Sioux City Journal from Sioux City, Iowa • 13

INSIDE: Texas Texas bought banned supplementspage B3 Coif May 9, 2005 Sergio collapse opens door for Singh win Bl www.siouxatyjournaI.com 40 I I ft I 5- II Title run bringing Musketeers, city closer The Sioux City Musketeers won more than a dramatic hockey game Saturday night in the Tyson Events Center's Gateway Arena. How so? The franchise might have won over Siouxland in its zeal to really making the Gateway Arena the place to be on cold winter nights when the Musketeers take the ice. "I hesitate to use the term A.U 'family' because it's probably overused in all sports, but I have to admit. V- 1 the crowd and fans really became part of tp 'O 4ra Above: Drew Dansavage races in his wheelchair to beat out a throw to first by Randy Perry dunng a Miracle League game last month in Montgomery, Ala. Below: Dudley Luckie prepares to hit a ball during the game.

(AP photos) Invitation Facility is a field of dreams for a special type of ballplayer our own little StGV6l1 team family," said Sioux City AllSpaCh Coach Dave Si- ciliano after his Musketeers tied the United States Hockey League's Clark Cup championship series at two games each; with a 2-1 overtime victory over the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The game drew a crowd of i. 4,130, the largest in the league playoffs thus far. -j The number eclipsed the previous high 3,948 for a first- round game at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs matching host Omaha and Tri-City. "I'd really like to thank our fans and Sioux City and the entire area for the support we've gotten in the playoffs," said Jim Kronschnabei, the team's principal owner and president.

"We've worked awfully hard to make a Musketeers game one the entire family can enjoy. "A fun atmosphere is what we're striving for and that was the case Saturday. What a night, lots of noise and enthusiasm and a great hockey game." Sioux City played six home games in the playoff series and drew 17,959, a league high. Cedar Rapids, the host tonight in the fifth and deciding Clark Cup finals showdown, ranks second with 12,394 fans showing up in six games in Cedar Rapids Arena. However, none of the six has drawn more than 2,500.

After Saturday's overtime victory, Siciliano was almost as excited as he was the night in 2002 at old Ak-Sar-Ben Coli- seum in Omaha when his Mus- keteers defeated the Lancers in overtime to claim the fran- It chise's third Clark Cup Trophy. SEE ALLSPACH continued on page B2 ONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Baseball cap TV FT It's a dream come true. It's an absolute tugged low, Dudley looks every bit i It Tmiracle, it really is. The smiles on parents' faces are unbelievable and the smiles on the kids' faces are heartwarming." Phil Meadows, Adult player disabilities, with 17 rubberized fields around the country allowing kids in wheelchairs to race around the bases.

The smiling kids get the same cheers and en-. couragement from parents whether the ball dribbles off the tee or sails into the outfield. Nobody counts hits, outs or runs OK, maybe the kids keep track. "I hit a grand slam," Dudley says, offering his career highlight. SEE BASEBALL continued on page B2 the ballplayer as he scoots around the bases, triumphantly crosses home plate and grabs a seat in the dugout.

Nevermind that the 7-year-old gets around using crutches, the field is a miniaturized version of a Little League park and the scoreboard is just for show. The Miracle League doesn't keep score, doesn't have winners or losers and is more about the smile than the style. "We just want to have fun," Dudley said, "be like a real team." In other words, they just want to be like other kids who grow up playing Little League baseball. The Miracle League, founded in Georgia, is the field of dreams for kids with mental or physical Heat deny Wizards in East semifinal League champion crowned tonight RoughRiders, Muskies square off for title lv Aw Miami stumbles through victory in series opener MIAMI (AP) They gave away a big lead, turned the ball over often, got nothing resembling dominance from either Shaquille O'Neal or Dwyane Wade, and kept sending the Washington Wizards to the foul line. And still the Miami Heat won with ease.

"ML or lose, the guys on this team have played By Steven Allspach Journal sports writer Nash named MVP Spurs dominate Sonics Page B2 wonderfully all season. They've come back from adversity so many times, during the season and in the playoffs." Dave Siciliano, Musketeers coach 0 PLAYOFFS CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa In Dave Siciliano's well-decorated junior hockey coaching career, his teams have won Cup championships three times. Each deciding victory came in a road game. Siciliano guided Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Canada's Centennial Cup championships in 1989 and 1992. In '89, his Thunder Bay team defeated Summerside on Prince Edward Island.

In 1992, Thunder Bay defeated Winkler, Manitoba, in Winnipeg Arena before a crowd of nearly 8,000 fans. The Centennial Cup is the post-season series that determines the Tier II national junior champion in Canada. The Sioux City coach also directed the Musketeers to the United States Hockey League's Clark Cup playoff championship in 2002, taking the fifth and deciding game at Omaha's old Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum, 4-3, when Ryan Geris rifled in the game-winning shot at 4:41 of sudden death overtime. The question now is, can history repeat? And, can Sioux City find the offense to solve the speedy RoughRiders and their suffocating and smothering defense? The Musketeers and the Cedar 7 Game 2 is Tuesday night. While Washington's starters played Miami's first five pretty evenly, the Wizards got hardly any production from their bench and that was the difference.

i Miami's reserves outscored Washington's 36-5, led by Dooling who was 6-for-9 off the bench for Miami and finished; he's 20-for-26 from the floor in his last four playoff games. The Heat, who hadn't played since finishing off a first-round sweep of New Jersey last Sunday, quickly put to rest any notions of rust settling in during their week off. Washington missed 17 of 19 shots during one stretch of the openin period, finishing the quarter 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) from the field. Miami, meanwhile, hit 12 of its 21 shots in the opening quarter, taking a 26-18 lead after the period. Wade overcame a tough start to score 20 points and O'Neal added 19 to lead five Miami players in double figures, and the Heat defeated Washington 105-86 Sunday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Keyon Dooling added 15 points, Eddie Jones had 12 and Damon Jones 10 for the Heat, who've won five straight playoff games for the first time in franchise history and are 5-0 against Washington this season. Miami has also won 22 of 23 at home. Gilbert Arena had 25 points -on 8-for-21 shooting for Washington, which has lost 12 of its last 14 in Miami. Larry Hughes added 23 for the Wizards, Antawn Jamison had 13 and Jared Jeffries and Brendan Haywood added 10 apiece. Rapids RoughRiders collide in the deciding game of the 2005 Clark Cup finals tonight, starting at 7 o'clock at the Cedar Rapids Arena.

"With that great crowd we had Saturday we'd certainly like to be home again for the final game, but we're confident and ready for another great game," said Siciliano, the second-win-ningest coach in USHL history. "We know we can play well on the road and we won in Cedar Rapids (2-1) to tie the series at a game each last week. "The championship is down to one game with a winner-take-all scenario and you can't ask for more than that. SEE MUSKETEERS continued on page B2 ft Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal blocks a shot by Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas on Sunday in Miami. (AP photo).