kimblr.com

Tim Herron of Deephaven has won five times on the PGA Tour during his 15-year pro career. That’s an impressive feat. Tiger Woods has won his past five tournaments.
Put it in perspective, Tim.
“He does things that other professional golfers can’t do; we’re amazed,” Herron said Monday from Palm Beach, Fla., where he is preparing for the Honda Classic, which he won in 1996.
“I feel like we don’t lay down to him because he’s better; he just makes more putts, hits better shots and is prepared to win every single week,” Herron said. “I don’t know how many guys actually prepare themselves to win every week like he does.
“And, he’s not getting bored. He thrives on it, breaking records. And he has never played for the money; he has always played to win tournaments. The money follows.”
Herron has played many times with Woods.
“It’s good, but it’s like you’re kind of stepping into his world, which is great,” he said. “The way I look at it, the more times you’re paired with Tiger, the better you’re probably playing because he’s usually in the last group.”
“Everyone goes, ‘Do you like playing with Tiger, or would you rather not play with him?’ I go, ‘I’d rather play with him because that means I’m playing pretty good.’
“It’s more of a circus, and it’s his circus, know what I mean? A lot of people, a lot of media, and it’s all his. So you’re kind of stepping into his arena. And he’s got a big advantage, because he plays in that arena
every single day when he’s playing competitive golf. We only get in that arena when we’re playing good, or in a major.”
Herron enjoys playing with Woods.
“He’s great,” he said. “He’s very professional and great for the game.”
Herron, by the way, is great for the game, too, with his easygoing personality.
“I’m actually playing OK,” he said.
gt It would be surprising if Vikings offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie, who hasn’t been getting the team’s conduct accountability message, doesn’t receive at least a one-game suspension from the NFL for last weekend’s arrest for his alleged involvement in a street fight in Miami. Meanwhile, look for the Vikings to draft an offensive lineman in later rounds in April.
gt Brian Peters was an all-state baseball player at Highland Park, where he was inducted into the school’s hall of fame. But like a lot of athletes, he wondered what it would be like to compete in the same arena against the best in the world. Now he knows.
Peters, 40, through the urging of his children, an application, an interview and an audition, was selected to compete against former big-league stars Paul Coffey in hockey, Dan Majerle in basketball and Christian Okoye in football on Spike TV’s “Pros Vs. Joes” reality show. His first competition, already completed, will air at 10 p.m. Thursday.
Peters, who resides in White Bear Lake and teaches media technology and social studies at Woodbury High School, isn’t allowed to reveal the outcome of his individual duels against Coffey, Majerle and Okoye that took place in Miami. He is among 64 “Joes” who competed against the former stars. Winners advancing will be revealed on weekly airings on Spike, until the ultimate champion is determined.
The champion, who will be revealed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., next month, will receive a check for $100,000.
“It’s amazing how competitive those guys (Coffey, Majerle and Okoye) are,” Peters said. “They’re nice guys when the cameras aren’t on, but once the cameras roll, they really compete hard.”
gt The Gophers’ Dominique Barber bench-pressed 225 pounds 23 times Monday, ranking in a third-place tie among 57 defensive backs at the NFL scouting combine, reports Shawn Zobel’s draftheadquarters.com. Lineman Trevor Laws of Apple Valley did 35 reps of 225 pounds.
gt Former Gophers football coach Murray Warmath, 95, has a special seat from a BMW for his wheelchair that allows him to position himself for better control. Warmath, who took Minnesota to its last Rose Bowls (1961 and ‘62), is doing fine.
gt After scoring two goals for the U.S. National Under-18 hockey team against Robert Morris University on Saturday, incoming Gopher Jordan Schroeder increased his team scoring lead to 37 points. Schroeder, who starred at St. Thomas Academy, has four game-winning goals.
gt Former Vikings assistant Marc Trestman, 51, has taken the head coaching job of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League.
gt Marcus Lyons, who was manager for private suite sales for the Vikings, is headed to the Orlando Magic as assistant director of premium suite and seating sales.
DON’T PRINT THAT
gt It would be surprising if the Wild do not include former first-round draft pick wing Benoit Pouliot if the team makes a deal before today’s trade deadline.
gt It might behoove ex-Twins starter Kyle Lohse to sign with somebody soon because he has purchased a $4 million home in the Phoenix area.
gt Look for longtime former Gophers offensive line coach and recruiting whiz Gordie Shaw to soon be named offensive coordinator at the University of South Dakota.
gt Mike McCarthy’s five-year contract extension to coach the Packers should assure former Vikings QB Rich Gannon, a friend of McCarthy’s, at least that many years as TV analyst for Green Bay exhibition games.
PGA Tour player Tim Herron, on Tiger Woods: “Amazing!”
Charley Walters’ column appears Tuesdays through Fridays and Sundays.
The Pioneer Press is happy to host community conversations about news and life in the Twin Cities. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don’t threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don’t escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We’ll take action if necessary.
It’s not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute — a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.

