Edmonton Journal from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada • 33

ari mmt COPY AVAILABLE A Dons Stats PageC6-7 Off Washt Not voTtd with any ohW coupon or ipexial ofnr. I '4 6 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU! I EDITOR: Wayne Moriarty, 429-5303 o) 9) cywastilDetaN centres 51 Late burst wins title for Chicago HOCKEY A-Channel gets Oilers' games Broadcast-rights holder Molson Breweries announced Friday that Craig Broadcast Systems will carry mid-week telecasts on A-Channet the new local free TV station starting up In September. They ar picking tip the games after CFRN chose to drop the automatic one-year renewal of its five-year deal that started in 1992. "The youthful, vibrant package we plan to provide for Oiler fans for the PETER MAY Boston Globe full slate of games matches the excitement the hockey club generates when it plays, as well as being a perfect match with A- Chicago This one was a grinder. Other teams had extended the Bulls as far, but none seemingly had done so with such determination and verve as the Utah Jazz.

Karl Mal-one Co. may still be wondering today how it all went wrong. The 1996-97 NBA season has ended with a Channel's programming style," said Drew Craig, the (If president and general BULLS 90 JAZZ 86 Chicago wins NBA Finals 4-2 familiar conclusion. The Bulls once again sit on Mount Olympus, soon to be manager of A-Channel. But it doesn't end there.

CTV head of sports Doug Beeforth said from Toronto that its new regional sports cable channel, CTV Sportsnet, would be willing to telecast the 40 or so remaining Oiler games not on CBC, TSN or A-Channel. But first Sportsnet must be granted channel space by local cable operators, and a deal must be reached with the Oilers or Molstar. "Our goal is to get it up and running in time for this coming hockey season," said Beeforth. "We're virtually ready to go. As soon as we get a channel assigned to us, we'll start.

"For us, Oiler hockey would be one of the mainstays of what we offered during the winter months. We virtually would want to show as many Oiler games as are available. We've been talking with everybody, from Molstar to the league to the individual teams. This has been ongoing since last September. "We've done exhaustive research and what we've found is that wherever people are, what they're interested in are their home-town sports teams.

Ray Turchansky, Journal Sports Writer Flyers' Clarke dumps coach One week after he said his team was "choking" in the Stanley Cup final, Terry Murray was fired as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. renamed Mount Jordan, by virtue of a 90-86 victory Friday night The Bulls won the best-of-seven NBA Finals 4-2 in what commissioner David Stern accurately called "an extraordinary series." Or as Bulls owner Jerry Reins-dorf said, "This has been the toughest team we've faced in the Finals. There ought to be co-champions." But there aren't, of course, and Michael Jordan saw to that. Friday night he was healthy and scored 39 points, one more than he had Wednesday when he could barely walk. He had 11 rebounds and assisted on the winning basket by Steve Kerr.

Once again, he was named the series MVP, but said he should share the award with Scottie Pip-pen, who also was huge, scoring 23. "We're a tandem," Jordan said, still on the floor celebrating Chicago's fifth championship in seven years. "It's hard to split us up. It's hard to take this myself. I'll keep the trophy and he can have the car." Said Pippen, "We tip our hats to the Jazz.

But we stepped it up and found a way to bring home No. 5." With five titles in seven years, Jordan and Pippen have now equalled Magic Johnson, who led the Lakers to five in the 1980s. He and Pippen are the only ones to have played on all five Chicago title teams. With the score tied at 86-86, the Bulls worked the clock down and Jordan eventually got the ball. Utah sent a second man at Jordan.

Jordan had told Kerr to be ready. Kerr found an open spot and the Jazz left him alone. He drained it from 18 feet, hitting nothing but net. He had missed seven of eight in the previous two games but knocked down three biggies in Game 6. "They've been leaving me alone all series and I wasn't making the shots," Kerr said.

"It's about time I made one." Utah called time but never got Si The Associated Press Bulls superstars Michael Jordan, left, and Scottie Pippen hoist the NBA championship trophy Friday night General manager Bob Clarke cited "the problems that existed between the coach and the players" in dismissing Murray, who took Philadelphia to its first Stanley Cup final since 1987. Detroit swept the Flyers 4-0. Murray has been offered a job "that is very important to us," but Clarke declined to say what it was. Clarke 1 i if i UTAH (88) Russell 5-102-217, Malone 7-15 7-1521, Ostertag 0-2 1-2 1, Stockton 5-9 3-313, Hornacek 4-9 8-9 CHICAGO Fostw0-1 0-00, Carr 1- IliUljuOX 6 8. Morris 0-2 0-0 0.

