Pensacola News Journal from Pensacola, Florida • 50

GOLF News reports out of Denver indicate that football fans have seen the final return of John n. mm NFL 5 if 'V Ml' 4 By John Mossman Associated Press DENVER John Elway is ready to join Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky in retirement the third transcendent athlete to leave his game in the last four months. The legendary Denver Broncos quarterback, the architect of a record 47 game-saving drives, told friends he has had enough after 16 seasons of pro football, sources close to Elway told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. His announcement could come as early as Monday. And not even the prospect of a third straight Super Bowl title could entice him to stay.

Elway reportedly considered announcing his decision last week but delayed it, first because Broncos owner Pat Bowlen was out of town and then because of the school killings in suburban Littleton. Tve talked to him and he told me what he's going to do," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said Satur is vi -rr Associated Press A.V Jesper Parnevik reacts after making a birdie on the ninth hole Saturday in the third round of the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. Parnevik sets i 54-hole record 0 i-'-'- -J Pi day. "But I'm not going to comment. I'm going to let John make his announcement." Bowlen did not return a phone will, and Elwav 1 Associated Press for yardage sent fear into the hearts of defensvie coordinators around the The sight of John Elway scrambling two decades.

The Associated Press reported that Elway will retire National Football League for nearly He is 21-under at Greensboro after 3 rounds GREENSBORO, N.C. Jesper Parnevik has already put his name into the record book at the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic. He took aim at the PGA Tour's record book on Saturday. Parnevik shot a 5-under 67 in the third round at Forest Oaks Country Club to move to 21-under par, breaking by four shots the 54-hole tournament record set by Sandy Lyleinl988. His three-round score of 195 is also the best on tour this year, beating David Duval's 198 at the season-opening Mercedes Champi was playing in a onananan Pebble Beach, golf tournament and not immediately available for comment.

The 38-year-old Elway, the win-ningest and perhaps most durable quarterback in NFL history, won his second straight Super Bowl title and the MVP award in his final game on Jan. 31. So, he is leaving on top, just like Jordan, who hit the championship-winning shot for the Chicago Bulls against the Utah Jazz last June. Jordan announced his retirement in January and Gretzky played his final NHL game last Sunday. "I'm glad to see him retire as a champion," Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino said Saturday.

"I'm sure it was a tough decision, knowing how much John enjoys competing on the football field, but I know he did what was best for him and his family." During the NFL draft last week- end, Shanahan said he expected Elway to announce his decision before minicamp, which opens Friday. It wasn't the one Shanahan wanted to hear, but he was bracing for it. left to prove. Of Elway's trademark game-saving drives, perhaps the best was the 98-yard march in the final five minutes to tie Cleveland in the 1986 AFC championship game. The Broncos won in overtime, sending Elway to his first of five Super Bowls.

He guided his team to more victories (148) than any other quarterback, and he threw for 51,475 yards and accounted for 54,882 total yards second only to Marino. He is the only player to pass for 3,000 yards and rush for 200 yards in seven straight seasons (1985-91). He was selected to nine Pro Bowls and honored as the NFL's MVP in 1987. He holds 55 Broncos' regular-season and postseason records. title in 1998 after three losses in the championship game Elway spent four months pondering his future, finally deciding to come back for what he said would be his final season.

After the second title last January, he admitted the chance to three-peat had thrown a "kink" into his thinking. Ultimately, the kink wasn't enough to sway him. "Whenever you lose a player of that magnitude, we all suffer," Jacksonville Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said Saturday. Several teammates, marveling at Elway's ability to absorb punishment and keep bouncing back, said in recent weeks they expected him to retire because he had nothing The coach has said that if his Hall of Fame-bound quarterback retired, he would be confident turning to veteran Bubby Brister as his new starter. Brister insists Elway has not confided in him about his plans.

In fact, of a dozen or so Broncos players interviewed during informal workouts the past two weeks, none said he knew Elway's intentions. "If it is true, then it's the opportunity of a lifetime, that's for sure," Brister told The Denver Post. "I'm going to miss John being around just like everybody else because we have such a great relationship." The possibility of winning an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl was alluring to Elway. After winning his first Super Bowl onships and Tiger Woods at the Buick Invitational. Parnevik bogeyed two of his last three holes and fell three shots shy of just go for everything." Despite shooting his third sub-70 round of the tournament, Parnevik struggled with his driver all day, hitting the fairway off the tee just five times.

He bogeyed the first hole after, hitting his tee shot into a fairway bunker and three-putting from 40( feet. He then pulled his tee shot into the rough on the second hole' and was forced to lay up 40 yards short of the green. But Parnevik'. hit a wedge shot that used spin to roll within a foot of the hole and tapped in the putt for his first birdie of the day. "It was probably the best shot I hit this year by far," Parnevik said of the wedge shot.

