The News Journal from Wilmington, Delaware • Page 17

The News Journal, Wilmington, Del. www.delawareonline.com Monday, Sept. 3, 2001 Section Hon wait John is finally in the winn's circle. CC SCOREBOARD Baseball C4 San Francisco 3, Colorado 1 Seattle 1, ORIOLES 0 Toronto 11, Detroit 0 Cincinnati 8, Pittsburgh 6 Florida 5, N.Y. Mets 1 Houston 1, Milwaukee 0 Texas 12, Kansas City 6 News tips for Sports: 324-2801 orsportsdelawareonline.com Sports editor Ron Fritz, 324-2919 Classified Rocks forced to do it all again Northern Division Finals 1 Blue Rocks vs.

Frederick Northern Division champs for both halves feel they deserve a first-round playoff bye "Now we'll have to earn it, and go from there." In the past, teams that won both halves earned a bye to the finals. But some within the league viewed an extra round of playoffs as a way of earning additional income through ticket sales and giving players more "high-pressure games," Minker said. Under the new format, the first-half winner was also aware since mid-June that it would definitely have a playoff game on Sept. 4, giving it nearly three months to market and sell tickets. The Blue Rocks have sold See ROCKS C5 The best-of-five finals begin Thursday, here or in Frederick.

Blue Rocks president Matt Minker was the lone dissenter when the league voted in the change at its winter meetings. Blue Rocks manager Jeff Gar-ber doesn't like it either, especially considering the way his team shrugged off a 5-16 second-half start to finish first. "It's supposed to be the champion of the North against the champion of the South," Garber said. "In this league, with so much turnover, if you have enough to win both halves you deserve, in my opinion, to go into the finals. Game 1, today, 1:05 p.m.

Blue Rocks: Junior Guerrero (5-4, 3.66 vs. Keys: Juan Figueroa (5-0, 1 .59 ERA) Game 2, Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. Blue Rocks: Jimmy Gobble (10-6, 2.55 ER vs. Keys: Erik Bedard (9-2, 2.1 5 ERA) Game 3 (if necessary), Wednesday, 7:05 pji. Blue Rocks: Mike Natale (9-8, 3.28 ERA) vs.

Keys: Cory Morris (3-5, 3.38 ERA) Tickets: Prices range from $2 to $7 (children 3 and jnder are free). Available at the stadium ticket office or by calling 302-88-2583. onship series. The only perk is each game will be played at Frawley Stadium, beginning with today's 1 p.m. opener.

Kinston is in the same boat, having won both Southern Division halves in the Carolina League's split season. The Indians must win a divisional series over Salem. Like Frederick, Salem needed only to finish second in the second half to qualify for the postseason. 6 2 Montreal Phillies SOUTHERN 500 For season-long Phillies covenge, visit www.delawareonlina.cBm P-sn I till I III MX 1 0 if ,1" x. -i vA.T7r" i 1 By KEVIN TRESOLINI Staff reporter Beginning today, the Blue Rocks must prove again in two or three games what they already had in 140.

The Carolina League's revised playoff rules mean the Blue Rocks, despite winning first- and second-half Northern Division titles, must win a best-of-three series against Frederick to reach the league champi- Eagles focus in on Rams Preseason was all about the opener By KEVIN NOONAN Staff reporter PHILADELPHIA Everything the Eagles have done over the last five weeks has pointed to one day, and that day is almost here. The Eagles open their season next Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, and they put the final touches on their roster Sunday by releasing eight players, including former starting defensive end Greg Jefferson and backup running backs Stanley Pritchett and Darnell Autry. The Eagles have played three preseason games and prepared for four the first one, against the Ravens, was canceled because of field conditions. But the whole time they were really preparing for St.

Louis and the Rams' high-flying offense. "We don't game plan for the preseason games, and we've basically been looking ahead to the Rams all along," Eagles tight end Chad Lewis said. "You want to play well in the preseason games and you want to win the preseason games, but they're really just a way of preparing for that first game of the regular season. Everything Is pointed to that." That is why Eagles coach Andy Reid is amused whenever he is asked about his strategy for the exhibitions. He doesn't have one, other than to evaluate young players and hope nobody of importance gets hurt.

That is why the starters only play a quarter or two in most preseason games and Just one series in the last preseason game. As for the X's and O's, no coach is going to tip his hand in a game that doesn't count "We basically keep it vanilla in the preseason," Reid said. Sea EAGLES -C6 Eagles cuts The Eagles released eight players on Sunday to get down to the NFL roster limit of 53: RB Darnell Autry D8 Jason Bostic DE John Frank RB Anthony Gray DE Greg Jefferson RB Stanley Pritchett WR Sean Scott WR Elijah Thurmon Team depth chart C8 KFl teams trim rosters C8 For an archive of Eagles articles, visit www.delawareonliiM.com Expos score four runs in ninth to back Vazquez's pitching By MARTIN FRANK Staff reporter PHILADELPHIA The comment was a sarcastic one back in July, when Phillies manager Larry Bowa referred to Javier Vazquez as "Cy" Vazquez because of the way he dominated the Phillies as opposed to everyone else. The remark is no longer sarcastic. Sure, Vazquez is still shutting down the Phillies, as he did Sunday in leading the Expos to a 6-2 victory.

