Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 11

www.herald-review.com TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2004 DECATUR, ILLINOIS SPORTS B3 BRIEFS NBA Lakers downplay lousy start Raptors select GM CNk fV 0 Detroit knows opening win will make LA. edgy LOS ANGELES (AP) -Leave it to the Lakers to make light of a loss. Coming off their low-effort virtual no-show in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Lakers all but laughed it off Monday and promised to try harder next time against the Detroit Pistons. "You can probably blame it on the thong thing Shaq had on. It kind of traumatized everybody in the locker room," Kobe Bryant joked, one of two underwear references the Lakers came up with while discussing what went wrong in Game 1 and what needs to get better in Game 2.

Having been on this stage four times in the past five years, the Lakers have the luxury of knowing from experience that one loss at the start of a seven-game series does not foretell doom. Two losses might get their attention, but they don't plan on allowing that to happen. "We beat ourselves," Shaquille O'Neal said. "You know, we just didn't come out with that killer instinct. We didn't have a sense of urgency, way too many turnovers and didn't shoot the ball well.

If we knock out all of those things or just one or two of those things, we could have won that game" Los Angeles has shown a tendency throughout this season and over the past few years to bring out its game only when pushed. It happened in the second round after the Lakers fell behind 2-0 to the San Antonio Spurs, and again in the Western Conference finals when their lack of focus in Game 5 at Minnesota was followed by a precision performance in Game 6. Now that they realize the Pistons won't be bothered by butterflies or startled by the star-studded crowd, the Lakers know they'll need to bring a different level of energy and focus Tuesday night. "It has gotten our atten- Pessimism TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Finally, after a six-month season and two more months of exhausting and totally unpredictable playoffs, the NHL enters the offseason not knowing what next season holds.

As of Tuesday morning, all 30 teams including the champion will be firmly united. How long they stay that way may determine what hockey in North America looks like the next time the NHL plays a game that counts. The other pro sports leagues will be watching with great interest this summer Associated Press The Pistons' Tayshaun Prince, bottom, tries to score against Lakers defender Shaquille O'Neal as the Lakers' Devean George looks on in the first half of Game 1 on Sunday in Los Angeles. defense, telling them they could get any shot they wanted, "Coach played it back about four or five times," Karl Mal-one said. "The truth hurts." For Brown, the challenge Monday was getting his team to forget about Game 1 and turning its focus toward the opportunity of taking a 2-0 lead before the series moves to Detroit for Games 3, 4 and 5.

Never in NBA history has a home team lost the first two tion," O'Neal said. "We realize that this team is not going to lay down because the Lakers are in the house We really have to go out and play. It's not anything they did to throw us out of our game I think it's more us." Coach Phil Jackson tried to get his team's attention by replaying a clip from Game 1 in which Detroit coach Larry Brown was imploring his team to take advantage of the Lakers' indifferent attitude toward games of the finals and come back to win the series. The Pistons played what was for them nearly a perfect game, dictating the tempo, shooting 47 percent, committing only four turnovers in the second half and getting strong contributions from several players both in the starting lineup and off the bench while holding Los Angeles to 75 points, more than 14 below their postseason average staff and wire service reports COLLEGE ISU makes change at top of department NORMAL Illinois State University Director of Athletics Perk Weisenburger was reassigned Monday after five years at the helm of the school's struggling athletic department. "After a great deal of deliberation, I have determined that new leadership is necessary for the future vitality and growth in intercollegiate athletics at Illinois State University," ISU President Al Bowman said.

ISU's athletic program has been on a downward spiral in recent years, particularly the high-profile men's basketball and football programs. A national search for a new director will be launched soon. An interim director will be appointed to run the department during the search. Weisenburger will be assigned to the president's office, completing projects as assigned by Bowman. TEHHiS Serena Williams out of Top 10 in rankings PARIS French Open champion Gaston Gaudio jumped 34 spots to a career-high No.

10 in the ATP Tour rankings Monday, while Serena Williams dropped out of the women's top 10 for the first time in nearly five years. Gaudio became the third unseeded French Open champion, and his previous ranking of 44th was the fourth lowest for a major titlist. Williams fell from seventh to 11th in the WTA Tour rankings, her lowest placing since August 1999. She was No. 1 as recently as Aug.

4, three days after she had knee surgery and the last of her 57 straight weeks at the top thanks to winning four straight Grand Slam titles. "I'm alive I'm breathing. I'm healthy. Things could be worse," Williams said after losing to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals of her first major since Wimbledon. "But, I mean, obviously I'm not happy." GOLF Mickelson claims chip-off at Exelon AVONDALE, Pa.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson won a sudden-death chip-off Monday in the sixth annual Exelon Invitational. Mickelson won 11 skins worth $230,000 at Hartefeld National Golf Club in the charity event hosted by U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk. Furyk decided on the chip-off after the participants went the last eight holes without winning a skin. After watching John Daly hit the ridge on his suddeiHdeath attempt, Mickelson hit his shot above the hole and watched it spin back to within 4 feet as a record crowd of more than 14,000 erupted.

