D6
S SOCCER D.C. United edges El Salvador
In friendly, crowd turns out to support visitors, but hosts prevail, 1-0
by Jorge Castillo
D.C. United’s friendly against the El Salvador national team Saturday night may have been at RFK Stadium but it might as well have been played in San Salvador. It felt like anything but a home match. Thousands of boisterous Salva-
doran fans turned out for the match and drowned out the small contingent of United supporters. It wasn’t enough, however. Adam Cristman, a second-half substitu- tion, put United in front with a goal in the 51st minute on a cross from Kurt Morsinik. That was all the scoring needed as D.C. ex- tended its unbeaten streak to six with a 1-0 win. The first half went back and
forth but the hosts had the ad- vantage in quality chances and corners, where United held a 5-1 advantage in the first 45 minutes. The host team’s first threat- ening chance came off the right foot of midfielder Andy Najar, who had a blocked shot land at his feet in the 40th minute. He
misfired on the shot, setting off cheers from the pro-El Salvador crowd. D.C. United continued apply- ing pressure throughout the first half to no avail. After a series of nifty moves past defenders, captain Jaime Moreno drew a foul in the just outside the box in 36th minute and on the subsequent free kick, passed to Chris Pontius, who fired it at Salvadoran goalkeeper Dagoberto Portillo. The ball was saved and United’s Luciano Emi- lio couldn’t take advantage of the rebound, just missing the ball af- ter a diving effort. In the 39th minute, Julius
James redirected a Najar cross just over the net and in the next minute, Portillo had to make a full-extension, diving save on a well-struck Marc Burch free kick to keep it scoreless. El Salvador’s best scoring op-
portunity in the first 45 minutes was a free kick in the 19th minute following a Najar yellow card that United goaltender Troy Per- kins saved with ease. Following the quick Cristman
goal to start the second half, the Salvadorans became more ag- gressive and created some chanc- es, none better than Eliseo Quin- tanilla’s free kick off the post in the 54th minute. One minute lat-
SCOREBOARD GOLF U.S. Open
At Pebble Beach Golf Links; In Pebble Beach, Calif. Purse: TBA ($7.5 million in 2009); Yardage: 7,040 Friday’s Second Round; +8 missed cut
Graeme McDowell ..............................71 68 — 139 -3 Dustin Johnson ....................................71 70 — 141 -1 Ernie Els ................................................73 68 — 141 -1 Ryo Ishikawa ........................................70 71 — 141 -1 Phil Mickelson .....................................75 66 — 141 -1 Alex Cejka .............................................70 72 — 142 E Paul Casey ............................................69 73 — 142 E Brendon de Jonge ...............................69 73 — 142 E Jerry Kelly .............................................72 70 — 142 E Soren Kjeldsen .....................................72 71 — 143+1 K. J. Choi ................................................70 73 — 143+1 Ian Poulter ............................................70 73 — 143+1 Scott Langley .......................................75 69 — 144+2 Gregory Havret ....................................73 71 — 144+2 Tim Clark ...............................................72 72 — 144+2 Lee Westwood .....................................74 71 — 145+3 Martin Kaymer ....................................74 71 — 145+3 Charl Schwartzel .................................74 71 — 145+3 Jason Allred ..........................................72 73 — 145+3 Jason Preeo ..........................................75 70 — 145+3 Rafael Cabrera-Bello ..........................70 75 — 145+3 Justin Leonard .....................................72 73 — 145+3 Jason Dufner ........................................72 73 — 145+3 Ross McGowan ....................................72 73 — 145+3 Shaun Micheel .....................................69 77 — 146+4 S.Y. Noh .................................................74 72 — 146+4 Vijay Singh ............................................74 72 — 146+4 Tiger Woods .........................................74 72 — 146+4 Fred Funk ..............................................74 72 — 146+4 Luke Donald .........................................71 75 — 146+4 Padraig Harrington ............................73 73 — 146+4 Matt Kuchar .........................................74 72 — 146+4 Scott Verplank .....................................72 74 — 146+4 Lucas Glover ........................................73 73 — 146+4 David Toms ...........................................71 75 — 146+4 Matt Bettencourt ................................72 74 — 146+4 Steve Wheatcroft ................................74 73 — 147+5 Sean O’Hair ..........................................76 71 — 147+5 Russell Henley .....................................73 74 — 147+5 Bo Van Pelt ...........................................72 75 — 147+5 Edoardo Molinari ................................75 72 — 147+5 Camilo Villegas ...................................78 69 — 147+5 Jim Furyk ...............................................72 75 — 147+5 Angel Cabrera ......................................75 72 — 147+5 Nick Watney .........................................76 71 — 147+5 Henrik Stenson ....................................77 70 — 147+5 Robert Karlsson ...................................75 72 — 147+5 David Duval ..........................................75 73 — 148+6 Ben Curtis .............................................78 70 — 148+6 Rhys Davies ..........................................78 70 — 148+6 Ryan Moore ..........................................75 73 — 148+6 Matthew Richardson ..........................73 75 — 148+6 Erick Justesen ......................................74 74 — 148+6 Steve Marino ........................................73 75 — 148+6 Robert Allenby .....................................74 74 — 148+6 Eric Axley ..............................................75 73 — 148+6 Ricky Barnes ........................................72 76 — 148+6 Craig Barlow ........................................73 75 — 148+6 Chris Stroud .........................................77 72 — 149+7 Gareth Maybin .....................................74 75 — 149+7 Pablo Martin ........................................73 76 — 149+7 Sergio Garcia .......................................73 76 — 149+7 Steve Stricker ......................................75 74 — 149+7 Davis Love III ........................................75 74 — 149+7 Tom Watson .........................................78 71 — 149+7 Peter Hanson .......................................73 76 — 149+7 Kenny Perry ..........................................72 77 — 149+7 Brandt Snedeker .................................75 74 — 149+7 John Mallinger .....................................77 72 — 149+7 Toru Taniguchi ....................................73 76 — 149+7 Zach Johnson .......................................72 77 — 149+7 Hiroyuki Fujita .....................................72 77 — 149+7 Retief Goosen ......................................75 74 — 149+7 Mike Weir .............................................70 79 — 149+7 Stuart Appleby ....................................73 76 — 149+7 Stewart Cink ........................................76 73 — 149+7 Yuta Ikeda ............................................77 72 — 149+7 Thongchai Jaidee ................................74 75 — 149+7 Jason Gore ............................................76 73 — 149+7 Jim Herman ..........................................76 73 — 149+7 Kent Jones ............................................73 76 — 149+7 Bobby Gates .........................................75 74 — 149+7 Ty Tryon ................................................75 74 — 149+7
TENNIS AEGON International At Devonshire Park; In Eastbourne, England
Purse: ATP, $553,000 (WT250); Surface: Grass- Outdoor Singles
Men— Championship
Michael Llodra (8), France, def. Guillermo Gar- cia-Lopez (5), Spain, 7-5, 6-2. Women — Championship
Ekaterina Makarova, Russia, def. Victoria Aza- renka, Belarus, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. Doubles
Women — Championship
Lisa Raymond, U.S., and Rennae Stubbs (4), Australia, def. Kveta Peschke, Cz. Rep., and Kata- rina Srebotnik (2), Slov., 6-2, 2-6, 13-11 tiebreak.
UNICEF Open
At Autotron Rosmalen;In Den Bosch, Netherlands Purse: $544,500 (WT250); Surface: Grass-Outdoor Singles
Men— Championship
Sergiy Stakhovsky, Ukraine, def. Janko Tipsa- revic (7), Serbia, 6-3, 6-0. Women — Championship
Justine Henin (1), Belgium, def. Andrea Pet- kovic (7), Germany, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4; .
