Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 13

PORTS Sports editor: VanArnold, 584-3119 Sunday, November 4, 2001 Online edition: www.hattiesburgamerican.com IB Arizona's rampage forces winner-take-all game Bob Wojnowski had built a ISO lead after four innings, cut as big a swath through the record books as it did through the Yankee pitchers. The 22 hits were the most ever by one team in a World Series. The 15-run lead tied the largest ever in a World Series game. The 13-run margin was the most lopsided World Series game in 41 years. "Everybody came out hitting the ball tonight," Johnson said "You just tip your hat to our hitters.

It makes my job a lot easier." The Yankees had never given so many runs in 291 postseason games, nor been beaten so badly. Game 6 box score, 2B By Mike Lopresti Gannett News Service PHOENIX -15-2. The World Series has never, ever seen anything like it. Not for punishment inflicted upon the New York Yankees. So, with a shocking Arizona blowout that rattled the record books Saturday night, it comes down to one last night in the desert When two great pitchers and two aging teams finish baseball's autumn of emotion and healing.

It is, in a World Series where the home team has yet to lose, the moment of truth For the Diamondbacks, who forced Game 7 with another dose of Randy Johnson and a stunning 22-hit bashing of dynasty again on the brink, their instinct for survival put to the test, a wobbly champion yet unable to even show up as recognizable competition in Bank One Ballpark, where they have lost three World Series games by a combined 28-3. It is now in the hands of the titans. Curt Schilling for the Diamondbacks and Roger Clemens for the Yankees, both 20-game winners. 1 don't know that I'd ever get the ball for a bigger game in my life," Schilling said. 1 don't take the ball expecting to lose." Asked how he felt, Schilling replied, "like a World Champion.

We're nine innings away." The Arizona attack, which Game 7 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks will be played tonight in Phoenix. The game can be seen on WXXV-25 (cable channel 3) beginning at 6:30 p.m. New York pitching, as they swung with the fury of what had happened to them in Yankee Stadium. And for the Yankees, their The Associated Press Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson delivers to the plate during Saturday's Game 6 of the World Series against the New York Yankees. We didn't do what we needed to do to be called the number two Chad Williams, Southern Mississippi defensive back defense in the nation today." 7 XT' Jsf- Eagles' highly ranked defense struggles against Nittany Lions Instant classic will be shrouded in controversy EAST LANSING, Mich.

It will go down as the greatest second in Michigan State football history, and the longest second in Michigan football history. However you slice one tiny tick of a clock, this was one of the truly remarkable high-stakes, in-state clashes, an instant classic In the end, the Spartans were precisely one play and one second better. Jeff Smoker completed a two-yard touchdown pass to TJ Duckett on the final play, giving the Spartans a 26-24 victory that will take weeks to properly dissect, appreciate, and understand. It might take the Wolverines, who had national title hopes spoiled by their bitter rivals, even longer to forget It could take the Spartans forever to match the drama of what, ultimately, was a hard-earned triumph. Just enough time If it wasn't the greatest game in the rivalry's lOJ-year history, it was the most astonishing finish, fraught with controversy, elation and disbelief.

As Smoker scrambled, and the Spartan Stadium crowd of 75,262 stood, everything hung in the air. And yes, time stood stilL When the pass nestled in Duckett's gut, the wild MSU celebration began. The Wolverines, who came in 6-1 and ranked sixth, fell to the turt Some players ripped off their helmets in anger and ran toward the officials, far on MSUs final drive, UM was penalized twice at crucial moments. And of course, there's the clock issue. Let's say right here, there was more to this game than the final second.

But nothing ever will be dis- cussed as much. With MSU out of timeouts, Smoker was tackled at the 2 with about 10 seconds left In that time, the Spartans were able to get up and line up. Smoker took the snap with :01 on the clock, and immediately stopped it with a quick throw to the turf. Never saw the catch U-M thought time should I have expired. But there was one more play, and the Spartans made it, and the -Wolverines didn't Beyond the bizarre theatre, that's all that matters.

Tell you the truth, I never saw the catch," said Smoker, who was hit after heaving the balL "I just threw it up and heard the crowd erupt and the place go crazy. To win a game overwhelming." U-M coach Lloyd Carr was still seething 30 minutes after the game. Tm proud of our team," he said, staring straight ahead. "They deserved better." He kept repeating the phrase about his players -theyde-, served better in response to questions about the officiating. Consider U-M crushed.