But he is also doing it to everyone else. So the Phillies knew they had to fight and scrape for every single run, every single hit On this day, it hardly mattered that the Expos were a last-place team, playing out the string of a Sep APCHUCK BURTON Dave Blaney (left), Bill Elliott (9), Matt Kenseth (17), Ricky Rudd (28) and Tony Stewart (20) crash In turn one Sunday on the second-to-last lap of the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway In Darlington, S.C. Ward Burton won the race under caution. Ward's turn to win tember with little East Race Burton duplicates brother's success GB Pet. 73 63 .537 72 64 .529 Atlanta PHILLIES 1 Complete results C2 Auto racing roundup C5 T.

it I Z. significance. For Vazquez sent the Phillies (72-64) back into second place, a game behind Atlanta. The 25-year-old carried a perfect game through four innings. This after going 5-1 with an 0.55 ERA in August.

He is 2-0 with a 2.64 ERA in four starts against the Phils. "He's proba Sunday's scorn Montreal 6, PMUJES 2, Atlanta 7. Chicago Cubs 4 Today's oames N.Y. Mets (Chen 7-6) at PHILLIES (Wolf 6-10), p.m. Atlanta (Glavine 12-7) at Montreal (Ohka 1-2), 1:05 p.m.

Mess gives op runs, CS By PETE IACOBELLI Associated Press DARLINGTON, S.C. The Burtons have Darlington Raceway figured out A day after his brother Jeff won the South Carolina 200 Busch Grand National Race here, Ward survived a wild Sunday afternoon to win his first Southern 500 and break a 53-race victory drought. Ward Joins Jeff as winners of Darlington's spring and summer events. "I guess it was a pretty good weekend for the Burton brothers," Ward said. It also was a pretty good weekend for Dodge, which won for the first time at Darlington in 30 years and for the second time in three weeks this season.

"I'm glad a Dodge won again," said owner Ray Evernham, who runs Dodges for Bill Elliott and Casey Atwood. "I wish our Dodges could win, but as long as a Dodge is winning, I feel like we're part of that." Burton made it through one of the craziest Southern 500s, even tapping the wall a few times. He came from 37th at the start to beat Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labonte and take his third career victory Burton's last win also came here, the Mall.com 400 in 2000. "I like the place. You always have to compromise, always have to look around at what's happening," Burton said.

Burton won the race under caution after a wreck two laps from the end. He moved past Labonte for the lead with seven laps to go as Jimmy Spencer, Joe Nemechek and Ron Hornaday tangled. "I don't know if I was the best driver, but I sure had the best race car," Burton said. Gordon passed Labonte on the final lap for second. Tony Stewart bounced off a last-lap pileup to finish behind Labonte.

Gordon increased his Winston Cup points lead to 342 points over Ricky Rudd with 11 events left bly the best unknown pitcher in baseball because of where he pitches," Bowa said about the Expos' anonymous existence in Montreal. "He's got great stuff. Sometimes you just have to take your hat off to him. We battled him, we just came up short." This explains why the Phillies were desperate when Scott Rolen doubled to lead off the fifth inning for the Phils' first hit of the game. They were trailing 2-0, and Rolen knew he had to score.

After Marlon Anderson struck out Rolen took matters into his own hands, stealing third and scoring when the throw got away. And they were desperate an inning later, down 2-1 with Doug Glanville on first and one out when Bobby Abreu sent a sinking line drive into left field. Tim Raines dove for the ball and appeared to short-hop it But third base umpire See PHILLIES -C5 APPATRICK COLLAR Ward Burton holds the trophy high above his head after winning the Southern 500. Roddick advances; Seles exits early -A i lie, Seles, seeded seventh, had five wins over top-10 players last month. "It's disappointing to lose after playing so well coming into here," Seles said.

Top-seeded Martina Hingis fell behind Jelena Dokic 3-0, then won 12 of the final 13 games for a 6-4, 6-0 victory. Former champions Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams will meet in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. No. 3 Davenport struggled past Elena Likhovtseva 6-3, 0 6, 6-3, while No. 10 Williams won 7-5, 6-0 over Justine Henin.

Hewitt advances C6 In a rout worthy of his favorite team, the Nebraska Corn-huskers, Roddick blew out French Open runner-up Alex Corretja 4, "Incredible best I've ever seen Roddick look," former champion John McEnroe said. Next up will be Tommy Ro-bredo in the fourth round on Tuesday. It's another milestone match for Roddick, who made a big splash at the French Open and Wimbledon before losing in the third round. He said he can sense the stakes rise. "It's a blast," Roddick said.

"You definitely feel it a little bit more. I'm no longer the new guy I'm not surprising anybody I'm not sneaking up on anybody anymore." The men's final 16 also will include Lleyton Hewitt, but not popular Goran Ivanisevic. The reigning Wimbledon champion, seeded 15th, lost to Albert Costa 64, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2). Monica Seles' fine summer ended abruptly with her earliest Open exit since 1990. She committed 51 unforced errors and lost to unseeded 18-year-old Daja Bedanova of the Czech Repub- By STEVEN WINE Associated Press NEW YORK Sitting in his chair during a changeover at the U.S.

Open, Andy Roddick sneaked a peak at the stadium scoreboard showing highlights of his match. He had to like what he saw. The 19-year-old Roddick, whose startling ascent has revived hope for the next generation of American men's tennis, made another breakthrough Sunday by advancing to the second week of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. L. APOSAMU HONDA Monica Seles returns to Daa Bedanova, of the Czech Republic, at the U.S.

Open In New York, Sunday. Seles committed 51 unforced errors and lost to the unseeded 18-year-old..