A p ril 28, 1999
PageB3
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The Curtain Closes on a Class Act
Bi J O H N M O S S M A N
© T he A ssociated P ress
DENVER (AP) — For years, the
Denver Broncos’ offense consisted
o f John Elway and 10 other guys
Gradually, the Broncos became
more than a showcase for one daz
zling quarterback. But now, with
Elway ’ s retirement set, the Super Bow l
champions enter uncharted terrain.
After 16 seasons, the unparalleled
m asterofthe two-minute drill is leav
ing football.
Elway all but announced his re
tirem ent Saturday in an interview
with Denver TV station KCNC in
Pebble Beach, Calif., where he was
playing in a golf tournament.
“For so m any years everything in
my family has revolved around me.
It’s tim e for that to change,” the 38-
year-old quarterback said. “I really
accom plished everything 1 wanted
to. T here’s no real upside to coming
back.”
If You Leave Him Out as a
Possibility, It’s Your Loss
T A L L A D E G A , Ala. (A P)
Some people w ere ready to write o ff
Dale Earnhardt. C ar ow ner Richard
Childress w asn’t one o f them.
“ D ale E arnhardt is the b est,”
Childress said after Earnhardt broke
a40-race winless streak Sunday with
a dom inating victory in the DieHard
500. “I f anybody gives up on him,
they’ve lost their m ind."
His fans didn’t give up. They were
joyous after Earnhardt drove his sig
nature black No. 3 Chevrolet to vic
tory at Talladega Superspeedway.
As Earnhardt sat high above the
front straightaway with his back to the
big pressbox windows after the race,
hundreds o f his fans stood below
chanting: “Eam -hardt, Eam -hardt.”
Between answers to num erous
questions, Earnhardt would half turn
in his seat and, grinning widely, wiggle
his fingers at the crowd, drawing a
roar that made his smile even bigger.
But he happily shared the spotlight
with Childress and Kevin Hamlin,
who got his first W inston Cup win
since becoming E amhardt ’ s crew chief
midway through last season.
The victory — only Earnhardt’s
second in the past 101 starts — was
a relief for Richard Childress Racing
and for Earnhardt, w ho will be 48
Thursday.
Still, like his car ow ner, he said it
was other people w ho w ere w orry
ing. not him.
“ I t’s not been tough on m e,”
Earnhardt said. “It’s tougher on you
guys, keeping the stats and asking the
questions. We ju st race from w eek to
w eek and try to w in the next week.
“W e don’t w alk around and look
at each other and say, ‘It’s been a
w eek since we won. It’s been 100
weeks since you w on.’ ... W e know.
We talk about it. W e race to try to fix
that the next race.”
His com petitors ju st laugh when
asked if Earnhardt has lost anything.
“I w ish,” said Rusty W allace, who
was am ong the top contenders Sun
day until getting caught up in a wild,
nine-car wreck. “ I ’d still rather have
ju st about anybody on my tail then
him. And getting around him when
h e’s leading late in a race ... forget
it.”
Dale Jarrett is the latest d rive r to
try — and fail.
The Decision is in...
IAAF Strips Race Medal
From Slaney
M ONTE CA RLO , M onaco (AP)
— M ary Slaney was stripped o f her
silver medal from the 1997 world
cham pionships after track authori
ties determ ined M onday she failed a
drug test three years ago.
A lawyer for the prem ier U.S.
distance runner said the ruling by the
International Am ateur Athletic Fed
eration was based on “ legal fiction."
“It is sad that the worldwide gov
erning body for the sport o f track and
field would choose to prop up its
Elway reportedly considered an
nouncing his decision two weeks ago,
but owner Pat Bowlen was in Australia
promoting the Broncos’ preseason
game there. Then last week, the an
nouncement was put offbecause o f the
school shootings in suburban Denver.
Out o f respect for the victims, some
o f whose funerals were scheduled for
Monday, the Broncos further delayed
an Elway announcement.
