Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page 35

fnsicb In tho news Whitaker decisions McGirt PapE2 Hartforii EV3araiEin Alex Magoun, far right, wins the men's competition and Kim Goff is the women's champion. Page E7 Mercs racing Concern to win Super Derby PtE3 High schools Simsbury's Callahan wins Invitational PafeES i Index Auto racing. E2 hi the newt E2 Onthealr E2 Side Line t2 Cdlegee E4 Scoreboard E18 Racing, jalalai E16 SECTION SUNDAY OCTOBER 2, 1994 -V c. 7 ill this be common practice for ersr wnai Only Holmgren shows at Avon Old Farms Roberts' price: few small checks along way Tflilcobs INSIDE ffX THE NHL you prepare, you don't really think come Oct. 1 hockey is not going to be played." But the Whalers didn't play hockey Saturday.

They played hooky. Nobody showed up for practice at Avon Old Farms except coach Paul Holmgren. The players have said they will not participate in regular practices with the team until the lockout is over. "I went there in case anybody did show up," Holmgren said. "I was hoping somebody would.

Optimistic thinking, I guess." Verbeek, the Whalers' player Please see Team, Page E3 Gary Bettman moved the start of the season from Saturday to Oct. 1 5 in hopes of reaching a collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Players Association by then. If there is no agreement and no chance of one, the lockout as players call it could continue indefinitely. According to both sides, no further talks have been scheduled. "It's not really about hockey," Burke said.

"It's about business. It's just money, a fight over money and who gets it and how it's divided up. "I'm probably a little shocked that it has happened. As much as ter. And with the NHL postponed because of labor wars, Roberts, 54, the general manager and coach of the new American Hockey League entry, points out this also is hockey's big show.

About 20,000 jammed into the Palace at Auburn Hills in Michigan Friday night for the Detroit Vipers' International Hockey League debut. A sellout crowd of 7,500. jammed the Springfield Civic Center for the Falcons' 5-3 opening victory over Roberts' IceCats. Saturday, the teams met again at the Centrum in the IceCats' fran- Please see Game, Page E3 By VIV BERNSTEIN i' Courant Staff Writer Geoff Sanderson scored a hat 'trick to lead the Whalers to a 5-2 victory over Philadelphia in their season opener at the CoreStates Spectrum Saturday night. Sean Burke made 28 saves, Pat Verbeek had a goal before being ejected for yelling at the referee "and Jim Sandlak was injured when he was hit in the ankle by a puck.

You never know. It could Jhave happened that way. Of course, we'll never know. The Whalers and the rest of the jNHL are on hold. Commissioner WORCESTER The arena is managed by Spectacor, the brainchild or the Flyers' ownership.

And a team of the Whalers' is providing the opposition on this Saturday night. It says right here on the schedule: Hartford at Philadelphia. NHL opener. But something doesn't seem quite right. We haven't heard a player tell us how ignorant commissioner Gary Bettman is for at least two hours.

Suddenly, from around the corner, wearing his trademark tarn, appears the Coach of Strikes Past. "Welcome to minor league hock- ey," said Jimmy Roberts, extending his hand and flashing a big smile. "I'd bet back in July, talking to me on Oct. 1 wasn't on your calendar." This is not fiction folks, and this sure ain't The Spectrum in Philly. There is no Rocky statue out front.

This is the Centrum in Worces -AIM F. Patriots looking for a free pass 11 1 4 X-A Ah- 4" 1 i i i i VJ r. i tfA -JMlJW-: John Dunn Special to The Courant With their first victory over UConn since 1987, Yale players aren't masking their emotions. Yale, which dominated the first half then had to hold off UConn, Is 3-0. me thing clear: It's Yale's yeai Takes a turn against UConn By TERRY PRICE Courant Staff Writer FOXBORO, Mass.

In his NFL career, Packers defensive end Reggie White has sacked 51 quarterbacks from Phil Simms (15.5 times) to Anthony Dilweg (0.5). Patriots left tackle Bruce' Armstrong does not want Drew Bledsoe to become No. 52 on the hit parade. "I think Bledsoe has the chance to be the quarterback that this franchise hopes for," Armstrong said. "He comes along very rarely.

