The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 21

Turlington Ifrte ftxffl INSIDE Scoreboard 8B NFL 8B Baseball 9B Morning Break 10B Deal sending Penny to Suns appears imminent. NBA roundup, 8B SECTION THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1999 SPORTS EDITOR TED RYAN 660-1855 or (800) 698-2255 -PAGE 7B mm tm pti vLU 11 Ji JLLJL OSlClii Duval to return to No. 1 Woods falls short in complicated formula TT Expos in thewin column Big third inning keys Vermont, 4-1 Free Press Staff Report NEW YORK, N.Y. For one night at least, there was a role reversal in the McNa-mara Division of the New York-Penn League. After weeks of lousy pitching, shoddy defense and a lack of timely hitting, the Vermont Expos put everything together on 1 i vi v.v..i I STEVEN SENNE, The Associated Press Nomar Garciaparra singles to right field on a pitch by Indians starter Bartolo Colon in the first inning Wednesday.

Garciaparra, who went 3-for-5 to increase his league-leading batting average to .368, drove in John Valentin with the hit. Portugal rebounds from worst outing of season to pitch Sox past Cleveland, 7-2 back like that. It was important for us, with the relievers getting a rest. (It was) certainly a lift for him, too." In addition to rescuing Portugal from last week's embarrassment, which was witnessed by his children, the outing rescued an overworked Boston bullpen that had blown the previous two games in the ninth By Jimmy Golen The Associated Press BOSTON Mark Portugal knew the Fenway Park crowd would be friendlier Wednesday than the last time he pitched. He left his kids at home.

"They were here last time. They were probably (among) the 33,000 booing me," he said after' re Wednesday night. The Expos strung together five hits in a four-run third inning, re Cw Vermont at New Jersey, today, 7:15 p.m., WKDR ceived a combined six-hitter from three different pitchers and made only one inconsequential error in defeating the Staten Island Yankees, 4-1, at the College of Staten Island Field. With the game scoreless in the third inning, the Vermont offense proved to be double trouble for Staten Island starter Jason Willis, who was effective in the first two innings. Wilson Valdez led the inning with a hustle double into right Matt Watson followed with another double, giving Vermont a 1-0 lead, and moved to third on a throwing error.

Josh McKin-ley made it three straight doubles and scored Watson. Valentino Pascucci then continued the inning by lining a single into right that plated McKinley. The next batter, Matt Cepicky, made it five consecutive hits and four doubles in the inning with a long two-bagger off the wall in left-center to complete Vermont's four-run inning. Darryl Roque, making an emergency start in place of Eric Good, who was sidelined by a blister on his pitching hand, pitched brilliantly over five innings for the Expos. Roque gave up only four hits and one run which came on Omar Fuentes' two-out homer in the fifth while striking out three.

The Vermont bullpen was also effective. The Yankees threatened in the sixth and eighth innings, but Scott Albin worked out of runner-on-third jams both times. The right-hander pitched three scoreless innings. Chuck Crumpton then yielded only a two-out walk in the ninth in picking up his fourth save. The Expos (16-32) travel to Augusta, N.J.

tonight to start a two-game series against the New Jersey Cardinals. Cuba's V'K BASEBALL American League New York 8, Toronto 3 Boston 7, Cleveland 2 Baltimore 9, Oakland 5 Texas 3, Minnesota 1 Kansas City at Anaheim, (n) Tampa Bay at Seattle, (n) National League Chicago 5, Montreal 1 Philadelphia 4, Florida 1 Pittsburgh 3, Atlanta 2 Cincinnati 6, Colorado 3 New York 9, Milwaukee 5 Los Angeles 2, Houston 1 St. Louis 7, San Diego 6 San Francisco at Arizona, (n) WNBA Detroit 59, Minnesota 56 Orlando 70, Cleveland 62 Sacramento 68, Charlotte 62 MLS Dallas 2, N.Y.-NJ. 0 Vermont, N.H. stars prep for Shrine game PLYMOUTH, N.H.

Many of the top high school football players in Vermont and New Hampshire who graduated in June have reported for practice for the 1999 Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl Game. The 46th annual gridiron showdown is set for 2:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at Dartmouth College. Vermont coach Dennis Sweet of Lyndon Institute and New Hampshire's Tom Ba-baian of Pelham greeted the teams on Tuesday.

They worked out at Plymouth State College. Triple sessions were scheduled for Wednesday. Vermont will be without the top high school senior from last year. Rutland High quarterback Jake Eaton was forced to pass up the game because he must report to the University of Maine for preseason football camp. Vermont upended New Hampshire 21-13 last year for its first victory since 1988.

New Hampshire leads the series 31-12-2. Deal to return NFL to LA. falling apart LOS ANGELES NFL to city: Get money. City to NFL: Get real. Before awarding the 32nd NFL franchise to Los Angeles, football owners have insisted on a stadium deal with more public financing, which the state and city have adamantly refused.

The impasse prompted the state's negotiator to quit and sent competing ownership groups and local officials scrambling Wednesday to plot their next move. "They have to decide how to invest their dollars," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said. "A new Coliseum or revitalized Exposition Park, Super Bowls, other events is it worth some level of public support? If LA decides it's not, we have to explore other options. It's their decision." Asked to comment, Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan issued a statement through a spokeswoman saying he "still believes the NFL will do the right thing by awarding a team to Los Angeles and that it'll be good for the city and NFL." The dispute has provoked little public outcry from fans still stinging from the defection of the Rams and Raiders. NFL news, 8B HDIE Going to pot Oakland Raiders running back Rashaan Salaam's admission to ESPN that he smoked marijuana during much of his fumble-plagued stint with the Bears led to this Chicago Sun-Times headline: "A 'high' draft pick." "It was going to be important for us to get into the bullpen," Indians manager Mike Hargrove said.