twincities.com

Over the past couple of days, we’ve been taking a look at how the Buffalo Bills can best address the defensive tackle position despite this year’s free agent class at the position leaving much to be desired. We’ve looked at alternatives, Plan B free agents, and perhaps most importantly, the rookies. The verdict? With so little available via free agency, the Bills will almost certainly be exploring the trade and draft routes to fill the need at the position.
There is still one free agent name, however, that’s mentioned frequently in Bills fan circles that needs to be discussed. That man is Oakland’s Tommy Kelly. Coming off of a torn ACL that ended his 2007 season, Kelly is scheduled to hit free agency when it begins late next week. Though there has been some indication that he’ll re-up in Oakland, Kelly remains the best free agent tackle currently on the open market.
Silver and Black Pride’s Take
Most of us on the East Coast rarely get to see the Raiders, and by extension Kelly, play. Saint, head blogger at Silver and Black Pride, clearly has seen much more of Kelly than us - and as a Raider fan, he knows exactly what Kelly brings to the table. He was kind enough to field some questions about Kelly; here’s what he had to say:
It is really difficult to deem anyone on the defensive line for Oakland as “tout” against the run. If anyone truly were, then the Raiders would not be the laughing stock of all run defenses for the last 24 months.
Kelly is an effective gap filler who can get after the quarterback, but is more of a “tweener” (DE or DT) than anything else. Last season was supposed to be his breakout year and it was cut short by his injury. The jury is still out on just how good he will be.
Kelly’s injury puts him in a very precarious position if he wants to remain a Raider. After signing Terdell Sands to a long term deal last season, with the emergence of Jay Richardson, and with the jury still out on re-signing Gerard Warren, Kelly may hit the free agent market.
His strength is taking up space and freeing up his teammates. He doesn’t really have a weakness and would be one helluva addition to any defensive line that was already deep. He can be a penetrating tackle or edge sealing DE in the right system.
If Gerard Warren is not signed, then I expect Kelly to be kept. Either one would be perfect for the Bills’ D-Line… Now, can we bring Marshawn back to Oakland?!
Nope. We’ll just take your players, if that’s alright, Saint - but Marshawn stays. Speaking of taking your players, I’m left intrigued about Kelly. At 6′6″ and 300 pounds, Kelly clearly is a bit bigger than some of Buffalo’s defensive tackles, and he has a slightly different skill set than our current tackles do as well. To me, from Saint’s interview, Kelly would best fit as a run-down DE in a 3-4 scheme; I do believe, however, that Kelly could play the same run-down DT position in Buffalo’s Cover-2. Kelly clearly wouldn’t be an every down player in this scheme, so he’d need to be paid accordingly; from what it sounds like, however, Kelly could fit the bill at the right price. He’s certainly worth a look.
Thoughts on Kelly or the DT position in general are welcome in the comments section. Programming Note: Today is the first day of player workouts at the NFL Combine. For those of you who have a life and don’t have the NFL Network, I’ll be providing a full recap of what I see later on tonight.

