ST. LOUIS ROLLS PAST ATLANTA.(Sports) - The Cincinnati Post (Cincinnati, OH)

Byline: Barry Wilner Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- Like a good veteran, Aeneas Williams knows how to follow instructions.

He couldn't have done a better job Monday night in sparking the St. Louis Rams' 36-0 rout of the Atlanta Falcons. Williams forced two early turnovers, Travis Fisher returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown and Larry Little tackled T.J. Duckett in the end zone for a safety. Atlanta managed only 209 yards in St. Louis' first shutout in two years and the Rams' first home shutout since 1993, when they played in Anaheim.

'That was the emphasis tonight.' Williams said after his 52nd career pickoff, second among active players to Oakland's Rod Woodson. 'In our meetings, coach Lovie (Smith) would start yelling, interceptions, interceptions.' Even when I would go home, I'd open my refrigerator and hear coach Lovie saying, 'interceptions, interceptions,' and have to close it right away.'

The Rams closed out the Falcons right away, too.

Williams, playing safety this year for the first time after a stellar career as a cornerback, picked off Doug Johnson's ill-advised first-quarter pass in the end zone. Then he knocked the ball free from tight end Alge Crumpler and recovered the fumble in the second quarter.

Both turnovers set up long drives for points as St. Louis took a 10-0 halftime lead.

'They beat our butts,' Johnson said. 'I wouldn't want someone to take credit away from me if I whipped somebody's butt. That's probably the worst game as a team I've ever seen in my life.'

Marc Bulger threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns to Torry Holt, and Lamar Gordon had a career-high 92 yards rushing, but it was the defense that drew the most praise.

'Give credit to the defense,' said Holt, who had 161 yards on 11 receptions. 'A goose egg!'

St. Louis (3-2) won its ninth straight home game and handed the Falcons (1-5) their first shutout defeat since 1993. In a span of four plays in the third quarter, the Rams had three sacks. They never allowed Atlanta, ranked 27th in total offense, to threaten to get head coach Dan Reeves his 200th career victory.

The Falcons have lost five in a row and are in desperate need of a healthy Michael Vick. Johnson, his replacement, made several critical mistakes and the defense recorded the safety when Little nailed Duckett trying to run out of the end zone in the third quarter. It was the fourth safety the Falcons have yielded this season.

'We're just struggling right now in all areas,' Reeves said. 'I don't know that one person can make that much difference.'

Atlanta 0 0 0 0 -- 0

St. Louis 3 7 9 17 -- 36

First quarter

StL -- FG Wilkins 28, 1:17.

Second quarter

StL -- Bulger 3 run (Wilkins kick), 1:22.

Third quarter

StL -- Holt 21 pass from Bulger (Wilkins kick), 12:16.

StL -- Safety, Duckett tackled by Wistrom in end zone, 2:15.

Fourth quarter

StL -- Holt 14 pass from Bulger (Wilkins kick), 10:44.

StL -- FG Wilkins 38, 3:45.

StL -- T.Fisher 74 interception return (Wilkins kick), 1:33.

Atl StL

First downs 9 16

Total Net Yards 209 496

Rushes-yards 21-73 31-119

Passing 136 377

Punt Returns 1-11 2-21

Kickoff Returns 6-142 2-46

Interceptions Ret. 2-6 2-78

Comp-Att-Int 12-28-2 24-35-2

Sacked-Yards Lost 3-19 0-0

Punts 6-40.8 2-36.0

Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1

Penalties-Yards 3-30 6-45

Time of Possession 22:40 37:20

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- Atlanta, Duckett 16-50, Dunn 5-23. St. Louis, Gordon 19-92, Harris 10-23, Bulger 2-4.

PASSING -- Atlanta, D.Johnson 10-23-1-134, Dantzler 0-0-0-0, Kittner, 2-5-1-21. St. Louis, Bulger 23-34-2-352.

RECEIVING -- Atlanta, Finneran 3-55, Dunn 3-18, Crumpler 2-30, McCord 1-33, Price 1-8, Duckett 1-7, Griffith 1-4. St. Louis, Holt 11-161, Bruce 4-87, Looker 4-43, Manumaleuna 3-56, Harris 1-26, Cleeland 1-4.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

TOM GANNAM/Associated Press

Wolves caught flat in Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: Steve Aschburner; Staff Writer

Atlanta, Ga. -- ATLANTA 97, WOLVES 89

The mood in the Timberwolves' locker room late Wednesday night seemed to be we had one coming, so we'll play along and find reasons why a 97-89 loss to the Atlanta Hawks might be understandable, maybe even acceptable:

- The Wolves had flown into Atlanta late, touching down at about 3 a.m. Eastern time, heads hitting pillows an hour or so after that. The Hawks, by contrast, were fresher than fresh: Off Tuesday and playing at home for the 10th time in their past 11 games.

- Several other teams had ventured into the library-like confines of Philips Arena and gotten nailed with the equivalent of hefty overdue fines (don't believe that official attendance figure).

The Spurs scored only 77 points and lost three weeks ago, the Bucks scored 83 and lost last week. Remarkably, Atlanta's record against teams .500 or better is 12-16; it is 4-18 against everybody else.

- The Hawks played harder, were quicker to the ball in the open court and off the glass, and worked defensively all game, thereby earning the victory. As Wolves guard Sam Cassell said: 'This is something unusual for our ballclub, for a team to play harder than us. But they played harder than us and they deserved to win.'

Then again, as Clint Eastwood's character says in 'Unforgiven,' deserves got nothing to do with it, kid. These were the Atlanta Hawks, a franchise that ought to be on Bud Selig's dartboard for contraction, a club whose proudest marketing boast is the lack of waiting time at its concessions stands.

Yes, bad teams occasionally beat good teams in the NBA, especially when the latter is on the road, wrapping up a back-to-back. But rarely does that happen when the better team is ahead by seven points, with seven minutes left.

That's the position the Wolves were in, up 83-76 at the end of a 17-6 run across the third and fourth quarters. All seemed well. Then it unraveled.

Said coach Flip Saunders: 'I told my guys, `No matter how tired you are, when we get in that situation, that's our bread and butter, our ability to execute down the stretch, and we didn't do it.' '

'Any time you let a team hang around,' guard Fred Hoiberg said, 'anything can happen. We got a seven-point lead and we got complacent.'

The swoon started innocently enough, with Kevin Garnett blocking a shot by Shareef Abdur-Rahim but with Cassell throwing the ball away on the fast break. Jason Terry nailed a three-pointer going the other way and, in less than five minutes, the Hawks had blown by Minnesota with a 14-3 spurt, leading 90-87 with 2:29 left.

The Wolves' three-headed monster was relatively toothless - 17-for-53, 50 points (14.5 below average) - and as they fired a few more misses, Abdur-Rahim threw down a fast-break dunk and Terry drained the backbreaker from the arc with 48.5 seconds left.

Considering Atlanta's struggles this season, this sure seemed like one the Wolves frittered away.

Garnett disagreed, vehemently. 'Nobody is toying with nobody, man. Every team in the league is good,' he said. 'Don't start putting that out that we're lollygagging. It's hard to play in the league, it's hard to be consistent. For the longest time we've been consistent... . They play really, really good at home. They put some runs together and they won the game.'

Said Saunders: 'They're no question, we made some mental mistakes and we played tired down the stretch.'

Said Cassell: 'We understand how we lost this game, why we lost this game. So it's not a big concern to us. We just got to increase our intensity and work on our execution down the stretch, and we'll be fine.

'We did so many things not to win the game.'

Steve Aschburner is at saschburner@startribune.com.

GAME RECAP

MVP

Shareef Abdur-Rahim kept the heat on Kevin Garnett, scoring 32 points and grabbing 14 rebounds with five assists in 44 minutes. Abdur-Rahim was perfect from the line (10-for-10) and scored at least 30 points for the fifth time this season.

The stat

- 50: Months since Atlanta had beat the Wolves, dating to December 1999 over eight consecutive Hawks defeats.

- 23: The Wolves' three-headed monster (Garnett, Sprewell, Cassell) got outscored 73-50 by Atlanta's Big Three (for a night) of Abdur-Rahim, Jason Terry and Stephen Jackson.

- 35: Minnesota's bench came within one point of its season scoring high (36 points at Boston Dec. 15) but squandered it, slipping to 22-6 when the reserves score 20 or more.

The streak goes on

Yanks, Cards show their muscle; Gant's 2 homers haunt Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

ST. LOUIS 3, ATLANTA 2 Starting in 1991, Atlanta played in three National League Championship Series with Ron Gant as a prominent member of the lineup. Atlanta played against Gant and Cincinnati in 1995, and it is playing against Gant and St. Louis this time.

Last week, Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine was talking about Gant's presence as an opponent and said: 'Ronnie is a winner. Everybody who played with him here knows that. We keep running into him. You've got to wonder when you're going to get burned.'

Answer: Saturday.

Gant hit two home runs and drove in all three against Glavine, giving St. Louis a 3-2 victory and a 2-1 lead in this championship series.

'You come into a series and Ronnie is a player you don't want to let beat you,' Glavine said. 'He beat me and he beat us. I made two bad mistakes today and they were both to Ronnie. If it was another hitter, it might have been different.'

Gant had 36 home runs and 117 RBI for Atlanta in 1993. He had agreed in January 1994 to a one-year, $5 million contract.

One week later, Gant fractured his leg dirt-biking. Atlanta released him in spring training rather than pay the contract for a player who would miss the season.

Until Saturday, Atlanta did not have much reason to regret the decision. It won its first World Series in 1995. On the way, Atlanta won four straight against Cincinnati in the NLCS. Gant had three singles and one RBI.

'I wanted to hurt the Braves in that series,' Gant said. 'The problem was I wanted to hurt 'em too much. I took out the tapes of my at-bats in that series before we started playing this time. I wasn't patient. They kept pitching me outside and I was pulling off the ball.'

Saturday, Gant demonstrated remarkable patience in the bottom of the first inning, with his team down 1-0. Royce Clayton singled. There was an out. Gant stood in.

On a 1-1 pitch from Glavine, umpire Bob Davidson put Gant in the hole by calling a strike on a pitch that was 8 inches off the outside corner.

'Eight inches? You said that, not me,' said Gant, smiling. 'I did know Glavine was going to go back out there.'

Gant took two pitches off the corner. For some reason, Davidson called both of those non-strikes balls, something that Glavine is not used to from a plate umpire. That made it a full count.

'We threw two horrible change-ups,' Atlanta manager Bobby Cox said. 'Ronnie hit 'em both.'

The first home run landed in the Cardinals' left field bullpen. How did Gant lay off those two outside pitches, either of which many NL umpires will give Glavine?

