Newspaper Page Text
2B
♦ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2005
Outside
the
‘Home’
Safin wfcis Australan Open
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)
- Marat Safin defeated Lleyton
Hewitt 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 Sunday
night to win the Australian Open
and deflate a crowd hungering
for an Australian winner. This was
the Russian's second Grand Slam
tournament title, his other coming
at the 2000 U.S. Open against
Pete Sampras in the final.
Safin, who defeated top-ranked
Roger Federer in the semifinals,
was called the worthiest of cham
pions by Hewitt.
Hewitt was hoping to be the
first Australian man to win the
national championship since Mark
Edmondson in 1976. And he
seemed in command and on his
way in the first set, making only
one unforced error. He led 3-0 in
the third set and Safin was on the
edge, smashing his racket into the
court three times in eight points.
In the women's final on Saturday,
Serena Williams rallied for a 2-
6, 6-3, 6-0 victory over Lindsay
Davenport in the Australian Open
final Saturday for her first Grand
Slam title in 18 months. She also
extended her winning streak at
this event to 14 matches.
Clemens picks up award
NEW YORK (AP) - Roger
Clemens picked up his latest Cy
Young Award at the annual New
York baseball dinner Sunday
night.
Earlier this month, the 42-year
old pitcher agreed to an $lB mil
lion contract with his hometown
Houston Astros, choosing to return
for at least one more season. He
said one factor was a long chat
he had with friend and teammate
Andy Pettitte, who told Clemens
that his rehabilitation from elbow
surgery was progressing nicely.
The Rocket ended a brief retire
ment last offseason to join Pettitte
in Houston and went 18-4 with
a 2.98 ERA and 218 strikeouts,
earning his record seventh Cy
Young Award - first in the National
League.
Rhythm fire Mc&hney
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -
Ashley McElhiney, the first female
coach of a men's pro basketball
team, was fired Saturday night
after an on-court dispute with the
co-owner of the Nashville Rhythm
of the ABA.
Co-owner and CEO Sally
Anthony was unhappy that
McElhiney was playing Matt Freije
after Anthony instructed that he be
benched.
The argument over the for
mer Vanderbilt star's playing time
began during the third quarter
and apparently escalated when
Anthony attempted to remove
McElhiney as coach during the
team's 110-109 win over the
Kansas City Knights. Anthony was
eventually restrained by security
guards and taken off the floor.
Leonard nabs Classic win
LA QUINTA, Calif. (AP) - Justin
Leonard shot a 5-under 67
Sunday to overtake the faltering
Joe Ogilvie and win the Bob Hope
Chrysler Classic.
Leonard finished the 90-hole
tournament at 28-under 332, three
shots in front of Ogilvie and South
Africa's Tim Clark. Ogilvie, winless
in six years on the tour, closed
with a 73. Clark shot a 69.
Coming off his worst year since
joining the tour full-time in 1995,
Leonard rolled in six birdie putts
and had just one bogey in the
final round at PGA West's Palmer
Course.
The 1997 British Open cham
pion began the day three shots
behind the front-running Ogilvie,
who had been tied for the lead or
alone at the top since the open
ing round of the five-day event.
Leonard earned $846,000 for his
ninth PGA Tour title.
Irwin makes history
KAHUKU, Hawaii (AP) - Hale
Irwin became the first player to win
a men’s professional tour event
five straight times, easily holding
off Dana Quigley by five strokes in
the Champions Tour’s Turtle Bay
Championship.
The 59-year-old Irwin closed
with a 5-under 67 for a record 16-
under 200 total.
With his fourth straight win at
Turtle Bay and sixth overall title in
the event, Irwin pushed his tour
record victory total to 41.
He had shared the mark of four
straight victories in an event with
Tiger Woods (Bay Hill Invitational,
2000-03), Gene Sarazen (Miami
Open, 1926, 1928-30), Walter
Hagen (PGA Championship, 1924-
27) and Tom Morris Jr. (British
Open, 1868-70, 1872).
Irwin earned $225,000.
U.S. guts second medal
SANTA CATERINA VALFURVA,
Italy (AP) - Julia Mancuso gave
the U.S. ski team its second medal
in two days at the world champion
ships.