LOCAL GOLF
Chantilly National 581 , CC of Faiffax 491 Mt. Vernon 591 Springfield 561
B Team Matches ⁄2
⁄2 ⁄2
Trump National 581
, Washington 481 , Army/Navy 1 ⁄2
⁄2 , Hertiage Hunt 491 ⁄2
Belmont — Nam Kim and Linda Quade won the WGA Beat the Pro event. Bryce Resorts — In the Jack and Jill tournament, Bill and Pat Snyder won low gross with 81. Rob and Paty Schwartz won low net with 60. Chevy Chase — Stephen Gunther and Kevin Har- len won the member-guest event. Congressional — Marty Russo, Tony Russo, Paul Dylan and Mark Dylan won the Father’s Day Open with 62. Columbia — Kevin Urgo Roger Cozzi won the Mar- tin Arwest member-guest event. Fauquier Springs — Priscilla Layton and Dana Pe- terson won the ladies’ member-guest event with 57.
Greendale — Kuan Li and Jah Li won the Father’s Day tournament with 63. Lakewood — Alan Bortnick, Mike Mack, Judy Solo- man and Ann Turner won the Linda Snider Butter- fly Rally for a Cure with 105.
Manor — In the father-son event, Tom and Thom- as Crowell won with 61. Sam and Josh Williamow- sky won low gross with 45. Washington — In the member-guest event, Mark Reiter and Dan Esposito won low net with 274. Ed- ward and Rob Wilson won low gross with 302.
⁄2 ⁄2
BASKETBALL WNBA
Eastern W L Pct GB
Connecticut ........................ 7 3 .700 1 Atlanta ................................. 9 4 .692 A Indiana ................................. 8 4 .667 1 Washington ......................... 6 4 .600 2 New York ............................. 4 6 .400 4 Chicago ................................ 4 7 .364 4A
Western W L Pct GB
Seattle .................................. 10 2 .833 — Phoenix ................................ 5 6 .455 4A San Antonio ......................... 4 6 .400 5 xTulsa ................................... 3 7 .300 6 Los Angeles ......................... 3 8 .273 6A xMinnesota ......................... 3 9 .250 7
x-Late game Saturday’s results
Washington 65, Chicago 61 (OT) Indiana 94, Atlanta 91 Minnesota at Tulsa, Late Sunday’s games
Connecticut at Phoenix, 6 San Antonio at Seattle, 9
Mystics 65, Sky 61 (OT)
Chicago Min FG FT O-T A PF Pts. Young 16:00 2-3 0-0 0-1 2 4 4 Kraayeveld 35:54 3-6 0-0 0-3 3 2 6 Fowles 37:01 6-8 5-7 0-9 0 4 17 Perkins 40:10 5-14 0-0 2-3 4 1 10 Canty 30:18 2-8 4-5 0-1 2 6 8 Irvin 7:36 0-1 0-2 0-2 0 4 0 Prince 21:14 3-7 4-5 0-1 0 0 10 Bass 6:23 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 1 0 Thorn 30:24 2-3 0-0 0-3 2 2 6 Totals 225 23-50 13-19 3-24 13 24 61
Percentages: FG .460, FT .684. 3-Point Goals: 2-11, .182 (Thorn 2-2, Canty 0-1, Prince 0-1, Kraayeveld 0-3, Perkins 0-4). Blocked Shots: 6 (Fowles 5, Kraayeveld). Turnovers: 23 (Thorn 5, Kraayeveld 4, Fowles 3, Irvin 3, Bass 2, Canty 2, Perkins 2, Young 2). Steals: 9 (Fowles 3, Perkins 2, Canty, Kraayeveld, Prince, Thorn). Technical Fouls: None.
