The Fresno Bee from Fresno, California • D1

DAYNAMER THE FRESNO BEE FINAL 1 Printed 00:21 Logical Page is THE FRESNO BY MIKE HARRIS A I A DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had planned to beat ev- erybody this month. He just figured on Jeff Green. The unheralded Green, driving for Richard Childress Racing, the team for which the late Dale Earnhardt won six of his seven Winston Cup championships, beat Earnhardt Jr.

for the Daytona 500 pole Monday though not by much. In fact, the difference between lapof 186.606mphandEarn- 186.382 was a mere 0.058 seconds. Asmuch of a shock as per- formance was to many people in the Winston Cup garage and Daytona In- ternational grandstand, it came as no surprise to the driver. really ex- pected he said. lot of peop I think, looked at me like I had four eyes when I said that.

But we prac- tice a whole lot Saturday. We knew we had a great race That confi- dence made rain- outof qualify- ing agonizing for Green. was the longest day of my he said. kept telling every- body what a great car we had. I kept telling Michelle, my wife, how great the car was and she was just shaking her head.

proved The two drivers who came out on top Monday were more than half- way down the 51-car qualifying line andhad towait through a 75-minute rain delay and about 90 minutes of qualifying before getting their chance. Earnhardt, whowent into qualify- ing heavily favored to take his first Daytona pole after showing muscle by winning Saturday Bud Shootout, went first and, as expect- ed, vaulted right to the top. Green, the next in line, drove onto the oval and relegated the surprised Earnhardt to second. was kind of bittersweet to lose the pole but, in a way, we have so much to be proud of because improved so Earnhardt said. was a fantastic The two fast Chevrolets are the only cars with guaranteed starting positions for premier race.

While Earnhardt and Dale Earn- hardt Inc. teammates Michael Wal- trip and Steve Parkwoundupadisap- Please see DAYTONA, Page D7 BY MAREK WARSZAWSKI Even though the Harlem Globetrotters have gone to great lengths tomodernize their image, some things never change. Georgia remains the theme song. Themagic circle remains the epito- me of ball-handling wizardry. Water buckets still are filledwith And refer- ees continue to act surprised when someone yanks down their pants.

we do some of those gags, I truly believe get booed at the end of the saidWun a nine-year Globe- trotters veteran known as one of themost accu- rate shooters in team history. expect to see certain things that grown to love about the Harlem Globe- trotters, year after year, generation after genera- tion. Parents want their kids to experience the same things they experienced when they were The world-famous basketball troupe makes its first central San Joaquin Valley appearance in two years tonight at Selland Arena. Tipoff is 7 p.m. According to the latest ratings, whichmea- sure name recognition and likability among the general public, the Globetrotters are the na- most popular basketball team.

After 76 years and more than 21,000 games in 117 countries, there are no signs of slowing. The Globetrotters established new attendance records during their 2002 tour, coinciding with their September induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Please see GLOBETROTTERS, Page D5 Jeff Green BY ANDY BOOGAARD Her 200th career start at Stanford truly represent what Cassi all about, but it was quite a statement. The Cardinal, whipped 6-0 by Cal State-Fullerton earlier Saturday at the Fiesta Bowl Tournament in Phoenix, loaded the bases for Brangham with two outs against Southwest Texas State. not a wall-buster ala recently graduated All- Americans Sarah Beeson and Jessica Mendoza.

At 5 feet, 5 inches, hardly im- graduatedOlympi- an Stacey Nuveman. just Brangham. good enough for Cardinal coach John Rittman. good enough to start four years at Stanford out of Clovis High. And that was good enough to pop that left-handed grand slam against Southwest Texas Statewhen theCardi- nal needed an offensive lift.

Stanford went on to win 11-0. had just been beaten by Fuller- Rittman said. honestly, been struggling. You look for a senior to come in, step up and get the offense rolling a little bit, and she did It was only sixth career home run in 541 at bats. This, for a .201 career hitter.

So, when Rittman promoted her to the cleanup spot in the order Sunday against Texas Tech (shewould go 0 for 2 with two walks), it was more about two facts: First, 14th-ranked Stanford, while 5-2, misses the power of Beeson and Mendoza. And, second, once again, Brang- just Brangham. been such a clutch player for Please see CATCHUP, Page D4 Serious about entertaining Competitive basketball and traditional gags all part of Harlem show. BATTER UP Spring training begins as pitchers and catchers report. Baseball, D3 Sports WANT SPORTS ONLINE? SECTION HIGH SCHOOLS 2 HOCKEY 5 SCOREBOARD 6 WINTER SPORTS 7 THE FRESNO BEE TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2003 HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS Today: 7 p.m., Selland Arena Tickets: Starting at $12.50.

Available at the door, through Ticketmaster outlets or by calling 485-8497 Cleaning Up Clovis product Cassi Brangham is an unlikely No. 4 hitter for Stanford. BY JEFF PASSAN He looked right into Carl eyes. He gazed at the floor or the basketball or off into space. No way.

English palmed the ball, precious seconds ticking, last shot coming. Renaldo Major staring. he said. going to come out on top. going to To this point in the Fresno State basketball sea- son, Jan.

23, Major had shown flashes of talent. A nice drive here. An important 3-point shot there. Never had Bulldogs coachRay Lopes put him in a situa- tion like this: preseasonWesternAthletic Conference player of the year with 8 seconds remaining in the game and the Bulldogs clinging to a 56-55 lead. long arms flapped so rapidly he almost took off.

His legs spread into a sumo stance. His 6 feet, 7 inches and 200 pounds prevented English from driving and goaded him into heaving an 18-foot brick. came out on Major said. one of the best. And to be the best, got to face the best.

If I can stop stop him fromwinning the it would build my confidence. my game just bloomed from Like he fed it Miracle-Gro. Coachesmaintain it takes a good junior-college player about half a season tomature into a good Division I play- er, andMajor wholly supports that theory after transfer- ring from South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. In WAC play, he averages 11.2 points per game, shoots 58.3% from the field and makes 55.6% of his 3-pointers. His defense still inhibits any offensive flow.

Combined, his talents yielded him a starting job. Please see BULLDOGS, Page D4 NASCAR TWIN 125s Thursday: 10 a.m., Daytona International Speedway TV: FX DAYTONA 500 Sunday: 10 a.m., Daytona International Speedway TV: KMPH-26 COLLEGE BASKETBALL: LOUISIANA TECH AT FRESNO STATE Thursday: 7 p.m. at Selland Arena Records: Louisiana Tech 10-9, 7-5 WAC; Fresno State 17-4, 10-2 COLLEGE CATCH-UP SPECIAL TO THE BEE At 5 feet, 5 inches, Cassi Brangham is far from the prototypical cleanup hitter. Putting it all together KURT HEGRE THE FRESNO BEE Fresno Renaldo Major, left, is averaging 11.2 points per game in Western Athletic Conference play. A defensive whiz with an improving shot, Renaldo Major has earned a starting job for the SPECIAL TO THE BEE Curley Johnson, billed as the fastest dribbler, is among the Globetrotters scheduled to appear in Fresno tonight.

Green a surprise Daytona pole sitter Jeff Green edges favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Daytona 500 qualifying..