Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 51

C12 S.Vll'RDAY, AVC.VS 3, 2002 Thk Arizona Rki'IBUC Brickyard nearing Daytona's prestige SPORTS By Mark Armijo The Arizona Republic Forget the money. Winning Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway means more to Dave Blaney IP "I ond-most prestigious race he-hind the Daytona 500. But with Indy's tradition, which dates to the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, some claim it may be equal in importance to Daytona. i Which race would Benson rather win? "It has to be like choosing between steak or lobster for dln-. ner," Benson said.

"Either one is going to be a good time." For John Andretti, a former Indy car driver, there's no debate. "I grew up right down the road from (the Speedway), and I went to school less than two miles from there," Andretti said. "Growing up, my whole family has focused on this racetrack. I went to all the races, watching my Uncle Mario race. I snuck in the garage, and even after they threw me out, snuck back in again.

This track has played a significant role in my life. "That, and my later experience, gave me the basis for two racing beliefs: Winning is wonderful, but it has to be the best at Indianapolis. Losing stinks, but it is the most miserable at that place." Rookie Jimmie Johnson, who enters the race ranked No. 3 in the drivers standings, can hardly wait for qualifying to begin. "I purposely didn't walk out of the tunnel and onto the racetrack while we were in there testing," Johnson said.

"I want to wait until we walk out for qualifying and experience it the way that I've seen it on television for so many years. "I've grown up wanting to race there, and I have this vision in my mind of what it will be like to walk out there for the first time. I'm sure it's going to be an awesome experience." than a trunk full of hundred-dollar bills. "I believe they could say that the winner's share would be a sack of Indiana corn, and every real racer would still think this is one of the most important races on their schedule to work to win," Blaney said. "Most of the guys I'm racing around now in the (NASCAR) Winston Cup Series grew up racing stock cars, and to them winning Daytona was everything.

That was the race. "But I grew up in northeastern Ohio, where sprint cars are king, and. every kid dreams of racing and winning at Indianapolis. There was probably a point in my World of Outlaws career where I thought maybe I'd race here one day, but in open wheel cars. "If any driver tells you that racing at the Brickyard in any race is 'just another race' because it pays just as many points as Daytona, Texas or Martinsville, they're lying.

It's a big deal for every one of us." Big for even Johnny Benson, who unlike Blaney, Tony Stewart and three-time Brickyard 400 winner Jeff Gordon, doesn't come from an open wheel background. "Heck, we'd race there just for the trophy and maybe to kiss the yard of bricks after the race," Benson said. "It pays a lot (Gordon received nearly $450,000 for last year's win), but nothing would matter more than the trophy." Indy was added to the NASCAR schedule in 1994 and immediately became the sec Anona Republic Photos by Nick de la TorreThe Arizona State junior tailback Jermaine McKinney has to do push-ups after losing a recent game of NCAA Football 2003. The video game allows players to choose the same numbers, positions and rival schools they have on the held. GAMES Let competitive juices flow The Top Five Madden 2002: The latest installment of the decade-old Madden Football dynasty, the game has sold more than 4 million copies and is the country's most Cook cruises at Indy for 4th win of season fH I rum C.l as an inexpensive way to stay entertained rather than going out and spending money.

But it's not just a college thing. For many professional athletes, video games are both a way to stay entertained during frequent road trips and a chance to spend quality time with friends and family without the hassle of going out in public. And unlike many of their collegiate counterparts, professional athletes have the money to spend on all sorts of games and other toys. While on the road, some Diamondbacks hook their game systems up to televisions in the team's charter plane. Road-weary from traveling during the season, pubescent NBA players have seemingly replaced shaving kits with PlayStation2 cases.

Robin Carr, sports director for EA Sports the company that produces the Madden and NCAA football series and countless other games says the Bay Area-based electronics firm is seeing its widest customer base in history. With the development of new technology, games have become more attractive to adults, many of whom were raised on lOwer-tech systems such as Atari, Nintendo and Sega Genesis. Luis Gonzalez is one of them. The Diamondbacks All-Star outfielder is not only the cover boy for EA Sports' Triple Play Baseball 2002, the company's top baseball game, but an avid player as well. Gonzalez says the games help him bond with his son, Jacob, during the summer heat.

Call it a game of cyber-catch. "It's fun, especially here in Phoenix," he says. "You want your kids to grow up outside, but it's hard. Here, I can play inside with my 4-year old. He doesn't quite get it all yet he knows his daddy's on the box but we sit down and play.

He likes playing as (infielder Craig) Counsell and most of the others. Just about everybody but me." Last season, Gonzalez wanted to join up with EA Sports so badly that he visited popular sports video game. Madden 2003 is due out later this month and will enable players to compete with opponents worldwide by hooking their systems up to the Internet. NCAA Football 2003: The recently released game, which is produced by EA Sports, is basically Madden with 144 college teams, mascots and fight songs. As an added bonus, players can compete for trophies in rivalry games, including the annual Arizona State-Arizona battle for the Territorial Cup.

