
##3000853 <p> From an early baseball age , Omar Minaya was unusual . He had no pretensions , for example , about his playing ability . <p> Drafted by the Oakland Athletics , he played in their organization for one year , was released , played in the Seattle system for a year , was released , then played in Italy for two years before aborting his stagnating career . <p> " I was n't a good enough hitter to play professionally , " he said with typical candor . " I was fast and I was athletic , but I was n't a good hitter . " <p> Minaya , then in his early 20 's , did not fool himself , and he did not try to fool others . <p> " A lot of guys got released and always had an excuse , " he said . " I told myself I would not have an excuse . I was n't going to be one of those guys who came home and said the coach did n't like me or they were racist , all those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was going to be honest . If you were good enough to play the game , you 'd be playing . Do n't put the blame on somebody else . " <p> But the early end to his playing career led to another development . While some of his teammates from the Mariners ' Class A team -- Harold Reynolds ( his roommate ) , Dave Valle , Darnell Coles and Jim Pressley -- were beginning their major league careers , Minaya was beginning his career as a scout , highly unusual for someone so young . <p> " They said I showed a lot of desire , that I had an instinctive understanding of players ' abilities and that I communicated well , " he said of the people who made him a scout . <p> It did not take long ( his discovery and signing of Sammy Sosa in 1985 , his first year as a scout , for example ) for Minaya to demonstrate that he was better at evaluating talent than he was at playing the game . <p> While Minaya the player went nowhere , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general manager in the major leagues . Today , in fact , is the first anniversary of his appointment as general manager of the Montreal Expos . <p> To say the year has been eventful would be an understatement . But then Minaya has handled it in an unusual manner . <p> He went from taking over a team devoid of staff members and computers to snatching Bartolo Colon in one of the most audacious trades in recent years to overseeing a stunning second-place finish to trading Colon in a move to reduce the payroll dictated by Major League Baseball , the Expos ' owner . <p> Eighteen years ago , just before he turned 26 , Minaya had no idea that he wanted to be a general manager . He did not even want to be a scout until he was offered the job . <p> All he knew was that he had returned to New York from his second season in Italy and was working at Bloomingdale 's and doing some modeling . Until he received a telephone call , he did not know that Ralph DiLullo and Bryan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ league scouting bureau . <p> A Family of Free Thinkers <p> Minaya was born in a small village in the Dominican Republic in 1958 . Some years before he was born , his father spent two or three years in prison , the guest of the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo . <p> " My father went to jail and my cousins went to the mountains , similar to the Castro years in Cuba , " Minaya said . " I come from a family that believes in human rights , that believes in allowing people to be themselves . That 's why my parents decided to come to the States . They wanted to be allowed to be free thinkers . " <p> The family emigrated to Queens in 1967 , and Minaya grew up in Corona . His friends were Hispanic , Greek , Jewish , black and Italian , but they were not all friends with one another . <p> " A lot of my friends were uncomfortable that I hung out with guys from Forest Hills who were Jewish , but I liked diversity , " he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> DiLullo and Lambe had scouted Minaya in high school . <p> " We were looking for a part-timer , and Ralph said he had someone we might consider for the position , " Lambe , now a special assignment scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks , said recently . " Omar is a very personable individual . We spoke a little bit , and I told him , ' I 'm going to offer you a job , but if you give me a little time , I might be able to hook you up with someone else . ' " <p> The person Lambe had in mind was Sandy Johnson , who after the 1984 World Series moved from the San Diego Padres to the Texas Rangers as scouting director . <p> " This guy 's a lot more talented than part time , " Lambe told Johnson , for whom he would also work . " He deserves a chance . " <p> Scouting had never entered Minaya 's mind . " To me , " he said , " scouts were in their 40 's or 50 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not ? " <p> Johnson , looking for a young , aggressive scout , hired Minaya in the dual role of Latin American scout and coach for the Rangers ' Gulf Coast rookie league team . <p> " I challenged him right off the bat , " Johnson , the Diamondbacks ' assistant general manager , said . " I put him on a red-eye in Dallas to Venezuela with John Young . " <p> Young , an older , seasoned scout , called Johnson a couple of days later . " This guy 's a ball of fire , " he told him . <p> As Johnson recalled it , Young and Minaya held tryout camps " and Omar right away wanted to sign everyone . " <p> Johnson added : " To me , there are signers and nonsigners . Omar was a signer . Right out of the box he wanted to give players the benefit of the doubt . That 's how good scouts are . He had street smarts . There was something special about him . The good ones have it . He had that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Problem <p> Minaya 's age did not get in his way , Johnson said . <p> " He had a way about him that people did n't think of him as a young guy , " Johnson said . " He broke that barrier down right away . You got the impression he was n't raw . He was n't overbearing , but he came on strong . " Laughing , Johnson added , " I had to pull him over and chew him out . " <p> That recollection brings no denials from Minaya . " I was a young , aggressive kid who did a lot of stupid things , like a young kid does , " he said . " When I believe in something , I 'm confident in saying it and following up on it . " <p> Johnson liked Minaya because he found him to be a younger version of himself . Johnson views Minaya as his third son . Minaya calls Johnson his mentor . <p> For $11,000 a year to start ( better than the $3,500 he would have made part time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dominican Republic while he scouted Latin America and came to the United States to coach the Sarasota Rangers . The 1986 team had Sosa , Juan Gonzalez , Dean Palmer , Rey Sanchez and Kevin Brown . <p> After a couple of years in Latin America , Minaya was moved to the Northeast , returning to New York and becoming more involved in the Rangers ' scouting operation . <p> " I kept testing him to see how badly he wanted it , " Johnson said . Minaya passed each test . <p> After Minaya completed his third season of his dual role of scouting and coaching , Johnson told him it was time to decide which he wanted to pursue . <p> " I chose scouting because I enjoyed it more , " Minaya said . " It was more of a challenge . You 're only as good as your product , and the ones who bring the product to the table are the scouts . I wanted to do something that impacted the organization the most . " <p> But the men out front , the ones in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ <p> " In the end , though , " Minaya said , " scouts get much more respect than uniformed personnel . I think it 's more important to get respect from your mates , from the people in the game , than to get glorification from the public . " <p> Minaya moved steadily up the scouting ladder , reaching the top in 1994 when Doug Melvin , the Rangers ' new general manager , made him the head of professional scouting , a first for baseball . <p> Front-Office Visibility <p> The new job put him in the front office for the first time and also put him in the vision of other clubs . Three years later the Mets hired him as assistant general manager and a year later added " senior " to his title . <p> He saw his goal clearly now , but he was not assured of a direct path . <p> " I knew there had never been a Hispanic general manager , " Minaya said . " I knew it would be difficult . I knew I 'd have to work harder @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I could n't make any mistakes . " <p> With Commissioner Bud Selig directing clubs to interview members of minorities for high-ranking positions , Minaya soon gained his share of interviews for general manager openings : Dodgers , Brewers , Mariners , Angels , Rockies , Pirates , Rangers . <p> Baseball is not a clean business . Some people do what they can to undermine others ' opportunities to advance , whispering tales that are not true but in a way that they can not be confronted . Minaya experienced those whispers . <p> Minaya also heard something louder than a whisper : that he had not been hired in some of those places because he lacked administrative skills . <p> " I did n't believe that to be true , and no one explained what it meant , " Minaya said . " I felt I could overcome it , but in baseball , perception becomes reality . I was somewhat fearful that that perception could become reality . I knew as an Hispanic I was behind the eight ball going in . " <p> Within the first few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ perception . " I guess they ca n't say that anymore , " he said , his tone conveying satisfaction , not boastfulness . <p> When the owner of the Expos , Jeffrey Loria , bought the Marlins , Major League Baseball acquired the Expos . Loria took everything and virtually everybody to Florida . Minaya then had to fill just about all of the major league and minor league jobs , including the major league coaching , training and clubhouse staffs within 72 hours . Spring training was starting . <p> Assembling a Staff <p> In the space of two weeks to a month after Minaya was named general manager , he hired about 100 people . He and the staff he hired turned what could have been a demonstrably negative situation into a positive development for Montreal and for baseball . <p> Before Minaya took the job , some people advised him not to go there . The Expos were being designated for elimination after the 2002 season , and it was a dead-end job , they told him . <p> " I looked at the risk , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said . " But I 've always been a risk taker and I took it . " <p> Furthermore , Minaya did not view the Expos ' job selfishly . It was an opportunity , he said , " for change in an industry where that had never happened . " <p> Minaya , 44 , begins his second year as the first Hispanic general manager today . Just as when he began his first year , he has no guarantee for the future . The Expos are expected to be sold and moved this year , leaving open the possibility that a new owner will want his own general manager . <p> At the end of the season , Minaya could find himself back in Harrington Park , N.J. , where his wife . Rachel , and their children , Teddy , 9 , and Justin , 3 , have remained . <p> " I ca n't spend too much time thinking about what 's going to happen beyond this year , " he said . " My focus is on doing the job here right now . If I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where they may . " <p> Minaya said that after he got the job a year ago , he wrote Selig a letter thanking him for the opportunity and adding one other thought . " I told him , ' I promise I will not make you or Major League Baseball look bad , ' " he said . <p> He has more than kept his promise . