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Show A13 WASATCH COUNTY COURIER rs JUNE 13, 2001 team. in Landstuhl, relatives that He was Germany and are German, which makes him eligible to apply for citizenship. Bradley, in a report out of Dallas, said that he's been kicking around many people couldn't, either. I have too much love for the country I live in. However, the thought of bronze, but has only recently got serious about it. And, with the opportunity to play alongside Maverick teammate Dirk Nowitzki, it's an offer he forget. can't refuse. How about it, my fellow Americans, is this a bad idea? Are you with me? Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against Germany, or any other foreign country. I even love German chocolate cake and think But playing for a country that's not your own is also something you won't forget, and I'm sure the American athletes that play Germany won't let Bradley forget that, either. As well they shouldn't. ~"Oh say can you see.. the Volkswagon is a great vehicle. Send your fan mail to our sports guy: sports@wasatchcountycourier.com Probst on both was first team Alb lists,, while German Ochoa was first team in the T7vibune and second team in the Deseret News. ing position at 2A Grantsville High. Coaches of the Utah high school soc- Stanfield resigned at the end of last season after the Wasps won only one game and finished last in Region 10. Although Stanfield didn't want to be interviewed, he did say he was excited about the opportunity and that the job starts immediately. cer teams vote on who makes the list. rey "The coaches are good at récognizing the players in our region," soccer coach Dawain - Wasatch Wheatley said. "They're pretty well recognized and our program has The Comeback Continues: Capriati Rallies For French Title STEVEN WINE AP SPORTS WRITER the railing to give her brother and father an emotional hug. It's amazing she still had the strength, almost as amazing as her being the new French Open champion. Weariness gave way to jubilation when Capriati finally closed out the grueling, elusive victory Saturday, Anything seems possible now for Capriati, who dropped to 267th in the world in 1998 but is 14-0 in the majors this year. The streak includes a pair of victories over top-ranked Martina Hingis and one each over Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams and Seles. But the latest win was the toughest of all. Clijsters, who turned 18 Friday, ~-proved a remarkably poised opponent even as the tense final set unfolded. In terms of games, it was the longest third set of any French Open women’s final, and the longest third set in any Grand Slam women’s final since the beating 1948 U.S. Open. PARIS (AP) —- Jennifer Capriati jogged to the corner of the stadium where her family stood cheering,. climbed onto a ledge and leaned over tenacious Belgian teen-ager Kim Clijsters 1-6, 6-4, 12-10. “Tm just waiting to wake up from this dream,” Capriati told the crowd during the trophy ceremony. “It doesn’t seem like reality right now.” Nervous and cranky in the unfamiliar role of heavy favorite, Capriati started poorly and then staged a comeback — something she knows plenty about.-At 25, the former teen-age prodigy has Four times, the 12th-seeded Clijsters was within two points of the championship. Each time, the fourth- seeded Capriati rose to the occasion. “She’s playing with so much confidence at the moment, she doesn’t feel any pressure,” said Clijsters, who settled for the consolation of being the first Belgian to reach a Grand Slam final. - Both players battled fatigue in the latter stages of the 2-hour, 21-minute marathon. With Clijsters serving at 1010, Capriati won a long rally by skipping a backhand off the baseline, then leaned on her racket in exhaustion. But she summoned the energy to win that game by closing out a 20-shot exchange with an overhead slam. resurrected a career derailed by.drugs and personal problems to become the “T don’ t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” —BILL COSBY WASATCH COUNTY Wasatch County’s Source for News ree Aaron State j represent, | silver, and ultimately gold are stronger than citizenship for some and I'm sure being in the Olympic Games in something that you never the idea for quite some time now teams.. mt you Tribune All-State dominant player in women’s tennis. Capriati won her first major title in. _ January at the Australian Open, almost 11 years after she made history as a 14year-old semifinalist in Paris. She now is halfway to a Grand Slam sweep only three women have accomplished, most recently Steffi Graf in 1988. ‘She’s rounding second,” said Kevin O’Connor, an executive “Yd rather have at doesn’t feel the pressure or expectations she felt in the past. at S maturi>> The last woman to win the year’s first two Grand Slam tournaments was Monica Seles in 1992. Capriati will now set her sights on Wimbledon, which begins June 25. ‘Who knows what can happen?” she said. grass.” “I feel comfortable on the a match like that than an easy one,” she said. “'T love it.” Serving for the title, Capriati needed six more points to finish it off. On the second match point, she smacked a forehand winner, then hopped up and down in glee. She gave Clijsters a / warm hug at the net, clasped her/ Saddlebrook Resort in Florida, where Capriati has lived and trained since she was 11. ‘‘She’s at a time in her career where she’s really enjoying it. She ty. TNT TIT MMT TT nett born has national country you should feel proud to wear the colors of your nation and having the opportunity to bring back gold for your people. It's a concept as basic and simple as the red, white, and blue, and as American as apple pie. You compete for the country that you would be willing to die for. And so one has to wonder what Bradley will feel when he looks across the court and sees the American flag. staring him straight in the face, and knowing that he is about to go to war against the ¢country he grew up in. I couldn't do it, and I'm sure News CNT German Whatever to the Deseret and the Salt Lake Games. Very few get the opportuni- ty to compete in them. But face the facts. If you aren't good enough to play for your home country, then maybe you shouldn't play at all. If there's anything the Olympic Games bring to a country it's selfworth, pride, and _ patriotism. named players Torry It seems as if Bradley has found a way to sneak in the back door of the Olympics by playing for the were soccer nm try. two Wasatch j Whatever the reason, many Americans are feeling just a bit more patriotic these days. You can see it in their eyes, and feel the pride running through their veins. Well, that is, most people. ‘Then there's people like Shawn Bradley. It's not to say that he doesn't love America, but one really has to question his thinking. Apparantly, Bradley has always wanted to be an Olympian and have a shot at winning a medal. But since he's never going to get even a sniff of playing for the United States dream team, he's got another plan in mind-playing for another coun- fter a very succesful season, TI release of the movie "Pearl Harbor". country? Isn't that like signing up for the Marines, failing a physical, and then joining the Army in Iraq? OK, maybe Bradley isn't going to shoot anyone while playing for the German national team. But it's the principle were talking about here. Look Shawn, I understand your enthusiasm for the Olympic ge the done well. Our players are very deserving." They may have been deserving, but that didn't stop Ochoa and Probst from being very surprised about their All-State selection. "T couldn't believe it. I didn't think I would make it,'' Ochoa said. "T was pretty happy about it," Probst said. "I think I was deserving, but so were my teammates. We worked together." In other Wasatch High news, former men's basketball coach Greg ._ Stanfield has accepted the head coach- RUSS RIGGS SPORTS EDITOR own o of your ae because against | hands over her head and trotted over to her family. The crowd’s ovation rose as she embraced Steven, her brother and practice partner, then Stefano, | her father and coach. ‘When I looked at my — and how happy they were and crying, it was really amazing,” she said. / _— AP aybe it's M because of the recent Memorial Day weekend. Or maybe It's playing - | But Soccer players earn awards; Stanfield accepts job ; RUSS RIGGS SPORTS COLUMNIST reer rrr Wasp Update Just What Is Bradley Doing, Anyway? |