Consider MSU catapulted in the flash of a second. Bob Wojnowski is a columnist with Gannett News Service. Next up for USM The Southern Miss Golden Eagles have an open date this weekend before returning to action Nov. 17 at home against Conference USA opponent Tulane. For tickets, call 266-5418.

a good job tackling. That and play-action passes hurt us." That's where Mills came in. "It was hard (recognizing the pass)," USM linebacker Roy Magee said. "They're a running team. They ran a three-back set, would get in the flow and it was hard to read.

And their line was so big you couldn't see the quarterback." And when that quarterback went back to pass, he completed 23 of 33 passes with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He was sacked only once, by the tandem of Magee and Joe Henley, but that was on Penn State's first possession. "He's a playmaker," Bower said. "We even had them cov- See EAGLES, 4B More coverage, 4B Classic lead Southern Miss quarterback Jeff Kelly is sacked by Penn State defenders Bob Jones (96) during Saturday's game In State College, Pa. Penn State cruised to a 38-20 victory.

The Associated Press and Michael Haynes (81) Campbell surges to SFB The game that wouldn't end: Arkansas survives Ole Miss '-vv leaderboard the third round of the Southern Classic at Annandale Golf Club. 70-64-65-199 66-68-67-201 Beckman 66-69-67-202 67-66-69-202 68-70-65-203 65-69-69-203 i 67-66-70-203 67-69-68-204 71-65-68-204 69-67-68-204 scores, 2B By Alan Hinton American Assistant Sports Editor STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -There was some debate last week over who would be Penn State's starting quarterback in the Nittany Lions' Saturday football game against the University of Southern Mississippi There won't be any debate this week. Not after what red-shirt freshman Zack Mills did to the Golden Eagles in Penn State's 38-20 victory before 106,158 fans and a national television audience. "He is a difference maker," said Southern Miss defensive (Mordinator Tyrone Nix, whose No.

2-in-the-nation unit was burned for 280 yards passing by Mills and 443 total offensive yards by Penn State. USM (4-3) started fast Saturday, breaking to a 7-0 lead early in the game, but after that Penn State scored on six of its next seven possessions to go ahead 38-7. "We didn't tackle good," Southern Miss head coach Jeff Bower said. "We missed two or three sacks that could have been major plays. We didn't do Sports with 15 points.

PRO TENNIS Davenport wins, takes over as No. 1 MUNICH, Germany -Lindsay Davenport won the No. 1 ranking for the year and is not sure she deserves it She defeated Kim Clusters 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) Saturday, advancing to the final of the $3 million Sanex Championships against Serena Williams. Davenport's semifinal victory allowed her to take the No. 1 spot from Jennifer Capriati.

Capriati had been No. 1 for three weeks and would have held the top ranking if Davenport lost VOLLEYBALL USM volleyball team upends TCU 3-1 The Southern Miss volleyball team snapped its 10-match losing streak with a 3- SFB Classic Scores after Farm Bureau Chad Campbell Dicky Pride Cameron Brandt Jobe Dan Foreman Fred Funk Carl Paulson K.J. Choi Willie Wood J.J. Henry Complete Tm sure 111 And a little said "It's a good you are doing The former See CAMPBELL, MADISON (AP) Chad Campbell has been in this position before, just on smaller stages. Campbell, playing his second PGA tournament since being promoted from the Buy.com Tour, shot a 65 Saturday to take a two-stroke lead after three rounds of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

The crowds here are bigger. Everything is at a bigger scale," he said. Campbell, the leading money winner on the Buy.com Tour this season, closed his round with three straight birdies to finish at 17-under 199. The 27-year-old has 16 career victories -three on the Buy.com and 13 on the Hooters Tour. He began the second round by making his first bogey of the tournament, but chipped in from 20 feet to make eagle on No.

7. "Anytime you win at any level, it's going to make you feel more comfortable in that situation," he said Til take that experience with me tomorrow." 1 Campbell said nerves won't be a problem until he has to tee up it for today's final round. sleep fine (tonight)," he said. anxiousness may even help, he nervous. It keeps you into what and more aware," Campbell said UNLV AH-American sits atop a 4B The Associated Press Carl Paulson fired a 2-under par 70 in Saturday's third round of the Southern Farm Bureau Classic at Annandale Golf Club.

He trails by four shots. SPORTS BRIEFING ON TELEVISION and falling into the end zone, while the Rebels hung their heads and trudged off the field. Mississippi fell to 6-2, 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference; Arkansas improved to 5-3, 3-3. NCAA rules state that when the third OT session begins, the extra-point kick cannot be used and teams must go for two after scoring a touchdown. The previous longest game lasted six OTs and it happened three times, all in Division I-AA.

