The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

ACC BOUND Carmel's Scott Shepherd announces his commitment to attend Florida State Page 3 STREAK SNAPPED Indiana soccer team sees Wisconsin end its 68-game Big Ten streak Page 3 WORLD SERIES Houston 17 Miami 13 Minnesota 3 Atlanta 2 Raiders 20 LA Rarns tl New England 26 Minnesota 23 MCI HUte New Orleans 23 Tampa Bay 7 NY Jets 17 Colts 8 Phoenix 16 Atlanta 10 Cleveland 30 San Diego 24 San Francisco 35 Detroit 3 Denver 19 Kansas City 16 Seattle 27 Pittsburgh 7 Sports The Indianapolis Star MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1991 Bill Benner Colts faE to Jets i Boo birds just getting 29 worth OU CAN maybe appreci- ate where he's coming from which, often as -U. piUUIBtlUmiJIIjllllimwmillllMllllM I I ILJII I IWWWIIJUHUWWH lll.Hl III ll I i.n ipi ii i i 1 1 i Ju V' i i 1 I V'' 1 By MIKE CHAPPELL STAR STAFF WRITER Give 'em credit for consistency. An Indianapolis Colts outfit which spent the first seven weeks of the season trying to compete with a feeble offense and frail defense hit the NFL's midpoint Sunday afternoon In the Hoosier Dome totally offenseless and practically defenseless. And, oh yes, completely wlnless. Read it and weep, folks: New York Jets 17, Colts 6.

Make it 0 for '91. As it limps toward the safety of the bye week on its schedule, Indianapolis will have time to deal with some disgusting demons which continue to plague and pester. Such as: Will the offense ever score another touchdown? It's now been 1 6 quarters since Jeff George hit Jessie Hester with a 12-yard dart against Detroit. The Colts have four TDs in eight games, Buffalo's Don Beebe had that many against Pittsburgh. "It's really tough to hear that all the time," said quarterback Jeff George.

"I don't know what the problem Is. I wish I did." Will George survive the season? The Jets exploited Indianapolis' perimeter protection and got some viciously clean shots at George. He went down four times, raising his league-leading sack total to 27, and spent his postgame time massaging shouideranklehand injuries, chastising a critical Hoosier Dome crowd and questioning his pocket security. "What you saw today has been happening all season. You haven't missed anything," George said, refusing to dodge the Issue after dodging human bullets all afternoon.

"It's like a soap opera. You can go one month without watching, then pick up everything. "The guys up front either know the pass protection or they don't. That's been a problem all year it's got to stop. If that continues, we're, not going to win." Can the Colts win? Sunday dropped them to 0-8 and extended their losing streak to nine games.

See COLTS Page 5 not, is sprawled out on the hard artificial turf of the Hoo-sier Dome. For eight weeks now, he's been seeing big, mean, fast dudes coming at him with a crazed look In their eyes and ill will on their minds. Sunday, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jeff George was pounded from pillar to goalpost with alarming frequency and severity. One of the New York Jets cor-nerbacks was allowed to race in from the corner untouched time and again. It was like watching those Persian Gulf videos of the smart bombs as they locked onto a target.

There the Jet would go, right down George's smokestack. And is there anyone out there who would cast a vote for the current Colts' offensive line as one of the worst ever? Thought so. Bubba Paris, for example, looks like he left more than his heart in San Francisco. So hey, Jeff George, we appreciate your frustration, along with the realization that sometimes being an NFL quarterback isn't all that much fun. But It's not the fans' fault that you're the $12-million quarterback on a 10-cent team.

And your comments after the Colts." 17-6 loss to the Jets See BENNER Page 4 STAR STAFF PHOTO SUSAN PLAGEMAN The Jets' Terance Mathis misses this Ken O'Brien pass, but the Colts' Dave McCtoughan is flagged for interference. Michael clinches his first Indy-car crown with style In any era, young Andretti would be called 'a real racer' Robin Miller By ROBIN MILLER STAR ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Monterey, Calif. Michael Andrettl didn't clinch the CART championship here at Laguna Seca with a laid back Sunday drive. On the contrary, he won his- first Indy-car title with what has become his calling card. He took no prisoners.

