Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • 15

i Monday, October 22, 2001 B5 Albuquerque Journal QUICKIIITS ArgeeltiiMsiE Journal Staff er, Report, Qj QI1 NO. 18 GOLF fee IV II he played in the final group and posted a 66, only to finish second. He was beaten by Scott Hoch's 64 in the Western Open. Tiger Woods bl-died three of his last six holes for a 69 aLrtJd for 16th at 271 Coceres is one of five players to start the season with' no status and, do well enough to get his card for next year. His second victory makes him exempt through the 2004 season, i DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP: In St Andrews, Scotland, former British.

Open champion Paul Lawrie shot a 9-under-par 63 to share the third-round lead with Paul McGinley at" the rainy Dunhill Links There was fog and heavy rain at the inaugural $5 million event for the fourth straight day on all three courses. The final round will begin on the Old Course today. Lawrie and McGinley are at 14 under for 54 holes after one round each on the Old Course, Xiagsbams and One stroke back is Ernie Els. The South African shot a 68 on the Old Course to reach 13 under. SBC CHAMPIONSHIP: In San Antonio, Texas, Larry Nelson capped a record-tying 63 with a tap-in birdie on the final hole and beat Bob Gilder and Gary McCord by two strokes to win the SBC Championship.

Nelson's 9-under round gave him a 17-under total and his fifth Senior PGA Tour victory of the year and 11th over the last two seasons. Leaves No Hope for Love The Associated Press. LAKE BUENA VlSTA, Fla. Needing two putts to win on a green that only 30 minutes earlier was under water, Jose Coceres lagged the first one 6 feet Bhort to give Davis Love HI one last glimmer of hope. Love should have known better.

Having met every challenge thrown at him Sunday, Coceres calmly rapped in the par putt to win the National Car Rental Classic at Disney World. When it was over, the 38-year-old from Argentina held up a pillow case on which he had written in Spanish, "Happy Mother's Day for all the mothers." Sunday was Mother's Day in Argentina, and Coceres couldn't think of a better gift And that wasn't the only message he sent A former caddie who learned to play golf using branches and rocks, Coceres proved that his first PGA Tour victory in April was no fluke. He pulled away from the pack with three straight birdies at the turn and closed with a 4-under 68 to become the first international player to win at Disney. "I felt like I was a mouse and there was a whole bunch of cats behind me," Coceres said. Love and Skip Kendall caught him, but only briefly.

A Coceres quickly put three strokes between them and left them grasping at air. "He did exactly what he had to do," Love said. "He stayed patient, he stayed ahead and he never really got in trouble, never really made a mistake." Coceres finished at 265 for a one-stroke victory over Love, who had a 66 but was haunted by blown opportunities on the back-nine par-5s. 1 Jerry Smith had a 63 and tied for third, giving him more than enough money to secure his card for next year. Coceres earned $612,000 and became the ninth multiple-winner on the PGA Tour his year, both victories after a delay.

In April, he had to return Monday morning to win a playoff at Hilton Head over Billy Mayf air. With a two-stroke lead and his drive safely in the 18th fairway, a blinding rain covered the 18th green with an inch of water and suspended play for 49 minutes. Coceres. had to endure a few anxious moments when he returned to the Magnolia course. He hit his approach into about 30 feet but then left the first putt well short "Everyone on the green, except for him, kind of perked up," Love said.

"It was exciting for just a minute. That's the way he has been playing. He went in there real solid." For Love, it was the second time this year PETER COSGROVETHE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAD IT ALL THE WAY: Jose Coceres sink his par putt on the 18th green to win the National Car Rental Classic. Earthquakes Shake L.A. To Capture MLS Cup 7 it ft- HE SHOWED THEM.

THE WAY: San Joss I Earthquakes captain Jeff Agoos, center, Is cheered by teammates Sunday as he hoists the MLS Cup. The U.S. national team star helped San Jose rebound from a league-worst record In 2000 to defeat the Los Angeles Galaxy for the MLS title. CHRIS PUTMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JjW With Win, San Jose Caps Worst-to-First Turnaround By Charley Gillespie The Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio Coach Frank Yallop knew the San Jose Earthquakes could be champions by adding some new players and getting the rest of the team to forget about the past. It worked.