'I'm prepared to hit the pitch away in this series,' Gant said. 'I closed my stance a couple of weeks ago. That puts me closer to the plate. I have better plate coverage. I thought those pitches were outside Tom's normal zone.'

The second 'horrible change-up' to which Cox referred was so bad that it was actually a fat fastball, according to Glavine. 'I had him set up for an inside fastball on 1-2,' Glavine said. 'I decided to go away once more. Instead, the ball stayed down the middle.'

Then, the ball stayed high and fast, until it landed 420 feet away in center field.

That made it 3-1, a lead that became very shaky in the Atlanta eighth. Chipper Jones and Fred McGriff, the remaining thunder in Atlanta's lineup, singled. That was it for Donovan Osborne.

Mark Petkovsek arrived and Javier Lopez singled to third. 'Gary Gaetti made a super play to knock that ball down,' Cox said. 'Javy hit a bullet.'

Gaetti's knockdown loaded the bases with no outs. 'Right there, you're thinking, `Get out of this with one and you've done OK,' ' Petkovsek said.

Jermaine Dye hit a sacrifice fly. Terry Pendleton showed up as a pinch hitter and hit a soft liner to second.

Jeff Blauser - a shell of a once-solid hitter - struck out. Petkovsek got the Cardinals to the ninth with a 3-2 lead.

Lefty Rick Honeycutt, the oldest Cardinal at 42 years, 3 months, threw one pitch to retire Ryan Klesko. Righty Dennis Eckersley, the second-oldest member of these Graybirds, threw four pitches to retire Marquis Grissom and Mark Lemke.

BRAVES TUCKER OUT SAN DIEGO THREE-RUN HR OFF PADRE ACE BROWN LIFTS ATLANTA.(Sports) - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Michael Tucker and the Atlanta Braves did what they had to do to stay alive in the NL Championship Series, staging a stunning comeback against no less than Kevin Brown.

With the Padres just five outs away from reaching the World Series for the first time in 14 years, manager Bruce Bochy's strategy to bring on Braves-killer Brown blew up when Tucker hit a go-ahead, three-run homer that sent Atlanta to a 7-6 victory last night in Game 5.

Game 6 is tomorrow afternoon in Atlanta. The Padres still lead the series, 3-2.

Bochy's move looked good in the seventh, when Brown came on with a 4-2 lead, a runner on and no outs and retired the side. But now, after Brown faltered in just the third relief appearance of his career, the strategy will be heavily questioned.

Tucker's homer highlighted a five-run rally in the eighth that made it 7-4. Tucker drove in Atlanta's first five runs.

``It's a tough one, no question about it,'' Bochy said. ``We said before the game if we had a two-run lead, we'd use Brownie. He had three days' rest.

``We had our best out there, but it didn't work out. Now we just have to go back to Atlanta.''

Pinch-hitter Greg Myers hit a two-run homer in the ninth off Braves reliever Kerry Ligtenberg, and then Atlanta manager Bobby Cox made his own unusual move - bringing in four-time Cy Young winner Greg Maddux from the bullpen.

Maddux, who had not relieved since 1987, got three outs for the first save of his big league career.

Maddux struck out pinch-hitter Greg Vaughn, playing for the first time since straining his left quadriceps in Game 1, and retired Quilvio Veras on a grounder. After Steve Finley drew a rare walk from Maddux, the Atlanta ace got Tony Gwynn on a game-ending grounder.

Brown, who had been 6-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his past eight starts against Atlanta, was the loser. John Rocker won in relief.

The Braves still might have to beat Brown, who pitched a shutout in Game 2, one more time in this series. He had been scheduled to pitch Game 6 tomorrow against Tom Glavine, but Bochy said he probably will use Sterling Hitchcock instead. Brown would be ready for Game 7 against Maddux, if necessary.

Either way, Atlanta already has made history. No team that trailed a seven-game series 3-0 had ever come back to win two games.

Brown didn't look nearly as sharp as he did when he won 3-0 on a three-hitter Thursday night in Atlanta. He walked Ryan Klesko leading off the eighth and Javy Lopez reached on an infield single. With one out, Tucker lined a 3-2 pitch over the right-field fence to give Atlanta a 5-4 lead.

With the crowd of 58,988 sitting stunned, Tucker, who finished with five RBIs, pumped his fist as he rounded first and looked at the spot where the ball landed, as if amazed he really did it against Brown.

``It was a tough one,'' Tucker said. ``I got a couple of tough strikes, fouled a couple off. Then I remembered something my father told me: `You can't swing hard and hope to hit it hard.' I just got it nice and easy and got it out of the ballpark.''

The Braves added two more runs off reliever Donne Wall, keyed by Tony Graffanino's double.

Tucker was booed when he came to bat in the ninth.

The Padres were nine outs from clinching the pennant Sunday night when Atlanta rallied for six runs, capped by Andres Galarraga's grand slam in the seventh, to win 8-3.

Ken Caminiti and John Vander Wal hit clutch two-out, two-run homers off John Smoltz, whose 11 postseason wins are the most ever. Caminiti's homer came in the first inning for a 2-0 lead and Vander Wal's in the sixth for a 4-2 lead.

Smoltz came in 3-0 with two no-decisions in five postseason starts when Atlanta faced elimination this decade. He beat Chicago in the division series for his 11th postseason victory, the most ever.

Vander Wal, acquired late in the season mainly because he hits Braves pitchers so well, broke a 2-2 tie when he homered to left on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the sixth.

Vander Wal, hitting .438 lifetime against Smoltz, made his second start in place of Vaughn, San Diego's 50-homer man.

Tucker singled in the Braves' first two runs, in the fourth and sixth innings, both off starter Andy Ashby.

Ashby allowed four straight one-out singles in the fourth, including Tucker's to cut San Diego's lead to 2-1. With runners on first and third and Smoltz bunting, the Padres pitched out on a squeeze play and got Andruw Jones in a rundown, with Ashby tagging him out at the plate.

Watch out, NL: Lofton adds needed zip to `boring' Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

We grimaced at the Florida Marlins' and Chicago White Sox's make-players-rich-quick, get-good-fast schemes. We nodded at the Baltimore Orioles' savvy improvements. We expressed awe over the potential in Los Angeles and Seattle, and intrigue at John Hart's machinations in Cleveland. We wondered whether the St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees could repeat improbable seasons.

And we got bored with Atlanta.

Atlanta - the team that's always in contention, that's always winning 3-2, that's almost always losing the World Series. Atlanta - constant as the daily newspaper, exciting as a Bud Selig news conference.

Those perceptions usually proved true in the past. They have become outdated. This year's team in Atlanta has added the exciting dimension of speed to a lineup that previously played station-to-station baseball.

Kenny Lofton, once one of the most disruptive players in the American League, has been a hit in the NL, too. Now, Atlanta has complemented baseball's best rotation with an aggressive offense. The result: 19 victories in April, the most ever by a major league team.

That record is due partly to the ever-expanding schedule. Then again, nobody else broke it this April.

Six clubs previously had won 18 games in April. Two - the '89 Oakland A's and the '84 Detroit Tigers - went on to win the World Series. (The other teams that won 18 games were the '87 Brewers, '81 A's, '71 Giants and '73 Giants.)

'I think everyone is a little surprised at how good we've done,' third baseman Chipper Jones said. 'But deep down, we've just stuck to the formula - pitching, defense, a little more team speed.'

Since moving from Milwaukee in 1966, Atlanta has had better months only six times. The 1995 world champions posted a 20-victory July. All other Atlanta 20-plus-victory months (1966, '69, '91, '92 and '93) have come in September.

'In spring training, they made some trades,' first baseman Fred McGriff said of team management. 'It was important for us to get off to a good start. If we got off to a bad start, guys were going to start having some doubts.'

Atlanta, rather than standing pat with a championship-caliber club, aggressively pursued improvements that could bring it a second World Series title. General manager John Schuerholz dealt outfielders Marquis Grissom and David Justice for Lofton and lefthanded reliever Alan Embree. Although Justice entered this weekend hitting .402 with nine homers, Lofton's brilliance probably will continue to give Atlanta the advantage in the deal.

Schuerholz also dealt promising outfielder Jermaine Dye to Kansas City for outfielder Michael Tucker and infielder Keith Lockhart, addressing a prime need - quality depth.

Rarely do deals pay off so quickly. Atlanta lost its first two games, then went 19-4 the rest of the month, outscoring opponents 140-73 during that stretch. In fact, only twice during the run did Atlanta have to come back in the final three innings to win.

'I think it's great,' manager Bobby Cox said. 'Really, every game you lose in April, you got to win two to make it up. I've always said that ever since I started managing.'

(Author's note: This is the longest string of uninterrupted paragraphs lauding Atlanta to avoid mentioning baseball's best pitcher, Greg Maddux, or baseball's most consistent lefthander, Tom Glavine. OK, Maddux has an ERA of 1.13, Glavine is 4-0 with an ERA of 1.64, and Denny Neagle is 4-0 with a 4.15 ERA.)

Key comeback

The Rangers went 14-10 in April without Juan Gonzalez, last year's AL MVP. But he'll help.

Without Gonzalez, the Rangers ranked among the league's bottom three in runs, slugging percentage, batting average and on-base percentage.

Gonzalez missed 85 games because of injuries in 1995-96. The Rangers averaged 5.22 runs a game without him. In Gonzalez's 189 starts during that span, the club averaged 6.18 runs a game. This year's club has averaged 4.52 runs a game.

Gonzalez does make that much of a difference, which makes the Rangers feel they're in a good position, being within a game or two of the Seattle Mariners.

'They've got Junior [Griffey], and we don't have Juan,' first baseman Will Clark said. 'They're a half-game ahead of us. I'll take that.'

Death march

The White Sox have a $55 million payroll and the worst record in the American league. That's why rumors are swirling that manager Terry Bevington could be fired soon.

'I've done a lot of evaluating,' GM Ron Schueler said. 'It's time we go out and get some wins.'

While blaming the players more than Bevington, Schueler didn't downplay the possibility that Bevington's job is on the line. '[The blame] is always put on the manager,' he said. 'It should be put on me as much as Bevington. You never hear of any players getting fired.'

Schueler blamed the players for not always hustling. Asked if he put a time frame on his evaluation of Bevington, Schueler replied, 'I don't think you can put number on it. If you are running balls out and hustling, good things will happen.'

Said Bevington: 'I learned a long time ago in this game you might as well take the blame, because you're going to get it anyway.'

No respect

The San Francisco Giants finished April with a surprising 17-7 record, yet the team's flagship TV station, KTVU, chose to reduce Tuesday's game against St. Louis to a small box in the righthand corner of the screen when it ran long and conflicted with the movie 'Mask.'

