South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • 58

SPORTS SOUTH FLORIDA SUN-SENTINEL 8C Thursday, July 4, 2002 Motor Sports Double the fun Indy chief upholds Castroneves' victory NFL's Tony Gonzalez savors his chance to try out for the Heat 7 turned down by Barnhardt the day after the race. So Green filed a formal appeal, which George heard on June 17. Castroneves tremely disappointed" in George's decision. "I believe we presented a compelling case if, as Tony says, everything comes down to a judgment call and that call is not subject to appeal, then what's the use in even having a rule book?" In a statement issued by the team, Tracy said: "I'm disappointed but, honestly, not terribly surprised. My bank account may not show it, and my face may not be on the Borg-Warner Trophy yet but in my heart I know I won the race." "I'm not sure what we're going to do next," Green said when asked at his news conference whether he might pursue the matter through litigation.

"I felt very strongly about our case and still do." It took more than four months to determine the Indy winnerin 1981. Bobby Unser was flagged the winner, but was penalized the next day for a passing violation upon exiting the pits, and Mario An-dretti was declared the winner. That October, the ruling was reversed and Unser was finally awarded the win. By Ed Hinton STAFF WRITER Helio Castroneves gets to keep his Indianapolis 500 win of May 26. Wednesday, after five weeks of allowing protests and appeals from Paul Tracy's team, Indy Racing League President Tony George ruled that the matter "is not subject to protest or appeal" after all.

Thus, George upheld the spot decision made by IRL Vice President Brian Barn-hardt at the crucial moment of the race. A caution light came on just as Tracy was passing Castroneves for the lead, and the race finished under that caution. As he ordered the caution, Barnhardt immediately ruled that Castroneves was the leader. IRL rules state that racing must cease immediately upon display of yellow lights andor flag. Enhanced videotape aired frequently by ESPN since the race indicated that Tracy had completed the pass before the yellow lights came on in the turns of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Tracy's team owner, Barry Green, protested and was Both Green and Castroneves' Team Penske presented detailed arguments. Judgment calls by officials, George said, are not contestable under section 1 1 .2 of the IRLrulebook. But, "given the circimstanc-es, and given the fact that the Indianapolis 500 is the largest single-day sporting event, we felt that it was important to allow the process to be played out." Further, George said, "after reviewing all of the information presented, it was clear that the decision made by the officials was, indeed, correct." With the ruling, Castroneves officially became the first back-to-back Indy winner since Al Unserin 1970-71. Green said he was "ex by Harvey Fialkov STAFF WRITER miami As a little boy growing up in Los Angeles, Tony Gonzalez cheered for Magic Johnson and Pat Riley's Showtime Lakers, dreaming of becoming an NBA star. Unfortunately, his 250-pound body started sprouting bulging muscles, the kind football coaches salivate over, and not the sinewy frame that's geared toward basketball success.

So Gonzalez took a detour to stardom, and instead wound up becoming a three-time Pro Bowl tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, while locked in a salary dispute with the Chiefs, the unsigned Gonzalez, who played basketball for three years at California (with Jason Kidd) and averaged 6.4 points and 4.3 rebounds, has decided to pursue his lifelong dream and try out for the Heat. "My mom said, 'Go out and do it and that's what I'm doing," said Gonzalez, 26, who also tried out for the Trail Blazers three years ago and has held his own against NBA players such as Bo Outlaw and Baron Davis in summer leagues. Gonzalez has made it clear that football is his "bread and butter," but he wants to be the first professional athlete to play in the NFL and NBA. Because the seasons overlap, he would have to miss at least half the NBA season and pick it up in January when teams are allowed to sign players to 10-day contracts.

"I doubt it will come to that point," he said. "At any rate, this is a good way to get in shape. Basketball is something I've been doing since I was a little kid. It's what made me the player I am out on the football field. I'd be foolish to quit." Riley, who somewhat in jest compared Gonzalez to Spurs undersized power forward Malik Rose, said playing both sports would be logistically difficult.

"We've put in contracts that ON THE BALL: "Basketball is something I've been doing since I was a little kid," Tony Gonzalez says. Staff photoAnastasia Walsh Pepsi crucial in points race HINTON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1C On the other hand, it has been a decade since a driver left the 400 at Daytona in July with the points lead and failed to follow through with the championship. That was the late Davey Allison in 1992, a season whose ramifications were so bi discussed the notion. "He's a man who likes challenges," Riley said. "He can compete against anybody.

Whether he produces, we'll have to see." The Heat summer league runs through July 2 1 and the Chiefs' training camp opens July 25, giving Gonzalez time to contemplate His next move unless Riley makes it for him. "I know I won't be coming in to save a team and score 20 points," said Gonzalez, who scored 23 points against Villanova while leading the Bears to the Sweet 16 in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. "I want to show Coach Riley if he did pick me up in the middle of the season, I'd be a hustler, definitely a player who did all the intangible things he wants done." a player can't go motorcycling, skiing, so playing pro football might be out," Riley said. "This isn't a lark, it's not a publicity stunt. He's a lesson to our players, someone who wants and understands how to be a professional athlete.

