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May 5,1*»
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Spurs-Trail Blazers Preview
© T h i A m w c u ir o P riya
Steelers, Stewart
Reach Contract
Agreement
The calendar m ight read early
M ay, but the result o f T u esd ay ’s
gam e b etw een the San A ntonio
Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers
could resound through June.
The Spurs w ill visit the Rose Gar-
P IT T S B U R G H (A P ) —
Some teams would want a new
quarterback after the season
Kordell Stewart had in 1998.
The Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t
one o f them.
D espite w atching S tew art' s
production drop precipitously
as they w ent 7-9 last season,
the Steelers apparently have
w orked out the details o f an
extension that w ill run at least
three m ore seasons.
S tew art already is set to
m ake $2.05 m illion this season
and $2.5 m illio n in 2000,
though his base salary could
drop next year to reflect a sign
ing bonus o f about $ 10 million.
The Steelers did not confirm
Friday that a deal has been
reached, although the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette reported that terms
already have been filed with
N FL offices in N ew York. The
contract will not be signed until
S te w a r t’s
a g e n t,
L eig h
Steinberg, returns from a Euro
pean vacation in about 10 days.
S tew art said several days
ago that a new co n tract w as
im m inent.
C oach B ill C ow her and
Steelers president Dan Rooney
both said recently they wanted
to reaffirm their com m itm ent
to Stew art, w ho led them to the
AFC championship game in his
first year as a starting quarter
back in 1997.
Stew art w as buoyed during
the offseason w hen he learned
o f the strong support offered
by C ow her and Rooney.
“I d idn’t play well, but Mr.
Rooney is stepping up and say
ing this is the guy w e’d like to
have, and Coach Cow her and
(director o f football operations)
T om D onahoe and everybody
else, they w ant m e to be here
and they have all the confi
dence in the world in m e.”
Venus Williams
Tops Pierce in Final
of Hamburg Tennis
H A M B U R G , G e rm a n y
(T ick e r) — A fte r w inning
hardcourt titles in consecutive
events earlier this year, A m eri
can Venus W illiam s added a
clay court victory to her resume
with an easy trium ph over Mary
Pierce ofFrance at the $520,000
Betty Barclay Cup.
W illiam s, seeded second,
won the first set at love en route
to a 6-0,6-3,63-minute triumph
over the fourth-seeded Pierce,
who underwent treatment for
back pain while trailing 5-0 in
the first set.
“I am really excited to win
here in Hamburg,” W illiams
said. “I think I definitely played
one o f my best ever matches out
there today. I actually like play
ing on red clay better than green
American clay because you can
take a lot o f balls in the air.”
The 18-year-old W illiams
w on at O klahom a City in late
February and knocked o ff sis
ter Serena in the finals o f the
L ip to n C h a m p io n s h ip s in
M arch. But she was knocked
out in the second round o f her
c la y c o u rt se a so n d e b u t at
Am elia Island, Florida three
w eeks ago.
"It's so difficult to play your
gam e against V enus because
she hits so hard and you are
always on the defensive," says
Pierce. "She m ade very little
unforced errors today and I
thought she played very well."
The tw o finalists split four
m eetings last year, including a
fourth-round win by W illiam s
at the U S. Open
Arvydas Sabonis
den w ith the two clubs in the m idst o f
a tight battle w ith each other and the
U tah Jazz for the best record in the
N B A an d h o m e co u rt ad v an tag e
throughout the playoffs.
While the Blazers dominated the
league for most o f the regular season,
San Antonio continues to peak at just
the right time. After defeating Portland
on Saturday, the Spurs capped the week
end with a win over Utah on Sunday.
N ow , San Antonio has put itself in
position to control its ow n destiny. By
winning its final two games, the Spurs
will have hom ecourt advantage as far
as their postseasorrlife takes them.
“No one in the league would turn
that down,” saidcoachGreggPopovich.
“Show me a coach or a team that doesn’t
want it and that would be a miracle. We
all want home court.”
Like San Antonio, the Blazers cur
rently trail U tah by a h alf game. Un
like the Spurs, however, Portland does
not hold the tiebreaker with the Jazz.
It needs to win both o f its remain
ing gam es and a U tah loss to the Los
Angeles Clippers on Tuesday toclaim
the W estern C onference’s top seed.
