OCR Text |
Show Ijf Action jlult akr tribune D Sunday, May 12, 15 Page I 4 By Mike Barnes United Press International d n two-strok- five-tim- NEW YORK Patrick Ewing will never be compared to Miss America but he'll look awfully pretty to the winner of this Sunday's first annual NBA Lottery In an event that seems more suited for the Atlantic City boardwalk than a Manhattan hotel, NBA commissioner David Stern will line up the league's seven worst clubs and aw ard one the No. 1 pick in the June 18 draft And unless madness prevails, that pick will be Ewing, the Georgetown University center who was college basketball's most intimidating defender the last four seasons. Any club failing to choose Ewing should be banished to the Continental Basketball Association. The seven teams that failed to make the NBA playoffs the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle SuperSonics, Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings (fresh from their move from Kansas City) are in the running for Ewing, the most promising No. 1 pick since Ralph Sampson and possibly since Kareem Abdul-JabbaThe lottery will be telecast live (12 noon MDT) at halftime of the Celtics-76er- s playoff game. Stern will preside over the suspenseful event much like a host of a game show. Cards bearing the logos of the sev-eclubs will be placed in identical sealed envelopes. An accounting firm will supervise the process, much like the system used for the Academy r. in 1969. Utah, meanwhile, began the final round solidly in fourth place. Howev- er, the Utes were completely swept away by the wicked wind while firing a team total of 374 to finish back in seventh place, ahead of only Hawaii and Colorado State. Please don't take it as an excuse, but that is the worst I have ever seen. I usually dont go outside on days like today," admitted BYU Coach Karl Tucker, who saw his teams streak of five consecutive WAC titles halted by Miners. the once-lowl- y Hey, there were golf balls being blown off greens. It was just a joke. I don't know how else to explain it. We had guys shoot 87, 88, 92 and 96. Those guys haven't shot scores like that for ever. Our guys could play better than d under normal condithat tions. I've never seen any wind like this." For the record, UTEP and New Mexico each fashioned solid 352s in Saturdays closing round to tie for first place at 921. Thats 64 over par in one day and right they tied for first. BYU was five back for 54 holes at 926, while San Diego State claimed fourth place with a 349 for a 937 aggregate. Air Force (946), Wyoming (950), Utah (374), Hawaii (959) and Colorado State (974) followed. Texas-E- l Paso, which began assembling a first-rat- e golf program four years ago when Lee Trevino gave the program a financial transfusion, beat New Mexico on the initial hole of the playoff by four strokes. Four of five UTEP players recorded pars on the first hole to only one par for New Mexico in the windswept .. st United Press Internotlonol Photo Patrick Ewing, who guided Georgetown to NCAA finals three Scott Georgia (228) and Rick Todd (230) were the low UTEP finishers in the medalist race. But Georgia skied to an 88 Saturday and Todd could no no better than a 90 in the wind. BYU freshman Brent Franklin lead in the individowned a four-shual race entering Saturdays closing round. But, like virtually everyone else, the young Canadian was blown away by the wind and was forced to d 88. be content with a That's 22 shots higher than his sparkling 66 in Friday's second round when the winds were gusting only to final-roun- mph. Air Force's Judd McGlohn proved r to be the best while fash78 in Saturday's final ioning a round to stroll to a victory 20-2- 5 wind-tame- six-stro- the medalist race aggregate of other player broke 80 Sat-Se- e in 4 Awards. II Hi ll '' "I RIMM.fil-I.V ... al 2 1 M j. I i - I II all 2 I II lill II I II I 57-2- 57-20- - A 4-- crown in 1985. But the script looked going in. The writing on the e wall, after all, revealed that Coach Larry e deDeMerritts Cavemen ranks have fending lords of the had an uncanny tradition of losing a game in the early rounds of the double elimination tournament, only to scratch and claw their way back into s the championship game with a instinct. They would then win the big game and capture the marbles going away. And after A.F. was waxed 0 by Jordan early in the tournament, then bounced back to beat the 'Diggers in Fridays rematch to again qualify for the title game well, there was a feeling that talented, but youthful Ben Lomond was merely playing a supporting role for a team in a very familiar role. But the Scots had other ideas. Their loss to the Cavemen Wednesday was absolutely, positively a fluke. And they absolutely, positively proceeded to go to the bank on it. I think that four days ago we were looking ahead, senior forward Ken Stock explained, confirming that gaze ing past a champion is possible. Our own mistakes beat us, we didnt get to the ball enough, we didn't pass enough and when they got the pre-gam- two-tim- 3-- 3-- A 0 two-tim- through 7 But don't feel too badly for the clubs that don't get Ewing Players expected to drafted soon afterward include Wayman Tisdale of Oklahoma. Be noit Eenjannn of Creighton. Karl V, alone of Louisiana Tech -three pi. ivers who will