Courier-Post from Camden, New Jersey • Page 48

TRIVIA 2F Who is the only player to lose the U.S. Open in a playoff three times? (Answer at bottom of page) ONLINE POLL Which current or former NBA player does the best acting job in a movie role? Ray Allen in "He Got Game" Shaquille O'Neal in "Blue Chips" Michael Jordan in "Space Jam" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in "Airplane" Julius Erving in "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh" CourierPost QUOTE OF THE DAY "I think it's very sad watching old boxers getting blown around in the ring and things like that. That's why I'm wanting to quit while I still have the semblance of a golf game." Jack Nicklaus, who likely will retire after next month's British Open Facts, opinions and other fun stuff and news to use fcr the South Jersey sports fan on the go. Wednesday, June 15, 2005 www.courierpostonline.com 1 ivr QUICK SHOT CALENDARTICKETS PAGE FROM THE PAST Now Phillies even win on off days. Monday was just a day WED.

THUR. FRI. SAT. SUN. MON.

TUE. Jfls. latSEAlatSEAl OAK I OAK I OAK I I NYM ftKEoy 10:05 10.05 10:05 3:15 4.05 7:05 CSN CSN CSN FOX 29 UPN 57 CSN Phillies ticket office: (215) 463-1000; www.phillies.com WED. THUR. FRI.

SAT. SUN. MON. TUE. fJCJ, at SOM at SOM NAS NAS NAS LAN LAN 7:05 7:05 6:35 6:35 1:35 6:35 6:35 V'.

Riversharks ticket office: (866) 742-7579; TELEVISION MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL tl i. 4 Ti CSN: Phillies at Mariners, 10 p.m. ESPHWGH: Florida at Chicago Cubs, 2:1 0 p.m. ESPN: Atlanta at Texas, 7 p.m. ESPN2: Washington at LA.

Angels, 10 p.m. of rest between the end of a stunning 12-1 homestand and the start of a West Coast swing through American League cities Seattle and Oakland. But the Phillies managed to score again, this time signing shortstop Jimmy Rollins to a five-year contract extension, and checking another item off general manager Ed Wade's shortening To-Do list. What's next? A miracle cure for Jim Thome's back? A trade of Ryan Howard to the Yankees for, oh, Alex Rodriguez? Phil Anastasia I CHECK IT OUT Major League Baseball, 2:10 p.m. 7 p.m., 10 p.m., ESPNCSN: If it's baseball you like, it's baseball you'll get today.

It all starts at around 2:15 p.m. when the Marlins take on the Cubs in Florida in the only National League game of the day. And you never know who's going to sing during the seventh-inning stretch. Then at 7 p.m., it will be Courier-Post file photos Michelle Rowen, shown above with Lamont Smith (left) and Charlie Pratt and below running, still holds several South Jersey track and field records. As a distance runner, FLORIDA'S LUIS CASTILLO THE LIST the Braves at Texas.

Atlanta's offense has struggled mightily this year, as well as its bullpen, making its run of 13 straight titles look as if it could end. Texas has been in first place at times this year, but was 2V2 games behind the Angels. Then, at 10 p.m., the Phillies continue their road trip in Seattle. towen ruled in Buer day Here is a look at the last five horses to win only the Preakness and Belmont Stakes in horse racing's Triple Crown. 1 Meet Alex, 2005 (pictured with jockey Jeremy Rose up) 2 Point Given 2001 I 1 X- (e2 ,1 Tabasco Cat 1994 3 TENNIS Agassi backs out of Wimbledon due to injury LONDON Andre Agassi withdrew from Wimbledon because of an injury for the second straight year Tuesday, leaving fans to wonder whether they'll ever see him play again at the All England Club.

The 1992 Wimbledon champion and 1999 runner-up sent a fax to the grass-court Grand Slam tournament saying he was out. An exact injury wasn't announced by organizers, and Agassi's agent didn't immediately return phone messages. But Agassi was hobbled by an inflamed nerve in his back during his 7-5, 4-6, 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-0 loss to qualifier Jarkko Niemi-nen in the first round of the French Open last month. "It was getting worse by the minute," the 35-year-old Agassi said after that loss in Paris. "I knew it wasn't going to be pretty after that.

