The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 19

The Indianapolis Star Ready to prove himself 1995 Indiana Mr. Basketball and Ben Davis star Damon Frierson is one of 13 players hitting the court for the Pacers this summer. Page 3 Monday, July 26, 1333 PAN AM GAMES 2 WNBA 3 BASEBALL 4-5 GOLF 6 SCOREBOARD 8 (U InfoLine: 624-4636 Online: www.starnews.com Winston Cup's finest ready for Brickyard 2 drivers earn win; only 1 hits line first 'siitatojw Bobby Labonte wins; Tony Stewart shows more signs he's ready to reach victory lane. Papis rules CART race until fuel runs dry on last lap; Kanaan holds off Montoya. a mile from the finish line, which allowed Tony Kanaan to score his initial win in Championship Auto Racing Teams.

And. even with his last-lap gift, Kanaan barely held off Juan Montoya, beating the FedEx Championship points leader by 0.032 of a second the second-closest finish in CART history. "I feel sorry for Max he deserved it, he led the most laps and had the best car," said Kanaan, whose McDonald's ReynardHondaFirestone swept past Papis heading into the fourth corner of the final lap. "I was pretty comfortable with See CART Page 9 Jarrett, another dominating driver in Sunday's race. Take rookie and Columbus, native Tony Stewart, who wowed the crowd of 140,000 with his charging, dicing drive through the field late in the race.

Take Mark Martin (third place), Wally Dallenbach (a season-best fifth) and pole sitter Mike Skinner (a race-high 51 laps led In the car he plans to drive at IMS). Then throw In defending Brickyard champion Jeff Gordon, perennial threat Jeff Burton and the rest of the fast Pontiac pack, including Ward Burton and John Andrew. See BRICKYARD Page 9 By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER BROOKLYN, Mich. When the white flag waved for the final lap of Sunday's U.S. 500, most of the small but enthusiastic crowd was certain it was going to see a first-time winner.

That happened; it just wasn't the guy everyone expected. Max Papis should have driven into victory lane but ran out of fuel Staff Photo Greg Griffo POCONO'S PRIDE: Bobby Labonte won both of this year's NASCAR Winston Cup races at Long Pond, a key to his third-place standing in the Winston Cup points race. By Curt Cavin STAFF WRITER LONG POND, Pa. The NASCAR Winston Cup series set its Brickyard 400 table Sunday at Pocono International Raceway, preparing a feast of contenders for the Aug. 7 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Take Bobby Labonte, the winner of Pocono's Pennsylvania 500. Take series points leader Dale NCAA deserves an opportunity to shine in our community Bill Benner The National Collegiate Athletic Association officially takes up residence in our fair city today. But it arrives with baggage other than that being loaded onto COMMENTARY fly" if I i 3 i Lance Armstrong's Tour de France win culminates battle with cancer. 1 7 i I rj TO mmmt4 1 Associated Press Photos i f-' CI' r- t' ii 1 1 I 1 less than 25 mph. It was as strong a performance as has been seen in the Tour in more than a decade.

Too strong for some. Elements of the French news media turned on Armstrong in mid-race, not too subtly suggesting that only performance-enhancing drugs could explain the American's success. The attacks frustrated and embittered the young rider for a time. "They say stress can cause cancer," he said at one point when asked what message he might have for people following his saga. "I would tell people not to come to the Tour de France and win the yellow jersey.

It is just too stress ful. By Saturday, however, the race won and the storm past. strong had a more sanguine vie "1 finishing a happy mar cause all of the innuendo An I I '1 fill II if i 'I 1 a the moving vans from Kansas. Often, it seems every facet of the association's business is being challenged, attacked, questioned or, worse, litigated. Critics are many and solutions art few as the NCAA walks a tightrope thinner than the hyphen between student-athlete.

Does it complement or compromise the educational missions of the colleges and universities it serves? Does it ensure a level playing field among its competitors or force them to tap dance through a minefield of nonsensical rules and regulations? Does it wield its enforcement powers fairly or arbitrarily? Does It properly represent women and minorities? Has it become enslaved by the bottom line, the dog wagged by the tail of television and corporate interests? So many critics So many interests tug at the NCAA. High-profile coaches stand behind podiums and criticize it. Its constituents its member Institutions act as if they are constricted by it. Media regularly take it to task for being insensitive, unresponsive and out of touch. Fans seem not to understand what it is nor what it stands for, only that it is sqme kind of bully or big brother.

