Show "P V Vm9WtW ¥' p p p r "v ppyppyp ryyp i mw VSt co?r LA improves to 22--1 oyer last 23 ’gaines with 1 00-8- 9 By The Associated Press game in five nights survived a slow start to win for the 22nd time in 23 “Thisteam is making me a believ- er” coach Phil Jackson said They’re lasted Chicago out- Cleveland topped Houston 3 and Washington hnt the Los Angeles CUp- 98-8- pen 103-9- 3 Luckily for Barmore she hadplenty Catrina Frierson calmly sank twofree throws and Louisiana Tech escaped with a 3 vie-tory over Vanderbilt in the Midwest Regional on Monday night keeping Barmore as its coach for-aleast one mord game “That was pretty scary aty 66-6- t right” Frierson admitted “But if you want to be a big player you have to make big days” Frierson came through after die Lady Techsters blew an 11 point second-ha- ir lead in the final home game' of sixth-plac- top-seed- ed Clifford Robinson made six free throws in the final 1:46 helping Phoenix cut off Boston’s attempts to - O’Neal blocked Alonzo Mourning’s shot three straight times early in the second half to spark the pivoUl spurt by the Lakers They overcame a -- Barmore’s storied deficit to snap 18-ye- aij head coaching career at Tech It almost was his last game period but the Lady Techsters (30-2- ) survived to play another day in the regional semifinals Barmore announced tat week he would retire when Tech's tournament run ends “Coach told me just to' Frierson said “He said relax” AP photo knew he I could make them (33) and rally Robinson finished with 22 points and nine rebounds as die Suns gained their fourth consecutive victory Jason Kidd had 16 points 11 assists and nine rebounds and Shawn Marion 15-po- int second-ha- lf freshman The Sixers trying to catch Toronto for fourth place in the conference and home-cour- t advantage in die first round of the playoffs moved three games e Charlotte ahead of Sons 110 Celtics 106 Phoenix in overtime 88-8- 6 Barmore's coaching future hinged on the nerves of a 17 nuking me look good” In other NBA games Philadelphia Orlando With 23 seconds left and his team trailing by a point Leon - games 6 By The Associated Press int 4-- 110-10- 4 59-al- The Lakers playing their fourth downed Boston D Victory one-hand- ed 6-- 102-9- 6 The Herald Journal Logan Utah Tuesiday March 2120001 —Page 7 “We just had to wake up” The Lakers did just that and 5 12 minutes into the third period the score was tied O’Neal threw a alley-oo- p pass to Kobe Bryant for a dunk that made it L O’Neal then sank consecutive baskets to put Los Angeles ahead and the Heat were unable to mount a comeback They shot just 29 percent in the second half and finished from range Glen Rice finished with 28 points for the Lakers and Bryant added 23 76ers 192 Hornets 96 Allen Iverson scored 23 points and Philadelphia withstood two second- half hIUm at f!harinltelyrone Hill had 16 points and Eric Snow and Theo Ratliff 14 each for the 76ers Eddie Jones led Charlotte with 28 followed by David Wesley with The Los Angeles Lakers ire returning borne after another hugely successful road trip! this one' almost as impressive as the last one Skaquille O’Neal had eight points and a dazzling assist during a 22-- 2 nm' that put Los Angeles ahead to stay and the Lakers won 100-8- 9 at Miami on Monday night in their final Eastern Conference road game of the season Less than a month ago the Lakers returned home 0 from a road trip to die East Then they left for another trip and this one ended 1 edged Charlotte i Miami’s franchise-recor- d home winning streak It was O’Neal’s that reversed the momentum scored 18 points Rodney Rogers That gave diem a sense of power” added 17 and Penny Hardaway 13 in the balanced Suns attack Heat coach Pat Riley said Paul Pierce scored '27 points and “I had to pick up my defense’ O’Neal said “and I did” Antoine Walker 22 for the Celtics who Lakers center ShaquUle Of Neal right goes over Miami's Alonzo Mourning Otherwise Mourning mote than held were stymied in their attempt to win scores during the second quarter at Ihe American Airlines Arena andldid” Monday in Miami cenhis own in the matchup of three road games in a row far the first The two other No 1 seed ters finishing with 33 points and 13 time since December 1993 and 19 for Mercer Orlando points playing Monday night Tenrebounds O'Neal had 28 points and 12 which beat Chicago by 36 earlier this nessee in the Mideast ana Wizards 105 Clippers 93 Magic 88 Bulls 86 OT - Ron Mercer hit the rebounds Mitch Richmond scored 13 of his 21 Georgia in the West also kept jumper month The Magic moved a half-gaThe Heat