The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 43

The Indianapolis Star 11 1 Ad supports Brand Big Ten university presidents use newspaper ad to support IU's Myles Brand (left) in wake of Bob Knight firing. Page 9 Friday, September 22, 2000 OLYMPICS 4-7 AUTO RACING 8 NBA 9 BASEBALL 12-13 SCOREBOARD 14 InfoLine: 624-INFO (4636) Online: www.stamews.com sports I 7T I I Bob Kravitz "It's really, really bad. Well, let's not leave it at that. I think it's good considering the pressure that we are under all of the time. Mika Hakkinen, on his personal dealings with Michael Schumacher wmmm lira Indianapolis proves it's the best team in minor-league baseball after beating Memphis 3 games to 1.

1 nth "TH-fv 'i i 1 ill- Uf MM' i'" I rdr) izr- By Victoria Sun CORRESPONDENT LAS VEGAS, Nev. Indianapolis Indians starting pitcher Horacio Estrada did a little song and dance in the dugout before his outing Thursday night against the Memphis Redbirds in the fourth game of the Tri- ple-A World Series. INDIANS 9 His celebration wasn't premature, MEMPHIS 2 after all. The Indians defeated the Redbirds 9-2 before an announced crowd of 1,999 at Cashman Field to win the best-of-five series 3-1. "It's a great feeling," Indianapolis manager Steve Smith said after being drenched In champagne.

"It's nice when you strive to achieve something all year to accomplish it; not only winning the world series, but when the guys have improved all year. "We had a nice group of veterans and young players that blended together who deserved to win it." Indianapolis finished the season 81-63, 9-5 in the playoffs while Memphis was 83-61, 7-7. Estrada pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning that could have cost Indianapolis the lead. In eight innings, Estrada allowed four hits, two earned runs and struck out three for the win. "Hey, that's why he won 15 games," said outfielder Chris Jones, who went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.

"When things start to get tough, he gets tough. "It's what he has been doing all season for us. This is a great win for all of us." Indianapolis shortstop Santiago Perez won the Most Valuable Player award for the series. Perez went 6-for-13 with four runs, three RBIs, one double and two home runs. He and Jones scored the Tribe's final two runs of the game in the ninth inning.

See TRIBE Page 13 Thompson's record is a source of pride SYDNEY, Australia This was billed as some kind of epic Greek tragedy on chlorine. Witness our noble Sisyphus in Speedos, Jenny Thompson, pushing that rock up the hill, only to have it fall on her head once again. Bring the tears. Bring the sorrow. Bring the overwrought prose.

Uggggh. So Thompson didn't win her individual gold medal. She retires now to medical school and a long, wonderful life without an Individual gold medal. Big deal. Would It have been a nice story if she had taken home the gold in this final Individual event, the 100-meter freestyle? Sure, it would have been a nice story.

It would have been a nice, semi-Dan-Jansen-esque moment, Thompson following up on seven relay golds with an individual gold In her valedictory swim. Instead, she tied for third, ironically, with American Dara Torres, a woman with whom she has a chilly relationship. But the fact that she didn't win? Is that what passes for tragedy these days? "I've spent too much time looking at what I don't have instead of what I have," Thompson said. "I'm proud of what I've done." The folks who think too hard will look at her place as America's most decorated female athlete seven relay golds, individual silver and bronze and diminish her legacy. Fine.

And aren't these the same people who ripped the Nike ad from the previous Olympics, the one that went, "You don't win silver, you lose Our sports culture properly rips selfishness. Why, then, wouldn't we applaud a woman who has done as much as a teammate in U.S. swimming as almost anybody else? Let somebody else put an asterisk next to her all-time record medal haul. Let somebody else say she couldn't hold a candle to an athlete such as speed-skater Bonnie Blair. Three Olympics.

Nine medals and maybe one more In another relay. And it's not like she's trying to hold herself up as some kind of immortal. "I don't try to put myself up there with someone like her (Blair)," Thompson said. "Everything I've done has been part of a team. But there's nothing wrong with that." It hurt.

No question, it hurt to leave her sport without a gold medal to call her own. You could see it in her eyes as she lingered in the pool long after the other swimmers left, breathing in the disappointment, soaking up her penultimate Olympic moment. You could see It later, on the medal stand, as she watched Torres celebrate with gold medalist Inge de Bruijn while she stood silently with a forced smile frozen on her face. "The two of them were in two different places," said U.S. swim coach Richard Quick.

"Dara was celebrating. For Jenny, It was her last indlvlduaLrace and she fell short of her goal, so maybe she was a little reserved." Thompson's best chance came in 1992 In Barcelona, when she took to the pool as the world-record holder in the 100-meter freestyle. She took silver in the race, finishing behind a Chinese woman widely suspected of being a drug cheat. This time, it was as if she was resigned to finishing somewhere behind de Bruijn, who yes, here we go again is widely suspected by American officials of being chemically enhanced. It could have been a wonderful story.

Instead, it was bittersweet. But hardly tragic. "She has a ton of things to be proud of," said Torres, momentarily putting her awkward relationship with Thompson aside. "It's been an awesome career." With no asterisks needed. Bob Kravitz is a sports columnist for The Indianapolis Star.

