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Show : i H Scoreboard C3 B Business C4 H Financial Markets C5 rMI KzJl !l f7?rl(Sr II N I I 11 zJkHJLj KjSJ The Dally Herald Friday, July 5, 1996 r r Washington hopes to make race irrelevant o rr r 3 m flexible By BERNIE UNCICOME Chicago Tribune - m foot-l-inc- 7, 185-pou- "It's possible," said the "I would be the one 7-- 1, M to go out on the floor." Gary Payton hkes to post ufC and so does Mitch Richmond anj; Anfernee Hardaway. Robinson likes to get out and run the wing on the fast break, Charles Barkley likes to run the fast break after a rebound and Karl Malone likes to expand his shooting range. "I don't think there will be any problems with the lineup card," said John Stockton, who, along with Robinson and Scottie Pippen, was named Thursday a of the U.S. Olympic basketball, team, "because I think any lineup., will work." Such is the situation with Dream Team III, which winds up its training camp here Friday at Moody Bible Institute and heads for Auburn Hills, Mich., for its opening exhibition game Saturday team. against a college In effect, all the team's games will be exhibitions because, given the quality of the U.S. team, no other Olympic team is being giveTfi a chance to beat them. Not that there aren't some good ', , Daily Herald PhotosJennifer Grigg Run 10K Thursday, which ended at Seven Peaks. Simonaitls, the defending champion Celsa Kidman, left, and Dennis Simonaitls, right, were the top finishers in the Freedom of the race, finished in 30:01.28. Kidman won with a time of 36:05.19. Simonaitis, Kidman capture Freedom Run 10K tow-head- ed Kra-jice- mfQ&mapitmjm a' n. '. self-respe- ct "I'm 310-pound- h, big man, a dominator, a rebounder, i an elbow thrower." Reggie Miller could play : ; inside. "I could play in the post," said the 6-Miller, "but I; never had a coach who would let me. David Robinson, could play small forward on a frontcourt line with O'Neal and Hakeem Olaju-wo- I 1 '. CHICAGO Shaquille O'Neal could play point guard. ; "I've always had the ability to bring the ball up, but it's some-- ; thing I choose not to," said the 7- - a ington said. "If that question comes, I'd welcome it." - Could happen. Soon. Washington is different from most of the folks who play and pay here, play and pay anywhere in the parochial world of tennis, being obviously: (1) intelligent; (2) intriguing; and (3) literate. Naturally, of such a complete human being, what anyone wants to know is what he is doing for inner-cit-y tennis, meaning, has he strung nets across the ghetto lately? any "I try to do what I can," he says with patience. "For kids, in general, you know." It is assumed that Alexander Radulescu does what he can for expatriated Rumanian Germans, and Todd Martin for k Michiganders, and Richard for immigrant Czechs in Holland, though no one ever bothers tor inquire. : You are what is asked of you, Unless you are Andre Agassi; then you are what you shave. ; Hence, Washington will , a remain the most prominent black tennis player until such time as he can make his race irrelevant, as "Ashe did; as a matter of fact, as Bjorn Borg did. Before Borg, being a Swede was considered as much a handicap in tennis as being the Venus de Milo. Reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon is, as they say of a thousand drowned lawyers, a good start Reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon from double Jnatch point against, having to Jvin the last two sets, having to fight maddening and spasmodic rain interruptions, on American Independence Day, this is ... " ... huge," Washington said. "This is huge for me. The quarters are nice, but if I had lost today, I would not have not gone home happy. The semis, yeah, the semis are big." On the day when Pete Sampras took a delayed and classy exit, when Martin removed the people's choice in straight sets, and an unlikely Australian named Jason Stoltenberg flushed the last single-dig- it seed, Goran Ivanisevic, Wimbledon surrendered completely to the seriously obscure. : This is the first time in the Open Era that Wimbledon has had more than two unseeded players in the , semis. Boris Becker was the only unseeded player ever to win. "If someone had told me that Todd and I would be the last two Americans, I would like to think I wouldn't be surprised," said Washington. "The thing is, I sure would not have argued." If this were a can of mixed nuts, and tennis is close, all the cashews would be gone from the . men's side. What remains for any ' of the last four is the greatest opportunity of their careers. Wimbledon could do worse than Washington. And has. ' ' "My parents and my family are the sole reason I am in tennis." Washington said. "My dad is a great believer in going on an adventure and just going and going until you succeed at it I mean, he's instilled that in me and my brothers and sisters. "It's not the cheapest sport in the world, but for me, my Dad is who taught me and the rest of the family to play. It's not like we iwere paying for lessons. And I :didn't make a penny for 15 years. .That's a long haul. ; "Tennis offers a great opportunity, whether you aspire to be a :pro or not, to pick up a great :game and do great things with it" ; Family, school, Washington may still be working to get Ashe's tennis game, but he already has Ashe's sermon. ' By SAM SMITH Chicago Tribune WIMBLEDON, England ; MaliVai Washington does not, technically, violate the predominately white rule at the Club, though color is inevitably the first topic that comes up. "I'd like to be in an interview where the first question is, 'So, how does it feel to be the first black American to win Wimbledon since Arthur Ashe?'" Wash- - m . By DOUG FOX The Daily Herald Executive Sports Editor -- The husband and wife team of Dennis and Michelle Simonaitis nearly pulled off a sweep of the , top honors Thursday in the Freedom Run 10K, but a strong effort by Celsa Kidman prevented that from happening. Dennis Simonaitis, who won this race last year, successfully defended his men's title with a ing up the pace early in an effort to wear down the quicker Johansen. "I