The Times Herald from Port Huron, Michigan • Page 19

www.theTimesHerald.com TIMES HERALD, PORT HURON. MICHIGAN 1 nuciucce dap.c -inr V1OT0CALL WnrlH'c arrnlaHpQ FOR SPORTS SCORES PORTS I Rick Jakacki, sports editor I SportsTalk 989-6266 are sweet for late-blooming pastry chef fuel SUNDAY, JUNE 18, 2000 mm istora Tiger up 10 shots after three rounds I 7 the Pacific that produced more than a dozen rounds in the 80s, Woods was the epitome of a VS. Open champion, missing only two fairways and never losing con-troL He was at 8-under 205, 10 strokes clear of two-time US. Open champion Ernie Els, whose 3-under 68 was the only round under par all day. "With these conditions, it See OPEN, 3C played solid golf" The last time Woods had such a commanding lead was in the 1997 Masters, when he was nine strokes ahead after the third round and won by a record 12 strokes.

"Unless something dramatic happens, I think he is the winner already," Jose Maria Olazabal said. Something already did. On a Pebble Beach course exposed by strong winds off The Associated Press PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. Not even the toughest test in golf could stop Tiger Woods from turning in the most dominant performance in US. Open history.

No one in the field stands much of a chance, either. With incredible shots, unlikely birdies and a round that just might rank as one of his greatest ever. Woods had an even-par 71 on Saturday to llCTCaCPBUC LITKE ON TIGER WOODS build a 10-stroke lead after three rounds, the largest 54-hole margin in US. Open history. "The tough conditions, I thought played into my hands," Woods said about the whipping winds, thick rough and rock-hard greens.

"I By EUSE AMENDOLA, The Associated Press SCENIC SHOT: Tiger Woods hits from the eighth fairway with a wall of fans looking on in the background during the U.S. Open Saturday in Pebble Beach, Calif. FATHER, DAUGHTER CAPTURE TOP AREA SOCCER HONORS 5 I "i if Lakers look for revenge, NBA title The Associated Press LOS ANGELES The Lakers awoke in their own city Saturday with a 33-point hangover, not yet champs but not quite chumps. Sure, they lost Game 5 to the Indiana Pacers by the most lopsided margin they've had all seasoa But no one will remember that debacle for long if the Lakers, leading the best-of-sev-en series, can win one of the next two games on their home court "I'm upset, but the Indiana Pacers shot the hell out of the ball," Shaquille O'Neal said. "They played very, very inspired basketbalL" Indeed they did, shooting 15-20 in the first period, including 6-6 from 3-point range, to take a commanding lead they never relinquished.

Game 6 is set for Monday night and Game 7, if necessary, is Wednesday. The sense of desperation that the Pacers exhibited will need to make a return appearance at the Staples Center, where Indiana has never woa The Pacers are 0-3 there against the Lakers, including losses in Games 1 and 2 of the finals, and they even lost a game there to the Clippers in early January. The Pacers were at their best playing in the comfy confines of Conseco Field-house, drawing energy from the roars of the Hoosier housewives and their husbands whifteemed to make up 80 of the crowd. But they've been a different team under the bright lights of the Staples Center, where the courtside celebrities wear sunglasses indoors and sing the cheesy song "I Love LA" during timeouts. "There's no intimidation factor," Indiana guard Mark Jackson said.

"I think in Game 1 we probably weren't ready for what hit us. Just the hype, the intensity of Jhe finals, and we played on our heels. In Game 2, 1 thought we played well We gave ourselves an opportunity but we didn't take advantage of when Kobe (Bryant) went dowa But we're a team that feels very confident in going into someone else's building and winning. We have a history of doing just that" Both teams took the day off Saturday, the Pacers catching an afternoon flight to the West Coast after the Lakers flew home immediately after Friday night's 120-87 loss. See FINALS, 5C By MEUSSA WAWZYSKO, Times Herald GOOD TEAM: St.

Clair Coach Bruce Douglass gives his daughter, Amy, some advice during last week's regional soccer game at South Lake. The Douglasses helped the Saints to a record season en route to earning Times Herald coach and player of the year honors. Douglasses lift Saints to new heights JIMWHYMER TODAY IN SPORTS Area players heading to junior event Greg Graham was dragging Friday afternoon when he left the Port Huron Northern gymnasium. The senior guard spent eight hours on the basketball court, playing and working the 26th annual Northern camp. Plus, throw in weightlifting and conditioning sessions for five mornings, along with 10 games over four nights at the St Clair County Community College camp.

I guess Graham has a few reasons to be wom out But Graham, along with teammate Alex Brown and St Clair's Matt Distelrath and Mike Frantz face another hectic week of basketball in July. The players are on two Michigan teams scheduled to play in the USA Junior Nationals Championships Sports Festival, set for July 10-16 in Madison, Wis. "It sounds pretty exciting and I looking forward to it," said Graham, 17. "I can't wait to play against some different competition. There should be a Graham lot of good players there." i Graham and Frantz, a junior guard at St Clair, are teammates.

Distelrath, and Brown play on another team "This will be a good experience and a great opportunity to play in front of some college scouts," Frantz said. "I've been playing every day to get ready." Teams have two practices before starting round-robin play for three days. A double-elimination tournament begins Friday and concludes with the finals Sunday. The area players were invited to the nationals after competing in tryouts in April at Eastern Michigan University. "It sounds like we'll be playing a lot of basketball in Madison," said Distelrath, who has signed to play with St Mary's College in Orchard Lake next fall "I'm sure there will be very good competitioa I just hope we have a good enough team to do something." Frantz and Distelrath led the Saints to a Macomb Area Conference Gold Division co-championship.

