St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 36

2D SPORTS ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1996 MORNING BRIEFING dancing." But we won't make it. Compiled by Ray Jordan 01 the Post-Dispatch Staff OK, TONY KORNHEISER. How hot is it in Atlanta? "The won't melt in your hands they Iwill melt in the bag," Kornheiser informs his Washington Post readers, adding this quick disclaimer for his editors: "We may not be legally allowed to mention if thev have not paid four trillion dollars to mm mi 41 i.nn the steaks Henry consumes at dinner. Big, little who's the most frightening athlete in Atlanta? You mean besides Henry at mealtime? No question, wrestler ALEXANDER KARELIN of Russia puts the fear of God into his opponents.

He's 286 pounds of malevolence, undefeated in Olym- pic competition. Put another way, if Karelin were in Pamplona, the bulls would run away from him. QUOTEUNQUOTE become an official Olympic sponsor. If we are obligated JOHN CRUM-PACKER of the San Francisco Examiner checks in with his official Olympic weights and measures: Who's the biggest guy in the Olympics? No question about that girthy distinction. Texas strongman MARK HENRY puts the Dallas Cowboys' NATE NEWTON tn champ Tlio 9-roor "Ninety-nine percent of our kids are from the hood, and kids from the hood aren't scared of anybody.

We're going to win our share of medals." AL MITCHELL, U.S. Olympic boxing coach While Tony takes a cool-down lap at the Bud World refreshment center over at Centennial Park, we'll shift our focus from the Atlanta weather and try for a few cheap jokes at the expense of ballroom dancing. Maybe you've heard: In a fit of lunacy, they're considering making it an Olympic (heh, heh) sport along with those other athletic tests of skill and stamina such as sailboarding, synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics and beach volleyball. Well, cue the orchestra. Maybe the fox trot and waltz have some redeeming athletic qualities after all.

LARRY BORTSTEIN of the Orange County Register reports of a study conducted in Germany last year that would make even the most macho among us proud to tango to the gold: "Physical fitness experts at Freiburg University attached electrodes to athletes from various sports and determined that 90 seconds of ballroom dancing at the world-class level requires as much energy as an 800-meter foot race. "Yes, it's strenuous. And if numerous other artistic activities such as synchronized swimming, figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics have a place on the Olympic program, an argument can be made for ballroom to name an official Olympic sponsor, make the line: "The Delta planes won't melt on the tarmac they'll melt in the hangar. Daaa-dum. "You know how in Phoenix, when it's 100 degrees, people say, 'Oh, it's a dry This is not a dry heat.

It feels like you have wandered into the steam table at an early-bird buffet and you are the poached chicken." No, Tony. Really, how hot is it? "The moment you get into a taxi, the first words you hear from your driver are: Tall have enough air back Let me make this perfectly clear: I would be very happy to cover the Olympics from the back seat of a taxi. It's not the air back there that I'm worried about, it's the air out there." POST PUZZLER Dominique Moceanu old SUperheavyweight weightlifter is 6 feet 3 and weighs 412 pounds. Henry has a 25-inch neck and a 62-inch chest. One size does not fit all.

Watch Henry hoist 'em on July 30. That being said, who's the smallest athlete at the Games? She's one of Henry's teammates, in fact DOMINIQUE MOCEANU. The 14-year-old gymnast goes 4-6 and 72 pounds roughly the size of one of Who was the first golfer from the United States to win the British Open? (Answer Saturday) THURSDAY'S POST PUZZLER: Who was UCLA's start- ing center between Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton? ANSWER: Steve Patterson, who on Monday was -named commissioner of the St. Louis-based Continental Basketball Association. SPORTS SHORTS WEEKEND SPORTS ON THE AIR MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL Cardinals vs.

Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, KPLR (11), WGN (WGN telecast subject to blackout), 7:05 p.m. MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs, KTVI (2), noon. Kansas City at Chicago White Sox, WGN, 6 p.m. ABC Sports Executive Killed In TWA Crash Compiled by Tom Timmermann Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The executive producer of ABC Sports, his wife and their 13-year-old daughter were aboard the TWA jetliner that exploded Wednesday night off the Long Island coast, network officials said Thursday.

Authorities said all 230 people aboard were killed. Jack O'Hara, 39, a five-time Emmy Award-winner, was on the Paris-bound flight to supervise cover i Miiama at Houston, i an, i p.m. GOLF GOLF British Open, ESPN, 8 a.m. British Open, KDNL (30), 9 a.m. Burnet Senior Clasic, ESPN, 1 p.m.

Burnet Senior Classic, ESPN, 3 p.m. SOCCER SOCCER ASL: Montreal at Vancouver, Prime, 9:30 p.m. D.C. at New England, ESPN, 11 a.m. OLYMPICS Opening Ceremonies, KSDK (5), 7 p.m.