She captured the bronze medal
Sunday in a super giant slalom
won by Sweden’s Anja Paerson.
The third-place finish came a day
after Bode Miller took the gold
in a men’s super-G to open the
competition.
Braves willing to take the
gamble on Jordan, Mondesi
By CHARLES ODUM
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA - The always
optimistic Bobby Cox has
a predictably upbeat angle
on opening
the 2005
season with
two new
starting
outfield
ers, Raul
Mondesi
and Brian
Jordan,
who com
bined for
JORDAN
only eight homers and 38
RBIs last year.
“I like the additions,”
Cox said
this week,
adding
that cen
ter fielder
Andruw
Jones, the
lone hold
over in the
Atlanta
Braves’
outfield,
was in des-
.
MONDESI
perate need of some com
pany.
“We were left with
Andruw, and it’s a little
tough for him to play cen
ter, left field and right field,
too,” the Braves manager
added.
It was a similar tack as the
one offered by general man
ager John Schuerholz, who
after adding Mondesi and
Jordan concluded “That’s a
pretty solid outfield, consid
ering a month ago we didn’t
have an outfield.”
Jordan and Mondesi were
far from the top of the most
wanted list of free-agent
outfielders this winter, but
Schuerholz has a history of
signing players who make
successful career revivals in
Atlanta.
Recent comeback suc
cess stories include pitchers
Jaret Wright, John Burkett
and Chris Hammond and
first baseman Julio Franco.
Having to depend on
Mondesi and Jordan may
be the biggest gamble for
Schuerholz, because there
are no experienced outfield
ers standing by as a backup
plan if the veterans can’t
hold the jobs.
Jordan, who will be 38 on
opening day, has not played
in more than 66 games in a
season since 2002. He says
he did not fully recover from
2003 knee surgery until late
last season.
Mondesi, who will be 34
when the season opens, had
his contract voided by two
teams last season.
First distracted by family
problems and then sidelined
by an injury, he appeared in
SECOND
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'I like the additions. We were left with
Andruw, and it's a little tough for him
to play center, left field and right field,
too.'
- Braves manager Bobby Cox
only 34 games.
After losing J.D. Drew
to free agency and trad
ing Eli Marrero and Charles
Thomas, the Braves have
taken a low-cost, high-risk
approach to filling out a
starting lineup.
Mondesi ($1 million) and
Jordan ($600,000) will be
paid like utility backups to
handle starting jobs, though
each can boost his base sal
ary through incentives.
The low-cost approach
has left holes in the middle
of the batting order.
There is no obvious choice
to bat fourth if third base
man Chipper Jones hits
third, his favorite spot.
The team hopes that
Mondesi, who has never
driven in 100 runs, fits
somewhere in the middle
of the lineup with Andruw
Jones and Johnny Estrada,
behind Rafael Furcal,
Marcus Giles and Chipper
Jones.
“I don’t know, I always
work that out during the
spring,” said Cox, who
cheerfully added “With that
lineup, it’s going to be hard
to determine who’s going to
hit eighth. It’s going to be a
pretty good lineup.”
Drew spent most of the
2004 season hitting third.
Chipper Jones hit in the
cleanup spot in 112 games,
but Cox says “Chipper loves
the third spot.”
In a possible preview
of his plans for 2005, Cox
gave Estrada a start in the
cleanup spot in Game 5 of
the Braves’ playoff loss to
Houston last season.
Estrada led the team in
2004 by hitting .338 with
runners in scoring position.
Adam Laßoche and
Franco return in a first
base platoon. Laßoche hit
.302 with 10 homers and 30
RBI after the All-Star break
as a rookie last year.
Cox says Jordan will
need rest, so there will be
playing time for at least
one young outfielder. Cox
named Braves minor leagu
ers Ryan Langerhans, Billy
McCarthy, Jeff Francoeur
and former New York Mets
prospect Esix Snead as out
fielders to watch in spring
training.
“What I envision is giving
Brian some time off,” Cox
said. “Brian hits lefties and
especially proud of Brandon
Montgomery (freshman). He
defeated two good wrestlers
to make it to the finals.