“W e’re shooting for a mid-week
p re ss c o n f e re n c e , m o st lik e ly
W ednesday,” Broncos spokesman
Jim Saccom ano said Sunday night.
Bow len bought the Broncos in
1984 and never has know n a team
without Elway.
“ I think it’s going to be odd for all
o f us,” he said.
Running back Terrell Davis told
the D enver Post: “This really lets
some air out o f your system. It’s
going to be tough to com e back and
not see him in the huddle.
“ I really think this year w e’re go
ing to face as much adversity as w e’ve
ever faced. W e’re really going to see
how much resolve this team has now.”
B u t o ffe n s iv e g u a rd M a rk
Schlereth took another view.
“ I think in the early years, it w as a
one-m an show w ith John h ere,”
Schlereth said. " It’s not like that any
m ore.”
In fact, Elway acknowledged sev
eral seasons ago that it w asn’t his
team anymore.
“ It’s T errell’s team now,” he said.
W hile Elway earned his second
straight Super Bowl title and the
gam e's MVP honor last January with
a 34-19 win over Atlanta, he missed
all or part o f six games with ham
string, back and rib injuries.
Instead, it was Davis, a 2,008-
yard rusher and winner o f the league ’ s
M VP award, w ho carried the team.
W ith Elway gone, Bubby Brister
steps in. Brister slipped seam lessly
into the lineup last season and guided
the Broncos to a 4-0 record while
Elway was out. But how will he hold
up during a 16-game schedule? And
will Brister at QB put more pressure
on Davis?
Even Shanahan has some qualms
about his new quarterback.
Brister, who turns 37 in August,
hasn ’ t started more than eight games in
a season since 1990. The backup is
Brian Griese, a third-round draft choice
in 1998 with limited experience.
So, the Denver Rocky Mountain
News reported, the Broncos agreed
to sign Chris Miller, who turns 34 in
A ugust and retired four years ago
because o f concussions.
“It’s agreat addition," Brister said.
“ If something happens, he has a lot o f
experience. You can ’t have enough
good quarterbacks.”
Brister is looking forward to tak
ing over an offense that tight end
Shannon Sharpe likened to a Ferrari.
his only previous Derby starter.
is taken in concentrated form to im
Denver Broncos' John Elway
sham drug-testing program at the
prove performance.
expense o f one o f its greatest ath
A Clean-up Man, for Real
The IAAF suspended Slaney, c laim-
letes,” lawyer Doriane Colem an said.
ing
USATF
was
slow
to
investigate.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mark
Slaney is free to com pete since
USATF
imposed
its
ow
n
suspen
McGwire
never did it. Neither did
the IAAF said she had retroactively
SPORTS STANDINGS
sion.
But
Slaney,
backed
by
her
spon
Babe
Ruth
nor Hank Aaron.
com pleted her tw o-year ban.
1983 SPRING STANDINGS
sor N ike, challenged the ruling, and
Nobody in baseball history had
A three-m an IAAF arbitration
SOFTBALL
in Septem ber 1997 the U.S. federa
ever hit two grand slams in one in BASEBALL
panel said the 40-year-old runner
yy
L
To
Wilson
tion cleared her. The IAAF also later
ning. Until Fernando Tatis came along. Madison
10
1
L
tested positive for high testosterone
Madison
9
2
F,W
cleared Slaney to com pete but re
With home run king McGwire play Lincoln
levels before the 1996 Olympics.
Marshall
8
3
C,F,M
Wilson
ferred the case to arbitration.
ing setup man, Tatis hit a pair ofbases-
The IAA F im posed a ban on
Franklin
7
4
L,L,M,M
Cleveland
Slaney now joins other prom inent
loaded homers in the same inningFri-
Slaney that ran from June 1996, when
7
4
M,JM,C,L
Franklin
nam es in track found guilty by the
day night. Both were off Chan Ho Park
Grant
the test was adm inistered, to June
6
5
C.M.W.M
Marshall
Lincoln
IA A F: Ben Johnson, Butch Reynolds
in the third inning o f the St. Louis Roosevelt
1998. Thus, Slaney loses the medal
5
6
Benson
Cardinals’ 12-5 win over Los Angeles.
