North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 4, 2009 Page: 6 of 8
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Page 6 Wednesday, February 4,2009
The Script: Steelers not so super
By Keith MacPherson
Sports Editor
The game was super, the
final drive was super, the half-
time show was super, even the
commercials were super.
Everything was super about
the Super Bowl but the team
that won, the Pittsburgh
Steelers,
Let me start this off by
assuring you that I'm not a
Cowboys fan who is bitter
because the Steelers have
more Super Bowls, nor am
I a bandwagon-jumping
Cardinals fan who thinks Kurt
Warner didn't fumble on the
last play of the game.
My favorite team had no
stake in this game consid-
ering it was knocked out
weeks ago.
And though this game may
go down as one of the best of
all time, thanks to the late
game heroics of both teams,
this Steelers team won't be
considered when discussing
the best teams of all time.
In fact, it will be far from
it.
When the Pro Bowl airs
next week to football fans
needing to get that last fix
before the sport goes into
hiatus until next August, you
will see a grand total of three
Steelers partici-
pating. That is
the same number
as the mighty
Houston Texans
and one more than
the 5-11 Oakland
Raiders.
Looking more
in-depth at the
Steelers roster,
it is No. one
in the league
in defense. I'll
give you that. But looking
at the team's offense has to
Keith MacPherson
Marijuana charge possible
after Phelps pipe photo
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)
—Olympic superstar Michael
Phelps could face criminal
charges as part of the fallout
from a photo that surfaced
showing the swimmer smoking
from a marijuana pipe at a
University of South Carolina
house party.
A spokesman for Richland
County Sheriff Leon Lott, who
is known for his tough stance on
drugs, said Tuesday the depart-
ment was investigating.
"Our narcotics division is
reviewing the information that
we have, and they're investi-
gating what charges, if any, will
be filed," said Lt. Chris Cowan,
a spokesman for agency.
The photo first shown in
British tabloid News of the
World on Sunday was snapped
during a November party while
Phelps was visiting the univer-
sity, according to the paper.
Phelps, 23, and his team
have not disputed the photo's
accuracy. Phelps has issued
a public apology, acknowl-
edging "regrettable" behavior
and "bad judgment" after the
photo appeared.
One of Phelps' agents, Drew
johnson, said Tuesday author-
ities had not contacted the
swimmer. "So we really can't
The bottom line is, if he broke
the law; and he did it in Richland
Countyi he's going to be charged. '*
—Lt. Chris Cowan
Spokesman for Richland police department
speculate," he said.
Last fall, Phelps was intro-
duced to large applause at South
Carolina's football game with
Arkansas. Lie met with players
and visited with Gamecocks
coach Steve Spurrier, who gave
Phelps one of the ball coach's
trademark visors.
Phelps also spoke at a univer-
sity class on sports' role in
society.
Where exactly the party
occurred isn't clear. The
university said its police have
no evidence it was on campus,
and city police said they won't
pursue criminal charges unless
more information comes
forward.
The Richland County sheriff
can pursue charges as long as
the party was in the county, the
spokesman said.
"The bottom line is, if he
broke the law, and he did it in
Richland County he's going to
be charged," Cowan said. "And
there's no difference between
Michael Phelps and several
other people that we arrest
for the same type of a charge
everyday."
Under South Carolina law,
possession of one ounce or less
of marijuana is a misdemeanor
that carries a fine up to $200
and 30 days in jail for the first
offense. Possession of para-
phernalia is a $500 fine.
The Richland County sheriff
has long sought to fight drug
crimes. He rose from patrol
officer to captain of the
narcotics division in the early
1990s, after the television
series "Miami Vice" made its
splash.
Lott played the part well. He
wore stylish suits and had long
hair then. He drove a Porsche
seized from a drug dealer and
even worked undercover with
federal agents in Florida.
make you wonder how they
got here.
Ben
Roethlisberger
was ranked24th
this season in
quarterback
rating, well
behind such
daunting names
as Shaun Hill
and Seneca
Wallace.
While
many critics
would argue
that what Roethlisberger does
is manage the game, then
the team must have a strong
running game.
Not exactly. The team's
leading rusher, Willie Parker,
had a whopping 791 yards,
the 24th best in the league.
Only three running backs
who gained more than 700
yards on the ground had a
lower yards per carry average
than Parker.
The Steelers surprisingly
had pretty good production
from their wide receivers
despite Roethlisberger's
inconsistent play. Hines Ward
had more than 1,000 yards,
and Super Bowl MVP Santonio
Holmes added more than 900
yards himself.
Blame it on the salary cap
if you are wondering how a
team with no stars can win
the Super Bowl.
I'm not advocating that the
NFL shouldn't have a salary
cap, but teams can't load up
on the best players by paying
them outrageous amounts of
money to play.
So maybe the Steelers got it
right and figured out how to
win Super Bowls without stars:
Play great defense and get by
with sub-par offense, which
is anything but super.
