This Win Isn’t Easy for Jones

Marion Jones, happy again and winning as usual, raced to victory in the 100 meters at the U.S. Open track meet Saturday night at Stanford into a head wind that “felt like I was running into a wall.”

Jones won in 11.20 seconds, a relatively poor time for the woman who has dominated the sprints the last few years. But it was a decent time when considering the wind was blowing straight into her face.

“I kept getting stuff in my eyes in the warmup. I would have liked to have good conditions and a good time,” said Jones, who pulled away from the field in the final 20 meters.

In fact, the dash was just the first sprint of the night for Jones, who won an unprecedented five medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

After the race, she sped to San Francisco International Airport for a flight to Munich, to be followed by a connecting flight to Prague. She will run the 200 in a meet in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Wednesday.

The women’s 100 meters at the meet on Saturday was moved an hour earlier so Jones could make her flight.

Stacy Dragila, who set two world records at this meet last year, won the women’s pole vault but cleared only 14 feet, 2 inches. Last year at Stanford, she vaulted 15-9 1/4.

She said the problem was in her technique, specifically her last couple of steps on the runway, not the wind.

“For some reason, I couldn’t get it together,” she said. “I guess I have to get slapped around a little bit, and I did today.”

Other women’s winners were Gail Devers in the 100 hurdles (12.81), Regina Jacobs in the 1,500 (4:11.35) and Jearl Miles Clark in the 400 (50.45). Among the men, the winners included John Godina in the shotput (70-1 3/4), Kim Collins in the 100 (10.18), Felix Sanchez in the 400 (45.24) and William Chirchir in the mile (3:55.40).

The meet was a warmup for the U.S. national championships to be held on the same track in two weeks. Jones will run the 100 and 200 at that event.

Pro Football

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and wide receiver Keenan McCardell have agreed to a four-year, $10 million contract, giving the Buccaneers a proven pass-catcher opposite Keyshawn Johnson.

McCardell had 94 and 93 receptions the last two seasons and surpassed 1,000 yards in four of his six years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He teamed with Jimmy Smith to form the most productive receiving duo in NFL history over a six-year period (1,061 receptions from 1996-2001).

The Buccaneers hope to get similar numbers from Johnson and McCardell. The contract includes a $2 million signing bonus.

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Former Miami Dolphin wide receiver O.J. McDuffie is suing former and current team doctors for malpractice and gross negligence in the treatment of his 1999 big toe injury.

Lawyers for McDuffie filed a complaint in Miami-Dade Circuit Court naming former Dolphin team physician John Uribe, current team physician Dan Kanell and radiologist Michael Thorpe.

Herman Russomano, McDuffie’s lead attorney, said he expects to ask for a “multimillion dollar” settlement in the case for a “betrayal of trust.”

Released by the Dolphins on Feb. 28 after nine years with the team, McDuffie contends the injury worsened when he continued to play with it in 1999. He claims an MRI showed the injury was serious, but the Dolphins told him the exam was inconclusive.

Miscellany

Harvard celebrated its 16th win in 18 years in the Harvard-Yale Regatta, routing its rival in the four-mile varsity race by 41.3 seconds at Ledyard, Conn.

Harvard dominated the 150th anniversary of the Regatta, coming in at 19 minutes 2.5 seconds. Yale finished the Thames River event at 19:43.8.