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000854 <p> DEAN SMITH has been retired as North Carolina 's basketball coach for the last six years , so next month he will not be taking part in the N.C.A.A. tournament , which Smith 's teams won twice . Instead , his influence will be felt in another area that he feels passionately about . <p> In the third week of March , a conference regarding the need for a moratorium on capital punishment in North Carolina will be held at the American Bar Association building in Cary , N.C. Smith will not be able to attend but is a supporter of the conference , and he has signed a petition for the moratorium . He opposes the death penalty on moral and ethical grounds . <p> " And if it 's a deterrent , as some people say , " Smith said yesterday , " why do n't they hold the execution in a shopping mall so everyone can attend ? " <p> Smith , according to Kara Richards Baker , senior mitigation investigator for North Carolina 's Center for Death Penalty Litigation , has been approached @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has always been very agreeable . " This puts him out there in the forefront , " Baker said . " Not many in high-profile positions have the willingness or guts to speak about such issues as he does . " <p> Sports figures are often reluctant , at best , to go public with potentially divisive national issues , even when the issue is a matter of life and death . The national debate over capital punishment has intensified in recent months after the moratorium on the death penalty set by George Ryan when he was governor of Illinois , because he decided that innocent people were sometimes behind bars on death row . <p> For active coaches , coming forward on controversial issues could hamper recruiting if you take a side that may alienate , say , the family of a prospective point guard . For players , the company that pays you money to promote its sneakers insists that you straddle the middle . Beyond such caution , the great range of athletic personalities does n't take the time , or have the interest , for such involvement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . So , too , are the Dean Smiths . <p> Two other former coaches have , however , taken public stands on the issue -- Tom Osborne , former Nebraska football coach and now a congressman , and Dale Brown , who retired as basketball coach at Louisiana State University in 1997 and is now a businessman in Baton Rouge . <p> Osborne says he does not " necessarily oppose " the death penalty , but has " concerns that it is not administered equally . " <p> " I know most of my constituents favor the death penalty , " Osborne said , " but they have n't had my experiences , particularly with African-Americans . " He said he found that there is " a skewing on the socioeconomic level , as well as often a racial or ethnic bias . " <p> Osborne added , " Philosophically , I come out with the idea that taking a human life basically is God 's business , not man 's . " <p> So does Dean Smith , a religious man who says he was encouraged to get involved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Chapel Hill . " I do n't condone any violence against any of God 's children , and that 's why I am opposed to the death penalty , " he said . <p> Smith and Osborne , particularly , appear to come at this issue from opposite ends of the political spectrum . Smith was involved in desegregating restaurants in the 1960 's and has spoken in favor of gay rights and a nuclear freeze . Osborne is a Republican with conservative views . <p> Smith , 71 , won 879 games ( and lost 254 ) in his 36 years at North Carolina and remains a Tar Heel basketball consultant . He often keeps a low profile , but tries to make a difference behind the scenes . As a coach he sometimes took his players to visit Central Prison in Raleigh and walk along death row , so they could see for themselves what it was like . He also sought to stop at least one execution , in 1998 . He and a delegation of opponents of the death penalty were invited to the office of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were trying to stop the execution of John Noland , a convicted murderer who had a history of borderline mental illness . <p> At one point , Smith , normally mild-mannered , turned to Hunt . " You 're a murderer , " he said , and then turned to one of the governor 's legal aides , pointing his finger : " And you 're a murderer -- and I 'm a murderer . The death penalty makes us all murderers . " In recounting the incident yesterday , he said he believed that legal execution was an act carried out by everyone in the community . Noland was later executed by lethal injection . <p> Is it possible that Smith , meanwhile , had some influence over the decision of Michael Jordan and his family not to push for the death penalty for the two men who randomly murdered Jordan 's father in 1996 ? Possibly . Smith said that he never spoke to Jordan about it . Jordan , who gives Smith , his college coach , credit for his growth as a basketball player and a person @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and , Smith said , " Michael is a very caring individual . " <p> The men convicted of killing Jordan 's father received life prison terms . <p> Dale Brown said he regularly brought his players to the penitentiary in Angola , La. , and death row to show them " how good their lives were . " <p> " I was always for the death penalty , until I met Leslie Lowenfield , " Brown recalled . Lowenfield , convicted of the murder of five people , was on Angola 's death row when the two met in 1984 . <p> " He was a poor working man from Guyana who dreamed of coming to America , " Brown said . " At trial , he had very poor legal representation . He maintained he was innocent , and I thought there was enough evidence to at least not kill him . <p> " That 's when I thought there should be a moratorium in order to make a deeper study of capital punishment . The system does n't work . " <p> Brown 's appeals on Lowenfield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visited Lowenfield in his last hours , on April 13 , 1988 . <p> " I was there when they shaved his body , when he spoke to the priest , when they brought him in chains to the electric chair , " Brown said . " His last words were that he was innocent . Then they pulled the switch . Something like 2,300 volts . Steam came out of his temple . But he was n't dead . They shot more electricity into him , and this time it killed him . Afterward , there was a press conference with coffee and doughnuts . <p> " I thought the whole thing was barbaric . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com <p> CORRECTION-DATE : April 27 , 2003 <p> CORRECTION : <p> A Sports of The Times column on Feb. 12 discussed college coaches who have spoken out against the death penalty , in particular Dean Smith , former basketball coach at the University of North Carolina . <p> The column should have acknowledged that a central quotation from the coach appeared three days earlier in an article by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ passages closely reflected her words . <p> In a first draft , the Times column credited Ms. DeSimone for an anecdote in which Mr. Smith told a former governor of North Carolina , " The death penalty makes us all murderers . " <p> The columnist , Ira Berkow , was told by his editors that a quotation so harsh should rightly be verified firsthand , so he telephoned Mr. Smith , who recounted the scene to him . Editors then deleted the attribution to Ms. DeSimone 's article , though Times policy ordinarily calls for crediting news that originates exclusively elsewhere . ( Coach Smith 's activism had been reported in North Carolina publications , but not in detail comparable to The Tribune 's . ) The Times column included two passages that were similar in language and concept to those in The Tribune : <p> The Tribune : " Sports figures , while often active in charitable causes , generally avoid taking sides in divisive , emotional national debates such as the one concerning the death penalty . Coaches for major Division I programs , as Smith was , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an interest in not alienating people . " <p> The Times : " Sports figures are often reluctant , at best , to go public with potentially divisive national issues , even when the issue is a matter of life and death . . . . For active coaches , coming forward on controversial issues could hamper recruiting if you take a side that may alienate , say , the family of a prospective point guard . " <p> The Tribune : " Smith will not discuss whether he counseled his most famous protege , Michael Jordan , during the 1996 trial of the two men who murdered Jordan 's father three years before . The Jordan family never made its feelings known regarding punishment , according to Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt . " <p> The Times : " Is it possible that Smith , meanwhile , had some influence over the decision of Michael Jordan and his family not to push for the death penalty for the two men who randomly murdered Jordan 's father in 1996 ? Possibly . Smith said that he never spoke to Jordan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this quotation from Mr. Smith about his religious views : " I do not condone any violence against any of God 's children , and that is why I am opposed to the death penalty . " Though Mr. Smith discussed those views in his Times interview , the exact quotation was taken from his autobiography , " A Coach 's Life , " and should have been attributed . 
