Lewis' book is closed but
Super Bowl just heating up
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, Fla. - A year ago,
Ray Lewis was wearing hand
cuffs and an orange prison
jumpsuit. Tuesday, he wore a
diamond-encrusted watch and
a white Baltimore Ravens jersey.
Other than the change of
outfits, Lewis kept insisting he
was the same man.
A midday sun hovered over
his left shoulder as he took a seat
in front of several hugged
reporters. He put an expensive
pair of sunglasses down in front
of him, folded his hands and for
an hour, calmly deflected every
question that wasn’t about foot
ball.
“I’m not here to justify what
went on,” Lewis said. “That's a
story in my book that’s closed.”
Tuesday was media day at
the Super Bowl. It's the day the
National Football League nor
mally revels in, but officials have
dreaded since it became appar
ent Lewis was talented and
determined enough to get the
Ravens to the championship
game.
It s a day set aside for uncov
ering the personal stories of tri
umph and tribulation that con
verge in the finale. Lewis' jour
ney from last January to this one
featured more adversity, more
twists, turns and tragedy than all
the other players’ stories laid
end to end.
But he wasn’t going to talk
about it It’s easy to understand
why.
In the early-morning hours
after last season's Super Bowl in
Atlanta, two young men were
stabbed to death outside a
nightclub just miles from the
stadium. As chaos reigned,
Lewis, several friends and a half
dozen hangers-on piled into a
limousine Lewis had chartered
and fled.
Long considered one of pro
football’s best players, he was
charged in the murders, then
exonerated several weeks later.
Under an agreement with pros
ecutors, Lewis pleaded guilty to
misdemeanor obstruction of
justice and testified against his
two former co-defendants.
He recalled on the witness
stand how one, Joseph
Sweeting, brandished a knife as
they sped away in the limo and
made punching motions with it
“Every time they hit me,”
Lewis quoted Sweeting as say
ing, “I hit them.”
Even so, Sweeting and the
other co-defendant, Reginald
Oakley, were acquitted of all
charges in June. Lewis got a
year's probation. No one was
convicted in the deaths of
Jacinth Baker and Richard
Lollar.
Even now, Lewis remains
unrepentant. He is convinced
prosecutors dragged him into
the case because of his high pro
file and that the NFL tried to
make an example of him
because several other players
were facing felony trials alleging
Newsmakers
Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lews refused to talk to reporters Tuesday about the
unsolved double murder after last year's Super Bowl, which left Lewis guilty of
obstruction of justice.
murder and sexual assaults.
“It was never about those
two kids lying dead in the
street,” Lewis said. “It was about
Ray Lewis, and that’s not right.
Don’t be mad at me because I’m
at center stage.”
He has occupied center
stage now for the better part of a
month. Lewis gave a lengthy
interview and appeared on the
cover of ESPN's magazine sever
al weeks ago just as the Ravens
began their improbable run
through the playoffs.
In the story, he talked about
days spent weeping in his cell,
struggling to explain to his
young son why he always
showed up on TV wearing the
jumpsuit and handcuffs. Every
night, he did 1,500 push-ups
and 500 sit-ups in his cell to get
ready for this season.
The panther engraved the
length of Levws’ left biceps, its
long claws colored blood red,
attested to that dedication.
The defensive player of the
year award he picked up earlier
this season confirmed his status
as the leader of a defense that
ranks among the NFL’s best of all
time.
“The guys in the white jer
seys out here,” Lewis said, talk
ing about his teammates scat
tered around the field, “look to
me for passion, for a sense of
respect.”
But the surviving family
members of the two young men
murdered that night in Atlanta
look at Lewis and want to see
other things - mostly, a sense of
regret
As Lewis held court inside
Raymond James Stadium in
Tampa, 41-year-old Cindy
Lollar-Owens, the aunt who
raised Richard Lollar from a 2
day-old baby, was visiting his
grave site.
"I didn’t get a chance to
watch him on TV” she said. “But
somebody is going to call us and
tell us what he said. I would have
given anything to be there.”
And yet, Lollar-Owens
would have been more disap
pointed than anything. In the
last few days, relatives of both of
the victims have appeared in
news stories and television
interviews. They have pleaded
for help in bringing the killers to
justice, in some cases cried out
for revenge.
Lewis heard the pleas. He
insisted one more time what he
told prosecutors months ago
was still true. He doesn’t know
who stabbed Baker or Lollar.
“If I knew, I would have told
them,” Lewis said.
