Page B2
JUNE 3, 1998
(The IJortbmft (ObseriitT
BULLS AND JA Z Z BEGIN NBA FINALS WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN UTAH
T h e C h icag o B ulls w ill h av e a
few d ay s to catch th e ir breath b e ­
fo re b e g in n in g th e N B A F in als
a g a in st the U tah Ja zz , a team that
has alread y had m ore than enough
rest.
M ichael Jordan, p la y in g w hat
co u ld have been the final g am e o f
his ca reer, scored 28 p o in ts as the
B ulls v an q uished the In d ian a P ac­
ers, 8 8 -8 3 , S unday nig h t in G am e
S even o f th e E astern C o n fere n ce
finals. He m ade ju st 11-of-25 shots,
and on ly a 22-4 ed g e on the o ffe n ­
sive g lass and a ste lla r th ird -q u a r­
ter e ffo rt by T oni K ukoc kept aliv e
C h ic a g o ’s c h a n c e s fo r its th ird
s tr a ig h t c h a m p io n s h ip — a n d
J o rd a n ’s b rillian t career.
T he tw o -tim e d e fe n d in g c h a m ­
pions ad v an ced to an N B A F inals
rem atch against the Jazz, sta rtin g
W ednesday night in U tah. T he
B ulls have n ev er lost in the c h a m ­
p io n sh ip round an d d efeated th e
Jazz in six gam es last season.
T he Jazz co m p leted a fo u r-g am e
sw eep o f the Los A n g eles L akers in
th e W est finals w ay back on M ay
2 4th to earn th e ir seco n d straig h t
trip to th e N B A F in a ls . U tah ,w h ich
w ill be p lay in g at hom e for the first
tim e in 16 d ays, has n ev er w on an
N B A title.
“ N ot h av in g hom e court is g o in g
to d efin itely be to U ta h ’s ad v a n ­
ta g e ,” Jo rd an said. “ But nobo d y
has tak en an y th in g aw ay from us
yet. W e ’re still the ch am p io n s and
th a t’s how w e ’re g o in g to th in k
w hen w e go into th is se rie s.”
T h e B ulls and Jazz w ill co m p ete
in th e first N B A F inals rem atch
sin c e th e L ak ers beat the B oston
C e ltics in 1985.
A lth o u g h he has left the d o o r
I «fe
o
be a certain ty . F acing p erh ap s his
last g am e, Jo rd an resp o n d ed , a l­
th o u g h n o t in his usual sp e ctacu lar
fashion.
T he B ulls had not played a G am e
S even sin ce lo sin g th e 1994 c o n ­
feren c e se m ifin als at N ew Y ork.
Jo rd an w as retired at the tim e and
had not played a G am e S even since
th e co n fe re n ce se m ifin als in 1992,
a h o m e w in o v er N ew Y ork at C h i­
c a g o S tadium .
C h i c a g o r e p e a te d ly tu r n e d
m issed sh o ts into seco n d ch an ces
an d cru cial points. In a g am e that
saw Jo rd an and S co ttie P ippen m is­
fire on a co m b in ed 28 shots, the
B ulls sco red 24 p o in ts after m isses.
Jo rd an failed to sco re from the
field fo r th e last 7 1/2 m inutes.
P ippen add ed 17 p o in ts on 6 - o f - 18
sh o o tin g . But it did not m atter how
m any sh o ts th ey m issed , b ecau se
■
jf
M ich e á l Jord a n
Karl M a lo n e
o p en , Jo rd an rep e ate d ly has said he
w o u ld re tire at th e en d o f th is sea-
so n if Phil Ja ck so n is not b ack as
co ach o f th e B ulls, w hich seem s to
French Open: Hingis
Ousts Williams
Couples Finds His Game at Memorial
B y RON SIRAK
There must be times when Fred
Couples looks at Ernie Els, Tiger
W oods, David Duval and Justin
Leonard and th inks back to those days
when he was considered the best gol fer
in the world.
It w asn’t all that long ago, but it
must seem like a different lifetime.
In the first five years o f this decade
- 1990-94 - Couples finished in the top
three 25 times in only 99 starts, with
eight victories, including the 1992
Masters.
