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The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 17

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Indianapolis, Indiana
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Page:
17
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Section The Indianapolis Star MONDAY, APRIL 18, 1988 ArtsLeisure 7 Pacers geared for crucial game in Cleveland Sports PLAYOFF RACE (Top eight teams make playoffs) EASTERN CONFERENCE Pet 1. z-Boston 55 23 .705 2. z-Detroit 52 26 .668 3. z-Atlanta 48 30 .615 3. z-Chicago 48 30 .615 5.

z-Milwaukee 40 38 .513 6. Cleveland 39 40 .494 7. New York 37 42 .468 7. Washington 37 42 .468 9. PACERS 36 42 .462 10.

Philadelphia 34 44 .436 z-clinched playoff berth. REMAINING GAMES Pacers: Tonight, at Cleveland; Wednesday, at Atlanta; Friday, at Detroit; Saturday, New York. New York: Tuesday, Chicago; Friday, at Milwaukee; Saturday, at Pacers. Washington: Wednesday, at Milwaukee; Thursday, Detroit; Saturday, Atlanta. Cleveland: Tonight, Pacers; Friday, at Chicago; Saturday, Philadelphia.

Philadelphia: Tuesday, Milwaukee; Thursday, New Jersey; Saturday, at Cleveland; Sunday, at Detroit. do Is go out there and play as good a defensive game and rebound as well as we did against Philadelphia." Added Stipanovlch, "1 think we have to win two of three. We have done it before and we've beat each of these teams at their place before. It won't be easy, but anything can happen." Making it happen against the Cavs, though, is going to be difficult. Cleveland has won three of five against the Pacers this season and done so with a simple formula: center Brad Daugherty inside or guard Mark Price outside.

Stipanovlch will draw Daugherty. "He's so big and strong, plus he's got great inside moves," said Stipo. "If he catches the ball down low, he's going to score most of the time. He's capable of taking a game over like he did the other night (Daugherty scored 44 points In a win over Boston). See PACERS Page 3 two games up on the Knicks and Bullets.

For Cleveland, its incentive tonight is simple: win and a playoff berth is clinched. For the Pacers, their incentive is to just stay in the chase. But it certainly won't be easy. Aside from the Cavs, who have merely won eight of their last 10, the Pacers also draw Atlanta and Detroit on the road before closing the season at home against the Knicks Saturday night. The Hawks, who the Pacers visit Wednesday night, are fighting to hang onto the No.

3 position in the East. The Pistons, who the Pacers play Friday night, are pretty much locked into the No. 2 spot, but have the second-best home record in the East, third-best in the NBA. So, what do the Pacers have going for them against three very formidable foes? Saturday night. Sure, it isn't much, but it is something and prior to the win over the Sixers the Pacers had little positive to look at.

But in the Philly win, they put together a complete game at both ends and saw what happens when they do. "Everybody was loose," said center Steve Stipanovlch. "We learned something from that game in that you can't be tight because you won't play well." A strong case can be made the Pacers had been playing tight. As a losing stretch mounted 20 defeats in 27 games their hold on a playoff spot slipped. Now, going into this week, they must win at least one road game and hope New York in particular loses at home to Chicago or on the road at Milwaukee before arriving in MSA Saturday night for a game that could possibly decide the final playoff spot.

The Pacers, though, feel they probably have to win two of three on the road before Saturday. "I think we can win two out of three," said guard Vern Fleming. "All we have to By DAVID BENNER STAR STAFF WRITER Richfield, Ohio Saturday night, the Indiana Pacers finally put it all together in a 126-92 victory over Philadelphia in Market Square Arena. Now all they have to do is keep it together. Welcome to the final week of the National Basketball Association season, which for the Pacers starts tonight (6:30, WIBC-1070 AM.

WTTV-Channel 4) in the Coliseum against the Cleveland Cavaliers. And what an interesting week it should be. As we all know by now, the Pacers are in a playoff race of neck-tightening proportions. They're one-half game behind Washington and New York for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bullets beat Boston, 98-92, Sunday afternoon.

