Pete Iacobelli

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Cam Newton smiled to the hundreds of fans who cheered as the Heisman Trophy winner took the field Saturday for the first time with the Panthers.

And he doesn't feel like a No. 1 pick shortchanged by the system.

Newton practiced a day after signing a four-year, $22 million deal with Carolina. The fans at Gibbs Stadium began to cheer as they saw Newton in his red No. 1 jersey walk down the hill from the locker room, his arms around Panthers star runner DeAngelo Williams.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Gary Player was already a major champion when he played the Masters in 1961. By the time the tournament ended, the South African had defeated Arnold Palmer and become the first international player to wear the green jacket. It also marked him as a rising star.

"Confidence is a very, very big thing in this sport," Player said by phone this month. "There is such a fine line that winning at Augusta like that meant an awful lot to me."

NEWBERRY, S.C. -- Newberry's ready to show off its new "Wolves" nickname -- almost.

The small, Division II school whose president once vowed never to give up the "Indians" nickname is testing out its new monniker as its fall sports schedules begins.

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Elliott Sadler had no complaints for Goodyear, only for those drivers griping about the manufacturer.

When asked what it meant that at least a dozen competitors faced tire trouble at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sadler was quick with a response: "Yeah, but there were 37 others that didn't," he said Tuesday at Darlington Raceway.

 GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Catcher Tim Federowicz was impressed with everything John Smoltz had to offer in his minor league rehab assignment.

The All-Star ace brought everything to the plate: fastball and slider -- steak, ribs and fixin's, too.
Federowicz twice was called on this spring by the Class A Greenville Drive as Smoltz worked his way up to the Boston Red Sox. The second-year catcher discovered a patient, friendly and accommodating star, plus a generous, heaping postgame buffet.
"Most of the guys will buy you a spread," Federowicz said. "But it's not usually Longhorn's Steak House."