Then it seemed like nothing could
go right.
From 1995 through ’97, Couples
had only two top-three finishes in 48
tournaments and won just once.
At times during that stretch it
seemed as ifl i fe was conspiring agai nst
Couples. A series a personal tragedies
made his chronic back pain seem almost
an afterthought.
Soon after his Masters victory he
went through a very public and very
expensive divorce with his wife o f 11
years, Deborah.
“I go to sleep thinking about it and I
wake up thinking about it,” Couples, an
affable and private person, admitted
before the 1993 Masters.
The next year, his mother Violet died
ofcancer. And last year, on Thanksgiv­
ing Day, his father Tom died after eight
years o f treatment for leukemia.
In between, there was an engage­
ment that didn’t work out and then last
year his girlfriend, rhais Bren, was
diagnosed with breast cancer.
Through it all - or because o f it all -
Couples emerged as a man more at
peace with himself, and perhaps has
emerged as a better golfer than he was
even back then when he was the No. I
ranked player in the world.
“It’s given m e a kind o f peace,”
Couples said. “ I feel comfortable with
my father. He had a long life and I
realize how lucky I am to be doing what
I’mdoing. And I have the best girl inthe
world.”
H is golf this year has been as impres­
sive as it was in 19 9 1 -92 when he was
twice voted the PGA T our player o f the
year by his fellow players.
In 11 tournaments in 1998, Couples
has finished first twice, second twice -
including the Masters - and third once.
In his last five tournaments he has fin­
ished second, third, second, 18th and
first playing 17 o f 20 rounds under par.
“I think I’m very capable o f playing
at 38,39,40 as well as I did when I was
32,” Couples, 38, said after winning
the Memorial Tournament over the
weekend.
Clearly, Couples is pleased with
what he has achieved this year, butjust
as clearly he wants to roll up numbers
as good - or better - than those he once
achieved.
“ I’ve had a great month, two
months, but tw o months does not cre-
ateawholeyearofgoodgolf,”Couples
said at Muirfield Village, where he
shot four consecutive rounds in the
60s and hit 32 o f 36 greens in the
weekend rounds.
“ I just hadonegreatyear,” Couples
said perhaps too modestly about his
early success. “And people keep try­
ing to get me back to that year, and it’s
not easy to do.”
B y ROB GLOSTER
B y ANNE M. PETERSON
T here was a sense o f disbel iefw hen
O akland Raiders receiver Tim Brown
first heard that promising young team ­
mate Leon Bender had died.
“T h a t’s a guy w e w ere patting on
the back three w eeks ago (in m ini­
cam p) when he broke up a pass play,”
Brow n said. “Now w e ’re looking at
going to his funeral.”
O n Friday, Brown said, he d is­
cussed Bender with quarterback Ryan
L eaf - w ho played with Bender last
season at W ashington State - during
a g o lf tournam ent. On Saturday,
Brow n learned the 22-year-old d e­
fensive tackle had died in G eorgia.
“ It’s ju st one o f those things that
m ake you step back and take a hard
look at your life and see if th e re 's
anything you can improve on,” Brown
said.
Bender, the 31st overall pick in
the N FL draft in A pril, w as found
dead in the bathroom o f his ag en t’s
hom e in M arietta, Ga. He suffered
from epilepsy, but the cause o f his
death w as not know n.
B ender had been in G eorgia for
tw o w eeks to w ork out w ith agent
Terry B olar and a few' other players.
He was scheduled to jo in the Raiders
this w eek for another m ini-cam p.
“ He w as a guy that w e figured on
being a big part o f this season and
seasons beyond,” R aiders coach Jon
G ruden said. “ It’s a tragic loss for us.
I think you all know th at.”
G ruden said the N FL and the Raid­
ers w ere aw are o f B e n d er's epilepsy,
but it was apparent he had it under
control at W ashington State.
and C hris Evert reached the final
four in 1987.
In the m e n ’s quarterfinals, No. 3
seed M arcelo Rios blew his chance
to overtake Pete Sam pras as the No.
