The San Francisco Examiner from San Francisco, California • 18

FRIDAY: APRIL 27. 2001 SAN FRANCISCO A MINER QUICK HIT Gonzalez homers to set NL record AMERICAS ft 2 I I 1U BOXING REPORT In the WBA middleweight title fight on May 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Felix Trinidad is vs. William Joppy at $200. (Note: In order to read the boxing lines, use the following example; to wager on Felix Trinidad, you would put up $250 to win back $100, or to wager on William Joppy, you would put up $100 to win back $200). BASEBALL American League Favorite Odds Underdog Atlanta Braves fH San Francisco Giants 8-1 Cleveland Indians 10-1 New York Mets 12-1 St.

Louis Cardinals 12-1 Boston Red Sox 12-1 Arizona Diamondbacks 14-1 Oakland A's 15-1 Seattle Mariners 15-1 Chicago White Sox 16-1 Colorado Rockies 18-1 Texas Rangers 20-1 Toronto Blue Jays 20-1 L.A. Dodgers 25-1 Houston Astros 25-1 Cincinnati Reds 30-1 Minnesota Twins 35-1 Philadelphia Phillies 35-1 Chicago Cubs 50-1 Montreal Expos 50-1 Anaheim Angels 70-1 Florida Marlins 80-1 Milwaukee Brewers 80-1 Detroit Tigers 100-1 Pittsburgh Pirates 120-1 Kansas City Royals 120-1 San Diego Padres 140-1 Baltimore Orioles 150-1 Tampa Bay Devil Rays 160-1 YANKEES Hernandez A's Mulder TIGERS (even-6) Devil Rays Mlicki Rupe Rangers Oliver INDIANS Drew Angels Washburn BLUE JAYS Loaiza Royals Stein RED SOX Castillo TWINS Orioles Mercedes Mays WHITE SOX-S110 (pick'em) Mariners Baldwin Sele National League MARK J. TERRILLExaminer Kobe's night: Laker Kobe Bryant scores a lay-up against Portland's Rasheed Wallace in Game 2. Carter earns first post-season win Associated Press Favorite Odds Underdog Odds to win the 2001 BREWERS (pick'em) Expos American League pennant M. Leiter Thurman New York Yankees 2-1 ASTROS (6.5-7.5) Marlins Cleveland Indians 54 Lima Penny Boston Red Sox 6-1 CARDS Mets Chicago White Sox 8-1 Morris Appier Oakland A's 8-1 ROCKIES Reds Seattle Mariners Astacio Reitsma Texas Rangers 10-1 D'BACKS (pick'em) Braves Toronto Blue Jays 10-1 Reynoso Burkett Minnesota Twins 18-1 PADRES (even-6) Pirates Anaheim Angels 35-1 Jones Anderson Detroit Tigers 50-1 DODGERS (5.5-6.5) Phillies Kansas City Royals 60-1 Prokopec Telemaco Baltimore Orioles 754 Cub! (pick'em) GIANTS Tampa Bay Devil Rays 80-1 Wood Gardner NEW YORK Vince Carter finally became a playoff performer Thursday night, turning from a timid player to a tough one as the Toronto Raptors beat the New York Knicks 94-74.

Carter, coming off a poor performance in Game 1 i it H.1 ft It f-' s. I that dropped his career postseason record to 0-4, went on an offensive tear in the second half to help the Raptors turn it into a rout. Odds to win the 2001 Carter scored 22 points and got the better of Latrell Sprewell several times when they were matched one- National League pennant Atlanta Braves 4-1 Wilkens also used power forward Jerome Williams at times to defend Sprewell and Houston. Sprewell shot just 3-for-12 and Houston was 5-for-ll. Kurt Thomas led the Knicks with 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Marcus Camby, playing three days after his mother and two sisters were held hostage at their home in Connecticut, was clearly not himself and had just two points and two rebounds in 31 minutes. Lakers 106, Trail Blazers 88 LOS ANGELES The Portland Trail Blazers fired their best punch at the Los Angeles Lakers, and the defending NBA champions merely shrugged it off. Shaquille O'Neal had 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists as the Lakers rolled to a 106-88 victory over the Blazers, giving them a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series. The Blazers came out fast, making 13 of their first. 16 shots many from long range but in the end, it didn't mean a thing.

Kobe Bryant added 25 points and seven assists, Rick Fox had 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals for the Lakers. Game 3 in the best-of-five series will be played Sunday in Portland, where a fourth game is scheduled Tuesday night, if needed. on-one to lead the Raptors to the first playoff victory in franchise history. San Francisco Giants 4-1 New York Mets 6-1 Tied 1-1, the series resumes Sunday at Toronto with 7-1 St. Louis Cardinals the Raptors now holding homecourt advantage.

