Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 45

Chicago Tribune, Saturday, October 4, 1997 Section 3 3 COLLEGE FOOTBALL BASKETBALL INSIDE THE BULLS Pippen availability remains a mystery By Terry Armour Tribune Staff Writer Scottie Pippen took a physical Friday, but the Bulls still don't know the severity of a soft-tissue injury to his left foot. Pippen didn't take part in the team's first practice and left the Berto Center without talking to reporters. Coach Phil Jackson said the team hopes to know the extent of the injury next week before determining whether Pippen will need surgery, which could sideline him for the first two months of the season. "We don't have any declaration yet, one way or another, about what's going to happen," Jackson said. "Later on next week, we'll have more information and we'll be able to deal with it a little better." Jackson said he spoke with Pippen Friday but wouldn't divulge what they discussed.

"Scottie wishes it to be confidential between the two of us until it's a decision that he can make public," Jackson said. "This is his decision. We're going to try to help him make the right one." Michael Jordan said he also has spoken with Pippen. "Scottie has to do what he has to do, physically, to make sure he can go out and play the type of basketball he's capable of play ing," Jordan said. "If he's not ready to play, he shouldn't play." The other guys: Jackson said everybody else in camp was ready to take part in the team's 4-hour practice Friday.

The Bulls will have 4-hour daily practices through camp. "Phil is trying to work everybody in slow, the veterans especially," Jordan said. "We're trying to deal with some minor problems with Dennis Rodman not being here and Scottie dealing with what he has to deal with. We're just trying to get ourselves in shape. It's hard to win a championship on the first day." After taking his physical, Ron Harper practiced briefly.

The kid: Rookie Keith Booth got his first taste of practicing with the Bulls, including a brief run-through of the "Triangle" offense. He said he was prepared for a tough practice after a team meeting Thursday. "It was mentioned in the meeting that this team practices hard," Booth said. "Me being a rookie, I'm just trying to work hard every day and learn." He said he was surprise at the level of intensity on the first day. "It's something I first noticed when we walked on the court just going through drills.

Guys go at it hard, mentally as well as physically." bV A 1 ISwmi.wi Tribune photo by Patrick D. Witty Yale wide receiver James Paci finds a trio of Valparaiso defenders Eric ball during the first quarter of Friday night's game. The pass fell incom-Kenesie (from left), Ike Anigbo and Ray Hiller between him and the plete. After leading 7-0 at halftime, Yale rolled to a 34-14 victory. YALE 34, VALPARAISO 14 Defense paves way for Yale romp 7,668 fans in Soldier Field see Bulldogs force 6 Valparaiso turnovers .4 keeper to tie the game 7-7 early in the third quarter.

But Yale quickly marched 68 yards to go ahead for good on Derek Bentley's 1-yard run. Then linebacker Todd Scott recovered Van Dam's fumble to set up Jake Fuller's 17-yard touchdown run for a 21-7 lead. The game was played in Soldier Field because alumni groups from both Division I-AA schools wanted the opportunity for their Chicago alumni groups to see the teams in action. "A beautiful crowd," Home said. "It was a neat experience for our kids.

One they'll never By Bill Jauss Tribune Staff Writer After his first victory as Yale coach Friday night, Jack Siedlecki made a point to compliment Paul Van Dam, the Valparaiso quarterback his Bulldogs had victimized for six turnovers. "That quarterback took a beating," Siedlecki said. "He's a tough kid. We hit him almost every time he threw the ball." Van Dam threw 41 passes as Valparaiso (1-4) was beaten 34-14 before 7,668 fans in Soldier Field. He completed 21 for 201 yards.

He scored on a 26-yard keeper to tie the game 7-7 early in the second The interceptions were partly due to their pressure. You only get the ball for about 13 drives a game. You can't give it up six times." Eli Kelley made the first of the Bulldogs' takeaways. He intercepted Van Dam's first pass of the night on the Crusaders' 14-yard line. It set up a Yale touchdown, the only score of the first half.

Van Dam suffered four picks in the first half, two by Nate Boxrucker and one apiece by Josh Phillips and Kelley. Midway in the final quarter, Peter Sarantos intercepted Van Dam's fifth pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown and a 34-14 lead. Van Dam raced 26 yards on a half. He threw one touchdown pass of 8 yards to Cauis Swopes. But Van Dam threw five interceptions against Yale's relentless, resourceful defense.