buffalorumblings.com

Keeping young children safe and informed about potentially dangerous sex offenders in the community is a click away. With help from information available on several web sites, parents can accurately locate where predators live and even work.
As a result of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Sex Offenders Registration Act (SORA) of 1996, dozens of web sites post the residence and backgrounds of registered sex offenders. The law made it mandatory for convicted sex offenders to register their address and physical characteristics to the Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) before re-entering the community.
Offenders are also assigned a risk level classification before they register. The ranking is determined by crim-inal charges against the individuals, as well as the likelihood to repeat the crime. Level One offenders register for twenty years, Level Two and Three offenders must register for life as well as report their resident address to au-thorities no later than ten days after relocating. All offenders, regardless of level, are required to confirm their information annually with the DCJS. Failure to register could result in a prison term from four to seven years.
Since this information is a public record, several web sites, such as www.familywatchdog.com, participate in the National Offender Sex Registry. Visitors to the site can locate offenders by inputting a street address and zip code. A map of the borough then allows visitors to click on a location closer to their home where markers identify offenders’ work and home addresses. These sites also help to conduct background checks to determine if potential babysitters and new neighbors are sex offenders.
United States Department of Justice statistics indicate there are more than 60 registered sex offenders in the three local zip codes: 11234, 11236 and 11239.
Other sites suchas www.missingkids.com, www.mapsexoffenders.com and http://criminal justice.state.ny.us/nsor also provide useful information based on counties and states.
The public can also access records on offenders by asking the local precinct for a Subdirectory. Police are authorized, but not obligated to notify the community about sex offenders who reside there.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office encourages parents to educate their children about being careful around strangers.
After the Sex Offender Registration Act was enacted Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes said in a statement, "Every child in our community de-serves the full protection of the law. Information and education can help us reach this goal."
See related story on Page 15.

canarsiecourier.com

My comment yesterday concerning the possible troubles on the horizon for private equity vehicles came to fruition today with the news that hedge fund Peleton has been forced to liquidate its assets with a virtual wipe out of client monies.
It was not that the fund was invested in weird or wonderful sub-prime, collateralised, etc; its problem was that it appears to have been leveraged to buy reasonable quality but now illiquid asset-backed securities.
With the credit crunch draining away cash, the company was unable to finance the exposure and was forced to find buyers at any price. With no buyers, it was forced into what appears to have been a fire sale.
Selling quality assets at deep discounts means that the very people who were refusing to stump up the cash were probably then turning around and picking up the pieces for a song.
It does not take much imagination to see the investment banks swiftly making up their recent losses via this rather route in the near term.
In this game, as mentioned in some of my comments before today, cash is becoming king. Those with it will be able to do very nicely indeed, those in need of it will either have to pay up substantially or go to the wall.
The big private equity deals were very much built along the same lines, where the asset backed security was the actual company being bought. If the credit crunch continues for much longer, many of the deals which had been expected to offload their purchases via a stock market float will now be coming up for rollover of their initial financing deals.
In a dog eat dog environment, it does not take a slight of fancy to see a large number of these projects unwinding as financiers ask for their money back, rather than risk another loan period, and then turning around and picking the asset up as the desperate borrower flails around for an exit.
The fact that Peloton (one of the more successful funds) was forced into liquidation does not bode well for the sector. A great number of very wealthy people have much of their assets locked up in various highly geared hedge funds of this nature.
The list of funds not permitting withdrawals is getting bigger and as it rises so the rate of redemption closedown may increase as those still with a departure route see heavy withdrawals at a time when they are unable to sell the assets (at a reasonable price), which have been bought on the back of the margins placed by their backers.
A bit of an Armageddon scenario I’m depicting and we are, of course, nowhere near this situation yet…but….the vulture funds are circling.
Looking at the markets, it was another 100 point plus day on the FTSE yesterday. We rejected the break out (again) and slumped back below 6000. To their credit, our clients never believed in the break out and sold virtually anything above the 6000 level and were rewarded in spades with the fall out.
Cable had the good manners to bounce neatly off the support level mentioned yesterday at 1.9750 and climbed throughout the day back to the same resistance level at around 1.9950-1.9970, where it had failed on Wednesday. We are now back below 1.99 and seemingly comfortable at 1.9887-1.9890. Traders will probably leave it alone for the time being until some direction becomes more evident.
Sellers of the Euro, believing that the 1.50 level versus the Dollar was a good point to set up shorts were rudely awakened by the continued move higher. We are now at 1.5226-1.5228 (yet another all time high) and bears are being squeezed. There were almost certainly a large number of 1.50 Call options written over the past year or so and these positions are looking very, very vulnerable.
Gold hit a new high (yawn) as did oil, coffee, silver etc. The hunt for secure delivery seems to be hotting up. At some point the elastic band will probably hit a critical point and the whole edifice will snap back but trying to call the top is a mugs game so unless you are long already, sitting on the sidelines would seem like good advice.

