The Daily News-Journal from Murfreesboro, Tennessee • 9

Saturday, July 27, 1991, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 0 (the. tally News tend ones' Qnn A Li 0 DOT) 0 8 In) g) porks PAT MclNALLY PAJ ANSWERS FOKID'S 1 By CECIL JOYCE JR. News Journal Sports Writer Chris Whitehead, who helped put MTSU Baseball on the national map, died in a car-truck wreck Thursday evening in his hometown of Maryville. Whitehead was a standout on Blue Raider squads from 1986-88.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox following his junior season, where he played With the Sox' minor league system until he retired early this season. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Fort Sanders Loudon Medical Center after colliding with a tractor-trailor on US Highway 411 in Maryville. His 1988 Honda Accord apparently drifted into the southbound lane of the highway and struck the truck driven by Blountville's James H. Jennings, according to police reports. Tennessee Highway Patrolman Lacry Parsley said Whitehead may have been distracted or dropped something in his vehicle, but no one can be certain.

Whitehead was the cream of a crop of new recruits in 1985 that was part of then-coach John Stanford's plan to make the Blue Raiders a championship team again, after failing the win the 0 VC title in four previous years The former third baseman holds many offensive records at MTSU. He is the career leader in hits (209), runs (165), triples (12), homers (35), total bases (363), walks (129) and strikeouts (151) in his three years from 1986-88. MTSU coach Steve Peterson, who coached Whitehead in 1987-88. believes Whitehead is responsible for not only (Please see Mishap, page 11) CHRIS WHITEHEAD Former MTSU third baseman By The Associated Press Instead of playing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at major-league parks, maybe they should play the theme from "Looney Tunes." A burning question has become, if big-leaguers don't use aluminum bats, why are they suddenly using aluminum gloves? If recent antics on the field are any indication, at the end of the season, the Gold Glove awards, presented for fielding prowess, will have to be bronzed. There were two men on base when Pat Kelly of the New York Yankees came to bat Wednesday against the Seattle Mariners.

Kelly, of course, was wearing a batting helmet. Some of the Mariners should have been wearing Keystone Kop hats. "When you make contact, something is going to happen," said Kel- lv uhn hit a hall hark tn nitrhpr OP0 p)0 IT In Stones River Invitational Erik Hanson. What happened was, Kelly's smash cleared the bases. Hanson threw to third, trapping Kevin Maas off the base.

When Maas headed for home, third baseman. Edgar Martinez's throw hit Maas, and the ball rolled into foul territory; along the first-base line. Maas scored, and so did Alvaro Espinoza and Kelly when catcher Dave Cochrane's throw to Hanson at: the plate went into the Seattle dug- 'out, At least Cochrane was able to pick: the ball up. Not so second baseman Juan Samuel of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a game between the New York Mets and Dodgers on July 19, the Mets' Rick Cerone hit a potential double-play grounder that third baseman Lenny Harris misplayed, allowing a run to score.

Then another run scored when Samuel dropped the relay throw from the outfield and kicked the ball when he went to pick it up. Then there were -the cases of "What are you doing here?" in Cleveland Tuesday night, and Cincinnati outfielder Glenn Braggs title. "It will take seven- to 10-under each day to win," Provow said. "Last year, we shot a 25 total, and we were in a playoff. Also checking in at 64 were Chuck Taylor and Harry Flippin, Dickie Thomas and Mike Town-send, Steve Embree and Mike Cantrell, and Sam Suppa and Mike Webb.

Shooting a 65 were Kent Coleman and Knox Ridley, Eric Emery and Eric Lee, and Dickie Heatchcott and Tim Mullaly. Provow admitted the putting game was key to success on the course and in the tournament, in which he and his partner last won in 1989 before finishing second last year. "Basically, if you start making putts early, you gain momentum," he said. "The greens are really smooth. Both of us hit the ball fairly long, and you can get the short iron in early.

We started out slow, but fortunately, we made a bunch of putts on the front side. Competition was to get under way again early today, and the close should start spreading out. Also in the thick of the leaders were Monty and Mark Sellers, Bill (Please see Break, page 11) By CECIL JOYCE JR. News Journal Sports Writer Bill Huddleston and Stuart Smith shot an 11-under par 60 Friday to lead the pack of over 100 teams in the annual Stones River However, despite shooting 11-under, the duo have not bolted away from competition by any means. Thirty-two teams shot under par Friday, including Gary Slayden and Mark Knecht, who shot 61.

Tom Provow and Jeff Carlisle, former MTSU linksters who have won the tournament three times and finished runners-up twice, are right in the chase, tied for third with a 64. Provow, who graduated from the MTSU in 1978, and Carlisle, who was a 1982 graduate of the Blue Raider golf team, finished the early matches in the lead. Provow knew the 64 wouldn't hold up with this year's field of golfers. "There's going to be a lot of 62's and lower," he said. "We probably aren't going to be in the lead when the night's over.

