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Bush
applauds Lakers in front of audience
WASHINGTON
(AP) — Kobe Bryant gave a team jersey, and President Bush gave
it the old college try — a quick tiptoe to bring himself somewhere
near eye level with the Los Angeles Lakers’ star guard.
“We
can use him,” Bryant joked afterward. “We can use another
shooting guard.”
Bush
welcomed 13 Lakers plus coach Phil Jackson to the White House Monday,
a belated congratulations for the NBA championships they won in
2000 and 2001. He thanked the team before an audience that included
NBA commissioner David Stern and children from Boys and Girls Clubs.
The
president challenged the players to carry themselves as champions
off the court, too, for the sake of children who want to be like
them.
“I
want to thank the players who understand that with victory comes
huge responsibility to encourage people to make the right choices
in life,” Bush said. “To me that’s the true sign
of a champ.”
“This
group showed the country and NBA basketball how to work together
as a group,” Jackson told the president. “And I only hope
that you and the Congress can do as much and the same.”
Texas
Tech basketball back in Top 25
Lubbock,
(AP) — Bob Knight’s first season at Texas Tech has the
Red Raiders where they haven’t been in five years — the
Top 25.
While
the top six teams in the AP college basketball poll held their places
from last week, Texas Tech joined the ranks of the ranked Monday.
The
Red Raiders (15-3), who finished tied for last in the Big 12 last
season with a 3-13 record, entered the poll at No. 20 following
a seven-day period in which they beat two Top 10 teams — Oklahoma
State and Oklahoma.
Knight
last had a team ranked in 1999-2000, his 29th and final season at
Indiana.
Texas
Tech was last ranked in the 1996-97 season when it was in the poll
for 10 weeks, reaching as high as 18th.
Duke
(18-1), which beat Boston College and Virginia last week to extend
its winning streak to six games, was a unanimous No. 1 again, receiving
all 71 first-place votes from the national media panel.
Kansas,
Maryland, Cincinnati, Florida and Oklahoma held second through sixth,
but a week that saw 16 ranked teams lose — including six in
the Top 10 — caused plenty of movement throughout the rest
of the poll.
Constantine
to replace Robinson as Devils coach
WEST
ORANGE, N.J. (AP) — Larry Robinson was fired as coach of the
struggling New Jersey Devils on Monday despite leading them to the
2000 Stanley Cup and within a victory of another title last year.
He
was replaced by former Pittsburgh Penguins coach Kevin Constantine,
who ran an afternoon practice. His first game will be Tuesday night
at the New York Islanders.
General
manager Lou Lamoriello said the dismissal was “the players’
fault,” and the team will be better served with a coach who
is more of a disciplinarian.
Lamoriello
would not discuss contract terms but said Constantine is not an
interim coach.
Robinson’s
dismissal comes after a 1-2-1 road trip that included losses to
Atlanta and Tampa Bay. The Devils tied Minnesota 2-2 on Saturday.
The
Devils, perennially one of the NHL’s strongest teams, are fourth
in the Atlantic Division with a record of 21-20-7-3 and are 16 points
behind first-place Philadelphia.
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