FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2010
KLMNO COLLEGE FOOTBALL Layoff has Midshipmen ‘rejuvenated’ heading into Army game BY GENEWANG The Navy football team con-
cluded a perfect November with a 35-19 victory over Arkansas State the Saturday before Thanksgiving, then enjoyed a rare four days off for the long holiday weekend. The breather provided ample opportunity to reflect on a three-game winning streak that began with a 76-35 drumming of East Carolina and the promise of even greater grati- fication should the Midshipmen beat Army for a ninth straight time. Problem is, the Midshipmen
(8-3) don’t play again until Dec. 11, meaning they will have been idle for 21 days, the longest break before an Army game in 20 years. It’s a maddeningly pro- tracted stretch for a team that has been accumulating points at a dizzying rate and infused with a vimthat suggests playing soon- er rather than later ought to be the preference. Yet Coach Ken Niumatalolo
lesce for others. “It was really weird to make
the decision to give them four days off for Thanksgiving,” Niu- matalolo said. “I tried to look and say, ‘When have we ever done this before?’We’ve never had this situation, never had this formu- la, so I felt it was the best thing for them to get away. I liked the way they looked coming back. They’re rejuvenated. I think that definitely helped them, going home and seeing family and enjoying their time off. I like where we’re at from a physical standpoint.” Navy’s three-week hiatus is its
TONI L. SANDYS/THE WASHINGTON POST
Quarterback Ricky Dobbs and Navy will end a 21-day break between games Dec. 11 vs. Army.
and his charges aren’t exactly pining to play this weekend in Philadelphia, even though Navy is playing its finest football of the season. There’s a lot to be said for the other side of the equation, which in this case is valuable rest for some and a time to conva-
lengthiest during the regular season since 2005, when the Midshipmen also went 21 days without playing. That interlude, however, was courtesy of the weather rather than a scheduling oddity. After the Midshipmen lost to Stanford, 41-38, on Sept. 10, they didn’t play again until beating Duke, 28-21, on Oct. 1 because a hurricane postponed a scheduled game against Rice un- til later in the year.
SOCCER The last time Navy had this
much time off before the Army game, it lost, 30-20, in 1990. “You have to take your time
off, without a doubt,” said senior safety Wyatt Middleton, who is in line tomake his 47th consecu- tive start and play in his 48th career game. “It’s definitely a long season. It’s coming toward the end of the season. A lot of guys are banged up, so you definitely have to take the time off to make sure everybody’s healed and gets ready for the game so they’re 100 percent, but at the same time, you have to stay in shape and make sure you’re ready to play.” Niumatalolo has been atten-
tive in that regard by continuing to practice at a diligent pace but in shorter increments in an effort to ensure players don’t zone out. After spring practice, training camp in the stifling August heat and nearly three months of in- seasonworkouts, the routine can become pretty mundane, espe- cially for the seniors who have tolerated countless practices,
filmstudy and walk-throughs. Practices this week, for in-
stance, have been a little more than an hour, with the emphasis on fine-tuning and slight adjust- ments here and there. Given Navy’s finishing kick last month, there’s just no reason for signifi- cant modifications, save for per- haps on defense. Each of Navy’s past three op-
ponents was prone to throwing the ball in profusion, whereas Army employs an option-based attack, so instead of an align- ment calling for seven or eight defensive backs, the Midship- men will revert to more base formations. The offense, meantime, aver-
aged nearly 50 points and 510 yards of total offense per game in November, including 521 rushing yards against East Carolina on Nov. 6. Navy has scored on 20 of its past 27 possessions and 33 of its past 34 times from the oppo- nent’s 20-yard line or closer. Thirty-one of those chances have resulted in touchdowns. “You have to try to handle it
the best way possible because it’s real easy to kind of get burned out, tired of practicing,” senior quarterback Ricky Dobbs said of the extended layoff. “You have so many practices, and you’re just like, ‘Awman, when is it going to be over?’ I think the coaches are doing a good job in just trying to mix it up with each different practice or each week focus on a different thing to kind ofmake it seem different. I think they’re doing a good job of trying to keep us frombeing burned out.” Note: San Diego State has
accepted a bid to playNavy in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 23. It’s the first bowl appearance for the Aztecs since 1998. “We are playing a great oppo-
nent in Navy,” San Diego State Coach Brady Hoke said in a statement. “They are a well- coached, disciplined team and play a very physical style of football.” The Aztecs finished the regu-
lar season 8-4 overall and 5-3 in theMountainWest Conference.