1 player in the world when he lost 6-
1 ,2 -6 , 6-2, 6-4 to C arlos Moya.
Rios could have reclaim ed the No.
I spot, w hich he held for four weeks
earlier this spring, if he had beaten
12th-seeded M oya and advanced to
the sem ifinals.
M oya, w ho celebrated his win by
tossing his w hite bandana into the
stands, is the top seed left in the
m en ’s draw . A lso advancing to the
sem ifinals w as No. 15 Felix M antilla,
his Spanish com patriot, w ho ousted
1995 cham pion T hom as M uster in
four sets.
M artina Hingis was right. For now,
at least on clay, V enus W illiam s is
not her rival.
In a sw irling w ind that tam ed W il­
liam s' terrifying serve, H ingis used
precision and poise to counteract the
A m erican ’s pow er in a 6-3, 6-4 vic­
tory T uesday in the French O pen
quarterfinals.
H ingis will face three-tim e cham ­
p io n M o n ic a S e le s in o n e o f
T h u rsd ay ’s sem ifinals. No. 2 seed
Lindsay D avenport will play tw o-
tim e cham p io n A ran tx a Sanchez
V icario in the other.
W ith D avenport and Seles advanc­
ing, there are tw o A m erican w om en
in the French O pen sem ifinals for the
first tim e since M artina N avratilova
Raiders Mourn Loss of Bender
At a team meeting M onday m orn­
ing, Gruden addressed Bender’s death.
He said the team ’s main focus right
now is helping B ender’s family.
G ruden said a num ber o f players
w ould attend B en d er's funeral, but
arrangem ents w ere still pending. A
m em orial serv ice for fam ily and
friends w as scheduled M onday in
Pullm an, W ash., hom e o f W ashing­
ton State.
T he 6-foot-5, 300-pound Bender
signed a five-year, $3.45 m illion con­
tract w ith the Raiders on M ay 12.
W ith Bender, W ashington State
w on the P acific-10 C onference title
and w ent on the Rose Bow l for the
first tim e in 67 years. B ender started
in all but one gam e in 1996 and 1997
w ith the C ougars.
B ender, B olar and C in cin n ati
the P acers co uld not get the re ­
b ounds that w ould have put them in
the F inals for the first tim e.
Even w ith league rebound leader
D en n is R o d m an lim ite d to six
boards, the Bulls held a 50-34 edge
on the glass. Pippen pulled dow n 12
and Jordan and Luc Longley grabbed
nine apiece. P ippen and Jordan
com bined for 11 offensive rebounds.
K ukoc sc o rch ed th e P acers for
14 o f his 21 p o in ts in the th ird
q u arter for C h icag o , w h ich sh o t 38
p ercen t (2 9 -o f-7 6 ) b u t o v erc am e
an early 13-point d efic it w ith a
boost from its bench. R eserve guard
Steve K err co n trib u ted 1 I p oints.
J o r d a n m o v e d p a s t K a re e m
A b d u l-Jab b a r as th e all-tim e le ad ­
ing p la y o ff sc o re r w ith a b ask et
w ith 7:44 left in th e seco n d q u arter.
Jo rd an has 5 ,786 p o in ts, 24 m o re
than A b d u l-Jab b ar.
NEW!! MOTEL 6
B en g als o ffe n siv e ta ck le W illie
A nderson planned to w orkout Satur­
day afternoon, B olar said.
“ W hen he d id n ’t com e dow n, I
pounded on the door, and Leon d idn’t
answ er,” Bolar told T he Atlanta Jour­
nal-C onstitution. “ I thought he w as
jo k in g . Then I found him naked, on
the floor, as if he had been ready to
get into the show er.”
T he autopsy w as not conclusive
and further tests w ere not expected to
be com plete for tw o to three m onths,
according to C obb C ounty police
spokesm an Robert Q uigley.
B olar’s agency, Fort W ayne, Ind.-
based Parker and A ssociates, released
a statem ent saying those close to
B ender said the autopsy “rules out
foul play, drugs o r alcohol as fac­
to rs.”
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G u s tin g w in d s sto le so m e o f
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