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THE SIDELINE
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s with many stereotypes, the stereotype of the typical spelling bee champ has a
certain element of truth. Many of the male competitors, it’s true, wear khaki pants pulled up to armpit level. Many wear oversize spectacles. A great many appear slightly out of place on ESPN, where the 2010 Scripps National Spelling Bee will resume at 10 a.m. on Friday morning. But you always run into
pockets of teenagers in the downtown Grand Hyatt who seem to smash the stereotypes. As I was wandering through the hotel lobby on Thursday afternoon, I ran into one such group. When I saw them, they were posing for stylized photos that would have made the
D.C. SPORTS BOG
Dan Steinberg
Cleveland Cavaliers proud. Their members included Bianca James, who complained that the bee’s dress code stifled individuality. “No prints, no tiny stripes, no
color, nothing awesome. Some people come with pants up to here,” she said, motioning to her neck with a sigh.
Quick Fix
6From the blogs at
washingtonpost.com/sports
NFL NEWS FEED
Steelers’ Roethlisberger says Goodell’s helping him change
Pittsburgh Steelers
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Thursday that he has re-evaluated his life recently and is working with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “on ways to make changes.” Roethlisberger spoke briefly to
reporters after the Steelers’ practice, making an opening statement and then answering two questions from reporters. “I’ve put a lot of thought into
my life, decisions that I’ve made in the past that I’ve been sitting at home thinking about,” Roethlisberger said, according to a transcript of his comments by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “. . . I’ve been working closely with the commissioner on ways to make changes, corrections. So I’m looking forward to the second chance and a second
opportunity, not just in football, because I think everyone knows what you’re going to get in football, but in life.” Roethlisberger was back on
the field for Steelers’ offseason practices this week after he was cleared by Goodell, who reviewed the results of a behavioral evaluation of Roethlisberger conducted at the league’s direction. Goodell suspended Roethlisberger without pay for the first six games of next season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The suspension can be shortened to four games by Goodell.
“I spent a lot of time
evaluating and looking at my life both on and off the field,” Roethlisberger said, according to the Post-Gazette. “I think this is time for me to kind of close the chapter of the last couple years of my life.”
—Mark Maske
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TELEVISION AND RADIO
JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Left tackle Trent Williams (No. 72), the fourth overall pick in April’s draft, is being mentored by a former Pro Bowler in Chris Samuels.
Cincinnati at Washington » MASN2, WXTR (730 AM), WFED (820 AM, 1500 AM)
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Former Pro Bowl left tackle Samuels says rookie Williams has unlimited promise
by Jason Reid
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Recently retired Chris Samuels, who is making the switch from player to volunteer with the Redskins, has publicly expressed excitement about the development of rookie left tackle Trent Williams, who occupies Samuels’s former position. And Samuels has said privately that Williams could soon become a top-notch lineman. “Chris told me, ‘Man, anything you would want in a tackle, he has it,’ ” said wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, who also was among Williams’s teammates in high school and in college at Oklahoma. “He said that if he works, he’s going to be as good as he wants to be. . . . It says a lot about him.” After organized team activities
only from Comcast.
Wednesday at Redskins Park, Williams, the fourth overall pick in the April draft, worked individually on field goal blocking
with special teams coordinator Danny Smith. Williams is steadily becoming more comfortable with the Redskins’ zone blocking scheme and the speed of the NFL, teammates said, and having Samuels’s support has helped his transition. “Obviously, it makes me feel good inside, just knowing that they have confidence like that in me,” Williams said. “Chris, being around the game a long time, six-time Pro Bowler, he’s probably one of the best tackles to come through Washington in a long time. Just hearing that from him, and I lean on him for a lot of advice on and off the field, so Chris has been a great mentor for me.” On his first play as a Redskin, Williams remained in his stance after the ball was snapped while the other linemen were already blocking. He took some good-natured jabs from teammates, but said he’s “almost close to being offsides now. “That was embarrassing. I’ve [come] a long way. It’s still a long way to go, but I feel like I’m right where I need to be,” he said.