Andrettl capped off a sensational season by leading the Champion Spark Plug 300 virtually flag-to-flag with a relentless, dominating drive to earn his eighth victory of 1991 and the crown he's coveted so much. Entering the final race of the year with a 13-point lead over Bobby Rahal, the 29-year-old second generation star only needed to finish sixth or better to wrap up the CARTPPG standings. The drama ended early, like Rahal, who dropped out on Lap 24 with overheating problems. But Rahal, nor anyone else, figured Into the picture Sunday afternoon. Andrettl didn't let them.

"Michael did what he's been doing all year: he kicked our butts," exclaimed defending CART champ Al Unser who finished 9.2 seconds behind Andrettl. Other than a strong challenge from Emerson Fittlpaldi, nobody was able to keep young Andrettl in sight as he started on the pole in his KmartHavoline Lola-Chevy. See CART Page 3 less, second-generation dominated Indy-car racing because it's his Job, his life and his passion. Nobody does it better, or faster, or more spectacular. He takes chances, he leans on other drivers and he makes moves most guys never even con sider.

True, he's got one of the best rides in CART, but there's a reason for that. "That kid Is so good, I love to- watch him drive a race car," praised Paul Newman, co-owneK of Andrettl's car along with Car society, disputing the new king, but I cannot imagine the scenario he was describing. Because Andretti and conservative have less in common than Ted Kennedy and Barry Goldwa-ter. Andretti completed one of the most incredible sojourns in Indy-car history here Sunday. In a season that saw him win a record eight races, lead a record 965 laps and earn a record 234 points, one pattern developed: Michael Andretti was driven to win.

The always-aggressive, relent MONTEREY. Calif. I think most of the media bought it, but the motorsports press can be a pretty gullible group. After capturing another CART race and the 1991 championship, Michael Andrettl actually said, "We decided if he (Emerson Fittlpaldi) got close to me or beside me, I was going to let him go. "If Emerson hadn't had trouble and Bobby (Rahal) hadn't dropped out, I probably wouldn't have won." Sure, Mike.

You would have probably waved Emmo by, maybe Al Unser and even the old man. Heck, you could have Just coasted and collected probably been thrilled to finish fourth or fifth. Yeah, right. Folks, I realize it's not polite Haas. See MILLER Page 3 Rookie blasts rare homer to push Twins to victory ft 4 GAME 3 By BEN WALKER ASSOCIATED PRESS Minneapolis The pitch from Tom Glavine was down and in, but Scott Leius sent it up and out of the Metrodome.

Leius' improbable homer leading off the eighth Inning barely cleared the left field fence, but it was Just enough to give the Twins a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves Sunday night and a 2-0 lead as the World Series moves south for Game 3 Tuesday night. The Twins, suddenly so strong that even No. 8 hitter Leius reaches the fence, got their other runs on Chili Davis' two-run homer off a down-and-in Glavine slider In the first inning. "1 wf just looking to get on base anj he laid it in there," said Leius, a rookie who hit only games on four homers by four different players, a third of the way to the Series record of 1 2 by the 1956 New York Yankees. Minnesota hit 140 home runs this season, in the middle of the pack of the more powerful American League.

The Twins hit only 62 of them at the Metrodome. Power or not, the Twins are 9-1 In postseason games at their park. "It's fun to play at home, there's no doubt," Minnesota manager Tom Kelly said. "I think the ballfield helps us, especially in the World Series." The Braves, meanwhile, are struggling as much as the Twins are streaking. In two games, they have outhit the Twins 14-1 3 only to be outscored 8-4.

In Garni 2, they had pinners at second and third with none See GAME 2 Page 2 FIRST PITCH: 7:29 p.m. Tuesday. TV: WISH-Channel 8. SCHEDULED STARTERS: Minnesota, Erickson (20-8); Atlanta, Avery (18-8). five home runs all year.

"Once I saw it go out, I was Just trying to touch ail the bases, to make sure that was covered. I've never done anything like this. Well, maybe in iViffle ball." Minnesota now has scored seven of its eight runs In two ASSOCIATED PRESS Scott Leius of the Twins rips his eighth-inning, game-winning home run Sunday off Tom Glavine..