S CAROLINA STRUGGLES
Spurrier: We’ll ‘lick our wounds’ during bye week
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) β South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said the Gamecocks will “lick our wounds” and work to improve during a bye week after two disappointing collapses have the one-time Southeastern Conference East favorites all but out of the title chase.
South Carolina (3-3, 2-3 SEC) held late double-digit leads in its past two games, yet lost to division rivals Missouri (21-20) and Kentucky (45-38). The defeats knocked the Gamecocks out of the Top 25 for the first time since early 2010.
The off week gives Spurrier and his coaching staff the chance to identify and correct mistakes before returning to the field against FCS opponent Furman on Oct. 18.
The Gamecocks’ head coach told fans he’s embarrassed by the team’s showing and will work to improve things the second half.
S CAROLINA-STALEY
Dawn Staley plans to use international success
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) β South Carolina coach Dawn Staley is glad to be back at practice and hopes her championship summer with USA Basketball will lead to similar success with the Gamecocks.
Staley was part of two U.S. gold-medal winning squads this offseason. She was coach of the Americans who won the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in August before serving as assistant for the national team that captured the FIBA World Cup last weekend in Turkey.
Staley said her defending Southeastern Conference regular-season champions are seeking to finish on top this winter, too. She said her international experiences helped enhance her ability to rotate top players, all who expect lots of playing time.
Staley figures to face the same challenge with the Gamecocks, who added three McDonald’s All-Americans to a deep roster of returnees.
PANTHERS-CAM’S CONTRACT
Rivera: Newton will get new contract ‘in due time’
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) β Coach Ron Rivera says the Panthers remain committed to Cam Newton as their franchise quarterback, even though they’ve not yet signed the former No. 1 overall draft pick to a long-term contract extension.
Rivera expects that will happen “in due time.”
Like Newton, Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton and San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick were drafted in 2011. And both have received hefty six-year extensions with Dalton getting $115 million and Kaepernick $122 million.
The difference is Dalton and Kaepernick both were second-round picks whose rookie contracts were set to expire after this season. However, Newton signed a four-year deal with a club option for a fifth season that Carolina picked up earlier this year.
Newton is slated to make $14.6 million next season if he doesn’t sign an extension beforehand.
On Sunday, he and the Panthers will take on Dalton’s Bengals.
NASCAR-CHARLOTTE
Kyle Busch takes pole at Charlotte as JGR surges
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) β Kyle Busch has won the pole for Saturday night’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Joe Gibbs Racing could surge into the championship race.
Busch qualified first for JGR with a lap at 197.390 mph in Thursday qualifying to put his Toyota in the top starting spot. Jeff Gordon failed to bump Busch for the pole, turning a lap at 197.217 for Hendrick Motorsports. Gibbs driver Denny Hamlin qualified third.
Five drivers racing for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship failed to advance to the final round of qualifying. Neither Joey Logano or Brad Keselowski advanced, and Keselowski needs a strong run to avoid elimination.
Also off in qualifying was six-time and defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who is ranked last in the 12-driver Chase field.
NASCAR-DALE JR-40TH BIRTHDAY
Earnhardt riding high as he prepares to turn 40
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) β The blown tire while he was leading at Kansas is long forgotten. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is celebrating his 40th birthday on Friday and the milestone has turned into a weeklong celebration.
It kicked off Monday when longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann successfully pulled off a surprise party that NASCAR’s most popular driver never saw coming. He has visited with close friends and family, received terrific gifts and showed up at Charlotte Motor Speedway ready to win a race.
Earnhardt badly needs a victory Saturday night: His 39th-place finish at Kansas put him in danger of being eliminated from the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. A victory earns an automatic berth into the third round and next week’s race is at the unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
2-man race headlines SAS Championship
CARY, N.C. (AP) β Bernhard Langer is the prohibitive favorite to win the Charles Schwab Cup. Colin Montgomerie says he’s figured out a way to catch him.
Both players are in the field for this week’s SAS Championship and Montgomerie figures he needs to win two of the final four Champions Tour events to make up the 633-point deficit.
Montgomerie says he’s “got a lot to do to catch Bernhard.”
The two will join Nick Faldo in one threesome at Prestonwood Country Club.
Langer won here in 2012 and claimed the Schwab Cup in 2010. He says his previous victory here helps.