Cher beat out Barry Bonds.

Giants officials were livid, yet despite more than 100 calls of complaint, station managers were unapologetic, saying the movie had three times the ratings of the ballgame.

What's even worse for the Giants - KTVU is a part owner of the team.

Watch your back

After his two homers Wednesday, Oakland slugger Mark McGwire had hit 65 homers during a 162-game span.

Not only that, he became the first player to hit a shot off the scoreboard at Cleveland's Jacobs Field - a blast many players present said was the longest they had ever seen.

'If that hadn't hit the scoreboard,' said catcher Sandy Alomar, 'it would have gone around the world and hit me in the back of the head.'

1/3

The quote

'Deion Sanders has been consistent ... and Marty (Brennaman) and Joe (Nuxhall) have done a consistent job, as they have done year after year in the radio booth.'

BONE OF CONTENTION FOR FRUSTRATED DOGS; SYRACUSE'S PLAYOFF HOPES CONTINUE TO FADE FOLLOWING A 1-1 TIE WITH ATLANTA.(Sports) - The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY)

Byline: Nolan Weidner Staff writer

The match was a draw, but the Syracuse Salty Dogs took Wednesday's 1-1 tie with the Atlanta Silverbacks like a loss.

'We had a win, and we lost it,' said midfielder Jack Jewsbury, who scored the lone goal for the Salty Dogs on a warm night at Liverpool High School stadium. The Dogs are now 8-9-3 with their playoff hopes fading fast.

Jewsbury's first-half goal, from 22 yards out off an assist from Ryan Mack, was one of a handful of great scoring chances the Dogs had in the first 45 minutes. Unfortunately, the score in the 31st minute was the only one that found the back of the Silverbacks' net.

Atlanta, now 3-13-5, came into town with the second-worst mark in A-League soccer. But the Silverbacks survived Syracuse's first-half domination and put together enough offense to generate the tying goal in the 66th minute.

Shaker Asad scored on a one-touch volley from about 12 yards out.

The teams played two 10-minute overtime periods without scoring after the 90 minutes of regulation.

'It should have been 3-0 at the half,' said a disappointed Salty Dogs coach Laurie Calloway. 'It's a game we should have won.'

The Syracuse defense had a different look, as the Salty Dogs were without regular starters Bennito Kemble and Judah Cooks. Kemble, the team captain, is out with a leg injury, while Cooks was released by Syracuse on Wednesday.

With Kemble and Cooks out, the Salty Dogs went with Rene Rivas and Pablo Gentile inside and Mike Kirmse and Lars Lyssand on the outside.

Team officials and Calloway were brief in their comments about Cooks, who played in 16 of the Dogs' 19 games before Wednesday. Calloway said the defender was released because of personal issues, and a concern over team chemistry. He said Cooks didn't fit into the team's future plans.

Syracuse came out hot, and midfielder Noah Delgado nearly scored in the game's sixth minute when his shot, off a rebound of an Adauto Neto shot, beat Atlanta goalkeeper Bryheem Hancock and struck the crossbar.

After Jewsbury put Syracuse ahead, Neto nearly made it 2-0 in the 40th minute with a nice juke move past an Atlanta defender and a little touch shot from 10 yards that struck the left goalpost. Several minutes later, Neto broke into the Atlanta end again and made a crisp crossing pass to Jewsbury, whose blast from about 20 yards out was stopped on a nice save by Hancock.

The Salty Dogs kept pressing the attack in the second 45 minutes, but Atlanta seemed to find its legs a little.

After Asad beat Dogs goalkeeper Paul Nagy, the Silverbacks created several more chances to score, mostly on counter-attacks, but Nagy came up with several big saves of his own to preserve the draw.

'My team did well in the second half,' said Atlanta coach Jacenir Silva, whose team endured a four-hour delay at the Atlanta airport Wednesday on its way to Syracuse. 'That's a good game. We needed this.'

Calloway was as downcast as Silva was upbeat.

'The chances we squandered,' he said. 'We didn't create a lot in the second half. None of my subs came in and made a real difference, except Ryan Hall.'

Calloway brought speedy forward Machel Millwood, midfielders Tony Medina and Shawn Tsakiris, and forward Chay Bardales into the match during the second half, but they failed to generate the same kind of chances the Salty Dogs had in the first.

'They bunkered in really well and just picked their spots,' Bardales said of Atlanta's play in the second half. 'It was a little frustrating.'

Instead of three points for a win, Syracuse and Atlanta each get one for the draw. That, Calloway said, is no good when your team is chasing four teams in front in the Northeast Division standings.

'It's two points lost, not a one-point gain,' he said.

The Salty Dogs are back at Liverpool on Friday night against divisional rival Pittsburgh. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Syracuse 1, Atlanta 1

Atlanta*****0-1-0-0 - 1

Syracuse 1-0-0-0 - 1

Bitter rivals - budding foes; Upstart Marlins trying to buy their way past mighty Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Atlanta pulled itself up by the bootstraps, building itself arm-by-arm and bat-by-bat during the torturous 1980s to become the team of the '90s.

Atlanta is baseball's version of old money, the tradition-rich family in the neighborhood mansion. The Florida Marlins are the lottery winners who move in next door, the people who put curb-feelers on their pink Cadillac and beer signs in their gabled windows.

Atlanta earned its success. The Marlins are trying to buy theirs.

In this battle of old money vs. nouveau riche, this battle of Ted Turner's long-lived superstation vs. Wayne Huizenga's fast-rising Blockbuster empire, baseball lifer Jim Leyland finds himself in a unique position. The former manager of the lowly and low-paid Pirates will manage a $50-million team and pursue a $60 million team.

Leyland, one of Florida's many notable offseason additions, refuses to proclaim his team the equal of defending National League champion Atlanta, even if Marlins owner Huizenga spent $95 million on free agents this winter.

'They're still the Braves,' Leyland said. 'They're the ones with the tradition. They're the ones who have won all these games in the '90s, who have all the Cy Youngs. I hope we'll be a good team, but they've already proved themselves.'

The Marlins created a rivalry this winter, hiring Leyland and signing outfielders Bobby Bonilla, Moises Alou, Jim Eisenreich, John Cangelosi and pitcher Alex Fernandez.

How close did they come to worrying haughty Atlanta? The team decided early in the offseason not to trade first baseman Fred McGriff to the Marlins, fearing that McGriff would hurt them in the National League East race.

This spring, the Marlins looked like the best team in baseball even sweeping three games from Atlanta. They might have grabbed Atlanta's ' attention, but they have yet to earn its respect.

'The hardest thing for them will be living up to those expectations,' Atlanta pitcher Tom Glavine said. 'They look like a very good club, but you still have to something on the field. We snuck up on people in '91 [to win the pennant]. Florida won't be able to do that.'

Said Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones: 'On paper, yeah, they stack up well. But nothing's won on paper. . . . I think everybody realizes that if you want to be the National League representative in the World Series, you have to go through Atlanta eventually.'

Marlins slugger Gary Sheffield, whom Leyland calls the best righthanded hitter in the league, understands Atlanta's arrogance. 'They don't respect us,' he said. 'They don't have to respect us; they're the champs, and they know it. They're a little bit cocky over there, but they have a right to be. We have to earn their respect this season.'

Atlanta's top three starters - Greg Maddux, Glavine and John Smoltz - have combined to win the past six Cy Young Awards. Fourth starter Denny Neagle was the Pirates' ace before being traded to Atlanta. Closer Mark Wohlers is one of the most dominant in the majors.

Florida counters with Fernandez, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter, but will round out the rotation with Pat Rapp and Tony Saunders. Rob Nen is an outstanding closer. But can Bonilla play third base? Can free agents quickly mesh with one another? Is Florida as good on grass as on paper?

'I think the Atlanta guys fed off each other,' Leiter said of Atlanta's rotation. 'There's something to be said for positive vibes and energy when KB [Brown] goes out and throws a gem, then I come back and throw a gem, then Alex is going to bed thinking, I want to [match that] tomorrow.

'I can see it all coming together. We've got a nice mix of players, from veteran guys, to guys just establishing themselves, to the rookies. We've got that balance. You can feel it. It's a feeling that you can win, and you can have fun doing it.'

Leyland left Pittsburgh, a town and a team he loved, to give himself a chance to win again. The last time he was in the playoffs, in 1991, Atlanta upset his Pirates of Bonilla and Barry Bonds. Now he's chasing Atlanta again.

'I don't have any burning desire to beat Atlanta more than anybody else,' Leyland said. 'We only play Atlanta so many games. We've got to win enough games to get where we want to be, it doesn't matter who's in the way.

HOW COLORADANS FARED IN ATLANTA.(Sports) - Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)

LANCE BADE

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 25. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Bronze medalist in men's trap, 10th-place tie in men's double trap.

WES BARNETT

Colorado Springs

Weightlifting

Age: 26. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Sixth overall in 238-pound class.

LINDA BRENNEMAN

Wheat Ridge native

Cycling

Age: 30. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 36th in women's road race.

CORINNA BROZ

Colorado Springs

Judo

Age: 22. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Lost first two 123-pound judo matches.

NEAL CALOIA

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 26. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 39th in men's 50-meter free pistol, 44th in men's air pistol.

ELAINE CHERIS

Denver

Fencing

Age: 50. Olympics: 1988, 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: 39th in women's individual epee, member of first-round loser in women's team epee.

ANDRZEJ CHYLINSKI

Colorado Springs

Track and field

Age: 25. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 26th in 50-kilometer men's race walk.

LAURA COENEN

Peyton

Team handball

Age: 33. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Scored six goals in five games in women's team handball play.

MARK COOGAN

Boulder

Track and field

Age: 30. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 41st in men's marathon.

SUSAN DeMATTEI

Gunnison

Cycling

Age: 33. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Bronze medalist in women's cross-country mountain biking.

ALISON DUNLAP

Denver

Cycling

Age: 27. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 37th in women's road race.

GIGI FERNANDEZ

Aspen

Tennis

Age: 32. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Gold medalist (with partner Mary Joe Fernandez) in women's doubles tennis.

JEAN FOSTER

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Twelfth (tie) in women's 50-meter standard rifle, three-position.

LINDA FRENCH

Colorado Springs

Badminton

Age: 32. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Eliminated in first round of women's doubles with partner Erika von Heiland.

MARIANO FRIEDICK

Colorado Springs

Cycling

Age: 21. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Member of team pursuit cycling squad that lost in quarterfinals.

JULI FURTADO

Durango

Cycling

Age: 29. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 10th in women's cross-country mountain biking.

MATT GHAFFARI

Colorado Springs

Wrestling

Age: 34. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Silver medalist in 286-pound Greco-Roman class.