Can't go wrong there. Tiger Woods Golf 2002: Numerous athletes, including Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez, love the popular game, which comes complete with a speed-golf function. Woods himself helped design the game, though EA Sports director Robin Carr said the golfer refuses to play as himself because it makes him feel "weird." All-Star Baseball 2003: The game Gonzalez endorses. Triple Play Baseball 2002, pales in comparison to Derek Jeter's All-Star Baseball series. Produced by Acclaim Sports, the game occupies 60 percent of the baseball video game market and has a feature that allows current players to wear old-school uniforms.

Bring on the 1979 Padres. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3: The popular video game series returns better than ever, complete with new players and a soundtrack featuring Motorhead, KRS-One, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Redman. The game also features a game of skate H-O-R-S-E. Ryan Finley It doesn't matter if it's dominoes, football or a video game athletes have a competitive spirit, ASU's Darrel Turner says. much to the delight of the crowd.

The race around the 6.86-mile oval was slowed by a Craftsman track-record 10 cautions. David Starr, second in the points, hit the inside wall on the main straightaway after making contact with the truck driven by Petree. Starr's Chevrolet suffered extensive front-end damage. He lost 60 laps in the pits and finished 34th. NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Results Power Stroke Diesel 200 AT CLERMONT, IND.

Results from Friday's NASCAR Craftsman Truck series race at Indianapolis Raceway Park with position, starting position parentheses, driver name, truck make, laps completed and earnings. 1. (II Terry Cook, Ford, 200. $48,260. 2.

2) Jason Leffler, Dodge, 200. $27,600. 3, (13) Trams Kvapil. Chevrolet. 200.

$21,490. 4. (91 Mike Wallace, Chevrolet, 200. $14,250. 5.

(4) Robert Pressley, Dodge, 200, $14,025. Darrell Waltrip. Dodge. 200, $9,650. 7.

(27) Lance Nonck, Chevrolet. 200. $12,475. 8. (6) Jon Wood, ford, 200, $10,800.

9. (21) Bobby Dorter. Chevrolet. 200. $10.725.

10. (15) Matt Craflon, Chevrolet. 200. $11.975. 11.

(8) Rick Crawford, ford, 200, $10,625. 12. (181 Andy Petree. Chevrolet, 200. $8,265.

13. (17) Dennis Setter. Chevrolet. 200, $10,490. 14.

(19) Randy MacDonald, Chevrolet, 200. $10.465. 15. (3) Mike Bliss, Chevrolet. 200, $10,665.

16. (7) Ted Musgrave, Dodge, 200, $10,115. 17. (22) Lance Hooper, Chevrolet, 199, $9,065. 18.

(251 Coy Gibbs, Chevrolet, 199, $10,015. 19. (5ICarl Edwards, Ford, 199, $8,965. 20. (32) Mark Gibson, ford, 198.

$10,140. 21. (33) Blake Mallory, Dodge, 196. $8,365. 22.

(30) Jerrv Hill. Dodge, 196. $8,315. 23. (20) Steve Portenga, Chevrolet.

195, $8,265, 24. (35) Dana White, Chevrolet, 189, $9,215. 25. (23) Jason Small, Chevrolet, 189, $8,190. 26.

(16) Brian Ross, ford. 188. crash, $7,140. 27. (29) Andy Thurman.

Dodge. 186. crash. $7,115. 28.

(11) Bill Lester, Dodge, 185, crash, $7,090. 29. (26) Brendan Gaughan, Dodge, 178, $7,065. 30. (10) Bobby Hamilton, Dodge, 170, suspension, $7,045.

31. (24) Carlos Contreras, Dodge, 165, crash, $7,035. 32. (281 Jody McCormick, Chevrolet, 139, crash, $7,025. 33.

(31) Mike Coter, ford, 131, radiator, $7.015. 34. (12) David Starr, Chevrolet, 126, $7,005. 36. (36) Loni Richardson, Chevrolet, 124, handling.

$6,720. 36. 134) Ten MacDonald, Chevrolet. 32, engine failure, $6,685. Average Speed of Race Winner: 74.018 mph.

Time of Race; 1 hour. 51 minutes, 13 seconds. Margin of Victory: 1.467 seconds. Caution Flags: 10 for 52 laps. Lead Changes: 3 among 3 drivers.

Lap Leaders: T. Cook 1-89; A. Petree 90-102: J. Leffler 1031 11; T. Cook 112 200.

Top 10 in Points: M. Bliss T. Cook 2.074; J. Leffler T. Musgrave R.

Pressley Crawford D. StBrr -1 D. Setter T. Kvapil C. Gibbs Republic news services INDIANAPOLIS Terry Cook dominated Friday's Power Stroke Diesel 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park, leading 189 laps and winning the Craftsman Truck Series race by more than a second.

Cook, who started on the pole in his Ford, won for the second time in three races and posted a season-high fourth victory. He led the first 89 laps, then passed Andy Petree, who led 11 laps after not pitting during a caution. Cook regained the lead on Lap 101 and led the rest of the way. "I'm so proud of this team," Cook said. "The truck was absolutely perfect tonight.

