The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 27

SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 1999 7C THE TIMES Hockey Football RFL opens season tonight I 1 1 4 I I 1 i i LI Regional Football League boasts former NFL players, college stars. One of the keys to the Mudbugs' success against Lake Charles has been their ability to create traffic in front of Lake Charles goalie Rob Dopson. Three games in the series have decided by one goal, so it helps crash the net and look for refunds. The Bugs have three lines which create turmoil for Dopson and the Ice Pirates, but It's the main job of Trevor Buchanan, Perry Neufeld and Andrew Power to shield Dopson on any shots from the point. "On the power play, we really try to circle the puck and 3 Jim HudelsonThe Times Lake Charles center Bill Lund (4) knocks Shreveport wing Andrew Power (21) to the ice during Friday's 6-2 Mudbugs victory.

Buchanan I AP Shreveport's Kahn Powell is one of the many talented players in the RFL. The Knights' home opener is tonight against Mississippi. create screens," i Jvludbugs coach Jean Laforest said. "Even on the 5-on-5 at any given time, We've got people going to the net." Buchanan (6-foot 1, 195 pounds), 'Neufeld (6-2, 200) and Power (6-3, are all big enough physically to 1 handle two opponents whacking away at them, yet have the touch and presence to put the puck home on the re- bound. Their hard work in front of the net also benefits the Mudbugs in another vway.

By drawing two Ice Pirates, it more room for scorers like John Dale Henry, Toby Burkitt 'and Forbes MacPherson. Before Game 5, Laforest caught Wayne Gretzky's press conference an-- pouncing his retirement. All of Canada 'and hockey fans in the United States will miss Gretzky. He revolutionized the sport like Michael Jordan did for basketball, while maintaining the off ice jrace and dignity of a Joe DiMaggio, "It's a sad day for the sport," Laforest said. "He's the best ambassador for the sport we've ever had.

"What compounds the loss is there's no one in the NHL that approaches his game in terms of being ambassador or a player." Laforest saw Gretzky in the 1987 1990 Canada Cup and the image ihas remained with him. (' i "You realize how good he was when Friday's summary Shreveport 6, Lake Charles 2 Shreveport 12 36 Lake Owlet 0 1 1-2 First Period 1 Shreveport. Burkitt (Nadeau, Neuleld) Second Period Shreveport. MacPherson (Power, Henry); Shreveport, Mackenzie (MacPherson, Vecchiarelli); Lake Charles. Malgunos (Smith, Verot) Third Period Shreveport.

Muscult (Burkitt. Buchanan): Lake Charles. Favaro (Smith. Malgunas); Shreveport. Vecchiarelli (Mackenzie); Shreveport, Vecchiarelli (Power.

Simpson) Shots on goal Shreveport 8-1 1-6 25. Lake Charles 9-19-2048. Power-play opportunities Shreveport 0 of Lake Charles 0 ot 5. Goalies Shreveport. St.

Pierre 9-18-19 (48 shots-46 Charles, Dopson, 7-9-3 (25 shots-19 saves). A 5,863. WPHL Playoffs SEMIFINALS (Best-ol-7) EASTERN BRACKET Lake Charles vs. Shreveport Friday's result Shreveport 8, Lake Chahes 2, Shreveport wins series 4-1 WESTERN BRACKET Fort Worth vs. San Angelo Sunday, April 11 Fort Worth 2, San Angelo 1, OT, Fort Worth leads series 2-1 Today's game San Angelo at Fort Worth Tuesday, April 20 Fort Worth at San Angelo Wednesday, April 21 San Angelo at Fort Worth, it necessary Thursday, April 22 Fort Worth at San Angelo, il necessary you put the world's best on center stage and he dominates," Laforest said.

In trying to erase a 3-1 series deficit Friday, the Ice Pirates battled history as well as the Mudbugs. No team In WPHL history has ever bounced back from a 3-1 hole to win a series. Of course, only one series has gone the full seven games in a best-of-7 series last season's El Paso-New Mexico semifinal series. Hugo Hamelin, who stopped 31 of Lake Charles' 32 shots Tuesday, including a penalty shot from John Hanson in the closing minute of a 2-1 victory, was named the WPHL's playoff player of the week. Hanson's penalty shot in Game 4 was the second In WPHL playoff history.