And he lost one fumble. Those six turnovers hurt him more than all the hits the Bulldogs put on him. "Yale is a good pass-rushing team," Van Dam said. "They brought a lot of guys sometimes more than we could block. But this was not one of my better games.

I'm not happy with the way I played." "Yale had a very aggressive defense," Valparaiso coach Tom Home said. "They knocked Paul down even on three-step drops. Michael Jordan meets with reporters Friday afternoon at the Berto Center after the Bulls' first practice of the preseason. Now it's Iowa's turn to flex muscles 1 Tribune photo by Bonnie Trafelet Floyd, whose name most often surfaces as Jackson's possible replacement. But there also is the belief that Jordan would continue to play if the right coach takes overfor instance, Bulls assistant Jimmy Rodgers or a proven NBA coach such as Seattle's George Karl.

But Jordan said he will stick to his guns, even if Jackson advises him to play without him. "I would welcome that advice," Jordan said, "but I doubt I would adhere to it. It's my decision. His advice is his advice and I certainly listen to Phil a lot with some of the things he says. But if I don't feel good about it, my final decision is based on the way I feel." Would Jordan try to put pressure on Reinsdorf to re-sign Jackson for one more year? "You see how Jerry Reinsdorf operates," Jordan said.

"My influence doesn't have anything to do with his decision-making. I'm not going to sit here and knock heads against Jerry. He has his own vision of this team or of what the future holds. We take that and we deal with it. If that means Phil's not here, then Phil's not here." And no more Jordan? "I would quit," he said.

"I would say, 'I He sounded serious. should have done a better job with the options I had." The first half ended in a scoreless tie, but Jamaica was clearly the dominant team, creating many more dangerous chances and holding a five-minute edge in possession time. "They never lost their compo sure, and that was the key to the match," Ramos said. Next up for the U.S. is the match on Nov.

2. Midfielder Claudio Reyna, who was largely ineffective Friday night, will miss that match after collecting his second yellow card for an on-field temper tantrum. "All is certainly not lost," said U.S. coach Steve Sampson. "We've made it a little more difficult on ourselves, but there's no question in our minds we're going to France." Despite Friday night's letdown, U.S.

Soccer officials reiterated Sampson's job is not in jeopardy. "Now is not the time to cut and run," said U.S. Soccer general secretary Hank Steinbrecher. Jordan Continued from Page 1 resolved. But Jordan's words, coming almost a month before the regular season opens, intensified the air of finality already permeating camp.

No Phil Jackson, no Michael Jordan. "I don't divert from that comment," Jordan said. "That's what I feel in my heart. He's my coach, and I respect that and I'd like to have him as my coach. If he doesn't want to be here anymore, or if the organization doesn't want him to be here anymore, then it's hard for me to come back." Jackson appreciates the loyalty, but he believes Jordan should play one or two more seasons even if he isn't around.

Jordan, under contract for one year at approximately $33 million, has reportedly told those closest to him he would like to play at least one more season beyond this one. "I'm not so sure this is Michael's last year," Jackson said. "Michael and I have come to the understanding that if I want to walk away, fine." Except Jordan also has said he won't play for a college coach, particularly Iowa State's Tim Goodison, battling with U.S. forward Eric Wynalda deep on the right side, inadvertently ticked Wynalda's crossing pass with his left hand on the edge of the penalty box. Goodison shook his fingers as if he had been singed.

Seconds later, Wynalda burned Jamaican goalkeeper Warren Barrett with a nonchalant fake-left, shoot-right penalty kick that put the U.S. up 1-0. That bit of good fortune was nullified just two minutes later. Agoos, under pressure from Jamaican foward Paul Hall, inexplicably attempted to pass through the penalty area about 8 yards out. His ball turned into a perfect setup for Jamaica's Deon Burton, who zinged it into the left corner past helpless U.S.

goalkeeper Kasey Keller. It was the third time Burton, a recent arrival from Great Britain, has scored in as many qualifiers. "It was my mistake. I take full responsibility," said Agoos, who looked haggard after the match. "I i By Andrew Bagnato Tribune Football Writer Three years ago, Penn State i blew away the Big Ten with the most productive offense the con-i ference had seen.

