Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 15

THE Films WNBA Shock 8o Indiana 76 PACE 4B. TENNIS I FRENCH OPEN Gustavo Kuerten and Magnus Norman win their semifinal matches and will meet in Sunday's final. Mary Pierce and Conchita Martinez play today in the women's final, page 3b. It- SATURDAY June 10, 2000 Fishing 5 Ernie Harwell 5 Love Letters 8 Belmont 8 ON TM WEB www.freep.com DEVILS LEAD STARS, 3-2. All Stanley Cup finals games at 8 on ABC (Channel 7 in Detroit) and CBC (Channel 9 in Windsor).

GAME, RESULT 1 Devils 7, Stars 3 2 Stars 2, Devils 1 3 Devils 2, Stars 1 4 Devils 3, Stars 1 5 Stars 1, Devils 0 (3 CO DAY, SITE Tonight, Dallas If necessary Monday, New Jersey LAKERS LEAD PACERS, 2-0. All NBA Finals games at 9 (except Game 3, 7:30) on NBC (Channel 4 in Detroit). GAME, RESULT 1 Lakers 104, Pacers 87 2 Lakers 111, Pacers 104 DAY, SITE Sunday, Indiana Indiana If necessary Friday, Indiana June 19, Los Angeles June 21, Los Angeles phoni 313-222-6660 Section DETROIT 4, ST. LOUIS 2 LSWf 'he Mark 3 strikeouts, but park can't contain Mac DREW SHARP i i r' yy.i 1 I REED SAXONAssociated Press IT DIDN'T happen often during his Hall of Fame career, but a ball sailed over Al Ka-line's glove Friday night. The outstretched Indiana's Jalen Rose (30 points) gets rejected by Shaquille O'Neal.

Lakers take 2-0 lead over Pacers O'Neal: 40; Bryant injured ByPERRYA.FARRELL free press sports writer vf, mitt, immortalized among stainless steel statues that honor Kaline along with four other Tigers greats, is positioned roughly 470 feet from home plate along Co-merica Park's centerfield concourse. And Mark McGwire easily cleared it in batting practice. This weekend was meant to serve as the supreme test for Comerica Park. If it is too big for McGwire, then maybe it is too big for the game's mere mortals. "There ain't no park too big for that fella," said St.

Louis hitting coach Mike Easier, who assured me just before McGwire took his first practice cut that McGwire would knock at least one shot off the brick wall just below the statues. "OK, so I was a little off," Easier kidded me later behind the batting cage. "But what did I tell you? There isn't a ballpark made that can contain this guy when he puts a charge into one." The Tigers designed this park to attract free-agent pitchers, but power pulled in the first of three ex- LOS ANGELES Shaquille O'Neal missed 21 free throws, but more than vi Ar tin v-i5 vea ttrlf Vi A VxAmf Photos by JULIAN H. GONZALEZDetrott Free Press Mark McGwire takes called strike three from Todd Jones in the ninth, after hitting a long foul fly to left with a runner on first Please see SHARP, Page 7B Scary ninth, but Jones saves Weaver 1 ByGENEGUIDI free press sports writer i for the second consecutive game. He added 24 rebounds, three blocked shots and four assists Friday night as the Los Angeles Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals with a 111-104 victory over Indiana.

O'Neal scored 43 in Game 1. Six home teams have taken 2-0 leads under the 2-3-2 Finals format, and all have won the NBA title. O'Neal's 39 free throw attempts was a record for any NBA game. He was only 5-of-17 in the first half. "I mildly chastised him for his first-half free throw shooting because he could've put us ahead even further," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

With Kobe Bryant severely spraining his ankle in the first quarter and not returning, Ron Harper (21 points) and Glen Rice (21, including five of six three-point attempts) took up the slack. Bryant is questionable for Game 3 Sunday. "We felt like we didn't play well in the first half," O'Neal said. "They tried the hack-a-Shaq and I missed a few. I looked over at my father and he said, 'Calm down, relax and follow We Please see NBA, Page 4B Historic goal gives Stars a shot at more 'Major joy 'for Modano By NICHOLAS J.

COTSONIKA FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER about 450 feet away FOUL. Jones smiled in relief, then proceeded to strike out McGwire and induce a game-ending double play from Thomas Howard to preserve a 4-2 victory over the Cardinals. "That wasn't part of the game plan, to hang a curveball and let him hit it 500 miles like X4- manager Phil Garner said later. Closer Todd Jones pitched, McGwire swung, and the ball rose majestically toward left-field and rose and rose some more. What did catcher Brad Ausmus think when the ball left the bat? "I tried to call time out," Ausmus said, "but they wouldn't give it to me." McGwire's blast landed The tying run stood make that towered at home plate in the ninth inning Friday night in the person of Mark McGwire.

