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Show ................. ... . ........ . Ill~ NAT'L SPORTS . . . .. -- 1 THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1998 ··- - I Rockets one win from upset DIGEST CARTER EXPECTED TO ENTER DRAFT: Vince Caner is expected to become the second North Carolina player in a wee k to announce h e's leaving the Tar Heels fo r the NBA, two sources close to the basketball program say. The 6-foot-7 forward was to hold a n ews con ference ,__~ - ----' yesterdny to announce whether h e will Vine<' Caner leave school a year early. National player the \ tr Antawn Jamison announced Mond.1y he w ould ior};o his sen ior season. Caner, who avc r.1 cd I 5.6 pmnrs hst se:1son while shoot ing 59 percent, has 1 u nlisted telephone number. Messages left for coach Bill ~ uth ridge, torm1: coach Dean Smith, and Charles Brmkcrhoff, C.m1:r', h1~h school coach, seekin g confi rmation of Caner's decision were not returned Wednesday. If Carter leaves, it would be the second time in four years that Norch Carolina advanced to the Final Four then lost two underclassmen to the NBA draft. Je rry Stackhouse a n d Rasheed Wallace entered the draft after their sophomore seasons in 1995. of ·STEINBRENNER REINSTATED TO RULING COUNCIL: The Yankees and Adidas dropped the ir antitrust lawsuit against baseball yesterday, and New York owne r George Steinbrenner was reinstated to the sport's ruling executive council. The team and the sporting goods company sued baseball last May 6, alleging the sport interfered with the S95 million, 10-year marketing agreement the Yankees a nd Adidas America agreed to in March 1997. Seven days later, the council suspended Steinbrenne r, one of the four American League owners on baseball's ruling body. As part of the settlement, baseball and Adidas signed a licensing and advertising agreement. U.C.L.A. HOOPS PUT ON PROBATION: The UCLA basketball program was put on three years' probation yesterday by the NCAA for vi olating recruiting regulations and giving improper benefits to athletes. Former coach Jim H arnck was cited fM unet hi cal conduct for lying to school officials during an investigation. H e was fired just before the 1996 season began and now is coaching Rhode Island. In :1ddi tion to the probation, U C LA was ordered to reduce officia l visits by recruits by six for the 1998-99 and the 1999-2000 academic years. The violations took place from 199.1-95.The NCAA sa id m embers of the UCLA coaching staff gave entertainment a nd other benefits to the coach of a club team in Los Angeles whose p layers included potcmial recruits for the uni versity. SWIMMER INVESTI GATED FOR MANIPULATED DRUG TEST:A urine sample submitted by Irish swimmer M ichelle Sm ith contained deadly levels of alcohol, the head of the International O lympic Committee m edical commission said yesrcrcby. "The alcohol level was so high th.1t yo u could not survive with that concentration," said Pru1cc Alexan<lrc de Merode, chairman o f the m edical commission. "That is strange - that normally indicates manipu lation." Smith, w ho w o n three gold medals at the Atlan ta Olympics but was dogged by suspicions that she had used performance-enhancing drugs, is under investigation by FINA, t h e world swimming governing body, over the alleged tam pering. H ENDERS ON WINS N.B.A MOST IMPROVED: Alan H e nderson of the Atlanta Hawks, who missed most of last season due to an inflamed pancreas, was voted the NBA's most improved player yesterday. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 14.3 points and 6.4 rebounds and shot .485 from the field, all career highs, following a season in which he was sidelined for 51 Alan games. His overall scoring average w as 7.9 Henderson points higher than his career average. H enderson received 33 votes from a national panel of media members. Sacramento's Corliss Williamson was second with 25 votes and Golden State's Donyell Marshall finished third with 24. HOUSTON (AP} - Good things always seem to happen to the Houston Rockets when Hakeem Olajuwon is at the top of his game. Olajuwon, rested and robust after missing 33 games following knee surgery, has once again placed the Rockets on the brink of adding to their improbable playoff lore. The Rockets, seeded eighth, lead the bestof-5 series 2-1 following Wednesday night's Olajuwon-led 89-85 victory and could eliminate the top-seeded Utah Jazz in Game 4 Friday night . A Houston victory would mark the second time in NBA history that a No. 1 seed was e liminated in the first round. D en ver did it in 1994, beating the Seattle Supersonics. " He's been the Xfactor in this series and hopefully that will continue tomorrow," guard Mario Elie said of Olajuwon. "That's bee n the key every time we beat Utah, Dream has been the X-factor." Olajuwon did a masterful job on both ends of the floor in Wednesday's Game 3. He scored 28 points, had 12 rebounds and hit two free throws with 37 seconds left, giving H o uston the lead for good. Olajuwon could be the only Rockets s upe rstar who'll be back on the club n ext season. Clyde Drexler will retire after the playoffs to coach his alma mater, the University of Houston, and Barkley has not announced his plans. "He picks up eve rybody's game," Elie said of Olajuwon. "That's what I' m used to seei ng. I've been playing with him longer tha n anybody h ere an<l when he gets on a roll, he comes out real a!;gTC~Sl\'C. It helps everyone." None of the Jazz big men could handle. Olajuwon and the double teams only .,, resulted in pinpoint ~ passes back outside. ~ O la juwon took 26 ~. shots and made 10. Jazz coach Jerry ~ Sloan has a ~ suggestion for Game i: 4. "We never made him work at the beginning of the game," Sloan said. "When the guy wants to post up you've got to make him w o rk. When he starts his move, you've got to keep pressure on him . " D own the stre tch, you've got to figure the ball will be in his hands a nd you h ope you make him work e n oug h to take away some o f that en ergy. If you don't the gu y is going to play in a tuxedo and any time you let a guy play in a tuxedo, you're probably going to lose." g Devil Rays halt losing streak MINNEAPOLIS (A P} - All Ro lando Arrojo ninth inning as the tying run, Arrojo got him to wanted to do was stop Tampa Bay's six -gam e hit into a double play to end the game. losing streak. He wound up with his first " Every gam e I've gained a little m ore complete game and the confidence." h e said through a translator. first ever for the Devil Rays. Catcher John 11 1 felt that I was Flaherty said Arrojo's goin g to be the guy to pitching is what really start the winning turned things around again," Arrojo said after for t he D ev il Rays. yesterday's 2-0 victory " I've never seen over the Minnesota anybody who docs as Twins. many different things Arrojo (3-2} threw just that he does on the 106 pitches in his sixth mound," Flaherty start of the season, said. " H e does a good facing three batters job keeping the hitters over the minimum. ~off-balance. If Todd f walker hadn't been Coming into the game, he had allowed 40 hits ~playing, things might in 28 1-3 innings. ~ have gotten "You could look in 8 interesting." his face and see he The only hits Arrojo wouldn't be denied," j:gave up w ere by Walker, who had a pitching coach Rick double and two singles Williams said. " It 's a Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Rolando Arroio look of confiden ce. You follows through on an eighth inning pitch on his to raise his average to don't see that with a lot way to a 2-0 shutout of the Twins yesterday in a team-leading .373. "I had somebody of people." Minneapolis. Arro;o pitched a three-hitter in his Arrojo, a 29-year-old looking over me," first complete game. The Devil Rays ended a Walker said. " I right-hander who six-game losing streak with the win. thought everyone on defected from Cuba, struck out five and walked two. He was rarely in our team swung the bat well. They were the trouble, allowing more than one runner on base luckier team today." once when the Twins had two on with two outs Tampa Bay set a record for expansion teams in the fourth inning. with 12 April wins. The Devil Rays started 10-6 When Paul Molitor came to the plate in the before losing eight of nine. ! |