leave college a year early Detlef Schrempf of Washing. ion. Chris Mullin of St. John's lead we panicked. That pumped us up for today that much more. The Pacers are a rising hise and Ewing would pair nicely with power forward Clark Kellogg The Warriors have Golden State had trouble in the past signing their top picks Should Ewing end up here he would be reunited with college teammate Eric Floyd Indiana frart Los Angeles would go Clippers head-to-hea- d Ewing on the city's r ot sports pages with the Lakers He'd also get a chance to play with Bill Walton and Marques Abdul-Jabba- Patrick doesn't just beat you , he tears you up." 1 .St. John's Goach Foil (lariMrrra and Xavi er McDaniel of Wichita State. But Ewi.ag is the jewel "He is not going to have to make that great of an adjustment in the pros," says Golden State general manager AJ Attles. "He is not a e scorer. Instead, he does the things Gnat makes a winner. He rebounds, blocks shots and plays defense." f "Patrick doesn't just beat you." adds St. Ja'in's coach Lou Carne-secc"He te ars you up." Here's a bt UT look al what Ew ing could meatri to each lottery participant: The Hawks have never Atlanta drawn well anc! need someone to red Tree Rollins. Ewplace ing would be the: best thing to happen to the Hawks .siice Pete Maravich. 25-3- 0 point-a-gam- Ben Lomond Clips A.F. for By Joe Baird Tribune Sports Writer When AmeriSOUTH JORDAN can Fork defeated Ben Lomond four days ago in the semifinals of the state soccer tournament, there was a unanimous feeling among Scots players and coaches that they had done far more to beat themselves than the Cavemen had. So with that thought in mind, they chamtook the field for the state pionship game Saturday afternoon at Bingham High and laid a 2 whipping on A.F. that left little doubt about who deserved to wear the 1 The commissioner will open the envelope; i. be iming with No. 7 and proceeding to No. 1 Representatives from the seven clubs will be on hand often-injure- Stern will pluck the envelopes from a plexiglass container and place times, is top prize in lottery among NBAs worst seven teams. survi-valist- playoff. Column I I I -- them in slots numbered - Special to The Tribune Call the misCHEYENNE, Wyo. adventures of eighth-rankeBYU and the University of Utah in the final round of the WAC Golf Championships Saturday "Gone With the Wind. With winds estimated between 65 and 80 mph transforming the final 18 holes of the conference championship into a travesty, Texas-E- l Paso outlasted New Mexico in a sudden playoff on the first hole to secure its first WAC golf championship in a wild conclusion to the three-da- y tournament. BYU, which entered Saturday's e lead closing round with a over UTEP and New Mexico, and Utah were both blown off the Cheyenne Country Club course. On a day which saw 28 players shoot scores in the 90s and only one competitor e break 80, the defending WAC champion Cougars had to be content with a team aggregate of 359 Saturday and third place, five shots behind the Miners and Lobos. BYU had finished first or second the last 14 straight years in the WAC, last finishing as low as third D-- I Ewing Is the Crown Jewel In NBAs Inaugural Lottery Gone Willi Wind 218. No all I 1 ItVU, Utah Hopes with a I 1 UTEP Tops Lobos in WAC Golf over Franklin III' 3-- A Johnson. - New York Ewing could start with Bill Cartwright, w ho missed last season with an ankle injury. The league would probably benefit most financially with Ewing in a Kmek uniform. Sacramento Getting Ewing would be the best thing that could happen to the Kings, beginning their first season in northern California. Ewing, LaSalle Thompson and Otis Thorpe would comprise three young, gifted big men who will only get better. Jack Sikma would move Seattle to power forward, his natural position, should Ewing land in the Northwest. The Sonics could sport a frontline of Ewing, Sikma, Tom Chambers, Tim McCormick and Danny Vranes. Soccer Title A Indeed. Senior forward Kevin Chase fired the first. Ben Lomond shot with a goal nine minutes into the contest to give the Scots a 0 lead, and that was followed by another goal by the other Stock brother Jeff that gave the Ogden club a quick, cushy 0 advantage that would stand. The Cavemen cut that lead to 1 on a shot by forward Robert Simmons, but Ben Lomond deflated A.F.s spirits quickly with Chases second goal of the game in the 37th minute that put the Scots up 1 at intermission. American Fork still wasn't finished. They came out swarming early in the second half, and found the Scot net five minutes into the period when Steve McGhie scored on a breakaway to slice the Ben Lomond lead to just one goal again. Enter the dump and run man, Ben Lomond sophomore forward Rich Jackson, who after lurking down deep on the left wing for half the period, finally got the looping pass he was looking for, beat his defender and crashed home a header with 15 minutes remaining for the 2 Scot advantage that would ultimately dethrone the champs. I stay on the wing, then they heap it over the defender and I beat them to the ball, explained Jackson, the Scots leading scorer during the regular season. "They finally got it over the defender and I went for it. I went up and over and then the goalie and I nailed each other. Ben Lomond Coach George Duke elaborated. "They began to trap us in the second half, so we took out our center-forwar- d and brought in our dump and run man, and he was the one who got the last goal. The amazing thing is, this team only has five seniors on it and we played a team with 15. They've got an awful lot of poise," Duke marveled. 