telegraph.co.uk

Writers entering Kollywood is not a new trend. Probably it started with Sujatha and Balakumaran. While Sujatha has almost become an integral part of Mani Rathnam and Shankar

(Best Syndication) In spite of the fact that most drivers do obey the rules of the road, accidents happen. No two accidents are alike. But the laws are the same each time, and since Canada has a No Fault system, so are many of the procedures we must go through afterwards.
Each person involved in the car accident can turn to his or her own insurance company for compensation, regardless of who or what caused the accident. Compensation amounts, known as accident benefits, are set by a statute called the Statutory Accident Benefit Schedule. Many other laws regulate auto accident compensation and any legal action taken. Although No Fault systems are supposed to simplify things after an auto accident, the Canadian No Fault system is extremely complex.
If you were in a car accident and were not responsible for it happening, you can bring a suit against the person who was responsible in your view. To do so, your injuries must be both severe and permanent. A car accident attorney can assess the situation and start collecting necessary information to build your case. To best help yourself if this were to happen, there are some things you should not to at the accident scene.
1. Leave the scene. This would be a criminal act and would make the accident a “hit-and-run” incident. It would be investigated and your position would not be positive.
2. Move an injured person. Unless you have medical training and are qualified in some way, such as an EMT worker, do not try to do this, no matter how uncomfortable you might think the person looks. You could injure that person further if you move them. You have no real information about how they are already injured and an untrained or inappropriate move could worsen the injuries.
3. Apologize. Immediately after an auto accident, most people feel shaken up or worse. At this point you really don’t know much about what has happened and anything you think you know is subjective. You may have a guilty feeling as if you caused the accident, but that could be quite wrong. If anyone else involved in the accident has severe and permanent injuries and later hires an auto accident lawyer to sue you, your statements at the scene of the accident will be used against you.
4. Converse with others. Along the same lines as not apologizing, it’s better to refrain from any conversation with others at the scene. You need to ask for contact information from the other people involved, and from any witnesses of the accident, and you need to give your own contact information to them. Beyond that, it’s better to be silent, because again, anything you say could be turned against you later.
5. Disregard police requests. Answer all questions put to you by police officers. Give them all information they ask for. Remain in whatever place they ask you to remain. Do not leave the scene before they give you permission. You can ask an officer about getting a copy of the police report, but do not try to monopolize the attention of any police officer.
Canadian law allows a person to sue for damages if their injuries are both very severe and permanent. You would need to learn more about your legal position and options. Accident law is complex in Canada and your best friend after a bad auto accident is a good auto accident lawyer.
If you have been disabled or disfigured in a car accident, do contact an experienced car accident attorney for help.
Auto Insurance Information

bestsyndication.com

THE real Robinson Crusoe will be brought to life on board HMS Gannet at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, over the half term holiday.
Story sessions on the Victorian sloop will tell the tale of Alexander Selkirk, the castaway on whom the Robinson Crusoe legend was based.
It’s one of a range of activities for children, including a family fun trail, colouring, and a brass rubbing trail.
Visitors can also join a ropery tour, learning how traditional rope is made and how it was used by Nelson’s navy.
The activities take place every day until Sunday, February 24, and are included in the normal admission price.

