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Show The Salt Lake Tribune SPORTS M AUTO RACING B-2 WCE HOCKEYB-3 MNBABASKETBALL B-4 SATURDAY Ml BASEBALL B-5 ll WNBA B-6 APRIL 10, 1999 Malone Gets Last Laugh Over Suns GORDON MONSON Mailman delivers three free throws with 0:06 left to offset Morris’ trey ) t ee Sloan Remains 1 pS BY STEVE LUHM THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE Example of What The weakness has become a strength The doubt has given way to confidence. Theuneasy looks of concern by coaches and teammates have been replaced by NBA Needs Most winks, nods andsmiles of support When Karl Malone steps to the foul line these days, chancesare the basket- As the Jazz’s season continues to rock ‘n’ roll, a win over the Los Angeles Lakers on onenight. a loss to ball is going to somehowreach its destination — thebottomof the net. Unlike his first few NBA seasons. the L.A. Clippers on another, Jerry Sloan moves throughit the same way hehas for over a decade like a plowhorse through a hundred ly, eventually, the soil gets turned, For the most part, Sloanis the sameas healways Center. After Chris Morris gave the Suns a 9290lead with 3.7 seconds, the Jazz called timeout and inbounded from midcourt The ball went to Malone. smartest. Innovationis not his strong suit. Neither is shifting on the fly. His creativity limited mostly to an impressively imaginative use of ex- He briefly searchedfor an open teammate, No luck. So he turned, pumpfaked, raisedfor a three-pointer and was bumpedbyanoff-balance Cliff Robin- pletives. Few can spew vulgar expression as well. On Tuesday and ‘Thursdaynights, in consecutive gamesagainst the Lakers and the son. GoldenState Warriors, Sloan was runbyreferees, i nicals often ha Hemadeagood play,” is his tradeis like sniffing cardboard final thrust If the Miami Heat have a virtuoso for a coach, the Jazz have a plumb: There's no‘do, no duds. No *. Our teamis battling,” said Coach Danny Ainge. “They arefighting hard We've just beena little snake-bit lately flash, no panache “That wasn’t the way theplay was de: Just old-school toughness, and an signed,” acknowledged Malone So, an often-ragged game that picked old-world view. He's consistent, the up intensity andprecisionas it proceed day, day after day ys Jazi ident nk Layden. ‘That's important. He’s fair. The players know ed, wouldbesettled by Malone. to succeed. Strategyis overrated, Xs and Osare simple. What's complicated is the handling of people. Jerry doesthat reallywell. He helps players play upto their potential Players buy into his passion for the Sitting passively for two hours, occasionally offering stion that may go unheeded, is against Roger a suge named the Olympic coach. He’sjust anold pro. haracter young, untrained, undisciplined, selfish, spoiled young pros, are exactly what the NBA needs. Unbeknownst to itself, pro basketball longs for Jerry Sloan. For 20-someguys on the benchjust like him. It doesn’t call for slick hair and Armani suits it cries for leathery palms and over alls. WhenGeorge Orwell said, “To see what is infront of our noserequires "asonas a Phoenix Suns assistant 5 Reid's intense Reid, in his Old pros, in a leaguefilled with pressure on yourself just to tie the game,” said Malone. “I really wantedto concentrateonthat one The first free throw grazed thebasket kissed off the backboardandreturnedto the front rim. There, it seemed to hang for asplit secondbeforefalling through Behind Malone, George McCloud leapedinto theair, swungat theair and cursedthe Suns’ bad luck Down92-91, Malonesteppedoff the line, turned around andlooked at Stock ton I love John Stockton,” Malonesaid Hegaveme thatlook. Hedidn't say one word. Hejust gave me that look Said Stockton: “I actually just smiled at him, I think See JAZZ, Page B-4 Maria Olaza bal’s reaction is to get a leg up on winning his second Masters He has gone from boy wonder of Augus: ta, debuting at 19, to champion in 1994 back to watching at home onTV two years later, unable to walk for several months while he