wangg@washpost.com
BASEBALL
Dunn exits after hitting 76 homers in two years
dunn from D1 “I’d be disappointed for me,”
said Zimmerman, the Nationals’ third baseman and the face of their franchise. “I’m very happy for him. Obviously, if he’s going to go there, he’s going to get a four- year deal, and that’s what he deserves. He doesn’t get the amount of respect he deserves for what he does every year. “There’snoquestionhewanted
to be here. So it’s unfortunate. I couldn’t be happier for him that someone’s recognizing his work.” Both Dunn and the Nationals
publicly expressed the desire to strike a contract extension before last spring training. The discus- sions never gained momentum. Dunn hoped for the four-year dealheeventually received. Inthe last week of the regular season, the Nationals offered Dunn a three-year contract worth rough- ly $35 million. Dunn admitted during the season that the lack of an extension frustrated him. “I think he has wanted to be in
MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
DawnMarshall shows her disappointment after learning the United States’ bid to host the 2022World Cup was unsuccessful.
KHALED ABDULLAH/REUTERS
Qatari fans are euphoric after FIFAannounces that their tiny desert nation will be the site of the 2022World Cup.
Qatar, Russia will host World Cups world cup from D1
States as the safe choice — the country had set attendance re- cords when it hosted the 1994 World Cup and offered the stadi- ums, infrastructure and com- mercial rewards to pull off an- other successful tournament in 12 years. But FIFAwasalsocharmedby
Qatar’s innovative stadium plans, massive financial resourc- es and the promise of promoting harmony in a region fractured by conflict. “There’s no way around it: I
am disappointed. To come up short is very difficult to take,” said Gulati, who led a three-year campaign that attracted more than 1.2 million supporters in an online petition — Qatar’s popu- lation is between840,000and1.7 million,dependingonthe source —and enlisted heavyweight help from, among others, former president Bill Clinton, actor Morgan Freeman and director Spike Lee. In the wake of Chicago’s
failure last year to land the 2016 Summer Olympics, the FIFA vote was another jolt to U.S. efforts to host a major interna- tional sporting event. Gulati said it was too early to say whether the United States would bid on the 2026 World Cup. The next World Cup, in 2014, will take place in Brazil. In the buildup to this vote,
FIFA’s inspection team and out- side consultants gave favorable reviews to the U.S. proposal. Conversely, Qatar was deemed a risk because of the amount of construction necessary (it cur- rently has only one world-class stadium), extreme heat and the compact area in which the tour- nament would be staged. To counter average summer
temperatures of 115 degrees, Qa- tar has proposed air-condition- ing outdoor stadiums and other public areas. The oil-rich nation would also spend more than $50 billion on infrastructure proj-
CHRISTIAN HARTMANN/REUTERS
ects and new stadiums. When the tournament ends, it plans to donate stadium segments to de- veloping nations. Although he didn’t endorse
Qatar’s bid, FIFA President Sepp Blatter has, for years, urged the sport’s leaders to continue broadening soccer’s appeal by taking its premier event to new frontiers. In addition to theU.S. experi- ence in 1994, FIFA ventured to
Asia (Japan/South Korea) and Africa (South Africa) for the first time in 2002 and 2010, respec- tively. Neither Russia, nor any country in Eastern Europe, has hosted the tournament either. “We go to new lands,” Blatter
said. Having staged theWorld Cup
recently, Japan and South Korea carried little hope of winning the 2022 campaign. LikeQatar, Aus- tralia has never hosted, but its
And the winner is . . .
Russia was awarded the 2018World Cup, and Qatar beat out the United States for the 2022 event. A look at the voting (12 of 22 votes needed to win):
2018 Round 1 Russia 9 Spain/Portugal 7 Nethertherlands/Belgium 4 England 2 (No absolute majority was reached, so the candidate with least amount of votes, England, was eliminated.) Round 2 Russia 13 Spain/Portugal 7 Nethertherlands/Belgium 2 (Russia obtained an absolute majority.)