We're looking for the best athlete to help us win." Gonzalez was catching elbows, not passes, on Wednesday. With undrafted collegians such as Luke Recker crashing into players in their zeal to impress, it's no wonder Gonzalez took out an insurance policy in case he incurs a football career-threatening injury. "I'm dead serious," Gonzalez said. "I'm not wasting my time out here." The opportunity arose when Heat GM Randy Pfund and agent Mark Steinberg recently i zarre and awful that well, more in a moment. The 400 is a mad enough scramble as it is, the iaaiaiZl Heat Notebook Butler is signed, set for training While all the points contenders likely will be racing for second place behind Dale Earnhardt defending champion of the event and winner of three of the past four plate races, their relative finishing order to one another is what matters.

Marlin's task for keeping the lead looks easy enough on paper; he must finish 13th or better, no matter what second-place Martin, who trails by 62 points, does. But Marlin finished 39th in the 400 last year after starting on the pole. That's how mercurial this race can be. And that bad a finish, repeated, could rocket all four of his pursuers past him in the standings. Then there's what drivers deem the inevitable, the "big wreck," the multiple-car pileup that always is so likely when so many cars race so closely with so little throttle response for escaping one another's brain-fade moves.

It's not so much a matter of whether it will happen but when, and who'll be in it Marlin, Martin, Gordon, Johnson, Stewart? Mathematical averages dictate that one or more will be. And that driver's championship hopes will disintegrate in the melee. In 1998 Martin saw his hopes destroyed almost solely by his bad luck in the four re-strictor-plate races of that season. On the othertracks he had no peer; at Daytona and Talladega, his name might as well have been Mark Murphy. It hardly seems fair, given the grind of a 36-race season, that such a capricious race as the Pepsi 400 should be the bellwether.

Then again, there are strategic reasons behind the recent results. The 400 is traditionally NASCAR's answer to the "turn" in a round of golf. It is the halfway point in the season. By this point the teams that have their acts fully together begin to show: the crew chiefs who are at the top of their game, making the right calls at the crucial moments; the drivers' on-track pacing, the knack for salvaging high finishes when wins aren't possible. Even after Allison left Daytona Beach in '92 with the lead and wound up losing the championship, it took a fluke in the final race of the season, in November at Atlanta, to ruin his year.

And that finale was so monumentally bizarre that perish the thought it would ever recur to break the Pepsi 400's lock on forecasting. Into that season finale came five contenders for the title: Allison, Bill Elliott, Kyle Petty, Harry Gant and Alan Kulwicki. Allison was caught up in Ernie Irvan's midrace wreck, leaving Elliott and Kulwicki to duel for the title. Elliott won the race, but Kulwicki the championship. The following April, traveling to Bristol from an autograph session that was one of his duties as Winston Cup champion, Kulwicki was killed in the crash of a private plane.

Allison then told a family priest he understood why he hadn't won that championship. But that July, Allison died of injuries suffered in the crash of a helicopter he was piloting, in a parking lot in the infield at Talladega. Better, perhaps, that the season champion be determined in this midsummer night's madness that is the unsung Super Bowl of stock car racing. Ed Hinton can be reached at ehintontribune.com. HEAT SUMMER CAMP ROSTER shortest of Marlin the four ma jor restric-tor-plate crapshoots and the only one at night, run amid a prime-time party mood reminiscent of the heyday of Monday Night Football.

Going into Saturday night's 400, here's the scenario: There is a cavalry charge, virtually five abreast, at the top of the standings. Only 88 points separate first-place Sterling Marlin from fifth-place Tony Stewart. Wedged in between are Mark Martin, Gordon and rookie Jimmie Johnson. With a 146-point swing possible, the whole thing could be turned upside down, inside out, in one race this wacko event that has been such a profound predictor of the title. If history holds, whoever leaves in the lead is a virtual lock for the title.

But who'll leave on top is literally up in the air at the whim of the swirling drafts and the aerodynamic pushes-and-pulls of plate Nam Pos. Ht. Collage Pro yrs. Malik Allen 6-10 Villanova '00 1 (Heat) William Avery 6-2 Duke '99 3CTwolvesj Travarus Bennett 6-7 Minnesota '02 Rookie David Bluthenthal USC'02 Rookie Ernest Brown 7-0 Indian Hill JC 1 (Heat) Caron Butler 6-7 Connecticut '02 Rookie Rasual Butler 6-7 La Salle '02 Rookie Eric Channing 6-4 New Mexico St. '02 Rookie 1 Richie Frahm 6-5 Gonzaga'00 Rookie Klmani Ffrlend 6-11 Nebraska '01 Rookie Tony Gonzalez 6-6 California '97 5 years NFL Nate Green 6-5' Indiana Rookie Mike James 6-2 Duquesne'98 1 (Heat) Ken Johnson 6-11 Ohio St.

