The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 38

stuns Uest Virginia 'Canes block punt, score late TD to win C-10 Let It Hip! Do you have a gripe? Try our new call-in Details, C-15 FSU 31, Virginia 24 Georgia Tech 27, UCF 20 Tennessee 20, Alabama 13 Arizona St. 41, Stanford 9 Ohio St. 38, Iowa 26 N'western 27, Illinois 24 Colorado 28, Texas 24 Kentucky 24, Georgia 17 (COT) G72-72C0 The Orlando Sentinel Golf, C-6 Tom Lehman shoots 64 to extend lead at Tour Championship. Hockey, C-5 SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27,1996 oxrjrts METRO Gerry, no Cigar Horse finishes 3rd at Breeders' Cup C-3 ri CsJUlJ Series proves worthy of Yankees' history EW YORK Famous for Broad-3 way, Times Square, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, this city has welcomed back another familiar fixture: The New York Yankees. The World Series champion Yankees.

1 1 New York wins, dethrones Atlanta as Series champion fc K- New Yorkers believe all is right with the baseball world now even if George Stein-brenner owns the club. The Yankees beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2, in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium on COMPILED FROM WIRE REPORTS i' Aw GAME 1: Atlanta 12, Now York 1 THE SPORTS COLUMN k-v GAME 2: Atlanta 4, New York 0 GAME 3: New York 5, Atlanta 2 brother this year and saw another undergo a heart transplant Friday, got the title in his first shot at one during a long, distinguished baseball career. As hundreds of police cordoned off the field and Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York" blared, he was mobbed in a massive mound of Yankees at the mound. Later, they circled the field in a joyous victory lap. "I never had any doubts about this club," Torre said.

"When you get as old as I am, you learn to appreciate it. It might come only once." Bobby Cox wasn't present to watch his team of the '90s, the defending champions, lose their third World Series this decade. The Please see YANKEES, C-4 GAME 4: New York 8, Atlanta 6 (10 innings) NEW YORK They had been waiting 18 years, griping and dreaming with the passion New Yorkers can bring to both activities. So as the moment neared Saturday night and Yankees fans bounced and bellowed, louder with every pitch, Yankee Stadium rumbled like thunder. When Charlie Hayes grabbed Mark Lemke's foul popup on a 3-2 pitch with the tying and go-ahead runs on base and the Yankees had both a 3-2 victory against the Atlanta Braves and their first world championship since 1978, the noisiest city in the world became considerably noisier.

Yankees manager Joe Torre, who lost one iCJ. BGAME 5: New York 1, Atlanta 0 GAME 6: New York 3, Atlanta 2 YANKEES WIN SERIES, 4-2 ASSOCIATED PRESS More coverage, C4 Catching the crown. The Yankees' Charlie Hayes catches the final out Saturday night. usby saves nnnn I fUl "Ltl I Willi MfUlf 111! LiUU LJ UUU his best for last for FSU Quarterback Thad Busby had his best game in rallying the No. 3 Seminoles to a 31-24 victory over No.

14 Virginia. By Alan Schmadtke 4 4 OF THE SENTINEL STAFF 1 5 r- TALLAHASSEE In the formative stages of his development say, three weeks ago Thad Busby picked up on his part in Florida State's weapon-laden offense. Don't screw it up. On a Saturday when Virginia demanded Busby do more, Busby did, rallying third-ranked FSU from a halftime deficit with a career-high 316 yards passing in a 31-24 victory at Doak Campbell Stadium. Dared to throw for first downs and make key com- pletions, Busby hit the No.

14 Cavaliers with 25-for-36 performance and two touchdowns, all of which shadowed two early mistakes that could have proved costly. "I thought we were going to self-destruct in the first half," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. "For the first time he came close to making some mistakes that could do us in, but he came out of it, thank goodness." Although the Seminoles (6-0, 5-0 in the Atlantic Please see FSU, C-1 1 a New Year's Eve kind of Saturday night, completing an enthralling chapter of a dramatic Series. They beat the odds, Greg Maddux and the defending champions, displaying a resiliency that brought back the Yanks from a 2-0 deficit. Reliever John Wetteland emerged from the post-game celebratory pileup and said it best about the '96 Yanks: "One ball of humanity that persevered." They were written off after losing the first two at home, 12-1 and 4-0 and yes, this author is guilty as charged.

Then the Yankees won four consecutive games an improbable three at Atlanta to claim their first championship in 18 years. It was another deserved entry in the thick book of pinstripe lore. New York did it beating Maddux, the Braves' top pitcher and baseball's best right-hander. They halted his H-inning scoreless streak, pelting him for all three runs on four hits in the third inning, catcher Joe Girardi's RBI triple to center the key blow. Maddux, who lost six of 11 regular-season games by one run, didn't receive much assistance from Braves' bats again.

