SPORTSLINE

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj

FOOTBALL

Wayne Chrebet key to Jet air attack

Last year, forced to acknowledge the brilliant play of Matt Kuchar, Sportsline broke through the golf barrier, going against the prejudice of your columnist. The year 1999 marks the defeat of yet another bias: this writer's inattention to football (the North American, NFL/CFL variant, not soccer).

In this case, the focus is Garfield, N.J., native Wayne Chrebet, known to the Ukrainian community in Elizabeth (whom we thank for hepping us to the football star's background). Number 80 has been an outstanding wide receiver for the National Football League's New York Jets (of the American Football Conference) since 1995. In fact, our longstanding boycott of Mr. Chrebet's achievements amounts to nothing short of a high sports crime and misdemeanor.

In the 1998 season, the tandem of Mr. Chrebet and Keyshawn Johnson provided the Jets with an air attack (along with the strong running of running back Curtis Martin) that helped drive the long-suffering "Chicago Cubs of Football" to the AFC playoffs for the first time since 1982.

The New York Jets' website (http://www.newyorkjets.com) provided these comments of Head Coach Bill Parcells on the 26-year-old Mr. Chrebet: "What's not to like? He's obviously the underdog. Everybody roots for him. We all admire guys who come in unheralded and make themselves into something that everybody has told them they shouldn't be ... He's one of my homeys."

If Mr. Chrebet was told he shouldn't be a wide receiver in the NFL, it was because of his relatively small size. At 5 feet, 10 inches, 185 pounds he was considered too short to be effective as an NFL receiver. Then again, 1998 was the year when Doug Flutie returned to the league to prove that diminutive physical dimensions often mask huge quantities of heart and talent.

Mr. Parcells wasn't quite right about one matter, however. Mr. Chrebet was hardly an unheralded arrival in the NFL. The fact that he wasn't drafted as a wide receiver was through no lack of effort on his part. In his senior year at Hofstra University (the school immortalized by Bill Cosby), Mr. Chrebet tied NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice's National College Athletic Association (NCAA) record for touchdown (TD) receptions in a game with five, against Delaware. Mr. Chrebet also set Hofstra records for TDs in a season (16) and career (31); and for single game yardage (245). For his senior year exploits (57 catches for 1,200 yards) he was voted Hofstra's MVP.

The New York Times took notice of the two Jets' receivers' disparate but complementary styles in a feature, titled "The Oddest Couple" on the front page of its sports section on January 10.

Whereas Mr. Johnson is brash, flashy, fast and wild, Mr. Chrebet is soft-spoken, dependable, wily and mathematically precise. As Times writer Gerald Eskenazi noted, off-field relations have been cool between the two since Mr. Johnson arrived as the NFL's top draft pick and immediately declared himself the "top receiver on the team," and cooled a bit more since Mr. Johnson's book came out in 1996.

In "Just Give Me the Damn Ball," Mr. Johnson refers to Mr. Chrebet as "the team's mascot." For his part, Mr. Chrebet told the Times "I'm flattered that he's so obsessed with me."

But on the field, it's strictly business: "I'm always surprised when people ask whether I block for him or he blocks for me," the Jets Ukrainian wideout was quoted as saying. "Of course we do. There's not even a question about it. I compliment him when he does something well, and he does the same for me."

Mr. Chrebet just missed going to the Pro Bowl this year, but according to the Times article, he'll be attending anyway, thanks to his quarterback. Vinny Testaverde made a pact with him that if either one were selected to play in football's all-star game, the other would go as his guest.

NFL career highlights

According to PRO ratings service, Mr. Chrebet is "one of the most dependable and durable receivers in the NFL." He is known as "Mr. Third Down," a sobriquet earned by his talent for hauling in catches that give his team enough yardage to earn first down (and the opportunity to continue advancing down the field) in tight situations.

The hometowner (the Jets play in New Jersey) set the NFL mark for most receptions during a player's first two seasons in the league, with 150 (the 208 catches over his first three campaigns put him sixth on the NFL all-time list). He began his outstanding play on a team that was struggling. Even as the Jets finished with dismal season records, Mr. Chrebet was catching 30-yard passes from (since ousted) quarterback Boomer Esiason, then 60-yarders from Neil O'Donnell.

According to the NFL website (http://www.nfl.com), in 1995 Mr. Chrebet earned top rookie honors from College & Pro Newsweekly and Football News, finishing second among NFL rookies in receptions, with a record of 66 catches (only one less than the top man) for 726 yards and four TDs.

In 1998 Mr. Third Down caught 75 passes for 1,083 yards and eight touchdowns. His longest reception was a 63-yard touchdown play. He made no fumbles.

1998 AFC Playoffs

On January 10, Mr. Chrebet's Jets played the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the AFC playoffs, and he found himself largely in a supporting role, as Mr. Johnson scored two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Mr. Chrebet provided solid blocking support and a couple of his crisp catch-and-drive first-down receptions. The TV announcer complimented him after one such effort in the third quarter: "Chrebet is thinking all the time he's on the field, every time he has the ball."

A mild shock came in eighth minute of the fourth quarter. Mr. Chrebet caught the ball, turned to gain first down yardage, and ... fumbled! He hadn't done it all year. Happily, the Jets were ahead by 11 points at that stage of the game.

New York's greens advanced to the AFC championships against the reigning Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, winning 34-24.

In the championship game on January 17, the Broncos (overwhelming favorites because of their NFL-leading offense and a run-smothering defense) were held scoreless for the entire first half and the Jets took a three-point lead into the locker room thanks to a John Hall field goal. In the third quarter they padded their lead with a touchdown by Mr. Martin, but soon after the momentum shifted and it was the green-jerseyed team's turn to be blanked. Denver scored 23 unanswered points to prevail 23-10.

