| Show Standard-Examin- Sports NBA ROUNDUP i I NHL PLAYOFFS Checketts: No change in Van Gundy’s status Leafs’ Joseph smothers Sabres evens series The Associated TORONTO It didn't take the Buffalo Sabres long to find out the real Curtis Joseph was back in the Toronto goal on Tuesday night Midway through the first period Stu Barnes broke in alone on Joseph in a bid to score the game’s first goal But Joseph smothered the hard shot and less than two minutes later the Leafs had a 0 lead and were on their way to a 3 win that squared the Eastern Conference finals at a game apiece It was sweet revenge for Jo- - i V Aftef ii e th of 1 oug$ uicef and out Kings’ Petrie named NBA Executive of the Year chine ster$ eries quar-rce- Geoff Petrie president operations was Executive of the vice nt yhich ends al-- u al-in- g” :kton “It and light ts it ecut- 12- :ld in l fin-ce- nt tah's eries st 14 e Jazz the defending Western Conference champion in the fifth and final game of the opening round of the playoffs Pctne received eight of a postwo-tim- ing a ares nt in 1 the s sible 33 votes from his fellow NBA executives and league representatives Orlando’s John Gabriel received seven votes followed by Toronto’s Glen per tergy what Jerry a lit- - put g to : Sacramento’s of basketball selected NBA Year on Tuesday capping a spectacular comeback year for him and the Kings The award announced in New York by The Sporting News recognized Petrie’s key role in rebuilding a team which had not had a winning season since moving from Kansas City to Sacramento m 1985 Starting his fifth year with the Kings Petrie made a series of trades and signings some of them controversial that resulted in four new starters playing for a new coach Rick Adelman The NBA lockout meant an abbreviated training camp and season for the young team and the start was rocky The Kings’ inconsistency and lapses often made them look like the 27-5- 5 team of the previous season But Sacramento closed the regular season with 10 wins in their final 1 1 games for a 27-2- 3 record Then they came within one missed shot on the final buzzer of upsetting the Utah litted game win is talk- ed much Tuesday about Reggie Miller or Spike Lee or Larry Bud or Patrick Ewing With the Kmcks taking the day off and the senes agamst the Indiana Pacers still several days away the topic on everyone's minds in New York continued to be the unsettled status of Kmcks coach Jeff Van Gundy Despite the huge distraction the issue has become Kmcks president Dave Checketts again relused to give Van Gundy a vote of confidence despite the team’s sweep of the Atlanta Hawks that has put them into the Eastern Conference finals Checketts again said he’ll wait unul the end of the season even if it lasts another month before deciding whether Van Gundy will return “Frankly I have a lot of questions about how things went this year about what happened early in the year about why we struggled” Checketts said Checketts also denied having any kind of informal pact with former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson who met with Checketts in mid-Apr- il when the Kmcks were struggling to discuss the possibility of taking over the team “For what it’s worth today you have my word I don’t have a handshake agreement with anybody” Checketts said on WFAN radio The Knicks will return to practice today to begin preparing for their fifth postseason matchup with the Pacers this decade The series begins Sunday at Market Square Arena m ng - Nobody Grunwald with five and 2-- Port- land's Bob Whitsitt with four 6-- Boston tries again to honor a Celtics great Bill Russell’s No 6 jersey will be retired for a second time tonight by the Boston Celtics This time he’s agreed to let the public be part of it 1972 In Russell wanted no public cere- mony because he was bitter at what he per- ceived as racial prejudice The center was Boston’s first black sports star but he felt that because of ' Press - The Associated Press NEW YORK Wednesday May 26 1999 3B his color he never received the recognition he deserved for helping the Celtics to 1 1 NBA championships That’s why he refused to allow a retirement ceremony in front of fans on March 12 1972 Only about a dozen players and friends were there Later that day Russell was cheered loudly as he took his courtside seat as a broadcaster but he refused to acknowledge their applause Tonight the team will finally honor him publicly when it his No 6 alongside those 11 NBA championship banners Russell helped win rede-dicat- es seph who was beaten for five goals on just 21 shots in Buffalo’s 4 win in Sunday’s opener “You want to make those saves early” said Joseph who finished with 30 stops “You want to give jour team confi- “He was moving the puck well rebound from m front of the jelling and doing a lot of goal crease after Roloson had shots by Daniil talking He was a big boost” stopped close-i- 5-- n The Leafs sent an early message to Buffalo goalie Dwavne Roloson who was subbing for the injured Dominik Hasek for the second straight game Sullivan was called for interference just 428 into the game as Toronto seemed intent on rattling Roloson Despite several standout saves in the opening minutes the netminder fell victim to a flurry of shots at 1028 Sullivan slammed home a dence” Steve Sullivan and defense-ma- n Sjlvain Cote staked Toronto to a 0 lead with goals 18 seconds apart and this tune the Leafs didn't wilt “Joseph was his old self tonight” said Garry Valk who scored the game’s final goal into an empty net in the last minute goal-tend- 2-- er Markov and Mike Johnson After the ensuing faceoff Cote got behind the Buffalo defense at center ice took a perfect feed