The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 29

The Indianapolis Star Andretti nets 2nd win John Andretti (left) drives to victory lane in the Goody's 500 for his second career victory. Page 3 Monday, April 19, 1999 HOCKEY 2 NBA 4-5 GOLF 8 BASEBALL 10 SCOREBOARD 11 InfoUne: 624-4636 Online: www.starnews.com ID) gporte i Montova I Cold Pacers crumble in Mami upholds didn't have homecourt advantage and Pacers. fought and won. After its shots miss mark, Indiana loses chance to keep pace in race for home court. Miami .32 Next Game: at Boston, 7 p.m.

today, WTTV-4, TBS, WIBC-1070 AM, FM. his team's tradition Rookie dominates, giving Ganassi its 4th Long Beach win in row. jj fe ff "The important thing for us is to play Pacer basketball." That hasn't happened very often lately. The team that prided itself on meeting challenges and hitting big shots last season hasn't done either consistently over the past three weeks, including on Sunday. The Pacers jumped to a nine-point lead in the first quarter despite the absence of center Rik Smlts, who missed the game with flu-like symptons, led by as many as 10 In the second quarter and held a seven-point advantage at halftlme.

But they caved In to Miami's increased defensive pressure in the second half, hitting just 5-of-17 shots in the third period and 7-of-20 in the fourth. "The first half we were moving the ball extremely well, going from side to side," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "The second half we got a little stagnant and frustrated. They were more physical than us and took us out See PACERS Page 5 i By Mark Montieth STAFF WRITER MIAMI So often it comes down to the simple art of hitting shots. The Indiana Pacers haven't been very artistic lately.

With their best clutch shooter missing a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds, the Pacers lost 92-88 to Miami on Sunday. The defeat dealt a severe blow to their hopes of finishing with the best record In the Eastern Conference. The Pacers (26-15) dropped three games behind Orlando In the race for homecourt advantage throughout the conference playoffs, and one game behind Miami. With just nine games left in the regular season, their hopes are dim, although they are assured of the second seed in the playoffs If they win the Central Division. They hold a two-game lead over Atlanta.

"This game had a lot of significance," said Miami center Alonzo Mourning, who was ejected from an earlier meeting between the two teams on March 20 but had 24 points and 16 rebounds Sunday. "With the posi- tlonlng (in the standings), this game will definitely make a difference." Indiana wound up splitting the season's four-game series with the Heat, with each winning one at home and one on the road. Should the playoffs go according to form, the two teams would meet In the second round. "If (Sunday's outcome) means something down the road, we'll find out," Pacers guard Mark Jackson said. "There's no telling.

I've been on teams that had homecourt advantage and blew It; I've been on teams that By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER T' Associated Press HOT. Miami's Alonzo Mourning (right) takes it over Antonio Davis. Mourning had 24 points and 16 rebounds. '7 will miss every part of the game, because I loved every part of the game. Wayne Gretzky IfiKSSlG lOB3 itate if LONG BEACH, Calif.

Morris Nunn checked his answering machine at his Florida home Sunday morning and there was a message from Alex Zanardl. "He said not to forget we'd won that race three years in a row. We had a lot to live up to and he'd be watching," related Nunn, the veteran engineer for Target Ganassi Racing. .) What two-time CART champ Zanardl saw was his 23-year-old replacement thump the field In America's premier street race. Juan Pablo Montoya, who had never seen Long Beach before last Wednesday, drove a flawless race around the tight 11-tum, 1.82-mile temporary track to win the 25th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

A record crowd of 102,000 didn't have much to shout about because after pole-sitter Tony Kanaan crashed on lap 46, Montoya quickly ended the suspense. The rookie from Colombia led the final 40 laps In the Target ReynardHondaFirestone, withstood a late yellow and charged under the checkered flag 2.8 seconds ahead ofDarioFranchitti. "All of my boys did a good job today, I had a great car and our pit stops were good," said Montoya, sounding a lot like his predecessor, who left the team to run Formula One. "It was quite a tough race and Tony (Kanaan) had a great car. I "I told my boys that qualifying wasn't the end of this weekend, and it came together for us today." In only his third champ car start, Montoya became the first rookie to win a CART race since Zanardi in 1996 at Portland in his ninth start.

i. "I think he's better looking than Zanardl; that's the only comparison I'll make," said owner Chip Ganassi, whose team is gunning for its fourth consecutive CART title. "Ob- See MONTOYA Page 3 Wayne Gretzky, 38, leaves hockey with 61 records, the hearts of fans. 1 posing for one last photo with teammates, who all wore No. 99 caps.

