Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • 44

SPORTS Wisconsin State Journal E2 Sunday, September 19, 2004 UW SPORTS CALENDAR adgers block Bearcats' hopes jHom.p TODAY MON.2Q TUE.21 WED. 22 THU.23 Qjj' C'1'ca9 PACKERS Ticket information: mm.pKkm.com 920-496-5719 NEXT GAME: SAT. 25 Penn State 4:45 p.m., ESPN FOOTBALL Ticket information: www.uwiacf5er5.com or 1 -800-GO-BADGERS Houston St. Louis St Louis St. Louis St.

Louis 1 ESPN2 FSNN FSNN FSNN BREWERS I Ticket information: www.milwaukeebrewers.com or 41 4-902-4000 blocks and 34 block assists, set Oct 9, 1996 against Minnesota. UW junior middle blocker Sheila Shaw, the invitational's MVP, had nine blocks to lead the Badgers' block party. "When one person gets (a block), it's like, 'OK, my turn said Shaw, who also had nine kills. Senior right-side hitter Jill Odenthal, freshman setter Jackie Simpson and freshman middle blocker Taylor Reineke each established career highs with eight blocks apiece. Odenthal, who had a team-high 10 kills and was named to the all-.

tournament team with teammate Marian Weidner, said UWs size has mattered in improving the blocking. "We are a lot taller team this year and we are being very disciplined, I think," Odenthal said. "Not (that) in previous years that's been totally lacking, but our size and discipline combined are really helping us come along in that area." Contact Jon Masson at jmassonmadison.com or 252-6174. Summaries in Scoreboards Men's golf The Badgers shot rounds of 289 and 276 for a six-stroke lead over Illinois at the 13-team Northern Intercollegiate at University Ridge Golf Course in Verona heading into today's final round. UWs Garrett Jones, a former Iowa-Grant athlete, shot a hole in one on the par-3 12th hole.

He had a 71 and a 69, and his 140 total is two shots off the lead. Women's golf The Badgers shot rounds of 305 and 308 for a 613 and were four strokes behind leader Michigan in third place heading into today's final round of the Mary Fossum Invitational in East Lansing, Mich. THE AIR UW sets school records for blocks and block assists in a three-game sweep of Cincinnati. ByJonMasson Wisconsin State Journal The University of Wisconsin volleyball team did its part to help out campus renovation Saturday night The Badgers put a roof up at the UW Field House, blocking out Cincinnati's upset hopes at the InnTowner Invitational. UW (6-2) won its fourth consecutive match, sending the Bearcats (5-5) to their fifth straight loss 30-25, 30-25, 30-20 before 3,044 spectators.

In the process, the Badgers set program records for total blocks (23.5) and block assists (41) in a three-game match. The previous marks in a three-game match were 18 total UW MEN'S HOCKEY SPORTS ON Live and same-day tape events Auto racing Noon NC: Sylvania 300 Major league baseball Noon Boston at New York Yankees TV Radio TNT WTSO ESPN TBS WGN ESPN2 WTSO ESPN2 WMSN WIBA AM WIBA FM WISC WTLX WISC WTLX ESPN WIBA AM WTLX WMTV ESPN TGC WKOW The Badgers hit a season-high .447 in defeating Marshall 30-13, 30-19, 30-24 in their first match Saturday. Weidner had a match-high 17 kills and hit .667, while Shaw added 16 kills. "I'm really pleased with the way the team played this weekend," UW coach Pete Waite said after his team swept all three of its matches at the InnTowner. "We came in here after the two initial weekends of the season still searching for solid defense, good good ball control and consistency and we saw all those things in these last three matches." "We've been trying to get to a different level every weekend and this level was very solid, so it's good," Odenthal added.

"We definitely have more places we can go, but this is a great start." Virginia (10-2) defeated Cincinnati and Marshall (5-5) by 3-1 margins in Saturday's other matches. Aj 2 p.m. Atlanta at Florida 2 p.m. Detroit at Chicago White 7 p.m. Milwaukee at Houston WNBA 1 p.m.

Charlotte at Detroit NFL Noon Chicago at Green Bay Noon Indianapolis at Tennessee 3:15 p.m. Cleveland at Dallas 3: 1 5 p.m. New York Jets at San Diego 7:30 p.m. Miami at Cincinnati Golf 1 1 a.m. Ryder Cup 3 p.m.

PGA: Texas Open 8 p.m. LPGA: Safeway Classic Horse racing 3 p.m. NTRA races Sox New suitor surfaces in chase for Kessel taped TV stations: WISC (Ch. 3), WMTV (Ch. 15), WHA (Ch.