JEANNE GOLAY

Glenwood Springs

Cycling

Age: 34. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: 16th in women's individual time trial, 17th in points race, 29th in road race.

THOMAS GOUGH

Colorado Springs

Weightlifting

Age: 24. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 14th in 210-pound class.

KEVIN HAN

Colorado Springs

Badminton

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Eliminated in first round of men's singles.

ERIN HARTWELL

Colorado Springs

Cycling

Age: 27. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Silver medalist in men's 1-kilometer time trial race.

ANNE KAKELA

Steamboat Springs

Rowing

Age: 26. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Member of women's eight with coxswain team that lost in first round, then again in repechage round.

JOSH LAKATOS

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Silver medalist in men's trap finals.

JOHN MACREADY

Colorado Springs

Gymnastics

Age: 21. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 29th in men's individual all-around (third among Americans), 33rd individually in men's team competition (U.S. team fifth).

ROGER MAR

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 28. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Ninth (tie) in men's 25-meter rapid fire pistol.

MUJAAHID MAYNARD

Colorado Springs

Wrestling

Age: 25. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Consolation-match winner in 106-pound class after first-round loss.

TIM McRAE

Colorado Springs

Weightlifting

Age: 26. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Third in Group B finals of 154-pound class.

BILL MEEK

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 43. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Eighth in men's 50-meter free rifle prone.

LORRAINE MOLLER

Boulder

Track and field (New Zealand)

Age: 41. Olympics: 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Dropped out of women's marathon after 24 miles.

BRIAN OLSON

Colorado Springs

Judo

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Eliminated in third round of men's 190-pound class.

UTA PIPPIG

Boulder

Track and field (Germany)

Age: 30. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Dropped out of women's marathon after 21 miles.

GREG RANDOLPH

Denver native

Cycling

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 74th in men's road race.

COLLEEN ROSENSTEEL

Colorado Springs

Judo

Age: 29. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Eliminated in first round of women's 159+-pound class.

ADAM SAATHOFF

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 21. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 20th in men's 50-meter prone rifle.

JOANN SEVIN

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 19. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 32nd (tie) in women's 10-meter air pistol.

REBECCA SNYDER

Colorado Springs

Shooting

Age: 20. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 30th (tie) in women's 10-meter air pistol.

CLIFF SUNADA

Colorado Springs

Judo

Age: 25. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Eliminated in second round of 132-pound class.

REBECCA TWIGG

Colorado Springs

Cycling

Age: 33. Olympics: 1984, 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Fifth in women's individual pursuit.

ERIC UPTAGRAFFT

Denver

Shooting

Age: 30. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: 30th (tie) in men's prone rifle.

AMY VAN DYKEN

Englewood

Swimming

Age: 23. Olympics: 1996.

In Atlanta: Gold medalist in women's 50-meter freestyle, 100 butterfly, 4x100 free relay, 4x100 medley relay; fourth in 100 free.

ANTHONY WASHINGTON

Aurora

Track and field

Age: 30. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: Fourth in discus throw.

RICH WEISS

Steamboat Springs

Canoeing / kayaking

Age: 32. Olympics: 1992, 1996.

In Atlanta: 10th in men's single kayak slalom.

CAPTION(S):

Color Photo (4)

Gigi Fernandez of Aspen won her second straight gold medal in women's doubles tennis. By Associated Press.

CAPTION: Colorado Springs' Matt Ghaffari, left, took silver in the Greco-Roman wrestling 286-pound division. By Associated Press.

CAPTION: Erin Hartwell of Colorado Springs won a silver medal in the men's 1-kilometer time trial. By Associated Press.

'96 in Atlanta: Terminal Sport - The Washington Post

At the closing ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympics they raisedthe South Korean flag and invited everyone to reunite in Seoul. Towhet your appetite for Seoul they brought out a troupe of SouthKorean acrobats and dancers dressed in native costumes. In Seoulthey raised the Spanish flag and honored Barcelona by introducing abattalion of guitarists and flamenco dancers.

And in Barcelona, to herald the dawning of the Atlanta Games,they can offer the world this slice of Atlanta culture-the firstsound foreign tourists are likely to hear as they arrive at Atlanta'sHartsfield International Airport, the world's largest Skinner Box: adisembodied voice, calmly, but in the firm tone of a parent,instructing you: 'Terminal A. You are now arriving at Terminal A.Please stay clear of the doors. Please proceed to the movingsidewalk. Please keep to the right so others may pass. . . . '

Atlanta. Much more than a city.

A hub.

Those of you who've flown into Atlanta know the T-shirt: 'Go ToHell-But Be Sure And Connect In Atlanta.'

In Paris they ask, 'How do I get to the Louvre?' In London theyask, 'Which way to Buckingham Palace?' In Atlanta they beg, 'Pleaseget me to Terminal B.'

Every Olympic host city gets one new medal sport. Atlanta couldhave, 'Find That Gate.'

It doesn't matter how much time you have to connect in theAtlanta airport, you can't do it. You can't get to your gate ontime. Atlanta's airport is God's way of saying, 'Take Amtrak.' If Ihad a dollar for everyone who had to sleep in a heap on the Atlantaairport floor because he couldn't make his connection, I'd bid forthe Games myself. Atlanta is probably the only airport in the worldthat sells pajamas.

The International Olympic Committee apparently felt the Athensairport was dangerous, and it is. Atlanta's airport has a differentsort of terrorism. You don't get shot there, you simply grow paleand listless as you wait for your connection. Atlanta doesn't havehomeless people; they're all still waiting for Eastern.

Believe me, this isn't sour grapes because I was a Belgradesupporter-yeah sure. I'll bet those British soccer hooligans helpedManchester's chances too. It's just that Atlanta never struck me asthe kind of exotic site the Olympics usually selects. As TheBaltimore Sun's Mike Littwin pointed out, Athens is known as theCradle of Western Civilization and Atlanta calls itself 'DogwoodCity.'

Athens has the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Most of Atlanta'sold buildings were burned down in the Civil War, although this weekon 'Designing Women' they were giving tours of the Sugarbaker home.Athens is Plato and Socrates, Atlanta is New Coke and Classic; ordera Pepsi during the Olympics, you'll be deported.

Ou allons nous pour diner ce soir?

Stuckey's, mais oui!

Now that Atlanta has the Olympics, does it mean Jerry Glanvillewill leave tickets for Rhett Butler?

'I've got two to synchronized swimming.'

'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.'

And does it mean that TBS will show the games? Because if that'strue then we've only got six years to get Larry King to lose thosesuspenders and buy a belt like a grown-up.

Everyone's talking about how Andrew Young did the deal, but TedTurner made two critical promises: One) He promised he'd never everhold the Goodwill Games again. Two) He promised that thesurgically-augmented Jane Fonda will light the Olympic flame. (Eatyour heart out, Marla Maples.)

Atlanta is known throughout the world thanks to CNN. In Gabon,for example, Body By Jake is worshipped as a God, and last year SouthGuam High School named Frank Sesno and Bobbi Battista as the worldleaders they most admired (Valerie Voss came in third, followed byGeorge Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev and Lassie-they also get Nickelodeon).Atlanta looks great on CNN. It may come as a surprise to some of theforeign tourists that the combination of temperature and humidityduring the Olympics will steam them like a Sabrett's hot dog.

All kidding aside, Atlanta is a fine choice. You don't thinkbeing in the prime TV time zone of the country that bankrolls thewhole Olympic shebang with its TV rights bid had any influence, doyou? It has wonderful mass transit, lots of good hotel rooms andrestaurants and the sports facilities will be top drawer. JimmyCarter's already hard at work building the chairs for the GeorgiaDome. (They ought to hold some of the outdoorsy, survivalist events,like canoeing, shooting and squealing like a pig, on north Georgia'sChattooga River, where they filmed 'Deliverance.')

Tourists should know though that Atlanta isn't exactly 'TitletownUSA.' Loserville is more like it. Its professional teams arelaughingstocks. None of Atlanta's professional teams, not theBraves, Falcons or Hawks, have ever played for their league'schampionship. Through a combined 50 seasons of major league baseballand NFL football, the Braves and Falcons have ONLY ONE playoffvictory-a Falcons wild card fluke in 1978. You're familiar with thebumper sticker: Go Falcons! Take the Braves With You. The Hawksroutinely choke in the NBA playoffs. There used to be a hockey teamthere, the Flames, that never did much. Soon after moving to Calgarythey won the Stanley Cup. Calgary, hmmm.

Jacko on song for gold at Atlanta.(Sport) - The People (London, England)

Colin Jackson flashed a warning signal across the Atlantic that he's ready to add an Olympic hurdles gold to his medal collection as he opened his season with a winning time of 13.26 seconds at the Welsh Games.

It was virtually a solo run for the Welsh hero, who doubled as meeting promoter for the day - and he finished inside the time set by the cream of America in last weekend's special Grand Prix event at Atlanta.

Mark Crear led the top Americans home in 13.29 seconds in ideal conditions, and on one of the fastest tracks in the world. But Jackson was more than their equal at blustery Cardiff Athletic Stadium.

'That's my platform for the season. Last year I was struggling to do those times midway through the summer,' said the local hero. 'It was good for me to go out and have a fair run like that.'

Linford Christie ran into a bit of trouble with training partner Owuso Dako in the Invitation 150 metres.

Christie was first out of the blocks and seemed to have the race won 50 metres out, but Dako hit back and both men crossed the line together.

BRUIN TO RUN FOR FATHER'S LAND : TERRY HEADS TO CARIBBEAN FOR LIFETIME DREAM IN ATLANTA.(SPORTS) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: P.K. Daniel Daily News Staff Writer

He is not considered a world-class athlete. He is barely knocking on the national-class door. He didn't qualify for the NCAA championships. And according to one of his coaches, he would have had a very difficult time qualifying at the U.S. Olympic Trials held in Atlanta last month.

Nonetheless, American Mike Terry will compete at the Summer Olympics in the 400, the 4 x 400 and possibly the 800 meters. Through dual-citizenship, he will represent his father's homeland - Antigua and Barbuda, the small island gems of the Caribbean adorned with 365 beaches, one for each day of the year.

The 6-3, 180-pounder will go up against formidable challengers - world-record holder Butch Reynolds and gold-medal favorite Michael Johnson. But the recent UCLA graduate, who helped the Bruins win their fifth consecutive Pacific-10 track and field championship in May with a come-from-behind upset win in the 800 meters, isn't too worried.

``Strange things have happened to me before,'' Terry said, ``I'm just hoping this is one of those situations.

``The USA national team is pretty tough. I'm not really intimidated by them, but I know they're great athletes and it will take a lot of effort to beat them.''