They'll 7-1 also be secure in the knowledge that Carter can per PHOENIX The Diamondbacks' Luis Gonzalez homered off Atlanta's Greg Maddux in the first inning Thursday night to set a National League record for most home runs in April with 12. The major league record of 13 was set by Ken Griffey Jr. in 1997. With two outs, Gonzalez hit Maddux's 1-0 pitch 393 feet into the right-field seats. It was only the second home run allowed by Maddux in 28 innings this season.

Gonzalez hit 10 homers in the first 14 games of the season to become the second-fastest to reach double-digits behind Mike Schmidt, who hit 10 In the first 12 games in 1976. Brewers' Rigdon hit in face MILWAUKEE Brewers pitcher Paul Rigdon was hit in the face by a one-hopper off the bat of Rey Ordonez in the fourth inning of Milwaukee's game against the New York Mets. Rigdon dropped to his knees immediately, bleeding from his nose and mouth. He was attended to on the field and walked off on his own. He received stitches for a deep cut above his upper lip.

Rigdon was hit twice by hard shots within one week in spring training once near his right knee and once on his left shin. Rigdon did not miss a start because of the injuries. He is 2-0 with a 3.33 ERA this season. He gave up three runs on five hits in 3 1-3 innings Thursday. Will Cunnane relieved.

Devil Rays on market ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. Bickering owners of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays have decided to put the team up for sale, a high-ranking baseball official said. The last-place team planned an announcement today, the official said, speaking on the condition he not be identified. Lions sign TE Mitchell PONTIAC, Mich.

The Detroit Lions signed unrestricted free agent tight end Pete Mitchell to a one-year contract. Mitchell's deal is worth $490,000 with a $225,000 signing bonus, his agent Ralph Cindrlch said. The Lions appealed to Mitchell because "that's where he's from, that's his home. It's a homecoming for him," Cindrlch said. "He likes the coach, he's very excited about it." Mitchell joined the New York Giants in 1999 as a free agent after four years with Jacksonville.

He caught 83 passes in two seasons for the Giants, including a career-high 58 in 1999. He accounted for 765 yards and four touchdowns, including three in 1999. Browns sign running back CLEVELAND The Cleveland Browns signed free-agent running back Carl Fair, a day after learning Curtis Enis was retiring. Fair, 6-foot-l and 219 pounds, played the past two seasons at Alabama-Birmingham after transferring from East Mississippi Community College. Playing mostly fullback, he gained 211 yards on 55 attempts last season.

The Browns are still waiting for Enis' retirement to become official. The former first-round draft pick, who signed with the Browns last month after three disappointing seasons in Chicago, is retiring because of a degenerative arthritic condition in his left knee. Patriots cut ex-49er FCXBORO, Mass. Corner-back Antonio Langham was released by the New England Patriots. The 28-year-old Langham, signed by the Patriots last April 28, had 40 tackles and one interception in 15 games last season.

Langham, a seven-year veteran who started seven games for New England, was a first-round draft pick, ninth overall, for the Cleveland Browns in 1994. Steelers extend contract Arizona Diamondbacks Colorado Rockies 10-1 form under pressure and coach Lenny Wilkens isn't too 12-1 old to try something new. L.A. Dodgers Houston Astros 12-1 Toronto threw a different look at the Knicks, moving 15-1 Cincinnati Reds NOTE: In order to read the Money Line, use the Rockies-Reds game as an example. If you wanted to wager on the favored Rockies, you would put up $155 to win back $100, or if you wanted to wager on the underdog Reds, you would put up $100 to win back $145 (use $100 as the base unit).

In order to read the Eastern Line, which is inside the brackets, use the Rockies-Reds game as an example. Put a 5 in the middle of the 7 and 8 and read backwards, or from right to left. You would put up $8.00 to win back $5.00 on the favored Rockies, or if you wanted to wager on the underdog Reds, you would put up $5.00 to win back $7.00 (use a 5 as the base unit). Chris Childs into the starting lineup, sliding Alvin Williams over to shooting guard and sending rookie Mor 18-1 Philadelphia Phillies 25-1 Chicago Cubs 25-1 Montreal Expos ris Peterson to the bench. Williams tied his career-high with 23 points and Childs had seven assists before leaving with a pulled hamstring late in the third as the Raptors were using a 31-15 run to pull away.