played their title hopes alive But Pur-up with 48 seconds left m overtime and ahead of Milwaukee for the eighth points in the third quarter and Washfront because of injuries to forward Orlando survived two due’s run at a second consecu- playoff spot in the East ington’s reserves outscored the ClipRockets Cavaliers 85 98 PJ Brown (sprained ankle) and Otis misses to end a three-gam- e 4 tive pers’ losing championship is over At Cleveland the Cavaliers pulled Juwan Howard added 18 points for ended by a 4 loss at bomd Thorpe (foot) Miami compensated by streak by winning at Chicago The Bulls had a chance tie in the away early in die fourth quarter to snap the Wizards who have beaten die Clip- to Oklahoma which trailed at shooting 36 percent for a 2 lead at halftime and O’Neal had just 12 closing seconds but Chris Carr’s short a losing streak and extend pers five straight times in Los Angeles iOne time by IJ fi 17 Houston’s TBSrSricTERSorBisTdnoW missed minutes in because Tytrihe Nesb scored 120 points and ( v Tennessee winner ofsix siting to eighfgames points S’ flb (he1 16 15th for In time loir trouble and Lamond Shawn Derek Anderson had 18 for die' Clip- -' ' national championships beat h Chfcgtf Kemp Murray rr'J 0 and Georgia: added 17 points apiece as the Cavs pas who lost for the 36th time in 41 Arizona “We were only down 13 and we games Condefeated Stanford 4 didn’t play well at all" O'Neal said ' Darrell Armstrong finished with 20 won for the first time since March games necticut the top seeded team in the East advanced with an 5 victory ovademson on Sunday night 13-ga- shot-blocki- ng All-St- ar go-ahe- ad short-hand- ed last-seco- nd 61-2- 76-7- 55-4- six-ga- 1 75-6- 83-6- Valdes on the DL McGwire hit three-ru- n j"" homer in Cards’ loss r-- By The Associated Press The Chicago Cubs traded for Ismael Valdes to shore up their starting pitching So far it's not working out scheduled The right-hand- er to start the season opener against the New York Mets in Tokyo on March 29 was put on the disabled list Monday because of tendinitis in his right shoulder He’ll be eligible to come off April 5 “I’m angry” Valdes said “I’m not happy with die decision but there's nothing I can da I have to go with it I don’t want to make an issue out of it It’s what it is” Valdes has had a sore shoulder the past few days and manager Don Baylor said that Valdes might miss the rest of the spring Valdes Started taking ties Sunday and die shoulder felt betta by Monday morning “We just want to make sure we take care of it now and it’s not an issue that moves into April and May and June” general manager Ed Lynch said With Valdes out Jon Lieber Sat-brd- ay will likely pitch the opener and Kyle Farnsworth die second game Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood the 1998 NL Rookie of the Year also figures to start the season on die DL as he recovers from reconstructive elbow surgery Wood who pitched for the first time last weekend is expected back lata in ApriL Outfielder Glenallen Hill also appears headed for the disabled list after pulling his left hamstring Sunday Doctors have said it could be 3 weeks before Hill is ready to play manager Don Baylor said Sammy Sosa meanwhile sat out Monday’s game and will skip today’s because of a 2-- banged-u-p knee he got in a collision with Colorado Rockies catcher Scott Servais “It’s swollen a little bit but it’s nothing we need to worry about” Sosa said “Nothing home-pla- te big” ’At Kissimmee Fla the Atlanta Braves said reliever Kerry Ligtenberg is expected to pitch as scheduled today - despite getting hit in the face by a batted ball in Venezuela tat weekend Ligtenberg struck by a shot from Quinton McCracken in Saturday night’s game at Caracas sustained a cut on his cheekbone and a braise under his right eye “I honestly thought I had it” said the Ligtenberg coming off ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow “I don’t know if it hit the ground and hopped but I put my glove up I thought I had it judged It got on me a lot faster than I I’m lucky it didn't thought hit me in the eye or nose" At Jupiter Fla Mark McGhomer but wire hit a three-rathe Philadelphia Phillies overcame a seven-ru- n deficit to beat the St Louis Cardinals 7 on Tomas Perez’s RBI single in the 10th inning McGwire made it 0 in the third inning with a three-ra- n homer off Andy Ashby McGwire’s second of die spring and first since March 10 Ashby homer also allowed a two-ru-n in the fourth to Ray Lankford homer in and another two-ru- n Dunston Shawon to sixth die In all Ashby gave up seven rune and 