Auto racing: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins pole for Sunday’s Samsung 500. 5C
S A T U R D A Y , A P R I L 5 , 2008
Sports
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
NCAA FINAL FOUR
ALABAMA COACHING CLINIC
All four top seeds playing well By Skip Myslenski McClatchy News Service
SAN ANTONIO | He caught a Stevie Wonder concert at the Santa Barbara County Bowl and, often since then, UCLA coach Ben Howland has watched tape while listening to his “Ribbon In The Sky.” That is a love song. It hardly applies to what will occur today in the NCAA tournament semifinals, but in it are these appropriate lines: This is not a coincidence And far more than a lucky chance No words could better fit this Final Four in San Antonio, where royalty reigns and only the bluest of bloods frolic. Those feel-good stories, which lend the NCAA event some cachet, have been banished back to their locales. That’s hardly a coincidence because chance had no role in filling this field with Memphis-UCLA, Kansas-North Carolina, all top seeds.
UCLA vs. Memphis When: 5:06 p.m., tonight TV: CBS
North Carolina vs. Kansas When: 40 minutes after first game TV: CBS
INSIDE ■ Final Four capsules | 6C
From the start of the season they have been considered the best in the land and nothing unfolded to alter that feeling. The Tigers lost one game and the Tar Heels lost two. The bottom feeders of this group, the Bruins and Jayhawks, lost all of three each. Together they won a re-
markable 143 times. The Jayhawks’ average margin of victory in their 35 wins was 19.4 points. The Tigers’ average margin of victory in their 37 was 17.7. The Tar Heels’ average in their 36 was 17. The Bruins’ average in their 35 was 15.3. “Over time, watching all the teams play, you can throw three or four other teams in there,” Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. “But then they would lose a couple of games and you have a new hot team, but then they would lose a couple of games and there were hot teams that come in and out of there. But there were four constants. “I thought Memphis and Carolina, more so than us and UCLA, were more consistent performers. How about this? We’re both 35-3 and we haven’t performed as consistently as the other two because their records are better. It’s remarkable that you have the consistency the top four preseason rated teams in the country played with all year long.” SEE NCAA | 3C
ALABAMA SOFTBALL STAFF PHOTO | DUSTY COMPTON
Local coaches benefit from Belichick’s visit
Total package Versatile Morgan can do it all for second-ranked Crimson Tide
By Andrew Carroll
By Tommy Deas
Sports Writer
Executive Sports Editor
TUSCALOOSA | Robert Higginbotham, who played football for coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant at the University of Alabama, has coached high school football for more than 30 years. Melvin Pete coached the Central Falcons to a 15-0 record and the AHSAA Class 4A championship last season. Both said they believe they can become better at their jobs by learning from one of the best — and most highprofile — coaches in the profession. Bill Belichick, who has directed the New England Patriots to three Super Bowl titles since 2001, spoke on Friday at the University of Alabama’s coaching clinic, with more than 1,000 high school coaches on hand to soak in his wisdom. Belichick was the headliner in a star-studded line up of guest speakers who brought VIP status to the Crimson Tide’s annual clinic. Belichick, noted for his hooded sweatshirts, his dominant teams and, more recently, being fined for the National Football League’s “Spygate” scandal, was the must-see speaker at the clinic. SEE BELICHICK | 4C
TUSCALOOSA | Charlotte Morgan could have been a hitter anywhere, and probably a fielder, too. She came to the University of Alabama so she could also be a pitcher, and the native of Moreno Valley, Calif., is having success on all three fronts for the second-ranked Crimson Tide. As a left-handed pitcher, Morgan is 7-0 with a 1.29 earned-run average, allowing just five walks in an efficient 322⁄3 innings. She bats right-handed and leads Alabama with 42 RBIs and eight home runs while carrying a hefty .408 average. Playing in the field at both pitcher and first base, Morgan has made just two errors on defense while playing a part in 133 defensive chances. How does she balance all three disciplines? “I come early and I pitch,” she said. “I’ll come in and hit on my own by myself sometimes. I’ll stay after and take extra grounders, all voluntary. That’s what you have to do to be great, and when you’re a versatile player you have to put extra time in. “I’ve done this since I was young. I was always a first baseman, right fielder, hitter and pitcher, so I’m kind of used to it. College is a lot more because you have school work, but you have to find time.” SEE MORGAN | 4C
ALABAMA BASEBALL
Tide’s game with LSU suspended From combined reports
BATON ROUGE | The first game of the University of Alabama baseball team’s three-game series at LSU was suspended Friday night after two separate rain delays stalled the game a total of 53 minutes. It is the second time in the Crimson Tide’s last three SEC games a game has been suspended. Play was halted in the bottom of the third inning due to heavy rain and lightning in the area, with the game tied at 0 with one out and an LSU runner on first base. Alabama (16-13, 4-5) and LSU (18-10, 3-6) will pick up play in the third inning beginning today at 1 p.m. The second game of the series will begin at 7:30 p.m. The third game of the series will be on Sunday at 1 p.m.
MORGAN’S NCAA RANKINGS Category Rank Per Game RBIs 5th 1.27 Doubles 32nd .33 Slugging Pct. 34th .768 Home runs 57th .24 Sac Flies 60th 2.0 On-base Pct. 73rd .482 Batting Average 76th .408 Runs 82nd .82
Photos ❖ T.G. Paschal
No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 10 LSU ■ When: Today, 1 p.m. (DH); Sunday, 1:30 p.m. (single game) ■ Where: Alabama Softball Complex ■ Records: Alabama 32-3, 12-2 LSU 29-7, 8-3 ■ Radio: 90.7 FM
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New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick speaks at Alabama’s coaching clinic at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on Friday.