Show Sports Tuesday June 6 1989 The Herald Journal Logan Utah Page6 Chang bang moonshots kill Lendl By Rebecca Bryan UPI sports writer PARIS — Michael Chang fighting cramps as well as the world's best player overcame a two-sdeficit Monday to knock Ivan Lendl out of the seed top et I'm thinking about is trying to $45 million French Open tennis Grand Slam tournament think don't it’s "I championships (the victory) recover from cramps I'd like to sunk in yet" said die fatigued gpt a good massage go bade to Chang stunned Lendl 4--6 4--6 3 3 3 and at 17 years and Chang who played die final set my hotel and sleep” three months he is the youngest noticeably hampered by leg Lendl admitted that playing in reach the to was fortunate real at "I cramps quarterfinals player Chang's condition was "almost Roland Garros It marks his first The Lord was praying for me to impossible" and he had nothing appearance in the quarters of a win and I did At this moment all but praise for his young opponent 6-- 6-- 6-- fieutersUPI Michael Chang collapses in both agony and ecstasy after stunning Ivan Lend 4-- 6 4-- 6 6-- 3 6-- 3 in the French Open 6-- 3 Chang 17 who turned professional last year gave both a brilliant and courageous effort throughout the 4 hour 38 minute match especially in die fifth set "There was a point early in the fifth set when I cramped up in both leu and didn't think I could goon' said Chang who received a delay of game warning by Chair Umpire Richard Ings of Australia “But I said my prayer and the cramps went away a little” Faced with die prospect of not being able to utiii his standard running game Chang resorted to several unorthodox tactics First he abandoned die cracking groundstrokes in favor of soft looping moon balls This seemed to unnerve LendL He then surprised the defendiqg champion by serving and winning a point underhanded in the eighth game The match ended m bizarre fashion as Chang rattled Lendl into a double fault by standing just inside die service line “I tried everything to win as many points as I could” said die No IS seed who now faces Haiti's Ronald Agenor another five-se- t winner "When I had the chance I went for it because I knew the longer the point went on die less chance I had of winning it” Chang who carried plastic bottles of water out with him during changeovers to keep fluids in his body said on die underhanded serve "I knew I had to try something different Because of the cramps I was just popping my serve in anyway I wanted to break his concentration I drought it shocked him a little bit” Chang sympathized with his opponent's plight "I think die pressure was on Ivan for him not to miss he knew I would have only one whack at it” Chang said And' when Lodi's second serve hit die tape and bounced king it was finally over Chang fell backwards on the red clay in both relief and disbelief and was given a standing ovation by die packed house The entire match was characterized by king hypnotic rallies ending as often in an error by one player as with a winner by the other Lendl let slip two set points at 3 in die first but Chang needed six break points to force the ninth game Lendl though took the set and followed by winning the second set by an identical score Lendl the top seed who had hoped to complete the second leg of the Grand Slam in Paris started making mimiwi in the third set and Chang surprised him and the crowd by drawing even In the fifth set Chang walked in circles to ease die leg cramps instead of sitting down at the change of ends and he began to hit high soft shots to save his strength "In die fifth set die mental factor was no longer in play” Chang said "I was just trying to stay m each point and go for it when I could At one point I drought I could no longer go on I said my prayer and die cramps went away a little” 5-- 6-- 4 “If I were to play real long rallies with Ivan I would have lost He would move me around from side to side” Chang said "I think when I do that (surprise tactics) it makes my opponent think a little Sometimes I get people to miss their second service I just tried to do whatever I could to win as many points as possible “I'm just thankful die lord brought me through" As Lendl served on die first match point faulting on his first serve Chang moved suddenly up to the service line to receive Lendl served another fault and die four hour 38 minute match was over Lendl said it was more the crowd’s reaction than Chang's x See FRENCH an page 't 8 Sky’s the limit Sparky’s back In die SkyDome 's case die homeliness — were contained By Combined news services The SkyDome in Toronto features a retractable roof a hotel a nightclub and a McDonald’s And they play baseball there too After much fanfare baseball's newest ball prok — The SkyDome — opened Monday night and led by Glenn Braggs' two-ru- n homer and Gary Sheffield’s two RBI die Milwaukee Brewers spoiled the Blue Jays debut in their new nest with a 3 victory over Toronto A crowd of 48378 — die largest ever to watch a game in Toronto — saw the Brewers e snap Toronto’s winning streak Its retractable roof opened wide to die night sky the stadium may have cost its prime tenants a victory The park's bigger dimensions swallowed Bob Brenly’s fly ball in die up pinch-hitthomer into a long eighth turning a two-ru- n 5-- three-gam- er out Brenly said there was no doubt his fly would have been a home run at Exhibition Stadium "I’ve never had any luck hitting in this park” he deadpanned Earlier in the day with its retractable roof sealed shut the SkyDome resembled a giant armadillo just emerged from Lake Ontario — potentially the star of a B --grade horror classic say “The Gray Godzilla that Gobbled Hogtown” state-of-the-- art proved to be only shell deep First-tim- e visitors most of whom heeded urgings to take public transit gawked in awe as they entered die facility remarking on the clean sightlines and die esthetics too as if The fans were visiting a fastidious great aunt's immaculately tidy hone At wont die SkyDome with its lid on tight offers die sensation