The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 23

4S) 2C 5C 6C NHL Scoreboard NBA UT FOOTBALL 25 recruits to visit Friday Page 5C PORT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1998 "Predators recmest an exclusive debut David Climer nr Green sees good things for nis Vols improve on the roughly 6,200 full season ticket packages they have sold by continuing to target the area's corporate community. They held a reception at the downtown arena Sunday for Saturn employees, a reception Diller said "was very successful." Also, a "business-to-business" brochure is set to be mailed in the coming days to area businesses of all sizes. The brochure is geared for tickets sales to corporate buyers. The team must sell 12,000 season tickets by March 31 as well as 75 of luxury suites and club seats in order to meet guidelines in its expansion agreement with the NHL. NHL report on 2C.

Diller made an informal pitch to the NHL's executive vice president for hockey operations Brian Burke during Burke's visit to Nashville last week. The opening-night slot is a coveted one the Florida Panthers have also already expressed an interest in next season's because they are opening a new arena. A stand-alone opening game would likely be televised nationally in the U.S. by ESPN as well as nationally in Canada. "The exposure would certainly be good for Nashville, good for our organization," Diller said.

"We would absolutely love to be that game." The Predators are also continuing to try to By JEFF LECWOLD Sports Writer The Nashville Predators have asked the NHL if they can be the league's lone opening night attraction in October. "That one night, our first night, we could be the center of hockey in North America. Of Course we have expressed our interest in that," said Predators President Jack Diller. "I can assure you that in the arena dates we have submitted for our inaugural season, Friday, Oct 9, is certainly one of them." The NHL is currently considering playing just one game on Oct 9 the opening date of the 1998-99 season. The league opened the 1995-96 season in similar fashion when it had a Detroit Red Wings-Colorado Avalanche matchup as the only game on the schedule for that season's first night of play.

The NHL did not open the current season with just one game on opening night because the schedule was too crowded due to the break for the Olympics next month. "We're not that far along to decide next season, but we've certainly done it in the past," said NHL spokesman Arthur Pincus. "This season it was not possible because it counts as one day of the season and with the Olympic break that day was not available." A split could help Nashville MTSU spurt gains a piece of first place By MAURICE PATTON Sports Writer MURFREESBORO Prior to last night's matchup with Tennessee Tech, MTSU Coach Randy Wiel admitted he was a little nervous. Despite the Golden Eagles' 0-5 Ohio Valley Conference record, Wiel thought the Tennessee Tech was a dangerous team. "Just like they can lose five in a row, they can win five in a row," said Wiel, whose Blue Raiders (11-3, 5-1) moved into a three-way tie for first place in the OVC, along with Eastern Illinois and Murray State, with an 80-60 victory.

As it turned out, Tech gave the Blue Raiders everything they wanted for about 28 minutes. Middle stretched a four-point advantage into a 19-point cushion in less than five minutes midway through the second half and picked up a victory in the first of three straight home games this week. "We're glad we've got this home stretch right now," said junior forward Ali McGhee, one of four double-digit scorers for MTSU. "We get to get out here in front of our fans." The fans 3,102 total were worried early as Tech (4-13, 0-6 OVC) rallied from a 12-4 deficit to go up 28-23 four minutes before halftime. Middle countered with a 10-0 run into intermission keyed by Malachi Allen, who tied the score with a layup and had a buzzer-beating tip-slam to give the Blue Raiders a 33-28 lead at the break.

"Coach tells me to do something to get us going when I go in," said Allen, who came off the bench to score 14 points. "We didnt shoot well, and I think we were tired, but we knew we were the better team. We picked it up after halftime and got the job done." Tech trimmed the margin to 44-40 on four Adonis Hart free throws following a Lee Nosse personal and technical foul at the 11:22 mark, but MTSU scored 12 unanswered points and added five more after a pair of Ricky Cabrera foul shots to push the game out of reach. "After the technical, the crowd got into it and they picked up the intensity, and we didnt match it," Tech Coach Frank Harrell said. "We missed some easy opportunities, and it gets harder to sustain your defense then." Kent Ayer, in the starting lineup for an ailing K.J.

Harden, scored 14 points for MTSU to match Allen and Avlton Tesch. with McGhee adding 10. f'V' By LARRY WOODY Sports Writer 1 CHARLOTTE, N.C Splitting the NASCAR Winston Cup schedule into two divisions which would enhance Nashville's chance of getting one of the premier races is "Inevitable" one of the sport's top executives said yesterday. Bruton Smith, who owns five Winston Cup tracks and is exploring building another in Atlantic City, said fans demand more races and the only way to meet the demand is to run two divisions. Smith told the annual Motor-sports Media Tour yesterday that he and NASCAR president Bill France Jr.

have talked about a split for four years. "I think it's inevitable," Smith said. "Our sport is growing faster than any other prosport in the country, and there's no end in sight" "We need about twice as many races as we have right right now." One of Smith's tracks is Bristol Speedway, which last season drew sellout crowds of 130,000. Still, all ticket requests could not be filled, and Bristol will be increased to 141,500 seats this season. Charlotte Motor Speedway, another of Smith's tracks, is adding 26,000 seats, up to 147,000, and his track in Texas will expanded by 5,000, to 155,000.

