The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 21

Sbf Acs nioinfs Register 0 3 WEDNESDAY BRYCE MILLER, Executive Sports Editor 51 5-284-8288e-mail: brmillerdmreg.com IN THE NEWS Oval starts taking shape 1H1 7W1 Rusty Wallace recalls painstaking path to groundbreaking in Newton ait 1 Slinging dirt: Race car drivers Rusty Wallace, right, and Frank Kimmel put their shovels to work Tuesday in Newton at the ground breaking ceremony for the new track, scheduled to open next July. Auto Racing we get it to go a little quicker? Wallace's little-bulldozer-that-could climb to the summit signified progress as well as the financial and political obstacles the project had to traverse. "I had several meetings and brought this project pretty far along only to be spooked off a couple times that maybe the financing was going to fall By ROB GRAY REGISTER STAFF WRITER Newton, la. Rusty Wallace took the wheel Tuesday, lumbering up a dirt mound in a bright yellow bulldozer. The NASCAR driver thought he'd never reach the top of the hill, and the photo opportunity publicizing Tuesday's long-awaited official groundbreaking for the 78-mile Iowa Speedway.

"I had it wide open and said, 'Is that all the faster it will go? Wallace said. 'Can't through and being disheartened, like, 'Oh, man, this may turn out like the other projects that just didn't make Wallace said. "So when I finally found out it made it I was really excited." Representatives from the U.S. Auto Club and the ARCAReMax Series spoke at the event and expressed desire to race at the facility when schedules allow. The track is expected to be race-ready in mid-July 2006, RODNEY WHITETHE REGISTER Day 2 WlMBLEDQ WOMEN'S FRENCH OPEN CHAMP FALLS mm .3, NIEDRINGHAUSASSOCIATED PRESS ft but no races have been lined up.

"We're going to fill it up with the best racing that's available at that time," Wallace said. "In order to get some major sanctioning bodies involved, they've got to see the facility they want to see it done. So many people want to build a race track, and if you could go up to NASCAR and say, 'Hey I'd like to have a (Nextel) See NEWTON, Page 2C ANJA SluDd -torn rx Despite several rallies, French Open queen makes an early exit By STEVEN WINE ASSOCIATED PRESS Wimbledon, England French Open winner Justine Henin-Hardenne ran out of comebacks Tuesday and lost in the first round at Wimbledon. The Belgian became the first Roland Garros women's champion since 1962 to lose her opening match at Wimbledon when she was beaten by Eleni Daniilidou of Greece, 7-6 (8), 2-6, 7-5. Seeded seventh, Henin-Hardenne won the second set to pull even, erased a 4-2 deficit in the final set to reach 4-all, then overcame two match points in the 10th game for 5-all.

But she double-faulted twice in the final game, including on the last point when her weary serve clipped the net cord. Two-time champion Serena Williams, playing her first match since May 11, won the final five games to beat fellow American Angela Hay nes, 6-7 12), 64, 6-2. The men's French Open champion, 19-year-old Rafael Nadal, wore his clamdigger trousers on Centre Court and beat American Vince Spadea, 64, 6-3, 6-0. Henin-Hardenne took two weeks off between tournaments to rest a lingering hamstring injury and said she felt rusty. The match was her first on grass in two years, and she admitted nerves were a problem.

"Playing on clay and then coming here, it's so different," she said. "You change everything. It's not in a few days you get used to it." Daniilidou, ranked 76th, came to Wimbledon with a 7-11 record this year but has enjoyed some of her best results on grass and played with poise down the stretch. "Justine is a great player, but everyone is a little shaky at times during a match," Daniilidou said. "I think today I was a little bit better with that." Results, Sports Roundup How some other big names fared: Last-place Reds let Miley loose The last-place Cincinnati Reds fired manager Dave Miley on Tuesday and promoted bench coach Jerry Narron to finish the season.

"We were not doing the things you've got to do everyday," general manager Dan O'Brien said. At 27-43, the Reds were games behind St. Louis in the NL Central. Cincinnati lost 6-1 at home to St. Louis on Monday night in the last game for Miley, above.

"We had huge expectations coming into the season, and we did not live up to them," Narron said. Miley spent 26 seasons in the Reds' organization as a player, coach and manager. UNI UPDATE Jpf Krause gives big donation W.A. "Bill" Krause, president and chief executive officer of Krause Gentle has agreed to provide $500,000 for construction of a connecting pavilion between the UNI-Dome and the new McLeod Center arena nn tho Kr3US6 iniuorsih nf Northern Iowa campus. "I've always supported all of the schools in Iowa, and they needed some additional money to make sure that they could get the two buildings connected," said Krause, also a contributor to the University of Iowa.