Washington Min FG FT O-T A PF Pts. Currie 32:08 2-8 1-2 5-8 1 5 6 Langhorne 34:35 4-7 1-2 4-10 1 2 9 Sanford 23:49 4-10 3-4 5-7 0 6 11 Smith 40:37 6-11 2-2 1-5 3 2 17 Harding 41:52 2-9 3-6 0-3 6 1 8 Melvin 15:32 1-4 2-2 0-2 1 3 4 Coleman 5:35 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Ajavon 22:55 3-13 3-3 0-3 0 2 10 Houts 3:08 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 Monroe 4:50 0-1 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 Totals 225:01 22-65 15-21 16-39 12 22 65
Percentages: FG .338, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 6-17, .353 (Smith 3-5, Currie 1-2, Harding 1-3, Ajavon 1-5, Coleman 0-2). Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 23 (Harding 5, Currie 4, Langhorne 3, Smith 3, Ajavon 2, Melvin 2, Sanford 2, Coleman, Houts). Steals: 14 (Ajavon 4, Currie 3, Sanford 3, Harding 2, Houts, Langhorne).
Chicago ............................. 21 11 8 12 9 — 61 Washington ........................ 9 11 20 12 13 — 65
A: 9,034 (10,100). T: 2:21. AUTO RACING
NASCAR Nationwide Bucyrus 200 At Road America In Elkhart Lake, Wis. Lap length: 4.048 miles (Start position in parentheses)
1. (1) Carl Edwards, Ford, 50 laps, 150 rating, 195 points
2. (12) Ron Fellows, Chevrolet, 50, 112.7, 170 3. (6) Brendan Gaughan, Toyota, 50, 105.7, 165 4. (13) Brad Keselowski, Dodge, 50, 98.6, 160 5. (9) Owen Kelly, Ford, 50, 107.9, 155 6. (4) Brad Coleman, Toyota, 50, 118.9, 155 7. (23) J.R. Fitzpatrick, Chevrolet, 50, 85.7, 146 8. (19) Jason Leffler, Toyota, 50, 79.1, 147 9. (17) Steve Wallace, Toyota, 50, 89.7, 138 10. (20) Trevor Bayne, Toyota, 50, 85.9, 134 11. (3) Colin Braun, Ford, 50, 96.1, 130 12. (11) Ron Hornaday Jr., Chevrolet, 50, 90.7, 127 13. (21) Brian Scott, Toyota, 50, 80.1, 124 14. (7) Patrick Long, Toyota, 50, 93.3, 126 15. (28) Tayler Malsam, Toyota, 50, 69.2, 118 16. (8) Paul Menard, Ford, 50, 102.4, 115 17. (30) Stanton Barrett, Chevrolet, 50, 55.7, 112 18. (33) Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 50, 53.7, 109 19. (35) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, 50, 44.5, 106 20. (10) Tony Ave, Chevrolet, 50, 75, 103 21. (36) Kenny Wallace, Chevrolet, 50, 45.9, 100 22. (38) Mark Green, Chevrolet, 50, 43, 97 23. (31) Victor Gonzalez Jr., Chevrolet, 50, 64.5, 94 24. (22) Michael Annett, Toyota, 50, 52.9, 91 25. (2) Jacques Villeneuve, Toyota, 49, 104.8, 93 26. (16) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 49, 63.8, 85 27. (40) Eric McClure, Ford, 46, 57, 82 28. (15) Alex Kennedy, Chevrolet, 46, 71.1, 79 29. (14) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, 44, 72.3, 76 30. (25) Robb Brent, Ford, 43, 51.2, 73 31. (26) Mike Bliss, Chev., accident, 38, 62.9, 70 32. (29) Tim George Jr., Chev, accident, 36, 58.9, 67 33. (5) Michael McDowell, Dodge, eng, 34, 81.5, 64 34. (32) Kevin O’Connell, Chev, engine, 34, 36.2, 61 35. (18) Justin Allgaier, Dodge, 30, 38, 58 36. (27) Tony Raines, Chev, engine, 29, 45.5, 55 37. (34) Kyle Kelley, Chev, accident, 29, 38.8, 52 38. (24) Antonio Perez, Chev, engine, 10, 51.6, 49 39. (37) Joey Scarallo, Ford, brakes, 8, 32, 46 40. (39) Brian Keselowski, Dodge, trans, 3, 35.5, 43 41. (41) Josh Wise, Ford, brakes, 1, 33.9, 40 42. (42) Andy Ponstein, Dodge, susp, 1, 31.4, 37 43. (43) Kevin Lepage, Chev, rear end, 1, 29.8, 34