1 A year later the Ohio State Buckeyes caught the scoring bug. This season, the offensive wave has rolled out into the cornfields, where the Iowa Hawkeyes have I assembled an explosive collection of weapons. No. 12 Iowa has bombed four patsies by an aver- age of 41 points. Up next is seventh-ranked Ohio State in Columbus, i "They're a little bit like we were the last two years," Ohio State coach John Cooper said.

"They're scoring a lot of points, beating i everybody pretty handily. And I they're up there in the national statistics in just about every cate-: gory." I Indeed, Iowa ranks first in the i nation in total offense (567 yards a game) and scoring (55 points a game), and running back Tavian Banks is the top rusher in Divi-, sion I-A. But Iowa also leads the country in stench of schedule, having i devoured Northern Iowa, Tulsa, Jamaica's Linval Dixon (right) drives I 1 i- I Iowa State and Illinois. "I don't care who you're playing," Cooper said. "I don't care if you're playing your own scout team: That's a lot of points to be scoring.

"They're on a roll," Cooper said. "They have a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum. We'll have to play our best game so far to beat them." The Hawkeyes-Buckeyes showdown is the first big battle in the Big Ten. Over the next six Saturdays, the schedule features weekly matchups of the five teams that rolled through the first month of the season unbeaten. "There have been five really good football teams in this league so far," Michigan State coach Nick Saban said.

"It'll be interesting to see how they do against each other. And there are several other teams that'll be dangerous. I've yet to identify a bad team or one we don't have to be very concerned about." Saban apparently has yet to see Illinois, but that's another story. He may be more concerned than most coaches because his Spartans have to face Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. At least the ball past the U.S.'s Claudio Reyna wink.

And they are directed by a veteran quarterback, Matt Sherman, who leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency and has thrown 10 touchdown passes with only two interceptions. But the main weapon is Banks, who has seamlessly replaced Sedrick Shaw, the leading rusher in school history. After Banks rambled for 191 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in a 38-10 win over Illinois, Fry said, "Tavian had a mediocre game for him, and yet three or four of his runs were as beautiful as you'll ever see. He's a great great football player." Banks has averaged 9.1 yards on 92 runs from scrimmage this year, best in the country. He has 835 yards and 13 scores.

Against the Illini, Iowa scored on drives that lasted nine, 19 and 61 seconds. So much for ball control. "Why fool around?" Fry said. "We're a big-play football team." But Iowa was far from perfect against the winless Fighting Illini. The Hawkeyes fumbled five times, allowed four sacks and looked disorganized at times.

"We've got to play a lot better," Banks said. "We can't go into Columbus like that and win." PAGE 1 Cup Continued from Page 1 Jamaica thwarted the U.S. offense from the start, confounding U.S. scouting reports that described its back line as unskilled. The U.S.

began the game in a 3-5-2 formation, but quickly shifted to four backs. Midfielder Mike Sorber, who was replaced by defender Jeff Agoos late in the first half, criticized the initial strategy, saying players weren't comfortable with the formation because they hadn't practiced it enough recently. "The problems weren't in the middle of the field," he said. Actually, there were plenty of problems to go around. The forwards couldn't finish, the defense looked confused and porous and the midfield had trouble stringing together more than two passes.

After a dispiriting first half, the U.S. looked as if it had caught the break it needed in the 49th minute when Jamaican defender Ian all three have to visit East Lansing. Iowa, by contrast, dodges Penn State. But it has to play Ohio State and Michigan on the road, with an off week in between. Of course, Iowa often has an off week when it meets the Buckeyes.

Ohio State has won the last three meetings by 12, 21 and 23 points. Remember 1995, Hawkeyes fans? Iowa had won its first five games. Then the Hawkeyes lost to Penn State before journeying to Columbus, where unbeaten Ohio State awaited. The Buckeyes scored 56 points before Iowa recovered a fumble for a touchdown. It was 56-7 at halftime, and reporters in the press box were looking up the "worst ever" statistics for Iowa coach Hayden Fry and his team when Cooper politely sent in walk-ons and student managers to mop up a 56-35 victory.

"We've been looking forward to this for two years," Fry said. This time Fry is bringing a much better team, one that has invented many routes to the end zone. The Hawkeyes have Tim Dwight, a wide receiver who's quick as a FROM Reuters photo in the first half of Friday's 1-1 tie. y'nini TOi ii, ymw "i rV nil A II mil Kill ilf MWii 'I in ii-fit'.