STANDINGS
Spurs - 2nd place, 1/2 G B, M id
w est Division. Trail Blazers - 1st
B y E d S chuyler , J r .
AP R acing W
Isaiah Rider
AP S ports W riter
SEATTLE (AP) _ Lost in the
shuffle o f last year’s hom e run chase
and overshadowed by Jose Canseco ’ s
power surge this season, Ken Griffey
Jr. still has a lot o f dram a left in his bat.
On Friday night, the Seattle M ari
ners’ slugger becam e the 12th Am eri
can League player and 18th in the
m ajor leagues to hit grand slam s in
consecutive games.
He had a chance to becom e the
first player to hit a grand slam in
three straight gam es but he lined out
to pitcher Thom as D avey with the
bases loaded in the sixth inning o f
Saturday n ig h t’s 9-3 loss to Toronto.
The last player to get consecutive
slams was Sammy Sosa in the midst
o f his pursuit o f the hom e run record
w ith M ark M cGw ire last July 27-28.
G riffey ’s second slam in two
nights came o ff Toronto left-hander
G raem e L loyd’s first pitch in the
eighth inning, lifting the M ariners to
an 11-9 victory. It was m uch more
than G riffey was aim ing for.
“ I’m ju st looking to stay out o f
the double play,” the M ariners’ All-
Star center fielder said. “T h at’s the
com e close to the 70 hom e runs
M cG w ire hit last season, or even the
66 Sosa had. But he did hit 56 for the
second consecutive year and he had
nine in the first m onth this season,
one behind Tam pa B ay’s Canseco,
the m ajor league hom e run leader.
N ow , in his 11th season, h e ’s
m oved past Yogi Berra into a tie for
47th on the all-tim e hom er list with
Johnny M ize at 359 _ or 396 behind
H enry A aro n ’s career mark o f 755.
N ot bad for a player who was
m ired in a 1-fo r-18 slump before
Thursday n ig h t’s gam e with Detroit.
Chili Davis, now with theNew York
Yankees, gave Griffey some advice in
Griffey’s rookie season in 1989, some
thing he always remembers in those
rare times o f trouble at the plate.
“ I w as som ething like 1 -fo r-16,”
G riffey said. “ Chili cam e up to me
and said, ‘1 had a stretch w hen I was
10-for-90. D o n ’t w orry about it, kid.
Y o u ’ll be fine.’”
T he usually unem otional Griffey
celebrated after Friday night’s slam.
As the ball cleared the Kingdome
w all in right center, he lifted his arms
in the air w hile rounding first base
and broke out in a big smile as he
biggest thing in that situation, stay
ing out o f the double play and giving
your team a chance.”
G riffey’s big gam e_ 2 -fo r-5 with
five RBI s _ follow ed his two-homer,
six-RBl gam e Thursday night, a 22-
6 w in over Detroit.
His six RBls against the Tigers tied
his career high and his 11 RBls in
consecutive games set a Manners record.
“I d o n ’t w orry m uch about that,”
G riffey said. “ T he m ain th in g is
the tw o w in s.”
The 29-year-old G riffey d id n 't
reached the M ariners’ dugout.
“ It w as ju st em otion from coming
from behind,” said Griffey, who w as
l-fo r-9 in his career against Lloyd
before then. “Anytime you come from
behind, it gives the team a lift.”
Griffey’s
12th career grand slam
--------
gave the Mariners a modest three-game
winning streak and brought them within
one game o f .500. Until now, it’s been
another tough season for the Manners,
who were a disappointing third in the
AL West last year, but they overcame 6-
1 and 7-3 deficits to win their last two.
P a trio ts C onfirm They’re
S ta y in g in M a s s a c h u s e tts
C T he A ssociated P ress
BOSTON (May 3) — Two days
a after
ilC I C
ending
U U U l g 3 stadium
U K U U 1 I 1 talks
u u i u i with Con-
necticut, the New England Patriots said
they plan to stay in Massachusetts.
For the first tim e since owner Rob
ert Kraft scrapped one o f the richest
stadium deals in sports history Fri
day, the team publicly ended specu
lation it might be sold or moved.