The Cavaliers are in the sixth position, 1W ty 1 Ix-Braves star 8' BP rl' handles Tribe vw 1 Hh 1. i ij 'fctfjto -iiijt v- itw i-; 5 W5 4 t' wmwM. lucky in that none of the three fly balls that followed got high or deep enough for the wind to take out. Other than that, he was brilliant "I felt pretty good out there, especially early on," said McMurtry (1-1). "I was rushing some in the fourth, I lost my curve for a bit there." After his rookie year, he lost just about everything in Atlanta.

In 1984, he started the season in the starting rotation but was sent to the bullpen after a bunch of beatings. Basically, that's where he stayed either in the pen or at Triple A Richmond for the next three years. Never again did he have a regular spot in the Braves' rotation. "It really is a tough situation, it's hard on a pitcher mechanically and mentally," he said. "You can't stay sharp, you sit around for eight, 10 days, then when you do finally get in a ball game, you try too hard, overthrow, and make things worse." Finally, after the '86 season, the Braves shipped him to the Toronto organization in the Da-masco Garcoa deal.

But he underwent an emergency appendectomy, missed six weeks and took another two or three to get ready. "It just about blew the whole year," he said. McMurtry became a free agent and the Blue Jays had a chance to sign him. But Toronto By DAVE GARLICK STAR STAFF WRITER Remember Craig McMurtry? He used to pitch for the Atlanta Braves. A tall guy, dark hair, glasses.

He won the Rookie of the Year Award in the National League in 1983 when he went 15-9 with a 3.08 earned run average. He's the same guy who went 9-17 the next year, and slowly faded out of the major league scene. Well, with many more games like Sunday's, McMurtry will be back in the major league picture, and soon. Pitching in a gale of a wind blowing out to dead center field, McMurtry pitched 7lh innings of one-hit ball in Bush Stadium, as the 89ers defeated the Indianapolis Indians, 3-2. "I figured if he was here (in the minor leagues) he couldn't be pitching that well," said Tribe manager Joe Sparks.

"He threw like he did when he was in Atlanta. He won't be here long." McMurtry fanned five and walked four, and led, 3-0, when he came out of the game because of blister on his index finger. The only hit he allowed was a chopper over third by Johnny Paredes in the first, but McMurtry finished that threat by getting Razor Shines to ground into a double play. In the fourth, he hit Paredes and walked Shines, but was STAR STAFF PHOTOFRANK ESPICH Oklahoma's Jeff Kunkel relays a double-play ball to first base as the Indians' Johnny Paredes tries to take him out with a slide. had taken him off the 40-man they have two other guys who pitched well in spring training.

"I noticed it (the wind) espe- roster, so he decided to try his could really throw the ball. I but was sent down. cially in the fifth," said the luck elsewhere. didn't want to put myself He said he tried to ignore the pitcher. "It was really blowing "I thought their staff was through that." wind, and just concentrate on through the upper stands.

But it pretty well set." he said. "Plus So he signed with Texas, outs against the Tribe. See INDIANS Page 2 Little Al coasts -it- v-r Jew Wind plays havoc with 4-Ball golfers to Long Beach win By ROBIN MILLER STAR ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR Long Beach, Calif. Al Un-ser Jr. broke the Andretti stranglehold here Sunday afternoon and choked the life out of his competition in the process.

Unser turned the annual CART streetfight into a major mismatch as he registered an impressive knockout in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. lane as Junior controlled the tempo from the opening bell. Starting fourth, Unser busted into second going into Turn 1 and then slid past Mario Andretti and into the lead exiting the last corner. "I got an awesome start, Mario timed it perfect and so did explained Unser of their banzai past polesltter Danny Sullivan. "I followed Mario around and when I got to the hairpin, I locked all four wheels, stuck it Inside Mario and it worked.

"It was chancy because It. was the first lap but I just didn't -want to follow Mario like I had the past few years." Once Junior cleared himself of the Lord of Long Beach, he opened up a 7-sccond lead and then got a break when the only full-course yellow flag came out on Lap 19 to tow in Scott Bray-ton. But Unser went Into the pits .4 4 'i ,1 J.Jt Iff 'A i The 25-year-old son of Indianapolis 500 winner beat defending CART champ Bobby Rahal by one and a half laps in the a 1 1 1 MarchChevy. It was Unser's fifth career Indy-car triumph first and came out in sixth. The James agreed.