kentonline.co.uk

Buddy Miles, the rock and R&B drummer, singer and songwriter whose eclectic career included stints playing with Jimi Hendrix and as the lead voice of the California Raisins, the animated clay figures that became an advertising phenomenon in the late 1980s, has died. He was 60.
Miles died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his home in Austin, Texas, according to an announcement on his website.
A massive man with a distinctive, sculpted afro, Miles hit his peak of popularity when he joined Hendrix and bassist Billy Cox to form Hendrix’s Band of Gypsys, which the New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll called “the first black rock group.” Miles had played with Hendrix on the guitarist’s influential “Electric Ladyland” album released in 1968.
The Band of Gypsys made just one album, a live set recorded on New Year’s Eve in 1969-70, and two of Miles’ songs, “Them Changes” and “We Got to Live Together,” were included on the album. He gave the recording a memorable drum riff on one of Hendrix’s signature songs, “Machine Gun.”
But, according to Miles, the Band of Gypsys association was brief and stormy. He told The Times in 1988 that Hendrix’s management, not the guitarist himself, fired him within a month of the concert. He thought Hendrix’s managers were leery of continuing with an all-black group.
“It had to be a racial thing,” Miles told The Times. “I think it had to scare them because of the political aspect at the time.”
Miles was born Sept. 5, 1947, in Omaha. He developed an interest in drums at an early age and by 12 was playing in his father’s jazz combo. Within a couple of years he was in demand as a session player and a sideman, working with top-name R&B groups, including Ruby and the Romantics and the Delfonics. According to the Rolling Stone encyclopedia, he played on the session that produced the Jaynetts’ 1963 hit “Sally Go Round the Roses.”
While playing with Wilson Pickett in 1967, he was approached by guitarist Mike Bloomfield, who asked him to join the blues, rock and soul group Electric Flag. Miles played on three of the band’s albums before forming his own group, the Buddy Miles Express, in 1968. Next came his association with Hendrix.
Over the years, Miles recorded two albums with Carlos Santana, one of which went platinum, and worked with other leading music figures, including Muddy Waters and John McLaughlin. He re-formed the Buddy Miles Express in the mid-1970s and had a hit with his song “Them Changes.”
By the late 1970s, however, Miles’ career came to a halt over convictions for grand theft and auto theft. He served time in the California Institution for Men at Chino and at San Quentin State Prison. He was incarcerated until 1985 and formed bands at both prisons.
After he was released, he sang with Santana’s group and got the raisin gig while working on an album with the guitarist. The popular television commercials for the California Raisin Advisory Board featured a quartet of singing and dancing Claymation figures with Miles, as Buddy Raisin, doing the lead singing covering Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
The commercial’s popularity spawned a million-selling offshoot album of remakes of rock and soul oldies, “The California Raisins Sing the Hit Songs.”