L,M,JM,W,C
and K atrin Krabbe.
she won at Paris in the 1,500 meters.
Cleveland
Grant
2
9
“What an accomplishment: I get
Another high-profile case is pend
“ Let them com e and try to get the
Roosevelt
1 10
goose pimples ju st thinking about it," Benson
ing. U.S. sprinter Dennis M itchell is
$20,000 (in prize m oney) that she
Jefferson
Jefferson
0 11
going to arbitration after testing posi
said St. Louis managerTony La Russa,
won in Paris,” lawyer Jim Coleman.
GIRLS TENNIS
who also had a great seat last year MENS TENNIS
tive
for
high
testosterone.
To
L
W
Doriane’s husband, said. “They don’t
Cleveland
0
8
during
M
cGwire’s
70-homer
season.
Lincoln
say they’re going to ask for it back,
Lincoln
L
1
6
Grant
"W
hat
have
they
got,
100
years
o
f
It’s
Derby
Time
Again
in
but the order suggested they might.
Wilson
L
1
6
Wilson
baseball, and this is the first time it’s
... T hey’ll never see the m oney.”
Kentucky
Grant
G.L.W
3
5
Franklin
ever been done? Wow."
He called the test “bogus.”
L.W.G.F
Benson
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Bob,
4
3
Benson
Tatis, w ho had never hit a grand Cleveland
Franklin
“W hat they should have been do
B F.W.L.G
5
3
W ayne and N ick have com bined to
slam
and
totaled
ju
st
24
homers
in
Marshall
6
2
ing is trying to find a w ay to prove
Roosevelt
win the K entucky Derby six times in
Jefferson
6
1
h
is
p
re
v
io
u
s
225
m
a
jo
r
league
Madison
when a female athlete has used test
the 1990s, and it w ouldn’t be surpris
Roosevelt
8
0
gam es, also set a record w ith eight Marshall
osterone. Rather than doing that,
ing if one o f the trainers is in the
Madison
No team
Jefferson
RBIs
in
one
inning.
they've been trying to find a way to
w inner's circle again Saturday.
He was stunned.
save a test that doesn’t w ork.”
“ I feel good about this Derby,”
GIRLS TRACK
L I
W
MENS TRACK
“
I can ’t believe it happened. I did
Added Slaney's husband, Rich
Benson
0
4
Bob Baffert said. “ I’ve got two horses
Madison
not expect to hit another one. I’ve Benson
Grant
1
ard: “According to the IAAF. you're
3
w ho are contenders. I hope one o f
Lincoln
never been a home run hitter. I just Franklin
1
3
guilty until you prove your innocence. ’’
them w ins.”
Madison
1
3
try to m eet the b all. I’m not like Mark Grant
Slaney repeatedly has proclaimed
I f General Challenge or Prime Tim-
Cleveland
2
2
Lincoln
M cGwire,” said Tatis, who at 5-foot-
her innocence. Earlier this month,
ber — first and second, respectively,
Wilson
2
2
Wilson
10
and
170
pounds
is
7
inches
shorter
she sued the IAAF and the U.S. Olym
in the Santa Anita D erby— does win,
Franklin
3
1
Cleveland
and 80 pounds lighter than the St.
pic Com mittee, w hich adm inistered
Jefferson
Baffert will be the first person in any
3
1
Marshall
Louis first baseman.
Marshall
3
the original test.