11 hits in 5 innings His ERA rose to 884 1- -3 Bagwell reported to spring training with the goatee so long that bet been a regular source of bedding by teammates “Ken Caminiti and I talked about doing this alter last season and then ‘ he shows up without one” Bagwell - said pulling at his whiskers “It’s kind of at the stage now Lata on it gets really ugly” knowhowtoda” The first baseman has grown a stringy goatee that gdts almost as - right there” Bagwell said of his much attention as his hitting i oddities that make his hitting success a wonder Bagwell has added facial hair improved his vision with laser surgery and yes he's again trying to Mideast Dominion Old defeated Southern Methodist 96-7- 6 in the Midwest andNoth Carolina beat Rice 83ra 30 in the West Three of the top 16 seeds failed to advance to the region- al semifinals after all 16 made it last year Those losing were Purdue seeded fourth in the East Mississippi d State in the West and Cal Santa Barbara in the West Louisiana Tech fans saluted Barmore when he walked onto die court Monday chanting his name and waving signs that' read “Thanks for the Memories Leon” and “We love you '? - U? V third-seed- ed fourth-seede- Leon" Afterwards fans again” chanted Barmore’s name until - he returned to the court to acknowledge them AP photo Oakland San Diego's Randy Velarde top avoids the slide by Martin after Velarde tagged the base on a force second-basema- AJ “It was a great crowd” he said “They helped us with a really tough win We’ve1 played teams in the Final Four that weren't as good as Vanderbilt That's how much this game has improved’’ Frierson led Louisiana Ted with 18 points Chantelle Anderson scored 23 for Vanderbilt ninth-seed- ed (21-1- 3) ‘ with successful stance Houston Astros teammate “That’s Sihat'makes him such a good hitter He doesn't have many mechanical Bagwell is a good hitler too but be 'V 5-- make changes in his awkward stance “It’s hard to make major changes” Bagwell said “You have to do minor changes I’ve tinkered with major changes before but that not going to work I have to stay with what I woikwith a whole set of mechanical ! 8-- KISSIMMEE Fla (AP) — Watching Jeff Bagwell followed by Moises Alou provides quite a contrast at the batting cage Bagwell squats as if he’s about to sit in his favorite lawn chair Alou is upright and motionless “He makes it look pretty easy just sitting there nice and still and swings flaws" t ‘'‘‘‘'Si n Astros’ r - ' ' P- ’5 r- - In other games Monday Duke beat Western Kentucky 90-7in the East Texas Tech downed Tulane 76-5-9 in the 0 ff' i J: lain n 83-4- Bagwell also discarded hiscontact lenses and glasses following laser eye surgery He now has perfect vision “It’s amazing I don’t have to wony about different conditions in different ballparks” he said “My contacts used to dry out on me and on windy days the (hist gets in your eyes” Bagwell has hit 300 or higher in three of the tat four years leaving his career average at 304 He’s driven in 110 or more runs and hit homers in each of die last four seasons including 42 homers and 126 RBIs last year “You can’t be satisfied” Bagwell said “I’m always trying to get betta I haven’t had a perfect season yet and Pm sure I never will but until I da you have to keep working for it” nmmMi0nm 30-pl- us mi Bagwell is trying to get less movement with his hands which drop during his swing “I’m sure I get noticed more because I'm so unorthodox” Bagwell ' said “Sammy Sosa does different things Mark McGwire has changed through the years It’s evolution This game is hard as heck You have to keep trying to do things because people arc trying to get you ouL" Teammates wonder how Bagwell hits in such a strange stance “What he does is unteachable” Bill Spiers said “It’s his unique style Most power hitters aren't squatted You lose power doing dial but he doesn't He’s the opposite of the way a power hitter hits but he's a powa hitter” l0dm400t Bagwell has been able to maintain! his powa but it can be taxing ova a long season Bagwell has played in all 162 regular-seaso-n games in three of the last four years “He puts akxof stress on his body in that crouch" general manager Gerry Hunsicker said “It takes: strength to support that crouch and then come up and generate powa to hit Ova 162 games it helps wear him down physically” Bagwell’s stance isn't one others will be quick to imitate “Everybody looks at it like he’s an alien or something” Tim Bogar said! “Honestly I don't think any hitting’ instructor would teach what Jef does I don't think Jeff would teact anyone what he does” |