The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 21

"TVn Major Leagues i Teams hit record six 1 grand slams yesterday 5C SportsA.M 2C Sounds 5C Scoreboard 7C MONDAY, MAY 22, 2000 CP Knicks steal one in Heat's home again Miami unhappy with late call by referees NBA playoffs Knicks 83, Heat 82. Today. Trail Blazers at Lakers, 8:30 p.m. TV: TNT Tomorrow: Knicks at Pacers, 7:30 p.m. TV: TNT More NBA on 3C.

timeout, although Sprewell admitted he hadn't. Chris Childs said it was he who had called timeout from several feet away, while Sprewell thought it was Marcus Cam-by who called it. "They had three officials in their pocket," Mashbum said. After running the rest of the time off the clock without allowing the Heat to foul, the Knicks mobbed each other in celebration at midcourt. Tim Hardaway hit a 3-pointer with 132 left to give Miami an 82-81 lead, and Ewing slipped behind Alonzo Mourning for a dunk that made it 83-82 with 120 left With 12.4 seconds left, the Heat called a timeout and then got the ball to Mourning, but he passed out of a double-team and the ball ended up in the hands of Clarence Weath-erspoon for a 12-footer that bounced off the back rim.

"We weren't going to let Alonzo beat us," said Childs, who singlehandedly kept the Knicks in the game during the fourth quarter, finishing with 15 points. Sprewell led the Knicks with 24 points. Associated Press MIAMI Same setting, new ending, familiar result: The Knicks are moving on and the Heat is going home. The New York Knicks did it again in Miami, ending the Heat's season in a hostile arena for the third straight year in yet another riveting win-or-else game this time with a finish that left the home team crying foul. Getting the winning points from Patrick Ewing with L20 left and the benefit of an official's call with 2.1 seconds left, the Knicks knocked the Heat out of the playoffs 83-82 yesterday in Game 7 of their second-round series to advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Indiana.

So upset were the Heat with the way the ending went down they felt an official had awarded the Knicks a timeout when no one had asked for one that Jamal Mashbum chased the refer- AP ees as they ran off the court while Miami's coaches yelled that they had been robbed. Referee Bennett Salvatore said Sprewell had called a New York's Chris Childs tries to block Miami's Tim Hard- away in a race to a loose ball in the final minutes. 'I just think we have our own niche in the A-League. That is where we're most comfortable at this Devinder Sandhu, Rhythm general manager Brilliant day from Relfour boosts Stars V- i Steel cables showed signs of corrosion 53 race fans remained hospitalized yesterday Temtsseim News Services CONCORD, N.C Steel cables in a concrete pedestrian bridge near Lowe's Motor Speedway were corroded and may have contributed to an accident which injured more than 100 people after Saturday night's Winston all-star event, an official with the North Carolina Department of Transportation said yesterday. Exposed in the rubble yesterday, the steel showed signs of corrosion, probably caused by moisture, said Don Idol an Associated Press DENVER Being outshot 39-15 in a must-win game on the road isn't the usual formula for success.

But thanks to Ed Belfour, the Dallas Stars regained home-ice advantage. Belfour was brilliant in goal, recording 38 saves, to lead the Stars to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche yesterday. SSL Brett Hull had V7 8 two goals and an assist as the Stars squared the best-ot-seven Western Conference finals at 2-2. Game 5 is tomorrow night at Dallas. Mike Modano added three assists for Dallas, which scored four times on its first 11 shots.

"We're sitting here at 2-2 with three games left, two at home," Dallas Coach Ken Hitchcock said. "Our team feels NHL playoffs Stars 4, Avalanche 1, Series tied 2-2. Today: Devils at Flyers, 6 p.m., TV: ESPN. Tomorrow: Avalanche at Stars, 6 p.m., TV: ESPN. More NHL on6C.