The first penalty shot was between Austin and El Paso in Game 4 of the 1997 semifinal series. John Vecchiarelli's fourgoal outburst in Game 2 was the second in minor league hockey's playoffs this season. Rob Deciantis of the East Coast Hockey League's New Orleans Brass scored four times a week ago. Vecchiarelli also leads all scorers in the series with five goals and two assists. Brian Vernellls By Brian Vernellls The Times The dream of Regional Football League Commissioner Gus Bell comes to life tonight as the RFL begins its inaugural season.

The Shreveport Knights host the Mississippi Pride at 7:35 p.m., while the Houston Outlaws host the Ohio Cannon and the Mobile Admirals travel to battle the New Orleans Thunder. The league's progression has been slow, and its future is still in question. But for Bell, there was no doubt in his mind that the RFL would eventually begin play. "I knew the league would happen," he said. There was such a need for something like this.

I mean player-wise, to have those guys display their talents, and for those obsessed football fans to have outdoor football in the spring and summer." Bell was a little discouraged by the low attendance through the first two weeks of preseason (Shreveport's game in New Orleans on Easter Sunday drew about 1,500, while the Knights' first home game last Saturday drew close to but he attributes that to the fact they were exhibition games. "From the games I have seen, we've had nice crowds that have had a great time," he said. "I was impressed with the fans that have shown up. They like the quality of football. I just thought the crowds would be a little bit bigger." Even before the RFL teams opened training camp in their first season, the league was planning for expansion.

Teams are projected to begin play next season in Buffalo, N.Y., Orlando, San Jose, and Winston-Salem, N.C. As for the 1999 season, here's a summary of the Knights' opponents: MISSISSIPPI PRIDE: The Pride opened training camp In a unique fashion by going to boot camp. The entire team headed to Camp Shelby, located seven miles south of Hattiesburg, to the largest National Guard base in the country for two weeks of football. "We built team unity away at camp," said Steve Brown, director of football operations. "We really separated the men from the boys in that type of environment.

Everybody took it seriously." On the first day of camp, the team arrived at 6:30 p.m. and promptly had a 2-mile run. Each day, the team awoke at 5:30 a.m. and went to bed at 10 p.m. Like most teams In the RFL, the defense is coming together quicker than the offense.

Linebackers Dwayne Currey and Marchant Kenney are the foundation of the Pride's defense. Currey, who played at Mississippi, was a nominee for the Butkus Award, given to college football's top linebacker. A season-ending injury at the start of the season eliminated him from contention. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound Kenney, who played for Southern Mississippi, was Conference USA's preseason defensive player of the year in 1997. Former Ole Miss quarterback Stewart Patridge, the recipient of the Conerly Trophy given to Mississippi's top college player in 1997, will run the offense.

Six-foot-5, 319-pound offensive tackle Jeff Miller saw time with Washington and Green Bay. WPHL: Bugs' offense, defense play well MOBILE ADMIRALS: Mobile's front defensive seven will carry the team through the first weeks of the season, at least until the offense finds its timing. A pair of Alabama veterans lead the Admirals defense lineman Dameian Jefferies and defensive back Willie Gaston. Gaston was an All-SEC selection in his Alabama career. Adding some leadership and intensity to the defensive front is former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kenny Gant, who played collegiately at Albany State.

"Our front seven play a physical game," Walsh said. "We have to reduce the number of nickel and dime penalties and the significant number of turnovers as well." Once the offense gels, the Admirals could be a dangerous team. Thad Busby, a Florida State product and Frank Costa from Miami (Fla.) will split time at quarterback. Wide receiver Kelvin Lee from Alabama will begin the season on the injured reserve list but should provide a big boost to the offense when he returns. "The season is still so young," Walsh said.

"Most clubs are still finding out about themselves at this point. I know with us we're still in the formative stages. NEW ORLEANS THUNDER: New Orleans General Manager Brian Fulton knows his team can succeed, it's just a matter if the defense can carry the work load in the opening weeks while the offense finds its rhythm. "We have a good collection of talent," Fulton said. "We have a great level of cohesion as far as football camaraderie among the players." Two former Northeast Louisiana players will see considerable playing time with the Thunder.