Terry, 23, finished first (46.31) in the 400-meter time trials held in Antigua and his mother insists he's even faster than that.

``Quite frankly, I don't think he's that far off,'' said Kathy Terry, an attorney with law offices in Santa Ana. ``He's already run with these guys in training at the track at UCLA. He's been with their coaches. He has been clocked at their speeds. He's at least 44, 45 seconds under ordinary circumstances.

``Put him into the Olympics with the motivation and adrenaline going and he's got a really good shot at doing 43, 44 in the 400. In his own mind and in our minds, we really believe he can do it.''

But UCLA track coach Bob Larsen is less optimistic, predicting Terry's medal chances are ``slim and none. But you don't go to the Olympic Games just to get a medal. You go because it's a wonderful experience.

``He understands to be in the Olympic Games, to get through a qualifying round, would be a great accomplishment for him. He's realistic about his ability.''

Terry grew up in Orange, where he received numerous academic and athletic awards. At UCLA, his academic career continued to excel. He was recently awarded a Pac-10 conference medal, given annually to each member institution's outstanding male and female student-athlete.

He knew, however, his biggest challenge would be qualifying for the Olympics. And Antigua provided that chance.

``I thought it was a great opportunity,'' Terry said. ``Getting to the Olympics was more of an issue for me.''

But Terry doesn't rule out the possibility of taking home some hardware.

``It's the realization of a lifelong dream. When I get into the stadium and the stands are packed, you never know what can happen. If I didn't think I had a (chance), I probably wouldn't be doing this.

``I'm going in as an underdog so I won't be nervous. I'm sure Michael Johnson has a lot of pressure to win, whereas I'm going in as an underdog and will be able to hopefully sneak up from behind and get a medal.''

PROFILE Age:23

Schools:El Modena High School, UCLA

Events:400, 800 and 4 x 400-meter relay

Fast fact:A two-time Academic All-American who graduated with a 3.73 GPA.

When to Watch 400: July 26, first round, 4 p.m.; July 27, second round, 3:55 p.m.; July 28, semifinals, 6 p.m.; July 29, finals 4:35 p.m.

4 x 400 relay: Aug. 2, first round 7:30 a.m., semifinals 5 p.m.; Aug 3, finals 6:40 p.m.

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos, 2 Boxes

Photo: (1) Although not considered a gold-medal threat, UCLA's Mike Terry, representing the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is looking for an upset when he competes against the world's best in the 400 meters at the Olypmic Games.

Daily News File Photo

(2) Mike Terry

(3-5) THROUGH THE YEARS

1980: At 6 years old, Michael begins his well-rounded sports career in baseball, getting the pose down for the Athletics of the South Sunrise Little League team.

1985: At 12 years old, Michael participates in his true love, basketball, for the Tustin Boys & Girls Club.

1991: Wins the 800 meters at the California State high school championships as his running career blossoms.

1992: He places fourth at Junior Nationals in the 800 meters with a season-best 1:50.99.

1993: Runs the second leg of UCLA's winning 1,600-meter relay (3:09.18) at the Pac-10 Championships.

1994: He places second in the 800 meters at the Cal-Nevada Championships and second at the Pac-10 championships.

1995: With GQ looks, runs in the Penn Relays while earning first-team Academic All-Pac-10 with a 3.76 GPA in business/economics

Box: (1) PROFILE (see text)

SIERACKI RANKS WITH BEST ONE WIN AT OLYMPIC TRIALS SENDS RICHLAND CENTER NATIVE TO ATLANTA.(Sports) - The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI)

Keith Sieracki has been rising in rank ever since he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1990.

But not through the usual chain of command. Sieracki, a military policeman by trade from Richland Center, has made most of his progress on the world wrestling scene.

Too inexperienced and physically underdeveloped to earn a college wrestling scholarship out of high school, Sieracki has developed into one of the top Greco-Roman wrestlers in the country.

He is within two wins of representing the United States at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta in July. By virtue of winning the U.S. Nationals, Sieracki is the top seed at 163 pounds at the Olympic Team Trials, which will be held today and Sunday in Concord, Calif.

As the top seed, Sieracki, 24, receives a bye into Sunday's championship round. The other finalist will emerge from a 12-man mini-tournament held today. The winner of the best two-of-three final earns a spot on the Olympic team.

``I never really thought I could do it until this year,'' Sieracki said last weekend from Ft. Benning, Ga., where he lives with wife Tina and their 2-year-old son, Dylan. ``It's always been a dream to be on the Olympic team, but realistically I never came close until January or February of this year.''

Sieracki entered high school as a 98-pounder and never advanced past the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sectionals until his senior year, when he won the Class A title at 145 pounds.

``When I went into high school, I was considered a good wrestler, not a great one,'' Sieracki said. ``It took me four years to get everything together and win it.''

While that effort was laudable, it did not reap any college scholarship offers. Without enough money to foot the college tuition bill on his own, Sieracki went looking for a place to continue his wrestling career.

He found that place in the Army. Sieracki enlisted in August 1990 with plans to enter the service's wrestling program. Good idea. Bad timing.

``My first six-to-eight weeks in basic training, I talked to somebody about it and they told me I was crazy,'' Sieracki said. ``The war was getting ready to go on in Saudi Arabia, and they told me forget about it, I was going to war.''

Sieracki did end up in the desert. But it was in Utah, not the Middle East. While stationed at the Dugway Proving Ground, southwest of the Great Salt Lake, Sieracki's interest in the sport was rekindled when he noticed a poster advertising Army wrestling camps.

With the permission of his commanding officer, Sieracki went to the camp and made the Army team. He was sent to Ft. Benning in October 1991 and has been there ever since.

Sieracki followed up a fifth-place showing at the U.S. Nationals in 1994 with a third-place finish in 1995.

``Besides high school, that Army program more or less made me,'' Sieracki said. ``I mean, I made myself, but it gave me all of the opportunity. It gave me a place to train, the best training partners in the country.''

Still, it took six years and a Kazakh coach-turned-refugee from the Soviet Olympic wrestling program, Anatoly Nazarenko, for Sieracki to get to the top.

Nazarenko, 48, a three-time world Greco-Roman champion and a Olympic silver medalist, became Sieracki's coach in October and attacked the situation in textbook Army manner: first, break down your charges, then build them back up in your own system.

He sent Sieracki to Colorado on a physical conditioning regimen that included hiking, mountain climbing and running.

Then he focused on technique. Always a head-and-arm thrower, Sieracki had been pulled away from his natural style by previous coaches who feared it was too adventurous. Nazarenko preferred simply to strengthen Sieracki's tendencies.

``He took what I had,'' Sieracki said. ``Instead of veering me away from it, he put me on the weights, sent me to Colorado, and then he taught me how to do head throws and arm throws right, to work to my benefit.''

The approach has resulted not so much in an improvement as in a transformation. Sieracki went 7-6 on a tour of Eastern Europe this winter and has not lost to an American opponent this year.

That statistic includes his stunning performance at the U.S. Nationals. In the semifinals, he caught top-ranked Gordy Morgan in a head throw and pinned him for his first win over the three-time Nationals champion in four attempts. In the finals, Sieracki turned second-ranked Matt Lindland with less than 20 seconds left in their match to seal a 5-2 win.

While Sieracki will likely have to go through either Morgan or Lindland in the championship Sunday, he will have the benefit of being fresh. That could be enough of an edge to earn one of the 10 spots on the Olympic Team.

LIN WARMS TO ATLANTA.(Sport) - Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)

Linford Christie roared to a European Cup glory double in Madrid yesterday - then hinted strongly that he will defend his Olympic crown in Atlanta.

The 36-year-old team captain led Britain to second place behind Germany when he completed the sprint double by winning the 200 metres in 20.25 seconds.

Then he switched his sights to take aim at the world's finest sprinters. Told that Trinidad's Ato Boldon had run the season's fastest time of 9.92secs on Saturday, Lin grinned: 'That's pretty good - I'm looking forward to racing all those guys.'

Christie lags behind America's Dennis Mitchell and Carl Lewis, plus Namibia's Frankie Fredericks in the 100 metres ratings.

But he promised: 'Once I feel the sun on my back, I will get really quick. I've never begun the summer so well. I like the big occasion because it suits me.'

Christie's win put Britain into second place ahead of Italy, then wins by Jonathan Edwards and our 4x400 squad ensured that we kept it.

Colin Jackson clattered the last two hurdles to suffer defeat by 6 ft 7 inch German Florian Schwarthoff. And Scot David Strang was fourth in the 800 metres.

Golf: Woosnam slips up in Atlanta.(Sport) - Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland)

IAN WOOSNAM slipped after a promising start at the last warm-up for next week's US Masters.

The Welshman was sitting one shot off the lead at two under par after 11 holes at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.

But he carded a two-over-par 74 to leave himself in need of recovery when the second round gets under way today.

Thursday's first round was postponed until yesterday because of torrential rain.

Meanwhile, Brazil's Priscillo Diniz held a six shot clubhouse lead in the opening event of the European Seniors Tour.

He had a second-round 67 for a 13-under-par 131 total at the Royal Westmoreland Barbados Open.

Diniz held his lead over late-starting Brit David Creamer.

Americans George Burns and Jeff Van Wegenen were his closest challengers of those who had finished their rounds at 139 after a 72 and a 69 respectively. However, the Brazilian isn't expecting to make headlines in his homeland. He said: 'If I win I certainly won't get the same headlines as the Brazilian football team but that doesn't worry me.

'You can't compete with football in my country. I am only thinking about winning for me and my family.'

Diniz picked up five birdies and did not make a mistake as he streaked away from his rivals.

VIKINGS NOTES; Culpepper could have played; Vikings leaning toward resting him against Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN)

Byline: Kevin Seifert; Staff Writer

It was a scenario the Vikings never had to face in their 35-7 shellacking of San Francisco on Sunday: What if quarterback Gus Frerotte had to leave the game?

Before the game, the Vikings had designated Shaun Hill their No. 3 quarterback; had Hill entered the game, NFL rules would have prevented either Frerotte or Daunte Culpepper from playing until the fourth quarter. Had Frerotte left once the game was well in hand, playing Hill would not have been an issue.

But had Frerotte left earlier, were the Vikings prepared to play Culpepper, who had fractured three bones in his back and partially fractured a fourth only a week prior?

'Daunte could have played if we needed him,' offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. 'I would have been a little concerned about it, but he told me he could play. If we were up 35-0, we wouldn't have played him. That scenario never came up. But Shaun was ready to go. Shaun took at the reps as the No. 2 in practice.'

The Vikings appear to be leaning toward resting Culpepper for Sunday's game at Atlanta. Culpepper, however, could resume practicing as early as today; coach Mike Tice said he would decide this morning.