There are some really strong teams out there." Provow believes with the strong competition, it would take a score as low as 64 each day to win the i i -'1- A vV! Youths ncod examinations boforo playing You know, we're all being told to "check with your physician" before taking on most sports or exercise programs as adults and seniors. Isn't it important for young athletes to have some kind of physical exam before playing sports, too? T.G.,CA Yes, you are definitely correct in thinking that youngsters need physicals prior to par-ticipation, just like older athletes. It's unfortunate, but somehow a true, effective youth sports physical is not viewed by many parents as necessary. Yes, going in for an annual check-up with their family doctor is accepted and though many children may receive a cheap, pre-sport exam at school or from a league, it really isn't good enough. It's critical that parents realize that these 15-25 dollar cattle drives called physicals are not really sufficient for athletes, they should be receiving a quality physical in conjunction with their check-up to determine whether they should participate in a given activity.

Most family physicians have not been offered the curricula they need to give a quality sports physical and many weren't athletes themselves, so the system has failed to react effectively to this need. Sports are an important part of growing up in today's society. "With over twenty-two million youngsters playing, they deserve to have the best protection and guidance available. It's become obvious that those doctors involved in sports medicine full-time are simply too few to see everyone playing, so we have to elsewhere and I think it should be with family practitioners. In "Sports Medicine: Health Care for Young Athletes" published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the following positions were stated.

"Obviously the health protection and medical treatment required in sports activities cannot be ade- quately provided for millions of children by 'team physicians' or medical specialists in surgery and orthopedics. Medical supervision and care for most of the children and youth who now engage in strenuous exercise and sports activities must come from physicians who furnish primary care for children the committee on Sports Medicine long ago recognized that pediatricians in fact all physicians have had, at best, only slight preparation for supervision of participants in sports and strenuous recreational activities. Medical school curricula and postgraduate training programs seldom include courses on prevention and management of sports-related illness, injuries or rehabilitation for return to participation." This is why we need more continuing education courses required of physicians, with an emphasis on sports medicine. It's obvious that we need family doctors who can check the stability of joints, who can guide parents in determining (Please see Mclnally, page 11) Look ma, one hand routine Thursday. Oakland's Harold Baines, batting with the bases loaded, hit a fly ball Please see Looney, page 11 Boars beat iami 6-0 MIAMI (AP) Reserve linebacker Ron Cox had two sacks' and an interception to help the Chicago Bears limit the Miami Dolphins to 115 yards for a 6-0 victory in the NFL's preseason opener Friday.

night. The Bears controlled the ball for 40 minutes. After three quarters, the Dolphins had run as many plays 19 as Chicago ran on its first possession. Quarterback Scott Mitchell drove Miami to the Bears' 15-yard line with less than two minutes remaining, but after a holding penalty on Dolphins guard Bert Weidner, lhifQOA ViolH nn riminc Wot one under par in -Senior Open BIRMINGHAM, Mich. AP) And then there were none.

Oakland.Hills erased all the red numbers the color signifying scores below par from the leader boards Friday and left J.C. Snead alone in the lead at even par after two rounds of the U.S. Senior Open. "This golf course makes you want to cry," said Mike Hill, the first-round leader who went to a 74, four strokes over Oakland Hills' unyielding and virtually untouchable par. "Every putt looks like a rattlesnake," Chi Chi Rodriguez said.

And Jack Nicklaus, holder of most of the records worth having and generally recognized as the finest player the game has known, suggested he and the rest of the field may be overmatched by the demands of Oakland Hills. "I don't think we're good enough to put the ball in the areas you have to be in to have a predictable putt," Nicklaus said. Nicklaus, however, was good enough to extract an AU-American (Please see Not, page 11) Bears third-round draft pick Chris Gardocki, trying to win the place-kicking job from unsigned veteran DNJ Pholo by Jim Davis Look of dejection Gary Barton has a look of dejection after missing a putt Friday in the first round of the annual Stones River Invitational at Stones River Golf Course. The tournament continues today and Sunday. Kevin butler, Dootea two 25-yara field goals.

Offensive tackle Stan Thomas, the Bears' first-round choice, suffered a Sprained left knee in the second quarter and left the game. Dolphins rookie linebacker Bryan Cox was injured on the game's final play and taken off the field on a stretcher, There was no immediate report on NASCAR turns to playing role of 'spoiler' the severity of the two injuries. TheBears led 3-0 at half time despite squandering two scoring threats. Their 19-play drive consumed more than 10 minutes of the first quarter, but the march ended in a missed 44-yard field goal attempt by Gardocki. Chicago had a third-and-5 situation at the Miami 7 in the final seconds of the first half, but time expired as backup quarterback Peter Tom Willis scrambled for a 3-yard gain.

Miami quarterbacks had a rough night. Dan Marino was sacked twice in his three series, and Scott Secules fumbled a snap to the Bears and had a pass intercepted by Cox on consecutive plays. Cox, a third-year pro from Fresno State, sacked Secules and Mitchell. International Speedway, the only other tracK where the cars were running over 200 mph was the introduction of carburetor restrictor plates. The plate, with holes a specified size, bolted above the carburetor, restricts airflow to the combustion chamber, thereby cutting into horsepower.