The thing that is going to go along with his development is his health. He can't be great if he's in the training room." i i The Patriots, who play the Packers today (1 p.m., Chs. 40, 61) at Foxboro Stadium, have done an excellent job of protecting Bledsoe. He has been sacked only four times despite attempting 176 passes the first four games of the season: In his past eight games, including, 1993, Bledsoe has attempted 298 passes, and has been sacked five times. The ratio of one sack every 44 pass attempts this season is fine with the Patriots.

He has passed for a league-high 1,417 yards and has nine TDs. "We take pride in protecting our quarterback," right tackle Pat Harlow said. "The protection has been OK so far. We haven't broken down too many times." The protection Bledsoe has been afforded will be severely tested by the Packers, who have the NFL's second-rated defense. The Patriots not only have to contend with White, the all-time sacks leader (139), but also defensive end Sean Jones, a free agent from Houston, and Steve McMichael, a free agent from Chicago.

Jones, who leads the Packers with four sacks, and McMichael have 92.5 sacks, and they are tied for 10th all-time. The Packers have 12 sacks. "This is a better defensive team than we faced last week in Detroit," Harlow said. "They have a great defensive line and it's a lot tougher They have Sean Jones, Steve McMichael and John Jurkovic is pushing people around, The Patriots do not do a lot of double-teaming in their pass-pro- Please see Bledsoe's, Page E15 f-' By BRUCE BERLET Courant Staff Writer NEW HAVEN Rain fell as hard as it had all day, but the Yale football team couldn't have cared less. i After shaking Pill hands with the lL it- 3 few UConn PTHfflrtT: players willing to reciprocate, the Elis gathered at midfield and barked out their fight song, "Bulldog." They repeated it minutes later in the locker room.

Somewhere, Walter Camp and Albie Booth smiled. The Elis didn't win the national championship Saturday before 9,3 14 at Yale Bowl, but they did win the Division I-AA state title for the first time in seven years. Yale used Mark Wallrapp's spe-dal-teams prowess, UConn turn overs and a fortuitous bounce late in the game for a 28-17 victory and its first 3-0 start since 1981, when the Elis opened 8-0 in a 9-1 season. They also matched their victory total last season (3-7). "That's better than any game, even beating Harvard three times," said senior Keith Price, who missed last season with a knee injury.

"This is my fifth year, and we've just got trounced by UConn consistently and never got respect. "I feel we've had the capability to pull it off before, but this is the culmination of everything. I think people know now we're the real deal. I feel we've reached our apex." Price rushed 23 times for 103 yards and the first two touchdowns, but his most critical play was recov- Please see Huskies, Page E5 id k'i A i It shows where they stand Owen 1 i Canfield 1 mifiMET EW HAVEN A Yale foot IN While UConn didn't give away the game, no matter what you may hear, the Huskies made it easy for the Elis to take it. It appears coach Carmen Cozza, his team riddled by injuries to key players last season when Yale was 3-7, has himself a potential Ivy League champion in his 30th season as head coach.

Cozza put great store in and emphasis on this confrontation between the state's Division I-AA universities. The strain of six consecutive defeats was a burden he wanted to shed. Keith Price, the game's star running back who missed last season with a knee injury, shared his coach's concern. "This is my fifth year here," said Price, who scored two touchdowns Please see Canfield, Page E5 ball team that hasn't gone 3-0 in 13 vears won its third in la row Saturday on the soggy floor of the ancient and well nigh deserted Bowl. "A UConn team that hadn't lost to Yale since 1987 and figured, rain or shine, to have the speed, weight, and all-around horsepower to "stretch that streak came a cropper ithis time and suffered the sting of its fourth loss in five games, 28-17.

I I I i Silence la golden The Giants have been i preparing to play in the noisy Superdome today, but know the best way to handle it Is to quiet the Saints' fans. Page E15 Shula vs. ShuSa When Miami and Cincinnati play tonight, It will be the first time a father (Don Shula) and son (David) have coached against each other in the NFL. fafl4 InsidG ES Fifth-ranked Colorado gets a field goal with 1 second left to defeat No. 16 Texas, 34-31.

Page E10 1 WwfciiJ John Dunn Special to The Courant I Yale centive end Jeff Stone is wrapped up in trying to tackle UConn quarterback 2eke Rodsers..