The 6,1 000-seat McLeod Center, which will be the new home venue for the Panthers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball team and wrestling team, is scheduled to open next fall. Tom Witosky ON PAGE 3C Now that's what you call a big fish Nebraska angler Dustin Curtis Jr. smashed Iowa's channel catfish record June 11 when his trot line hooked a 38-pound 1 -ounce monster in the Missouri Biwar noar Curtis Jr. Lake Manawa in Pottawatamie County. The previous Iowa record was set by Ron Goodwin of Earlham in 1993, who landed a 36-pound 8-ounce channel catfish from the Middle Raccoon River in Dallas County, according to Iowa records.

THIS WEEK Three-part poster salutes Cubs ace Pick up a copy of the Register on Friday, Saturday and Sunday to complete a three-part collectible poster celebrating Kerry Wood's rehab trips to Des Moines as an Iowa Cub. lfer -Ak College Baseball TUESDAY'S ELIMINATION GAME: Arizona State 8, Nebraska 7, 11 inn. Freshman's bloop single keeps ASU in title hunt By ERIC OLSON ASSOCIATED PRESS Omaha, Neb. Jeff Larish kept hitting the long ball, but it was small ball that helped Arizona State advance in the College World Series on Tuesday. Larish matched a College World Series record with three homers, and JJ.

Sferra drove in the game-winning run with a bloop single in the 11th inning as Arizona State rallied for an 8-7 victory and eliminated hometown fa-v i Nebraska. "I'm still trying to let it set in," Larish said. "We've been Larish responding to Jensen adversity all year, and today was no different. I'm more excited about the team's performance than my own." Larish's third homer tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and Sferra's single in the 11th punctuated the 4-hour 7-minute game, sending the Sun Devils (41-24) against No. 7 Florida today.

Arizona State needs to beat the Gators twice to reach the championship round. "We don't claim we're great, we don't know how far we can go," ASU coach Pat Murphy said. "We're really elated right now. But we have See WORLD SERIES, Page 2C Schedule MONDAY'S GAMES Baylor 4, Oregon St. 3, 10 inn.

Texas 5, Tulane 0 TUESDAY'S GAMES Arizona St. 8. Nebraska 7, 1 1 inn. Tulane (56-11) vs. Baylor (45-23) TODAY'S GAMES 1:00 Florida (47-20) vs.

Arizona State (41-24) 6:00 Texas (53-16) vs. Tulane-Baylor winner Key issues One-year increase to 19 in the minimum age to be eligible tor the draft. Reduction in the maximum length of long-term contracts from seven years to six. Veterans subject to lour annual random drug tests. Players with less than two years in the league will be subject to being sent to the minor league NBDL.

Salary cap will be raised from 48 percent of revenues to 51 percent. si Yt'Y'X French Open champion Rafael Nadal beat Vince Spadea, 6-4, 6-3, 6-0, In Centre Court action. Maria Sharapova cruised in day's first match on Centre Court, 6-2, 6-2, over Nuria Llagostera Vives. No. 2-seed Andy Roddick hit 14 aces in his 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 82-minute romp past Jiri Vanek.

Justine Henin-Hardenne catches her breath during a her Wimbledon loss to Eleni Daniilidou on Tuesday. pact raises minimum age for players to 19 Is that score right? Belgium's changeover in the third set of 1 "We're grat- ified that we I were able to avoid a work stoppage," Lt stern said. Ry "This agree Hunter ment creates a strong partner ship with our players, which is essential for us." The sides reached agreement on several key issues ETA Labor Talk Agreement "We're gratified that we were able to avoid a worV stoppage." NBA commissioner Daivid Stern on Tuesday's decision. Six-year By CHRIS SHERIDAN ASSOCIATED PRESS San Antonio, Texas The days of jumping from the preps to the pros the route to the NBA chosen by LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and others are almost over. A one-year increase in the minimum age was part of a new six-year collective bargaining agreement tentatively reached Tuesday by owners and players, averting the possibility of a lockout.

Commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter flew to the NBA of training camp, and players with less than two years in the league will be subject to being sent to the minor league NBDL The salary cap will be raised from 48 percent of revenues to 51 percent, increasing the amount of money each team can spend on player salaries, and players will receive a guaranteed 57 percent of revenues. The agreement will need to be ratified by the league's Board of Governors and by the members of the players' union at their annual meeting in Las Vegas next week. that had held up a settlement since serious talks began in late February. Among them were a one-year increase to 19 for the minimum age for draft eligibility, a reduction in the maximum length of long-term contracts from seven years to six, and reductions in the size of annual salary increases in those long-term contracts from a maximum of 122 percent to 102 percent. Veterans will be subject to four annual random drug tests, an increase from current rules calling for them to be tested only once at the start Finals from New York and announced the agreement before Game 6 between San Antonio and Detroit.

The deal came on Stern the fourth consecutive day of negotiations to replace the seven-year agreement that expires June 30..