"Bogey-bogey' was definitely not something I was; looking for." SENIOR PGA: The PGA Tour has" David Duval and Tiger Woods. Now the Senior PGA Tour has Allen" Doyle and Bruce Fleisher. Doyle and Fleisher, the leading'' money winners this year on the tour, surged to the front of the field in the Home Depot Invitational in" Charlotte, N.C., to claim a share ofj" the second round lead at 8-under-with Terry Dill. "Last year it was the (Hale) Irwin and (Gil) Morgan show, now it's be-" come the Doyle and Fleisher show out here," Dill said. "I've never seen such a turnover in one year." Fifteen golfers remain within five strokes of the lead entering today's final round at the Tournament-Players Club at Piper Glen.

Jim Holtgrieve was 7-under DeWitt Weaver was 6-under. Mike; Hill, Isao Aoki and Bob Dickson', were 5-under. EUROPEAN PGA: Swede Jarmo Sandelin shot his third consecur tive 6-under 66 and took a three-stroke lead with one rcund to play in the Spanish Open, in Barcelonai- Sergio Garciaj the Spanish star who is making his proJ debut, shot a 70 in the third round's for a 210 total. Sandelin made birdies on five of; the last nine holes on the El Prat course and reached the 54-hole-mark with a 198 total. From wire service reports Furyk the tours 54-hole record of 24-under Admirals overcome own sluggish offense par set by John Cook at the FedEx St.

Jude Classic in 1996. He missed by six strokes Cook's record 54-hole shot total of 189. "You can't believe how much fun it is to play golf when you feel like you can birdie every hole," said Parnevik, who also set the tournament's 36-hole scoring record. "It doesn't matter if you're in the rough or the fairway, you feel like you have a chance for a birdie. You don't get that feeling too often when you play golf." After shooting a 2-under 34 on the front nine, Parnevik reeled off birdies on Nos.

10, 11, 12, 13 and 15 before bogeys at 16 and 17. He pulled his tee shot on 18 into the rough, but scrambled for a par, just the fifth of his wild round. "I was just laughing out there all day," said Parnevik, who's birdied 22 of his 54 holes in the tournament. "They tried to tuck the pins on most of the holes, but when you have the feeling I have now, you Liss' final field goal came late in the fourth quarter, a 35-yarder that came after Shreveport was forced to use all of its timeouts. "I thought it was a heck of a game for the defenses," said Knights' coach Fred Akers, the former Texas Longhorns' coach.

"It's a long season. They'll get better and so will we. When we play again, it should be a heck of a rematch." Next Saturday's game against the Houston Outlaws has been moved to Mobile, because of a schedule conflict at their stadium. Kickoff will be at 6:30 p.m. and the Admirals have announced all ticket prices will be $10.

Former Pensacola High star Eric Shaw, once a national prep All-American linebacker who signed at Florida State, sustained a possible career-ending spinal injury in Shreveport's season-opening win last week against Mississippi (Jackson). Shaw will have surgery Thursday in Lexington, Ky. to remove a bulging disc. happy with some of his coverage on other plays. The Admirals trailed 7-3 at half-time, but could have been further behind.

They lost two fumbles, including Busby's sack-fumble at their 8, as their offense struggled Their only scoring drive ended with disappointment. Busby steered a first down at the Knights' 8, but was sacked twice and Liss booted his first field goal with 1:11 left before halftime. Shreveport took the early lead on the game's biggest play. Marquette Smith, a former prep-All-American tailback who played at Florida State, then transferred to Central Florida, swept around right end, shook off a tackle and raced 46-yard for a touchdown with 9:37 left before halftime. The Admirals then took the opening series of the second half and had a first down at the Shreveport 13 before stalling.

Willie Gocha couldn't handle Busby's pass over the middle near the goal line, so Liss came on to kick a 27-yard field goal. those, Busby was blindsided in the second quarter and fumbled at his 8. The Admirals defense, however, responded by coming up with a fumble recovery of its own three plays later to thwart the scoring threat. "Our quarterback got hit way too much," Admirals' coach Tom Walsh said. "They came with relentless pressure on us, nothing we didn't expect but we just didn't pick it up well enough.

"We were out of sync most of the game offensively. It took us an entire game to respond, but fortunately we got just enough points to win." With Shreveport (1-1) clinging to a 7-6 lead, the game's turning point came with 11 minutes left in fourth quarter. Dennison Robinson intercepted Shreveport quarterback Jason Martin's pass inside the Knights' 30 and returned it to the 2. Three plays later, the Admirals' Toraino Singleton scored the winning points by going around right tackle. "I felt like I owed the team to make a play," said Robinson, who was un FROM ID is fun for me.

I don't know where it will lead, but I'm enjoying doing it." His clutch kicking he also boomed a 65-yard punt and averaged 45.5 yards on four punts led to a win Saturday night in a defensive battle. Admirals quarterback Thad Busby, the former Pace and Florida State star, was harassed most of the game, but did manage to complete 15 of 22 passes for 156 yards. A week ago, he enjoyed a 300-yard passing game in the Admirals' 42-10 season-opening win. "You knew early it was going to be a tough defensive game," Busby said. "If it weren't for our defense playing the way they did, we wouldn't have won.