21), WKOW (Ch. 27), WMSN (Ch. 47). Radio stations: WTSO (1070 AM), WIBA AM (1310), WTLX (100.5 FM), WIBA FM (101.5). Michigan this weekend.

Kes-sel's first opportunity to visit BC will come next month when the NTDP Under-18 team travels to Boston to play Harvard. Phil Kessel Sr. said it's more likely his son will wait until the Under-18 team plays at Boston University Jan. 8 to visit BC. Phil Kessel Sr.

said his son, who had a hat trick in the first 7 minutes of the season opener against Indianapolis of the U.S. Hockey League, is getting close to paring his list of college suitors. The father reiterated that Phil Kessel Jr. will not make a decision until after Jan. 1.

One thing is certain: Phil Kessel will not go the Major Junior route. His Ontario Hockey League rights are owned by the Saginaw (Mich.) Spirit. "I don't see that as a possibility," Phil Kessel Sr. said. Suter postscript A few days after defenseman Ryan Suter signed an NHL contract with Nashville, UW coach Mike Eaves got a call from Predators general manager David Poile.

Poile apologized for the timing of the move Suter was enrolled at UW for his sophomore year and the fall semester had begun but said there was nothing he could do about it. Poile explained that the necessary funds to sign Suter were not made available until the first week in September. Suter announced his decision to jump to the pros Sept. 7, this after no negotiations had taken place since early June. It was a stroke of good fortune that UW was able to fill the void created by Suter's departure.

Jeff Slinde, a former Madison Capitols player who played at Culver (Ind.) Military Academy before spending last season in the North American Hockey League, joined the Badgers this week. Contact Andy Baggot at abaggotOmadison.com or 252-61 75. Brewers starter Gary Glover allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in 4'3 innings in Saturday nighf loss. He also walked four. Bagwell steals spotlight, surging Astros win again Ia Pat Sullivan Associated Press Astros 4, Brewers 3 Key: Houston wins despite allowing 16 baserunners.

Next 7:05 p.m. today, at Houston, ESPN2. ByAndyBaggot Wisconsin State Journal The recruitment of Madison hockey phenom Phil Kessel has taken a couple of interesting twists recently. One was expected. The other was not.

Kessel, who turns 17 next month, completed coursework this summer that allowed him to skip his junior year and enroll as a senior at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich. It means Kessel, a standout center at the National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, will be a college freshman a year from now. It also means his telephone is ringing a lot more because, once Kes-: sel's senior status was confirmed earlier this month, NCAA rules opened the door for all Division I recruiters to contact him. "He's fielding more calls, which was expected," Phil Kessel Sr. said of his son.

That has led to something the younger Kessel didn't expect: Another school has piqued his interest, pushing the list of his stated suitors to seven. When Phil Kessel Jr. listed Boston College, Boston University, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and the University of Wisconsin as his top choices earlier this summer, he said he doubted there would be others. But Phil Kessel Sr. said this week that telephone conversations with another coach have intrigued his son, who is projected as a top-10 NHL draft pick in 2006.

He declined to identify the school at the request of his son. "It's something he might consider," Phil Kessel Sr. said. One possibility is Notre Dame, which fits many of the criteria the Kessels have outlined and has had good success recruiting the NTDP. Phil Kessel Jr.

has taken unofficial campus visits to BU, Minnesota, North Dakota and UW. It's possible he will visit Cup Continued from Page E1 are not going to be tight. We don't have anything to lose. We have for all intents and purposes lost the Cup, but we can still win it In 1999, the Americans staged a historic rally at the Country Club in Brookline, turning a 10-6 deficit on Sunday into a 14V-13Vi victory. But that was a different time and different teams.

This year's European edition looks deeper, more confident and more cerebrally led by its captain, Bernhard Langer. The captains announced their pairings for today, and Hal Sutton of the United States had no choice but to frontload his lineup, trying to spark a comeback. The first four matches will feature Tiger Woods versus Paul Casey, Mickelson versus Sergio Garcia, Davis Love III versus Darren Clarke and Jim Furyk versus David HowelL If the United States starts well, the later matches will be even more intense, but Langer was not fearful that the early matches would go against his team. "No, I'm not scared at all," he said. "I'm actually pretty Digest BOXING Hopkins defends title, KOs De La Hoya Bernard Hopkins suddenly ended a close fight with two left hooks to the body in the ninth round Saturday night to stop Oscar De La Hoya in Las Vegas and ruin his bid to become the undisputed middleweight champion.

The punches put De La Hoya on the canvas on his hands and knees in obvious pain. When he rolled over on his back, referee Kenny Bay-less stopped the fight to a halt at 1 minute, 38 seconds of the ninth round. "I felt a sense of urgency," Hopkins said. "I wasn't sure if I was winning or not." Hopkins (45-2-1, 32 knockouts) was ahead on two score-cards and behind on a third in a cautiously fought bout when he suddenly landed the punches just below De La Hoya's rib cage to retain his undisputed middleweight title in his 19th tide defense. "A well-placed body shot," De La Hoya said.

