The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 24

I' Hf i "I C2 THE OTTAWA CITIZEN SPORTS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1,1998 SPORTS 1, if 3. BASEBALL The expansion Arizona Diamondbacks signed free-agent pitcher Gregg Olson to a one-year, minor-league contract and invited him to spring training as a non-roster player. Olson, a 31-year-old right-hander, has 173 major-league saves and a 28-29 life" time record. He was 4-3 with one save and a 3.02 earned run average in 34 relief appearances last season for Kansas City. Olson, an all-star in 1990 with Baltimore, has also pitched for Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston and Minnesota.

Shawn Estes, a 19-game winner last season, has signed a new three-year contract with the San Francisco Giants. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Estes was 19-5 last season with a 3.18 earned-run average. Gene Bossard, a Chicago White Sox groundskeeper for 40 years who developed the knack of sculpting the in- field to maximize home-field advantage, has died at age 80. Bossard was the son of a groundskeeper, and his son has succeeded him in maintaining the field at Comiskey Park The infield under Bossard's care was once known as "Bossard's Swamp" because he kept the grass wet to slow down ground balls.

FREESTYLE SKIING Scott Bellavance of Prince George, B.C., captured a bronze medal in a Europa Cup event at Tamaro, Switzerland. Stephane Yonnet and silver-medallist Guillaume Gonthier finished 1-2 for France. Dominic Arse-nault of Lafontaine, was fourth, while Graham Smith of Lions Bay, B.C., was 14th, and Vincent Dorion of Coaticook, placed 15th. SOCCER 1 -I "A I "4 I 5. A A mew 1 1 I 1 MacGregor: Greatness takes time to develop Continued from page Ci Last night in Montreal, he did.

He was on the ice even more than the game's star, Yashin. On the ice, proving a point. "Any time you struggle," he says. "You want to come out the next time tenfold. You want to prove you can play.

You want to prove you can make a difference." Rookie mistakes are rarely fatal last year's rookie of the year award winner, Bryan Berard of the New York Islanders, makes as many per game as he makes fine plays and there have been times this year when Phillips name has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Calder Trophy. A nomination, however, is unlikely. Toronto forward Mike Johnson has an impressive 33 points, New Jersey forward Patrick Elias has five game-winning goals already, and Boston forward Sergei Samsonov appears on the verge of emerging from the rookie pack in scoring. To be noticed, as Berard was a year ago, scoring is essential. Stats not good enough Playing both forward (12 games) and defence (37 games), Phillips has three goals and nine assists not enough.

Phillips is philosophical about all this. "I could be playing the same and have more points," he says, "and people would be saying that I'm having a great season." That does not mean that this season has not been great. A great experience, and the promise of greatness to come. "It takes time," he says. He has already become a far different, far more confident, player than he was at the start of his first season, and he says he will continue to emerge until he ends up, in the NHL, the same defenceman he was at the end of junior: the puck carrier, the playmaker, the hitter, the one giving everything he has to give in the championship contest "What everyone saw in (the Memorial Cup) is the player I am," he says, "and the player I'm capable of being.

"You have one goal your whole life, and that's to make it to the NHL Then you get here and you start to set more goals." First, the playoffs. Then the Stanley Cup. One day, the Olympics. And one day, he is almost afraid to say, the Norris Trophy as the best defenceman in hockey. "I want to be that," he says.

"For sure." Read previous columns at 1 VIKTOR PIVOVAROV, THE CALGARY HERALD New Brunswick skip Melissa McClure, centre, celebrates a national junior women's curling championship with teammtaes Bethany Toner, left, and Brigitte McClure. Curl: On to Thunder Bay Junior men's final Ontario: John Morris's Ottawa Curling Club team Alberta: Carter Rycroft's Edmonton foursome The final: Today, 1:30 p.m. TV coverage: CBC Round-robin: Both teams finished the preliminary round with 9-3 records. Alberta was awarded first place under the tie-breaking system. In their only matchup, Alberta defeated Ontario 5-4.

Smith's foursome claimed the 1991 title at Leduc.Alta. It was the third trip to the Canadian juniors for the McClure rink, and this was their last year of eligibility. "This was our last year here (in junior)," said Melissa McClure, who attends Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S. "We knew, if we gave it our best shot, we'd have a chance, and we did and it worked." Today, John Morris's Ottawa Curling Club rink will take on Carter Rycroft's Alberta foursome in the junior men's final (1:30 p.m., CBC). Both teams went 9-3 in the round-robin portion of the championship, but Rycroft's team was awarded first place and a berth in the final under the tie-breaking formula.

Morris's team won a tie-breaker and the semifinal match on Friday to advance to today's final. With files from The Canadian Press Continued from page Ci "I mean, our rocks picked three times, and theirs didn't once." McClure, third Nancy Toner, second Brigitte McClure and lead Bethany Toner will represent Canada at the world junior championships in Thunder Bay in late March. Hanna and teammates Amanda Vanderspank, Julie Colquhoun and Leesa Broder started the final cautiously, apparently content to blank as many of the ends as possible, but the Ontario representatives finally took a single point in the fourth end, when Hanna's final stone stayed in the rings. In the fifth, McClure tried to dig an Ontario stone out of the house to count two, but she had to settle for one point and a 1-1 tie. In the sixth, McClure's weight abandoned her, as both her stones sailed through the house, allowing Ontario to take a 3-1 lead McClure's missing touch returned in the seventh end, though.