The Earthquakes completed a worst-to-first turnaround with Sunday's 2-1 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Cup. "From Day One we talked about this being our year," Yallop said. "We just had to get guys to believe it" Dwayne DeRosario believed in part because Yallop believed in him. "Coming from the A-League I would like to thank Frank for giving me the opportunity," said DeRosario, who scored six minutes into overtime to give San Jose its first MLS title. DeRosario, a substitute who came in with five minutes left in regulation, dribbled around Dan Calif and scored on a hard shot from 16 yards out that goalkeeper Kevin Hartman got a hand on but couldn't push past the far post Ronnie Ekelund and Zak Ibsen assisted on the goal "In a cup final you have to be mentally ready above everything," said DeRosario, a Canadian national team member who was allocated to San Jose at the start of the season.

"He thought I was going near post, so I pulled it back oyer and saw an opening and decided to take it" Last season, the Earthquakes were 7-17-8, the poorest record in the league. This season, they went 13-7-6, finishing second to Los Angeles in the Western Division. Yallop credits acquiring U.S. national team star Jeff Agoos and teen sensation Landon Donovan for his team's success. "He is probably the most consistent American player," Yallop said of Agoos, the league's defender of the year.

"I felt our si' vV It Cn AP's Mo. 1 Spot Miami gets at least another week to enjoy the No. 1 ranking In the AP media poll The Hurricanes (5-0), idle on a weekend in which two top 10 teams lost for the first time, -easily held the top spot in The Associated Press polL While Fresno State and Oregon tumbled out of the top 10, Miami maintained its lead over No. 2 Oklahoma (7-0), No. 3 Nebraska (8-0) and No.

4 UCLA (64), all of which won Saturday. In the USA TodayESPN coaches poll, the top 5 are Miami, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Virginia Tech and UCLA. The first Bowl Championship Series standings will be released today. The BCS standings use the AP media poll, the coaches poll, eight computer rankings, strength of schedule and wOn-loss records to determine which teams play in its national title game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 3..

Background Checks Nix SLC Volunteers SALT LAKE CITY About 300 people who signed up to volunteer or work for the Winter Olympics have been rejected during criminal background checks. i Utah's Bureau of Criminal Identification says about 3 percent of all Olympic applicants are failing background checks, so thousands more could be turned away. The rejection rate is roughly the same as for those applying for state permits to carry concealed weapons, according to former State Public Safety Commission Craig Dearden. Drug-and alcohol-related convictions have accounted for the most rejections so far, said Nannette Rolf director of the Bureau of Criminal Identification. Other offenses that can bring rejection include convictions for assault, sex offenses, gambling, child abuse, robbery or weapons convictions.

USOC: The US. Olympic Committee is going with an outsiderpicking former Maytag chairman Lloyd Ward as its new chief executive officer to replace Norm Blake, who resigned under pressure in October 2000. 1 Hoops of Fesno Opening Is Delayed SPRINGFIELD, Mass, The new Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will open at least three months late because of vandalism and other delays. The $108.9 million hall which replaced the existing hall in Springfield, will open in conjunction with 2002 enshrinement weekend activities in October of next year. In August, vandals cut cords and cables, destroyed circuit breakers, damaged electrical conduits and stuffed nuts and bolts into underground pipes.

The vandals also ruined the only copy of updated working blueprints to the building's electrical system. Pcrrish Is the Latest Tigers' Coach Ousted DETROIT The housedeaning among Detroit Tigers coaches continues, with Lance Parrish the latest to be kicked out Parrish said Sunday that the Tigers told him that they did not want him back as third-base coach. Earlier this month, the Tigers announced that hitting coach Bill Madlock and bullpen catcher Ron Nedset would not return for 2002. Etc. AUTO RACING: John Force won a record 11th NHRA title with a second-place finish Sunday in his Funny Car at the O'Reilly Fall Nationals in Ennis, Texas.

Force had been tied with former Pro Stock driver Bob Glidden for the most championships in the history of the sport. A car swerved off the track and smashed into fans at an auto rally Sunday in Podgorica, 1 Yugoslavia, killing a woman and injuring five other spectators. RUGBY: At Bullhead Park, UNM got touchdowns from Nick Tipton, Muao Hafoka, Justin Vance, Feleti Sue and Brett Tali for a 26-6 win over Rice University to win the collegiate division of the High Desert Classic. UNM plays again Saturday at 1 P-nv against Air Force at the Sports Stadium. GOLF: Sean Fister of Little Rock, Ark drove a golf ball 376 yards, 2 inches, to win the world long drive championship in Mesquite, Nev.