Stuart Appleby and Chad Campbell were unable to better Mickelson's shot USG4 bashed for slow piay at qualifier COLUMBUS, Ohio While 184 players were competing for 33 spots in the U.S. Open, the United States Golf Association was left to face a lot of caustic comments. With a cumbersome field that included dozens of tour players fighting for limited spots in the Columbus sectional, the pace of play was glacial as officials tried to complete the 36-hole qualifier. "The USGA needs to apologize to the people of the section here in Columbus for putting 184 people at one site," said Tom Pernice who qualified for the Open with a score of 10 under in rounds at The Lakes and Brookside Country Clubs on Monday. "You've got some sites with 20 or 16 people You'd think the USGA would know better, but obviously they don't." CmU FOOTBALL Miami recruit to be tried for felony soon GAINESVILLE, Fla.

A July 26 trial date has been set for Miami football recruit Willie Williams on a felony charge for setting off fire extinguishers at a hotel during a recruiting trip. Meanwhile, Williams' attorney is still seeking a plea bargain that would lower the charges against the highly touted prospect to a misdemeanor. TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Raptors hired Rob Babcock on Monday to be the team's general manager, a month after they declined to give him the job. The Raptors have been looking for a general manager since firing Glen Grunwald on April 1. He Babcock was replaced on an interim basis by Jack McCloskey.

Babcock interviewed twice for the job several weeks ago, but the Raptors didn't reach a decision until last Friday. "Rob was on our list from Day 1, and then we brought him in and he quickly went to the top of that list," team president Richard Peddie said. "I went back to Rob and said 'Rob, this is such a critical hire for us. I want to make sure you are the right guy. I'm going to do that by doing more homework." Scoreboard CONFERENCE FINALS (Best-ot-7) Tuesday, May 25 LA.

Lakers 100. Minnesota 89 Wednesday, May 2 Detroit 85, Indiana 78 Thursday, May 27 LA. Lakers 92, Minnesota 85 Friday, May 21 Indiana 83, Detroit 68 Saturday, May 9 Minnesota 98, LA. Lakers 96 Sunday, May 30 Detroit 83, Indiana 65 Monday, May 31 LA. Lakers 96, Minnesota 90, LA.

Lakers win series 4-2 Tuesday, June 1 Detroit 69, Indiana 65, Detroit wins series 4-2 NBA FINALS (Best-of-7) Sunday, June 6 Detroit 87, L.A. Lakers 75, Detroit leads series 1-0 Today Detroit at LA. Lakers, 9 p.m. Thursday LA. Lakers at Detroit, 9 p.m.

Sunday LA. Lakers at Detroit, 9 p.m. Tuesday, June 15 LA. Lakers at Detroit, 9 p.m., necessary Thursday, June 17 Detroit at LA. Lakers, 9 p.m., necessary Sunday, June 20 Detroit at LA.

Lakers, 9 p.m., if necessary Career Playoff Scoring Leaders de-active) Player Pis. 1. Michael Jordan 5.987 2. Kareem Abdul- Jabbar 5.762 3. Karl Malone 4.745 4.

Jerry West 4,457 5. x-Shaquille O'Neal 4,195 6. Larry Bird 3,897 7. John Havlicek 3,776 8. Hakeem Olajuwon 3,755 9.

Magic Johnson 3,701 10. x-Scottie Pippen 3,642 11. Elgin Baylor 3423 INDULGE DAD THIS FATHERS DAY FATHERS DAY SALE ENDS JUNE 19, 2004 Arched or Straight Premium Slate ban net 4 Lea Styles Oak or Maale 8 Stain Finishi gl JCW 7' All Wood IVERED'INSTulED'EQUlPPED Constructionl 9 Aw AN HAH 4 Laminate Finishes $1218? 78" ff-S1248 Premium OEUVERED'INSTALLED'EQUIPPED (wa uwwes mm. SKtummtmskaiiXtas AMF TOP 20 NATIONAL SALES LEADER VISA MC DISC. AMEX 90SAC At an Ironhorse Demo Das a representative from a featured company win be present with a variety of products for you to try out on our range.

We feel this is the best opportunity for you to see for yourself how well the products perform. So please come out and join us, and let Ironhorse and the featured companies show you how we can improve your game! Demo Days tmirFrfnn IN I IIHIII IBIMI II I Ml ill I 1 on Demo Days! 0 NHL in labor negotiations Fedotenko rewards faith abounds and fall to see if the NHL, in what would be a first, can negotiate considerable give-backs from its players union during labor talks that threaten the 2004-05 season. "These negotiations are not just about next season, it is next season and all the ones that follow," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. "It's about the future of our game" Bettman has all but said training camps won't open if a deal is not in place by the Sept. 15 expiration of the current agreement.