Lawyers dissect its fine print, leaping through the loop-holes'to file and win lawsuits, I would dare say that few high-profile organizations especially those that govern sport have a poorer image or are more misunderstood. Ip the three divisions of the NCAA, more than 25,000 student-athletes perform, compete and excel. The vast majority go to class, graduate, benefit from the student-athlete experience and represent their institutions in a proud and distinguished manner under the banner of the NCAA. 4Yet, somehow, that message rarely gets out. In part, the NCAA and its chief executive a good, decent and far-sighted man by the name of Ce-dric Dempsey hope this move to Indianapolis will allow the association to remake that image, redefine what it is and become more responsive to the needs of its membership, both at the institutional and individual levels.

The logistics of moving will actually be the easy part. Convincing the public that the NCAA is made up of well-intentioned and reasoned people and not some nameless, faceless, uncaring monolith is the difficult task it will face in the years to come. As for the city, this relocation represents an enormous milestone in the sports strategy conceived two decades ago. Yes, state and local incentives were required, and $15 million was raised through private sources to bring the NCAA here; The overall tab runs to $50 million, but I believe time will prove it, to be money well spent. tSee BENNER 8 By Christopher K.

Hepp THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER PARIS The image on the big screen near the finish line could have been from any one of a dozen stages of this year's Tour de France: the multi-hued peloton being led by a single file of blue-uniformed riders towing a colleague in yellow. This time, however, it was Paris, and the avenue ahead was the Champs-Elysees. Sunday, under an azure sky and before an appreciative crowd of thousands, Lance Armstrong won the fastest Tour de France ever. In doing so, he became the first American to win the world's most important bicycle race since Greg LeMond completed the last of his three victories in 1990. More important to the 27-year-old cyclist from Austin, Texas, he is the only cyclist from any nation to have beaten cancer and then conquered the three-week, almost test of endurance that Is the Tour de France.

"Fifty percent of this is for the cancer community the doctors, the nurses, patients, their families, the survivors and those unfortunate ones who haven't made it," said Armstrong, who had been given 50-50 odds of surviving testicular cancer a little less than three years ago. "Twenty-five percent was for myself, my team and my family. And the other 25 percent was for all the people who did not believe in me." For nonbelievers, the U.S. Postal Service rider put on quite a show, winning the prologue, two time trials and a mountain stage. His overall pace was just a hair receiver CATCHING didn't last ii.

CONQUERING THE WORLD: Lance Armstrong's journey in the Tour de France included dominating time trials, a stage win in the mountains and unfounded rumors in the French press. Despite the controversy, Armstrong said he wouldn't view it as "a tainted Tour." See ARMSTRONG pJ 2 Copycat approach works for ft 'r -ry Ahead this week Stories set to appear this week in the Star sports section. Pacers on lookout With the free agent signing period only days away, the Pacers go In search of veteran talent. Colts, Rams meet The Colts head for Champaign, 111., where they take on the St. Louis Rams in a series of controlled practices.

RffHil Tribe back home The Indians return to Victory Field for a Thursday night game against the division-leading Columbus Clippers. Inside: Colts beat the heat by practicing at night, believed to be a first since 1984 move. Page 5 Green and the other Colts receivers could do worse in their search for a positional role model. In three years, Harrison has established himself as one of the NFL's rising stars with 196 receptions, 2,478 yards and 21 touchdowns. He runs precise routes, snatches virtually every ball thrown in his direction and continues to improve In the critical yards-after-the-catch category.

No one is expecting either Green, last year's third-round draft pick, or Jerome Pathon, a second-round selection last year, to supplant Harrison as quarterback Peyton Manning's go-to receiver. But everyone the players included expects this year to be an improvement over a 1998 season that saw Green and Pathon dea) with inconsistency, frustration and injury. Green categorized his rookie season as a Green believes that watching Harrison's every move will make him more valuable to the Colts. By Mike Chappell STAFF WRITER TERRE HAUTE, Ind. Marvin Harrison may need to file for a restraining order.

The Indianapolis Colts' veteran wide receiver is being stalked by E.G. Green. "It's my second year and right now I'm just watching Marvin," said Green, one of the Colts' promising young receivers. "Everything Marvin does, I look Green widened his eyes and stared straight ahead for effect. I look," he continued, "and write it down in my mind.

'OK, that's how you're supposed to do Marvin does everything so good, you've got to watch him. "Right now, I just want to be like No. 88 as much as possible." i Staff Photo Matt Kryger ON: E.G. Green (with ball) get much playing time as a rookie season because of injuries. See COLTS Page 5 'V.