The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 25

GolfD3 BaseballD4-5 NBAD6 Auto RacingD8 ScoreboardD9 NHLD10 The Indianapolis Star lndyStar.comsports Monday, April 19, 2004 Section Heat is a worry for Boston Marathon. D2 Cink wins in 5-hole PGA playoff. D3 DO SESKOIIS DW League to decide whether Pacers forward should be suspended for coming onto court. PAGERS PLAYOFFS tory when Boston reserve Brandon Hunter grabbed O'Neal by his upper arms and threw him to the court as they awaited a possible rebound of Fred Jones' 3-point shot. O'Neal got up and charged after Hunter, shouting in his ear.

Celtics guard Ricky Davis stepped between them and said something to O'Neal, who shouted at Davis and slapped his arm away, drawing a technical foul. Artest, who was out of the game at the time, took a few steps onto the court as O'Neal's con-See Artest, Page D6 "I spoke to the league and I'm not going to be suspended," he said. Artest, however, had spoken to a deputy from the NBA's security department who was gathering information. Stu Jackson, the senior vice president of basketball operations, will rule on Artest's status today. "The guys who interview (players) have nothing to do with the decision," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.

The incident under review occurred with 8:01 left in the second quarter of the Pacers' 104-88 vic- if By Mark Montieth mark.montietlKSindystar.com The way. Ron Artest understands it, he's been cleared to play in the Indiana Pacers' second playoff game on Tuesday. The way the NBA sees it won't be known until today. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle, meanwhile, clearly isn't seeing eye-to-eye with Boston coach John CarrolL Artest's status for Game 2 against Boston is in doubt because he briefly left the Pacers' bench during a mid-court confrontation involving teammate Jermaine O'Neal in Saturday's opening playoff game. League rules allow for a one-game suspension in such instances.

Artest told reporters following Sunday's practice at Conseco Fieldhouse he had received a call from a league official that morning and had been cleared to play. Tuesday's game Who: Boston at Pacers (Pacers lead best-of-seven series 1-0) Tlpoff: 7:30 p.m. Radio: WIBC-1070 AM OGo to lndystar.compacars for the latest news on Ron Artest's status. Matt Kryger The Star Stretch: Indiana's Ron Artest gets to the ball before Boston's Paul Pierce. Artest might not be allowed to play Game 2.

CHAMP CAR WORLD SERIES Wallace's long wait finally over I ASSESS; -J. i rt-jyti i- 1 I I mma NASCAR veteran driver ends his winless streak at 105 races with a victory at Martinsville. By Ed Hinton The Orlando Sentinel MARTINSVILLE, Va. There was but one word that Rusty Wallace would, could or should say Sunday as he climbed from his Dodge in victory lane at Martinsville Speedway: "Finally!" At age 47, three years and 105 races removed from his last win, Wallace caught his breath, sighed with enormous relief, and gathered words for what he'd just washed away with his 55th career victory: "Man, it's been so long and we've been so close!" His 54th win was a distant memory from May of 2001 at California Speedway. The colorful veteran's peers were so happy for him that well second-place Bobby Labonte said it all for the consensus, cracking that the only better story from the day "would have been if I'd hit him coming out of turn four on the last lap, flipped him over and he would have burst into flames, slid down the front stretch on his roof, shooting flames and sparks, and still won the race." "He's probably right," Wallace said.

"He heard me say that a long time ago at Atlanta, when I was cocky and didn't know what I was talking about. "I don't want to be upside down and on fire, but that's pretty dramatic I've done all the dramatic stuff. Now I'm just happy we could win a race." Orb Cartson Associated Press For the lead: Paul Tracy (right) moves to the inside to take the lead over pole sitter Bruno Junqueira (6) heading toward turn one on the first green-flag lap at Long Beach. Tracy's move paid off, giving him the lead. Last year's CART champion dominated the rest of the way to win the Champ Car season-opener.

Tracy wins with race to 1st turn Canadian's move on 1st lap leads to dominating run Long Beach Grand Prix (Top finishers) Chassis Driver See Wallace, Page D8 prs be of 60 seconds a race. Tracy spotted a hole to the inside heading into the first turn of the first green-flag lap. He pushed the button and went for it. Anyone who didn't see the move essentially missed the race, because thereafter Tracy was in complete command on the way to the 27th win of his 14-year career. "I got about halfway down the straightaway and hit it," Tracy said after his second Long Beach win in a row, third in five years and fourth overall.