AUTO RACING Pepsi 400, TBS, 12:05 p.m. I AC-Delco Jennerstown 250, TNN, 1 p.m. World of Outlaws King's Royal, TNN, 8 p.m. OLYMPICS Olympic Coverage, KSDK (5), 2 p.m.-5 p.m.; 6:30 p.m.-11 p.m.; 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL Cardinals vs.

Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, KMOX (1 120 AM), WINU(880AM), 7:05 p.m. ROLLER HOCKEY Ottawa Loggers vs. Vipers, KFNS (590 AM), 7:30 p.m. age of the final weekend of the Tour de France bicycle race. It was to be his last assignment for ABC, said Mark Mandel, director of media relations for ABC Sports.

ABC Sports reportedly had dis- MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL Cardinals vs. Cubs, KMOX (1 120 AM), WINU (880 AM), noon. AUTO RACING Ford Credit 225, WRYT (1080 AM), 2:45 p.m. missed him. Mandel said ABC does not comment on personnel mat- CALENDAR ARENA FOOTBALL Stampede at Memphis, KFNS (590 AM), 7:30 p.m.

than $2 million. Hrudey, 35, had a 7-15-10 record in 36 games last season with the Los Angeles Kings. He compiled a 145-135-55 record in eight seasons with the team. The Wheeling (W.Va.) Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League hired Tom McVie as coach and director of hockey operations. McVie, 60, has 24 years of coaching experience, including parts of 11 seasons in the NHL.

CYCLING Riis Closing In On Tour De France Title Bjarne Riis of Denmark moved another stage closer to winning the Tour de France by keeping his lead through the run in Hendaye, France, which was won by Dutch rider Bart Voskamp. About 15 riders pulled ahead of the group halfway through the course, and Voskamp outsprinted Germany's Christian Henn to win his first Tour stage. With only a flat stage today and the Tour's second time trial Saturday remaining before the ceremonial spin through Paris on Sunday, Riis all but locked up the victory. He finished with the main pack of riders, 16 minutes 56 seconds behind Voskamp in the 96-mile stage over the Pyrenees Mountains from Pamplona, Spain. Riis holds a lead of 3:59 over German Jan Ullrich.

Frenchman Richard Virenque is third, 26 seconds behind Ullrich. TENNIS Top Seed Ejected In Palermo Top seed Irina Spirlea was ejected from the Palermo (Sicily) Grand Prix women's tournament for insulting the referee. The Romanian player also was fined $10,000. The incident that led to Spirlea's ejection happened in the third set of her second-round match with Belgian Stephanie De Ville when she disputed a line call. Spirlea, the defending champion, won the first set 7-5, but lost the second 7-6 (8-6), and the score was tied 15-15 in the first game of the deciding set.

Thomas Muster of Austria beat Galo Blanco of Spain 6-3, 6-0 in 65 minutes and moved into the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup tournament in Stuttgart, Germany. GOLF Burton, Lunn Share Lead Brandie Burton and Mardi Lunn shot 5-under-par 67s to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Friendly's Classic in Agawam, Mass. Burton got a share of the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 18. Margaret Piatt, Marianne Morris and Dottie Pepper were at 68.

Two-time U.S. Women's Open champion Annika Sorenstam of Sweden paced a group at 69. VS VS VI VI VS Vt VI Chic. Chic. Chic.

All. At). At). Mont 7:05 12:05 1:15 7:05 7:05 7:05 7:05 (ID (2) (Prime) fmrmount Post Port Post Post Post 7:30 7:30 6:30 6:30 1:00 STAMPEDE at Memphis 7:30 VIPERS vs vt Ottawa N.J. ffP) 7:35 7:35 MAJOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL Cardinals vs.

Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium, WGN, 1:15 p.m. (WGN broadcast subject to blackout) Colorado at San Diego, ESPN, 7 p.m. GOLF British Open, KDNL (30), 8:30 p.m. Burnet Senior Classic, ESPN, 4 p.m. AUTO RACING i AMA Supercross Series, ESPN, 1 1 :30 a.m.

Miller 500, TBS, 12:05 p.m. HORSE RACING Caesar's Palace Turf ChampionshipBud Emerald ESPN, 3 p.m. OLYMPICS Olympic Coverage, KSDK, 1 1 a.m.-5 p.m.; 6 p.m.-1 1 p.m.; 11:30 p.m.-1 a.m. ters. 1 he network has had a flurry Jack Hara 0f top executive departures since its takeover in January by Walt Disney Co.