Carter mending quickly
Outside linebacker Andre Carter has
returned to the field sooner than expected. Carter had surgery in January to repair the torn biceps he played with in December and was not expected to take part in drills until the mandatory three-day minicamp that begins June 16. But Carter, who is making the switch from defensive end, participated in the first two days of this week’s OTAs. “Just working, man,” Carter said
Wednesday. “Like everything you do, it’s always an adjustment. But my arm is feeling great.” The team’s medical staff has limited
Carter’s participation “just to kind of build me up slowly,” he said. Having taken a maximum of only 12-16 reps in each OTA, Carter is eager to increase his workload. He seemed to be lined up with the second-team defense, working out of base and nickel packages. “We just don’t want to overdo it,” Coach
Mike Shanahan said. “I told him to be smart about it and he’s a pretty smart guy.” Carter is coming off a personal-best season in which he ranked seventh in the league with 11 sacks.
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First Things First: Dan Steinberg and Barry Svrluga hold the fort while Tracee Hamilton is away, weekday mornings at 9:30.
Working to dispel the spelling bee stereotype
James was palling around with
Jared Urbina, who wore a hip striped hat on stage Thursday morning, when he approached the mic and said “Hi, mom.” “I had been promising her I’d give her a shout-out at least once,” he later said. “She pulled out her camera phone, and I was like, ‘Huh, that’d be really cool to have on a camera phone.’ ” The group also included
Julianna Canabal-Rodriguez, who explained how they tried to force the other spellers to be social. “We just randomly snatched some kids from their parents,” she told me. “We call it the Ambush Crew.” It included Zachary Ocab, a laid-back Californian sporting
flashy red Nikes, a flat-brimmed baseball cap and sunglasses hanging around his neck. During the group karaoke outing earlier in the week, he and James took control of the stage, performing Vanilla Ice and Kanye West, which the DJ would only play if they promised to “self-edit” some of the questionable words. “You have to have seen them at the picnic,” said Newton Ocab, Zach’s dad. “When they first walked in, nobody knew anybody. They were like magnets, surrounded by little particles.” Now, these kids didn’t have a bad word to say about their more celebrated competitors who will earn headlines this weekend, but they sort of knew what I was getting at. Like, I asked if it was
fair to say that some of the finalists weren’t always concerned with the latest fashion trends. “You can say that,” James
agreed. Still, “We don’t really care who
they are and what they do, we’re just trying to get to know them,” Ocab said. “And by the way, it’d be unfair for us to call them dorks or anything like that, because we’re here also,” said Urbina, who was selected by the ESPN crew to do a bit at the Jefferson Memorial. “That’s why I’m like, ‘I don’t really care.’ I’ll talk to anyone.” Most members of this crew were eighth graders, making this their first (and last) appearance at nationals. Many of the
favorites, on the other hand, have been here before. As it turned out, Ocab, Urbina and James would be eliminated by the end of Thursday’s third round, but they all pledged to return for the semifinals. They figure they might as well make this a memorable time, which is why they led the dancing at the picnic. “We were basically the only ones moving and making people move,” James said. “Everyone else was just sitting there, looking at us like, ‘Get them out of here. What are they doing at a spelling bee?’ ”
And what are they doing at a spelling bee? “Having fun,” she said. “And spelling.”
steinbergd@washpost.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 4, 2010
WASHINGTON POST LIVE WITH IVAN CARTER
5 p.m. on Comcast SportsNet
Ron Weber, Al Koken, Brian Mitchell, Chris Hoiles, Alan May and Joe Barber join The Post’s Eric Prisbell.
Hot Topic Redskins Insider
Blog excerpt from
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DIGEST
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Wooden reportedly in ‘grave’ condition
Former UCLA basketball coach
and Hall of Famer John Wooden was reportedly hospitalized in Los Angeles. Los Angeles television station
KCAL and the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday night that the 99-year-old Wooden is in “grave” condition at UCLA Medical Cen- ter.
