The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page D01

INSIDE College Baseball 3 College Sports 8 Flyers 6 Horse Racing 6 Scoreboard 5 SECTION TUESDAY, JUNE 24, 2003 Wit iPfnlaMpfna ilnquirer WWW.PHILLY.COM v. Effect Top seed Hewitt ousted in one towering upset of ads begins to subtract Wimbledon's defending champ lost to 6-foot-10 Ivo Karlovic, a qualifier from Croatia, in the first round. And it's not just that Hewitt lost. It's who beat him. Karlovic is ranked 203d, entered with a 2-4 career mark in tour-level tournaments, and failed in 10 previous attempts to qualify for Grand Slams.

"I'd never seen him play," said Hewitt, also the only No. 1-seeded player to lose so early at Wimbledon in the Open era (since 1968). "I'd seen him walk around a bit." After a wobbly start, Wimbledon's tallest player ever used each inch to his advantage. The Croat pounded serves up to 135 m.p.h., gathering 18 aces plus 41 service winners, and unfurled his lanky right arm to guide volleys with surprising delicacy. Hewitt, who's a foot shorter, is a gifted returner, but he looked like a baseball batter who couldn't handle Randy Johnson's fastballs corn-See HEWITT on D7 By Howard Fendrich ASSOCIATED PRESS WIMBLEDON, England It was tough to catch a glimpse of Lleyton Hewitt when he left Centre Court after one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.

His 6-foot-10 opponent, Ivo Karlovic, blocked the view. Hewitt's stunning 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 exit yesterday against Karlovic, a qualifier, made him the only defending champion to lose in the first round at the All England Club in the Open era and the second since Wimbledon began in 1877. It's only a matter of time. Some future Earl Woods or Richard Williams, instead of naming his sports-programmed progeny Eldrick or Serena or Venus, will look his newborn meal ticket in the eye, smile lovingly, and tell the attending nurse, "This baby's name is Gatorade." Or Nike. Or Verizon.

Or Compaq. Right there on the birth certificate. And the baby will become a toddler with a personal trainer and a rigorous coaching regimen, and that toddler will grow to be a professional athlete, and that young star will get a fat contract from the company dear old dad had the foresight to brand er, name his offspring. DAVE CAULKIN Associated Press Lleyton Hewitt (right) shakes hands with Ivo Karlovic after their first-round match on Wimbledon's Centre Court. Karlovic, ranked 203d, made history with his victory.

Feels Like A Cold Draft That day just got a little closer. In the grand scheme of things, the Chicago Bears' new sponsorship deal with Bank One isn't all that big a change from sports business as usual. As part of their deal to refurbish historic Phil Sheridan 1 MHvp Soldier Field, the Bears were urged not to sell the stadium's naming rights. So they didn't. They sold what is essentially a title sponsorship for their product, which just happens to be a football team.

So: The Chicago Bears presented by Bank One. Naming-rights deals have gone from innovative revenue-generator to absolute essential in just a few years. The practice has created some embarrassment from the fiasco of Enron Field in Houston to Philadelphia's own Bank Merger Center but mostly it has created lots of money for the owners of sports franchises. It is virtually found money millions of dollars paid just to put a name on something that would be there anyway. See NAME on D6 Unable to sell naming rights to stadium, Bears sell team name.

Al. Browns enjoying QB battle The team must pick either Tim Couch or Kelly Holcomb. The two are anxious but prepared to compete. DONNA McWILLIAM Associated Press The Spurs' Steve Kerr, a 50th draft choice who beat the odds, displays his championship rings while joking with Stephen Jackson at this year's title celebration. History says Sixers' 50th choice unlikely to have major impact Unless they make a trade, the 76ers have the 50th pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

Here are the most recent players who have been chosen 50th. Only two of the last 10 Alton Ford and Chris Crawford played in the NBA last season. By Marc Narducci INQUIRER STAFF WRITER When San Antonio guard Steve Kerr came off the bench to hit big shots in the Western Conference finals and the NBA championship series, it might have given Kerr, who has won five NBA championship rings, was selected 50th could offer hope for the Sixers. But based on the recent staying power of the 50th pick, it could also turn out to be false optimism. On the whole, players selected 50th don't 2002 Federico Kammerichs Portland 2001 Alton Ford Houston Phoenix 2000 Kaniel Dickens Idaho Utah 1999 Venson Hamilton Nebraska Houston 1998 Andrew Betts Long Beach State Charlotte 1997 Chris Crawford Marquette Atlanta 1996 Terrell Bell Georgia Houston 1995 Martin Lewis Seward County C.C.