But I didn't want to walk off. I just didn't want to do it. And there's nothing the trainer could do." NFL Browns' Winslow has surgery to repair torn ACL Hansel 1991 Risen Star 1988 WEB WORTHY The U.S. Open's about to start and you know not nearly enough about it. No prob, head on over to usga.org and overdose on the wealth of Browns tight end Kellen Winslow Jr.

had the right knee ligament he tore during a motorcycle accident fixed during surgery Tuesday. The club said Winslow's anterior cruciate ligament was successfully repaired by team Dr. Anthony Miniaci at the Cleveland Clinic. Winslow, who will miss the 2005 season, is everyone. She wanted to be the best, but she never boasted about anything she could do.

She let her running do her talking." Rowen won so many races and did so many memorable things that it's difficult to enumerate themalL For example, she won three outdoor Meet of Champions titles (1,500, 1,600 and three indoor Meet of Champions titles (two in the 1,600, one in the 3,200) and one in cross country. Her time of 17:40 is the second-best ever to be run by a girl on the Holmdel course. By contrast Do-nohue's best time on the course was 18:26. "Erin was probably better in the 800," Kiessling said. "They were probably even in the mile.

But Michelle was a better two-mil-er, and she was way ahead in cross country." Rowen also won the 800 title and two 1,500 titles in the 1982 and 1983 Penn Relays. She recalls those moments as some of the highlights of her career. "Running on that track was like running on a trampoline during a time when the high school track was all cinders," she said. "Plus, you have a large crowd and all those spectators yelling, so it was really special." Kiessling, however, recalled a Penn Relays race in which Rowen finished third. "In that race, she ran the fastest 3,000 in South Jersey history," he said.

"She ran a 9:55, but she tripped on the last lap, so figure how much time that cost her. She was only 16 years old at the time, so to get up and finish like she did tells you something about her heart." After high school, Rowen attended the University of Virginia where she won All-American honors eight times. She qualified for the 1988 U.S. Olympic team in the 1,500 by running a 4:15.1, but she chose to attend medical school at the Pennsylvania School of Podiatry. "She had goals as a runner, but her life goal was to be a doctor," Kiessling said.

"That's what she used to talk about all the time, and she went and fulfilled that dream." Today she has a practice in which she treats those with geriatric and diabetic problems, along with those with sports injuries. Her daughter, Emily, has just turned 7, and Rowen said she has just begun to compete in track and field. "She's a sprinter and a long jumper," Rowen said. "I don't know where that came from, but she's pretty good at it" Reach Don Benevento at By DON BENEVENTO Courier-Post Staff Many great distance runners have traversed the tracks, courses and trails of the state over the past 20 years, but few have measured up to the exploits of Michelle Row-en. Now a doctor of podiatry, Row-en set records that have stood for more than two decades.

For example, no high school girl in the state has ever topped her indoor mile time of 4:43.3, set as a junior at Washington Township High Schcx)l in 1982. She still holds the state record for the 1,500 meters at 4:20.05 and the 3,200 at 10:12.8, set in her senior year in 1983. "I'd say overall she's the best distance runner from South Jersey ever," said her long-time coach and friend, Bob Kiessling. Some of her events, such as the mile, are seldom run in everyday competition, but the times she recorded still stand well ahead of most of the pack. That's why she has been named to several all-time teams, along with being named as the Cross Country Runner of the 20th Century by the Courier-Post She also recently was named to the newly founded South Jersey Track and Field Hall of Fame.

She, along with Willingboro's Carol Lewis, were the only two women named to the inaugural class. Rowen smiles when she reflects on the records she set, and especially some of them that got away. Some of her marks fell to former Haddonfield High School standout Erin Donohue, but Rowen is justifiably proud of the ones that remain. "I'm sure they will all be broken at some point," she said. "But to think that some of them have lasted this long is kind of incredible." That's especially true when noting that Rowen found her away into distance running almost by accident.

"I was a gymnast from the age of 6 until my freshman year in high school," she said. "Then I ended up getting injured and it was one of those things that could have gotten worse if it happened again. It was quite depressing at a young age. 1 felt like my world was crashing in." Rowen recalled she was, "laying around, complaining a lot," when her father stepped in to help her out. A state police officer at the time, the Lite Milton Rowen was involved in a running and jogging program, and he invited his depressed daughter to join him.