2-- 3-- Tribune Stott Photo b Ben Lomonds Scott Littlefield (24) uses his head in between American Fork pursu- - ers Strive McGhie during state (2) Al Hurtnwnn and Robert Simmons soccer title contest. 3-- A Athletic Competition Creates Survivors for The Game of LifeY Complexities For a paper in Dr. Keith Hens-chenHPER class at the University of Utah, Nannette Gallant has been 's interviewing a cross section of sports-relate- d people on the gen-- I eral subject of the burn-ou- t which causes athletes to lose interest. One question which intrigued me was Can you explain the lower John Mooney rate of suicide among athletes, contrasted to I had never seen that table, but Annette said it was in a report. But I do have a theory: Remember that movie on late, late TV, where Babe Ruth stood at home plate against the Chicago Cubs and pointed to the outfield bleachers? There were two strikes on the Bambino and the Cub dugout was giving Ruth a riding when he hit the next niieh into the bleachers for a home I run. It was the home run Babe Ruth "called" and became one of the more dramatic incidents in baseball historySome purists later claimed Babe was not pointing to the spot where he hit the home run. Cub pitcher Charley Root always argued that way. Those who agreed with Root's contention claimed Babe was indicating he still had one strike left, hence the pointing finger. Whichever point you accept, it's the latter one I want to develop in support of the infrequency of athletic suicides theory. There have been athletes who have taken their lives. Catcher Willard Hershberger actually killed himself because his team lost a ball game through no fault of the reserve catcher. But I think Babe's pointing holds the secret. As long as you have one swing of the bat remaining, as long as 10 seconds remain in a round of a fight, as long as there is one hole to play in golf, one serve in tennis, one second for a desperation shot in 1,330 times in his career for the re- cord. John Fail 6 of 10 Times Mooney I riliuiir inrl- - l.ililm' Even the best hitters in baseball today are happy with .300 batting averages. Consider, Ted Williams, major leaguer to bat .400 for the season, failed to get a base hit in six of every official times at bat that year. ketball or a pass or field goal in football, you can win. But only if you hang in there and take your final swing. Until Hank Aaron broke his career record for home runs and Roger Maris took his record for seasonal homers, Babe Ruth led the majors with 714 career and 60 seasonal home runs But did you know until Mickey Mantle came along to break his mark, Babe Ruth had struck out more than any batter in major league history? You had to be a baseball trivia nut to know Babe Ruth had whiffed Professional baskciball players have played well when they make 50 percent of their shots and that same percentage is a good day for a passer in football. The point is you don't give up. You can't win a pot if you toss in the hand before you've received all your cards. This is where athletic training and experiences have value. The athlete, with few rare exceptions, has known - A the bitterness of defeat. ha: been knocked down, run over, or fakud out of the arena. He knows the feeling of putts or field goal attempts which rit o but wont drop, of smashes whichi just miss the chalk, the feeling of try n g to get up before the count of 10 when your legs wobble and your head spins. He has felt the frustration as the p ass trickles off his finger tips or the ft eld goal attempt hooks away from ithe uprights. He knows the pain and disappointment of being thrown from his mount, or of crashing the wall, or tripping over a slalom gate, or stumbling over a hurdle, catching a "crab" in row-ini-; or misjudging the finish line. The athlete knows this feeling of despair, hut the winner gets up ani tries again. In the Great Stock Market Crash of '29, it was the rich who leaped from buildings when they couldn't face disaster. The little people w ho hud been busted before tightened their belts and worked their way back through the Great Depression Not all the champions are tall or fast, or rugged or strong. Some of those who show the most courage and determination are not cast in the mold of heroes. But they have one characteristic they never quit trying. As a former fighting president. Teddy Roosevelt, stated, "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win elo-riou- s triumphs, even though checner-eby failures, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in that gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." We salute those who overcome adversity because they still give evidence that a team that won t be beaten can't be beaten. And this knowledge keeps one trying and hoping. long after the cheering and shouting have disappeared and long after the newspaper write ups have faded OlMrvation ard The way the Lakers played Saturday the Jazz may have enjoyed watching on the tube. |