Sports: Losing wears on Warrick

His final game for Florida State was nothing less than an exclamation point to his college football career: three Sugar Bowl touchdowns on catches of 64 and 43 yards and a 59-yard punt return, a two-point conversion, 163 yards on six receptions, Most Valuable Player in the 46-29 victory over Virginia Tech for a 12-0 season in 1999 and the Seminoles' second national championship.

Less than three months later, the Cincinnati Bengals made Warrick their first-round draft choice and he disappeared into the NFL's version of the witness protection program.

"I ain't going to lie to you. That's hard, man, adjusting to losing more than winning," said Warrick, who has emerged to host his Celebrity Basketball Classic, a collection of NFL players Saturday night at the USF Sun Dome with proceeds going to help rebuild the 13th Avenue Community Center in Bradenton. "Going from winning all my life to winning four games, then winning six, it was real hard for me. Ten wins in two seasons. Ten wins in 32 games. That just doesn't add up.

"Life is all about winning to me, no matter what it is, no matter what I do. I'm a competitor. I take pride in it. I hate losing."

Compare Warrick's combined receptions, yards, yards per game and touchdowns in 1998-99, his final two years as a Seminole (excluding bowl games), to 2000-01, his first two with the Bengals, who haven't made the playoffs since the 1990 season: At FSU, he played 21 games and made 132 catches for 3,166 yards (103.1 yards per game) and 20 touchdowns. At Cincinnati, he has played 32 games and made 121 catches for 1,259 yards (39.3 ypg) with five touchdowns.

Warrick said he's not disappointed with those Cincinnati numbers. "Most times that's how you start out in the NFL," he said. "You're not going to have everybody having bomb years the first couple of years. You're going to have some people that go in and do better than others. I felt like I had a good year (each) season and now it can only get better for me. ...

"Stats, stuff like that, I don't have any (personal) goals. But my mind frame is to be more consistent whatever I do."

And maybe to regain the kind of faith he had at FSU. "At Florida State we felt like we couldn't be beat," Warrick said. "That's the way I want it to get to be (in Cincinnati)."

With the Seminoles, every game was life or death, not just those against Florida and Miami. One loss could all but destroy a season. Take 1998. They went into the North Carolina State game ranked No.2. After the 24-7 loss they were No.11. They didn't lose again but didn't get back to No.2 until the season ended.

With the Bengals, Warrick said, "When you have three or four games left and you know you're not going to be in the playoffs ... " He paused for a moment. "Well, me personally, I still try to give it my all. I don't look at it like, "Well, our season's over.' I look at it like, "Hey, we can learn from this, learn to grow."'

Warrick was first on the team in receptions (70) and second behind Darnay Scott in receiving yards (819-667) last season. But if the Bengals don't restructure Scott's $3-million salary for 2002, they may trade him. And even if they keep him, team president Mike Brown has said they might sign free agent Michael Westbrook, a seven-year receiver with the Redskins. The Bengals brought him in for a workout two weeks ago.

"The only thing he can do is make us better as a unit," Warrick said, expressing no concern about a potentially crowded position. "We already have great receivers and if he does come in he can bring leadership, veteran knowledge."

Warrick has a personal interest in preserving and improving the 13th Avenue Community Center. He played Pee Wee football there. "That's where I got my patented moves, baby!" he said.

The center was founded in 1937 by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McCloud Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman College. It has not undergone any major renovation since the 1950s, executive director Patrick Carnegie said, and space in the 10,000-square-foot facility is limited. It will cost about $1.5-million to double its size. As many as 600 children use the center on a typical day. The number grows by 15 percent each year.

With the Rogers Garden projects demolished and the revitalization of the neighborhood, Carnegie said, Bradenton has expressed an interest in converting into a commercial development the city-owned land alongside U.S. 301 on which the center sits.

"Our lease with the city expires in 13 years," Carnegie said. "We're going before the City Council July 24 to ask for an additional 50 years. That will enable us to assure our donors and various funding sources that the center will be here for a long time."

For Warrick, looking ahead to the Bengals' 2002 season may not be as much fun as looking at FSU's 2001 and 2002 teams -- not to mention this season's Washington Redskins.

"I'm still a Gator-hater. Always will be," he said. As for the 'Skins, former Florida coach Steve Spurrier's new team, "I know they're going to be good. I just want to see if Spurrier can make them better. More than likely, he will."

Last year's Seminoles finished 8-4 and ranked No.15. They're the 2002 preseason No.1 by Athlon Sports magazine, No.2 by The Sporting News.

"I think they're going to be goo-ood," Warrick said. "Last year was the start of a new era. They had young guys. This year they're going to be more experienced; they're going to know what to expect. It's going to be a better year for them, a lot better. I'm a firm believer in (FSU coach) Bobby Bowden. We're going to win out, baby!"

Celebrity basketball

WHAT: Peter Warrick Celebrity Basketball Classic II.

WHEN/WHERE: 6 p.m. Saturday, USF Sun Dome, 4202 East Fowler Ave., Tampa.

TICKETS: $10 plus service charge, available at the Sun Dome box office, TicketMaster outlets, by phone (813) 287-8844 or (727) 898-2100, and at www.ticketmaster.com.

BENEFITING: The 13th Avenue Community Center in Bradenton.

SCHEDULED TO APPEAR: Among more than 20 NFL players are Derrick Brooks, Shaun King, Dexter Jackson, E.G. Green and Frank Murphy of the Bucs; Fred Taylor (Jaguars); Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss (Vikings); Michael Vick (Falcons); Jevon Kearse (Titans); Edgerrin James (Colts); Warrick, plus former NBA guard Norm Nixon (Lakers, Clippers), a demonstration by the Converse Southwest Florida High School Slam-Dunk champions and the acrobatic slam-dunk High Impact Squad of NBA mascots.

INFORMATION: (813) 974-3002 or www.sundome.org.

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