The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 96

THE TENWE88EAN tatunUy. tutmfaf 3 199A 3C Geoff Bodine takes record, pole OUT ON STRIKE: Atlanta Braves shortstop Jeff Blauser Is a guest of Dale Earnhardt for this weekend's Mello Yellow Southern 500 at Darlington, S.C. "Since he's not working because of the baseball strike, I offered to let him drive one of my race cars," Earnhardt said. "I told Jeff I'd give him 35 of whatever he won." Blauser predicted that tho strike would end by Sept. 22.

"He's about to run out of money," Earnhardt said. LAJOIE ON POLE: Randy LaJoie yesterday won the pole for today's Ga-torade 200 Busch Grand National race with a 161.002 mph lap. Mark Martin Is on the outside of the front row. Also In the field for the 1 1:30 a.m. CDT race is Kenny Wallace (17th), driving for the Nashville-based Fllmar Racing Team.

NICE FIT: Cale Yarborough continues to be impressed by young driver Jeremy Mayfield, who recently moved from Nashville to Charlotte, N.C., to be near Yarborough's organization, May-field's new team. "He has that special "want-to' and desire when he's on the track," Yarborough said yesterday. "I like that style in a driver. WELCOME HOME, CALE: Yarborough, who launched his 30-year racing career here at Darlington Speedway, will be inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame tonight. "I saw my first race here and I later drove my first race here," Yarborough said.

"The first one I saw was when I was about 1 1 years old, and I got In the track by crawling under the fence." LARRY WOODY By LARRY WOODY Sports Writer DARLINGTON, S.C NAS-CAR's oldest track has a new speed record. Geoff Bodine led a stampede of 14 drivers who broke the Darlington Speedway record when he toured the 34-year-old track at 166.998 mph yesterday. Bodine's-Ford will sit on the pole for tomorrow's Mountain Dew Southern 500. Bodine's lap bettered the track record of 165.553 set this spring by Bill Elliott Rain-cooled temperatures enabled 35 drivers to crack the event record set in 1991 by the and Brett Bodine. Nashville's Bobby Hamilton starts 16th.

Other Middle Tennesseans just missed spots. Franklin's Darrell Waltrip was 21st-fastest yesterday, Columbia's Sterling Marlin 24th and former Nashville rookie Jeremy Mayfield 25th. Also failing to crack the top 20 was Winston Cup points leader Dale Earnhardt (27th). They can elect to stand on their times or try for a better lap in today's second round of qualifying, which will settle positions 21-40. Bodine, who squeezed only three practice laps in before the rain delay, termed his record lap "hairy." "I drove into the first turn really deep, figuring the car would stick, and it did, but I didn't know if was going to make it out the other side.

"It was a pretty scary lap. I don't know what It looked like from the outside, but from the inside it looked pretty hairy." Bodine said winning races and poles this season is especially gratifying with that he owns his racing team. "The team is good and I want people to know that" he said. late Davey Allison. "Winning a pole here is always special because this is a tough track," Bodine said.

"The rain probably helped us." Qualifying was delayed two hours because of the weather. "It really cooled off," Bodine said. "It wasn't hot to start with, but the rain cooled it down more and it just got faster and faster." Ken Schrader will start on the outside of the front row, followed by Ward Burton, Joe Nemechek- Field of contenders chasing co-favorites By CHARLES SEARCY Sports Writer SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. Picking a winner in tonight's finale of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration will be as difficult as finding a needle in the haystack. Pride's Winning Edge, ridden by Tim Gray for Filbert Martocci of Franklin, and Maker's Red Mark with Allen McQuerry up for the Feistritzer Company in Danville, are considered co-favorites.

Both Gray and McQuerry are confident about their bids for the title tonight "If I do the same thing I did last week, ride a consistent ride, then I can't ask any more," Gray said. "We have shown him all year and been successful and if we can remember what we did, the same thing, and keep doing it he'll be that way." McQuerry also has had a successful year on Maker's Red Mark, having gone unbeaten in the big stakes class. "He's got good stamina, real consistent and has done everything I have asked him to do," McQuerry said. "He's got a lot of heart" But while Pride's Winning Edge and Maker's Red Mark are fa vored, it is good to remember that The Touch, ridden to the title by Chad Way a year ago, was second in his preliminary event before walking into the spotlight Way is again riding in this championship class, hoping to win aboard Pride's Pattern for back-to-back titles. Pattern was excused from the ring after suffering a cut on a front foot and was never involved in final judging.

Russ Thompson is confident he has Gen's Armed and Dangerous in a good position, finishing last week as the reserve winner to Winning Edge. And then there's Pusher's Big Score, with Scott Benham up. Take those horses, stir in the names of Star of the Future, Jubilee's Rising Star, Black Rain, Eb's Cloud Nine, Powered by Generator and Stride's Holly Terror, and you've got 11 strong contenders. But that's what tonight is all about Last week doesn't count It's what happens in the ring. The champion should be crowned around 10 tonight with another record crowd expected outdoors in the more than 28,000 seats of the Celebration Arena.