"But we just couldn't score many runs today." By Doug Ferguson The Associated Press Tiger Woods won the match. Now he's going to lose his No. 1 ranking. Exactly one week after Woods' 2 and 1 victory over David Duval in their made-for-television exhibiton match; Duval will replace him as 1 when the next Offi-c i a 1 World Ranking is published Monday. Both players said their Duval: No.

1 in world ranking "Showdown at Sherwood," the first live telecast of a golf event on prime time, would not decide who was No. 1 in the world. How right they were. Never mind that Woods scored a convincing victory in only the second time they have played together in competition. The confusing, at times confounding, world ranking has always had more to do with crunching numbers than with birdies and bogeys.

The ranking is based on points determined by where a player finishes in an official tournament over two years, with points double the value in the current 52 weeks. Then, it is divided by the number of tournaments played. Woods was fourth in the Buick Open last year and scored 12 points, a total that will be reduced to six points on Monday. The four points he had for finishing eighth in the Buick in 1997 will expire next week. For losing 10 points but also one event, his average will go from 14.04 to 14.13.

Duval, on the other hand, missed the cut in 1997 and did not play the Buick Open last year. So he loses no points and one tournament, and will go from 13.92 to 14.20. Duval also picked up six points for finishing Uth in the Greater Hartford Open last week. He closed with a 63, which effectively helped him move back to No. 1.

"This certainly shows the two players are so closely matched that the No. 1 position is hard to call at the moment," said Tony Greer of IMG, who administers the PGA Tour-sanctioned world ranking from London. Woods, who won the Memorial and Western Open, has been No. 1 for five weeks. gold medal prised and upset because I have great esteem for Sotomayor," Nebiolo said from a meet in Monaco.

IAAF spokesman Giorgio Reineri said he expected the Cuban federation to appeal. Sotomayor won his fourth Pan Ams gold in the high jump July 30, the final day of the track and field competition. The Cubans did not name anyone who might have been responsible for causing Sotomayor's positive test. They said they were not taking any special precautions to protect their athletes from sabotage. "We are simply eating See SOTOMAYOR, JOB bounding from his worst outing of the year with his best to beat the Cleveland Indians 7-2.

Portugal (7-8) scattered 10 hits and one earned run in 8Vs innings to rebound from his shortest outing in three Straw returns; Mac hits No. 499 Darryl Strawberry (above) went 2-for-4 for for the Yankees' Triple-A team in Columbus, Ohio, in his first game back from a drug suspension. Meanwhile, Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire hit his 499th career home run in St. Louis' 7-6 win over San Diego. Baseball, 9B "WW Nomar Garciaparra went 3-for-5 with two RBIs to raise his league- years: a one-inning, six-run outing in which he literally fell off the mound.

This time, Portugal struck out five and walked none before running into trouble in the ninth the only inning in which the Indians mustered more than one hit, scoring their only earned run on three hits. And this time it was manager Jimy Williams who was booed when he pulled Portugal with just one out to go and took away his a chance at his first complete game of the season. "He'd done the job. He pitched such a great game," Williams said. "He's a tough customer, to bounce leading batting average to .368.

Jose Offerman and Brian Daubach each reached base four times. A pregame fire caused minor damage to the Fenway Park roof but did not delay the first pitch. Fire officials said a worker's blowtorch was to blame. Bartolo Colon (10-4), who had been 4-0 with a 1.16 ERA since the All-Star break, gave up three runs before recording the first out. He allowed five runs on eight hits and five walks while striking out four in 43 See SOX, 9B 0- Sotomayor tests positive for cocaine great stripped of Pan Am Photos by The Associated Press we believe his word.

"That is why we know this is a manipulation in the case of Javier Sotomayor." It is up to the Cuban federation to suspend Sotomayor, the world record holder and the only man to clear 8 feet. Nebiolo said if the Cubans do not suspend Sotomayor for two years, the IAAF will. "I am shocked. I cannot believe it. I am very sur "I am shocked.

I cannot believe it. I am very surprised and upset." Primo Nebiolo, president of track and field's international federation in I' tt" 1 f'- Cjpt High-jump By Bert Rosenthal The Associated Press WINNIPEG, Manitoba Cuban high-jump great Javier Sotomayor was stripped of his gold medal at the Pan American Games on Wednesday after testing positive for cocaine, the biggest drug scandal to hit track and field since Ben Johnson at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Sotomayor, considered Cuba's most popular athlete, will be suspended for two years knocking him out of this month's world championships and the Sydney Olympics, said Primo Nebi-olo, president of track and field's international federa- tion. But Cuban officials said Sotomayor never took cocaine and charged the substance had been planted in something he ate or drank. "He is such a such a gentleman.

To us, it is almost impossible he would take this substance," said Ro-drigo Alvarez Cambra, a leader of the Cuban delegation. "He has told us he has not taken this substance and LVNNE SLADKY, The Associated Press Javier Sotomayor, considered Cuba's most popular athlete, is the world indoor and outdoor record-holder in the high jump and the only man to clear 8 feet. He will be suspended two years following a positive drug test for cocaine Wednesday. TODAY'S QUESTION Which Hall of Famer is the all-time home run leader among players who never won a home run title? Answer, 8B.