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Show TheSalt Lake Tribune SPORTS Wednesday, November3, 1999 Rangers Deal Gonzalez; Griffey Asks M’s for Trade Not all of the BYU Cougars are readyto declare them selvesout of the running for the Bowl Championship Se ries, even though it appears Event Time NBA BASKETBALL Knicks at Bulls 6pm HOCKEY 6:30 p.m. Grizz at Manitoba Blues at Avalanche “ Anything can happen said wide receiver Jonathan Pittman. The Cougars would need somebig anythings. At No. 15 in the BCS rankingsreleased Monday, the Cougars would havetobesixthorbetter to even be considered for one of the big bowls. And for them to get that high, they not only would needto wintherest of their games,but they would need some awfully tough teams to fall on some awfully hard times. Nebraska, Alabama, Wis consin, Texas, Mississippi State, Michigan and Marshall stand between BYU and the All of them would { least once moretofall far enoughto givethe Cougars a chance. ‘The BCSstandings basedonaformula that con siders the AP Top25poli and the USA Today/ESPN coachespoll, eight computer rankings, strength-of- schedule and numberofloss es, In that formula, the Cougars pick up14 points for poll average, 18 points for computer-ranking average The NewYork Times ranks them ninth,but two others have them 30th and 32nd 1.36 points for a schedule rankedas the 34th mostdifficult, and one point fortheir loss for a total of 34.36. Sixthranked Kansas State, by com parison, ha: 76 points. On a Roll By kicking twofield goais in last week's victoryover Air Force, kicker Owen Poch- manset a school recordfor consecutivefield goals made. The junior has hit 10 straight, breaking the mark of nine by Leonard Chittyin 1987. Pochman is almost cer: tain to becometheall-time leading scorer at BYU. He has 225 points on 42-0f-60 field goals and 99-of-103 PAT, and trails only Kurt Gunther (243) and Jamal Willis(240). O Injury Update Tight end Carlos Nuno is expected to returnto the lineupagainst the Aztecs,after missing four games with a torn ligament inhis knee. Radio KFNZ-AM (1320) the Seattle Mariners to trade him closer to his Florida home before the start of next season vying with Gonzalez to Detroit were pitcher Danny Patterson and catcher Ken Griffey Jr., (TBS) 7pm ire (FSN) Bay City Classic Bill Haselman and Frank Catalanotto. TNT) CAMPUS CALENDAR THURSDAY Jolleyball: Utah at UNE 8 nV eé at Idaho State: Idaho at Utah State, 7 p.t Men's Basketball: Westminster at Northwest All-Stars Women’s Basketball: Utah exhibition, p.m. FRIDAY Volleyball: BY1 il San Diego State, 8 p.n (MDT); Westminster at Montana Tech Men's Basketball Utah exhibition, 7 p.m; Global Sports at Utah State, 7 p.m on's Blue Angels at 0 p.m Women’s Baske I: Weber State exhibition, 7 p.m; Westmin ster at WarnerPacific SATURDAY Football: BYU at San Diego SState, 7 p.m. (MDT), Wyoming a Utah, 7 p.m.; New Mexico State Utah State, noon; Norther zona at Weber State, 1 p.m.; SUL at St. Mary’s, 2 p.m. (MDT) Sa at Dix p.m Me Rasketbali: Altumni at Westminster, 7:30 p.m Women’s Baskett ( hibition, 7 pm USU Turns Down Invitation To Join Sun Belt Conference UtahState has turned down an offer to play football in the Sun Belt Conference. West officials, who want to get out of the football business, have toid concerns leagueforall othersports. a BASKETBALL Bri ham Youngwill stage the annual ern divisions. men's Varsity Prev night at 7 at the Marriott Center, with a 40-minute immage, league ¢ fi it will » have east and skills contests and other activi ties North Texas and @ The Hunter Highgirls bas- ketball teamneeds another assis- New Mexico State will leave the Big West in 2001 and become full membersof the Sun Belt, which is launching football competition JimRiceat 964-7585. nessee Beginning Nov. City course i NMSU. Idaho wantsto keep study first-come,firs rvedbai day through Frid: with ArkansasState, Middle Ten Louisiana-Lafayette, ing the football-only invitation. The Big West cept for Nevada, joining the WAC next year will remain intact through the 2000 football season, After that, USU will