Off 1) in' )iihii ii 1 in 1 1 nil-1 11 i 111 "iri-f-' fw-i if" nlff-f --i-v DELORES DELVIN STAFF When Adelphia Coliseum was built, the soccer community was hopeful it might someday be home to a Major League Soccer team. Rhythm happy as MLS minor-league team assistant engineer with the state DOT. One of four 80-foot sections of the 320-foot walkway snapped in half and fell onto the highway outside the speedway. A total of 107 people received medical treatment, said track spokesman Jerry Gappens. Fifty-three remained hospitalized yesterday, two in critical conditioa "It was an amazing sight; everyone disappeared," said spectator Mike Aquino, who was treated for minor injuries.

"There was a mass of people, and then they were all gone." After two loud popping sounds, screams filled the humid night air as adults and children slid and tumbled to the highway feet below in a jumble of broken concrete, steel cables, coolers, and grills. The $1 million walkway was built in 1995 for pedestrian traffic only. It is 16 feet wide. It was inspected when it first opened, but inspections weren't required since then because it is owned by the speedway. Last May, three spectators at the track for an IRL race were killed by a tire that went spinning into the stands after a crash.

"I don't think we're jinxed," Gappens said yesterday. "Each is an isolated incident" The next race scheduled at the speedway is Sunday's Coca-Cola 600. Qualifying starts Wednesday. By HAROLD HUGGINS Sports Writer Adelphia Coliseum was being pitched to voters, the letters M-L-S were whis pered along with N-F-L pretty good about itself right now. "We got the win in this building that we badly needed.

Colorado plays perfect in this building. We play really well in our building, too. The game changes dramatically when it goes into our building now." Hitchcock, who switched his lines in an effort to inject life into a squad that was shut out twice in the first three games of the series, said Hull's second goal was critical. "They scored their goal after an unfortunate turnover to make it 2-1, and we were on our heels," Hitchcock said. "That goal by Hull was huge for us." But Hitchcock reserved most of his praise for Belfour.

"Eddie was terrific," Hitchcock said. "He's been terrific the whole series. He's played four great hockey games." Patrick Roy stopped 11 shots for Colorado, which lost for the first time at home in the playoffs after seven wins. "Dallas played well with the lead, and whenever we had a good scoring chance, Belfour was there," Colorado Coach Bob Hartley said. "We had great pressure and we put tons of pucks at the nets.

But it's not the number of shots, it's the number of goals." Rhythm vs. IV1LS exhibition game Who: vs. MLS Colorado Rapids When: Wednesday, 7 p.m. Where: New BGA Stadium, Mack Hatcher Parkway, Franklin Tickets: $15 (adults), $10 (students, children) at the gate. member of pro soccer's A-League soccer's Triple-A equivalent and unfolded an elaborate blueprint for a soccer stadium with adjacent fields.

When they lost a big-time corporate sponsor, the Metros and the plans folded last spring, leaving new Rhythm ownership headed by General Manager Devinder Sandhu and President Dan Lucas to pick up the pieces. They barely got the team patched up in time to salvage the start of the season last March with a new coach, new nickname and almost completely new administration. The Rhythm moved to old BGA Stadium in Franklin, where they struggle to draw more than 1,000 fans a game. Not an ideal portfolio to present to an MLS expansion committee. "I just think we have our own niche in the A-League," Sandhu said.

That is where we're most comfortable at this time." Then again, the MLS has its eyes elsewhere. "At the moment, the MLS is looking to add two franchises by the 2002 season," MLS Vice President of Communications Dan Courtemanche said of the Please see SOCCER, 6C The latter became a dream come true (see Music City Miracle) while the former remains a pipe dream Nashville's hopes of a landing a Major League Soccer franchise appear slim at best As the minor league Tennessee Rhythm meets its MLS parent team, the Colorado Rapids, for an exhibition on Wednesday in Franklin, Rhythm fans can only imagine what might have beea Just three seasons ago, the Rhythm, then known as the Nashville Metros, were playing at the HCA Soccer Complex on Harding Road. The team was a Superspeedway investor convinced Nashville can get Cup race Larry Commentary When an 800-pound gorilla plops down at the table, you'd better hide the china; things could get interesting in a hurry. The big monkey analogy recently was used by Denis McGlynn to describe the impact of NASCAR's new $2.4 billion TV deal on future race scheduling and specifically on Nashville's hopes of getting a Winston Cup race. "An 800-pound gorilla is going to sit down at the table, and he can't be ignored," McGlynn said.

