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May 19,1999
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Jazz Hope Their Experience
Trumps Portland’s Prowess
NFL-Saints sign Heisman
winner Williams
The New Orleans Saints officially
announced on Friday the signing of
Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Will
iams to a seven-year contract with a
club option for an eighth season.
Though financial terms o f the deal
with the celebrated running back were
not disclosed, W illiams’s representa
tive Leland Hardy called it “the larg
est rookie contract in history.”
Williams revealed that he received a
signing bonus of $8.8 million.
“I’m exci ted that this is all taken care
of,” Williams said. "It’s a great contract
and he (Hardy) got it done extremely
quick and nobody expected that.
“I’m getting a nice bonus up front
and the rest o f it I have to work for,
which is the way it should be. That $8.8
million I could put in the bank and get
it working for me immediately."
Williams was the fifth overall pick
in the 1999 draft, which New Orleans
acquired by trading all of its picks in
the 1999 draft along with first- and
third-round selections in 2000 to
Washington.
Williams is Division I-A 's all-time
leading rusher with 6,279 yards in four
years at Texas, breaking the old mark
held by Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett.
"W e traded our entire draft for him
so everybody knows what we think of
him,” said Saints general manager
Bill Kuharich.
“In researching Ricky Williams
and his college career, it was clear to
me he is a special individual and a
special player. Trading an entire draft
is not the norm o f the NFL, but he
respects what we did to acquire him."
Williams rushed for 2,124 yards
and 27 touchdowns as a senior.
M ia Hamm Ties Soccer
Scoring Record
B y GREG BEACHAM____________ _
O T he A ssociated P ress
Arvydas Sabonls
SALT LAKE CIT Y (A P) —
About 14 hours after their rem ark
able escape from p lay o ff elim ina
tion, the Utah Jazz w ent back to
work, trying to figure out how to
pull the same trick twice.
U tah faces P ortland in the
W estern C onference sem ifinals,
w ith the first gam e set for T ues
day night at the D elta Center. The
Blazers are talented, rested, con
fident and in top form after sw eep
ing Phoenix in the first round.
The Jazz? They som ehow ju st
keep winning.
“This team ’s been through a
lot together,” Karl M alone said.
“ I f you look at the statistics, P ort
land is gomg to be a tough m atchup
for us, m aybe too tough. But you
c a n 't ever count us out, and if you
do, y o u ’ll be sorry.”
The Blazers have perhaps the
league’s deepest lineup, w ith an en
viable collection o f role players who
quickly jelled into a form idable team
during the shortened season. After
prac tice Monday, Portland was mind
ful ofU tah’s uncanny ability to snatch
wins from unsuspecting opponents.
“They have got that ability to dig
down, and they know they can come
up with a w ay,” Portland coach Mike
D unleavy said. “ W hen you play
young teams, they’re going to make
the m ental mistakes, they’re going to
give you that chance if y o u ’re ready
to seize the opportunity.”
U tah’s 37-13 record was two games
better than Portland's, but the Blazers
had the second seed in the W est be
cause they won the Pacific Division.
"Regardless o f whether they ’ ve had
Kelvin Cato
one day or two days rest, they’re a
veteran club, and they’re going to be
ready for us,” Portland guard Damon
Stoudamire said. "W e’ve got to fight
through their crowd and fight through
the runs that they’ll m ake at us.”
Though m ost o f them w ouldn’t
adm it it, the Blazers must have been
hoping the Kings w ould knock o ff
Utah. Portland won all four gam es o f
its season series against Sacramento.
“I don’t know about the guys, but
I’m confident going in against Utah,”
Stoudamire said. “This is where my
mind was from the jum p, when the
series first started, so nothing ’ s changed
in my mind. The worst-case scenario is
here, so w e’ve got to deal with it now."
The Jazz are most concerned about
getting their big men — specifically
center GregOstertag— outoftheslump
they endured against Sacramento. After
a standout performance in Game 1,
Ostertag disappeared for the rest o f the
series, culminating with a six-minute,
four-tumov er performance in Game 5.
“Things just didn't go right forme in
the last four games," said Ostertag, who
refused to discuss a reported rift between
himself and Malone. “I thought I was
ready to play, but I wasn’t ... I’ve got to
step up, just like all our big guys do.”
His poor play was the main reason
Vlade Divac ran wild on the Jazz, and
it doesn' t get any easier for Ostertag on
Tuesday The Blazers are exception
ally deep in the frontcourt with start
ing center Arvydas Sabonis giving way
to Kelvin Cato. Rasheed Wallace and
even Brian Grant in the pivot.
NBA Playoff
Schedule
Game 1
PIL 20 26 20 24 90 • IND 19 31 24 20 94
Game 1
LAL 24 17 17 23 81 • SAS 20 27 20 20 87
Tue 5 /1 8
Game 1 • New York @ Atlanta
8 :0 0 pm ET
Mia Hamm tied the international
scoring record Sunday, getting her
107th goal in the U.S. women’s game
against the Netherlands.
Hamm, playing in her 171st game
with the national team, scored in the
53rd minute o f this exhibition leading
to next month ’ s Women ’ s World Cup.
The goal ties Hamm with Italy’s
Elisabetta Vignotto, who is retired. It
was Hamm’s third career goal against
the Netherlands.
She took a cross from Cindy Parlow
and dribbled between two defenders
before scoring with her left foot. The
shot hit the crossbar and dropped in,
giving the United States a 2-0 lead.
Hamm raised her right arm as the
crowd roared, and then jum ped and
pumped her right fist. The ball was
retrieved, marked with 107 and saved
for Hamm.
Tue 5 /1 8
Game 1 • Portland @ Utah
1 0 :3 0 pm ET
Wed 5 /1 9
Game 2 • Philadelphia @ Indiana
7 :0 0 pm ET
Wed 5 /1 9
Game 2 • L.A. Lakers @ San Antonio
9 :3 0 pm ET
Thu 5 /2 0
Game 2 • New York @ Atlanta
8 :0 0 pm ET
Thu 5 /2 0
Game 2 • Portland @ Utah
7 :3 0 pm ET
Fri 5 /2 1
Game 3 • Indiana @ Philadelphia
8 :0 0 pm ET
Sat 5 /2 2
Game 3 • Utah @ Portland
3 :0 0 pm ET
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