##3000855 <p> Amid the lush gardens and the replicas of Greek statuary at a museum near Montgomery , Ala. , called Jasmine Hill , officials of the United States Olympic Committee and some of the organization 's most important corporate sponsors gathered in August to discuss their entwined futures . <p> After Anthony T. Ponturo , the vice president for sports marketing of Anheuser-Busch , finished a presentation , Lloyd Ward , the Olympic committee 's chief executive , rose and , smilingly broadly , asked Ponturo , " What can we do for you ? " <p> Ponturo quickly replied , " Stay out of the newspapers . " <p> Seldom has less heed been paid to advice from a powerful sponsor . Over the last month alone , the bitter infighting among members of the Olympic committee 's senior board and staff has produced a cascade of headlines concerning conflicts of interest , resignations , factional battles and possible no-confidence votes . <p> The organization 's executive committee determined that Ward had acted in a way that gave the appearance of a conflict of interest . <p> @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protest , saying that the committee had failed to take strong action against Ward . Then last week , the Olympic committee 's president , Marty Mankamyer , stepped down after a month of pressure from five vice presidents and two other top officials , a period of crisis that culminated after it was revealed that she may have also violated the organization 's ethics code . <p> The turmoil has been deeply embarrassing to the Olympic committee , but the long-term consequences could be much more serious . There is growing concern that corporate sponsors may become reluctant to continue to spend millions for athletes ' training , that the bid by New York City to play host to the 2012 Summer Games may be undermined and that the Olympic committee may find it hard to attract top-notch executive talent . <p> To stave off those possibilities , several United States senators have begun talking about the need to pare the Olympic committee 's organizational structure . There is talk , too , of imposing more stringent federal oversight of the Olympic committee . The organization 's executive committee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ward the $184,800 bonus he had earned for 2002 . <p> " This is a national embarrassment to us and to the Olympic movement , " said John MacAloon , an Olympic historian at the University of Chicago . Referring to Dr. Jacques Rogge , the president of the International Olympic Committee , MacAloon added , " Mr. Rogge has said he only wants the U.S.O.C. to fix itself , but they have been going through this for 20 years : the absence of trustworthy , reliable management . " <p> Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell , Republican of Colorado , is eager to overhaul the organization , whose actions , he said , " make me sick to my stomach . " <p> A member of the United States Olympic judo team in 1964 , Campbell said he wanted to see headlines only about competing athletes , not warring executives . " I do n't want to pick up the paper and read about another fight , " Campbell said , " unless it 's in the boxing ring . " <p> It appears very likely that the Olympic committee 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 21-member executive committee -- will be changed . But many people in the Olympic movement question whether a reorganization will , by itself , ensure stable management or leaders who can work cooperatively and understand how to avoid conflicts of interest . <p> The latest round of conflict with the Olympic committee began with the ethics investigation into Ward , who was found to have violated the committee 's ethics code when he directed a staff member to help his brother and a friend , who were seeking a $4.6 million contract to provide backup power to the Pan American Games , which will be held in the Dominican Republic this summer . <p> The executive committee determined that Ward had created only an appearance of a conflict of interest . That decision provoked the resignations of five Olympic officials . It also led indirectly to the resignation of Mankamyer , the committee 's president , after it was revealed last week that she had accepted part of a real estate agent 's commission from a purchase of property by Ward , even though she had no role in the transaction @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now seem convinced of the need to change how the organization is operated . <p> " It should have been done before , and now we 've created a crisis to create change , " said Bill Stapleton , a vice president of the Olympic committee and the leader of the anti-Mankamyer campaign . <p> Ways to Restructure <p> Among the likely changes are trimming the 123-member board to 20or fewer members , and reducing the powerful executive committee , with 21 members , to fewer than 10 . The roles of the president , who is a volunteer , and the chief executive , who is the senior paid executive , may be defined more clearly . <p> Over the past two decades , presidents and chief executives of the Olympic committee have often been in conflict , squabbling over everything from who will speak to the news media to who will oversee international relations . <p> " There has never been a bright line that says this is the responsibility of paid staff and this is the responsibility of volunteer staff , " said Richard D. Schultz , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ title was then changed to chief executive and the position 's powers were expanded . <p> But Schultz 's replacement , Norm Blake , who was accustomed to a corporate environment that allowed him to decide matters swiftly and decisively , floundered when he offended volunteers with his blunt approach to cutting costs and staff . Blake left after eight months , in October 2000 . <p> A year later , Ward was named chief executive , and his relationship with Sandra Baldwin , who was then the president and who supported his selection , was not friction-filled . But Baldwin resigned in May after acknowledging that she had lied on her resume about her academic credentials . <p> Mankamyer replaced Baldwin , and she and Ward quickly became adversaries , especially after Ward declined to resign in the fall from the Augusta National Golf Club because of its all-male membership . Mankamyer had wanted him to leave the club because it discriminated against women , Olympic officials said . <p> " You did n't see the acrimony at executive committee meetings , " said Patrick Rodgers , the Olympic committee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But you noticed they did n't speak . " <p> How much a major change in governance will alter the organization 's inbred culture is difficult to gauge , nor will it guarantee that the most qualified , most ethical people will be attracted to leadership positions . <p> Anita DeFrantz , a bronze medalist in rowing at the 1976 Summer Olympics who is a member of the United States and International Olympic Committees , said : " To paraphrase George McGovern during the Watergate hearings : good laws are important , but even more important are good people . Can we attract a Bill Gates ? I do n't think we can afford him . " <p> Donna de Varona , a two-time gold medalist in swimming at the 1964 Summer Olympics , said : " You 're always held captive to your leadership and who you bring in . It 's still a roll of the dice . " <p> A change in the size of the board and the executive committee may reduce the number of constituencies fighting for attention and money . But more important , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for government oversight of the organization 's operations and finances , which have expanded drastically over the past two decades . <p> The harshest critic among Olympic sponsors is David F. D'Alessandro , the chairman of John Hancock Financial Services , who recently demanded an accounting of how sponsors ' money was spent . <p> In essence , the Olympic committee is a nonprofit organization whose prime function is raising money . It has political and international roles , and a headquarters staff of about 500 , but it exists primarily to distribute money from the public , sponsors and television to the national sports governing bodies , which spend the money on athletes . <p> " There is a cancerous tumor within the U.S.O.C. , and it 's not just about governance and people , " D'Alessandro said . " It has to do with the way it brings in and spends money , and how it 's incredibly dependent for more than 50 percent of its revenues from the I.O.C. " <p> Many have said that more direct and continual Congressional oversight is required . In the past , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ethics crisis coming after the organization 's failures in the Salt Lake City bidding scandal , there is greater sentiment to find a forceful , permanent way to make the Olympic committee more accountable . <p> " Virtually every other country has a minister or subminister cabinet position for sport , which introduces a discipline where a cabinet ministry is continuously dealing with the Olympic committee , " MacAloon , the Olympic historian , said . " Without it , problems remain and fester . The challenge is for Congress to find a proportionate American solution that ca n't be a weak , ' Oh , send us a report ' kind of oversight . " <p> The Trickle-Down Effect <p> In gyms and weight rooms across the country , Olympic-level athletes are weighing the fallout from the Olympic committee 's troubles . A trickle-down effect is feared , one that is damaging not only to the size and the number of sponsorships , but also to the image of the Olympic movement . <p> " I hope the public understands we have nothing to do with it , " said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney , Australia . " A lot of people come to me asking about all this stuff , and I say : ' That 's at the top . I 'm just down here training as hard as I can day after day . ' If anything , the people at the top are supposed to be watching our backs . <p> " But I know if the sponsors are reading the same papers I 'm reading , you have to wonder what they are thinking . The Athens Olympics are just around the corner . This is when sponsorship deals get done . I have n't felt an effect yet , but what if this continues ? " <p> Others have already seen an impact on sponsorship dollars and in requests for public appearances at the corporate level -- a common way for Olympic athletes to supplement their incomes to pay for training . Evan Morgenstein is the agent for more than 50 Olympians , from swimmers to bobsledders . <p> " This has been a nightmare for us , " Morgenstein said . " @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sports marketing world . Everything is on hold . Many Olympic sponsors wo n't sign on right now . What would be the point ? If you had a press conference or a satellite meeting , there is nothing you could do in the media that would outshine this circus going on . <p> " This ca n't continue , because if you anger enough of the public , it is so easy to turn the Olympic movement into something inconsequential . " <p> Shane Hamman is among the world 's top weight lifters and an American Olympian from the Sydney Games . " As athletes we 're pretty focused on our training , but you do hope everything will be cleared up soon , " Hamman said . " We 're all worried about the sponsorships . That 's a lifeblood . " <p> De Varona , the two-time gold medalist , noted that in the midst of the organizational uproar , American Olympians have been