O'Hara, who was appointed executive producer of ABC Sports in April 1991, was responsible for all aspects of the production of ABC Sports telecasts, including NFL "Monday Night Football" and "ABC's Wide World of Sports." O'Hara spoke to a colleague from the TWA's terminal shortly before boarding Flight 800 with his wife, Janet, and daughter, Caitlin, Mandel said. Their twin boys, Brian and Matthew, 12, were at the O'Hara home in Irvington, N.Y., with their grandparents. Said Mandel: "It's a surreal atmosphere at ABC Sports and at the network. No one believes it actually happened. It's been a nightmare." HOCKEY Messier Would Redo Deal To Help NY Get Gretzky New York Rangers captain Mark Messier said he would be willing to defer part of his $6 million salary for next season if it would help get Wayne Gretzky, who played out his option with the Blues, into a Rangers uniform.

"I have no problem with Wayne coming in here and making more money than me," Messier said. "Championships are more important than money now for both of us. I won't use my situation to stop (management) from making the team better." The Rangers are in the running to sign the unrestricted free-agent center, the National Hockey League's career scoring leader. The San Jose Sharks signed free-agent goaltend-er Kelly Hrudey to a two-year contract worth more Nearly Mo Of LS400 Owners Buy A Lexus Agun. We Repeat, Nearly 70 Of LS400 Owners Buy A Lexus Ain.

BRITISH OPEN Weather, Leader Both A Surprise i -s I 4 ft T4 5V First-Round Leaders Paul Broadhurst 32-3365 Mark McCumber 32-3567 Hidemichi Tanaka Brad Faxon 32-3567 Fred Couples 32-3567 Mark O'Meara 32-3567 Tom Lehman 32-3567 Loren Roberts 32-3567 Mark Brooks 32-3567 Nick Price 32-3668 Ernie Els 33-3568 Jim Furyk 34-3468 Shigeki Maruyama 32-3668 Nick Faldo 35-3368 Padraig Harrington 35-3368 Carl Mason 31-3768 Klas Eriksson 32-3668 ST. LOUIS AREA SCORE Jay Haas 34-3670 Complete Scores, Page 6 By The Associated Press I LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England -I- The first round of the British Open was absolutely balmy, both the weather and the scoring. Who would have thought it would be 80 degrees with near dead calm wand at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club on the northwest coast of England, tucked near the Irish Sea? Who would have thought two dozen players would shoot in the 60s? who would have thought seven Americans would be among the eight players tied for second, 2 strokes behind leader Paul Broad-hiirst of England? In fact, who would have thought Broadhurst who never has been higher than 15th on the money list in seven years on the European tour would be leading? "I am surprised it is not windy," Broadhurst said after shooting a 6-under-par 65 Thursday.

"Normally it isL Whether that's the reason the Americans are doing so well, I have np idea. Most unusual." Most unusual indeed. In fact, i AP Paul Broadhurst shot a 65 and leads the British Open by 2 strokes. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we're proud to report that no other import luxury carline has a more loyal following than Lexus. The fact is, two out of three people who own a Lexus LS 400 go on to purchase yet another Lexus.

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For a test drive, visit your nearest Lexus dealer. Your Lexus Dealer. Pursuing Perfection. downright balmy. The rolling fairways, receptive greens and wimpy wind rrde Lytham easy pickings.

A gentle breeze with the warm embrace of Southern California instead of the Cruel chill of northwest England niade the Americans feel at home. They took advantage of it. Loren Roberts, Mark O'Meara, Mark McCumber, Brad Faxon, Fred Couples, Tom Lehman and Mark Brooks all sfiot 4-under-par 67 along with Hidemichi Tanaka of Japan. "The conditions could not have been better," Couples said after his five-birdie, one-bogey round. "Everything was hard but the greens were accepting our shots." Royal Lytham looked like an Open course brown, haid fairways, wheat field-like rough and graveyard bun-kets but ideal weather and well-watered greens made it play more like a PGA Tour stop.

With the flags over the old clubhouse hanging nearly limp in the light wind that did little to chill the unusual 80-degree temperature, player after player went right at the Lytham course. More than one-third of the 156 players in the field matched par or better. And never in the eight previous Opens held here has anyone shot lower than Broadhurst's 65. He got going with an eagle on the 490-yard, par-5 sixth hole hitting a 5-iron 197 yards to 8 feet from the flag ran off three consecutive birdies from nine through 11 and made a 30-foot birdie putt on the difficult 17th hole in his bogey-free round. "I would definitely put this among the best rounds of my life," Broadhurst said.

"It's tremendous. Everyone thinks of leading the British Open and I am no exception to that." Nick Faldo, the Masters champion who is looking for his fourth British Open victory and seventh major championship, was in a bunch 3 strokes back with a 68, along with Ernie Els of South Africa and Nick Price of Zimbabwe. A slew of other Americans including Jeff Maggert, Payne Stewart, Fuzzy Zoeller, Jay Haas and Billy Mayfair shot below the par of 71. No rain is in the forecast and unless the wind picks up dramatically and the greens are allowed to firm up, the birdie barrage will continue. Creve Coeur PLAZA LEXUS 11830 Olive St.

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