Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 46

BASEBALL SCOREBOARD CYCUNG Tour de France Comeback rider can help improve race's image. 2C STORM No contest Will's throws for five TDs in a 59-14 win at Buffalo. 7C MUTINY Losses wearing Tired Tampa Bay has lost four straight 8C Wizards at Mutiny, 7 tonight, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa. Rays at Blue Jays WHENWHERE: SkyDome, Toronto. TVRADIO: Rays 8, Jays 7 Red Sox 6, White Sox 1 Twins 11, Tigers 4 Yankees 2, Orioles 1 Royals 9, Indians 7 (10) Mariners at Rangers, late Angels at A's, late Phillies 14, Cubs 1 Brewers 5, Pirates 2 Astros 7, Reds 5 Braves 16, MetsO D'backs 9, Cardinals 5 Expos at Marlins, ppd.

Padres at Rockies, late Giants at Dodgers, late SportsChannel; WFLA-AM 970. WBDN-AM 760 (Spanish). Complete listings, 2C TO CONTACT US ABOUT SPORTS NEWS: By phone: (727) 893-8123 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 8123 By fax: (727)893-8782 By e-mail: sptsnewssptimes.com SECTION SATURDAY, JULY 3 1999 THE TIMES TODAY: GAME 80 Yous hould have He has the smoothness of an insurance salesman, but he has the sincerity of a nun. GRADY IRVIN attorney on meeting Tank Black beesi Doc ieref WIMBLEDON, England ave you heard? He admits it He says he is the fa r- I iMfar -in iXfnti GARY SHELT0N SPORTS COLUMNIST ther.

Do you believe it? The news is titillating, gossipy. We are a nation in love with scandals about celebrities, the juicier the better. So naturally, we are in love with this story. See the smiling young girl on the courts of Wimbledon? Why, that's Dr. J's love child! It is a delicious little story, one that deserves to be told across a fence by gossiping neighbors who read the Enquirer.

On the day Alexandra Stevenson became the first qualifier to reach the semifinals of Wimbledon, Julius Erving, one of America's most beloved legends, admitted she was indeed his daughter. Oh, glorious scandal. This is soap opera stuff. People magazine stuff, Hard Copy stuff. This is the DR.

CONFESSES: Julius Erving says he and family have known that Alexandra Stevenson is his daughter. 1A kind of story that wipes away the tennis, that becomes fodder for late-night talk shows hosts. Enjoy it, if you wish. Be offended by it, if you will. Or, if you wish, think about a little girl without a father.

Please see SHELTON6C "3. ft I -v 7 fi- Alexandra Stevenson became the first qualifier to reach the women's semis. Next up: Former world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport Stevenson leads parade into semis 1 INSIDE: Mirjana Lucie escaped horrific childhood before finding peace. 6C TODAY ON TV: Men's, women's crs semifinals, 9 a.m.

Ch. 8 -jJH AP Tank Black, helped by signing a parade of former Gators stars, has produced a sports agency that earns $10-million per year. Tank Black is husband, father and church board member, but his actions as agent are questioned. Times wires WIMBLEDON, England With a curtsey in every direction and a giddy grin, 18-year-old Alexandra Stevenson became the first female qualifier to reach the semifinals here, a coup she achieved by defeating another qualifier, 129th-ranked Jelena Dokic of Australia. Stevenson used an abundance of power and sheer determination to overwhelm Dokic, 16, in the resumption of their rain-wracked quarterfinal 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

Dokic was serving for the second set Thursday when drizzle and darkness postponed the match. And Friday Stevenson, whose controversial run here now includes official confirmation from basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving that he is her biological father, was by far the stronger contender. By ERNEST HOOPER Times Staff Writer "When I was 9 or 10, 1 watched when Martina Navratilova wqu; here and I remember she was; asked if there were any more: serve-and-volley women out. there," Stevenson said. "And she; said, There's probably some 9 or: 10-year-old girl out there right; now who plays that And I went running to my mother and.

said, 'Hey, Mom, that's An unlikely semifinalist also; emerged from the day's other; quarterfinal when 17-year-old Mir---jana Lucie recovered from a 3-3 deficit against Please see TENNIS 6C Black, wearing a black pinstripe suit neatly accentuated by a white pocket handkerchief, commanded the attention of a media contingent for nearly two hours at a recent news conference, turning the podium into a pulpit and the conference room into a locker room. Grady Irvin a St. Petersburg attorney Please see BLACK 7C sports agent who has been at the center of the University of Florida's investigation of agent activities. "The Lord has blessed me in so many ways. I am not going to stand here and complain about anything.

I can tell you that I've been unfairly accused, I've been unfairly blamed. But when it comes to problems, there are other people who have problems that I don't even know about." William 'Tank" Black is one part coach and one part salesman. Speaking with a twang drawn from his Tennessee roots, he has the conviction of a minister and the confidence of a champion. "Men, let me explain something to you. I do not have any problems," said Black, the At end of Rupe, Rays hold on Faceof for sponsors is taking a dark turn By MARC TOPKIN Times Staff Writer Pepsi 400 WHEN: 8 tonight.

WHERE: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach. TVRADIO: Ch. 10; WQYK-AM 1010. INSIDE: Rusty Wallace crashes in final practice session and will have to start from the back of the field. 1 0C "Vi J- By TIM BUCKLEY Tim Staff Writer Jose Canseco celebrated his 35th birthday with a home run, and Dave Marti; nez marked his return to the lineup with; four RBI.

Bubba Trammell, who didn't have any known special occasions, added a two-run homer. But it was what they stopped the Jays from doing that won them the game, no matter how bad it looked. The Rays survived one scare in the; sixth. Julio Santana and Scott Aldred combined to walk the bases loaded with TORONTO It was happening again. Put the Devil Rays in SkyDome and something bad is bound to occur.

Just consider it their own house of horrors. Friday, the Rays built a big early lead, then hung on barely for an ugly 8-7 win over the Blue Jays. Jose Canseco On the same day Cup owner-driver Ricky Rudd accused CART owner Cal Wells III of stealing his Tide, sponsor of the No. 10 Ford that Rudd starts outside of pole-sitter Joe Neme-chek tonight, Olympic track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee and her husband Bob announced they are forming a NASCAR team and searching for a sponsor. "This sport is growing so fast I can't keep up with it," driver Jeff Burton said.

"It's amazing This is a product that once you get into it, you like it and it's hard to turn away from it." That is because stock-car racing is headed in the right direction, Wells said. And that is why the open-wheel owner is diving head-first into Winston Cup. Doing so, though, requires being able to attract the financial support of primary sponsors that pay upwards Please see PEPSI 400 Back page DAYTONA BEACH NASCAR is hot. Everyone and their brother wants in. The result is increased competition, not so much to win races as to land lucrative sponsorships.

And the battle to be backed by the best is turning downright ugly, evidenced by the goings-on among Winston Cup teams, owners and drivers in advance of tonight's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Take Thursday. Having led 6-0 after three innings and 8-1 in the fifth, the Rays improved to 2-9 here. Overall, the Rays have won three straight and nine of 13, and wake up this morning just two games behind the third-place Blue Jays in the loss column. It was their team-record sixth straight road win, and marked the first time they homered in seven straight games.

The Rays did plenty to be in position to win. one out, and Tony Fernandez, the major leagues! leading hitter, was at the plate. Aldred, who walked the first two batters he faced on nine pitches, fell behind 2-and-0, threw a strike, then escaped when Fernandez grounded into a double: play. Aldred ended up the winner. Please see RAYS 3C 1.