performing well this winter in international skiing and skating . But can that level of achievement be sustained in a climate of chaos ? @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , trains at least six hours a day , six days a week while living at the Olympic committee 's dormitory complex in Colorado Springs . While he does not dwell on each news development , he has become wary . <p> " If things get worse and if the sponsors decide to pull back , " Umphenour said , " that 's when we 'll feel the trickle-down effect . They mean everything to us and if we do n't have support , we 're not going to get the medals . " <p> Tracy Mattes , a pentathlete from Wisconsin , longs for more representative guidance from the Olympic committee 's power structure . <p> " I still think , on the whole , the Olympic image is great , " Mattes said . " Unfortunately , a few individuals have created a controversy that has hurt everyone . The disappointing thing is that , as athletes , we 're doing everything we can to be the best in the world . And we expect the same of our leadership , too . One Olympic ideal should fit all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Games , many sponsors are hoping that the current crisis will fade and that the public will continue to separate the unsightly executive problems from the athletic events in Greece and beyond . With sponsors paid up through Athens , the goal for the U.S.O.C. is to persuade them to re-enlist through 2008 . <p> " Major sponsors know it 's about the athletes and the Games , " said Philip Guarascio , a consultant , who , when he worked for General Motors , negotiated a long-term sponsorship with the Olympic committee that expires in 2008 . <p> The sponsors ' contracts include escape clauses , which were added after the Salt Lake City bidding scandal . Those clauses let sponsors out if U.S.O.C. actions create " offense , outrage , ridicule and contempt " among a substantial segment of the public . <p> The continuing danger is whether its current crisis and management problems will reduce the willingness of sponsors and the public to help finance the Olympic committee . So far , sponsorship sales of nearly $60 million for the period from 2005 to 2008 far exceed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ donation was Jasmine Hill , where U.S.O.C. officials and sponsors met in August . Jim Inscoe , president of the Jasmine Hill Foundation , wanted to donate the property to be used as an academy to teach Olympic values and ethics . But last month , Inscoe withdrew his offer because of inattention from Ward and the Olympic committee 's executive difficulties . <p> " Everywhere you turn , they have ethical problems , " Inscoe said . " They ca n't do what is good and fine and wonderful for the Olympics . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000856 <p> The broom closet has been turned into an exercise room and the fat has been trimmed . It has been cut literally ( Louisville center Marvin Stone has slashed the percentage of body fat on his 6-foot-10 frame from 13 to 7 percent ) and figuratively ( a pair of former high school all-Americans are long gone from the team ) . Left behind is a senior scorer turned point guard and two freshmen , one from New Jersey and the other from the Bronx , neither of whom needed to visit the campus before buying into one man 's vision . <p> That man is Rick Pitino , whose reputation as a college basketball turnaround artist was built in stops at Boston University , Providence College and the University of Kentucky . His world view can be distilled into two fundamentals : work hard and be disciplined at basketball ; make friends and play hard and responsibly with them in life . <p> In his second year at Louisville , Pitino is once again proving that simple is better . The Cardinals ( 18-1 ) are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , are ranked No. 5 in the Associated Press poll and have the nation 's longest active winning streak at 17 games . <p> " This is what I hoped to do when I came here , " Pitino said . " Am I surprised that has happened this fast ? I 'm shocked , but this group is a lot like my Providence team that went to the Final Four . They bring it at you all the time . " <p> His team is balanced on the floor -- 11 Cardinals get significant playingtime , and 7 have led the team in scoring at least once this season . The Cardinals are balanced off the floor as well -- the team had a cumulative 2.7 grade point average last semester . <p> What 's more , good times and superb performances are not mutually exclusive with Pitino 's team , as the freshman Francisco Garcia demonstrated Wednesday against Cincinnati . A sliver of a forward at 6-7 and 180 pounds , Garcia , a Washington **31;317;TOOLONG Republic native , took his turn to warm up a sold-out Freedom Hall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ video scoreboard . <p> With War 's " Cisco Kid " providing the soundtrack , Garcia convulsed the crowd by punctuating his pep talk with a spastic body flex that looked more like a rubber band stretching . He then delighted the Louisville faithful by scoring a game-high 24 points and tying a team record by making 8 of 11 3-point shots . <p> " This is why I came to Louisville -- to have fun , " an ebullient Garcia said as he signed autographs and kissed babies after the game . " I 'd watch Coach Pitino on television when he was at Kentucky , and those guys played hard , but they always played with a lot of joy . I did n't need to see the campus before committing to play here -- I wanted to be wherever Coach was . " <p> So did Taquan Dean , a freshman guard from Neptune , N.J. , who committed to Louisville over the phone before Pitino had seen him play . <p> " Rick is Elvis -- he is charismatic , fun-loving and has friends from all walks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jurich , said . " The kids sense that playing for him is just the beginning , that they are going to have a friend for life . " <p> Rick and Joanne Pitino 's social circle is indeed peopled by horse trainers , restaurateurs , old neighbors from his many stops and family , as well as by coaches and former players . Louisville 's director of basketball operations , Billy Burke , left a lucrative career on Wall Street to join Pitino here because of a more-than-25-year-old friendship that began on the summer camp circuit when both were young coaches . <p> Pitino has promoted the career of Billy Donovan , his former point guard at Providence who is now the head coach of top-ranked Florida . Pitino has publicly endorsed the candidacy of Richie Farmer , another overachieving backcourt player for him at Kentucky , who is now running to become the state 's commissioner of agriculture . <p> " If I called Rick at 3 in the morning and said that I needed $100,000 and a helicopter , the only question he 'd have is where was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a local radio personality and a longtime friend of Pitino 's . <p> Still , Pitino remains a demanding coach . When he was hired , the first thing on his to-do list was remodeling the practice facility and insisting his players become intimate with it , especially the treadmills that now inhabit the onetime broom closet . To play his trademark full-court pressure and push-and-dump offense takes fitness -- no one plays until his body fat dips below 10 percent . No one plays , either , if he misses class , breaks rules or displays a disrespectful attitude toward teammates , coaches or the greater Louisville community . <p> Last season , two high school all-Americans , Brandon Bender and Carlos Hurt , either did not want to or could not adhere to those rules and left the team . Stone could and says he is better for it . <p> Stone , a senior , transferred from Kentucky in the middle of last season after his role with the Wildcats was reduced . He hit the weight room , followed dietary instructions and practiced with a team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tournament . He also paid attention to who was chafing under Pitino 's firm hand and who was embracing it . <p> When Pitino asked the senior Reece Gaines , the Cardinals ' most talented player and best scorer , to accept his challenge and Gaines stoically did , Stone took note . When Pitino held practices twice a day over the holiday break , including Christmas Day , Stone made sure he was among the first to arrive . <p> Now 20 pounds lighter , he averages 13 points a game and is the Cardinals ' defensive stopper in the middle , while Gaines leads the team in assists as well as in scoring with an 18-point average . <p> " The guys who were on the team last year and listened to Coach and did what he told us got better , " Stone said . " It 's as simple as that . It has paid off for me . I 'm having my best year in basketball and in the classroom . " <p> As remarkable as Pitino 's track record is for jump-starting basketball programs , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is as sobering . But he says his vagabond days are over . <p> His three and a half years as president and head coach of the Boston Celtics was not just his first professional failure . He says it was also a reminder that he belonged on a campus , not in a series of luxury hotels . <p> He chose Louisville because of the friendships he made rebuilding Kentucky in the early 1990 's , which culminated in the national title in the 1995-96 season . Besides , he has returned to the epicenter of his other great passion , horse racing , with Churchill Downs situated a couple of quarter-poles from his office . <p> He also says he is more grounded and appreciative of the small moments in life after a difficult year of grieving and holding his family together . First , a brother-in-law , Don Vogt , was struck and killed by a New York City taxi , leaving three children . Then another , Billy Minardi , who was also his best friend from high school , died in the terrorist attacks on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ players that they did not play hard or smart enough in the 77-71 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday , Pitino shares an anecdote that makes you believe him . Last month , after the Cardinals scratched out a victory at Tennessee , 72-69 , he was moved enough to tell his players that he loved coaching them , was enamored with them as people and was the luckiest guy in the world . <p> " We 're clearing out of the locker room and I see Francisco Garcia waiting off to the side and waving at me , " Pitino recalled . " I thought something was wrong , but instead Francisco pats me on the shoulder and says , ' Coach , we love you , too . ' Then he gives me this big old hug . I mean , where else are you going to have something like that happen ? It is enough . " <p> The fat trimmed , the leftovers clearly belonging to him , perhaps the restless coach has finally bought into his own vision . