Bristol Herald Courier from Bristol, Tennessee • 15

Sports Sports Editor: Michael arkas: mfarkasbristolnewscom (276) 645 2516 IPIrrOvffl IB 1 sHe9B fgWi BlOlaMlH 7 Rw dl vx'BHbI ilfei'v MH VIC TOPS TORNADO Cobras get first win over King since C4 SCOREBOARD C2 NASCAR C7 RIDAY JANUARY 27 2006 BRISTOL HERALD COURIER Cl NO 2 DUKE 80 VIRGINIA TECH 67 Oh fer the ACC Hokies can't keep pace with No 2 Duke drop to 0 6 in ACC play BV BUCKY DENT BRISTOL HERALD COURIER BLACKSBURG Dick Vitale and ESPN were in town Thurs day night So were two of PTPers also known as Prime Time Performers JJ Redick and Shel den Williams scored 24 points apiece as the No 2 Blue Devils kept struggling Virginia Tech winless in the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 80 67 win at sold out Cassell Coliseum It was the fifth straight defeat and unlike the other four it close at the end Duke (18 1 6 0) led by as many as 23 in the second half and never let the lead dip below 12 think we had the in tensity we needed even though we had the home Tech guard Zabian Dowdell said make the shots and Duke got a lot of open Redick and Williams did noth ing to disprove their status as All America candidates A prod uct of Cave Spring High School in nearby Roanoke Redick shrugged off multiple defenders and a 7 of 17 shooting night to get his points Williams bounced back from a four point outing in 87 84 loss at Georgetown with his 47th career double double He grabbed a game high 15 rebounds as the Blue Devils owned the glass 42 34 Duke took control midway through the first half and led by double digits for the last two thirds of the game The Hokies (10 9 0 6) again struggled to score against an ACC foe con verting just 12 of 37 first half field goals and missing 12 of their 22 free throws missed a lot of easy point guard Jamon Gordon said lot of us had off nights We beat them off the dribble and just The frustration of a losing streak and life circumstances appeared to manifest itself in the second half Gordon was whistled for a technical foul by Ted Valentine with 16:07 left for shoving Greg Paulus after foul ing him With 90 seconds on the clock Deron Washington was ejected for stomping on Lee Melchionni after drawing a two shot foul The officiating crew looked at a replay to determine if it was THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Shelden Williams (23) shoots over Virginia Coleman Collins (33) during the second half Thursday at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg Va Williams had 24 points and 15 rebounds Jr is fcS" XM i 9 ts iWflr rtf a fight and booted Washington for a The officials said the ACC office will determine whether Washington will be suspended for game at Wake orest Washington apologized to Melchionni after the game and Blue Devils coach Mike Krzy zewski said he hoped the ACC issue a suspension to Washington could play on my Krzyzewski said plays hard sacrifices his body all the If Washington is suspended it would leave Tech without two starters at Wake orest Center Coleman Collins who finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds will miss the game to be with his See TECH Page C4 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS nCflk SWT13 1 dWltJuw gHBr fly 4w iShsisI Bh Iflil S' 7 Sarah Elliot gets tied up with Nicky Anosike during 66 63 upset of the Lady Vols at Rupp Arena in Lexington Ky on Thursday put UT on skids KENTUCKY HANGS ON to beat No 1 Tennessee handing Lady Vols second straight loss THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LEXINGTON Ky Top ranked Ten nessee lost consecutive games for the first time in nine years when Ken tucky upset the Lady Vols 66 63 on Thursday night Jenny Pfeiffer scored 16 points including two free throws With 15 sec onds left to put the Wildcats ahead by KENTUCKY TENNESSEE one Sidney Spencer gg then missed a 3 pointer for Tennes 3 see and fouled Nas Soulheastem Conference tassia Aldus who hit two foul shots with 3 seconds to go for the final margin The Lady Vols (18 2 4 1 Southeastern Conference) who figured to drop from the top spot anyway after their 22 point loss Monday against No 2 Duke will almost certainly fall farther now Tennessee had beaten Kentucky (15 4 4 2) 24 straight times since January 1986 and entered with a 40 5 advantage in the series or Pat Summitt the all time win ningest coach in college basketball with 900 victories the setback came at the hands of her former pupil Kentucky coach Mickie DeMoss a Tennessee assistant for 18 years under Summitt Tennessee led 63 62 when Shanna See UT Page C4 High expectations follow Johnson again ATER ANOTHER top five finish in Nextel Cup standings Johnson again the favorite BY ALLEN GREGORY BRISTOL HERALD COURIER CONCORD NC Jimmie Johnson found a chair leaned back and just waited for the question to come ive minutes into the NASCAR Nextel media tour session Johnson was asked yet again what his first Nextel Cup champion ship would mean know how big it would be in my Johnson said I know how special it would be for Rick (Hendrick) as the team owner and Jeff (Gordon) who really helped put this team Once again Johnson is the favorite to win the title He has not Harvick could been lower be first than fifth in Prie C7 points the last four years with two runnerup finishes you hang out in the top five going to win your share of races And I feel the same way with the See NASCAR Page C7 fVrmJK fl AiBH nr 1p1 11 JI a 1 Iflr fl dtrV 1 IL WMM i THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nextel Cup driver Jimmie Johnson is surrounded by the media during a stop in the NASCAR Media Tour in Concord NC on Wednesday growth is grating on some fans Bk ASCAR contin ues to expand and longtime fans are not happy That sums up the tone of the annual NASCAR Nextel media tour hosted by Motor Speed way Clearly this $51 billion industry is in a crucial transition phase and emotions are running high If you read the ALLEN GREGORY SPORTSWRITER next year represents the last nail into the soul of the sport Yanking races away from southern bastions such as Rockingham and Darlington is a slap Accepting and even inviting into the family Well fighting words Actually not that simple Chrysler the steamy message boards and mails the ar parent company of Dodge has long been owned rival of Toyota into the Nex tel Cup and Busch Series See GREGORY Page C7 NL ftf ormer Elizabethton star Witten replaces Shockey I on NC Pro Bowl squad WW HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL Castlewood faces St Paul to cap busy week Patrick Henry teammates join 1 OOO point club C8 TENNIS ederer's top remaining challenger bounced at Australian Open iShik.