After NASCAR announced that new tracks in Chicago hope. Then again, remember the forecast of former NASCAR PR director Chip Williams after Nashville lost its two Cup races in 1984: "Let me explain it so fans in Nashville can understand it," Williams said. "Nashville will get a Winston Cup race when Vanderbilt plays in the Sugar Bowl" As you can see, we're still waiting. Larry Woody writes about NASCAR daily at www.tennessaan.com. He can be reached at hvoodyO tennessean.com or 259-8019.

McGlynn's Dover Downs Entertainment is investing in new Nashville Superspeedway. If the new track lands a Winston Cup race, it will recoup its investment almost overnight. Its economic impact could be huge. Without a Winston Cup race? It could face a struggle. McGlynn believes the Busch Series eventually will grow into a mini-Cup league.

But it's not there yet. Right now a superspeedway couldn't survive on Busch, truck and Saturday night races. The Cup schedule next year will expand to 34 points races, with two special events. NASCAR Vice President Mike Helton is wary of much more expansion. "For us to add races it has to be major, major opportunities," Helton said.

He all but ruled out giving any existing one-race track a second race. That won't sit well with giant tracks at Texas, Las Vegas, California and Homestead-Miami That could mean that something's gotta give, and that's what McGlynn is counting oa Flamboyant track owner Bruton Smith has long lob bied for more races. He has suggested splitting the series into two divisions, thereby doubling the races. NASCAR isn't just cool toward the split notion. It's frigid.

McGlynn is pinning Nashville's big-league hopes less on a split and more on the power of the tube. Fox, NBC and Turner Broadcasting next season launch a six-year deal to televise NASCAR races. Enter McGlynn's 800-pound gorilla He believes the new TV honchos, with $2.4 billion in clout, will push NASCAR for more races. McGlynn doesn't rule out midweek, made-for-TV events. "It would make sense," said Fox spokesman Dan Bell in response to McGlynn's theory.

"But to my knowledge there has been no discussion about it with NASCAR." McGlynn didn't just bounce off a load of pumpkins. He has been working with NASCAR for 30 years. His Dover track hosts two annual Winston Cup sellouts of 150,000. When he says he believes Nashville will get a Wiaston Cup race, that stirs credible and Kansas City each will get a race next season, I asked McGlynn if it signaled the death knell for Nashville's Winston Cup hopes. Not at all, said McGlynn.

He is putting his money $125 million where his mouth is. That's how much jam SV. '-V-T- fv More stories Search our archives Brandt Snedeker repeats his titSe Nashville's Brandt Snedeker for recently A firefighter checks to make sure the flames are extinguished on the No. 52 car after 15 cars were involved in a fiery a crash on the first lap. published shot 4-under yesterday to win 1 Assistant Managing EditorSports: Bill Bradley, 259-8022 Deputy Sports Editor Michael H.

Jones, 259-8013 Assistant Sports Editor: Kevin Procter, 259-8014 Assistant Sports Editor: Bob McClellan, 259-8299 Senior Writer David Climer, 2594020 Phone: 259-8010 Rue 2594826 9i Tim Sauter wins 'brotherly' battle Tim Sauter drifted high, then darted low to grab the lead from younger brother Johnny with five laps to go, then held on to win the American Speed Association's BF Goodrich 300 at Nashville Speedway. On 2C. lUUUJctll i 'i stones. Click "1 A on Sports. the Municipal Amateur Tournament for (he second straight year, at 10-under 206.

He edged out older brother Haymes, who is also a past winner. On 8C. Pro golf roundup, on 8C. www.tennessean.com SAM PARPISH STAFF www.tennessean.com.