The most was Florida 59-58 win over Hampton on Oct 5, 1996. In I four OTs was the longest, most recently on Sept 26, 1998, when Kansas beat UAB 39-27. Full story, 2B. COLLEGE HOOPS PRCC women's team opens play Monday POPLARVILLE It's the opinion of Pearl River Community College women's basketball coach Ed Walley that his 2001-02 Lady Wildcats will be hard-pressed to match last year's 15-14 team that made it to the Region 23 Tournament. That's because 10 of the 13 players on his roster are freshmen.

Story, 5B. Sanders leads Rebels to exhibition win OXFORD Ole Miss junior David Sanders scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards, and sophomore Justin Reed added 13 points and eight rebounds to lead the Rebels to a 6S-60 exhibition game victory over Global Sports Saturday, before a crowd of 3,183 at the From wire reports OXFORD This was one to save for the grandkids. In a game that took more than four hours and seven overtimes, Arkansas finally outlasted Ole Miss 58-56 here Saturday night With Arkansas ahead 58-50, Mississppi's Eli Manning threw a touchdown pass to cut the lead to two points. But needing two points to send the game to an eighth OT, Manning's pass was caught by tight end Doug Ziegler at the 3 but he was tackled by linebacker Jermaine Petty a few yards short of the goal line. The Arkansas players celebrated, hugging each other 7, N.Y.

Yankees at Arizona (if necessary), FOX. NFL FOOTBALL Noon Doubleheader, regional coverage, CBS. Noon Regional coverage, FOX. 3:15 p.m. Doubleheader game, regional coverage, CBS.

7:30 p.m. N.Y. Jets at New Orleans, ESPN. TENNIS 1 p.m. Women's, Sanex Championships, championship match, at Munich, Germany (same-day tape), ESPN2.

3 p.m. Tennis Masters Series Paris, championship match (same-day tape), ESPN2. MONDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS NFL FOOTBALL 8 p.m. Denver at Oakland, ABC. TUESDAY'S HIGHLIGHTS COLLEGE FOOTBALL 7 p.m.

W. Michigan at Toledo, ESPN. NBA BASKETBALL 7 p.m. Orlando at San Antonio, TBS. TODAY'S HIGHLIGHTS AUTO RACING Noon NASCAR, Winston Cup, Pop Secret 400, at Rockingham, 1 Conference USA victory over TCU Saturday in Hattiesburg.

Senior Kelly Tribble, playing in her final home match, had 15 kills, 11 digs and four service aces. Bridget Files added 11 kills and Brynn Olsson recorded 10 digs. PRO GOLF Tour Championship becomes shootout HOUSTON The Tour Championship resembles an All-Star game, bringing together the top 30 players from the PGA Tour. Saturday was like a Home Run Derby. On another calm, defenseless day at Champions Golf Club, Scott Verplank had a 3-under 68 that was only par for the course in the third round and barely enabled him to keep his one-stroke lead over David Duval, who shot 63.

Story, 4B. N.C..1NI. 2:30 p.m. CART, The 500, at Fontana, ESPN. Midnight Dayton Indy Lights, at Fontana, Calif, (delayed tape), ESPN2.

-GOLF 8 a.m. European PGA Tour, Atlanet Italian Open, final round, at Sardinia, Italy, TGC. Noon PGA, The Tour Championship, final round, at Houston, ESPN. 1:30 p.m. PGA, The Tour Championship, final round, at 1 Houston, ABC.

5 p.m. PGA, Southern Farm Bureau Classic, final round, at 1 Madison, Miss, (same-day tape), TGC. HORSE RACING 5:30 p.m. Thoroughbreds, Iroquois Stakes, at Louisville, Ky. (same-day tape), ESPN2.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 6:30 p.m. Wodd Series, Game JOE L0VETT Hattiesburg American Mark Nielsen of New Zealand returns a shot to Marq Foster of Dayton, Ohio, Saturday during the singles semifinals of the $15,000 Futures of Hattiesburg tennis tournament at the Hattiesburg Racquet Club. Nielsen beat Foster 6-1 6-0. Story, 3B. '6 25) early in the second half to secure the win.

Jason Flanigan, a senior guard on last year's Ole Miss squad led Global newly-renovated Tad Smith Coliseum. The Rebels had to overcome an 11-point deficit (36- 1 1.