If the schedule is ever expanded, Nashville's new superspeedway hopes to get a Winston Cup event Although a site' has not been announced, the track is scheduled to open in two years, the $35 million track initially will seat only 50,000. But promoter Bob Harmon said it will be designed so that it can be expanded to 200,000 quickly. But veteran racing team owner Robert Yates is among critics who claim running two divisions would not work. "Our field of cars is not that deep right Yates said. "I dont think there's any way you could send half our drivers to run one race and half to another.

Fans want It is Jerry Green's lot in the short term that he will be viewed more for who he isnt than who he is. He's not Kevin O'Neill, unless gosh darn recently has been declassified from a list of unacceptable expletives by the FDA. He's not Kevin Stallings, whose icy interview with Tennessee officials resulted in an llth-hour case of cold feet that kept him at Illinois State. He's not the peripatetic Tim Floyd, the coach UT coveted but a hard man to pin down. He's not one of those other guys whose names dribbled on and off the Vols' wish list last spring.

But if there is an identity crisis, Green wears it well. Halfway through his first season at UT, he is philosophical about the past, realistic about the present, optimistic about the future and, thankfully, secure in who he is, what he's doing and where he's doing it "I wouldn't be here unless there had been some problems and disappointments in the past," Green says. "We're going to have a good basketball program. We're not there yet, but we're working on it." Sure, you've heard it before. Don DeVoe vowed to reclaim past glory, he's now fighting windmills and aircraft carriers at Navy.

Wade Houston was supposed to be the answer; he's now running a family trucking business in Louisville. And then there was Kevin O'Neill. Remember him? O'Neill was making progress by burning the recruiting candle at both ends. Problem was, he also burned every bridge in the process. It is telling that the most excitement generated at Thompson-Boling Arena in the "90s came via the O'Neill-Doug Dickey feud.

Into the abyss walks Jerry Green, nice guy, good coach and a realist He knows that the Vols' 10-0 non-conference start was one part smoke, two parts mirrors, and that the NIT remains a more realistic goal than the NCAA tournament He's coping with the loss of Charles Hathaway, a brute-force defender and rebounder who underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his shoulder and is out for the year. Gone, too, is guard DaShay Jones, who tore up a knee. And then there is reserve guard Aaron Green, a perimeter scoring threat who is limited by a stress fracture in his foot "Sometimes I think about where we'd be with those guys and I have to remember we've got to play with the ones we've got" Green says. But even if UT loses its next 10 after winning its first 10, there are hints of improvement here, whispers of optimism there. Last Saturday night at Memorial Gym, UT played well enough to lead 20-10 in the first half, poorly enough to fall behind by 18 in the second half and resiliently enough to have a shot to win at the buzzer.

"They have a lot of the same players as last year, but from a mental standpoint they're different" said Vanderbilt's Drew Maddux, a student of the game. "They seem to believe in themselves more. They got behind but they didnt quit They believed they could win and they almost did." Perhaps this is a sign of maturity, an indication that a few older, wiser Vols plus newcomers Tony Harris and Isiah Victor have stepped up their games. Hi i PEYTON HOGE Alex Franco led all scorers with 17 for Tennessee Tech.B Box score on 3C. Tennessee Tech's Ricky Cabrerra drives past the Middle Tennessee State defense.

The Golden Eagles lost 80-60 to MTSU last night to remain winless in the Ohio Valley Conference. Di Spaltro's strength necessary against Tide Vandy tonight Starting lineups (or tonight's Vanderbilt game at Alabama. TV: JeHerson-Pllot (WSMV-4); Radio: WSM-AM 650. VANUtKtW.1 HL dm rpg 6-9 116 5.7 6-4 7.9 3.2 6-10 15.2 4.9 6-4 17.0 4.3 Name Billy DI Spaltro VlnceFord Austin Bates Drew Maddux ft Atlhn Prater 9.7 2.1 to see all the best drivers in one race." Said Smith: "Anytime you try something this dramatic there will be some problems at the start But who knows how many potential Jeff Gordons or Dale Earnhardts there might be out there? More races mean more good drivers get a chance to prove themselves." Smith said running on week nights instead of the traditional weekends "is a possibility." NASCAR will not comment on future schedules or speculate what the future might hold. Meanwhile, there is a trend for traditional NACSCAR tracks to add Indy Racing League events.