This resurgence of the Yankees may be hard for some long-time Yankee-haters to swallow. But this edition is modeled after its self-effacing, composed manager, Joe Torre, and nothing like the arrogant Reggie Jackson Yankees or other haughty predecessors. "I'm just happy for New York," Steinbrenner said. "There's so many human stories that you can truly say it's a New York story." The story stars retreads (Darryl Strawberry and Doc Gooden), wild-card acquisitions (Giradi and Charlie Hayes), young phenoms (Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams) a medical outpatient (David Cone survived an aneurysm) and even a star (Wade Boggs) from the hated Boston Red Sox. But the New York story has centered around Torre, who lost one brother, Rocco, during the season to a heart attack and maintained another vigil for another, Frank.

Frank Torre's three-month wait for a heart donor ended Friday. "Everything that's happened to me the last 24, 48 hours has been a dream for me," said Joe, making his first Series appearance. "I thought I was all cried out in the ALCS, but Rocco was with me this whole Series. I just felt him and my brother Frank helped me manage right up to the last minute. "This is the best feeling, between yesterday and today, the best feeling in my life." Well, we should have known what kind of night it was going to be for the Yanks: Two dignitaries from Notre Dame threw out first balls.

The Yanks had a wee bit of luck o' the Irish, all right. Braves lead-off man Marquis Grissom was safer than money at Fort Knox after he took off from first on a wild pitch. Girardi, the catcher, retrieved the ball and fired an off-balance strike to second. Second base umpire Terry Tata called Grissom out, touching off a debate that got Atlanta manager Bobby Cox ejected. Some of the umps who worked this postseason ought to start spring training immediately, after visiting their local optometrist Cox's frustration was obvious, given how starved the Braves had been for runs.

Their run in the fourth snapped a string of 17 scoreless innings against Yankee pitching. Trailing, 3-0, Atlanta blew it severely in that inning. They loaded the bases with a walk and two singles with just one out But only Fred McGriff crossed the plate on a walk by Jimmy Key. DH Terry Pendleton grounded into a rally-killing double-play. Missed opportunities haunted the Braves to the closing credits, as the game and season ended with runners stranded at first and second.

"We believed in ourselves all year," Boggs said. "We could have packed it in when went to Atlanta. This team's heart is as big as the Twin Towers the World Trade Center." V- ASSOCIATED PRESS Get moving. Daunte Culpepper, who completed 12- gia Tech's Patrick Bradford before being knocked out of-1 6 passes for 1 45 yards, escapes the tackle of Geor of the game in the 2nd half with an injured shoulder. Knights blow chance for an upset By Jerry Greene OF THE SENTINEL STAFF 4 and gray Saturday.

The Knights did not win. But they gave the Yellow Jackets an early Halloweenhomecoming scare before losing, 27-20, before a crowd of 43,610 and a pay-per-view TV audience. For the Knights (2-6), the outcome was frustratingly close despite losing quarterback Daunte Culpepper for the second half with an injury to his left shoulder (non-throwing) and giving away the ball five times on turn f. overs. One turnover was a lost fumble at Tech's 1-yard line.

The play of the day for the Knights was a 46-yard touchdown by strong safety Donnell Washington early in the fourth quarter. Washington grabbed a mid-air fumble caused by Jermaine Benoit. That play cut Tech's lead to 20-13, Please see UCF, C-10 ATLANTA One thousand traveling fans, the marching band and the high-flying cheerleaders all stood and chanted "UCF UCF" as the Central Florida Golden Knights left what Georgia Tech calls "historic Grant Field." No history was made on this cool ASSOCIATED PRESS Crumble, fumble. FSU quarterback Thad Busby had early problems, but ended up a winner. Magic can't keep pace in Indy By LC.

Johnson Exit Shaq, enter Penny OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Gerald Wilkins scored 19 points, but it was not enough as Orlando closed its exhibition season with its third consecutive loss, 84-83 to Indiana. 11 rebounds and hit what proved to be the game-winning free throw with 1:43 left At the time, it gave the Pacers an 84-82 lead, though the Magic cut the deficit to one point later on a Penny Hardaway free throw. But after forcing a 24-second violation on the Pacers with 16.6 seconds to play, Hardaway was unable to hit the game-winner at the buzzer. "I realize that as I go, the team goes," said Hardaway, who has not fully recovered from a nagging leg and hamstring injury. "And right now, I'm having a hard time going.

I thought it was im- Please see MAGIC, C-1 7 Ladies and gentlemen, stand and cheer for your new Orlando Magic. Shaquille O'Neal has gone west, leaving center stage at the O-rena to Penny Hardaway. In Friday's Sentinel, a special section will focus on the Magic's transition, plus fans will get schedules, team-by-team previews and more information on the National Basketball Association's 1996-97 season. INDIANAPOLIS Like most of America, Gerald Wilkins found himself turning back the clock Saturday night. Two years removed from his last healthy NBA season, Wilkins stepped in for the injured Nick Anderson to provide a spark for the Orlando Magic with 19 points, but it was not enough to prevent an 84-83 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Market Square Arena.

Pacers forward Antonio Davis had 11 points and 1.