knew who I was running against," said Simonaitis of Johansen. "He's really coming on this year. I knew with his leg speed that if I had let the pace come out slow then I'd be in trouble at the end because he's really fast So I tried to tire him out early and it worked, luckily." Simonaitis, of Salt Lake City, said he moved into the lead about winning time of 30:01.28. Kidman captured the women's crown with a time of 36:05.19. Mark Johansen and Michelle Simonaitis were the runners-u- p in their respective races. Monty Zmunda took first place in the men's wheelchair division while Miriam Nibley was the top finisher in the women's wheelchair." Simonaitis, who finished 19th in this year's Olympic marathon trials, said he was intent on pick one mile into the race. "Johansen was hanging on me," he said. "We were playing a little game out there." Simonaitis was a Div. II at Lowell University and is the current leader in the Utah Circuit series. Kidman also made an early move in running to the women's title, grabbing the lead at about the mile mark. an 10-ra- ce all-st- ar (See RACE, Page C2) (See DREAM, Page C2) Fireworks Graf result in Buzz win escapes Date to reach fina By STEPHEN WILSON AP Sports Writer By TONY REYNA Special to The Daily Herald SALT LAKE CITY The sellout crowd of 15,500 didn't have to wait until after the game to enjoy the fireworks extravaganza Thursday night at Franklin Quest Field. The Buzz and Canadians displayed plenty of firewQrks of their own as Salt Lake pulled out yet another extra-innin- g win, with Steve Hazlett and Chris Latham providing the final' explosion in the bottom of the 10th inning. Latham led off the inning with a triple over the outstretched glove of Vancouver center fielder Will Pennyfeather and Latham followed with a single over the head of Pennyfeather to give Salt Lake a dramatic 9-- 8 victory over the Canadians. The victory improved Salt home record Lake's extra-innin-g to 7-"I certainly didn't expected the game to go that long, but I kind of liked our chances going into extra innings because of our record," said Salt Lake manager Phil Roof. "We've been struggling at the plate lately but I felt that coming back home to our park we would get eight nine or 10 runs." With The Buzz's nine runs, the Salt Lake brownout was finally lifted, or at least the one at Franklin Quest Field, and the timing couldn't have been better either. The Buzz just came off a road droptrip in which they went logping them into a second-plac- e jam in the Pacific Coast League Northern Division with Vancouver and Edmonton at one game behind league-leadin- g Calgary. While on the road. Salt Lake suffered its first shutout in more 1. 2-- 6, 9-- 7, (Sec BUZZ,FageC2) mr iwa:iiiwi .y tjmm rat jrrm tn. WIMBLEDON, England Steffi Graf advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final today when she victory completed a three-se- t over Japan's Kimiko Date. six-tiThe champion Date 6-defeated the 6-The match had been suspended by darkness Thursday after two sets. Graf had dropped six straight games to lose the second set and looked in danger of elimination. But she came out refreshed today and needed only 26 minutes to take the third set in bright sunshine. "I wonder how much longer she could have kept up at that level," Graf said. "All things were favoring her a little bit At .least I felt like I was serving much better than I was yesterday, so I didn't worry too much." At press time, further play at Wimbledon was suspended due to rain. In the men's semifinals, Todd Martin and MaliVai Washington have split the first four sets of their match. Date, the first Japanese woman to reach Wimbledon's semifinals, said she could have 12th-seed- 2-- ed 0? 4Nvv 2, 3. (See TENNIS, Page C2) y' i ' fV !if"' ." T ITS AP Photo t Steffi Graf returns shot to Kimiko Date today during the completion of their semifinal match at 6-- 3 and will meet Wimbledon. Graf won Arantxa Sanchez Vlcarlo in the final. 6-- 2, 2-- 6, Conservative effort brings liberal lead By RUSTY MILLER AP Sports Writer Like BEACHWOOD, Ohio those who work in a fireworks factory or on a police bomb squad, golfers in national championships realize that the odds are against those who take chances. Steady and patient from tee through the green, Bob Charles affirmed that again Thursday. With a conservative approach, Charles tied the course record with a 66 for a three-strok- e lead after the first round of the U.S. Senior Open. "It was a day to be striking the ball with precision," Charles said. No one struck it more precisely than the native New Zealander. His round was the best ever in relation to par at Canterbury Golf Club, which has hosted a PGA Championship, two U.S. Opens and two U.S. Amateurs. The 66 matched Bobby Clampett's record score during the 1979 Amateur, but that was when the course played to a par of 71. Charles, 60, playing in the eighth of 52 groups, took advantage of favorable conditions early in the day. The course toughened as the day went on, with gusting winds drying the greens. Only two players broke par who teed off after 10 a.m. "My philosophy is trying to keep the ball in play, trying to keep hitting the fairways and greens, Charles said. and not three-puttIt didn't hurt that the mastered the five Canterbury holes that feature dogleg holes to the a natural draw for a lefty. right He played them in 1 under more impressive when you consider only seven other players in the n field broke par. "Bob likes to draw the ball," playing partner Dave Stockton said. "You can see him get up on those ," left-hand- er -- 156-ma- holes and be comfortable as heck." Charles parred the first five holes, then birdied holes at six and seven and again at 12 and 13. He rolled in a for birdie at 15 and dropped in a for birdie at 17. Australian Graham Marsh birdied holes 13, 14 and 15 on the way to a three-und69 for second place. He echoed Charles' sentiments. "The best policy is rather defense," he said. "On this golf course, there are certain times wheo you can afford to be aggressive, but basically I think it is getting away unscathed on many holes." back-to-ba- gr er ck |