Birmingham Post-Herald from Birmingham, Alabama • 7

wwwpostheraldcom POST -HERALD Monday September 25 2000 Auto racing B2 Baseball B4 Olympics B6-7 NFL B8 Sports editor Tim Stephens 325-3421 tstephensl4hotmaiIeom vw ALABAMA FOOTBALL ALABAMA REVIEW Tide deserves more from head coach Better effort same result I have listened and read with a heightened degree of interest over the past few days as Alabama fans continue the countdown to fire Mike DuBose Interesting huh? This is the same man the favorite son of the people who was pushed upon the Alabama athletic director and president in November of 1996 Hire him or else was the war cry of ONE STEP FORWARD: For perhaps the first time this season the offensive plan I n-l- ntf I -J 866moa conesve wnn sn not DafincBa -57 runs to 20 pass attempts with the passing game suffering the way it has been griming out 226 yards rusting slowed Ihe Tide to control time of possession (33:56) and have a good third-clown conversion rate (7 of 15) TWO STEPS BACK: The concern over the defense's apparent success of last week (hoiefng Southern Mss to one touchdown) was that the Golden Eagles weren't reaiy attacking after getting a 214 leal Arkansas put on a balanced attack (29 runs 33 passed was successful on third down (nine-of-15 conversions) and more importantly drove 80 yards in 1 3 plays for the game-winning touchdown in the final five minutes It looks as if this defense hasn't progressed as far as the coaches had thought LETS SEE MORE OF: Tight end Terry Jones Jr continues to demonstrate his afaity as a neceiverrunner with two catches for 53 yards Forget Freddfe Mtons how about a tight end reverse? SEEN ENOUGH OF: Costly turnovers Alabama only had one turnover -a fumble by usualy sure-handed Mback Dustin McCintock but It set up Arkansas a snort touenaown tnat Kept uie riazoroacxs in ine game THE FIRST WORD: kls us' Alabama running back coach Ivy WHams said referring to the Tide's chances of defendrig its SEC championship "We're in a Ark It sounds foolish to even for the Southeastern Conference now but what dm can Alabama Coach Mike DuBose do? still got our goals in the said DuBose continuing to be positive hi the face of a season that just seems to go from bad to worse 1 believe anyone will make it through the league without a loss But we need some However late Saturday night running bads coach Ivy Williams was a little more realistic in a bole he said I see dirt being thrown on our The Crimson Tide dug its own grave in the a steady downpour Sat-jFayetteville Art where Alabama (1-3 1-1 actually played one of its best games of the still tost 28-21 to Arkansas (34 14 SEC Please turn to TIDE page B5 the Crimson Natan When other names were mentioned such as Tommy Tuberville Butch Davis Frank Beamer and Rick Nueheisd each and every one was shot down A person inside the Alabama athletic department even spread gossip on Nueheisel making sure people in the news media knew that several members of the Colorado coaching staff (at the time) who happened to be black were married to white women Now we just can't have that in Tuscaloosa the person seemed to be saying Members of the Alabama family came together and didn't encourage officials to hire DuBose as head coach they demanded it How are those other fellows doing right now? Well see Tub has Auburn soaring with an undefeated record and a Nd 19 ranking in the latest Please turn to FINEBAUM page B5 AP Stacy Dragila of the United States reacts after winning the gold medal in the pole vault TRACK AND FIELD DuBose filing complaint about officiating with SEC Story page B5 hole and I see dirt being thrown in our flay Ms UAB FOOTBALL A hero m- woivcrs reward -a 1 0f 1 if More gold for Johnson little piling on THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SYDNEY Australia Michael Johnson has known only one color in major international phampinwhipa gold Johnson became the first man to repeat as Olympic 400 meter champion with a wire-to-wire triumph to-day in 4344 seconds 044 seconds ahead of teammate Alvin Harrison know how I feel about making Johnson said to be able to do that and end my Olympic career like that is a dream come By CARY ESTES BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD BATON ROUGE La He was on top of the world and on the bottom of the pile Seconds after UAB junior place-kicker Rhett Gallego connected on a 32-yard fieldgoal attempt that gave the Blazers a 13-10 victory over USU on Saturday night he found himself being crushed by a large pile of celebrating UAB players It was the greatest moment of college career But at that moment Gallego did not fed so great was the bottom person an the pie not Gallego said don't think supposed to bend that way At