Average Speed of Race Winner: 68.501 mph; Time of Race: 2 hours, 57 minutes, 17 seconds; Margin of Victory: 4.302 seconds; Caution Flags: 7 for 14 laps; Lead Changes: 7 among 5 drivers. Lap Leaders: C.Edwards 1-11; J.Leffler 12-14; C.Edwards 15-27; P.Long 28-29; C.Edwards 30-31; B.Coleman 32-38; J.Villeneuve 39-41; C.Edwards 42-50. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Led, Laps Led): C.Edwards, 4 times for 35 laps; B.Coleman, 1 time for 7 laps; J.Leffler, 1 time for 3 laps; J.Villeneuve, 1 time for 3 laps; P.Long, 1 time for 2 laps. Top 10 in Points: 1. Bra.Keselowski, 2,466; 2. C.Ed- wards, 2,229; 3. J.Allgaier, 2,051; 4. K.Busch, 1,945; 5. P.Menard, 1,860; 6. K.Harvick, 1,852; 7. B.Gaugh- an, 1,685; 8. S.Wallace, 1,674; 9. J.Leffler, 1,597; 10. J.Logano, 1,593.
TRANSACTIONS NFL
New Orleans Saints—Signed OT Jammal Brown to a tender offer and traded him to Washington for an undisclosed 2011 draft pick. Oakland Raiders—Signed DL Richard Seymour.
SOCCER World Cup
FIRST ROUND Saturday’s results
Netherlands 1, Japan 0 Ghana 1, Australia 1 Denmark 2, Cameroon 1 Sunday’s games
Slovakia vs, Paraguay, 7:30 a.m. Italy vs. New Zealand, 10:00 a.m. Brazil vs. Ivory Coast, 2:30
Saturday’s Box Scores
Netherlands 1, Japan 0 In Durban, South Africa
Netherlands ..................... ......0 1 — 1 Japan ................................. ......0 0 — 0
First half: None. Second half: 1, Netherlands, Wesley Sneijder 1, 53rd minute. Shots: Netherlands 9, Japan 10. Shots On Goal: Netherlands 5, Japan 3. Yellow Card: Netherlands, Gregory Van der Wiel, 36th.
Offsides: Netherlands 2, Japan 1. Fouls Committed: Netherlands 18, Japan 11. Fouls Against: Netherlands 10, Japan 17. Corner Kicks: Netherlands 4, Japan 5. Referee: Hector Baldassi, Argentina. Linesmen: Ricardo Casas, Argentina A: 62,010.
Ghana 1, Australia 1 In Rustenburg, South Africa
Ghana................................ ......1 0 — 1 Australia ........................... ......1 0 — 1
First half: 1, Australia, Brett Holman 1, 11th min- ute. 2, Ghana, Asamoah Gyan 2, 25th, penalty kick. Second half: None. Shots: Ghana 22, Australia 8. Shots On Goal: Ghana 6, Australia 5. Yellow Cards: Ghana, Lee Addy, 40th Red Card: Australia, Harry Kewell, 24th. Offsides: Ghana 2, Australia 2. Fouls Committed: Ghana 22, Australia 18. Fouls Against: Ghana 16, Australia 20. Corner Kicks: Ghana 6, Australia 1. Referee: Roberto Rosetti, Italy. Linesmen: Paolo Calcagno, Italy A: 34,812.