need another football home. The options: independent status, possible WAC expansion or a revised Sun Belt proposal. Big tant coach. Contact head coach GOLF 8, will take Saturday day vations in person andvia phone. Q VOLLEYBALL team, are Nov. 10-11 at Skyline High, starting at 7 p.m. Call 597-4457. While last winter's U.S. Figure ating C npionships at the Delta C‘enter gave Utahns a chance to see some of the sport’s best skaters, this week’s Central Pacific Regional Ice Skating Champion ships offer a more direct connec tion: a chance to be one of the top skaters The event, which runs from to URE SKATING start at 4 p.m., by the way but a judge has forced them cember. The top skaters from that competition advance to the U.S. Cleveland, Feb. 6-13. Thetop skaters from the lower levels (Juvenile and Intermediate) advancedirectly to the Junior Na: tional Figure Skating Champion. ships in Amherst, N.Y., in March Someof the top skaters for the Central Pacific Regional Champi. onshi include Senior Men's skater Justin Dillon, whotrains in Oakland and finished seventh in Seemsthe state of Wyominghas conunandeered LakeCity skater whoreachedjun nationals; Michael Berg, a Salt roomsin the hotel to house jor nationals as sequestered jurorsin the strong Novice skaters from the Utah Skating Club of Bountiful, Stephanie Rosenthal and Katie Mulvaney, and Senior Ladies murdertrial of Aaron McKinney, oneofthe two menac- enough roomsthatthe Holi- day Inn could not also accom modate the Cougars, who had to look elsewhere forlodging. Fortunately for the Cougars, they learned of the change in late June, and se- cured reservations at someplace called Foster's Country Inn, a Juvenile; two will spend their summers skating at training centers in Lake Arrow: head or Colorado Springs, Colo, Most ofthis week's competitors are female, with only three males from Utah entered. While most of the skaters are young, all agelevels can compete. One of the Masters ers is Salt Lake City’s Dorothy & ships in San Jose, Calif, in De ‘to stay elsewhere. cused of beating student Mat: thew Shepard to death last year. The state needed re generalists. Junior and Senior) qualify for the an hour, To makeup forthelack of Pacific Coast Sectional Champion instruction, some Utah skaters FigureSkating ( tiaraona in planningto stay at a Holiday Inn whentheytravelto Laramiefor their Nov. 13 game against the Wyoming Cowboys — scheduled to joint statement said. Griffey, who has veto power over any deal because he is a 10-year veteran who has played five years with his current m, and his agent, Brian Goldberg, me' Bowers, 50, who is still skating, with an artificial hip. tonwood Heights and Mackenzie Pate fromthe Utah Skating Club, This regional is one of nine na seven are being held this week, California, Hawaii and Utah are represented in this regional, While home ice may be an advan tage to some Utahskaters, expect the competition to be dominated by Northern California athletes “We are one of the smallest @ Memphis Coach Rip Scherer got a two-year contract extension despite fourlosing seasons and a 3-5 record so far this year. BASKETBALL Atlanta guard Isaiah Rider missed the Hawks season opener against the Washington Wizards duc to the death of his grandfe nd will rejoin the be played in Phoenix next summer. The season is expected to start earlier next year, but the game will be at approximately the same timeas this year’s July 14 All Star gameat NewYork's Madison Square Garden. 3} HOCKEY Buffalo Sabres team doctor said All-Star god groin muscleduring Friday’s Dominik Hasek suffered a 90 percent tearofhis Lincolntold a news conferencethat Griffey “has and will be out for an been agonizing 01 this decision for 2 “We're talking months, not 1ifficult loss” for the team. the team’s doctor. i » very generous but Griffey’s desire to play closerto with theirof hometook precedence over money withinawinof leading gameagainst Florida weeks,” said LesBisson. Q TENNIS sasy all new eon, whoci budget Cincinnati Xeds into the playoffs, was rwhelming choice tor The Associated Pr Managerofthe Year