BEHIND THE HOOP SCENES : IT'S NOT POINTS, BUT EFFORT THAT MATTERS TO JOYNER-KERSEE.Byline: Karen Rosen Cox News Service Points used to mean the world to Jackie Joyner-Kersee Jackie Joyner-Kersee (born March 3, 1962 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a retired American athlete, ranked amongst the all-time greatest in heptathlon as well as the long jump. She won three gold, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals. . Score enough in the heptathlon heptathlon: see under decathlon. heptathlon Women's athletics competition. Contestants take part in seven different track-and-field events: 100-m hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump, javelin throw, and 200- and 800-m runs. and she could beat the world. Now wearing a basketball uniform again after a 12-year layoff Layoff 1. When a company eliminates jobs regardless of how good the employees' performance. 2. A risk reduction, made by investment bankers, that minimizes the potential downside associated with a commitment to purchase and sell a stock issue unsubscribed by stockholders holding , Joyner-Kersee measures success differently. She's coming off the bench for the Richmond Rage, who play the Atlanta Glory The Atlanta Glory was a women's professional basketball team in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a member of the American Basketball League (1996-1998). The Glory played its home games in Forbes Arena. The team folded before the start of the abortive third ABL season in 1998. Thursday night at Morehouse College Morehouse College: see Atlanta Univ. Center. Morehouse College Private, historically black, men's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Ga. It was founded as the Augusta Institute, a seminary, in 1867 and renamed in 1913 in honour of Henry L. . So far, Joyner-Kersee still has more track and field golds (three) than field goals (two). In five games, she's played 35 minutes and scored seven points. ``Points to me, they are important but they're not the main thing,'' said Joyner-Kersee, 34, history's first 7,000-point heptathlete. ``It'd be nice for me to play anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes a game, which would allow me to get two or three steals or five boards. I like to do the things that don't show up in the score.'' Her presence alone has awarded the rookie American Basketball League American Basketball League is a name that has been used by three defunct basketball leagues in the United States:
``I think people are curious,'' said Joyner- Kersee, who returns to Atlanta 3-1/2 months after overcoming a sore muscle to win the bronze in the Olympic long jump. ``Everywhere I've gone people have cheered me on. Even if I'm out there for a minute, they're just happy to see me. I appreciate that. ``I didn't come into this league to be a star; it was to make a dream of mine come true of playing in a professional league.'' Yet while Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. entered pro baseball in the minor leagues, Joyner-Kersee, who attended UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX on a basketball scholarship, has been thrust into the majors. ``I welcome all challenges,'' the 5-foot-10 guard/forward said, laughing. That means posting up 6-3 players and maybe shooting an occasional airball. Both Joyner-Kersee and league officials acknowledge that she hasn't been able to work with the team as much as they'd like because of appearances and sponsor commitments she agreed to perform before joining the league. That has contributed to her sparse sparse - A sparse matrix (or vector, or array) is one in which most of the elements are zero. If storage space is more important than access speed, it may be preferable to store a sparse matrix as a list of (index, value) pairs or use some kind of hash scheme or associative memory. playing time. So has her asthma, which forces her to leave the game after a few minutes. Sometimes she's reluctant to come out, ``and I cause myself more harm than good.'' ``I think that people need to give her a break,'' said Richmond coach Lisa Boyer. ``The woman hasn't played competitive basketball for 12 years and it's going to take her some time.'' Yet Boyer praised her quickness, both in learning and on the court. ``When you think this is the cream of the crop of basketball players, with all of the athleticism out there, she's quicker than any of them,'' Boyer said. In Sunday's game, Joyner-Kersee stole the ball and scored on a layup. However, she has had to learn to pace herself. ``I only know one speed, and that's fast,'' she said. ``I can go too fast, and then I might lose the ball.'' Joyner-Kersee is also working on timing her jump shots, getting the rhythm and feel for a ball that still might roll off the palm of her hand. After this season, Joyner-Kersee has a one-year option with Richmond (her salary has not been released), then plans to retire and start a family. Until then, she'll take the transition game to extremes, squeezing in indoor track meets during the basketball season, including the nationals in March in the Georgia Dome Atlanta Falcons • • [ . Joyner-Kersee, who will only long jump and hurdle, is still regarded as a superstar in track. As she rediscovers her basketball skills, she's accepted her role backing up Olympians Marta Sobral of Brazil (25.2 points) and Dawn Staley Dawn Michelle Staley (born May 4, 1970 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an US-American basketball player and coach. Staley is a three-time Olympian and was elected to carry the Stars and Stripes at the opening ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympics. (21.5 points). ``At times it's tough, but I understand what the big picture is all about,'' said Joyner- Kersee. ``I know I haven't put in the time. As an athlete, I can't allow my ego and my pride to get in the way. I'm going to see more playing time. I've always thought of myself as a humble person and I try not to let it bother me.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Jackie Joyner-Kersee's leaping ability is a big plus as she plays in the American Basketball League. Daily News File Photo |
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