40-1 Florida Marlins 40-1 Milwaukee Brewers 60-1 Pittsburgh Pirates 70-1 San Diego Padres Odds to win the Greater Greensboro Classic Leadership expected of Stubblefield 6-1 Hal Sutton NHL Goals 7-1 Favorite Underdog Jim Furyk Mark Calcavecchia 10-1 Continued from 49ERS, Bl Thursday veal whether or not Stubblefield re ceived a hefty signing bonus, which is usually the case for a contract of this nature, they did say the defensive tackle who spent his first five years in San Francisco has cap number of $527,000 for 2001. That is slight ly higher than the NFL veteran minimum of $477,000. "We've managed to continue to function and operate under the cap. We made room and found a way," Walsh said. "We were really thrilled that we were able to do that.

Bryant Young and Dana made the best combination in all of football at one time. We feel that we'll have as good or the best combination of defensive tackles in all of football with these two men. "We were fortunate to have Dana available, and ownership willing to go with it. To make this come about is really thrilling for all of us. I'm just excited about the first day these guys are all in the huddle for us.

I don't want to put any pressure on the coach, but gosh, this is a good turnaround. I think we can go out there and play against anybody, any defensive player of the year. At the time, the aging San Francisco defense was No. 1 in the league, and Tim McDonald, Merton Hanks and Ken Norton were the senior leaders. Since then, the defense has fallen off drastically.

Last year it ranked 29th overall in the league. McDonald, Hanks and Norton are gone, replaced by players so young you can almost smell the milk on their breath. The 49ers are hoping that Stubblefield will regain his form while working alongside Young, while also leading the team out of its defense malaise. Stubblefield was anything but productive during three rocky seasons in Washington, which released him in March. In his three seasons there, Stubblefield had just seven sacks.

By comparison, Brent-son Buckner, the man he replaces, had six sacks last season. Buckner signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers last week. A wiser, more experienced Stubblefield said he is confident he can regain the form that made him the '93 defensive rookie of the year and a three-time Pro Bowler while with the 49ers. "I'm smarter," he said. "My partner, Bryant, we're both smarter now.

I'm sure he reads offensive line a little better than what he did previously. With the Redskins, the expectations were unreasonably high. Everyone expected Stubblefield and Dan Wilkerson to form one of the more potent defensive tackle tandems in the NFL. It didn't happen. The 49ers are applying similar pressure, but this time Stubblefield believes it's a burden that'll be shared by others.

"There are some older guys in the locker room that's been through it with me. It's not only just me," he said. "Those guys, they know the weight is on their shoulders as well." New England and Cincinnati were also in hot pursuit of Stubblefield, but they really never had a chance, because the Ohio native was committed to bringing his wife, a Bay Area native, back to California. "Of course, my whole family's there (in Cincinnati)," he said. "I couldn't move my family Into a situation where they had riots going on.

I re ally don't think me and my family would have been happy there." During the drawn out negotiations between his agent, Neil Corn-rich, and the Niners, the parties exchanged various offers and haggled over details. Back in Washington, Stubblefield worried Aiat a potential impasse would force him to seek employment elsewhere. Fortunately for him, it all worked out. "For any player, it's difficult," he said. "Especially my situation.

There was so much time I put in here. When I came on that visit, everybody was like, 'Look, we'd really like to have Even though I tried not to (worry) because I knew this team was really tight for salary-cap reasons. You kind of block that out, and not over-excite yourself, and expect the worst. "There was always doubt. Some way, somehow, we did it." Notes: The 49ers signed a bevy of rookie free agents to compete for roster spots during the three-day, full-squad mini-camp that starts Friday.

Among the notable are two men who will vie for the place-kicking job that opened when the 49ers declined to match the San Diego made for Wade Richey Jamie Rheem, a rookie from Kansas State, and Jose Cortez, a free agent who played in the XFL with the L.A. Xtreme. Rheem, a finalist for the Lou Gro-za Award, missed only three of 61 kicks last season for Kansas State, making 14 of 16 field goals and 44 of 45 extra points. One of his misses was a 59-yard attempt against Iowa State that was long enough, but wide. The Niners thought so highly of him that they considered taking him with one of the seventh-round draft picks last week, said special teams coach Bruce DeHaven "He's one of three guys I targeted coming out of college.

We kind of took a chance of him falling to us," De-Haven said. Cortez is an Oregon State product who hit four field goals in the Xtreme's victory in the XFL championship game. For the season, Cortez, who spent last summer competing for a Job with the San Deigo Chargers, was 20-of-25. His longest kick was a 48-yarder. STARS (-165) Blues Stewart Cink 124 Overunder total: 4.5 goals.