Some teams are expected to lay off front-office Associated Press The Lightning's Cory StJIIman celebrates a goal by teammate Ruslan Fedotenko as the Flames' Jordan Leopold looks on during the first period of Game 7 on Monday. ment to how stubborn this franchise is. Feaster didn't care what the public thought when he traded for Fedotenko. Coach John Tortorella didn't care how many fights he had to have with Vincent Lecavalier to get the restless colt to settle down. Fedotenko didn't care how many times Calgary defenseman Robyn Regehr rearranged his face in the playoffs.

They were going to do it their way. think there's going to be a start of the season in October." January is seen as the deadline for the season to be saved. If a deal isn't reached by then, it's unlikely training camps could be held and enough games played for a worthwhile season. The NHL's problem is, well, that it doesn't have only one problem, beginning with an unbalanced economy in which many teams say they are losing money at the same time players are averaging $1.8 million in salary. COME TO AT IRONHORSE GOLF COURSE Schedule of ironhorse June 4, 2004 3pm-7pm Mizuno June 5, 2004 10 am -2 pm Nike Jime 12, 2004 10am -2 pm Cleveland Golf, MacGregor, Tour Edge and Ping Special Pricing employees if it appears that negotiations will drag on, as they did when half the 1994-95 season was lost to the NHL's last major labor dispute This time if predictions from both sides are correct, the impasse could be far longer, endangering not only one season but, much like the 1994-95 major league baseball labor strife, the start of another.

"It doesn't look good now, but we hope both sides come to terms and we can have a season next year," defenseman Brendan Witt of the Washington Capitals said. "But I don't LIGHTNING 2, FLAMES 1 Calgary 0 0 1-1 Tampa Bay 110-2 First period-l, Tampa Bay, Fedotenko 11 (Richards, Modin), 13:31 (pp). Second period-2, Tampa Bay, Fedotenko 12 (Lecavalier, Stillman), 14:38. Third period Calgary, Conroy 6 (Leopold), 9:21 (PP). Shots on goal-Calgary 3-4-10-17.

Tampa Bay 6-4-5-15. Power-play Opportunities-Calgary 1 of Tampa Bay 1 of 5. Goalies-Calgary, Klprusoff 15-11 (15 shots-13 saves). Tampa Bay, Khabibulin 16-7 (17-16). Stanley Cup Winners 2004-Tampa Bay Lightning 2003- New Jersey Devils 2002- Detroit Red Wings 2001- Colorado Avalanche 2000- New Jersey Devils 1999- Dallas Stars 1998- Detroit Red Wings 1997- Detroit Red Wings 1996- Colorado Avalanche 1995- New Jersey Devils 1994- New York Rangers T993-Montrea! Canadiens 1992- Pittsburgh Penguins 1991- Pittsburgh Penguins 1990- Edmonton Oilers 1989- Calgary Flames 1988- Edmonton Oilers 1987 Edmonton Oilers 1986-Montreal Canadiens 1985-Edmonton Oilers 1984-Edmonton Oilers Conn Smythe Trophy Winners The most valuable players in the Stanley Cup finals: 2004- Brad Richards, Tampa Bay Lightning 2003- Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks-x 2002- Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings 2001- Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche 2000- Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils 1999- Joe Nieuwendylc Dallas Stars 1998- Steve Yjerman, Detroit Red Wings 1997- Mike Vernon, Detroit Red Wings 1996- Joe Sakic Colorado Avalanche 1995- Claude Lemieux, New Jersey Devils 1994-Brian Leetch, New York Rangers 1993- Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens 1992- Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins 1991- Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins 1990- Bill Ranford, Edmonton Oilers 1989- Al Maclnnis.

Calgary Flames Knight-Ridder Newspapers TAMPA, Fla. The irony was rich, really. When Jay Feaster took over as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2002, one of his first moves was to surrender the fourth overall pick in the entry draft Joni Pitkanen) for a third-line forward from the Philadelphia Flyers and a couple of second-round picks. It was a deal that had many predicting that Feaster; a man with no playing background who had worked his way up through the minors, was in way over his head. "There certainly were some sexier names out there," Feaster said at the time.

"But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter what the name was if we don't win, and we believe this player helps us win." That player was Ruslan Fedotenko. Yep, the same Fedotenko who had 12 goals in the playoffs, the same Fedotenko who had both goals in Game 7 on Monday night, the same Fedotenko who now has his name on the Stanley Cup alongside Feaster's. That the Tampa Bay Light- ning was able to take Game 7 1 of the Finals, 2-1, is a testa-,.