Denmark 2, Cameroon 1 In Pretoria, South Africa
Cameroon......................... ......1 0 — 1 Denmark........................... ......1 1 — 2
First half: 1, Cameroon, Samuel Eto’o 1, 10th min- ute. 2, Denmark, Nicklas Bendtner 1, 33rd. Second half: 3, Denmark, Dennis Rommedahl 1, 61st. Shots: Cameroon 23, Denmark 14. Shots On Goal: Cameroon 7, Denmark 6. Yellow Cards: Cameroon, Sebastien Bassong, 49th
Offsides: Cameroon 1, Denmark 1. Fouls Committed: Cameroon 8, Denmark 13. Fouls Against: Cameroon 11, Denmark 7. Corner Kicks: Cameroon 7, Denmark 2. Referee: Jorge Larrionda, Uruguay. Linesmen: Pablo Fandino, Uruguay A: 38,074.
Women’s Professional Soccer W L T Pts GF GA
xFC Gold Pride .............. 6 2 1 19 14 8 Philadelphia.................. 5 3 2 17 15 11 Washington................... 4 2 3 15 15 11 Sky Blue FC.................... 4 4 2 14 10 13 Chicago .......................... 2 5 3 9 6 9 xBoston .......................... 1 3 4 7 6 9 Atlanta............................ 1 5 2 5 3 9
x-Late Game Saturday’s results
Philadelphia 4, Sky Blue FC 1 Atlanta 1, Chicago 0
Boston at FC Gold Pride, Late BASEBALL NCAA College World Series
At Rosenblatt Stadium; In Omaha Double Elimination (x-if necessary) Saturday’s results
Game 1: TCU 8, Florida State 1 Game 2: Florida (47-15) vs. UCLA (48-14), 7 Sunday’s games
Game 3: Oklahoma (49-16) vs S.Carolina (48-15), 2 Game 4: Arizona St. (52-8) vs. Clemson (43-23), 7
FSU Holt cf
TCU 8, Florida State 1 ab r h bi TCU
4 1 1 0 Pena 2b
ab r h bi 4 1 2 0
Johnson 3b 3 0 1 0 Wright 2b 0 0 0 0 McGee lf 4 0 1 0 Holoday c 5 2 3 1 Ramsey rf 3 0 0 0 Coats lf Cardullo ss 3 0 0 0 Curry 1b Boyd 1b 3 0 0 0 Weik dh
Tapley dh 3 0 0 0 Elander pr 0 0 0 0 Danesh ph 0 0 0 0 Witte 3b
Brunelle c 1 0 0 0 Rivera lf Totals
Florida St. TCU
3 0 0 0 Schultz cf 31 1 4 0 Totals
3 1 2 3 5 0 0 0 3 1 1 1
Travis 2b 4 0 1 0 Featherston ss 2 0 0 1 Lopez c
2 2 1 0 2 0 1 1
2 1 1 1 28 811 8
100 000 000 — 1 501 100 01x — 8
E: Wright, Witte. DP: Florida St. 1, TCU 2. LOB: Flor- ida St. 9, TCU 8. 2B: Coats, Witte. HR: Holaday (14). S: Wright, Witte, Schultz, Rivera. SF: Featherston.
FSU
Gilmartin (L, 9-8) Scantling Benincasa Gast Sitz
Everett TCU
Purke (W, 15-0) Marshall
IP H R ER BB SO 386631 211103 000020 100012 100011 121100 IP H R ER BB SO 741047 200021
Benincasa pitched to 2 batters in the 6th. WP: Purke. T: 3:08. A: 23,649.
LOCAL RUNNING Mary Payton’s Miracle 5K
At Indian Head Rail-Trail; In Indian Head, Md. Men
1. Don Stakes, Port Tobacco, 20 minutes 26 sec- onds; 2. Connar Zimmerman, La Plata, 20:48; 3. Francisco J. Bezares, Philadelphia, 20:59; 4. Rob- ert Zimmerman, La Plata, 21:14; 5. Gordon Schrader, La Plata, 20:59. Women
1. Ashley Simms, Port Tobacco, 21:40; 2. Kate Blocher, Washington; 21:44, 3. Cheryl Hendricks, Waldorf, 25:08; 4. Kelly Egler, Alexandria; 26:40; 5. Annette Mains, Waldorf, 27:40.