Scott Verplank 15-1 Jerry Kelly 1SH NBA Chris Perry 18-1 Favorite Points Underdog Scott Hoch 20-1 HORNETS 5(171) Heat Shighke Maruyama 2M Saturday MarkO'Meara 25-1 76ers 2 (176) PACERS Kenny Perry 25-1 MAVERICKS 5(189) Jazz Steve Strieker 25-1 Spurs 2 (176) T'WOLVES Skip Kendall 28-1 Bucks 1 (197) MAGIC Jonathan Kaye 30-1 K.J. Choi 35-1 Odds to win the Stanley Cup Glen Day 35-1 Colorado Avalanche 95 Chris Riley 35-1 New Jersey Devils 2A Paul Stankowski 35-1 Dallas Stars 84 Bill Glasson 40-1 St. Louis Blues 124 J.L. Lewis 40-1 Buffalo Sabres 104 Frank Nobilo 40-1 Toronto Maple Leafs 164 Esteban Toledo 40-1 Pittsburgh Penguins 124 Ted Tryba 404 Los Angeles Kings 40-1 Steve Elkington 45-1 Matt Kuchar 45-1 Odds to win NBA Championship Joe Ogilvie 50-1 San Antonio Spurs 24 Field (All Others) 6J Los Angeles Lakers 7-2 Philadelphia 76ers 74 Odds to win the Milwaukee Bucks 84 NAPA Auto Parts 500 Sacramento Kings 104 Jeff Gordon 54 Utah Jazz 154 Dale Jarrett 64 Portland Trail Blazers 154 Bobby LaBonte 64 New York Knicks 154 Jeff Burton 74 Dallas Mavericks 184 Mark Martin 74 Miami Heat 254 Ricky Rudd 84 Charlotte Hornets 254 Rusty Wallace 84 Phoenix Suns 404 Jeremy Mayfield 10-1 Toronto Raptors 404 Tony Stewart 104 Indiana Pacers 454 Steve Park 124 Orlando Magic 504 Sterling Marlin 15-1 Minnesota Timberwolvesl00-1 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 15-1 Johnny Benson 18-1 Odds to win the Kentucky Derby Bobby Hamilton 20-1 Point Given 8J) Kevin Harvick 20-1 Conga ree 54 Ward Burton 22-1 Millennium Wind 64 Matt Kenseth 25-1 Monarchos 64 Terry LaBonte 25-1 Dollar Bill 104 Mike.Skinner 30-1 Express Tour 154 Jerry Nadeau 30-1 Balto Star 184 Joe Nemechek 35-1 A.R Valentine 204 Michael Waltrip 40-1 Fifty Stars 254 Bill Elliott 40-1 Songandaprayer 304 Jimmy Spencer 45-1 Jamaican Rum 354 John Andretti 50-1 Invisible Ink 404 Kurt Busch 50-1 Thunder Blitz 404 Ken Schrader 554 Keats 604 Kevin Lepage 60-1 Talk is Money 1004 Elliott Sadler 75-1 Gift of the Eagle KXM Field (All Others) 254 Tincin 1000-1 America's Line is a trademark of Odds to win World Series Roxy Roxborough and Benjamin New York Yankees 7-2 Eckstein.

where, and be among the very best." Stubblefield flashed that boyish smile repeatedly during the conference attended by his wife, Kim, and Young. Being reunited with the 49ers, the team that took him with the No.l pick in the 1993 draft, is al most surreal, he said. "It's something that I've been dreaming about a long time and something I didn't never thought would happen again," he said. "The opportunity is perfect for both sides. Right now, I'm sitting here and I'm just excited to be sitting here." Add Young to the group who be lieves the Niners with the addition of first-round draft pick Andre Carter, a defensive end from Cal will be dramatically improved on the de fensive side of the ball.

"This move PITTSBURGH The Pittsburgh Steelers extended Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala's contract for the next three seasons. Last week, the Steelers retained their rights to Fuamatu-Ma'afala for the 2001 season by matching the New England Patriots' $700,000 tender offer to the restricted free agent running back. Fuamatu-Ma'afala missed much of last season with a fractured foot. He finished the season with 149 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. The Steelers also signed three-year cornerback Jason Simmons to a one-year tender offer.

Complied from wire reports they made today kind of finalizes the things that they're trying to do to get back on track," Young said. "I'm just excited about the prospect of trying to rebuild this whole championship team back." When Stubblefield last suited up for the 49ers, he compiled 15 sacks en route to becoming the 1987 NFL 4.