The sellout crowd of 39,081 at Comerica Park, many there to see Big Mac, roared. "The anticipation level was really high, wasn't it?" Tigers 4li; Please see TIGERS, Page 7B Jeff Weaver allowed two runs and four hits in eight innings. IXIYIART 400 I TOP QUALIFIERS 1. Bobby Labonte, Pontiac 2. Ricky Rudd, Ford 3.

Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet Earnhardt trying to keep a lid on it Labonte nabs pole at 189.883 Run sets track record, beats Rudd Gordon He's a contender as he plans to move on By STEVE CROWE FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER 4 AT THE SPEEDWAY What Kmart 400. When: 1 p.m. Sunday. Where: Michigan Speedway, Brooklyn. TVradio: CBS (Channel 62 in Detroit); WTKA-AM (1050).

Today's support races: International Race of Champions series, 12:10 p.m. (ESPN); ARCA Flagstar 200, 1:15 p.m. (ESPN). Tickets: Call 800-354-1 010. TV By STEVE CROWE FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER fir" DAVID P.

GILKfcYUetroit Free Press BROOKLYN, Mich. It was Jeff Gordon's to lose. Then it was Ricky Rudd's to sit on while time ran out. Ford drivers Rusty Wallace, left, and Mark Martin share a laugh Friday before Wallace qualified fourth and Martin 19th. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.

The Dallas Stars made history Thursday night. They won the longest 1-0 game the Stanley Cup finals have ever seen, when Highland's Mike Modano deflected a shot past New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur 6:21 into the third overtime 106:21 since the opening face-off five hours earlier. Now the Stars want to make history again. They want to become the second team to recover from a 3-1 series deficit to win the Cup the first since the Toronto Maple Leafs, embarrassed the Red Wings in 1942 and they believe they can do it more than they did days ago. Game 6 is tonight at Reunion Arena in Dallas.

"There is some major joy," Modano said. "We felt if we (won Game 5), we would come back here Monday night (for Game 7). That was our train of thought going into the game. It is a big momentum change. We seem to come up big when it is really needed.

Guys seem to rally. We seem to support one another. We don't get down." The Stars have gone from old to expe- BROOKLYN, Mich. Dale Earnhardt has this to say about being in position for a record eighth NASCAR Winston Cup title: "S-s-s-h-h-h." As quietly as possible and not so long since being counted out by many Earnhardt, 49, is third in points entering Sunday's Kmart 400 at Michigan Speedway. Meanwhile, he's settling into his eventual full-time career as a NASCAR team owner.

Earnhardt continues to drive Chevrolets for Richard Childress, as he has since 1984. But Earnhardt fields Monte Carlos for rookie Dale 25, and Steve Park, 32. Little has drawn more attention than not only his father, but probably any other Winston Cup driver, by winning at But it was NASCAR Winston Cup points leader Bobby Labonte's to drive away with Friday before a sun-soaked crowd of 40,000 at Michigan Speedway. "Man, where Texas and Richmond. Park, whose road to success has been more problem-paved since being hired in 1998, signed a two-year extension Friday with an option for a third season.

Instead of just fitting himself for a long-term future, Earnhardt seems prepared to snap his seven-title tie with Richard Petty. Earnhardt's contract with Childress runs through Ward Burton. Labonte, whose record run in a Pontiac on the day's 44th attempt, became the 10th driver to win poles in this year's 14 Winston Cup events. And it's the first front-row start for Labonte, 36, whose previous best qualifying run was third at Rockingham, N.C., in February. But Labonte has been a master at Michigan.

Of his 13 career LA lap of 189.883 m.p.h. took the pole for Sunday's Kmart 400. "Had to stay to the end on that one." On the 22nd of 45 attempts, Gordon pushed his Chevrolet to a 188.610-m.p.h. lap, knocking Rusty Wallace's Ford (188.112) from the provisional pole. Then on try No.

28, Rudd seemed to secure his second pole this year with a lap of 189.021, smashing the previous NASCAR track record of 188.843 set last August by Bobby Labonte did that come from?" Gordon asked after Labonte's NASCAR track-record Please see 400, Page 4B Please see DALE Page 4B Please see CUP, Page 7B.