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Home , Champ Bailey, Michel Platini, Sammy Baugh, Spencer Larsen

B2 // SPORTS A SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2008

SATURDAY’S BEST BET ON TELEVISION The EagleBank Bowl, pitting Navy and Wake Forest, kicks off the first of a record First Down By Jon Fogg 34 bowl games in 20 days (an average of 1.7 bowls a day). 11 a.m., ESPN IN ZORN’S DEFENSE record, riling up fans and inspiring TWT FIVE » THROWBACK MEN Fire Jim Zorn. Super Bowl delusions. But the early The passing of is a reminder that the NFL was once Get rid of the bum. After all, the success was a byproduct of factors a game where most players had to have skills on both sides of the Redskins were a lock for the playoffs out of Zorn’s hands. Look at the ball. Here’s a look at two-way players from the past 20 years: in October (when most teams are) but squads Washington defeated for «1. : In five seasons with the Falcons, “Prime Time” re- are now in a 1-5 death spiral. Zorn those six wins — the only likely play- turned three for a and caught two TD passes. should take the fall. off teams are Arizona (5-0 against a 2. : Patriots /goal-line receiver has 11 intercep- An examination of the facts sug- terrible division) and Dallas (which tions and 11 in his career, including scores in Super Bowls gests otherwise. was entering a nose dive). XXXVIII and XXXIX. For starters, his team has as many Put that stretch in context and the 3. : Patriots wideout also played nickel corner in 2004, wins as losses. If the Redskins lose Redskins are right where they should adding three interceptions to his 17 catches. their last two games, Zorn will have be: 7-7. Doesn’t sound like a fireable 4. : With the Redskins in 2000, he started at a game at something in common with , offense. If the Redskins are serious and receiver. That season, he picked off five passes, ran and : a losing about building a successful franchise, for a touchdown and had three catches for 78 yards. record in his first season. they won’t be so eager to ditch Zorn 5. : Broncos rookie started at fullback and middle line- at the first crisis. The Redskins stormed out to a 6-2 GETTY IMAGES backer vs. the Falcons last month, making seven tackles.

BRIEFS Spiders top Grizzlies spotlight » Soccer to capture FCS title Mike London gave Richmond the perfect ending to his first season in charge at his alma mater. Eric Ward caught a touchdown and threw for another, and the Spiders dominated Montana 24-7 on Friday in Chattanooga, Tenn., for the school’s first Football Champi- onship Subdivision national title. After starting the season 4-3, the Spiders were perhaps the only ones who thought they had a chance to win the championship. The team held a players-only meeting Oct. 12 after a loss to James Madison and pledged not to give up on making a playoff run. Richmond (13-3) won its next eight games behind the calm coaching of London, who replaced Dave Clawson after two seasons as defensive coordinator at Virginia. The Spiders upset defending national champion Ap- palachian State in the quarterfinals and hang on to beat Northern Iowa in the semifinals before toppling two-time national champion Montana. Ⅵ : Atlanta Braves president John Schuerholz has vowed to never again do business with Rafael Furcal’s agents, whom Schuerholz accused in a newspaper inter- view of conducting “despicable” dealings with the team. Schuerholz and Braves general manager Frank Wren were quoted as saying the Wasserman Media Group ne- gotiated dishonestly by taking the team’s signed terms of agreement sheet for Furcal to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who then reached a preliminary agreement to re-sign the shortstop. . . . Outfielder Jody Gerut agreed with the San Diego Padres on a one-year contract worth just under $1.8 mil- GETTY IMAGES lion. The 31-year-old hit .296 with 14 homers and 43 RBI Star forward Robinho (right) signed a record $60 million contract with Manchester City in September. in 100 games for the Padres last season. . . . The Los Angeles Angels and free-agent outfielder Juan Rivera have agreed to a three-year contract. Ⅵ FOOTBALL: Brandon Jacobs practiced for the third straight day and was listed as questionable for the New York Giants’ NFC showdown with Carolina. . . . Brazil’s best bailing out Vince Young is suing former major league infielder Enos Cabell and two other men for applying for a trade- mark to use his initials and the “Invinceable” nickname to sell products without his permission. Europe’s lucrative salaries lure country’s elite