JU LY 8,1998
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Page B2
Trailblazers Hire Brian Wheeler As Play-by-Play Voice
T h e P o r tl a n d T r a i l b l a z e r s
h a v e a n n o u n c e d th a t th e y h a v e
s e le c te d N B A b ro a d c a s te r
B r ia n W h e e le r as th e c l u b ’s
n e w r a d io p l a y - b y - p l a y a n ­
n o u n ce r.
" B r i a n W h e e le r is r e c o g ­
n iz e d a r o u n d th e N B A a s a
r is in g s ta r w ith a v e r y b r ig h t
fu tu re , an d w e a re v ery
p le a s e d th a t h is f u tu r e w ill be
w ith th e T r a i l b l a z e r s , ” s a id
H a rry H u tt, P o r t l a n d ’ s s e n io r
v ic e p r e s i d e n t o t m a r k e tin g
o p e r a tio n s . “ B ria n m ir r o r s th e
e n e r g e t i c , ta l e n t e d te a m w e
h a v e o n th e f l o o r a n d w ill b e a
g r e a t f it f o r o u r f a n s . ”
T h e 36 y e a r -o ld W h e e le r
c o m e s to th e T r a i l b l a z e r s fro m
th e S a c r a m e n to K in g s , w h e r e
h e s e r v e d th e la s t th r e e y e a r s
a s o n e o f th e c l u b ’s p la y - b y -
p la y b r o a d c a s t e r s a n d h o s te d
th e ir p re -a n d p o st g am e and
h a lf-tim e sh o w s. H e a lso c o n ­
d u c t e d h is o w n n ig h t l y ta lk
sh o w , “ W h e e ls A fte r W o rk ,
a s w e ll a s th e c l u b ’s w e e k ly
p r o g r a m “ K in g s T a l k ." In a d ­
d i t i o n , W h e e l e r h a s b e e n th e
p l a y - b y - p l a y v o i c e o f th e
T E N N IS G LAN CE
B y ROBBIE MENDELSON
W N B A ’ s S a c ra m e n to M o n ­
a r c h s d u r in g t h e i r f ir s t tw o
y e a rs o f e x is te n c e .
“ T h i s is t h e h a p p i e s t d a y
o f m y p ro fe s s io n a l lif e ,"
s a id W h e e le r . “ I ’m g r a te f u l
to P a u l A l l e n , B o b W h i t s i t t ,
H a rry H u tt, a n d th e e n tir e
T ra ilb la z e rs o rg a n iz a tio n
fo r g iv in g m e a w o n d e rfu l
P ete S a m p ra s b e a t G o ra n
Ivanisevic, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (11-9), 6-4,
3-6,6-2 to win his fifth m en’s singles
championship, tying him with Bjorn
Borg for the m ost m en’ssingles titles
in m odem history.
JanaN ovotna,w how as"thirdtim e
lucky” in beating Nathalie Tauziat, 6-
4 ,7 -6 (7-2), for the w om en’s singles
championship. Novotna also captured
the w om en’s doubles
title w ith M a rtin a
Hingis.
The D utch duo o f
Jacco Eltingh and Paul
Haarhuis, who stopped
ToddW oodbridgeand
M ark W o o d fo rd e ’s I»«”
quest forasixth straight
m en’s doubles title with a 2-6,6-4,7-
6 (7-3), 5-7,10-8 championship vic­
tory.
Max M im yi and Serena W illiams
each won their first Grand Slam titles,
beating fifth-seeded Mahesh Bhupathi
and Mirjana Lucic, 6-4, 6-4, for the
mixed doubles championship.
Roger Federer ofSw itzerland beat
Irakli Labadze o f Georgia for the
boys singles championship. Federer
also took the boys doubles title with
Olivier Rochus.
Katerina Srebotnik o f Slovenia
took the girls singles title over Kim
Clijsters o f Belgium.
Eva D yrberg o f D enm ark and
Jelena K ostanic ofC roatia captured
the girls doubles cham pionship.
Gene M ayer and Tim Wilkison
took the m en ’s over 35 doubles title.
M arty R iessen and Sherw ood
Stew art w on the m en ’s over 45
o p p o rtu n ity .
I a m h o n o r e d to f o l l o w in
th e f o o ts te p s o f th e le g e n d ­
a r y B i l l S c h o n e l y , a n d it is
m o re th a n a d re a m c o m e tr u e
fo r m e .”
B rowne W ins G reater H artford O pen
B y DONNA TOMMELLEO
Larry M ize’s four-stroke lead in
the Greater Hartford Open began to
unravel in the thick woods that line
the 15th hole.
By the time he reached No. 18, it
was nearly complete. Olin Brow ne's
40-foot birdie chip on the first play­
off hole sealed it.
“No lead is safe out there," Mize
said Sunday. “The last four holes, a
lot can happen. Unfortunately, it did
to me today.”