wondered what his future held. But doctors cured what was diagnosedas *{>rheumatoid polyarthritis in three joints of [setheright foot and two in theleft Some hard work and rehab during an 18month absence returned Olazabal to com petition. He finished 12that the Masters in the Suns to exploit their opponents. Reid's relationship in his third season as the Suns’ coach, played at BYU when Reid was anassistant, Thoughdifferent in personality with NBA players. As he assimilatesinto the pro game Full List of Scores It tion,” he what hapy causing meany id. See REID, Page B-4 / B4 “But I try not to think about in the past, My feet aren't problems at all posted 68 Three strokes back at 139 were Lee Jan zen, who owns two U.S. Open titles, and BY DICK ROSETTA THE SALT gymnastics pe if ‘97 PGA king, Little wonder, on LEADERBOARD als followed by 10 NCAA national titles, becomes more difficult this time because host OSU andsurging UCLA figure to push or blinks the wrong way, we'll be out of it said Kondos, “It will be a meet where half. tenths [of a point] count like gold Added OSU Coach Tanya Chaplain, “the teams that hit 24 out of 24 routines will be the ones who move on to nationals. A stranger might wonder why Utahis feeling pressure. Coach Greg Marsden's Utes are ranked No. 3 in the country. Their Utahto the limit. The Beavers dealt Utah its only loss of the season here on March 14 regional qualifying score is a point and a school r rd 197.775 on March 20. All three coac are feeling the pres: sure of a new NCAA regional seeding sys Those figures are equivalent to a two and UCLA wonthe Pac-10title here with a temthat has left Region 1 as the toughest of the six, six-team regionals that will each Olazabal looked at the B2 reserved for six teams vying for thenation al championship. “We're all in the same boat here if any one of us sneezes wrong feed two teams into nationals. UCLA Coach Valorie Kondos, whose Bruins won the NCAA crownin 1997, says half better than No. 12 OSU and almost two full points better than No. 17 UCLA touchdown favorite in football Marsdensays it’s a perceived pressure. We're as prepared as we can be. We're at full strength except for Theresa Wolf, but we had our second hig without her here a few weeks IT haven't h rd one word from my team about how she has heard the region referred to as the Super Six” which is a designation usually See MASTERS, Page B-4 SCORELIN New Jersey 106. Toronto 99 Detroit 102, Indiana 10} ttle 9: L.A. Lakers 96. Minnesota 89 New York 12 women's State's Gill Coliseumor settle in as specta nament andthereare alot of players that ean winit Despite the continued tough conditions, American League Utah's finish either first or second in NC AA Re while boardand said: "It's a wide-opengolf tour ggies Face Rough Regiona! TRIBUNE tors for the national championshipsin Salt Lake City, April Theassignment, so routine the past two decades whenthe Utes won 14 of 17 region gusta Nick Price, who has two PGAs to go with a British Open crown, rested at 141 with the LAKE Ore season has come down to this: gion 1 competition tonight at Greg Norman, who has two British Open championships but has beenfoiled at Au III, Or They Will View Nationals as Fans CORVALLIS, Olazabal held a one-shot lead over Scott McCarron, a first-round tri-leader, who Davis Love The Salt Lake Tribune Suns assistant Roger Reid talks to Pat Garrity. Utah Gymnasts Need Strong Regional js great to be back in this posi fe Aingesaid Hired near midseason, Reid needed time to get familiar CMASTERS the native of Fuenterrabia, = Spain, seems to have come full circle and is {ready to win again. with Ainge runs deeper than the former NBAplayer has with any coach It’s good to have someone youcan trust two-time Masters champ Bernhard Langer was another step back at 142after vaulting into contention with a 66 + Olazabal fired a bogey-proof 66 Friday S for a 36-hole total of 8-under 136, which “}left him atop a power-packed leaderboard +} at the halfway mark of the Masters. he [Being an assistant) is the