award. McKeonreceived43votes Pete Sampri ed three match points in an un. comeback matchbefore battling back to win a et tiebreak against Spain's Francisco Clavet at the Paris Open. Sampras, whohas not playedsince injuringhis right hipflexor in a match in Indianap olis on Aug. 20, needed2 hours,2 minutestoclose out (7-4) victory. in nationwiideballoting bywriters and broadea fers. the 4-6, 6 4 AL ind afirst round pset of Cleveland AUTO RACING yotfs, was second with ® The Cleveland Indiansexercised a $4.25 million option on outfielder Manny Ramirez and a $2.7 mil- In a movehethinks will add strength to a team nowonthe verge of winning the NASCAR Winston Cup championship, lion optiononcatcherSandy Alomar Jr., but declined five crew members a $3 millionoptionon pitcher Dwight Gooden. car ownerRobert Yatesis hiring from Jeff Gordon's team to work the pits next year for Dale Jarrett. BYU, Utah Set Sights on MWC’s Inaugural Soccer Championship CHULA VISTA, Calif. The Mountain West Conference women's soccer championships open today, with the BYU Cougars and Utah Utes hopingthey canovercometheirlongtime nemeses and win the inauguralleague title. “Our number one goal this has been to get ourselves ” BYU Coach Jenni- must in matches. the Cougs and Utes their first-round TheUtes (12-6) play New Mex- ico (612-1) and the 23rd-ranked Cougars (17-3) play Wyoming (413-1) today at the Olympic Train- ing Center. i who have combinedfor 27 goals and 11 assists. Reading, in fact, wasthe league’s leading scorer with 14 goals. The Cougsled the leaguein just about everystatistical category, and allowed only twogoalsintheir six conference matches. Utah is armed with AmyKo- BIG SKY MISSOULA, Mont. Defend- ing champion WeberState is the No.2 seed for the Big Sky Confer: ence tournament, starting Thurs- day. The Wildcats will play No. 3 NorthernArizona; No. 1 Montana meets No. 4 Cal State-Northridge. The championship match is Sat- urday. WSU went6-1 in conference anassist, and senior forwardS a Burt, who scored onl; s andfourassists thi play, losing 3-0 to Montana. Wildcat sophomore goalkeeper but is the all-time scoring leader fender Amber Bailey made the sive team behind the Cougars, Thunell named the league’s top defensive player, Montana’s Heidi at Utah with 37 careergoals. The Utes were the second-best defenallowing only 18 goals in 18 matches. BYU allowed 14 goals in 20 matches. Meagan Thunell and senior deall-conference first team, with Melville is the offensive MVP. WSU's Celeste Collins and Tara Swallow madethe secondteam. with tournament host and top ential. The Aztecs will meet the JNLV-AirForce winner. Assuming BYU and Utah win, Thetable will last for generations. The offer won’t. they would meet one another in Thursday's semifinals. And that is where the nemeses come into play. The Utes have never beaten the Cougars in seven tries, while the Cougars have lost to San Di: ego State a team they would meet only in the championship four consecutive times by a com: bined8-1 Thetitle matchis scheduledfor Saturday. The Cougars are led by senior dd Maren Hendershot and ‘a Reading, for junior midfielder 27TH ANNUAL PARK CITY .. PARK CITY HIGH SCHOOL » HIGHWAY 248 fours Admission Friday night. 10pm Jem $5 (Under Saturday 10am - Spm $212 et 10am - 2pm $2 Free) quipment Check-in Nov ‘st-Nov 4th at: ooo Jonate Cutttare Pork Ave, Cot Sport, Park Ave 3 Equip. Checkin Frida , Nov Sth m and Sund y, Nov 7th pm at; % “4p Equip.. Pick-upPark (istyCigh 8Schoo! Oe a aee een of the best ki « ee Procondsbenefit tha Park Cy Ski Team 4% dap Qe venture. Howard Lincoln, president Chuck Armstrong and new general managerPat Gillick SKi SWAP AND SALE NOV. 5-7 skaters Rachel Johnson from Cot manager Bobby Beathard and other Chargers per sonnel ® Russell Erxleben, a formerstar NFL field-goal kicker, pleaded guilty to securities fraud charges in connection with a failed foreign currency exchangi Monday in Orlando, Fla., with Mariners chairman teaching jumps, spins orstyle, Utah's rinks are frequently public events, The top four competitors from the advanced levels (Novice, ter, will