Texas and Charlotte each hosted an IRL race last season. This season Charlotte will host one, Texas two, Atlanta Speedway one and Dover (Del.) Downs one. Dover, in partnership with Gaylord Entertainment, is building the new Nashville track. When the track is completed an IRL race is almost a certainty. 6-1 ALABAMA riflmnn Bacote 6-3 quick to get down when mistakes, fouls or missed shots angered him.

"IVe matured in that respect," Di Spaltro said. Van Breda Kolff said he spent some private time with Di Spaltro, easing him through his current inconsistencies and focusing his attention on upcoming games. "Billy has always been so competitive that he is quickly upset when things dont go his way, but age and maturity have helped," the coach said. It is in the front court that Vandy appears to have the edge on Bama, with Di Spaltro, and 6-10 center Austin Bates, the SEC's No. 7 scorer with a 15.2 point average.

There appears to be a standoff in the backcourt, where two of the league's best marksmen, Vandy's Drew Maddux (17.0) and Bama's Brian Williams (14.9) will shoot it outsl not just vertically but with big bodies, playing with strength that makes it difficult for us," Hobbs said. If the Commodores are to break a losing streak at Coleman Coliseum which stretches to 1990, Di Spaltro will have to be at the top of his game, which potentially is better than his current scoring average (11.6) and rebounding (5.7). "I wasnt great at Kentucky, really bad in the game against Nebraska, but I thought I played well against South Carolina and Tennessee, but just had a lot of foul trouble," Di Spaltro said. "But I'm not down. I'm an emotional player, but it's best for me to keep steady, particularly during a season of peaks and valleys." Di Spaltro, one of Vandy's biggest recruits four years ago, has been his own worst emotional enemy.

Early in his career he was very 13.1 5.3 12.0 8.2 By JIMMY DAVY Senior Writer TUSCALOOSA, Ala. Billy Di Spaltro's wide body gets a lot of attention. Just 48 seconds into the Tennessee game, the Vanderbilt muscle-man, wrestling with C.J. Black, picked up his second personal foul. One minute into the second half, he got his third and, for the most part, disappeared on the bench.

The 6-foot-10, 255-pounder was seated there for all but 17 minutes in a tense, close and very vital game for the Commodores. "He fought with CJ. Black for low post positioning and got all the fouls. It was a bad break," Vanderbilt Coach Jan van Breda Kolff said. "Without the fouls, it could have been Billy's best game.

He was ready, lively and light on his feet" Di Spaltro had been fighting through a time in the schedule Demetrius Alexander 6-8 Jeremy Hays Chauncey Jones 6-10 8.5 7.1 6-1 9.4 2.7 6-1 14.9 4.1 Brian Williams where he had played effectively, but not with the impact he expects. The senior says he's still ready as the Commodores (12-4, 1-2 SEC) travel to Alabama (9-7, 1-2) tonight Tide Coach David Hobbs is apprehensive about Vandy's inside heft. "Vanderbilt has tremendous size Or could it be that Green's looser hand is a better fit for this team than the control-freakish O'Neill? In time, well know. These Vols may be young but they're also a Green team. David Climer Is a Tennessean senior writer.

He can be reached at 259-8020. ABC keeps rights for Monday Night Football ABC retained the broadcast rights to Monday Night Football yesterday, keeping the prime-time show as part of a $9.2 billion deal with Vandy. Lady Vols hit the SEC road The intensity of the rivalry between Tennessee and Georgia In Athens may be lacking a little tonight as the top-ranked Lady Vols have crushed all four of their SEC opponents. Vanderbilt center Na'Sheema Hillmon has begun to get physical on the court and has another chance tonight at South Carolina Rutbnan's new crew Driver Joe Ruttman of Brentwood begins the Craftsman Truck Series this weekend as the defending race champion at Orlando but with a new crew chief. Story on 5C.

SCdlng in circles It's like NASCAR indoors with a twist: The drivers at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium this weekend will be driving on an Ice rink. Story on 5C. Jordan scores 40, BuSs beat Sonscs The Chicago Bulls won their 15th consecutive home game as Michael Jordan scored 40 points in a 101-91 win over Seattle. Jordan hit the 40-point mark for the fifth time in the last 10 games. Scottie Pippen scored 11 points in his second game back in the lineup.

Gary Payton scored 22 for Seattle, which has the best record in the NBA. NBA on6C. Sports Editor John Gibson, 259-8022 Assistant Sports Editors: Laurie E. Holloway, 259-8299 Michael Jones, 259-8013 Kevin Procter, 259-8014 Senior Writers: Jimmy Davy, 259-8298 David Climer, 259-8020 To report sports news: 259-8010 Sports fax: 259-8826 E-mail tips: tnsportstennessean.com '1 Wj ESPN and the NFL. ESPN re AP ceived the entire Sunday night cable package, leaving NBC and TNT without pro football broadcasts.

Story on 5C. 1 Dennis Rodman (91) gets one of his 17 rebounds against Seattle. College hoops on 3C..