latimes.com

Sixth grade: Jonathan Abshire, Zachary Antonius, Cody Baker, Scarlett Baker, Christa Baumgartner, Jacob Beck, Brandon Beuerlein, Joshua Bornstein, Jeremy Burt, Regan Coleman, Jared Cornett, Ethan Crist, Jeremy Crist, Joshua Crowder, Taylor Darner, Maya Degennaro, Tyler Dockum, Casey Dozier, Nigel Dsilva, Thomas Dyer, Rachel Edwards, Sydney Engelhard, Lauren Fagin, Shelbi Felblinger, Olivia Fuerst, Larry Hall, Samantha Hannon, David Haven, Alyssa Hawkins, Danielle Heil, Rebecca Helton, Daniel Hodge, Jada Imhoff, Margaret Jaeger, Jonathan Joseph, Taylor Kieb-Jackson, Blake Keller, William Kennedy, Jessica Kimball, Colin Kimiecik, Jason Kline, Francesca Lindley, Erika Lindner, Brooke Lohrey, Dana Lohrey, Troy Mabis, Zane Marsh, Christopher Mock, Rachel Morton, Joshua Napier, Mckenzie Neal, Melvin Omolo, Anderson Pestana, Samuel Poetter, Christopher Price, Warwick Reider, Kyra Reisenfeld, Dalton Rhodis, Scott Richmond, Matthew Rudolph, Karen Ruggaard, Ethan Saulnier, Madison Saylor, Tiago Schaeffer, Caitlin Schomberg, Caroline Shoker, Garrett Siefer, Jordan Smith, Matthew Snell, Ricki Snyder, Clara Stanley, Paige Stapleton, Sarah Starrett, Courtney Stone, Dana Stumph, Jessica Tegge, Samantha Thome, Laura Tilton, Rebecca Voth, Ian Weller, Joseph Williams, Allison Wood, Kaylin Wright, and Bradley Wyatt.
Seventh Grade: Cailyn Abernathy, Colton Adams, Spencer Anderson, Alyssa Asher, Dylan Bailey-Ankuren, Sarah Baker, Brian Baxter, Bobby Bennett, Haylee Blevins, Amanda Bommer, Alexandria Bond, Clayton Bowling, Dalton Bowling, Madison Boyd, Kaitlyn Bretz, Suzannah Bretz, Alexandra Brindle, Meghan Bruder, Cody Bulach, Madison Burns, Margaret Campbell, Hannah Chitwood, Keshia Churchman, Thomas Clayton, Nathaniel Coffin, Shelby Cook, Allyson Cousino, Alex Danielson, Austin Davidson, Mariah Davis, Robert Dellaripa, Miranda Denzler, Matthew Derickson, Laura Dewitt, Sophihana Dilek, Ashley Dowler, Amanda Eckhoff, Mariah Engelhard, Jacob Flum, Harrison Garver, Michela Groom, Carlee Hendricks, William Hesford, Ryan Hickey, Tyler Hitsman, Andrew Hofmann, Jacob Hogg, Alexander Hughes, Miranda Hyde, Samuel James, Christopher Jones, Margaret Keith, Shelby Kelemen, Heather Ker, Austin Lee, Jessica Less, Ying Liang, Jonathan Lukac, Nathaniel Lynch, Audrey Macneil, Robert Marcum, Andrew Marks, Wade McQueen, Stephen Milders, Mason Miller, Ben Mokhtari, Thomas Mullenix, Caleb Napier, Nathan Nelson, Henry Ni, Nataniel Nickel, Kasey Odonnel, Sydney Phillips, Darian Price, Miranda Rice, Nolan Robinson, William Ross, Adam Ruby, Hannah Ruby, Thomas Schlueter, Jennifer Schuppie, Andrew Sens, Howard Smith, Lauren South, Shelby Sterwerf, Amalia Stevens, Brandon Tefelski, Hannah Terrell, Rachael Thyen, Rachel Tipton, Jesse Tolliver, Joshua Ubbes, Hannah Wachenheim, Andrew Waggoner, Brilyn Webb, Bristyl Webb, Joseph Webb, Erika Wilhelm, and Trey Williams.
Eighth grade: Casey Abrams, Evan Bader, Nicole Baker, Nicholas Baxter, Nathanael Bell-Pectat, Allison Brown, Austin Burkholder, Caitlyn Calhoun, Courtney Carrier, Katelynn Clark, Jared Coffin, Sydney Combs, Rachel Cooke, Lindsay Crist, Adam Darby, Benjamin Diesbach, Elaina Douglass, Margaret Dowling, Elizabeth Ector, Katherine Edwards, Morgan Estridge, Evan Farler, Jacob Farthing, Jessica Garrison, Benjamin Glazier, Ciana Griffin, Kristin Haacke, Kathleen Harris, Kayla Hawkins, Kyra Hays, Stephanie Hertweck, Benjamin Hesford, Melanie Hodges, Justin Hornsby, Rebecca Jaeger, Andrew Jarvi, Kevin Jewett, Luis Jijon, Maggie Johnson, Laura Jones, Paul Joseph, Miranda Kappes, Morgan Kearns, Taylor Kittel, Stephanie Kuehn, Sreelakshmy Kumar, Kaylee Leishman, Katherine Makaroff, Natalie Mallaley, David Malone, Candice Mcclanahan, Jeffery McCleese, Karina Michael, Mathew Morgan, Morgan Murray, Audriana Nigg, Mitchell Poetter, Stephanie Radford, Andrew Richardson, Nathanael Robinson, Taylor Ruder, Nicholas Rupel, Ezra Saulnier, Caroline Schulte, Michael Sens, Tyler Seward, Jessica Sherbs, Ariel Shirley, Sabrina Smith, Elizabeth Stanley, Robert Stephenson, Brandon Stigall, Julia Stone, Kelsey Tesdahl, Raven Thomas, William Vollmer, Spencer Wade, Cirsti Weber, Lila Wengler, Benjamin Whiteman, Kurt Wilhelm, John Williams, Claire Winslow, Marianna Wolf, Tyler Ziegler.
Copyright 2008 Oxford Press. All rights reserved.
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oxfordpress.com