"You know, this is not a passing on; this is a moving on," the 38-year-old Gretzky said. Gretzky ended his career with i an assist, setting up a second-period goal as his New York Rangers lost to Pittsburgh 2-1 in overtime. On the final shift of his 21-year pro career, with all the fans at Madison Square Garden on their 0LwU r' J( 1 i I feet cheering as if a Stanley Cup Ahead this week je Stones set to appear this week By Barry Wilner ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK There were four laps around the rink, tears and a simple wave and then he was gone. Wayne Gretzky ended his NHL career on Sunday to rousing cheers and endless chants from an overflow crowd at Madison Square Garden. "I'm devastated I will no longer be a hockey player," Gretzky said.

"I will miss every part of the game, because I loved every part of the game. "But I've made the right decision." Smiling through his tears, the greatest player ever made it easy for everyone to say goodbye skating around the arena slowly enough for plenty of souvenir photos to be taken. Better still, he touched youngsters' hands every time he noticed them extended from the crowd. He even played to the adoring fans, donning a blue Yankees hat, then a red Rangers beret. Gretzky skated one lap around the rink with teammates in tow, then came an encore, as a lone spotlight followed him around the ice and Carly Simon's Nobody Does It Better blared throughout.

Perhaps the most excruciating moment for him came as he fought the tears, occasionally looking down at the ice, while in the Star sports section. Tribe returns home The Indianapolis Indians begin a seven-game homestand with a Monday night game against Nor-, folk. title was imminent, Gretzky did nothing special. That was particularly on this day whenj he set up a dozen good scoring chances and for his unparal-j leled career. During a Rangers timeout with 40.4 seconds to go in the third pe- riod, his wife, Janet, started to cry' as the fans began the long, final salute to The Great One.

Gretzkyj acknowledged It with a nod, then! a wave, then by raising his stick1 in the air. i "When John called timeout, it hit me that I was done," he sald.i his eyes watering once "Then is when it hit me that I had! only 30 seconds left." Moments after the timeout, he; almost had a breakaway, but Pittsburgh goalie Tom Barrasso.j who had a sensational game, beat Gretzky to the puck. i See GRETZKY Page 2 Ice In playoffs The International Hockey League playoffs start with the Ice visiting Cincinnati on Tuesday night. huhctemi Bucks stop here Associated Press ICEMAN COMETH NO MORE: Wayne Gretzky 's professional hockey career began in Indianapolis in October 1978 and ended Sunday in New York's Madison Square Garden. The Milwaukee Bucks will be In town on Wednesday night to meet the Pacers in a Central Division showdown.

1999 KFL DRAFT James can't wait to reward Colts for their faith in him It's way too early to judge Colts' picks, Polian warns rant that played host to the Lozano's. Though James' selection was announced before noon, the party lasted late into the night. "It was better than going to New York (for the draft)," he said. "I had some of my Pop Warner coaches, friends and family members that were there from day one. And it kind of shows kids that it's not impossible to make it out of a place like Immokalee.

It was a long route, but it's possible, and It shows kids what could happen, if you do things the right way." It's a habit he intends to continue. Aware the decision to trade Marshall Faulk was motivated by the star running back's Intention to hold out of training camp without a Indiana's second-day best: Purdue's Rosevelt Colvin leads the state's contingent of players selected on the draffs second day. Page 6 sistlng that James was a good fit for the Colts' offense and would be a starter from Day 1, and Mike Peterson, a second-round choice, was a potential starter as well, Amusing stuff, insisted Bill Polian, who oversaw his second draft as the Colts' president. "All the years I was In Buffalo, the gurus used to give us C's and C-pluses (after a draft) and we would be playing in January," he said. "It doesn't really mean much "That's been driven home to me By Conrad Brunner STAFF WRITER The party's over for Edgerrin James.

Now the work begins and the sooner the better. After surprising most observers Including Ricky Williams by choosing the Miami running back Instead of the Heisman Trophy winner from Texas with the fourth pick in Saturday's NFL draft, the Colts waited until Sunday to bring James to Indianapolis. He wanted to spend Saturday in his hometown of Immokalee, at a draft party and cookout that featured almost 300 people, 60 pounds of ribs, 120 pounds of chicken and 100 pounds of pork steak al donated by the By Mike Chapped STAFF WRITER Already it begins. The personnel marathon known as the NFL draft had just run its 15-hour, 56-minute course Sunday evening when armchair quarterbacksanalysts began passing out grades and criticisms. A pro football writer with the Arizona Republic listed the Indianapolis Colts' decision to use the draft's fourth overall pick on Miami (Fla.) running back Edgerrin James rather than Texas' Ricky Williams as the worst pick of the draft.

Marty Schottenheimer, the former Kansas City Chiefs coach who's now an analyst with ESPN, was at the opposite end of the spec-ttiim. He liked thi Colts' draft, in- Staff Photo Matt Kryger REASON TO SMILE: The Colts' No. 1 draft pick, running back Edgerrin James from Miami, enjoyed the attention Sunday morning at the team's headquarters. Sea JAMES Page fk See COLTS Page 6 1.