Contact him at (317) 633-9113 or via e-mail at bob.kravitzstafnews.com. American swimmers ride wave of medals Associated Press Domenico Stinellis Too close to call: Formula One series leader. Mika Hakkinen (top) follows Michael Schumacher during the Italian Grand Prix on Sept. 10, but he has two points on the Ferrari driver in the points race. No room for friends U.S.

momentum in pool unchecked as it shatters rivalry with Australians. Ultra-competitive nature of big-money Formula One series keeps drivers at bay By Curt Cavin STAFF WRITER ika Hakkinen is the two-time defending Formula One champion, but there is little separation between him and Sydney 2000 4 PAGES OF COVERAGE INSIDE Lasting memory: Lindsay Benko, of Elkhart, savors her gold and looks ahead to 2004. Page D5 World's fastest: Marion Jones and Maurice Greene hit the track in 100 meters. Page D5 In the spotlight: From Wabash College to the Sydney Games, coach Rob Johnson has hit the big time. Page D6 By David Woods STAFF WRITER SYDNEY, Australia Thursday was the night of the super eight for the U.S.

swimming team: eight finalists, eight medals. So much for the theory that holding the Olympic trials in Indianapolis (Aug. 9-16) so close to the Olympic Games would damage preparation. The Americans already have 25 swimming medals. Whether it was elite swimmers pointing for the Olympics and not the trials, togetherness developed during training camp or motivation generated by the rivalry with the Aussies, the Americans have ruled this side of the Pacific like a fleet of battleships.

"It's a ball of momentum," Kris-ty Kowal said. "Once it starts, it See AMERICAN Page 5 driver. His response was curt. "It's quite a personal thing," he said. "It's a thing I don't want to tell you." Hakkinen's boss, West McLaren director Ron Dennis, Intervened, saying the sport's mega-stars aren't in position to discuss each other in public.

"So what you get are gobbly goo (answers) or the truth, which gets them in trouble," he said. "It's better (for them) to say nothing, but the truth is, they're fiercely competitive people." Their year-long drive to win the first title of the millennium has been reduced to a few dashes. Three races remain and the intensely proud champions are separated by just two See FRIENDS Page 8 rival Michael Schumacher. While they rarely are together off the track, they are linked in nearly every conversation regarding grand prix excellence. There were plenty of those discussions Thursday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where Hakkinen and Schumacher, another two-time F-l champ, will pursue the first SAP U.S.

Grand Prix victory In Indianapolis history. Hakkinen was asked to assess Schumacher, the man as well as the In today's Star We get you ready for the United States Grand Prix with a 20-page bonus section devoted to the race. Inside the section you'll find driver bios, a look at the Formula One venues, the makings of a Formula One car and much more. Find it all in Section of today's newspaper. Heart surgery can't keep Foyt off the track Despite angioplasty, Texan is back for Hoosier Hundred.

If later. I feel fine, but I've got to take this medicine for 30 days and that slows me down a little." Foyt fields cars for J.J. Yeley and Ed Carpenter in the U.S. Auto Club's Silver Bullet series, which currently features a close battle for the championship. Kokomo's Dave Darland, who is going for his third victory in this race, trails leader Brian Tyler by 24 points and Tracy Hines is 41 points out of the top spot.

This evening's schedule calls for hot laps at 4:30 p.m. with qualifying at 5:30, a qualifying race at 7 and the 100-lap main event set for an 8 p.m. start. Contact Robin Miller at (317) 633-9184 or via e-mail aSjrobin.miller stamews.com Value HulmanHoosier Hundred at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. "I've got five balloons and three stents; I guess it's kinda like a valve job," chuckled the 65-year-old legend from Houston.

"They showed me a map of my heart and I had like 98 percent blockage in one (artery), 85 in another, 75 and 60. "My blood pressure was also something like 17590, so they put me on some medicine. Now it's 14060. It's like they retarded my spark." Foyt, whose favorite line the past 10 years has been "if I could just lose 30 pounds I'd get back in a car," was asked if he'd consider cutting back on rare steaks, fried chicken and hot fudge sundaes. "What do you think?" he replied.

"I've lived this many years eating like this and I'm not going to change now. The doctors tried to explain that diet stuff to me and I stopped 'em and said: 'Save your With his two-car Indy Racing League team and one-car effort in Winston Cup, Foyt has logged a lot of miles this season but claimed he wasn't feeling bad. "I really didn't, but people were telling me I didn't look good so 1 went to the doctor," he said. "I've been running all over the country, but that's normal. I can't sit around.

"I got cut on a week ago Monday, went home Tuesday evening and was bacjf at my shop a couple days By Robin Miller STAFF WRITER A.J. Foyt loves ice cream, cheese, anything fried and dirt tracks. That's been his diet for the better part of six decades. And the four-time Indy 500 winner isn't going to let some minor heart surgery slow down his lifestyle or eating habits. A week after undergoing angioplasty, an operation to open blocked arteries to the heart, the cantankerous Texan is back in Indianapolis to host tonight's True Staff Photo Greg Griffo New parts: A.J.

Foyt reveals "I've got five balloons and three stents; I guess it's kinda like a valv job.".