The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 37

THE MORNING CALL Becahi's Stem gets 200th victory SP0RTS UPDATE Call Info-tel 610421-8300, Category 8693. SPORTS SCORES 610421-8300 Categories Page C-2 PAGE Cll Purdue knocks off Notre Dame, 28-23 PAGE C4 SUNDAY. SEPTEMBER 12, 1999 The Birds may be getting Arizona at just the right time. By TERRY LARIMER Call Sports Columnist It's no coincidence that the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals have played each other 102 times and have split them 50-50 right down the middle, including years and again in 1960, but the Cardinals have never been close. Even in those infrequent years when they made the playoffs, they were immediately eliminated.

Last year, with a first-round playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys, they seemed to take a major step toward that goal. That prompted Eagles coach Andy Reid to say, "They're on the verge of breaking wide open." That may be true, but in which direction? After a season of such promise, the Cardinals, thought to be the favorite in the NFC East Division after last season ended, are once again showing signs of coining apart at the seams. In fact, if the Eagles are going to steal a win from somebody this season, there may be no better time than at 1 p.m. this afternoon at Veterans Stadium. Please See EAGLES Page C16 two ties.

These are two franchises that seldom do things right and when they do, it doesn't last very long. But the Cardinals seemed on the way to breaking that pattern last season when they won its first postseason game in 51 years. The Eagles were on the losing end of that previous game in the 1947 National Football League championship game. The Eagles won that title the following two ARIZONA CARDINALS VS. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES When: 1 p.m.

Where: Veterans Stadium. TV: None. Radio: WAEB 790-AM. tm mm IPauitlhesrsf wr IKlflinigos Williams wins her first Grand Slam title with a spectacular display of tennis, becoming the first African-American woman to win a major tournament since Althea Gibson in 1958. vJJ 1 1 I 1 ii 1 Three crucial plays in the final three minutes preserves the win.

By MARK WOGENRICH Of The Morning Call UNIVERSITY PARK In the end, little of it mattered. Not Kevin Thompson's bruised right thumb, not David Fleischhauer's woozy head that required X-rays, not even LaVar Arrington's compulsion to go six minutes with the Pitt punter. All three made crucial plays in the final three minutes that propelled Penn State over Pittsburgh 20-17 on Saturday. The final one, Arrington's blocked field goal, flooded the Lions with relief. "After I saw that," tight end Tony Stewart said, "I said, 'Let's hit the The second-ranked perhaps not for long, though Lions near ly buckled under Pitt cagey defense and oversized will.

The Panthers mustered chance after chance, nearly stunning the Lions (3-0) in the fourth quarter. In the end, though, three plays mattered. The first: Thompson's 51-yard completion to Eddie Drummond. The second: Fleischhauer's third-down sack of Pitt quarterback John Turman. The third: Arrington's block of a 52-yard field goal attempt.

Pitt (1-1) had countered Penn State all afternoon. But in those last three minutes, it couldn't counter those three plays. "Playing close is not good enough," Pitt coach Walt Harris said. The Panthers drew tight with a six-play scoring drive that tied it 17-17 early in the fourth. The Lions blew three interception attempts two by Arrington and scored on a 42-yard pass from Turman to Julius Dixon, who caught the pass behind two Penn State defenders (who missed interception attempts).

Thompson's big play followed. The quarterback crumpled his right thumb against a helmet By STEVE WILSTEIN Of The Associated Press NEW YORK The kid sister turned out to be the real champ. Serena Williams finished the job that big sister Venus couldn't, beating Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to win the U.S. Open title Saturday at age 17 in only her second year as a pro. As graceful and quick as a gymnast, the powerfully built Williams put on a spectacular display of mature tennis with an all-court attack to become the first black woman to win a Grand Slam title since Althea Gibson in 1958.

"It's just too exciting to compute right now," Williams said. "It's really amazing for me to even have an opportunity to be compared to a player as great as Althea Gibson. One of her best friends told me she wanted to see another African-American win a slam before her time is up. I'm so excited I had a chance to accomplish that while she's still alive." It was equally meaningful to Williams that her victory came in Arthur Ashe Stadium, named after the 1968 U.S. Open champion and the last black American to win a major -t Wimbledon in 1975.

Moments after the match, Williams received a congratulatory phone call from President Clinton and daughter Chelsea from New Zealand. "I thought for sure my day couldn't get any better," Williams said. "The next thing they told me is the president of the United States wanted to talk. I was, like, wow." Williams' victory guaranteed that two Americans would carry away the U.S. Open singles trophies, since Andre Agassi and Todd Martin will meet for the men's title today.

Venus Williams had her shots at Hingis, but lost to her at 17 in the 1997 U.S. Open final and in an exhausting semifinal that left her quivering with cramps Friday. "Venus was so bummed," Serena said. "She felt so bad because her legs had totally given out. She was really down, and that encouraged me to be even tougher out there." Serena, who will move up in the rankings from No.