They won a Class district title before losing to Flint Beecher in the regional semifinals. Northern finished the 1999-2000 season with a 10-11 mark. Graham said he has played nearly every day since the season ended. He helped Blue Water Hoops win the varsity regular-season and playoff basketball titles at Joe Dumars Fieldhouse in Shelby Township this spring. "I thought I played pretty well at the tryouts," Graham said.

"I was on a terrible team We played three games and didn't win once, "I have been working on my jump shot 3-pointer and getting stronger. I have not done a lot of lifting, but hopefully it will help me." Distelrath works out daily. "I have to shoot free throws, 3-po inters and jump shots every day, along with running a mile," Distelrath said. "I need to start shooting the 3-pointer with more consistency." Sounds like four area players will get their fill of jumpers this summer. Jim Whymer is the Times Herald senior sportswriter.

He can be reached at 989-6266, ext. 458. 7 Father, daughter lead St. Clair to league, district crowns r. dl.l By JIM WHYMER Times Herald ST.

CLAIR One loves to talk the sport The other loves to play the sport. Every coach in the Blue Water Area knows the passion St Clair's Bruce Douglass has for soccer. Every defender in the area knows they are in trouble when Amy Douglass has the soccer ball. Soccer is the Douglass fam- the state tournament for the first time in four years with a soccer program. So it only makes sense that the duo takes home the top postseason awards.

Bruce is the Times Herald Coach of the Year while Amy is the winner of the Player of the Year award. The winners were chosen by the sports staff, with input from area coaches. "It was a very good sea fy 7 Gonzalez is The Associated Press DETROIT It took Juan Gonzalez just one swing to turn jeers to cheers. Gonzalez, booed heavily earlier in the game, hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday and the Detroit Tigers sent the Cleveland Indians to their sixth straight loss, 8-6. Gonzalez began the day batting .266 with just 24 RBIs, a low total for one of baseball's top sluggers.

Playing his first year with the Tigers, he already has been mentioned in trade rumors. I i son," said Amy, a junior. "I thought we did a pretty good job being such a young team The nice thing is we don't lose a senior and have at least five players coming in who can help us. "The best thing is our team speed. We still have a lot to work on and need to improve on different things." The Saints were 16-3-2 and winners of the Macomb Area Conference Blue Division Killbreath unsure of team's future in city MORE SOCCER, 7C ALL-AREA TEAMS ily.

And what a winning combination they were for St Clair High SchooL Behind Bruce's leadership and Amy's offense, the Saints won a school-record 16 matches, captured their second league title and advanced to the regionals of ROLLER HOCKEY day, "because we're paying for a rink while other teams are paying for players. It's going to make it tough for us to compete." The league the North Americans play in, the Great Lakes Inline Hockey Alliance Elite Pro League, announced Friday it is scaling back its season and will now open June 30. The North Americans had been slated to open Saturday night at McMorran. Killbreath, who also is the league's president said the league owners may decide to play just two home games and the rest of the schedule in a tournament format Killbreath, who also is the owner and coach of the junior team, the Michigan Hurricanes, said the future of that team playing in Port Huron is up in the air, too. Killbreath has paid for home games Saturday night and also Monday, at 8 p.m.

against a team from Londoa After that the future is uncertain. Amy Bruce Douglass Douglass title. They won their first district title before falling to St. Clair Shores South Lake in the regional semifinals. See DOUGLASS, 7C HERO FOR A DAY: Several Detroit Tigers mob teammate Juan Gonzalez at home plate after his game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park.

The Tigers beat the Indians, 8-6. By DUANE BURLESON, The Associated Press "I've had a lot of big moments before, but here it's an exciting moment," Gonzalez said. "It was an exciting moment not only for me but for everyone. I'm trying to help us win ballgames. I'm only human.

I've never put my head down and I've never quit" The Tigers mobbed Gonzalez when he arrived at the plate as a record Comerica Park crowd of 39,569 cheered loudly. "He's had a tough couple of months," teammate Brad See TIGERS, 1Z hero in Tigers' victory By TIM ROBINSON Times Herald Will there, after all, be professional roller hockey in Port Huron this summer? The answer should come as soon as Monday, the deadline set by McMorran Place General Manager Larry Krabach for a deposit from Port Huron North Americans owner Mike Killbreath to lease the arena for the summer. "(Killbreath) has to pay up front for six games, or he can't play here," Krabach said. "We would love to have him play here. The problem is this complex is subsidized by the taxpayers, and we can't take any chances." The six games proposal was based on the original proposal that the team play 12 games at McMorran.

That was scaled back by the league to seven on Friday, but Krabach said he wasn't budging on the six-game payment Killbreath said he wasn't sure what he was going to da "At this point it would probably be a better product if we played somewhere else," Killbreath said Satur- NBA FINALS INDIANA VS. LA. LAKERS (Besl-ol-7) All games on NBC GAME 1: Los Angeles 104, Indiana 87 GAME 2: Los Angeles 111, Indiana 104 GAME 3: Indiana 100, Los Angeles 91 GAME 4: Los Angeles 120, Indiana 118, 0T GAME 5: Indiana 120, Los Angeles 87; Los Angeles leads series, 3-2 GAME 6: 9 p.m. Monday at Los Angeles GAME 7: 9 p.m. Wednesday at Los Angeles it necessary TIGERS WHICH SATURDAY: Tigers 8, Cleveland Indians 6 RECORD: 26-37 STANDINGS: Fifth place, in the AL Central, 15 games behind Chicago White Sox NEXT GAME: Vs.

Cleveland at 1:05 p.m. today at Comerica TV: Channel 50 RADIO: WPHM 138Q-AM That talk went on the back burner after Gonzalez gave the Tigers their fourth win in five games against the Indians at Comerica Park. mf.