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Wednesday, June 13, 2001
Sports
Page 3
THE BATTALION
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Philadelphia might not be a pretty team, but they are a match for Shaq, Kobe and overrated Los Angeles
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Column by. Michael Balhoff
The Philadelphia 76ers have served notice that the Los Angeles
>akers wall have to earn their second consecutive championship.
This is a shock to the media and fans who hopped on the Laker
apdwagon and expected the team to stroll through the playoffs
ndefeated.
Considering the hype surrounding the “mastery” of coach Phil
ackson, the “sheer dominance” of center Shaquille O’Neal and
ne “brilliance” of guard Kobe Bryant, some people wonder why
le Finals are being played.
Forgive the 76ers if they do not believe the Laker
lype.The Sixers ended all the sweep talking with a Game
win in Los Angeles, postponing the celebration for at
Ifast a few days and relegating all the brooms in the Sta
les Center to post-game cleanup.
Despite losing the next two games, Philadelphia has de
ed the odds-makers by taking Los Angeles to the wire in
ery game, making foy the most entertaining NBA Finals
tatchup in recent years. It has become a series that pits
o teams that epitomize completely 7 different styles: the
arrior mantra of the Philadelphia 76ers against the
lamour of the Hollywood hunks from Los Angeles.
The Western conference has claimed superiority over
te East for the last two years, but Philadelphia has been a
bugher foe than in past years. The West may have the more
plented teams from top to bottom, but Philadelphia has shown
it can hold its own with the big boys.
The Lakers take the court with the biggest guy of all.
O’Neal, all 7-foot-1-inch and 315 pounds of him, is a behe
moth compared to the 6-foot, 165 pound stature of Sixers star
and league MVP Allen Iverson. This Allen vs. Goliath mis
match gives some credence to the selection of the Lakers as an
overwhelming favorite in the series. When you
factor in Bryant, it is hard to find fault with
RUBEN DELUNA/THf Battalion
fans who prematurely scheduled a Los Angeles ticker tape pa
rade on their calendars.
The Sixers, however, are not a team completely inferior in
talent. Philadelphia boasts of the league MVP, the sixth man of
the year (Aaron McKie) and the defensive player of the year
(Dikembe Mutombo).
Relying on these strengths and a team concept preached by
coach Larry Brown, which stresses defense and getting everyone
involved, Philadelphia has managed to keep itself in striking dis
tance in their two losses. They also hope to increase their depth
with die return of injured power forward George Lynch.
The Lakers rely on Shaq and Kobe for the bulk of
their scoring, and their supporting cast feeds off of
the crumbs the two stars leave, Veterans like Ron
Harper and Brian Shaw may be old and wise, but their
eroded skills will not win many games.
The two teams are better matched than many be
lieved and Philadelphia has shown that the Lakers are
not the invincible machine they were made out to be.
The Sixers have proven they belong on this postseason
stage as much as the Lakers, but gaining the respect of
their opponent is not their only goal. The Sixers are do
ing their best to change the expected venue of the victo
ry parade from Los Angeles to Philadelphia.
Michael Balhoff is a senior
journalism major.
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Teresa Earnhardt defends her reasoning for lawsuit
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.
(AP) — Dale Earnhardt’s widow
testified Tuesday that she has
aid the Ham? tried to stop the public release of
her husband’s autopsy photos to
spare her family “painful emo
tional distress.”
“The photographs are hu
miliating, disgusting and nega-
jtive,” Teresa Earnhardt said.
“That could be nothing but
harmful and painful to anyone
involved with my family, my
company, our fans, anyone.”
Appearing slightly irritated
under questioning from oppos
ing lawyers, Earnhardt said she
filed a lawsuit blocking the re
lease of the photos to spare her
family from “humiliation and
harm.” She said NASCAR did
not influence her decision.
She also said the decision had
nothing to do with her interest
in protecting her company, Dale
Earnhardt Inc., and Fiarnhardt’s
image as a revenue source.
“I don’t think it has anything
to do with sales. I think it has to
do with personal feelings and
privacy,” Earnhardt said. “It
would affect our state of minds
because we would be personal
ly harmed.”
A student newspaper at the
University of Florida and a De
land-based Web site are seeking
access to the autopsy photos. An
attorney for the newspaper, The
Independent Florida Alligator, ar
gued the images should be made
public to show whether investi
gators did an adequate job of de
termining what killed him.
“We don’t know if the photo
graphs are consistent with the au
topsy report or inconsistent with
the autopsy report,” said attorney
Tom Julin. “It’s an important
check on the medical examiner’s
office and an important check on
the police deparunent.” ,
The Alligator and Web-
sitecity.com were rebuffed in
their first attempt to gain access
to the photos.
On Monday, Volusia Circuit
Judge Joseph Will upheld the
constitutionality of a new law
forbidding the release of post
mortem photos unless allowed
by a judge. Florida lawmakers
passed the legislation follow
ing Earnhardt’s death in a last-
lap crash in the Daytona 500
on Feb. 18.
Will had ordered the photos
sealed four days after Earn
hardt’s death. Teresa Earnhardt
sought the order saying her fam
ily’s privacy would be violated.
Monday’s ruling left: the Alli
gator and Websitecity.com to
argue that the law violates the
state’s public-records statutes.
Websitecity.com owner
Michael Uribe said he wants to
view the photos to prove the
Volusia County medical exam
iner’s office did a poor job of
Earnhardt’s autopsy. Uribe al
ready has posted autopsy pho
tos of drivers Rodney Orr and
Neil Bonnett on his Website.
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