“W e look forw ard to a long future
in M assachusetts,” team spokesm an
Stacey James told The Boston G lobe
on Sunday. "The N ew England Pa
triots are not for sale.”
Kraft declined to elaborate Sun
day, saying only that he ended talks
w ith C onnecticut because it was in
the “best interest o f the fans.”
O n Friday, K raft inform ed C on
necticut Gov. John Row land he was
walking aw ay from a $380 m illion
offer o f a new stadium that some
analysts estim ated could have been
worth up to $ I billion o ver 30 years
The team doubted a stadium could
be built by 2002 as prom ised and
ended the talks before a Sunday dead-
first g am e at th e R ose G ard en , the
T rail B lazers h av e d ro p p ed the
last tw o at th e A lam o d o m e. E ach
gam e has b een d ec id e d by an a v e r
age o f 4 .7 p o in ts p er gam e.
HOME/ROAD RECORDS
Spurs - 14-9 on the road; Trail
Blazers - 22-2 at home.
place. Pacific Division.
TEAM LEADERS
Spurs - D uncan, ¿ 1 .7 ppg and
11.6 rpg; Johnson, 7.5 apg. Trail
Blazers - Rider, 14.3 ppg; Grant,
10.0 rpg; Stoudam ire, 6.3 apg.
SEASON SERIES
S p u rs, 2-1. A fter w in n in g the
Mariners Slugger Ties Record
B y J im C our
Wins Kentucky
Derby
line that allow ed Kraft to withdraw
w ithout penalty.
That
m ove cam e less than three
-----------------------
days after M assachusetts legislative
leaders presented their own proposal
a deal that w ould pay $70 million for
infrastructure near a new Foxboro
stadium. The N FL also lobbied to
keep the team in Massachusetts
Until Sunday’s statement by James,
however, the team still hadn't said it
would stay in M assachusetts where it
began in 1960 as the Boston Patriots.
T he M assachusetts deal ham
m ered out T uesday night by Gov.
Paul Cellucci, Senate President Tho
mas Birm ingham , House Speaker
T hom as Finneran, members o f the
Boston business community and NFL
representatives, still needs approval.
“W hat som e thought was a Hail
M ary pass was com pleted for a touch
dow n,’ ’ Birm ingham said Sunday. “ I
expect the Senate will adopt it soon
because we passed a virtually identi
cal bill last year. And since we all
negotiated in good faith, I expect we
will all keep our w ord.”
Clock Runs Out on Elway
B y A aron J. L opez
A ssociated P ress W riter
ENGLEW OO D , Colo. (AP) _ He
sounded so very upbeat at the start,
cracking jokes and telling stories about
him self and his Denver Broncos.
Then John Elway turned to his
retirem ent_and that’s when it hit him.
His face crum pled and the sobs
came.
“ I ca n ’t do it physically anym ore,
and th at’s really hard for m e to say,”
the 38-year-old Elway said Sunday,
pausing frequently to regain his com
posure as he addressed the crow d at
a suburban D enver hotel.
“ It’s hard to w alk away. I ca n ’t
explain in w ords how much every
one has m eant to m e.”
A fter dazzling fans and confound
ing defenses for 16 years, the quar
terback m ade official w hat everyone
had know n for more than a week. He
delayed the announcem ent because
o f the school killings in Littleton,
and his new s conference began with
a m om ent o f silence for the victims.
Elway, master o f the last-minute
comeback, becomes the third superstar
to leave his sport since January, joining
Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky.
' ‘The over-under in the locker room
yesterday was how many times I’d
cry," Elway said through his husky,
choked voice. “1 took the under.”
Then, after crying some m ore, he
added, “I lost the bet."
Elway, wearing a blue-and-silver
ribbon on his suit jacket in m em ory o f
the shooting victims, was joined on
the stage by Bron-
____________
co s co ach M ike
Shanahan and team
owner Pat Bowlen. ______________
E lw ay ’s w ife,
Ja n et, an d th e ir
four children satin
the front row. The
children sm iled at
their d ad ’s jokes
and
re m a in e d
p o ise d w h en he
broke down. Janet,
how ever, cried as
her
husb an d
spoke.
“For 16 years,
the fam ily life has
focused around me
and football, and
it’s tim e it focuses
a r o u n d th e m ,”
E lw a y sa id . “ I
couldn’t ask for a
b e tte r m om and
dad and a better
wife. I’m tough to
live with. Thank
God she’sstill with
me.