In terms of Stanford basketball, Fred Washington has seen it all. He’s seen the highs. A fifth-year forward, Washington was recruited by and played a year under legendary Stanford coach Mike Montgomery. Washington saw limited minutes but played on a team that won 30 games and was ranked No.1 in the nation.
Fred Washington highlights a senior class that includes Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt and Kenny Brown. The foursome has provided valuable depth off the bench for the Cardinal for years.
He’s also seen the lows. During the 2005-06 campaign he played only six games before undergoing knee surgery, watching on the sidelines as the team sputtered into the NIT with a 16-14 record.
Washington’s fellow seniors, Taj Finger, Peter Prowitt and Kenny Brown, never played under Montgomery. But all four entered the program during an era of great success and high expectations, only to struggle under a transition period with Trent Johnson.
Yet as each takes the floor for the final time at Maples this weekend, Stanford is once again a top-ten team. With the program again a contender in the Pac-10, and perhaps beyond, the team in many respects reflects the influence and impact of its senior leaders.
Showing up on the Farm as a skinny 6-8 forward from Mt. Kisko, N.Y., Finger carved out a niche as an energy-providing spark off the bench. While he averaged gaudy numbers (18 points, 12 rebounds, 8 blocks, 5 steals and 4.5 assists) in high school, Finger soon found and embraced his role as the hustle player, the type of guy every coach wants on his team.
Finger often looked to the senior leaders of those Cardinal squads, players like Rob Little and now-assistant coach Nick Robinson. Over the years, as he began to assume the mantle of leadership himself, he emulated the style of Chris Hernandez, the demanding point guard who would often lead by example.
“Everyone thinks the world of Chris,” Finger said. “If I could be thought of like Chris Hernandez, that would be pretty cool.”
Like Hernandez, Finger’s intensity is one of his defining traits. His propensity to dive for rebounds and loose balls quickly endeared him to the Maples Pavilion faithful.
A team co-captain, Finger has enjoyed a good relationship with head coach Trent Johnson since the two first came to the Farm in 2004. Perhaps more than any other player, Finger has epitomized Johnson’s hard-nosed, defensive style of play.
“He kind of gets me, and I get him,” Finger said of his coach. “We get along real well.”
Johnson, for his part, described Finger as “passionate” and “the ultimate team guy.”
Much as his coach repeats the mantra to take the season “one game at a time,” Finger is not dwelling much on his final home stand in a Stanford jersey. He plans to play overseas somewhere after graduation, but for now, Finger has his sights set squarely on winning against Washington.
“If you get caught up in all that stuff you probably won’t play as well,” he said of the pre-game Senior Night festivities. “I probably won’t really think about it until the game’s over.”
Along with the ups and downs in the win and loss columns, Washington has seen just about every injury there is. He’s had three surgeries, one on his wrist, one on one knee and two on another. Just this season, the Los Angeles native has struggled with bronchitis, pulled a groin and jammed a thumb several times.
Dealing with the injuries, as well as the sometimes-difficult transition from Montgomery to Johnson, has served Washington well. “I’m better suited to notice the good stuff more, and kind of block out the bad stuff,” he said.
One thing he blocks out is the 2005-2006 campaign. Recovering from knee injury, he kept his distance while the team struggled with injuries and a lack of cohesiveness.