players Ⅵ GOLF: Jim Furyk shot a 1-under 71 to maintain the lead and the English Premier League. Nigeria (94) sent the most players the second round of the Chevron World Challenge in On Bulgaria is home to 24 Brazilians, to Europe from Africa, followed by Thousand Oaks, Calif. The first-round leader, Furyk is at with the leagues in Ukraine, Roma- Cameroon (87) and Cote d’Ivoire 5-under 139, while K.J. Choi, Anthony Kim and Camilo Vil- Soccer nia and Russia also big attractions (59). legas are two shots back. . . . John Haydon for the Latin maestros. Rankings roundup — The U.S. Ⅵ HOCKEY: The Minnesota Wild placed right wing Owen For a long time, Brazilians shied men’s team ended the year at No. 22 Nolan on injured reserve with a leg injury and called up razil’s elite soccer players con- away from playing in the EPL, in the FIFA rankings. Spain tops the Krys Kolanos from their American Hockey League affili- tinue to flock to Europe, where where the game is fast, physical and list, followed by Germany, Nether- ate. . . . B the world’s biggest clubs pay the played throughout the cold winter lands, Italy, Brazil, , Croa- Vancouver Canucks defenseman Sami Salo will be out biggest salaries. months. tia, England, Russia and Turkey. The four weeks with a broken rib. The blue-liner was injured FIFA president and That has changed: Brazil has the U.S. beat out Germany for the top when he was driven into the boards by Edmonton’s Ethan UEFA president Michel Platini have second-largest foreign contingent of spot in the women’s rankings. Moreau on Wednesday night. urged clubs to field more domestic players in the EPL, behind U.S. Soccer, meanwhile, named Ⅵ WINTER SPORTS: Anja Paerson of won a World players, but a new survey on the soc- (44). U.S. men’s national team goalie Tim Cup super-combi event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and cer labor market in Europe reveals Robinho’s recent move from Real Howard its male athlete of the year American Lindsey Vonn maintained her overall lead de- the tide of foreign talent still is Madrid to Manchester City for a re- and U.S. women’s national team mid- spite skiing off-course in the slalom. . . . rolling onto those shores — and cord $60 million caught many by fielder Carli Lloyd the female athlete Werner Heel of Italy won the World Cup super-G in Val Brazilians lead the way. surprise, but it was more evidence of the year. Gardena, Italy, in the first of four World Cup races in the The study, conducted by the Pro- that players will go anywhere if the Club Cup — European champion Italian Dolomites. fessional Football Players Observa- price is right. Robinho joined 19 of Manchester United plays South tory and titled “Demographic Study his countrymen in the EPL, includ- American champion LDU Quito of PRO CALENDAR of Footballers in Europe 2008,” en- ing Elano and Jo at Manchester City, Ecuador in the FIFA World Club Cup compassed 11,015 players on 456 where playing on a cold and rainy final Sunday in Yokohama, Japan, for Today Sun./21 Mon./22 Tue./23 Wed./24 clubs in the top divisions of 30 Euro- night in late December is a far cry the $5 million prize. No game Philadelphia No game No game No game pean leagues. On average, clubs in from life in Rio de Janeiro. Champions League — Defending scheduled 4:15 p.m. scheduled scheduled scheduled Europe employ 8.6 expatriates, an According to the study, 38 Ameri- champion Manchester United will Chs. 5, 45 ESPN 980* increase of 30 percent since 2003. cans played in the top divisions in 12 face Jose Mourinho’s in According to the report, 551 different European countries. The the last 16 of the Champions at Philadelphia No game No game at N.Y. Rangers No game Brazilians played this year in Eu- biggest importer of U.S. talent is League. Mourinho is the former 1 p.m. scheduled scheduled 7 p.m. scheduled rope — a 72 percent increase since Norway, followed by the EPL Den- coach of London club Chelsea. His CSN CSN AM-1500 AM-1500 2003. The most notable Brazilians, mark and the Germany’s Bun- old club was drawn to play Italian stars such as , Kaka, desliga. Six Americans competed in giants Juventus, while Liverpool has No game Dallas No game at Charlotte No game Lucio, Adriano and Marcelo play in Norway’s top division this season, in- a tough task against Real Madrid. scheduled 6 p.m. scheduled 7 p.m. scheduled CSN CSN+ Italy, Spain or Germany. cluding former D.C. United goalie Arsenal will play Roma. In other AM-570 ESPN 980* Weather and language have influ- Troy Perkins. games, Barcelona takes on Lyon, enced where Brazilians play — 137 After Brazil, the