'01 Rookie SeanLampley 6-7 California '01 Rookie Bill Phillips 6-11 St Joseph's '02 Luke Recker 6-6 Iowa '02 Rookie by Harvey Fialkov STAFF WRITER miami Coach Pat Riley has stressed how important it is to have his roster established in time for training camp so last year's horrid start wouldn't be duplicated. Step one was taken Wednesday as the Heat signed Caron Butler, its first-round draft pick from the University of Connecticut, to the league's mandated rookie-slotted salary scale (for the 10th pick) at an average $1.5 million per year for three seasons with a fourth-year option. By signing a week after being drafted, Butler became the earliest Heat first-round pick to sign his rookie contract. The team's previous highest picks both signed on Oct. 5 1989's No.

4 Glen Rice one day before training camp, and 1991's No. 5 Steve Smith the second day of training camp. However, since the collective bargaining agreement was revised in 1999, rookie contracts are basically predetermined, leaving little room for negotiation. The signing clears the path for the 6-f oot-7 forward to participate in this week's summer camp and the upcoming summer league games. "We wanted to get him here and working," Riley said.

"Get him working on his body and find a place in Miami to get settled in so we can begin the training I want to get the distractions out of the way so he could focus on the program and become a professional athlete. He desired that, too." Butler and 16 other hopefuls, including Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, second-round pick Rasual Butler, former Timberwolves backup point guard William Avery (the 14th pick out of Duke in the 1999 draft) and Iowa guard Luke Recker, battled it out at Johnson one to watch for 400 qualifying about," he said. "Anthony Carter is working every day, and we'll continue to look for perimeters to protect ourselves with Jackson out there." Riley said he has a "hot list" of six targeted free agents, and judging from his recent comments, Toronto power forward Kaon Clark (restricted), Lakers small forward Davean George and Spurs power forward Malik Rose are on that list. The 6-2 Avery, who since leaving Duke after his sophomore season got lost in a logjam of experienced point guards in Minnesota behind Terrell Brandon and highly sought-after free agent Chauncey Billups, is hoping to make an impression, "I thought there would be a break and I'd get a chance. I kept believing, but eventually time ran out," Avery said.

"Riley is a great teacher, a great coach, a demanding coach who demands a lot from his players. That's what I need more of AmericanAirlines Arena with the goal of making next week's 10- to 12-man roster for the summer league in Orlando. "I tell these guys don't ever come to camp unless you're in the best condition," Riley said. "Of 17 last night, seven could take it, could endure. "This is an opportunity, not a lark.

Look at our situation. Last year, we were 36-46; didn't make the playoffs. I'm looking for players, men who want to work. So do it in good stead, give it your best shot, don't half-step." GUARDED SITUATION Riley, who said the Heat has touched base with its most significant free agents point guard Rod Strickland and small forward Jim Jackson reiterated his desire to fortify the point-guard position. Strickland, indicating the Heat may be in for a fight, changed agents and is now represented by Rock Newman, one-time manager of former heavyweight champ Rld-dick Bow.

"The point-guard position is a position we want to make sure BUSCH LINEUP. IOC pursuers at bay, especially Mark Martin, who trails by only 62, and four-time points champ Jeff Gordon. "We've got a lot of people nipping at our heels," Marlin said. "Mark has been right in the thick of the battle for several years. Gordon is right there, and Jimmie Johnson, as a rookie coming in, is right there.

"Tony Stewart will run good for two weeks and then have a bad week. We'll see who's going to shake out." NEMECHEKON BUSCH POLE DAYTONA BEACH "Front Row" Joe Nemechek lived up to his nickname Wednesday night, winning the pole position for the third consecutive time in a Grand National se by Ed Hinton STAFF I I DAYTONA BEACH TWO kinds of contenders Dale Earnhardt Jr. and all the rest roll onto Daytona International Speedway today to begin practice and qualifying for Saturday night's Pepsi 400. Earnhardt is defending champion and has won three of the past four Winston Cup restrictor-plate races, including two at Talladega, Ala. But pole qualifying, which begins at 8: 1 5 tonight, is a different matter.

Rookie Jimmie Johnson, winner of two races this season, has won the past two poles for plate races, including the Daytona 500 in February and the Aaron's 499 at Talladega in April. Points-leader Sterling Marlin is intent on keeping his ries race at Daytona. Nemechek, who races part time on NASCAR's second-tier series, circled the famed 2-mile track at Daytona at 185.793 mph. Qualifying second for Friday night's Stack-er2GNC Live Well 250 was Scott Wimmer at 185.452 mph, followed by Randy La-Joie (184.691) and Jay Sautqr (184.619). This would have been Ne-mechek's fourth consecutive start at NASCAR's most famous track had his first-place qualifying effort in 2000 not been nullified because his car violated weight-distribution regulations; It is the sixth time Nemechek will start a Busch race from the front row at Daytona.

He has been on the pole four times at Talladega, the other restrictor-plate track. Harvey Fialkov can be reached at.