“I say I wasn’t there,” is his reply when someone brings up the season. “That year is blank for me.”
Since then, both Washington and the team have recovered. The growth of Mitch Johnson, Anthony Goods and Lawrence Hill, as well as the arrival of Brook and Robin Lopez, helped the team rebound from the disappointing NIT season in 2006. Washington, meanwhile, started all 31 games while developing a reputation as one of the team’s best ball handlers, most valuable perimeter defenders and hardest workers.
“What he goes through to get himself prepared to play, prepared to practice, it’s special,” Johnson said. “He’s stubborn in a very very good way. He speaks his mind in a very very good way.”
For Washington, shifting expectations has also taken work.
“I thought we were going to win the Pac-10 title every year,” he said. “I got greedy . . . It’s been weird to start off at the very very top, then go pretty far down, then come back up.”
While he’s not sure what exactly lies in his future plans — he may play overseas, and says he’ll likely eventually attend law school — Washington will check in on his former teammates next season to make sure the progress continues.
“Stanford was good before the twins, Stanford will be good after the twins,” he said of the team’s prospects if Brook and Robin Lopez declare for the NBA Draft. “They’ll find a way.”
A self-described “late bloomer” in high school, Brown was not recruited by any colleges. The Southlake, Tex., native took the initiative, however, and sent materials to several Division-I coaches.
Mike Montgomery was one who took notice. Even after Montgomery’s departure to the NBA, Brown talked with Johnson and earned an invitation to Stanford’s morning workout in the fall of his freshman year. Soon after, he had worked his way onto the team as a walk-on.
Brown played sparingly his first two seasons at Stanford, but the sweet-shooting guard broke out last year with a 22-point performance against Arizona on March 3. With several of his teammates battling food poisoning, he seized the moment and hit four three-pointers, including a game-tying shot with 6.1 seconds left in regulation, although the team eventually fell 85-80 in overtime.
“I was joking around before the game, seeing if I could administer IVs,” the human biology major said. “I had no idea what was to come.”
Brown emerged as a viable option off the bench, however, and soon became a fan favorite for his penchant for hitting the longball. The 6th Man honored him with calls for “Downtown Kenny Brown.”
While Johnson was finally able to offer him a scholarship for next season, Brown will attend dental school at Baylor University.
“I’ve gotten a lot of stuff from Stanford, the exposure to great players . . . academically, you can’t put into words how much I’ve benefited from that,” he said. “A school of this caliber will get you a lot of places.”
What can Brown do for Prowitt? A little dental work wouldn’t hurt.
Served with the unenviable duty of guarding the Lopez twins in practice, Prowitt lost his two front teeth courtesy of a Brook Lopez elbow for his troubles during a scrimmage last spring.
“I looked like I was from Virginia at that point,” the Arlington, Va., native said.
After a promising first two seasons on the Farm, Prowitt suffered a broken bone in his right knee his last fall. By the time he recovered, the Lopez twins had assumed most of the big man minutes in the rotation — leaving Prowitt the role of guarding them in practice, which is “a full time job,” he said.
“College basketball is kind of a baptism by fire,” the political science major, currently interviewing for Teach For America, said. “I’m grateful for my experience.”
Said Washington: “It’s just a miracle he’s still alive.”
He would know.

daily.stanford.edu