“This kid is going to be
Cleats
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righties. It never has been
a problem for him. It’s just
been a matter of keeping
him healthy and giving him
some time off. Brian has
some baseball left, I believe,
some real good baseball.”
Jordan enjoyed consistent
production with the Braves
from 1999 to 2001, setting a
career high with 115 RBI in
1999 and hitting .295 with
25 homers and 97 RBI in
2001.
Cox said he believes
Mondesi “is on a mission”
after a forgettable 2004 sea
son.
The Pittsburgh Pirates
terminated Mondesi’s con
tract on May 19, less than
two weeks after he left
the team to return to his
native Dominican Republic.
Mondesi said he feared for
his family’s safety due to
a lawsuit by former major
leaguer Mario Guerrero,
who said Mondesi promised
him 1 percent of his major
league earnings for helping
develop his skills.
Mondesi later signed
with the Angels, who ter
minated his contract when
the team said he failed to
show up for a rehabilita
tion appointment following
a leg injury.
“Everything is clear and
I want to play like my first
year in 1994,” said Mondesi,
the 1994 NL Rookie of the
Year with Los Angeles. “I
feel strong and everything
is fine. I think I’m going
to have a good year this
year.”
Mondesi had three
straight seasons with 30 or
more homers from 1997 to
1999, and he followed that
string with four years of 24
or more homers before his
2004 struggles.
He had 24 homers and
drove in 71 runs for the
New York Yankees and
Arizona in 2003.
Braves pitchers and
catchers report to spring
training Feb. 17. The first
full-squad workout is Feb.
23.
“We thought we may
have to wait all the way
to spring training to see if
someone might be available
for those outfield spots,”
Cox said. “We like the idea
of getting these guys early.
We’ve basically got the
pieces of the puzzle now.”
something to watch in the
years to come. I think of him
as a flower. Right now he is
a bud, and he will blossom
over the next three years.”
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Comer room
ASKETBALL
National Basketball Association
W L Pet GB
Boston 21 23 .477 -
Philadelphia 20 23 .465 1/2
New York- 18 25 .419 2 1/2
New Jersey 18 26 409 3
Toronto 18 27 .400 31/2
Southeast Division
W L Pet GB
Miami 33 13 .717
Washington 26 17 .605 5 1/2
Orlando 24 19 .558 71/2
Charlotte 9 32 .220 21 1/2
Atlanta 8 34 .190 23
Central Division
W L Pet GB
Cleveland 26 17 .605
Detroit 26 18 .591 1/2
Chicago 22 20 .524 3 1/2
Indiana 20 22 .476 5 1/2
Milwaukee 15 27 .357 10 1/2
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Southwest Division
W L Pet GB
San Antonio 36 10 .783
Dallas 28 14 .667 6
Memphis 25 20 .556 10 1/2
Houston 24 21 .533 11 1/2
New Orleans 8 35 .18626 1/2
Northwest Division
W L Pet GB
Seattle 30 12 .714
Minnesota 24 20 545 7
Denver 19 25 .432 12
Portland 17 25 .405 13
Utah 15 30 .333 16 1/2
Pacific Division
W L Pet GB
Phoenix 36 10 .783
Sacramento 30 13 .698 4 1/2
L.A. Lakers 23 19 .548 11
LA. Clippers 21 23 .477 14
Golden State 12 32 .273 23
Sunday's Games
Miami 104, Houston 95
Sacramento 94, Minnesota 84
Phoenix 123, Toronto 105
Cleveland 104, Milwaukee 87
L.A. Lakers 101, Charlotte 90
Tuesday's Games
Detroit at Washington. 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Chicago at New Jersey, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Memphis, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Miami at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Utah, 9 p.m.
New York at Denver, 9 p.m.
Seattle at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Portland at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.
Wednesday’s Games
New Jersey at Boston, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Houston at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Atlanta at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Dallas at New Orleans. 8 p.m.
Denver at Portland, 10 p.m.
Sacramento at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.