easiest job in the world yetit’s frustrating at times Together along with the other assistant coaches, Ainge and Reidporeoverfilms, trying to find ways for games and guided the Cougars to five NNCAA Tourna: 20. ment appearances. He was fired in 1997, ending +) '97 and ‘98 without breaking 70 either time = and hehas won twice in Europe since hav Inghis feet repaired Ainge believes Reid deserves and will get another said year association with BYL DannyAingehired Reid last season Ainge KNIGHT RIDDER NEWPSPAPER: AUGUSTA, Ga Now that his foot “Orlando 95, Milwaukee 63 New York 86, Atlanta 78 You want to make the first onebe. cause, if you miss, you put that extra job before Joe Cravenswashired last month I still think I have a lot of years to make some deci sions and call someshots, at whatever level it maybe. the 51-year-old Reidsaid There's enough competitive and do nature in me that still wouldlike to take a tea In eight seasons at Brigham Young, Reid won 1 BY JACK SAYLOR Ptah 93, Phoenix 92 fn iphia 83, Boston 67 at arlotte 90, Washington 68 free throw was themost difficult — and the most agonizing for everyonein the building terest in the Wildcats’ opening but never pursued the shot to be a head coach. Most aches wouldliketo call their ownshots,” A Healthy Olazabal Steals Norman’s Thunder to Grab a One-Stroke Lead NBA made27 ofhis last 29 stepping up there free throws with three shots Next: looming said Sunday, Houston at John Stockton Jazz, 1 p.m Malone’s first fewyears before he wouldstart hunting head coaching jobs. A WeberState graduate, Reid hadexpre ed in- coach, would prefer to stormthesidelines again, with ks out instructions spit flying from his mouthas he thethings we've donein the past, which is win See MONSON, PageB-4 ; difficult that is — Withouta specifictime frame, Reid promised Aingea THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE He isn't in the limelight. He wasn't { Jazz 93 Ainge matches Reid's fire BY PATRICK KINAHAN doesn't get interviewed all the time ,a. But Karl is 2 GLANCE From Provo to Phoenix: Reid Bides His Time as Assistant on the Suns Bench game. Theyrespect him. He doesn't get all the credit he deserves. He Jose If he madethreefreethrows, the Jazz wouldwin their fifth straight If he madetwofreethrows, the Jazz Danny La/TheSalt Lake Tribune Adam Keefe showshis Globetrotterskills after being knockedtothe floor. what to expect. He wants his players problems are history said Rob- inson If so, Malone made something from nothing, becausethe Suns (17-19) did an outstanding job of defending the Jazz's tools. Otherwise, watching Sloan ply = GAME CoachJerry Sloan ue Suns 92 I don't know if Fact Fact: peoplerealize how” ‘ari Malone has an improbable 93-92 victory at the Delta was. He’s not the hippest coach in the NBA. Northe to hit three in a row,” said Jazz nent risks everything when it fouls him Ask the Phoenix Suns. Malone buried three straight free throws with six-tenths of a second remaining Friday night, lifting the Jazz to back(eight losses). to step upthere and have great competitor. He likes that situa duringcrunchtime thejob gets done. Threesteps forward (26 wins)for every one step pressure, when he madefree throws with Shaqlike frequency, Malone has become so dependable fromtheline that an oppo- acres of McLeansborodirt. Slowly, methodically, systematical- would go into overtime, where they ar 1-4 this season If he made one, the Suns would win and Utah would fall two full games be hind Western Conference-leading Port land. That's a lot of A quicklook at key final results in the world of sports Kansas City 10, Chicago 5 Bo on 4 Tampa Bay 1 Toronto 7 Baltimore 4 Ch land 14, Minnesota 5 | Anaheim & Texas 4 | Oakland1 | See GYMNASTS, Page B-6 | National League New York 10, Montreal | suena 3: Arona Hesston+ Miiwautee 3 4 Ceetnee 2 &. Louis 0 Los Angeles 9. Colorado 6 San Francisco Florida 7, Philadelphia 4 8, San Diego 3 lowa at Salt Lake, ppd. (snow | NHL Buffalo 3, Florida 1 Detroit 1, St. Louis 1 Nashville 4, Phoenix 3 San Jose 4, Anaheim1 |