Bonds evidence to be
unsealed Wednesday
Released
documents may
show Bonds
tested positive
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)
— A federal judge plans to
unseal hundreds of pages
of court documents at the
heart of the government's
case against home run king
Barry Bonds, who's accused
of lying to a grand jury
about using performance-
enhancing drugs.
Among the documents to
be released Wednesday are
a transcript of a recorded
conversation between
Bonds' personal trainer
Greg Anderson and Bonds'
former business partner
Steve Hoskins, as well as
positive drug test results that
prosecutors say belong to
Bonds.
One is a urine sample
submitted by Bonds during
baseball's anonymous
survey testing program in
2003, according to a report
on The New York Times' Web
site. Bonds' sample did not
test positive under MLB's
program but was retested
by investigators after it was
seized in a 2004 raid, uniden-
tified sources told the news-
paper.
When Bonds' attorneys
sought to exclude the test
results, they filed the details
of their argument under seal.
They argued that making
details of the test results
public would harm Bonds'
chances of getting a fair
trial.
Initially, the judge ordered
those documents to remain
sealed. She changed her
mind Monday after media
organizations protested. On
Tuesday, Illston said Tuesday
the documents' release will
not deprive Bonds of a fair
trial.
Lead prosecutor Matt
Parrella declined comment.
Bonds' lead attorney Allen
Ruby said he would not
fight the judge's unsealing
order.
The seven-time NL MVP is
expected to plead not guilty
on Thurs day toa grand j ury's
third indictment, which
charged Bonds with lying
and obstruction of justice.
On the same day, U.S.
District Judge Susan Illston
will consider Bonds' lawyers'
motion to exclude certain
government evidence from
his trial, which is scheduled
to begin March 2.
Bonds has twice before
pleaded not guilty, the first
time in November 2007 when
prosecutors unsealed an
indictment charging him
with perjury and obstruc-
tion of justice charges. A
judge has ordered prosecu-
tors to revise the indictment
twice to repair legal techni-
calities.
Bonds told a grand jury in
December 2003 that he took
"the clear" and "the cream,"
provided by his personal
trainer, Greg Anderson.
But Bonds testified that he
did not know he was taking
per for manee-enhancing
drugs.
He also has denied know-
ingly taking other steroids
and human growth hormone.
Prosecutors argue they will
prove through positive test
results and other evidence
that Bonds lied.
DENTON THRIFT STORE
708 W. University - Denton Center
SPRING CLEARANCE
Tuesday, Feb. 3rd through Sunday, Feb. 8th
1/2 PRICE SALE
Over 75% of the entire store is 1/2 OFF
ALL CLOTHING
50%
off (except 3 color tags)
50%
ALL HOUSEHOLD
off ITEMS
(including furniture)
«« ALL SHOES
so* ALLMISC
off
ALSO ITEMS PREVIOUSLY REDUCED WILL BE 1/2 OFF AGAIN = 75% OFF
V x
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^2^ = o
$.79
75%
OFF
*Everything in the entire store 50 to 75% off except 3 tag col
Sale At All 3 Stores
The Thrift Store The Thrift Store Denton Thrift
1806 Ave. K 901 N. McDonald 708 W. University
Piano, Texas McKinney, Texas Denton, Texas
SAT ■ FEB 7 vs. Louisiana-Lafeyette @ 7 pm (DHJ
THUR - FEB 12 vs. New Orleans @ 7 pm
THUR - FEB 19 vs. Louisiana-Monroe
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
Guardado re-signs with Rangers
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) —
"Everyday Eddie" is back with
the Texas Rangers.
Left-handed reliever Eddie
Guardado agreed Tuesday
to a minor league contract
with the Texas Rangers and
was invited to the team's
major league spring training
camp.
He would get a $1 million,
one-year contract if added
to the 40-man roster and
have the chance to earn
$2.5 million in performance
bonuses: $500,000 based on
games and $2 million based
on games finished.
Guardado was 3-3 with four
saves and a 3.65 ERA in 55
appearances for Texas last
season before being traded
Aug. 25 to Minnesota, the
team for which he was a two-
time All-Star.
The 38-year-old Guardado
was a key part of the Rangers
bullpen last season, mainly as
a setup man. He converted all
four of his save chances when
he took over as the closer
briefly after C.J. Wilson had
season-ending elbow surgery
and before he was traded.
Guardado's 860 career
appearances over 16 seasons
with four teams are third-
most among active left-
handers in the majors. He
has 187 career saves, 14th
among active pitchers with
Billy Wagner (385) as the
only active left-hander with
more.
Guardado could earn
$100,000 each for 45, 50,
55, 60 and 65 games. For
games finished, he could get
$200,000 for 35, $300,000 for
40, $400,000 for 45, $500,000
for 50 and $600,000 for 55.
North Texas Daily
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SAT- FEB 7 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette @ 5 pm (DH)
WED - FEB 18 vs. Louisiana-Monroe @ 7 pm
JOIN THE PIT CREW!!
Pit Crew members enjoy perks before
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North Texas Daily (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 9, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 4, 2009, newspaper, February 4, 2009; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth145654/m1/6/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.