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000860 <p> This can not be a quickie quiz because there is no way to answer the question quickly : <p> Name the 10 managers who were hired this off-season and the teams that hired them . Anyone who identifies seven or more can skip the rest of this treatise because you probably know everything else that has occurred this winter . The rest , read on . <p> This was the off-season when the Yankees were going to reduce their payroll , but their words produced only guffaws , winks and raised eyebrows . At last look , the Yankees ' payroll for luxury tax purposes was projected by management to be $182 million , exceeding the $175 million with which they finished last season . <p> George Steinbrenner said he was turned on to the global thinking that resulted in the recent signings of Hideki Matsui and Jose Contreras by Commissioner Bud Selig , and Selig 's former No. 2 man , Paul Beeston . Beeston is no longer in baseball , but Selig would be appalled to think that he helped create the monster that is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their revenue grow , so many other teams are up for sale and so few prospective buyers have materialized that Major League Baseball resembles an empty Macy 's on Presidents ' Day . <p> The Dodgers , the Angels , the Braves , the Twins and the Expos are available to the highest bidder -- any bidder -- but ownership status will not affect them in spring training . <p> Yes , it starts this week , spring training , that is . The Seattle Mariners go first , holding their first workout for pitchers and catchers tomorrow . The first day teams are permitted to work out is Thursday , but the Mariners begin the season early in Japan so they are allowed to begin early . Oakland will be in Japan , too -- but the Athletics have opted not to join the Mariners in an early start . <p> This off-season has featured the usual migration of players among teams , but one aspect of that movement has been more pronounced than usual . A large majority of the best players who have changed teams , either @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the National League or moved to the National League . <p> These players have switched to the N.L. from the American League : Ivan Rodriguez , Jim Thome , Cliff Floyd , Paul Byrd , Orlando Hernandez , Ray Durham and Jose Cruz Jr . <p> These players have stayed in the N.L. : Tom Glavine , Mike Hampton , Kevin Millwood , Russ Ortiz , Jeff Kent , Edgardo Alfonzo , Eric Karros , Fred McGriff , Juan Pierre , David Bell , Charles Johnson , Preston Wilson and Jose Hernandez . <p> These players have moved to the A.L . from the N.L. : Bartolo Colon and Todd Walker . <p> These players have stayed in the A.L. : Billy Koch , Randy Winn , Ugueth Urbina and Esteban Yan . <p> And these players have no jobs , that is , some have said they are retiring : Jay Bell , David Justice , Rickey Henderson , Randy Velarde , Kenny Lofton , Reggie Sanders , B. J. Surhoff , Ron Gant , Ray Lankford , Chuck Knoblauch , Shawon Dunston , Kenny Rogers , Rick Helling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dennis Cook . <p> And the Managers Are . . . <p> Time 's up ; put down the pencils , turn in the quizzes . The 10 new managers : <p> Art Howe ( Mets ) , Ken Macha ( Athletics ) , Dusty Baker ( Cubs ) , Felipe Alou ( Giants ) , Lou Piniella ( Devil Rays ) , Bob Melvin ( Mariners ) , Buck Showalter ( Rangers ) , Alan Trammell ( Tigers ) , Ned Yost ( Brewers ) and Eric Wedge ( Indians ) . <p> Never before have that many managers been named between seasons , according to Bob Bloss , author of " Baseball Managers : Stats , Stories and Strategies " ( Temple University Press , May 1999 ) . <p> Since the start of spring training a year ago , teams have made 19 managerial changes , also the most in major league history . The run began only six games into the exhibition schedule when Boston 's new owners dismissed Joe Kerrigan and replaced him with Grady Little . <p> Seven other teams then changed managers during the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tigers ' season was six games old . Milwaukee followed nine games later with Davey Lopes , and the managerial carnage was on . <p> Five of the seven teams that fired their managers during the season changed a second time , either during or after the season . Three teams that did not make moves during the season fired their managers after the season . In all , 14 of the 30 managers will start spring training with their teams for the first time . It might be easier to name the other 16 . <p> And in the West . . . <p> The Anaheim Angels and the San Francisco Giants , the teams that were the last to play last year , have taken opposite paths to the next season , during which they will try to become division champions instead of wild-card winners . The Angels , who became World Series champions after finishing 41 games behind the year before , have kept themselves intact , making no major moves . The Giants have shed 11 players from the 25-man World Series roster , including five of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jose Cruz Jr . is new in right field and Marquis Grissom in center . Ray Durham takes over at second base and Edgardo Alfonzo at third . The Giants have another significant change . That would be Felipe Alou , the majors ' oldest manager at 67 , who replaces Dusty Baker , who opted to leave after 10 years on the job . <p> The Texas Rangers , who supplanted the Angels as the last-place team in the A.L . West but finished only 31 games back , stocked up on new pitchers once again in their effort not to waste another great season from Alex Rodriguez . Two of their new pitchers were closers for other teams last season , Ugueth Urbina ( Boston ) and Esteban Yan ( Tampa Bay ) . <p> Buck Showalter replaced Jerry Narron as the Texas manager , prompting the crack that Showalter has come to hate : The Rangers figure they can fire him at some point , then win the World Series the next season , like the Yankees in 1996 and the Diamondbacks in 2001 . <p> And in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more active than the N.L. East . Will the changes have any impact on the race as the Atlanta Braves try to win their 12th consecutive division title ? <p> The Braves replaced the starters Tom Glavine , Kevin Millwood and Damian Moss with Mike Hampton , Russ Ortiz and Paul Byrd and the relievers Mike Remlinger , Chris Hammond , Kerry Ligtenberg and Tim Spooneybarger with Roberto Hernandez , Ray King , Mike Venafro and Chris Haney . <p> The Phillies erupted this off-season in an orgy of spending that dazzled disgruntled Philadelphia fans . They signed Jim Thome to play first base and David Bell to play third , and they grabbed Millwood in a one-sided trade . Meanwhile , they shed half of their infield , Travis Lee and Marlon Anderson , and their center fielder , Doug Glanville . <p> The Florida Marlins jettisoned catcher Charles Johnson and center fielder Preston Wilson and upgraded with catcher Ivan Rodriguez and center fielder Juan Pierre . <p> Unlike the Yankees , the Montreal Expos said they had to cut payroll and did , trading Bartolo Colon , their best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ White Sox and acquiring Orlando Hernandez from the Yankees , receiving enough cash in the deal so that they have to pay only $300,000 of El Duque 's $4 million plus salary . <p> The Mets replaced Rey Ordonez with Rey Sanchez at shortstop ( waiting for Jose Reyes ) , but they have not replaced Edgardo Alfonzo at third base . They added Tom Glavine for their starting rotation and Cliff Floyd for left field . <p> Chicago and Beyond <p> The White Sox got Bartolo Colon for their starting rotation and Billy Koch to be their closer . The other team in town got Dusty Baker to manage . <p> For Baker , the test will be whether the Cubs will respond to him as productively as the Giants did . The White Sox believe they can now challenge Minnesota for the A.L . Central title . Like the Angels , the Twins made no major moves . <p> Colorado and Tampa Bay , on the other hand , have made plenty of moves as they reconfigure themselves yet again . <p> Two years ago , the Rockies spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to trade Mike Hampton , and they tried desperately to trade Denny Neagle . <p> They acquired Charles Johnson and Preston Wilson in the three-team Hampton trade . They also signed Jose Hernandez cheaply after he nearly broke Bobby Bonds 's major league strikeout record . <p> The Devil Rays , who had a minuscule payroll last season , spent most of their money signing Lou Piniella as their manager and sacrificed their best hitter , Randy Winn , to clinch the deal with the Mariners . <p> They gave Piniella half of a new infield , first baseman Travis Lee and shortstop Rey Ordonez , and another player , Marlon Anderson , who could play second base but Piniella plans to use as a multiposition player as he did Mark McLemore in Seattle . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000862 <p> The sleepy-eyed look , the long arms dangling by his side , the laid-back demeanor -- they all serve to give a false impression of Tracy McGrady , the Orlando Magic guard who leads the N.B.A. in scoring heading into today 's All-Star Game in Atlanta . <p> " His body language is fool 's gold for the opponent , " Magic Coach Doc Rivers said last week in Orlando , Fla . " You look at him and think , ' Man , he 's not into the game . ' Then you look at the stat sheet -- your team lost and he had 38 and 10 . If you think he is n't ready to play , you 're really getting the wrong image , because he 's an outstanding competitor . But on his face , it looks like he 's just on a walk in the park . " <p> That look once got McGrady into trouble . Not long after he joined Toronto out of high school as the No. 9 pick in the 1997 draft , the Raptors ' coach @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a short N.B.A. career . <p> " He called me lazy and said I had a poor work ethic and I was going to be out of the league in three years , " McGrady said . " But I did n't buy into that . I stayed focused , stayed working , had patience . " <p> McGrady 's lot improved in Toronto once his distant cousin , Vince Carter , arrived the next season , but McGrady was never more than a second option to Carter . Besides , as a native of Auburndale , Fla. , he could never adjust to the cold . So in August 2000 , in a sign-and-trade deal , he was delighted to accept the Magic 's seven-year contract worth almost $93 million . <p> " When I was in Toronto I 'd sleep all the time because there was nothing to do , " he said . " It was so cold outside and my bad habits just carried over . I do n't mean to sound like a sissy , but I was happy to have an opportunity to return home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opportunity that I had to take advantage of . " <p> He is now surrounded by family and friends . He supplies Magic season tickets to 17 people , including the grandmother who was instrumental in raising him , Roberta Williford ; his mother , Melanise