The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 32

The Indianapolis Star (H jj Sunday, August 23, 12C3 NFL 2 GYMNASTICS 3 AUTO RACING 4 BASEBALL 10-13 SCOREBOARD 16 St. Louis slugger sets record for most homers in a 3-year span as he continues to chase Roger Maris and immortality. Page 12 InfoLine: 624-4636 Online: www.starnews.com fc iiiiniiiiiinii rrll U.S. poised for a leap At last, Agassi makes final round of RCAs Women's team hopes national meet gives them a jump-start for Olympics. Inside i A j- ililililirtlliHlllliinr miifcrt 1 By Mark Ambrogi STAFF WRITER Andre Agassi has played tons of tennis since mid-July.

But he has no concerns about being fatigued for the upcoming U.S. Open. "I've got next week off, and 1 got a few bottles of wine and some good food In New York waiting for me," he said. "So I'll be In good shape (when the Open begins on Aug. 31)." The red wine connoisseur will certainly be cracking open a few bottles If he gets past Spain's Alex Corretja in today's RCA Championships final at 1 p.m.

at the Indianapolis Tennis Center. Both will be playing in their first Indianapolis final. Agassi had never gotten past the quarters here before. Corretja was a 1994 semiflnalist. The fifth-seeded Agassi advanced with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory over unseeded Ramon Delgado before 6,519 fans Saturday In the opening semifinal.

Sixth-seeded Corretja topped 15th-seeded Todd Martin, Ponte Vedra Beach, 6-2. 7-6 (7-4) In the second semi. Today's winner will earn $122,500 from the $870,000 prize fund. The runner-up takes home juring her left knee Aug. 3.

She overcame a second night of grief on uneven bars to finish third. "Placing third is better than placing 20th," Moceanu said, referring to the 20 selections for the national team. "Just being here is amazing. It was a test for me to see how tough I was." For this quadrennium, the international federation changed the rules from the 1996 Olympics. At Atlanta, nations could have seven athletes and enter six per event.

Five scores counted. In 2000, nations will be restricted to rosters of six, with five entries per event and four scores counting. That means one fewer American woman In Sydney, but it also means less depth is required. Maloney, of Pen Argyl, is 17. She probably will postpone college a year to train for the Olympics.

Atler, of Canyon Country, and Mo-See LEAP Page 3 By David Woods STAFF WRITER For the 2000 Olympic Games, the United States doesn't need a Magnificent Seven. A Super Six would do. Or even a Fab Five. With Kristen Maloney, Vanessa Atler and Dominique Moceanu, USA Gymnastics leaders hope they are halfway there. Don't give up on Kim Zmeskal, either.

Maloney beat three former champions to win the all-around in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships before 8,886 spectators Saturday night at Market Square Arena. Her score of 76.749 was nearly a full point ahead of defending champ Atler, whose two falls on uneven bars Thursday night were her undoing. Moceanu, who in 1995 became the youngest national champion ever at 13, competed here despite in TODAY'S SINGLES FINAL: Alex Corretja vs. Andre Agassi, 1 p.m.

(doubles final to follow). (tape delayed at 3 p.m.) TICKETS: Available at Indianapolis Tennis Center box office. INSIDE: Corretja recalls upset loss to Agassi at 1997 RCAs. Page 6 Janae Cox, from tiny Otisco, brings a vocal following to Market Square Arena as she qualifies for U.S. national team.

Page 3 Kristen Maloney won the all-around gymnastics title, but there's still plenty of hard work ahead, Bill Benner says. Page 3 Staff Photo Robert Scheer GREAT JOB! Kristen Maloney, the all-around titlist, is congratulated by an unidentified man after her final vault. See AGASSI Page 7 Fo) Sflartin foils ojlrigvygJlJ Gordon's bid Mark Martin wins Goody's 500, preventing Jeff Gordon from recording record fifth consecutive victory. Page 4 uuuumuuii.yi.inii if Chargers' top draft pick gets better of Manning, Colts in first meeting between teams. By Mike Chappell STAFF WRITER Ideally, It was the first Installment of a quarterback do-cudrama that could unfold for the next decade.