He won $80,000. BOXING: Former bantamweight champion Junior Jones stopped Mike Juarez in the seventh round of their super featherweight bout Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nev. SOCCER: Saudi Arabia qualified 1 for its third straight World Cup with a 4-1 victory over Thailand on Sunday. SOCCER halftime. Ian Russell sent a pass from the corner to Donovan, who volleyed a shot past Hartman.

Richard Mulrooney also assisted. "It took a glorious bounce, and when I hit it, I just knew it was going in," Donovan said. "I thought it was a well-played game from both sides," said Paul Caligiuri, who retired from the league after the game. "But San Jose has had our number all year." TV DEAL: Major League Soccer and ESPN have reached agreement on a new contract to replace a package that ended this season. MLS said the new deal was for five years' and would be announced today.

The network confirmed an agreement had been reached but refused to discuss details. way." After an evenly played first half San Jose dominated the second half, outshooting Los Angeles 12-3. The Earthquakes had four chances to score in the first 10 minutes of the second half, including a bending shot by Agoos from just outside the penalty area in the 49th minute that hit the post. The Galaxy's Luis Hernandez opened the scoring in the 21st minute by outracing Agoos to a long pass from Greg Vanney. Hernandez put a shot from 10 yards out past the onrushing Joe Cannon into the top right corner.

San Jose tied the game two minutes before defense has been dominant all year, and we didn't get challenged that much today." The Galaxy, who have never won the championship, also lost in the MLS Cup in 1996 and 1999. "Everybody loves to beat Los Angeles. It's the national pastime in every sport," Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid said. "This one hurts more than 1999 because we've had a lot of obstacles that we went through behind the scenes that nobody knows about. VWe've worked to be a team that wins big games.

Obviously today it just didn't go that Earnhardt Jr. Dashes His Doubters at A Sports 500 Keep America Rolling AY ThL aw Jbr l2, 24 or 36 months V.9apr Jor 4if months 2.9 apr fir 60 months All New 2002 "Saturn Models" Customer Appreciation Day Owners Workshop Safety Inspection injuries, was forced to don one after NASCAR made it mandatory earlier in the week. After seeing teammate Labonte crash, Stewart, who had refused to talk to the media all weekend, said, "I'm just glad to be alive after this one's over." He. refused further comment Team owner Joe Gibbs understood that "He's obviously gotten in trouble when he did talk when he was upset, and today he was scared because he saw Bobby on the backstretch upside down," Gibbs said. Burton wound up third, followed by Matt Kenseth, Hamilton, Kenny Wallace and Jeff Gordon, who increased his series lead over Rudd to 395 points with five races remaining.

It was a typical Talladega race, with most of the cars tightly bunched, often running four wide. There were 32 lead changes among 13 drivers, with three caution flags for 16 laps. "It was kind of a nerve-racking day, watching the mirror and watching in front and watching the mirror," said Earnhardt, who has three victories this season and five in his two-year Winston Cup career. Earnhardt led a race-high 67 laps and won a $1 million bonus from the series sponsor. Unlike Daytona in July, Where he obviously had the most powerful car, he needed some help in this one.

"I guess I owe about half of this million dollars to Jeff Burton," Earnhardt said, "He helped me all day." from PAGE B1 by Stewart, Labonte drove high on the track to block Bobby Hamilton. They bumped, and Labonte's car slammed into the concrete wall and turned over. "I tried to make a move on Bobby and he went high to block me, and either I got under him or he got into me," Hamilton said. "It scared the hell out of me because I looked back in jthe mirror and he was up in the air." Among those caught in the melee were Ricky Rudd, Dale Jarrett, Johnny Benson, Robert Pressley, Sterling Marlin, Bill Elliott, Ward Burton and Buckshot Jones. There were no injuries.

Stewart, the center of attention this week because of his reluctance to wear a head and neck restraint, drove a strategic race. He was far back in the field of 43 until the last 50 laps, then charged into contention and finished second. He actually was able to edge a -half-car length past Earnhardt in turn three on the final lap before the winner bumped him off stride. "We got to beating and banging at the end," Earnhardt said. "I had to run into the side of the 18 (Labonte) and had to run into the side of the 20 car (Stewart), but they would have done the same thing, I feel like." Labonte wasnt happy with Earn-: hardt v'r, "He cleaned my left rear bumper off "Labonte said.

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