M izebirdiedN os. ll-1 4 a n d w a s
18-under when he reached the par-4,
296-yard 15th. He shanked a 5-iron
into the woods, and after several
minutes o f searching for his ball,
emerged bloody and scratched.
“You don’t want to be in there. I
didn’t check for ticks,” he said.
He took an unplayable lie, teed it
up again and finished with a double­
bogey 6. He then missed a 1 -foot par
putt on No. 16.
By the time he reached the final
hole, Mize was clinging to a one-stroke
lead over Browne and defending cham­
pion Stewart Cink. But his approach
shot rolled offthe back ofthe green and
his chip left him with about a 15-foot
par putt that he narrowly missed. He
finished with a 1 -under 69.
M ize said he was between clubs on
the 189-yard approach and chose a 4-
iron over a 5-iron.
“1 flushed it. I pulled the wrong
club,” M ize said.
Browne, playing one group ahead
ofM ize, sensed an opening when Mize
finished the disastrous 15th.
“As soon as he doubled 15,1 started
thinking birdies,” Browne said.
Browne, the sixth first-time winner
on tour this year, finished with a 67 that
was marked by four birdies and a
double-bogey on the 462-yard, par-4
10th. His birdie at No. 16 put at 14-
under.
“I had a good week and I played
well all four days and I think that’s
what it takes. You can’t have a skittish
round out here, the guys are so good,"
he said.
Cink, who also shot a 67, was 13-
under when he birdied the signature
17th hole to reserve his spot for the
playoff.
Brow ne’s approach shot on the
444-yard, p ar-4 18 th, which was used
as the playoff hole, rolled across the
green and into the left fringe about pin
high. Mize, winless on toursince 1993,
reached the green in three and could
only watch at that point. Cink, bidding
to become the first repeat GHO w in­
ner, had an opportunity to tie, but his
15-foot birdie putt rolled wide.
Mize began the day at 13-under,
tied for the lead with Scott Hoch and
Grant Waite.
Duffy W aldorf and Fred Funk had
final-round 66s and finished at 267,
tied w ith Doug Tewell, who had a 67,
and one shot out o f the playoff. Hoch
had a 71 and finished tied with David
Duval, who had a 69, at 268. W aite
shot a 75 and finished at 272.
Vijay Singh shot a 62 Sunday to tie
the course record and finish at 10-
under. His 28 on the back nine broke
the record o f 29 set in 1995 by Fuzzy
Zoeller and Mike Brisky. Singh’s
round included six birdies and an
eagle on the par-5 13th.
D espite his swoon, M ize m ain­
tained a b it o f optim ism as he,
Browne and Cink all set the G HO
72-hole scoring record o f 14-under
doubles title.
Pam Shriver, with 22 Grand Slam
doubles titles, took the over 35
w om en’s doubles title with partner
Elizabeth Smylie.
SPEAKING
“N ow I guess I’m out ofm y slump.”
- Pete Sampras, on his uncharacteris­
tically ordinary play during the first
h alf o f the year.
“Winning Wimbledon means ev­
erything really. It’s what
I’ve been working for for
many, many years.” - Jana
Novotna, after winning
the w o m e n ’s sin g les
championship.
“It ’ s the worst moment
in my life.... Now I have
to be motivated to play
tennis again. I don’t know how long
it’s going to take.” - Goran Ivanisevic,
on losing the singles title.
“ It was a long, long w eekend.” -
Pete Sam pras, after his m atch with
T hom as Enqvist w as scheduled for
Friday, suspended by rain Satur­
day, and finally, com pleted onM on-
day after a nearly three-hour rain
delay.
“Everyone says she’s going to be
the new No. 1 in the world, but I think
she has to change her attitude. A
player shouldn’t go o ff the court in die
position she was in without shaking
hands.” - Virginia Ruano-Pascual, on
the sudden departure by Serena W il­
liams, after Williams, who retired from
their match, failed to acknowledge
her opponent.
“I forgot” - Serena Williams, by
w ay o f explanation. N ovotna at
Wimbledon.
266.
RELUCTANT GRIFFEY WINS HR DERRY
B y TOM WITHERS
Ken G riffey Jr. did n ’t change his
signature style, w earing his cap back­
w ard as usual. He did change his
m ind, however.
G riffey, w ho less than an hour
before the A ll-Star H om e Run Derby
began w as still insisting he w ould
skip this y ear’s com petition, w on the
glamour event by beating C leveland’s
Jim Thom e in the final.
G riffey reversed his decision after
being booed by a Coors F ield record
crow d o f 51,231 w hile accepting a
trophy for being the A ll-Star gam e’s
top vote-getter, nam ed on m ore than
4.2 m illion ballots.
“I d on’t like to get booed. 1 d on’t
think anybody does,” said G riffey,
who hit 19 homers in the three rounds
and beat Thom e 3-2 in the final round.