Realistically, It was another Indication that the Indianapolis Colts need more than a tweak here and a twist there before they're ready for the regular season. On a Saturday night in the RCA Dome that saw San Diego's Ryan Leaf outduel Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, the Colts were left with much more to consider than how their rookie quarterback stacked up against the Chargers' first-year phenom. "What happened tonight Is a pretty good indication that we have an awful lot of work to do to be a good football team," coach Jim Mora said after watching his Colts get demolished 33-3. "We hung with them pretty good in the first half, but the second half really came down hard on us. "We got clobbered in the second half." Able to stagger Into halftlme with a 3-3 tie, the Colts were laid to waste during the final 30 minutes.

San Diego, which actually trailed 3-0 late In the first quarter, did whatever it pleased in the second half. Six possessions netted 237 yards, 19 first downs and 30 points. The Colts, meanwhile, barely showed a pulse after Intermission with 36 total yards and three first downs. See COLTS Page 2 Iff Singh, Woods in duel at Sprint Vijay Singh leads, but Tiger Woods (above) is charging after three rounds at Sprint International. Page 14 -fc fc Manning's flat home debut wont matter in real season Robin Miller A star who's dovn to earth Texas running back Ricky Williams is refreshingly generous and perhaps the best player in the land.

Page 15 rX Peyton Manning's RCA Dome debut was comparable to President Clinton's confession to the nation last Monday night. We didn't quite see the leader we wanted. But while Manning's two-Interception, no-touchdown performance in a 33-3 loss to San Diego left some grumbles among the RCA Dome crowd, it shouldn't be compared to Slick Willie's scramble. Because Peyton's performance didn't COMMENTARY Dragon Again sets the pace A daring move by driver Ron Pierce allows 3-year-old colt to capture $450,000 Hoosier Cup for pacers. Page 17 7 EE leave any damaging stains.

Sure, the Colts' rookie quarterback would have liked to put up a in his initial dress rehearsal at home. He damn sure knows Saturday night's effort wasn't why Indianapolis made him the top pick in last April's draft. And it didn't help that Ryan Leaf triumphed in the first meeting of Dueling Franchises. But that's the beautiful thing about exhibition football. Win or lose, nobody really cares or remembers.

"It's preseason and hopefully you learn from your mistakes," said Manning, who made a crucial one Just before halftlme when he served up an interception with Indy sitting on San Diego's 31. Of course, there will be plenty of national news about the first of what promises to be endless seasons of comparison. Leaf left in the third quarter with a stat line that read 15-of-24 for 172 yards, three sacks, one pick, one score and a 17-3 lead. Manning managed ll-of-21 completions for 123 yards, See MILLER Page 2 44 AMERICAN LEAGUE Baltimore 6 Cleveland 2-1 7-7 Detroit 3 Tampa Bay Oakland Kansas City 1 1 mr" 4 Boston 12 Texas Minnesota New York lmtTKimiriTffftititlfflMfiVHTrt Staff Photo Matt Kryger Seattle 5 Chicago 4 Anaheim 5 Toronto 1 HIT THE DECK: Colts linebacker Elijah Alexander contributes to a sack against Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf in the first quarter. Despite the sack, Leaf passed for 172 yards.

NATIONAL LEAGUE 9 Arizona New York 8 Chicago 7 Los Angeles 4 Montreal Houston Atlanta Cincinnati ELSEWHERE Neil O'Donnell lays claim to the Bengals starting quarterback job by hitting 15-of-18 passes as Cincinnati dumps the Detroit Lions 33-19 in preseason NFL action. Page 2 COLTS NOTEBOOK Free-agent Keith Elias is leading the Colts' ground attack and even returning kickoffs in his bid to make it back to the NFL after an injury sidelined him in late 1996. Page 2 SEASON OPENER The Miami Dolphins come to the RCA Dome at 3 p.m. Sept 6 as the 1998 campaign kicks off. Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson has promised a ground-oriented offensive attack this season.

UP NEXT The Colts play host to the Detroit Lions and star running back Barry Sanders at p.m. Thursday as the preseason concludes for both teams. The game will be televised by WISH-8. Philadelphia 6 Colorado San Francisco 5 Florida Pittsburgh 14 St. Louis Milwaukee 8 San Diego INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE Louisville.