Ginger Helgeson has it made in the shades, beating No. 3 seed Conchita Martinez. Agd tupsetGooug day Courier, Martinez upended; Sampras rolls Coffee hopes legs hold up for final run at title NEW YORK (AP) Cruising for bruisings in the U.S. Open: There was Jim Courier getting clobbered in the stadium, Andrei Medvedev crumbling in the grandstand, Wimbledon champ Conchita Martinez and Mary Joe Fernandez reeling on Court 16. It was a Friday afternoon of sunshine and sucker punches, players hardly anyone ever heard of sneaking up and knocking out four big names.

Defending champion and top seed Pete Sampras had no such problems at night serving 17 aces and neatly dismissing a potential threat in Daniel Vacek, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in just over an hour and a half slightly longer than his opening match two days earlier. Sampras, whose injured left ankle sidelined him for six weeks before the tournament looked much more impressive in his second match against a player ranked No. 54 than in his first against a less challenging qualifier. "My ankle feels great" Sampras said. Courier's lassitude caught up to him against a fiery, fist-pumping young Italian, 21-year-old Andrea Gaudenzi, who took out the No.

11 seed 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the second now wishes he did. This performance, while not as utterly Indifferent as some of the ones he's put on in the past year, lacked passion for the first two sets and revealed again why he has fallen so precipitously from the top of tennis. After losing in his 22nd straight tournament Courier was asked how he might get back to the level he played at when he won two Australian Opens and two French Opens. "Do you want to tell me?" he responded. "It is a process.

You have to work through it I know I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and gosh dam it people like me." Helgeson, who turns 26 three days after the Open ends, lost to Martinez a few weeks ago in San Diego, but this time upended her 3-6, 6-1. "It's been tough, playing her so many times, and playing well at periods, but never really converting and capitalizing on my opportunities and just finally closing out the match," Helgeson said. "You lose to somebody so many times, it's really hard to get over that hurdle, to keep believing every time you walk out on the court that you can do it" Sounds' Ruffcorn wins 15th By JIMMY DAVY Senior Writer Nashville's Scott Ruffcorn celebrated his selection as the American Association's best right-handed pitcher last night, becoming the league's first 15-game winner with a 3-1 decision over Buffalo. And worst news for Association playoff foes is that he has developed another pitch. 'I've been working on a straight change since I was up with the White Sox.

I had control of it tonight," he said. "It felt good to have three pitches working." Sounds manager Rick Renick described Ruffcorn's outing as "a helluva job. He had the good straight change and was getting it over the plate." It was the third consecutive win for Nashville and each game has underscored the fact that the Sounds are heading into the playoffs with the league's best starting rotation. Ruffcorn's 5-hit performance through eight innings follows Winning wins the previous two nights by Steve Olsen and Steve Schrenk. "The pitching has been tough and it's the right time," said Renick.

Ruffcorn, considered the best pitcher in the White Sox farm system, says that the recent work by the pitching staff is evidence not only of talent, but hard work. "This is a good pitching staff that's worked hard all year and a group that continues to work out to get better," he said. With the hitting timely but sparse, there continues to be good news for the Sounds pitching corps. It was announced yesterday that reliever Isidro Marquez is off the disabled list The submarine-throwing right-hander will strengthen the bullpen. A two-run homer by Javier Ortiz, his 15th, in the second inning provided Ruffcorn with all the runs he needed before a crowd announced as 2,581.

There was movement on the Sounds roster yesterday as first baseman Mike Robertson was called up for the second time this season from Class AA Birmingham. To make room, veteran outfielder Dann Howitt has been placed on the disabled list Xpress falls 5-3, loses bid for playoffs CHATTANOOGA (AP) The Nashville Xpress was elimnated from playoff contention in the Southern League last night when it lost to the Chattanooga Lookouts 5-3. Nashville entered the game trailing Memphis by a half game with two games remaining in the season in a battle for the last wild card position. But Memphis pulled out a 1-0 win over Knoxville, and now lead the Xpress by 1 games with each team having only one game to play. Chattanoga's Troy Buckley brought home Keith Gordon with a squeeze-play single to break a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning.

Mike Ferry (9-7) was the winner for Chattanooga and Scott Sullivan picked up his seventh save. Scott Moten (0-1) was the loser for Nashville. The Lookouts scored three times in the bottom of the seventh for the comeback win. Mark Merchant scored on Steve Gibralter's fielder's choice grounder to tie the game 3-3. Buckley put the Lookouts' into the lead by scoring Keith Gordon on the squeeze play.

Pokie Reese added an insurance run with a RBI single. The game was typical of the last few the Xpress played. Nashville got an early lead, but couldnt hold it Andrew Kontorinis gave the Xpress a 2-0 lead in the second with a two-run homer and the Xpress went up 3-0 in the fifth after Steve Hazlett's run-scoring' single. By TOM WOOD Sporti Writer Aging professional boxer Jerome Coffee, a former U.S. amateur champion from Nashville, is in China this weekend for what may be his last shot at the big time.