Quarterback Corey Buie will lead the offense with linebacker Donnel Gray at the heart of the defense. Cornerbacks Brian Livingston from Grambling and Raymond Fleming from Louisiana Tech combine for a formidable pair in the Thunder's secondary. "Defensively, our talent is in the secondary and linebackers," Fulton said. "Offensively, it's going to take awhile for us to gel, but the passing and running games have been making progress each game." Joining Buie in the backfield is running back Eric Redmoh out of Louisiana Tech. The Thunder also have some NFL experience on the team.

Tight end Franklin Thomas was recently with the Philadelphia Eagles while defensive lineman Leonard Lattimore spent time with Buffalo, OHIO CANNON: The Cannon are one of the few teams in the league that can boast a solid offense before the season begins. As the coaching staff found out in the preseason, it's defense could use some work though. "We were 0-2 in the preseason and our main weakness was getting beat on the big plays," general manager Mike Hurley said. The offense has numerous weapons to throw at opponents, beginning with quarterback Bo Hurley, a two-time national player of the year for the University of Findlay in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Sharing time with Hurley will be Major Harris, former quarterback at West Virginia and a Heisman finalist.

Hurley and Harris have a collection of targets to go to. For starters, in the back-field at tailback is Ricky Powers out of Michigan. Helping to spread the defense are two top-notch receivers in Jim Farrell and Curtis Gordon. Farrell spent time with the Chicago Bears last season and Gordon has spent the last five seasons in the Canadian Football League with British Columbia. The centerpiece of the the Cannon's offensive line is center Rick Kaczenski from Notre Dame.

"We are the Midwest representative for the RFL," Hurley said. "At this point, and it's yet to be proven, but we feel that the Ohio-Michigan-Pennsylvania area is the best ground for football talent. Folks in the South may disagree, but that's what makes the RFL so unique that we have all-star teams from each region competing-" HOUSTON OUTLAWS: The Outlaws have perhaps the most experience of any team in the league. Of their 48-man preseason roster, 29 players played at some level of professional football with 20 play-' ing in the NFL. Like Ohio, the Outlaws' offense has the ability and professional experience to be lethal.

Quarterback Josh LaRocca was with Dallas last season. On the offensive line, lineman Kyle Williams and tight end Mike Warren played together at Oakland. And wide receivers Frederick Jackson and Sherman Smith played for Seattle and Houston, respectively. On defense, the NFL experience is still prevalent. Linebacker Dion Foxx and lineman Scotty Lewis are the heart of the Outlaws' defense.

Foxx played with Miami and Washington while Lewis saw time with Chicago and Houston. cling to the right of Dopson. With Dale Henry firmly planted in front of the net and attracting two defenders, MacPherson skated in from the blue line and wristed Power's centering pass over Dopson. Two minutes later, SL Pierre came up with his best save of the game when John Hanson skated in alone from the right wing. Hanson crossed over the goal crease and forced SL Pierre to drop to his knees, roll over on his back and make the stop with his trapper hand.

John Vecchiarelli sealed the game with his team-leading sixth and seventh goals. His first goal came off a 2-on-1 with Chris MacKenzie with 7:43 remaining. His second of the game came on a breakaway, sliding the puck between Dopson's legs at the 3:22 mark. Continued from 1C 3-oh-2 with Perry Neufeld skating down on the right wing. Neufeld flipped the puck to defenseman Chris Nadeau pinching in on the play.

Nadeau then fed an open Burkitt, who snuck in behind the Ice Pirate defense and Lapped in the puck. "It was a long time coming," Burkitt said. "I'm glad to finally get the monkey off my back. It was a re-all nice pass from Chris and I couldn't miss that." While the Bugs got rolling offensively, they also limited the Ice Pirates' second chances. Lake Charles outshot the Bugs 47-24, but the Bugs did a great job of clearing away any loose pucks or rebounds in front of Bugs goaltender Kevin SL Pierre.