Wall cherishes drawings his father, John Carroll Wall, made him from his jail cell, including this birthday card.
er, the Salvadoran fans in attend- ance thought their team had tied it and erupted when a Salvadoran forward put it in the net. But the referee had called offsides and the goal was waved off. United had a golden opportu-
nity to seal the match in the 86th minute when Danny Allsopp managed to get behind the Salva- doran defense. His low shot went wide of the post, however. In the 84th minute, fans were
treated to some extra entertain- ment when a shirtless man hoist- ing a Salvadoran flag sprinted across the field with a security guard in pursuit. In extra time, two more shirtless men ran across the field — this time dur- ing play — before making their way to the stands. Containers were also being thrown onto the field as the game wrapped up. Play on the field also became a
little more disorderly, resulting in a player from each team needing medical attention. The match’s proceeds will ben-
efit the Spanish Catholic Center and United for D.C., the team’s charitable organization. United is off until next Satur-
day when they travel to Colum- bus to play the Crew in their first league match since the beginning of the World Cup.
castilloj@washpost.com wall from D1
Most of the basketball world knows John Wall as the mus- cle-flexing point guard whom the Washington Wizards are expected to make the first over- all pick in the NBA draft on Thursday. Wall sat courtside at the NBA Finals, has dined with LeBron James and is a rare teenager who has earned praise from President Obama and Dick Vitale. Beneath that glitzy reputa- tion and swagger is a 19-year- old whose inspiration comes not only from a mother who worked multiple jobs to sup- port the family, but also from a father who was born in Wash- ington and spent most of his fi- nal 30 years behind bars in North Carolina. From the time Wall was nearly 2 years old until after he turned 8, he longed for the weekends, because that was when he could see his father, John Carroll Wall. Pulley would drive her son and his younger sister, Cierra, to visit their father in prison. Pulley never told Wall why
his father was in jail — “I don’t discuss that,” she says — and at that point in his life, he never thought to ask. At that age, he attached no stigma to the pris- on; for him, it was just the place where his father lived. For about two hours at a time, the family could sit to- gether and talk, his father shar- ing superhero drawings he had done for him and Cierra. “They enjoyed each other,”
Pulley said. “John wanted [his dad] to himself, but he had a sister so he had to share him.” Wall remembers those visits
fondly. “We could hug,” Wall re- called. “We could touch and ev- erything.” In 1998, the older Wall was given a diagnosis of liver can- cer, and the following year, he was released from prison a month early when his condi- tion worsened. He was termi- nally ill. Near the end of that summer, the parents took the children for a trip to White Lake, N.C. “We stayed at the beach, went on rides, stayed in the water a lot,” Pulley said. The younger John remem- bers the trip vividly and still calls it the most meaningful time in his life. With the water replacing prison walls as the
KLMNO
SUNDAY, JUNE 20, 2010
Frances Pulley, right, often worked more than one job to support John Wall and two other children while Wall’s father was imprisoned. Wall has picked out a five-bedroom house to buy his mother.
Wall saw a father
backdrop to their conversa- tions, father and son talked about life: how to be a better man, the importance of going to school, college one day, and staying out of jail. Still, the specter of cancer loomed, and on the final day of the trip, the illness struck vio- lently. Wall remembers a hotel
bathtub full of blood. The smell of the hemorrhage. The sound of the ambulance. His mother crying. His father died the next day, Aug. 24, 1999, at age 52. “I didn’t know at that age
why God took people away, why people died,” Wall said. “It took me a while, like seventh or eighth grade, to realize this is what everybody’s got to do. I was not thinking that every- body’s got to die someday.” To this day, Wall said, “it’s tough for me to go back to beaches.”