Camp visits looming

The Vikings are planning visits to at least two prospective training camp sites: the St. John's campus in Collegeville, Minn., along with Sioux Falls, S.D., and perhaps other towns in that state as well.

Those trips likely will begin next week. Minnesota State, Mankato, remains the favorite to retain training camp, and the team's familiarity with the site will preclude the need for a meeting.

Blaine's National Sports Center, considered the strongest alternative to Mankato, has yet to express interest. Bids are due by Oct. 31.

4-0 revisited

Veteran cornerback Ken Irvin spent last season with New Orleans, a team that started 4-0. The Saints, however, lost five of their final seven games and missed the playoffs.

It is for that reason that Irvin, while happy to be undefeated again, is preaching patience.

'I feel like we're a good football team,' Irvin said. 'But I was on a team last year that went 4-0 and didn't go to the playoffs. The biggest difference here is that everybody is hungry and everybody is making the commitment to each other. We're becoming a family.

'But if anyone in the league says that they can't get better, or that they're where they need to be, then things will probably turn for them. We feel good where we're at, but each week gets more difficult.'

Etc.

- Tice said tight end Jim Kleinsasser (abdominal bruise) likely will practice today. Receiver D'Wayne Bates (sprained foot) likely will not. Receiver Randy Moss (back spasms) and linebacker Greg Biekert will sit out as well, Tice said.

- Culpepper received the NFL Extra Effort Award for September, honoring his work with the African American Adoption Agency in St. Paul. NFL Charities will donate $1,000 to the agency in Culpepper's name.

- After reviewing game film, the Vikings altered their defensive statistics to account properly for a play in the second quarter of their victory over San Francisco. Chris Hovan received credit for a half-sack, sharing it with Lance Johnstone, and Hovan also received credit for a forced fumble on the play.

- The Vikings' seven-game regular-season winning streak is the longest in the NFL.

CLIPPERS VS. ATLANTA.(Sports) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: - Daily News

Tipoff: 4:30 p.m., Philips Arena.

TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net 2; 1150-AM.

Clippers (20-42) update: This is their fourth game in a season-high, six-game road trip. They lost in Boston and Washington before beating Chicago 103-97 at United Center on Saturday, Dennis Johnson's first win as an NBA coach. Corey Maggette has led the team in scoring for five games in a row, averaging 19.4 points in that span.

SUZY HITS STRIDE IN RUN FOR ATLANTA.(Sports) - The Capital Times

For Suzy Favor Hamilton, renaissance woman of American track and field, the road to Atlanta began on the snowy, icy avenues of Stevens Point, an environment familiar to regular viewers of ``Picket Fences.''

``I was in seventh grade when I started seriously training,'' Hamilton said from her home in Eugene, Ore. ``My toughness comes from winters in Wisconsin. If it was 30 below, I'd go inside, but if it was one degree, I'd be running outside. Sometimes, I'd be running by the golf course near where we lived, and it was like `Rocky.' It was just a drive I had inside me.''

It still pushes Hamilton, taking this runner, artist, model and role model places she fantasized long ago during those solitary workouts in Stevens Point.

Tonight, she'll be showcased in the Los Angeles Invitational indoor meet (formerly the Sunkist) at the Sports Arena. Hamilton is gearing toward the June 14-23 Olympic Trials in Atlanta, where the world's premier athletes will gather a month later for the Summer Games.

``I wish the Trials were tomorrow,'' Hamilton said. ``I'm excited -- and I feel good physically.''

Fully recovered from a foot injury that cost her 10 weeks last winter, Hamilton, a '92 Olympian in the 1,500 meters, is thinking big. Her mind is set on racing 800 and 1,500 meters on the world stage.

``I'd like to double,'' she said. ``It's demanding, but the way the events are scheduled makes it possible. The 800's first, then there are four rest days before the 1,500. I definitely think I have a good shot at both.''

She ran the second-fastest 800 by an American woman last year, 1:58.74, and two weeks ago turned in a 2:02 in Reno. Her 4:05.14 was the second-fastest 1,500 by an American, 0.1 of a second slower than Ruth Wysocki.

Hamilton's appeal to advertisers -- let's just say she's easy on the eyes -- hasn't made her a favorite among rivals who feel she hasn't earned it on the track. She has endorsement deals with Reebok, Oakley sunglasses, Power Bar and Reflect, a sun-care product. It was for Reflect that she modeled in Hawaii for a swimsuit calendar due out later in the year.

``I realize that there's been some resentment and jealousy,'' Hamilton said. ``I know I've been lucky to have the opportunities I've had for not winning a medal. I never take it for granted. It's something I enjoy doing, and it's really helped me in a lot of areas.''

It was one of her commercials that enabled a fellow Olympian to pick her out of the Opening Ceremonies crowd in Barcelona in '92.

``Magic Johnson had recognized me from my Pert Plus commercial, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek,'' Hamilton said. ``I remember going, `I'm not going to wash this cheek.' I couldn't wait to tell my husband (former UW baseball pitcher Mark Hamilton), who was there with me. That was the best part of the Olympics for me.

``At the Opening Ceremonies, we all had to stay in a straight line, but when the Dream Team came out, everyone was going in different angles and running to meet them. I had my picture taken with all of them. That was just the best experience.''

The competition wasn't nearly so memorable. Hamilton ran out of medal contention.

``It was my first Olympics, and I didn't have a lot of international experience,'' she said. ``I was kind of terrified to be there. But the last two years, I've had an apartment in Germany, and it's been a great experience for me to compete over there. The races are so incredibly competitive in Europe.''

When push comes to shove on the track, Hamilton doesn't back down. She holds her ground as she covers it.

``I don't believe in being boxed in,'' she said. ``I can always get out of a crowd in a second, no matter what. Sometimes I say to an opponent, `Move over.' And they're usually extremely cooperative. But if they don't move, I use my elbows to let them know I'm coming through.

``In college, I was very tough. But then I mellowed a bit. It took me a couple of years of adjustment to regain my old style. Now, I feel I have my toughness back.''

She needed that toughness to make the '92 U.S. team, outdistancing one of her early idols, Mary Decker Slaney, at the finish for the third spot.

It is important to Hamilton that she shows younger girls they can be competitive without sacrificing their femininity.

``I believe all athletes are role models, whether they like it or not,'' she said. ``I like the responsibility. I take time to talk to kids after races. I know it was very important to me when I was a kid to have somebody say, `Good job.' I'm glad I was born at this time and have these opportunities, unlike my mother.''

In her youth, Suzy Favor would read about the women runners at the University of Wisconsin and dream about following in their footsteps. She didn't just follow her role models, she lapped them.

At Wisconsin, she won an unprecedented nine NCAA titles, finishing with a flourish by winning the 800/1,500 double in 1990 at Duke.

She was the Big Ten's Female Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s -- an honor that now bears her name, the Suzy Favor Award. Graphic arts degree in hand, she was winner of the Babe Zaharias Award as the nation's premier female collegian in '90 and the NCAA Woman of the Year in '91.

When she isn't training on the track or in the swimming pool, the 5-foot-3, 105-pound Hamilton often can be found dabbling at her canvas. She paints in both the realistic and abstract styles and dreams of showing her work in a gallery.

``I have my easel set up in my room,'' she said. ``Since preschool, they couldn't get me away from my easel. It's a big release for me.''

At 27, Hamilton is just entering her peak years as a runner. There are middle distance runners who have flourished into their 40s. She'll keep busy with modeling, endorsement work and possibly a career in broadcasting, but those competitive fires won't be dying any time soon.

MARINERS OFFICIALS LEARN ALL-STAR LESSONS IN ATLANTA.(Sports) - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Edgar Martinez, Aaron Sele, Alex Rodriguez and Lou Piniella weren't the only Mariners to take away some lasting impressions from last week's All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Team CEO Howard Lincoln, president Chuck Armstrong, executive vice president of business operations Bob Aylward, vice president of communications Randy Adamack and several other key front-office staff members returned from Atlanta with first-hand experience to begin preparations for the 2001 All-Star Game to be hosted in Seattle's Safeco Field.

What they learned was that the game and the surrounding festivities have gotten a whole lot bigger since Seattle held the 1979 All-Star Game in the Kingdome.

Planning for the event is not something the Mariners plan to take lightly.

'The one thing that we kept hearing from our counterparts in the Braves organization is to push the decision-making process forward much more than they did,' Aylward said.

'I think they found out that hosting the All-Star Game is a little different than the post-season play that they had been used to gearing up for.'

Typically, the All-Star game draws more media interest as well as fans from all different parts of the country.

The game itself is just one part of the event, which is compacted into three days of showcasing all the best elements of baseball, from its history to its future.

'The crush is even greater in a shorter period of time than even the World Series,' Aylward said. 'It's just a much different animal than the Braves thought it was going to be.'

Armstrong noted that with Safeco Field turning 1 year old this past week, the Mariners made a conscious decision not to celebrate too early. Rather, the team is pointing to next July's All-Star Game as a time to celebrate Seattle's place among the elite baseball cities with new stadiums.

'One of the reasons we wanted to have the All-Star Game in 2001 was that it's the 100th anniversary of the American League,' Armstrong said. 'It will give us a chance to show off Safeco Field and Seattle in all their glory.

'It will be a nice counterpoint to what happened at the World Trade Organization.'

As opposed to the WTO riots that drew international media attention, Armstrong said the All-Star Game and the festivities that go with it are 'four, five or six days of fun for everybody. But we still have a long way to go.'

Aylward spent 17 years with the Orioles and helped usher in the modern stadium movement with Oriole Park at Camden Yards as vice president of business affairs in Baltimore.

With a year under his belt in Seattle, he finds Safeco Field to be ahead of the curve.

'People have a hard time believing me when I tell them that the opening and operations here were actually smoother than at Camden,' Aylward said. 'When you open these places, they are almost like a living organism.

'You have to kind of learn how to make things balance out, and it just takes time.'

Although the first year at Safeco had its troubles with concessions lines, crowd movement, food safety violations and staffing, Aylward contends the Mariners aren't resting easily now that those issues seem to be problems of the past.

'We ask ourselves after each homestand: What did we learn? What can we do?' Aylward said. 'It's something we have to do on an ongoing basis.

'As we get into planning for next year, some of the things we want to do require an off-season to implement.'

Perhaps the biggest lesson of all was how to run the $517 million facility from the operations standpoint. In the past, the Kingdome was operated by King County, and all the Mariners had to do was field a ballclub, pay the rent and move in as one of several primary users of the facility. Now, the team is responsible for all operations, concessions and maintenance year-round.