2022 Round 1 Qatar 11 South Korea 4
United States 3 Japan 3 Australia 1 (Australia eliminated.) Round 2 Qatar 10 United States 5 South Korea 5 Japan 2 (Japan eliminated.) Round 3 Qatar 11 United States 6 South Korea 5 (South Korea eliminated.) Round 4 Qatar 14 United States 8 (Qatar obtained an absolute majority.)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Russia will host the 2018 World Cup.
bid never seemed to build mo- mentum. “FIFA has taken this bold
decision,” Qatar bid chairman Mohammad bin Hamad Al- Thani said. “We acknowledge that there is a lot of work ahead, but we promise that we will deliver.We will deliver with a lot of passion and make sure that this is a milestone in the history ofMiddle East and the history of FIFA.”
England, the birthplace of
soccer’s modern era, was equally disappointed with FIFA’s 2018 decision. Once considered an ironclad favorite with a rich his- tory and iconic stadiums, Eng- land began to fall out of favor in recent months. Observers believe that the
FIFA executive committee soured on the bid after the Sun- day Times of London exposed two members asking for pay- ments in exchange for their votes. Both were subsequently suspended. Other members de- nied allegations of unethical be- havior.
England was eliminated in
the first round after receiving just two votes. Russia secured victory in the second round with 13 votes.Ajoint bid by Spain and Portugal received seven and Netherlands-Belgium two. Despite the U.S. setback, Gu-
lati said soccer would continue to grow in theUnited States. “The trend lines are positive
for the sport,” he said. “Getting the right to host this event in 12 years’ time with that sort of build-up was the equivalent of putting your foot on the acceler- ator and taking a big jump. From that perspective, it’s certainly an opportunity lost. “But are we going to get to
where we want to get? The an- swer is yes. It’s going to take a little longer and it’s going to take more work. That part is disap- pointing. TheWorld Cup is a big event and today is a big disap- pointment.”
goffs@washpost.com
Washington,” said Zimmerman, one of Dunn’s closest friends. “From the last time we talked about baseball, the last day of the season, he said he would love to comeback here. If theywouldjust have givenhima fair deal,heeven would have probably gone a little bit cheaper to come with us. That’s the business side.” Dunn’s deal will force the Na-
tionals to move on to their other free agent
targets.Themost likely free agent first basemen the team will pursue are Carlos Pena, who hit .196 with 28 home runs and a .325 on-base percentage in 2010 for the Tampa Bay Rays, and Adam LaRoche, who hit .261 with 25 home runs and a .320 on-base percentage for the Arizona Dia- mondbacks. Both are regarded as defensive upgrades over Dunn, who played as a full-time first baseman for the first time this past season. In compensation for losing
Dunn, the Nationals will receive the White Sox’s first-round draft pick, 23rd overall, in the 2011 draft and an additional pick in the “sandwich round” between the first and second rounds. In effect, since they did not end up with Dunn, the Nationals chose the draft choices over what they could have received for Dunn in a trade this past summer. Dunn anchored the Nationals’
lineup from the moment he signed with the team in February 2009. He was a behemoth whose presence lent credibility and drew fan support even for a team that specialized in losing.His 354 home runs over the past decade rank fourth, behind only Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Jim Thome. During his time with the Nationals, only Pujols and Prince Fielder hit more homers.
EVAN VUCCI/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Slugging first baseman Adam Dunn received the four-year contract offer he was seeking.
Dunn’s departure leaves a mas-
sive hole in their lineupanda scar for fans and teammates, who cherished not only his production but his affable presence in the clubhouse. Dunn’s durability was often overlooked; since 2004, only Seattle’s Ichiro Suzuki has appeared in more games. At Na- tionals Park late in the season, every Dunn at-bat was met with chants of “Sign Adam Dunn!” Zimmerman both privately
and publicly expressed his wish that theNationals sign Dunn this season, with great frequency. But he did not lash out at the team’s inability to re-sign Dunn and pledged his allegiance to the fran- chise. “To me, this is the place where I
want to be, where I want to be for the rest of my career,” Zimmer- man said. “The only reason I wouldn’t want to play here is if I thought we didn’t have a chance to win. . . . I still believe that we will.”
Zimmerman was clearly frus-
trated, though, and it’s a frustra- tion that assuredly will represent the overwhelming majority of the team’s fan base. “I hope that this plan they have intact — I guess this is one of the years we were supposed to take that next step and become one of the teams that gets those free agent guys,” Zim- merman said. “They’ve told us and the fans to be patient. Hope- fully this is one of the years we start acquiring impact guys and taking theteamto thatnext level.”
kilgorea@washpost.com
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