Golden St. 1994 Charles Claxton Georgia Phoenix 1993 Marcelo Nicola Houston stand a good chance of staying on a roster. And if they do, they likely won't contribute much. In addition to Kerr, two other 50th picks who have made it are Atlanta's Chris Crawford and Phoenix's Alton Ford, both of whom ended the season on the See DRAFT on D8 the 76ers optimism. Kerr was the 50th selection in NBA Draft the 1988 draft, by the Phoenix Suns.

The Sixers, who traded Thursday away their first-round choice this at Madison season, have the 50th pick in Square Garden, Thursday's NBA draft. The pick New York. is their first. Television: 7 The fact that a player such as p.m., ESPN. Were listed as the 51st choices but were the 50th players selected because Minnesota forfeited a first-round pick both years.

Was listed as the 51st pick, but was the 50th player chosen because Washington forfeited a first-round pick for signing Juwan Howard SOURCE: NBA Marc Narducci By Mike Bruton INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Cleveland Browns head coach Butch Davis says he sleeps better at night knowing that he has two capable quarterbacks, but that doesn't help Tim Couch or Kelly Holcomb at bedtime. Couch and Holcomb are still waiting for Davis to decide which of them will be the Browns' starting quarterback this season, and it appears they will be waiting for a few more weeks. "You never know," said Davis, remaining noncommittal. "You really never know. We'll have one when we play Indianapolis in the season opener for sure." The Browns' head coach insists that there is no controversy, no tension, just two guys competing for a job.

For Couch, it's more of a test because he was the $50 million-plus man drafted first in 1999 who has to watch Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, the player taken after him, flourishing and sporting a brand-new $112 million contract. If last season is an indicator, there will be some tension before it's all over. Things might already be tense, though both Couch and Holcomb have been perfect gentlemen. "I'm just glad I don't have to make that decision," said Holcomb, who has been a backup for seven years, including five in Indianapolis before joining the Browns. "I've been looking for this chance to start for a long time." Holcomb started the first two games of 2002 because Couch had a See BROWNS on D7 Score one for Cormier: Reliever is keeping bases cleared Phillies at Braves Kevin Millwood (8-5) vs.

Russ Ortiz (8-4), 7:35. TV: CSN, TBS. Radio: WPEN-AM (950), WNPV-AM (1440). How about it? First baseman Jim Thome hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the eighth to tie the score, his first of two game-tying homers that day. The Phillies eventually won the 13-inning thriller, 6-5.

"It's weird," Cormier said. "To keep the game where it was, it was huge. It gave the guys a little confidence that we were battling and trying to stay in there. Then Jim hit that home run. It's great when you come back like that." Cormier, 36, who is in the third year of a three-year, $8.75 million contract with a club option for 2004, has been See PHILLIES on D5 runners to score this season, even when he has put runners on base.

He is 2-0 with a 1.78 earned run average. Since Cormier allowed five earned runs in two innings during an 8-3 loss to Florida on April 3, his ERA has been a microscopic 0.54. That's the result of a scoreless streak of 20 innings from April 3 to May 21 and his current scoreless streak of 9 innings. So, naturally, Cormier worked out of the jam Saturday. He struck out Jason Varitek, Damian Jackson and David Ortiz to end the inning.

"How about that?" he said. By Todd Zolecki INQUIRER STAFF WRITER Rheal Cormier found himself in a spot he wanted no part of Saturday at Veterans Stadium. Runners were on second and third with no outs, and Cormier hadn't pitched in a week. The Phillies also trailed the Boston Red Sox, 2-1. "It's not the best situation to be in," the lefthanded reliever said.

But Cormier had put himself there. He allowed a leadoff double in the top of the eighth inning to Kevin Millar and a single to Bill Mueller with Mueller advancing to second on the throw to put himself in a bind. Let those runners score and the Red Sox break open the game. But Cormier hasn't allowed many.