The Mariners have had to hire their own electricians, plumbers, parking coordinators, security staff, roof supervisors, guest relations staff, and marketing department for non-baseball events, as well as 400 to 600 seasonal employees working at the stadium. There are now 38 people employed full-time in the front office working on stadium operations.

'Essentially we have gone from two people interfacing with the county on the operations of the Kingdome, to hundreds of people who are either part-time or full-time employees,' Aylward said. 'All that had to be built from scratch and it's a huge job.'

By the time the All-Star Game arrives next year, the Mariners hope that Safeco's first-year experiences will lead to an even greater national and local showcase for baseball.

'Once we've proven that the basics work, we want to build on those things and find out how to do more,' Aylward said.

'Last year with food concessions, we had some real issues with the lines and things like that, but most of those seem to have been addressed.

'Now, how do we take it to the next level? What type of capital improvements do we need to make prior to 2001 to make that better? It never ends.'

GIRL POWER: The Seattle Storm and the Women's Sports Foundation have teamed up to sponsor 'Take a Girl to a Game Night' on Wednesday, when the WNBA's Storm hosts the New York Liberty at 7 p.m. in KeyArena.

TARDY BIRTH, SO NO BERTH\Gymnast Atler talented but ineligible for Atlanta.(SPORTS) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

It's not her fault that gymnast Vanessa Atler was born when she was. Yet she's being penalized for it.

The Santa Clarita teen celebrated her 14th birthday on Feb. 17, which, it turns out, is about six weeks too late. Had she been born before Jan. 1, 1982, she would be in the running for a spot on the U.S. team at the 1996 Olympics. Instead, not only will she miss the Olympics, but she might not be able to compete in a gymnastics world championship until 1999.

'I'm kind of, like, disappointed,' she said. 'I guess I have to look to Sydney (in 2000). The big thing is Australiafor me. I want to get to the Olympics, but I don't know. It kind of stinks. Kind of stupid.'

Atler is ranked No. 1 in the nation among junior gymnasts by the United States Gymnastics Federation.But junior gymnasts - under the age of 15 - are not eligible to compete in the Olympics. Atler's winning all-around score of 38.60 at the recent American Classics meet in Tulsa, Okla., would have placed her fifth in the senior division. At the Olympic trials later this year, the top six will qualify for the Olympics.

That doesn't assure that she would have made the team, since junior gymnasts do not have to perform compulsory routines and senior gymnasts do. But those in the Atler camp say that if she needed to do compulsories to qualify for the Olympics, she would have trained and practiced accordingly.

According to Kathy Kelly, USGF women's program director, Atler's exclusion is the result of a growing belief in the gymnastics community that the sport is being dominated by increasingly younger gymnasts. As a result, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) has raised the minimum age to participate in the Olympics and World Championships to 15 and, effective Jan. 1, 1997, to 16. That will keep Atler out of the 1997 World Championships.

FIG wants to give the older gymnasts (read: those past puberty) more opportunities to compete and stay interested in the sport, Kelly said.

'It's unfortunate, because if she can make the team, she should be able to,' Atler's coach, Steve Rybacki, said.

Atler won't be eligible for a senior international competition until 1998, but she might have to wait one more year. Jackie Fie, the president of the FIG women's technical committee and the only member on the 11-member executive committee, said some European and Asian nations, citing high costs and too many competitions already, are blocking a 1998 World Championships from happening.

'We feel we should recognize a world champion every year,' Fie said, but FIG lacks the power to declare it so.

Atler would be eligible for the 1999 World Championships, which will be part of the process to determine the United States Olympic team for the 2000 Games in Sydney. But that means three more years competing in the junior ranks.

'It's kind of like a waste of time,' Atler said.

Her mother, Nanette, is concerned that by that time, she will be past her peak and not as competitive. That could affect her ability to stay injury-free and earn a college scholarship.

'She's won money that we can't accept,' Nanette Atler said, citing NCAA regulations that say an athlete can't accept money without losing eligibility.

Rybacki said Atler's potential for success in three years depends on how tall she grows. Gymnasts taller than 5-foot-1 are not as adept at the sport's demanding moves as those who are shorter, he said. Atler is 4-6-1/2.

In the meantime, Atler can continuein the junior ranks, participating in international meets that will allow her to showcase her skills without the pressure the seniors feel. The next one, starting today in Avignon, France, will pit her against some of the top seniors in the world.

'She's awesome. We're extremely excited about her talents,' Kelly said. 'She'll have many opportunities to compete. The No. 1 junior spot is a coveted position. We're going to give her as much exposure to develop her international recognition as possible.'

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CLAYTON STATE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACH DENNIS COX TO BE HONORED AT ATLANTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME CEREMONY - US Fed News Service, Including US State News

MORROW, Ga., June 3 -- Clayton State University issued the following news release:

Clayton State University women's basketball coach Dennis Cox, who led his team to the NCAA Division II National Championship in March 2011, will be recognized for that achievement at the upcoming Awards and Induction Ceremony for the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.

The ceremony will be held on Saturday, June 25, at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell, Ga.

The inductees for the class of 2011; Mark Price, Tim Singleton, and Jessie Tuggle; will be honored after which several high school, college, and

professionals will also receive the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame 'Stars of the Year Award.' The award for Cox is recognition of the Lakers finishing off a 35-1 season on Mar. 25, 2011, with a 69-50 win over Michigan Tech in the national championship game in St. Joseph's, Mo.

A reception, raffle, and silent auction will be held with the awards and induction to follow. All of new the inductees, as well as several past Hall of Famers will attend the event. The induction celebration is open to the public. Tickets are available from $20 to $100.

A.M. Briefing; NBA: Star defender Bowen retires at 38, earned 3 rings with Spurs ; Auto racing: Labonte, Edwards set to race in Atlanta.(Sports) - The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA)

Byline: Seattle Times news services

NBA

Former Spurs forward Bowen retires after 12 seasons: Former San Antonio Spurs forward Bruce Bowen, 38, retired Thursday after 12 seasons and a reputation as one of the league's most menacing defenders, hounding opponents with a tenacity that some players groused was more dirty than dogged.

He called it quits after being waived this summer by Milwaukee, where the Spurs dealt him in a veteran dump-off for swingman Richard Jefferson -- a decision Bowen said he understood.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili get most of the glory for bringing three NBA championships to San Antonio this decade. But Bowen gladly did the dirty work, relishing his role as the pesky lockdown defender who covered the other team's best player.

Asked about the likely reaction to his retirement from stars like the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash, Bowen chuckled, 'I'm sure a lot of people are happy.'

Bowen was named eight times to the NBA's all-defensive team. He finished runner-up three times in defensive player of the year voting.

Bowen acknowledged only one play in which he purposely kicked another player: Ray Allen in a March 2006 game against the Seattle SuperSonics, a scuffle that earned him a $10,000 fine.

'That play, I remember and I regret because of me intentionally doing that,' Bowen said.

Attorney says Nowitzki's ex-fiancee not pregnant: Prison medical records show Dirk Nowitzki's former fiancee is not pregnant, the Dallas Mavericks forward's attorney said.

Cristal Taylor, 38, is serving a four-year prison sentence in Missouri after her May 6 arrest at Nowitzki's Dallas home on a probation violation.

Webster cleared for training camp: Portland Trail Blazers forward Martell Webster from Seattle Prep has been cleared for all basketball-related activities and will be ready when training camp opens later this month.

The 2005 first-round pick missed all but one game last season after fracturing a bone in his left foot during an exhibition game.

Webster started 70 games the season before last and is expected to compete against Nicolas Batum for the starting small forward job.

Laimbeer, Theus join Timberwolves staff: Kurt Rambis, the new Minnesota Timberwolves coach, made it official: former bad-boy rival during their playing days, Bill Laimbeer, will join his staff as an assistant coach.

Also joining the staff is former Sacramento head coach Reggie Theus and former Celtics assistant GM Dave Wohl.

Auto racing

Labonte gets ride for Atlanta: Bobby Labonte is listed on the entry list for this weekend's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Yates Racing said earlier this week that sponsorship issues forced the team to pull Labonte in seven of the final 12 races this season, beginning with Sunday's event at Atlanta.

But Labonte is now listed on the official entry list as the driver for TRG Motorsports' No. 71. It will allow Labonte to continue his streak of 568 consecutive starts, second among active drivers only to Jeff Gordon's 569 starts.

Edwards will race despite broken foot: Carl Edwards will race this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway despite breaking his right foot playing frisbee.

Edwards is on crutches but was cleared to race by doctors from the University of Missouri. He is from Columbia, Mo., and was injured in a hometown game Wednesday night.

Fisichella joins Ferrari, replaces Badoer: Italian driver Giancarlo Fisichella left Force India to join Ferrari for the rest of the Formula One season, replacing Luca Badoer.

Soccer

FIFA gives Chelsea one-year transfer ban: Chelsea was banned from signing any new players for a year because it encouraged a teenager to break his contract with a French team and sign with the English power.

The sport's governing body barred Chelsea from taking part in the next two transfer windows -- January 2010 and the next offseason. The next time the Premier League team would be able to sign a new player -- nationally or internationally -- would be January 2011.

Chelsea called the penalty 'without precedent' and 'totally disproportionate' and said it would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Liverpool stadium plans on hold: Liverpool's new stadium will not be built until the global recession ends and credit becomes available to finance the $800 million project.

Rapids' Mastroeni suspended two games: Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni has been suspended two games and fined $1,250 for endangering the safety of an opponent.

Track and field

Appeals tribunal clears sprinter: Jamaican sprinter Sheri-Ann Brooks has been cleared of doping by an appeals tribunal because her backup sample was tested without her knowledge.

Former Olympian Budd to run in college meet: Former track sensation Zola Budd will take part in South Carolina's cross-country meet in Columbia. Budd is a former world champion and record holder at 5,000 meters. She lives in Myrtle Beach and is an assistant coach for Coastal Carolina.

Cycling

Greipel wins fifth stage of Spanish Vuelta: Germany's Andrei Greipel won a second straight stage at the Spanish Vuelta in Vinaros to take the overall lead. Wenatchee's Tyler Farrar finished fourth in the stage and is fourth in the standings.

Seattle Times news services

CLIPPERS VS. ATLANTA.(SPORTS) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Tipoff: 4:30 p.m., Omni.

TV/Radio: No TV; KGIL-AM (540, 1260)

Clippers (31-37) update: The Clippers begin a seven-game road trip that could decided their playoff fate. They were whipped by the Hawks at the Sports Arena, and Atlanta is 31-4 at the Omni. Brent Barry's status is questionable after missing Tuesday's Vancouver game with back spasms. Pooh Richardson will take his playing time and the point-guard position is important because Mookie Blaylock is one of the best in the league. Rodney Rogers is averaging nearly 19 points per game in the past 11 and Lorenzen Wright had a career night in 47 minutes against the Grizzlies.