Totals 2b-6S Z7-3H (. CHICAGO 190) Pippen 6-17 10-12 23, Rodman 0-41-21, Longtey 0-4 0-0 0, Harper 1-4 0-0 2. Jordan 15-35 8-10 39, Williams 2-5 0-0 4, off another shot. Toni Kukoc made another defensive gem, deflecting the inbounds pass from Bryon Russell. The ball squirted to Pippen, who slid it along back to Kukoc.

That resulted in an easy dunk, and the United Center erupted. "They made the plays down the stretch," saluted Utah coach Jerry Sloan. "We missed some shots, but that's basketball. (Jordan) is such a great player and a great competitor and has an unbelievable will to win." It looked for some time as if any celebration would have to wait until Sunday. The Jazz insisted on not only making a game of it, but on making things very iffy for the champs.

Utah led by 6 after one, by 7 at the half, by 6 after three, and by 9 early in the fourth Kukoc 3-6 2-4 9. Kerr 3-5 2-2 9, Mai Florence of the Los Angeles Times culled these: Art Thiel of the Seattle Post-; Intelligencer commenting on i SuperSonic forward Shawn Kemp's interview in which he demanded to be traded: "Kemp sounded as loopy as his TV commercial for Reebok, a disturbingly bleak glance into an empty soul whose message couldn't sell a shoe to a barefoot supermodel standing in a campfire." Bulls' Steve Kerr on Jordan; "In three or four years, maybe he'll start on a decline In 10 years, at 44, he could probably be a good shooting guard in the NBA. At 54, an average shooting guard." Caffey 0-0 0-0 0, Buechler 1-1 0-0 3, Brown 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-81 23-3090. Utah 23 21 28 18 88 Chicago 17 20 27 2690 3-point goals Utah 7-1 5 (Russell 5-8, Hornacek 2-4, Stockton 0-1 Anderson 0-1 Morris 0-1), Chicago 5-1 4 (Kukoc 1 -1 Buechler 1-1 Kerr 1 -2, Pippen 1-4, Jordan 1-4, Rodman 0-1, Harper 0-1).

Fouled out None. Rebounds Utah 52 (Ostertag 8), Chicago 56 (Rodman, Jordan 1 1). Assists Utah 14 (Stockton 5), Chicago 15 (Jordan 4). Total fouls Utah 25. Chicago 28.

Technicals Malone. Williams, Rodman, Chicago illegal defence. Flagrant fouls Ostertag. Attendance 24,544 In Chicago mentioned the The Associated Press problems between Terry Murray led Flyers Murray and the to Stanley Cup finals players in a release announcing the firing, but refused to go into any detail at a press conference. 'The problems I felt we had will remain internal," Clarke said.

"I just felt that the problems we had weren't going to go away. For us to go forward, this was the start of it" Despite citing the player-coach problems as the main reason for the dismissal, Clarke said four times that the players didn't have any input into the decision. "It wasn't their decision," he said. "It's my responsibility and I talked to people in the organization who I trust, but the players were not asked." Lehman! has Open learn The Associated Press TRACK Bailey clocks under 10 seconds Leaders Friday during the darkness suspended second Woods charges back into ranks round of the U.S. Open: 67-70137; Tom Lehman Donovan Bailey ran his fastest 100-metre race of the season Friday, clocking 9.94 seconds to defeat arch-rival Linford Christie in Muremberg, Germany.

The Oakville, native sped to a commanding lead after 60 metres and finished one-tenth of a second off his world record, set at last LA i 71-67 138 71- 67138' 73- 66139" 69-72141 74- 67141 74- 72- 69141 75- Ernie Els Stewart Cink Jeff Maggert Justin Leonard Tommy Tolles Tiger Woods Kelly Gibson Scott Dunlap Dave Schreyer summer's Atlanta The Associated Press Colin Montgomerie 65-76 14V Olympics. Bailey Friday rwiNBA CHICAGO 90 UTAH 86 (Bulls win final series 4-2) holes. "Unfortunately, I had three holes to go and just couldn't quite hold it." But many players in the field down to 155 after John Daly walked off the course following nine holes Friday were going in the opposite direction. Most notable was Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, the first-round leader after a 65. Montgomerie had to deal with hecklers and humidity, and grumped his way around to six bogeys and 76-141.