De La Hoya (37-4, 29) was a 2-1 underdog in only his second fight as a middleweight and was taking on a champion who hadn't lost in 1 1 years. "I tried to do the impossible on paper beat the middleweight champ coming up from 130 pounds," De La Hoya said. GOLF Bryant has big day, leads Texas Open Bart Bryant matched the PGA Tour's lowest round of the year with a 10-under 60 to build a three-shot lead over Hunter Mahan in the PGA Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas. Bryant's score broke the single-day course record and left him at 16-under 194 after three rounds. The round tied the 60 shot by Robert Gamez in January at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

The previous mark at the Texas Open was 61, set by Garrett Willis in 2002 and matched by Ted Purdy in Thursday's opening round. Mahan (62) was at 197, while eight others were at 198. Madison's Jerry Kelly shot a 68 and was seven shots behind Bryant Candie Kung and Lorie Kane overcame the wind and i 1 11.. 1 a UiC 1 dill dllU A IdUV UV All- nika Sorenstam to lead the LrvaA 1 our aaieway uassic in Portland, Ore. Kung shot a 4-under 68 to mtrh Vano fQ at 7nrr1or U1UIV.1I IVU11V, JJ UV Ul 1V1V1 137, two strokes ahead of two-time defending champion Sorenstam, Janice Moodie and Carin Koch with a round left Madison's Sherri Steinhauer shot a 74 for a 153 total and missed the cut by six strokes.

MLS Buddie's four goals lift Crew to win Edson Buddie scored a team-record four goals as the host Columbus Crew beat the MetroStars 4-2 in a Major League Soccer game, securing a playoff spot and extending their unbeaten streak to 13 games (6-0-7). The Crew, who rallied from two one-goal deficits in a 3-minute span, moved four points ahead of the second-place MetroStars in the Eastern Conference with five games remaining. Steve Ralston, Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan each scored two goals in New England's 6-1 rout of over Colorado in Foxboro, Mass. The Revolution scored four goals before halftime to set franchise records for most goals in a half and in a game. New England also won for the first time in six games to snap the Rapids' five-match unbeaten streak.

Eddie Johnson scored a pair of first-half goals, lifting host Dallas to a 2-0 victory over Los Angeles. Defender Diego Gutierrez scored his third goal of the season in the 83rd minute as host Kansas City tipped San Jose 1-0. Alecko Eskandarian scored his team's first corner-kick goal in 62 games, beating Henry Ring in the 20th minute to help D.C. United beat Chicago 3-1 in Washington. ODDS AND ENDS Dick Pound, the chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency, confirmed athletes were tested for human growth hormone for the first time during the Olympic Games in Athens, the New York Times reported.

Pound said "probably 10 percent" of the tests conducted were for the hormone, but none of the 24 athletes banned from the Games were for human growth hormone Marat Safin defeated Jarkko Niemlnen 6-2, 6-4 in the China Open in Beijing, setting up an all-Russian final today with Mikhail Youzhny, who beat Paradorn Srichaphan 6-4, 6-4 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Marlene Weingartner rallied for semifinal victories and will meet for the title at the Wismilak International today in Bali, Indonesia Nikki Teasley scored 21 points as the Los Angeles Sparks beat host Seattle 83-80 in a WNBA game. Yolanda Griffith scored 23 points as host Sacramento routed Houston 68-48. Staff, wire reports By Michael A. Lutz Associated Press HOUSTON Milwaukee's Scott Podsednik stole four bases Saturday night, but it was Jeff Bagwell and the Houston Astros who stole a 4-3 victory after the Brewers stranded 16 runners and failed to capitalize on four errors.

Bagwell homered and drove in three runs, becoming the 29th player in major league history to both score and drive in 1,500 runs in his career. He had an RBI single in the third inning, and his two-run homer in the fifth gave him 1,502 RBIs and 1,500 runs scored and put the Astros ahead for good. "We were fortunate tonight sometimes you have to win ugly," Bagwell said. "It's hard to win like that, but our pitchers seemed to make big pitches when they had to and we came up with the hits when we had to. It's very difficult to gain ground.

They are all big games now." Milwaukee starter Gary Glover (1-1) blamed himself for the loss, saying his inability to convert an out on a sacrifice bunt in Houston's two-run third opened the door to defeat. He allowed four runs and five hits in 4V3 innings in the loss, the Brewers' fifth in seven games. "I wish we could have had the pitch to Bagwell back," Brewers manager Ned Yost said. The Astros won their 1 1th straight home game and moved within one game of National League wild card leader San Francisco. Milwaukee scored three times in the fifth to go up 3-2.