Saturday's Women's College Basketball
Scores
Albany, N.Y. 64, Boston U. 58
Binghamton 75, Northeastern 53
Boston College 72, Pittsburgh 55
Dartmouth 90, Cornell 57
Fairleigh Dickinson 65, Monmouth, N.J. 55
George Washington 64. Rhode Island 61
Quinnipiac 57, Long Island U. 52
Rider 72, lona 71
Robert Morris 70, Cent. Connecticut St. 51
Sacred Heart 78, Wagner 56
Seton Hall 73, St. John's 54
Syracuse 45, Villanova 42
Alcorn St. 64, Southern U. 54
Birmingham-Southern 69, Winthrop 46
Charleston Southern 56, Coastal Carolina
50
Chattanooga 87, ETSU 64
Coppin St. 74, Hampton 60
Davidson 65, Georgia Southern 36
Delaware St. 47, Florida A&M 45
E. Kentucky 73, Tenn.-Martin 63
Florida Atlantic 67, Stetson 66
Georgia St. 72, Gardner-Webb 70
Grambling St. 64, Ark.-Pine Bluff 56
High Point 65, N.C.-Asheville 62
Howard 66. Bethune-Cookman 58
Middle Tennessee 65, New Mexico St. 41
Morehead St. 71, Murray St. 59
Nicholls St. 70, Texas St. 67
Norfolk St. 87, Morgan St. 67
Tennessee Tech 69, Tennessee St. 48
Troy 66, Lipscomb 59
UNC-Greensboro 70, Furman 65
W. Carolina 69, Coll, of Charleston 59
W. Kentucky 76, Louisiana-Lafayette 53
Akron 74, W. Michigan 70
Cent. Michigan 64, N. Illinois 58, 20T
111.-Chicago 63, Detroit 48
Illinois St. 81, S. Illinois 44
Ind.-Pur.-Indpls. 60, Chicago St. 55
Indiana St. 72, Evansville 56
Jacksonville St. 68, E. Illinois 59
Kent St. 63, E. Michigan 60
Nebraska 59, Kansas 48
Ohio 73, Buffalo 69
SE Missouri 85, Samford 49
Texas 71, Missouri 52
W. Illinois 64, Centenary 49
Wis.-Green Bay 95, Loyola of Chicago 67
Wright St. 74, Butler 59
Youngstown St. 79, Wis-Milwaukee 67
Baylor 67, Oklahoma St. 65
lowa St. 74, Oklahoma 66.
Louisiana Tech 82, UTEP 69
Louisiana-Monroe 61, Lamar 59
North Texas 64, New Orleans 56
Northwestern St. 83, Sam Houston St. 67
Oral Roberts 62, UMKC 41
Prairie View 50, Alabama St. 43
San Jose St. 63, Rice 52
Texas Southern 56, Alabama A&M 54
Texas-Arlington 56, McNeese St. 53
Texas-San Antonio 75, SE Louisiana 64
Char-Broiled
Sizzling Steaks
t7S Cx* • K7-M77
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Tulsa 83, Hawaii 64
Denver 46. South Alabama 44, OT
Fresno St. 75. Nevada 67
Gonzaga 67. Portland 56
Idaho 68, UC Irvine 60
Kansas St. 81, Colorado 70
Long Beach St. 63. Utah St. 36
Maryland 84, Arizona 77, OT
Montana 72, E. Washington 65
Montana St. 75, Portland St 57
N. Arizona 55. Sacramento St. 49
New Mexico 72, San Diego St. 53
Oregon 81, Southern Cal 59
Pacific 65. UC Davis 60
Pepperdine 60. Loyola Marymount 56
SMU 63. Boise St. 57
San Francisco 76. Santa Clara 64
St. Mary's. Cal. 75. San Diego 59
Stanford 69. Washington St. 56
UC Riverside 63, Cal Poly-SLO 43
UC Santa Barbara 71, Cal St.-Fullerton 47
UCLA 74, Oregon St. 54
UNLV 76. Air Force 51
Utah 61. BYU 53
Valparaiso 53. S. Utah 51
Washington 80, California 76
Weber St. 82, Idaho St. 71
Saturday's Men's College Basketball
Scores
Boston College 64. Georgetown 49
Columbia 64, Dartmouth 45
Drexel 88. James Madison 60
Duquesne 72. La Salle 67