"I got sideways a little bit but was able to catch it. "I kind of slid into turn one and then away we went. I never had to use (the button) again." Even Junqueira was impressed, if not surprised, by Tracy's boldness. "He went sideways, but he made it," Junqueira said. "I was expecting it.

That's Tracy. It's bonsai every time." Tracy had the lead for 78 of 81 laps By Steve Ballard steve.ballardindystar.com LONG BEACH, Calif. The season is young, but Champ Car 2004 thus far bears a striking resemblance to CART 2003. A winter rife with change off the racetrack did little to upset the balance of power on it as the last CART champion took a major first step Sunday toward becoming the first Champ Car World Series champion. Paul Tracy picked up where he left off in a seven-win 2003 season with a dominating victory in the 30th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

And as happened so often last year, he did it with two Newman-Haas Racing drivers in hot but futile pursuit. Starting third behind Newman-Haas partners Bruno Junqueira and Sebastien Bourdais, Tracy didn't stay there long. It figured the always-aggressive Canadian would be the first to test the new "push-to-pass" button that gives the drivers an extra 50 horsepower to use at their discretion for a maximum 1. Paul Tracy Lola 2. Bruno Junqueira Lola 3.

Sebastien Bourdais Lola 4. Patrick Carpentier Lola 5. Mario Dominguez Lola 6. Justin Wilson Lola 7. Ryan Hunter-Reay Lola Alex Tagliani Lola 9.

Mario Haberfeld Reynard 10. Rodolfo Lavin Lola Engines: All use Ford-Cosworth Series points leaders: Tracy, 32; Junqueira, 29; Bourdais, 27; Carpentier, 24; Dominguez, 21 Results: Complete field. D9 Next race What Monterrey (Mexico) Grand Prix When: May 23 TV: Spike lea 8 IM lit at i-rr iff -i WW Lester Associated Press Another trophy: Paul Tracy, who won seven CART races last season, celebrates after his victory. Steve Hew Associated Press Still remembers: Rusty Wallace celebrates in victory lane by spraying champagne after winning the Advance Auto Parts 500. Wallace hadn't won a Cup race since 2001.

See Tracy, Page D8 KING CUB IU's Davis adds 7-1 center to 2004 recruiting class NCAA says reforms mean athletes' grades come first Pending legislation would penalize teams whose players fail to make academic progress. Cubs home run leaders All-time leading Cubs home run hitters: Sammy Sosa 514 Ernie Banks 512 Billy Williams 392 Ron Santo 337 Syne Sandberg coming in with me and the fact that coach Davis is the person that I want to play for." When Rothbart made his official visit to IU last October he weighed 180 pounds. Since then, through weight-lifting and a steady diet of protein shakes, he has put on 45 pounds. As a senior at Natomas High School, he averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots per game. He led the state in rebounding.

"It's difficult to explain chemistry, but Robert realized early on that coach Davis was the person he wanted to play for," Nada Rothbart, Robert's mother, said. "I'm just very excited and pleased for his decision." Call Star reporter Terry Hutchens at (317) 444-6469. By Terry Hutchens terry.hutchensindystar.com One of the knocks against Indiana University basketball coach Mike Davis' recruiting has been that he could bring in plenty of guards and 6-7 forwards but had not been able to land a true center. That is now a thing of the past. Robert Rothbart, a 7-1 center from Sacramento, announced Sunday night he will attend IU in the fall, becoming another member of Indiana's highly touted 2004 recruiting class.

Rothbart will sign his letter of intent Wednesday at a news conference at his high school. He chose IU over UCLA. "It was just a gut feeling and in the end I knew Indiana was the place for me," Rothbart said. "I think some of the big factors were the tradition, the class that is Swlngln': Sammy wise has been embarrassment for, say, a coach with an abysmal graduation rate who still goes on to glory in the Final Four. The possible penalties include loss of scholarships and postseason eligibility.

The first time a school could be penalized with a scholarship loss is fall 2005. The most severe penalties would not go into effect until fall 2009, and only for repeat offenders. "That holds the institutions and the teams accountable in a See NCAA, Page D7 By Mark Alesla mark.alesiaindystar.com Amid news of recruiting scandals and lawsuits, the NCAA will try to focus attention this week and next on passage of what it says is historic academic reform. Two years in the making, a framework for assessing a team's academic performance and then assigning penalties for under-performers is expected to be passed during meetings today and Tuesday with the Division I Management Council in Indianapolis. It's the first time the NCAA has tried to put teeth in what other- Sosa' first-in- u) home run (- ning moves him past 1W Ernie Banks for 12 thP mnQt in i 1111 Chicago Cubs I WW history.

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