“This is not a tim e to get booed, the
A ll-Star game. If they w ant to see m e
do the hom e run com petition, the
fans, there were 4 m illion reasons
w hy 1 did it.”
As for M ark M cG w ire, his perfor­
m ance w as a surprise, too.
B aseball’s hom e-run leader m an­
aged ju st four hom e runs and failed
to get past the first round. M cG w ire
cam e to D enver with 37 hom ers, and
m any figured if he d id n ’t w in the
title, he w ould certainly test the laws
o fgrav ity 5,280 feet above sea level.
B ut except for a 510-foot shot to
dead center - the longest o f the day -
M cG w ire looked m ore like a singles
hitter than the gam e’s m ost feared
hitter.
“ I like the ball m iddle in, and the
pitches were middle away," McGwire
said. “So, sorry everybody.”
Thome, who choked last year in
front o f the hometown fans at Jacobs
Field by failing to hit one homer, hit
eight in both the first and second rounds.
“This was great ju st to be in it,” he
said. “ I hope they ask m e back.”
Early M onday afternoon, G riffey
w as insisting he w ould pass up the
chance to rocket balls through the
thin Colorado air. H e reluctantly en­
tered last y ear’s event in Cleveland
despite getting ju st a few hours rest
after the M ariners played a late Sun­
day night game.
W ith his S eattle M ariners cap
turned around, G riffey dug into the
dirt as his nam e was announced to
loud boos.
“ I figured there w ould be a few,
but not like that,” he said.
But w hen he was introduced as the
final A L entrant, he received a warm
ovation, and by the tim e he w alked to
the plate for his first round, m any in
the crow d w ere standing.
World Cup ratings lag
T e le v is io n r a tin g s fo r th e
W orld C up show ed so m e im p ro v e­
m ent in the q u a rte rfin a ls, b u t still
t r a i l th e n u m b e r s
from 1994.
A B C a v e ra g e d a
3.4 o v e rn ig h t ratin g
fo r
its
th r e e
q u a rte rfin a l g am es,
the h ig h e st ratings for
an y g am e n o t in v o lv ­
in g th e U .S . te am .
E a c h r a tin g s p o in t
re p re se n ts 9 8 0 ,0 0 0 h o u se h o ld s.
In 1994, w hen th e e x c ite m e n t o f
th e W o rld C u p b ein g p la y ed in the
U n ite d S ta te s h e lp e d b o o st ra t­
in g s, A B C a v e rag ed a 4 .0 n atio n al
ratin g for th ree q u arte rfin a ls.
A B C g o t a 3.9 for B raz il-D en ­
m ark o n F rid ay and, on
S atu rd ay , a 3.0 fo r A r­
g e n tin a -N e th e rla n d s
an d a 3.3 fo r C ro atia-
G erm any.
T h o se n u m b ers w ill
d ro p w h en n atio n al ra t­
ings are released T h u rs­
day.
A B C ’s h ig h est rating
th is year is a 3.5 for the U n ited
S tate s-Iran an d th e h ig h e st non-
U .S . ratin g is the 2.3 fo r N ig eria-
D enm ark.
Happy Birthday Judy,
We Love You So Muuuuccchh!
Love Calli, Jake, & Larry
A fter connecting eight tim es to
advance, he slow ly w alked back to
the AL dugout, tipped his cap to the
fans and hugged his 4-year-old son,
Trey.
Then it was M cG w ire’s turn. He
hit tw o w eak grounders before driv­
ing one over the w all in straightaw ay
center, hitting a sign ju st below the
Rockpile section o f seats. T he an­
nounced estim ated distance o f 510
feet surpassed the unofficial stadium
record, a 496-foot shot hit by M ike
Piazza last year.
Thome, Baltimore's Rafael Palmeiro,
Colorado’s VinnyCastilla and Houston’s
Moises Alou all finished the first round
with seven homers, but Alou was elimi­
nated because he has less regular-season
homers than the others.
A tlanta’s Javy Lopez and S eattle’s
A lex Rodriguez had five hom ers
each. D etroit’s D am ian Easley led
o ff the event and m anaged ju st two
homers, one more than the B raves’
C hipper Jones.
B e fo re M o n d a y ’s w o rk o u ts,
M cGwire, who along w ith G riffey
and the C u b s’ Sam m y Sosa, will
spend the second h alf chasing Roger
M aris’ record o f 61 hom ers in a sea­
son, said he still ca n ’t believe h e’s
m entioned along with som e o f the
gam e’s great long-ball hitters.
“It still blow s m e aw ay, it really
does," he said. “C onsidering that
w hen I w as a kid, all 1 w anted to do
was pitch. It w asn’t until m y sopho­
more year in college that I turned into
a hitter, never know ing I ’d get a
chance to go to the big leagues.
“The next thing you know, they’re
talking about my nam e along with
Babe Ruth, M aris, M antle down the
line. It’s overwhelm ing. I d o n ’t think
it will really hit m e until I ’m retired.”
Surtas
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