Harvard 74. Cornell 65
Hofstra 84. Towson 64
Long Island U. 76, Quinnipiac 71
Monmouth, N.J. 64, Fairleigh Dickinson 56
Mount St. Mary's, Md. 88, St. Francis,
NY 85
N.C. Wilmington 62, Delaware 59
New Hampshire 73, UMBC 64
Penn 83. Brown 60
Pittsburgh 76. Syracuse 69
Princeton 58. Yale 43
Richmond 67, Massachusetts 63
Rider 67, Siena 47
Robert Morris 81. Cent. Connecticut St. 75
Saint Joseph’s 67, Xavier 59
Seton Hall 62, St John’s 55
Temple 87, St. Bonaventure 66
Alcorn St. 69, Southern U. 67
Ark.-Pine Bluff 77, Grambling St. 60
Auburn 62, Tennessee 59
Bethune-Cookman 71, Howard 46
Birmingham-Southern 66, VMI 59
Coll, of Charleston 71, Georgia Southern
64
Davidson 81, The Citadel 59
DePaul 70, Southern Miss. 48
Delaware St. 72, Florida A&M 50
E. Kentucky 95, Tenn.-Martin 71
East Carolina 54, Charlotte 51
Florida 80, South Carolina 72
LSU 69. Mississippi St. 62
Louisiana Tech 80, UTEP 65
Louisiana-Lafayette 54. Middle Tennessee
44
Louisville 105. Tulane 69
MVSU 65, Jackson St. 60
Morgan St. 55, Norfolk St. 51
Murray St. 83, Morehead St. 64
N. Carolina A&T 74. Md.-Eastern Shore
59
N.C. State 80, Clemson 70
N.C.-Asheville 66, Charleston Southern 63
New Orleans 71, Denver 61
North Carolina 110, Virginia 76
Radford 69, Liberty 64
S. Carolina St. 71, Longwood 65
South Alabama 67, North Texas 60
Stetson 69, Gardner-Webb 62
Tennessee Tech 71, Tennessee St. 50
Texas St. 97, Nicholls St. 79
UAB 85. South Florida 71
UCF 60, Belmont 57
UNC-Greensboro 62, Chattanooga 57
Va. Commonwealth 75, Old Dominion 71
Vanderbilt 73, Mississippi 51
W. Carolina 71, Elon 67
Wake Forest 94, Miami 82
Ball St. 67, N. Illinois 59
Buffalo 80, E. Michigan 68
Chicago St. 71, Ind.-Pur.-Indpls. 63
Cincinnati 87, Houston 68
Cleveland St. 67, Wright St. 53
Detroit 73, Loyola of Chicago 59
Drake 81, N. lowa 72
E. Illinois 66, Jacksonville St. 63
111.-Chicago 73, Butler 49
Illinois 89, Minnesota 66
Indiana St. 73, Bradley 63
lowa 72, Indiana 57
lowa St. 74, Oklahoma 66
Kansas 90, Texas 65
Kansas St. 64, Missouri 53
Marquette 55, Saint Louis 51,20 T
Qolf
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic Scores
Justin Leonard, $846,000 66-67-68-64-
67-332
Tim Clark, $413,600 70-66-64-66 : 69-335
Joe Ogilvie, $413,600 64-63-66-69-73-
335
Loren Roberts, $206,800 68-67-67-65-
69-336
Peter Lonard, $206,800 67-64-64-69-
72-336
Tim Herron, $163,325 68-64-71-68-66-
337
John Senden, $163,325 69-67-64-68-
69-337
Andrew Magee, $131,600 68-69-65-69-
67-338
Jerry Kelly, $131,600 68-67-64-69-70-338
Jim Furyk, $131,600 67-70-65-65-71-338
Champions Turtle Bay Scores
Hale Irwin, $225,000 67-66-67-200
Dana Quigley, $132,000 68-68-69-205
Tom Watson, $99,000 70-69-67-206
Allen Doyle, $99,000 67-68-71-206
Bruce Fleisher, $55,200 70-72-65-207
Jay Sigel. $55,200 69-70-68-207
Dick Mast, $55,200 69-69-69-207
Wayne Levi, $55,200 68-70-69-207
Don Pooley, $55,200 70-67-70-207
People Pleasing!
(We will delight you!)
oreen derbv
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