6 to No. 4, proved too much for Hingis to handle in the critical moments that made the difference in a brilliant match filled with feverish baseline rallies, speedy forays to the net and an array of lobs and drop shots. hi winning her first major title and a $750,000 check, Williams showed the kind of athleticism, court sense and resilience under pressure that could make her a champion for years to come. 1 She needed every bit of those qualities when the 18-year-old Hingis, winner of five Grand Slam titles, fought back Please See SERENA Page C7 Williams reacts after beating Martina Hingis in straight sets Open women's title, her first Grand Slam victory. amp Towson urday's game was the Leopards' opener.

Lafayette went into said opener with a completely revamped and largely inexperienced offensive unit. Assuming and remembering all of that, and keeping in mind that one game does not a season make, this conclusion is inescapable: There are ample reasons for concern in the Lafayette camp. Veteran Head Coach Bill Russo chose to remain upbeat. He hung his hat on Towson, having had a game under its belt, and the oft-repeated mantra that every team's biggest improvement comes from Game 1 to Game 2. "I think Towson is a good football team," Russo began.

"I thought you saw a team making a lot of first-game mistakes playing against a team that played well in Week 1 and tightened up a lot of things in Week 2. "Give them credit. We weren't as good a football team as they were today." Indeed the Leopards were not. Please See LAFAYETTE Page C5 I. ha i Serena the U.S.

-v All-American affair Andre Agassi (left) beats Yevgeny Kafelnikov in four sets and Todd Martin (right) takes Cedric Pioline in straight sets to set up an ail-American men's final at the U.S. Open today. Page C7. Ur 7 'VC iiiifiwir GEORGE WIDMAN Associated Press Penn State's LaVar Arrington (11) leaps to block a game-tying field goal attempt by Pitt's Nick Lotz in the final minute of Saturday's game. in the third quarter, hampering his grip.

Despite that he hit Drummond in stride on a streak pattern, taking Penn State to the Pitt 11-yard line. The Lions preceded the play by calling Mike Cerimele's number five straight times. The fullback converted two first downs and forced Pitt to tighten its defense. "We suckered them with the short stuff," Thompson said. The deep ball set up Travis Forney's 24-yard field goal, which gave Penn State a 20-17 lead.

Forney's following kickoff set up Hank Po-teat's 47-yard return, which nearly set up a Pitt score. When Turman found Latef Grim for a 25-yard completion, the Panthers found themselves in field-goal range. That set up Fleis-chhauer. Midway through the second quarter, the senior, a three-year Please See LIONS Page C3 of the third quarter and almost all the fourth quarter in the commanding Patriot League win, the team's 14th straight win in the regular season. One person who didn't need to be told was Dave Clawson, the first-year Fordham head coach who served as an offensive coordinator at both Lehigh and Villanova before adapting the New York state of mind.

"Right now, Lehigh is a benchmark game for us," said Clawson. "They are the class of the league. That's how far away we are." Fordham is a Jean, Stambaugh, Fedorcha and a couple of linebackers and defensive linemen away from Lehigh at this point. Lehigh scored on its first possessions of the first three quarters as Jean scored from 35, 1 and 3 yards out to get the Engineer offense on track. 'This was a tough game to get prepared for because it's a new staff," Lehigh Coach Kevin Higgins said of Fordham.

"We didn't have any idea what they were going to Please See LEHIGH Page 5 picked Associated Press Saturday to win No-hitter for Milton Eric Milton of the Minnesota Twins reacts after striking out Anaheim's Jeff Davanon to complete a no-hitter Saturday against the Angels. Milton had 13 strikeouts in the 7-0 victory. Page C8. riMTiiTi.iimnmt I Vr LeriicpSi engineers rout of Fordham part by A VV Jean scores four TDs, Fedorcha two as Lehigh opens with a 49-7 victory. By GARY R.

BLOCKUS Of The Morning Call BRONX, N.Y. Lehigh didn't need the scoreboard to tell everyone it opened up the football season in style, but it would have been nice if the scoreboard at least had given the Engineers some credit. After whipping Fordham 49-7 at Jack Coffey Field in the Bronx, the scoreboard simply read Fordham 7, Visitor 0. Tell that to Ronald Jean, who tied a Patriot League record shared by many players, who scored four rushing touchdowns and ran for more than 100 yards. Tell that to All-America quarterback candidate Phil Stambaugh and wide receiver Kody Fedorcha, who hooked up on a pair of touchdown passes.

Oh, and also tell it to the Lehigh starters, who rested for partj 0 The Tigers romp 35-7 as an experienced Leopard defense falters. By TED MEIXELL Of The Morning Call TOWSON, MD. In the wake of Towson University's 35-7 romp over Lafayette before 2,481 sundrenched fans at Minnegan Stadium on Saturday, let us assume, for argument's sake that: Towson, which was picked to finish last in several preseason Patriot League polls, is better than advertised. Tigers' senior quarterback Joe Lee is the real McCoy; he was, alter all, stuck behind a four-year starter (Kevin Smith) who passed for almost 8,000 yards. Too, let us remember that: Towson tailback Jason Corle IS a four-year starter and, as of today, the Tigers' all-time career rushing leader (with 3,063 yards).

The Tigers were able to work out the kinks in a 34-7 win over Monmouth a week ago, while Sat-.