Sports
The Sanford Herald / Friday, April 2, 2010 / 3B
Glennon gets spring snaps for Wolfpack
RALEIGH (AP) — Mike Glennon can feel it a little more each day. Every time he drops back to pass in spring drills, he’s becoming a better quarterback. Every time he’s in the huddle, he’s finding his voice as North Carolina State’s confident onfield leader. And yet, the touted 6-foot-6 rising sophomore who arrived as the program’s presumed QB of the future knows he could end up as a backup again, anyway. After all, the Wolfpack’s workouts these days are as much about who’s not taking the snaps — starter Russell Wilson, who is focusing on baseball this spring — as who is. “It’s what I came here for, to be the starter and work with the (starters) and getting comfortable with them and them getting comfortable with me,� Glennon said. “It’s just a process that is going to help me become the player I want to be, and with him being gone, I have to make the most of my opportunity.� While Glennon says all the right things, he is in a difficult position. The competitive side of him is fighting for the starting job. The realistic side knows that Wilson was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference pick two seasons ago and led the ACC with 31 touchdown passes last year, a track record that firmly entrenches him as the starter and Glennon as the understudy. Yet while coach Tom O’Brien has said he expects Wilson to return to football in the fall, it’s possible he might opt to play baseball exclusively. When asked at the end of last season about his plans, Wilson said he would decide “whenever the Lord knocks on my door and lets me know.� Wilson, a position player who made his first start on the mound this week for the baseball team, has been successful as the Wolfpack’s quarterback with both his mobility and mistake-free play. That relegated Glennon to spot duty in seven games in which he threw for 248 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions with just 39 pass attempts. It was a modest start for a highly touted recruit widely regarded as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks coming out of Centreville, Va. But during spring drills, the younger brother of former Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon has been able to speed up his development by getting all the reps under center. “It’s very important to be familiar with the second quarterback as well as the first because you never know what’s going to happen,� receiver Owen Spencer said. “With Mike preparing as the starter, that’s only going to help the team.� Still, Glennon’s teammates have had to adjust a bit. O’Brien said the strong-armed Glennon recently nailed backup tight end Asa Watson in the head with a well-thrown pass that arrived just too quickly for Watson.
SPORTS BRIEFS Shaq working his way back from thumb injury
AP photo
Cameron Percy, of Australia, hits out of a bunker on the eighth hole during the first round of the Houston Open PGA Tour golf tournament Thursday in Humble, Texas.
Percy, Stadler atop Houston leaderboard HUMBLE, Texas (AP) — Kevin Stadler and Cameron Percy shot 5-under 67s on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the Houston Open. Vaughn Taylor and James Driscoll — Stadler’s playing partners in a morning threesome — were a stroke back along with fellow morning starter Kevin Sutherland and Anthony Kim, who played in the afternoon when the wind picked up and gusted to 30 mph. Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and 2007 champion Adam Scott were topped a group two strokes back at 69. Ernie Els, coming off
consecutive victories at Doral and Bay Hill, opened with 70. Fred Couples, who has won three straight starts on the Champions Tour, shot a 71. Several top players have come to Houston because they view the Tournament Course at Redstone as an ideal dry run for next week’s Masters. Organizers have groomed the 7,457yard layout to simulate the conditions at Augusta National, with fast greens, shaved mounds, light rough and the fairways mowed toward the tee. But Harrington said now that the tournament has started, the players are
Pettersen leads Ochoa by a shot RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. (AP) — Suzann Pettersen shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 on Thursday in the Kraft Nabisco Championship to take a one-stroke lead over former champion Lorena Ochoa, who missed birdie putts on her final two holes. Ochoa, who teed off three hours after Pettersen in the opening round of the season’s first major, had chances to tie the Norwegian star but rolled a long putt just right of the hole on No. 17 and then missed a 10-footer on 18. Pettersen, trying to bounce back from a hip injury, had a great start by hitting 12 fairways and 13 greens in regulation. Topranked Ochoa, the 2008 champion, had six birdies and two bogeys. Majors champions Karrie Webb, Yani Tseng and Karen Stupples were in a group at 69. Defending champion Brittany Lincicome curled in a birdie putt on 12 to
drop to 4 under before bogeying Nos. 13 and 15 to finish with a 70. Michelle Wie had a 71. Pettersen has two top-10 finishes in three starts this year but also is coming off a hip injury that required a cortisone shot and kept her from swinging a club for about three weeks. “I thought I was going to have two solid weeks of practice. It turned out to be two solid weeks on the couch,� said Pettersen, who won the 2007 LPGA Championship and has three straight top-5 finishes here. “It’s quite demanding off the tees, and there’s just certain tee shots you’ve just got to take on,� she said. “And I think if you can place it off the tee, I think you’re in a very good position. You’ve just got to play what this course gives you. I’ve learned that over the years. And patience, obviously. I would take a bogey-free round any day around this place.�
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focused on winning more than fine-tuning their games. “It’s all about trying to win the Houston Open,� he said. “Augusta can wait three more days.� Harrington said he played conservatively after a disappointing session on the practice range. He made three straight birdies on the back nine, playing his best after the wind picked up in the early afternoon. “I was never quite sure of myself,� he said. “I was happy to play the golf I played. I made the most of my opportunities when they came around. I just wasn’t very confident.�
Smith won a national championship at Kentucky. Two weeks ago, Smith was reportedly linked to the Auburn job but the Tigers hired Tony Barbee.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Cavaliers center Shaquille O’Neal is getting closer to returning from a thumb injury. O’Neal took part in some of practice Thursday, although coach Mike Brown isn’t counting on him being back before the playoffs. O’Neal has been sidelined since tearing a ligament in his right thumb Feb. 25. He had surgery and was expected to miss the rest of the regular season. On Wednesday, the 14-time AllStar said he was ahead of schedule. Also, forward Anderson Varejao worked out after missing two games because of a sore left hamstring. He’s a game-time decision for Friday’s game against Atlanta.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez has left the team to attend to family issues in Venezuela. New York general manager Omar Minaya on Thursday did not give any details about Rodriguez’s situation, but says he expects the right-hander to be back with the team by opening day. Rodriguez’s spring training got off to slow start when he was sidelined pink eye. In his first season with the Mets last year, K-Rod was 3-6 with a 3.71 ERA and 35 saves.
Smith working on extension with Minnesota
Ricketts says GM will decide manager’s fate
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tubby Smith is working on a contract extension at Minnesota — not looking for a new job. Rumors this week suggested Oregon would make a big-dollar offer to make Smith the successor to the recently fired Ernie Kent. Smith was in Indianapolis on Thursday during Final Four events and he says there was “nothing to talk about� in regards to Oregon. He says he’s so happy at Minnesota that he’s working on a contract extension. Smith just finished his second season with Minnesota, leading the Gophers to their second straight NCAA tourney appearance. Before taking the Minnesota job,
MESA, Ariz. (AP) — New Chicago Cubs owner Tom Ricketts says he will continue to let GM Jim Hendry run all aspects of baseball operations — including any decisions regarding manager Lou Piniella’s future beyond this season. Ricketts also said Thursday that money should be available if Hendry and Piniella want to add players as the trading deadline approaches. He said he likes this year’s team and can’t wait for his first home opener as owner. A lifelong Cubs fan, Ricketts will be in Atlanta for Monday’s season opener but wishes he could “fast forward� to the April 12 game at Wrigley Field.
K-Rod leaves Mets to attend to family issues