"They were steady, and we didn't make the putts we needed. If you don't make them, you don't win. We had some golden opportunities but didn't take advantage of them." One of the day's upsets came late in the day when comparative Spring Four-Ball rookies Dean Waddington and Mark Ha-gerty eliminated the father-son team of Bob and Scott Wolfla. The Wolflas were winners in 1978 and Bob also won back to back in 1970 and 71 with another son, Mark. But Waddington and Hagerty, playing in just their second Spring Four-Ball Tournament, went 2-up early and hung on to claim a 1-up victory when both teams settled for par 4s on the 300-yard finishing hole.

"The conditions were tough today," admitted Waddington, who plays most of his golf at Brookshire Golf Club. "This is our first time in the Championship Flight, we missed it last year on 'our first try." Hagerty, a member at Harbour Trees GC in Noblesvllle. observed, "Some shots to the green would stop if you were hitting into the wind. Downwind they wouldn't. But we played good tandem golf." They were 1 -under for the day, with three birdies and two bogeys.

The birdies came at Nos. 1 7 and 1 2. Hagerty got the one at the 12th with what Waddington called "the only really great shot of the day." He hit a 7-iron to three inches on the 139-yard hole and tapped In. Their bogeys came at No. 8, which they lost, and the 15th when they needed three putts to get down.

Bob Kent, who won the tour-See GOLF Page 2 By BILL PICKETT STAR STAFF WRITER High winds made scores climb Sunday in the Championship Flight of the 41st annual Spring Four-Ball Tournament but three former champions survived to advance to Saturday's second round. Mike Bell and Ron Atwell, winners in 1980. '82 and '86 in the annual spring rites for area golfers at South Grove Golf Course, sidelined Leo Kiemeyer and Gary James, 4 and Bill and Rob Fulford edged Terry Curry and Jim Anthony, 1-up, and Joe Harbin and Tom We-geng got past Dave Green and Bob Osborne, 3 and 2. Bell won with different partners on two other occasions, including Bill Fulford in 1977. Harbin was a winner with Tom Jones in 1972.

"We hit them as well as we could hit them out there today," said Bell, referring to the wind which troubled the players in all flights throughout the day. He and Atwell were 1-undrer-par over The Grove's par-70 layout. They had birdies at No. 2. where Atwell got home in two on the 510-yard hole which was playing downwind.

He two-putted for the birdie. Bell hit a 3-iron Into the wind on the 193-yard, par-3 fifth hole and rolled in a 20-footer for their second and last birdie of the day. Their only bogey came at No. 8 where both missed the green. "It seemed like neither team could get the ball in the hole today," Bell observed.

"We were hitting it well, considering the conditions." "We didn't give up any bogeys on the back nine," Atwell pointed out, "we just didn't give them any holes." Al Unser Jr. 'nut on my left-rear wheel got cross-threaded and it took a while for my guys to get it See CART Page 2 and the first time an Andretti (Mario three times and Michael once) didn't make it to victory SCORES AMERICAN LEAGUE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION Cleveland 4 Baltimore 1 Oklahoma City 3 Indians 2 Detroit 7 Kansas City 6 Denver 14 Buffalo 5 Toronto 2 Minnesota 0 Omaha 2 Louisville 1 Milwaukee 6 New York 3 Iowa 5 Nashville 2 Chicago 7 Oakland 6 California 7 Seattle 4 NATIONAL LEAGUE NBA Montreal 5 Philadelphia 2 New York 3 St. Louis 2 Houston 127 LA. Lakers 119 Houston 5 Cincinnati 3 Chicago 105 Milwaukee 97 Pittsburgh 12 Chicago 7 Washington 98 Boston 92 Atlanta 3 Los Angeles 1 Denver 133 Dallas 122 San Francisco 9 San Diego 4 Portland 112 Sacramento 102 STAR STAFF PHOTO FRANK ESPICH Mike Bell eyes a putt in the Spring Four-Ball tourney while partner Ron Atwell also gets a look..

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