sports pride - golf club component

Four years ago, Morgan-McClure Motorsports was a weekly contender in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Sterling Marlin had finished among the top-10 in points for a second consecutive season, and the Kodak Chevrolet team showed no signs of slowing. However, that''s precisely what has happened, and no one is exactly sure why. Marlin departed to Team SABCO following the 1997 campaign after dropping from eighth to 25th in the championship point standings. In came . Bobby Hamilton, who had spent the past three seasons at Petty Enterprises. During that time, he''d finished as high as ninth in the points. On paper it was a perfect fit: small-town driver joins small-town team. In his first season behind the wheel of the No. 4 Chevrolet, Hamilton recorded three top-5s, including a trip to Victory Lane at Martinsville, and eight top-10s en route to a 10th-place finish in the points. The Morgan-McClure steamroller appeared to be chugging once again. They''ve had just one top-5 finish since. "Me and Larry (McClure, team owner) were talking one day and we feel like it took us a year and a half to dig this big hole we''re in, so we''re still trying to dig out," Hamilton said. "We''re not going to dig back out in a week or two."

Each of the models in the Exodus series contains a new outsole design with a wider and lighter base, and a contoured midsole with arch shank support. Almost all have a protective toe guard. The bottom soles are fitted with fast-twist Our companyspikes and additional traction nubs for greater stability. The individual Exodus models include: Kahuna, in almond or Aztec brown, with two large straps over the top of the foot; Moses, in coffee or almond, with an x-cross strap system; and, Matrix and Matrix TG, in almond or black/almond, with a double strap system. The Maxtrix TG model has the toe guard feature. Each of the Exodus sandals comes with six dynamic Our companyspikes. The Snake River models, which feature seven Our companyspikes along with traction nubs, include: 3-Under, in almond or charcoal gray, with a third supportive strap; X-Golf TG, in whisky brown or snakeskin, with the x-cross strap; and, Matrix and Matrix TG, in almond or charcoal gray. Among the "closed" golfer shoes being introduced by Our company are the Canyon collection, rugged hiking-type footwear; Mocalite, a moccasin-type shoe; and numerous athletic styles in a wide assortment of patterns and colors. Again, most list prices are under $100.

So is Burton who, like Gordon, will be seeking his third win of the season. Burton knows how tough the track can be. "You don''t expect to come here and win," he said. "But we expect to come to Darlington and run well." Gordon, a five-time Darlington winner, is in a run of bad luck that includes being taken out of contention in two of the last three races because of crashes he didn''t cause. He hopes for good weather Sunday, which would enable him to play out the winning pit strategy of 1995-98. Rain prevented that last year. "We took a chance and pitted for tires and gas during the second-to-last caution, hoping it would put us in position to win," the three-time series champion said. "But we were also hoping the rain would hold off. "Unfortunately for us, it didn''t." Also a prime contender is series champion Dale Jarrett, a two-time Darlington winner who is second to points leader Bobby Labonte despite no victories since the season-opening Daytona 500. Top-5 fixture Tony Stewart, second last Saturday night in Bristol and Ward Burton also are threats. Burton won at Darlington in March. Ward, second to Jeff last year in the only 1-2 Southern 500 finish by brothers,