Coy Gibbs

The finish line is in view, bringing with it happiness and sadness, remorse and relief. Four more weeks of football for Coy Gibbs, but only four more weeks before it all becomes a memory and friends are left behind. Four more weeks of late-night plane trips for Joe Gibbs, but only four more weeks of sitting in the stands, yelling for his son, a Stanford linebacker. Four more weeks of football, including Saturday's game at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

Rarely has anyone made the change from one sport to another, as Joe Gibbs did from professional football to motor racing, with such quick success. Since leaving the Washington Redskins after coaching three Super Bowl champions to run a NASCAR Winston Cup team in 1992, Gibbs' drivers have won 40 races in 578 starts and taken home $62,701,004 in purses.

Rarely has anyone made the change from one sport to another, as Joe Gibbs did from professional football to motor racing, with such quick success. Since leaving the Washington Redskins after coaching three Super Bowl champions to run a NASCAR Winston Cup team in 1992, Gibbs' drivers have won 40 races in 578 starts and taken home $62,701,004 in purses.

Joe Gibbs was in town this week, promoting his book, "Racing to Win," attending the Christian Book Sellers Assn. conference and meeting with sponsors. "Sometimes it seems that meeting and getting sponsors is the way I spend most of my time, but that's what you have to do these days in NASCAR," said the former Super Bowl-winning coach who became a NASCAR team owner and won the Winston Cup championship in 2000. Gibbs' No.

Joe Gibbs was in town this week, promoting his book, "Racing to Win," attending the Christian Book Sellers Assn. conference and meeting with sponsors. "Sometimes it seems that meeting and getting sponsors is the way I spend most of my time, but that's what you have to do these days in NASCAR," said the former Super Bowl-winning coach who became a NASCAR team owner and won the Winston Cup championship in 2000. Gibbs' No.

Stanford Coach Bill Walsh, on his prospects Saturday against USC in the Coliseum: "If I can have the same success against the USC football team I've had against O.J. Simpson on the athletic field, I will be excited. O.J. has never beaten me in golf or tennis." * Fathers and sons: Stanford has nine players whose fathers have NFL connections: --Charlie Young, son of Charle Young, with the 49ers, Eagles, Rams, Seahawks. --Tony Cline, son of Tony Cline, with the Raiders and 49ers.

Only a week after having to deal with Arizona receiver Richard Dice, who is 6 feet 2, UCLA's Teddy Lawrence will be looking uphill again on Saturday. Make that farther uphill, at 6-6 Justin Armour, Stanford's leading receiver. Lawrence, a 5-9 cornerback, struggled with Dice, particularly on an eight-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Lawrence never had a chance on the perfectly thrown ball.

Riverside's Todd Burns continued his dominance of the Southern California Auto Club Late Model series by winning the 50-lap feature Saturday night in front of 5,942 at Irwindale Speedway. Burns held off Agoura Hills' Tim Huddleston, who spent the majority of the race trying to catch Burns. Doug McComb finished third. It was Burns' 24th victory in a feature event.

USC recruited well in its own back yard, but UCLA may have come away with the state's top prize on Wednesday, the first day colleges were allowed to sign football players to letters of intent. USC announced the signing of 23 players--including two junior college transfers--15 of which are from Southern California. But while UCLA did not sign as many Southland players as USC, the Bruins did land Jamir Miller of El Cerrito, a linebacker considered the state's top recruit.

Bobby Labonte isn't one for the bumping and banging that characterize short-track racing. So when the Pontiac driver found himself in prime position Sunday, he only had to drive. On a day when Kevin Harvick wasn't allowed to race, the Virginia 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race still featured plenty of banging, and one near gift from Tony Stewart that Labonte turned into his 19th victory.

The finish line is in view, bringing with it happiness and sadness, remorse and relief. Four more weeks of football for Coy Gibbs, but only four more weeks before it all becomes a memory and friends are left behind. Four more weeks of late-night plane trips for Joe Gibbs, but only four more weeks of sitting in the stands, yelling for his son, a Stanford linebacker. Four more weeks of football, including Saturday's game at the Rose Bowl against UCLA.

RESULTS/SCHEDULE *--* Feb. 18 Daytona Beach, Fla. Mike Wallace Feb. 26 Miami Andy Houston March 18 Phoenix Joe Ruttman March 26 Mesa Marin Raceway Mike Wallace April 10 Martinsville, Va. Bobby Hamilton April 22 Portland, Ore. Andy Houston May 7 Gateway Int. Raceway Jack Sprague May 13 Memphis Jack Sprague May 21 Pikes Peak Int. Raceway Greg Biffle June 3 Evergreen Speedway Jack Sprague June 9 Texas Motor Speedway Greg Biffle June 17 Kentucky Speedway Greg Biffle June 24 Watkins Glen, N.Y.

An aggressive move by Kevin Harvick set the stage for his first win in a year. It also brought a new round of criticism for NASCAR's bad boy, but only after a late-race gamble on gas by crew chief Gil Martin paid off. Harvick was told to stay on the track while most of the other leaders pitted, and that earned him a victory Sunday in the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The hard-charging Harvick listened to his crew chief and barely made it.