They fired a lot of shots at us, but we had good secondary efforts blocking them out from the crease and forcing them out of the crease," Laforest said. The loss can't squarely rest on Lake Charles goaltender Rob Dopson. His defense often left him to deal with open shots and odd-man rushes. His best save came midway tlirough the second period on John Vecchiarelli. Wing Jason Taylor circled behind the Ice Pirate net and found Vecchiarelli in front of the net Dopson quickly closed his legs on the point-blank shot.

But Dopson would not fare better moments later when Forbes MacPherson made the score 2-0. Andrew Power began the play cir retzky. retires after outstanding years i i Breathe easier thanks to Lennox. 1 Hockey great leaves gime after rewriting retordbook. The Associated Press YORK Everyone wanted jusd one more season.

Everyone will gt4 just one more game. 'Wayne Gretzky announced his retirement from hockey Friday after two magnificent decades, despite pleas from family and friends not to The 38-year-old Great One said his "got" told him it was time. Left behind are scores of fans still asking for more and scores of records for generations to chase. His last game, between his New York Rangers and Sim The Space-Gard Air Cleaner and the Second Wind Air Purifier are now available at your local independent Lennox dealer. Improve the quality of air in your home with indoor air qualuy products from Lennox.

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will be the tough time." Gretzky sat with his wife, Janet, and two of their children Ty and Trevor. Gretzky said his daughter, Paulina, did not want to come "because she thought she'd cry too much." Video highlights of Gretzky's career were shown before he made it official, and he and his wife watched in rapt attention. Janet cast admiring glances at her husband every once in a while. Gretzky spent part of the day talking with Charles Dolan, the head of Cablevision, which owns the Rangers, and he tried to talk him into staying. No one could change Gretzky's mind.

Not his wife, not the prime minister of his native Canada, not even his idol, Gordie Howe, who advised Gretzky to wait at least a few more months. "He's going to leave a big void," Howe said from his home in Florida. "He's a proud man. And when you're hurting, it makes you think." Gretzky's departure marks the second time in three months that one of the world's premier athletes and the best in his sport has chosen retirement But unlike Michael Jordan, who left after winning his sixth NBA championship, Gretzky ends his career with a disappointing Rangers team that didn't even make the playoffs this season. "Everybody wants to go out like Michael Jordan did, but it's not a perfect world.

It's not going to happen that way, not this year, but it is nice to be able to say people do want me to play more," Gretzky had said. On Friday he said he thought Jordan left too early and that he missed watching him play. Jordan and now Gretzky's departure certainly has made 1999 a year for losing sports heroes. Then there's the Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, who died last month at age 84. Ultimately, Gretzky decided to leave sooner rather than later.

Space-Gard SiffiMf HIGH EFFICIENCY AIR CLEANER WwIFIui EATI NG LENNOX COOUNG AP Hockey great Wayne Gretzky waves to the crowd as he makes his exit from the rink at the Corel Centre, in Kanata, Ontario, Thursday in what was his last NHL game in Canada. Gretzky will play his last game Sunday. Classy and fair-haired with a charismatic smile, if Gretzky was a superstar in the United States, he was a virtual demigod in his home country. With his magnificent skills and a humble, gentlemanly manner, Gretzky was a perfect goodwill ambassador for hockey. He has been the NHL's biggest box-office draw for most of his 20 years in the league, and never has been shy about that responsibility.

In 1,486 games with teams in Edmonton, Los Angeles, St. Louis and New York, Gretzky has 894 goals and 1,962 assists for 2,856 points that's 1,006 more than runner-up Howe scored in his Hall of Fame career. He owns roughly 60 records, is a 10-time scoring champion and a nine-time MVP. The last couple Gretzky of weeks, a lot of people have been asking me why this is the time," a composed Gretzky said. "It's a gut feeling, something I believe is right" His head told him, too.

"I started to feel fatigue mentally and physically that I never felt before." "I hate the fact I have to retire," Gretzky said. "I have played for 35 years, since I was 3. Now I'm handing in my skates I'm done." Although there were plenty of sad faces among the Rangers executives accompanying him at the Madison Square Garden news conference, Gretzky did not want this to be "a downer," and he kept his emotions in check. 'The emotional time will be Sunday when I take my skates off. I've been encouraging people to smile and be upbeat," he said.

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