Podsednik hit a one-out single off starter Pete Munro and stole second before Keith Ginter walked. Chad Harville then came in and gave up Lyle Overbay's run-scoring double, and Geoff Jenkins followed with a two-run single. The Brewers had scored just two runs in their previous 37 innings. Podsednik tied a franchise single-game high for stolen bases and increased his NL lead to a career-high 60. John Jaha (1992) and Tommy Harper (1969) also stole four bases in a game.

Astros 4, Brewers 3 MIIWMfkM II II SO Podsednik cf 5 1 3 0 0 1 .248 KGinter2b ..4 110 10 .240 Overbaylb 5 12 10 1 .308 Jenkins If .4 0 2 2 1 0 .264 2-Durrington pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .246 BCIark rt 4 0 0 0 1 2 268 Branyan3b 5 0 1 0 0 1 .256 Counsellss 3 0 2 0 1 0 237 GBennettc ...2 0 0 0 1 0 222 i-BHallph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .248 Moellerc 0 0 0 0 0 0 .215 Gtoverp 2 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Kieschnickp 2 0 0 0 0 0 .268 LVircainop 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tltjlt 17 11 111 NwntM I I HIM An. Biggiolf. 3 0 2 0 0 0 .289 Until 0 0 0 0 0 0 .238 CBeltrand 2 10 110 .256 Bagwell 1b 4 1 2 3 0 1 270 Berkmanrt 2 0 1 0 2 0 317 JKent2b 4 0 0 0 0 1 .285 lamb 3b 2 0 0 0 2 1 .295 1-Taveraspr 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 Ensberg3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 274 JVizcainoss 4 0 0 0 0 0 270 Ausmusc 2 110 10 253 RChavezc 1 0 0 0 0 0 201 PMunrop 1 1 0 0 0 1 .071 Harmllep 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 Quails 1 0 0 0 0 1 .000 DMicekp 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 D-Palmeiroph 1 0 0 0 0 1 .242 lidgep 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Utah 27 4 I 4 I I Milwaukee 0M 031 MS 1 11 1 Haiti Htt 121 Mi 4 14 i-struck out for 6ennettithe8th b-stuckout 1orMicckinttw8lti. 1 -ran lof Lamb the 8th. 2-ran for Jenkins the 9th.

I Glover (1). Biogio (8). CBeftran 15), Umb 2 (14) IN Milwaukee 12, Houston 18-Overlay 2 (48). Counsed (15), Biogio (43) Bagwell (25). oft Glover ma Overlay (80L Jenkins 2 (85).

CBeltran (51), Bagwell 3 (81). SI Podsedn 4 (60). KGmtar (7). Sumngton (4). I Biggio.

PMumo. CBeltran HDP GBeimett Houston 2 (PMunro. Lamb. Berkman and Ausmus). (JKent.

JVocamo and Bagwea). iinaaakia 9 I ERA GloverLI-1 4Vj 5 4 2 4 3 450 Kiesctmck 2i 1 0 0 1 2 2 92 LVecamo 1 0 0 8 1 1 4.13 aataa I I BU 4vj 5 2 2 3 2 523 HarvweW3-2 i 2 1 1 2 0 494 QuasH6- 2 3 0 0 0 1 407 DMiceH20 1 0 0 0 0 1 380 Lidae5 24 1 1 0 0 0 2 211 6ver pitched to 4 batters the 5th. MwrM I atnal fcesdra 1-0. Harvwe 2-2. oB Kcscnniok (Berkman) 1 oft Harvtra (Counsel) 1.

oil Gov (Ausmus) 1. BP lOescfl- I til. ML 40.408. sure and convinced that out of the first three matches, I'd be very surprised if we don't get two points." The Americans have been outplayed for two days while Sutton has seen several moves backfire. He paired Woods with Mickelson on Friday, and they were beaten twice as Europe built a 6V2-IV2 lead.

And when deciding the lineup for the morning matches on Saturday, Sutton scratched out David Toms' name at the last minute and replaced him with Furyk, who had never won a four-ball match in four tries at the Ryder Cup. Furyk took another defeat when he and Chad Campbell lost the final two holes and were edged, 1 up, by the European rookies Casey and HowelL That was a momentum-busting match for the United States. Had Campbell and Furyk won, Europe's lead would have been cut to 7-5 heading into the afternoon. Instead, the Europeans took a comfortable 8-4 lead, and Casey and Howell gained the confidence of winning a key point Still in their comfort zone, Europe won three of four alternate-shot matches in the afternoon, further deflating the Americans..