Coffee, 36, has a career record of 38-8-1 and says his bid for the fledgling National Boxing Association's featherweight title might be his last "The chances are about 50-50 that this will be my last fight" Coffee said from his Las Vegas training headquarters. He said his legs could push him to retire. "Since I started boxing at 12 or 13 years old, my legs never failed me," he said. "I was always able to maneuver in and out but in the last year or so, my legs have gotten very tired. I'm more of a target now to be hit back.

"I was brave when I was young, I'm smart now. If I see I'm taking too much punishment I'll stop it myself." Coffee's last title shot is being held in Macau, China, where he will face Floridian Frisco Arreola L-MKW (26-1-2). The bout will be Sunday in China, Saturday on Nashville time. Coffee has had two previous title shots, losing decisions to Jeff Fe-nech in Australia and to Samuel Skosana in South Africa. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the journey is that Coffee traveled to China with the great Muhammad Ali.

All is being honored today at Guangzhou, China, as the Fighter of The Century. "Ali called me personally and said he wanted me on the card," Coffee said. "He remembered meeting me at a function several years ago for Wilma Rudolph." Coffee hopes to become a trainer after his career ends. "I'm training Scotty (Bulldog) Olsen, the 1988 Canadian Olympic champion. He's ranked No.

2 in the WBA, No. 4 in the WBC and No. 5 by the IBF," Coffee said. "He's solid across the board. If we can get a title, I'll consider moving back to Nashville and setting up shop.

Nashville's my home and was kind to me for 32 years." LIFETIME WARRANTY Includes Name, Activity, Laser vue Stone Designs and much, much morel ATLAS Rl IN DURABLE VALAOlUr BUY OUR OA! How seeds fared MEN SECOND ROUND: Pete Sampras (1) def. Daniel Vacek 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; Michael Stlch (4) def. Steve Bryan 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; Stefan Edberg (5) def. Jeff Tar-ango 6-2, 6-3, 6-2; Karel Nova-cek def. Andrei Medvedev (8) 6-3, 6-2, 6-2; Andrea Gaudenzi def.

Jim Courier (11) 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3; Yevgeny Kafelnikov (14) def. Martin Damm 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5). WOMEN THIRD ROUND: Ar-antxa Sanchez Vicario (2) def. Sandra Cecchini 6-2, 6-1; Ginger Helgeson def. Conchita Martinez (3) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1; Kimi-ko Date (5) def.

Lisa Raymond 6-4, 6-2; Gabriela Sabatlni (8) def. Isabella Demongeot 6-0, 6-2; Ann Grossman def. Mary Joe Fernandez (9) 6-4, 6-4. TV COVERAGE TODAY 1 10 a.m., 6:30 p.m., USA cable. round the same round Courier lost in at Wimbledon.

A couple of weeks ago, Courier spoke of bagging his rackets, maybe the sport, if he couldn't recover his desire. He almost stayed away from the Open, and perhaps Aug. 12 exhibition against Denver with Policy from a stadium box. Policy said the 49ers just couldn't afford to make a competitive bid for Sanders. He said the 49ers would enter the season $20,000 under the $34.6 million salary cap and that's with a 52-man roster, one under the limit Policy said he informed Eugene Parker, Sanders' agent that the 49ers were out of the bidding.

The 49ers never made an offer to Sanders but had hoped he would be willing to accept a low-base salary, laden with incentives, which only count against the cap if they are deemed likely to be earned. San Francisco used that strategy to land free agent linebacker Rickey Jackson and free agent corner Toi Cook. "The Sanders situation was consuming so much energy and attention," Policy said. "Let's face reality and thank God we have the team we have and let's just try to do the best with it" San Francisco opens the season Monday night against the Los Angelas Raiders. San Francisco quits bidding for Sanders mm AND WVL VOUB BOO I Alii? rann EPODLiinr ALL OTHER PLANTS Opening at 4fl0 pm Saturday before the Vandy vs.

Wake Forest game. HILLSBORO VILLAGE386-FOOD cm rout mm mmm cuif omm ATHENA GREAT VALUES ON GOLD! 0 2-3 WEEK DELIVERY STARTING AT SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) The San Francisco 49ers pulled out of the bidding for free agent corner-back Deion Sanders yesterday, saying salary cap constraints made it impossible to match or beat competing offers. "Perhaps when the whole process started there might have been a glimmer of hope, based on what we then thought would be the market," 49ers President Carmen Policy said. "But after seeing the numbers that have been put on the table already, we are just a Third World nation trying to compete with the industrial superpowers.

So, we're out of it-Sanders, a baseball and football professional, reportedly has received offers that would pay him between $3 million and $4 million a year for football. New Orleans was no longer in the running, but at least two teams Atlanta and Miami were still awaiting a decision by Sanders. Sanders played for Atlanta before becoming a free agent and reportedly will give the Falcons a chance to match offers. Sanders, an outfielder with the Cincinnati Reds, has used his free time during the baseball strike to visit prospective NFL employers. Ha made the 49ers the first stop on his free agent tour, watching their Check with your dealer for possible limitations.

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