There were another half
dozen questions about forgive
ness, regret, about contacting
the families of the two young
men, about whether he’d trade
all the successes of this season
to erase what happened in those
few terrifying moments outside
an Atlanta nightclub.
“Football, football, football,”
Lewis would chide reporters
every time he didn’t want to
answer.
“What I went through, you
can’t get me to talk about it,” he
said. “Yeah, we’re all human, so I
think about it some. But that’s
on my time.”
Dayne basks in Super Bowl media day hype
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, Fla. - Ron Dayne
couldn’t remember reading or
hearing anything that could
have prepared him for the enor
mity of Super Bowl media day.
The rookie running back for
the New York Giants sat in the
stands at Raymond James
Stadium on Tuesday, surveying
the scene below and slowly
Women must
nix CU jinx for
chance at win
BUrrSfrompagelO
counter NU’s athleticism as 11
players average more than 10
minutes per game.
At some point, the Huskers
need to win a game they aren’t
supposed to, Sanderford said.
This game is good opportunity
to do so.
“We just have to gut one out
somewhere,” he said, “and
Boulder would be a nice place
to start.”
Sanderford will also try to
avoid several milestones with
the game tonight. In his four
years at Nebraska, he has never
lost four straight games and his
teams have never dipped below
the .500 mark.
shaking his head in amazement.
“You can't really compare
this to nothing else,” said the
1999 Heisman Trophy winner,
who just as well could have been
talking about his transition to
the NFL after a record-breaking
career at Wisconsin.
“I’m just up here trying to
A Great Way to
Earn $30 Today!
Donate your blood plasma
to help save kids’ lives
Earn $30 Cash
(for approx. 2 hours or your time).
Call or stop by:
Nabi Biomedical Center,
300 S. 17* Street, Lincoln
402-474-2335
F*wtdoMVontkiwmaywy. Caifordrtrilt
www.nabi.com
Dancing
Every Thursday
Doors open at 7:30
Lessons begin at 8:00
The PIA MOR
6600 W ‘O’ St.
475-4030
..Every Sunday T
Night has Lincoln's Best-'
Country Music with 2 Live Bands!
blend in," he said. “That’s what
I’ve done all season."
Dayne rushed for 770 yards
and five touchdowns, the sec
ond-highest rushing total for a
first-year player in Giants histo
ry, although it's been difficult
adjusting to a role of sharing
playing time with Tiki Barber.
F
R
I
D
A
Y
S
CLUB
1427
Historic defenses hard to find
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TAMPA, Fla. - Dominating
NFL defenses often attract
catchy nicknames - Steel
Curtain, No Name, Doomsday,
Fearsome Foursome.
No one has figured out what
to call the Baltimore Ravens’
record-breaking unit, although
Coach Brian Billick said he
thinks “best ever” might fit.
After all, the Ravens rode it
right into the Super Bowl.
"Call us the Swarming Bees,
the Killer Bees,” defensive end
Michael McCrary said. “We're
like something you could put
together on PlayStation. Like
when you were a kid growing up
and you got all the best kids
together and dominated other
neighborhoods. Our defense is
awesome. It's hard to believe the
talent and speed and cama
raderie.”
The Giants believe they have
the same elements on the defen
sive side of the ball. Certainly
Michael Strahan thinks so.
"We’ve got 11 guys that play
very well together,” the defen
sive end said. “The confidence
level is no one can score on us.
That's the way we feel.”
Both teams are equipped
with impressive credentials. The
Ravens have allowed 16 points in
three playoff games, and the
Giants are coming off a shutout
of Minnesota in the NFC cham
pionship game.
Both are big, fast and very
good, and they follow formulas
common to other great defens
es.
Nick Buoniconti, a finalist for
election to the Hall of Fame and
longtime broadcaster for HBO’s
“Inside the NFL,” played for
Miami’s No Name squad, a team
that sailed through the only
undefeated season in history.
"The first thing it takes is
teamwork,” he said. “The line
backers, the defensive backs, the
defensive linemen all knew each
other’s assignment. Everybody
knew what everyone else was
doing. There were no surprises.
That makes a solid defense.
Breakdowns are mental mis
takes. That was the way our team
was.”
Buoniconti said the
Dolphins were close, but not
perfect.
After the Super Bowl,
Defensive Coordinator Bill
Amsparger looked at film of the
17-0 season.
“He said we made 13 mental
mistakes the entire year,"
Buoniconti said. “If we were
beaten, we were beaten physi
cally. That means volumes.