The Times cites an anonymous school source who says Wooden’s health has been an issue in recent weeks and that he was briefly hospitalized about a month ago. UCLA spokesman Marc Del-
lins tells the Associated Press that he spoke to a Wooden family member Thursday evening and that the family asked that no oth- er information about Wooden be released. UCLA Medical Center spokes-
woman Roxanne Moster said she couldn’t confirm whether
Wooden was there or not because it would be a “violation of med- ical privacy laws.” Family mem- bers couldn’t be reached for com- ment by the AP. Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA championships — at one time winning seven in a row — during a 27-year run that ended with his team cutting down the nets one last time in 1975.
BASEBALL
Former slugger Jose Canseco said he told a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., that he had never seen Roger Clemens use steroids, maintaining the support he’s shown for the former ace since 2008.
Canseco described his testi-
mony to reporters after his two hours of testimony. The grand jury has been hearing witnesses as it considers whether to indict
Clemens for allegedly lying to Congress two years ago, when he denied using steroids or human growth hormone.
Canseco maintained his sup-
port for the pitcher, again saying there’s no evidence that Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs.
PRO FOOTBALL
New York Jets All-Pro corner-
back Darrelle Revis sat out of practice while he seeks a new contract. Revis was not on the field with the rest of the team during the voluntary session, the first time this offseason he missed a prac- tice. Revis wants to be the high- est-paid player at his position, but was initially scheduled to make just $1 million in the fourth season of his six-year rookie deal. Revis said two weeks ago that the team sent his agents a pro- posal that was being evaluated. Considered by many the top shut-
down cornerback in the league, Revis said that “if everything’s right, the numbers are right, and everything’s good, then I’ll sign on the dotted line.” Revis said the team has prom- ised him it would take care of the contract by training camp. . . . Former Cincinnati Bengals
kicker Shayne Graham signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the Baltimore Ravens. Graham spent the past seven seasons with the Bengals. He went 23 for 28 on field goal tries last season before missing two important kicks inside 40 yards in an AFC playoff game. . . . The NFL has agreed to have six
of its Thursday night games this season broadcast on local TV. The NFL and Tribune Broad-
casting, part of the Tribune Co., said that the NFL Network tele- cast of each game will be carried in the local markets of each team where there is a Tribune-owned station.
CYCLING
Lance Armstrong was third
overall after two days of the Tour of Luxembourg, satisfied that he is riding stronger before the Tour de France. Giovanni Visconti of Italy won
the first stage, while Armstrong stayed up front in the main pack to finish 50th in the 111.8-mile ride from Luxembourg to Hespe- range.
“I can’t lie, there were some guys sitting up on the final little climb there, (3 miles) from the finish and other guys riding off the front, attacking, and I made it across there relatively easily, which is a good sign,” the 38-year- old Armstrong said. “It’s been a very long time since I’ve been able to do that.” Armstrong’s RadioShack team worked hard to catch three breakaway riders 9.3 miles from the finish. After the first stage and Wednesday’s pro- logue, Armstrong trails race lead- er Cyril Lemoine of France by one
second. Armstrong’s teammate Gregory Rast was second.
MISC.
America’s most successful ski- er made a quick exit from a U.S. Open qualifier as Bode Miller dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Erik Nelson-Kortland in an open- ing match at sectional playoffs in Honolulu. . . . Game 3 drew the largest TV au- dience for the Stanley Cup finals on cable in eight years. The Flyers’ 4-3 overtime victo-
ry over the Blackhawks on Versus on Wednesday night earned a 3.1 rating and averaged 3.6 million viewers. It was the highest-rated and most-watched telecast in net- work history. . . . Katie Douglas scored 22 points to help the Indiana Fever beat San Antonio, 79-57, for its third win in four games. Chamique Holdsclaw led the Silver Stars with 12 points.
— From news services
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