biggest contin- Atletico Madrid plays FC Porto, Home games shaded; *AM-980, FM-92.7, FM-94.3 Brazilians compete in Portugal — gents of expatriates playing in Eu- Sporting Lisbon faces Bayern Mu- but now it seems many are lured to rope came from France (233) and nich and Villarreal meets Panathi- the colder climes of Eastern Europe Argentina (222). naikos. TODAY’S TV/RADIO NBA Time TV Radio Utah at Chicago 8:30 NBA TV MEN’S COLLEGE Miami (Ohio) at West Virginia Noon ESPNU Mount St. Mary’s at Georgetown 1 MASN ESPN 980# COLLEGE BASKETBALL Duke vs. Xavier 2 Chs. 9, 13 N. Carolina vs. Valparaiso 2 ESPNU Va. Tech vs. Columbia 2 AM-570 Navy at Canisius 2 AM-1430 ROUNDUP Temple at Kansas 2:30 ESPN2 Arizona at UNLV 3 Versus UConn vs. Gonzaga 4 Chs. 9, 13 Auburn at Virginia 4 CSN FM-106.7 Wake shakes the cobwebs, tops Richmond Iowa at Drake 4 ESPNU Syracuse at Memphis 6 ESPN From combined dispatches Marquette, which made a straight home games, last held held off the Golden Eagles (5-6) American at UMBC 7 MASN strong recovery from its loss at an opponent under 30 in No- in the Desert Draw in Las Vegas. Rhode Island vs. Oklahoma St. 7:30 ESPN Classic AP TOP 25 MEN Tennessee on Tuesday night. vember 2000, against Ver- Louisville vs. Minnesota 8* CSN mont. VCU vs. Oklahoma 10 ESPN2 AREA WOMEN Arizona State vs. BYU 11* CSN NO. 10 WAKE FOREST 86, RICHMOND AP TOP 25 WOMEN NO. 16 PITTSBURGH 89, FLORIDA A&M 79: Chas McFarland had 20 59: Xenia Stewart scored 27 NO. 10 AUBURN 65, GW 51: De- EXTREME SPORTS points and 14 rebounds Friday NO. 1 UCONN 84, N. COLORADO 40: points to lead the Panthers (9- Wanna Bonner had season Winter Dew Tour 1:30 Chs. 4, 11 night, and the Demon Deacons Sophomore forward Maya 1) over the Rattlers (4-5) in Tal- highs of 30 points and 16 re- NFL (10-0) overcame a lackluster Moore scored 19 points to lead lahassee, Fla. bounds to lead the Tigers (11- Baltimore at Dallas 8:15 NFL ESPN 980# performance in a road victory the Huskies (9-0) to a victory Pittsburgh won its ninth 0) to a win over the Colonials (5- Ch. 11 FM-97.7 over the Spiders (5-5). over the Bears (4-6) in the straight, holding Florida A&M 4) at Smith Center. At least half the announced Caribbean Classic in Cancun, to one basket from the floor for It was Bonner’s third double- EagleBank: Navy vs. Wake 11 a.m. ESPN FM-103.5 crowd of 6,635 at Robins Cen- . the game’s first 7:58. double of the season for AM-1090 ter was already pro-Wake For- NO. 3 STANFORD 78, S. CAROLINA 47: NO. 19 VANDERBILT 98, TENNESSEE Auburn, which played its first AM-1430 est as Demon Deacons fans, on Kayla Pedersen and Jayne ST. 82: Hannah Tuomi scored a game in 12 days. Whitney Bod- D-III: Mt. Union vs. Wis.-White. 11 a.m. ESPN2 their way to see the football Appel each had double-doubles career-high 23 points and led die added 14 points for the NAIA: Sioux Falls vs. Carroll (Mont.) Noon CBSCS New Mexico: Colo. St. vs. Fres. St. 2:30 ESPN team play Navy in Saturday’s to lead the Cardinal (8-2) past four Vanderbilt players in dou- Tigers. St. Petersburg: Memphis vs. S. Fla. 4:30 ESPN2 EagleBank Bowl at RFK Sta- the Gamecocks (5-4) in Colum- ble figures as the Commodores Antelia Parrish finished Las Vegas: Arizona vs. BYU 8 ESPN dium, made a stopover to see bia, S.C. (9-2) beat the Tigers (4-8) in with 13 points to lead George the basketball team. NO. 14 RUTGERS 61, LAFAYETTE 29: Nashville, Tenn. Washington. Jessica Adair had GOLF South African Airways Open 9:30 a.m.* Golf NO. 24 MARQUETTE 94, W. CAROLINA Epiphanny Prince scored 23 Tuomi, a junior, also had a 11 points and eight rebounds, Chevron World Challenge 3 Chs. 4, 11 77: Lazar Hayward scored a ca- points and Kia Vaughn added a game-high 10 rebounds for Van- and Jazmine Adair added 10 reer-high 27 points as the season-high 13 to help the Scar- derbilt. Christina Wirth added points. NHL Golden Eagles (9-2) ran away to let Knights (7-2) win their fifth 22 points, Jessica Mooney had AMERICAN 59, PRINCETON 44: Liz Washington at Philadelphia 1 CSN AM-1500 a victory over the Catamounts straight game, beating the 15 and Merideth Marsh 10. Leer scored 17 points and the WOMEN’S NCAA VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT (5-4). Leopards (4-7) in Piscataway, NO. 22 OKLAHOMA ST. 75, S. MISSIS- Eagles (7-3) stayed undefeated Division I final 8 ESPN2 Jerel McNeal scored 19 and N.J. SIPPI 72: Andrea Riley scored 35 at Bender Arena with a win All times p.m. unless otherwise noted; # AM-980, FM-92.7, FM-94.3; * same-day tape Wesley Matthews added 18 for Rutgers, which has won 19 points, and the Cowgirls (6-2) over the Tigers (4-6).