You’ve got to be unselfish and
disciplined. We set a record with
147 points against in 1972.
"It takes great players to exe
cute. You can’t have freelancers.
You have to eliminate mental
mistakes.”
Dallas Coach Tom Landry
christened the Dolphins’
defense No Name, and
Buoniconti still bristles at it
“We were not No Names,” he
said. “We were a cerebral team.”
Perhaps the most dominat
ing defensive player in NFL his
tory was Hall of Famer Dick
Butkus, now the director of foot
ball operations for the XFL,
which begins play next month.
Butkus said nothing was
complicated about his
approach.
“It takes desire to make the
play within the context of the
defense,” he said. “It depends on
the desire to get it done.”
If you apply that to offense,
you could say the same thing.
“It’s the desire to make two
blocks instead of one. You tell
yourself ‘don’t get blocked, no
matter what.' You need the
desire to do your assignment
and then you move out to help.
“Call us the Swarming
Bees, the Killer
Bees. We’re like
something you could
put together on
PlayStation. Like when
you were a kid
growing up and you
got all the best kids
together and
dominated other
neighborhoods.
Michael McCrary
defensive end
They’ll never have enough
blockers that way.”
Defense requires an aggres
sive mindset, Butkus said.
“It’s me against you,” he said.
“I don’t care if you’re bigger.
There’s no zipper on your chest
to measure your heart
"Ray Nitschke, Tommy
Nobis, Deacon Jones and Alex
Karras had that desire. All the
great ones have it. They’re the
ones that rise above. Maybe
they’re not the physical speci
mens, but they have the heart for
it
“Everybody takes care of
their assignments. That’s no big
deal. But if I just take care of
mine and I’m satisfied, what if
another guy lets up? If you come
to block me, if I defeat you,
there’s no one else left. Once I get
by, I’m free to make the tackle.
“The mental part is when
you line up. I’d'say, ‘I’ve got to
make the tackle. I can’t rely on
someone else.’ Never be com
placent. If everybody blocks
their man, it will be a standoff.
The trick is to get two blocks.”
Hidden talent found in tryouts
TRYOUT from page 10
"I was offered scholarships
from other schools, but I’ve
always wanted to play here, and I
knew I could make the team if I
tried out”
Coming out of high school,
Biodrowski had scholarship offers
from Northwest Missouri State,
the University of Nebraska at
Omaha, Nebraska Wesleyan, Peru
State and Midland Lutheran
College.
Jerry Green, his former coach,
said he always knew Biodrowski
had the ability to play Division I
football, but playing in Class C-l
probably hurt him in getting a fair
look.
After his senior season playing
mostly tight end and free safety,
Biodrowski led his team with 14
THE
NEBRASKAN
W
the daily
NEBRftS&AN’
$1 Mug Night
$1 Mini Pizza
Every Wednesday
from 8pm to midnight
upstairs only
2 for I Calxones
All day Sunday
^0^
026Y*StrMt • (402)477-2377
catches for 500 yards and four
touchdowns - numbers that
Green said would’ve been a lot
higher if not for Fort Calhoun's
run-first offense.
“He turned down some
Division n offers with the stipula
tion that he would get an opportu
nity to work out in the winter,”
Green said. “That’s where he
wanted to be, and that's where he
wanted to work.
“He’s probably just a recruit
that slipped through the cracks for
Nebraska.”
After testing was finished last
Wednesday, Biodrowski said the
feeling running inside of him was
indescribable.
Biodrowski said Boyd Epley,
NU director of athletic perform
ance, had some pretty kind words
when everything was over.
“He said that all the coaches
were talking about me and won
dering why I wasn’t on the team
already,” Biodrowski said. “I was
really excited.
“I can’t stop thinking about
football and how I’m going to do.
Right now, I’m smiling about all
this. I had no idea that all of this
was going to happen to me.”*
When asked about
Biodrowski's chances of making
an impact, all Green could do was
think about the past
"He had been at the Nebraska
football camp for the last three
years, so they knew who he was,”
Green said. “But I don’t think they
were willing to take a chance on
him because he didn't put up the
big numbers in high school.
“Now they’re finding out what
a tremendous athlete he really is.
IN LICKETY-SPLIT
WE DELIVER
THE ORIGINAL
SUPER V
SEAL ”,
WORLDS GREATEST GOURMET
SANDWICH SHOPS
WWW.JIMMYJOHNS.COM