W hen asked
w h a t h e ’d m iss
m ost about Sun
d a y a fte rn o o n s ,
Elw ay said, “I ’ll
never be able to fill
the void o f play
in g a fo o tb a ll
gam e.”
“ I know y o u ’re open, I know
y o u ’re open, I know y o u ’re open,”
Elw ay said about Sharpe, draw ing
loud laughs.
Sharpe attended the new s confer
ence along with several other current
and form erteam m ates, including run
ning back Terrell Davis and E lw ay’s
heir apparent, Bubby Brister.
“I guess it’s like H aley’s Com et,”
Sharpe said. “It only comes along ev
ery 77 years, and I got an opportunity
toplay with him. T hat’s what it’s like.
For years, the only thing missing
from Elw ay’s resume was a Super
Bowl title, and he took care o f that by
winning two straight. In his final gam e,
he was voted Super Bowl M VP in a
34-19 win over Atlanta last January.
H e becom es the only quarterback
to retire after w inning a Super Bowl.
“ 1 truly believe John was the very
best to ever play,” Bow len said.
Elw ay was exceptionally durable
throughout his career, m issing only
15 starts because o filln ess or injury,
but his retirem ent was hastened by
the sheer w ear and tear o f profes
sional football. He was hit m ore than
any quarterback in N FL history, ab
sorbing 559 sacks in 256 games.
He com piled the best passer rat
ing o f his career in 1998, but his
season was interrupted by ham string,
back and rib injuries that caused him
to m iss all or part o f six gam es. His
deteriorating, arthritic left knee prob
ably will have to be replaced.
Still, his toughness and produc
tivity m ight never be equaled.
r iter
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) _ Charis
matic, a claiming horse in February,
became a miracle worker on the first
Saturday in May.
At least he was tojockey Chris Antlev
after storming to a neck victory over
Menifee in the 125th Kentucky Derby
at Churchill Downs.
The win was merely unbelievable to
owners Bob and Beverly Lewis.
“Isn’t that incredible?” Lewis said.
“You can have a claimer today and all o f
a sudden have a champion tomorrow.”
Shocking is what it was to many in
the crowd o f 151,051 as Charismatic
paid a winning mutuel o f $64.60, third-
largest in Derby history behind $ 184.90
by Donerail in 1913 and $72.40 by
Gallahadion in 1940.
W hile trainer D. W ayne Lukas
claimed his fourth Derby win and his
third o f the 1990s, trainer Bob Baffert
failed to become the first to win three
straight Deibys. His three horses ran out
o f themoney_Prime Ttmber was fourth,
the filly Excellent Meeting fifth and the
gelding General Challenge 11th in a
field o f 19 3-year-olds.
Charismatic, a 30-1 shot, was eighth
in the run down the backstretch and
moved to fi fth entering the final turn. By
the time he was exiting the turn, he was
third and driving.
Menifee was way back on the back-
stretch but also moved into contention
on the turn and joined the battle as the
crowd roared.
“ 1 thought we were on our way to
winning the Derby,’ 'jockey Mike Smith
said, “but here came Charismatic.”
After gaining the lead. Charismatic
withstood the driving Menifee, who
gave trainer Elliott Walden his second
runner-up finish in his second Derby.
His Victory Gallop finished behind Real
Quiet last year.
“This was the worst race to ride in
that I can recall,” said Robbie Davis,
who rode 12th-place Ecton Park. “It
was more like a bumper car race than a
horse race.”
Baffert also said his three horses had
traffic problems on the first turn, and
that’s when he knew he wouldn't get a
third straight Derby victory.
Before Baffert, Lukas was the fifth
to try to win three straight Derbys. He
won with Thunder Gulch in 1995 and
Grindstone in 1996. But his Deeds Not
Words finished 13th in 1997. when
Baffert won with Silver Charm.
“W e were really apprehensive and
nervous until we won two weeks ago,”
Bob Lewis said.
On Saturday, the word to describe
the Lewises was “thrilled.”
“I’m going to Baltimore, God will
ing, with a great deal o f confidence,
Lewis said, meaning the next stop on the
Triple Crown Trail.
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