of an oversized well-behav- ed It has neither the Seattle Kingdome nor the of claustrophobia shopping mall the economy-size- d garbage bags that line the outfield wads of Minnesota's Metrodome A temple of gloom it’s not There was a scare Monday afternoon that the show would trot go on American League umpire supervisor Marty Springstead insisted that a black doth be installed over a section of center-fiel- d seats to create a backdrop for pitches Springstead also was concerned about a gap between die turf and die warning track which made footing dangerous A molding yet to be installed will correct the problem The game started as scheduled at 7:46 as a lightninglike streak of flashbulbs greeted Jim Key’s historic first pitch It was dear from the outset that not only was this park a decided improvement on Exhibition Stadium it also was louder With its circular design cheers and applause —not to mention construction workers' hammers creating a livelier at- mosphere Indeed up until game time laborers pounded ana primped and preened — and posed for pictures — causing tiro teams to miss batting practice SPARKY Manager Sparky Anderson tanned but after 17 days away from baseball returned to tiro Detroit Tigers Monday and vowed to live a more relaxed life "Not oily was I exhausted" he said at a news conference "I was mentally exhausted I have taken (losing) so hard inside of me worked my body up I was literally shriung” The shaking may have resumed with Mike Green well's 460-fohome run in tiro first inning The blow drove across three runs and helped Roger Clemens win for the first time hi four starts a 2 victory for tiro Boston Red Sox Anderson 55 left tiro Tigers May 19 on tiro advice of Dr Clarence Iivingood tiro team physician and Jim Campbell tiro chief executive officer The white-hairmanager returned to his Thousand Oaks Calif home for rest and a checkuo “The first day back I slept 16 hours” said Anderson whose team went 9--8 in his absence under Coach Dick TracewskL "The second day 1 slept 12 hours I got more sleep in tiro first three days than I do in a normal tired-looki- ng ot 5-- ed week” Pistons on the front porch huffing and puffing By JayMariotti Scripps Howard News Service AUBURN HILLS Mich — The emotional angle the twist to attract television viewers is Goodness vs Badmania From the City of the Angels come the Los Angeles Lakers angelic reputations intact and from an American crime center come the Detroit Pistons loose cannons of tiro hoops world But from a pure basketball perspective the NBA Final fond two themes more familiar to a championship series Beyond grace and athleticism vs arrogance and body slams this is likely to be a series remembered for whether the old guard fended off the new and whether the sleekest of transition overcame the disruptive tendencies of an unusually impassioned defensive team ' Tlie 1989 Finals begin at 9 pjn EDT today with the Pistons on the front Palace the in (CBS) three seasons trying to for of greatness porch has produced finally overcome LA dominance that tiro in three past four years two straight NBA titles m and five during the 1980s The Lakers want to establish firmly their position as a dynasty of dynasties among such hallowed sports names as Yankees Canadian and Celtics The Pistons in the words of Denver Nuggets coach Doug Nloe would like to see greatness go poof "Detroit is challenging us more than anyone ever has challenged us” Lakers coach Pat Rily said "They are an exceptional basketball team especially defensively” If the Pistons avenge last year's loss in tiro Finals — they came one foul call (Bill Laimbeer on r) Kareem from winning in six games — they will do it with defense One of the fascinating subjects of a complex team is how tiro Pistons via peer pressure orchestrated by coach Chuck Daly have sacrificed offensive whims to play defense There is no better Mark Aguirre example than the who now says he is “devoting his life to defense” This cultlike team emphasis has brought great numbers in tiro playoffs — Detroit hasn’t allowed 100 points in any of its 13 playoff games and is Abdul-Jabba- yielding only 897 points per game once unheard of in the NBA StiU the Pistons stumbled against a Chicago team with Michael Jordan and few other weapons and now they face the heavy task of stopping a Lakers team that has veered from its showtime approach but is easily capable of loiL returning "The best ever” Daly calls the LA offense The first question: How does one stop or even Joe subdue Magic Johnson? Daly wall use Dumars on the 6--9 league MVP but though Dumars defender be doesn't appear is a fine overly confident "I’ve just gotten finished guarding tiro MVP runner-u- p (Jordan) and now I’ve got to cover the MVP No breaks for me” Then there's James Worthy the beneficiary of k bounce or many a Magic lob pass Who can run with Worthy? Dennis Rodman defensive player is the league's best your answer but hell eventually be needed to check Johnson It was Rodman by tiro way who nm-and-g- un high-scori- ng one-on-o- ne no-loo- all-arou- court-leng- th took tiro wild jumper in the waning seconds that buried the Pistons in Game 7 last year "This year” he said "I’m not shooting tiro ball I'm going to make amends with the other parts of my game” While the Pistons have stressed defense their offense has become erratic sluggish and often out of sync They’ll need more consistent shooting from their guards — Dumars Isiah Thomas and Vinnie Johnson — as well as the revival of an inside game that sometimes was vs Chicago TTwyll also need more scoring from Aguirre acquired at midseason in the y debated deal for Adrian Dantley Unlike Dantley a consistent scorer Aguirre has been merely a role player m Detroit He doesn’t play enough defense to merit enough playing time to score more than 14 points a game Llien ener senes with no apparent weabrosses or woes They’ve won an d 11 straight playoff games 13 if you count two last jnev and nave had nine days off since eliminating Phoenix ed non-existe- nt now-hod- NBA-recor- |