The new page 22.qxd (Page 1)

Index
22
SOCCER |continued from page 17
VOLLEYBALL |
game if we wanted a chance to
make it to the national tourney,”
Bilbao said. “The freshmen
responded very well. We took it one
game at a time and won the last six
straight.”
The year-end winning streak was
not enough to extend the season,
but it did generate optimism for
next year.
“‘Good’ and ‘better’ are two
words I would use to describe this
season,” senior forward Ricky Vigil
said. “We had double digits of new
guys, so we weren’t exactly expecting to do that well, but we did. Most
of all, we played well as a team.
This was the best team unity we’ve
had since I’ve been here. So, I am
really looking forward to next season. I’m ready for next year right
now.”
Truman will not lose any seniors
to graduation after this season. The
team added 13 freshmen to the roster this year and all of them contributed, Bilbao said.
“We’ve got a lot of young talent,” junior defender Brett Coppage
said “I hope a couple of those guys
mature a little bit and we will grow
stronger as a team.”
continued from page 17
said everybody has to take equal
responsibility for the struggles.
“You can’t blame the losses on
anything
in
particular,”
Knefelkamp said. “When [the
upperclassmen] step it up, it’s so
much easier for the freshmen to follow.”
The torrent of accolades continued to pour in for the ‘Dogs, as
senior libero/outside hitter Shelby
Ortwerth earned her second
Wilson/MIAA Hitter of the Week
award of the season. In her final
game as a Bulldog, Ortwerth
slammed SBU for 17 kills with a
.615 hitting percentage.
After beating SBU, the ‘Dogs
had to hold their breath until the
regional tournament selections
were made. Shedd said she was surprised when she discovered
Truman was selected as the No. 2
seed, but she knew it was the
team’s resiliency that put it there.
“We’ve done some really good
things this year,” Shedd said. “But
we wouldn’t be here if we had
given up. We just kept fighting and
never gave up.”
Freshman back Jared Atwood
started every game for Truman. He
had one goal and two assists.
“It went better than I thought it
was going to be,” Atwood said. “We
worked well as a team to keep possession. We are all young but we’ve
got what it takes to win.”
Both captains, Coppage and
Vigil, were named to the Verizon
First-Team Academic all-district
list. Vigil has a 3.69 cumulative
GPA in accounting, while Coppage
has a 3.46 GPA in biology/pre-med,
according to the Nov. 6 Athletic
Media Relations release.
Vigil leads the team in points
with nine goals and three assists.
Coppage scored one goal and had
four assists on the season.
Bilbao said the future looks
bright for the men’s soccer team
with so many young players returning. His goal is to make it to the
national tournament next season.
“Our strengths were that we
were a total team,” Bilbao said. “I
think everybody stepped up. If each
individual can improve in terms of
strength, speed and touch on the
ball, obviously we will be stronger
as a team for next year.”
Thursday, November 21, 2002
Pass the Puck
Brian Gaffney/Index
Junior Dan McCoy handles the puck against the University of MissouriSt. Louis at the Pacific Roller Rink in Pacific, Mo. during a weekend tournament for the Truman roller hockey club team.
Jordan, Knafel
trade barbs
and lawsuits
CHICAGO (AP) — The woman
accused of extortion by Michael
Jordan responded with her own
lawsuit Tuesday, saying he offered
her $5 million to keep quiet about
their relationship.
Karla Knafel asked the court to
force Jordan to pay her the money
because he was in breach of contract.
Jordan filed a lawsuit in
October, contending he had a relationship with Knafel more than 10
years ago and paid her $250,000
“under threat of publicly exposing
that relationship.”'
Jordan’s lawsuit said Knafel
tried to extort another $5 million.
On Tuesday, Knafel’s lawyer,
Michael Hannafan, said: “It was
Jordan who initially offered to pay
her $5 million in the spring of 1991
for her agreement not to file a public paternity proceeding and for
keeping their sexual relationship
publicly confidential.”
Knafel’s lawyer said his client
and Jordan had a sexual relationship from 1989 to 1991 in Chicago,
Indianapolis and Phoenix. Knafel
discovered she was pregnant shortly after being with Jordan in
November 1990, Hannafan said.
At that time, she believed the
child was Jordan’s, he said.
Jordan then offered her $5 million to buy her silence about their
relationship and about the child she
thought was his, said Hannafan. He
said Knafel is not today claiming
the child is Jordan’s.
“I will tell you that the alleged
claim of extortion by Michael
Jordan and his lawyers is nothing
but baloney,” Hannafan added.
Jordan’s attorney, Frederick
Sperling, said Tuesday that the basketball great authorized him “to
state that the papers Karla Knafel
filed with the court today are full of
lies. Any allegation that Michael
Jordan is the father of any of Karla
Knafel’s children is completely
untrue.”
Jordan has asked the court for an
injunction barring further extortion
efforts and a declaration that
Knafel’s demand is unenforceable
because of her “existing obligation
not to publicly expose the relationship.”
Jordan and his wife, Juanita,
were married more than 12 years
ago. She filed for divorce last
January but since withdrew the
case and issued a joint statement
with her husband saying they were
attempting reconciliation.
Iverson denies
allegations, fears
police misconduct
Star NBA guard says he
feels police are targeting
him and his family
PHILADELPHIA
(AP)
—
Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen
Iverson is afraid police are targeting him, and he might want to
leave the city, according to published reports.
“I want to be in Philadelphia,
but I’m scared to be here,” the
NBA star told The Philadelphia
Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily
News in Tuesday’s editions.
They were Iverson’s first public comments about his off-thecourt troubles last summer.
Iverson and his wife, Tawanna,
gave an interview to the newspapers Monday at the 76ers’ practice
facility, to blunt the impact of
what the couple said is an unflattering TV news report on
Iverson’s personal life. The interview was attended by their lawyer,
Larry Woodward.
“I’ve heard about police officers toasting to Allen Iverson’s
next felony conviction,” Iverson
said. “I’m hearing about them saying I’m involved with one thing or
another, and it scares me. I know
that if there’s a crooked cop out
there, they could do anything to
me. He could do anything. Allen
Iverson could wind up dead
tomorrow if a crooked cop wants
him dead. It’s as simple as that.”
Inspector William Colarulo, a
spokesman for the police department, said misconduct of any
nature would never be tolerated by
police Commissioner Sylvester
Johnson.
Iverson did not speak to
reporters at the team’s morning
shootaround in New Orleans
before Tuesday night’s game
against the Hornets. The Sixers
had no immediate comment on the
report.
During the 90-minute interview
with the newspapers, the Iversons
also denied reports of domestic
abuse.
Iverson and his uncle were
accused of barging into an apartment on July 3 and threatening the
two men inside while Iverson
looked for his wife after he
allegedly threw her out of their
house. He was charged with several felonies, but the charges eventually were dropped.
“My husband never hit me, and
he did not throw me out of the
house naked,” Tawanna Iverson
said.
Anticipating that Philadelphia
TV station WTXF is planning a
news segment raising questions
about Iverson’s lifestyle, the couple thought it was time to speak
out. The NBA star had been
advised by his lawyers to not discuss the situation.
WTXF news director Scott
Matthews said it is the station’s
policy not to confirm or deny the
content of any of its programs.