first I was trying to fight it Then I just collapsed and let got I lost my mouthpiece Somebody kept putting their finger in my ear It was The craziqesB was made possible when UAB comerback Chris Brown intercepted an ill-advised pass by Tigers quarterback Josh Booty at the LSU 42-yard line and returned it to the 25 with 30 seconds remaining in regulation Gallego knew at that moment he The thing that was the most nerve- wracking was having people come up and say on going to make the At that time you just want to be left Rhett It was the ninth time the United States has gone 1-2 in the event and third in the past four Olympics Fifteen minutes before Johnson's burst toward gold Cathy Freeman carried the hopes of a nation and the dreams of a downtrodden people today as she raced around the track' When she was done she carried a flag half Australian half aboriginal in a joyous victoryiapL i5 On the busiest day of track and field at the Sydney Games American jStacy Dragila won the inaugural pole vault Gahriela Szabo of Romania set an Olympic record hi the women's 5000 meters and Maria Mutola gave Mozambique its first Olympic gold medal by winning the 800 In men's events Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia me-cessfully defended Ids 10000-meter title Jonathan Edwards won the triple jump Aider Garda of Cuba won the 110-meter hurdles and Virgi-lijns Alekna won the discus Freeman the first Aborigine to win an individual Olympic gold medal captured the women's 400-meter gold medal in 4911 seconds Lorraine Graham of Jamaica won silver in 4958 and Katharine Meny of Britain was the bronze medalist Please turn to KICKER page B5 kicker if Sidelines: Bush injures knee B5 ti fed Blake SimsPost-Herald After place-picker Rhett 32-yard field goal gave UAB a 13-10 victory over LSU Blazers tight end Undrae Crosby celebrates by running around Tiger Stadium with a UAB flag Will victory increase respect? BIO AUBURNFOOTBALL The scene after JohnooY victory was far less emotional than the one that followed world-record triumph in the 200 metes four years ago in the Atlanta Games That victory in an incredible 1942 seconds made him the first man to win the 200 and 400 in the same Olympics Johnson has won four Olympic medals and nine more in the world championships all of them gold didn't want my last Olympic race to be a bronze or a silver or anything but be said was the trig motivator that I was thinking about all day today was just basically keeping my reputation In his trademark style of running standing virtually straight up a la Jesse Owens Johnson never was seriously challenged was tough Harrison was running well and I draw a very good Johnson said I had to go in there and tell myself just do what been doing what been doing for the last 10 yean not worry about what's going on behind me and just run the race I knew I could Easy victory is learning experience for Tigers Was big enough for Tuberville to 'point it out immediately It also wasn't the only time Duval was sloppy He also had a 15-yard punt an the first possession of the second half And be wasn't alone The Tigers were sloppy throughout their game against Northern Illinois Auburn had a roughing-the-kicker penalty (the Tigers finished with seven penalties for 76 yards) the offensive line allowed three Please turn to TIGERS page D3 Insignificant Not to Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville who quickly put himself in position to intercept Duval as he came off of the field It was not a type of talk just said kick it so hard nest time we do one Try to put it down the hatch' Duval said of his conversation with Tuberville all it was It wasn't anything big We stopped them the next fro it wasn't anything big But it By JASON YOUNG BIRMINGHAM POST-HERALD AUBURN With one second left hi the fimihalf and Auburn leading Northern Illinois 244 Damon Duval's kickoff had no significance Who cares he tquibbed the kick out of bounds giving Northern Illinois the ball adits own 35? The Huskies didn't get a return the purpose of a squib kick and they about to nore a 65-yard touchdown an the orn play it had He said he didn't go out as fast as be normally would because he was out in lane six and wouldn't be able to see his toughest competitors as they rounded the just held a little bit for the end in care I'd have some trouble he said When it was over Johnson raised his arms in triumph But there was no throwing the shoes into the crowd as he has done before There shoes have droplets of gold in them He would keep than After ill they matched all of his medals John StoopsPost-Herald Auburn's Rudi Johnson left breaks away from the grasp of Northern Illinois linebacker Cameron Sauisby nonreturn to TRACK page B7.