But still, that was only four shots off the lead, though in keeping with his Masters performance three months ago. Only three behind in Augusta after 36 holes, he ballooned to a 74-81 finish and a tie for 30th. The driver that had kept him out of harm's way on Thursday suddenly was going all over the grounds, often landing in what can be safely called the toughest rough in Open history. Steve Strieker and Hal Sutton, a shot back at the start of play, also struggled in the spinach. Strieker, after an opening 66, needed a birdie at the 18th to salvage an anemic 76, continuing what has become a year-long slump.

Sutton also lost serious ground, though he was unable to finish play. He was 3 over for the day and 1 over for the tournament through 15 holes when darkness fell. He and 44 other players will resume play at 7 a.m. today. U.S.

Golf Association officials said the second round will be completed by 9:30, the cut will be made and players grouped in threesomes for the third round, MLBlf LEONARD SHAPIRO Washington Post Bethesda, Md. The course at Congressional Country Club continued to feast on golfers Friday. But there was no trapping Tiger Woods in the second round of the U.S. Open. He went 4 under par through his first seven holes, and pulled himself right back into contention for the championship.

Play went from dawn to dusk. It rained in the early morning. There were thunderstorms at lunch hour, and lightning delayed the round enough that it will have to be completed Saturday morning. It was an utterly bizarre day. When it ended at 8:31 p.m., British Open champion and '96 Open runner-up Tom Lehman had weathered it best and stood atop the leader board at 3-under-par 137.

His poised and patient even-par 70, mostly posted before the foul weather hit, was good for a one-shot lead over South African Ernie Els, the 1994 Open champion at Oakmont, and PGA Tour rookie Stewart Cink, both of whom charged from the rear with 67s. Jeff Maggert did them one better, fashioning the day's best round at 66 to stand two behind at 139. "As long as I don't beat myself the next two days, I'm going to be a factor on Sunday," Lehman said. MILWAUKEE 4 CHICAGO CUBS 2 FLORIDA 2 N.Y. YANKEES 1 (12) PITTSBURGH 5 KANSAS CITY 3 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 3 CINCINNAT1 1 MONTREAL 4 DETROIT 3 Daly drops outC4 Halldorson at HighlandsC4 Open scoresC6 tentatively scheduled to begin at 10.

Though the final cutdown number won't be decided until this morning, some marquee names won't be back for the weekend. Greg Norman ended a troubled two weeks in Washington as he followed his opening 75 with a disinterested 79, the worst opening two-round performance in a major championship ever for the Shark But Jack Nicklaus's private plane will be parked here fof the weekend. The oldest man in the field and four-time champion, continued to think his way around the course and shot 71-144 forthe first two rounds of his 41st consecutive Open. His son, Gary, was not as fortunate after a 77-150, a total that will miss the cut. "I've been playing fairly well the last two days and I've given it away both days," Nicklaus said- PHILADELPHIA 4 TORONTO 3 BALTIMORE 4 ATLANTA 3 The Associated Press Tom Lehman looks to play steady "My attitude is just going to be what I'm doing right now I'm going to play very methodical, from A-to-B-to-C-to-D golf.

Keep it in the fairway, put it on the green I learned some lessons over the last two years." Woods also learned that whatever the Congressional beast may yield early, it can also take back at its whim. He bogeyed three of his last six holes Friday and finished with a 67-141 that left him only four shots behind playing partner Lehman, who bogeyed two of his first three holes, then recovered. "I knew going out today I had to shoot a good number and try to get myself back to even par for the tournament, and I did one better than that," Woods said, referring to his 1-under total through 15 BOSTON 8 N.Y. METS 4 CLEVELAND AT ST. LOUIS.

PPD. MINNESOTA 8 HOUSTON 1 TEXAS 6 SAN FRANCISCO 5 SEATTLE 6 COLORADO 1 LOS ANGELES 6 OAKLAND 4 SAN DIEGO AT ANAHEIM 37V 5 p.m., TSN Baseball, Toronto Blue Jays at Philadelphia Phillies.