"This wasn't the kinda night you want as a quarterback, but at least I didn't make a bunch of errors that hurt the team." The Admirals offense was mostly hurt by line breakdowns. The Admirals committed six offsides penalties and allowed four sacks. On one of Mucha ties pair of LPGA marks COLLEGE FOOTBALL Auburn defense impressive on A-Day By Paul Newberry Associated Press STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. Barb Mucha was worried about making the cut. She wound up making LPGA history.

ifT? Associated Press AUBURN, Ala. Auburn's defense looks like it could be one of the nation's best again come fall. But that didn't help the Tigers last year as they limped their way to a 3-8 record. "This is an embarrassed football team," Coach Tommy Tuberville Mucha equaled tour records for lowest score on a par-72 course and most birdies in a round, shooting a 10-under 62 to join fnnr nttipi nlnvora loaHimr tha pviivv. Mucha missed a 12-foot putt at No.

13. She finished the round at Eagles Landing Country Club with 11 birdies, tying the mark set by Vicki Fergon in the 1984 San Jose Classic. Mucha became the eighth to" shoot 62 on a par-72 course, the last being Meg Mallon in the Myr 1 tie Beach Classic a year ago. The only player to post a lower round was Se Ri Pak, who fired a 61 on a par-71 course in the Jamie Farr Classic last year. "This game is so crazy," Mucha said.

"You think you're playing and you shoot a 75. You think you're going to miss the cut and I you wind up shooting a 62. How do you explain that?" In spite of her record round," Mucha had plenty of competition, from all corners of the globe. SheJ was one of two Americans at 10-under 134 Leslie Spalding was" the other and they were joined Sweden's Maria Hjorth, South Korea's Mi Hyun Kim and Australia's Rachel Hetherington. It was the most crowded leader-J board since five players shared the top spot heading into the final' round of the State Farm Rail Clas-1 sic last August.

said. Tuberville is beginning his first season at Auburn after being hired to replace former coach Terry Bow-den, who abruptly resigned in October. "These guys year. While Tuberville said he was proud of quarterbacks Gross and Ben Leard, he said it was too early to say which one will win the starting quarterback position. "Gabe threw the ball a lot sharper today than I have seen him throw it," he said.

"It's going to be a good competition in two-a-days (in August). We'll have to look at the film." Tuberville believes he's already seen some of that coming together, as the Tigers struggle to overcome last year and look ahead. "The attitude and work ethic of the players has been outstanding," he said. "They're not giving up on us." TENNESSEE; How irrelevant was the score during Tennessee's annual Orange and White spring football game? Officials in the press box were still trying to decide how to distribute the scoring a half hour after the scrimmage ended. The ever-changing format left everybody confused.

Ve got everybody in the game, and nobody got hurt," quipped Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer. "It was a great day from that standpoint." For the record, the White defeated the Orange, 20-10 in front of 15,400 at Neyland Stadium. Even though it was an offense vs. defense scrimmage, the points scored by the first-team offense counted for the White and the points scored by the second and third-team offenses counted for the Orange. Fulmer was keeping his own score: How many of the pivotal questions facing the defending national champion Vols were closer to being answered heading into the fall? In short, he saw his three place-kickers hit 9-of-9 field goal attempts, sophomore defensive tackle John Henderson wreak the same havoc he has all spring, the receiving corps show flashes of brilliance and a middle linebacker job that remains wide open.

Most of the Vols' starters were finished by halftime, and many of those were out of their pads by the end of the third quarter. was ll-of-16 with a touchdown pass, a touchdown run, an interception and 143 yards. In the second half, Gross moved to the white team, or the second team offense. There, he was 5-for-9 with 48 yards. He earned offensive MVP honors.

Gross hit Reggie Worthy with a 21-yarder late in the first quarter to put the blue squad on the board. The white squad answered with 11:54 left in the first half with Tellie Embry's 3-yard run set up from an Adlai Trone interception. Gross also had a 6-yard touchdown run with 6:32 left in the quarter. A Robert Bironas field goal at the end of the quarter finished the day's scoring. "Not many of us have experience.

We are just learning," Worthy said. "We made some huge improvements." Junior walk-on Alex Lincoln was named defensive MVP. He had seven tackles. Tuberville said he would have a chance to play this rEs i Tuberville fil-A Charity Championship after the second round Saturday. "I had to stay out of my own way," said Mucha, playing only her third tournament of the year after taking four months off.

"It was a strange round." Mucha, who shot a 72 in the opening round, bogeyed No. 5 to slip back to even par. At that point, she was merely hoping to make the cut. "My swing was a little off," she said. "It wasn't an easy round.

I was grinding it out internally." After the bogey, Mucha put together a streak of seven straight birdies that finally ended when she are embarrassed by last year, on how they could not finish a game off I am a little disappointed in our running game, and we are still struggling at receiver." But the quarterback situation appeared sound at the Tigers' A-Day scrimmage Saturday. Gabe Gross played for the first team offense, or the blue squad, in the first half and.