AMERICAN LEAGUE UPDATE: ERSTAD'S HIT ON ESTRADA REVERBERATES IN ATLANTA.(Sports) - Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)

Byline: Joe Haakenson Staff Writer

NEW YORK - The Angels blew through Atlanta in the first-ever series between the two teams, winning two of three and leaving the Braves questioning the Angels' style of play. Namely, one Angel - Darin Erstad.

The Angels weren't thrilled when the theme to M*A*S*H started playing over the Turner Field sound system when outfielder Jeff DaVanon broke his nose and was led off the field. But then, the Braves might have been a little sensitive about things considering what happened in the first game of the series.

That's when Public Enemy No. 1 in Atlanta - Erstad - knocked Braves catcher Johnny Estrada halfway to Macon in a home-plate collision that essentially won the game for the Angels. The Angels, of course, thought it was a clean play. Most unbiased observers agreed.

The Braves, not so surprisingly, questioned whether it was a clean play, whether Erstad could have slid instead of taking out Estrada.

When Estrada finally returned to the ballpark, he got his say, speaking with a group of reporters. He seemed a little unclear about what he thought about the play, which is understandable because it was only a couple days following the blow that put him in the hospital with a concussion.

Was it a clean play?

``I don't know,'' Estrada said. ``I watched about 40 replays on TV. I don't have a problem with contact; this is my job and I expect it and prepare for it. But it just looked like he took a shot at my face when the plate was open, and I don't agree with that.

``I don't know Darin Erstad. I know he called my house and apologized and said he felt bad about it, and I don't doubt him. But the tapes don't lie ...

``I talked to some of the other players who said he felt genuinely bad. I think he's sincere about it. It's just an unfortunate situation. I don't think he meant to come at my face. I hope he didn't - that's not a good baseball play.''

Angels manager Mike Scioscia was known as one of the best plate blockers in baseball when he played, and he said he never took issue with getting run over at the plate. He said he was never hit harder than when he was hit by the San Francisco's Chili Davis, and he also was knocked out cold by the Cardinals' Jack Clark.

Scioscia responded to claims by the Braves that Erstad should have slid by saying Erstad would have been out if he slid. Here's what Estrada said when asked what he thought Erstad should have done:

``From my understanding, if you give a person the part of the plate he should take it unless it's a bang-bang play and he doesn't have time to think about it. That was a bang-bang play. It just didn't look like he was trying to knock the ball loose; it looked like he tried to take my face off ...

``When I went to reach for the ball, the plate was exposed. And I didn't even make it up before he clocked me. He had to go out of his way to hit me. In his defense, you can't think that quick. He made up his mind when he said he was going for the ball.''

Erstad was in the lineup the next day despite a four-inch gash on his left shoulder from Estrada's mask. Erstad still has an ugly purple bruise that covers his entire upper arm.

Although Erstad downplays the references to his football career - he was a punter and place-kicker at Nebraska - he was known as a fierce hitter in high school. And Nebraska coach Tom Osborne asked Erstad to play defensive back, but Erstad declined because it would have meant more time in the weight room and less time focusing on his best sport - baseball.

Estrada was asked about the hit.

``I felt like I was in a car wreck. ... I don't even remember catching the ball,'' he said. ``I remember being on the ground squirming around and then I remember (trainer Jeff Porter) in my ear, talking to me. I seriously thought I broke my neck.

``When I was laying on the ground, I couldn't move my neck. They wanted to bring the stretcher out, but I said no. ... I'm very lucky. I could easily have broken a bone in my neck. The feeling that set in when they strapped me on the board and put the neck brace on me - my wife was there and saw that and started crying. That wasn't a good feeling.''

--Torre erupts: The New York Post's headline declared ``Joe Blow,'' referring to Yankees manager Joe Torre's tirade after his team looked bad in an 8-1 loss to St. Louis on Friday. Torre took the blame for the team giving what some said was less than full effort.

``It's not the pitching coach's fault, it's not the hitting coach's fault,'' Torre said. ``It's my fault. My job is to motivate and get the guys ready to play. ... It was an embarrassing, embarrassing game.''

After hearing Torre's comments, third-base coach Luis Sojo said: ``I've been here 10 years and I've never seen him talking like that.''

The Atlanta Journal Constitution contributed to this report.

Joe Haakenson, (626) 962-8811

The work that let two area men become Atlanta sports moguls - The Washington Post

Washington Post Staff Writer

So you think you know Washington's big-time sports moguls?

Snyder. Leonsis. Lerner.

You probably never heard of Bruce Levenson and Ed Peskowitz, twoquiet area businessmen who own the largest share of an Atlantasports empire that includes the NBA's Hawks and NHL's Thrashers andthe operating rights to their home, Philips Arena.

I have been bugging Levenson for an interview for years,wondering what kind of business threw off enough cash for them tobuy the Atlanta professional teams in 2004. The teams together areworth almost half a billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine.

Now I know where they got the money.

Levenson, 61, and Peskowitz, 65, created United CommunicationsGroup 33 years ago. Gaithersburg-based UCG, which has offices fromBoston to New Jersey to Singapore, is an assembly of highlyspecialized newletters and information services that serve health-care, energy, mortgage banking, telecommunications, tax and even thefuneral and cemetery industries.

You want to know the price of premium gasoline arriving on atanker in New York Harbor? UCG's OPIS division has it. The effect ofHurricane Katrina on New Orleans funeral homes? UCG's AmericanFuneral Director reported it. The latest regulations on Medicarereimbursement are found in DecisionHealth. The tax pros and cons ofhomeownership is in their mortgage finance division. They also holdindustry conferences in these sectors.

This is very lucrative stuff.

UCG wouldn't discuss revenue or profits, but it makes a lot ofmoney on these subscription businesses. They earn enough to laughabout a $20 million misfire a few years back when they tried tobuild 'the mother of all petroleum exchanges.'

The company now has about 620 employees, down from more than1,000 a couple of years ago before it sold some businesses. Onerespected financial information company, Gale, estimated UCG salesat $463 million in 2008.

'We have had a bunch of home runs,' Levenson said. 'We never lostmoney. It has really been profitable.'

One reason is the culture. There are no business cards. Nosecretaries. Everyone answers their own phone.

Most of the office furniture is used. I didn't see any glass-enclosed corner offices, founders' portraits or plush leather chairsat UCG's corporate headquarters, which is on the first floor of anameless office tower in Gaithersburg. I did see some toy models ofBP, ExxonMobil and other oil industry tanker trucks.

'In the beginning, all we cared about was the content and themarketing,' Levenson said. 'The trappings we didn't care about. Wereally focused on those two areas, and that has served us well.'

The UCG founders know a good business when they see one. Theylove the fact that customers would pay their annual subscriptionsupfront, creating tax advantages and 'a float,' which allows them toinvest the money until the expenses roll in.

UCG began in 1977 when, unhappy at the oil industry newsletterwhere they worked, the pair decided to start a rival publicationcalled Oil Express. Oil Express began above a C Street liquor/convenience store owned by Levenson's father. They had no money,worked 70 hours a week and lived on half-smokes and ice cream thatthe store sold them on credit.

Their first big success came fast when Peskowitz, who had deepcontacts in the oil industry, got hold of Texaco's five-year plan.Soon they had 4,000 subscribers paying $49 a year for their weeklynewsletter (the price has since grown to $499).

'It was the biggest scoop,' said Peskowitz. Texaco employees werecalling them asking for the plan because it reported that the oilgiant was going to eliminate 20,000 jobs.

The story gave Oil Express instant credibility. They used thatstanding to sponsor an oil industry conference at the Hyatt atEmbarcadero Center in San Francisco, which has spawned a UCGconference business that is lucrative to this day.

The next moneymaker began on a Friday afternoon in early 1978,when Peskowitz and Levenson came up with the idea for a decal thatgas stations could put on pumps. The decal was designed todiscourage motorists from using polluting leaded gasoline instead ofthe newer and more expensive unleaded.

They charged $1 for a decal that cost them less than a nickel.They sold 1 million in a month, ranging from small orders from mom-and-pop service stations to 200,000 for major oil companies.

The windfall gave them enough breathing room to think about theirnext business move. They acquired two newsletters that covered thepostal and financial regulatory sector that were being sold by aWashington-based company called Computer Data Systems.

It was the Oil Express model all over again.

'We understood the [newsletter] business,' Levenson said. 'Wewere identifying opportunities to deliver information in a varietyof formats into a segment we had captured through the newsletter. Westarted going into other industries and replicating the model.'

Several more hits followed.

When one employee said he could help them provide oil prices totheir customers through computers that communicated throughtelephone hookups, they became pioneers in online content. As theoil price data slowly dribbled across the phone lines, UCG raked inthe dough: They charged by the minute.

They repeated that online model with Commerce Business Daily, theshopping list that the federal government sends out to get bids oneverything from pencils to jet engines. The CBD online business wasa cash cow for Levenson-Peskowitz for almost a decade.

As profits rolled in and the staff expanded, UCG moved toBethesda, then to Rockville and a couple of years ago to an officepark in Gaithersburg, where the company headquarters occupies 60,000square feet.

Levenson and Peskowitz have loosened their hands-on managementstyle just a tad so they can spend time on their Atlanta sportsteams. They have owned 40 percent of the teams and arena operatingrights since they purchased them in 2004 from Time Warner. (Theyhave been in a nasty court fight with one of their Atlanta sportsteam partners for several years.)

The company is very closely held. There is no private equitymoney. There are no outside investors. They have decided againstgoing public.

The founders plan to stay deeply involved in the business, butthey have prepared their next generation of owners for decades.Numbers and acquisitions guy Todd Foreman, sales and marketing wizNancy Becker and journalist Dan Brown are all part owners who willsomeday take over.

Foreman said UCG sold a bunch of companies in 2006 because 'itwas getting to the point . . . where we want to maximize the valueof our assets. We sold some businesses, bought some businesses and,in the future, we are going to do both.'

Levenson prides himself on a relaxed, democratic atmosphere. Theinformal division of labor makes Levenson the strategic thinker andcompany voice, while the cerebral, soft-spoken Peskowitz tends tothe all-important content.

'There is no bigger voice in the [ownership] room than anybodyelse,' said Levenson, speaking in a conference room between bites onhis sandwich. Behind him is a list that represents his company'svalues. The list includes 'Partnership Agreement as a livingdocument.' 'Lunch together.' 'Not all lawyers.' 'Collaborate.''Trust.'

As he explains the list, Levenson says, 'We don't have votes. Wedon't have a chairman. We disagree, we debate and then we decide. Itreally does work that way.'

And apparently, it really does work.