Williford ; his father , who abandoned him as an adolescent , Tracy McGrady Sr. ; and his best friends from Auburndale High , Bradley Rogers and Obbe Maldonado . <p> Now 23 and in his sixth season , the 6-foot-8-inch , 215-pound McGrady has emerged as one of the league 's premier players . He averaged 26.8 points a game in 2000-1 and 25.6 last season , as he was forced into the spotlight by Grant Hill 's chronic left ankle injury . McGrady , who is averaging 30.4 points a game this season , scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive games -- putting him among just four players to do that since 1991 -- until he was held to 24 on Tuesday night against Portland . <p> " It 's amazing what he does , " Rivers said . " He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rebounds every night and he guards the opponent 's best player every night . Outside of washing the dishes , I do n't know what else he could do . " <p> His talent goes beyond basketball . Growing up a Yankees fan , he says he feels he could be a distinguished pitcher and has a deep-seated desire to try it . <p> " It definitely is a dream for me , " he said softly . " I 'm hoping we can win a championship or two , then I could step aside and play baseball . I got it all . I just need to be coached a little bit . " <p> For the Magic , McGrady has shown he is a superstar who cares and the rare franchise player who is both regularly accessible and unpretentious . <p> Earlier this season , McGrady found that the youngest victim in the Washington region sniper shootings , Iran Brown , considered him his favorite basketball player . McGrady sent him a message wishing him a quick recovery , then paid for the family to visit during Christmas . @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ letter expressing the family 's appreciation . In describing McGrady as a " class act , " she noted : " The most important part was the very genuine personality of Tracy and his relationship with my son during this important stage of his recovery . He treated Iran like a little brother and still keeps in contact . " <p> Several years ago , McGrady moved his half-brother , Chance , to the mansion and five-acre spread that the golfer Payne Stewart had owned , in part because Chance 's mother was ill and in part to help him forge a better life . McGrady insists that his sibling study regularly and stay away from alcohol and drugs . <p> In late January , McGrady and his fiancee had a daughter . " No more ' Big Sleep , ' " he said , referring to his longtime nickname and penchant for sleeping anywhere , anytime . " Now I ca n't sleep . I 've got a daughter that keeps me up . " <p> Somehow , even with his life becoming more complicated and his N.B.A. star ascending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ taking it all in stride , " John Gabriel , the Magic 's general manager , said . " He does n't walk any differently , does n't look at you any differently . He 's still the same ol ' guy that is clearly an unstoppable player in this league . The respect level he has for others -- staff , teammates , fans , everybody -- is remarkable . " <p> Magic officials were not surprised when McGrady volunteered to give up his starting spot in the All-Star Game to honor Michael Jordan . After the Magic 's game against Washington in December , Jordan sent McGrady his game shoes with the inscription , " I enjoyed the challenge . " <p> Gabriel said he canvassed quite a few people before signing McGrady , receiving consistently positive feedback . Some , he said , even ventured that McGrady would wind up being better than Carter . <p> " That was pretty powerful , " Gabriel said . " We probably snickered a little bit at the time at the reference and the enthusiasm , but sometimes it 's not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had some very pleasant discoveries with him . " <p> McGrady 's evolution to the basketball big time came rather suddenly . As a junior at Auburndale High , he was suspended for the playoffs for talking back to a teacher . He soon was pondering whether to relocate . He said a friend at Adidas -- which has since signed him to a lifetime contract worth at least $100 million -- suggested national power Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham , N.C. <p> " It turned out to be great for me , " McGrady said . " I would n't have gotten anywhere close to that type of exposure if I had stayed at Auburndale , no question about it . Really , it was the turning point in my career . I went to church and I was working out every day . My work ethic really became stronger , and I started to have a vision of how good I could be as a player . " <p> He found out at a 1996 summer camp in New Jersey for touted prospects . He was given jersey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he arrived . Yet by camp 's end , he was being discussed as the country 's top prep player . <p> " I had never been to a basketball camp like that , " he said . " So I had nothing to lose . Nobody really knew who I was . If I had a bad camp , so what ? " <p> At Mount Zion , McGrady also discovered Wayne Hall , the team 's physical fitness coordinator . The two have been together ever since , with Hall now serving as McGrady 's personal trainer . <p> " If it was n't for him , I would n't have the skill that I have today , " McGrady said . " Back then during the summertime , if I did n't have anybody to motivate me , I would have just hung out and sat back and been lazy and not worked out . But he 's a great motivator . " <p> Pat Williams , the Magic vice president , pegs McGrady as one of the league 's top five franchise players along with Kevin Garnett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Williams omits Shaquille O'Neal because he will be 31 next month . <p> " But with Hill out , the thing with Tracy right now is he has to take 35 shots and hit half of them for us to have a chance to win , " Williams said . " That 's an enormous load . " <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000863 <p> It is a short drive from Manhattan College to Fordham University , about three miles . In some ways , the two colleges are even closer than that . They have relatively small campuses in the Bronx , their emphasis is on a quality Catholic education , and their students scurry to buildings that seem untouched since they were built in the mid-1800 's . <p> It is not until you get to their gymnasiums that one conspicuous difference becomes apparent . At Manhattan 's Draddy Gymnasium , a winning basketball team is embraced by enthusiastic crowds , there to cheer victory after victory and watch one of the hottest young coaches in the country . <p> At Fordham 's Rose Hill Gymnasium , the fans have been beaten down by all the losing , the basketball team is dreadful , and the 52-year-old veteran coach stands defiant while busily dodging the slings and arrows of those calling for his head . <p> In many ways , all things should be relatively equal between the basketball programs . But that 's nowhere near the case . Manhattan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winning streak in Division I basketball ( Louisville goes for 17 straight today at Houston ) . The Jaspers are 11-1 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference , with Canisius visiting this afternoon . <p> Fordham , at 2-18 and at home against St. Joseph 's tonight , is hopelessly outclassed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and is always in danger of losing by 25 points . When Manhattan played at Fordham on Dec. 3 , the Jaspers won , 85-57 . <p> This story actually begins in 1999 . In March that year , Manhattan , coming off a 5-22 season , hired a little-known coach named Bobby Gonzalez , now 38 , whose previous experience had been as an assistant who followed Pete Gillen from Xavier to Providence and to Virginia . Few people paid attention to the hiring , especially with Fordham making such a splash just four months later . <p> Fordham 's athletic director , Frank McLaughlin , seeking a big name , someone he hoped could build the Rams into a basketball power , and do it quickly , brought in the high-profile Bob Hill @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Association with the Knicks , the San Antonio Spurs and the Indiana Pacers . <p> " I think we made a very strong statement , that we wanted to be very good within our academic limitations , " McLaughlin said . " When we went looking for a head coach , we were fortunate enough to find Bob Hill , who really gave us instant credibility . Anyone who looks back to when Bob Hill was hired will remember that there was a lot of excitement over the move . " <p> So far , at least , McLaughlin has n't received what he wanted . Hill , who took over a team that was 12-15 , has yet to have a winning season . His overall record at Fordham is 36-70 . The team has had fewer victories in each successive year under Hill , bottoming out with this season 's train wreck . <p> " We should n't be playing to win , we should be playing to get better for next year , " Fordham guard Mark Jarrell-Wright said . " We put too much pressure on ourselves @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ definitely because of our record . " <p> Fordham 's most obvious problem is a lack of talent . The question is , with Hill in his fourth season , how has the program fallen apart ? It 's a question he ca n't avoid . <p> " I made some mistakes in recruiting , " Hill said , " and I made a conscious decision that I had to change the philosophy and change the group that we had . When I did that , I knew that it was going to be a very difficult year . We had to start getting the right kind of people in here . That does n't mean that the kids we had here were bad kids , but they were too much into themselves . <p> " Fordham is a terrific school and here you have to go to class and you have to have a certain decorum . " <p> Hill admits his blueprint was all wrong . He found some talented individuals , but not ones who were interested in academics or who were particularly team-oriented . <p> Last season @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ core of gifted young players with the ability to lift Fordham to the top of the Atlantic 10 . Instead , it was a dysfunctional , selfish bunch that has all but disintegrated . <p> Whether leaving on their own or being pushed out the door , Smush Parker , Jeff McMillan and Adrian Walton , last season 's three leading scorers , are gone , with Parker now playing in the N.B.A. for the Cleveland Cavaliers . <p> Gone , too , are Liberto Tetimadingar and Cori Spencer , who had been counted on for big contributions in the future . Fordham has been forced to start over . <p> That has left Hill in the unenviable position of asking for another chance , something not everyone is willing to give him . He is regularly vilified in Fordham chat rooms on the Internet and is still trying to control the damage after being quoted in a newspaper article as using a profanity to say that