"It was a way to get some father-daughter time together," she said. "At first we did about IV2 THIS DATE IN HISTORY "Jack Is Back." That's what the leader-board at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., said after Jack Nicklaus won his fourth U.S. Open championship. Nicklaus did it in style, settling what was then a U.S. Open record 272 for 72 holes.

Point of interest: The PGA Championship is at Baltusrol in August And, in 2001, the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sixers 108-96 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals to complete the best playoff run in NBA history. The Lakers finished the playoffs with a record of 15-1 and were the first to go through the playoffs undefeated on the road. MICHELLE ROWEN Events: Track and field, Cross Country High School: Washington Township, Class of 1983 College: University of Virginia Current occupation: Doctor of podiatry Accomplishments: Still holds state records in the mile, the 1,500 meters and the 3,200 meters. Holds the second-fastest time ever recorded for a girl on the Holmdel cross country course. Three-time outdoor winner in the Meet of Champions and two-time indoor winner in the Meet of Champions.

Two-time winner in the Penn Relays and a one-time record holder in that event. Won the ACC championship in 1987. Honors: Four-time All-American (four in track and field, four in cross country). Named Cross Country Runner of the Century by the 'Courier-Post'. Named to the South Jersey Track and Field Hall of Fame.

miles, and that was pretty easy. Within a couple of weeks we were doing five miles, and it got to be addictive." Rowen began running competitively as a sophomore in high school, and she came under the tutelage of Kiessling, who has since gone on to coach a number of runners in South Jersey. Kiessling was quick to see the potential in Rowen. "She could do better workouts than most," Kiessling said. "For a distance runner, she had tremendous speeds.

She could outwork already at home recovering, the Browns said. He will begin a rehabilitation program immediately Ravens: Baltimore Ravens tight end Todd Heap has agreed to a six-year contract extension. Heap is a two-time Pro Bowl selection who was limited to 27 catches for 303 yards and three touchdowns during an injury-plagued 2004 season. He missed 10 games with an ankle injury that required surgery. COLLEGE FOOTBALL BCS searching for voters for a new poll The Bowl Championship Series has a plan for a new college football poll, and hired a company Tuesday to find voters.

The new poll, which would be added to the BCS weekly rankings, would consist of former players, coaches, administrators and members of the media, the BCS said in a statement. Florida fires coach: Florida fired football coach Billy Joe and two assistants Tuesday, about two months before players report for practice. The school cited NCAA rules violations in recruiting and eligibility as reasons the coaches were dismissed. LAST CALL Jones leaning toward leaving St Joe's for NBA Dwayne Jones believes he's ready to follow former Saint Joseph's teammates Jameer Nelson and Delonte West to the NBA. Jones, a 6-foot-ll Hawks center, said Tuesday he is leaning toward keeping himself eligible for the NBA Draft instead of returning for his senior year on Hawk Hill.

Because he has not hired an agent, Jones will have until June 21 to withdraw from the draft and retain his final season of eligibility. "I think right now I would be considered a high second-round pick to late first-round pick," Jones said by telephone from Delaware. Bland leaves Penn State: Guard Amber Bland is leaving Perm State after one season, the school announced. According to a statement, Bland requested and was granted her release from the program. Bland is now allowed to talk to other schools about a transfer.

Lasorda travels to Japan: Tom Lasorda is going to Japan at the request of President Bush. The former Los Angeles Dodgers manager was asked to represent the United States as a delegate at the World Exposition on June 17-22 in Aichi, Japan. "I mnsidr it tn hp an honor and privilege to represent the president, as well as my country," Lasorda said Tuesday. ON DECK Catch up with former Haddonfield High School star Erin Donohue, now running for the University of North TRIVIA ANSWER Arnold Palmer lost playoffs in 1962 to Jack Nicklaus, 1963 to Julius Boros and 1966 to Billy Casper. TUB Wildcard SUN Voices SAT Minor Matters WED Page From Past FRI Sports Media TOURS College Comer ftlON Snapshots 4 Associated tress 3.