After both skips executed perfect double-takeouts with their first stones, Hanna wrecked on a guard and McClure made an open draw for two points and another tie score. The win marked the second national junior title for New Brunswick, which last won the event when Heather during the 1998 tes-etg OTTAWAHULL 'Jaffi A linesman was attacked and knocked unconscious by a fan during a English League Division 1 soccer game yesterday. The spectator ran onto the field at the Portsmouth-Sheffield United game and hit linesman Edward Martin from behind. Martin was unconscious for about five minutes. The fan was arrested The attack came after Martin had alerted the referee to a foul by United goalkeeper Simon Tracey, who was sent off.

The match ended in a 1-1 tie. GOLF Ian Woosnam shot a 2-under-par 70 yesterday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the Heineken Classic at Perth, Australia. Woosnam is at 11-under 205 after three rounds, one stroke ahead of Thomas Bjorn, who shot a 68 yesterday. Jose Maria Olazabal, who also shot a 68 in the third round despite being warned for slow play, is at nine under. TRACK AND FIELD An assistant girls' track and field coach in Mission Viejo, California, was arrested after a four-month investigation in which four girls said he made sexual advances.

Vernon Smith, 50, who also coached a private track team, was arrested Friday on suspicion of lewd conduct upon a child under age 15, and six counts of misdemeanor sexual battery. The alleged acts occurred during 1996 and 1997, the Orange County Sheriffs Department said. School officials declined comment, but students said Smith was removed from coaching the track and cross-country teams after the allegations surfaced in September. FOOTBALL Hall of Fame running back Doak Walker was reported to be in improved condition yesterday, a day after a skiing accident in which he suffered a head injury. Walker's condition was listed as serious, upgraded from critical, at a hospital in Englewood, Colorado.

CAT scan tests "showed no real physical damage, just a closed head injury," a hospital spokeswoman said. Walker, 71, won the Heisman Trophy at SMU in 1948. OLYMPICS The Nagano Games had its first official automobile accident yesterday, as a car slid across an icy downhill section of road into a media bus. No one was injured. Games organizers said the shuttle bus was bound for the Main Olympic Press Centre from Hakuba, a mountain village where the alpine skiing and ski jumping events will be held.

The car slid on a curve going downhill and hit the bus. The driver of the car, which had no other passengers, had only minor scrapes. The bus driver and its two passengers were not injured, they said. Calgary has thrown its hat into the ring for bidding for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Calgary is vying with Vancouver and Quebec City to become Canada's official candidate.

HOCKEY Ben Constantineau and Mike Chlebus each scored once as the Ottawa Gee-Gees beat the York Yeomen 2-1 in an Ontario University Athletics men's hockey game yesterday. Corby Wright scored for York. Ottawa, 9-7-1 and third in the Far East Division, plays the Laurentian Voyageurs today at 3:30 p.m. at Sandy Hill Arena. Citizen newsservices LAW VSU Motorhomes, travel tent trailers, vans and conversions, mini-liners, park models, 5th wheels, camp grounds, R.V.

resorts, R.V. services, accessories. Also sport utility vehicles, A.T.VS, tourist attraction camping related exhibits. February 6-7-8 Merlinger rink rules Ontario Anne Merklinger and her Rideau Curling Club team are off to Regina after winning the Ontario Scott Tournament of Hearts women's championship last night in Kenora. Merklinger's team, which had finished first in the round-robin portion of the event to earn a bye to last night's final, defeated Heather Houston's rink from ThunderBay 6-4 for the right to represent Ontario at the Canadian championships Feb.

1 in Regina. The game was tied 3-3 after six ends, and Houston's foursome scored one point to take a 4-3 lead. However, the Ottawa curlers rebounded with two points in the ninth, and they stole another in the ioth end to clinch the victory. The trip to Regina will mark Merklinger's third entry into the national championships. Her rink also represented Ontario in 1993 and '94.

Harris skins Howard in cash event OSHAWA Before going for gold, Canada's Olympic men's curling team won some green in a skins game yesterday. The Toronto rink of Mike Harris, Richard Hart, Collin Mitchell and George Karrys collected $10,950 over two matches, defeating two-time world champion Russ Howard in yesterday's final. The Harris foursome, which won the event for the third consecutive year, collected $8,100, compared to $6,900 earned by Howard's rink. "Competing at an event like this was just what we needed before the Olympics," said Harris, who will curl for gold next month in Nagano, Japaa "You can't find better competition than playing guys like Ed Werenich and Russ Howard, who are both world champs. "This win is a big boost to our confidence heading to Nagano." Yesterday's match was decided in the ninth end, when Harris stole two points for two skins worth $4,500.

Harris threw up guards with his two shots and Howard was not able to make the come around to the four-foot with his final rock. That miss clinched the game, leaving Harris with $8,100 and $3,900 for Howard with a $3,000 skin available in the ioth end. Howard won that last skin after forcing a playoff for the final cash prize. The two skips played an nth end with a one-shot draw to the button. Howard's stone came to rest in the four-foot, while Harris's last rock slid to the back of the house.

Howard's team earned the right to face Harris by defeating the rink of Wayne Middaugh in a semifinal earlier in the day. Howard won handily, picking up $3,400 to the $1,600 of Middaugh. Harris edged Ed Werenich on Friday night, winning $2,850 to the Wrench's $2,150. The Canadian Press (ojua. mi fm I $4 million of R.V.S in one show FREE PARKING MNSDOWNE PARK OTTAWA CIVIC CENTRE OTTAWA, ONTARIO Feb.

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