the lon-gest scoreless drought in team history at 315 minutes The Fusion has not found an net in nearly a month since Diego Serna scored in a 3-1 triumph over the MetroS-tars on March 26 Since then the Fusion (1-1-3) has played scoreless overtime tie) with San Jose anil Kansas quadriceps and right groin strain If Cassar sits the Fusion defense will be anchored by Garth Lagerwey who will be seeing his first action of the season Lagerwey plqved much of the 1999 season in flace of an 1999 season into this season Another scoreless game would move the Fusion to second on the list Meanwhile the Fusion may be without reliable goalkeeper Jeff Caspar who is listed as doubtful because of a right I players at FIU.