We seem to get better every time we go out there." Jason Leffler finished second in a Dodge, marking a series-record fifth runner-up finish without a victory. Travis Kvapil avoided a last-lap accident to take third in a Chevrolet. Mike Wallace was fourth in a Chevrolet, and Robert Pressley was fifth in a Dodge. Points leader Mike Bliss was running fifth on the last lap when he ran up on a lapped truck, precipitating a five-truck crash that dropped him to 15th place. Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip stepped out of the broadcast booth to make a rare appearance in this series.

He avoided the crash to move up to sixth, the firm's Redwood Shores, headquarters during the season to take a tour and see the games in production. The company was so impressed with his knowledge of their games and eagerness to contribute that they signed Gonzalez to a multiyear endorsement deal, the first in EA Sports' history. "When you were younger, it was cereal boxes," he said. "Times have changed. Now it's electronic media." As Gonzalez illustrates, game manufacturers have an advantage over other companies: athletes come to them willing to volunteer their services instead of the other way around.

Carr said that soccer star Landon Donovan and the NBA's Jason Kidd are due to visit the EA Sports complex this summer, and don't be surprised if the two head home with new endorsements. "Athletes come by all the time to see if they can preview the new games," Carr says. But why would athletes, many who have the money to do anything they want, spend their free time playing games? It's simple, the athletes say: Super-competitive athletes find it hard to pass up any kind of contest, whether it's Game 7 of the World Series, Monopoly or a video game. "It's part of the competitive nature of athletes," Carr says. "It's the new generation of card-playing." Turner, who finishes his afternoon by beating up on cyber-Arizona with his Sun Devils amid cheers from his teammates, agrees.

"That's what makes us athletes," he says. "We could play a game of spades or dominoes and it would be competitive. It's all the same." Loss ends Heatwave's season Sahuaros face must-win game to get playoff match at home SOUNDERS 5, HEATWAVE 1 sparse crowd plenty to appreciate by making nine saves. The Heatwave (8-5-0), put on its heels by the speedy Brownfield and Seattle forward Brenda Mueller, could muster just seven shots. "(Seattle) did a good job of possessing the ball up front," Guetz said.

"We just weren't able to keep with them." After Guetz took away two would-be goals in the opening minutes and got some help from her post on a Rachell Rodrick penalty kick, Heatwave forward Ixri Sabato scored the team's only goal. Sabato took a short pass inside the 6-yard box from forward Jessica Heller and shot it past Seattle goalkeeper Meghan Miller. Brownfield evened the score six minutes later, then walked in alone and juked to her right past a sprawling Guetz for an easy score that put Seattle (8-5-0) up for good. "They got an early goal, who cares?" Brownfield said. "We just had to play our game and do things right." Arizona was hardly capable of getting the ball past midfield in the second half, managing just two shots, both by Sabato.

"We had a tough time against them," said Heatwave coach Tim Barmettler, who hoped to break up the Sounders' offensive rhythm by getting his defenders to pull Seattle offside, but the Sounders had a solution. "They played a three-man combination coming through the box, which is a great way to do it. They made some nice diagonal runs, and their timing was all there." By Jim McCurdy Special for The Republic Arizona Sahuaros coach Petar Draksin doesn't want to dwell on last weekend's disappointment. There's no time for that with the San Diego Gauchos looming in tonight's regular-season finale. Arizona (10-7-2) hosts San Diego (10-7-2) at 7:30 p.m.

at Grand Canyon University in a must-win situation to host Wednesday's first-round playoff match. If the Sahuaros lose or tie they will open the D3 Pro League Western Division playoffs in San Diego. The winner of Wednesday's match will play defending D3 Pro national champion Utah on the road next Saturday for the Western Division title. "It's a new ballgame starting now," Draksin said. "We're ready to roll this weekend.

Everything is behind us now." The Sahuaros had their four-match winning streak snapped last weekend when they dropped road matches to the Northern Nevada Aces and California Gold. Arizona was without six starters because of injuries or other commitments. Draksin said his team will be intact this weekend, with the exception of defender Brad Moore, who was suspended for a match in last Saturday's loss to California. Arizona is 2-0-1 against San Diego. The series has produced many heated exchanges.

"It's probably the most intense rivalry in the league," Draksin said. "It's a big thing on the line (tonight). There's no ifs or buts about it, we want to play in the playoffs at home. We want to play in front of our fans, our families and our friends. There's nothing like home cooking." By Daniel Row land Special for The Republic HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo.

A relentless offensive attack and four consecutive goals by Shelby Brownfield carried the Seattle Sounders to a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Heatwave in the W-League playoffs Friday night. Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute and strong play from goalkeeper Dana Guetz, the Heatwave's season ended on a blustery night in the suburbs south of Denver. Playing in front of many of her friends and family for the firs time since high school, Guetz, a Denver-area native, gave the.