he did not care what the alumni said about him ; he insists the quotation left out key words that made it clear he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shots at him on the Web . <p> One of the criticisms directed at Hill is that he has not aggressively panned the fertile New York metropolitan area market for high school talent . The Rams have one player ( Anthonique Wilson ) from New York City and one from Newark ( Jarrell-Wright ) , yet have five players from foreign countries . <p> " I was shocked last year when they did n't go after any of our players , " said Maurice Hicks , the coach of Rice High School , a perennial New York City power . " We had a lot of players , and they did n't really recruit them . " <p> Hicks mentioned Jason Wingate , now at Manhattan , Steve Burtt Jr . ( Iona ) and Keydren Clark ( St. Peter 's ) as all playing in the MAAC , " and all playing well . " <p> " I thought each one would have been a good fit for a school like Fordham , " he said . " I do n't know what they 're looking for . I guess @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ " <p> Hill steadfastly says he will turn things around , but will he get that chance ? When McLaughlin is asked if Hill , who has six years remaining on his contract , is in jeopardy of being fired , his answer is vague . <p> " I think the attitude of the upper administration of Fordham and the alumni is that we are disappointed , but we are rolling up our sleeves and saying , How do we get this thing done ? " he said . " We 're more determined than ever . " <p> At Manhattan , Athletic Director Bob Byrnes has the opposite problem . He is not about to fire his coach , but who will he hire once Gonzalez leaves for a better opportunity ? Gonzalez is on the cusp of being offered a job in a major conference . It 's hard to ignore an 18-3 mark . <p> " When I took the job here , I wanted to put a stamp on this program and be a factor in the metropolitan area , " Gonzalez said . " I had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for us to be a top-quality program by the third or fourth year , and that 's exactly what has happened . It 's very exciting to get what you wanted . " <p> Gonzalez fit a pattern at Manhattan that had proved successful . Rather than going for an established coach , like Hill , who was taking a step down from his N.B.A. days , Byrnes went for someone young and hungry , an assistant from a good program . It had worked with Steve Lappas and Fran Fraschilla , former Manhattan coaches who solidified their reputations with the Jaspers before landing head-coaching jobs in the Big East , Lappas at Villanova and Fraschilla at St. John 's . <p> Gonzalez and Hill faced the same challenge , to find quality players that somehow fell off the radar screen of colleges in major conferences , particularly the Big East . Gonzalez , energetic to the point of being hyper , has uncovered some hidden gems . Unlike at Fordham , his pieces fit snugly into the Jaspers ' puzzle . His team is confident and deep , and has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a senior , Jared Johnson , the immediate future is set . They are heavy favorites to win the MAAC title and the N.C.C.A. tournament bid that goes with it . If not , the Jaspers , who last appeared in the N.C.A.A. tournament in 1995 , may still earn an at-large bid . <p> " You 've got to steal some guys and you 've got to be creative , " Gonzalez said . " You try for transfers or JUCO kids . Then you look for a player that may not be being recruited by the big guys but you see some upside and some intangibles . These are the kids that if you work with them , by the time they are juniors or seniors they are good enough to be top players in a major conference . " <p> Gonzalez 's biggest coup was luring Luis Flores back to Manhattan . Flores , a native of the Washington Heights section of Manhattan , spent his freshman season at Rutgers languishing on the bench . After transferring to Manhattan , Flores has developed into perhaps the best college @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the Jaspers , he is blessed with an array of offensive weapons . <p> He is just the type of player Hill needs to find but can not seem to land . Right now , that talent level is what separates Manhattan from Fordham , similar colleges playing basketball in disparate universes . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000867 <p> One day , Jose Santos was a big part of one of racing 's sweetest stories , about how the regular guys with their modestly bred gelding from New York and their jockey whose career had been given up for dead beat a wealthy Arab prince and proved that anyone could win the Kentucky Derby . The next , he was swept up in a maelstrom that threatened to destroy his career and tarnish his sport . <p> His problems began Saturday with an article in The Miami Herald and an accompanying photograph from the Kentucky Derby appearing to show a dark object in his right hand as he crossed the finish line aboard Funny Cide . The article indicated that the object might be a battery , an illegal device used to shock a horse and improve its performance . The situation will enter a new stage today when Santos , his agent and his lawyer meet with Churchill Downs stewards to go over the allegations . <p> The last two days have no doubt been difficult ones for Santos . But few seem better suited @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beg in the streets as a child , overcoming a 10-year slump and hearing racetrack whispers that he was washed up are the sorts of things that can toughen someone up . <p> Jose Santos was 17 and making $70 a month as a jockey in his native Chile when he watched 18-year-old Steve Cauthen win the 1978 Kentucky Derby aboard Affirmed . In every way imaginable , he could not have been further removed from Churchill Downs that day , but he was drawn to the similarities between Cauthen and him . Both were young and talented , he thought . Why could n't he win the Kentucky Derby , too ? <p> It was not the first or last time he believed in the unthinkable . But some 23 years after he watched Cauthen , Santos seemed no closer to fulfilling his ambitions than when he was back in Chile , broke and unknown . Once widely recognized as one of the top jockeys in the United States , his career seemed to be on an inexorable path toward mediocrity . <p> That was , at least , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Award winner in 1988 as the nation 's outstanding jockey , fell so hard that he could not crack the top 60 in the national standing in 2001 in money won . But he never believed for a second that his days as an elite jockey were over . He had made it to the top out of the streets of Concepcion , Chile , where he had to beg for food as a child . In comparison , reviving his flagging career did not seem so imposing . <p> " I am not a quitter , " he said . <p> It is that sort of perseverance that has helped make him one of the more popular figures around the New York racetracks . <p> " If you knew Jose , you would never question his character , " the jockey Richard Migliore said . " The fact that he has overcome so much , from his injuries to the times when his business was so slow , tells you something about him . It would have been so easy for him to give up . Instead , he worked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ says a lot about the type of person he is . When I saw the smile on his face after he won the Kentucky Derby , it gave me goose bumps . To see that tainted by this nonsense just is n't right . " <p> There was never any doubt that Santos would be a jockey . After finishing the Chilean equivalent of the fifth grade , he showed up at Club de Concepcion Racecourse to work full time , adding to the part-time duties he undertook when he was only 8 . He was a stablehand then , but he was being groomed as a jockey by his father , Manuel , a veteran rider at the Chilean tracks . Manuel Santos was not a very good rider , and the little bit of money he brought in from the minuscule purses was never enough for the 10 children he was raising . <p> " There were 12 people living in our home and only two rooms to sleep in , " Santos said . " We had four small beds and we all gathered together . There 'd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up and two down . I slept in one bed with my handicapped brother . <p> " We did n't have a floor . It was dirt . We 'd take a shower and change our clothes just once a week , on Sunday . When the economy went bad in 1973 , when Allende went down and Pinochet took over , we had a little bit of money , but there was nothing to buy . They were n't selling any food . To buy a pound of bread you had to wait in line for four hours . I had to start working pretty young . " <p> During the worst of times , he would knock on doors in the wealthier neighborhoods and beg for bread for his family to eat . <p> Santos rode in his first professional race when he was just 15 and immediately showed promise . <p> " I made $70 a month there , which was good money for a jockey , " he said . " Some people from Colombia noticed how well I was doing and offered me a contract to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I could n't believeI could make that much money riding horses . " <p> Santos does not , however , have fond memories of his time in Colombia . He was young and reckless and thought he was bulletproof . He would rush off to bars and discos after the races and celebrate his winners with alcohol and cocaine . His binges would last for days . <p> In 1984 , he accepted an offer to ride for the trainer Philip Simms in Florida , where he could earn more in one day than he would in four months in Colombia . Though just 23 at the time , he was mature enough to understand that his drug usage could destroy his opportunity . <p> " From the day I left for America , I am proud to say that I have n't touched drugs , " Santos said . " Thank God , I have been drug free . I have paid attention to my career and worked hard . I do n't think even I understood how much potential I had and I could have destroyed it with drugs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . Within a bit more than a year , he had won riding titles at Calder , Gulfstream and Hialeah and was on a fast track to become one of the sport 's brightest stars . His ascension accelerated when he moved on to the New York tracks in 1985 . He led all riders nationally in money earned each year from 1986 through 1989 and was the leading rider in New York in races won in 1986 through 1988 . In 1988 , his Eclipse Award-winning year , he won 369 races , including 62 stakes races , and his mounts earned $14,877,298 , a record at the time . <p> Santos made a tactical blunder when , in 1990 , he shifted to a California circuit that has a history of being inhospitable to New York riders . Never able to get a foothold there , he returned to New York less than a year later , but it was too late . His momentum was gone . He had