Earlier this month, while
training in Southern Califor- nia, Wall rarely deviated be- tween his hotel and the gym. A trip to the ocean would bring back too many painful memo- ries.
‘He was crying out’
His father’s death filled Wall, then a rail-thin kid in elemen- tary school, with a rage that manifested itself in violence. “People have jokes, so I just said, forget the jokes, we can fight,” Wall said. “Just so much anger built up. I was mad at ev- erything. I did not trust coach- es, people. Anytime somebody told me something, I just said, ‘You don’t know what you are talking about.’ I did not want to believe nobody for some rea- son. That’s just how it was.” Pulley made breakfast and dinner and in between worked a variety of jobs, including driving a small bus for children and working at a hotel. That meant a babysitter for Wall, usually his older stepsister, Tonya, Pulley’s daughter from a previous relationship. “Could not do it,” Wall said. “I used to fight them. My sister was my babysitter. She used to be scared. I used to basically keep myself. She used to watch me, but I used to fight her — get so mad — she would leave me alone — drop me in a room.” There were no other baby-
sitters because “I probably would have [fought] them, too.” Wall’s worst fight occurred
when he was 10, waiting for his turn at bat during a sandlot baseball game. One particular- ly tall, strong 14-year-old boy would not move from home plate. Wall swung the alumi- num bat, and it connected with the kid’s eyebrow. The two punched and wrestled and kept fighting — taking two- minute breaks — during a mar- athon slugfest. Wall’s aggression was so in- tense that, because he lived some 30 minutes from school, his mother would drop him off and sit in the parking lot be- cause she knew he would be sent home in less than two hours. Pulley was unsettled at where she saw her son’s life heading. “The same way his fa- ther’s life was: prison,” she said. “In trouble, mostly. It was sad. That was the sad part.” LeVelle Moton, now the head
basketball coach at North Carolina Central, has run a youth basketball camp for years. Several years ago, among the players he would let join for free because of their impover- ished background was an 11- year-old John Wall. “Wow, he was crying out,”
Moton said. “He didn’t want any discipline, any structure. John was like, ‘I am screaming over here, can you hear me?’ I didn’t ignore him, but there were like 35 more kids doing the same thing.”
When things went Wall’s
way, he was fine. When they didn’t “watch out,” Moton said. “He was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode on the bas- ketball floor.”
At one point, Moton pulled
Wall aside and said if he didn’t change his behavior, he would not be allowed to stay. He was banished from the camp a day later. Wall said he didn’t know where he was headed in life at that age, but it was not good. And if he didn’t find a way to change, he would have little hope.
“Once I figured it out, I just said, basketball is my escape. This is the best way for me to do it,” Wall said. “I just build it into me and basically play ev- ery game for [my dad]. I feel like I have to step on the court every night and be dominant. He’s down there watching me, so if he can’t be in the stands, he’ll be at the top.” A year later, Wall, still frail,
returned with a better attitude. And the following year Moton officiated the championship game and tested Wall’s attitude with intentionally bad calls against him. After each whis- tle, Wall calmly put down the ball and ran back down court to play defense. Afterward, in front of the whole camp, Mo- ton announced the MVP: Wall. “I was so happy that he
straightened out just so he would not be dead in two to three years,” Moton said. “It was that kind of story. When your attitude is like that, you’ll snap on the wrong person, and that’s how you end up in the obituary section.”
‘It crushed him’
Despite gradual improve- ments in his attitude and his game, Wall couldn’t outrun his reputation as a problem child. After playing for two years for Garner High just outside of Ra- leigh, Wall’s family moved into the city, which meant he had to attend Broughton High and re- peat his sophomore year. He was poised to join current East Carolina guard Brock Young in a back court that would have been one of the best in the country.
During team tryouts, Wall remembers dominating, dunk- ing on everybody. But on the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170