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Show SPORTS 0 DailySHerald SUNDAY, APRIL 23, 2006 SPORTS EDITOR| Damell Dickson - 344-2555 - ddickson@heraidextra.com UTAH FOOTBALL 2006 NBA PLAYOFFS KKING FOR A DAY ROBB COSTELLO/Daily Herald Utah freshman quarterback Kevin Dunn stiff-arms a defender during Utah's spring scrimmageatRiceEccles Stadium on Saturday. Grady stars for Utes in spring game Jason Franchuk DAILY HERALD LeBron racks up a triple-double in first career playoff game _Tom Withers THE ASSOCIATEDPRESS CLEVELAND — LeBron James had an NBAplayoff debut that was simply Magical. Showcasing his spectacular skills as a proin the postseason for the first time, James recorded a triple-double and brought the Cleveland Cavaliers backto the playoffs in style with a 97-86 win over the Washington Wizmus ards on Saturday. WIZARDS with 32 points, CAVALIERS 97 86 James finished played defense at BYU,but Kyle: Whittingham isn’t afraid to take SALT LAKE CITY — He once 11 rebounds and 11 assists, becoming the first player since Magic Johnsonto post a tripledoublein his first playoff game. sometips from the Cougar football uy's a greatclass to be in,” James program about how to run an offense. Utah’s head coach has spoken with mentor LaVell Edwards, who seemed to have a bunch of quarterback quandariesin the 1980s when the school was pumping out capablesignal callers the way Harvard pumps out lawyers — thatis, successfully and frequently. While the names may not be as big downthe road as the Cougars once had; Utah facesa similar aGame ofhis playoff resume was anyindication, James may one daybe in a class by himsel Over 48 minutes, the 21--year-old, who is battling a cold,did a little of everything to help the Cavaliers landthe first blow in what could be a lengthy series between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. As always, the pregame hype centered around James, who barely * missed the playoffs in his first two problem this year. Edwards’ adviceto his former linebacker? Aim forstability as soon as possible. “Find the guy,” Whittingham said at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Saturday, summing up his own thoughts that werebasically See UTAH, D6 AFL Blaze boost playoff hopes with big upset BrandonJudd DAILY HERALD Forget the expansion label. The Utah Blaze are shedding it and fighting for playoffposition in their first season of play in the AFL. Twoweeksago,the Blaze looked anything but playoff bound whenthey lost their fourth straight game,a 64-52 home setback to Arizona.But after Friday's 52-40 upset victory over defending league champion Colorado, Utal‘is in total controlofits playoff destiny with a 5-8 record and three games to go. With the win twonights ago, the Blaze moved a half-game ahead of Chicagofor the sixth andfinal seasons. He hadn't been in such a pressure-packed gamesince he was a highschoolsenior, and many wondered if he could handle the pressure. Any more questions? Welcome to LePlayoffs. “He’s played on big stages his wholelife,” Cavs forward Drew Goodensaid.“It's expected of him.” James is just the third player in history to get a triple-double in his playoff debut. Johnson(13 points, 12 rebounds and16assists) did it for the Los Angeles Lakers on April 8, 1980, and Johnny McCarthy (13 points, 11 rebounds,1] assists) had one for St. Louis on March16, 1960. “Nothing he does surprises me anymore,” Cavs center Zydrunas . See CAVALIERS, D4 TONY DEJAK /Associated Press Fanshold signshailing Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James(23) during the Cavaliers’ 97-86 winover the Washington Wizardsin the opening gameof their NBA playoff basketball series on Saturday. ANDREW BOGUT|: YEAR 1 T think being the best means winning pies Early returns look at former Utah star and No.1 draft pick Andrew Bogut’s rookie seasonstats: Minutes: 28.6 Points: Rebounds: 7.0 Field goal %: .633 Assists: 2.3 Blocks: 0.83 ChrisJenkins THE ASSOCIATEDPRESS, ILWAUKEE — Andrew Bogut starts to feeldizzy, andhis vision gets blurry. If the Milwaukee Bucks’ rookie center doesn’t recognize the onset of a migraine headache andtakehis medication right away, it quickly gets worse. “It’s terrible,” Bogut said. “It’s just like someone's hitting a hammerinside your head.” The chronic headaches also affected Bogut in college, sometimes leaving him bedridden for the day. His last episode came March24 in Los Angeles, and he didn't have his medication with him. Bogut had 10 points andfive rebounds against the Lakersany lyway. It’s that kind of understated toughness from Bogut that has helped the Buckspull off a modest turnaroundthis season, Milwaukee general manager. Larry Harris says. “] talk about his basketball knowledge and his competitivenessall the time,” Harris said. “A lot of guys don't See BOGUT, D4 ___ DARREN HAUCK/Associated Press Milwaukee's Andrew Bogut goes up for a basket during a gamethis season. See BLAZE, D6 1996 NFL DRAFT: A LOOK BACK Hindsight always 20/20 in NFL dratt Draft do-over? A look at where some Dave Gold THE ASSOCIATED PRESS When KeyshawnJohnson was taken by the New York Jets with the first pick in the 1996 NFL draft,it was assumed he would be a superstar. Keyshawn has had a good career:three Pro Bowls,a Johnson after being selected No. 1 by the New York Jets at the 1996 NFL draft. demonstrated he certainly wasn't the best player in that draft andno better than No. 3 among wideouts. Certainly not as good as three players ahead doin college and then in workouts oftenhas little relationship Every spinetop team, to whatthey can do on the field, so at best, the draft isa guessing game. Every team, dudsin high places — from top to bottom, has had its duds in high places — the the top teamsjust pick top teams just pick badly less often. badly less often. ‘There are a lot of reasons for that, none morethan the seeming obsession with what hapof him in a mock redraft of pens OFF the field from Janu1996: PagPs ile pc So ary to April, when prospective Owens, who rison and Te for all his off: notoriety has draftees are poked, prodded, interviewed and Wonderlic-ed. been a star it. ‘So even the best scouts often But that’s the norm. forget what made the players What potential NFL players to bottom,hashadits _WWALHERALDEXTRA.COM —CALL375-5163TO SUBSCRIBE | ' tages the way they can play. “Competitiveness ii s the most important aspect and that's sometimeshardto test,” says Gil Brandt, the longtime personnel director for the Dallas Cowboysand row the NFL's draft adviser. “The orily measurement you can use atall is something that’s relevant to the position he plays. Wespenda lot of time and money measuring things that have norelevance to what a playerwill do.” See DRAFT, D5 of the bestplayers from the 1996 NFL draft were selected: * PLAYER Pick Willie Anderson Eddie George 10 14 Marvin Harrison 19 Ray Lewis Brian Dawkins 26 =, 61 Tedy Bruschi, 86 TerrellOwens Zach Thomas 89 154 |