1
Roosevelt
racing capacity to win the Kentucky
Everything fell into place for Tatis Jefferson
Roosevelt
4
0
She claim s the te sto ste ro n e-
Derby three straight years.
to
make
baseball
history.
epitestosterone test is unreliable for
The last horseman to be in position
GIRLS GOLF
I
yy k
Eric Davis was out with an injury, MENS GOLF
w omen who take birth control pills in
to win three straight was D. W ayne
0
6
Wilson
so Tatis moved up a spot to bat
their late 30s or 40s.
Lukas. He sent out Thunder Gulch to
Grant
5
0
cleanup. M cGwire singled to load Grant
The IAAF disputes that argument
Wilson
win in 1995 and followed with Grind
4
2
Cleveland
the bases once, then flied out to leave
Franklin
and said the decision by USA Track
2
4
stone, but in 1997 his Deeds Not
Franklin
Cleveland
them loaded the next time.
4
2
& Field on Sept. 16, 1997, to clear
Lincoln
Words finished 13th as Baffert won
Roosevelt
3
Davis missed his second full game Benson
3
Slaney was “erroneous.” The IAAF
with Silver Charm. Baffert’s winner
Madison
9
2
Madison
with
an
injured
left
hand,
hurt
when
said M onday’s ruling was "final and
last year was Real Quiet.
Benson
6
0
Jefferson
he was hit by a pitch in the seventh
binding," with no right o f appeal.
Lukas will try to return the favor
Marshall
6
0
Marshall
inning o f T uesday’s game.
“Mary is fine," Jim Colem an said.
Jefferson
at Churchill Downs w hen he sends
7
3
Roosevelt
“She was prepared for what hap
out Charism atic and Cat Thief.
pened in M onaco. It’s o f no concern
“ I th in k the h o rses th at are
to her. She’s totally ignored it. It’s a
b attle -te ste d w ill be there at the
F ° °
nonevent as far as w e’re concerned.
e n d ,” said L ukas, w h o se tw o colts
U S A T F e x e c u tiv e d ir e c to r
ce rtain ly are ju s t that.
C raig M asback called the decision
Charism atic, fourth in the Santa
"a trag e d y .”
Anita Derby and a w inner o f the
“Clearly, she’s one o f the great
Lexington at Keeneland, will be
athletes in the sport and a pioneer,"
fjyuui
making his 15th start. Cat Thief,
M asback said.
winless in four starts this year but
“T-E testing for women is not
second twice and third once in Grade
supported by scientific evidence ...
I stakes in his last three, will be going
never mind for her particular test. I
to the post for the 12th time.
think it’s unfortunate that the IAAF
“I’m grateful to be in this posi
decided to pursue this case after we
tion," said Nick Zito, who will try to
exonerated her. They should come
win his first Derby since 1994 (Go for
up with a legal test, not pursue some
Gin) with Adonis, w innerofthe Wood
one w ho is innocent.”
Memorial at Aqueduct, and Stephen
The IAAF imposed the ban after
Got Even, w inner o f the Gallery
the arbitration panel said there was
Fumiture.com at Turfway Park.
“ failure to establish by clear evi
Zito likes the Derby rivalry h e ’s
dence that an abnormal T-E test was
formed with Baffert and Lukas.
attributable to pathological or physi
“ I would love to finish it off,” he
ological conditions.”
said o f winning the final Derby o f the
Slaney, the 1983 world champion
‘90s. I would love to have that honor.”
at 1,500 and 3,000 meters, gave a
Zito also said he d id n ’t w ant to
urine sample during the 1996 U.S.
seen the 1990s end with four trainers
O lympic trials that showed a T-E
have two Derby wins apiece. That
ratio above the 6-1 limit.
would happen should Carl N afzger
The T-E test detects the presence
win with Florida Derby winner Vtear.
o f testosterone, a naturally occurring
Nafzger won in 1990 with Unbridled,
Tickets avallatole at TieketMaster outlets. Ftose Garden Box Office and the Forest Dragons ticket office
muscle-building horm one that also
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FIRST 5001!
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