It has been effective, but each time NASCAR makes the holes in the plates smaller, the team's engine builders find new ways to regain some of the lost horsepower. When speeds began to climb back toward 200 at least in the draft during races NASCAR went to its latest plates, with holes 7-8ths of an inch in diameter. Added to that, the sanctioning body is now mandating that rear spoilers total 280 square inches and be kept at least a 35-degree angle at all times. A bigger spoiler sticking up higher into the air puts more downforce on the rear of the car. The cars also have front air dams restricting the airflow beneath.

Those devices at least theoretically keep the car solidly on the ground through the turns. If they don't, new stabilizing strips rails that run the length of the roof, down the back window and over the trunk are designed to help keep the cars from flying if they somehow get sideways. All that having been said, how do all these changes effect racing? "Coming to Talladega is like coming to the Dyno 500," said Mark Martin, referring to the dynomometer, a- machine used to test engines. "But, as long as everyone's got the same rules, it's still the same race the fastest guy wins." The rules to slow the cars have been effective so far, with Sterling Marlin's pole-winning lap of (Please see Spoiler, page 11) TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) It used to be that terms like ground effects and downforce were reserved for Indy cars and Formula One.

Jut, this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, aerodynamic devices and the technicalities of engine restriction are on everybody's minds and tongues. Sunday's DieHard 500 is going to be the latest chapter in NASCAR's restrictor plate racing story. The history is simple enough. In May of 1987, Bobby Allison, roaring along at nearly 210 mph, spun off the tri-oval on the 2.66-mile, high-banked oval here and nearly flew his car into the packed grandstand. The car tore down 100 feet of fencing, forcing NASCAR to do something to slow down their premier stock car series.

One way to make the cars slower and, hopefully, safer at Talladega and Daytona 'Eerie feeling' for former 49ers Nof-so-mellow McEnroe draws fine and sefback Tyson accused of hotel rape INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has been accused of raping a woman at an Indianapolis hotel during a visit to the city lastweek, authorities said Friday. A woman reported she was sexually assaulted by the 25-year-old fighter on July 19, Indianapolis police spokesman Andrew E. Stoner said. "We're investigating an allegation that has been made of a sexual assault. No charges have been filed," Stoner said.

"The victim is alleging that her assailant is Mike Tyson, the former champion," he said. Authorities declined to identify the victim, who Stoner said brought the complaint one day after the alleged attack. Stoner said investigators were checking reports that she was in Indianapolis in connection with the Miss Black America pageant. The Miss Black America pageant was held July 21 in conjunction with Indiana Black (Plfasesee Tyson, page 11) By The Associated Press The first NFL exhibitions, normally ho-hum games filled with mistakes, rookies and free agents, has a little extra this year Ronnie Lett and Roger Craig AGAINST the San Francisco 49ers. Lott and Craig.

San Francisco mainstays on the Super Bowl teams of the '80s, will be in the uniform of the Los Angeles Raiders Saturday when they meet the at the Los Angeles Coliseum. "We'll be conscious of it, but once we start playing, I doubt we'll be enncious of it" said San Francisco coach George Seifert, or.e of the 4 jers brain trust that decided to leave Lott and unprotected under Plan Blast winter. 'It'll be kind of an eerie feeling," Craig said. "But there aren't going to be any grudge matches or conflicts between the players. It's business." The preseason began Friday night with the Chicago Bears at Miami.

It continues Saturday with the Raiders-49ers game and the Hall of Fame contest at Canton, Ohio, between the Detroit Lions and Denver. Then on Sunday comes the annual American Bowl at London's Wembley Stadium, pairing Buffalo and Philadelphia this year. Lott, a cornerhack and free safety on four Super Bowl winners at San Francisco, has been moved to strong safety with the Raiders. Craig, a starting running back on three of those Super Bowl teams, is behind Marcus AJien. Craig and Allen, along with Greg Bell and the injured Bo Jackson, give the Raiders four backs who have gained 1 ,000 yards and been to the Pro Bowl.

(Please fcfe Eerie, page it overruled two service calls by linesmen against McEnroe in the third-set tiebreaker. After enduring a rain delay, the seventh-seeded McEnroe lost control when he sailed a forehand long to tie it 5-aih The ball was clearly out, but the lineman ruled it in. Ings, who disqualified McEnroe for abusive language at the Australian Open in 1990. called the ball out, and McEnroe charged the chair, shedding his headband and racquet as he approached Ings, (Please see McEnroe, page 11) MONTREAL (AP) Reports of John McEnroe's mellowing on the tennis court may have been greatly exaggerated. McEnroe's hot head and foul mouth led to a $1,400 fine and a third-round loss to Derrick Rostagno in the Canadian Open on Thursday night.

"It was ridiculous. I've never been involved in a match that ended like that," Rostagno said after his S-2. 1-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory. "It doesn't really feel Lke a win." The tantrums were sparked by chair uir.pi.re Richard Ings, who.