from Mats Sundin and beat Roloson from in close on a breakaway at 10 46 The series shifts to Buffalo for the next two games with Game 3 set for 1 hursday night Whether Hasek will he able to play remained a mjstery as he continued to receive treatment for a chronic groin injury Lemieux deals for Penguins The Associated Press - PITTSBURGH Mario Lemieux said Tuesday night he has a new plan to rescue the financially troubled Pittsburgh Penguins The former star center for the Penguins and NHL Hall of Famer said he will file a revised plan before Friday to reorganize the team and accept a PONTIAC bigger ownership stake and less cash for what he is owed Lemieux said his deal will convert $20 million of the salary he is owed into a larger ownership stake in the team He said he will forgive the remaining $75 million he is owed “This is Mario’s way of saying ‘You want a commitment - here it is’ ” said his agent Tom Reich “Those of us in the service of Mano are planning to play this hand until the last breath” Pontac Excitement 1999 stwaioosa Red color air tilt amfm cd player Power sunroof much more Summer fun special below invoice Fun In The Sun Sunf ire SE 2-- 13488 after Factory Rebate ul body-and-so- Pondac's Grand Am SE Most Popular Car 1399 4-- stx 553390 Black color air rear deck spoiler tilt cruise power windows keyless entry amfm cd player steering wheel controls much more V-- 6 Best price of the year 1S99S Nets interested in hiring Thompson ex-Ho- ya Pontiac Wide Track 1939 While former Georgetown coach John Thompson is interested in the prospect of coaching in the NBA the New Jersey Nets’ interest in him caught him off guard During his daily radio pro- gram on Tuesday morning Thompson said he has not spoken with the Nets about the job now being held by Don Casey on an interim basis nor does he have knowledge that his agent David Falk talked to the team about it The Record of Hackensack reported in its Tuesday editions that the Nets have talked with Thompson about coaching and principal owner Lewis Katz is ready to confer with the former Georgetown coach’s agent Heats’ Hardaway undergoes surgery Heat Miami Tim guard Hardaway troubled much of the season with a painful right knee had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Tuesday to repair minor cartilage damage Hardaway will begin rehabilitation later this week and should be fully recovered within three weeks That would allow him to keep his commitment to represent the United States at the July’s Tournament of the Americas which serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2000 Olympics Grand Prix GT 2-- Stk 205524 Gold color dual comfort air amfm cd player premium sound trip computer power seat remote keyless entry Spring into action price won’t have to look around for a new place to live in the Air Force Reserve It’s 2 days a month 2 weeks a year So you can get money for college training and extra pay without giving up everything else in your life To get your future moving call your local recruiter You (801) 777-333- 0 AirFoilce Reserve i i i n TV wwwofreservecom APN lO ‘s Full size Pontiac Excitement 1999 Bonneville SSEI Super Charged Stk210948 Platinum beige color loaded leather interior heads up display power sunroof keyless remote entry much more MSRP 533270 Spring excitement special way below invoice ' After Factory Rebate “DRIVING EXCITEMENT” MITSUBISHI GMCtruck PONTIAC maonnn nuiCK QOO WEST RIVERDALE ROAD OGDEN 627-674- 1 UT 621-807627-675- 2 0 Y NISSAN PONTIAC 004 0013 i NBA PLAYOFFS f We s be- - CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS d the ' (TlmMMDT) Btf-ol-- nnfi- - Tuesday's reiu Utah 88 Portland 71 (Portland leads senes Thursday's earn Utah al Portland 7pm Saturday's same Portland at Utah TBA it necessary I ng to each reens 50-2- 1 0 ' " by a ij ght” S' leavy their com- - ’ 240 12 6 45 24 26 Percent!: FG 500 FT 654 goats: 3 Homacek Anderson H Blocked shot: 8 (Ostertag 3 Malone 2 Eisiev Bailey 2 Eisiev) Turnover!: 9 (Malone 4 Stockton 2 Keefe 2 Eisiev) Steals: 2 (Stockton Malone) Technical fouls: Illegal Defense 6 10 third illegal Defense 7 53 fourth Flagrant foots: Malone 836 fourth Hegai defense 1 20 22 16 13- -71 Portland 30 19 20 19- -88 Utah A — 19 911 (19 911) T—2J1 5 8 CONFERENCE FINALS (Best a 7) out-- e of-iition TotaK Sunday's game New York at Indiana 3J0 p m Tuesday June 1 New York at Indiana 6 30 P m Saturday June 5 Indiana at New York 430 p m Monday June 7 Indiana al New York 7pm WeAietday June 9 New York at Indiana 7 p m it necessary Friday June II Indiana al New York 7 BO H necessary Sunday Art 13 New York at Indiana it necessary 625 (Russet! NBA COACHING CHANGES Teems that have chanoed coaches since the start of the 1998-9- 9 season with former coach and replacement Cnariotte Hornets — Dave COwens Paul Silas Los Angeles Lakers - Del Hams Kurt Ram- ins New Jersey Nets JAZZ 88 TRAIL BLAZERS 71 Orlando Masic AtSaftLafctCtfv — — Washington Wizards ” John Cali pari Don Casey Chuck — Daly TBA Bernle Bickerstaff Jim Brovetk ence past was ettcr NBA COACHING VICTORIES season) (Throudi 1990-9Coaches with 500 or more NBA victories (x- - and ley’re we and id J we pick it of-rus- o on min’ FT 767 goals: Percentages: FG 143 (Rider Jackson 1 Williams 1 2 2 Blocked StoudamireO-2Wasace Anthony (Rider 2 hots 4 (B Grant 3 Wallace) Turnovers 2 Sabonis) B Grant 2 Stoodamire 2 Jackson Steals: 3 (Ausrwi Wallace Jackson) Techracal touts: Illegal Defense I 4? second B Grant 8 45 fourth Coach Dunteaw B4Sfourtn Elected Coach Dunleavy 8 45 fourth Begat defense: I UTAH FG Ntol M RusseO 38 Maiong 38 FT lM3M POOR COPY A 2 3 I 2 Rtb OT 3 9 8 A PF Pts 0 1 22 3 5 23 iii)iAai6lni4liiiii wimnAswAuniN |