some bad luck in 1992 when he broke his right arm , his collarbone and his hip in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ piling up and the result was a rider caught in a seemingly inescapable tailspin . <p> " I 'd win on a horse and then somebody else would ride them the next time , " he said . " I 'd say , ' What 's wrong with this picture ? ' I tried the best that I could and would ride a strong race . I did n't know what else to do . There are popular jockeys out there . I was on the bottom of the list . " <p> He was widely regarded as a jockey who would not take chances and did not have his head in the game . He concedes that a divorce in the early 90 's weighed on him emotionally and that his slump started to sap his confidence and morale . <p> " He seemed depressed , " the trainer Phil Johnson said . " I 'm sure his marital problems had something to do with that . He did n't have the upbeat attitude that he has now . He was a downer to be around . " <p> Each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would take a chance on him , but a retired New York City police officer turned jockey agent , Mike Sellito , did . Sellito needed a rider after parting ways with Migliore and agreed to work for Santos in March 2002 . <p> " It was like a good claiming trainer that takes a claiming horse with lots of back class and gets it out of them again , " Sellito said . " The people who worked for him prior to me were good people , but there has to be a good chemistry between the rider and the agent . You also have to have the customers . He has a whole lot of talent and always has . It was up to me to put him in the right spots so he could perform . " <p> The Sellito-Santos combination clicked immediately . After he won a career-worst 68 races with his mounts earning just $3,869,854 in 2001 , Santos improved his 2002 numbers to 176 victories and $11,917,958 in earnings . By last year 's Belmont spring meet he was back fighting elite riders like Jerry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Off the track , his life had also turned around . He navigated through the divorce and remarried the former Rita Castillo , the sister of the jockey Herb Castillo Jr . He has become a devoted family man and a doting father to his six children . His happiness and contentment shine through in his perpetual smile and gentle and humble demeanor . <p> It seemed that Santos had reached a zenith when he won last year 's $4 million Breeders ' Cup Classic aboard Volponi . It turned out to be only the appetizer to a six-month-long feast . He kept winning through the winter months at Gulfstream and scored his greatest career accomplishment in winning this year 's Kentucky Derby , his first , aboard Funny Cide . <p> The events of the past two days may have soured the accomplishment for him , but past performance would suggest Santos may just have the stuff to ride this out . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 
##3000870 <p> It was chilly and overcast on Thursday as fans lined up to buy tickets to watch the world 's best club soccer team , but the unseasonable weather did little to darken their mood as they hurried down the hill with Zinedine Zidane , Raul and Ronaldo on their minds . <p> They spoke in several languages : French teenagers over here , British tourists over there , young Spaniards , happy to be free of their tour buses , laughing and sprinting past a group of elegantly attired Japanese businessmen as they crowded into the stadium . <p> All this simply to attend practice . <p> Most Americans know little or nothing about Real Madrid Club de Futbol , as the former Real Madrid star Emilio Butragueno found out when he attended U.C.L.A. business school in 1998 . " I had to explain what it was , " Butragueno said . <p> But most of the rest of the world requires no explanation . Real ( pronounced Ray-AHL ) estimates its number of fans at 100 million . It has official fan clubs on five continents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , despite Butragueno 's frustrations , 2 more in the United States . <p> In Spain , where there are more than 1,500 fan clubs , about one in every three Spaniards supports Real , including Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar : this in a country where deep regional rivalries still exist and each region has at least one first-division team . <p> But wherever Real 's fans reside , they have not had this much to cheer ( and crow about ) since Real and its Argentine star Alfredo Di Stefano dominated European club competition , winning the first five European Cups and turning the club into a social phenomenon . In a much more competitive and expensive era , after a 30-year wait , Real has won three of the last five European club titles and has a fine chance to win its 10th this season . It is currently leading Juventus of Turin , 2-1 , after the first leg of their semifinal ( the second leg will be played Wednesday in Italy ) . <p> Real has the world 's most eye-catching lineup , and recently , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ field . <p> " In difficult times in Spain , during the dictatorship , Real was an important ambassador and now in more recent years , especially the last two , I believe it has recovered its past splendor , " Real Coach Vicente del Bosque said . <p> Real was not merely an ambassador in the 1950 's ; it was widely considered a symbol of Francisco Franco 's dictatorial rule . The club 's most influential president , Santiago Bernabeu , was a Franco confidant , and the club 's stadium ( capacity 74,634 ) , which was host to the 1982 World Cup final and is now named for Bernabeu , long sat on the Avenida del Generalisimo Franco . That tight connection helped fuel the club 's bitter rivalry with F.C . Barcelona , which came to represent Catalan identity as the region struggled to defend its culture against Franco 's edicts and encroachments . <p> But Madrid 's main thoroughfare is now called Paseo de la Castellana , and Real is now one among many symbols of Spain 's renaissance , along with film directors like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . <p> " Real is a pluralistic club now , a club open to supporters from all parts of society and all different political views , " Del Bosque said . <p> As in the 1950 's , this Real team does not simply win ; it entertains on a grand scale because of its stars ' technical skills and creative instincts . As in the 1950 's , most of the main men are imports . Real has three former world players of the year -- Zidane , Luis Figo and Ronaldo -- all acquired in the last three seasons under the new president Florentino Perez , a construction magnate who has managed the nifty trick of ridding the club of crushing debt while paying world-record transfer fees . <p> His first purchase was Figo , the Portuguese wing who was Barcelona 's best player when Perez made a campaign promise to purchase him in the summer of 2000 that was widely considered untenable . Figo came anyway , risking Barcelona fans ' eternal hostility for a big pay raise . Next , from Juventus , came Zidane , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ World Cup and who , on a good night , seems to have 90 degrees more vision than everyone on the field . <p> Then , last summer from Inter Milan , came Ronaldo , the oft-injured yet still-productive scorer who roared back to top form in leading Brazil to last year 's World Cup title . He was widely considered the extra Ferrari in an already overstocked garage , but he has bulled through the cynicism after a spotty start , scoring goals in bunches , including three in one memorable night against Manchester United in the quarterfinals of the Champions League , the modern name for the European Cup . <p> There are Spaniards in the lineup , too , led by the clever , opportunistic striker Raul , who developed his skills at crosstown rival Atletico Madrid before jumping to Real . He has become yet another strong candidate for player of the year . <p> If European club soccer had a draft or salary caps , such talent hoarding would be out of the question , but at least for now , it does not , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Spanish sporting press , whose Madrid-based papers Marca and As regularly devote eight pages a day to Real . <p> " We would prefer to say we 're the best on earth , but that was somehow not enough , so it 's galacticos , " said Real 's sports director , Jorge Valdano , who played for and coached Real before returning as an administrator in 2000 after Perez 's election . <p> " I came back because it seemed to me to be a very interesting period , a moment of change in soccer worldwide and at Real . " <p> There has been much change , although not on Real 's roster . Figo , Zidane and Ronaldo are Real 's only purchases in the last three years , and the club 's policy is to rely on the club 's developmental squads to provide the less costly bulk of the squad . <p> The theory is that , despite their price tags , Real 's superstars pay their way by moving hearts , minds and merchandise worldwide ( Real has sold approximately 125,000 jerseys with Ronaldo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on which galactico comes next , and while there have been reports linking Manchester United 's David Beckham to Real , the club has denied interest . <p> " It 's true he 's very attractive both for his skills and his image , " Valdano said . " But not all players with this profile must end up playing for Real , only practically all of them . " <p> Attendance has also risen significantly in the past three years , and Valdano said the club 's revenues had nearly doubled during that span . Though transfer fees are hefty -- Zidane cost $75 million -- salaries remain low by American standards . Top scale at Real is approximately $7 million a year . <p> Under Perez , who has kept his full-time job , sponsorship opportunities are pursued with vigor . " In 1999 , we did n't have that mind-set , but now we are taking more advantage of our brand , " said Butragueno , now Valdano 's assistant , who spent several months working with the Los Angeles Dodgers . <p> " When I went there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be applied here in Europe very soon . Real Madrid is now organized in a very similar way . " <p> According to Valdano , the organization 's next step is to reach out to new soccer markets . Real plans to open a soccer academy in Mexico and another in China . Within two to three years , he said the club hopes to do the same in the United States , where they played an exhibition in the New York area last year . <p> " There 's no doubt that it 's a very attractive market , and we 'd like to get involved in it , " Valdano said . " With time , and the Latin influence , we believe soccer will be an important force in the United States . " <p> And perhaps , with time , American voices will be part of the cacophonic mix in the line for tickets outside Real 's practice sessions . <p> URL : http : //www.nytimes.com 