Mr. Chrebet led all receivers with eight catches for 121 yards, and turned in a number of his typical rock-solid first-down-earning efforts. However, in the fourth quarter he also figured in one of the Jets' disheartening total of seven turnovers. Running a route in uncharacteristically ragged fashion, he slipped and fell. Quarterback Mr. Testaverde's pass sailed right into the hands of a Bronco - interception.

As Cubs fan say, "Just wait till next year!"

BIATHLON

Ukraine's women are showing signs they might do very well at the upcoming Biathlon European Championships, to be held in Izhevsk, Russia, scheduled for February 1-7. They are also likely to keep pace with the élite at the World Championships, scheduled for February 5-12 in Kontiolahti, Finland. It remains to be seen how they deal with the strange scheduling conflict that has the Worlds begin before the Europeans end.

On January 15, at the second of the season's Ora Biathlon Trophy events, the quartet of Olena Zubrilova, Olena Petrova, Nina Lemesh and Tetiana Vodopianova shocked the Germans on their home turf in Ruhpolding, winning the women's 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay in a time of 1 hour, 41 minutes, 23.9 seconds. They won by the narrowest of margins. At each leg, the two sides ran head to head, and neither side missed a target at any stage. The Ukrainians were faster by a mere 1.4 seconds, thanks in particular to blistering performances by Ms. Zubrilova and Ms. Vodopianova (starter and anchor, respectively).

At the post-event press conference Martina Zellner (the Teuton on the anchor leg) averred that "in the dying seconds of the session, I felt like I was standing still, and the speedy and accurate surge of Tetiana Vodopianova gave the Ukrainians their result."

In the ensuing two days Ms. Zubrilova overcame a strong field twice, winning both the sprint and chase events. In the sprint (on January 16), Ms. Zubrilova missed only one target on the second half of the course, which she completed with an official time of 23 minutes, 40.7 seconds. She bested runner-up Corrine Niogret of France by a full second, even as the Frenchwoman did not miss a shot.

Ukraine's Olena Petrova finished 10th, missing two targets (one in each section), 1 minute, 8 seconds behind; Nina Lemesh was 12th, hitting all her shots, but took six seconds longer than Ms. Petrova to complete the course. Tetiana Vodopianova nipped ahead of Germany's Peggy Wagenführ by 0.8 of a second to finish 19th.

In the four-stage pursuit (chase) event, Ms. Zubrilova was even more dominant, finishing in 30:03.5 (two misses), ahead of Ms. Niogret (who must know how Ukrainian sprinter Zhanna Pintusevych feels) by 5.1 seconds. Ms. Petrova was seventh, 1:25.7 behind (two misses); Nina Lemesh was 13th, 2:36.0 (three misses). Ms. Vodopianova finished somewhere below 25th, as her result was not listed by the otherwise excellent German website dedicated to the sport. (Address: http://www.biathlon.de)

The competition in Ruhpolding began with the premiere of a "Massenstart" event, won by local hero Uschi Disl, who crossed the finish the finish in a time of 41:10.7, having missed only one target. Ms. Zubrilova missed three and finished 32.7 seconds behind. Ms. Vodopianova was 14th (four misses, 1:55.2 behind), Ms. Petrova was 21st (her stats are unavailable).

The men did not manage to crack the top 25, and as such were not picked up on the website's radar.

The season's first Ora Biathlon Trophy event (and the third on the World Cup circuit) took place a week earlier in Oberhof, Germany. On January 10 the women's relay team finished fourth. On January 8 Ms. Zubrilova took second place in the sprint, was humbled along with the rest of the field by Norway's Liv Skjelbried, finishing 16.7 seconds behind despite having been perfect in the shooting. Ms. Lemesh was 14th (one miss, 1:35.6 behind), Ms. Vodopianova 21st (one miss, 1:44.4 behind). On January 9 Ms. Skjelbried did it again to Ms. Zubrilova in the pursuit, by a very similar margin. The Ukrainian biathlete missed two shots and finished 16.4 seconds behind. Ms. Lemesh improved her performance, rising to ninth (one miss, 1:13.2 behind); as did Ms. Vodopianova (11th, three misses, 1:33.5 behind). Olena Petrova was 22nd (four misses, 2:49.0 behind).

Thanks to her performances at Oberhof and Ruhpolding, Ms. Zubrilova vaulted up to fifth in the Women's Biathlon World Cup standings, with 178 points, currently led by Ms. Disl, who has 268. The other Ukrainians bunch up further down in the rankings: Ms. Vodopianova, 15th (84 points); Ms. Lemesh, 16th (78 points); Ms. Petrova, 17th (72 points).

Another addition to this year's tour has been a special pool of prize money to be distributed among the top five men and women biathletes. The sponsors of the Ora Trophy have put up 52,000 DM for distribution at the World Cup tour final in March in Homelkollen, Norway. Ms. Zubrilova leads the women's rankings with 93 points, putting her in line for 10,000 DM.

Other Notes

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Sportsline marks the last Ukrainian New Year of this millennium by opening itself to "Netizens." We can be reached by e-mail: toronto@ukrweekly.com.

If you know of the sportish exploits of a Ukrainian athlete, team, coach, or even management type, please let us know. Please provide evidence of any individual's Ukrainian background or history of having played/coached for Ukraine.

If you know of a website that provides raw or cooked data about the above-mentioned, please drop us a line.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 7, 1999, No. 6, Vol. LXVII

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