have 225 athletes, includ ing 62 Utahns, competing in 18 current offseason,” the earned the top seed in the tournament and a bye through the first round by virtue of its goal differ- coaches can afford to specialize in gamewith a sprained ankle Offensive guard Jason ‘The Cougars hadbeen seek to trade him during the seed San Diego State(14-5) for the regular-season league title. Each tea as 5-1, with the Cougar ing the Utes, the U tes beating Whereas coaches at the training center in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. can charge $90 to $100 per hour, the top Utah coaches onlyget $40 to $50 Change of Venue ers of breaking Hank Aaron's record of755. The Mariners agreed to Ken's request and will [in-state] skaters, but we also don't have a training center and that hurts us.” Unlike in California, where pri vate rinks are the rule and skating competition, so that’s nice for our mates said was an obscenity-laced tirade at general later this month, has 398 per homers and is team forpracticetoday, ials said thought to havethe best chance amongcurrentplay. @ The second WNBAAILStar gamewill regior id Julee Johnson, the chairman of the Central Pacific Regional. “There's not as much and. the the Falcons. Northwest have been very loyal and devoted to me. I will truly miss them.” Griffey hit 48 homers this yeai er hitting 56 in consecutive seasons. The center fielder, who turns 30 The results of those matches are considered foregoneconclu: sions. After all, Utah and BYU tied day through Saturday at the Cot tonwood Heights Recreation Cen. as questionableafter breaking a bonein his foot against me,” Griffey said inajoint statement he releasedwit the team. “Mariners fans throughout the Pacific Tryouts for Klub Boom, a youth ‘The Cougarsalso hopeto have running back Naufahu ‘Tahi back, after thefreshman missed mostof the Air Force Scukanec, however,is listed which would have made Griffey the highest-paid vin this first conference Regional Gives Skaters Chance At Future Success BY JIM HALLEY THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE infielder time AllStar attle presented Griffey a new coniract proposal on July 17 a deal thought to he worth $135million, USU that the school can stay in the USU President George Emert made the decision in advance of the league's deadline Tuesday, cit $750,000 option on Darry! Strawbe FOOTBALL Griffey, wanting to play closer to his homein Florida, rejected Seattle's eight-year contract offer and the Mariners said they will try to trade the 10 (ESPN) meeting in Baltimore called by dissident unior members attracted 52 of a possible 93 umpires, John Hirschbeck of the Major League Umpires Indepen, dent Organizing Committee expressed confidency that the group has enough supportto oust Phillips. @ Paul O'Neill's $6.5 million option was exercised by the New York Yankees, who also exercised a The short, troubled NFL career of Ryan Leafhit a new low when he was suspended for four weeks without pay and fined a week’s salaryfor what team vutfielder Gabe Kapler, 7:30 p.m. Agroup of Major League Baseball umpires op. posed to union headRichie Phillips said it expects to have thevotes necessaryto form a newunion. After4 4 Alan Webb and Francisco C ordero, BOWLING the the not ern un ers Justin Thompson, (ESPN) Masters of Figure Skating 6 p.m Ing who wonthe awardin 1997, asked The Rangers received pitch AUTO RACING NHRAFall Nationals FIGURE SKATING next to impossible for them to reach the Rose, Orange or Fi esta bowls. TV Juan Gonzalez. the Most Valuable Player in 1996 and “98. was sent to Detroit by Texas in a ninelayer deal For MoreInformation, Call 435-649-6749 +f «a CougsStill Have Slim BCS Hopes al's biggest stars sent shock waves sport Tuesday. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHTS $250 REBATE (direct factory rebate) On select Brunswich Billiards Tables VALLEYSPAS & BILLIARDS Fri. Nov, Sth 10am to9 pm 6835 So. STATE Sat. Nov. 6th 10.amto.9 pm 801-568-7050 ‘Sun. Nov. 7th JL am tw6 pm Savt Lake Crry, Uran 6 MONTHS NO INTEREST aooarvonmmna @ TODAY: BYU By MichaelC. Lewis |